“What—what’s wrong, Nanxing? Why do you have that expression? Don’t scare me.”
Yan Mo knew that his judgment of people had always been somewhat unreliable. Most of the time, his brain would act on impulse, chasing after good looks, only for those handsome faces to deliver a blow to his head in ways he never could have imagined.
He was both heartbroken and grieved, thinking to himself that next time he absolutely could not just look at a person’s exterior—but when there truly was a next time, he would still do the exact same thing.
It was a constant infinite loop.
One he simply couldn’t break.
White Nanxing didn’t explicitly say what was wrong with Mo Leyang. After deliberating for a moment, he simply said flatly, “He isn’t the type you can handle.”
The word “handle” was quite evocative. Since living in the same dormitory as Bai Nanxing, Yan Mo often heard him use strange terms to describe relationships between the same sex. He had grown accustomed to it; thinking carefully, that senior really didn’t look like the type he could control.
“So, I don’t have even a tiny bit of a chance?” Yan Mo gestured with his fingers. “Just this tiny bit?”
Bai Nanxing gave him the honest truth. “No.”
Yan Mo slumped dejectedly onto the desk. “But he’s really handsome! He’s exactly my ideal type! Hearing you say that really stabs me in the heart.”
“Find someone else. He’s dangerous.”
“How dangerous?!”
Bai Nanxing’s hand holding the chopsticks paused for a second. “I don’t know how to describe it to you. In short, he is nothing like those characters you’ve encountered in the past.”
Yan Mo believed Bai Nanxing’s words. When the boys he had dated previously cheated on him, Bai Nanxing had never been wrong. It was only because Yan Mo had insisted on dating them anyway that he ended up covered in scars.
“But he really is so handsome!” Yan Mo added another point. “And he’s mixed-race!”
Bai Nanxing felt that he might be beyond saving. “Do you want to come with me to do a part-time job at the bar? They have every type you could want.”
“Really?!”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
Yan Mo was tempted. Previously, when he was pestering Bai Nanxing for photos, he had nearly become like a runaway horse, ready to rush into the bar that very day to kidnap someone.
But Yan Mo didn’t have the guts.
The world outside was dazzling and deceptive, especially for someone like him who had zero self-control. If he were to become hopelessly immersed in a crowd of beautiful men and neglect his studies, his family would surely break his legs.
“Better not,” Yan Mo said sheepishly. “My mom warned me last semester that if she caught me messing around in relationships, she would cut off my allowance. That is the most terrifying thing in the world.”
Bai Nanxing knew that feeling. He understood it very clearly; it was a sensation even more painful than death.
Previously, in order to make him behave, Bai Yi would often use this tactic to force him into submission. However, his personality was too stubborn; he had managed to hold out for over two weeks without asking Bai Yi for living expenses. Every day he ate nothing but pickled vegetables and instant noodles. At that time, he was still growing; although eating like that didn’t starve him to death, the malnutrition caused him to develop chronic hypoglycemia. He fainted in the classroom several times, nearly giving the homeroom teacher a heart attack.
But it was also from that time onward that Bai Nanxing learned the value of money. If there ever came a day when he wanted to completely break free from Bai Yi’s control, he would need enough money.
Enough that he could take that money and throw it directly in Bai Yi’s face.
That was why he chose to work part-time at the bar.
Although the environment there was chaotic and messy, the pay was high, and there were often extra tips. Every cent he earned was his own; he didn’t need to split it with the bar.
After several years, even if Bai Yi cut off his funds, he would no longer starve to the point of a hypoglycemic episode requiring a hospital visit for a glucose IV.
“Then you should just study honestly, to save yourself from being sold and still helping the person count the money,” Bai Nanxing said earnestly, sounding very much like a worried old father.
Yan Mo looked up and wailed, “Could it be that I am destined to be alone and helpless for the rest of my life?! God is far too cruel to me!!!”
For a moment, Bai Nanxing didn’t know how to comfort him. These things couldn’t be forced; it all depended on fate. “No matter how loud you cry, a ‘1’ isn’t going to fall from the sky. But if you don’t start reviewing, you are very likely to fail your classes this semester.”
Upon hearing about failing, Yan Mo immediately chickened out. “Fine, review, review. Men aren’t as important as reviewing!”
Since tomorrow was the weekend and a rare two-day break, the other two roommates had likely gone home. After school ended, they hadn’t returned.
Only Bai Nanxing and Yan Mo were left in the entire dorm.
They reviewed quietly until past nine o’clock. Yan Mo’s rear end couldn’t stay still on the stool. Seeing Bai Nanxing constantly replying to text messages on his phone, he curiously poked his head over.
Bai Nanxing noticed his gaze but wasn’t worried about him seeing anything. While continuing to type, he asked, “Finished reviewing so soon?”
Yan Mo, bored, leaned in closer. “The sound of you chatting with men is distracting me!”
“And?”
“And so, you should share the good stuff! Hurry up and hand over their photos!”
Bai Nanxing handed the chat interface over to him.
It wasn’t a chat history with some strange man; it was a message sent to Bai Nanxing by Bai Yi.
“You still want a photo? I have plenty of his, guaranteed to satisfy you.”
Yan Mo spat several times in disgust, feeling it was incredibly bad luck, and even cursed under his breath, “What is he doing messaging you at this time? He definitely has no good intentions!”
That was a certainty. Bai Nanxing was used to it.
Bai Yi’s concern for him only extended to whether or not his own interests were being damaged. If they weren’t, he wouldn’t even necessarily know if Bai Nanxing died.
But if it involved himself, Bai Yi was more attentive than a palace eunuch.
“Speaking of which, why is he messaging you so late at night?” Yan Mo remembered what Bai Ruoning said that afternoon and guessed it had to do with the marriage contract.
Bai Nanxing didn’t hide it from him, saying directly, “I have to go to the Mo family tomorrow. Bai Yi is worried I’ll run away at the last minute, so he messaged to nag me.”
As expected,
Yan Mo’s family was well-off, considered a minor wealthy family, but they weren’t “Old Money” elite, so he didn’t understand which “Mo family” Bai Nanxing was referring to.
But the surname wasn’t common. Most ordinary people were named Chen, Wang, or Li. The only one he had an impression of was that Mo family in Yancheng.
“The Mo family you mentioned… it couldn’t be that Mo family, could it?!!!”
“There’s only one Mo family in Yancheng. Besides that one, which other could it be?”
Yan Mo covered his mouth in a hundred years of shock.
The Yancheng Mo family was a bona fide elite giant. Their family industries spanned the entire country. Those various commercial products seen everywhere, and even entertainment companies—the shadow of the Mo family was behind almost all of them.
Not to mention other investments; if a company didn’t have Mo family shares, it would be a miracle.
“The person you’re entering an arranged marriage with is from the Yancheng Mo family!!!” Yan Mo finally understood. “No wonder that cheap father of yours is so anxious. If anything goes wrong on your end, the first person the Mo family will settle accounts with is him!”
But this was not a good thing.
At least, not for Bai Nanxing.
Although Yan Mo wasn’t from an elite family, his family did business, so they inevitably encountered people from the Mo family. He had heard many rumors from them, and all of them were quite frightening.
Someone like Bai Nanxing—tender-skinned and without a backing—would sooner or later be eaten until not even the bones remained.
“Nanxing, how about… you run away!”
Bai Nanxing’s hand paused. With lowered eyes, he said, “I can’t run.”
From the moment he was sold by Bai Yi, he was destined to be unable to escape.
Yan Mo grabbed his hand. “We can buy plane tickets right now and go abroad, then never come back!”
Bai Nanxing knew Yan Mo meant well, but the idea was far too naive. If he could simply buy a plane ticket and flee the country, he wouldn’t be sitting here now.
Bai Yi knew that he could earn money himself now. To prevent him from escaping, he had arranged eyes to watch everywhere, especially at train stations and airports.
He had nowhere to run.
Even if he did succeed in escaping, with his current abilities, whether or not he could survive would still be an unknown.
So, it wasn’t time to leave yet.
Bai Nanxing turned to comfort him instead. “It’s fine. If the other party cares about aligning with the Bai family, then I am safe for the time being. Don’t worry.”
Yan Mo said, “The Mo family is indeed a giant, but I’ve heard that those people are not to be trifled with. Remember that incident, the one that was number one on the trending list? That actor’s family was quite wealthy, right? In the end, they still fell at the hands of the Mo family. Even they couldn’t handle the Mo family, let alone an unarmed university student like you!”
Just as Bai Nanxing was about to say something, there was a knock on the dormitory door.
Yan Mo was sitting closer to the door. Hearing the knock, he got up to open it.
“Hello, may I ask who you are looking for—”
Before the word “for” could even leave his mouth, Yan Mo was conquered by the other person’s looks.
The person who came was Zhou Lin.
But Zhou Lin had only arrived at the school today, so Yan Mo, the “little messenger of information,” didn’t recognize him. He felt very puzzled and asked uncertainly, “Fellow student, who are you looking for?”
Yan Mo was more than used to this situation. Usually, when someone came looking for a person, without exception, they were looking for Bai Nanxing.
He let go of the door, leaned to the side, and shouted to Bai Nanxing, who was still looking at his messages, “Nanxing, someone’s here for you.”
Bai Nanxing turned his head and saw Zhou Lin. His reaction was the same as Yan Mo’s; he didn’t recognize him either.
But adhering to the principle of politeness, Bai Nanxing put away his phone and got up to see.
“Hello, is there something I can help you with?”
Seeing the person come out, Zhou Lin’s gaze quickly swept over Bai Nanxing, as if he were scrutinizing something.
Bai Nanxing felt uncomfortable under that gaze. He frowned. “Student, if there’s nothing else, we still need to review. Please leave.”
Zhou Lin used his foot to block the door, then whispered to Bai Nanxing, “He sent me to find you. On the dormitory rooftop. Five minutes. He wants to see you there.”