BL - One Night In Pingjing 63 The Vow Of Loyalty 2

'I'm crazy about this girl, Yun Peng... I'm even willing to take the vow of loyalty on her behalf.' Su Yang's words echoed in Yun Peng's head. He knew his place in the gang all too well. They had no leader, so he wasn't their leader. But they had respect for one another and loyalty, loyalty that could only be measured by the length of life itself. Yes, Yun Peng wasn't their leader but he had their undying respect and loyalty; all because of the role he had played in their freedom. He knew that as strong-headed as Su Yang was, she would still respect him and do his bidding. At the end of the day, if Su Yang's girlfriend could live in the hideout, it was totally his decision.

Yun Peng sighed indecisively. Su Yang had broken the rule by bringing her girlfriend here, but he knew her better than anyone else. And he had never thought the day would come when she would open her heart to someone. He sighed again. This time, he had made a decision. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Fine. If you trust her that much, then it's okay."

"Thank you." Su Yang gave him a small smile to show her appreciation. Lu Qihao's smile was so wide, his face started to turn red, while Zhu Daniya threw Yun Peng a disappointed glance.

"You should probably call her out from where you're hiding her." Yun Peng said. "We might as well get to know her now.

"She's in my room, I'll go get her." Su Yang said.

"No need," Zhu Daniya stopped Su Yang in her tracks. "I can smell her from behind the curtain. I think she's been crying." She added and pointed to a curtain. The curtain covered the hallway which led to the three rooms in the house.

"Xuan Tianmei?" Su Yang stared at the curtain and called.

Xuan Tianmei slowly appeared from behind the curtain. She wiped her tears in embarra.s.sment.

"I asked you to go inside. Why were you eavesdropping?" Su Yang asked in a soft voice.

"I didn't intend to, I just wanted to see your friends."

Zhu Daniya raised a brow in doubt.

"So, why are you crying?" Su Yang asked.

"I wasn't crying. I'm just touched because you've never said you love me before." With swift steps, Xuan Tianmei walked across the living room and pulled Su Yang into a hug.

"G.o.d, what's going on now? Please, get off me." Su Yang gently, but surely pulled Xuan Tianmei away from her.

Xuan Tianmei didn't seem to mind. She looked at the three people in the room who were strangers to her, then focused her eyes on Su Yang. "What's the vow of loyalty?"

"Don't worry about that." Su Yang shook her head hoping to abate Xuan Tianmei's concerns.

"No, you should worry about it." Yun Peng walked towards Xuan Tianmei and gave her an imposing look.

"Yun Peng..." Su Yang called but kept mute when he replied by throwing her a cold glance.

Returning his attention to Xuan Tianmei, he explained. "Its history is a long story. But it's something like the Samurai code. Any member of the Black Knife who betrays the gang or another member of the gang will take their own life." Yun Peng paused so that Xuan Tianmei had time to process the words he had spoken. He continued, "Taking the vow for you means that if you betray the gang or any of its members, Su Yang will take her life."

Xuan Tianmei turned her attention to Su Yang and placed a hand on her chest. "You trust me that much?"

Su Yang nodded her head causing Xuan Tianmei to become teary-eyed again.

Yun Peng smiled at the interaction between the two. It felt strange to him. He could tell that Su Yang was distant and wasn't comfortable getting touched by Xuan Tianmei. Somehow, they both seemed to like each other a lot.

"So, are you going to introduce her to us or what?" Lu Qihao asked in the chirpy, excited tone he had had since Su Yang had announced having a lover.

Su Yang nodded. Pointing to Xuan Tianmei, she announced. "This is Xuan Tianmei."

Xuan Tianmei looked at them and waved politely. Yun Peng, who had returned to his seat nodded at her. Lu Qihao waved back and Zhu Daniya looked away. Xuan Tianmei frowned and immediately decided that of the trio, she liked Lu Qihao more.

"Xuan Tianmei, these are three other members of the gang and my best friends." Su Yang pointed at them. They were sitting in a circle around the coffee table. She found a seat for herself and tapped the spot next to her to invite Su Yang to sit with them.

"Does the gang have other members?" Xuan Tianmei asked.

Su Yang nodded. "A lot more. You'll know a gang member by that black coin you asked me about. The one with the inscription of a knife drawn on it."

"Oh!" Xuan Tianmei muttered.

"It's like our ID. Anyone who shows that coin at any place owned by a gang member is granted free, unrestricted entry. Pretty cool, right?" Su Yang asked, winking at Xuan Tianmei.

Xuan Tianmei smiled. Impressed. "Very cool. Can I get one of those?"

"No, you can't." Su Yang replied firmly.

Xuan Tianmei pouted. "But, I'm your girlfriend. Don't I get any special treatment?"

"Special treatment?" Su Yang raised a brow in amus.e.m.e.nt. "Are you serious? I just took a vow to kill myself for you if you ever mess up."

"Oh!" Xuan Tianmei dropped her head in embarra.s.sment. She couldn't help thinking Su Yang's friends would get the wrong impression of her and think her ungrateful.

"You know? Su Yang trusts you with her life. So, I'll see if I can get you one." Yun Peng said.

"Really?" Xuan Tianmei's eyes sparkled in delight. Again, she quickly decided she liked Yun Peng asked well. Perhaps, as much as she liked Lu Qihao.

Yun Peng nodded at her. 

Su Yang pointed at Yun Peng. "Well, Xuan Tianmei, this is Yun Peng. He started at the bottom at Xiao Dongyuan group of companies, slept his way through the ranks and now has some important position in the company."

Xuan Tianmei gave Su Yang a horrified look. She was aware that Yun Peng was her friend, but she didn't think it was appropriate that Su Yang introduced him to anyone like that. Even her.

Yun Peng chuckled. Shamelessly, he said, "Actually, I slept my way into getting a job at the Xiao Dongyuan group of companies, I started at the bottom, worked very hard and I am now the a.s.sistant Head of Creative there."

Xuan Tianmei nodded at that with a smile. She had a genuine appreciation for people who start their businesses/jobs from the bottom and work their way to the top.

"He's very proud of his position too." Su Yang said.

"Actually, I'm not." Yun Peng said. "I'm glad I do have an important position, but I feel like I'm undervalued and should actually be the Head of Creative. Until I become that, I truly won't be happy with my position."

Xuan Tianmei nodded slowly. Unsure about why Su Yang seemed bitter about Yun Peng's job.

"Actually, he invented those gla.s.ses I used at the club to keep tabs on your brother. The ones you really liked." Su Yang said.

"All by yourself?" Xuan Tianmei asked.

Yun Peng nodded.

"Wow! They are really amazing."

Yun Peng snickered. "Head of Creative doesn't feel they're quite there yet. He's making me do more work on it. Add more features and all that c.r.a.p."

"Is he crazy? They're perfect."

"Actually, he's my boyfriend's puppet. Put in that position to keep me in check. And he's doing that job quite well."

"Oh!" Xuan Tianmei muttered with a small frown on her face. It sounded like Yun Peng was in a toxic relations.h.i.+p to her.

"Anyway, this is Lu Qihao." Su Yang pointed at Lu Qihao. "He got into the police force and is now a high-ranking police officer."

"Hi." Xuan Tianmei gave him a little wave again. He returned her wave.

"Lastly, this is Zhu Daniya. No one knows c.r.a.p about her. She has a black heart, a dark personality and never opens her mouth to speak unless it's absolutely necessary. Or to get somebody in trouble." Su Yang c.o.c.ked her head at Zhu Daniya who looked straight past her into s.p.a.ce.

Xuan Tianmei looked around to see if she could find whatever it was that had captured Zhu Daniya's attention. When she saw nothing but emptiness, a little bit of fear crept into her.

"To be fair," Lu Qihao cleared his throat to speak. "Su Yang always bullies Zhu Daniya.  So, it's possible she just doesn't have any restraint about putting Su Yang in trouble."

Xuan Tianmei smiled at Lu Qihao again. Her eyes wandered to Zhu Daniya again and she felt gooseb.u.mps on her skin. Zhu Daniya was still staring into s.p.a.ce. Xuan Tianmei moved a little closer to Su Yang.

Su Yang instantly got a shock from Xuan Tianmei sitting so close to her. She followed Xuan Tianmei's eyes and saw they were fixed on Zhu Daniya and immediately understood. Only then did she relax. "Well, tonight is the last night of the new year holidays." She said to Xuan Tianmei to pull her attention away from Zhu Daniya. "It's our tradition to meet on this night every year and just drink. Yun Peng and I always bring whiskey. Zhu Daniya brings red wine and Lu Qihao brings non-alcoholic wine."

Xuan Tianmei glanced at the empty table. "Where are they?"

Su Yang threw Lu Qihao a glance. He nodded and walked away.

Xuan Tianmei opened her mouth in surprise as she watched Lu Qihao crouch and disappear into the fireplace. She had only ever entered the apartment through the front door. The front door was a fairly normal door that led to a small, undecorated bedroom which only served as a decoy for possible visitors. The small bedroom had an attaching door that can only be opened by rearranging the bookcase right in front of it in chronological order. Xuan Tianmei had thought that was complex enough. But a fireplace that was a secret exit? She hadn't expected that by any measure. "Where's he going?" she muttered.

"The fireplace leads to our room in the Yangguang hotel. All of the drinks have been previously stored there." Yun Peng explained.

Xuan Tianmei nodded. She wasn't sure she was intelligent enough to know what Yun Peng had explained. She yawned and stood up, "I'll just go to bed then, I'm not really big on drinking."

Yun Peng smirked. "You know most of our secrets like you are one of us. Tonight, you will drink with us like you are one of us."

Xuan Tianmei looked at Su Yang with pleading eyes. Su Yang shrugged her shoulders and announced, "I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Xuan Tianmei looked from Yun Peng to Su Yang and finally to Zhu Daniya. She could see that none of these people were willing to help her. Reluctantly, she sat down and waited for the drinks to arrive.