Yan Heqing was tall and had to curl up to fit when he slept.
But Yan Heqing kept this tiny space exceptionally clean.
The freshly sunned quilt smelled of laundry detergent. Books were stacked neatly on the balcony ledge, beside a clear alcohol bottle holding a small sprig of white gladiolus.
A faint, rich floral fragrance lingered in the air.
Yan Heqing took off his shoes and climbed into bed. Kneeling, he pulled out a blue-covered book and opened it to the middle, where a bank card was tucked.
He no longer needed to look for Lin Fengzhi. From now on, he would put this money to sensible use for himself.
He had taken in too much information today and was utterly exhausted. After putting the bank card away, Yan Heqing didn't undress; he lay on his side, wrapped himself in the quilt, and curled up to sleep.
In his haze, someone seemed to knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
The brazen noise rang out, piercing in the dead of night.
"Who is it! At this hour!" Zhao Huilin came out with a coat draped over her shoulders, switched on the light, and went to answer the door, cursing.
The door opened, and light spilled over the visitor. His trench coat still carried the sweet scent of cream.
Zhao Huilin instantly changed her expression and asked deliberately, "Young Master Lu, what brings you here so late?"
Inside, she was overjoyed.
He had come looking in the middle of the night. How desperate must he be? She had to name a good price.
5.5 million? Six million?
Lu Muchi ignored her, staring over her head straight at the boy standing at the balcony entrance.
Dim light fell across Yan Heqing's delicate features. Seen like this, he looked even more like Lin Fengzhi.
A certain part of him reacted instantly.
Lu Muchi had no intention of denying his desires. He had no need to restrain himself with a plaything.
Only a treasure like Lin Fengzhi deserved his tender care.
Lu Muchi was practically raping Yan Heqing with his eyes. He took out his wallet, pulled out a stack of banknotes, and tossed them into the air. Pink notes fluttered everywhere like snowflakes.
His husky voice burned with intense desire.
"Yan Heqing, come with me. Now."
Chapter 3: 003
Yan Heqing had first met Lu Muchi after class the day before yesterday.
On his way back to the dorm, a Mercedes brazenly drove into
the campus
and blocked his path.
The window lowered, revealing a man in his early twenties in the driver's seat.
He looked Yan Heqing up and down as though appraising merchandise for sale.
Someone else sat in the passenger seat.
Yan Heqing had seen him before: a third-year student in their department and head of the publicity department, who had once visited their dorm to promote something.
"A-Chi," the man said ingratiatingly, "doesn't he look just like him?"
The man gave an absentminded grunt of agreement, his gaze still roaming over Yan Heqing.
After a long moment, he pulled out a cigarette, held it between his lips, and said slowly, "Three million a year. How about sleeping with me?"
Yan Heqing's face went pale. His skin was already a cool white, but at those deeply insulting words, the despair of humiliation deepened that pallor.
He was disgusted.
But he knew this was a rich man he could not afford to offend, someone who could drive onto campus and make others fawn over him.
He could not afford to offend him.
"You've got the wrong person."
Yan Heqing turned and walked away.
Behind him came a scoff, followed by the click of a lighter.
"We'll meet again."
Lu Muchi said.
Now, this was the second time.
It was gradually overlapping with the descriptions in the novel.
Those inhuman scenes, utterly devoid of dignity, became unbearably real in that moment.
That was the brutal abuse about to be inflicted on him, in living flesh.
Yan Heqing's eyes, his skin, every inch of his body began to ache and itch as though already experiencing it.
But he knew there was no truly sharing another's suffering in this world. The pain he felt now was merely one ten-thousandth of what he was about to endure.
Overwhelming pain and hatred swept through Yan Heqing. He knew there was only one path to his future, to his life.
And that was-
Before they hurt him, he would crush them without mercy.
Before they inflicted harm on him, he would repay them a hundredfold!
Yan Heqing clenched his fingers, then relaxed them. His long, finely jointed fingers were a cold, bluish white.
His light brown eyes calmly met that blatant stare. "I'm not going."
Zhao Huilin had long since been captivated by the money. She crouched down and gleefully gathered the notes, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, Qingqing, Young Master Lu came to pick you up. You-ah!"
Zhao Huilin screamed as a leather shoe trod over the back of her hand.
Lu Muchi walked inside without a change of expression. Reaching Yan Heqing, he undid a shirt button, seized him by the collar, and shoved him against the balcony window, pinning him there. A careless smile curved his lips. "If you like doing it here, that works too."
Yan Shengbing and Yan Feng had just emerged from their rooms and had no idea what was happening. Seeing money all over the floor, Yan Shengbing, who had never met Lu Muchi, assumed he was a thief. He pulled off a slipper and charged at Lu Muchi. "You motherfucker, I'll-"
The instant he moved, a bodyguard entered through the door with practiced precision and threw him over his shoulder in one clean motion. The bodyguard crouched, using one hand to wrench Yan Shengbing's arms behind him and pin them against his back.
Yan Shengbing lay flat on the floor, his face pressed hard against it and both arms immobilized. He had never encountered anything like this. He howled in pain. "Let me go! You bastard, let me... ow!"
Yan Feng was scared witless and stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move.
Zhao Huilin even forgot her pain and hurried over to plead with Lu Muchi. "Young Master Lu, please don't..."
Smack!
Lu Muchi slapped her with the back of his hand. Zhao Huilin's left cheek rapidly swelled, and tears sprang from her eyes. She wanted to cry but did not dare.
What on earth was this!
Lu Muchi swept a glance at the bodyguard, irritation showing on his face. "You have a death wish? Following me!"
The bodyguard's eyes shifted evasively. "It was your father..."
Lu Muchi swallowed his words. He fixed his gaze on Yan Heqing again and forced a few vicious words out of his throat. "Made up your mind? Are we leaving, or doing it here?"
Expressionless, Yan Heqing took his phone out of his pocket. The screen showed an active call to 110.
Right in front of Lu Muchi, he held the phone to his ear and said evenly, "Did you hear that clearly? The address is..."