Chapter 117

The room number sent in the text message was 1803, and the agreed time was half past seven, booked under Mo Yin’s name.

Coming out of the restroom, Mo Yin picked up the room key from the front desk and headed upstairs.

The elevator, like the restroom, was magnificent, emitting a pleasant fragrance.

Compared to the cramped rental room, this place felt like heaven.

Mo Yin swiped the card to open the door. The deep gray carpet felt soft underfoot, like walking on clouds. A large floor-to-ceiling window faced the door, with the evening sky outside gradually darkening, and the city lights beginning to glow.

Mo Yin closed the door and walked to the window.

The bustling night view of the entire city reflected in his pupils, shimmering with dazzling colors.

There was also a faint scent in the room. Mo Yin looked around; it seemed like there wasn’t even a speck of dust.

Must be very expensive…

Mo Yin lowered his head, recalling his encounter with Li Xiu in the restroom just now.

He must be different from him.

On the first day at the affiliated middle school, Mo Yin remembered Li Xiu because he was the top scorer in the entire school’s entrance exam.

A student who came from a prestigious middle school, his classmates were all talking about him.

Top scorer in the high school entrance exam.

From a diplomatic family.

He can do this, he can do that; it sounded perfect and impressive.

Such an expensive hotel must be just an ordinary place for Li Xiu.

Unlike him, Mo Yin came here to meet someone who wanted to buy his body.

Mo Yin didn’t want to sit down. He took out his vocabulary notebook from his backpack, staring at the narrow lines of words, but couldn’t concentrate. Unconsciously, he remembered what happened two months ago.

During the summer vacation, while most of his classmates were taking remedial classes, Mo Yin chose to work. He wanted money, really needed it. So when a colleague at the convenience store recommended him to work as a waiter in a bar, he hesitated for a moment and agreed. He thought he was a boy and wasn’t afraid of anything, so it didn’t matter.

His phone in his pocket rang. Taking it out, there was no caller ID, just a string of numbers. Mo Yin didn’t want to save his number. After shaking several times, he finally answered the call.

“Have you arrived?”

“Yes.”

“So obedient.”

“… …”

“I thought you would be very unwilling. Didn’t expect you to be so proactive. Don’t worry, tonight I will definitely leave you with a memorable first night,” a flirtatious voice came through the receiver with a “mwah,” “Wait for me, darling, ten minutes, I’ll be there soon.”

The call ended. Mo Yin stared at the darkened screen of his phone, his gaze gradually turning colder.

“Why did it take so long to go to the restroom? Got lost?” Right after sitting down, he received either concern or questioning from Li Xiu: “No, the restroom was a bit far.”

“The wedding is about to start. Don’t wander around from now on.”

Li Xiu nodded, as if agreeing.

The person he met in the restroom just now should be… Mo Yin? The top student in the adjacent experimental class, often mentioned by their teacher, is very diligent and hardworking, striving for progress. As their teacher put it, “Others don’t have your excellent conditions but can surpass ninety-nine percent of you. Are you embarrassed?”

Fortunately, he was that one percent.

But today, he heard other stories about this poor yet hardworking classmate Mo.

Fare evasion.

Sounds somewhat unbelievable.

It’s a very small matter, but such trivial things can make people think poorly of his character.

The lights in the venue dimmed, interrupting his thoughts. Li Xiu looked up at the brightly lit stage.

The host held a microphone and opened the event amidst slightly ear-piercing music. Li Xiu applauded along with the people around him. Suddenly, a strange thought flashed through his mind—since his family situation is so poor, how could he afford to come to this hotel?—His applause paused for a moment, then continued, his expression changing from a momentary indifference back to a smile of warmth.

It’s none of his business. Whatever he does.

“Knock knock—room service—”

The deliberately elongated tone immediately gave people an improper feeling.

Mo Yin leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, palm against the glass, feeling oddly calm, despite the increasingly urgent knocking at the door.

Before the other kicked the door, Mo Yin opened it.

The door only opened a crack. Zhou Ren saw his thick, drooping eyelashes and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then squeezed his knee into the door crack. Mo Yin let go of the door and stepped back, his entire figure falling into Zhou Ren’s view. He saw Mo Yin dressed in a blue and white school uniform, causing Zhou Ren’s eyes to widen instantly.

“Darling, you look so good in your school uniform…”

Mo Yin took two steps back. His face lifted from below, its contours soft, his eyes round, nose straight, jawline firm, exuding a cold and refined air. “Money first,” he said, his speech coarse and vulgar despite his refined appearance.

“Since we’ve agreed, are you afraid I won’t pay?” Zhou Ren kicked the door with his right leg and smiled. “Besides, you know very well what I can do for you.”

Mo Yin met Zhou Ren in a bar.

It started because someone was bothering him, and only after going to the bar did Mo Yin realize that in such an environment of drink and desire, men and women were indistinguishable to those people. Zhou Ren helped him out of the situation.

Afterward, among those who bothered him, Zhou Ren became another.

Of course, Zhou Ren’s harassment wouldn’t be so crude. He would say flattering things, give him tips, appear gentlemanly, and only subtly get close, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

After the summer ended, Mo Yin left the bar.

Zhou Ren continued to harass him frequently by phone and text messages, perhaps realizing that Mo Yin had already seen through his purpose, so he began to become more direct, upgrading from ambiguous teasing to asking how much it would take.

Mo Yin still hadn’t deleted or blacklisted him.

Perhaps because Zhou Ren had grasped the limits, he hadn’t run to school or his family to stop him, or perhaps because he felt that sooner or later, he would need him.

Zhou Ren had money and was willing to give it.

And he needed money.

“Money first,” Mo Yin emphasized again. “If you don’t pay, I’ll leave.”

“Don’t—”

The slim boy in the school uniform stood in the large room, holding a schoolbag in front of his chest, looking like he might change his mind and run away at any moment, which instead made the man feel warm.

“Here, I’ll pay.”

Zhou Ren took out his phone from his pocket and shook it at Mo Yin. “First, five thousand. I’ll give you the rest after we’re done. Darling, please understand, I’m afraid you’ll take the money and run.”

“Okay, then transfer it.”

Zhou Ren quickly transferred the money.

“Okay, five thousand,” he said.

Mo Yin’s phone in his pocket also rang.

He reached for his phone, just as he saw the payment confirmation on the screen, Zhou Ren eagerly threw himself forward, tossing aside the bag in Mo Yin’s hand and trying to hug him around his waist. “Darling, I’ve missed you so much—”

“Let go first.”

Mo Yin raised his arm to block Zhou Ren’s neck. “I need to talk to you.”

“Don’t talk now, I’m desperate. You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting you. Let’s talk after…”

Zhou Ren reached into his school uniform, but Mo Yin lifted his own uniform.

Before Zhou Ren could react happily, he was startled by the sight in front of him, jumping back half a meter.

Mo Yin’s waist was slender, his skin pale, and his abdomen appeared to lack muscle, with a smooth, pale skin covered by a transparent tape holding a fruit knife.

Zhou Ren’s face changed drastically. “What do you mean?!”

“No big deal,” Mo Yin said calmly. “It’s for self-defense.”

“Self-defense? Damn it—” Zhou Ren stopped himself, his face turning red. “Didn’t we agree on something today? I paid you, what the hell are you implying?!”

Mo Yin stared straight at him. “I need money.”

“I damn well know you need money. You need money, I have money. We settled our business. What’s with the knife?”

“I want money, but I don’t want to sell myself. Five thousand is enough,” Mo Yin said, the fruit knife on his abdomen moving with his breath, making Zhou Ren uneasy. He was seeking pleasure but didn’t want to cause trouble. “Thanks for your help. Consider this money borrowed. I’ll pay you back later.”

Zhou Ren was nearly spitting blood. His face twisted in anger. “Are you playing games with me for five thousand bucks?”

Mo Yin remained nonchalant.

He adjusted his uniform with one hand and picked up the bag with the other.

With his soft abdomen slightly bent, the knife’s tip seemed ready to poke inward against his skin. Zhou Ren’s face wrinkled in disgust as he muttered, “Can’t we settle this peacefully? Are you not satisfied with the amount? Fine, I’ll give you thirty thousand. Take off the knife, and I promise I’ll be gentle, and make you comfortable. Deal or not?”

“The amount mentioned was too large, I was afraid you wouldn’t come,” Mo Yin said calmly.

Zhou Ren’s face turned almost green. “So you’re not afraid I’ll call the police?”

“Call the police? For what? Prostitution? I haven’t sold anything. Extortion? The knife was pressed against me, not you,” Mo Yin stared at him with dark eyes. “This money is a loan to you, I’ll repay it.”

Zhou Ren didn’t know how to react. He only saw this young man, delicate and fair-skinned, with an air of purity, especially in a place like a bar, he stood out too much. He thought he could satisfy himself a few times; after all, he was just a poor student, not difficult to handle. He considered himself experienced in such matters, but who knew he would end up in such a mess?

“I know your school,” Zhou Ren pointed to his school uniform. “Do you believe I’ll go to your school and publicize what happened today?”

Mo Yin’s expression remained unchanged. “Do as you like.”

Zhou Ren realized he wasn’t just bluffing; he truly didn’t care.

Damn it!

Zhou Ren felt a surge of anger, a heat coursing through his body. He wanted to force himself on the boy—such a small frame, could he really not overpower him? But considering his fiery temperament, things could get messy if he tried. Yet letting him go like this, he couldn’t accept it.

The two stood in stalemate.

“Why me?” Zhou Ren unwillingly asked. “In the bar, so many people fancy you, it’s not just me who wants to have you?”

“Because,” Mo Yin paused, a glint of moisture in his eyes, “you’re a good person.”

They reached the lobby in the elevator. Mo Yin entered a restroom stall, lifted his uniform, put a corner in his mouth, and tore off the tape with both hands.

The tape was wound tightly. As he peeled it off his skin, it stung like punishment. He pulled it off in one go, leaving his skin red. The fruit knife still stuck to him, sweat adhering.

Putting the knife back in his bag and throwing the tape in the trash, Mo Yin sat on the toilet, holding his stomach.

His stomach hurt badly.

He had already had diarrhea twice in the morning, and pulling off the tape made it worse.

Fortunately, Zhou Ren was just lustful, not a real villain.

One word—”good person”—was enough to coax him into opening the door and letting him go.

How foolish.

“Doesn’t he know that in this world, ‘good person’ is synonymous with ‘idiot’?”

Mo Yin’s expression turned extremely cold and indifferent, a hint of a mocking smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

After enduring that wave of pain, he walked out with his backpack, rinsing off the sticky residue from the tape in his palms.

At the hotel entrance, Li Xiu was waiting with his parents for the valet to bring their car.

Li’s mother praised the perfect wedding and the well-matched couple. Li’s father nodded in agreement, “It was quite good. Li Xiu, what do you think?”

“It’s fine.”

Li’s father glanced at him, “I feel like you’ve been distracted tonight.”

“Have I?” Li Xiu smiled. “Maybe I’m just used to late-night study sessions.”

Behind the revolving door, Mo Yin, with his backpack, didn’t move forward.

A picture-perfect family.

The car arrived, a conspicuous yet not expensive-looking black car. After the family of three got in and drove away, Mo Yin finally emerged from behind the revolving door.

Li’s mother turned to talk to her son in the back seat, suddenly saying, “Hey, I think I really saw one of your classmates just now, right behind us. Is that your school uniform?”

Li Xiu turned around and saw the figure in blue and white uniform walking out from the brightly lit hotel through the car’s rear window.

“No,” Li Xiu turned back. “Mom, you must be mistaken. It’s not our school uniform.”

“Oh… Maybe high school uniforms all look similar… Li Xiu, aren’t you interested in catching up?” Li’s mother shifted the topic again. “That’s a professor from Shengda. Don’t you want to apply there?”

It wasn’t too late, but the commute was long. Taking the subway would be faster, but he couldn’t avoid buying a ticket.

With thick skin, he saved another five yuan.

Back home, the door was blocked again. After a while, it was quiet inside. Mo Yin pushed open the door.

As usual, he had to tidy up.

He hadn’t felt well after breakfast, so he dumped the leftover rice, rinsed it, and cooked new rice. Running out of time, he left the rice cooker on and discovered a fist-sized dent inside it when he opened the lid.

Mo Yin walked to the bedside and lifted the curtain.

The person sprawled on the bed, sleeping in a tangled mess, had hands dangling below, all red with several blisters on the fingertips.

Mo Yin found a sewing needle and carefully punctured each blister, applying ointment.

“Hey, Dean, sorry to bother you. I’ve gathered enough deposit…” Mo Yin glanced at the person who had exhausted themselves into a deep sleep, then spoke into the phone, “Can I bring the person over now?”