Video call? Right now?
Qiao Yan was currently wearing that suffocatingly tight kitty costume. He had just taken off his wig, so his hair was a complete mess, and his face was flushed from all the previous tossing and turning.
Little Tao Bites Real Hard: Daddy, right now? My roommates might be coming back soon…
Little Tao Bites Real Hard: (Kitty panicking.jpg)
Yan: You said earlier that you were the only one left in the dorm.
Qiao Yan: “……”
Uh, I forgot.
Little Tao Bites Real Hard: Oh my, but it’s still a bit sudden… QAQ
Yan: Don’t want to prove it?
Yan: Then forget it.
Don’t forget it, ahhhhh!!!!
He could almost visualize He Yanzhou’s expression at this moment—those eyes that were forever calm and unrippled, and that indifferent, “take it or leave it” demeanor.
Money! Heating! Delicious food!
They were all waving bye-bye to him, ahhhh.
Video call it is!
Gritting his teeth, Qiao Yan picked up his phone from the floor.
Who’s afraid of who!
Anyway, I have filters and a voice changer.
He hurriedly scrambled to put the pink cat-ear headband back on, secured the wig flawlessly onto his head, and smoothed out the stray bangs on his forehead, meticulously creating the vibe of a languid beauty who had just woken up.
Next, he swiftly adjusted the parameters of his voice changer. Confirming that the female voice effect was active, he took a deep breath, pulled over a thick blanket from the side, and knelt on the bed. He propped his phone stand up opposite him, doing his best to ensure the camera only framed his upper body and the pile of pillows.
Everything was ready.
Looking at his reflection on the video screen—wearing cat ears, a tight kitty outfit, and sporting slightly flushed cheeks—Qiao Yan bit his lower lip.
A decent girl like Little Taotao has to go all out!
He pressed the video call request.
Ring… Ring… Ring…
After about four or five rings, the call connected.
However, He Yanzhou’s face did not appear on the screen.
There was only a patch of pure black. The phone was likely placed face down on the desk, or perhaps the camera was covered. However, the connection was successful, and in the quiet receiver, he could faintly hear the man’s extremely light, steady breathing.
Hey, big brother, why aren’t you turning on your camera, ah.
Staring at the pitch-black screen opposite him, Qiao Yan suddenly felt an involuntary wave of panic.
He Yanzhou was definitely watching him.
This realization made Qiao Yan uncomfortable all over, as if an invisible gaze was glued to his body, capable of seeing through all his disguises.
“Daddy?” Qiao Yan pinched his throat, trying his best to make his voice sound sweet, soft, and laced with a hint of timid compliance. “Can… can you see me?”
There was silence on the other end for two seconds.
Just as Qiao Yan began to think the signal was bad, or that He Yanzhou was purely messing with him, the man’s steady, calm voice came through the receiver.
“Mm.”
Qiao Yan immediately initiated his pity-party routine, working hard to squeeze out an innocent smile.
“Daddy… look, I really know I was wrong,” Qiao Yan’s hand clutched the thin blanket. “The dorm is really so cold. Even though I’ve wrapped myself in a blanket, I still feel a draft constantly seeping in.”
As he spoke, he tilted his eyes up to look at the dark screen, hoping to get some sort of reaction, but to no avail.
“And… and I haven’t really eaten anything all day…” The more Qiao Yan spoke, the more tragic his situation felt to him, and the grievance in his voice carried a touch of genuine emotion. He sniffled, his voice turning even softer. “My stomach is so hungry… Little Taotao is really so pitiful…”
As he spoke, he intentionally leaned a bit closer to the camera so He Yanzhou could see his pale complexion more clearly. He blinked his watery eyes, and the pink cat ears swayed gently with his movements.
The other end of the screen remained entirely quiet.
Qiao Yan’s heart began to beat like a drum. What on earth did this old man mean? He had looked, and Qiao Yan had played the pity card, so why hadn’t he shown any indication of giving in yet?
“Daddy~” He quietly softened his voice, adding a hint of testing and coquettishness. “You aren’t speaking, are you still mad at Little Taotao? Then I… then I’ll let you look a bit more…”
Saying this, as if making a monumental decision, his fingers moved toward the side of his waist. He made a show of adjusting his kitty costume while turning his body slightly, allowing the camera to capture more of the “sincerity” from the photo earlier.
Just as his fingertips were about to hook onto the edge of his waistline, He Yanzhou’s voice rang out somewhat abruptly.
“No need, stop.”
Qiao Yan’s movements froze. He was a bit unsure whether He Yanzhou genuinely didn’t want to look anymore, or if he was playing hard to get.
“Does Daddy dislike it?”
“If it’s cold, put on more clothes,” He Yanzhou’s tone was steady. “The dorm doesn’t allow air conditioning?”
“They do,” Qiao Yan mumbled. Nonsense! Who wouldn’t turn it on if they had money! “It’s just… it’s just…”
He Yanzhou finished his sentence for him, “It’s just that you have no money.”
“Look up,” He Yanzhou suddenly commanded.
Reflexively, Qiao Yan lifted his head and looked at the dark screen before him. The warm light illuminated his slightly flushed cheeks and his wide, puzzled eyes. His pink cat ears stood erect, making him look like a wary yet oblivious little animal.
“Look at me,” He Yanzhou added.
Qiao Yan blinked in confusion at the camera.
Even though He Yanzhou’s side was a patch of darkness, he still obediently looked into that darkness, as if he could truly pierce through the screen and see those deep, steady eyes.
“Say it,” He Yanzhou’s voice slowed down slightly, carrying a hint of guidance, and even a touch of coaxing. “I was wrong, I’ll be good from now on.”
Be good?
He wasn’t a three-year-old child!
Qiao Yan initially wanted to rebel, but thinking about the financial backer’s dignity and the funds that hadn’t arrived yet, his face crumpled, and he chickened out again.
He opened his mouth, his voice a bit dry, “I…”
“Say it fully.” He Yanzhou seemed highly patient, yet his tone carried an underlying hint of coercion.
Qiao Yan’s heart thumped twice. He took a deep breath and, throwing caution to the wind, mumbled a couple of phrases toward the camera.
“I was wrong… I’ll be good from now on… I won’t make Daddy angry anymore…”
His words were incredibly fast and slurred, as if he was terrified the person on the other end would hear them clearly. Qiao Yan’s cheeks were flushed red, and his gaze was fleeting and unfocused.
“I can’t hear you,” He Yanzhou said. It might have been Qiao Yan’s imagination, but a trace of an imperceptible smile seemed to lace the man’s tone. “Say it again. Look at me, and speak clearly.”
Qiao Yan: “……”
Why is this old man so meticulous and demanding!
He closed his eyes. Whatever!
Reopening them, he glared at the dark screen and said word for word, with a hint of embarrassed irritation, “I was wrong! I will be very good from now on and won’t make Daddy angry anymore!”
The moment he finished, Qiao Yan immediately averted his face, feeling his ears burning intensely.
When had he ever apologized or yielded to someone face-to-face like this? He Yanzhou was truly the first and only one.
He Yanzhou gave a low response, “Mm.”
Almost simultaneously, a cheerful notification sound rang from Qiao Yan’s phone—
Alipay transaction received: 20,000 yuan.
“Wow!” Back from the dead! Qiao Yan couldn’t hold back a tiny gasp of delight. His eyes instantly lit up like stars, and the previous shame and irritation were swept clean away as a brilliant smile blossomed uncontrollably. “Thank you, Daddy!!”
The way he smiled was sweet and vivid, and even his pink cat ears seemed to glow with a renewed vibrancy.
“The money is for you to solve your practical problems, don’t squander it,” He Yanzhou’s voice traveled over. “Turn on the air conditioner when you need to, and eat your meals on time.”
“Understood, understood~” The moment Qiao Yan saw the money, all his previous pettiness evaporated. Clutching his phone and staring at the balance, he nodded blissfully. “Daddy is the best~”
“Rest early.”
He Yanzhou didn’t say anything further and terminated the video call.
Pocketing the freshly arrived twenty thousand yuan, Qiao Yan felt his spine straighten considerably.
Lying on his bed in the newly warmed dorm room, he scrolled through a food delivery app, his gaze sweeping past those high-end restaurants he usually craved to death but couldn’t bring himself to order from.
I must treat myself today!
With a sudden flip, he sat up. He decisively stripped out of that kitty costume that gave him PTSD and changed into his coolest designer hoodie and down jacket, resolving to dine in at that Western restaurant downtown famous for its tomahawk steaks.
When the sizzling, fragrant steak was served, he felt his life had reached absolute perfection.
“Now this is living!”
He cut off a large piece of tender, juicy beef and popped it into his mouth, narrowing his eyes in pure bliss. Dessert, red wine—he left nothing out.
When checking out, his hand trembled slightly upon seeing the four-figure bill, but thinking of the remaining numbers in his Alipay, he paid righteously.
Anyway, it’s the old man’s money. Might as well spend it!
Wined and dined to his heart’s content, Qiao Yan felt warm all over. Fully satisfied, he hailed a taxi back to campus.
The car could only drive up to the intersection near the university town; the remaining stretch required traversing a relatively deep, dark alleyway. This was a shortcut back to his dorm that he had discovered by chance.
As the winter night wind blew, Qiao Yan’s mind—somewhat fuzzy from the light buzz and the indoor heating—cleared up significantly.
Humming a tune, he stepped on his long shadow cast by the streetlights, his pace light and brisk. It was great to have money, great to have a heated dorm, and great to have a dorm where he didn’t have to eat instant noodles!
He even began to calculate whether he should hit up another Japanese restaurant tomorrow.
However, just as he reached the middle section of the alleyway, where no pedestrians could be seen ahead or behind him, three tall, burly figures suddenly lunged out from the shadows of a side path, blocking his path squarely.
Qiao Yan’s steps froze, the song catching in his throat.
He raised his head guardedly.
The leader was a bald man whose shaved head gleamed faintly in the dim light. His face was devoid of expression, but his gaze was hostile.
Beside him stood two others—one with a buzz cut and another wearing a baseball cap. Both wore tight black T-shirts, revealing solid, muscular arms. One look was enough to tell they weren’t ordinary street thugs.
Qiao Yan’s heart thudded hard, his intoxication vanishing completely. Could they be muggers?
Subconsciously, he clutched his backpack—which contained his phone and the remaining cash—tightly to his chest. He took a small step back, his mind racing frantically as he calculated whether to run or scream.
“Qiao Yan?” the bald man spoke, his voice rough, accurately calling out his name.
Hearing this, Qiao Yan’s heart instantly sank.
This wasn’t a random mugging; they were specifically looking for him!
“Who are you? What do you want?”
Qiao Yan forced himself to stay calm, though his voice inevitably carried a tremor.
He quickly scanned his surroundings. The alleyway was empty and pitch-black, with no one else besides them, because barely anyone knew about this alleyway normally.
He was cornered against the wall by three massive men in this empty, deserted alley.
There was no one to save him.