Chapter 16: Who is the Man Beside You?
An hour ago, Huajiang wealthy district, Tongyun Street.
Ruan Zhimian walked into the VIP private room on the second floor of the bar. Upon entering, he didn’t see Teng Yu but instead saw a cold-featured Alpha standing guard at the door, dressed in a black shirt with long legs crossed, like a door god.
Ruan Zhimian took a step back and asked the waiter in a tiny voice, “Am I in the wrong room?”
“No.”
Teng Yu, who was lying in the room gloomily chugging alcohol, called out, “Mianmian, come in quickly. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Ruan Zhimian really had no memory of this person; he shouldn’t have met him before.
“Ignore him; I’m annoyed to death.”
Teng Yu leaned over, his youthfully vibrant face filled with sorrow. His two hands hugged Ruan Zhimian’s shoulders, ignoring the gaze of the man at the door.
He pressed his forehead against Ruan Zhimian’s shoulder, sounding piteous. His finger pointed at the man. “I’m being haunted.”
“I went home early yesterday, right? I thought I’d go to the clubhouse for a bit and I picked him up at the door.”
“Then… some adult things happened.”
Teng Yu’s ear-tips were a faint pink. At the opening of his shirt collar, some… marks could clearly be seen.
He conspired loudly with Ruan Zhimian, sounding very aggrieved.
“He won’t leave me alone.”
“I already gave him money.”
Ruan Zhimian’s eyelashes were curled, and his ears were also red. He picked up a glass of non-alcoholic sweet wine from the table and whispered secretly, “A-Yu, who is he? Do you know him?”
Teng Yu replied decisively, “I don’t.”
The man looked up. “I do.”
Ruan Zhimian rubbed his chin. His black hair hung obediently against his snowy-white neck. He looked over—at Teng Yu, then at the man—and replied softly, “So you do know each other.”
Teng Yu wilted and picked up his wine glass, taking a large gulp like a cute, lively puppy, except currently he was lying on the floor, no longer wagging his tail.
“I can’t shake him.”
Ruan Zhimian was also having a headache. Although Qiuqiu had returned, for some reason, the time it spent with Ruan Zhimian was becoming less and less whenever Shi He appeared; it was almost always in a deep sleep.
Qiuqiu had gone back to the system space last night for an inspection and hadn’t received a reply yet.
He propped his chin, his small face showing distress as he empathized with Teng Yu. “I want to break up too.”
“What? You want to break off the engagement?”
“It’s not Han He’an.”
His friend’s affairs were even more important than Teng Yu’s own.
Teng Yu pulled out a pair of Bluetooth earphones and tossed them at the man. “Put them on. Don’t listen to our chat.”
Though he wouldn’t leave, he obediently put them on.
Ruan Zhimian didn’t know how to say it. After thinking for a long time, he said with a red face, “I did something wrong; I’m sorry toward Shi He.”
“I accepted a bet a while ago to approach Shi He and use a fake identity to trick him into online dating.”
Teng Yu was amazed and gave a thumbs up. “Mianmian, you’re amazing.”
The black-surfaced, sugar-hearted “glutinous rice ball” blinked. Clearly he was the one who tricked someone, yet he somehow made it impossible for people to get angry. “He suddenly returned to the country. This morning he sent a message saying he wanted to… meet. I’m afraid he’ll find out who I am. I want to break up.”
“I don’t know… how to do it…”
He had to stay in the relationship for at least another week.
During this week, he wouldn’t see Shi He at all.
Teng Yu didn’t know either; he had never been in a relationship. “If you say it directly, will he track your IP to your door?”
Ruan Zhimian tightened his fingers and began to imagine. The “scammer” cat nodded cautiously.
“It’s possible.”
Teng Yu pulled out his phone and tapped a few times. As an idle second-generation rich kid, he knew all about what was fun at the school.
“Our school has a forum. There’s a relationship section there. I see people posting every day. Post anonymously to ask; if you want different advice, you can offer a reward…”
Ruan Zhimian looked curiously at the link Teng Yu sent over. “Okay.”
Half an hour later, Huajiang University school forum, relationship section. Ruan Zhimian fumbled through making a post.
[2nd floor: Curious.]
[3rd floor: How good is he? Is it because you met and he “died on sight,” so you don’t like him anymore?]
[OP Reply: No, no. I approached him because of other reasons. I know I’m very bad. I didn’t expect him to really like me. I have a reason I must break up; I can’t tell him and I don’t want him to be sad.]
[15th floor: What do you dislike about him? If he’s so good, why can’t you be with him?]
[OP Reply: My own reasons. It’s not his problem.]
[28th floor: Is the other party handsome?]
[OP Reply: > < Extremely handsome.]
[100th floor: I suggest a slow breakup. Decrease the frequency of your chats. Don’t make the other person too sad—cold treatment. Or apologize to the other person sincerely. There’s a chance you might get beaten up.]
[OP Reply: Thank you.]
You have obtained 1,000 Spirit Stones.
In the Omega dormitory at Huajiang University, an Omega in a simple white T-shirt sat at the small dormitory table, looking at the phone screen in surprise.
He didn’t understand what people were thinking nowadays.
A roommate brought a bottle of water and placed it before him. “Su Ning, are you still going to work at the bar this afternoon?”
Su Ning poked the cute cat avatar with his finger and sent his contact info.
Since he was going to be a relationship consultant, he couldn’t take the money for nothing. One thousand Spirit Stones could be exchanged for one thousand yuan. “Going. I haven’t saved enough for next semester’s living expenses yet.”
…
In the private room, Ruan Zhimian and Teng Yu were head-to-head. Both of them were wilted after drinking quite a bit of alcohol. Ruan Zhimian held his phone, looking unmovingly at the message the Alpha had just sent. His sparkling eyes turned dim.
[Gege: Baby, do you really not want to see me?]
[Gege: If I’ve done something to make you unhappy, I apologize.]
The little scammer lay on the table, tapping on the phone screen for a long time before sending a reply. His heart felt heavy. Cold treatment—slowly stop responding to him to make him hate him.
In the future, Shi He would meet someone truly worth it, someone he truly liked.
Not him.
[Baby: Gege, I’m out working today. I didn’t mean to ignore you.]
[Baby: I’ve been so busy lately. Give me some time.]
A call came through, and Ruan Zhimian instinctively pressed answer.
He subconsciously stood up. In his half-drunk, half-asleep state, Teng Yu lost his support and almost slid down. The man stood up, pinching the back of Teng Yu’s neck as he gathered him into his embrace. “You drank so much and are this dizzy—do you still want to play?”
The person on the other end of the phone heard it extremely clearly.
Shi He bit out the words, his black eyes cold and gloomy. He spoke with a half-smile. “Mianmian, where are you working that requires you to drink?”
“Who is the man beside you?”
