Chapter 16 The Harassing Texts Weren’t Sent by Qin You…?

Chapter 16 Was the Harassing Text Not Sent by Qin You...?

Li Wangyue sat in the driver's seat, with Ting Zhenxi sitting next to him.

He'd hesitated for three seconds, and then Ting Zhenxi snatched the car keys away, asking if he was scared and needed company.

Li Wangyue felt awkward and didn't bother to "talk back" further, silently accepting him riding shotgun.

After buckling up, Li Wangyue turned the key, fired it up, and put it in gear. The car made a weird noise, shuddered twice, and then died.

Li Wangyue waited a beat, but the car didn't budge.

Ting Zhenxi glanced over: "It stalled."

"Oh." Li Wangyue gave an awkward smile, looked down, and saw he'd put it in the wrong gear out of nerves. No wonder it wouldn't go.

After a little fumbling around, he finally got the car started and rolling smoothly.

"Where are we going?" Li Wangyue asked.

"You're driving, and you're asking me?"

He remembered a road nearby that looped around—not far, but really peaceful.

Li Wangyue steered out of the winding estate driveway. He kept it slow, only speeding up once they hit the main road.

The night view along the way was nice. The air felt fresher from all the dense greenery, like the outdoors was pumping out oxygen.

The streetlights were so bright you could see without the headlights. To the left, a long bridge stretched over the water, its lights glowing in the distance like a starry bridge stretching into the dark night.

"If there's no airbag, there's gotta be a speed limiter, right?" Li Wangyue said, trying to make conversation.

If it's a car from the '50s or '60s, even without an airbag, it probably wouldn't go that fast. Li Wangyue wanted to double-check carefully.

From what Qin You's colleague said, the Chevy that hit him was going fast and was super reckless, so drunk driving or driving under the influence couldn't be ruled out.

Li Wangyue sure hoped it wasn't Ting Zhenxi.

Ting Zhenxi didn't answer, just shot back, "You seem pretty interested in this car."

Li Wangyue didn't deny it this time around. "First time seeing one. Just curious, so I asked a lot."

"Want me to give it to you?"

"No, that's okay..."

"Take it and study it all you want."

"Really, I'm good." Li Wangyue always prided himself on being calm and handling surprises, but Ting Zhenxi was too hard to read. His moves were unpredictable and always threw Li Wangyue off.

He couldn't keep asking. He felt Ting Zhenxi was dead serious about giving him the car, and if he kept at it, Ting Zhenxi might actually transfer the title to him, making him look greedy.

Li Wangyue just made a few casual comments and dropped the car topic.

After driving the loop and spotting the villa's lights, Li Wangyue downshifted and slowed.

The car was dead quiet. Li Wangyue's hands fidgeted on the wheel, but he decided to ask one more thing.

"Xiao Xi, about yesterday..."

Just as they neared the gate, another pair of headlights appeared from the other direction, pulling in ahead of them.

Li Wangyue recognized the plates—it was Ting Zhenxi's old sportsback.

"Is Uncle Ting home?" Li Wangyue asked without thinking.

"Nope."

(Goldfish swimming)

The car ahead pulled into the garage, and Li Wangyue followed, finding a spot to park.

A man got out of the driver's seat, around 50, in a suit and tie, with a streak of white at his temples. He didn't leave after getting out but stood nearby, seemingly waiting for the Chevrolet.

"Uncle Zhong." Ting Zhenxi got out of the car and greeted him.

"I was just thinking I might miss you if I returned the car now, but it turns out I caught you just as you got home. What a coincidence."

Uncle Zhong smiled warmly, his eyes narrowing, revealing prominent crow's feet. When his gaze fell on Li Wangyue, who had followed behind, his smile became a bit more distant. But perhaps recognizing who he was, he nodded as a greeting, not ignoring him.

Li Wangyue smiled back.

"Is it fixed?" Ting Zhenxi ran his hand over the front hood of the sportsback, inspecting it.

"All done. I also took the liberty of having it serviced at your usual shop."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Ting Zhenxi said.

Uncle Zhong glanced at the Chevrolet beside him and smiled. "You've brought it back again. Last time, Young Master Zhao liked it, so you lent it to him for a while. It was always on Twilight Island. Is this its first time in the city? Won't it be inconvenient?"

"No, there weren't many cars in the morning. I took a detour and avoided the main roads."

"That's good. If you need anything, let me know in advance, and I'll apply for a permit," Uncle Zhong said.

As the two spoke, Li Wangyue stood quietly to the side, but his mind was in turmoil.

So this Chevrolet had only entered the city for the first time this morning. Before that, it had been on Zhao Bing's island, only arriving by ferry this morning.

The Chevrolet from last night wasn't his.

Li Wangyue's heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, then suddenly released just before suffocation. The intense fluctuation left his breath dry, bringing a sense of relief, followed by an indescribable loss.

Uncle Zhong helped return the car, chatted for a while, and then left.

(Goldfish swimming)

Only the two of them remained in the garage.

Ting Zhenxi walked ahead, and Li Wangyue followed. The light at the end of the corridor blurred Ting Zhenxi's silhouette. Li Wangyue glanced at his profile, then lowered his gaze.

"What about yesterday?" Ting Zhenxi spoke.

"Huh?" He didn't turn around, so Li Wangyue didn't realize he was being addressed.

Ting Zhenxi turned his head to look at him. "Weren't you about to say something to me in the car just now?"

"Oh, that..." Li Wangyue made up an excuse. "I was going to ask you, do you remember the name of the wine you drank yesterday?"

"You want more?" Ting Zhenxi seemed to smirk. "Your lip hasn't healed yet."

"No big deal." Li Wangyue said without changing his expression. "That drink was pretty good."

"I don't remember. Zhao Bing got it from somewhere—I'll have him give you some."

"Appreciate it." Li Wangyue nodded.

As he walked to the villa's porch, Li Wangyue turned back and glanced at the black Chevrolet in the garage. Its all-black body, sleek lines, and retro design seemed to melt into the night.

He could see the headlights—even unlit, they were clear.

He looked at the car, and it felt like it was looking back at him.

That night, he couldn't sleep again. He kept replaying everything from the past two days, his mind looping through Qin You's harassing texts and that vulgar lingerie gift, while the screech of tires braking hard on the road echoed in his ears.

He couldn't sleep, so he sat up, grabbed the pill bottle from the nightstand, swallowed two, and shoved it to the back of the drawer.

As the meds kicked in, he squinted in the pitch dark, where the red light on the ceiling stood out more.

Right as he was about to drift off, the red light got sharper, like a bloodshot eye watching him.

Li Wangyue jolted, like he'd fallen off a cliff, then instantly sank into a dream.

On the other side of the screen, a man sat in a chair, fiddling with a lighter, his eyelids half-closed. The faint blue glow of the monitor reflected in his eyes.

The guy on the bed tossed and turned, restless even in his forced sleep.

The cut on his lip had split open and was bleeding.

Guess last night was too much.

Ting Zhenxi licked the cut on his own lip, his eyes locked on the bead of blood on Li Wangyue's lip. His fingers pressed the lighter's wheel, gripping it tight.

He wanted to kiss him.

Those lips, bloody and scarred, would taste amazing—making him hurt, making him struggle in confusion, making him frown, making him bleed again.

The man's chest heaved, his breath heavy and shaky, the look in his eyes growing more intense.

He got up, grabbed a tube of pain-relief ointment from the drawer, and left the bedroom.

He went into the room next door.

·

Li Wangyue stood outside the hospital room, looking through the window at Qin You on the bed.

He couldn't take care of himself anymore—both arms were broken, and he could only drink if someone fed him. He looked pathetic.

Li Wangyue waited by the door until the visitors left, then went in, sparing Qin You some dignity.

The room was quiet.

Qin You lay on the pillow, eyes closed, and said impatiently when he heard the door open, "I'm really tired. Come back tomorrow."

Li Wangyue didn't say anything, but he didn't leave either. He walked to the bedside and stopped.

Qin You heard his breathing and opened his eyes: "Didn't I say today... oh, it's you."

"Yeah." Li Wangyue pulled over a chair and sat down.

Qin You's barely contained irritation finally broke through. "What the hell is with that deadpan face? You here to laugh at me?!"

Li Wangyue just took a file from his bag and set it on the nightstand: "You've been harassing me nonstop. These are all the evidence. Starting today, don't contact me again. If you take it one step further—even one message or one move to get close—I'll submit all this to the Research Institute's Management Committee. Then we'll see if you still have a job."

"You wouldn't dare!" Qin You's eyes bulged with rage. He tried to reach out and hit him, but with both arms useless, it was laughably pathetic. "Li Wangyue, you don't have the guts! You're just a coward! You wouldn't fucking dare!"

"See if I dare." Li Wangyue stepped back, dodging his futile kicks. "Feel free to try. I don't mind."

Qin You grinned, cursing viciously: "Bitch, I just sent you a few messages. When you were with me, you were begging me to fuck you. If I say you seduced me, what can you do? I didn't really do anything to you. Even if you call the cops, they won't care!"

Li Wangyue grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off the pillow, and said coldly, word by word: "You stalked me. You sent me photos and those dirty things to threaten me. You even stole my clothes. You think no one will care? Fine, then I'll waste my time with you. Qin You, have you forgotten? In the end, I have nothing left to lose. You're different. If this blows up, you know who it'll hurt more."

"Don't you fucking frame me!" Qin You screamed, his legs thrashing wildly. "Get out! You fucking lunatic! No wonder your dad died young. You deserve to be a fucking—"

Li Wangyue threw him back onto the bed, wiped his hands with a disinfectant wipe, and ignored his wails.

Leaving the hospital, Li Wangyue felt the weather was even better—sunny and breezy, bright and cool.

Everything was over. Those disgusting harassments, the stalking that made him tremble with fear—all of it was done.

Li Wangyue took a deep breath, a slight smile curling at the corner of his lips. For the first time, he felt so relaxed.

Getting angry felt good. Really good.

What he said wasn't all just anger. He had nothing left to lose—just his face, his dignity, everyone's contempt and cold stares.

But he already had all of that.

If things really went that far, he wouldn't back down.

His phone rang.

Li Wangyue looked down and froze on the spot.

On the screen were a few short words, in a familiar tone, ambiguous and frivolous.

"Baby, you guessed wrong."

Li Wangyue's hands and feet went cold. He spun around and rushed into the stairwell, taking the stairs two or three at a time.

Qin You's hospital room was still closed. Li Wangyue rushed over, only to see him throwing a massive tantrum on the bed, screaming and kicking over the nightstand.

Li Wangyue's arms trembled as he stared at the text on his phone in disbelief.

This wasn't from Qin You.

Then who was it?