"We haven't seen each other in days. How about hitting that new bar tonight for some fun?"
The restroom wasn't well soundproofed. Huo Yuzhou, who had just finished a phone call and was about to leave, heard the racket inside and vaguely thought the voice sounded familiar.
"Everyone's going. If you don't come, aren't you disrespecting me?"
"Fuck! You've got your eye on Nan Qing too?"
A burst of unrestrained laughter came from a restroom stall, carrying a lewd malice.
At that name, Huo Yuzhou stopped in his tracks, a dangerous flash of murderous intent crossing his eyes.
Cold white light fell across his sharp features. Huo Yuzhou turned and headed back.
The voice in the stall continued without restraint.
"Well, look at you. You used to act so proper. Turns out this is what you're into."
"I was wondering why you always hung around Nan Qing. So you had your eye on him all along."
"But your timing's bad. Right after word got out that Nan Qing was a fake, that old bastard Zhou from Shenghe Real Estate came to me. He's had his eye on Nan Qing for ages and was falling over himself to get me to set them up."
"We've been buddies for so many years, so I won't hide it from you."
"That old man Zhou is generous. He gave me a five-hundred-thousand deposit and said he'd give me another five hundred thousand once it was done. He knows Nan Qing's still a virgin, so he's determined to have him."
"I already promised him, buddy. Don't make things hard for me."
"Once that old bastard Zhou is done playing with him, I'll bring him over to you. Then you can do whatever you want with him-"
Knock, knock-
Knuckles rapped twice against the door, interrupting Qi Bin as he spoke excitedly inside.
"Fuck! Can't you fucking hear someone's in here?"
Qi Bin cursed angrily.
But the person outside didn't leave. Another two knocks came.
Qi Bin pulled up his pants.
"Gotta go. Some dumbass is outside. We'll talk when we meet tonight!"
"I said, are you fucking sick in the head-"
The door creaked open. Qi Bin looked up aggressively and met Huo Yuzhou's cold, asura-like face.
The words caught in Qi Bin's mouth.
He bowed ingratiatingly and put on a fawning smile.
"Mr. Huo, what brings you here? I'm Qi Bin. You might not know me, but my dad-"
The man's large hand shot out and clamped hard around Qi Bin's throat, choking off his unfinished words.
Before the fawning expression had left Qi Bin's face, his complexion turned ashen from lack of air, and shock swiftly took its place.
But Huo Yuzhou gave him no time to react.
As he struggled uselessly, Huo Yuzhou gripped his throat with one hand and dragged him out as though hauling a dead dog.
Qi Bin slapped at Huo Yuzhou's iron-vise grip with both hands, his eyes bulging from suffocation as his feet kicked wildly against the floor.
The phone he hadn't had time to put down clattered to the floor, while Huo Yuzhou effortlessly dragged him out and slammed him against the sink counter.
The restraint around his neck abruptly loosened, and air rushed into Qi Bin's nose and throat.
Qi Bin coughed twice urgently, a sweet, bloody taste filling his throat.
"Your name is Qi Bin?"
The man's icy voice rang out, carrying a dangerous undertone.
Struggling to breathe, Qi Bin had no idea how he had offended this powerful man. His face alternated between green and white.
"M-Mr. Huo, is there some misunderstanding..."
"I-I don't even know you..."
Qi Bin knelt on the floor as though all his strength had left him, panic flashing in his eyes.
The man looking down at him wore an icy expression, his narrow eyes holding a calm that sent chills through him.
"You know Nan Qing."
At that, Qi Bin said, "Yes, yes! I do! I know Nan Qing!"
A thought flashed through his mind, and he understood at once.
"Mr. Huo! Are you interested in Nan Qing too? That's easy! That's easy!"
"Tell me which hotel you're staying at, and I'll bring him right-"
A dull thud sounded. Qi Bin's throat was seized hard again, and his body struck the sintered-stone sink counter.
The next moment, the man, handsome as a god, stared at him expressionlessly. Gripping his throat, he shoved his head hard into the water-filled sink.
Cold water surged at him from every direction, forcing its way into his nose and mouth.
Qi Bin opened his eyes and struggled desperately, only to ram his head deeper into the basin. The suffocation brought a deathlike terror as cold water kept pouring into his nose.
A sharp pain pierced his throat. Just as Qi Bin thought he was about to drown, his head was hauled out of the sink.
Like a dying man who had found a piece of wood, he gulped down air, his face flushed bright red.
"M-Mr. Huo, I didn't know Nan Qing was yours-"
With a splash, Qi Bin, who had only managed two breaths, was shoved back into the icy sink.
Qi Bin struggled desperately. With no air to breathe, his eyes had already turned bloodshot.
Just when he could barely endure it any longer, the other man grabbed his hair hard and hauled him up again.
Qi Bin knelt on the floor, his whole body shaking like a leaf.
The terror of being unable to breathe for so long left his lips pale and his voice trembling.
"Mr. Huo, I know I was wrong. Mr. Huo..."
His windpipe and throat hurt terribly. Qi Bin raised a hand and slapped himself, his voice filled with terror.
"I'll never dare have designs on Young Master Nan Qing again..."
"Please let me go..."
"I didn't know he was yours. I haven't had a chance to do anything..."
A phone vibrated twice, and the imposing, sharp-eyed man checked it.
Qi Bin let out a long breath of relief.
But the next second, his hair was seized hard again.
Qi Bin's eyes filled with unrelenting horror as he watched that sinister, ruthless man answer his phone, a gentle smile appearing on his lips.
Even his voice was lowered as he spoke to the person on the other end.
"Getting impatient, Qingqing?"
The next instant, he pulled Qi Bin's hair again. With the lingering smile still in his eyes, he shoved him cleanly back into the water.
Bubbles kept rising in the sink. Water surged in again, and every second felt like a year to the suffocating Qi Bin.
Just as he thought he was about to pass out, a large hand dragged him out of the water again.
And that devil of a man was still speaking into his phone, his voice very soft, as though afraid of frightening the person on the other end.
"It is a little loud. Is there too much noise on my end?"
Tears and snot streamed down Qi Bin's face as he covered his mouth with trembling hands.
"All right. I'll be right back."
Huo Yuzhou hung up and looked at the man slumped on the floor, a cold, cruel smile appearing at the corners of his lips.
Qi Bin's face was deathly pale. He slapped himself hard, leaving broad handprints across his face.
"M-Mr. Huo, I won't dare do it again! I really won't!"
"I was outrageously bold! I know I was wrong!"
"I'll be sure to stay far away from Young Master Nan Qing from now on!"
Huo Yuzhou held his large, well-defined hands beneath the running water and leisurely washed them.
After washing his hands, he finally turned toward the racket beside him.
His lowered eyes looked down from above as though regarding an ant, carrying a ruthlessness and coldness that could crush a person.
"Bring those two out."
"And I'll spare your life."