Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Shen Yue didn't respond to Wei Jinchuan's messages. Instead, he asked Zhao Lian to help him turn off his phone.

To resist the "world's will," his hands weren't steady. When he passed the phone over, they were slightly trembling, making Zhao Lian frown. "What, do you have Parkinson's?"

For some reason, Shen Yue proactively explained, "Turning off the phone lets me enjoy myself more completely."

He had always been wild-natured and had always done as he pleased during outings. This was the first time Shen Yue explained his actions to Zhao Lian, who was both surprised and suspicious. But soon, these feelings were replaced entirely by excitement. Zhao Lian also poured a glass of wine and clinked it heavily with Shen Yue's, his joy evident. "Not bad, Yue'er! You've learned to care for others. I haven't spoiled you for nothing!"

Shen Yue laughed and cursed, "Screw you."

That said, this supposedly "recent graduate" Zhao Lian had picked for him was indeed good-looking—pleasant to look at, with a sweet voice and smooth talk, exceptionally good at reading the room. When Shen Yue didn't call for him, he sat quietly pouring wine; when it was his turn to speak, he wasn't timid at all. He could chime in on whatever they were discussing, neither submissive nor vulgar, and really did carry himself like a college student.

For a moment, Shen Yue actually started believing Zhao Lian's pitch and asked, "Are you really a recent graduate this year?"

"The real deal," the young man said, blinking. "Would you like to see my student verification online?"

"...That won't be necessary," Shen Yue replied, unable to detect any reluctance on the young man's face, unlike those he'd met who seemed coerced into the business. Curious, he asked, "Why did you decide to do this kind of work?"

"Isn't it good? It's easy money, good pay, there's alcohol, and I get to meet someone as good-looking as you." The young man finished pouring the wine and, following the way Shen Yue held the glass, traced his well-defined, jade-like fingers. He looked up to confirm Shen Yue wasn't displeased, then slid his hand along Shen Yue's arm to his chest, leaning in close with a coquettish yet obedient manner.

Shen Yue asked, "Aren't you afraid others will look down on you?"

"Why would they look down on me? Since ancient times it's been 'laugh at poverty, not at prostitution.' I do have classmates with proper jobs, earning five or six thousand a month. In our expensive Haicheng, rent alone eats up nearly half of that."

The man's expression remained normal, not the least bit ashamed of his line of work. He didn't want to dwell on it, only thinking how lucky he was to have such an attractive man willing to pay for him—he'd laugh himself awake from dreams.

Soon, the topic returned to Shen Yue. With a seductive glance, the man, lust-addled, completely forgot Shen Yue was the client: "May I ask you a question?"

As the other leaned closer, Shen Yue tilted his head slightly, silently permitting what appeared to be an accidental kiss but not permitting contact with his lips. "What?"

The boy succeeded in stealing a kiss, his eyes sparkling. "Are you the top or the bottom?"

"..." Shen Yue caught the implication and laughed wordlessly.

He raised his eyes; though his figure was hidden in the darkness, he seemed to concentrate all the room's radiance in his person. This faint smile made him appear even more noble and elegant.

Shen Yue took a sip of wine, the burn filling his mouth, then turned the glass, offering the still-moist rim to the person beside him.

The boy watched the liquid sway gently in the transparent glass, bent down, and drank it all in one go from Shen Yue's hand.

His eyes fixed on Shen Yue, innocent yet with a touch of wildness. After one glass, his cheeks flushed slightly, tipsy. Unsteady, he refilled the glass again. "Sweet."

Shen Yue smiled and pressed down the hand holding the glass. "We've just met, and you already want to get into my bed?"

"It's not illegal to imagine," the man said innocently, blinking. "And since you're not angry, it means I still have a chance."

He gave an ingratiating smile, bent down to kiss Shen Yue's hand, and from that lowered position, looked up with half-lidded eyes. "What do you think?"

Shen Yue hadn't even begun to sort things out with Wei Jinchuan yet; how could he have the mind for someone else? He withdrew his hand and said lightly, "You're quite good at pouring wine."

That was a rejection.

The boy clearly hadn't expected to be turned down; his eyes dimmed, the earlier anticipation instantly turning to disappointment.

But Shen Yue had no habit of paying good money only to worry about others' feelings. Since the money was spent—even if Zhao Lian paid—it shouldn't be wasted. He just let the other sit close to pour wine and occasionally responded to Zhao Lian's complaints about romantic troubles, keeping the conversation pleasant enough.

Zhao Lian flirted with the nearby MB while knocking back several bottles himself. Drunk and exhilarated, he somehow got carried away and clung to Shen Yue, leaning almost his entire body against him.

His mouth close to Shen Yue's ear, and with music playing in the private room, the tipsy Zhao Lian worried his voice wouldn't be loud enough and shouted, "Yue'er, just listen to me and cut ties with him!"

His voice was loud, drowning out all other sounds in the room and drawing everyone's attention. Fortunately, there weren't many people there, all relatively close friends who knew about Shen Yue and Wei Jinchuan's situation, so few would gossip.

Shen Yue's eardrums ached from the volume. He tilted his head away slightly, frowning. "Speak properly."

"I did speak properly, but you wouldn't listen," Zhao Lian hugged him, as if about to cry. "My Yue'er, my wonderful Yue'er, why do you always run into such shitty people and shitty situations?"

Shen Yue was both amused and exasperated by his mournful crying, feeling both disgust and touched. "Are you including yourself in that cursing?"

Zhao Lian looked at him with tearful eyes. "If you care about me, just cut ties with him, okay? There are plenty of men out there; why must you like someone who mistreats you?"

Look how obvious Wei Jinchuan's "mistreatment" was—even an outsider like Zhao Lian could see it.

Didn't Shen Yue want to break it off with Wei Jinchuan? It was just that thinking about it was easy, but actually doing it was hard. He sighed. "It's not as simple as you think. Alright, stop crying; you're embarrassing me."

"No!" Zhao Lian sniffled. "Not unless you listen to me and cut ties with him!"

Shen Yue had to coax him along, steering the conversation to Zhao Lian's recent bizarre romantic experiences, barely managing to calm him down.

After several rounds of drinks and well into the night, Shen Yue, who had a decent tolerance and hadn't drunk much, was still fairly sober by the end. Zhao Lian, however, was far worse off. His tolerance was poor to begin with, and he loved drinking despite being bad at it. By the end of the night, he was dead drunk, staggering around, unable to even recognize Shen Yue.

It was too late, and Shen Yue couldn't be bothered with the detour to send Zhao Lian home, so he decided to bring him to his own place.

But he was always elegant and noble; helping a drunk home was something he wouldn't do. Shen Yue simply picked two people from the private room to help support Zhao Lian, deliberately skipping the one who had poured wine for him earlier and choosing two sitting in the corner.

Only when they got out of the car did he realize one of them was the one who looked like Wei Jinchuan. At first, Shen Yue didn't recognize him and thought he'd run into Wei Jinchuan himself, his heart stopping in fright. It was only when the other respectfully called out "President Shen" that he snapped back to reality.

He took a deep breath and directed the two to help Zhao Lian into the elevator.

After getting some air downstairs for a while, Zhao Lian sobered up a bit. Though still drunk, he could at least recognize people now. Shen Yue finally took on the duty of a "good friend" and was willing to personally bring him home.

He transferred two thousand yuan to each of the two helpers and originally intended for them to take the elevator back down. But as soon as the elevator doors opened on his floor, he saw a dark figure crouched by his doorstep.

Shen Yue was startled and immediately pulled his foot back into the elevator. He was about to tell someone to call the police when the person at the door heard the noise and looked up, revealing his face under the bright hallway lights.

—It was Wei Jinchuan.

Shen Yue looked at this ghost-like figure he couldn't shake off no matter what. With others present, he barely suppressed his anger. "Why are you at my place?"

At the same time, he chided himself for being lazy and coming here. He had so many properties under his name, and this was the one most likely to run into Wei Jinchuan.

"You didn't go home, didn't reply to messages or answer calls. I was worried."

Wei Jinchuan stood up from the ground. He seemed to have had some alcohol but wasn't as drunk as Zhao Lian. Having crouched for too long, his legs were numb, and he swayed unsteadily. "I—"

Before he could finish, Wei Jinchuan spotted the others in the elevator and rushed forward in a few steps. "You went to that kind of place again, didn't you?"

Staying in the elevator too long wasn't safe. The two MBs followed Shen Yue out, supporting Zhao Lian. Their delicate faces were exposed under the light. Wei Jinchuan glared angrily but froze when he saw one of their faces.

Two seconds later, he grabbed the collar of the MB who resembled him and turned to Shen Yue, gritting his teeth in disbelief. "You'd rather pick a man who looks like me than have me?"

"You've misunderstood. I didn't pick them; Zhao Lian did."

Shen Yue dreaded drama and dreaded rumors about people fighting over him. He quickly pulled Wei Jinchuan's hand away and signaled for the two MBs to leave.

Those two were there to earn money, and seeing they were about to be dragged into a rich people's lover's quarrel, they wished they could sprout wings and fly away. With Shen Yue's nod, they hurried into the elevator. But Wei Jinchuan refused to let them leave, shouting, "No one leaves! Everyone stay right there!"

The two MBs exchanged glances, their hands hovering over the floor buttons, uncertain what to do.

Wei Jinchuan strode into the elevator, grabbed one of the men, and demanded, his eyes bloodshot with anger, "Where did you touch him?"

The man tried to pull his hand back but couldn't break free, stammering, "N-no, I didn't."

"Didn't touch?" Wei Jinchuan narrowed his eyes skeptically.

"Really, I didn't!" The man was on the verge of tears, pointing at Zhao Lian. "It was Manager Zhao who chose me, saying his friend liked this type, but Mr. Shen turned me down! I just looked his way a few times, didn't even get close!"

Wei Jinchuan let out a heavy breath. "You still dared to look at him?"

"Mr. Shen is good-looking. Who in the private room wasn't looking at him? Wouldn't you look if it were you?" The man sniffled, then shrank back under Wei Jinchuan's fierce glare. "I just looked, really didn't do anything!"

Wei Jinchuan didn't know whether to be angry that Shen Yue had gone to a place like that again or upset that he hadn't shown any interest in someone who resembled him. He felt both hurt and disgusted, his face a thunderous mask. "What's the name of your club?"

The boy hurriedly gave a name and said all sorts of placating things until Wei Jinchuan finally let him go.

By the time Wei Jinchuan stepped out of the elevator, he had mostly calmed down. He looked at Shen Yue, who was searching for his keys, his face a blank mask, and for some reason, even though he wasn't the one who had done anything wrong, he felt a twinge of guilt.

All the bluster from his earlier interrogation had vanished. He helped steady Zhao Lian, and Shen Yue glanced at him sideways before shoving the drunk entirely into Wei Jinchuan's care to focus on unlocking the door.

Wei Jinchuan, unsettled by the heavy silence, resolved to break it: "I..."

"You didn't think about my situation when you were causing a scene, and there's no need for phony explanations now."

Shen Yue opened the door, took Zhao Lian from him, and said, his tone cutting, "Thanks."

As he moved to enter and close the door, Wei Jinchuan, who had waited all night, couldn't let him leave like that. He immediately followed: "Let me help..."

Before he could finish, Shen Yue shot him a cold glare, and Wei Jinchuan stepped back outside: "...May I come in?"

"Do as you please," Shen Yue said mockingly, struggling to get Zhao Lian onto the sofa. "You never listen to me anyway, and I can't stop you. Besides, when have you ever needed to report to me about what you're going to do?"

The sarcastic taunt was unmistakable, but Wei Jinchuan pretended not to notice. As he helped Shen Yue settle Zhao Lian, he said, "What happened earlier... I didn't mean it."

Shen Yue laughed coldly, about to retort, when Wei Jinchuan hurriedly added, "Really! I just wanted to ask you about what we discussed last time. I didn't expect you to bring someone back. I lost my head and overreacted. If there's a next time..."

He caught Shen Yue's suddenly sharp gaze and quickly corrected himself: "But I promise, there won't be a next time!"

Shen Yue scoffed, completely unmoved.

He didn't believe Wei Jinchuan's promises, nor could he recall the "last thing" mentioned. He just wanted to get rid of him quickly. He gave an indifferent "Oh?" and asked, "What is it this time?"

Wei Jinchuan stiffly said, "I can help you with... that problem you have, where your body won't listen to you."

He left the second part of the sentence hanging—not that he didn't want to say it, but he didn't dare bring it up with Shen Yue now. Yet he believed Shen Yue was smart enough to understand his implication.

He admitted there was a threat in his words, admitted his methods weren't honorable, but he was at his breaking point. He thought he could steadily gain the upper hand in this emotional game—after all, Shen Yue listened to him now; he could always resort to force if needed. But facing Shen Yue, he couldn't ignore his wishes. Even a few cold words from Shen Yue were unbearable. If this was how it felt to be treated this way by someone you liked, what about Shen Yue? How much had Shen Yue suffered when he pretended not to care and deliberately distanced himself, saying those harsh things?

He didn't dare think about it. He wanted to make amends, by any means necessary, and feared that if he slipped up even slightly, Shen Yue would be swept away by someone else.

Sure enough, Shen Yue said, "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing, but with a strong undercurrent of mockery: "I remember now. Last time, you said you liked me, didn't you?"

Wei Jinchuan was tormented by his dismissive tone, but since things had come to this, he knew he wouldn't get a better reception no matter when he came. It was better to seize the moment and clarify things once and for all.

He nodded slightly. Shen Yue smiled. "I get it."

Wei Jinchuan didn't know what he "got," but he sensed it wouldn't be anything good.

Shen Yue looked directly into Wei Jinchuan's eyes, not hiding his malice: "But what can we do, Wei Jinchuan? I don't like you anymore."

He didn't care much about Wei Jinchuan's feelings anyway. Watching the other's face grow paler, he felt only satisfaction. A nasty smile twisted his lips as he said, "But you're right—my body only listens to you... So here's the deal, Wei Jinchuan: as long as you don't get in the way of me seeing other people, I'll give you this chance."