GBROTAH CH10

At Baiju Club, the lights in the private room were turned up to the maximum but still remained dim. Shen Bianye sat leaning on the sofa, a scowl on his face. A crystal wine glass spun endlessly in his hand, but he didn’t drink much from it in the end.

Zhou Chao’s expression was odd, a mixture of wanting to laugh but not daring to, stifling it uncomfortably. He took a gulp of wine to suppress it before finally saying: “Are you really going?”

“For a mere three hundred yuan, the son of City A’s richest man, personally going to collect a debt? Isn’t that disgraceful?”

Shen Bianye coldly swept his gaze over him. “You don’t know a damn thing.”

“This isn’t about three hundred yuan at all.”

Subconsciously, he didn’t want to reveal Xie Yuanxing’s humiliation to others, allowing them to glimpse it. But the scene he had witnessed kept replaying in Shen Bianye’s mind. Xie Yuanxing, half-kneeling on the ground with his back to him, his waist so slender it looked like it could easily snap, bent over, head bowed, picking up melon seed shells from the floor cracks. His fair hands were stained with unknown dirt, blackening his fingertips, yet he seemed oblivious, still focused on cleaning the floor cracks. There was no humiliation on his face, no indignation, only calm.

Shen Bianye always felt he shouldn’t be doing these things. It wasn’t that he looked down on the job, but he felt those hands should be placed in more suitable places, like… on the black and white keys of a piano. An eighteen-year-old boy is always at his most spirited and proud. What was Xie Yuanxing thinking when he was half-kneeling, cleaning those things? What was he thinking when he was innocently implicated and two days’ wages were deducted?

Why wasn’t he willing to go to the bar with him to demand an explanation from the manager? Why did he refuse him? Why didn’t he resist? Why did he just endure it? When he pressed, Xie Yuanxing would only lower his eyes and say he didn’t want to confront others. Cowardly, timid, gloomy, like an inconspicuous mushroom in a dark, damp corner. Shen Bianye looked down on that demeanor, so he simply left the dorm, out of sight, out of mind, and hadn’t returned for two days now.

Zhou Chao raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I don’t know a damn thing.”

“But I’m saying, Xie Yuanxing doesn’t even want to go with you. Even if you go, he might not appreciate it.”

“Maybe he also thinks making such a scene for three hundred yuan would be disgraceful. So why bother pushing yourself?”

“Besides,” he chuckled, his tone full of disdain for Xie Yuanxing, “a little Beta who’s somewhat useful to you, just give him some money and have him on standby. Why get so invested?”

Shen Bianye clicked his tongue and scoffed, “Do I look like someone with that much free time? Rushing to meddle in other people’s affairs?”

“If my pheromones didn’t treat his emotions as pheromones, what would it have to do with me if he was docked three hundred, five hundred, or bullied by others?”

Zhou Chao: “That’s simple, you give…” He tried to suggest that Shen Bianye should just give Xie Yuanxing some money to appease him, but Shen Bianye didn’t give him a chance to speak. The handsome man’s face was grim, his mouth never stopped, his tone growing more intense as he spoke, even carrying a hint of indignation.

“He doesn’t even care himself. Being bullied is what he deserves. If others can bully him once, they can bully him a second time.”

“I was being kind for once, and he doesn’t appreciate it. Does he think I really want to seek justice for him?”

“He just believes people when they say customers didn’t pay. What idiot doesn’t know that when you order drinks now, you have to pay upfront? They just knew he was easy to bully, didn’t they?”

Shen Bianye downed the wine in his glass, sneering, “Serves him right, truly serves him right. If he can endure anything, then he deserves to suffer all future hardships.” With that, he placed the empty glass on the table and turned to Zhou Chao. “Come with me.”

Zhou Chao didn’t understand this sudden command. He asked doubtfully, “Where?”

Shen Bianye looked at him with an exasperated expression. “To get that three hundred yuan back from the manager, where else?”

Zhou Chao: “……” Who was it just saying “serves him right,” “who cares,” and “do I look like I have free time?” Was it him? Does pheromone disorder really have such a big impact on people? Respect, but no understanding. He was a little helpless, sitting lazily on the sofa, not wanting to get up. “Brother, can you be my ancestor or something? Do we really have to go?”

“For three hundred yuan, it’s really embarrassing to say it out loud.”

“How about I give him thirty thousand, compensation for your little Beta? Is that okay?”

Shen Bianye retorted impolitely, “Can’t I afford to give him money? You want to give it?”

“Those three hundred are his labor. Have you ever done any work, young master? You haven’t earned even a hundred yuan with your own hands, yet you look down on three hundred?”

Zhou Chao was the second-generation heir of a wealthy family, with an older brother above him. He wasn’t angry at being spoken to like that, just scoffed, “I haven’t earned it, but I have money.”

“How about this, I know someone in the market regulatory bureau. We can find an excuse, investigate their bar, shut it down for a few days, and vent some anger.”

Shen Bianye frowned. “No.” What they did was wrong, but it wasn’t to the extent of shutting down their business. Shen Bianye’s family was rich and influential, but he was very unwilling to use power to oppress people. It was too tasteless, unnecessary.

Zhou Chao was already looking at his phone, searching for the bar, trying to find some dirt from online reviews. He paused in his search. “Did you post this?”

“Didn’t you already deal with them? Are you still going?”

Shen Bianye: “What post?” He took Zhou Chao’s phone and was also surprised.

The post had just been made this morning, in the A University School of Engineering and Science forum. The title was simple and clear: [Everyone, stop going to that bar near the school; it’s not only dirty but also serves expired alcohol to customers.]

Inside were several pictures: a messy back kitchen, fried chicken nuggets dropped on the floor being picked up and directly served on plates, and rotten fruit having its bad parts cut off and still arranged on fruit platters. There were also photos of several boxes with expired date labels.

The clear evidence made the post go viral. Shen Bianye took out his own phone and scrolled through, finding that some group chats were already discussing the matter. The pictures in the groups and on the school’s confession wall indicated that the poster had also posted elsewhere besides the forum. The timing of the post made Zhou Chao think that Shen Bianye had done it, but seeing Shen Bianye’s reaction, he knew he was wrong.

He pondered for a moment, then hinted, “Your little Beta ‘pill’ might not be as pitiful as he appears on the surface.” 

The timing was too coincidental, and who would most easily be able to take these photos? Naturally, someone who had worked there.

Shen Bianye’s eyes flickered. He waved his hand at Zhou Chao behind him and walked out without looking back. “I’m leaving. You have fun.”

Zhou Chao: “?” What? What was he supposed to have fun with? Shen Bianye called him out for less than half an hour, then abandoned him again?

Shen Bianye completely ignored his resentful friend whom he had abandoned. He hailed a taxi directly at the entrance and returned to school. It wasn’t even eleven yet, and the dorm hadn’t closed or turned off its lights. When he unlocked the door, Xie Yuanxing was buried in his group assignment. Shen Bianye walked over, propped one hand on the desk, and with the other, encircled the back of Xie Yuanxing’s chair from behind. He looked at him with a half-smile and asked: 

“You posted it?”

Xie Yuanxing’s eyes trembled. “What are you talking about?”

Shen Bianye impatiently tapped the table. “Tell me the truth, and I’ll give you thirty thousand yuan.” If anyone was going to compensate Xie Yuanxing, it should be him. What kind of advice was Zhou Chao giving? What did it have to do with him? Tsk, annoying. He raised an eyebrow and then changed his mind. “Fifty thousand.”

Xie Yuanxing didn’t hesitate for a second, his eyes even sparkling a bit. “Yes, I posted it.”

Shen Bianye scoffed, “You don’t want to confront others directly, so you resort to sneaky tactics behind their backs, huh?” The veins on the arm draped over the chair bulged slightly. With just one hand, he lifted the chair, turning it and the person in it, from facing the desk to facing him. “When did you take the photos?”

Suddenly spun around, Xie Yuanxing’s eyes widened. He stared blankly at Shen Bianye, and hearing the question, instinctively said, “That night, when that customer caused trouble. I had similar experiences before, so I thought it was better to be safe.”

“Part-timers aren’t allowed in the bar’s small back kitchen. I snuck in. The content of the post is half true, not entirely real.” He quickly stole a glance at Shen Bianye’s strong, muscular arm, swallowed, and weakly asked, “Is there anything else you want to ask?” After thinking, he quietly added, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have resorted to sneaky tactics.”

Shen Bianye frowned. “Why are you apologizing when it’s not your fault?”

…Because your tone sounded like you looked down on such behavior. Xie Yuanxing silently swallowed this thought. “Then… can you take your hand off my chair?” It was just, quite intimidating.

Shen Bianye raised an eyebrow. “I can.”

The next second, his hand grasped Xie Yuanxing’s jaw. “Can you tell me why you didn’t just use these photos to get money from them directly?”

“I’m quite curious.”

Xie Yuanxing uncomfortably turned his head, his voice strained: “I… I don’t want to have direct confrontations with others… and I don’t want to argue… The post is anonymous. The part-timers there change frequently, so they won’t know it was me.”

Shen Bianye silently watched him, neither letting go nor speaking. In the unsettling silence, Xie Yuanxing lowered his gaze and said in a small voice, “I couldn’t get that three hundred yuan, and I also wanted their loss to be greater than mine, to make them bleed.” These thoughts were dark and shameful. Xie Yuanxing didn’t have to say them, but he did.

“Xie Yuanxing.” Shen Bianye called him, his hand gripping his chin with a little force, compelling him to look up. His face was completely exposed to Shen Bianye’s gaze. The slightly obscuring black stray hairs, the small black tear mole below his eyes, and that somewhat pale face—gloomy and broken, pitiful and dark.

“What a wicked mind.” Shen Bianye said, then released his hand and instead ruffled that soft black hair. Xie Yuanxing’s eyes flickered, not denying it, just quietly moving his chair, slowly shifting back.

“WeChat transfer received: One hundred thousand yuan.”

The sudden sound of his phone on the table startled Xie Yuanxing. After seeing who the transfer was from, he turned around blankly, looking at Shen Bianye with confusion.

Shen Bianye’s lips curved into a slight smile, and he said casually, “The extra fifty thousand is your reward.”

A little wickedness in his mind was fine. It was good that he would resist. Even if it was secretly, still like a gloomy mushroom.