Chapter 42
“Where are you?” The man’s questions came quick, a slamming door could vaguely be heard.
Zhou Yun Sheng’s expression was leisurely, but his tone was confused and helpless, he replied, “I’m in the Han Mountain Business club, room 108. Can you come … …”
The other end abruptly hung up before he could finish. Zhou Yun Sheng packed up his phone, and sat cross-legged on the toilet, waiting. About a minute later, the door to the club was kicked in by two bodyguards, Cao Mo Kun ran in behind them, breathless. His face twisted when he saw the rotten scene in the room.
He resisted his anger and panic as he checked each body one by one. He was surprised when he saw the bathroom door open, and a pale young man cautiously peeked out, his eyes tearful. They stared at each other for a moment.
He strode over, took off his coat and wrapped it airtight around the young man, they quickly left the club, ignoring the constant apologies from the club’s manager.
“Did you take anything?” After boarding the car, he opened the coat and looked over the young man. If the driver and the bodyguards weren’t present, he would’ve taken the boy’s clothes off and checked inside and out.
“I’m fine, they gave me wine and food but I didn’t dare touch it. I saw some people losing their minds on drugs, it scared me, so I hid in the bathroom.” Zhou Yun Sheng shrunk into a ball, obediently lying in the taller man’s generous, warm arms, clearly frightened.
“Why were you so careless? Ji Han Yu left, why didn’t you go with him? Do you understand what those people were doing in there? Do you know what they would’ve done to you? I’ll tell you, to them, you look like a delicious dish, they would’ve eaten you whole!” Cao Mo Kun forcefully hugged him, gritting his teeth as he scolded
“Those guys are Ji Han Yu’s friends, he’s alienating them to save his self-esteem, but I don’t think that’s the right choice. The more friends he has, the most chances he has. What if one of them could help his business? He’s starting from scratch, he needs connections.” Zhou Yun Sheng pitifully opened.
Cao Mo Kun was angry enough to vomit blood, but he couldn’t get angry at him, he gave a sneer, “I’m his uncle, I’m the best ‘connection’ he could ever hope to get. Why does he need you to look out for him?”
“Weren’t you the one who attacked Ji Jia? Plus, your mother also hates his mom, how could you help him?”
“Did he tell you that? He told you that I wouldn’t help him, so you needed to prostitute yourself?” Cao Mo Kun narrowed his eyes, he chest filling with hostility.
Zhou Yun Sheng didn’t respond, but his silence was regarded as acquiescence.
Cao Mo Kun sneered, his raging anger had no place to vent, he grabbed a cigarette to smoke, but refrained when he remembered the boy hated the smell. He turned to pick up his phone and dialed a number.
“What are you doing?”
“What… am I doing?” Ji Han Yu’s voice sounded hoarse, with heavy panting.
“You…Are you doing someone?” Cao Mo Kun asked incredulously, then glanced at the suddenly stiff young man.
“No.” Ji Han Yu immediately denied, then gave his lover an appeasing smile. He hadn’t intended to answer the phone, but when he saw the caller ID, he’d dragged himself out of the bed.
“Don’t lie to me, I can hear you. If you really are in love with Fang Youran, I won’t block you.” Cao Mo Kun threw him some bait.
Ji Han Yu was silent for a second, then he nodded, “Ah Uncle, I really am with him, and your support is very important to us, thank you.”
“And Lin Chengze?” Cao Mo Kun continued his casting.
Because Fang Youran was next to him, listening, Ji Han Yu held back his malicious words, he only contemptuously said, “Who cares, from beginning to end, he meant nothing to me.”
“Okay, I see, continue your business.” Cao Mo Kun hung up the phone, then he grabbed the young man’s jaw, forcing him to look at him. He enunciated, “Look, this is the type of guy you love, from top to bottom, he never cared about you. He’s even fucking your best friend!”
Zhou Yun Sheng froze a moment, then forced out some tears, his expression completely desolate and desperate. He played the part of a sentimentally injured young boy perfectly. When Cao Mo Kun faced this damaged look, his always cold and bitter heart shook, a painful feeling spread out from his chest and travelled through his whole body.
“Why are you crying? Just this small setback, and you cry like you lost a family member. You really have no ambition.” His mouth reprimanded, but his hand held a napkin, gently wiping away the boy’s tears. Initially, he planned to have a ‘chance’ encounter in a few days, to let the boy see how Ji Han Yu had betrayed him with Fang Youran. But he didn’t expect Ji Han Yu would take him to an immoral sex party.
This was a serious violation of Cao Mo Kun’s bottom line. Han Yu was an illegitimate daughter’s child, he could support him when he pleased him, but he wouldn’t hesitate to knock him down into the abyss if he pissed him off.
Zhou Yun Sheng brushed past his napkin, and grabbed his sleeve, he complained, “My mom and dad are dead, do you also want to rub salt in my wounds?”
“Yes, I was wrong, baby don’t cry. Ji Han Yu is nothing, you still have me. Don’t cry.” Cao Mo Kun had never comforted before, he eventually decided that the less he said, the less likely he was to make things worse, and just simply held him tight in his arms. He lightly kissed the top of his head and forehead.
“I still have you? Did you forget? Our deal is expiring soon.” Zhou Yun Sheng dropped a bomb.
Cao Mo Kun’s breathing halted, he’d remembered that they were in a contract. Damnit, forget about making things worse, things had already started in the worse possible state. If he knew he was going to fall this hard, he would’ve never made the man enter such a humiliating deal.
Zhou Yun Sheng didn’t give him the opportunity to explain, he continued, “Give me the three hundred thousand now, in cash.”
“What are you going to do? Are you really that stupid? He said he had no money, so you accepted that he had no money without a thought? Bankruptcy does not mean poverty, it’s just a means of preserving surplus property. Baby, even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. The Ji family would never fall to the point where they couldn’t even get 300,000. Baby…. he was playing with you.” Cao Mo Kun immediately forget his tangled emotions and told the harsh truth.
Zhou Yun Sheng was silent for a long time, finally, he shook his head, “I’m not as cheap as you think. Whether he was playing me or not, since it has come to this point, I have to end it with him.” After his words fell into the gloomy atmosphere, he discretely glanced at his AI. He’d installed a few pinhole cameras at home to find the perfect chance to confront the protagonist, for the maximum emotional impact.
The first time the two had sex, he should’ve been there to start a scene, but unfortunately, he was also in bed with Cao Mo Kun at the time, so he’d had to give up the chance. Now that they were going at it again, he certainly couldn’t miss this opportunity. Since he’d promised to make Ji Han Yu experience what was true great, selfless love, he’d unquestionably accomplish it.
Cao Mo Kun saw his determined demeanor and was finally satisfied. He let his bodyguards immediately go to the bank to withdraw three hundred thousand in cash. Zhou Yun Sheng carried the heavy cash box, and walked into his front door.
The door was well oiled, the two didn’t notice his entrance. Zhou Yun Sheng entered Fang Youran’s bedroom door, his face darkened as he stared at the two gyrating bodies.
Ji Han Yu was thrusting crazily, Fang Youran couldn’t handle it, he begged, “Go lighter… slower, it hurts…” Then he inadvertently glanced up, his voice stuck in his throat, speechless.
“Lin Ze!” After a long time, he screamed disbelievingly, he reflexively pushed Ji Han Yu off from on top of him.
“You came back?” Ji Han Yu was not panicked in the slightest, he pulled the quilt over his lover’s body, and leisurely pulled on his underwear.
“I’m back, I came back to see how you were fucking my best friend.” Zhou Yun Sheng walked to the bedside sofa and sat down, his face expressionless.
“Don’t try to frame it like we’re the dirty ones, you’re not so clean yourself. Did you enjoy all the fucking at that party? How did they do? Did those rich boys satisfy you? Was their money enough to fill your thirsty little hole?” Ji Han Yu sneered, his words piercing.
Zhou Yun Sheng was not angry, but Cao Mo Kun, who was sitting in the living room smoking, had an increasingly feral expression. He had no idea that his nephew was so similar to his mother- they both had the talent to anger someone to the point where they desired to murder them.
Zhou Yun Sheng endured. He praised himself on his restraint to not immediately twist off Ji Han Yu’s neck. He opened the cash box, and pulled out bundles of banknotes one by one.
He opened, “Didn’t you need three hundred thousand in a hurry? Well here you go, all my suffering, I’m giving it to you! I filmed a half porn ad in only a pair of jeans for you, I sold myself to be an old man’s pet for you! For you, I even sucked up to those shitty friends of yours, just on the off chance that they’d help you out. I sold my body, my self-esteem, and even my soul, just for you, you bastard! And what’s my repayment? I get to watch you and my best friend fuck off into the sunset? I get taken to a freakin’ sex party, and thrown to a group of drugged up animals? What should I apologize for? What did I do to make you hate me so much that you’d try to destroy me?”
He squished up the bundles of banknotes into a ball and threw it at Ji Han Yu’s shocked face.
Why did he fall in love with Fang Youran? Of course, it was because he was the only one who watched him with sympathetic eyes when he was down. Unlike others, he didn’t feel contempt for him, didn’t deliberately distance himself, didn’t abandon him in his time of need. Although his own condition was just as poor, he did everything he could to help. His love was so sincere, so warm and so unreserved.
But the sprinkle of banknotes on the ground plainly told him- while he was unaware, someone else paid everything for him, from his body to his self-esteem, and even his soul.
And he’d tried to destroy that person in a dirty scheme.
Looking at the young man’s humiliated, yet still beautiful and remarkable face, Ji Han Yu felt as if he was fiercely slapped dozens of times, his cheeks had a painful burning sensation.
“You,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Didn’t you tell your friend that you only wanted my money?”
“Why should I tell every random classmate that asks that I love you desperately? This is my private matter. I thought that as long as I put in enough effort, you would be able to see my strengths and love, then we could face the storm hand in hand. But I guess your love was too cheap. Fang Youran just needed to feed you a few times, comfort you, and hand you some change to take away your heart.”
The teenager suddenly looked very tired, he slowly leaned back on the sofa, and waved his hands, “Forget it, what’s the use in complaining now? Just because I said a tasteless joke, you created such a terrible plan to destroy me, Ji Han Yu, your heart is simply deplorable. Take the money and go, go far away, looking at you makes me sick.”
How could Ji Han Yu have the face to take the money? As long as he thought about what the boy had sacrificed in exchange for it, his heart would twist and turn. No matter how deep the walls around his heart were buried, he was still an inexperienced child, his heart naturally had weak spots. Everything Zhou Yun Sheng paid for him was plainly exposed and he was inevitably moved.
Lin Chengze didn’t go out every day and come back late at night because he was playing; The promises he made were not unthinking; He didn’t try to please his friends because he wanted a new backer, everything he did for himself. Why didn’t you see it? Why did you misunderstand him so deeply because of one sentence, and even thought up such a terrible idea? If we had sat down and truly talked, we would never have come to this point.
Now, looking at the slumped over, red eyed young man, Ji Han Yu didn’t feel the slightest bit of his previous disgust, only endless guilt and regret. If he could turn back time, he would cherish him, cherish his feelings.
Fang Youran finally drilled out from under the quilt, he burst into tears, “Lin Ze, I’m so sorry!”
“If you really feel sorry for me, take this dirty money and go away, get out, I never want to see you again!” Zhou Yun Sheng looked at them with cold eyes.
Fang Youran was not innocent, although the original Lin Chengze was wrong, it’s a fact that he stole his best friend’s boyfriend. The original Lin Chengze took him in for several years, this kindness couldn’t be offset. When Lin Chengze was suffering because of those pornographic pictures, he could’ve pull him back, even just two comforting sentences would’ve helped, then Lin Chengze wouldn’t have been reduced to that point. In the end, Lin Chengze was also a victim, yet Fang Youran never sympathized with him, he even treated him coldly, where was the logic in that? Was that true friendship?
Ji Han Yu didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to break up like this, he was about to beg to stay when he saw his uncle slowly walk in, his eyes full of hostility.
“Baby, are you done? Come home with me when you’re finished.” He grabbed the boy’s hand.
“Uncle, what are you doing here? What’s your relationship with Lin Ze?” Ji Han Yu’s face suddenly became livid as he thought of a possibility.
“I’m the old man he mentioned. Baby, if you hadn’t said it, I’d have had no idea I had such an image in your mind.” He bit the boy’s small round earlobe. The boy’s tensed shoulder slightly trembled, he gave a sad smile. He mouthed out ‘I’ll move out now’ and the arm around him quickly left to set things up.
Ji Han Yu stood for several minutes in shock, he looked at the scattered bright red paper notes, then at the boy who had covered his face, tears pouring out. He felt that he had lost the most precious person in his life.
Fang Youran’s heart broke when he saw his regretful expression. He had thought he’d paid enough for Han Yu, he’d paid everything he could give, that was the biggest reason he gave in to Ji Han Yu’s temptations. But now, faced with Lin Chengze’s sacrifices, he became a downright joke.
If Ji Han Yu broke up with him, where could he go from there?
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T/N:
even a starving camel is bigger than a horse – A rich family that’s going through rough times is still better off than a poor family