Chapter 20
Unrequited love?
If he could not have him, then… destroy him?
A twisted, obsessive-yandere-type script…?
Cheng Xia repeated those phrases in his mind.
He recognized every single word, but once they were put together, the whole thing just felt wrong no matter how he looked at it. He simply could not make sense of it.
“Is it what I think it means?!”
“Holy crap, holy crap, is it really this intense? [gasps and inhales liangpi.gif]”
Ji Ran’s expression shifted from blankness to horror, putting on a full live performance of a pupil quake for everyone right there on the spot.
Pei Ning and the others looked equally spectacular.
Even the cameraman’s usually steady hands shook twice.
And Lin Zhiqiao’s inner voice still went on—
[Cheng Li has liked Cheng Xia for a very long time. He always knew Cheng Xia was being abused by Cheng Qiang, but he never stopped it, because he… because he wanted to appear when Cheng Xia was at his most miserable, heal him, warm him, and become the light that illuminated him?!]
Led along by Lin Zhiqiao’s inner voice, Cheng Xia began recalling the past.
He vaguely remembered that there really had been a few times when, after Cheng Qiang beat and cursed at him, Cheng Li had appeared, but…
There had been no warmth, no healing. Only lofty pity, and words that, to Cheng Xia, sounded no different from mockery.
[“Look at you now. Don’t you look just like a pitiful stray dog?” “Nobody likes you. I’m the only one who still remembers you, tsk tsk…”]
Lin Zhiqiao: “…”
What normal people call warmth and healing is, Does it hurt? I bought you medicine.
What abnormal people call warmth and healing is, Why are you so pathetic? Nobody will ever like you, hehe.
[Does Cheng Li have water in his brain or what? Is this warmth and healing? This is freaking PUA, okay?!]
Words like that had practically filled Cheng Xia’s entire youth.
In the past, Cheng Xia would still feel hurt and upset because of them. But now, hearing them again, his heart no longer stirred at all.
[Besides that, Cheng Li also “showed goodwill” to Cheng Xia multiple times, but Cheng Xia never accepted it… and not accepting it was absolutely right. Good boy, your guard was solid. Stay away from perverts from a young age!]
[Because of that, Cheng Li got angry out of humiliation. Since love was unattainable, he decided that if he couldn’t get him, then he would destroy him.]
[Cheng Qiang never carried out domestic violence in front of Cheng Li, so Cheng Li would deliberately leave the house and create opportunities for Cheng Qiang to make his move.]
[During the time Cheng Xia was participating in that idol survival show, Cheng Qiang had debts outside and people were chasing him for repayment. It was Cheng Li who “accidentally” brought up that Cheng Xia was very popular now and had definitely earned quite a lot of money.]
[Even the video of Cheng Qiang making a scene at the production team, cursing Cheng Xia as an ungrateful white-eyed wolf, was secretly filmed by Cheng Li and then anonymously sent to all the major marketing accounts.]
[If I can’t have you, then I’ll personally destroy you…]
Lin Zhiqiao felt like his worldview had completely exploded.
[Where the hell did Cheng Li crawl out from, some kind of insane male lead dimension?! What exactly does he take Cheng Xia for? Some kind of paper character he can toy with however he wants and vent on the moment he feels unhappy?!]
[My big son is way too pitiful, wuwuwuwu!]
Lin Zhiqiao was so furious that even his fair cheeks were stained with a faint flush.
Maybe to Cheng Li, this world was only a world inside a novel, and Cheng Xia was just a fake character inside that novel.
But to the people living in this world, this world was real.
Every single person was a living, breathing human being, and every single thing had truly happened.
A harsh crackling sound rang out.
Ji Ran had failed to hold back and crushed the mineral water bottle in his hand flat.
The others’ expressions did not look very good either.
Even the livestream comments had become a complete mess—
“Help! If this is true… Cheng Li is way too terrifying, isn’t he?!”
“In novels I’d scream that this kind of character is so compelling, but this is the real world, okay? [shivering.jpg]”
“If it were someone else, I might question whether it’s true, but if it’s Lin Zhiqiao… my heart hurts for Cheng Xia. How did he survive all these years? [teary-eyed.jpg]”
“My Lin god has never dropped fake gossip. Cheng Li’s collapse is basically booked already.”
But aside from these clear-minded people, there were also some hopeless brain-dead fans who still stubbornly believed Cheng Li could not possibly be this kind of person.
The only person at the scene who remained relatively calm was, instead, Cheng Xia himself.
He had long since realized that all the things happening around him, more or less, had Cheng Li’s shadow behind them. So now, he did not actually feel surprised.
Lin Zhiqiao, however, had not noticed the shift in everyone else’s emotions around him.
He was still fully immersed in this earth-shattering, explosive gossip about Cheng Li when he suddenly let out a sharp mental shriek:
[Help—Cheng Xia, run!!!]
[You absolutely cannot go to “Qingye”! Cheng Li—he called five huge thugs to wait there for you, ahhhh!]
*
That night, Qingye was as packed as ever.
Qingye was a relatively hidden, low-key bar not far from the base. So every weekend, quite a few Mingguang trainees could usually be found there.
A little after seven in the evening, the owner of Qingye sat behind the bar making a phone call. “He still hasn’t come.”
Eight figures dressed low-key, with hat brims pulled down and masks on, walked in.
That kind of outfit was not uncommon at Qingye, so it did not look out of place.
The owner waved at them. “The room you wanted, 402, is right across from 403. I already changed the glass to one-way film for you.”
The person at the front took the key. A few striking strands of red hair showed beneath the brim of his hat.
It was Ji Ran.
Behind him were Cheng Xia, Pei Ning, and the others, while Lin Zhiqiao brought up the rear.
The cameraman was mixed in among them too, his loose jacket bulging suspiciously with the equipment he used to make a living hidden inside.
Ji Ran nodded at the owner. “Thanks for this. We’ll owe you one for it.”
The owner smiled happily. “As I should, as I should. Being owed a favor by the two young masters of the Ji family means I’m profiting big.”
Not long after the eight of them went upstairs, Cheng Li pushed through the door. “I made a reservation in advance. Private room 403.”
The owner handed him a key. After the man disappeared into the elevator, he said softly into the phone, “He’s here.”
Inside room 402, Ji Ran hung up the call and nodded to the others.
The eight of them squeezed behind the door, peering out through the one-way glass window.
Not long after, Cheng Li entered room 403.
A little while later, several unfamiliar men also filed one after another into 403.
Lin Zhiqiao muttered, [Sneaking around all shifty and creepy like that—one look and you can tell they’re no good.]
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Ji Ran quietly counted, “One, two, three, four, five… okay. Everyone’s here. We can move now.”
Lin Zhiqiao held his breath, his emotions surging.
Cheng Xia took out his phone and made a call. “Hello, yes, 110?”
On the other side, room 403.
Cheng Li sat alone on the sofa. The five men he had called over were hiding in the bathroom and had not come out.
Two cocktails had been poured on the coffee table. To increase the chances of Cheng Xia falling into the trap, both glasses had been laced with something—
A kind of aphrodisiac.
Cheng Li’s plan was simple.
If Cheng Xia drank the alcohol, then Cheng Li would go himself, sleep with Cheng Xia, and leave behind evidence that he had been “forced.”
If Cheng Xia was too cautious or refused no matter what, then the five men would go instead… though not really go all the way.
Just a little knockout drug, then take some ambiguous photos and videos to create the illusion that Cheng Xia had a chaotic private life and was involved in group play.
From beginning to end, Cheng Li had only one goal.
No matter what method he used, he wanted to seize complete control over Cheng Xia.
There were less than five minutes left before eight o’clock, and Cheng Xia still had not come.
Cheng Li was not anxious. He was certain Cheng Xia could not possibly fail to come.
He had already taken a couple of sips of alcohol in advance. Several buttons of his shirt had been undone, his collar hanging open wide to reveal a large patch of pale skin faintly flushed pink.
At exactly eight o’clock, knocking came from outside the room.
Cheng Li thought to himself, Just as expected. He stood up and was about to open the door when the room door was suddenly slammed open with a bang—
“Everyone inside, come out! Anti-vice inspection!!!”
