Chapter 76: Lighter, Give it Back

When Cheng Ye got back, it was almost two in the morning. The living room light was still on, and Jiang Shi had fallen asleep on the sofa.

Under the light, his eyelashes were long and thick. He was curled up on his side, his phone pressed under his face, the metal frame leaving two red marks on his cheek.

Cheng Ye pulled out the phone and then carried him to the bedroom.

Halfway there, Jiang Shi woke up. He tilted his head and sniffed him, smelling no alcohol, but rather a faint scent of tea.

“You’re back? What time is it?”

Cheng Ye tucked him into the quilt. “A few minutes to two. Go to sleep, I’m going to take a shower.”

Jiang Shi woke up briefly, then, hearing his words, snuggled into the quilt, rolled over, and fell back into a deep sleep.

Cheng Ye stood by the bed for a while before turning and leaving the room.

He had turned off the living room light when he carried Jiang Shi. The streetlight from outside cast some faint, shadowy light in. Cheng Ye sank into the sofa.

Darkness enveloped him, hiding the expression on his face. Only his back looked silent.

He got up and pulled a bottle of beer from a nearby cabinet. The beer was leftover from the last party; everyone else had been too lazy to take it, so he had brought it home.

Cheng Ye went to the balcony, a beer in one hand and a chair in the other.

The city had fallen asleep. The rain had stopped, and twinkling stars lit up the horizon.

He sat with his legs spread, his hands resting on his knees. Holding the bottle with one hand, he popped the cap off with his teeth, and it clattered to the floor.

Cheng Ye took a swig of beer facing the twinkling stars, then pulled out his phone. As if he had done it many times, he skillfully found the folder and pulled up the video hidden inside.

The video wasn’t long, less than twenty minutes in total.

The security guard thought he had only given him the footage from the clinic’s entrance, but Cheng Ye had pulled some strings and gotten the surveillance footage from inside the clinic as well.

The light from the video cast a multi-colored glow on his face.

Cheng Ye watched with a calm expression, finishing the bottle of cheap beer.

Wang Zekai was bisexual; simply put, he was into both men and women.

His family was in the real estate business. With the construction industry booming in the last two years, they had made a fortune.

He liked to play around but didn’t want to take responsibility, so the best solution was to pay.

Wang Zekai had some brains, but not much. He knew some people couldn’t be provoked, so he usually targeted those from poor families. After he was done, he would give them some money, then threaten and cajole them. Basically, no one dared to make trouble.

Jiang Shi was an exception.

He was too good-looking. When he stood there, it was as if he naturally glowed.

He had investigated him: a country boy from Lincheng. Looking at his home address, you would never imagine such a place could produce such a person, and what’s more, the clothes he wore weren’t cheap.

The first time they met, Wang Zekai knew what he had been up to the day before. It had only been three days since registration, and on the very first day, Jiang Shi had gone to bed with someone, coming back covered in marks.

At that moment, Wang Zekai thought he knew where his clothes came from.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Shi turned out to be a tough nut to crack. He completely ignored his advances, probably sensing something, and didn’t even give him a pleasant look.

Reason told Wang Zekai it was best not to provoke such a person, but he tossed and turned at night, dreaming of that face, burning with an unbearable itch.

And so, the scene in the school clinic happened.

Wang Zekai naturally couldn’t swallow this humiliation. The bump on his forehead was swollen for several days. As soon as it healed, he started contacting friends he knew here.

They were fair-weather friends. Sitting in a dimly lit bar or KTV, after a few rounds of drinks, they instantly became sworn brothers.

There were many people in the KTV, a crowd of men and women. Wang Zekai had to put in a lot of effort to squeeze into their circle. He pushed aside the girl next to him and poured a drink for the person beside him. “Brother Xie, you know I’m new here and don’t know anyone. I’m counting on you for this. You have to help your brother vent this anger.”

Xie Hong was slouched on the sofa, smoking. He exhaled a puff of smoke and smiled. “Bullying you is bullying me. I’ll definitely help. It’s just that, you know, I’ve recently invested in a project and I’m too busy to get away. How about this, I’ll send two of my guys to you. Just tell them whatever you need…”

After a pause, he added, “But my family is strict, and this project needs government approval…”

“I get it.” Wang Zekai clinked his glass with his. “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t say it has anything to do with you.”

Xie Hong laughed and glanced to the side.

The girl next to Wang Zekai immediately leaned over, her voice syrupy sweet. “Young Master Wang, why are we talking business at a KTV? It’s so boring…” She reached out to hook her arm around his neck. “Want to come to the restroom with me?”

Wang Zekai went to the restroom with the girl in his arms.

Inside, Xie Hong stubbed out his cigarette. A young man who had been playing on his phone put it away and sat over.

“Brother Xie, are you really going to let Wang Zekai teach Jiang Shi a lesson?”

At the mention of Jiang Shi, the hatred in Xie Hong’s eyes was impossible to hide. He looked darkly to the side. “What, you feel sorry for him?”

The young man shivered under his gaze. “How could that be? Although Huo Ji has gone abroad, his relationship with the Song family isn’t completely broken, and he has the Huang family from Beijing behind him. It’s not a good idea for us to treat him like this…”

“What’s it got to do with us?” Xie Hong laughed. “This is clearly Wang Zekai’s own doing. What does it have to do with me, Xie Hong? If he can really do something to Jiang Shi, that’s his skill. If not… the idiot can go back where he came from.”

If it weren’t for the recent trouble at home, with that stepmother just waiting for him to make a mistake, he wouldn’t have tolerated the humiliation he suffered at the restaurant until today.

Jiang Shi…

Xie Hong clutched the glass in his hand.

You just wait. I’ll make your life a living hell.

…

When Wang Zekai returned from the restroom with the girl, the people in the private room had already changed.

His clothes were loose, and there were still lipstick marks on his neck and face that hadn’t been wiped off. But he didn’t care, wearing the marks like a badge of honor. With a look of satisfaction, he sat back down on the sofa.

He hadn’t even finished a drink when the door to the room was pushed open.

Someone must have ordered more drinks. The person delivering them was a waiter Wang Zekai had never seen before. A young man, neat and clean, with eyes full of innocent curiosity. As he bent down to place the drinks, his uniform outlined a thin, soft waist.

With just one look, Wang Zekai was captivated.

Xie Hong knew he was into both men and women, but he didn’t expect him to be so blatant about it. A flash of disgust crossed his eyes, but he put on a smile. “Like what you see?”

Wang Zekai licked his lips. “It’s your place, Brother Xie. You call the shots.”

Xie Hong beckoned to the young man. “Come here.”

The young man glanced at him timidly and hesitated for a few seconds before walking over. “Hello…”

Xie Hong held up his fingers. “Have a drink with my brother, and I’ll give you this much.”

The young man looked at the dissolute Wang Zekai and bit his lip, hesitatingly refusing, “I’m sorry, I’m just here to deliver drinks. This isn’t part of my service.”

“You don’t want to?” Xie Hong smiled. “That’s fine too. Drink all the bottles you just brought over, and I’ll let you go.”

This was a common tactic. Weighing the pros and cons, most would choose the former.

As expected, after hearing this, the young man’s face turned ugly. He looked at Xie Hong, then at Wang Zekai, and finally knelt down in front of Wang Zekai.

The lights were dazzling. The young man’s neck traced a snowy white line in his eyes, like a rabbit.

Just like that, Wang Zekai started seeing the young man. It was the first time he had met someone so perfectly to his liking. The tender trap made him forget about finding trouble with Jiang Shi.

After a few days, not only was he not tired of him, but he became even more infatuated, even entertaining the idea of giving him a proper status.

The young man’s name was Bai Li. He was just like his name suggested, gentle and soft. He would cry if you spoke too loudly, with a personality like a little white rabbit, and his eyes were full of him.

Unconsciously, Wang Zekai told him a lot about himself.

After they had been together for a while, Bai Li said he wanted to take him to his place. He led Wang Zekai through several bus transfers and into a complex maze of alleys.

Standing at the entrance of the alley, Wang Zekai was a little scared. “Why is your place so remote?”

Bai Li blinked, his voice soft and weak. “Brother, you know my family’s not well-off. My parents don’t care about me, so my salary is only enough to rent a place like this.”

Wang Zekai’s heart ached for him again. “It’s okay. I’ll give you money in the future to buy a big house.”

Bai Li grinned. “Okay, I’ll be waiting for you to give me money to buy a big house.”

He led him inside and up the stairs, blocking Wang Zekai. “Brother, how about we play a game before we go in?”

“What?”

Bai Li took out a black cloth. “I’ve prepared a surprise for you inside. You have to be blindfolded before you go in. Don’t be scared, brother.”

Wang Zekai’s mind immediately filled with many R-rated images. He reached out and squeezed Bai Li’s butt. “I knew you had bad intentions asking me to come over.”

Bai Li smiled and blindfolded him.

He opened the door, led Wang Zekai to a chair, and said with a smile, “I’m going to tie you up now, brother.”

Wang Zekai’s breathing immediately became heavy. “Are you going to…”

Before he could finish, Bai Li had tied him up. The sound of ropes tightening filled the air, and Wang Zekai let out a soft moan as they pulled tight.

“Little Li, is this too tight?”

“How could it be…” Bai Li giggled. “This makes it more exciting.”

Wang Zekai immediately stopped moving.

Finally, when he was done, Bai Li leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Brother, I have something even more exciting here. Do you want to see?”

Wang Zekai’s breathing grew heavy. He swallowed. “Yes.”

Bai Li roughly tore the black cloth from his eyes.

The strong light suddenly stabbed into his eyes. Wang Zekai instinctively shut them. It took him a while to adjust before he eagerly opened his eyes…

…

Across from him, Cheng Ye was sitting.

He was holding a small knife. The wheel of a lighter scraped, making a soft clicking sound. The flame licked across the cold blade, illuminating his dark eyes.

Bai Li walked behind Cheng Ye and stretched his shoulders, a grin still on his face. “Finally done. He’s literally the worst I’ve ever serviced. That thing of his is smaller than an enoki mushroom. Even a dog would shake its head.”

No matter how stupid Wang Zekai was, he now understood he had been set up.

He tried to struggle and found that Bai Li had tied him very tightly. At first, he thought it was a honey trap, and he would just have to pay some money. It wasn’t until he met Cheng Ye’s dark eyes that he suddenly remembered who he was.

“I know you, you were with Jiang Shi that day…” His eyes widened. “Are you Jiang Shi’s sugar daddy?”

“Sugar daddy?” Bai Li scoffed. “Such ugly words. You think everyone is like you, you idiot? They’re in a proper boyfriend-boyfriend relationship…” He poked Cheng Ye’s shoulder. “Hey handsome, got a light?”

Cheng Ye tossed the lighter into his lap. “Stay away from me.”

He got up and approached Wang Zekai, looking down at his somewhat distorted face.

“I’ll ask you, who helped you?”

Being looked at by him, a cold sweat broke out on Wang Zekai’s back. “W-what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

Cheng Ye was always efficient. He didn’t like to waste words, nor did he like to hear them.

“I’ll ask again, who was it?”

“I told you, I don’t know! Let me go! You know I… ah!!”

Cheng Ye grabbed his hand and snapped his little finger. “Can you talk now?”

Wang Zekai’s face was pale, his pupils dilating in terror. Cheng Ye watched for a moment, then tapped his ring finger with the back of the knife.

The cold touch made Wang Zekai shudder violently, his whole body jerking. A foul smell spread.

“I-I’ll talk… It was Xie Hong. Xie Hong helped me, told me to go after Jiang Shi.”

He trembled. “I was wrong. I’ll go back and apologize to him. I didn’t mean it. Please, let me go. I’ll give you money…”

Cheng Ye pulled up a chair and sat in front of Wang Zekai.

He put away the knife, took out his phone, found the surveillance footage, and played it in front of him.

“Jiang Shi said, if there’s a next time, he’ll pull out your teeth.”

Cheng Ye said it calmly, but looking into his eyes, Wang Zekai believed he was fully capable of doing it.

“N-no, you kidnapped me! This is illegal! I’m going to sue you!”

Bai Li, with a cigarette between his lips, had a sneer on his face that didn’t match his delicate features. “Sue us? You should think about what you’ve done over the years first.”

He dropped the cigarette butt and stomped on it. “Tsk! Disgusting. I wonder how many people you’ve harmed.”

On the other side, Cheng Ye put away his phone. He spoke as if making a statement, completely ignoring what Wang Zekai was saying.

Bai Li glanced over and then left the room.

Two of Huang Xuyao’s men were waiting outside the door. The three of them stood in the corridor. The next second, a scream came from inside.

Bai Li didn’t think it was tragic; he only felt gratified.

When they found him, he had looked at the files. The people Wang Zekai had harmed over the years weren’t just the few in Jiangcheng.

He had been a habitual offender in high school, specifically targeting introverted girls from poor families, many of whom were minors.

He thought paying them off would solve everything, but what about the harm they suffered?

Drowning, suicide, dropping out of school…

Bright, promising lives were all ruined by this scumbag.

…

Cheng Ye came out in less than a few minutes.

Outside, the sun was bright, but the tenement building was dark and damp. The corridor didn’t even have a window. Cheng Ye’s face was shrouded in shadow.

He asked Bai Li, “The recording?”

Bai Li pulled a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to Cheng Ye. He looked him up and down, his tone flirtatious. “Actually, the money is negotiable. Seducing trash like him just feels like dirtying my hands. But you’re different…”

He reached out to touch Cheng Ye but was sidestepped.

Bai Li laughed, nonchalantly retracting his hand. “So defensive? Is it for that Jiang Shi?”

Cheng Ye said, “The money will be transferred to your card. If necessary, I’ll need you to be a witness.”

After speaking, he held out his hand to Bai Li.

“What, you want my number?”

“Lighter, give it back.”

Bai Li: “…”

Stingy bastard.

Jiang Shi’s second paycheck arrived: five hundred yuan.

With a grand wave of his hand, he decided to treat everyone.

The first person he contacted was Zhang Chi. Zhang Chi was thrilled. “Let’s go to Zui Xian Ju.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

He said, “I only have five hundred, not fifty thousand.”

Zhang Chi: “Then what should we eat?”

That was a problem. When in doubt, Jiang Shi decided to ask Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye was busy with something and hadn’t been seen all morning, but he answered the phone quickly.

“On my way, almost home. I bought you your favorite roast duck.”

Jiang Shi said, “Cheng Ye, I got my paycheck. I want to treat everyone.”

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow. “Treat who?”

Jiang Shi counted on his fingers. “A lot of people. You, Zhang Chi, and Song Jian’an. Zuo Hui helped me a lot, so I have to treat him too. And Wang Zhuo and Liu Man.”

Putting them all together, it was almost a full table.

“So what’s your budget?”

“I only have five hundred. I can’t spend it all on a treat, can I? How about three hundred?”

Cheng Ye said, “Then the budget is more than enough.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

He said it so seriously that Jiang Shi almost didn’t realize he was being sarcastic.

Sure enough, he had been too nice to him lately.

Jiang Shi angrily hung up the phone. After thinking for a moment, he simply created a group chat and asked them what they wanted to eat.

Zhang Chi had the most experience with food and entertainment.

[I heard a new campsite just opened in the suburbs. Should we go for a barbecue?]

Jiang Shi thought this plan was feasible. It was autumn recently, the weather was comfortable, and barbecue ingredients wouldn’t cost that much.

The next day was Sunday. Jiang Shi planned to buy the ingredients that night.

When Cheng Ye returned home, he saw Jiang Shi sitting cross-legged on the sofa, writing something in a notebook.

Given his earlier sarcasm, Jiang Shi didn’t even give him a pleasant look when he saw him.

Cheng Ye went to change his clothes and take a shower on his own. Only after washing off the damp smell on his body did he sit down next to Jiang Shi.

He tilted his head to look. Five pounds of beef, three pounds of shrimp, four pounds of potatoes…

“What are you doing?”

Jiang Shi turned his back to him. “None of your business.”

He decided not to invite Cheng Ye and didn’t even add him to the group chat.

But there was a dimwit in the group. Xiao Liu thought Jiang Shi had forgotten and eagerly added Cheng Ye, even @-ing him to show him the plan.

Cheng Ye looked at his phone for a while. “A barbecue, huh.”

Jiang Shi didn’t speak.

Cheng Ye shamelessly leaned over. “That’s too much food. There’s no way these few people can eat that much. And you’re over budget.”

Hearing he was over budget, Jiang Shi immediately stopped writing. He picked up the notebook and looked at it. “It’s only a few dishes. How am I over budget?”

Cheng Ye took the pen from his hand. “It’s not a lot of dishes, but you’re buying too much. Five pounds of beef, five pounds of pork belly. Why buy so much meat? They can’t handle it.”

He changed the five pounds of beef to two pounds, the five pounds of pork belly to two pounds as well, added some cheap vegetables, and after thinking, added some frozen meatballs.

“Don’t feed them too well. Their stomachs aren’t used to it.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

With Cheng Ye’s under-the-table manipulation, Jiang Shi’s budget of three hundred was reduced to two hundred and fifty. The remaining fifty was used to buy a fish for dinner.

That Sunday was cloudless, with crisp autumn air.

The campsite Zhang Chi mentioned was about a forty-minute drive away. He came to pick up Jiang Shi early in the morning, squeezing past Cheng Ye to sit next to him and chatter.

“Exclusive news, Xie Hong is in trouble.”

The breakfast in Jiang Shi’s hand suddenly lost its appeal. “What?”

Zhang Chi said, “The matter has been suppressed. I heard it from my uncle.”

“But speaking of which, he’s a bit wronged in this matter. It’s mainly because of one of his hangers-on, and that guy is from your school…” He paused here. “I don’t know if you know him, I think his name is Wang something Kai?”

“Wang Zekai?”

“Ah, yes! That’s the name. You know him?”

A strange feeling rose in Jiang Shi’s heart. “I know him. He’s my roommate.”

Zhang Chi was stunned. “It’s a small world.” He grabbed his hand and checked it from side to side. “Holy crap, that guy’s a beast in human clothing. You’re so good-looking, did he do anything to you?”

Jiang Shi subconsciously glanced at Cheng Ye. The other was looking at a map and communicating with the driver in front, it was unclear if he had heard.

“No.” He looked away. “Nothing happened. We just had a little argument, and we haven’t spoken since.”

“That’s good.” Zhang Chi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Do you know what he did? That guy is so disgusting. He’s into both men and women and specifically preys on young boys and girls with no background. He assaulted several minors, and his family paid to settle it all. Recently, he messed with the wrong person, and it all got exposed.”

“But I suspect someone was targeting him. The families of those minors who had originally given up have now banded together to sue him. His family didn’t even have time to react before he was taken to the police station.”

These past few days, the way Wang Zekai looked at Jiang Shi had become more and more disgusting. He had even boasted that Jiang Shi wouldn’t be arrogant for long. Unexpectedly, in just a few short days, something like this had happened.

“Then what does it have to do with Xie Hong?”

“During his time at university, Wang Zekai harmed two girls. Of course, it wasn’t assault, but the girls were also deceived by his sweet talk. When the girls wanted to make a fuss afterward, it was Xie Hong who settled it for him.”

“The waiter who reported it said that Xie Hong forced him to be with Wang Zekai.”

Jiang Shi had seen this kind of thing many times. “With the Xie family’s ability, it shouldn’t be that hard to resolve, right?”

“Ha! You don’t know the situation with his family now. His mother passed away less than two years ago, and his dad married a stepmother who brought a five-year-old son with her. His stepmother is just waiting every day to catch him making a mistake. Now that she finally has a chance, how could she let it go so easily?”

As he spoke, Zhang Chi let out a long sigh, but his eyes were full of schadenfreude.

“Our high-and-mighty Young Master Xie is going to have a rough time ahead.”