As Lin Yue Shu stepped through the door, it was his first time seeing such a luxurious hotel. Unlike the traditional crystal palaces, the entire place was a dull red, reminiscent of old wedding garments. The paint was mottled green, the blue was deep and decayed, and the dim gold decorations made it look like a skeleton draped in finery. The lighting was dim, giving off an eerie vibe, like the decadent beauty before a building collapses. Spending two days eating here would surely make anyone lose weight.
The lobby manager, accompanied by a group of people in suits, warmly welcomed them. Chairman Wang was an old acquaintance of his, and the two walked ahead, chatting as they led the group upstairs. Lin Yue Shu deliberately slowed his pace, walking at the back. He wanted to know which room Huo Yi Sen was in, but he also knew these people would never reveal a guest’s privacy.
Lin Yue Shu slowed his steps even more, falling to the very end of the group. He then approached a waiter who looked the most honest and had a newbie vibe, asking, “What’s good to eat here?”
The Honest Person immediately rattled off a list of menu items. Lin Yue Shu looked as if he was having a hard time deciding, appearing troubled, “I’ve never heard of these dishes. How do other guests find them?”
The Honest Person was even more honest, “Just now, a distinguished guest said our steamed East Star Grouper is the best in the city. This guest comes from a noble background and has a picky palate. He personally vouched for the dish, so you can rest assured.”
Lin Yue Shu raised an eyebrow, smiling warmly, “Isn’t that just your standard line?”
The Honest Person got anxious, whispering, “I never deceive people. This distinguished guest is on the third floor. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him.”
Realizing he had said too much, he quickly lowered his head. Lin Yue Shu smiled meaningfully, patting his shoulder in reassurance, “Don’t worry, I’m just joking.”
The Honest Person let out a long sigh of relief.
Upon entering the private room, Lin Yue Shu found the interior decor was just as decadently beautiful as the red wedding garments. The candlelight flickered, and the red was immersed in darkness, making it an unsuitable dining environment. But the original author clearly didn’t need to consider logical reasoning; otherwise, it wouldn’t be as thrilling.
Lin Yue Shu noticed another group of people in the room, all with typical Western features, guessing they were representatives sent by Alder Jewelry’s global distributor. Chairman Wang generously introduced Lin Yue Shu to everyone. One foreign man with graying hair and a big belly immediately started groping as soon as he shook Lin Yue Shu’s hand.
During the meal, he even asked, “I heard your Eastern countries have a world-famous dish called the human banquet.”
Chairman Wang’s patriotic spirit burned fiercely, “That’s East Asia’s dregs. We don’t go for that here.”
The big-bellied foreigner laughed even more lewdly, “People should learn to accept new things.”
Saying this, he plucked a fresh rose from the vase in the middle of the table, twirled it, and handed it to Lin Yue Shu with a meaningful smile.
Seeing this, Chairman Wang’s face darkened. No matter what, this was Huo Yi Sen’s person. If something happened under his watch, how could Huo Yi Sen let him off?
“Mr. Lin,” Chairman Wang signaled to Lin Yue Shu, “Could you please hurry things up? We’ve been sitting here drinking tea for ages.”
Lin Yue Shu stood up, smiling and nodding to everyone present. But as soon as he left the room, the big-bellied man also excused himself to the restroom, getting up to follow.
Chairman Wang frowned, standing up, but another foreigner beside him held his hand down. The foreigner smiled, pouring him tea, “Chairman Wang, I know your country’s tea culture is long-standing, but as an outsider, I only know a little. Why don’t you introduce it to me properly?”
Chairman Wang stared at him for a long time, his Adam’s apple moving, before slowly sitting back down.
Lin Yue Shu walked steadily through the corridor, catching a glimpse of the big-bellied foreigner huffing and puffing behind him. It was unclear if his obesity made him slow or if he had other intentions, but he never got too close.
Lin Yue Shu stopped, turned around, smiled, and blinked. The foreigner’s nostrils flared wide, his face, layered with fat, turning an unnatural red.
Lin Yue Shu turned back, pushing open the restroom door. The restroom’s decor was not much different from outside. He didn’t understand why there were red cloth strips hanging above the toilet. What was their purpose in the text?
Just as he was about to close the door, a large body squeezed in, rubbing his hands with a lewd smile. Lin Yue Shu rolled his eyes. However the original text described it, the NPC would act it out, without considering individual differences, just letting the small head control the big head.
“You’re so pretty, baby, sweetheart, fairy~” The foreigner licked his lips until they were shiny.
Lin Yue Shu sat on the toilet, his body leaning back, pressing tightly against the wall, “What do you want to do? You, you get out.”
The foreigner hunched over, his thick hands grabbing Lin Yue Shu’s waist, rubbing it ambiguously, “Sweetheart, you don’t know how much I fancy you. Be good, let me taste you. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Inside, Lin Yue Shu was spitting, but outwardly he played along with the dying struggle, “No, no…”
“Behave! While I’m still talking nicely to you!” The foreigner got annoyed, tearing down the red cloth strips hanging above the toilet, skillfully tying Lin Yue Shu’s hands.
“Listen, lift your legs.” The foreigner hadn’t even taken off his pants, but his small head was already controlling his lower body, pushing forward, “Or I’ll beat you to death!”
Lin Yue Shu shook his head miserably, “Don’t hit me, I’ll behave, just don’t hit me~”
Under the foreigner’s lustful gaze, Lin Yue Shu obediently lifted his right leg. The foreigner eagerly went to undo his belt, muttering, “Next time we meet, you can’t wear such a tight belt. I’ll get you pants with an elastic band, or better yet, wear nothing at all, hahaha!”
Lin Yue Shu leaned closer to the foreigner, his face innocent and naive, like a baby learning to speak, only mimicking the last few words of a sentence. He repeated, “Ha, ha, ha, ha?”
Suddenly, his right leg lifted vertically, forming a perfect right angle with his body, as if it were just an appetizer, with only his pants letting out a reluctant groan.
The foreigner’s nostrils flared wide, snorting like a bull. Just as he was about to explore the secret of the flower night, the leg that was raised high came crashing down with a force that didn’t match his slender body.
The foreigner became a whack-a-mole, shrinking a notch. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!” The burly man, over six feet tall, was pressed down, unable to get up, kneeling on the ground, wailing in pain.
Lin Yue Shu retracted his leg, sitting down with a grand gesture, leaning forward with interest, studying the foreigner, “Uncle, in today’s society, when you ask for something and get it, it’s called…”
Lin Yue Shu leaned close to the foreigner’s ear, whispering, “Fraud.”
The foreigner, hit by this dragon’s tail, saw stars, his arm feeling like it was broken, unable to get up from the ground for a long time. Lin Yue Shu stepped over him, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Standing outside the restroom, Lin Yue Shu sniffed himself. Would there be a smell? He decided to find a well-ventilated room to air out.
At this moment, Lin Yue Shu’s hands were still tied. He didn’t plan to untie them; otherwise, he would have performed a high-difficulty leg lift for nothing. Now he could answer the question, “What is the purpose of the red cloth strips in the text?”
Answer: With the help of the NPC, the red cloth strips were used to create a pitiful, poignant image of Lin Yue Shu, making everyone who saw him feel sympathetic and unable to resist. It expressed the author’s good qualities of being cunning and tenacious.
In a while, he just needed to pretend to be helpless and rush into the room where Huo Yi Sen was, shouting a simple “Save me,” and the rest would be up to Huo Yi Sen to take the initiative.
Lin Yue Shu stopped at the window at the end of the corridor, looking out at the clear sky, clicking his tongue. Although the trick wasn’t new, as long as it worked, but using the same one every time, would Huo Yi Sen get tired of it?
Change the plan? Continue as usual?
“Whimper… whimper…” In the midst of his thoughts, Lin Yue Shu suddenly heard intermittent sobbing from the room next door.
Lin Yue Shu didn’t have a habit of meddling in others’ business, so he turned to leave. “Waaah!” It seemed like the footsteps leaving made the sobbing turn into a full-blown cry.
To Lin Yue Shu, it seemed like if he didn’t go in and find out today, the person would cry themselves into an alkaline overdose.
Lin Yue Shu gently pushed open the door, peeking inside. The next second, his pupils dilated suddenly.
Despite being a so-called five-star hotel, under the intertwining dark red and decadent colors, it was filled with a choking, decaying atmosphere. The square room resembled a luxurious coffin, exuding a cold, rotten scent.
In the center was a low table, covered with a mat of old twilight, surrounded by piles of delicacies and clusters of withered flowers, trapping a naked young man in the middle.
Lin Yue Shu’s skin crawled. He discreetly observed the young man, his gaze taking in the ice-like skin and jade-like bones, made even whiter by the contrast of the bright red silk.
Hearing a sound, the young man stopped crying, turning his head, his eyes red as he looked at Lin Yue Shu, a glimmer of hope rising in his desperate eyes.
Looking at the young man, thinking of the human banquet mentioned by the foreigners, Lin Yue Shu instantly had a clue. Before entering the book, he had heard of and even seen many dirty things in this circle, where many used the excuse of accompanying drinks, only to end up as delicacies on the dining table, leaving not even bones behind.
Lin Yue Shu pondered for a moment, approaching the young man. The young man’s gaze remained glued to him, as if he had found a lifeline.
Before Lin Yue Shu could speak, the young man grabbed his pants, pleading, “I regret it. I don’t want to dream anymore. Save me. I’m going to be eaten.”
“Who’s going to eat you?” Lin Yue Shu asked. He needed to figure out if Huo Yi Sen was among the scum of the scum.
The young man sobbed, counting on his fingers, “The chairman of Huaxia Entertainment asked me to accompany a guest, saying the other party is a big shot we can’t afford to offend.”
Lin Yue Shu lowered his voice, “Which room?”
“3102… Brother, good brother, please help me. I don’t want to live with a catheter at such a young age.” The young man cried, clutching Lin Yue Shu’s collar.
Even though he didn’t know who the other person was, he had already reached the edge of the cliff, wanting to hold onto anyone who appeared.
Lin Yue Shu brushed off the young man’s hand, straightening his collar. After a long pause, he said, “Take off my clothes.”
The young man was dumbfounded, “Huh?”
Lin Yue Shu extended his hands, “Can’t you see my hands are tied?”
“You wouldn’t also…”
“If you keep talking nonsense, and someone drags you to the room later, I won’t be able to help you.”
The young man hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind, stripping Lin Yue Shu’s clothes and unceremoniously putting them on himself.
Finally, the young man picked up a red cloth strip from the side, covering Lin Yue Shu’s eyes.
…
At that moment, in the spacious private room, three men sat, each with their own agenda. A knock on the door sounded, and the oldest man chuckled, speaking meaningfully to the youngest man at the table, “Mr. Huo, the delicacy has arrived. I’ve prepared good wine. Today, we have plenty of time to enjoy the feast.”
The young Huo Xiao could see that these two old men had ulterior motives, not really interested in the wine. In the midst of his thoughts, a chaotic sound of footsteps came from behind, as four burly men carried in a bamboo bed with a creaking sound.
The bamboo bed was surrounded by rare herbs and delicacies, with a conical canopy in the middle, draped with thin gauze, faintly revealing a person sitting inside.
A trace of disgust flashed in Huo Xiao’s eyes. The breeze blew through the hall, lifting a corner of the canopy, revealing a pair of snow-white feet. The feet were slender and long, with faint blue veins visible on the instep, and the toenails were as smooth as glass.
Huo Xiao frowned, reminded of someone by those feet. One of the burly men lifted the curtain of the canopy, gesturing “please” to the three men present.
While the two old men ogled eagerly, Huo Xiao’s gaze was shrouded in a layer of anger. Inside the canopy sat a person, wrapped in bright red silk, with red gauze covering their eyes, a tuberose in their mouth, and two slender legs gathered to one side, gently folded, with hands tied with red strips resting casually on their knees, ten fingers delicate and beautiful in shape.
The scene before him was decadent and decaying, nearly on the verge of collapse, like a flower corroded by power, about to wither in the swelling ambition.
The two old men, seeing this, had eyes like two 200-watt light bulbs, probably unaware of how vulgar their expressions were now.
Huo Xiao stared for a long time, taking a sip from his wine glass.
Author’s Note: ———————-