RTCBM 11

“Dongzi!”

He Dongying had just walked out of the restroom when Mu Yuan, shouting loudly, threw himself at him, clinging onto him like a koala. He Dongying couldn’t keep his footing and fell heavily backward.

“Fuck! What the hell is wrong with you?!” He Dongying struggled to push him off, but Mu Yuan clung to him tighter than an octopus’ suction cups, refusing to let go.

“Dongzi! You have to save me this time! I’m in deep shit!”

“Let go of me first!” He Dongying, feeling like he was about to suffocate, slapped him across the face.

Only then did Mu Yuan reluctantly release him.

“Talk. Don’t fucking hug and cling to me. What the hell happened?”

Mu Yuan looked around nervously, dragged He Dongying into the car, shut all the doors and windows, and after making sure no one was eavesdropping, he anxiously told him everything that had just happened.

“That fucking pervert is already on the way! What the fuck should I do?”

“Why the fuck didn’t you chase him when it happened?” He Dongying asked.

Mu Yuan was stunned. He hadn’t even thought of that at the time. By the time he realized, Wen Shang’s car was already gone.

He Dongying sighed. “This is your own damn fault. How the fuck am I supposed to help you? Maybe you should just go and sincerely beg for forgiveness.”

“If an apology actually worked, I would’ve been done the first time I went looking for him. That fucking pervert never intended to hand over the video. He’s been fucking with me from the start!”

“Well then, there’s nothing you can do. No matter what, you’re not gonna change his mind.”

After thinking for a second, He Dongying added, “If you’re really desperate, you could go sell your ass to him.”

Of course, He Dongying was just joking, but Mu Yuan took it seriously and immediately objected, yelling, “Fuck no!”

“No fucking way. Over my dead body would I sell my ass to that pervert!”

“Well, then I really don’t have any other fucking ideas.”

Mu Yuan threw himself at He Dongying again, grabbing onto his thigh. No matter how much He Dongying kicked, he refused to let go. Clinging tightly, he pleaded bitterly, “Ying-ge, you’re so smart and resourceful. You must have a way. Don’t be so heartless, help me, please! Otherwise I’m really fucked this time. My whole life’s reputation is going to be ruined at the hands of that fucking pervert. What the hell should I do…”

He Dongying looked helplessly at his childhood friend, who was acting like a pathetic dog. Probably, this guy only ever showed this disgraceful side in front of him.

Suddenly, He Dongying asked, “That day when you went to pay respects at your second uncle’s grave, didn’t you say you ran into him? Didn’t he recognize you back then?”

Mu Yuan immediately stopped whining. “Dongzi, I forgot to tell you. Actually, there was more that happened that day.”

After listening to Mu Yuan’s explanation, He Dongying said, “If you pretend to be Xiao Xing and approach him to build a relationship, maybe there’s still a sliver of hope.”

As soon as Mu Yuan heard that there was still a way to fix things, he widened his eyes, scooted close to He Dongying, and looked up at him expectantly. “Do you have a specific plan?”

He Dongying thought for a moment, then shared the idea he had just come up with.

There was no time to waste. They had to act immediately.

Mu Yuan used Xiao Xing’s phone to call Wen Shang. As he waited for the call to connect, his heart was pounding nervously.

After about five or six rings, Wen Shang answered. His voice was the same low and deep tone as always. “Hello,” he said, then added, “Xiao Xing? What’s up?”

Mu Yuan took a deep breath, adjusted his attitude, and immediately slipped into the role of a good, obedient boy. He asked sweetly, “What are you doing right now?”

“Driving.”

“Am I bothering you while you’re driving?” His voice carried just the right hint of worry, perfectly controlled.

Wen Shang chuckled. “It’s fine. I’m using a Bluetooth headset to talk to you. It’s not affecting my driving.”

“That’s good.” Mu Yuan pretended to breathe a sigh of relief and continued, “Oh, right. Are you free later? Didn’t you say you were going to treat me to a meal? How about we meet up after you’re done?”

Wen Shang didn’t respond immediately. After a few seconds, he said, “I’m a bit busy today.”

Mu Yuan dragged out his voice in a dejected, disappointed tone: “Oh… alright then.”

“Do not get me wrong. I am not going back on my word.”

“Mm…”

“How about we move the dinner to tomorrow?”

That was not the answer Mu Yuan wanted. Since things had come to this, he had no choice but to go all out and take a desperate shot.

“I mean, that is fine, but…” After pretending to hesitate for a moment, he said softly, “I just want to see you right now.”

Mu Yuan deliberately mimicked the tone he used when sweet-talking his second uncle into buying him things. His voice could melt someone’s heart through the phone.
At the same time, Mu Yuan had already prepared a backup plan. If this gentle tactic did not work, he would move on to a rougher Plan B. His people were already stationed outside, ready to intercept that fucking pervert the moment he appeared, tie him up, and drag him away. If he resisted, they would just knock him out.

The other end of the line was silent for a while before Wen Shang said, “Where are you? I will come pick you up.”

Wen Shang agreed.
Mu Yuan’s first reaction was not excitement but a string of curses in his heart.
Fuck him, that damn pervert really is into me. Beast in human skin.

Since it was a dinner invitation, Wen Shang chose a place that was far from shabby.
He reserved a VIP private room at a luxury hotel in the city center. The atmosphere was elegant and quiet, with private chefs preparing fresh dishes right at the table, offering top-tier, personalized service.

Wen Shang had the waiter hand the menu to Mu Yuan and said,
“The chefs here are highly skilled in all kinds of international cuisines. Order whatever you want, no need to be polite with me.”

Mu Yuan politely nodded and smiled at him. “Alright, I will take a look first.”

Everything on the menu was fucking expensive. Even a bottle of water cost 80 bucks. Fuck, why does the boss not just go rob a bank instead? It was labeled as ‘Alps-imported premium pure water.’
As if anyone could tell the difference after pouring some filtered tap water into a glass.
Tsk.

There was not a single cheap thing on the menu. Since it was Wen Shang footing the bill, Mu Yuan did not hold back and ordered a whole bunch of dishes.

“Xiao Xing,” Wen Shang suddenly called out.

Mu Yuan was not used to this new name yet. It took him two or three seconds to react and realize the other person was calling him.

“Mm? What is it?” He lifted his head, grinning brightly, staring straight at Wen Shang with a look so earnest that even his eyelashes were full of acting.

“You only told me your name is ‘Xiao Xing’ before. I have always wanted to ask, what is your full name?”

Mu Yuan had already expected this question. He answered calmly and naturally,
“My surname is Mu. Mu as in Mu Guiying.”

As expected, Wen Shang was slightly stunned after hearing that.

Previously, He Dongying had told Mu Yuan that if he wanted to get the video back from Wen Shang, the best strategy was to pretend to be Mu Yuan’s twin brother to approach him. That way, the similarity in appearance would have a reasonable explanation. More importantly, Wen Shang would feel psychological hesitation toward ‘Xiao Xing,’ making him reluctant to expose Mu Yuan’s scandal.

“Xiao Xing,” Wen Shang called him again.
To further verify his guess, he asked,
“Do you have any siblings?”

Mu Yuan put on a surprised face.
“How did you know? Actually, I have a twin brother.”

Wen Shang’s expression immediately darkened but quickly returned to normal.

Mu Yuan continued, “Even though we are brothers, we are nothing alike.”

“Oh? How so? Usually twins look exactly the same, right?” Wen Shang probed.

“Our looks are the same, but our personalities are completely different,” Mu Yuan said, shaking his head as he spoke.
“My brother has a violent temper. Ever since we were kids, he has always been getting into fights and causing trouble. Compared to him, I am much more timid. Sigh…”

Mu Yuan controlled the situation perfectly.
He only answered what Wen Shang asked and never volunteered any extra information.

Ever since Wen Shang realized that this Mu Xing was supposedly the twin brother of that hotheaded nouveau riche, his attitude became visibly more cautious.
Even during dinner, he became unusually quiet, clearly holding back for some reason.

The two of them finished their meal quietly.
When they left, Wen Shang asked Mu Yuan if he wanted a ride home. Mu Yuan smiled and waved his hand.

“No need. There is a subway station just a few dozen meters away. I will take the subway myself.”

Wen Shang did not try to make him stay. He simply nodded and said,
M “Take care of yourself.”

After watching Mu Yuan’s figure disappear into the subway entrance, Wen Shang immediately pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and said to the person on the other end, “Help me investigate someone.”

The person Wen Shang contacted was very efficient. By noon the next day, he had already delivered the investigation report into Wen Shang’s hands.

Wen Shang stared at the sealed folder placed on the table for a long time before finally picking it up and opening it to take a look.

According to the documents, there really was a person named Mu Xing.
He was twenty-five years old, a former international student at A University in Japan. Two years ago, he had graduated and returned home, where he found work at an e-commerce company and had been employed there ever since. Attached to the file were also records of the individual income tax and social insurance contributions he had paid at the company over the past two years.

After reading the entire report, Wen Shang still felt a little suspicious.
If everything in the file was real, that would be ideal. He could only hope that he was just overthinking it.

Mu Yuan might not have been the sharpest, but he was not stupid enough to think Wen Shang would blindly believe everything he said just because he acted convincing.
He turned to He Dongying and asked,
“Dongzi, do you think this will really work? I am completely counting on you this time.”

He Dongying nodded.
“The file has already been handed over to the guy. He took it back.”

As Sheng Yi’s strategist, He Dongying never fought battles he was not sure he could win. Since he had suggested this plan to Mu Yuan in the first place, he had already carefully thought out the follow-up measures.

He had fully expected that Wen Shang would be suspicious of Mu Yuan’s story.
The moment they came up with this plan, he immediately arranged for someone to forge a fake identity file. He Dongying’s confidence that Mu Yuan could bluff his way through was also based on another crucial advantage. When it came to gathering and forging information records, he was the biggest operator in the entire city.

The informant Wen Shang had hired was actually one of He Dongying’s men.
Through this under-the-table operation, the file Wen Shang received had already been completely altered at the source. Otherwise, no matter how good Mu Yuan’s acting was, there was no way he could have fooled him.

In the underworld, the biggest taboo was breaking trust. But this time, for the sake of his brother, He Dongying took the risk of ruining his own reputation and, for the first time ever, broke the unspoken rules.

Wen Shang’s call came in.
Mu Yuan switched the phone to speaker mode and answered it right in front of He Dongying.

“Hello? Wen Shang?”

The man on the other end asked,
“Are you free tomorrow?”

“I am off tomorrow. Why, what’s up?”

A soft chuckle came from the other end.
“That action movie you said you wanted to watch last time is finally out. Tomorrow is the weekend, so I was planning to catch it at the theater. I figured I would ask you. If you are free, we can go together.”

Mu Yuan glanced at He Dongying.
He Dongying nodded and gestured for him to agree.

“Sure!” Mu Yuan put on a voice full of anticipation. “What time tomorrow? Which cinema are we going to?”

After hanging up, He Dongying said to Mu Yuan, “I will help you however much I can, but some things you will have to handle on your own.”

Mu Yuan bumped his fist lightly against He Dongying’s chest and winked at him.
“Got it. You are the best, bro.”

The next afternoon, Mu Yuan and Wen Shang agreed to meet at the mall lobby on the first floor.

There was still some time before the movie started, so the two of them decided to get something to drink at Starbucks.
While they were lining up to order, two girls at the front of the line were talking to the cashier about something. They had been talking for a long time. The cashier looked troubled and kept shaking her head.
The customers behind them, seeing that the line had not moved at all, were starting to get impatient.

The two girls finally left the counter and turned to approach the customers lining up behind them. They began asking each customer something, but because they were speaking in Japanese, no one could understand them. Everyone could only shake their heads helplessly.

When they came to Mu Yuan and Wen Shang, the two girls repeated the same question. Wen Shang tried using English to communicate with them, but they could not understand him either.
In the end, even Wen Shang was out of options.

Mu Yuan had stayed quiet the whole time.
After listening carefully to what the two girls said, he responded to them in fluent Japanese. Then he led them back to the cashier, explained the situation to the staff, and the cashier finally understood.
The lost item the two girls had been looking for was retrieved and returned to them.

The two girls repeatedly thanked Mu Yuan.
After chatting with them for a little while, Mu Yuan returned to stand next to Wen Shang and continued lining up.

“Your Japanese is really good. Did you study it before?” Wen Shang asked.

Mu Yuan smiled and nodded, not forgetting the backstory that He Dongying had set up for him. “I studied in Japan during university.”

“I see,” Wen Shang said with a knowing look.

In this world, there were not so many coincidences. The two girls earlier had actually been sent by Wen Shang to test Mu Yuan. Even though he had already investigated “Mu Xing,” Wen Shang still had not let down his guard and remained skeptical about the documents he received.

Academic records could be faked, but real skills could not. Whether someone had true ability or not could be easily tested through sudden situations like this. Now, after witnessing it with his own eyes, Wen Shang finally believed in “Mu Xing’s” identity.

The story about studying abroad was fake, but Mu Yuan really had spent time in Japan.
When he first joined Sheng Yi, he had been a nobody, just a young punk with dyed blond hair. He had followed the boss to the Kanto branch in Japan to do business, staying there for three years. His fluent and authentic Japanese came from that experience.

Naturally, Wen Shang would have no way of knowing any of this. In his mind, Mu Yuan was just an uneducated, low-class thug, vulgar to the extreme in both speech and behavior. His prejudice against Mu Yuan was so deep that it had already distorted his ability to judge him accurately.

Inside the Starbucks, an old song, “Respect the Clothes Before the Man,” was playing.
Wen Shang found it a little strange. He had been to this store several times before, but the music playing today felt different from what he was used to.