WP Chapter 54

“All right, talk. What happened?” Jiang Yibai sat in a chair in the corner of the break room, eyeing the two boys in front of him. Sun Chen and Chen Yi stood side by side like primary schoolers being scolded by the head disciplinarian, hands clasped behind their backs, heads hung low, completely silent.

Jiang Yibai had spent the past few days feeling utterly relaxed and satisfied. His skin was smooth, his complexion healthy and glowing, his naturally wavy black hair soft and tousled. Dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans, he looked more like a fresh-faced college graduate, brimming with youthful energy.

Compared to that, the two high schoolers who had been drinking and brawling in the early hours of the morning looked pale, hollow-eyed, and completely out of sorts. They looked worse off than he did.

Jiang Yibai gave them a once-over and scoffed. “Not talking? Fine. We’ll just call your parents and teachers and let them handle it. Why should I waste my time getting involved?”

He stood and made a move to leave. Sun Chen caved first and called out, “Mr. Jiang!”

“Stop right there,” Jiang Yibai said, “Let’s get something straight. I didn’t take your tuition money. You’ve barely ever showed up for class. At most, you’re Sun Ying’s errand boy. I don’t qualify to be your teacher.”

Sun Chen scratched his nose awkwardly. “Mr. Jiang, I still think of you as a teacher. You taught me how to play guitar.”

“Handing you a music book counts as teaching now?” Jiang Yibai snorted. “Sun Chen, being your teacher sounds like a fast-track to an early grave. I’m not about to volunteer for that.”

Chen Yi let out a quiet snort.

Jiang Yibai shot him a sideways glance. “You’ve got the nerve to laugh? Weren’t you the one who promised me you wouldn’t drink? Playing nice in front of me and doing whatever you want behind my back, is that how a man keeps his word? If I were you, I’d be out there picking up the pieces of my pride. You barely have any left.”

Chen Yi: “…”

Standing by the door, Si Shaorong raised his fist to his mouth, barely suppressing his laughter.

Right now, Jiang Yibai really did have the look of a disappointed, fed-up teacher. Through the eyes of someone in love, everything looked good. And Si Shaorong thought he looked both adorable and heartbreakingly endearing.

Sun Chen spoke up awkwardly. “Mr. Jiang, I’ll admit fighting was wrong, but you can’t scold us without knowing the full story, right? That guy was the one at fault. He tried to trick Chen Yi.”

Jiang Yibai sat back down. “What guy? What actually happened?”

Sun Chen gave Chen Yi a side-eye and huffed. “He’s the one it happened to. Ask him.”

Jiang Yibai turned to Chen Yi, who kept his lips pressed together, face defiant, refusing to explain anything.

Jiang Yibai took a deep breath and said, “You already made your dad delay the UK trip for an entire summer. Now you want him to put off work again because of your mess? What, the whole world’s supposed to revolve around you?”

Chen Yi’s eyes flickered, his face darkening. He clenched his fists. “Leave my dad out of this!”

“You’re the one dragging him into it,” Jiang Yibai snapped. “You think this kind of shit will just blow over like nothing happened?”

Seeing the argument heating up, Sun Chen rushed to mediate. “Mr. Jiang, it really wasn’t Chen Yi’s fault. It was that scammer. That guy was disgusting! He’s the one who should be arrested. Chen Yi was the victim—”

Before he could finish, Chen Yi lashed out and kicked him. “Shut the fuck up! Who the hell asked you to talk?!”

Sun Chen stumbled from the kick, then exploded. “You were about to get scammed! If I hadn’t been there, you might’ve gotten hurt! Are you stupid?”

“You’re the stupid one! Your whole damn family’s stupid!” Chen Yi lunged to kick him again, but Jiang Yibai stepped in just in time and yanked them apart.

This time, Jiang Yibai was truly angry. The two brats weren’t listening. They wouldn’t take advice, wouldn’t take scolding, heads so hard they insisted on smashing straight into the wall. It was enough to make his blood boil.

They thought being young meant everything could be written off as impulsive, as “just being kids.” But how many mistakes in life could actually be paid for that way? Some consequences were too steep to afford.

Fighting outside a gay bar in the middle of the night, what if they had messed with the wrong person? If something serious had happened, would anyone let them off the hook just because they were “young and dumb”? Who would be the ones grieving then? Did they ever stop to think about that? Clearly not. And they didn’t care.

“Enough!” Jiang Yibai shouted. He yanked Chen Yi back like he was a wild cub, then shoved Sun Chen aside as he came charging in. Someone outside poked their head in at the commotion, and Si Shaorong quickly shut the door and offered an apology, quietly explaining things.

Jiang Yibai stood there with a face like stone. His expression was completely stripped of its usual softness, the warmth gone from his eyes, replaced by something sharp and cold. There was a kind of distant harshness in him now, aloof and untouchable, that made people feel chilled to the bone.

He stared straight at Chen Yi and said, “If you don’t want to talk, then talk to the police. Talk to your parents. You’ve got the balls to cause trouble but not the balls to own up to it? Great. I don’t have to deal with your shit. None of this ever had anything to do with me in the first place. I’ll get out of your sight, and you stay the hell out of mine.”

He turned to leave, clearly done. But the moment his hand touched the doorknob, a trembling voice came from behind him.

“If you don’t care anymore, then who else is going to?”

There was a hint of a sob in it.

Jiang Yibai froze. He stood still for a few seconds before turning back, face blank. “Young Master Chen, what exactly am I to you that I have to be the one who cares? I’ve got no parents and I never cried about it. You have a full set, food on your table, clothes on your back. Who are you crying for?”

Sun Chen hadn’t expected Chen Yi to actually tear up. When he saw the boy’s eyes rimmed with red and his head hung low in embarrassment, his anger melted away. He no longer minded being kicked or cursed at. He edged closer and mumbled, “Hey… don’t cry. It’s fine. I already beat the shit out of that bastard for you…”

Then, just like that, his temper shifted. Sun Chen turned his glare on Jiang Yibai. “Chen Yi nearly got scammed! Can’t you comfort him a little? You stormed in here lecturing him like a headmaster, who the hell wants to hear that?”

Jiang Yibai didn’t respond to him. He only looked at Chen Yi and said, “Last chance. What actually happened? Are you going to tell me or not?”

Chen Yi pressed his lips together. In the few minutes they’d been talking, he had managed to pull himself together. His eyes were still red, but his voice was steady again, though dull. “A while ago, I met someone. He’s around your age, a business associate of my dad’s. He’s a sales manager. Smooth talker, very capable.”

Jiang Yibai furrowed his brows and returned to his seat, quietly listening.

Chen Yi sniffled and took a deep breath. “At first, I was just bored. Had nothing to do, so I hung out with him a few times. He was fun. He’s gay, and he took me to a bar he knows well. Said it was safe, that nothing would happen there.”

Jiang Yibai’s temple twitched, but he said nothing.

Chen Yi seemed aware of how stupid it all sounded now. He paused, then continued, “He had some friends there who really respected him. They told me how he grew up poor, lost his parents young, and built his career from nothing. They said he was inspirational. He could talk about anything, but it didn’t come off as fake or annoying. I started thinking he was a pretty great guy. He treated me well, acted like he cared.”

Sun Chen couldn’t help himself. “Are you out of your mind? Those so-called friends were probably in on it!”

Chen Yi shot him a look. Sun Chen raised both hands in surrender and shut up.

Frustrated, Chen Yi said, “I didn’t overthink it. He was someone from my dad’s business circle. I didn’t see any reason to be suspicious.”

For some reason, Jiang Yibai felt a pulse behind his temple that wouldn’t stop pounding. Every time Chen Yi said something like “he seemed great,” “he cared,” “he was funny, thoughtful, admired,” he found himself deeply uneasy, almost disgusted.

Still, he forced down the discomfort and asked, “And then?”

“At first, we only hung out now and then. The bar really was decent. Clean, quiet. His friends were friendly. I felt at ease there. Later, he started doing more for me. He’d pick me up after school, bring me snacks ahead of time. He told me I needed to study hard, eat well, and that if anything was bothering me, I could tell him. But I wasn’t allowed to go looking for trouble.”

Sun Chen burst out again, “I said all that to you too! Why the hell didn’t you listen to me but listened to him?!”

Chen Yi snapped, “Because you’re just somebody else too!”

Sun Chen ground his teeth. “You’re unbelievable. You don’t trust the people close to you, but you go believe some scam artist?”

“Sun Chen,” Jiang Yibai warned.

Sun Chen was still fuming, but there was nothing more to say. Frustrated and unwilling to give in, he paced a few steps around the room, then slumped down in the corner, hugging his knees in silence.

Chen Yi also said nothing. He stared blankly at the floor, lost in thoughts no one could guess.

Jiang Yibai let out a sigh and softened his tone. “You and him… nothing happened, right?”

“No,” Chen Yi shook his head. “I just thought he seemed like a good person. That’s all. Honestly, there are some things… that are harder to say to people you’re close to. But with him, I could talk. When I was in a bad mood, I’d message him and he always made me laugh. He just seemed to know exactly what I needed to hear. He never said anything I didn’t want to hear.”

Jiang Yibai nodded. He didn’t comment on whether it was right or wrong. He simply asked, “And then?”

Chen Yi fell silent again, this time for even longer. Sun Chen finally couldn’t hold back. He stood up and said, “I don’t know how long they’d been talking, but I saw him get into that guy’s car after evening self-study yesterday. I’d seen that guy pick him up several times already. I asked who he was, and he wouldn’t tell me. The guy just laughed and said he wasn’t trying to steal him, and that I, as his ‘boyfriend,’ shouldn’t be jealous.”

Jiang Yibai narrowed his eyes. An adult joking like that to a minor? Even if it was meant as a joke, it was way out of line.

Sun Chen continued, “The moment he said that, I felt weird. Like, really uncomfortable. It’s hard to explain. Just… a gut feeling.”

“So you followed them?” Jiang Yibai asked.

“Yeah.” Sun Chen admitted it directly, not the least bit embarrassed. “I flagged down a car and tailed them to the bar. I didn’t even know it was a gay bar. But the moment I saw him take Chen Yi in, I knew that guy wasn’t right.”

Jiang Yibai gave a small nod. For all his temper, Sun Chen had a sharp head on his shoulders.

“I kept watching from the shadows. Then I saw him and his friends pressuring Chen Yi to drink. That’s when I knew something was off.” He glared at Chen Yi again, eyes filled with exasperation, as if saying are you an idiot or what. “Chen Yi went to the restroom. I was planning to go in and drag him out, but right then, I saw one of those bastards slip something into his glass.”

Jiang Yibai’s heart dropped. He shot up. “They drugged him?!”

“I don’t know what it was, but it sure as hell wasn’t anything good.” Sun Chen said firmly. “I took a photo, then ran into the restroom to get Chen Yi. And this guy yells at me, says I’m some stalker freak following him around!”

What happened next was very much in line with these two reckless brats’ usual style.

Sun Chen had meant well, but his tone was sharp, and his words basically called Chen Yi a gullible idiot for falling for such an obvious scam. Chen Yi, proud as ever, wasn’t having it. So instead of successfully dragging him away, they ended up brawling in the restroom.

Other patrons heard the commotion and quickly called a server. The bar staff came over to throw them out, but just as they were about to be booted, the scammer’s buddies came over to “mediate.” Sun Chen saw the main culprit show up and immediately pulled out the photos, confronting him on the spot.

Chen Yi took one look and lost it. He demanded an explanation, but the man, shameless as ever, looked him dead in the eye and claimed it was just a vitamin. That was the final insult. Chen Yi felt like a complete idiot, like he had been toyed with and treated as nothing more than a clueless kid. With Sun Chen’s scolding still burning in his ears, he snapped and threw a punch straight into the man’s nose.

Naturally, the scammer’s buddies weren’t about to sit back. But before they could touch Chen Yi, Sun Chen had already launched himself into the fight. Chen Yi rolled up his sleeves and joined the chaos too.

“Then someone called the cops,” Sun Chen said. “The bar itself didn’t want to report it. They saw right away we were underage. Cops showing up was just asking for trouble. I thought it’d blow over, but some other customer ended up making the call.”

Jiang Yibai sneered. “And you still think you’re some kind of tactical genius?”

Sun Chen raised his hands in mock surrender.

Now that he had the full picture, Jiang Yibai asked, “Where’s that guy now? What hospital did they take him to?”

“No idea,” Sun Chen said. “Come on, how hurt could he really be? It’s all surface wounds at most. He probably just wants to milk us for compensation.”

Jiang Yibai jabbed a finger at him, then turned to leave. “You, reflect on your actions. As for you, Chen Yi, I don’t need to spell it out. You should know by now what kind of lesson this was. People who only ever say what you want to hear aren’t doing it out of kindness.”

Sun Chen nodded solemnly. “Yes, sir. Got it. But… where are you going?”

“To see that bastard for myself.” Jiang Yibai’s voice was full of ice. “Luring a minor into a gay bar and spiking his drink? You have photos as evidence. No way I’m letting him flip the blame on you two.”

Just then, the door opened and Si Shaorong peeked in. “Time’s about up. We should go.”

“Yeah.” Jiang Yibai nodded, then paused after taking a few steps. He looked back and asked, “What’s that guy’s name?”

Chen Yi slumped into the chair, drained and pale. “Zheng Yu.”

Jiang Yibai froze. His face went completely white. “Who did you say?”

Si Shaorong took a moment to process the name. Then his brow furrowed deeply, a sharp frown cutting across his face.