SITS CH57

Chapter 57: A Taste of His Own Medicine

Driven utterly mad with rage, the man lunged straight at the two of them. Xu Zhouye had already been itching to throw hands, and this gave him the exact opening he needed. Lashing out with a sharp kick, he struck the man squarely in the abdomen, sending him flying a good distance backward.

“Fuck…” Rolling up his sleeves with bloodshot eyes, Xu Zhouye moved to charge forward and land two more kicks, only to be sensibly held back by Shen Man.

“Don’t,” Shen Man said. “That’s enough.”

That single kick could still pass as self-defense; stepping in to beat him further would cross the line.

“How long has this creep been harassing you?” Xu Zhouye asked.

Shen Man said, “A few years, probably.”

Xu Zhouye: “…” He finally understood why Shen Man hated leaving the house.

Shen Man explained briefly. This stalker had surfaced shortly after ACE won the championship years ago. Possessing extraordinary persistence, he frequently staked out the base entrance and had even tried scaling the walls a few times. After the club tightened security and the police issued formal warnings, he had laid low for a stretch.

“Should we call the cops?” Xu Zhouye asked.

“Won’t do any good,” Shen Man said. “Besides, I suspect he didn’t back off because of police warnings.”

Xu Zhouye blinked: “Then why?”

Shen Man murmured dryly: “Because ACE’s match results were terrible during that period…”

Xu Zhouye: “…” He found himself completely at a loss for words.

So Zhao Rui’s old joke about ACE’s losing streak saving Shen Man’s life might not have been a joke after all.

Had Shen Man taken back-to-back titles, Xu Zhouye didn’t even want to imagine how many more obsessive fanatics would have crawled out of the woodwork.

While they spoke, the man scrambled up from the pavement clutching his stomach. Despite wincing in severe pain, he still bared his teeth in a vicious threat: “Shen Man, if you’ve got the guts, never step outside for the rest of your life!” Seeing Shen Man’s brows knit in irritation, the stalker looked oddly gratified, adding, “Following you isn’t illegal. I’m going to follow you for the rest of my life…”

Nearly bursting a blood vessel in fury, Xu Zhouye unleashed a torrent of profanities.

Shen Man said, “Forget it, let’s go.”

Xu Zhouye protested: “Just let him keep tailing you like this?”

Shen Man sighed: “What else can we do?” Warnings had been issued, and even the police had their hands tied. He merely trailed people without committing overt acts of violence; at absolute worst, he got detained for a few days before walking right back out. After repeating that circus several times, even Shen Man grew exhausted before the cops did. Unwilling to waste police resources, he simply cut back on going out.

If you want to follow me, I just won’t come outside.

Casting a sidelong glance at the man sitting on the ground, Xu Zhouye suddenly smiled: “Just you wait.”

“Wait it is!” Dismissing Xu Zhouye’s threat entirely, the stalker grinned shamelessly. “I’m sticking to Shen Man. Even after he retires, I’ll follow him for life!”

Disgusted by the bad luck, Shen Man said, “Let’s head inside.”

Xu Zhouye trailed behind Shen Man into the base.

To Shen Man, the encounter was merely a trivial interlude. Having grown accustomed to it long ago, he paid it little mind.

After chatting with Zhang Chaoyun, the coach scheduled a few scrim blocks against UN to test the waters. UN agreed readily without hesitation.

Scrims typically ran as best-of-three sets, wrapping up around late afternoon before moving into post-game analytics.

Although everyone mentally knew UN was formidable this split, nobody had anticipated getting cleanly swept 0-2 in scrims.

As the enemy typed “GG” at the end of Game 2, Zhao Rui sighed heavily: “Their bot lane is genuinely cracked.”

Shen Man said, “Our macro game plan had flaws. We need to adjust.”

The coach clapped his hands: “Come on, boys, let’s review where things went sideways.”

Data analysis took longer than the matches themselves, dragging late into the evening before the meeting finally adjourned.

Feeling hungry, Shen Man opened a food delivery app and asked everyone what they wanted.

Xu Xiaochong piped up: “The New Orleans roasted chicken legs from this spot are amazing, especially the honey-chili flavor…”

“Xu Zhouye, what are you eating?” Shen Man asked.

Head bowed over his phone, Xu Zhouye didn’t reply.

Such distraction was rare. Shen Man called his name twice more before Xu Zhouye snapped his head up in a daze: “Huh?”

“What are you looking at?” Shen Man asked.

“N-Nothing, just something…” Noticing Shen Man eyeing him, Xu Zhouye hurriedly locked his phone screen. “What’s up?”

“Asking if you want late-night snacks,” Shen Man said.

Xu Zhouye replied, “Yeah, just order whatever for me.”

Shen Man said, “Xiaochong, place the order.”

Living up to the reputation of a spice-loving provincial capital, even the New Orleans roasted wings packed ferocious heat. Xu Xiaochong wept while gnawing on a drumstick, complaining that the spice was giving him heart palpitations.

Zhao Rui asked: “If it gives you heart palpitations, why did you order devil-level spice?”

Xu Xiaochong sniffled: “Just going for the vibe.”

Across the entire roster, the highest spice tolerance belonged to local native Shen Man, while the lowest belonged to their coastal-born coach.

In the coach’s own words, the chili Shen Man dumped into a single bowl of noodles was lethal enough to wipe out an entire village back in his hometown.

Xu Zhouye had buried his nose back into his phone, failing to look up even after Shen Man called him twice.

Such behavior was deeply suspicious. Shen Man asked: “What on earth are you reading?”

Xu Zhouye stammered: “Ah… nothing much?”

Shen Man repeated flatly: “Nothing much?”

Wearing a look of pure innocence, Xu Zhouye said, “Reading a novel. Want to read it, ge?”

Shen Man: “Let me see.”

Xu Zhouye forwarded the file to Shen Man.

Opening the document, Shen Man froze in shock at first glance. He sat silent for three full seconds just to verify his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him: “This novel… aren’t the protagonists’ names a little off?”

“Seems fine to me,” Xu Zhouye replied, looking entirely guileless. “Completely fine.”

Shen Man: “…” Seriously, who reads fanfiction written using their own real names?!

“The plot is actually quite touching,” Xu Zhouye added earnestly. “Makes the reader’s heart feel like it’s basking in warm sunshine.”

Basking in warm sunshine?

The phrasing sounded profoundly bizarre no matter how one heard it. Yet the novel’s actual contents proved far weirder; skimming a few pages, Shen Man quickly grasped what “basking in warm sunshine” meant.

It shone so brightly it turned the entire screen yellow with explicit smut.

Closing the file immediately, Shen Man fired off a message to Xu Zhouye:

— This is what you spend your days reading? — Ge, so fierce. — … — It’s been ages since we went out QAQ — Didn’t we just go out last week? — Last week was seven whole days ago! Every morning I wake up all [censored], and I can only [censored].

Shen Man conceded total defeat. When it came to shamelessness, he had lost completely.

— Read less of this garbage and you won’t think about it every day. — I’m only nineteen! Isn’t thinking about this stuff every day completely normal at nineteen?

Unable to out-argue Xu Zhouye and too lazy to try, Shen Man went back to chewing his roasted drumstick, listening to his WeChat chime ding-dong, ding-dong relentlessly—without looking, he knew Xu Zhouye was spamming him with more shameless harassment.

Having finally tasted meat, this little wolfhound had zero grasp of the word moderation. Every time they were alone, Shen Man felt like he was about to be swallowed whole, leaving him slightly dreading Saturday.

Their match this week fell on Friday, kicking off their weekend break right after wrapping up in the evening.

Skipping the base, Shen Man and Xu Zhouye grabbed dinner out before heading straight to Xu Zhouye’s apartment.

The two were tangled closely together on the bed, lost in intimate whispers, when Shen Man’s phone suddenly rang. Declined once, it immediately rang again. Reaching out to grab it, Shen Man saw the manager’s caller ID.

“Ge…” Xu Zhouye complained softly, displeased by the interruption.

“Need to take this, must be important.” Everyone knew Shen Man’s temperament; nobody called unless it was urgent. Hitting answer, Shen Man heard the manager’s anxious voice come through: “Shen Man, is Xu Zhouye with you? Where are you two right now?”

His tone was tight with urgency; clearly something had happened.

Shen Man said, “Yeah, he’s with me. What’s wrong?”

“The police showed up at the base,” the manager said. “They said they need to ask you guys a few questions regarding that guy who stalks you.”

Shen Man’s expression shifted slightly: “Did someone die?”

The manager said, “That’s what we don’t know yet! Hurry up and tell Xu Zhouye, get back here right away.”

Hanging up the phone, Shen Man pushed Xu Zhouye’s face away from the crook of his neck: “What did you do to him?”

Xu Zhouye blinked blankly: “Do what to whom?”

Shen Man said, “Drop the act. The creep we ran into outside the base earlier.”

Realization dawned on Xu Zhouye. Scratching his head, he said, “Nothing at all. What happened?”

Shen Man said, “The police showed up. Did you kill him?”

Caught between laughter and exasperation, Xu Zhouye protested: “As if I’d dare.”

Shen Man figured as much.

“Besides, this really has nothing to do with me,” Xu Zhouye declared with an innocent face. “I merely let him reap what he sowed.”

Reap what he sowed. That meant Xu Zhouye definitely had a hand in this. Shen Man sighed: “Let’s go, head back first.”

“Huh? Going back already?” Xu Zhouye pulled a tragic face. “What about the Saturday I’ve been looking forward to all week?”

Helpless, Shen Man coaxed: “We can come back out once it’s sorted, okay?”

Xu Zhouye brightened slightly: “Alright then.”

The apartment sat very close to the base, barely a ten-minute cab ride away.

Inside the taxi, Xu Zhouye briefly recounted what had transpired. The more Shen Man listened, the wider his eyes grew in disbelief until he simply stared at Xu Zhouye for several seconds, utterly lost for words.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhouye wore the beaming expression of a giant puppy waiting eagerly for praise after doing a good deed, practically screaming Praise me, praise me, hurry up and praise me from every pore.

Left with no other response, Shen Man silently gave him a thumbs-up.

Arriving at the base, both the police officers and the “victim” were waiting inside. Indeed, the victim was none other than Shen Man’s long-time stalker, currently huddled in the corner of the conference room with hunched shoulders and a look of sheer terror.

The instant Shen Man and Xu Zhouye walked in, the stalker leaped out of his chair, pointing an accusing finger at Shen Man and shrieking: “It’s him! It has to be him!”

Annoyed, a police officer snapped: “What are you jumping around for! Sit down!” Turning toward Shen Man and Xu Zhouye, the officer’s tone softened politely: “We’re just here to gather some routine information.”

“What’s the situation?” Shen Man asked.

“Well, he filed a police report claiming someone is stalking him.” The officer was a familiar face; having handled Shen Man’s previous complaints at the local precinct, they already recognized each other. None of them had expected him to be dispatched on a case like this today.

Shen Man said, “What does that have to do with me? I’m not the one following him.”

The officer said, “He claims you hired someone to stalk him.”

Shen Man asked, “Where’s the evidence?”

The officer replied, “There isn’t any. We’re strictly conducting a routine inquiry.”

Shen Man said, “Go ahead and ask then.”

It truly was just standard procedure. The officers had a tough job too; once a citizen filed a formal report, they were obligated to follow protocol. Still, the police were well aware of the history between Shen Man and this man. Acting like a total creep, the stalker had trailed Shen Man for years; twisted as his behavior was, it barely skirted the edges of criminal law, resulting in brief detentions before he walked free to resume tailing him.

It was like stepping in dog crap—even after washing your shoes, the stench clung relentlessly.

With no permanent legal recourse, Shen Man had resorted to simply staying indoors.

Earlier today, this exact man had burst into the police station. Initially assuming he had come to turn himself in, the officers were stunned to discover he was filing a harassment complaint.

“There’s a pervert following me everywhere! Wherever I go, he’s right behind me!” Covered in tears and snot, the stalker poured out his grievances. “Even when I go to the bathroom, he stands right next to me watching me pee!”

Hearing that final detail, the officers fought desperately to hold back their laughter, their faces turning bright red.

The stalker wailed: “You’re still laughing?! He’s waiting for me right outside the door!” He pointed frantically toward the hallway.

Lifting their eyes, the officers spotted a brawny hulk of a man standing over 1.8 meters tall outside the glass doors. With the spring weather warming up, the muscular giant wore a tight T-shirt showcasing bulging biceps and full-sleeve tattoos—looking every bit like someone nobody dared mess with.

One officer familiar with the backstory leaned over to mutter quietly to his partner: So it’s fine when you stalk other people, just not when someone stalks you? Any ordinary bystander would have reacted the exact same way, yet bound by their badges, they had to follow procedure.

Calling the hulking man inside, the officers conducted a standard interrogation.

Leaving it unasked would have been fine; asking only made the situation infinitely more terrifying.

The muscular man was in his thirties, single, unemployed, and—crucially—possessed a documented history of severe psychiatric illness.

Stacking every possible buff to the absolute limit, the officers stared in dumbfounded awe, wondering where on earth such a rare specimen had come from.

“Why are you following him?” an officer asked the giant.

“Because I like him!” True to his towering stature, the man’s declaration rang with heroic passion. “I want to fuck him!”

Officers: “…”

Stalker: “…”

Unable to contain themselves any longer, every officer in the room burst out laughing.

“He’s got a big ass!” Spouting unabashedly explicit remarks without blinking, the giant continued, “My mom always said people with big asses bear children easily!”

The stalker shrieked in horror: “I’M A FUCKING DUDE!”

The giant replied earnestly: “Pregnancy is a bit tougher for men, sure, but don’t worry—I’ll take wonderful care of you.”

The thought process of a psychiatric patient truly proved far more comprehensive.

Fighting to keep straight faces out of professional duty, the officers forced the corners of their mouths down: “You can’t do this, it’s against the law. Give us contact info for your family.”

The giant said, “No family left. Car crash took them all at once years ago—how else do you think I ended up mentally ill?”

Officers: “…” Comedy truly is rooted in tragedy.

There was nothing to be done. As a registered psychiatric patient, he couldn’t even be held in detention, leaving officers no choice but to send him back where he came from.

Panicking now, the stalker cried out: “No! You can’t just let him walk away! I know who he’s connected to—Shen Man definitely hired him! Otherwise why would he follow me for no reason? I don’t even know him!”

The officer asked: “Do you have any proof?”

The stalker yelled: “He threatened me with his own mouth that he’d get revenge!”

The officer asked: “When did he say that?”

The stalker blurted: “Last week when I was stalking him!”

The officers fell instantly silent, marveling at how anyone could state something so shameless with righteous indignation. Bound by professional decorum, the officer kept his thoughts to himself and nodded: “We will question Shen Man.”

“When are you going to question him?!” the stalker demanded. “I can’t even go home right now because this guy follows me day and night! I can’t take it anymore! Go question Shen Man right now—he hired a mental patient to stalk me, that’s illegal! Lock him up for a few days too! If you don’t investigate him, I can’t go on living, I’m not leaving this station!”

Nearly rolling their eyes to the heavens, the officers had no choice when dealing with such a shameless nuisance: “Alright, alright. We’ll contact the ACE base and check the situation.”

Thus, the face-to-face confrontation had been arranged.

Don’t know him, no idea what’s going on, never said anything of the sort. Shen Man’s demeanor was icy and resolute. Sitting with his arms crossed, he looked at the stalker as if gazing at a cockroach—the foul kind one wouldn’t even want to crush with the tip of a shoe.

“Presumption of innocence,” Shen Man stated coldly. “If he claims I said that, tell him to produce evidence. I said nothing.”

The stalker opened his mouth to throw another tantrum, only to be cut off sharply by an irritated officer: “That’s enough out of you! You caused a scene, and we conducted our inquiry. He’s a decorated national champion—if he says he didn’t do it, he didn’t do it. How dare you slander an innocent person with zero proof?”

Seething with helpless fury, the stalker yanked up his shirt to expose his bruised abdomen, pointing a trembling finger straight at Xu Zhouye: “H-He even beat me up!”

Wearing a look of pure, wide-eyed terror, Xu Zhouye ducked hastily behind Shen Man’s shoulder: “Ge, is this guy mentally ill too? This is my first time ever seeing him—why is he accusing me of hitting him?”

That helpless, bewildered posture looked just like an innocent college freshman untouched by the harsh world.

Playing along smoothly, Shen Man patted Xu Zhouye’s shoulder reassuringly: “Don’t be scared. This guy clearly has something wrong with his head, otherwise why would he stalk me for years? He probably tripped and fell on his own and decided to pin the blame on you.”

Shrieking in rage, the stalker lunged forward, only to be intercepted swiftly by the officers: “You dare start a brawl right in front of the police? This is a society governed by law—are you trying to get charged with disturbing the peace?”

Only then did the stalker slump back into his chair in bitter defeat.

With the routine questioning wrapped up, the officers took their leave alongside the man. Naturally, the investigation yielded zero consequences, as the matter genuinely held no connection to Shen Man.

The police clearly shared that sentiment; after all, Shen Man had endured three or four years of harassment without lifting a finger in retaliation. This creep had clearly offended someone else he shouldn’t have messed with.

Pure poetic justice.

After politely seeing the officers out and returning inside the base, Xu Zhouye dropped his innocent act in a split second, bursting into uproarious laughter.

Shen Man asked: “Where on earth did you dig that guy up?”

Xu Zhouye grinned: “Wasn’t easy at all! Took me half a year to find the perfect candidate—plus, I basically provided him with a steady employment opportunity.” For no grander purpose than letting this stalker taste firsthand what it felt like to be relentlessly hunted.

Shen Man silently gave Xu Zhouye another thumbs-up.