Gu Ziran

The trending topic stayed on Weibo all night, discussed over and over by netizens.

After returning from the pharmacy, Wei Zisu and Yin Zhengchuan leaned against each other and surfed the internet. Behind them, Yin Baozhu hammered away at her keyboard like she was unleashing artillery fire, defending Wei Zisu to the death and hurling abuse at every one of his haters equally.

Everyone went to bed after eleven that night, but she was still fighting, growing fiercer and more energetic with every battle!

Meanwhile, Sun Zhe sat in a private room, looking at his phone with a slight frown.

One of his disreputable friends beside him slung an arm around his shoulders and asked, "What's wrong, Sun Zhe? What are you looking at? Come on, drink!"

Sun Zhe turned off his phone and picked up his glass. "Let's drink."

He drained his glass, but his brow furrowed even deeper.

It was past four in the morning when Sun Zhe returned to the Golden Bay Waterside Pavilion. Drunk, he stripped the omega naked and tormented him for two or three hours.

The omega kept crying and begging him, but even crying himself hoarse did no good.

The alpha called out Wei Zisu's name, asking whether he had really fallen for that country bumpkin, why he had agreed to film a married-couple reality show, and what it would take to destroy him completely.

The omega was like prey being repeatedly battered and mauled by a beast before being devoured. Unable to escape, he could only submit in terror. He knew those questions were not meant for him, much less required his answers.

By the time Sun Zhe fell asleep, dawn was breaking. The omega dragged his aching body into the bathroom, washed the sweat and blood off himself, then carefully lay down beside Sun Zhe again.

He had no choice. If Sun Zhe woke to find him gone from his side, he would fly into a rage.

Looking at the alpha beside him, the omega hesitantly edged closer, bit by bit. Finally, beneath the covers, he gently hooked his little finger around Sun Zhe's thumb, wanting to sleep but not daring to.

A moment later, he lifted his other hand and touched his own face, as though he had already forgotten what he used to look like.

He had undergone plastic surgery three times, all at Sun Zhe's request. Sun Zhe had been particularly pleased after the last operation.

The omega thought that, fortunately, this operation had succeeded. Looking at this face, Sun Zhe could no longer bear to hit him, sparing him a great deal of suffering.

The omega's name was Gu Ziran, but in front of Sun Zhe, he could only be called Wei Zisu.

Gu Ziran had lived at the Welfare Institute for as long as he could remember. Mother Gu, the director, had given him his name, and he shared her surname.

None of the children at the Welfare Institute liked playing with him, because they all said Gu Ziran was stupid. But Mother Gu was very good to him. She cared about him, loved him, and looked after him.

Sometimes, Gu Ziran would ask, "Mother Gu, am I stupid?"

Mother Gu would cup his little face and kiss him, then say with a smile, "Of course not. My Little Ziran is an angel. You're just a little slower to react, that's all. Heaven wants you to walk a little more slowly than everyone else, so you can see the scenery along the way more clearly."

Gu Ziran remembered that. He was not stupid.

When he was in his teens, Mother Gu went out to buy supplies and was unfortunately involved in a traffic accident.

Attempts to save her failed, and she died on the operating table.

When he first heard the news, he was terribly sad and cried for a very, very long time. Over all those years, Mother Gu had treated him better than anyone else. Deep down, he had long regarded her as his own mother.

The children at the Welfare Institute were either adopted or went out to school and became able to support themselves.

Only Gu Ziran remained unadopted and unable to make sense of his studies, still having to stay at the Welfare Institute in his teens.

Not long after Mother Gu died, a new director arrived at the Welfare Institute.

He was a middle-aged beta man in his forties, with a potbelly and a drooping mustache. There was always something unsettlingly lewd about the way he looked at people.

Although Gu Ziran was slow, he was sensitive to how people made him feel, and he disliked the new director from the bottom of his heart.

It was not just because the man was less conscientious than Mother Gu, but also because he was always touching the children while pretending it was accidental. Gu Ziran had once seen the male director reach inside a younger omega boy's clothes and grope him.

That was not affectionate closeness born of fondness for a child, but a kind of... indescribably disgusting sleaziness.

Gu Ziran had been good-looking since childhood. Mother Gu used to tease him that if he grew his hair a little longer, absolutely no one would think he was a boy.

The new male director had long harbored ill intentions toward Gu Ziran, but although Gu Ziran was slow, he was not easy to fool. Several times, the director had tried to find a chance to get Gu Ziran into his room alone, without success.

One weekend, he suddenly told Gu Ziran that he would take him out that afternoon. Gu Ziran instinctively wanted to refuse, but the male director said sternly, "You're old enough now. After living off the Orphanage for free all these years, shouldn't you do something for it? All I'm asking is for you to come with me to buy some school supplies and help carry things, and you're too lazy even for that. Is this the example you set for the younger children?"

Clutching the hem of his clothes, Gu Ziran thought for a long while before reluctantly agreeing.

As soon as the male director saw him agree, his expression softened. Sticking out his big belly, he lit a cigarette and looked Gu Ziran up and down, then gave a disdainful snort. "Look at you, running around and getting yourself into this state. Take a bath and change before you come out with me. Keep your mouth shut when we're out. Don't let people know I've brought an idiot!"

Gu Ziran went back to bathe and changed into clean clothes.

He was led to the entrance of the Welfare Institute and got into a van.

Only the driver and the director were in the vehicle.

After getting in, he automatically sat in the very back row. Rather than being angry at having waited so long, the director handed him a bottle of soda with great "concern," saying, "Ziran, are you thirsty? We'll be on the road for over an hour. Have some soda?"

"N-no, thank you."

At first, Gu Ziran waved his hands and politely declined, but he could not resist the director's insistence on pressing it into his hands and could only accept it.

Summer was approaching, and the air conditioning in the van was off, with the windows only slightly open for ventilation. Before long, Gu Ziran was covered in sweat again.

He pulled up the front of his shirt and fanned himself with it, but it did little good. His mouth began to feel dry, so he unscrewed the soda bottle and started drinking in small sips.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, the director watched Gu Ziran tilt his head back to drink through the rearview mirror. The corner of his mouth lifted into a sleazy, smug smile.

When Gu Ziran groggily awoke, it was already dark.

The vehicle was still moving, and there seemed to be unfamiliar men talking inside.

Gu Ziran's head hurt badly. He wanted to raise a hand to pound his muddled head, but as soon as he moved, he discovered that his hands were tied together!

He became alert almost instantly, unable to understand why they had tied him up. He had done nothing wrong!

He struggled to sit up. By the light of the streetlamps, he could see three men sitting in the row ahead, with people in both the driver's and front passenger's seats as well. The van they were in was no longer the one they had set out in.

Panicked and frightened, Gu Ziran called out, "Director..."

The men ahead turned to look at him almost simultaneously. Their mocking, lewd gazes made goosebumps rise all over Gu Ziran. He involuntarily leaned back, wanting to curl up.

The director in the front passenger seat turned back and smiled at him. "Ziran, don't be scared. These are all friends of mine. Be good, and I'll take you to meet someone important."