EPISODE 10

Wang Yue felt utterly humiliated, but he didn’t dare say another word. Tonight, he knew he’d have to swallow his pride.

The bar manager was so terrified he barely dared to breathe. He had been standing there trembling for more than ten minutes. Finally, seeing that these young masters were wrapping things up, he signaled for the dance floor to start moving again.

"Why are you standing there?" he urged Xie Guilan in a low voice. "Go open a bottle for Cen Wu quickly."

Xie Guilan shot Cen Wu a look filled with mixed emotions. After a brief pause, he turned and left.

The smell of tobacco, alcohol, and blood filled the air, mingling with the overwhelming scent of perfume in the bar. The crowd swayed around Cen Wu, his face pale, as waves of nausea hit him. His back was drenched in cold sweat.

His dark, tousled hair fell across his face, his neck a stark, porcelain white. His icy expression hid any signs of distress, leaving others none the wiser.

"Stand up," Cen Wu said, raising his hand to point at the boy from earlier. "What's your name?"

The boy, who had been kneeling frozen in fear, shuddered violently at Cen Wu’s words.

A middle-aged man hurried over, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He bent down and handed Cen Wu his business card. "Second Young Master, this is Shen Qingjian. I... I'm his agent, Zhang Liao."

Zhang Liao wasn’t the kind of agent who pimped out his clients. After finally finding a promising talent, Wang Yue had taken him away. Now, his anger had burned out, leaving only worry for the rest of the night.

It was fine if Cen Wu wanted to confront Wang Yue, but Zhang Liao feared that once Cen Wu left, Wang Yue would take his anger out on the people under his company.

Cen Wu didn’t take the business card. Lowering his eyes, he said with implied meaning, "If you have any issues, call me."

Zhang Liao was stunned for a moment, his eyes instantly turning red. He hurriedly nodded. "Yes, yes, thank you, Second Young Master."

Though Zhang Liao didn’t have Cen Wu’s number, Chu Zijian was quick to act, swaggering over to send Cen Wu’s contact details to him.

"You should feel lucky to have the Second Young Master's number," Chu Zijian said with a sinister smile, squeezing Zhang Liao’s shoulder hard enough to make him flinch.

Cen Wu remained silent.

Cen Wu was the epitome of a true villain.

Wang Yue’s face, already flushed with rage, contorted even further. He was seething with anger and had planned to take it out on the young star once Cen Wu left.

But Cen Wu had meddled too much, even caring about the people in his company. Was he crazy?!

Cen Wu ignored Wang Yue. With his father being a director, he had grown up on film sets. There wasn’t anything about the entertainment industry that he didn’t know. Wang Yue’s thoughts were transparent to him.

Xie Guilan was quick with his task and had already opened the bottles and brought them over.

"I won't disturb Brother Yue anymore," Cen Wu said, already a little unsteady on his feet. He lightly rested his hand on Xie Guilan’s arm and slightly lifted his chin toward Wang Yue. "Please, go ahead."

The dance floor was crowded with people. Cen Wu’s back was drenched in cold sweat. He walked, supporting himself against the walls, trying to avoid the crowd, but after just a few steps, his calf suddenly gave out.

Xie Guilan instinctively reached out and caught him before he could fall. But before they could move away, they were pushed into a corner by the surging crowd.

Cen Wu half-leaned against Xie Guilan’s chest. Xie Guilan, being much taller, had his warm breath passing over Cen Wu’s cheek and neck. Cen Wu’s mind buzzed.

Instinctive fear and anxiety seized his breath.

Under the lights, Xie Guilan finally got a clear look at Cen Wu’s face. Cen Wu’s already pale skin looked even colder, his earlobes red as if dripping with blood, giving off a misty, beautiful aura. His long, thick eyelashes fluttered, as if they could stir up a flood of spring tides.

Cen Wu’s mind was in chaos. He was terribly afraid of human contact, and leaning against Xie Guilan made his breathing tremble.

With so many people on the dance floor, he tightly gripped Xie Guilan’s shirt, unable to control himself. He instinctively buried his head in Xie Guilan’s chest, seeking refuge from the chaos around him, only exposing a section of his snow-white neck.

"..."

He touched him again.

Xie Guilan lowered his eyes, frowning with some irritation. Chen Wu had touched him several times tonight. Those soft, pampered hands made his back muscles tense up uncomfortably.

In truth, he didn’t know why Chen Wu hated him so much, even more than Xie Shangjing’s murderous intent. But didn’t Chen Wu say just last night that seeing him made him sick? Why was he clinging to him now?

"Hey," Xie Guilan bowed his head, retracting the cold malice from his dark eyes, like a vicious dog pulling back its fangs.

He looked at Chen Wu’s pale face and trembling shoulders, asking, "Are you unwell? Should I take you home?"

They couldn’t continue with the business tonight. The manager told him to clock out early, without deducting his pay.

He didn’t want to care about Chen Wu’s wellbeing, but since it was at the bar where he worked, if something happened to Chen Wu, the Chen family wouldn’t let him off the hook. He couldn’t afford that trouble.

Chen Wu thought to himself, *Take me away; I hate being around gay men.*

Xie Guilan went to the locker room to change clothes and grab his things before sending Chen Wu home in a taxi.

It was already past eleven at night, and the rain hadn’t stopped. Xie Guilan hailed a taxi, and Chen Wu obediently got in, sitting with his legs pressed together, waiting for Xie Guilan to join him.

Xie Guilan leaned against the window, the neon lights fragmented by the rain casting shadows on his sharp, chiseled profile—his straight nose and deep-set eyes giving him an almost exotic allure.

Just one night had passed, but the bruises on his skin were still fresh, their purple and blue hues standing out against his pale complexion. Chen Wu clutched his backpack, his leg bouncing nervously, but he couldn’t stop staring at Xie Guilan.

"..."

Noticing Chen Wu’s cautious gaze, Xie Guilan’s thin lips pressed into a cold, expressionless line. A weird thought popped into his head. Could this guy actually have developed feelings for him?

From last night until now, he had been helping him and constantly touching his hand.

It wasn’t exactly 'liking'—more like how the male models Chen Wu called in were just toys for him to play with.

The absurd thought was tossed aside after just a second. After all, for the past ten years, Chen Wu had always hated him enough to want to kill him, and had never even added him on WeChat.

Chen Wu stared at Xie Guilan’s profile and suddenly remembered something from the original storyline. A similar event had happened, but not tonight. It had been half a month after Xie Guilan’s hand injury, and it wasn’t with Wang Yue, but with Wang Yue’s cousin, Wang Ling.

At that time, Xie Guilan’s right hand had been fractured, still in a splint. The manager had him do reception and guiding duties instead.

That’s when he offended Wang Ling.

Even though he won the fight, his hand was injured even more, and a lot of things were broken in the bar, including a bottle of wine worth hundreds of thousands. He was fired and asked to pay compensation.

Xie Guilan couldn’t afford it, so he had no choice but to go to an abandoned racetrack on the outskirts, where many rich second-generation kids gambled on car races. Xie Guilan almost broke his leg that rainy night and still owed several thousand.

Even his homeroom teacher couldn’t stand it anymore and went to Song Lingwei, who then asked Xie’s father for money.

Xie’s father gave the money, but raising his son had always been like raising a fighter in a pit. He enjoyed watching Xie Guilan and Xie Shangjing fight each other, so he told Xie Shangjing about it.

Xie Guilan had endured a long, painful fall before finally finding a way out.

Chen Wu suddenly felt relieved that he had mustered the courage to skip class tonight and come to the bar with Xie Guilan.

A car approached from the opposite direction, and Xie Guilan, annoyed by Chen Wu’s gaze, turned his head just as the headlights illuminated Chen Wu’s pale face. His eyes, like frightened little sparrows, darted away.

"I... I won’t bully you anymore," Chen Wu said, "I wanted to apologize..."

Xie Guilan wasn’t too concerned. Whatever Cen Wu wanted, he was willing to go along with it. It was better than dealing with Cen Wu causing trouble. He wasn’t scared, but it was a hassle—really inconvenient.

Xie Guilan kept a low profile, his eyes soft like a cold mist, and said, "It wasn't Young Master's fault to begin with."

Cen Wu: "..."

Cut the act, man.

The road was muddy from the rain, and it took over an hour to reach the Cen family’s estate. Xie Guilan walked him to the front gate and said, "Young Master, I'll be off now."

"You… where are you staying tonight?" Cen Wu asked hesitantly.

Xie Guilan guessed what Cen Wu was getting at—he was probably wondering what Xie Guilan would do if he ran into Xie Shangjing. He swallowed hard and said, "I'm not going home. I have a place to stay."

Cen Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

The Xie family’s place was far from the school and the hospital, and also far from the bar. He knew that Xie Guilan had rented a place so he wouldn’t miss school and could go to the hospital to take care of Song Lingwei.

"Uh, g-good night," Cen Wu said, then suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to Xie Guilan, "Wait!"

"Young Master, is there something else?" Xie Guilan stopped in his tracks.

Cen Wu suddenly realized he couldn’t follow Xie Guilan all the time. If something happened, he wouldn’t even know. It would be better to add Xie Guilan on a contact platform.

That way, Xie Guilan could message him if something came up.

Cen Wu gently pulled on Xie Guilan’s sleeve, his beautiful lashes wet and glistening, both nervous and eager, as if the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. He said to Xie Guilan, "Can... can we add each other on WeChat?"

Xie Guilan's face darkened.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***