Chapter 56 Online Dating 23
The crystal chandelier was extravagant and ostentatious, casting a dim, yellowish light onto the deep purple walls. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol and nicotine, and the stale, sweet scent in the private room was almost cloying. After the desire had overindulged, all the noisy cheers turned into a dull drumbeat. Lin Shaoze pushed open the door of the private room and staggered out.
His heart pounded excitedly and futilely after his energy was depleted. The collar of his expensive shirt was loose and smeared with lipstick from some female companion. Anyone who saw him in this decadent state would curse him as a spendthrift who was living a life of debauchery!
The spendthrift rubbed his throbbing temples and staggered down the corridor.
Having just finished a session with his childhood friend who had returned from abroad, Lin Shaoze had another session to attend later that night. He was like this every night, unable to extricate himself from alcohol and sex.
"306, 307... Damn it, where is this again?" With his vision blurry, Lin Shaoze stopped and decided to go to the restroom by the roadside to clear his head.
The restroom was dimly lit, and the adjacent workrooms were completely dark. "Shouldn't we fix this already?" Lin Shaoze muttered, oblivious to anything amiss, as he staggered towards the sink.
Just then, a large, cold, rough hand, reeking of leather, shot out without warning! Like an iron clamp, it gripped his vulnerable throat and the back of his neck with precision and ruthlessness!
"...!"
The intoxication and the last bit of strength were completely drained in that instant. The cry for help was choked in his throat, and only a breath of anger and fear escaped.
Lin Shaoze felt dizzy, like a chick being squeezed by the neck. The huge hand carried unimaginable strength, and Lin Shaoze's weak legs only managed to leave a shallow mark on the floor tiles before he was violently dragged into the adjacent workroom.
Lin Shaoze was completely powerless to retaliate.
A brutal force slammed him hard against the cold, hard wall, a sharp pain shooting through his back, and the air in his lungs being squeezed out.
He wanted to beg for mercy, to negotiate. Lin Shaoze was a scoundrel, but he possessed wealth that many people could only dream of in a lifetime. No matter who it was, no matter what their purpose, as long as they spoke, he was confident he could handle them. In the past, he had used this method to dismiss countless lowly people who came to him in anger.
However, that hand was like cast iron, unmoving no matter how much he struggled or showed weakness. The rough knuckles dug deep into his flesh, pressing against his trachea and carotid artery. Lack of oxygen and dizziness surged in like an icy tide. Lin Shaoze kicked his feet in vain, the soles of his shoes scraping against the rough ground, making a faint rustling sound.
Fear, a pure, chilling fear he had never experienced before, instantly coiled around his heart like a venomous snake.
He could even hear the groans of his own neck bones under the pressure, and the low, emotionless breathing of the person who had come so close.
My pupils trembled violently. Who was it? He wanted to kill me!
Is it the Liu family? His childhood friend? Or his ex-girlfriend? Damn it, once he escapes, I'll definitely kill those bastards!
After an unknown amount of time, the hand suddenly released its grip, and Lin Shaoze slid down like a lump of mud, his lungs greedily inhaling the air thick with dust and the stench of blood, violent coughing tearing at his chest. Before he could even utter a sound, a fist carrying the whistling of wind slammed into his stomach!
"Well--!"
His stomach churned violently. The excruciating pain was like a bomb exploding inside his abdomen. He curled up like a shrimp, tears and snot streaming down his face, seeing stars.
In the dim light, he finally saw the attacker's face. A tall man dressed entirely in black, wearing a baseball cap and a mask that completely obscured his features, leaving only a pair of cold, condescending eyes. There was no emotion in them, like a silent glacier. Lin Shaoze found no desire or excitement in them at first glance, and a chill ran down his spine.
"Wait, what do you want? Money? I'll give you as much as you want! Or your woman?" he shouted in vain.
His response was silence, and the whisper of the impending attack.
This time it was his flank. Lin Shaoze clearly heard the muffled, teeth-grinding thud coming from his ribs. The excruciating pain shot through his entire body like a high-voltage electric current, and he let out a scream that was not human. His body convulsed and rolled uncontrollably on the ground.
He had never experienced such pure, irrational violence. It was as if he wasn't a living person, but an object to be struck and dismantled at will. The man's movements were swift and decisive, his eyes devoid of emotion, like a machine programmed to inflict pain.
Each strike avoided vital points, yet landed precisely on the areas with the densest nerves and the most intense pain. The attacker's power seemed inexhaustible; Lin Shaoze's pleas for mercy, cries, and even vicious curses sank without a trace, receiving no response.
...He's a monster!
The auditory hallucination of bones shattering echoed wildly in his mind; the pain was no longer a specific point, but a pervasive, all-consuming wave. He couldn't even feel his limbs. Lin Shaoze feared that if this continued, he would be beaten to death!
"Please! Please! I was wrong, I'll never do it again!" Lin Shaoze cried bitterly, frantically admitting his mistake, even though he didn't know what he had done wrong.
Just when he thought he would die in this endless pain and numbness, the rough sole of the shoe pressed half of his face hard to the ground.
The attacker finally made a move beyond beating—he took out his phone, his tall silhouette, seemingly blending into the darkness itself, slowly lowered, the camera focused, and captured Lin Shaoze's miserable state at that moment.
Clumsy fingers, gloved, swipe across the screen to send the freshly taken photo to the pinned "baby".
Startled by the trash beneath his feet, Yuan Ying calmly withdrew his foot, having no intention of tormenting it any further. Mission accomplished, he calmly left the workshop, avoiding surveillance cameras and eye contact, easily leaving the clubhouse, disappearing into the crowd, and heading towards the school.
"Junior sister, you've worked hard today. I didn't expect it to be this late." By the dormitory roadside, Du Chengfeng secretly took a breath and pulled in his stomach, hoping that his junior sister would see the muscles he had worked so hard to build. "Do you have time tomorrow? I'll treat you to dinner."
The girl opposite him smiled awkwardly: "No need, senior. I have a group assignment this week. I'll head back now, bye."
"Sigh, junior sister..." Du Chengfeng was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow approaching out of the corner of his eye. An invisible aura of ferocity surged forth, and under the intense pressure, his survival instinct drove his body to react—Du Chengfeng's mind went blank, his bulky body jolted, and he stumbled back a few steps, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.
The footsteps drew closer, and the man's handsome face was revealed under the streetlights. He didn't even glance at Du Chengfeng before walking away expressionlessly.
The girl suppressed a laugh and said, "Senior, that looks like your roommate..."
Du Chengfeng: "..."
"How did I end up stepping on a stone?" He got up from the ground and scratched his head awkwardly.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Du Chengfeng stormed into the dormitory like a wild boar, glaring fiercely at Yuan Ying who was standing to the side.
Yuan Ying was typing with her head down, a slight smile playing on her lips.
I'm so happy!
Du Chengfeng didn't believe it was an accident—this kid was definitely trying to embarrass him in front of his junior sister!
During this period, he encountered many setbacks, while Yuan Ying was riding high. Why was that?
Du Chengfeng couldn't accept that Yuan Ying, whom he had always considered the worst in the dormitory, was suddenly living a good life. The computer he couldn't afford, Yuan Ying bought; the supplements he had only heard of, Yuan Ying took; he still hadn't found a girlfriend, but Yuan Ying had been dating someone for several months...
By the way, he must have swindled all that money from his relationship!
Du Chengfeng secretly glanced at his computer screen. Yuan Ying was playing a female character who was having a sweet interaction with a man. Then, thinking about the specially purchased microphone, he instantly came to the conclusion—Yuan Ying was definitely online scamming, pretending to be a woman to take money from the rich second-generation!
No wonder that kid refused to go to the same server as them no matter how they called him; he was afraid that his shameful deeds would be exposed by acquaintances!
The face in the pool was twisted and grotesque. Du Chengfeng shared his suspicions with Li Wenyi, saying in a sinister tone, "I never imagined we had someone like this among us. I can't stand it anymore. I'm definitely exposing him, let's see how he tries to deceive people now!"
Li Wen didn't offer any opinion, but only reminded him at the right time: "He seems to be on the Cold Mountain Moon server."
"I know, it's the first server launch. I haven't touched the game for a while, but I'll check the forums and see who got scammed." Du Chengfeng sneered.
...
"The Lin family's good-for-nothing is in the hospital."
The fox suddenly called, beaming with good news.
"Didn't he harass you before?"
"That bastard and his bunch of cronies, prostitutes and thieves, are a nuisance. If it weren't for his father's reputation, he would have been drowned in the sea with cement long ago. Now that things have finally calmed down, I wonder which family did it."
"It is said that when the person was found, he had multiple fractures and contusions and would not be able to leave the hospital for at least a year and a half. His father searched the surrounding area thoroughly but could not find the person who did it."
With a light tap of the fingertip, a shrunken photo appears in the fox's mouth, showing the bastard with a bruised and swollen face, looking utterly miserable.
Fallen Petals: Mission accomplished ∠(°ゝ°)
Fallen petals: [Puppy saluting.jpg]
The lake water rippled, and Lu Xuejin's eyes crinkled into a smile as she softly sighed, "How tragic."
"That's his own fault," the fox sneered.
After the call ended and the screen went dark, Lu Xuejin turned to the quiet person in the YY microphone and said, "Nobody even noticed you."
His tone was ambiguous, whether it was relief or regret.
"Well done."
For Yuan Ying, a soft laugh was the greatest reward.
During the call, Lu Xuejin did not mute her microphone, and all her seemingly casual observations fell into Yuan Ying's ears, revealing the vicious and dark thoughts beneath her gentle face without any restraint.
Has anyone else seen Lu Xuejin like him?
[Dedication Points +5]
The emotions that remained unchanged when striking a person and delivering punches with full force were now stirred by the other party's casual praise. Yuan Ying's mind went blank, and she instinctively blurted out, "Is there anything else? Baby, just tell me what you need, and I'll do it right away."
An almost reverent heat pierced through the headphones and crashed straight into Lu Xuejin's eardrums.
The screen light reflected on Lu Xuejin's face. Upon hearing those words, his smile suddenly faded, and his eyes lost all emotion. A hazy mist suddenly appeared in his pupils, soft yet cold, making him unfathomable.
She exuded a cold aura, keeping everyone at arm's length, completely unlike the Lu Xuejin she usually was.
Dong Yao observed silently.
Lu Xuejin smiled and said, "Let's have a friendly competition."
Her voice was deliberately playful: "I suddenly really want to mess with you a bit, come on, let me kill you a few times."
Yuan Ying keenly sensed something was amiss, but dared not ask any questions and obediently complied.
After the event ended, Lu Xuejin made an excuse about having a party that evening and logged off early.
He sat in the chair, lost in thought.
At this moment, the floor-to-ceiling windows resemble a vast, flowing oil painting. The rich, dark sunset pours in, painting the sky with vibrant hues of gold, orange, and deep purple, gilding the undulating contours of the distant mountains with a magnificent golden edge. The clouds are ignited, slowly burning and flowing. The world seems to have been transformed into a paint box.
Warm golden light flowed through her hair, danced on the bridge of her nose, and blurred her jawline, creating a soft and beautiful silhouette. Lu Xuejin breathed lightly, as if a butterfly had alighted before her, and she was afraid of startling it away.
When he smiles, the curve of his smile is pure and natural, as if sculpted by the Creator. It always attracts those who only see the surface to be drawn to him like moths to a flame. But when he is quiet, his eyes are lowered, and his long eyelashes cover up any emotions that might be revealed. He becomes like a jade statue that is untouched by worldly affairs, or a compassionate angel statue in a church, indifferent and detached, as if he has no connection with this world.
Silence is probably drawn to this strange sense of contradiction, and once you come into contact with it, you can't help but be drawn in.
Lu Xuejin tilted her head and said, "How awful. He reminds me of someone."
Dong Yao's curiosity was piqued: [Who is it?]
Lu Xuejin said calmly, "A friend from a long time ago."
He moved his fingers very slightly, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing together, as if touching some long-lost warmth, or as if confirming that he still existed in this material shell.
After autumn, winter will arrive. It will snow in City C then.
Snowflakes flutter and dance, shutting out the noise. On snowy days, everything is quiet.
"Swish...swish...swish...swish..."
The cold wind carried the sound of his shoes scraping against the snow, and his footsteps, always half a step behind, followed him closely.
"Don't be angry, I beat him up. He's all bruised and swollen now, he looks ridiculous."
Lu Xuejin suddenly stopped his leisurely pace. He turned around and saw an extremely ordinary face facing him.
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