Manager Li and Suge’s gazes were like needles, all sharply fixed on Li Wenshui, their eyes filled with meaningful smiles. Li Wenshui stood rigidly in place, the mocking glances seeming to pierce him. His neck was stiff, and a bead of sweat formed on his back. Suge let out a soft sneer, opening his innocent big eyes and feigning confusion, “Is that so? I thought Wenshui and Mr. Liang were good friends.”

Li Wenshui snapped back to his senses and glared fiercely at Suge. Liang Jin slowly spoke, “Not exactly friends.” In fact, he had long been aware of Li Wenshui’s little tricks, but had been too lazy to address them. He glanced at Li Wenshui, who had tightly pressed lips and red cheeks, clearly caught off guard by being exposed on the spot. Yet, even in this situation, Li Wenshui was still glaring angrily. There was some sense of shame, but not much.

Suge didn’t care whether Li Wenshui glared at him or not. He had gotten the answer he wanted, and had even enjoyed seeing Li Wenshui, who thought too highly of himself, be put in a difficult position. He was quite pleased.

“I have something else to do, I’ll take my leave.” Li Wenshui expressionlessly took back the throat lozenges and pear syrup he had prepared for Liang Jin, striding off in another direction. Despite the situation, he refused to lose his composure.

Manager Li and Suge also bid farewell and left. Zhou Qi watched Li Wenshui walk away, then nudged Liang Jin, “What’s going on? You didn’t even leave any face for the little beauty, that’s not your style.” His childhood friend always valued politeness and rarely got into confrontations, especially with beautiful women, whom he treated with both gentlemanliness and respect. This kind of situation, where someone was left with no way out, had never happened before.

Liang Jin tapped Zhou Qi’s wine glass, “Do even little liars deserve face?”

“Liar? This beautiful liar? I’d be happy to be deceived! Young Master Liang, you’ve obviously had too much mountain delicacies and seafood, your taste is getting picky!” Liang Jin’s gaze dropped to the empty handbag, and with a teasing smile in his eyes, he added, “Still a stingy little liar.”

Li Wenshui ate two pieces of cake at the dessert station, looking quite sulky, with his cheeks still flushed. His appearance attracted quite a few people trying to start a conversation, but none of them could get past his sharp gaze.

His phone kept buzzing with notifications, but he didn’t feel like checking them at all. It was likely that Suge had already spread the word about what happened today, and he could even guess how Suge would spin the story. Right now, the messages would only be filled with mockery and sarcastic remarks. His circle of friends was much better at making fun of him than offering congratulations.

Someone approached Li Wenshui, their gaze intense. He ignored them, continuing to eat and drink, not sparing a glance at the person. Desserts made him feel better, and besides, he couldn’t leave without at least filling his stomach. The person stood there, silent, not leaving. Li Wenshui turned his head slightly and said, “I don’t use WeChat…”

His sentence was cut short when the person, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looking scholarly, said with a deep gaze, “I never thought you’d have a day where you’d be rejected.”

Li Wenshui’s expression changed. He instinctively tried to step back, but the table behind him blocked him. Yu Zizhuo spoke again, his tone somewhat mocking: “When you rejected me back then, I thought you were so high and mighty, but now you’re the one who’s throwing yourself at Liang Jin, aren’t you?”

Li Wenshui’s face turned red with anger, and he quickly retorted, “What I do with you has nothing to do with this!”

His eyelids twitched as he was unable to even eat the cake now. He stormed out quickly, his pace quickening with every step until he was practically running out of the door. Yu Zizhuo had come back to the country! To avoid anyone following him, Li Wenshui intentionally changed buses multiple times on his way back. He stood for another four hours with his legs sore, and by the time he got home, he could hardly move due to the pain.

Exhausted, Li Wenshui sat on the bed, massaging his aching legs while feeling a sense of unease. He opened the drawer and took out a photo frame. The elderly man in the black-and-white photo had a gentle expression. Whenever Li Wenshui encountered something he couldn’t solve, he would talk to him. His grandfather was the only one who had ever treated him and Wenqing well. Although his grandfather had passed away and could no longer solve his problems or protect him from the storm, at least talking to him brought him some peace.

“Grandfather, Yu Zizhuo has come back. Is he here to get revenge on me?” Li Wenshui’s hand holding the photo frame trembled slightly.

Yu Zizhuo was his ex-boyfriend.

Li Wenshui knew that someone with his background—an exceptional appearance—was never truly gifted. There were always people who had ill intentions toward him. His first boyfriend, whom Li Liyan had taken away, was just like that—after they slept together, he claimed Li Wenshui had a bad character and was not gentle, shifting all the blame onto him.

Since then, Li Wenshui had learned to be wary of people who intentionally approached him, observing their intentions and whether they were sincere. Later, when he met Yu Zizhuo, he thought he was different from those shallow people. They shared common interests, discussing solutions to problems deep into the night. Yu Zizhuo was refined, blushing when speaking to him, his voice soft yet gentle.

One day, Yu Zizhuo confessed to him. At that time, Li Wenshui was suffocating under a huge debt and wanted someone to rely on. Even though he didn’t like Yu Zizhuo, he accepted his pursuit. However, that same night, Yu Zizhuo revealed his true nature, taking him to a hotel, tying him to a bed. When Yu Zizhuo went to shower, Li Wenshui broke free of the ropes and called the police. When Yu Zizhuo came out of the shower and found him trying to escape, he pinned him down on the bed, choking him fiercely.

To this day, Li Wenshui still remembers the terrifying look in Yu Zizhuo’s eyes, and the feeling of suffocation remains vivid in his mind.

During the struggle, he reached the bedside table and grabbed the ashtray, smashing it toward Yu Zizhuo. One of Yu Zizhuo’s front teeth was knocked out, and his movements became more violent.

At the crucial moment, the police broke down the door, and Yu Zizhuo was arrested and taken to the police station. Yu Zizhuo’s father was facing a promotion at work and couldn’t afford to have any scandal in the family, so the Yu family paid him compensation. Afterward, Yu Zizhuo was sent abroad to a rehabilitation center, but even there, he didn’t behave. He posted many rumors on a school forum to slander Li Wenshui, claiming that he had a chaotic private life, was a liar in relationships, and even posted his phone number on a hookup app, making strangers call him. Eventually, Li Wenshui had to change his number to get some peace.

Yu Zizhuo was gone for three years, and Li Wenshui thought he would never see him again, assuming that Yu Zizhuo had forgotten about him. But today, the look in Yu Zizhuo’s eyes told him that he wasn’t about to let him go.

Night fell, and the room was dim. Li Wenshui curled up on the small bed, his mind racing with strategies. Suddenly, his phone rang, startling him. When he saw the familiar number, he relaxed and sighed in relief. He answered the call with a smile, saying, “Qingqing, did you miss your brother?”

“Gege,” Li Wenqing’s joyful voice came through the receiver, accompanied by the sound of wind. “Guess where I am right now?” Li Wenshui did a quick calculation and suddenly sat up. “You’re back home?”

“Yes, there’s one week left until the college entrance exams, and we’ve already started our holiday!”

“Where are you now? I’ll come pick you up.”

“I’m almost at the bus stop!”

Li Wenshui, ignoring the pain in his legs, grabbed an umbrella and went outside. He walked out of the dark and muddy alley, planning to buy some pork at the market across from the bus stop to make dumplings.

Just as he entered the market, someone suddenly covered his mouth, grabbed his waist, and threw him into a van. His phone, which was in his pocket, was taken away. Sitting in the passenger seat, Yu Zizhuo stared at him. “I just wanted to catch up with you.”

Li Wenshui was held down by a bodyguard and couldn’t move. He raised his voice, “Kidnapping is illegal!”

Yu Zizhuo said, “I know, who said I’m kidnapping you? I’m just inviting you to get in the car and catch up.”

The bodyguard then wrapped tape around his face, covering his nose and chin. Li Wenshui could only make muffled sounds. The van drove on for an unknown amount of time, the surroundings becoming more desolate. The smooth asphalt roads were replaced with bumpy dirt paths, and streetlights became increasingly sparse.

Eventually, the van stopped, and Li Wenshui heard the sound of water nearby. Yu Zizhuo leaned over and pulled out a pair of scissors. “I suggest you don’t move, or I can’t be responsible if I disfigure you.”

Li Wenshui’s heart raced, and he glared at Yu Zizhuo. It had been three years, and Yu Zizhuo had only become more insane. The cold scissors pressed against his face, cutting through the tape. Li Wenshui exhaled deeply, cold sweat drenching his back. “What do you want from me?”

Yu Zizhuo grabbed Li Wenshui’s chin and examined his delicate face. “Wenshui, for these three years, I’ve been thinking about you. When you hit me back then, you were so vicious—it really turned me on, I loved it!”(T/L’s Note: sadistic bastard, get away with him, agh, I wanna smack this insane bastards face, no rape please, I don’t want to translate a problematic novel amp.))

Li Wenshui turned his head away, eyes filled with anger, disgust, and fear.

“Do you know how seductive your gaze is? It’s so fierce, but when you cry, it’s even more beautiful,” Yu Zizhuo said, his smile eerie. “To make you cry, I secretly did a lot of things, like making it so you couldn’t find a job.”

Li Wenshui furrowed his brows. The person who made it so he couldn’t find a job was Yu Zizhuo. He forced himself to stay calm, taking a deep breath. “You didn’t bring me here just to chat, did you? I admit I shouldn’t have hit you back then, but if you have any demands, we can talk about it properly.”

Yu Zizhuo reached out and stroked Li Wenshui’s delicate face, sneering, “Do you know how miserable it was in rehab? They treated me like a psychopath, shocked me with an electric baton, asking me if I still liked men.”

He looked out the window. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Li Wenshui bit his lip tightly. “Calm down. If you want me to apologize, I’ll apologize.”

“I don’t want an apology. I just want you to be unhappy. When you’re unhappy, I’ll be happy.” Yu Zizhuo said this and suddenly opened the car door. The bodyguard pushed Li Wenshui out of the car, and he fell heavily to the ground. Yu Zizhuo closed the car door, leaning his head out of the window. “This doesn’t count as kidnapping, right? As for wanting to talk to me, you can wait until you get back. Oh, and a reminder—there are wolves here at night. I hope they don’t hurt your face. After all, I love your face the most.”

Li Wenshui cursed Yu Zizhuo as a madman in his mind. The van drove away, and the surroundings were plunged into darkness. Li Wenshui struggled to get up from the ground. Everything around him was pitch black, and he couldn’t see anything. He had no phone, no flashlight, and didn’t know where he was. But at least there was one thing that comforted him—Yu Zizhuo hadn’t tried to assault him like before. Li Wenshui bitterly laughed to himself.

The light rain continued to fall, and the borrowed clothes were soaked, making him feel cold from head to toe. He wrapped his arms around himself and aimlessly wandered through the wilderness. His aching legs could barely hold him up. He shouted as he walked, but there was no one around. The only response was the sound of waves in the distance.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking, but eventually, Li Wenshui could no longer support himself and collapsed to the ground. He hugged his knees with both hands, his eyes red and swollen. He didn’t understand why he had to suffer like this.

In reality, he was terrified. How he wished someone would pull him out of this mess and take him away from the mire.

A beam of light appeared from the distance.

Lhaozi’s Note: I will update everyday so please check always!✨