Chapter 5
Feng Yu felt that the world had gone mad.
No, it wasn’t the world that was mad, but Xie Wangyuan, who had already taken a seat at the mahjong table.
Yes, a mahjong table.
The room wasn’t the final test they had imagined, nor was it some den of debauchery for an orgy. Instead, it was spacious and bright, the air conditioning set to a comfortable temperature. Several carts were laden with snacks and drinks, and there were… quite a few mahjong tables.
Clearly, this was a mahjong room.
Feng Yu could never have imagined that after all this trouble for such a grand banquet, Xie Wangyuan wasn’t looking for a “male companion,” nor the bed partners or lovers everyone assumed, but mahjong partners.
Feng Yu watched as Xie Wangyuan, resting his chin on one hand, pointed one by one at the Betas who were as stunned and mentally cracking as he was, signaling them to sit. Then, that face that made him blush and his heart race turned toward him, a long finger tapping the table: “You, sit here.”
Feng Yu moved limbs that didn’t feel like they belonged to him and sat down stiffly opposite Xie Wangyuan.
Neither too many nor too few, counting Xie Wangyuan and Ren Yi, there were exactly three tables.
Starving for two days to fit into his outfit, dressing up meticulously before coming, and painstakingly filling out the form only for it to be tossed aside by the man in the second private box—Feng Yu’s depression reached its peak at this moment.
When Feng Yu filled out the form, he was more serious than when he took his college entrance exams, racking his brain about how proficient he was in those entertainment activities and whether he could meet Xie Wangyuan’s requirements. By the end, he was even rejoicing that before becoming an influencer, he had only been in one very innocent relationship with an Omega and hadn’t done anything extreme.
The Alpha opposite him would never know that a young man’s heart, which had been confused and full of romantic fantasies just before entering the door, shattered the moment he saw the mahjong table.
Not only was it shattered into pieces, but it felt like it had been fed to a dog.
Turns out, his mom was right when she told him to keep his feet on the ground and not think about taking crooked paths.
Feng Yu was indignant inside, his stomach growling. Ignoring his clothes and etiquette, he grabbed a bag of snacks from the cart beside him, tore it open, and crunched loudly.
Still not feeling relieved, Feng Yu looked up and glared, meeting Xie Wangyuan’s gaze directly. “Too much trouble to play complex rules tonight. Let’s keep it simple. Free pung and kong, chow from the left only, win on discard. How about it?”
If it were five minutes ago, making eye contact with Xie Wangyuan like this would have made Feng Yu’s heart flutter. But now, Feng Yu just wanted to shout: If you don’t know how to play the complex rules, just admit it!
However, Feng Yu only dared to think this internally and didn’t dare to actually offend Xie Wangyuan. “Alright, Second Young Master Xie.”
But soon, Feng Yu discovered that his young man’s heart hadn’t just been fed to a simple dog, but to a total noob.
How could someone set the rules themselves but not even distinguish their upper and lower hand neighbors!
Feng Yu felt weary, but even more weariness awaited him. He discovered that the Beta beside him, whom he had previously assumed was Xie Wangyuan’s lover, was just as much of a noob as Xie Wangyuan.
Thinking back to the Beta’s earlier sneer, Feng Yu, now sobered from his romantic delusions, just wanted to shake him by the shoulders: With such lousy skills, where do you get the nerve to provoke others?!
Ren Yi, holding the one-wan, two-wan, and four-wan tiles, unsure which to discard, and inexplicably receiving another eye-roll: “?”
Sure enough, no matter where you go, playing too slowly gets you despised.
Not wanting to be despised, Ren Yi discarded the two-wan tile.
Feng Yu wasn’t from C City. His hometown loved mahjong, and he had been influenced by his mother since childhood. Although his studies were mediocre, his memory for tiles was top-notch.
Calming down, Feng Yu figured it out. He didn’t know if Second Young Master Xie was actually into men, but he knew this banquet was entirely an act.
Only they, the ridiculous actors thinking of selling their bodies to latch onto a sugar daddy, had taken it seriously.
Feng Yu reined in his inappropriate thoughts, feeling that his current self was actually doing fine. He earned enough for himself and could occasionally send some pocket money to his mom.
But Feng Yu also knew that having another connection meant another path, not to mention a connection as powerful as Xie Wangyuan.
He didn’t dare think about the things he shouldn’t, but at the mahjong table… he was quite confident.
Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours. The Beta who sat down with Feng Yu was utterly lacking in awareness. Every tile Feng Yu specifically discarded was either chow-ed or pung-ed by him.
Feng Yu: “…”
Feng Yu felt he would never try as hard in his life as he did tonight.
Four people at a mahjong table: two noobs, one pig teammate. Under such dire circumstances, Feng Yu overcame all difficulties and intentionally fed Xie Wangyuan several winning tiles.
Xie Wangyuan, biting on an unlit cigarette, looked at the growing pile of chips by his hand, raised an eyebrow, and pushed down the tiles in front of him. “Won again.”
“Huh? Brother Yuan, your luck tonight is too good, isn’t it?” Ren Yi counted his chips bitterly and handed them over. “How come I haven’t won even once?”
Feng Yu, hesitating to speak: “…”
Please, can the noob have a little self-awareness?!
Throughout the night, Feng Yu’s brain worked furiously. Not only did he have to battle wits with his pig teammate, but he also had to deal with the noob’s erratic and oblivious skills, all while not making his intentional losses too obvious.
As dawn broke outside, Feng Yu finally succeeded in making Xie Wangyuan the winner with the most chips among the three tables.
Mission accomplished, Feng Yu’s brain completely shut down. He slumped in his chair, feeling not like he had pulled an all-nighter, but like he hadn’t slept for days.
Xie Wangyuan, however, was still full of energy. After playing all night, he had finally satisfied his craving. He casually pushed over the tall stack of chips by his hand.
Amid the clattering sound of falling chips, Xie Wangyuan said, “Breakfast is prepared in the restaurant downstairs. There are rooms on this floor for those who want to rest, and cars will be arranged for those who want to go back. The chips were just for fun. Regardless of how many are left, leave your contact information outside later, and a sum will be transferred…”
Xie Wangyuan paused, tapping the table twice before saying, “Companion fee? Or some other fee—you can interpret it however you like.”
Feng Yu remembered his confiscated phone and personal items and whispered, “Hush money.”
His voice was very quiet, but he was too close to Xie Wangyuan. Feng Yu saw the Alpha opposite him lift his eyes, knowing his muttering had been heard clearly.
Feng Yu was trembling a bit, but he heard a hint of a smile in Xie Wangyuan’s voice: “As long as you know what should be said and what shouldn’t.”
Feng Yu, understanding the implication, exchanged glances with the other Betas.
No one would be stupid enough to talk about this. After all, their motives for coming were impure to begin with. If the outside world knew they intended to climb into Second Young Master Xie’s bed but only ended up climbing onto his mahjong table…
Although these minor influencers weren’t famous, they couldn’t afford that embarrassment.
If it were actually exposed, it might even be better for the public to think they really did sleep with him. After all, having the reputation of a one-night stand with Xie Wangyuan would be somewhat useful.
As for the celebrity at the other table whose face had already turned black… he was probably regretting it so much his intestines were green.
Risking being photographed to come to this banquet, yet he didn’t even get the chance to play at the same table as Xie Wangyuan.
Betas began to stand up hesitantly, preparing to go to the restaurant for breakfast.
Feng Yu had overused his brain, and snacking all night hadn’t satisfied his hunger. Seeing that Xie Wangyuan didn’t intend to make things difficult for him, he also stood up.
Xie Wangyuan tapped the table again. “You, what was your name?”
Feng Yu immediately straightened up, stammering, “Feng, Feng Yu. Second Young Master Xie, I was just…”
“Tsk.” Xie Wangyuan interrupted his explanation impatiently, pulling a tissue from the table. “Got a pen?”
Feng Yu was confused. “No, I don’t.”
Ren Yi felt his pockets. He had actually swiped a pen when slipping out of the meeting room yesterday. He took it out and tossed it to Xie Wangyuan.
Writing on a tissue was difficult. After writing a number, Xie Wangyuan gave up on signing and handed it directly to Feng Yu. “I’ll call you next time we’re short a player.”
Feng Yu took it with both hands. “Thank, thank you, Second Young Master Xie, Second Young Master Ren.”
Having played mahjong all night, he naturally learned of Ren Yi’s background. He wanted to travel back in time and slap himself awake for mistaking the dignified young master of the Ren family for Xie Wangyuan’s lover.
Although he didn’t know when “next time” would be, aren’t connections and opportunities accumulated slowly like this?
There are worldly wisdoms in mahjong too; his mom truly didn’t deceive him.
By the time Xie Wangyuan and Ren Yi went to catch up on sleep after their game, this grand banquet had not only been trending on the hot search for hours but had also dominated most news sections, practically known to everyone.
People’s curiosity is just that simple.
Tell them about Yu Xiele’s scandal, and some won’t care. Tell them a rich second generation is partying abroad, and some won’t find it strange.
But wealthy families, scumbag Alphas, private clubhouses, mass orgies, mysterious entry forms, selecting Beta male companions…
Just throw a few of these terms together, and everyone has to take a bite of the melon.
It also happened to be a Monday. Office workers, already feeling like going to work was like going to a grave after the weekend, caught wind of such huge gossip from a wealthy family and wished they could slack off and eat melon all day.
The Qin Corporation was no exception.
Qin Yu had just finished his morning meeting. Passing by the pantry, he heard employees huddled together, their conversation vaguely revealing words like “Chunshui Xifeng” and “grand banquet.”
Qin Yu checked his watch; it was 11:30 AM.
On the top floor, Qin Yu prepared to return to his office. The people in the secretarial pool were looking down at something, and no one noticed his return.
Qin Yu pressed the handle of his office door, then turned back.
He Rui was a Beta and Qin Yu’s assistant. He hadn’t attended the morning meeting. After finishing the work Qin Yu assigned, seeing it was almost time to get off work, he decided to kill time eating melon in the secretarial pool.
He was watching a video when the light above him suddenly dimmed. He Rui looked up: “…”
He Rui froze for a second and quickly locked his phone screen, but the video continued playing in the background: “…According to clubhouse insiders, dozens of Betas left this grand banquet disheveled and crying, with a suspected popular idol among them! In the end, this Second Young Master Xie kept a full ten Betas! Moreover, no one left the extremely luxurious banquet hall for the entire night; it must have been an all-night…”
He Rui: “…”
The secretarial pool was as silent as a grave at midnight. He Rui unlocked his phone, paused the video, and slowly stood up. “President Qin…”
The man was expressionless as usual. His gaze swept over the desk, and he left without a word.
Hearing the door to the adjacent office close, He Rui finally let out a sigh of relief. He sank back into his chair, looking at the disheveled, handsome Alpha on his phone screen, puzzled. “Is this… the type of Alpha that’s popular now?”
The little secretary next to him giggled. “What do you mean ‘this type’ or ‘that type’? As long as they’re an Alpha, aren’t they all popular! Not to mention someone like Second Young Master Xie—he looks like he has serious stamina…”
“He is handsome, and the Xie family genes are good, but his private life is too messy. Ten of them! One hour each, and the night is gone. When does he have time to rest?”
“People like them don’t need rest! The more they overindulge, the more energetic they are. It’s truly strange.”
The door next door seemed to open again. Everyone chatting happily instantly sat back down, quiet as chickens, listening to the steady footsteps approaching.
“He Rui.” The footsteps stopped outside the secretarial pool door, the voice cold. “Go to the resort in the south of the city.”
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