WCHM Chapter 10

The system was excitedly watching the drama unfold, giggling like a goblin while commenting: [Baby, the Shou and Gong No.2 are fighting over you!!]

 

Lu Chi raised an eyebrow and casually took a step back, his eyes drifting toward Gu Yanyan’s jacket pocket without saying a word, noticing the slight bulge. That shape, and especially the purpose of that thing, was something Lu Chi was all too familiar with from back when he was stalked home by sasaeng fans: a voice recorder.

 

Lu Chi tilted his head lazily, like someone watching a stray dog he just petted leap straight into an animal control truck, sealing its own fate. [Looks like Gu Yanyan still hasn’t given up on the mission from the Lin family, huh?], he said in an indifferent tone.

 

So Gu Yanyan hoped to use him as bait, deliberately provoking Liang Zhiyu.

 

And sure enough, Liang Zhiyu was exactly the type to explode like a firecracker, and being shoved aside by some random waiter lit his fuse instantly. However, with Lu Chi standing right there, he still forced himself to hold back and instead glared furiously at Manager Zhao, eyes nearly spitting flames:

 

“Zhao Feng, are you dead or what?!”

 

Manager Zhao cursed both of them in his head a couple of times, but quickly plastered on a smile. He rushed forward to grab Gu Yanyan’s arm and tried to drag him away, mediating: “Sorry, Second Young Master Liang. He’s drunk and not thinking straight… I’ll get him out of here right away…”

 

But unexpectedly, Gu Yanyan burst out with strength from who knows where and flung him off, showing the same determination as a bull. Turning back to glare coldly at Liang Zhiyu, he shouted, loud enough to echo across the first floor: “Second Young Master Liang, can’t you see Chi-ge doesn’t want to see you?! You’re some high-and-mighty rich boy, why lower yourself to harassing us ordinary folks?!”

 

“Or is it that you rich kids just love doing disgusting things like forcing people?!”

 

That was the main hall of FOM. Around the space sat many of A City’s high society, heirs and heiresses of prominent families, some of whom had business ties with branches of the Liang family.

 

So as soon as those words left his mouth, countless covert glances were cast their way.

 

Liang Zhiyu’s face changed drastically.

 

After a few tense seconds, he reached out and stopped the now-sweating Manager Zhao, then slowly and deliberately read the name on Gu Yanyan’s uniform:

 

“Gu. Yan. Yan, huh.”

 

And yet, Gu Yanyan didn’t flinch at all. “What,” he asked, provocatively. “Is the Second Young Master planning to kill a mere waiter in front of all these people?”

 

Neon lights shimmered overhead. With his head of cheap pink hair, Gu Yanyan stepped closer to Liang Zhiyu under everyone’s watchful eyes. Then, he even mimicked the tone Lu Chi used that night, cool and mocking, continuing: “Liang Zhiyu, someone like you… Abandoned by your parents and unloved by your friends… Do you even have the balls?”

 

If one were to ignore how badly his fingers were trembling, turning faintly blue from how hard he clenched his fists, he actually looked pretty intimidating.

 

The system was stunned by the Shou’s audacity, utterly bewildered: [Is he insane?! That line… Liang Zhiyu’s not like Gong No.1… Once he snaps, he’ll hit for real!]

 

Even if it was to provoke him purposely, wasn’t that pushing things way too far?!

 

The system laughed wickedly twice, then asked Lu Chi: [Baby, are you going to step in? Liang Zhiyu looks terrifying. He might actually beat someone to death!]

 

Lu Chi: [Why should I stop him?] He then bit off the last strawberry from his candy skewer, tossed the stick into a trash can, and continued lightly: [People should learn to respect others’ choices and take responsibility for their own actions. Gu Yanyan is hell-bent on walking this path, blindly seeking his own doom. All we can do is respect that and wish him well.]

 

Meddling only brings trouble, and Lu Chi had no obligation to play hero in anyone’s story arc.

 

CLANG!

 

A loud crash sounded as Liang Zhiyu could no longer hold back his rage. Without warning, he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the bar behind him and smashed it down hard on the back of Gu Yanyan’s head. The sharp shards clattered across the floor, and blood instantly streamed down the boy’s forehead, soaking his collar and dripping onto the carpet.

 

The scent of blood filled the air, and the main hall of FOM erupted into screams.

 

However, they were not screams of fear… But excitement.

 

Liang Zhiyu’s expression was ice-cold. Surrounded by cheers, whistles, and camera flashes, he looked like a bull goaded into a frenzy by a red flag. He quickly kicked Gu Yanyan hard to the ground, then jumped on him, pressing his head down and throwing punches.

 

His hands were covered in silver rings with sharp points. Every punch landed with a dull thud, and Gu Yanyan grunted through clenched teeth, refusing to beg for mercy.

 

He only protected the pocket of his jacket, with his mouth bloody, face pale, and body shaking.

 

Fifty thousand.

 

Enough for four years of tuition and living expenses… Enough to cover his grandparents’ lifetime savings… Enough to multiply tenfold the accident compensation from his long-dead parents’ demise on a construction site.

 

Gu Yanyan just couldn’t let that money slip through his fingers.

 

For the past two days, Liang Zhiyu had shown up at FOM every night waiting for Lu Chi, growing more drained and furious. Gu Yanyan had tried flirting, spilling drinks, basically anything to provoke him, but none of it worked.

 

Now the calls from the Lin family were growing fewer, Gu Jie was getting more violent, and Gu Yanyan was on the brink of madness… After all, no one could watch money within reach slip away. At least, not someone like him, who valued money over life itself.

 

But today, Lu Chi finally came back.

 

…And yet, that fleeting moment of tenderness when Lu Chi patted his head couldn’t compare to something that was already tangible in his hands. Gu Yanyan forced his eyes open, blood blurring his vision as he looked toward Lu Chi. However, those clear, bright eyes looked at him with calm detachment, as if seeing straight through everything.

 

It felt like being scalded by boiling water, and Gu Yanyan reflexively looked away.

 

But some muddled voice in the back of his mind still whispered faintly: I think I did something wrong.

 

But what did I do wrong?! I was just trying my best to make money! If Liang Zhiyu weren’t such a twisted person, they wouldn’t have targeted him in the first place! I wouldn’t have provoked him… It’s all Liang Zhiyu’s fault. All these bored, rich bastards’ fault!

 

The once-snowy wool carpet was quickly dyed red as the nightclub became a stage for violence, with waves of cheers coming from all around them. Lu Chi looked up with his eyes cold.

 

Those wealthy heirs and heiresses looked like beasts dressed in designer clothing, bored with their human skins and desperate for some new thrill.

 

They had no idea how grotesque their grinning faces had become.

 

In the end, Lu Chi couldn’t just stand by and watch someone get beaten to death. He stepped forward without warning, grabbed the frenzied Liang Zhiyu, and skillfully twisted his arms behind his back, pinning him down.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

His fingers were pale and cool like jade, pressing into Liang Zhiyu’s tense, overheated muscles, bringing forward an unexpectedly sharp and electrifying sensation.

 

The black-haired man lowered his gaze, unfazed, as he added: “I’ve already called the police.”

 

Liang Zhiyu’s rage-filled eyes suddenly cleared the moment they landed on Lu Chi. The man’s irises were a pale shade of brown, sweet as candy when he smiled, but like shards of ice when he didn’t, so sharp and aloof they were hard to meet directly. Especially now, with his hair dyed back to black, his face, when expressionless, lost its last trace of softness and became pure cold arrogance.

 

Liang Zhiyu froze.

 

In that moment, he suddenly thought of Liang Jiashu…

 

…Even though the two of them were nothing alike.

 

It took several seconds for him to truly register what Lu Chi had just said.

 

…What?!

 

He called the cops?!

 

Called… The… Cops?!

 

Liang Zhiyu scrambled to get up, but Lu Chi casually slapped him across the face, knocking him dazed again. Then, he firmly pinned him down with a foot to the back, leaving him completely immobilized.

 

Damn it.

 

How could he be overpowered so easily?!

 

It wasn’t as if Lu Chi had been beaten all his life and trained himself ruthlessly to survive, right?!

 

Liang Zhiyu’s blood-soaked black hair clung to his bruised, swollen face. At that point, he didn’t even care about losing face in public, staring with wide eyes and shouting: “Lu Chi! Tell the cops it was a misunderstanding! Tell them not to come here!”

 

Their family was in the middle of transitioning to a new industry. Any scandal now would be a PR disaster. This was all that damn mutt Gu Yanyan’s fault for stepping on every single one of his landmines! He wouldn’t have exploded otherwise!

 

It was all that damn dog’s fault!

 

Hearing the police were coming, there was discontent among the surrounding rich kids, with voices competing on who could be more annoying the fastest:

 

“Lu Chi, right? Who gave you the right to call the police? That Gu Yanyan—don’t tell me he’s your secret lover or something?”

 

“Don’t think just because you’re pretty you can do whatever you want… Though you’re really pretty… But calling the cops? Seriously?”

 

“Exactly! And look at Gu Yanyan still pretending to be unconscious! So disgusting.”

 

Lu Chi frowned in irritation, about to tell that group of idiots to shut up, when the rowdy room fell completely silent. Lu Chi paused, as if sensing something. He turned his head, and sure enough, locked eyes with a familiar pair of black pupils.

 

At the entrance of the nightclub, Liang Jiashu stood in a grey shirt and slacks, striding slowly toward him. His expression was just as unreadable as always, saying in a calm voice:

 

“Lu Chi.”

 

The young man’s tall, straight figure blocked out the overhead light. After saying those two words, he simply stood there, silent and unmoving.

 

Lu Chi narrowed his eyes slightly, baffled by his sudden appearance and tone. “…What are you doing here?” he asked.

 

The casual familiarity in his voice made the onlookers collectively suck in a breath of cold air, but Liang Zhiyu suddenly seemed to realize something, jolting upright and shouting hoarsely: “Ge! Don’t let the police come! That bastard provoked me on purpose! He’s plotting something! That’s it… Search him! Ge, search him now!”

 

Liang Zhiyu’s shouting was louder than a squealing pig. Liang Jiashu frowned and finally shifted his gaze, briefly landing on his trash of a cousin at Lu Chi’s feet. Then, he glanced expressionlessly at the bloodied, barely conscious Gu Yanyan and then back at the silent crowd.

 

And in that moment…

 

It was as if his eyes could finally register people other than Lu Chi.

 

And yet, everyone present was a seasoned socialite. Seeing that look, they all recognized the cue, a sharp signal that it was time to leave. One by one, the surrounding crowd got up and made excuses, fleeing the scene…

 

…Let the Liang family deal with their own mess. They wanted no part in it.

 

Liang Jiashu withdrew his gaze coldly, just about to say something, when Lu Chi spoke up first, casually ordering him around: “You’re just in time. Liang Zhiyu assaulted someone in public. I’ve already called the police. Control him, getan ambulance for Gu Yanyan, and make sure the manager doesn’t delete the surveillance footage. Got it?”

 

His pretty brows were furrowed as he laid out one instruction after another, speaking to Liang Jiashu with the tone of a patient preschool teacher explaining things to a slow-witted toddler.

 

Liang Jiashu’s expression turned cold.

 

His gaze swept across the two useless figures at Lu Chi’s feet like a sharp dagger, merciless and lethal. Then, after a few seconds, it returned to Lu Chi’s face, still as icy as ever.

 

Holding back his irritation, Liang Jiashu made a subtle gesture, signaling Lu Chi to take a closer look at his clothes…

 

…A grey dress shirt, tailored black slacks, and that same dull, ascetic look. Wasn’t that the exact same “monk-like” outfit as before?!

 

Lu Chi blinked in confusion, like a dazed little deer who’d lost its way.

 

“?”

 

Seeing his complete lack of reaction, Liang Jiashu frowned, saying each word with strained patience: “I changed my shirt. It’s silver-grey.”

 

Lu Chi: “…”

 

“…Wow. How special.”

 

“…”

 

Finally, Liang Jiashu gave up trying to play coy. He cast a cold glance at the scared out of his body Liang Zhiyu, then grabbed Lu Chi by the wrist and pulled him toward the nightclub’s entrance. Pointing with crisp finality toward a luxurious car parked dead center in front of the building, he asked:

 

“Do you like it?”

 

He wasn’t there to clean up his family’s mess…

 

He was there to chase a beautiful man, ah!

 

Lu Chi paused, then slowly, very slowly… caught on. Something in his chest twisted oddly, pulling the corners of his mouth into a smirk, while he turned slightly to look at Liang Jiashu.

 

The man met his gaze and, after a moment, said very calmly:

 

“Lu Chi, you’ve already given me a queue number.”

 

“Now, have I made it to the front of the line yet?”

 

……………………………………….

 

T.N: During the apocalypse, people screaming and perishing in a sea of fire, meteorites falling from the sky…

Liang Jiashu: Baby, do you like my new shirt?

Do you?! 🤣

 

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Enjoyed this chapter? You can support me and read up to Chapter 17 here, with 5 new chapters coming on the first week of the next month! Happy Reading!