Chapter Text
Of Things That Glitter and Bleed
Chapter 1
—
Translation Notes
-laoban: boss
Er-shao: Second Young Master
Beilang: Northern Wolf
—
Midnight turned the city from spreadsheets and business meetings into liquor glasses, cigarette smoke and velvet booths. Summer rain glazed the streets in neon reflections. The crowds hurrying home had long since thinned, leaving the district to patrons with money to spend and people willing to provide whatever pleasures money could buy.
The Sable Club was tucked up the top floor of an unremarkable building in the entertainment district. Those unfamiliar with it would likely walk past without a second glance. No flashy advertisements or hosts in glittering outfits beckoning customers inside, only the club’s name embossed discreetly in black and grey on the lobby directory beside a polished marble elevator.
Its clientele already knew where to find it.
Inside, the cork eased free from the wine bottle with a muted pop beneath Shen Zechuan’s practiced hand. One of the younger hosts beside him was speaking quietly about a difficult customer.
Shen Zechuan poured the wine into a crystal decanter without spilling a single drop. Deep red liquid curled along the glass as he left it to breathe, its colour catching against the dark sheen of his silk shirt.
“When Zhiwei finishes his break, ask him to entertain the guest instead. He handles him well,” Shen Zechuan said calmly.
The host immediately nodded.
Only then did Shen Zechuan finally lift his eyes toward the club floor. A faint crease rested between his brows.
The VIP lounge should be his next stop. Even without checking, he already knew which hosts were entertaining which clients there. It was routine to make an appearance at least once every evening. Important guests expected attention, even in a place as discreet as Sable.
Shen Zechuan already knew who was there tonight.
His voice carried easily even through the music, chatter and soft clink of crystal muffled by velvet booths and plush carpeting in the VIP lounge. Men like Xiao Chiye inevitably drew attention wherever they went.
The second son of the former triad leader of the Beilang Group. Though the mantle had since passed to the eldest son, Xiao Chiye still held enough influence that few people in the city dared overlook him.
He sat sprawled carelessly against one of the curved velvet booths, a crystal whiskey glass turning idly between his fingers. Around him lounged men dressed in dark tailored suits; some from Beilang, others business partners wealthy enough to overlook where certain profits originated from.
Cigarette smoke curled low beneath the amber lighting. One of the hosts leaned close to refill glasses while another laughed softly at something said further down the booth.
Xiao Chiye barely seemed to notice either of them.
His attention drifted instead toward the club floor beyond the tinted glass partition, watching as Shen Zechuan entered the lounge.
“You come here often enough these days,” one of the men beside him remarked with a laugh. “Yet I’ve never seen you take any of the hosts back.”
Another chimed in drunkenly, “What, our Er-Shao secretly keeping a wife somewhere?”
Laughter circled the booth.
Shen Zechuan paused beside a nearby table as one of the hosts leaned close to light cigarette for one of the men.
Xiao Chiye tipped the last of the whiskey against his tongue before setting the glass down.
“Men like me shouldn’t tie a woman down to this kind of life,” he said simply.
“Oh?” one of the businessmen grinned. “Then what about men?”
Another burst out laughing. “Forget it. Haven’t you noticed? Er-Shao doesn’t even look at the hosts.”
“Maybe he really isn’t into this sort of thing.”
More laughter followed.
Xiao Chiye merely leaned back against the velvet booth, expression unreadable beneath the amber light. Then, as though sensing Shen Zechuan’s presence nearby, his eyes lifted.
Straight toward him.
Their eyes met and held, perhaps a moment too long, before Shen Zechuan stepped toward the table with an effortless smile already settling onto his lips.
“How are you gentlemen enjoying yourselves tonight?” he asked smoothly. “Is there anything else Sable can provide for you?”
One of the businessmen immediately laughed. “Shen-laoban personally making rounds now? Looks like Second Master Xiao really is becoming one of your important clients.”
“All my clients are important,” Shen Zechuan replied easily.
Across the table, Xiao Chiye watched him over the rim of his whiskey glass, gaze steady enough to become irritating.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries and accepting the glass of whiskey one of the men insisted on pouring for him, Shen Zechuan finally excused himself, leaving the table once more to the care of the hosts.
The moment he disappeared beyond the tinted partition, one of Xiao Chiye’s business associates let out a low whistle.
“If I didn’t know he owned the place, he’d easily be my favourite host.”
The young host seated beside him immediately placed a hand to his chest in mock offence. “Sir, you wound me.”
Laughter broke out around the booth.
“Can you blame me?” the businessman scoffed. “Look at him. Pretty face, good manners, knows how to talk to people…”
“Beauties like that are dangerous beneath the surface. Men lose their minds around them,” another cut in.
Xiao Chiye remained leaning back against the velvet booth, slowly turning the whiskey glass between his fingers. His eyes lingered briefly on the direction Shen Zechuan had disappeared in.
“Then it’s their own fault for being stupid,” he said as if he was bored.
The hours passed beneath amber lighting and slow music.
New guests arrived while others disappeared upstairs behind closed private-room doors. Bottles were opened. Glasses refilled. Laughter drifted across velvet booths softened by cigarette smoke and expensive perfume.
Shen Zechuan returned to the quiet rhythm of managing the club. Yet irritation lingered faintly beneath his skin all night. Every now and then, his attention drifted instinctively toward the VIP lounge before he caught himself and looked away again.
Xiao Chiye was hardly the first wealthy man to develop a passing fascination with him. Men like him came and went often enough through Sable. Shen Zechuan had long since learned how to deal with such people.
Which only made his current distraction more irritating.
“Shen-laoban?”
Shen Zechuan blinked.
The bartender behind the counter was staring uncertainly at the wine bottle in Shen Zechuan’s hand. Only then did Shen Zechuan realize he had just poured wine into the decanter.
A faint silence followed.
It was a minor mistake but one he did not usually commit. Shen Zechuan frowned in annoyance.
All these weeks, Xiao Chiye had been nothing more than another customer. At least, that was what Shen Zechuan told himself.
Men like Xiao Chiye — arrogant, too used to power — were accustomed to getting what they wanted eventually. Shen Zechuan knew exactly what kind of look lingered in Xiao Chiye’s eyes whenever they met across the club floor.
Desire.
He understood desire well.
What Shen Zechuan did not understand was himself.
Why he noticed when Xiao Chiye failed to appear for several nights in a row.
Why his attention drifted instinctively toward the VIP lounge whenever the man was there.
Why a single look across a crowded room had begun unsettling his concentration enough to make careless mistakes.
Just ridiculous.
Months ago, Xiao Chiye had entered Sable insisting he was only there because a business associate enjoyed places like this. He had looked faintly unimpressed by the hosts drifting through the club, dismissive enough that Shen Zechuan had nearly forgotten about him afterward.
Then Xiao Chiye had returned the following week.
And the week after that.
Then eventually, almost every night.
Always around midnight.
Always staying until closing.
As though he had nowhere else in the city he preferred to be.
Yet he did not so much as touch or look at any of the hosts.
The answer was simple.
Xiao Chiye wanted him.
Men like these lost interest all the time once they obtained what they wanted. Shen Zechuan had seen it happen often enough through the years. Frankly, Shen Zechuan was beginning to find the man exhausting.
Shen Zechuan was perfectly comfortable with being desired. It was the space Xiao Chiye had begun occupying in his thoughts that unsettled him. He was certain Xiao Chiye would lose interest afterward and stop haunting his thoughts like some persistent illness.
If sleeping with Xiao Chiye would finally rid him of this increasingly irritating distraction, then so be it.
Now that Shen Zechuan had finally reached a decision, Xiao Chiye made acting on it easy. The man was still there when Sable neared closing.
Guests filtered out into the thinning night while staff began quiet cleanup around the club floor. Music died down and the lights brightened for cleaning.
Yet Xiao Chiye remained exactly where he had been for the last several hours, one arm slung across the back of the velvet booth, his companions gone, nursing the whiskey in his glass. As if he was waiting for someone.
Shen Zechuan found the sight deeply irritating. He exhaled slowly through his nose as he swept his long hair behind his shoulder. He crossed the club floor without hesitation.
Xiao Chiye noticed him immediately. Even seated lazily in the plush booth, there was still something predator-like about the way his attention sharpened whenever his eyes focused on Shen Zechuan.
“Shen-laoban,” Xiao Chiye drawled. “Coming to throw me out personally?”
Shen Zechuan stopped directly before him.
“The club is closing.”
“Mm.” Xiao Chiye tilted his head slightly, gaze lingering on Shen Zechuan’s face. “Then I suppose I should leave.” But he made no move to stand. That steady gaze settled over Shen Zechuan again.
Something in Shen Zechuan’s chest tightened. If Xiao Chiye wanted him that badly, Shen Zechuan would simply give him what he wanted and end this ridiculous tension once and for all.
Xiao Chiye barely had time to react before Shen Zechuan caught him by the front of his shirt and dragged him into the private VIP washroom.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Shen Zechuan pushed him hard against the marble wall, glaring up at him as though personally offended by his continued existence. At the same time, his hand reached behind himself and locked the door smoothly without even looking.
A breath escaped Xiao Chiye as his back struck the wall.
Then he laughed, absolutely amused. “Shen-laoban,” he murmured. “I never took you for someone who liked quickies in club toilets.”
Shen Zechuan’s glare sharpened immediately.
Xiao Chiye suspected that if Shen Zechuan happened to be carrying a knife tonight, he might genuinely have used it already. The thought only made him want to laugh more.
“Do you ever shut up?” His fingers remained fisted tightly in Xiao Chiye’s shirt. They were close enough now for Xiao Chiye to feel the heat beneath the silk stretched across Shen Zechuan’s chest.
It struck Xiao Chiye suddenly that Shen Zechuan looked less like someone seducing a man and more like someone moments away from murdering one. Xiao Chiye found that unbearably attractive.
More than that, beneath the irritation and cold fury in Shen Zechuan’s eyes, there was something else tonight — the perfect composure and control fraying at the edges.
“So,” Xiao Chiye voiced, gaze dropping briefly to Shen Zechuan’s hand twisted so tightly in his shirt, it might actually rip, “what exactly are you trying to do here, Shen-laoban?”
It had seemed very straightforward in Shen Zechuan’s mind moments earlier. But proceeding with the actions seemed not as simple.
Xiao Chiye, unfortunately, noticed immediately. A slow smile tugged at his mouth.
“Shen-laoban,” he murmured, voice lower now, “you dragged me in here looking ready to kill me. Don’t tell me you’re getting shy now.”
Xiao Chiye’s eyes flicked briefly over his face before something softer entered his expression. Then one hand slid around Shen Zechuan’s waist. He drew their bodies closer together with unhurried ease, as though silently offering: here. Let me help you with the rest.
The sudden closeness made Shen Zechuan’s breath catch despite himself.
When their lips mashed against one another's in more a collision than a kiss, Shen Zechuan found it easier. Xiao Chiye tasted exactly the way Shen Zechuan had imagined, though he would rather die than admit he had imagined it at all: whiskey beneath traces of tobacco smoke and something warmer underneath, something distinctly him.
The hand at Shen Zechuan’s waist tightened, pulling their bodies flush together hard enough to force a sharp breath from Shen Zechuan’s chest. His tongue slid against Shen Zechuan’s as if demanding it to come out and play.
Annoyed, Shen Zechuan bit down sharply on it
Xiao Chiye only laughed softly against his mouth before kissing him harder.
The sound vibrated straight through Shen Zechuan’s chest.
Their mouths met again almost violently after that, all tongue and teeth and heated sparring. When they finally broke apart for air, Shen Zechuan shoved Xiao Chiye harder against the marble wall.
The hand gripping Shen Zechuan’s waist refused to loosen, palm damp now beneath the silk of his shirt.
“So rough tonight,” Xiao Chiye commented, dragging his tongue against his upper teeth, tasting the faint coppery trace of blood where Shen Zechuan had bitten moments earlier.
Shen Zechuan had grown thoroughly tired of Xiao Chiye’s voice by now. He caught the front of the man’s shirt instead, slender fingers curled sharply into the fabric before yanking him forward hard enough to pull several buttons loose.
“Isn’t this what men like you come here for?” Shen Zechuan said, trying to smoothen out his breathing.
His fingers remained twisted tightly in Xiao Chiye’s ruined shirt. “You’ve spent enough money at Sable already.” A faint, mocking smile touched his mouth. “I can at least make it worth your while.”
Silence followed.
The amusement faded from Xiao Chiye’s face slowly.
Shen Zechuan felt the shift immediately.
A faint tension appeared along Xiao Chiye’s jaw as he looked down at him, eyes darkening beneath the light.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Xiao Chiye’s gaze flicked briefly over Shen Zechuan’s face: the uneven breathing, the flushed skin, the stubborn defiance still lingering in his eyes.
Fine.
If this was the only thing Shen Zechuan was willing to give him tonight, Xiao Chiye would take it.
But Shen Zechuan was a fool if he thought this was all Xiao Chiye wanted from him.
The next instant, Xiao Chiye caught him by the waist and turned him around hard enough for Shen Zechuan’s front to hit the marble wall. Cool stone pressed against his palms before Xiao Chiye stepped in behind him, chest solid against Shen Zechuan’s back.
Xiao Chiye’s hand remained firm at his waist now, fingers digging slightly into the silk gathered beneath his palm.
“You say very unpleasant things sometimes, Shen-laoban.” The gangster’s voice was hot against the shell of his ear. His voice had gone quieter than before.
Shen Zechuan only turned his head slightly, gaze still cold despite the heat climbing slowly from where Xiao Chiye pressed up against him.
“Then stop talking,” Shen Zechuan, tilting his head enough for Xiao Chiye to catch the challenge in his eyes. “And take what you want.”
Xiao Chiye did not answer with words.
One hand yanked Shen Zechuan’s silk shirt free from his trousers while the other locked hard around his waist, fingers digging into heated skin as he pinned Shen Zechuan flush against the marble. His mouth ravaged the side of Shen Zechuan’s neck.
Shen Zechuan had never been an overly vocal man during sex. Even now, pinned hard between cold marble and Xiao Chiye’s body, he kept most of his reactions caged stubbornly behind clenched teeth and narrowed eyes. But a broken cry escaped his lips when Xiao Chiye bit down on him and sucked hard enough to leave an immediate purple mark on the skin.
All the while, Shen Zechuan remained acutely aware of the hardness pressed firmly against him through layers of fabric, making his breath come in uneven hitches. When Xiao Chiye touched him, he was already hard and he arched shamelessly against his hand.
Silk and cotton were stripped away in impatient motions, discarded carelessly across the shiny tiled floor. Xiao Chiye kept one hand stroking Shen Zechuan while his other hand tilted Shen Zechuan’s chin just enough to catch the corner of his mouth in another rough kiss.
Shen Zechuan could feel the smooth heat of Xiao Chiye’s cock sliding between his thighs. A faint sound escaped him when Xiao Chiye rolled his hips against him deliberately.
For one dangerous moment, Shen Zechuan genuinely thought Xiao Chiye might simply take him like this. The realization cut sharply through the haze clouding his thoughts.
“…Left drawer beneath the sink,” he said abruptly, panting slightly.
Xiao Chiye paused only briefly before a low laugh brushed against Shen Zechuan’s earlobe. “Good,” he whispered.
With Xiao Chiye momentarily stepping away from him, Shen Zechuan suddenly became aware of his own nakedness. He did not turn around but stood facing the wall. A moment later, Xiao Chiye’s heated body pressed close against his back again.
Shen Zechuan bit down hard against his lower lip to stifle any sound as Xiao Chiye pushed a lube-covered finger into him. His fingers curled against the marble as another slid in. Much as Shen Zechuan was expecting a quick fuck to get things over with, the other man appeared adamant in drawing this part out.
Xiao Chiye drove his fingers, two then three at a time, into him again and again, each time hitting against that spot inside him until Shen Zechuan’s thighs were quivering and quiet whimpers began slipping from between his lips.
Drops of lube dripped onto the floor when he finally removed his fingers, entirely too pleased at the sounds he had coaxed out from Shen Zechuan.
Holding the condom packet between his teeth, Xiao Chiye tore it open one-handed.
Shen Zechuan’s breathing had become completely uneven by now. He braced one hand weakly against the marble wall as the trembling in his legs finally gave way slightly beneath him, body slumping forward for a brief moment.
Xiao Chiye caught him immediately by the waist before he could hit the wall properly, hauling him firmly back against his chest.
“Careful,” Xiao Chiye warned near his ear.
Shen Zechuan wasn’t sure if it was his voice or the hard cock nudging against him that sent a rush of heat through his body. Despite the softness in that voice, there was nothing gentle about the way Xiao Chiye plunged into him.
By now, Shen Zechuan had stopped pretending he could control the sounds slipping from his throat. He tried to support himself against the marble wall, only for Xiao Chiye to catch him firmly by the arms instead, fingers locking around his elbows hard enough to keep him exactly where he wanted him.
Xiao Chiye studied the way those long black locks of hair bounced against the porcelain skin of Shen Zechuan’s back as he drove into his body. He lowered his head against the side of his neck, his own breath hot against the fragrant skin which now had a sheen of sweat. His tongue darted out, licking a line towards the other man’s ear.
“So this,” Xiao Chiye murmured huskily near Shen Zechuan’s ear, “is what Shen-laoban sounds like when he moans.”
Tears wet the corners of Shen Zechuan’s eyes before he even realized it. No retort came this time.
Xiao Chiye’s grip on him was too firm to struggle against properly, fingers gripped around his arms with iron strength while Shen Zechuan could only hold himself as best he could against the overwhelming sensations crashing through him.
Each forceful thrust sent another helpless sound catching in his throat despite all his earlier determination to remain composed.
The bastard seemed to enjoy this far too much.
Shen Zechuan heard Xiao Chiye laugh softly again against the side of his neck before a kiss was pressed briefly against the bruised skin there, strangely gentle in contrast to everything else about tonight. With the intensity of his thrusts, he thought the man would finish soon.
But instead he impaled him right up to the hilt and paused. Lips grazing the round of one shoulder, Xiao Chiye mouthed, “Shen-laoban doesn't do this with all his VIP customers.”
Although it hadn't been a question, Shen Zechuan retorted breathlessly anyway. “How…would you know?”
“I know.”
That smug certainty infuriated Shen Zechuan but any coherent thoughts dissolved as quickly as they came. Xiao Chiye finally released his hold on Shen Zechuan’s arms, only for the warm hand to slide round the front.
Callused fingers wrapped around the base of his cock while the thumb caressed up the side of the hard length. An involuntary shiver wracked through Shen Zechuan’s body when Xiao Chiye pressed against the tip.
“You’re weeping here too,” Xiao Chiye pointed out as he spread the glistening liquid back and forth across the slit of Shen Zechuan’s cock.
Shen Zechuan was flushed red from his neck to the corners of his eyes. “Shut…up.”
Every time he rocked into Xiao Chiye’s hand, the other man would press closer from behind, grinding into him mercilessly. The excess lube had trickled out of him and made a sticky mess between them as their skin slapped against each other.
It seemed Xiao Chiye would not be satisfied until he had left marks all over Shen Zechuan’s neck and shoulders. He caught Shen Zechuan’s earlobe between his lips and sucked hard enough to make the other man tremble in his arms.
“Are you close?” he asked breathily, hips jerking forward again as he tightened his hold around Shen Zechuan’s waist. He nuzzled at the soft flesh just behind his ear with the tip of his nose before he pressed another kiss to the pale curve of his nape.
“…I am,” he admitted hoarsely.
The combination of everything at once finally became too much.
Xiao Chiye’s fingers around him, the throbbing heat filling him, the rough breaths against the side of his neck, all of it blurred together until Shen Zechuan could no longer separate one sensation from another.
Another low murmur brushed against his ear, followed by the caress of Xiao Chiye’s mouth against his bruised skin.
Shen Zechuan broke apart with a strangled sound, body trembling helplessly in Xiao Chiye’s arms as pleasure rushed violently through him and he spilled into his hands.
Xiao Chiye held him tightly through all of it, breathing unevenly with his face buried in the curve between Shen Zechuan’s porcelain neck and shoulder as the tight heat clenching around his cock finally pushed him over the edge too.
A guttural sound escaped him as he came.
For several long seconds afterward, Shen Zechuan could do nothing except breathe. His entire body still trembled faintly beneath the aftermath while Xiao Chiye’s warmth remained pressed against his back. Damp black hair clung messily against the flushed skin, marked now in dark bruises so far up his neck that he would need to wear a poloneck tomorrow to hide them.
Shen Zechuan let his forehead rest briefly against the cool marble wall, eyes still half-lidded from exhaustion.
At least it was finally over.
Shen Zechuan had barely managed to steady his breathing when he heard the drawer behind him slide open again.
A soft rustle followed.
Still breathing unevenly, Shen Zechuan turned his head slightly to find Xiao Chiye rummaging through the drawer once more while foil packets scattered carelessly onto the tiled floor around his feet along with the used condom.
“…What are you doing?” Shen Zechuan asked hoarsely.
Xiao Chiye glanced up briefly. “You’re not thinking I’m done already, are you?” He grinned as he rolled another condom over himself.
Shen Zechuan barely had time to glare at him before Xiao Chiye hauled him upright from where he had nearly slid down against the wall moments earlier. Those strong arms lifted him easily, forcing Shen Zechuan’s legs to hook around his waist. Suddenly deprived of the wall at his back, Shen Zechuan found himself with nowhere to brace except against Xiao Chiye’s solid chest and shoulders.
Then Xiao Chiye kissed him again.
Hard.
It felt as though Shen Zechuan had unleashed a storm on a summer night. One that refused to die down. Shen Zechuan kissed him back with equal ferocity, no longer caring whether their lips would end up bruised and swollen by morning.
If Xiao Chiye wanted to devour him tonight, then Shen Zechuan would let him.
Only this once.
—
To be continued
Author’s Notes: I’m finally back to writing again 😭
Thank you so much for reading my first QJJ/Cezhou fanfic! I’ve been completely obsessed with these two lately and could not stop thinking about what they would be like in a modern setting and my brain brewed this fanfic. How do I put it...it does have a plot - a plot told through sex😅
Please do leave me some kudos/comments*begs*
Thank you again for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 2! 🖤
Chapter 2: ‘Only this once’ turned out not to be only once as their passion spirals dangerously out of control.