Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“You don’t know your place—get out!”

A bucket of cold water was hurled at him.

Jiang Xiuyuan was thrown out of Yuansheng Club, frantically wiping himself down, utterly disheveled, his lips tinged blue from the cold.

He spat on the ground, his eyes filled with bitter resentment.

A few colleagues draped a coat over his shoulders, chuckling, “Tch, who told you to mess with the Bo family?”

“Lost your job, huh?”

The same tired jabs.

But Jiang Xiuyuan said nothing, just picked up his Hermès bag and walked away, his lips slightly chapped.

Whether from inflammation or something else, he wasn’t sure.

In the subway station’s public restroom, he looked at himself in the mirror—his slightly long black hair draped over his shoulders, his lip ring chafing the skin raw.

Jiang Xiuyuan splashed water on his face, coolly planning to take out the ring, but at that moment, for some reason, he remembered that boy, Qi Jing.

—Your lip piercing looks really good.

He suddenly smirked.

Then stood straight again, unbothered.

Boss Bo was decent enough—he wouldn’t trouble a lowly hustler like him. It was just the higher-ups afraid of stirring up trouble.

Weird.

Decent folks… somehow drew obedient types around them.

“Yuansheng Club?”

Qi Jing yawned, stuffing his backpack at his desk, murmuring to himself.

Why did that place sound so familiar?

Just then, there was a knock at the door—the maid reminding him, “Xiao Jing, it’s seven. Hurry up.”

“Okay—”

Qi Jing hurriedly yanked his bag’s zipper shut, threw on his uniform, and took the elevator down to the first floor.

Breakfast was already prepared.

Nursing his milk while tapping his boiled egg, the maid took over because he was peeling it too slowly.

“Why did you wake up so late today?”

Qi Jing apologized, “I don’t know. I didn’t hear the alarm.”

After peeling the egg, the maid placed it on his plate and glanced at the yellowing bruise on his forehead—almost healed now.

While eating, Qi Jing secretly prayed Bo Chengyan would only stay for one meal next week. Otherwise, he’d be dead on his feet.

His Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays… might as well have vanished.

Nothing left but Monday’s dread.

As he was about to leave, the maid called him back again.

The boy returned to the entryway, where a tracking bracelet was fastened onto him.

“Go on, the driver’s waiting. I packed vitamins in your bag—pop them between classes.”

“And an orange.”

Qi Jing nodded and slid into the car.

Capital high schools had clear hierarchies. Public schools had stricter admission criteria—no amount of money could buy your way in.

Though Qi Jing attended a prestigious high school, he was stuck in the international program, where cash was the only admission ticket.

Despite its poor reputation, he counted himself lucky. If Bo Chengyan had thrown him into the main campus, he’d have sunk like a stone.

Qi Jing had no grand ambitions. He didn’t believe he’d study abroad—once the protagonist arrived, he’d become irrelevant.

So, just aim for an undergraduate degree, then try for a government job!

Or become a librarian.

Just enough to keep himself afloat.

Zoning out, he entered the classroom. The desks were arranged individually, and his seat was against the wall in the third row.

Just as he dragged his chair out, he felt someone touch his hair. Scowling, he jerked back, leaving the other’s fingers swiping at empty air.

No contact with his face.

“Morning, Xiao Jing.”

The person in front turned his chair around and sat down, looking back at him.

Clutching his bag to his chest, Qi Jing met his gaze evenly. “Don’t touch my head.”

Huang Ze felt a tickle in his chest. He raised a brow. “Oh, afraid you won’t grow taller? That’s not how it works.”

Qi Jing shook his head, couldn’t be bothered to entertain him, and pulled out last week’s homework.

He’d chosen politics, history, and geography—dead-end subjects, but they were his strengths.

Only geography gave him trouble.

The rest were manageable.

Huang Ze swiped his homework, grinning. “Let me copy yours, Xiao Jing.”

Qi Jing looked at him, bewildered, his brow furrowed.

“You didn’t bother doing yours?”

He asked bluntly.

Classmates kept filing into the classroom. A couple shot them looks, used to it by now, just shaking their heads.

“I don’t have time to do it, just copying yours. Don’t be such a cheapskate, Xiao Jing.”

Qi Jing looked puzzled and said, “Your lack of time isn’t my problem. Why copy mine?”

“I’m not stingy.”

He added after a pause.

“Hahaha…” A girl walked over, snatched Qi Jing’s homework back, and placed it in its original spot.

“You’re always swiping Xiao Jing’s things. Freshman year, sophomore year, and now junior year—some things never change.”

Standing in the aisle between desks, the girl snapped, “Don’t give it to him.”

The boy in front grew flustered and snapped, “Hey, Jiang Yao, what’s it to you?”

“Xiao Jing didn’t say he wouldn’t lend it to me.”

Morning study session started at eight, and last week’s homework was due to be collected. There was also a pop quiz in the afternoon.

Qi Jing mentally reviewed his tasks before ending the discussion: “I don’t want to let you copy.”

Huang Ze lost it even more.

Even during the midday break, he kept asking, “Xiao Jing, why? Aren’t I your good friend?”

Qi Jing was a transfer student, and his family background was well-protected. He never spoke about it himself.

He could have easily been labeled as pretentious.

But strangely, Qi Jing’s simple nature made everyone feel like they’d discovered a treasure.

He’d never seen porn.

He never copied homework.

He wasn’t even into his phone.

Qi Jing was like a blank sheet of paper, a total oddball in Class Nine—though he *had* seen some films by now.

Huang Ze still remembered the time Qi Jing earnestly asked if he had any gay films. His heart pounded, his palms got clammy, and in the end, he handed over his personal collection.

“That was exhausting to watch,”

Qi Jing had commented at the time, his expression as calm as ever.

Cool as a cucumber.

Huang Ze suspected he might be gay but doubted he even knew what that meant. Yet he couldn’t figure out how Qi Jing knew about gay films in the first place. He’d meant to tease him, but in the end, he was the one left flustered.

Qi Jing was like a mysterious cat.

At break time—

“No. If you copy my homework, the teacher might suspect me and tell my family.”

“I’d be the one in trouble.”

Qi Jing swallowed a vitamin with a sip from his thermos, then slowly peeled an orange, filling the air with a sweet fragrance.

Huang Ze wanted a slice but didn’t dare ask—Qi Jing was brutally blunt when turning people down.

He didn’t want to get shot down again.

“So what? Your family would care about copied homework? That’s way too strict. Do they even check your pop quiz scores?” Huang Ze shot back, skeptical.

Qi Jing just stared him down.

Bo Chengyan called their homeroom teacher every week. Of course, he checked the pop quiz results—along with whether Qi Jing had good relationships with classmates and and if he was being bullied.

He was even expected to gain 1kg this week.

The orange was an easy-peel kind, juicy and easy to peel.

A gentle voice spoke up from the left, “Xiao Jing, can I have a slice?”

Qi Jing tore his half in two and passed it over. Huang Ze gawked as another voice chimed in from behind.

“Same.”

Qi Jing thought for a moment. Since he’d already eaten half, he split what was left again and passed a portion to each.

The voice behind was Jiang Yao’s; the one on the left was Lin Yuze’s. Huang Ze sat in front.

They formed a circle around him.

“What about me?”

The boy in front whined, “Where’s mine? You gave it to them!”

Qi Jing hesitated. He only had one orange, and he’d only eaten two slices.

Without looking up, Lin Yuze said, “Hold out your hand. I’ll spit it out for you.”

“Gross!”

In the end, Qi Jing ate the last of his orange himself—someone else took care of scolding Huang Ze.

“Really? Copying me now? He’s got, like, two slices left!”

“Uh, *you* started it!”

“Yeah, when he still had most of it. He *wanted* to share with me.”

…

As they squabbled, Jiang Yao and another girl discussed nail designs behind them. Qi Jing finished his orange and dove back into his geography homework.

He’d never encountered a subject so nonsensical.

He still remembered that question about the urban greenbelt—one side lush green, the other withered and yellow. He’d overanalyzed longitude, latitude, and climate.

The answer? They were in different administrative districts.

Qi Jing had never felt so played.

“…Yuansheng Club? No, why would you go there—”

“Should we go today? There’s a bunch of Japanese visitors at school, so no night classes…”

“Xiao Jing, are you coming…”

Qi Jing just glanced up, it felt familiar—that name sounded familiar.

“The Yuansheng Club?” the boy asked.

Jiang Yao, sucking on a lollipop, frowned hesitantly. “Maybe we should leave Xiao Jing out. What if he gets corrupted?”

Qi Jing frowned. “Why not?”

“Uh, because I’m gonna get male escorts.”

Huang Ze rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. “You shouldn’t go. That place is sketchy.”

“It’s divided into high-end and low-end sections—super strict about rules.”

Qi Jing didn’t know about this. He remembered what Bo Chengyan had told him about paths—how men liking men was a side path?

Ordering male escorts, then, must be the main path.

But was women liking women also a narrow path?

He was really confused, especially after Bo Chengyan had flat-out told him he didn’t like him. Qi Jing worried he might be replaced.

He wanted to learn more by going out.

“I’ve been there before.”

All three froze.

But that wasn’t all. The boy then asked curiously, “Besides male escorts, can you order other things? What’s it called when men order men? Getting ‘ducks’?”

Huang Ze turned bright red and immediately tried to cover Qi Jing’s mouth, but Lin Yuze coldly smacked his hand away, disgusted. “Did you even wash your hands?”

Jiang Yao, meanwhile, tsk’d in amazement. “Xiao Jing is truly extraordinary.”

Qi Jing wanted to order a “duck” and ask what they did.

Dead serious, he said, “Can you take me with you?”

Going alone would be awkward, but with friends, it’d be much easier.

Lin Yuze was stunned too.

Only Jiang Yao waved her hand grandly. “Hell yeah! Everyone’s in!”

At noon, Qi Jing returned to Jinjiang Villa for lunch and told them about hanging out with classmates after school. The housekeeper wasn’t concerned, just reminded him to work out the timing with the driver in advance.

He just needed to be back by nine.

After all, first, there was GPS tracking, and second, Mr. Bo knew about Qi Jing’s social circle.

Some socializing was good for a teenager’s mental health.

The afternoon flew by, and it was five.

School was out.

Qi Jing followed his friends to the car, full of curiosity. He had changed from his school uniform into casual clothes, which he’d brought at noon.

Yuansheng Club looked the same as ever—its gilded exterior screaming luxury, like a money pit.

Qi Jing noticed this experience was quite different. There was no guide, and the layout seemed unfamiliar.

This narrow alley was noisy inside.

Then, a staff member was posted at the entrance, collecting electronic devices.

Qi Jing, at the back of the line, stopped dead.

He hadn’t expected this step.

Jiang Yao urged him, “Xiao Jing? Hurry up, it’s fine. There are private rooms inside—super safe, promise!”

Qi Jing frowned. He didn’t want to trouble his friends, so he removed his wristband and placed it in the numbered black box.

This was okay… right?

Thirty minutes later.

The wristband was temperature-sensitive. Once it lost body heat, the alarm would trigger, and the internal indicator light began flashing.

Bo Chengyan noticed his phone vibrating during a meeting and his brow twitched.