Beep~beep~beep~beep~beep~ 

An irritating noise of the alarm woke Yixing up, as usual. Sleepily, he stretched his arm out to reach for that ringing alarm on the phone to shut it off. 

"Sigh," he let out a sigh and stared at the blank wall above him, painted in a mix of champagne gold and white. "Another day," he muttered to himself before groaning and rolled himself up in the duvet. If there is a choice for him, he'd much rather wrap himself up in the house, doing nothing but play endless video games and eat sweet snacks all day, only going out of the house just to get food. But, that wouldn't necessary since his housekeeper would have taken care of it anyway. 

His life is complete. Too complete. Way too complete. 

Being born into a rich conglomerate family meant that everything was taken care of for him. Money was not a worry for him. He has lived life freely and happily since he was a toddler, always surrounded by butlers and nannies. That was how he passed his childhood, teenage years and even to the late twenties. It took him a heated negotiation with his beloved mother that he wanted to move out of the family home and live by himself only on the condition that he takes over his father's position in the conglomerate business that the Zhang family is a part of. 

Zhang Yixing has always thought, "In life, you win some, you lose some." He traded to take up the work he dislikes for his own personal freedom. The freedom of doing whatever he wants in the house, taking care of himself, cooking for himself, learning how to fend for himself without the need of a butler taking care of whatever he does; such as squeezing out toothpaste for him before he brushes his teeth, wiping his hands with a damp towel before every meal - literally being pampered like a little prince. He tried to throw away all these and yet his mother insisted that he employs a housekeeper in his house or else she'd set up an arranged marriage for him. 

His mobile phone bleeped again, notifying that a message has landed in his inbox. 

[Luhan] Hey man. I hope you are ready for today. It's going to be intense. 

Yixing smiled at the phone screen. Luhan, his best friend as well as a colleague who also happened to be a family friend, is the one whose existense he is eternally grateful for. Being a fresh graduate out of business school, he didn't have a clue of how to run a family business, for his undergrad years were spent busking around the city for fun since his passion lies in music. If it wasn't for Luhan, who is slightly older and more focused than him, he wouldn't have graduated nor run his father's business without going bankrupt in a year. 

"Since you said so, I guess we're going to die today," Yixing muttered to himself and rolled out of bed. His morning routine consists of a morning shower, a change of clothes, eating the breakfast the housekeeper prepared before he woke up, picking up the keys to go to work, and last but not least picking up two cups of long black on his way to work; one for him and one for Luhan.

Yixing was lost in thought about the upcoming day as he showered. He smiled a little while he was pacing back and forth in his walk-in wardrobe, wondering why he even fusses to pick out a suit everyday even though all of the suits are black, neatly lined up on a rack. As a final touch, he put on his purple topaz tie clip and cufflinks, his signature office look. 

As he entered his office territory, everyone bowed to greet him, which is responded with the same gesture. Yixing is nortorious in the company as the polite young master alongside Luhan, for they are both well-behaved, treating everyone as the same with respect. This behaviour had won the two a lot of admirers within the organizational structure. 

"Dude, you look so spent with those dark circles reaching down your chin," Luhan surveyed his face and spoke with a concern, "what have you been doing?" Yixing chuckled and mumbled, "I've been just busy doing my own personal project." Luhan smiled meekly, "Another song, huh?" Yixing smiled and nodded, so as not to further the conversation beyond this point. 

The office day was hectic as usual; setting off to different parts of the city to meet with clients, signing different mergers, going into meetings even at lunchtime, going over little minute details before everything is confirmed. By the end of the day, it was already 8pm and Yixing is utterly tired, not to mention stressed, to the edge of sanity. He waved Luhan goodbye and headed back to his home; to live his second life. 

If there is a biggest secret that he and his father share, it's not about an adult video collection nor something trivial like what other boys of his age do. Behind the perfect conglomerate business face, his father held a darker secret. Together with the important top position at the company, being the CEO chair, his father also passed down the title of one of the triad leaders of an extensive network of mafia, the organization he leads while losing sleep.    

When he first learned that his father was one of the traiad leaders, his mouth fell apart. Never had he thought he would have to take over the position of a triad leader, considering that he could hardly bring himself to kill an ant with his own fingers. But, when his father assured that he would not have to kill a person nor hurt someone, unless his life is under a threat. The mafia gang was something his grandfather started with two of his friends, when the city was under the control of a team of corrupted government officials and police; squeezing out unfair taxes from the innocent merchants, who did trading. What they did was protect those merchants from corrupt officials when they try to collect extra tax. Since they had gained a huge following, the government officials had backed away and the mafia gang grew bigger. Nowadays, under a respectable government, the gang does hardly a thing but they kept the tradition alive by making sure all the people who do tradings at night are kept safe while also keeping the women who commute late at night safe from offenders. Yixing thought it was a silly idea to keep the tradition alive but he didn't complain for he gained a few of close friends through this act of kindness. 

"You're late!" a deep voice bellowed as he entered a dingy apartment. It was Kris Wu, one of the three triad leaders. Yixing laughed, "You still need to work on that accent of yours, man. It's still funny," earning him a glare from a taller male. Kris Wu was raised in Canada during his pubescent years, which led him to have a funny accent and awkward encounters with general public for he was kept away from the tradition. Kris walked over and took the jacket off Yixing, getting involved in a play-fight, with a patch of paper in his hand, while trying to stick that paper. Soon enough, the shorter male was held in a headlock and squealing for help, "Kris!!!!" he screeched, "Why???" 

"You need an image change, " Kris slapped a patch of paper on his neck and kept rubbing on it with pressure. "But why!!!!!" Yixing howled, "What is this thing? If you are doing some weird on him, Kris, I swear-" 

"It's just a stick-on tattoo, chill," a slightly high-pitched voice entered the scene. It was Huang Zitao, the last and youngest leader of the triad, who was looking the two older males getting involved in a play fight with a spiteful scorn on his face. "Seriously, guys, you two need to act your age."

Kris rolled his eyes, "says the dude with a teenage girl voice." Yixing broke into unstoppable laughter at his statement, while rubbing his pained neck. Kris continued, "you need the look for your street cred, like me." It was Yixing who rolled his eyes, "we are not even active on the streets, Kris. And Zitao doesn't even have a tattoo to start with!"

"I have the face," Zitao announced with a proud expression, "I have the face of an assassin." Kris pulled a face, "Zitao, please tone down your self-obsession. It can rub off people in a wrong way."

"Anyway!" Yixing continued, "just because you have tattoos on your chest and arms doesn't mean you need to put one on me. How am I going into work tomorrow?! I go to work you know?" Kris sniggered, amused at his friend's dramatic response, "Chill, Xing Xing. Take a tub of rubbing alcohol and it'll solve everything. And, FYI, I don't sit around during the day like a bum. My family owns a music record company. Does that ring any bell?"

Yixing sighed exasperatedly as he touched the fake tattoo on his neck. He looked into the mirror to see himself with a hand in the pocket, wearing a slightly wrinkled white shirt with rolled up sleeves, loosened tie, and the tattoo substantially peeking out from beneath the collar. 'Kris does a pretty good job at this. He has an eye for visual art,' but he decided to save the compliment for his conceited friend. 

"What are we doing today?" Yixing asked the two guys. "As usual," Kris replied casually, putting his feet up on the sofa, "Go over the reports. Check out a club. Grab something to eat at the place," glancing at Zitao with a meaningful look, " How does that sound?" 

"Radical," Zitao replied  with a mischievous grin, his eyes staring at the other leader. 

Yixing regretted having expressive eyes ever since Kris and Zitao found out about the girl he fancies. He met her while they were walking through the night market. She doesn't know him as the CEO Yixing but the leader of a do gooder gang. Her grandparents, whom are good friends of his father, operate a noodle store, which she now took over. Her lithe frame, pale porcelain skin, tender eyes that smile, bell-like voice, shy gestures, all managed to win Yixing's heart during the half hour that Yixing spent in her store, with the company of Kris and Zitao, who found out about it through his actions, unfortunately.

"Kris. Zitao. Yixing!" the girl greeted them cheerfully as the trio walked into the store. Quite a lot of people shy away from their path, which is a normal reaction they receive from the people who don't know them personally. Yixing guessed that their roughened appearance, especially Kris' tattoos shown through his sleevless t-shirts, Zitao's cold face gave off a vibe that they are up to no good. 

As Yixing ate his bowl of noodles, he shyly kept glancing at the girl who was busy trying to deal with a flurry of orders in a steamy noodle store, which is always busy. She hardly noticed him but whenever their eyes managed to meet, Yixing feels a delightful jump in his heart as the girl diverted her eyes away from him with a slight smile and a blush creeping across her face. He swears he'd never get tired of this scene. 

"Dude...your eyes are falling out," Kris joked as he happily slurped up the string of noodle. Yixing glared at him and aimed a kick underneath the table, causing the other guy to choke on his noodle while his eyes watered from pain. "Just ask her out already," Zitao added with an unimpressed face as he stirred the noodles with his chopsticks, with an uninterested face, like a child who lost his appetite. 

Yixing would love to ask her but there are so many things he has to consider before doing something rash, as he is a calculative person by nature, a natural born businessman as he has to watch before he leaps and thinks before he speaks on a daily basis. A part of him kept holding him back for he is a CEO of a company but met her through the disguise of a delinquent. "Someday..." Yixing spoke to the two guys in the end, "Someday." 

When Yixing got back from his nightly ritual, it was already 3am in the morning. "Perfect," he whispered in part desperation and part sarcasm, "I have 4 hours of slumber." As he sank into the mattress, the silhouette of the girl flashed across his closed eyes including her gentle smile, causing his lips to curve a little at the ends. He reached for his pillow and hugged it tightly, before he lets sleep take over his whole being completely. 

And the day restarts with the same pattern again, and again, and again.