MTY chapter 11

Lu Ziqing was about to call again when a WeChat notification popped up.

Xu Yuyi: [We need one more player for a Japanese horror-themed mystery game. Get over here.]

Lu Ziqing: [Who in their right mind plays murder mystery games this late at night?]

Xu Yuyi: [The atmosphere is better at night, duh.]
[Damn, Ziqing, you’ve changed.]
[Ever since you moved in with your omega, you don’t even go out at night anymore. Is this what they call a reformed player? I’m touched.]

Lu Ziqing: [It’s just hot outside. Too lazy to go out. Has nothing to do with anyone else.]

Xu Yuyi, a longtime friend and classmate, was one of the few people Lu Ziqing could talk to openly.

Xu Yuyi: [Heh heh.]
[So, is he right there with you?]

Lu Ziqing: [No. He’s out for a work dinner, not answering his phone.]

Xu Yunyi: [Tsk tsk, just married and already too busy with socializing to come home? I almost feel bad for you.]

Lu Ziqing: [Shut up. Whether he comes home or not has nothing to do with me.]

Xu Yunyi: [Then why are you calling him?]

Lu Ziqing: [My dad told me to look out for him.]

Xu Yunyi sent a long, exaggerated voice message: [“Ohhh~~ so your dad told you to, huh~~”]

Lu Ziqing thought Xu Yunyi was absolutely insufferable. How could an alpha be this nosy? No wonder he kept failing to get a girlfriend.

He hung up and went to the kitchen for a glass of ice water.

The cold liquid slid down his throat, calming his restlessness.

He glanced at his phone again.

Lin Yu still hadn’t replied.

That wasn’t normal. No matter how busy or drunk he got at night, he would always respond.

Could something have happened?

The thought crossed Lu Ziqing’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

Zhou Youyu was desperate to please Lin Yu—he wouldn’t dare do anything reckless.

Still… Lin Yu was an omega.

And an omega in the middle of his heat period.

Lu Ziqing rubbed his thumb over the screen for a moment before dialing Zhou Youyu’s number.

…..

Zhou Youyu finally breathed a sigh of relief after instructing two waiters to carry the drunk Lin Yu into a private booth.

He had almost thought tonight would be another failure.

Considering Lin Yu’s age, he had deliberately chosen a bar popular with young people. Hot guys and pretty girls danced wildly in the flashing lights, and the atmosphere was electric.

Lin Yu didn’t exactly seem like some celibate monk, either.

His eyes lit up at the sight of good-looking men, and he stared at the black-stockinged dancer swaying to the music.

When the DJ played a trending song, the crowd immediately paired up to kiss. Lin Yu let out a soft “ah” and said, “I always heard that when this song plays at bars here, it means you have to kiss someone. So it’s true?”

Zhou Youyu chuckled. “Too bad I’m just an old man—no one wants to kiss me, haha.”

His eyes darted around until they landed on the DJ, who was starting a game of “finger grab.” Zhou Youyu nudged Lin Yu. “Hey, that handsome guy seems interested in you. Want to go play?”

Lin Yu blinked. “Why would I go over?”

Zhou Youyu grinned. “If he grabs your finger, he’ll feed you a lollipop.”

Lin Yu frowned. “I don’t like lollipops.”

Zhou Youyu groaned, “Come on, it’s not really about the candy…”

After much coaxing, he managed to push Lin Yu toward the front.

Zhou Youyu shot the DJ a knowing look, and sure enough, in the next round, the DJ quickly grabbed Lin Yu’s index finger.

Lin Yu looked up in confusion.

The young, handsome DJ wore only a half-buttoned shirt, his toned abs faintly visible. He smirked, biting down on the lollipop’s end as he leaned in.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

But before anything could happen, Lin Yu reached out, yanked the lollipop from the DJ’s mouth, and held it up.

DJ: “…”

The crowd: “…”

Lin Yu calmly wiped his hand with a napkin. “Practice good oral hygiene. Say no to Helicobacter pylori.”

…

Zhou Youyu’s face turned green.

But persistence soon paid off. A few more rounds of drinks, and Lin Yu finally passed out.

Face flushed, he collapsed onto the sofa, his eyes fluttering shut. He looked completely defenseless.

Zhou Youyu directed the staff to carry him into a private booth. Standing at the door, he called over a familiar promoter and whispered a few instructions.

The promoter smiled knowingly. “Don’t worry.”

…..

By the time Lu Ziqing stormed into the bar, it was already past 11 p.m.

He had called Zhou Youyu several times, but whether on purpose or not, the man hadn’t answered.

Earlier that day, Mi Lan had overheard Zhou Youyu making a call—he had mentioned going to a bar that night.

Lu Ziqing had some understanding of Zhou Youyu, but since Zhou frequented more than a dozen bars, eliminating them one by one took quite a bit of effort.

Thinking that all this trouble was caused by Lin Yu made him feel quite annoyed.

Damn contract marriage.

If it weren’t for this mess, he would be at home playing games or sleeping soundly.

Instead, he was running around late at night, looking like a husband who had been cheated on, with a murderous expression as he went to drag someone back home.

Seeing Zhou Youyu’s car at the entrance, Lu Ziqing knew he had found the right place.

He went straight to the bar manager with his phone, showing the person on the screen and asking where they were.

The manager was hesitant at first, but Lu Ziqing immediately called Xu Yunyi.

Xu Yuyi had probably just finished a murder mystery game. Who knew which lover’s arms he was in now? Woken up by the call, he grumbled, “Damn it, disturbing someone’s sweet dreams is as bad as killing their parents…”

The moment he heard Lu Ziqing’s voice, he instantly sobered up.

“Ziqing, I’m sorry, I wasn’t fully awake… Blue Grid Bar? There was some property transfer pending before the New Year. My brother’s managing it now…”

Things went much smoother after that.

The manager quickly led the way, down a long corridor, and Lu Ziqing found room 309.

Before entering, he heard the sound of a young man crying.

The sobs were hoarse and soft, utterly pitiful.

Lu Ziqing’s heart tightened. He kicked the door to Room 309 open.

—A young male model dressed in a flight attendant uniform was kneeling on the ground, hugging his head, crying miserably.

Lin Yu sat in front of the model, holding a whip in his hand.

With the dim, ambiguous lighting of the room…

Lu Ziqing: “…What are you doing?”

The male model turned his head, seeing someone come in. It was as if he’d seen a savior. He crawled and rolled over to hug the manager’s leg, “Manager Wang, save me! I really can’t do this job anymore.”

Manager Wang glanced at Lu Ziqing’s expression and quickly scolded: “Don’t talk nonsense, what happened? Explain properly.”

The male model whimpered: “I-I’ve never met such a perverted customer, he plays way too rough…”

Lu Ziqing’s expression darkened further as he glared at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu was clearly drunk, his face flushed, looking innocently at them.

Manager Wang: “Well, say it!”

Male model: “He… he… said I was young and not on the right path. He forced me to recite The Memorial to Expedite Troops. If I couldn’t do it, he’d whip me—one strike for every wrong character, ten strikes for every wrong line…”

Lu Ziqing: “…”

Manager Wang: “…”

Lu Ziqing: “Did he whip you?”

Male model: “Not yet, but I’ve already racked up 87 whips. He said if I reach 100, I’d unlock a super gift pack and then I’d have to recite ‘The Song of Everlasting Sorrow’ and ‘The Red Cliff Rhapsody’…”

The male model looked up at Lu Ziqing’s expression, guessed a bit, and whispered: “Ge, are you here to catch an affair?”

Lu Ziqing hadn’t reacted yet, but the male model assumed his silence meant yes.

The male model turned to Lin Yu, weakly saying: “Ge, you’re still lecturing me, yet you have a husband and still hire male models. You’re even more shameless than I am.”

…

Manager Wang quickly dragged the young model out and said to Lu Ziqing: “You two talk, we won’t disturb you.”

Once the door closed, the room quieted down.

Lu Ziqing rubbed his temples and crouched down in front of Lin Yu: “Let me guess… you’re not really drunk, are you?”

Lin Yu looked at him with misty eyes.

Lu Ziqing didn’t expect to get the truth out of him anyway. After all, Lin Yu never gave him a heads-up about anything he did.

Lu Ziqing squeezed his arm. “Come on, let’s go home. Can you still stand?”

Lin Yu drawled slowly: “If I can’t stand, are you planning to carry me?”

“Sure,” Lu Ziqing said. “But only if you recite The Song of Everlasting Sorrow for me.”

He bent down and heard a muffled laugh from behind him.

“Lu Mubai.”

Lu Ziqing didn’t catch it: “What?”

Lin Yu said quietly: “The person behind Zhou Youyu is Lu Mubai, your father’s second aunt’s youngest daughter’s third cousin’s son. When Zhou Youyu went to flirt while drinking, I took the opportunity to glimpse his WeChat screen.”

Lu Ziqing: “…It’s impressive you remembered all that so clearly.”

Lin Yu: “Your father is sentimental. When he sees relatives, he always wants to help… But over time, this kind of thing can lead to problems.”

His voice grew quieter, as if he was getting sleepy.

So sleepy that he couldn’t even lift his head, but he kept muttering: “This can’t go on… Even if it’s just a branch company, it’s still the hard work of so many people…”

“Just sleep,” Lu Ziqing said. “I wonder how much my dad pays you, worrying about all this every day.”