The lights in Linshui's corridors were turned down especially low, cool and faintly blue. Every private room was shut tight, sealed off from the world outside.
The thick red carpet absorbed all sound. Following the illuminated signs, Song Yu walked farther inside.
After using the toilet, Song Yu washed his hands, thinking he might as well text his cousin and leave. He certainly didn't want to listen to them sing anymore.
Just then, two staff members in Linshui uniforms came out of the restroom, chatting beside him.
Over the rushing water, their voices reached Song Yu clearly.
"Are kids these days all that hardcore?"
"Yeah. Don't know whether to call him stupid or naive."
"Just playing the hero without a clue. One look at that woman and you know what she does for a living. A couple of tears and suddenly she's a pure white lotus? My guess is she never expected to run into someone as ruthless as Second Young Master Wang, so she decided to bail and got the new kid to deal with him for her."
"Second Young Master Wang never goes easy on women. She didn't want to suffer, so she pushed someone else into the fire pit. Vicious."
"And the kid actually bought all her bullshit. Hilarious. Does he think being a guy makes him safe? Second Young Master Wang's circle has the messiest private lives imaginable. With a face like that, the kid could go in to deliver drinks and come out half-dead."
One of them turned off the tap, paused, and suddenly asked, "I heard the manager say that kid's still in high school, right? If something happens, it'll make the news."
The other sneered. "Whose fault is that? One's willing to dish it out, the other's willing to take it. Nobody forced him. Besides, don't worry. With the Wang family around, that news will never get out."
Song Yu dried his hands with a paper towel, thinking that the world of a wealthy-family novel really was a wondrous place. The rule of law was practically just for show.
Of course, without that, how could all those dumbasses conveniently act like animals?
Song Yu wasn't someone who would stand by and let another person die. He planned to report it to the front desk in a moment. He couldn't just watch a kid get abused.
He took out his phone, composed a message to his cousin-"I'm taking a cab home first"-and pressed send.
Then he heard the two staff members talking as they reached the door.
"What was that kid's name again?"
"His surname's Xie, I think. Xie... Xie Sui. Right, Xie Sui!"
His finger froze.
Xie Sui?!
Fuck!
Song Yu went rigid, then shoved his phone into his pocket, suddenly strode out, and called after the two staff members.
"Wait!"
The two staff members stopped in surprise. Turning around, they saw a tall, slender boy of fifteen or sixteen hurrying out of the restroom.
They worked at Linshui and did have professional service standards. From Song Yu's clothes, they could also tell he came from an extraordinary background. "Hello. Can we help you?"
There was an edge of urgency in Song Yu's voice. "Which room?"
The staff members looked baffled. "What?"
Song Yu suppressed his impatience. "Which room is Xie Sui in?"
The staff members looked troubled. "Well..."
Song Yu gazed steadily at them, his dark eyes utterly serious, and said each word distinctly. "Xie Sui and I are classmates."
The staff members sighed inwardly. They weren't cold-blooded, either. "He's in 305."
Song Yu murmured, "Thank you," and ran downstairs.
On his way down, he typed another message to his cousin. "I'm in 305."
Song Yu would have helped a stranger too, but he wouldn't have been so frantic. The name Xie Sui instantly sent his worry and unease soaring.
Because aside from "attracting perverts," Xie Sui's constitution had another characteristic: he was particularly prone to arousing other people's sadistic urges.
In short, he was plagued by misfortune.
Someone else might just drink and throw up. For Xie Sui, it meant broken legs and a smashed head. The author really had stopped at nothing to torment Xie Sui more thoroughly.
Cursing the original novel's garbage setup, Song Yu ran to the front desk, his voice breathless from running. "Miss! I want to report something!"
The receptionist froze for a moment, then recognized him as someone Meng Guang had brought and asked respectfully, "What was that?"
Song Yu said, "I want to report trouble in room 305!"
The receptionist's exquisitely made-up face stiffened slightly. "Trouble? All right, I-I'll ask."
She was about to contact the third-floor staff, but before the radio even connected,
Song Yu had already slapped the counter and shouted, "There's no time! Is your manager here? Lend me a few people first. My friend's in 305. I feel like something will happen to him if I'm even a second late."
The receptionist said, "..."
Where did this brat even come from? I really want security to drag him out. But out of consideration for Young Master Meng, what could she do? She could only smile stiffly. "All right, all right. Please don't panic."
In a private room decorated in an antique style in Linshui's rear courtyard.
Tired after belting out a song, Meng Guang sat on the sofa and was about to open a bottle when his phone suddenly lit up.
He swiped to unlock it and saw messages from his younger cousin.
Two of them.
[I'm taking a cab home first.]
[I'm in 305.]
The two were only a few minutes apart.
Meng Guang vaguely sensed something was wrong. Opening a beer, he asked casually, "Who's in 305 at Linshui today?"
Seated beside him was the young master of the Wei family. The Wei family was a giant in Jing City's dining and entertainment industry, and Linshui was one of its clubs.
Wei Ce said, "305? Why are you asking?" He was shuffling cards when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait, I think I remember. When I went upstairs today, I ran into Wang Beidan and his crowd. I think they went into 305."
"Pfft!"
Meng Guang sprayed out all the beer in his mouth.
Wei Ce hurriedly leaned aside and swore, "Fuck, are you asking for a beating?"
Furious, Meng Guang crushed the can in his hand and stood up, his eyes dark and his voice icy. "Wang. Bei. Dan?"
Someone beside him could see how angry he was and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Sure, he's disgusting, but he hasn't done anything to you, has he?"
Wang Beidan's reputation in their circle was absolutely rotten.
He liked the bizarre and had perverse tastes. Once, he had nearly played a third-rate actress to death in an apartment, and the Wang family had spent a fortune covering it up.
Meng Guang's face was thunderous. He snapped, "My cousin's in 305 right now!"
Everyone sucked in a breath.
The Song family's little young master had such a sweet, delicate face. Surely that idiot Wang Beidan hadn't been blind enough to lure him inside?
Desperate to protect his cousin, Meng Guang strode out, gritting his teeth. "Fuck, if my cousin loses a single hair, I'm putting that bastard in the ICU today!"
"Hey, hey, wait! We're coming with you."
Several of Jing City's young masters hurriedly stood as well.
This was no joke. If anything really happened to Song Yu, their elders would break their legs.
Linshui, third floor.
Following behind Song Yu, the manager was utterly miserable. "Young master, how could a classmate of yours possibly be here?"
Song Yu's young face was cold. "If I say he's here, he's here."
The manager felt as though a brat was pushing him into a fire pit, but he could only steel himself and knock.
A moment later, the door to 305 opened.
A young man with dyed yellow hair answered it, dark circles beneath his eyes and displeasure written all over his face. "What?"
The manager was sweating profusely. "I heard someone was causing trouble here, so I came to take a look."
The blond curled his lip. "Nobody is! Get lost!"
With that, he moved to slam the door.
But a boy's slender, pale hand caught the handle.
A slightly cold voice rang out. "My friend's inside."
The blond looked past him and saw a boy in a white T-shirt and jeans. His eyes immediately lit up.
He liked boys to begin with, and following Wang Beidan around Jing City had made him accustomed to throwing his weight around. Looking at Song Yu's fair, tender face, he felt heat stir in his crotch. Narrowing his eyes, he gave a sleazy grin. "You mean that Xie Sui kid? He's your friend? Friends are great. Want to come in and play too?"
The manager tried to warn the blond. "No, this is..."
But Song Yu had already pushed past him and sneered. "Sure."
The blond eagerly opened the door.
Song Yu stepped straight inside.
Music played in the private room, noisy and clamorous, the lighting chaotic and restless. The air was foul and reeked of alcohol. Several men sat on the sofas with their belts undone and women with exposed breasts on their laps, laughter and moans sounding incessantly.
Yet even as they held the women by their waists, their mocking gazes were all fixed on the center of the room as they jeered.
"Drink!"
"Young Master Wang keeps his word!"
"Finish drinking and we'll let that stupid bitch go!"
Following their gazes, Song Yu saw Xie Sui.
The protagonist of Gentle Control.
In a white shirt and black trousers, Xie Sui still had a student's youthful air, yet his features were already exquisitely sharp. Light fell across his brows and eyes, and even his aloofness seemed to turn to frost.
Several empty bottles already stood on the table.
But Xie Sui kept moving, his slender hands tipping a bottle and pouring liquor in one smooth motion, like an old hand.
The boy had undone the first two buttons of his shirt. He tipped his head back, liquor escaping the corner of his mouth and rolling over his collarbone, outrageously sexy.
He drained another bottle.
He set it on the table.
"Ten."
The boy lowered his eyes, his voice icy.
In this decadent abyss of drunken luxury, he was as clean and aloof as a ray of light.
A woman knelt on the floor, her makeup ruined by tears. She, too, raised her head and stared blankly at her.
Ten bottles of Linshui's most lethal liquor would leave someone with a perforated stomach, if it didn't kill them.
A slightly overweight man sat in the middle of the sofa, smoking. He said meaningfully, "You really did finish them all."
Xie Sui's voice was indifferent. "Let her go."
Wang Beidan stared lecherously at the boy's exquisite face, licked his lips, and stubbed his cigarette out on the table.
"Fine, I'll let her go. But I paid a lot to get this woman here. Letting her go for just ten bottles feels like a real loss. How about you give me something to make up for it?"
Xie Sui's pupils contracted. He said nothing, but his hands slowly clenched.
Everyone beside them wore knowing smiles. Anyone Young Master Wang took a fancy to definitely wasn't leaving tonight.
Wang Beidan pushed the woman off his lap, spread his legs, and grinned obscenely. "How about this? I called her here to blow off some steam in the first place. Why don't you get me off with your mouth? Then we'll call it even. How's that?"
At the door to the private room.
The blond blocked the doorway, deeply annoyed. "I'm playing with the kid. What are you butting in for? Get lost, get lost. Don't spoil my fun."
The manager looked miserable. "Please don't. This is going to end badly. Young Master Meng brought him here. This is going to end badly."
The blond said, "What? Who brought him?"
As the manager kept muttering that this would end badly, the sound of a bottle shattering suddenly came from inside.
Crash! Thunderously loud!
Everyone was stunned.
A boy had entered the room at some point.
Without a word, he picked up a beer bottle from the table and flung it straight at Wang Beidan's head.
Wang Beidan's pupils contracted. He barely dodged it, but the shards from the bottle smashing against the wall still left his face streaming with blood.
Touching the blood on his face, he instantly went berserk and screamed himself hoarse. "Who?! Who let him in?!"
Xie Sui froze too. One moment, everything around him had been darkness, humiliating words and disgusting gazes tormenting his nerves and dignity bit by bit.
The next, someone had suddenly appeared and shattered that nightmare. After so much liquor, his stomach had long been in knife-like agony. His usually cold eyes now held a trace of bewilderment as he silently watched the person beside him.
Song Yu stepped out of the darkness, so angry his liver hurt. Looking at Wang Beidan, he sneered. "Didn't you want to blow off some steam? Let me help."
A truly hardcore way to blow off steam.