Chapter Thirty: The Deal

CHAPTER THIRTY

THE DEAL

Ihad no delusions about Gao Qiu being motivated to help us out of a burning sense of righteousness, like the Central Command strategists. He’s only considering lobbying for our lives to profit from our fame. I’m guessing he already spent quite a lot getting us out of the frontier, though, because he tells us that, from now on, he’ll use only the profits we generate to nudge the army and Sages toward approving the counterattack. He won’t sink another yuan of his existing fortune into further bribes.

There are some key players, like An Lushan, who likely can’t be bought to our side with any amount of money, but it’s no secret that Gao Qiu’s connections extend into the criminal realm. I trust that he has more pointed methods of persuasion.

He must have a personal price in mind to justify using them, though. Some kind of threshold where Shimin and I become worth the trouble of activating his shadiest connections. We will have to prove ourselves as assets to him. Which means giving him absolute freedom over the remaking of our images to make as much money as possible.

“I do see tremendous star power in you two.” He twirls his long chopsticks, decorated at the ends with gold. He sits across from us at a round table full of colorful, steaming food, most of which I don’t recognize. Honey-soft light flows from the private room’s carved wood crevasses, immersing his features.

A tension pulls at my spine at the hints of Yizhi all over him. The same inflections in his voice, just deeper with age. The same slender shape to his face, just coarsened with a salt-and-pepper beard. It takes no effort to imagine Yizhi becoming him, or him having once been kind and gentle like Yizhi. Which is the most terrifying part of looking at him.

This world can make monsters out of anyone.

“Li Shimin.” Gao Qiu plants his elbow on the golden tablecloth and points at Shimin, designer black robes gleaming with a leather shine. “We barely have to do any rebranding for you. You’re the baddest of bad boys. The ultimate alpha male. You live by your own rules, not giving a fuck about what other people think, and that’s exactly what makes you so alluring. Men want to be you; women want to be protected by you.”

“Um,” Shimin says. “Okay.”

He’s not looking at me, Gao Qiu, or even the tentative contract on a tablet propped in front of us. He’s eyeing the glittering crystal liquor bottle on the glass turntable holding the food. Beneath the table, his arm quivers in my grip.

A humorless laugh dies without leaving my chest. But I can see people buying all this about him. Paying attention to only the superficial glamor of his strength.

Gao Qiu swivels his finger to me. “Wu Zetian.” He pronounces my name like an intriguing new taste. “Oh, Wu Zetian. Exploding out of nowhere like a firecracker, offing that brat Yang Guang while at it. Fantastic debut, by the way. I can’t get that moment out of my head. ‘Welcome to your nightmare’,” he mimics in a growl.

Aiyah. Now it feels weirdly embarrassing that I ever shouted that at a dozen camera drones. “Was it not too much?”

“Oh, Pilot Wu, people love too much. Pilots are supposed to be larger than life—that’s what makes them such effective celebrities! In fact, I’d like to take this fox spirit rumor and run with it. You can be the mysterious vixen. The femme fatale.” Gao Qiu’s eyes, which hold a stunning feline beauty, pierce me with a knowing edge. Shadows slide over his features, cast by three gold-dusted lanterns above the table. “Women will hate you for carrying yourself with the kind of domineering confidence they wish they had; men will hate you for scrambling their minds and luring their thoughts toward places they know they shouldn’t go. But their hate will scorch so hotly under their skin that they won’t be able to look away or stop talking about you. Together with Shimin, you will be Huaxia’s premier power couple. You’re not good, but you’re bad in the best way.” He fans his hands, as if offering us something invisible. “How about it?”

It’s unnerving, how similar his thoughts are to mine.

Shimin puts his finger to his lips in a pondering gesture, but cuts a panicked glance at me. He shifts his arm out of my grasp to clench my hand under the table. Tendons work along his neck from an active and dire effort to keep his eyes off the liquor bottle.

I get the message. He can’t think clearly right now. He’ll go with whatever I decide.

“We’re in,” I say.

“Perfect.” Gao Qiu’s mouth stretches into a grin, dimpling one cheek the exact way Yizhi’s does, chilling me again.

Shimin and I sign the contract with our fingerprints. My hand shakes as hard as his, but this document is really just a formality. Gao Qiu is too powerful, and our status is too unique. If we become unhappy with him, or he becomes unhappy with us, this legal jargon won’t matter a single bit.

“And the deal is sealed!” Gao Qiu claps his hands. “Let’s drink to celebrate, shall we?”

Shimin and I seize up. A maidservant spins the turntable and stops it at the bottle of liquor. She unplugs its crystal cork.

I straighten in my wheelchair, switching on an apologetic smile. “Oh, we would love to, but—” I look to Shimin. “Dearest, didn’t the doctors say your qi flow would get messed up if you did any more drinking?”

Knowing what happened to Yizhi’s mother, I have to perform the kind of femininity Gao Qiu tolerates. It’s not enough to be subservient; I have to seem happy while doing it.

“Nonsense!” Gao Qiu grasps his bronze goblet as the maidservant fills it. “It’s just one drink. What harm could it do?”

Shimin starts to say something, but then the maidservant waddles toward us with the bottle. Lantern light whirls through the chiseled crystal.

“One drink can be a tipping point.” I lash my attention between Shimin and Gao Qiu, forcing my smile to stick. “I’m just not sure if this is a good idea.”

The maidservant pours a sparkling, gurgling stream into the goblet in front of Shimin. The liquor smell hits my face, making me gag. But what it does to Shimin is infinitely worse.

Something snaps loose behind his eyes. The tension goes out of his face. “No, it’s fine. It’s just one drink.”

My fingers dig like talons into the tight sleeve of his pilot uniform. “But the doctors—”

He wrenches his arm away without looking at me. “It’s just one drink.”

The maidservant fills my goblet as well.

“Perfect!” Gao Qiu rises, chair screeching over the polished wood floor. He raises his goblet. “Let’s toast to our collaboration!”

Shimin mirrors him.

While doing the same, I bump hard into his elbow. Liquor flies out of his goblet and splatters over the golden tablecloth. I gasp in both real and imagined pain. “Sorry, dear. My wounds…”

“It’s okay, Pilot Wu,” Gao Qiu says, though his voice slows like slush, and his whole demeanor darkens. “No need to get up.”

He glares at the maidservant and gestures at the mess. I bite my lip as she hurries to bring a few towels over.

“I think this is an omen from the universe, dear.” I give Shimin’s arm another squeeze. “You should take care of your qi flow. It’d be unfortunate if we had hiccups in our next battle because of it. Gao-zong, I’d be glad to drink for us both.”

“Well.” Gao Qiu gives a slow blink. “If the universe says so.”

Oh, skies. I’ve displeased him.

Hopefully, the money I make him will push this out of his memories.

I snatch the half-empty goblet from Shimin’s hands so it doesn’t possess him anymore. I top it up myself, then raise it toward Gao Qiu like an offering. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Gao-zong.”

I tip the goblet between my lips. It’s my first taste of alcohol, and it scorches like liquid fire down my throat, as intense as it smells. I cough, but make myself down the whole thing in several rapid gulps.

“Yes. A real pleasure.” Gao Qiu does the same.

Shimin sits down awkwardly. I grab my own goblet, hold my breath, and guzzle it as well.

I have no idea how he drank flasks upon flasks of this every day. No wonder he’s so Fire dominant.

“The business is done for you then, Pilot Li.” Gao Qiu points to his wristlet. “I’ve gotten quite a few nudges from my other guests about your whereabouts. You should get to the party. They’re growing tired of waiting.”

Shimin swings a questioning look between me and Gao Qiu, though his eyes remain unfocused.

“Pilot Wu and I still need to discuss a few things. I have some possible lodging options in Chang’an if she wishes to relocate her family.” Gao Qiu enunciates the word like a taunt. “I don’t believe you would find a topic like that relatable, would you?”

Shimin’s eyes go huge, and so do mine.

“Please, go enjoy yourself.” Gao Qiu flashes a too-bright smile.

My dread spikes. I stare at Shimin like my gaze alone could hold him back, but Gao Qiu doesn’t seem to be leaving us any options. If we want his support, we’ll have to do things his way.

I lower my eyes.

“Thank you, Gao-zong,” Shimin mutters after a smothering pause. He gets up again and gives a small bow, then his steps fade out over the floorboards.

Not ready to face Gao Qiu alone, I follow Shimin with my eyes. My head throbs. My chest burns. Even the breaths that spurt out of me smell flammable. I wish this limbo of a moment could stretch forever, but the door soon closes after Shimin, and I’m forced to turn back.

Gao Qiu’s cold stare seizes me at once.

“You’re a dangerous girl for real, Pilot Wu,” he drawls, sounding completely different. “More dangerous than I thought. Catering to your man’s ego while making all the decisions in reality? How sly of you.”

“I only wish to support my partner,” I say in a rush. “He is my heaven and earth.”

“Oh?” Gao Qiu’s head tilts ever so slightly. “And what about my hero of a son? What is he to you?”

A spasm shocks through me. Words tumble out of my mouth. “Student Strategist Gao was greatly helpful when my partner—”

“Stop pretending.” Gao Qiu’s voice lashes across the table like a whip. “I know about you and my son. In the mountains.”

I forget how to breathe.

His stare goes even colder, darker. “I’m not as inattentive a father as you think, Pilot Wu. My fifth son is not the type to fall in love. What kind of spell have you put on him, I wonder.”

“He and I never did anything we shouldn’t have,” I somehow manage to say. How much does he know? Was there a hidden microphone on Yizhi or something? Since when?

“But this is quite the history of tugging boys along like pets, isn’t it?”

What, two boys?

But I can’t defend myself like that. Two boys is two too many for people like him.

“I—I’m still a maiden,” I stammer the only other defense I can think of. “Honestly. Ask an auntie to check.”

Surprise ripples across Gao Qiu’s face. I’m hopeful that he might back off and let me go, but then his features tighten into an even harsher scowl.

He rises from the table again, chair scratching out an ear-splitting noise. I wish I could wheel away this instant and never look back, but Gao Qiu has already sunk all that money into getting me and Shimin away from the Great Wall. If I don’t do what he wants, I have no doubt he’ll turn against me instead. And I cannot afford to have him as yet another enemy.

In slow strides, he comes to my side of the table. His hand snags my shoulder. He leans toward my ear. “If you’re not lying through your teeth, then that makes it so much worse.”

“Why?” I cry out. Too freaked out to face him, all I hear is Yizhi. A distorted Yizhi from the depths of the eighteen hells.

“Why? You don’t get it? You don’t understand the concept of giving back when you take? That would be highly problematic, Pilot Wu.”

“They didn’t want it.” My body shudders with every breath. His touch burns through my pilot uniform, making me want to chop off this shoulder and run.

“All. Boys. Want it.” The liquor-tinged heat of his voice worms into my ear. “I see the way they rush to your whims. If you truly have no intent to put out, then they must not realize they’re being deceived.”

Is he talking about the way Yizhi and Shimin helped me out of the hovercraft? Is that what brought this on?

Don’t speak for them, I come close to shouting. They’re not like you.

Then horror flashes through me—why did he really keep me behind?

I raise a terrified look to the maidservant. She stands between two painted scrolls hanging on the dimly lit wall, gaze on the ground. Her presence is the only thing keeping this situation ambiguous.

But she can’t do a thing to stop Gao Qiu if he decides to—

My mind freezes over. I can’t think. I can’t speak.

Help me!I scream in my head to no one in particular. Shimin? Yizhi? I don’t know. I don’t know.

“See, Pilot Wu, business is based on equivalent exchange, on giving out a proper amount whenever you take something. It’s a very important principle. I need to know you understand it, and don’t think you’re too clever to abide by it.” Gao Qiu pivots behind my wheelchair and clutches my shoulders. “So, to make sure we can trust each other, I would like you to strip off your clothes and read our contract on camera. In the nude.”

The bottom drops out of my world. I could be falling forever into an endless abyss. My hands flex, wishing for the power of my spirit armor. But there’s nothing. I have nothing.

“I—I can’t read very well,” I say in a voice so small. So powerless.

“I can read it for you, and you can repeat it after me.”

Tears burn my eyes like acid. My throat swells near shut. I tense up, but it only intensifies the grip of his hands on my shoulders.

“Gao-zong…why do you hate women this much?”

There’s a small pause, then he bursts into startling laughter. The sound pounds against the back of my skull like drumbeats and vibrates through my wheelchair. “Hate women? Don’t be ridiculous! The world wouldn’t function without women! Who would bear our children, make our meals, sew our clothes, warm our beds, and so, so, so much more? Please.” He leans into my periphery, feline eyes narrowing into slashes. “Nobody in this world hates women in general. They just hate the ones who won’t listen. Who think they can break the rules and get away with it. So, Pilot Wu, are you one of them?”

“My body…” I keep trying. “I was shot. It’s not a pleasant sight right now.”

“I’m not here to ogle you,” he says, flatly.

Chilled sweat drenches my skin beneath my uniform. This is about control. Nothing but control.

“It’s your choice, though, of course,” he adds, releasing my shoulders and backing toward his side of the table. His fingers graze the tablecloth.

Bull. Shit.

Choice? As if there’s a real choice! If I refused, he would use his money and resources to discredit me and Shimin instead. He’s just trying to further humiliate me. Bind me with the shame of having chosen this myself.

Shame.

My mind catches on the word.

Is this really such a shameful thing to do? He’ll have a video of me…what, naked? Wow, the horror! As if I wasn’t naked when I was born.

My thoughts clear. I wrestle myself out of the pit of endless shame that my family has beaten me into all my life, and this scenario suddenly becomes hilarious.

This silly man is trying to shame me with my own body.

Well, guess what? I have a fine body. He can get it from any angle he wants, but the video will have no real leverage over me. I don’t give a shit if he might release it to the public.

Shame and humiliation are self-imposed emotions, and from here on out, I choose not to feel them.

Make no mistake, though. He is dead. As soon as Shimin and I take Zhou back and receive credit for it, I will come here and slaughter Gao Qiu in the worst possible way. He doesn’t understand how far I’m willing to go to get what I want, and this is how I’ll gain the advantage over him.

This isn’t his victory. This is my temporary mercy.

With a head full of fantasies of how I’ll flay him alive after he outlives his use, I unzip my pilot coat.