Chapter 25: Scaring the Baby โ They’re All Bad Guys Coveting Wifey
A man stood at the doorway, backlit by the light, wearing a white shirt. Tall and upright, he calmly watched the scene of coercion before him, his watch glinting with a cold, serene light.
Jiang Yunian thought he was hallucinating; this voice…
Annoyed at being interrupted, the drunkard yelled, “Fuck off! Mind your own damn business!”
Lu Yuanbai didn’t move. He pointed at the “male model” blocked by the drunkard’s obese body and said, “Can’t you see he’s unwilling?”
Hearing the familiar voice clearly, Jiang Yunian instantly held his breath, forgetting to struggle.
Just as the drunkard turned his head impatiently, Lu Yuanbai had already closed in. His tall figure carried a silent pressure, not losing any ground in front of the stout man.
“The one inside is our newest top attraction.”
Lu Yuanbai spoke unhurriedly, his voice calm and powerful. “The booking fee is five hundred thousand a night.”
He took out his phone, the name “Manager Chen” flashing on his contact list.
“Cash or card?”
“Five hundred thousand?!”
“This pretty boy is worth five hundred thousand? Why don’t you just go rob someone?!” The constant temperature air conditioning in the restroom suddenly felt freezing. The flesh on the drunkard’s face trembled, and he instantly sobered up. Catching a glimpse of the expensive watch on Lu Yuanbai’s wrist and the work badge half-exposed in his pocket, cold sweat broke out immediately.
“If it’s too expensive, then move aside,” Lu Yuanbai said, his thumb hovering over the dial button, watching him quietly. “Or should I call security to escort you out?”
The drunkard was obviously a bully who feared the strong. The moment he saw Lu Yuanbai press the call button, he immediately released his groping hands on Jiang Yunian. “Fuck!”
“Move!” He slammed his shoulder into Lu Yuanbai hard and ran away cursing.
The restraint suddenly disappeared. Jiang Yunian’s legs went soft, and his hands, which had been gripping the door frame until they turned white, slipped down weakly. His back was covered in cold sweat, his heart pounding wildly.
“Are you okay?”
A gentle voice reached his earsโit was Lu Yuanbai’s usual tone, carrying a soothing power.
The Senior was the same as always, never stingy with his kindness to anyone.
Still in shock, Jiang Yunian slowly poked half of his pale face out from behind the stall door, lowering his head in embarrassment. “Senior.”
Lu Yuanbai paused slightly, looking carefully at the cowering face, a trace of astonishment in his eyes. “Yunian?”
“Why is it you?”
“I…” Jiang Yunian awkwardly tugged at his crooked collar, stopping himself from speaking.
Lu Yuanbai’s gaze landed on the work badge tightly clutched in his hand, then swept over his disheveled appearance. Associating this with the drunkard just now, a terrible guess suddenly arose in his mind.
“The part-time job you mentioned before… is here?”
Jiang Yunian’s mind went blank. Following his gaze downward, he suddenly understood. His small face flushed red with anxiety, and he couldn’t even speak clearly. “No, no… I didn’t…”
His gentle brows knitted rarely. Lu Yuanbai took the work badge directly, squinted to read the words “He Qing” and “Waiter” on it, and his tense expression finally relaxed.
“He Qing?”
“Mn, he’s my friend, working here…” Jiang Yunian couldn’t look directly at the word “waiter” anymore. “Working… not ‘that kind’ of work.”
This was a property of Zhou Xing Group. The Zhou and He families had always been close. After the He family fell, it made sense for Zhou Shu to look after He Qing.
Lu Yuanbai laughed, stuffing the work badge back into his hand, his tone tinged with helplessness. “What did you think I was thinking?”
Jiang Yunian’s face turned even redder.
Lu Yuanbai didn’t probe further. His gaze roamed over him for a moment, confirming there were no obvious external injuries, before asking softly if the drunkard had done anything bad to him. Jiang Yunian shook his head, saying thanks to the Senior. “Thank you.”
“Good that you’re okay,” Lu Yuanbai said. “Dealing with this kind of person, only by laying out the stakes will they weigh the cost of making a mistake.”
He paused, pressed down on the top of Jiang Yunian’s slightly messy hair, his tone serious. “So, I don’t hope there will be a next time, remember?”
Jiang Yunian nodded, seeming to understand but not fully. Entering this place felt like opening the door to a new world. Everyone tacitly obeyed those shady transactions; otherwise, it was breaking the rules.
The warmth from his palm settled Jiang Yunian’s chaotic heart a little. He nodded obediently. “I remember, Senior.”
Lu Yuanbai rubbed his hair and put down his hand.
“Haven’t asked yet, why is Senior here too?” Jiang Yunian looked up, somewhat puzzled.
The Senior had been extremely busy recently; how did he have time to come to such a place for entertainment?
“Roommate’s birthday, came to sit for a while.” Lu Yuanbai loosened his tie, winding it casually around his wrist, showing a rare laziness. “Even beasts of burden need to rest.”
“As for you,” he changed the subject. “Hao Meng tricked you into coming?”
Passing the dance floor just now, Hao Meng seemed to be chatting hotly with a curly-haired young man.
Jiang Yunian scratched his face, a bit embarrassed. “Mn… not really tricked, just seeing the world.”
Lu Yuanbai smiled and shook his head. “Seen enough of the world?”
Jiang Yunian silently lowered his furry head. “…Mn.”
Saw the world, and almost saw the King of Hell too.
“Then let’s go.” Lu Yuanbai took his arm and walked out.
“Ah? Where to?”
“Taking you home.”
“Are you done?” Jiang Yunian said, “Wait, I have to call Hao Meng.”
“I’ll give you ten minutes. I’ll wait for you in the garage.” Lu Yuanbai glanced at his watch, then let go. “Be safe.”
“Mn.”
Jiang Yunian returned to the booth, and the scene before him made him not know whether to laugh or cry. Hao Meng was chatting more and more addictively with Xiao Song, actually reciting ancient poems in the noisy bar?
“Pavilions near the water get the moon first, it’s sister’s turn.” Xiao Song hugged Hao Meng’s arm and shook it.
On the table was the wine Hao Meng was tricked into ordering more of. She was holding an empty glass, cheeks flushed, eyes blurry, mumbling something unintelligible.
Xiao Song smiled until his dimples showed, filling her glass again. “Wrong, sister. Obediently accept the punishment~”
A bottle of wine was mostly empty. Hao Meng’s face was as red as a ripe apple. “I… I was letting…ๅ.”
Before she could finish, her mouth was blocked by the wine glass Xiao Song handed over. As she tilted her head back, wine stains slid down the corner of her mouth, wetting her collar. Jiang Yunian held his forehead and hurriedly stepped forward to stop them.
Pulled by him, Hao Meng walked crookedly, her mouth still refusing to admit defeat. “Fight again next next time! I… I definitely won’t go easy… on water anymore.”
“Let’s go quickly, Senior is waiting for us.” Jiang Yunian covered her mouth.
“Senior?” Hao Meng tilted her head, saying dizzyingly, “What Senior…”
Jiang Yunian: “…”
Lu Yuanbai’s car lights were on in the dim garage. He drove a low-key Audi today. Seeing Jiang Yunian half-dragging and half-carrying the person over from a distance, he got out of the car helplessly and took the swaying Hao Meng.
“How did she drink like this?”
Jiang Yunian panted slightly, shaking his head to show he didn’t know either.
Lu Yuanbai supported Hao Meng’s arm and neatly put her into the back seat. Jiang Yunian followed closely, but his wrist was grabbed.
“Sit in the front.” The huge garage was quiet and dim, his voice exceptionally clear. “Let her lie down for a while.”
Jiang Yunian nodded, then realized it seemed impolite to treat the Senior as a driver, and obediently sat in the passenger seat.
The car drove smoothly out of the garage, merging into the traffic of the night. Neon lights on the street slid past the car window one after another. Hao Meng in the back seat finally stopped restless and curled up quietly.
Jiang Yunian leaned back in his seat, fished out his phone, and scrolled through Weibo. The busyness of the past few days left him no time to steal a moment of leisure, and he hadn’t even had time to look at the photos posted today. As soon as he opened the page, the pile of little red dots dazzled his eyes. He flipped through the comments section and surprisingly didn’t see the puppy avatar.
Estimating she was tired of watching his daily life; indeed, there was nothing fresh.
He didn’t take it to heart, but his hand strangely clicked open the private message list. A string of unread messages instantly filled the entire screen.
[LG: Didn’t post on Weibo today]
[LG: Miss wifey]
…
[LG: Ignoring me?]
…
[LG: Wifey is so fragrant and soft (Lick)]
[LG: Cute]
…
[LG: Quarreled]
[LG: Don’t want others to see]
…
[LG: A whole five days]
[LG: Uncomfortable]
The last one stopped at last night.
Scrolling down one by one, the more he looked, the more confused he became.
Haven’t checked private messages for a few days; didn’t expect LG had been waiting for him. But what are these? Without head or tail, treating him as a tree hole? Or sent to the wrong person?
He hesitated, wanting to ask if the other party made a mistake, perhaps having a conflict with family? Before sending it out, new messages kept popping up in the dialog box.
[LG: Drank alcohol?]
[LG: Where?]
[LG: The bar is full of bad guys coveting wifey]
[LG: Go home quickly, no touching alcohol in the future]
[LG: Getting drunk will get you taken away by perverts]
[LG: Anyone touching you deserves to die!]
The other party’s tone changed abruptly, hostility revealed between the lines, trying to warn him with serious consequences. Jiang Yunian instinctively felt a trace of discomfort, but what she said made sense; the incident in the restroom today still left him with lingering fear. Jiang Yunian knew she was worried about him, took a deep breath, deleted the typed words in the dialog box, and replied “I’m fine.”
Thinking it wasn’t enough, he added, “I’m on my way home, thank…”
“Chatting with a girlfriend?”
Lu Yuanbai looked ahead and asked casually.
Jiang Yunian hadn’t sent the second sentence yet. Hearing his words, he subconsciously buckled the screen on his leg, then the phone suddenly kept ringing with message notifications. Jiang Yunian didn’t look, fumbling for the side button, and directly switched it to silent. This stress response caused Lu Yuanbai to glance sideways at him, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Jiang Yunian touched his nose awkwardly, glanced at Hao Meng slumping in the back, and muttered, “Where would I get a girlfriend…”
Lu Yuanbai chuckled lightly, saying it was a joke, no need to get excited.
Jiang Yunian: “…”
Did he get excited?
They sent Hao Meng safely back to the dormitory first, then sent Jiang Yunian back.
The car started again. Passing a handmade noodle shop about to close, Lu Yuanbai suddenly pulled over. The owner inside the glass window was clearing the cutting board. Seeing someone coming, he rolled up the curtain he had just put down.
“Wait for me a moment.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out.
Jiang Yunian watched his back. The thin white shirt clung tightly to his back, and the gray tie he had casually wound around his hand now hung loosely, fluttering gently in the wind.
Soon, Lu Yuanbai returned carrying a white plastic bag. Small bubbles formed on the bag, inside was a box of steaming chive dumplings. “Only focused on drinking, right? Eat something to pad your stomach.”
After he mentioned it, Jiang Yunian felt his stomach empty. What he ate in the afternoon had long been digested. He only drank a glass of fruit wine at night, and indeed was hungry now.
He took the dumpling box. The warm touch came through the paper box, warming his heart too. “Thank you, Senior.”
When setting off again, soothing pure music played. Jiang Yunian hugged the warm dumplings, watching the streetlights passing by outside the window, shining with the stars.
“Arrived.”
Lu Yuanbai parked the car steadily at the entrance and opened the passenger door.
Jiang Yunian hugged the dumpling box and hesitated. “Does Senior want to come up and sit? I’ll make you a cup of hot tea.”
Lu Yuanbai leaned against the car door, his eyes curving into a nice arc. “No need, won’t be able to leave if I drink.”
Jiang Yunian: “Ah?”
“Mn…” Lu Yuanbai coughed lightly with the back of his hand against his lips. “I mean drinking tea at night causes insomnia easily.”
He smoothed the broken hair blown messy by the wind on the other party, looking exceptionally gentle in the night color. “Another day. It’s late, rest early.”
It was indeed quite late. Heard the Senior was living on campus recently; sending him home and then returning would be really troublesome. Jiang Yunian didn’t insist, said thanks, and told him to “be safe on the road.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Yunian walked to the stairwell entrance, looking back at the person standing in the night. Like many cold nights, the Senior taught him to make up for work loopholes, also casual and gentle like this.
“Senior, good night.”
Lu Yuanbai smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
Watching the taillights disappear at the intersection, Jiang Yunian turned and walked into the stairwell. The living room was pitch black, eerily quiet. The stagnant air carried an indescribable dampness.
At this time, Jiang Yan should be asleep. Jiang Yunian was afraid of waking him up, didn’t turn on the light, and fumbled his way in. Just taking two steps, he suddenly saw a black shadow, his heart contracting abruptly.
On the sofa, a person sat straight and stiff, silently, like a lurking ghost.
Jiang Yunian held his breath in fright, subconsciously looking at the closed door of the master bedroom, a dark slit underneath, eyes widening. “You… what did you do to Ah Yan?”
The black shadow suddenly moved.
He instinctively retreated, his lower back hitting the edge of the dining table, the dumpling box in his hand almost slipping. “Don’t… don’t come over! I have nothing…”
“…”
Moonlight squeezed in through the curtain gap, casting a cold silver line on the person’s shoulder.
Jiang Yunian swallowed uneasily, various news about home invasions flashing through his mind. Couldn’t figure out his motiveโrobbery or… surely not killing to silence him?
Jiang Yunian’s heart sank heavily, not knowing how Ah Yan was now.
He licked his dry lips, forcing calmness. “I… I have two hundred yuan on my bedside table, take it if you want… take it.”
Seeing the other party unmoved, he said with a trembling voice, “There’s an ATM two hundred meters to the left… go rob there, I have no money…”
“Ge.”
In the darkness, a low and hoarse voice rang out, sounding suppressed to the extreme.
Jiang Yunian’s breath stopped, surprised. “Ah Yan?”
Incredulously inching forward half a step, borrowing that pitiful moonlight, he finally saw clearly the familiar outline on the sofa, and his suspended heart instantly landed. “You? Why didn’t you turn on the light? Sitting here scared me to death…”
He patted his chest with lingering fear, calming himself for a good while before going to turn on the light. Just turning around, a strong oppressive feeling suddenly approached.
Jiang Yan stood behind him unknowingly, silently. Jiang Yunian shivered again, his shoulder blade pressing against the door panel, his whole person enveloped in the tall shadow.
Jiang Yan’s jawline was cold and tight, a pair of eyes sinking with bottomless ink color, his tone stiff as if questioning. “I called you five times.”
Looking at the prominent missed calls on the screen, exactly when he was on his way home, yet he never received them.
Jiang Yunian belatedly realized that he seemed to have accidentally switched silent mode to power off…
He weakly raised his hand. “If I said the phone accidentally… turned off, would you believe it?”
Jiang Yan obviously didn’t believe it. His scrutinizing gaze swept inch by inch over his face, brows suddenly furrowing.
“You drank alcohol?”
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