“Ugh!”
The whip was likely custom-made, studded with black barbs that tore at the skin. It landed squarely on Chu Xunsheng’s back, a jolt of agony that forced a pained gasp from his lips. He knelt on one knee to steady himself, brow furrowed as he looked up.
The scene before him made his pupils shrink.
Chen Ji, that young master who usually appeared so obedient, sat in a chair. The light filtering through the window hit his face, leaving half of it in shadow. His lips curved into a hook, and his eyes held a dark, perverse intensity.
Yuan Du was held down on the floor by two others. His clothes had been shredded by the whip, revealing purplish, bruised wounds beneath. While his face remained clear of whip marks, it was being ground into the dirty floorboards by Chen Ji’s shoe. Even so, one could see the resentment and pain etched into his expression.
Chen Ji stepped on Yuan Du’s face, his voice harsh: “Who gave you the nerve to give Teacher Chu flowers? I thought I warned you, didn’t I? Hmm?”
Compared to Jiang Zhou’s aggressive, fatal methods, Chen Ji seemed to prefer humiliating these commoners who dared to overstep their bounds. Slapping, stomping on faces, tearing clothes, filming videos, and other unscrupulous tactics, it all felt closer to the bullying Chu Xunsheng remembered.
Yuan Du kept his face blank, eyes closed, powerlessly enduring a basin of filthy vegetable-scrap water being dumped over his head. The stench-ridden liquid dripped from his hair, and the pressure of the foot on his face made him feel like the lowest, most wretched mud at the bottom of the world.
In moments of such agony, Yuan Du would think of Teacher Chu. However, this did nothing to lessen his pain or humiliation; instead, it made the distance between them feel vast and untouchable.
He felt a faint, whispered voice in his ear: Do you want power? Do you want to stand by his side?
The voice was hoarse and wobbling, like a demon’s whisper from hell.
It was ethereal and hollow, yet Yuan Du grasped at it.
It came from the necklace he wore around his neck, the only heirloom left to him by his parents.
Yuan Du had no time to ponder the strangeness of the necklace, for he heard the sound of a doorknob turning. Sensing a sliver of light, he shrank back, not wanting to appear before the light in such a bedraggled state. Immediately after, he heard Chen Ji’s impatient voice and the crack of a whip through the air.
Who is the unlucky one now? Yuan Du thought vaguely.
The pressure on his face suddenly vanished. Chen Ji scrambled away in a panic, knocking over a row of chairs. Yuan Du heard Chen Ji’s voice, now laced with confusion and fear: “Teacher Chu…”
Even a scumbag like him feels fear? Yuan Du thought dimly, then froze.
Teacher Chu?
He slowly and stiffly turned over, meeting a pair of bright, compassionate eyes and a firm, powerful hand.
Yuan Du’s lips moved several times, but he couldn’t get the words out. He simply stayed there, head raised, like a believer witnessing their deity in the dark.
Just as he had dreamed countless times, he reached out and took hold of that handsome, steady hand, leaving the lounge, a room filled with painful memories, without looking back.
Behind them, Chen Ji’s voice had changed from his usual deliberate arrogance to frantic anxiety: “Teacher Chu! Are you hurt? I’m sorry, I…” He scrambled forward, falling to his knees to embrace Chu Xunsheng’s leg.
The haughty young master of the Chen family was, for the first time, completely flustered. His eyes were filled with fear and supplication as he begged his Teacher Chu for forgiveness through red-rimmed eyes.
He was met with a cold glance.
Chu Xunsheng, holding the hand of the poor little protagonist, kicked Chen Ji away and walked out without looking back.
Yuan Du leaned tightly against the body he had dreamed of, feeling his warmth and heartbeat. He felt an unprecedented sense of peace.
In the quiet, the system poked its head out cautiously and whispered to Chu Xunsheng: “The mission progress bar has regressed!”
Chu Xunsheng sneered, “Whoever wants to do this shitty mission can go ahead. I can’t stand by and watch things like this happen.”
The system laughed obsequiously and rubbed its hands, “Our Little Chu is definitely not a big villain! Just like before, helping the little protagonist while boosting the progress bar is fine too!”
Chu Xunsheng didn’t commit, but he suddenly stopped, pushed Yuan Du onto a bench in the hallway, and crouched down to stare intently into his eyes.
“Xiao Du, grow strong quickly. Consider it for my sake.”
Yuan Du looked into those gentle, firm eyes, the tenderness washing over him like moonlight. He nodded slowly, even as he heard that eerie voice again: Do you want power?
The voice grew louder, nearly drowning out Yuan Du’s hearing, but he acted as if he hadn’t heard it, nodding at Chu Xunsheng with an unperturbed expression.
Chu Xunsheng opened his umbrella and asked in the pattering rain, “Where is your home? I’ll see you back.”
Yuan Du curled his lips, “I thought teacher would drive me home.”
Chu Xunsheng gave a sheepish smile, that hit a sore spot. The poor guy didn’t have a car.
The original novel mentioned the protagonist lived in the slums, which shouldn’t be far from his own home, so it was convenient to drop him off.
By the time they reached the bus, Yuan Du still felt like he was in a dream. He watched in a daze as the polished Teacher Chu skillfully paid the fare and sat on the yellowed, worn-out seat that felt completely out of place for him. Chu Xunsheng beckoned to him.
Yuan Du practically jumped onto the seat. The uncomfortable bench felt like a throne of joy. He leaned against Teacher Chu’s arm, ignoring everything that felt wrong, and returned in a daze to that dirty, dilapidated little house.
He watched Chu Xunsheng, who seemed to glow in the dim alley, and saw the man open his black umbrella to leave. Suddenly, Yuan Du ran out and used all the courage he had ever possessed to shout, “Teacher Chu, would you like to come in and sit for a while?”
He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth, for he clearly saw a fat rat jump across the room and noticed the cramped passage that only allowed one person to pass by bending over.
Yet, Chu Xunsheng merely hesitated for a second before smiling and agreeing.
Yuan Du frantically turned on the light, tidied the messy bed, and welcomed Chu Xunsheng in. Feeling ashamed, he watched as Teacher Chu stooped to find a clean spot, then awkwardly whispered, “I’ll pour you a glass of water.”
After saying that, he turned around and rummaged through the chaos to find the only decent cup he owned, filling it with water and handing it to his teacher.
Chu Xunsheng accepted it with a smile and lowered his head to drink. Yuan Du happened to see the beautiful, intricate accessory on his ear, a low-key, luxurious texture that looked incredibly expensive; he probably couldn’t afford it even if he sold himself ten times over.
However, Yuan Du had seen this accessory on the campus network; it had been a gift from one of Teacher Chu’s students.
Was it Jiang Zhou? Or Chen Ji? Or some other wealthy student who had kicked him and looked at him with disdain?
Was this the only kind of gift Teacher Chu was willing to accept, rather than a thin bunch of flowers?
Yuan Du watched Teacher Chu lower his head to drink, revealing a slender neck that seemed to glow in the dim room. He vaguely thought that such a person should be sitting in a resplendent mansion, on a soft sofa, swirling a wine glass and watching the world pray for his gaze.
I want…
I want to grow strong, to offer everything to him, regardless of whether his smile is genuine or fake.
Chu Xunsheng looked at the protagonist with concern, noticing his dazed expression, and waved a hand in front of him. “Xiao Du?”
Yuan Du snapped back to reality. The necklace at his throat felt scorching. Ignoring it, he signaled Chu Xunsheng to open the window and look down.
Chu Xunsheng pushed open the old wooden window with confusion. The neglected hinges let out a harsh creak, and he froze.
Below the window had been an empty, wild hillside, but now it was filled with beautiful, icy-blue flowers. The moonlight poured over the petals like running water, making them glow as if veiled in thin gauze, a deep azure painting a distant celestial dome.
Yuan Du whispered, “Teacher said you didn’t like a gift of a single flower. Do you like this, Teacher?”
Chu Xunsheng didn’t answer immediately. He stared for a long time before saying, “I like it.”
After thinking, he turned back, looked into Yuan Du’s eyes, and said with absolute sincerity, “I like it very much. Thank you.”
The two appreciated the silence for a long while until the moon reached the zenith, and Chu Xunsheng said his goodbyes.
Yuan Du watched the direction Chu Xunsheng left from the window, buried himself in his quilt, and took a deep, desperate breath like a pervert, as if he could still smell the pleasant, refreshing scent lingering on his teacher.
“Ah… Teacher Chu…”
He let out a soft cry, curling his body into a knot and hugging the quilt tightly, as if holding the person he yearned for day and night.
Those aristocrats with their noses in the air would never imagine that someone as lowly as him could be so intimately connected to Teacher Chu.
After a long while, he stopped his actions and tore the now-scorching necklace from his throat. He watched quietly as it turned unfamiliar, and a hollow, ethereal black spirit emerged.
If Chu Xunsheng were here, he would be shocked; this was one of the major trials the protagonist faced later, but for a protagonist growing strong, it was merely a small tribulation, turning into power instead.
However, appearing now, it was no small tribulation.
Yuan Du looked at this ferocious, terrifying black spirit without a shred of fear, saying expressionlessly, “I want to grow strong.”
“Of course.” The evil spirit smiled silently and conjured a contract array containing powerful energy.
Yuan Du bit his finger, then turned back and asked with extreme seriousness, “Will growing strong make me rich? Can I afford to keep such a noble beauty?”
The evil spirit froze, likely never having encountered such a question. After a moment, it maintained a stiff smile: “Of course, you could afford ten of them.”
Yuan Du lowered his eyes, “I only want that one.”
As his blood dripped onto the array, the light flared violently. Extreme pain spread through Yuan Du’s entire body, reaching every nerve ending. Yet he had endured this agony a hundred, a thousand times, it was even less than the pain of being stomped on and slapped in public. He only needed to curl his body weakly and chant Chu Xunsheng’s name, and the pain would vanish, leaving only a hint of sweetness.
The evil spirit watched his perverted, obsessed look and let out a mocking chuckle.
“In ten days, you will be strong. Maybe your beauty will throw himself into your arms then… but in return, you must do some things for me…”
The evil spirit laughed wildly, its voice like a broken bellows, rustling and echoing in the dim room, chilling to the bone.