EPISODE 11

At the sight of Xie Guilan's cold expression, Cen Wu's whole body trembled. Not agreeing was one thing, but why did he have to get mad?

Xie Guilan lowered his eyes, his voice slightly cold. "I'm sorry, Young Master, I don't have WeChat."

Cen Wu: ... Who are you kidding?

Cen Wu wasn't entirely sure. Xie Guilan's phone was indeed quite old. Song Lingwei had been in the hospital for a long time, and it was lonely and boring. Whenever Xie Guilan got a new phone, he’d always give it to her first.

Once Song Lingwei had used it until it was nearly broken, Xie Guilan would take it over and continue using it. It could really be that old.

Cen Wu nodded and didn’t press the issue. He waved at Xie Guilan and turned to go home.

Xie Guilan barely glanced at him, then ignored him. The click of his lighter cut through the damp, rainy night. He lit a cigarette, raised the umbrella, and walked toward the school.

A few minutes later, his phone screen suddenly lit up with a friend request.

Cen Wu felt like Xie Guilan was underestimating him. He had the entire 3-million-word novel memorized. He already knew Xie Guilan's phone number by heart.

He had even tried calling it before, but it definitely wouldn't go through. This time, however, he lay on the bed and entered the number again, finding a black profile picture.

Xie Guilan frowned. The applicant's name was "Wu Wu Wu," and the profile picture was a little cat emoji.

I want to scream.jpg

The message only said, "You lied to me."

Xie Guilan: ... Who are you acting cute for?

Xie Guilan's eyes were cold and indifferent. He would never allow himself to become someone's plaything, nor did he want to get involved with Cen Wu. But with Cen Wu being so persistent, he didn’t have the right to refuse right now.

Cen Wu buried half his face in the pillow, leaving only a small patch of pale cheek visible.

["-" has accepted your friend request. You can start chatting now.]

"Cen Wu: Goodnight."

Xie Guilan ignored him.

Cen Wu continued and sent a lying-down cat covered with a blanket emoji.

"Cen Wu: Goodnight!"

Xie Guilan took a few minutes, coldly biting the cigarette filter, and typed with humiliation.

"Xie Guilan: Young Master, goodnight."

Satisfied, Cen Wu put down his phone, took a shower, and then lay in bed, reviewing the events of the night for another twenty minutes before falling asleep in utter embarrassment.

The next day, Cen Wu still got up early. He hadn't done much of his homework the night before and planned to catch up at school. On his way, he stopped by the cafeteria and picked up some breakfast for Xie Guilan.

But by the end of the first class, Xie Guilan hadn't arrived. Cen Wu took the breakfast, split it with Lu Wang, and ate it. He also sent a message to Xie Guilan, who didn't reply.

Cen Wu became a little worried and decided to ask the homeroom teacher if Xie Guilan had taken a leave of absence.

The second-year grade faculty had a large office, and all the teachers who taught science subjects for Class 3 were there. The homeroom teacher was also present.

On the way to the office, Cen Wu was perfectly fine, but the closer he got, the more his legs trembled, and by the time he reached the office door, his legs felt like they weren’t even there anymore.

Cen Wu: “……”

Damn.

The office door wasn’t completely closed, just barely ajar. Just as Cen Wu was about to knock, he overheard the physics teacher talking to the chemistry teacher.

"Teacher Hou, I thought you were giving Xie Guilan some intensive training. Why are you still here in the office?"

"I left a few competition papers for him to work on this morning. After he finishes, I'll go over. These days, students rely too much on teachers. They should have a bit more self-discipline, right?"

Cen Wu suddenly remembered that the provincial chemistry competition training had actually ended before the semester started, but Xie Guilan hadn’t signed up or attended because Song Lingwei had been ill at the time.

With the competition coming up next month, Xie Guilan had probably been called in for individual training by the teachers and wasn’t in any trouble.

Cen Wu breathed a sigh of relief, planning to head back to the classroom, but before he could leave, someone suddenly shouted behind him.

"Hey! What are you loitering here for?!"

Cen Wu: !!!

Cen Wu jumped, his heart skipping a beat. His already pale face turned even whiter.

He turned around to see Head Teacher Meng Liangping holding a teacup, standing behind him. Meng Liangping was annoyed at the sight of him. "Last night, you skipped class, and now you’re delivering yourself right to my doorstep. What are you doing in the office?"

"I…" Cen Wu stammered, "I was just passing by."

The teacher had been about to scold him further, but seeing how frightened Cen Wu was, with his lashes lowered and his shoulders hunched, he didn’t look like the usual defiant troublemaker. Meng’s heart softened, and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything too harsh.

"If you’ve got nothing to do, go back to class," the teacher waved him off but then remembered something, calling after him, "Did you submit your homework this morning?"

"Y-Yes," Cen Wu stuttered.

The teacher’s expression finally softened.

It was well known that Cen Wu came from a wealthy family, and while the teachers were aware of this, they believed that being at school meant there were no excuses for not studying. However, Cen Wu had always been rebellious, and there wasn’t much the teachers could do about it.

But starting yesterday, for some reason, Cen Wu had begun to obediently attend classes, leaving every teacher in a daze when they returned to the office after class.

It was almost like witnessing a miracle—seeing the prince actually study.

"Teacher," Cen Wu, his voice trembling with nervousness, promised, "I… I will study hard."

The teacher suddenly leaned in, scaring him. "Promises won’t cut it. I’ll be waiting to see your weekly exam results!"

Cen Wu: “……”

You’re right about everything.

After the teacher finally left, Cen Wu, feeling utterly exhausted both mentally and physically, returned to the classroom to review for the weekly exam.

Xie Guilan hadn’t shown up for classes all day, and it suddenly dawned on Cen Wu that he didn’t know Xie Guilan’s whereabouts. How could he protect Xie Guilan if he didn’t even know where he was? He could try to steer Xie Guilan away from the original plot events in the novel, but what about things outside the original storyline?

Cen Wu pursed his lips, slowly packing up his bag, thinking it over before finally sending a message to the guy from last night, asking him to meet at the back door of Blue Night in half an hour.

As night fell, the back alley of the bar was quiet, with rainwater still on the ground, reflecting faint lights from the neon signs above.

"Young Master Second," the person approached with the same affectionate attitude as the night before, speaking in a coquettish tone, "You needed me?"

Cen Wu: "......"

Can you just talk properly?

"Do you... are you at Blue Night every single night?" Cen Wu forced himself to stay, resisting the urge to flee.

He really couldn't stand being this close to a stranger, his fair cheeks glistening with a thin sheen of sweat, and the tips of his ears turning red from embarrassment.

"Just call me Ling," the other man misunderstood, a smile tugging at his lips. "I don't perform on stage, but I can accompany you."

If Cen Wu had a tail, his fur would have been standing on end by now. His face flushed red, and he waved his hands frantically, "I... I... that's not what I meant."

He just wanted the guy to keep an eye on Xie Guilan. He didn't need him to do anything else; if Xie Guilan ran into trouble, a quick message would suffice.

The previous owner's "fish pond" was vast, but only a few dozen remained in contact. After all, it was unrealistic to expect men to maintain their physiques forever, and once they lost their abs, the original owner lost interest.

Ling had been in contact with the previous owner for over a year, only sending pictures of his abs without much conversation. He seemed like a smart guy, which was why Cen Wu thought of asking him for help.

Ling pouted slightly. Last night, Cen Wu had watched over Xie Guilan, but Xie Guilan's stern expression didn't suggest any intimacy, so he hadn't thought much of it. Now, he was uncertain again.

Did Xie Guilan have more abs or a bigger chest than him, to deserve Cen Wu's care so much?

"I don't..." Ling was about to refuse.

But Cen Wu had already picked up his phone, showing a recent transfer, "Five hundred per night."

Ling: "......"

Okay, boss. I'm willing, boss.

"Don't worry, Young Master Two," Ling accepted the payment, his tone becoming serious. "If I don't do it, who will? I think I'm especially suited to take care of him."

Cen Wu: "......"

You're right about everything too.

Ling was one of the top male models at Blue Night, earning much more than this every night. On generous nights, he could make hundreds of thousands in one evening.

But why not earn extra cash? It's not like Xie Guilan gets into trouble every night, and Cen Wu didn't ask him to step in.

Actually, the male models at Blue Night disliked Xie Guilan. It wasn't personal; in competitive terms, Xie Guilan had the advantage. If he decided to join them, they'd all lose their jobs.

But he heard Xie Guilan was academically excellent, the top student in Grade One at Huai Jing No. 1 High School. He probably wouldn't become a male model.

It was strange that he worked at such a place.

At 7:30 PM, Xie Guilan finished his training session and left school directly for the bar.

He started work at 8 PM and usually finished by midnight, though sometimes, if it was busy, he'd stay until 1 or 2 AM. Upon arriving at the bar, he headed to the changing room to change clothes.

-

As he took off his school jacket, someone patted his shoulder.

"Xie," Ji Changyu had just arrived, standing next to him changing clothes, looking concerned. "What's going on? I heard that young master from the Cen family came to the bar again last night?"

He had met Xie Guilan a year ago when he first started working at Blue Night, on the day of the Cen family's youngest son's birthday.

The Cen family throws a birthday bash for Young Master Cen Wu every year. After the birthday party ended in the evening, the young master brought people to Blue Night to hang out. The manager assigned Xie Guilan and me to deliver drinks.

Cen Wu looked like he was well past tipsy. Before Xie Guilan could say anything, Cen Wu’s expression changed drastically upon seeing him, and he suddenly stood up, flying into a rage, ordering the bodyguards to beat the crap out of Xie Guilan.

"Who let him come?! Why did I invite him to my birthday?! No one is allowed to compete with me!"

No one around understood. Xie Guilan was just an unacknowledged illegitimate son of the Xie family; what did he have to compete for?

But no one dared disobey Cen Wu’s orders.

Offending a customer could get you fired, and sometimes resisting or not made no difference. Xie Guilan didn’t fight back, and he ended up with multiple fractures and soft tissue injuries. This young master even threw a few bottles at him.

Laughter, mockery, humiliation.

Xie Guilan was pinned to the ground, his black suit pants wrinkled from being trampled, as if everyone had a free pass to kick him.

I didn’t know Xie Guilan; it was my first time meeting him. But I was so angry I felt dizzy. This was too much. I rushed up to break up the fight and got slapped by the young master.

For some reason, Cen Wu seemed somewhat wary of Xie Guilan, both hating and fearing him. He didn’t dare touch Xie Guilan himself, only ordering the bodyguards to beat him, but he dared to hit me.

Ji Changyu held his bruised face after the beating, but at least he got to know Xie Guilan.

Xie Guilan didn’t say a word. I put my hand on his shoulder, "Old Xie, I’m talking to you."

"I don’t know," Xie Guilan frowned, "If you’re so bored, go tidy up the VIP room."

Ji Changyu: "..."

Damn it.

There weren’t many guests at the bar tonight, so there wasn’t much hosting work. As we left the changing room, the manager waved at us, "Xiao Xie, Xiao Ji, go help unload some goods at the back door."

A few cases of beer had been ordered, but they were delayed due to rain the past few days and only arrived in the evening.

Xie Guilan nodded. "Okay."

As Xie Guilan headed to the back door, he suddenly stopped when he caught a glimpse of something. In the alley not far away, Cen Wu was talking to A Ling.

A Ling said something, and Cen Wu’s ears turned red. The night was dark, but the neon lights cast a glow over his striking, moist eyes. His cheeks were illuminated by the lights, the slight blush clearly visible, like white jade dusted with blush.

Then A Ling smiled slightly and leaned closer to Cen Wu. He was taller than Cen Wu, so Cen Wu had to look up to talk to him. A Ling’s broad shoulders almost completely blocked Cen Wu. People came and went in the backstreet of the bar, passing through the crowd, as if they were locked in a passionate kiss in the shadows of the rain-soaked alley.

Xie Guilan’s already cold dark eyes turned even colder. He knew Cen Wu had been with plenty of people. Xie Shangjing took people to a hotel room in the first year of high school, and Cen Wu was probably no different.

Touching, kissing, and even more, had all been done. Cen Wu’s attitude towards him was just a means of seduction and manipulation. After all, he was now nervous and blushing around A Ling.

A real player.

Sticking to him like glue last night, and now clinging to someone else, Xie Guilan snorted softly, his deep brows sinking into the night.

Cen Wu seemed to sense something. He looked up under the neon lights, his eyes so beautiful it was unreal, and glanced blankly towards the back door of the bar.

He felt like someone was cursing at him.

But he was blocked by the truck and didn’t see Xie Guilan. He muttered to himself for a bit, then decided to go home.

Ji Changyu waited for a long time but didn’t see Xie Guilan unloading the goods. He walked over and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Xie Guilan shrugged. "Just a stray cat. Nothing to see here."

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