Chapter 13
“Now that’s a good-looking face!”
The boss clapped his hands and slipped downstairs as if greased.
He reached out and grabbed Wu Xiaojiu, who was still standing there looking around, and without giving him a chance to protest, led him upstairs.
“No matter who you are, here you listen to me, Liu Chengyi. There’s an important guest upstairs, a rising star in the business world. You fit his taste perfectly. Don’t blame me for being ruthless-it’s an emergency, brother.”
Wu Xiaojiu’s mind was in a daze.
Suddenly, he was pushed into a private room.
Before he could make out the furnishings or the people inside,
he saw a figure on the sofa directly opposite stand up with a swish.
“Why did you bring him here!”
The voice was familiar, but the music was too loud for Wu Xiaojiu to recognize it.
The figure came closer and closer. The lighting in the room was so dim that Wu Xiaojiu squinted but still couldn’t see the person’s face clearly.
Just as he grew more nervous, thinking he was about to be sold in some shady deal, the shadow pulled him into an embrace. The unpleasant mix of tobacco and alcohol invaded his nose.
Wu Xiaojiu couldn’t help it and sneezed.
“Who are you, anyway? I’m a decent guy-why am I being dragged here for no reason?”
The atmosphere tensed, and the person holding him seemed displeased by his words.
Liu Chengyi, sweating on the side, hurried to explain himself.
“Don’t listen to this kid’s nonsense. He doesn’t mean what you think. What he means is, he’s new to this, just performing, not selling himself.”
“You don’t know our little brother here. He didn’t use to do this kind of work. He’s a decent guy, but he has a gambling father, a sick mother, a sister waiting for tuition, and no choice but to do this.”
As Liu Chengyi spoke, he even pretended to wipe away tears.
“This kid is clean. Even if you don’t like him, consider his background and our relationship-don’t get angry. Just give him a try.”
Liu Chengyi was a shrewd old fox, never daring to let Qi Jiao be dissatisfied.
He had already noticed the smile at the corner of Qi Jiao’s mouth and knew that Qi Jiao had no objections this time, so he dared to speak that way.
Qi Jiao was just as he expected.
His brows were tightly furrowed, but the arm around Wu Xiaojiu’s shoulders didn’t loosen at all.
“Why are you doing this kind of work? Even though your family has had some trouble lately, didn’t I fly back from abroad just for you? If you need money or help, you should come to me. Why degrade yourself like this?”
“Or is it that you can’t swallow your pride?…”
Qi Jiao muttered to himself, pondering a whole bunch of things.
In fact, he didn’t need Liu Chengyi to explain; Qi Jiao could imagine Wu Xiaojiu’s fall into hardship all on his own.
The more he talked to himself, the tighter his embrace became.
By the end, he was squeezing Wu Xiaojiu like a worm.
Wu Xiaojiu couldn’t take it anymore.
He squirmed, his little face wrinkled up like an orange peel.
“Who are you? Do we know each other? Why are you hugging me like this? Let go, now!”
Bang!
The other door to the private room was kicked open from outside.
The sudden scene made everyone in the room look up in unison.
A man dressed in an extremely unconventional style swaggered in with his hands in his pockets.
Behind him followed a middle-aged man with a very gloomy face, who rushed forward without a word.
He slapped Qi Jiao across the face.
“You brat! Skipping your blind date and hiding here?”
The slap rang out sharply; the middle-aged man used full force.
Qi Jiao’s left cheek quickly swelled up.
“Get out here! It’s because I let you hang around all those shady places since you were a kid that you’ve grown up with such a rotten personality!”
“Let me tell you! The marriage alliance with the Wang Family’s Daughter is not up to you. Whether you want it or not, you’re getting married!”
It all happened so fast.
Liu Chengyi hadn’t even had time to react. When he realized how bad things were,
he screeched and rushed forward to separate Qi Jiao and the middle-aged man.
“What are you doing? Do you know who he is? Do you know where you are? Aren’t you afraid you won’t see the sun tomorrow if you keep this up?”
As Liu Chengyi shouted,
Qi Jiao finally found a moment to lower his head and look at the person he was holding tightly.
Wu Xiaojiu had one ear and both eyes covered by him.
The string of unexpected events had left him dazed, his mind unable to process, like his motherboard had fried.
Now, he was quiet, curled up in Qi Jiao’s arms,
quietly listening with his other ear.
“Don’t scold him. That’s my dad. Useless as he is, and though he ruined our family years ago, to me he’s precious-can’t hit him, can’t scold him.”
Qi Jiao looked up again, his gaze changed.
“Showing off again, playing the hero? Let me tell you, no matter how much I’ve wasted before, at least I gave birth to you and your brother. Can you say the same?”
The middle-aged man was so angry his neck turned red, his whole face like a pig’s liver.
“You freak, a loveless rat since childhood, always chasing after a bit of kindness, ready to give your life for anyone who gives you a crumb. What right do you have to talk to me!”
The private room fell silent in an instant.
Even the noisy, neon-lit bar outside seemed to quiet down.
Qi Jiao lowered his head, his body swaying as he let out a light laugh.
He looked up, staring at his so-called father.
The latter stared back,
chattering on.
“What, not convinced? Think I don’t have dirt on you, making wild guesses here? Should I call out the name of your lover? Wu Xiaojiu, right? What a precious treasure!”
As those three words were spoken,
Qi Jiao’s face visibly tightened, his lips pressed into a thin line.
His fox-like, peach blossom eyes narrowed.
“Did I just hear someone call my name?”
Wu Xiaojiu’s little face twitched, suddenly sensing something bad was about to happen.