"Nah, he's no idea." Xue Yang knew denial when he saw it and he had a feeling that Chenglei was in denial about a lot of things. He wondered when it'd hit him. He hoped he'd cry.
Chenglei had no idea what they were talking about, but he glared half-heartedly anyway, then looked at Yihao and shrugged. "If I'm suddenly some rich gangster, I might as well make sure you're all right. Probably safer away from me though."
Just... Logically speaking. "Like in some weird movie."
"I don't know if I can change where I am. I belong here and I'm okay with it. You should focus on you. Seems like there's a lot here that's going on." Yihao looked awkward over at Meng Yao and Xue Yang, unsure how things changed so rapidly. He went from a cute not-date to this mess. He was losing Chenglei and he didn't care about whatever else came of it - he wouldn't get to see him.
"I need to visit your family." Meng Yao stated simply, looking at Chenglei and waiting for his focus to come back from his little boyfriend. "I'll drive you home. My car is out back."
"Great." Chenglei got up, letting go of Yihao's hand. Yes, pretending to not care about anything was definitely better. "My parents will be thrilled." Ugh. He was not thrilled with them, he knew that much. Couldn't they have prepared him in some way instead of just messing him up this much?
"Yao, should I take home the boyfriend or am I coming with you?" Xue Yang was happy either way, he just wanted to know. "Is the boyfriend under protection or something?"
"If he is then yes, I suppose you take the boy home. Do you live far from here or...?" Meng Yao just wanted to know how long it would take before he could have Xue Yang back. Yihao nodded slowly and played with his sweater, admittedly not thrilled to be in a car with Xue Yang but he had no idea what was going on - Chenglei looked so hurt, he didn't know how to make it better for him.
"I-I can go home al--"
"No, it's fine. Yang, take him home. Be careful with him. No funny business." Meng Yao got up and looked at Chenglei. "He will be fine. Promise."
"...call or text me when you get home all right, Yihao. Yeah?" He waited for Yihao to confirm, then just glared at Xue Yang as effectively as he could. That seemed gangster-like. Of course, Xue Yang just smiled and even put an arm across Yihao's shoulder, already asking him whether he wanted to get take-out at some drive-through.
Well, whatever. That left him with Meng Yao. Who, while less scary, also seemed like way less fun. "So, what's the deal? You have to do whatever I say? Is that what the young master stuff is all about?"
"Yes, I do." Meng Yao sighed as he led Chenglei along, fishing out his car keys as he walked next to the younger boy. "I'm in service to your grandfather right now but I bounce around certain families depending on where and when they need me. There is no one ruling family, usually there are families within one group and that group will share assets." And Meng Yao was an asset, much like Xue Yang. They did things for people and when they had run out of use, they were swapped over.
"I just finished teaching the Nie heir how to exist by himself and I got the recommendation for this job." A great regret he would forever have - he hated working with teenagers.
"All right. Gotcha." It was like in a video game. He had a mobile game that worked similarly, but that was about ants and he decided to keep that thought to himself. "I'm all right at existing. I don't think I'll need that much help with that."
Although, he supposed it was different. Existing as an heir to something like that. Yeah, honestly, he had no idea how to go about that. He still couldn't fully understand it. "So... You are like a babysitter for gang boss heirs? Or a tutor? Huh." What a weird job. "What does the other guy do?"
"No, not officially. I do ... anything. I tutor, I do the finances, I organise events, I handle the paperwork and the clerical issues, I -- I clean up sometimes." Meng Yao was not in a good position but he had proved himself worthy of some more difficult duties. He bounced between Nie Mingjue's high expectations and his father's pathetically low ones. "Xue Yang is an assassin, hit man, body guard and whatever else. Mostly he's here because he wanted train snacks."
Xue Yang was a lot more than what he was too but Meng Yao kept that to himself.
"...I didn't know there was a difference between assassin and hit man." And he had never considered either of those outside of manga and movies, but here he was. This still seemed like someone was setting him up, but who would bother? He was a loser nobody.
Or he had thought he was, anyway. Apparently not. "So. What do I have to do? I mean-- I don't know, what does someone like me do? Heir." This was so weird. "What does my grandfather expect? Because I'm not dyeing my hair black. I like it this way."
"A hitman is a subcategory of the 'genus' Assassin. A hitman is a contract killer, generally in relation to organised crime. They are usually part of the family and so, it's not a contract. Nothing we do is contracted with Xue Yang, he's loyal to us. However, assassins are killers-for-hire, who handle contracts in a freelance capacity. And he is open to that on occasion and can be outsourced." Meng Yao clarified, giving the boy his first lesson in mafia business. It was always important to know who could do what. "Essentially, a hitman is part of your family, an assassin is an outsider."
As they entered the parking garage, Meng Yao pulled out the keys to his rental and searched out his car in the dim light. "I don't think your hair will bother him. I think all you need to focus on is understanding how it all works. You're a teenager and you're not the weirdest heir I've met. Or the most outlandish. There's one I know who keeps bunny as a hobby and the other, he dresses like he's stuck in the 1970's punk era."
"Huh." He did kind of remember a bunny. Or did he? Chenglei felt as if he did, but maybe that was just a cute thing to think about. He followed behind Meng Yao, trying to wrap his mind around all of that. "So-- People actually get killed."
Wild, that. But if there was enough killing to justify two different categories for it, he assumed that was a lot of killing. And that guy was currently with Yihao. Great, just great. But then, he had ordered Yihao to be protected, so hopefully that'd be enough. "So. Do I have to do-- gangster things?" What even were those?
"Maybe on the lower levels but less so these days. It's more about illegal goods and trafficking items around the world and less about street fights and turf wars. Most of the gangsters have peace now and want to keep it as it is, there's strong ties built between the heirs to try and keep that. Everyone has an industry and that is how to best keep things moving and avoid too much rivalry." Of course it was still there and there was a coup every now and again, maybe some fights but mostly, business was settled with words and money, not fights.
"We mostly specialise in drugs and weapons, it's all one big trading system. I can show you how it works, I have the spreadsheet." Yes, spreadsheets. Crime could be super dull.
"Damn. Fighting is the one thing I'm good at." Although probably not on a gangster level, he was guessing. Enough to be feared at school, which had been enough so far. Now there were spreadsheets. That sounded a lot less exciting. "So. There's other families. Like the Nie, you mentioned those." He remembered.
"What do they all focus on? Are there any--" How did he even ask this? "--I mean. Whores."
"Why? Do you want one? If so, you want the Jin family. My family. I can show you where the best brothels are if that's what you're interested in but I know how to find women more than men so forgive me, I'll have to ask around." Well, that was his assumption, based on the way he asked and the build up. Meng Yao smiled and unlocked the car, letting the boy get in before he slid in himself. He did up his seat belt and looked over at Chenglei.
"Everyone has a different focus. Depends on what people are good at. Like your grandfather loves weapon smuggling, he always had a knack for it. The Nie's prefer more subtle crimes, usually blackmail and white collar crime. The Jin family... well, my father does love his whore." Meng Yao smiled bitterly at that and started up the car.
"No! It's more-- That's pretty bad. Trafficking." Why that bothered him more than murder, he hadn't really figured out yet, but either way, his cheeks were heated and he felt as if he was going to burn up from embarrassment, so he put the seatbelt on while muttering under his breath. "Women would be fine."
Not that he wanted any whores! Ugh, this was the worst. "Do I have any money?"
"I'm not judging you, liking men is fine. I know I lean more towards men than women." Especially since he went on a date with his sister once and it still stayed with him to this day. Never again. He didn't want to even think about her. "Trafficking is... complicated. Some think it's fine, some don't and it's quite the hotly debated issue." Good money, bad morals.
Very dodgy subject. He doubted the boy could handle it. "You have money, yes. It's a trust fund so you can't access it without your guardians. Though your grandfather wants to appoint you a guardian."
"...would that be you?" Because, so far? Kind of a mixed bag, as far as his opinion on Meng Yao was concerned. He was positive the guy didn't like him and he assumed he wanted to kill him? Maybe he had watched too many gangster movies, but he definitely didn't trust the guy. "I just-- I dunno, my parents have debts and all."
So he supposed he should help with that. Even if they had screwed him over. "I've got a part-time job, but that doesn't make a lot."
Huh. "I guess heirs don't usually have part-time jobs?"
"I don't know." Meng Yao had no idea what the old man was plotting but he had hinted and Meng Yao was feeling very uneasy. He didn't want to. On top of not wanting to be around kids, he also had the issue of power and how it made him change. He didn't want to lose himself, he was fighting every day to not do that. "You can pay off your parents debts if you really want to but you may have to negotiate that with your guardian, whoever it ends up being. I'm sure he will chose well."
He smiled at Chenglei, actually quite amused by the idea.
"No, it's not common. It's probably good for you though." Maybe he could teach those brats what the real world was like.
"Mostly it's a great way to get screwed over." At least in Chenglei's humble experience, although he could imagine that at least in this, Meng Yao might have similar experiences. He just figured bosses were usually all the same, had been true everywhere he lived so far.
For a while, he stayed silent, looking out the window and not even questioning how Meng Yao knew where he lived. Of course. Pervert stalker. At least he hadn't been paranoid, he'd been right. "Why did I stop living there? You said I was there until I was four."
"I don't know. I wasn't around. I wasn't involved in the gang world back then, not properly. I wasn't told the whole story but perhaps someone else could shed some light. I can point you in the right direction. Or, of course, you could ask your parents." All better options than Meng Yao. The kid was around 17 now so that was a long time ago, before he was even old enough to understand why he was excluded from that world.
Meng Yao knew as much as Chenglei. "I know some things but I don't want to confuse you." He didn't want to be accused of lying either. "Soon, I'm sure, all will become clear."
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Chenglei had no idea what they were talking about, but he glared half-heartedly anyway, then looked at Yihao and shrugged. "If I'm suddenly some rich gangster, I might as well make sure you're all right. Probably safer away from me though."
Just... Logically speaking. "Like in some weird movie."
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"I need to visit your family." Meng Yao stated simply, looking at Chenglei and waiting for his focus to come back from his little boyfriend. "I'll drive you home. My car is out back."
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"Yao, should I take home the boyfriend or am I coming with you?" Xue Yang was happy either way, he just wanted to know. "Is the boyfriend under protection or something?"
"Yes. Yes, he is!" There, he could order that.
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"I-I can go home al--"
"No, it's fine. Yang, take him home. Be careful with him. No funny business." Meng Yao got up and looked at Chenglei. "He will be fine. Promise."
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Well, whatever. That left him with Meng Yao. Who, while less scary, also seemed like way less fun. "So, what's the deal? You have to do whatever I say? Is that what the young master stuff is all about?"
Better than him being a pervert, he supposed.
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"I just finished teaching the Nie heir how to exist by himself and I got the recommendation for this job." A great regret he would forever have - he hated working with teenagers.
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Although, he supposed it was different. Existing as an heir to something like that. Yeah, honestly, he had no idea how to go about that. He still couldn't fully understand it. "So... You are like a babysitter for gang boss heirs? Or a tutor? Huh." What a weird job. "What does the other guy do?"
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Xue Yang was a lot more than what he was too but Meng Yao kept that to himself.
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Or he had thought he was, anyway. Apparently not. "So. What do I have to do? I mean-- I don't know, what does someone like me do? Heir." This was so weird. "What does my grandfather expect? Because I'm not dyeing my hair black. I like it this way."
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As they entered the parking garage, Meng Yao pulled out the keys to his rental and searched out his car in the dim light. "I don't think your hair will bother him. I think all you need to focus on is understanding how it all works. You're a teenager and you're not the weirdest heir I've met. Or the most outlandish. There's one I know who keeps bunny as a hobby and the other, he dresses like he's stuck in the 1970's punk era."
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Wild, that. But if there was enough killing to justify two different categories for it, he assumed that was a lot of killing. And that guy was currently with Yihao. Great, just great. But then, he had ordered Yihao to be protected, so hopefully that'd be enough. "So. Do I have to do-- gangster things?" What even were those?
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"We mostly specialise in drugs and weapons, it's all one big trading system. I can show you how it works, I have the spreadsheet." Yes, spreadsheets. Crime could be super dull.
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"What do they all focus on? Are there any--" How did he even ask this? "--I mean. Whores."
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"Everyone has a different focus. Depends on what people are good at. Like your grandfather loves weapon smuggling, he always had a knack for it. The Nie's prefer more subtle crimes, usually blackmail and white collar crime. The Jin family... well, my father does love his whore." Meng Yao smiled bitterly at that and started up the car.
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Not that he wanted any whores! Ugh, this was the worst. "Do I have any money?"
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Very dodgy subject. He doubted the boy could handle it. "You have money, yes. It's a trust fund so you can't access it without your guardians. Though your grandfather wants to appoint you a guardian."
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So he supposed he should help with that. Even if they had screwed him over. "I've got a part-time job, but that doesn't make a lot."
Huh. "I guess heirs don't usually have part-time jobs?"
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He smiled at Chenglei, actually quite amused by the idea.
"No, it's not common. It's probably good for you though." Maybe he could teach those brats what the real world was like.
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For a while, he stayed silent, looking out the window and not even questioning how Meng Yao knew where he lived. Of course. Pervert stalker. At least he hadn't been paranoid, he'd been right. "Why did I stop living there? You said I was there until I was four."
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Meng Yao knew as much as Chenglei. "I know some things but I don't want to confuse you." He didn't want to be accused of lying either. "Soon, I'm sure, all will become clear."