Chapter 32: Tempted

Around eight in the evening, the quiet class group suddenly became lively. A group of male students exaggeratedly described what had happened at the bar.

Lin Yiwei clicked on the video and saw that Fu Xiang was indeed “bullied” badly. The rich kids, including Qu Yitao, poured beer over his head.

He even flattered them while imitating a dog, which was quite out of character for the usually upright class monitor, Fu Xiang.

Like a dog, he wagged his tail on the ground, amusing the rich kids who burst into laughter.

The video, only a few minutes long, showed his embarrassing behavior. One can only imagine what other ridiculous antics were not captured on camera.

“They’re so excessive.”

“Is it true? Our class monitor usually looks so official. Who would have thought he had such a lively side, imitating a dog on the ground, haha.”

“He must be drunk.”

“It’s voluntary, who can’t see that? He’s usually very subservient to those rich kids.”

“When he wakes up and sees these videos, he’ll probably want to move to Mars.”

This video not only circulated within the class group but also quickly spread to the TalkTok forum. Some even mocked Fu Xiang’s dog imitation, and the thread had hundreds of comments.

The admins turned a blind eye and didn’t delete it.

The next day, Fu Xiang was utterly embarrassed. Whenever he met classmates on the street, some would intentionally bark behind his back.

He was extremely ashamed, and it seemed like he really wanted to live on another planet.

Lin Yiwei knew this was Xie Bo’s “masterpiece.”

When he asked her how she wanted Fu Xiang to suffer, she only replied, “I don’t want him to die. I want him to pay back tenfold for the humiliation I suffered.”

To say the least, Xie Bo handled this matter beautifully.

Fu Xiang was always fawning over Qu Yitao, and everyone knew Qu Yitao was also sucking up to Xie Bo.

With a command from Xie Bo, they could torment Fu Xiang to death.

Lin Yiwei’s anger subsided a lot.

Soon after, Chi Xiyu knocked on her door, saying she wanted to visit the ancient town and asked if she wanted to come along.

Despite being tired, Lin Yiwei decided to accompany her.

“I’ll be waiting downstairs,” Chi Xiyu said, already dressed in ancient-style Hanfu for the photoshoot later.

“Okay, I’ll be down soon.”

Normally, Chi Xiyu had no shortage of companions, and she was always surrounded by a lively crowd.

Lin Yiwei wasn’t her closest friend, so it was somewhat unexpected for her to ask Lin Yiwei to accompany her shopping.

It wasn’t until she went downstairs that she understood why.

Waiting for her… wasn’t just Chi Xiyu, but also Chi Xicheng.

Xu Qianxi and the others were terrified of Chi Xicheng. His reputation as a troublemaker and pervert was well-known throughout Qinggang City.

Many girls tried to please him, but there were even more who feared him. With such a devilish brother following her, it’s no wonder Chi Xiyu could only find Lin Yiwei to accompany her to the ancient town.

Chi Xiyu could see that Lin Yiwei was also afraid of him and quickly said, “He insists on following us, it’s really annoying. Let’s just enjoy ourselves and ignore him. With me here, he won’t dare to do anything to you.”

Lin Yiwei heard her words, but all along the way, Chi Xicheng’s malicious gaze made her spine tingle.

The ancient town was bustling at night, with stalls lining the streets selling various small accessories like hairpins, beads, and bracelets. The shops on both sides were also products of internet fame, featuring trendy foods like canned roasted milk and bamboo tube milk tea, perfect for taking photos and sharing on social media.

Lin Yiwei helped Chi Xiyu take photos all the way, and the two of them laughed and talked.Despite Chi Xicheng’s presence, this chance to accompany the young miss on a shopping trip was truly rare.

Normally, Lin Yiwei wouldn’t be qualified to go shopping with her; their spending levels were worlds apart.

Through their time together, Chi Xiyu realized that Lin Yiwei knew how to bring her joy.

In this aspect, Xu Qianxi and the other girls appeared clumsy; their flattery was always the same.

Lin Yiwei wouldn’t just praise her for being beautiful or fashionable, or say that her clothes and bags really suited her, clichés that Chi Xiyu had long grown tired of hearing.

Instead, she would say,

“Xixi, let me braid your hair.”

“Xixi, slightly tilting your head when taking photos will make your face look smaller.”

“Xixi, these beads are wholesale from the local market. I suggest not buying them unless you really like them, as you might end up being ripped off.”

She gradually discovered that the emotional value Lin Yiwei provided her far outweighed the compliments from Xu Qianxi and her “sisters,” who only knew how to flatter and please her.

Shopping with Lin Yiwei, she felt the joy of shopping.

Chi Xiyu bought two cups of canned milk tea and handed one to Lin Yiwei. They took a photo holding the milk tea and posted it on social media with the caption,

“Having a great time strolling the ancient town with my sister, ignoring the annoying ghost behind us!”

They played until eleven o’clock, by which time all the surrounding shops had closed, and then they returned to the hotel.

Chi Xiyu invited Lin Yiwei to go to the bar with her, but Lin Yiwei glanced at Chi Xicheng and said, “I’m on my period today, so I’ll pass.”

“Ah, you’ve accompanied me for so long even on your period. You should go back and rest!” Chi Xiyu visibly changed her attitude towards Lin Yiwei.

Lin Yiwei nodded and returned to the hotel. As she entered her room, she saw Chi Xicheng still smiling at her with ill intent…

She locked the door behind her, collapsed onto the bed, and closed her eyes to rest.

Today was truly exhausting, but thankfully… her relationship with Chi Xiyu had made some progress.

Given time, she would become her best “sister”… Sharing secrets, talking about everything.

At this moment, her phone chimed with a message notification from Chi Xicheng. She opened it and saw that it was from him.

She had previously deleted him, but that night at the club, Chi Xicheng added her back on his phone.

“Did you enjoy the milk tea? Big brother added a little something extra for you. 😈”

Lin Yiwei’s gaze shifted abruptly to the empty bottle of canned milk tea on the table.

Chi Xicheng queued to buy the milk tea, and Chi Xiyu took Lin Yiwei to another place, so it was over half an hour before Chi Xicheng brought the milk tea over.

Since Chi Xiyu was there, Lin Yiwei couldn’t refuse. She couldn’t refuse any “gifts” from Chi Xiyu.

Besides, the milk tea was sealed, and the taste seemed normal, so she didn’t think much of it.

And she didn’t want to waste it. She usually drank expensive beverages like this to the last drop.

Now seeing the message from Chi Xicheng, Lin Yiwei’s scalp tingled.

Lin Yiwei: “What did you add?!”

Chi Xicheng: “Don’t worry, it’s not medicine, just a little something good. 😈”

Lin Yiwei jumped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, and vomited violently, sticking her fingers down her throat until she emptied her stomach, expelling both the milk tea and today’s dinner. Even after her stomach was completely empty, she couldn’t stop retching.

She didn’t know what it was, but it was nauseating to the extreme!

That bastard Chi Xicheng!

Her temples throbbed, feeling like her head was an inflated balloon, her eyes, nose, and mouth were all swollen.

She splashed cold water on her face, washed away the snot, but her stomach continued to convulse violently… It was unbearable.

Lin Yiwei sat on the edge of the bed, holding her fists tightly, trying hard not to think of disgusting things.

Closing her eyes, she tried to think of something beautiful…

She thought of Lin Xie.

Tears almost uncontrollably filled her eyes.

At this moment, the doorbell rang. She tensed up, asking cautiously, “Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

The voice was lazy yet magnetic, highly recognizable.

Lin Yiwei, afraid of being seen by others, quickly opened the door and pulled Xie Bo into the room.

He brought with him a hint of the chilly winter air, mixed with the scent of lavender and pine, the fragrance from the air freshener in his house.

Being pulled into the room by her, Xie Bo turned around and pressed the young girl against the wall, smirking, leaning in as if to bite her neck.

But he saw the redness on the girl’s cheeks, the slight swelling of her eyes, and the faint traces of tears.

“Haven’t seen you for a day, and you’ve become ugly,” he said, still intimately rubbing against her, biting her earlobe.

Lin Yiwei pushed Xie Bo away. “What are you here for?”

“What else? Just to see you.”

“Well, you’ve seen me.”

“Didn’t I cause you trouble.” Xie Bo heard her dismissive tone, squinting with peach blossom eyes, “Is it about Fu Xiang? Are you not satisfied with how I handled it?”

“No, Xie Bo.”

“Then why are you giving me attitude?”

The flames of hatred burned in Lin Yiwei’s heart as she looked at Xie Bo.

“You can mess with Fu Xiang, can you do the same with Chi Xicheng? I want him dead.”

The last word was almost spat out between her teeth.

Xie Bo released the young girl, turned and sat on the sofa chair, his jawline slightly tightened.

“Yiyi, you always give me headaches.”

“Can you or can you not?”

“What has he done to you?” He asked her, “With Chi Xiyu around, it shouldn’t be anything serious. He’s a troublemaker, but he’s a good brother.”

“Yeah, it shouldn’t be.” The hatred in Lin Yiwei’s eyes was almost uncontrollable. “He put something in my milk tea, I don’t know if it was spit, or something else… something else. I just induced vomiting, my damn bile almost came out…”

Xie Bo stood up wanting to hug her, but was pushed away by Lin Yiwei.

He thought silently for a moment, then told her seriously, “I can’t touch anyone from the Chi family, Yiyi, this is something I can’t do.”

Indeed, the Xie and Chi families had intricate ties and closely related interests.

Small conflicts were tolerable, but he couldn’t really touch Chi Xicheng.

Lin Yiwei didn’t force him. She had self-awareness, but she also didn’t have the mood to put on a good face for him, so she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash up.

When she came out of the shower, Xie Bo had already left.

She couldn’t give him the amusement he wanted, couldn’t make him happy, so he naturally went to find someone who could.

Xie Bo wasn’t one to seek self-inflicted suffering, nor was he one to coddle others.

Lin Yiwei lay on the bed, closed her eyes to rest, but couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

Her stomach growled with hunger, but she had no appetite, only the urge to vomit.

After a while, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door. Because it was a wooden structure inn, the soundproofing was poor, and she could hear everything clearly from outside.

She heard Chi Xiyu’s voice on the phone—

“Who did it?”

“You can’t find the person?”

“Then where’s my brother? Which hospital?”

Lin Yiwei quickly put on her clothes, went out, and grabbed Chi Xiyu, asking, “What’s going on?”

Chi Xiyu said impatiently, “Just now at the bar, my brother got drunk, and I don’t know who dragged him into an alley and beat him up pretty badly. He’s been taken to the hospital.”

“Who did it?”

“Don’t know, there’s no surveillance. This town is chaotic anyway, but he deserved it. Let him act like a jerk all the time. This is someone else’s turf, yet he’s still arrogant…”

Chi Xiyu didn’t say much more, hastily went downstairs, and took a taxi to the hospital.

Lin Yiwei returned to her room, barely able to contain her laughter.

Served him right, truly deserved it.

She didn’t know how badly he was injured, but it would be best if he broke a few bones, then she would feel relieved.

How coincidental, karma came so quickly?

Lin Yiwei never believed in karma or that the heavens would punish bad people.

Thinking about Fu Xiang’s situation, Lin Yiwei had some guesses but didn’t dare to confirm. She took out her phone and messaged Xie Bo—

Breeze: “Where are you?”

He didn’t reply.

Lin Yiwei lowered her head and edited a lot of words, but then deleted them all. She wasn’t a heartless creature, although she resisted the feeling of being moved and wanted to remain indifferent.

But she couldn’t.

Because she felt guilty for her cold words to him.

She called Xie Bo, but he didn’t answer. However, she could hear Xie Bo’s phone ringing in the adjacent room, which wasn’t very soundproof.

“…”

He lived next door.

The young girl opened the door, peeked out into the corridor, made sure there was no one around, then knocked on the door next door—

“Master Bo.”

“Sleeping.” Xie Bo’s impatient voice came.

“I know you’re not sleeping.”

“Annoying.”

“Xie Bo, open the door, I want to see you.”

She was a stubborn girl. If he didn’t open the door, she would keep knocking—

“Let me see, please, just a glance.”

Finally, the door opened, and the man stood there shirtless, wearing a casual black pants below, the lampshade covering him, hiding his beautiful black eyes under his straight eyebrows.

Lin Yiwei saw a slight abrasion on the back of his right hand.

“Saw it.” Xie Bo said, then slammed the door shut without courtesy.

She was a bit annoyed, not at him, but at herself.

Tonight, he helped her vent her anger, but no matter what considerations there were, Xie Bo shouldn’t have done this.

The risk was too great.

He insisted on doing it himself, just to truly vent his anger.

He beat Chi Xicheng to near death, even causing his fists to bleed.

What a ridiculous thing to do. If Xie Sizhuo knew about it, would he have his good fruits to enjoy?

Too impulsive.

Xie Bo decided to ignore Lin Yiwei and not to talk to her anymore.

Lin Yiwei returned to her room, inexplicably insomnia for a long time, looked at her phone, and it was past midnight.

Her body was very tired, but she just couldn’t sleep.

She surfed the internet…

There’s a saying that real insomnia isn’t staying up late playing games or binge-watching dramas, but rather desperately wanting to sleep but unable to. Lin Yiwei sat up irritably, picked up her phone, scrolled through her social media for a while, then checked her Weibo. She didn’t know if her jumbled emotions stemmed from being moved… or feeling guilty, or perhaps both.

Guilty… How could she feel guilty towards someone like Xie Bo? And being moved was out of the question. Their relationship couldn’t be clearer—they used each other, demanded from each other, or to put it more delicately, they provided each other with pleasure and emotional value, making each other happy. Whoever fell in love first would be in a hopeless situation. How could she like someone, especially someone who undoubtedly wouldn’t promise a future?

It’s insane.

She put on a down jacket and went to the balcony for some fresh air, unexpectedly finding Xie Bo on the neighboring balcony. He was wearing a thin gray sweater that perfectly hugged his slender figure, giving him a slightly cold yet youthful look.

He lowered his head to light a cigarette and when he raised his eyes, they met Lin Yiwei’s gaze. There was a moment of awkwardness.

Lin Yiwei was the first to apologize to him, softly, with a hint of goodwill: “Sorry for losing my temper just now. I was just angry and confused.”

He scoffed, leaning against the balcony railing, “Always like this, helping you, then you start pretending to be gentle.”

The breeze tousled her soft hair as she smiled lightly, a hint of dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth: “Yes, that’s me. You don’t have to help me.”

Xie Bo put out his cigarette, turned around to lean on the balcony with both hands, his hand clearly showing abrasions on the back.

The starlight poured down, rubbing gold in his pitch-black eyes: “Not helping, and you’ll see me frown at you as if you owe me a hundred or two hundred thousand.”

“You can also ignore me and find someone who doesn’t frown at you. There should be plenty.”

“Not this again, so annoying,” he said coldly.”I can find someone else to annoy.”

“If I really do find someone else, don’t cry.”

“Try it, see if I cry or not.”

After chatting for a while, the atmosphere lightened considerably.

Lin Yiwei suggested, “Shall we sleep together tonight?”

“Not happening, what’s there to sleep about.” He waved his hand indifferently and went back to his room.

Lin Yiwei crawled back into bed, gradually feeling drowsy. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she was awakened by a knock on the door. Opening it, Xie Bo walked in.

“What’s up?” she asked, still drowsy.

Xie Bo picked her up horizontally, threw her onto the bed, then wrapped her in a blanket and tucked her into bed, kissing her lips, neck, and every inch of her skin fervently.

Lin Yiwei was taken aback, trying to fend him off in panic: “Xie Bo, not tonight!”

“I know.” He held her tightly, his breath hot, “Just a little kiss.”

Feeling his scorching skin, Lin Yiwei closed her eyes and gently kissed his moist lips.

“Xie Bo…” She was starting to get emotional, drawing closer to him, cupping his face and kissing him, “Xie Bo…”

“Xie Bo is what outsiders call me. What should you call me?” he asked.

“Brother…”