Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Yuansheng Club was pulsing with music and dance, the lights crisscrossed and flickered, somewhat like a KTV booth.

Qi Jing sat on a sofa to the side, while Huang Ze tried to peel an orange for him. The boy shook his head.

"Why not?"

Qi Jing replied with confusion, "My family won’t let me eat takeout. They say it’s unclean."

"..."

Huang Ze had never seen such a strict household. But if that were the case, why was he enrolled in the international track?

They didn’t have to stress over the gaokao—just mastering English was enough. Logically, there shouldn’t be any pressure at all.

Yet Qi Jing was the only one grinding away at useless subjects every day.

Still, Huang Ze was genuinely curious about which country Qi Jing would go to in the future. He still wanted to hang out with him—it was just too interesting.

"Xiao Jing, in the future—"

At that moment, the door opened. Jiang Yao walked in with a few girls and sat down, eyeing the top-tier guys who had arrived with great enthusiasm.

They were all at least 180 cm tall, their faces possibly wearing makeup—flawlessly smooth.

Qi Jing’s gaze was immediately drawn to them.

A manager stood nearby, earnestly introducing their names, though they all started with "Xiao," making them hard to remember.

Jiang Yao didn’t go overboard either—two thousand yuan was gone in just an hour.

She picked three for herself and her girl squad.

Then she turned to Qi Jing, "Xiao Jing, do you want one?"

Lin Yuze walked in just then, carrying a cake. Today was actually another girl’s birthday.

But she had fought with her family, and it seemed particularly intense.

Jiang Yao had suggested coming here to unwind.

The guy frowned at that and said, "He doesn’t want one."

Qi Jing thought for a moment, "I’ll hold off for now."

He wanted to see if the service attitude of hosts was the same as the canary treatment. After all, he was saving up his allowance—if he got kicked out one day, he’d have nothing left.

The boy watched intently.

The hosts were dressed in suits, kneeling on one knee, softly cooing "Sister" in gentle tones, even asking softly, "May I touch your hand?"

Jiang Yao nodded with restraint, and the host placed the girl’s hand against his own face, lifting his gaze to meet hers, eyes glistening.

Qi Jing was mesmerized.

He’s smooth.

Huang Ze munched on Pringles, finding the whole thing absurd. Wasn’t this just totally corrupting a kid?

"Xiao Jing, stop watching. They’re just doing it for money. They’ll only give you the girlfriend experience if you pay—without money, they won’t even spare you a glance."

"Do you want some cake?"

Lin Yuze said helplessly, "The birthday girl hasn’t even cut the cake yet."

Huang Ze immediately apologized sheepishly, but the girl didn’t mind at all, waving it off generously. "Pfft, I’m over it. Let’s eat cake!"

Qi Jing got a small slice. He wasn’t actually allowed to eat takeout, but after some thought, he figured Bao Chengyan would never know.

So he ate it. It was sweet on his tongue.

A while later, he noticed the manager from earlier looking at him.

Qi Jing stood up and waved.

Sure enough, the man hurried over.

Lin Yuze asked quietly, "What’s wrong, Xiao Jing?"

Qi Jing shook his head and said, "I’m fine."

Then he looked up at the manager and asked, "Excuse me, can I order..."

He hesitated.

Turning to Lin Yuze with slight confusion, he asked, "Is there a proper term for that? Calling them ‘rent boys’ doesn’t seem very polite."

The manager was taken aback but maintained his professionalism. "Yes, yes, we’ve got all types here. What that lady ordered works too."

Qi Jing was once again stepping into uncharted territory.

"But isn’t that for MF?"

"I’m looking for MM."

Lin Yuze frowned. "Xiao Jing, those people are just hosts. They’ll take anyone, men or women—equal-opportunity entertainers. Touching their faces is fine, but don’t go further—it’s skeevy."

The manager immediately took offense. "We’re in the service industry here, and we’re perfectly legitimate hospitality here, pal."

Qi Jing didn’t understand. He just wanted to ask for some pointers.

"Jiang Xiuyuan... is Jiang Xiuyuan here?"

Lin Yuze was taken aback. How’d he even remember the guy’s name?

Meanwhile—

Jiang Xiuyuan was eating hot-and-sour noodles at a street stall, utterly pissed off. After leaving Yuansheng, his income was tanking.

He couldn’t swing luxuries anymore.

Frustrated, he scrolled Xianyu, wondering if he could flip some stuff.

But whenever someone inquired about prices, he couldn’t be bothered to reply.

Until Yuansheng called.

Jiang Xiuyuan sent it to voicemail three times, but they redialed anyway.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and answered the call.

"Boss Wang! I've already paid the compensation! Even if you try to extort me again, I don’t have any more money! What do you want? Just this miserable life! If you keep harassing me, I’ll hang myself at your doorstep!"

Jiang Xiuyuan was steeped in gloom until, two or three minutes later, the young man pulled his phone away and checked it several times.

He confirmed he hadn’t dialed the wrong number.

"What? You’re rehiring me at a higher salary?"

Was the sun rising from the west?

Qi Jing didn’t know Jiang Xiuyuan had already resigned. He also wasn’t aware that the people here had recognized him and seemed to be using various methods to keep him in place.

For example, serving several plates of unsolicited fruits.

And all sorts of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes.

Jiang Xiuyuan arrived, his eyebrows arching slightly—he hadn’t expected the model student to come looking for him alone.

Qi Jing’s eyes instantly lit up.

"I’ve been waiting for you for so long."

*

Bao Chengyan stared at the images sent to his phone, one after another—a poorly lit VIP room, the young man sitting in a corner, surrounded by people talking to him.

His gaze was locked intently on someone.

—What kind of place was this?!

Bao Chengyan closed his eyes, the impulse to smash his phone surging through him, veins standing out on the back of his hand.

Messages kept flooding in on his phone—messages from the club management.

"We’re doing our best to take care of him, Mr. Bao, you can rest assured!"

"They’re in VIP room 305, six people in total..."

It must be because he had taken him there before.

Kids get curious.

Bao Chengyan quickly found a reasonable explanation, his anger subsiding significantly. As he got out of the car, he thought for a moment and said to his assistant, "Prepare something in the office, something healthy… You can put it on expenses yourself."

The moment he arrived, someone immediately hurried over, practically obsequiously, as they led him to the room.

But just as the manager was about to push open the VIP room door—

"Wait."

Bao Chengyan reconsidered—dragging him out directly might wound the boy’s pride. He said in a low voice, "Make up an excuse to get him out. Don’t disturb his friends."

The manager’s face registered surprise.

To be so pampered...

Eager for detailed advice, Qi Jing had switched sofas to talk with Jiang Xiuyuan.

Huang Ze, sitting nearby, looked completely dumbfounded.

"I’m just gonna go into this business tomorrow."

Lin Yuze peeled an orange, shooting a casual glance over. "Xiao Jing might not even pick you..."

Jiang Xiuyuan, as usual, sported his lip ring, looking stylish as ever. But inwardly, he thought the whole thing strange.

He'd insulted him so badly that day…

Why was he still seeking him out?

"I wanted to ask you—if someone stops liking you, how do you win them back?"

"Ah, no—actually, he never said he liked you in the first place. How do you make him dislike you less?"

The boy’s expression was expressive, showing genuine distress.

Jiang Xiuyuan didn’t need to guess who he was talking about. "Mr. Bao?"

Qi Jing didn’t see any reason to hide it. He nodded. "He doesn’t like me."

Jiang Xiuyuan knit his brows slightly, glancing at the people around him—almost all his classmates.

Mixed emotions rose in his chest.

"Lower your voice. Don’t talk about your personal affairs with your classmates."

Qi Jing nodded, then added, "I didn’t say anything."

Jiang Xiuyuan remained puzzled but decided to answer. "He doesn’t like you? Impossible. If he didn’t like you, why would he support you?"

Qi Jing became agitated and explained, "I’m worried he’ll stop supporting me in the future. I just need to get through college, but I haven’t even graduated yet."

This was basically pointless worrying.

Jiang Xiuyuan gave an eye roll and said bluntly, "Relax. Mr. Bao is a good person. He won’t cut you off—you’re reading too much into it."

"Even if worst comes to worst… he’ll give you enough money."

Qi Jing asked curiously, "Would it be 50,000 yuan?"

"..."

Qi Jing truly had no idea. But he had checked university fees—at the highest tuition rate, it would cost 10,000 yuan a year.

"University costs money. I’m afraid I won’t be able to earn enough myself."

Jiang Xiuyuan had never met someone so genuinely clueless. That pin he had been wearing last time—Jiang Xiuyuan had looked it up afterward.

It cost 750,000 yuan.

"Quick, talk to me. You’re expensive—2,000 yuan an hour."

Qi Jing winced at the expense. This was his New Year’s money, quietly converted into his Alipay balance with his aunt’s help.

Otherwise, it would have been spent through the shared payment account.

He couldn't afford to splurge.

Jiang Xiuyuan was really baffling. Is he broke or something?

"What do you want to say? What exactly are you asking me?"

Qi Jing didn't think much and replied, "Mind sharing your work experience? We’re both canaries, right?"

Jiang Xiuyuan froze.

"I want to ask how to make sure my patron doesn’t replace me. How do I keep him happy?"

The guy burst out laughing, but quickly stopped.

He’d never met anyone this upfront before. Was he even in the same league as this person? No.

But he felt they were the same.

Jiang Xiuyuan found it hard to describe his feelings at that moment. It was like he’d sold his soul along with his body. Everyone around him was a competitor, and now here came a clueless "star" asking him for advice.

Hilarious.

"Has he kissed you?" The guy half-lidded his eyes and asked.

Qi Jing gave a quick headshake.

Jiang Xiuyuan’s jaw dropped once again at the truth. He asked in disbelief, "Did he even touch you?"

Qi Jing answered naturally, "Yes, I get to hug him, just not for long."

A long silence followed.

"Honey, I got nothing to teach you."

Just then, a manager pushed the door open from outside, first ordering another round of drinks and desserts.

Then he walked over to Qi Jing.

"Excuse me, the front desk said your wristband has been vibrating continuously. Wanna check it out?"

Qi Jing bolted upright in panic.

Huang Ze looked over, frowning, and said, "Where are you going, Xiao Jing? Don’t wander off. I’ll go out with you."

Qi Jing was about to nod when the manager added, "They already brought it over—it’s at the entrance. No chance of getting lost. Tell your friend to sit back down."

"Okay, okay, no problem. I’ll go check my wristband."

Only then did Huang Ze stay seated, though his gaze didn’t immediately leave. There was way too much free stuff, and he couldn’t help but turn to ask Jiang Yao, "Did you spend this much money? Super VIP! Your dad’s gonna kill you!"

Jiang Yao was shocked. "Huh? You didn’t do this? I thought it was just sucking up to you, Young Master Huang!"

"Not me!"

Huang Ze blinked in confusion and looked at Lin Yuze, who was leaning past the sofa to eye the doorway, casually waving his hand.

"Not me either."

"Maybe they’re running a promo?"

"..."

Everyone fell silent. It was unlikely—this place charges an arm and a leg.

As soon as Qi Jing stepped outside, he mumbled, "My band..."

He froze mid-step.

His wristband was dangling from Bao Chengyan’s fingertips, pulsing red with a steady beep, like a cobra’s warning flicker.

Sizzling.