Humiliation

The next day.

Although his work started in the evening, Shi Yuan left home early.

The Wei Family home was too far from Oak Bay. He could manage the occasional bicycle ride, but making that round trip every day for a whole month? He could pedal until he coughed up blood and still not manage it.

The bus routes were too short, and getting to Mr. Ren's house required two transfers. It was far too inconvenient.

So he worked out the best route: buy an electric scooter, ride twenty minutes from the Wei Family home to the nearest subway station, then take the subway downtown.

Oak Bay was conveniently located, with a subway station just outside the neighborhood. From there, he could walk to Mr. Ren's house in a little over ten minutes.

It was a bit of a hassle, but it took less effort than cycling. Neither leg of his commute fell during rush hour, so he could even rest on the subway.

His salary was paid monthly and would not arrive until next month. He could not bring himself to buy a new scooter, so last night, he had picked out a used one on a secondhand marketplace.

He had once felt sorry for Wei Zelin for driving a used Volkswagen. Who would have thought he himself would end up buying even an electric scooter secondhand?

Shi Yuan took a bus to the subway entrance to familiarize himself with the route. Not many people boarded here, and it was neither early nor late enough to be rush hour. There were plenty of empty seats in the carriage, so he picked one at random.

Two young women sat to his left, with an empty seat between them and him. They seemed to be together. After Shi Yuan sat down, they leaned close and began whispering.

Sitting there alone, Shi Yuan stood out. His clothes and looks suggested a handsome campus heartthrob, but his demeanor was gentle and composed. The combination was very appealing, and quite a few people nearby were sneaking looks at him.

Two stops later, seeing more people coming into the carriage, the women finally could not resist shifting closer to Shi Yuan.

"Hey, handsome, could we add you on WeChat?"

Shi Yuan had been good-looking since childhood, and this was not the first time someone had asked for his contact information. This time, though, he hesitated. It was not that his sexuality had suddenly changed again. He wanted to try something...

"Better not. I'm into the same people you are."

He tried to say it calmly, but the hand at his side nervously picked at his trouser seam.

Everything he knew about this world's rules came from the book. Beyond the two male leads and the overbearing Wei Family, whom no one dared question, would something that had drawn contempt in his own world, something he had not dared announce publicly, really be accepted here?

"Oh. All right, then." Her voice was full of disappointment.

Shi Yuan saw no surprise or disgust in her eyes, and he smiled in relief.

His demeanor was worlds apart from the original owner's. In his previous life, he had still possessed some of a sheltered college student's childish impulsiveness. Now that he had experienced more of life, he had become much calmer and gentler.

With that great weight lifted from his mind, even the corners of his eyes and brows radiated unrestrained warmth when he smiled. The Little Girl whose heart had just been broken almost felt her hopes rekindle.

"Actually... I have an older brother."

Shi Yuan: "..."

Huh?

By the time he emerged from the subway station, Shi Yuan had added both girls on WeChat. He had even added the older brother of one of them, a girl named Xiao Ying. Apparently, her brother was into men too.

The two Little Girls had looked at him so expectantly that he had no choice but to bite the bullet and add this unknown man whose nickname was "Yixiu."

Shi Yuan's WeChat account was newly registered to begin with. His only contacts had been Wei Zelin, You Gui, and the recently added Mr. Ren.

Shi Yuan casually sent a "Hello," then slipped his phone into his pocket.

After leaving the subway station, he met up with the seller without any trouble. She was a very pretty young woman. The little green scooter was clean and well maintained, and she had even thoughtfully charged its battery to full.

She was about to leave Capital City and return to her hometown to build her career, so she was selling it cheaply. Shi Yuan had happened upon a bargain.

The little scooter came with two keys but no helmet. Shi Yuan rode to the wholesale market he knew and made a circuit of it. When he came back, he had a cream-colored helmet on his head.

"Peaches! Big, sweet flat peaches!"

The roadside vendor's calls caught Shi Yuan's attention, and he suddenly remembered the peaches Wei Zelin had brought home last time. He had even said he would buy some near their company, but his job hunt had driven it completely out of his mind.

He parked at the roadside and took out his phone to check the route.

The Wei Corporation was three streets away, a half-hour ride. The sun was blazing overhead, and he was wearing a stifling helmet on top of that.

Shi Yuan immediately abandoned the idea. He climbed back onto his cute little scooter and found the library closest to Oak Bay.

It was too far to make going back and forth worthwhile. He stayed at the library until six in the evening, then left for Mr. Ren's house.

Mr. Ren was very strict with his son. He showed some warmth toward Shi Yuan, but his face remained stern when dealing with Xiao Rong.

At first, Xiao Rong's chilly expression looked very much like Mr. Ren's. Despite that frosty little face, however, the child took studying very seriously. By the end of the first lesson, Shi Yuan felt thoroughly at ease.

Inside an upscale Clubhouse owned by the Wei Corporation, Wei Zexuan lounged against a sofa, a slender cigarette with gold patterns twining around it held between his fingers. Seven or eight people sat on the sofas beside him, smoking along with him. An unusual fragrance filled the private room, but it was not harsh.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked outside. In a low, husky voice, Wei Zexuan said, "Come in."

The manager, dressed in a uniform suit, bent at the waist to a ninety-degree angle and said respectfully, "Young President Wei, I've brought everyone."

He stepped aside, and seven or eight attractive young men and women filed in behind him. Some looked innocent, others sexy, each with a different style.

The most striking of them was a man of around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with handsome, resolute features. He wore a black, short-sleeved V-neck shirt. Its second-skin fabric clung to his body, outlining his broad back, solid waist, and abdominal muscles. It was not excessive, merely extraordinarily sexy.

His face had an honest, dependable look that clashed with the showy outfit. It was obvious someone else had chosen it for him.

The people beside Wei Zexuan beckoned, and the men and women obediently went over to sit with them. Only this man remained where he was, something like anger burning in his eyes.

"President Wei, when you told me to work for you, I thought you meant as a bodyguard."

His voice was low, suppressing anger and humiliation.

"Fan Zuo... you can't be serious. A bodyguard?"

Wei Zexuan snorted, stood, and jabbed an index finger into Fan Zuo's hard abdominal muscles.

"Do you think I'm short on bodyguards?"

That finger carried barely any force, yet it pushed Fan Zuo back two steps.

The burly, six-foot-tall man flushed red. Everyone in the private room was watching him, their suggestive gazes making him painfully uncomfortable.

Shocked and furious, Fan Zuo said, "President Wei, I'm not that kind of person. I won't... I won't do it!"

"Hahaha." As though Fan Zuo had said something hilarious, Wei Zexuan laughed until tears nearly came to his eyes.

"I'm giving you the chance to kneel down and lick my shoes. Do you really think you're worth anything, hmm?"

The moment he finished speaking, Wei Zexuan's smile vanished. "The door's over there," he said coldly. "Get the hell out."

Fan Zuo's face turned ashen. Without another word, he turned and headed for the door.

Behind him, Wei Zexuan's voice sounded like a demon from hell. He drawled, "Remember to spend some quality time with your little brother when you get back. He doesn't have many days of freedom left."

Fan Zuo spun around and glared at him.

"He didn't do it! He only signed because that manager told him to! You said you wouldn't press charges!"

Wei Zexuan sneered. "Is he an idiot? Someone tells him to sign, and he signs? Sure, I can refrain from pressing charges. Just cover my fifty-million shortfall."

Fan Zuo's chest heaved. Fifty million. The brothers could work their entire lives without eating or drinking and still never repay it. He knew the money was a trap. Otherwise, how could his brother, one of the company's lowest-ranking employees, ever have had access to such an enormous deal?

Had his brother dragged him into this, or had he dragged his brother into it...?

Nothing he said mattered anymore. Faced with the certainty of conquest in Wei Zexuan's eyes, he closed his own. In the end, he walked over step by step, bent his knees, and knelt before Wei Zexuan.

Wei Zexuan held his head high and idly swung his foot, his expensive black leather shoe brushing Fan You's chin several times. Everyone knew he was doing it on purpose, but no one dared question him in the slightest.

Fan Zuo slowly bent forward. As he moved, something taut inside him seemed to shatter with a sharp snap.

His full, trembling lips slowly touched the cold leather of the shoe...

Mocking laughter rose around him. At first, he could not tell who had started it, but soon it swelled into a chorus of jeering amusement.

Fan Zuo only wished he were deaf. The more he dwelled on those sounds, the louder they seemed to ring in his ears.

The sight of his humiliation piqued Wei Zexuan's interest. He extended his foot and pressed his expensive leather shoe against Fan You's crotch, grinding down with measured pressure.

The private room suddenly fell silent. Wei Zexuan grabbed Fan You's thin T-shirt and hauled him upright, then led him toward the door step by step.

The manager waiting nearby had the sense to hand over a key card for a room upstairs.

Among the wealthy heirs, Huang Shiren clicked his tongue in wonder.

Wei Zexuan really was disgusting. Who trampled another person's dignity like that? Being singled out by him was rotten luck.

The wealthy heirs in this room might indulge in all sorts of wild games, but none of them lacked money, and they generally preferred willing partners. None made things as ugly as Wei Zexuan did.

Those who had found someone they liked gave a suggestive hint, then went upstairs with their partners clinging to them.

Huang Shiren and the remaining people set up two tables to play cards. They had barely played two rounds when Wei Zexuan came back downstairs, looking rather displeased.

One of the players at Huang Shiren's table was the Ning Family's second son. His family was not on the Wei Family's level, but it was hardly insignificant. He teased, "That guy looked pretty sturdy. Finished already?"

The Ning Family's second son took in Wei Zexuan's stern face, flushed on both cheeks, and his loosely draped shirt, beneath which a few red marks were faintly visible. He swallowed, his gaze sticking to Wei Zexuan as he abandoned his cards. "Young President Wei, how about trying me instead? Satisfaction guaranteed."

Wei Zexuan kicked him. "You think you can fuck me with that rotten cucumber of yours?" he said in disgust.

He took two cigarettes from Huang Shiren, toying with one in his hand and putting the other between his lips.

Wei Zexuan's preference for men was no secret in their circle. The women in the private room knew better than to approach him. The pretty, innocent-looking young man had no choice but to brave Wei Zexuan's hostility and lean in to light his cigarette.

Seeing how sexually frustrated he looked, Huang Shiren got an idea. He did not dare touch the big star himself, but he could let Wei Zexuan do it.

"Young President Wei, wasn't that Ren Zhi from last time better-looking than today's guy? Why didn't you call him over?"

Wei Zexuan exhaled a smoke ring. "I can't afford to offend the person backing him."

The Ning Family's second son perked up and kept sidling toward Wei Zexuan. "Who is it? There's actually someone our Young President Wei can't get?"

Wei Zexuan was already irritated. Ren Zhi was not the only difficult one. Ever since You Gui had escaped his clutches and fled the Imperial Capital, Shen Duo would not even give him a proper glance. If their families had not still been working together, he might not have been able to see Shen Duo at all.

"There's no one I, Wei Zexuan, can't get. Sooner or later, they'll all be my dogs," he said darkly.

Huang Shiren chimed in, "That guy really doesn't know what's good for him. If he got with our President Wei, he could throw his weight around their whole industry. Plenty of people want connections with you and can't even find a way in."

Recalling their last encounter over dinner, Wei Zexuan narrowed his eyes. Ren Zhi's handsome face was hardly inferior to Shen Duo's. "It's not time yet. Once I have some time to spare, I'll deal with them one by one."

At that, Huang Shiren immediately abandoned his scheme. With Wei Zexuan acting so utterly above the law, sooner or later he would run into a brick wall with that big star. Why bother stirring things up himself?

Wei Zexuan asked, "Right, how are things going with Shi Yuan?"

Shi Yuan was involved in this too? Huang Shiren pricked up his ears.

One of the wealthy heirs said, "Who knows what got into that guy? He actually went and got that lousy certification. I've already told my uncle to keep an eye on things. No school will dare hire him."

Most of the wealthy heirs in the room knew Shi Yuan. At the mention of him, they began gossiping all at once.

"He really is a freak. His dad went bankrupt, and instead of grabbing whatever he could before his stepmother took it all, he actually had the time and energy to become an elementary school teacher."

For wealthy heirs like them, it was impossible to imagine what it felt like to clock in on time every day for a few thousand yuan.

With their family fortunes, even if they fell on hard times, selling a couple of vases or paintings-or, at worst, a house-would leave them enough to coast through the rest of their lives. They simply would not be able to spend as extravagantly as they did now.

That was why Shi Yuan's behavior had genuinely shocked their circle.

Because Wei Zelin had intervened, they still did not know Shi Yuan was now working as a private tutor. Otherwise, their expressions would certainly have been even more entertaining.

Wei Zexuan did not care what Shi Yuan was thinking. Having tolerated him several times to avoid an open falling-out with the Shi Family had already pushed him to his limit. Once he had his hands free, he would do far more than play these little tricks...