Chapter 11 Die Outside

Lu Shangyan attended class like a zombie, repeatedly taking out his phone to send messages.

But after several attempts, he simply couldn't bring himself to ask. The wages he earned from his part-time jobs—let alone an advance of 50,000 yuan, even an advance of just 10,000 yuan—would take him more than a year of working to pay back.

Moreover, this part-time job isn't available every day. Who knows, he might be laid off next month when he's no longer needed. Under these circumstances, he has no confidence to ask for an advance on his salary.

The only chance he had was the part-time job at the hotel that Pei Yumin had introduced him to, but he hadn't been working there long and couldn't ask for an advance on his salary. Besides, he felt that if he did ask, Pei Yumin would definitely find out.

But he didn't want Pei Yumin to know about his family affairs.

He had just reached the hotel entrance, wondering what to do about this, when his phone started vibrating in his pocket.

The call came from the police.

His right eyelid twitched, and he immediately felt that this was not a good thing. He took several deep breaths before answering the call.

Lu Lin was arrested and taken to the police station for fighting, and he needed to go for bail. He also disliked this so-called "brother," but he couldn't really let it go, so he had to bite the bullet and ask for leave.

It just so happens that Song Yuxin was also there today. When the manager heard that he wanted to ask for leave, he wiped his sweat and told him to go find Song Yuxin.

Lu Shangyan found it strange that his part-time job required the big boss to be involved in his request for leave.

Strange as it may be, he still did as instructed.

Song Yuxin's office was ridiculously large, with a partitioned lounge at the very back, and the bed was even more ridiculously large.

Lu Shangyan only had time to glance at him briefly when he came out before he closed the door.

Song Yuxin's face looked pale and weak, but she still managed a gentle smile as she asked him, "I heard your brother had an accident? Do you need my help?"

Lu Shangyan shook his head, met his gaze for a few seconds, and then resignedly lowered his head: "I want to get an advance on my salary, 50,000."

He really had no choice. If he didn't do this, Lu Lin would probably stay here and cause more trouble, and then he would really be carrying a bottomless pit by his side.

Besides, his family's troubles, like his poverty, will eventually come out. He's always been like this, and nothing will change now.

As for Pei Yumin... he was just a stranger I met by chance a few days ago, so it's no big deal for him to go back to being a stranger.

Song Yuxin didn't ask for the reason in detail, only saying, "I'm lending it to you in my personal capacity."

Lu Shangyan's brow furrowed, his eyes filled with confusion.

Song Yuxin said, "I know your situation. If you keep working for free, it will be hard to make ends meet. If you lend me money, you can pay it back slowly according to your own circumstances."

Lu Shangyan took a step back, remembering the man who had offended him at this hotel: "Why are you helping me like this? We've only met once."

Song Yuxin laughed out loud: "Fifty thousand is nothing to me. I've already earned it back in the short time I've been talking to you. The amount of money I donate every year is several times more than what you're asking to borrow."

"Do you remember that cleaning staff member from before? He often mentioned you to me. I had a good impression of you, so I wanted to help you. Consider it an act of kindness."

Since things had come to this point, Lu Shangyan saw no need to press further. Otherwise, it would seem that he wanted both ways, asking for money while trying to adhere to his principles.

As long as he achieves his goal, that's all that matters. He's always been this way. He doesn't care about losing anything, nor is he afraid of making trades. After all, he's already all alone. For him, whether it's losing or trading, the one who pays the price for him always loses more.

Lu Shangyan accepted the transfer, then quickly wrote an IOU and pushed it in front of him: "President Song, I will definitely repay you as soon as possible. But before I leave, I have one more request."

Their eyes met, and he lowered his gaze first: "I hope you won't tell Mr. Tang about this."

Song Yuxin nodded and said "okay," but no sooner had he left than Tang Suichen came out of the room with the large bed.

Looking at the collar of his shirt, one could vaguely see some ambiguous marks. He chuckled and teased Song Yuxin, "You're more like a boss than I am."

Song Yuxin's face had lost all its smile, and she just stood obediently beside him.

Only when the sound of water came from the cubicle did Song Yuxin speak again: "Do you need me to take him back?"

Tang Suichen changed his bed partners very quickly, with Jian Guo being the only exception. Some time ago, he even dropped all his work and went to coax Jian Guo for a long time in a humble manner before he finally managed to win her back. Since then, he has taken Jian Guo with him whenever he has free time.

This was the first time Song Yuxin had ever seen Tang Suichen succeed, and even after playing around with someone for so long, he was still being so indulgent towards him.

Because Jian Guo said he didn't like the smell of the condom he bought, Tang Suichen had just called him in so Jian Guo could scold him and vent her anger.

Song Yuxin was standing by the bed at that moment, looking at Jian Guo, whose body was covered in marks of affection, nestled in Tang Suichen's arms, and angrily threw a pillow at him: "I! Hate! The! Smell! of! Fruit!"

His name is "Guo," and because of his cute and adorable appearance, many people mistake him for a little girl, which he doesn't like.

But this was Tang Suichen's instruction, and he was just buying supplies according to the request.

But Tang Suichen was clearly just watching the show, so she just patted his head and laughed, continuing to indulge him in everything. When he was bullied, she even asked him, "Isn't Little Guoguo cute?"

Song Yuxin can only say that.

The sound of running water quickly stopped, and someone inside shouted, "I don't like the smell of this shower gel either! I want a floral scent!"

Tang Suichen chuckled and gestured for Song Yuxin to hurry up and do it: "After you finish buying it, you can go home. I'll take him home. The kid said he wants to see a movie and have a candlelight dinner to celebrate three months since we met."

"I plan to take this opportunity to formally confess my feelings to him and establish a romantic relationship, but I've never been in a relationship before, Secretary Song, do you think I'm being too hasty?"

Tang Suichen has never celebrated any anniversaries. Judging from this situation, he should be settling down and wanting to have a proper relationship.

But he didn't have the right, nor did he need to, ask: "You can decide for yourself."

Tang Suichen watched his straight back as he left, and involuntarily narrowed her eyes.

-

By the time Lu Lin was bailed out, it was already evening.

What could have been resolved quickly turned into a disaster when Lu Lin, upon hearing that Pei Yumin had been released earlier than him, flew into a rage and yelled at Lu Shangyan in front of the police station, cursing him for being useless and letting the person who injured him escape first! He was left to suffer in vain and beatings for nothing!

Lu Shangyan just wanted him to leave quickly, so he used a little more force when pushing him away. But this only added fuel to the fire for Lu Lin, who was still being unreasonable after suffering in silence.

Having failed to gain any advantage over Pei Yumin, he sought revenge on Lu Shangyan. Instinctively, he kicked Lu Shangyan in the back of the knee.

Lu Shangyan's legs buckled, and he stumbled back several steps, finally bumping into the wooden table behind him for support, preventing him from falling flat on his back. He was already in a very sorry state.

Lu Lin was furious and rushed forward to throw another punch, but fortunately the police were watching from a short distance away and quickly came out and subdued Lu Lin.

Looking at his fierce face and listening to his angry curses, Lu Shangyan felt dizzy and his body ached.

He suspected that the impact was too severe, as the pain in his lower back had spread to his stomach.

Seeing that Lu Lin showed no remorse, the police took him back for a more thorough re-education and made him write a 5,000-word letter of repentance.

He was initially unwilling, but he was a bully who preyed on the weak. When he saw that the police wouldn't back down, he honestly admitted his mistake and apologized. He sat at the small table, scratching his head and writing a self-criticism. But when he picked up the pen, he couldn't write several words in one sentence, so he dragged it out until the evening.

Lu Shangyan sat outside waiting for him. After sitting for a while, he felt his stomach hurt so badly that he had to squat down and press his lower abdomen hard with one hand to make it a little easier.

The policewoman saw that his forehead was covered in cold sweat, so she poured him some hot water and told him to go to the hospital first. But he was afraid that Lu Lin would go crazy if she didn't see him, so he refused and kept holding on until night.

After leaving the house, Lu Lin became more cautious and dared not lose his temper easily anymore. Only after walking past the street corner did he dare to express his dissatisfaction in a low voice.

Lu Shangyan was too tired to walk any further, so he leaned against a tree and used his phone to hail a taxi, while Lu Lin continued to chatter in his ear.

He was already annoyed enough, but then something even more troublesome happened.

Chen Shuo parked his rented luxury car in front of him, honking the horn frantically as if afraid he wouldn't see it. His beautiful girlfriend was sitting in the passenger seat, and she felt embarrassed by his behavior, afraid that passersby would point and whisper, so she first covered half of her face with her bag.

Lu Shangyan had already seen him out of the corner of his eye, but he turned around and leaned against the tree trunk, ignoring him.

Chen Shuo scoffed, "Lu Shangyan, you've found another new man? Your taste is getting worse and worse. The last one wasn't great, but at least he was good-looking. This one's obviously neither good-looking nor good-looking at all?"

"What? Has your business gotten so bad? You'll do anything for money, and you'll even take a bite out of any man? You're even bringing your lover out to stand on the street now."

"And you look so pale, could you have caught an STD? Well, who told you to move out just to pick up men and earn some pocket money? With the frequency of your clients, it would be a lie to say you didn't get sick, right?"

Lu Lin was a difficult person to deal with, and he had run into a troublemaker. He was about to retort, but after Chen Shuo launched into a tirade, the curse words that were about to come out of his mouth were uncontrollably swallowed back.

"What do you mean? What do you mean by finding a man?!"

Chen Shuo laughed even louder: "You didn't get tricked into having sex with him, did you? He's not some innocent virgin. He said himself that two hundred a night would be enough, and now that he's sick, the price is probably even lower. You'd better not pay too much!"

Lu Lin's head spun, and he turned around, grabbing Lu Shangyan's neck tightly: "You like men? Have you no shame?! Our family can't afford to lose face like this! What will outsiders think of me if word gets out? You might as well just die outside!"

Lu Shangyan bumped his lower back again, and the pain became even more intense. He almost fainted this time, and it took him a long time to regain his strength.

He managed to say, barely suffocating, "Brother, don't listen to his nonsense, I don't know him."

Chen Shuo's eyes darted around, and he finally realized: "If you were his brother, you would have to teach him a lesson even more. Everyone at school knows he likes men, and he's a womanizer in private. You would have been completely disgraced by him long ago!"