Chapter 26 Rejection
The place where he worked was a bar in the CBD area far away from the school. Cheng Che was asked to work here by the boss who gave him a business card when he was delivering cakes. He knew that he was good-looking and selling alcohol in the bar was a quick way to make money.
The boss told Cheng Che, "This is an order. I won't sign a guarantee with you. I'll give you the minimum first, and the commission will be settled after get off work tonight."
Cheng Che nodded and went to the storage room to change clothes.
Li Zimai stuffed a few banknotes into the logistics security and sneaked into the backstage. When he came in, he saw the beautiful Cheng Che.
Cheng Che never wore a shirt. He always wore baggy, jet-black sportswear that didn't reveal any skin. But now, his pants were form-fitting, hugging his long legs and round, beautiful hips. His shirt was tucked in, making his waist look thin and narrow. Li Zimai instantly recalled the feeling of his palm that night.
He forced Cheng Che back into the storage room, his voice deep and full of dissatisfaction, "It's just a job, why do you have to change clothes?"
And she changed into such sexy clothes.
Cheng Che pushed him away, "This is the rule, don't disturb me while I'm working."
Li Zimai said humbly, "Cheche, please stop being angry. You've been angry for so long."
In the narrow storage room, his face was half hidden in the darkness, staring at Cheng Che pitifully, as if he wanted to accuse Cheng Che of his cruelty with the most innocent and hurt expression.
Cheng Che didn't say anything, neither said he was angry nor said he forgave, and he didn't even want to glance at Li Zimai, escaping in the most silent way.
Li Zimai didn't intend to let this go. He seemed determined to break through this window paper. He stared at Cheng Che with burning eyes and asked word by word: "Are you mad at me for drinking, or mad at me for kissing..."
"Li Zimai, isn't this okay?"
Cheng Che interrupted him, his voice low and with a barely perceptible hint of panic.
The door of the storage room was slightly ajar, letting in chaotic light. The passage was densely packed with cardboard boxes and colorful ribbons, and broken ornaments were flashing dimly under the simple light bulbs. The light was swaying, making people feel annoyed.
After a long time, the sound of rotten and hoarse metal colliding was heard, and the door was slammed shut. The light finally calmed down, just like Li Zimai's gradually quiet tone, "Do you need me to maintain this kind of relationship with you?"
Someone knocked on the door outside the storage room. Cheng Che fled in panic, but Li Zimai grabbed his wrist, staring at him with dark brown eyes, demanding, "Do you want me to forget what happened that day?"
Although there was a layer of cloth between them, Cheng Che could clearly feel the warmth of the other person's palm. That warmth had touched his ankle, but now it fell on his wrist with a more gentle force, and seemed even hotter.
Cheng Che opened his hand and held the skin behind his back, squeezing and pinching it, trying to cool down the burning temperature there and hide all the sudden emotions, "...I don't want to play with you."
Although she didn't answer anything, the answer was revealed between the lines. He knew something, so she was rejecting him in another way. That kiss was a wrong start.
Li Zimai silently examined his expression and said bluntly, "Are you rejecting me?"
When ambiguity breaks out, no one is innocent.
"Either you tell me directly that you don't like me and that you're disgusted by me, or you accept my apology and say that I was wrong. I shouldn't have kissed you without your permission while drunk."
He apologized openly, but the focus of his apology was "without permission" rather than "kissing you". Cheng Che lowered his head, but he couldn't say "I don't like it".
Li Zimai looked at him seriously and promised: "I did not do well before. I was too impatient. If you don't agree in the future, I won't touch you, but you have to allow me to pursue my own interests..."
"Shut up! Don't say anything!"
Cheng Che pushed him away with force, his eyes filled with panic and helplessness, as if his fig leaf had been mercilessly torn off, exposing him and whipping him in public. How outrageous it was that someone like Li Zimai liked boys, and liked him in particular.
"Okay, I won't tell you."
Li Zi took a few steps back, leaving the close distance between them. The words of love that he had been holding back for a long time were finally swallowed back. He didn't want to see Cheng Che embarrassed. "Go to work, I'll wait for you."
This wait lasted for a week, and Li Zimai waited for Cheng Che every day in the fixed booth in the bar.
On the first day, Cheng Che met a sister who followed him for a long time and asked for his WeChat, but Cheng Che didn't give it to her.
The next day, Cheng Che sold six bottles of Ace of Spades.
On the third day, Cheng Che almost had an argument with a guest.
......
On the seventh day, Li Zimai appeared in the spotlight of the bar.
Amid the clinking of wine glasses and uncontrollable howling laughter, Cheng Che saw Li Zimai on the stage. He was admired by everyone, he was dazzling and brilliant. He had no intention of overturning the sparks, but instead ignited the infatuation of all beings.
Cheng Che always thought that Li Zimai was a proud and noble flower that should be surrounded and admired, but this flower would also break through the ground in a cruel way and venture into another world.
The performance ended quickly. The boss was talking to Li Zimai with a smile. They were surrounded by a noisy and colorful crowd. The atmosphere was full of luxurious enjoyment as they drank and chatted. However, that burning and unique gaze bypassed the hustle and bustle and only looked at Cheng Che.
Lizimai has the most deceptive appearance, the most deceptive eyes, and the most unscrupulous publicity.
"Xiao Cheng, why didn't you introduce such a classmate to me earlier? How about you two come together in the future and I'll give you a commission?"
"No..."
"Okay, then can we leave work early today? We want to go back to school first."
The boss smiled and said, "Go upstairs and help them sing two more songs. It's rare that the place is so lively today."
Li Zimai did not respond directly, but asked Cheng Che first: "When will you get off work?"
Cheng Che took off his tie, handed the order he had just written to the boss, and said coldly, "Sorry, I have to go back today. I have something to do at school."
The boss looked embarrassed. Several old clients had already asked him about the drummer. He also wanted to let Li Zimai go out to play on the sidelines and give him a separate salary, but due to Cheng Che's attitude, he had to give up. "...Okay, then, will Xiaoli come tomorrow?"
"Come on, of course."
Cheng Che was still angry, and Li Zimai knew it. He would rather climb over the wall to return to school in the middle of the night than set foot in his apartment again. The little hedgehog had completely activated his self-protection mechanism.
"Clear."
Li Zimai suddenly called out to him, "Do you hate me?"
The sound of horns honking was heard incessantly on the noisy street, but Cheng Che could clearly hear the frustration and helplessness in his words. He paused and did not dare to turn around to face Li Zimai. That face was too deceptive and could always easily break down his coldness.
"Cheche...I really know I was wrong, I..."
"Go back! Please go back... Don't stay outside..."
A sharp female voice cut through the night sky, interrupting Li Zimai's apology. A crowd slowly gathered beside the flower bed not far from them.
The women in the crowd hunched over, clasped their hands together, and begged for mercy tremblingly, their faces full of fear and embarrassment.
The man seemed to be drunk. He pulled her collar and cut a big hole. The onlookers could see her bra strap. The woman was in a miserable state. She no longer cared about her privacy and just begged for mercy, asking the man not to beat her in public.
"I told you to give it to me! You're so bold!"
"I don't have any... I really don't have any... That's Xiaole's tuition money..."
"I don't care about her! Just give it to me!"
The woman's hair was disheveled and her whole body was shaking, but she didn't dare cry out loud. The man kicked her, but she didn't dare hide, as that would lead to even more brutal violence.
People walked around her, their eyes filled with scrutiny and indifference, some even blaming her for blocking the road. Someone held up their phone to record the video and whispered, "There's a man beating his wife."
"Just leave now and don't meddle in other people's family affairs."
They were all afraid of getting into trouble, so they only dared to watch from a distance, only dared to look back when passing by, and only dared to condemn the man in the lowest voice, but if Cheng Che dared to go up, he would punch the man.
The man in his forties, drunken with wine and meat, staggered and fell beside the flower bed, unable to fight back.
Cheng Che's entire body was tense, exuding a cold and unapproachable aura. He grabbed the man by the collar and punched him hard, venting his anger and fighting violence with violence as if he was out of control. The surroundings were filled with endless screams.
Li Zimai stood in the crowd, watching the little hedgehog punish violence, as if he understood something.
The capital was already covered in snow at the end of January. The cold air was freezing, but the woman was numb as she hugged Cheng Che's fist and begged for mercy, "Stop, please stop..."
Her skin was frozen and had scabs, and her face was stained with blood and tears, so her original appearance could no longer be seen. It was just like the familiar pitiful face in Cheng Che's memory, a situation that had happened countless times. Cheng Che lowered his hands, but his fists were so tight that they hurt.
Li Zimai picked up the scarf on the ground and covered her shoulders with it. He politely apologized and said he could help call the police. The woman shook her head desperately and held Li Zimai's hand, but refused to say a word, and even found it difficult to say thank you.
The man, paralyzed by alcohol, finally woke up, staggered to his feet, pointed at Cheng Che's nose and cursed: "How dare you hit me!"
He raised his fist to fight back, but the woman rushed over and hugged him with all her strength, begging: "...Let's go...Let's go home, okay...Please..."
She couldn't stand the stares from people around her, and felt as embarrassed as if she was stripped naked in public.
The man was frightened by the cruelty in Cheng Che's eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to run away. He could only curse like a tyrant: "Which school are you from? I'm going to the school to report your teacher! How dare you hit me!"
He kept calling the man "Laozi", which irritated Cheng Che's deepest nerve. He almost uncontrollably pushed away Li Zimai who was blocking his way. Amid the exclamations of the crowd, he punched the shouting man several times fiercely, making him speechless.
The woman kept crying, kneeling down to Cheng Che, even kowtowed to him without dignity, begging in panic, "... Stop hitting me! Please..."
Cheng Che completely lost control, his eyes were red, and his fists were like a ball of hard, cold ice. Even if they were broken by injuries, he would still clench his fists to attack.
Li Zimai took great effort to restrain him, put his arms around his shoulders and waist, and pulled him back from his violence. He was trembling all over, but still pushed Li Zimai away with force, questioning the woman in the coldest voice: "Why don't you divorce me? Why don't you divorce me!
Cheng Che would never be so indignant and question other people's private affairs. Li Zimai saw anger and unspeakable emotions in his red eyes.
The woman was so stunned by the question that she couldn't even cry. "...we have Lele...we have Lele..."
At that moment, Cheng Che felt as if all his strength had been drained away. He was hit so hard that he had no power to fight back. He chuckled softly, as if asking her, as if asking himself, "...Have you ever considered whether your son would agree?"
Adults are always so self-righteous, thinking they are doing it for the good of their children. They use sacrifice as a bargaining chip to imprison their children for life, without caring at all that the shackles they bear are like a heavy prison.
The farce was over, the woman supported the injured man and left crying, some people pointed at Cheng Che, some people still held up their mobile phones excitedly, they were just watching the excitement, it had nothing to do with sadness or joy.
Cheng Che's hands were shaking under his sleeves. Li Zimai subconsciously reached out and grasped his fist, completely covering it with his palm, trying to soften the ice with his warmth, but Cheng Che didn't give him a chance.
He struggled to break free from Li Zimai and said in the coldest voice, "Don't follow me."
In the bitterly cold winter, the boy's back is like a stubborn and sharp blade, trying to stab anyone who approaches him.
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