…So noisy.
Everything before his eyes was chaos. The music was loud enough to nearly pierce his eardrums, and the reek of alcohol rushing at him made Zhong Yu's head swim faintly while pain tugged at his heart in sharp little spasms.
This was a bar. For Zhong Yu, who had only just come of age and had been frail since birth, it was absolutely not a good place to be.
But Pan Wang was impossible to brush off.
He tried his best to hold his breath and steady himself, curling into as small a ball as possible in hopes of making himself less noticeable, but fate refused to cooperate.
"Crash!"
A sharp crack rang out as a bottle was casually hurled to the floor and shattered into several pieces.
The man who had thrown it was lounging in the center of the sofa with a half-smile. He said to the person fawning at his feet, "Pan Wang, your little brother really knows how to kill the mood."
Someone beside him immediately chimed in. "Exactly! We all finally managed to make time to come entertain your dear little brother, and look at him. He won't drink Young Master Zhou's wine, and he won't even give us the courtesy of playing along!"
"What airs he's putting on!"
Cold sweat instantly broke out over Pan Wang.
After all, the Zhong family had been relying entirely on the Zhou family for the past two years, and he knew perfectly well what the true purpose of tonight's gathering was.
Young Master Zhou had merely asked Zhong Yu to drink a glass of wine earlier, yet Zhong Yu had actually dared to shrink back, causing Pan Wang to be scolded by Young Master Zhou.
The more Pan Wang thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He apologized repeatedly to Zhou Hui. "My fault, my fault. I brought him over before I'd taught him properly. I'll go straighten him out right now."
He strode over, grabbed Zhong Yu by the arm, and snarled, "Young Master Zhou is calling you. Are you deaf? Get over there!"
The private room was not large, the air circulation was poor, and it was packed with alphas. Zhong Yu already felt as though he could barely breathe.
When Pan Wang yanked him like that, he stumbled. His vision swam even more, his heart began beating faster, and darkness pulsed before his eyes.
He opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to call for help, but his hoarse throat could not produce a single meaningful sound.
Pan Wang noticed, of course. He gave a cold laugh and bent close to Zhong Yu's ear, his breath winding over him like a venomous snake.
"Little mute, behave yourself, or I'll bring that little bastard over too."
The thought seemed to excite Pan Wang immensely. He stared maliciously at this beautiful yet useless half-brother of his.
Zhong Yu had inherited that omega's beauty perfectly. The hazy, dim lighting fell across his face in shifting bands of light and shadow. His large, round eyes were opened even wider now from fear or some other emotion, and Pan Wang's enlarged face was reflected in his pupils.
Pan Wang met the eyes of his own reflection and gave a mocking laugh. "You'd better learn your place sooner rather than later. Of course, I don't mind making another trip and bringing your little sister here."
He was nothing but a bastard.
He had taken his mother's surname, had been discarded by his father like a worn-out shoe, and had even been born with such a disgusting face, one that seemed made to seduce people. Who knew how many people would sleep with him in the future?
Exactly like that bastard mother of his.
Just thinking about it made Pan Wang feel sick.
His father played dog for Zhou Hui's father, so naturally Pan Wang had to play dog for Zhou Hui. And Zhong Yu, that bastardâwasn't it only right that he should be used to give Zhou Hui a good time?
Why pretend to be so pure and aloof?
Pan Wang half dragged Zhong Yu over and threw him onto the sofa.
Zhou Hui narrowed his eyes. "You really don't know how to treat a beauty gently."
He said that, but a satisfied smile sat on his face. His greedy gaze lingered on Zhong Yu, sweeping slowly over him before finally stopping on those slender, snow-white ankles and refusing to move.
Zhong Yu collapsed onto the sofa. Strange scents and the stench of cigarettes and alcohol immediately closed around him, making him cough uncontrollably.
He lowered his face. Stray black hair hid his expression, and he clenched his teeth.
Through his blurred vision, he saw a glass of wine pushed toward him.
Zhou Hui smiled at him and reached out as though to stroke Zhong Yu's cheek. Zhong Yu instinctively turned his face away.
Zhou Hui withdrew his hand, already calculating how he would make him repay that slight several times over later.
"Drink."
Zhong Yu lifted his face. The air was too foul. He breathed slowly and forcefully, looking at the glass, then at the young man behind it who looked decidedly dangerous.
He knew this was the young master of the Zhou family.
He also knew that the reason Pan Wang had dragged him into the car today was precisely because of this man.
His nails dug into his palms. He looked around. Everywhere he looked were disgusting, nauseating alphas.
They seemed to crowd all the air from the room, jeering maliciously as their gazes pinned themselves to his face.
And the only door…was locked.
He had nothing on him he could use to fight back. Even his phone had been taken away when he entered.
…He wondered whether Xiaoxiao had made it home safely, and whether she would be frightened.
He reached out. Under the malicious stares surrounding him, his hand slowly moved toward the stemmed wineglass.
Light passed through the liquor and refracted into beautiful colors, like fire.
At last, he took hold of the glass.
This wine was stronger, icy cold and choking. As it slid down his throat, Zhong Yu even felt a faint sting of pain.
Finished.
He set down the glass. His esophagus still churned with burning pain as he stared straight at Zhou Hui and made several hand gestures.
Zhou Hui raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand."
But it was easy enough to guess what this pitiful little beauty was planning.
Nothing more than an attempt to escape.
He loved playing this sort of cat-and-mouse game most of all.
The poor beauty would think he was about to escape to freedom, only to be dragged back into hell at the very moment he saw hope, able to do nothing but let out helpless, exquisite cries.
The mere thought sent waves of excitement through Zhou Hui.
The alphas nearby all knew Zhou Hui's tastes. They moved aside to open a path and even pointed helpfully. "The bathroom is that way."
None of them worried that Zhong Yu might escape their control. After all, this private club belonged to the Zhou family.
Zhong Yu took a deep breath and hurried in the direction they had indicated.
Before long, another set of footsteps sounded behind him, unhurried.
His heart sank hard. His hands and feet went cold, but at the same time another reaction slowly rose within him, as though heat were climbing from the base of his spine.
The moment he entered the bathroom, Zhong Yu immediately locked the stall door behind him.
The cramped space enclosed him and made him feel a little safer, but his heart was beating faster and faster. He realized that if this continued, it might not be long before he lost consciousness completely.
He pressed a hand to his aching chest and forced himself to remember the route he had taken earlier, planning how he might get out.
His fingers instinctively slipped into his pocket before he quickly remembered that his phone had long since been taken.
The footsteps came closer. They were right outside.
Zhou Hui stood outside the stall and even put on a show of knocking. He teased, "Want me to come in and help you, poor little thing?"
Silence. Complete silence.
Zhong Yu could hear his own heartbeat, one thud after another, growing louder and louder.
His eyes stung uncontrollably. His fingers clenched, leaving deep marks in his palms.
He slowly lowered his gaze. It stopped on the brown, soaking-wet mop in the corner.
Zhou Hui waited several minutes without receiving a response and naturally lost interest in teasing him. He was just about to force the door openâif the person inside got hurt, that would be perfect for trying some other kind of play anyway.
He thought about it lazily and was about to call someone over when he suddenly heard the lock turn.
He smiled and turned his head. "Ready to opâ"
Before he could finish the sentence, something came crashing straight into his face, plunging his vision into darkness.
"Fuck!"
It was as if Zhou Hui had been punched head-on. His face burned with pain, and water from who knew where splashed into his eyes and mouth, bitter, foul, and stinging.
His eyes hurt so badly he could not open them. He lost his sight for several seconds and staggered backward, finally groping his way to the sink. He fumbled the faucet on and frantically rinsed his eyes.
Come to think of it, what kind of weapon could there even be in a bathroom?
Zhou Hui sucked in cold breaths while thinking about it. When he could finally open his eyes and saw the mop lying on the floor, his face instantly turned livid.
"Zhong Yu! You fucking wait for me!!"
But Zhong Yu could no longer hear him.
He desperately recalled the layout of the club, winding down one level after another. Stairs, then more stairs.
Run. Run.
Those were the only two words left in his mind, but his weak body soon proved unable to endure such intense exertion. His legs felt filled with lead, and every breath made his lungs hurt as though sliced by knives.
Darkness pulsed before his eyes.
He heard footsteps again, coming closer and closer.
They were going to catch him.
Even his teeth began to tremble, knocking together with tiny clicks. He opened his lips soundlessly and instinctively tried once more to call out, but his voice remained firmly imprisoned in his throat.
Sometimes he thought it would have been better if he had left this hateful world together with his mother back then.
And every event he experienced later in life seemed to prove that thought correct.
But he always ran away from it. He was always afraid.
The drug seemed to grow stronger as his blood circulated faster. His legs weakened; his body burned.
Another corner. It would be no different from the ones before.
But he would not stop.
His lungs hurt. He could smell blood when he breathed. The sounds of pursuit behind him also grew faint, appearing and disappearing. He suspected he had already collapsed and that his present struggle was nothing but a fever dream.
Until he slammed hard into something warm and solid.
He jolted. His mind cleared along with it. Thinking he had hit a wall, he instinctively tried to move around it, but his body had already reached its limit. What felt to him like a desperate effort only made his entire body sway weakly twice.
Then a warm, powerful hand closed around his shoulder.
Zhong Yu realized something was wrong. He lifted his head almost blankly, belatedly understanding that what he had just run into was a person.
It was a tall man. Zhong Yu's height only barely reached his shoulder. From this angle, all he could see was a sharp, taut jawline.
An alpha.
The last remnants of reason helped him reach that conclusion. He tried in terror to break free of the man's grip, yet he could only barely remain standing by relying on the man's strength.
His body was getting hotter and hotter. He could no longer tell whether it came from running or from that glass of wine.
His vision was beginning to blur too, but then he suddenly heard footsteps and shouting again. His entire body nearly sprang up from the shock. A burst of strength erupted from him. He wanted to run, but the hand on his shoulder still held him tightly.
He could not get away. So wary that his back nearly arched, he gritted his teeth and, without caring what it was, grabbed everything within reach and hurled it behind him with all his strength.
"Ah, fuck!"
Zhou Hui had just rounded the corner when his vision went black. He tried to dodge and failed, taking the blow directly to the head. Pain made him suck in a sharp breath. "Zhong Yu, fuck your motherâ"
"Zhou Hui!"
His biological father's furious shout finally cooled his rage-fogged mind a little. Clutching his head, he looked up and saw his father standing cautiously behind a young man, smiling ingratiatingly as he apologized.
"Please excuse this embarrassment, President Cheng. Hui is the son I had late in life, so I've inevitably spoiled him a little." He spoke cautiously. "I heard the young people were getting together to have some fun today, so I told them to stay upstairs. I never imagined they would end up disturbing you…"
Cheng Shenzhi ignored him. The young man in front of him, who had obviously been drugged, still seemed not to have come back to his senses. He was struggling so hard that Cheng Shenzhi could barely hold him still.
He had no choice but to reach out with his other hand and catch the hand that was still trying to dig through his pocket for another weapon.
The instant his wrist was restrained, Zhong Yu briefly came back to himself. His whole body felt light and floaty, as though he were starved of oxygen, or about to faint.
The footsteps had stopped.
That realization let him relax for one brief moment. Although he was still standing before another strange alpha whose face he could not clearly see, his exhausted body had already reached its limit and slid irreversibly toward darkness.
His knees buckled, and he pitched headfirst into the alpha's arms.
Cheng Shenzhi: "…"
He reached out and hauled up the young man who was sliding downward like a puddle of water. After pausing for two seconds, he hooked an arm beneath Zhong Yu's armpits and held him securely in place.
When he raised his eyes again, displeasure was written plainly across his features.
Zhou Pao's scalp went numb.
He knew this man's temperament. Cheng Shenzhi had never been interested in beauty, and Zhou Pao also knew exactly what had happened to the people who had tried crooked methods on him before.
One look from him made Zhou Pao want to swear to heaven that he had truly been wronged! He really had not arranged this!
"You little bastard, get over here and take him away!" Zhou Pao growled in a low voice.
Then he turned back, lowered his head submissively, and smiled ingratiatingly. "I'm truly sorry, President Cheng. I never imagined something like this would happen. Please forgive us. I'll make sure to apologize to you properly later!"
Zhou Hui realized he had caused trouble too.
But after so many years of behaving lawlessly, he had never truly run into any serious consequences.
He bent lazily at the waist and gave a perfunctory bow as an apology. "Sorry. My friend is drunk. I'll take him away now."
Zhou Pao frowned hard at the sight of him, but did not dare speak.
After saying that, Zhou Hui did not even wait for the man opposite him to respond before reaching for Zhong Yu. But before his hand could touch him, a heavy pressure of pheromones descended first.
Instinct made Zhou Hui's knees go weak in an instant. The moment they confronted each other, his heart had already raised a white flag. He could not summon the slightest urge to resist. He looked up in terror and realized that the alpha before him was extremely, extremely high-ranked.
"No need."
Cheng Shenzhi looked at Zhou Hui for a moment, withdrew his gaze, and said in a tone almost like praise, "A tiger father has no dog son. Your son's business portfolio seems to be developing quite impressively."
With that, he turned around and carried Zhong Yu outside, tossing back one light sentence. "I'll be taking him."
Zhou Hui was still young and did not understand the hidden meaning in the other man's words. He only supported himself against the wall and struggled to stand, feeling both relieved and furious: relieved that the alpha had not done anything more frightening, and furious that the delicious prize he had almost obtained had been handed over to someone else for free.
He glanced to the side. His father's face was shifting between green and white like a rapid costume change.
He thought Zhou Pao was also angry at being humiliated. Accustomed to acting without restraint, Zhou Hui complained outright, "You could've invited him any other day. Why did you have to pick the day I was finally getting something good?"
At those words, Zhou Pao finally snapped. He raised his hand and slapped him. Zhou Hui's face was knocked sharply to one side and immediately swelled high.
"You worthless bastard! You absolute bastard!"
Zhou Pao was so furious his hand shook. Pointing at Zhou Hui's nose, he cursed him viciously. "How did I give birth to a pigheaded idiot who can't understand human speech!"
If he was going to do something, he should have done it completely! What was the point of letting the target run away halfway through?
And now he had even run into Cheng Shenzhi!
Was praise from Cheng Shenzhi something an ordinary person could afford to receive?
At the shallowest level, it meant Zhou Hui was a thug who bullied men and women alike. Taken more seriously, didn't it amount to saying that the Zhou family's club was improperly operating that kind of business?
==========Author's Note:==========
Opening-day confetti!
Babies, long time no see~
1. The protagonist's name is Zhong Yu. The character used for his surname is pronounced "Zhong."
2. As usual, this is one-on-one, both leads are virgins, and it has a happy ending. This one includes mpreg, so please avoid it if that's not your thing. Also, the bottom's voice will be cured.
Here I'm promoting my next novel. Please add it to your favorites!
[What Do I Do If My Older Brother and Boyfriend Got Different Scripts?]
A tyrant top with an impossibly stubborn mouth x an extremely soft and adorable mermaid bottom.
The bottom woke up.
On the day he came of age, he awakened the gift of foresight and used it to see ten years into the future.
In a distant human star system, an unprecedented tyrant was being born!
Right now he was still as weak as an ant and was bullied at will, but in the not-too-distant future he would grow at terrifying speed, killing his father, mother, older brothers, older sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters one after another!
He would also believe the rumor that mermaid blood could cure every illness. In order to treat his violent mental episodes, he would brazenly send troops to attack the Mermaid Empire, killing every human who stood in his way and every fish who stood in his way!
The bottom's eyes widened in horror. After hesitating again and again, he packed a small bundle and decided to personally go fix the young tyrant's brain, strangling the whole disaster in its cradle!
–
The top woke up.
At the exact moment he accidentally ran his half-brother through the heart with a sword, he saw a book.
The book said that the Mermaid Empire harbored evil intentions. After he killed his relatives and seized the throne, they would take the initiative to send him a beautiful mermaid, use a honeytrap of mermaid beauty to make him hopelessly infatuated, then turn on him without mercy and use song to destroy his mental sea, reducing him completely to a cripple. In the end, he would commit suicide in agony.
The little mermaid, meanwhile, would carry his child away to a distant place and never once look back.
The top studied the mermaid standing before him with a neatly packed bundle, his gaze settling on the other man's lower abdomen.
He pulled his lips into a cold smile.
Heh. That's it?
–
The older brother woke up.
After dealing with a pollution incident in the distant sea, a strange voice appeared in his head.
[Your little brother is smart, beautiful, adorable, and kind. Everyone likes him.]
The older brother nodded steadily and elegantly.
Yes, that's my little brother. What about it?
[Your little brother has enough suitors to circle the imperial city once, but the adorable little mermaid has no special feelings for any of them. His suitors are frustrated and powerless.]
The older brother raised his teacup to hide the smile at his lips.
Yes, that's my little brother. What about it?
[However, the little mermaid has recently run into a troubling problem.]
[And that problem isâwhat should a frail, helpless, pitiful little fish do after being captured by the human emperor and dragged into a forced-love romance?]
Older Brother: ?
Wait a minute?
Me. Knife.
