"I wanna leave."
"Huh? What did you say? Can't hear you over the music. You wanna sing?"
"I said, I wanna leave!"
Xu Jinyao looked at Ling Xiaoying with a pout full of frustration.
This woman… She had only shown up a few days ago, but it already felt like a tornado had blown straight into his life. He didn't stand a chance against anything she did.
And now? She had dragged him to karaoke, shoved a microphone into his hands, and just so happened to queue up a song he was ridiculously good at singing.
She couldn't have known. It had to be a coincidence. Right?
But if she did…
Xu Jinyao shivered.
"Ma'am- I mean, Jiejie… Why are you so persistent…? I'm telling you, this isn't going to work."
"Then what will?"
Xu Jinyao met her gaze, only to find her staring dead serious into his eyes as she repeated, "Tell me what will work."
"Ah-ha! So you were listening! Got you!"
"You're one sneaky little bro." Ling Xiaoying smirked. "Whatever. I'm not letting you go. Not until you tell me what I can do to change your mind."
Xu Jinyao pursed his lips in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nothing. I like him that much, don't you get it? Nothing you do is going to change my mind about him. You're acting like a homewrecker right now, Jiejie."
At that, Miss Jiejie Ephraim grumbled to Rachel in a low, annoyed voice.
[Ephraim: Look at this guy… Accusing me of such heinous things… It's even worse than I thought. He's so brain-dead, he can't see past this pink-tinted frame he's forcefully built for himself. Money really is terrifying. It can paint love so pink, it turns pitch black… basically obsession.]
[Rachel: Wow, dearest… That was unexpectedly philosophical.]
[Ephraim: Ehehehe-wait, Rachel, help me out here. I've been trying to talk sense into this kid for an hour now. He's like a broken record, repeating the same line: 'I wanna leave.']
[Rachel: What kind of help do you need, Sweetheart?]
Ephraim glanced at Xu Jinyao, who was now visibly restless, and sighed.
[Ephraim: I had such good plans for today. Earn his trust, get him to loosen up, maybe even make him sing a little. But I got too used to having everything handed to me on a silver platter… Jialei Jiejie treats me like some spoiled little prince, and Shen Yizhou acts like a sugar daddy. I forgot… sometimes you've gotta work for it.]
He heard Rachel chuckle through their communication channel, and at the same time, Xu Jinyao mumbled suspiciously in front of him, "What are you grumbling about, Jiejie?"
'Ah… was I loud again?'
"Nothing. Just talking to God and praying for a miracle here."
Xu Jinyao raised a brow, giving a slow nod, his expression unimpressed.
[Rachel: I appreciate the S-level promotion, but it's not that difficult a job. Hold on, baby. You'll have your solution in a moment.]
Ephraim arched a brow in confusion, but before he could ask, the door to their Kararoke room slammed open with an angry bang.
A small gang of men stood there - tall, burly, each looking more sinister than the last. Five in total.
Leading them was a bleached pretty boy whose body was in complete disparity to the tiny size of his head. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, like someone had slapped an olive on top of a pair of Shoulder Mountains.
[Ephraim: I thought this before but… that can't be real, right? No offense but…]
[Rachel: Very rude, hon. But between you and me... he's wearing three shoulder pads desperately taped together with duct tape.]
[Ephraim: Ooh… brave. Wait… how'd he even get rid of those when he was showing off his chadly bod during… uh… bedroom matters with Miss Long Legs? His backer didn't mind? Fetish?]
[Rachel: Why don't you go ask him yourself? Join them for a little banana-peach time and report back to me.]
[Ephraim: …]
The man in question, Lu Ziming, the same fool he'd helped expose during the protest a few days ago, glared at him and Xu Jinyao with pure disgust, his sneer sharp and arrogant.
"You really thought you'd get away with the little stunt you pulled the other day? Xu Jinyao, you and your little b*tch here have really popped a few vessels this time, huh? I was going easy on you, you know. Can't seniors look after their juniors anymore? I was giving you pointers, is all. Got worried when you started hanging out with unsavoury people. And what better way to stop someone than by letting them suffer the consequences? As they say, failure is the greatest teacher."
Xu Jinyao was initially very shocked at the sudden appearance of Lu Ziming, but the ongoing war between them that Lu Ziming was forcing on him for a while now... It made the situation make a lot of sense all of a sudden.
'Of course... How did I think I would be fine? Something was obviously going to happen... I let my guard down.'
His eyes turned towards Ling Xiaoying in worry, feeling guilty and distressed at the thought that she would be suffering because of him today.
The smile Lu Ziming's entire face scrunched up to form made Ephraim feel particularly greasy.
'Ew... Why does he remind me of my chuunibyo phase … Ugh … You go king! Embrace the cringe. What a brave guy. I can never be like you, bro.'
"But I see…," Lu Ziming shook his head and shrugged. "You're ungrateful. Well, no surprise there — after all, with no parents to teach you proper values, how could you possibly understand?"
Xu Jinyao's eyes darkened upon hearing those words. His heart burned with fury, but with Lu Ziming surrounded by so many people, what could he do? Even if the room were empty, even if there was no one else around, he knew deep down, he wasn't a match for the man.
Clenching his teeth, Xu Jinyao lowered his gaze, his lashes trembling as he closed his eyes in silent distress. His voice came out low and hoarse, "I told you, Jiejie… you should've let me go… Now look at you, getting yourself trapped too… Even if you're some big influencer now, the world isn't kind to women once these pigs lay their hands on them… Just look at their faces… you can tell what they're thinking..."
Lu Ziming too, was livid.
Ever since recent events, the woman he'd spent the past year painstakingly tricking and coaxing had dumped him without hesitation. He knew better than anyone how far behind he'd fallen compared to his peers, and it gnawed at him every time others praised Xu Jinyao when he entered the conservatory. The jealousy festered into something uglier, until he began sabotaging him at every turn, pushing blame onto Xu Jinyao the moment rumours of Lu Ziming having a powerful backer began to spread.
And he felt no guilt.
After all, hadn't he seen Xu Jinyao with that tall, imposing man more than once? How could a gloomy, delicate thing like Xu Jinyao ever catch the attention of such a man if not through some filthy secret affair? Innocent? Him? Laughable.
Lu Ziming let out a cold, ugly laugh, sneering, "What's with the act? You trying to play the hero now? Hah… just you wait! Once I tear that clever little tongue of yours out, let's see who's still willing to come help you… Once I tell everyone about your filthy little-"
His words were abruptly cut off.
A sharp crack sounded through the room.
In an instant, Lu Ziming was sent flying over the shoulders of the men behind him, his body crashing to the ground and rolling until he hit the wall with a dull thud. He lay there, twitching, his hand clutching his swollen cheek as the shock numbed the pain for a breath.
The room went utterly silent.
Everyone stared, wide-eyed, at the figure standing calmly in the middle of the room. The delicate, beautiful 'woman' casually cracking her knuckles with a bright, harmless smile.
"Hmm? You were saying?"
Internally, 'she' was squealing in excitement.
[Ephraim: That was so cool. I sounded so cool there. Mueheheh~! Anyway! Rachel, how the hell did he even know we were here?]
[Rachel: He's the stubborn, petty type. I figured he'd do something underhanded, so I've been quietly keeping tabs on his online activity and every little hint he left behind. Sure enough, he tried something shady. But you know me — I turned it to our advantage. Posted an anonymous message on the campus bulletin board, leaving a few 'accidental' hints that you might've driven out this way. And what do you know? Worked like a charm. Simple, angry people are so easy to bait.]
[Ephraim: You thought of all that before I even asked for help?]
[Rachel: Naturally. I knew you'd call for backup once you got here.]
[Ephraim: …Damn. Fair enough. Hey, Rachel, I didn't know you could monitor people's activity from this far away, track their computer habits and everything… You're seriously strong. And kinda terrifying. I like it.]
Rachel smiled softly at those words.
Yes, she was strong. But not to that extent.
If she'd started tracking from Ephraim's own computer, it would've taken time to locate Lu Ziming's trail. And following his movements offline? Even more effort. No, it wasn't her alone who made this happen. It was her wife whom she'd asked to lend a little hand.
'Having a powerful partner really did make one feel like a pampered little princess sometimes.'
On the other side, Lu Ziming, still sprawled pathetically where he'd fallen, roared out with a red, furious face, teeth gnashing, his eyes bloodshot and bulging in rage.
"What are you idiots doing just standing there?! I didn't pay you to stare at them! Do your damn job!"
His shout snapped the men out of their daze. They glanced at one another in brief, uneasy confusion, and then, as if a switch had been flipped, they surged forward as one.
Ephraim merely chuckled, casually pulling Xu Jinyao behind him, a relaxed, almost mischievous smile on his lips.
"Let Jiejie handle this, Jinjin. No need to worry."
Xu Jinyao froze, staring at the slender figure before him in a daze.
Those delicate, almost fragile-looking shoulders…
For the first time in his life, no, perhaps for the first time in forever … Xu Jinyao realized he had never seen a silhouette more reliable, nor one that made his heart feel so safe.