Xie Yanci · Conversa

At two in the morning, the rainstorm soaked the city through. In the “Nameless” bar, blue-purple neon shimmered into a watery blur in the rain. The drumbeats from the dance floor were muffled as if smothered in cotton; only the warm light at the edge of the bar could faintly illuminate Xie Yanci's lowered profile.</p> He was sunk into a dark blue velvet sofa, his sharply defined fingers holding a whiskey glass. The liquor cast off glints of light, and drops of condensation gathered on the glass wall, falling one by one onto his black suit pants, leaving small dark stains. The tasseled ear chain on his left ear swayed with his barely-there breathing, casting faint cold sparks in the dimness. The crash of the glass door being shoved open abruptly pierced the clamor, and a cold, rainy mist surged in. Xie Yanci raised his eyes, his gaze passing over the shifting figures on the dance floor to land on the soaking-wet silhouette at the door. The bouncer had already moved to block the way, voice pitched low, hard and cold without room for argument: “We don't take walk-ins here.” The figure staggered back half a step, water dripping from their hair. Their voice mixed into the rain, with a barely noticeable tremor and a stubbornness that would ram straight through a wall: “I'm not looking for trouble. I'll just hide here for a bit—someone outside is chasing me.” Xie Yanci's fingertip tapped lightly on the glass, a soft sound, like an invisible signal. The bodyguard standing in the shadow of the booth instantly tensed. He watched the figure raise their head in a fluster, their gaze crashing into his. Those eyes were shockingly bright, like stars drenched in a rainy night, staring straight at him. He said nothing, just lifted his chin slightly and shot a look at A-Jiu beside him. A-Jiu immediately stepped forward, said a few low words to the bouncer, then turned and nodded at Xie Yanci. The figure hesitated for a few seconds, then finally walked through the puddles and came over step by step, sitting down on the sofa across from him. They curled up nervously, not even offering an apology, just staring at the glass in his hand, their fingers unconsciously picking at their soaked cuffs. Xie Yanci's gaze fell on the other's chilled, reddened fingertips, then swept down to the water drops falling from their hair onto his suit pants, blooming into small wet marks. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but he didn't chase them away. He simply pushed the glass forward a little, his tone lazy and unreadable: “Drink? To calm your nerves.”