Blood-red glass
Yu Sheng stayed in the hotel for over a week, his face so bruised that he didn't want to see anyone.
Of course, there was no reply to Lu Chenyang's message. A puppy won't appreciate bones if given them every day; feeding should be done appropriately, and it's okay to let it go hungry for a few days occasionally.
After being paralyzed in the hotel to the point of near limb degeneration, Lan Zhong, with his excess energy, finally dragged him out and stuffed him into his friend's club for drinks.
Veilde is Beijing's most sought-after club for actors and celebrities. It only accepts members by appointment, and despite annual membership fees of around a million yuan, it remains incredibly popular. The advantage lies in Veilde's veiled location, guaranteeing absolute privacy and security for its clients, keeping all intrusion at bay.
"Ah Sheng." Lan Zhong took a sip of his drink, his eyes gleaming with gossip. "How's things going with you and that Lu Chenyang? I saw that Weibo post yesterday, tsk tsk~"
“What progress can there be?” Yu Sheng raised her chin, gesturing for Lan Zhong to look at her. “Look at the beating I gave him. It’s only because he’s Lu Chenyang that I’ve broken his legs. If it were anyone else, I would have dislocated them long ago.”
"He really hit you?!" Lan Zhong smacked his lips, pinched his chin and examined him from side to side. "Now I believe you really like him. Look what you've done to our Second Young Master Yu. He doesn't fight back when hit or talk back when scolded. That's a rare thing."
"Go away. What a load of rubbish, I'm just a little interested." Yu Sheng took a big gulp of wine. "Old Bai said he's suitable to help me desensitize, and I've finally met someone suitable, so of course I have to coax and hook him, right?"
"What about my older brother?" Lan Zhong's smile faded, and his voice deepened. "Ah Sheng, what do you think of my older brother..." He paused, then became unusually serious. "You are my brother, and he is my own brother. I want to hear the truth from you."
Yu Sheng raised his hand to wipe the wine that had spilled from the corner of his mouth, buried his face in his arms, and after a long silence, said, "Brother Lan is different from anyone else in my heart. I can't describe the feeling... I can't live without him. But Brother Lan... I can't drag him down with me, and he only sees me as a younger brother." His voice grew softer and softer, as light as a sigh.
"Alright, I understand. After all, my older brother saved you." Lan Zhong patted his shoulder heavily, then resumed his nonchalant tone. "My older brother was sent to Africa by my grandfather. We only see him once a year. Let's not talk about him." He raised his glass and clinked it against Yu Sheng's. "Come on, let's drink."
There was a light knock on the door of the private room, and Veilde's manager led two handsome young men in.
"Gentlemen, our General Manager Song is really busy, so he asked me to entertain you on his behalf." The manager waved to the two boys behind him, signaling them to come over.
"I don't want to!" Yu Sheng refused decisively. His eyebrows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and his face was full of impatience, as if he was about to smash the cup and leave at any moment.
The manager, being sensible, quickly called the boy away, said a few polite words, and left.
"Don't be upset. This manager is obviously new. Sister Ciying must have told you not to give him any random people. She knows you don't like that." Lan Zhong put his arm around the handsome young man next to him and raised his chin. "Can Can, go pour some wine for President Yu."
"I can do it myself." Yu Sheng covered the mouth of his cup and subconsciously leaned back to create distance. He really didn't like these people getting close.
Lan Zhong is a good person in every way. He is quick-witted in business and loyal to his friends. However, Yu Sheng really can't praise his private life. It can be described as "a chaotic mess." He is both passionate and fickle, and a pure hedonist.
After a few rounds of drinks, Yu Sheng was half-lying on the sofa. Watching Lan Zhong and Can Can being all lovey-dovey together, she found it increasingly annoying. She grabbed a cushion and threw it at Lan Zhong's head.
"That's enough," Yu Sheng rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Stop being so lovey-dovey in front of me, look at the way you are."
"Yu Lao Er!" The cushion hit Lan Zhong's wine glass, spilling the fine cocktail all over his pants. "What's wrong with you? Who upset you this time?"
"You," Yu Sheng said shamelessly and self-righteously, "you dragged me out in the middle of the night just to watch the two of you put on an adult film?"
With great tact, Cancan took the wine glass from Lanzhong's hand and used a towel to wipe his pants.
"Alright, no need to wipe anymore, you can go now." Lan Zhong patted Can Can's bottom and said, "I'll come find you again next time, without this troublesome little devil." After saying that, he glared at Yu Sheng, who was leisurely watching the show.
Once only the two of them were left in the private room, Lan Zhong picked up a glass of wine and sat down next to Yu Sheng. "Young Master Yu, now that the room is cleared, what's the matter? Or are you up to something again?"
How did you know something was wrong?
Lan Zhong had a look on his face that said, "Don't I know you well enough?"
“Lu Chenyang…” Yu Sheng rubbed the cold rim of the cup. “Why did he debut in the first place? He disappeared when he was at the height of his popularity, and then reappeared six months later. It’s too illogical.”
Lan Zhong poured him another half glass of wine, it seemed his brother was really concerned. "To be honest, I'm not really sure either, but I heard... it's because of money."
"money?"
"Yes, Xinghua and Tianheng have collaborated before. I heard someone mention it; Lu Chenyang received a large advance payment right after signing the contract."
Yu Sheng held her wine glass without drinking, pondering for a long time before muttering, "An advance payment right after signing the contract? Did something happen at home?"
"Who knows, a criminal father or a sick mother?" Lan Zhong shrugged. "But he's been doing very well these past two years, and can be considered a pillar of Tianheng."
He nudged Yu Sheng, who was still deep in thought, with his elbow. "Hey, how about Second Young Master Yu tries to seduce him... and see if you can lure him to our Xinghua? That way, it'll be easier for the two of you to have your secret affair. It's a win-win situation, don't you think?"
"That's bullshit!" Yu Sheng really wanted to give Lan Zhong a dictionary of idioms too, because is this how you use words?
"Never mind whether it's true or not, drink your wine. What have you been doing all this time?" Lan Zhong shoved the wine glass into his hand. He didn't really want to force him to drink. Lan Zhong knew that Yu Sheng's psychological problems had never been cured. It was a thorn that was rotting deep inside him, so he often dragged him out to play. Although alcohol only treated the symptoms, it at least gave him a chance to catch his breath.
"Are you going to drink or not? If you don't, I'll call Can Can back to keep me company. Do you know how hard it is to find someone I like who is also sensible? And you ruined it."
"Can't you shut the fuck up...?"
"Shh..." Lan Zhong suddenly put a finger to his lips and pulled out a buzzing phone. "It's my mom on the phone."
Yu Sheng turned off the music, took out her phone, and without knowing what she was doing, inexplicably opened Lu Chenyang's chat window.
The message was still stuck on the last message Lu Chenyang sent last night: "I'm not unhappy." He unconsciously swiped his finger upwards, as if doing so would bring up a new message.
After Lan Zhong finished his call, he turned to look at Yu Sheng. Yu Sheng recognized that look; it was the look he had seen most often and hated the most: a look of pity, sympathy, heartache, and helplessness.
"...What did my godmother say?" Yu Sheng heard his voice sound a little unsteady, and he had a bad feeling.
Lan Zhong tilted his head back and took a big gulp of wine. He sat down, put his arm around Yu Sheng's shoulder heavily, and said in a deep voice, "My mother said that Dongyao Bank is having some financial problems. Your father... your father may be returning to China in the next few months."
Silent and still.
Despite the fact that this high-end club had a perfect ventilation system, Yu Sheng still couldn't breathe. It was as if a bloodstained iron chain, like a venomous snake, was climbing up his spine and slowly wrapping around his throat, tightening and tightening until he suffocated and his neck was broken.
Everything before his eyes faded and distorted rapidly. He felt like he was going to die. Who could save him? He stumbled and fell back into the seaside mental hospital that had tried to kill him.
A chill ran through him, and he could smell blood. He couldn't see clearly; his eyes seemed veiled. He thought someone was calling him, but he couldn't hear what they were saying…
"Ah Sheng! Ah Sheng, let go, let go now! Let go!"
The roar was like thunder splitting the chaos.
This time he heard and saw clearly that it was Lan Zhong.
Lan Zhong was gripping his wrist, forcefully prying his fingers open. His hand was bleeding, large patches of red.
The wine glass in his hand shattered in his grip, shards embedded in his palm, leaving a bloody mess. Yet he felt no pain; instead, a strange calm spread from the wound, easing the suffocation and bringing a rare sense of relaxation and relief.
He released his grip, and blood-stained shards of glass clattered to the ground. His voice was calm, even tinged with laughter, "I'm fine."
"Nothing to my idiot! You've lost so much blood, what if you damage your nerves!" Lan Zhong pulled him up. "Come to the hospital with me."
"No need." Yu Sheng looked at Lan Zhong's reddened eyes, curved her lips into a smile, and pressed him down into his seat with her uninjured hand. "It's really nothing. You know me. I'm used to just bandaging up these kinds of minor injuries."
When Lan Zhong met Yu Sheng's smiling eyes, his heart ached terribly, the pain making his nose sting and his eyes redden without him even realizing it. At this moment, the person who should have been crying the most, the person who should have been going crazy, was instead calmly comforting himself. He felt sorry for Yu Sheng.
Lan Zhong turned and left the private room, wiping away the tears that were about to spill over. Veilde has medical staff on duty 24 hours a day, and he asked the manager to call them.
Tiny shards of glass were picked out one by one. Yu Sheng leaned back on the sofa and drank wine sip by sip. Crimson blood dripped onto the dark tiles. At first glance, it would only look like cheap red wine had been spilled. After all, a person who is bleeding doesn't care.
"Stop drinking." Lan Zhong snatched the bottle from Yu Sheng's hand.
Yu Sheng was stunned for a moment before realizing that only the two of them were left in the private room. The colorful lights overhead had been turned off at some point and replaced with glaring incandescent bulbs. Her hands were wrapped tightly with gauze, but red blood was still seeping out.
“My mom said that if you don’t want to see him, she’ll send you on a business trip abroad under the name of Xinghua Media. With Xinghua’s name on your side, your dad can’t really stop you. As for which country to go to and how long to stay, that’s up to you. Just treat it as a vacation.”
Yu Sheng snatched the bottle and took a big gulp. The clear liquor, drunk too quickly, dripped from the corner of his mouth, soaking a large part of his chest. He took a deep breath, as if he had come back to life, his voice trembling but with a hint of fierceness, "I'm not leaving, I'm not afraid of him anymore, I'm not afraid, I'm not leaving."
He rested the bottle on his knee, his eyes fixed on the bright light on the ceiling, refusing to look away even as his vision blurred. He just wanted to see more of the light. "Tell my godmother... don't worry, I'm fine. I had to face it sooner or later."
*
Yu Sheng didn't remember when he left Veilde, but he knew Lan Zhong would definitely take him back to the hotel, because he had no home, only a hotel. Fortunately, this hotel was his, so it could be considered a shell.
In apartment 6201 on the top floor, Lan Zhong and the lobby manager finally managed to drag their drunken ancestor, who was completely intoxicated, into the living room.
"Young Master, do you feel like throwing up?" Lan Zhong wiped the sweat from his forehead. "If you do, go to the restroom."
"I won't throw up." Yu Sheng threw herself onto the sofa.
"Then you lie down for a while, I'm going to take a shower, I'm all sweaty." Lan Zhong said as he went into the bathroom.
Yu Sheng fumbled around on the sofa for a long time before finally finding her phone, but she couldn't see the screen clearly. She had drunk too much, so she simply woke up the voice assistant: "...call...Lu Chenyang."
It was almost midnight, and the phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.
"Hello?"
The voice of the chilled white wine came through the receiver, still clear and crisp, with a slightly hoarse quality, and its pleasantness was not diminished in the slightest.
Yu Sheng took a breath, and the chain around his neck clicked open. Fresh air mixed with the aroma of white wine rushed into his nearly depleted lungs, and he could breathe again.
But even with more oxygen, the tears wouldn't stop, streaming down his face. It wasn't that he was particularly sad, but rather that his involuntary crying meant he couldn't hold them back.
His voice was weak and choked with sobs, "Officer Lu..."
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