Chapter 21
Opening the door wasn’t a task any student living in the villa was expected to do; hearing the knock was simply a coincidence, and no one bothered to attend to it.
Shi Ye continued, “That’s it for today. Dismissed.”
“Brother Shi, we can’t just disperse. If we went by normal competition rules, there’s no way we would have lost. If the Special Recruit hadn’t knocked Zhao Zeryang out, how could the recruitment have been terminated?”
Shi Ye furrowed his brows, scanning for the speaker. He raised a hand to single him out, then turned to instruct the butler, “Remember this person. Don’t let him in again.”
The boy froze. “Wh-What?”
“Did a dog eat your brain? What does this have to do with the Special Recruit?”
The boy muttered, “I didn’t say anything wrong.”
Qi Yuan interjected, “Brother Shi, he’s just anxious. Don’t hurt the mood over a small matter.”
Pausing, he keenly sensed that Shi Ye was defending Wen Rong. Staring intently at Shi Ye’s face, he added, “Does Brother Shi think the Special Recruit is innocent?”
“Bullshit.”
Qi Yuan hadn’t expected Shi Ye to be so frank. Instinct forced him to probe further from the side. “Brother Shi, your opinion of the Special Recruit seems to have changed.”
Shi Ye didn’t refute him. Instead, he stood up, grabbed the boy by the collar, and yanked him forward. “Did the Special Recruit become the Tennis Club President?”
The boy shook his head in panic.
“Did he participate in the voting?”
The boy continued to shake his head in panic.
“You keep shifting the conflict onto someone who has a grudge against Zhao Zeryang. Since when did you become Zhao Zeryang’s dog?”
The boy stammered, “Brother Shi, I-I-I didn’t.”
Shi Ye threw him aside. “Scram. Don’t let me see you again.”
The boy fled with his tail between his legs, and the crowd suddenly woke up.
“Brother Shi is right. The voting issue has nothing to do with the Special Recruit, yet this guy kept bringing him up.”
“It really is suspicious. I feel like others might be compromised too. We have over eighty people, so how did Brother Shi only get forty-something votes while Zhao Zeryang got fifty-something?”
“Someone probably got greedy for GMI and made a private deal with Zhao Zeryang.”
…
Amidst the growing clamor of discussion, Qi Yuan and the butler spoke at the same time.
“Brother Shi, I was just curious just now.”
“Young Master.”
Qi Yuan consciously shut his mouth. The butler walked up to Shi Ye, covering his mouth to whisper something in his ear.
Shi Ye, who had been furious a moment ago, was visibly stunned after hearing it. He turned around and wiped his face quickly with a towel. Like a face-changing act in Peking Opera, his expression instantly returned to normal.
Immediately after, he whispered something to the butler that no one else could hear. Then, raking his fingers through his hair, he walked toward the back door of the villa.
Qi Yuan wanted to chase after him to explain further, but the butler blocked his path. “It is late. I will have the driver take you home.”
Security Room
Wen Rong sat cautiously on the edge of the sofa, occupying only the first third of the seat. He held the water cup given to him by the security guard, taking small sips every now and then because the air was too quiet.
“Little classmate, don’t worry. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the Young Master soon.”
Wen Rong: “…”
That is exactly what I’m afraid of!
“I’m just here to deliver a box. Can I leave the box here and ask you to pass it to him later?”
“No can do, no can do. Little classmate, I can’t make that decision. Wait for the Young Master’s reply.”
Wen Rong wilted.
When Senior Leon mentioned giving the ballot box to Shi Ye, Wen Rong had assumed the Senior would go with him. It turned out the Senior meant for him to go alone.
With so many people in the villa, and based on the lessons learned from the previous two times, Wen Rong knew that going inside was purely seeking death. So, he had come up with a compromise: write what he wanted to say on a note and leave it with the ballot box at the main gate for Shi Ye to discover.
The plan failed because of his ignorance; he had no idea there was security at the villa. As soon as he approached the gate, he was “apprehended” by the security uncle and brought here to “await judgment.” He couldn’t even leave.
The good news was that the uncle wasn’t a bad person and even gave him warm water.
The bad news was that he didn’t know what strange things he would have to do to escape this time.
Click.
Hearing a noise, Wen Rong shot up with a swish, staring in that direction with tense nerves.
Shi Ye lowered his head to pass through the door—which wasn’t quite tall enough for him. He raised a hand to slick all his grey hair back. The corners of his mouth were curved up; he seemed to be in a good mood.
Wen Rong breathed a sigh of relief.
“Young Master, this little classmate brought a box to find you.”
Shi Ye said, “Don’t bother with him in the future. With his physique, who could he possibly beat?”
The security guard paused. “Understood, Young Master. I’ll go get your friend a cup of water.”
Shi Ye turned sideways to let the security guard exit.
Bang.
The door closed again.
On the wall, nine screens displayed live footage from every corner of the villa. From the main gate where Wen Rong had just been “arrested,” a crowd was pouring out, leaving one after another.
They were walking toward a vintage car parked nearby, where Leon was waiting in the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing looking for me in the middle of the night?”
Hearing the voice, Wen Rong remembered his business. “To deliver the voting box to you.”
Shi Ye rubbed his neck, lowering his head to suppress the corners of his mouth. “Is that kind of junk worth a special trip?”
“It’s not junk.”
“A trash can?”
“It’s the box used for the vote between you and Zhao Zeryang.”
Shi Ye silently pressed the tip of his tongue against his cheek.
“I looked at the ballot stubs. Actually, there are more stubs with your name on them than his. The scene might have had some—”
Wen Rong was explaining earnestly and didn’t notice the smile on Shi Ye’s face gradually dissipating. Furthermore, Shi Ye interrupted him. “Are you saying that I actually had more votes?”
Wen Rong looked up and saw a sharp, cold white light flash in Shi Ye’s eyes, like the glint of moonlight on a blade.
His EQ might be low, but he was very experienced in sensing killing intent—Shi Ye was exploding with rage right now.
Pale knuckles curled tight, making the paper cup crinkle loudly.
Wen Rong kept hinting to himself: I am here to do a good deed. This matter has nothing to do with me. I still have 1 point to save my life…
“Speak.”
Wen Rong stared intently at Shi Ye, afraid to even move his eyeballs, his head nodding slowly up and down.
“Are you sure?”
“You had 89 votes. He had 11.”
Shi Ye’s expression changed drastically. He spun around and punched the door. “Fuck!”
Because of the excessive force, his arm looked even thicker than usual, the tank top outlining the swell of his muscles.
“Fuck!”
He cursed again, his fist sliding down against the door, leaving behind three shocking trails of blood.
Although Wen Rong often couldn’t understand Shi Ye’s behavior—like asking to be scolded or hit—at this moment, Wen Rong could guess the feeling behind Shi Ye punching the wall. Whenever he suffered unfair treatment, he also had to pinch his own flesh hard to neutralize the pain.
Wen Rong slowly inched behind the sofa and squatted down. Only with an obstacle between him and the furious Shi Ye did he muster a little courage to persuade him. “Don’t be too sad. Compared to building a new Tennis Club, maybe replacing the Tennis Club President is easier. Do you want to try that?”
“What do you know.”
Shi Ye’s bloody hand fished into his sweatpants pocket. He cursed “Fuck” again inexplicably, then turned around wanting to ask Wen Rong for a phone to call and curse out Zhou Xie, only to see the room empty. Then, half a head popped up from behind the sofa.
Black hair, eye-socket frames, black leather sofa—all contrasting with skin that was ghastly white.
“What are you hiding there for?”
Wen Rong looked like he wanted to hide under the sofa. “I… I understand you’re in a bad mood right now, but you look a bit fierce. I’m afraid you’ll beat me.”
Shi Ye asked strangely, “Have I ever beaten you?”
“First day of school, you kicked my butt.”
“…”
“The next day you kicked it again.”
“…”
“So you have beaten me.”
“……”
The silence was terrifying.
Shi Ye felt like a firecracker soaked in water; he couldn’t ignite at all, and he was very bewildered.
Did I beat him?
It seems… put that way, I guess I did?
Then what should I do? I’ve already beaten him.
Shi Ye rubbed his hair vigorously. He was so troubled that he completely forgot about calling Zhou Xie to curse him out.
If I had known, I wouldn’t have kicked his butt back then.
Wait, has he been caring about this the whole time? He can even count the first time and the second time.
The inexplicable silence annoyed Shi Ye to death. He smashed the pot. “I’ll let you kick me back, okay?”
Wen Rong shook his head vigorously. Because he was hiding too low, only the top of his head could be seen spinning.
“If you can’t reach my butt, punch me? Chest or stomach? Or you can bite me?”
“No.”
“Didn’t you say I beat you? Why say no?”
Wen Rong carefully took out his phone. The light from the screen reflected on his lenses. “Can I go?”
Shi Ye lifted a foot to block the door. “Say why you don’t want to, then you can go.”
“…”
“Say it.”
This “Say it” triggered Wen Rong’s unpleasant memories of being choke-held. Running through what Senior Leon had taught him in his mind, he gained some courage. He carefully typed 110, his finger hovering over the dial button, adding a bit more courage.
“Hello—”
Wen Rong finished charging up and asked seriously, “You keep asking me to scold you and hit you. Is it because you hope I’ll forgive you?”
“What?”
Shi Ye was stunned again.
What kind of ghost question is this?
“I… I don’t seem to be a broad-minded person. Because I already beat up Zhao Zeryang, but I still haven’t forgiven him.”
Wen Rong hesitantly and arduously described his thoughts. It wasn’t precise, but Shi Ye understood.
By the same logic, even if I kick you, hit you, or scold you, I won’t forgive you for bullying me in the past.
Shi Ye completed the sentence for Wen Rong in his mind.
A laugh escaped his lips. It was a bit bizarre, yet hard to control.
How can Wen Rong be this dull?
He can’t even say “I will never forgive you,” he has to cite a specific example and let others summarize the main idea?
But having an example is more real than any generalized statement, concrete as a mountain blocking the way.
Shi Ye couldn’t laugh anymore. His chest felt inexplicably stuffy.
He instinctively tried to justify himself.
Am I begging for Wen Rong’s forgiveness?
Impossible. I just find it novel and interesting when a loser loses his temper.
His gaze inadvertently glanced at the ballot box. Shi Ye puffed out his chest. “Then why bring me the ballot box in the middle of the night and count how many votes I got?”
“President Zhou asked me to come.”
“You came just because he asked? You listen to him that much?!”
“Not… exactly. He let me choose whether to tell you about this.”
“Didn’t you ‘not forgive’ me? Why tell me this?”
Shi Ye laughed mockingly, unaware that he was staring at Wen Rong with full concentration and a faint expectation.
—You don’t forgive me, so why help me?
—Dare you tell the honest reason?
“I’m just exposing unfair treatment. It’s not the same thing as hating… not liking you.”
—Not liking you.
It felt like returning to the end of the vote, when Zhao Zeryang slammed into his shoulder.
There were many upsetting things: the club he prepared before school started couldn’t be established, the comments on the forum, Zhao Zeryang’s provocation, Zhou Xie’s stumbling blocks… He had forgotten all of them ten minutes ago when the butler said, “Wen Rong is looking for you.”
Now, the suppressed anger flared up again, burning bigger and hotter, almost drying out his body. He couldn’t clench his fist, couldn’t even punch the wall to distract from the pain.
Blood dripped from the gaps between his fingers, drip, drip, hitting the floor, as if the painful screaming could be heard.
I really want to… pull that head out and crush it in my hand.
Or kiss it hard.
Shi Ye shuddered violently.
His thoughts were in chaos.
What am I thinking?
I’m not a pervert.
And we are both guys.
Shi Ye adjusted his breathing and yanked the door open. “I’ll have the driver take you back to the dorm.”
“Can I go?”
“Mn.”
“I-I-I’ll go back myself.”
Rejecting him?
It’s only right, because he doesn’t like him.
Shi Ye clenched his teeth so hard they ground together, creating a buzzing sound that pierced his ear bones.
Then, he clasped his hands behind his back and retreated to the wall. “Go.”
“Really?”
“Scram!”
Wen Rong shot up from behind the sofa and bolted out like a wisp of smoke. His footsteps grew more urgent, never stopping.
Most people had left the villa. The silence had a sound, like a very low-frequency hum, faster than a heartbeat, making one increasingly agitated and restless.
“Fuck!”
Shi Ye kicked over the ballot box. The votes poured out from the lid.
A paper crane rolled out. There were words on its wings, round and curved in every stroke.
Shi Ye couldn’t resist his curiosity and opened it.
Everyone supports you to be President. You are amazing.
— Alien
📖 Advance Access: Complete Novel
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Recommended Reads
![Those Years When the Son of Destiny Was Severely Scammed [Quick Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/QUICK-TRANSMIGRATION1-214x300.jpg)
