Xu Yizhu was led into a private booth located near the inner section of the hallway.
The moment the door was pushed open, the isolated noise flooded into his ears all at once, causing him to furrow his brows in displeasure. The men and women who had been drinking and clinking glasses on the sofa turned their gaze toward the doorway as the door swung open.
Xu Man nudged him forward, stopping right in front of the coffee table.
“Brother Ma, this is my son, Xu Yizhu.”
Hunched over and putting on a posture of utter subservience, she spoke in a fawning, flattering tone.
Hearing Xu Man’s voice, the man addressed as Brother Ma pulled his gaze away from the young woman beside him and cast it onto Xu Yizhu.
Unrestrained, sleazy scrutiny. It made Xu Yizhu’s skin crawl all over, as if he were being locked onto by a rabid dog.
Tugging at the hem of his jacket, Xu Man urged him impatiently, “Hurry up and greet Brother Ma!”
“Alright, we’re all friends here, no need to be so stiff,” Brother Ma said, releasing the young woman he had been holding in his arms and putting on a magnanimous air.
He poured a glass of alcohol and pushed it across the table toward Xu Yizhu, speaking in a forceful tone: “Since you’ve come, how can we not have a drink?”
“I don’t drink,” Xu Yizhu said coldly.
He stood straight and rigid, forming a stark contrast to Xu Man.
Fearing that he might provoke Brother Ma, Xu Man nervously tried to reason with him in an anxious tone, “Just one drink won’t hurt, and this alcohol has a low ABV.”
Xu Yizhu turned a deaf ear.
With no other choice, she picked up the glass of wine and forced a smile at Brother Ma, “Brother Ma, the young man doesn’t know any better. I’ll drink this cup in his place, please don’t be angry.”
A flash of ruthlessness crossed Brother Ma’s eyes, though he still forced a hypocritical laugh: “Well, young people having a bit of personality is a good thing.”
With a sudden twist in his tone, he continued: “However, a person still needs to know how to read the room. Otherwise, if you suffer losses, you’re the only one who’s going to suffer.”
Full of threatening undertones.
Xu Man’s body shuddered; she looked genuinely terrified, and a tearful choke crept into her voice: “Xiao Zhu! It is just one drink, don’t upset Brother Ma!”
“Sister Man, your son doesn’t really look like the type who listens to you, does he?” A man sitting close to Brother Ma rattled the glass in his hand, purposely stirring trouble.
“Monkey, you’re going too far. Sister Man has bragged about her son to us more than once, how could their relationship be bad?”
It was the woman who had been leaning in Brother Ma’s arms earlier. The two of them sang in harmony, leaving Xu Man with nowhere to stand and completely humiliating her.
“Enough.” Brother Ma propped one leg up onto the coffee table, cutting off their chatter. The look he directed at Xu Man carried a heavier trace of disdain: “Xu Man, what on earth did you bring your son here for?”
Xu Man parted her lips. The stares fixed upon her made her feel utterly degraded. After a long moment, she muttered in a low voice, “Brother Ma, about those photos…”
Brother Ma understood, putting on an expression of deep difficulty: “Oh, you mean this matter…”
Switching to an intimate nickname, he continued: “Xiao Man, originally I didn’t want to meddle in this business, but my brother is an introverted guy. When something like this happened, he hid away and didn’t dare come out to face people, so I, as his older brother, am forced to clean up the mess.”
Hearing him say that, the color drained from Xu Man’s face. She couldn’t possibly miss the implication behind Brother Ma’s words.
“Mr. Ma, let’s cut to the chase. How do we resolve this?” Xu Yizhu pulled Xu Man behind him, shielding her with his body.
“Twenty thousand, and I’ll hand over the negatives.” His gaze swept over Xu Yizhu with unmasked scrutiny as he let out a scoff and answered casually.
“Brother Ma, twenty thousand… that’s too much, I don’t have that much money.” With a heavy thud, Xu Man collapsed onto her knees, offering a lowly, pitiful plea: “Brother Ma, have mercy, let me go. I really don’t have that much.”
Startled by her sudden action, the anger bottled up in Xu Yizhu’s chest exploded: “What are you doing? Get up!”
He tried to help her to her feet, but Xu Man dodged away from his grasp.
Xu Yizhu’s outstretched hand remained frozen in midair.
“Stay out of it!” she yelled. Turning back around, she humbled herself into the dust once more, continuing her entreaties: “Brother Ma, I’m begging you, let us go. We agreed on ten thousand before, why did you suddenly go back on your word?”
“When did I ever say that?” Brother Ma’s face twisted into a vicious sneer as he retorted coldly.
Xu Yizhu curled his fingers into a tight fist, suppressing his surging anger as he spoke: “I don’t have twenty thousand. Since we can’t strike a deal, let’s just call the police.”
Unfazed by his threat, Brother Ma laughed with casual nonchalance: “Are you threatening me?”
Xu Yizhu: “No, just dealing with the facts.”
Pointing at the unopened bottles of alcohol still sitting on the table, Brother Ma stated: “Two paths. First, twenty thousand, every single cent. If you dare call the police, I’ll make sure those photos are trending all over the internet before the cops even show up.”
“Second.” Brother Ma raised his chin, looking at him: “You drink a glass, and I knock off a thousand. You drink as much as I knock off. How about that?”
“Deal.”
“Please go ahead.” Brother Ma gestured with an inviting sweep of his hand.
With tears pooling in her eyes, Xu Man let out a soft, choked cry: “A-Zhu.”
Expressionless, Xu Yizhu picked up a bottle of liquor, popped it open, and poured it straight down his throat.
The fiery, pungent liquid slid down his throat into his stomach like a ball of raging fire, scorching his internal organs.
The seventeenth shot of hard liquor went down. Xu Yizhu’s consciousness began to fragment.
His head felt as though it had been filled with lead, too heavy to lift. His steps grew dizzy and uncoordinated, his body swaying from side to side; if not for one hand propped against the coffee table, he would have collapsed at any moment.
“Stop drinking, stop drinking, A-Zhu.” Xu Man held him back, weeping bitterly: “A-Zhu, we won’t take the photos, I don’t want them anymore. Stop drinking.”
“Sister Man, Brother Ma hasn’t said stop yet, what are you so anxious for?” the woman gloated maliciously from the side.
“Shut your mouth, you bitch!” Driven to desperation, Xu Man grabbed an empty wine bottle within arm’s reach and reared back to hurl it at her.
“Ah—” Shrieking in panic, the woman ducked behind Brother Ma, still whining in a shrill voice, “Brother Ma, look at her!”
A hand intercepted the arm raised midair.
The sudden appearance of a stranger left Xu Yizhu frozen in place. Dazed, she allowed the person to take the wine bottle safely out of her grip.
Xu Yizhu swallowed the very last drop of alcohol left in his glass. He turned the cup upside down to signal that he had finished it all, leaving not a single drop behind.
With stumbling footsteps, he listed sideways and took a half-step backward, falling right into someone’s arms.
Squinting, Xu Yizhu tried to tilt his head to catch a glimpse of the person behind him, only to be firmly pulled against a chest and held completely immobile.
“Don’t be afraid.” A familiar voice.
It was Ji Xie.
Pulling Xu Yizhu securely into his embrace and resting the young man’s head against the crook of his neck, he spoke in a gentle tone: “Lean on me and rest for a bit. Leave the rest to me.”
Xu Yizhu nuzzled against his shoulder, letting out an indistinct hum of acknowledgment.
The sudden intrusion of a stranger ruined Brother Ma’s pleasant mood, and his voice turned dangerous: “Is this gentleman planning to finish drinking the rest for him?”
Pulling a checkbook out of his jacket pocket, Ji Xie filled in an amount of twenty thousand and tossed it onto the table: “Twenty thousand, every single cent.”
Seemingly not expecting him to be so decisive, Brother Ma blinked in surprise before returning to his usual sneer, delivering a calculated insult: “What is this kid to you, a kept sugar baby? Throwing around money like that?”
“Transaction complete. I pay the money, you hand over the items. Don’t ask questions about the rest.” Glancing sideways, Ji Xie treated Brother Ma’s verbal provocations with absolute contempt.
Stung by Ji Xie’s attitude, Brother Ma felt for a split second as though Ji Xie were tossing alms at him like a beggar.
Brother Ma: “You’re not from around here, are you? Do you have any idea what happens to people who cross me?”
Ji Xie couldn’t even be bothered to look at him straight, his tone utterly indifferent: “What happens if I cross you?”
“This matter isn’t ending here. That liquor, you’re drinking it whether you want to or not!”
Brother Ma shot a look at the man standing nearby.
Catching the hint, the man blocked the exit of the private booth and casually pulled a Swiss army knife out of his pocket.
The cold, gleaming blade pointed straight at Ji Xie.
Composed and steady, Ji Xie guided Xu Yizhu over to sit on a high stool near the karaoke stage. Fearing that the younger man might tip over and fall on his own, Ji Xie glanced down at Xu Man: “Excuse me, help me steady him.”
In a daze, Xu Yizhu stepped forward and held him steady.
Frowning slightly, Ji Xie instructed, “Let him lean against you, keep his head down, otherwise his neck will hurt.”
Xu Man complied.
Satisfied, Ji Xie took off his outer jacket and draped it over Xu Yizhu’s shoulders.
“Are you done yet!” Growing impatient, Brother Ma cursed, “Fucking gay bastards!”
“Fine.” Rolling up his sleeves, Ji Xie pulled over a single-seat sofa to sit down, raising his eyes with an icy gaze: “How do you want to settle this?”
“You drink the rest of the booze!” Brother Ma wanted to copy Ji Xie’s posture, only for his legs to turn out too short.
Ji Xie: “How about whoever loses drinks?”
Brother Ma: “You want to gamble with me?”
Ji Xie raised an eyebrow: “Why not?”
Unchecked excitement flared in Brother Ma’s eyes, eager to crush Ji Xie’s arrogant self-assurance.
“Bring it on! How are we playing? I’ll let you pick, don’t say Brother Ma bullied a youngster.”
A flicker crossed Ji Xie’s pupils, as if he were genuinely pondering how to play.
Ji Xie: “Let’s bet on high and low, best two out of three. I’ll let you roll first.”
Rubbing his hands together, Brother Ma prepped himself eagerly.
The dice cup rattled violently in his hand before slamming down heavily onto the table.
With a smug, confident grin, Brother Ma lifted the cup: “Four, six, six. Big!”
Casually picking up the cup, Ji Xie gave it a couple of lazy shakes and opened it.
Six, five, six.
Just slightly bigger than him.
Brother Ma: “Again! I’m calling small!”
Shaking the cup even more frantically than before, he opened it once more.
Three, two, one. Small.
Tossing the entire dice cup into the air casually, Ji Xie caught it steadily, threw it up again, and caught it once more. He set it down on the table and let go.
Ji Xie: “Hmm, three ones. My bad.”
Refusing to believe in his bad luck, Brother Ma demanded a third round.
Brother Ma: “I refuse to believe this. If you’ve got the guts, match my exact roll.”
The final round.
Brother Ma rolled a three, six, and three, totaling twelve.
Ji Xie rolled four threes, also totaling twelve.
Having spent a lifetime roaming gambling dens, it was the first time Brother Ma had ever run into someone like Ji Xie. Involuntarily swallowing hard, the look he cast at Ji Xie carried a heavy layer of shock.
Clicking his tongue, Ji Xie picked up the glass Xu Yizhu had used earlier, poured himself a measure of liquor, and took a small sip: “Doesn’t taste like much.”
Standing up, he walked over to Xu Yizhu’s side, scooped him out of Xu Man’s grip, and pulled him into his arms.
Ji Xie: “The photos.”
Acknowledging his loss, Brother Ma tossed an old smartphone over to him.
Catching the phone, Ji Xie instructed Xu Man, “Come take a look.”
Checking the device, Xu Man said with an expression of profound relief, “That’s them.” Without hesitation, she hit factory reset, dropped the phone onto the floor, ground it into pieces under her heel, and finally kicked the wreckage into a puddle of spilled alcohol.
“No backups?” Ji Xie asked.
“What kind of person do you think Brother Ma is? Once the money is in hand, naturally I don’t drag things out.”
“Extortion,” Ji Xie stated aloud, “Officer, you heard every word of that.”
Brother Ma and the rest of the occupants in the room froze, staring in confusion as Ji Xie talked to thin air.
Reaching up, Ji Xie unclipped a tiny listening device from his ear and placed it right in front of Brother Ma.
“Did you really think it’s that easy to mess with my people?” Ji Xie leaned in close, whispering by his ear, “Brother Ma, your charges aren’t going to be light.”
The next second, the door of the private booth was slammed open from the outside.
“Police! Don’t move!”