What the police officers were thinking about this matter was unknown to Wen Ze, but if he had known, he probably would have laughed out loud three times.
He merely spoke to Liu Ming over the phone in a soft, fragile tone.
Liu Ming was the one who had followed Zhou Zichen from the very beginning, and Zhou Zichen was also the hottest artist under his management.
As for ability, Liu Ming might not have had much, but as the saying goes: birds of a feather flock together. These two could truly be described as villains colluding with each other.
Liu Ming would help Zhou Zichen keep an eye out for newly entered, background-less artists in the industry, and after Zhou Zichen had his fun with them, he would hand them over to Liu Ming.
The two of them were also cautious; having never stepped on a landmine after all these years, they had still forced quite a few people to despair or quit.
The original host had even seen a few of them, but because he was blindly devoted to the scumbag, he simply believed whatever flimsy excuses Zhou Zichen made up.
The reason Zhou Zichen was able to keep the original host around instead of sending him off to be ruined by others was perhaps largely because the original host was the least rational and most subservient among all his lovers.
Of course, Wen Ze was not the original host. Everything he was doing now was for a much bigger explosion in the future.
“Get over here… Yes, right now, within ten minutes… Hurry up and sign the letter of reconciliation… Who asked you to call the police… You little bitch…”
Liu Ming’s arrogant tone made many of the police officers frown. However, this was simply how people interacted in the mortal world, and there was nothing they could say.
A police officer standing nearby, however, coldly reminded him, “Watch your language.”
Liu Ming originally wanted to curse a bit more, but not daring to provoke the police, he reluctantly shut his mouth.
Wen Ze arrived.
Though it could hardly be called “hurried.”
The police station was indeed not far away, but arriving within ten minutes was truly impossible.
Since he couldn’t make it in time, he might as well drag it out.
Wen Ze didn’t show up until an hour later.
Although the clothes on his body looked meticulously matched, anyone could see his panic, as well as the red, swollen state of his eyes that even a thick layer of powder couldn’t completely conceal.
Liu Ming, however, turned a blind eye and immediately burst into a vicious scold: “You little bitch, you’ve really got some nerve, haven’t you? How dare you keep us waiting this long! Didn’t I tell you to get here within ten minutes?!”
With that, he reached out to grab Wen Ze’s hair.
Such a practiced movement clearly hadn’t happened just once or twice; one could tell simply from the way Wen Ze instinctively lowered his head and his body trembled incessantly.
The police officer beside them knitted his brows so tightly they could have pinched a fly to death.
He had a stern face with deep nasolabial folds a very majestic and imposing appearance.
Initially, the officer had felt somewhat displeased.
After all, it really shouldn’t have taken over an hour to get from Wen Ze’s apartment complex to this place.
Yet, seeing the situation as it was now, he finally understood why his wife and his buddy had both given him repeated, earnest instructions to take good care of this young man before they left.
Such a tiny kid, looking so obedient and acting like a complete pushover, only to run into a bunch of bullies—who wouldn’t feel heartache for him?
No wonder his sensitive and suspicious buddy had nagged him several times, sounding no less than his own wife.
The officer strode forward directly, shoved Liu Ming aside, and pulled Wen Ze behind him, earning a soft expression of gratitude: “Thank you…”
It was as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz; if the person hadn’t been standing right behind him, the officer would have thought he was hallucinating.
“It’s nothing, just doing my job.” He cast a helpless look at Wen Ze, which turned cold and stern as he faced Liu Ming. “Who gave you permission to throw punches in a police station? Would you like to go inside and stay for a couple of days as well?”
The officer was tall and robust, built like a tiger and a bear. Liu Ming a wretch whose body had been hollowed out by alcohol and debauchery, someone who couldn’t even see his own chin when looking down didn’t dare say a word, though a flicker of resentment imperceptibly crossed his eyes.
He’s just some worthless cop living on a fixed salary! How dare he go against me!
Wen Ze didn’t miss the reluctance in Liu Ming’s eyes and gently reminded him, “Officer, thank you. But Manager Liu isn’t a good person. You should let go of me; don’t implicate yourself.”
Hearing this, the officer turned back with a look of surprise.
The kid was quite sharp not entirely a pushover after all.
Too bad he was a brainless romantic.
The feeling of being cared about by a stranger was genuinely nice.
The officer said gently, “He already hates me anyway, so it won’t matter what else is said. You’d better worry about yourself first; once you walk out of this police station, nobody will be protecting you.”
Wen Ze managed a forced smile, his eyes welling up with crystal-clear tears to the point where the thick powder caked around his eye sockets even showed a slight tendency to fall off in flakes.
Sigh.
Another pitiful child.
The officer sighed inwardly, yet could only watch as Wen Ze stepped forward and signed his name on the letter of reconciliation.
Stroke by stroke, neat and orderly, it looked like an elementary school student’s handwriting raw and innocent.
Just like Wen Ze himself.
Liu Ming couldn’t even wait for the final stroke to fall before heavily shoving Wen Ze away.
The black ballpoint pen dragged an eye-piercing streak across the thick paper, and the slender spine looked as though it was about to crash straight into the armrest of a chair.
Though not sharp, colliding with it definitely wouldn’t feel good.
“Careful.”
A pair of strong arms wrapped around him, and with a simple spin, Wen Ze landed in that person’s broad embrace.
A faint scent of pine wood brushed against the tip of his nose.
Wen Ze hadn’t expected anyone to catch him from this deliberately designed angle, and he raised his head in startled bewilderment.
Coming into view was a handsome male face. His facial features were as distinct as if carved by a knife, his sword-like brows slanted up into his temples, and a pair of dark eyes were filled with complete indifference looking nothing like someone who would perform such a gesture.
The man himself seemed somewhat surprised as well, but he carried his good deed through to the end; after righting Wen Ze’s posture, he politely retracted his arm.
Only, his hand tightened involuntarily as it hung by his side, the warm and flexible sensation seemingly still lingering in his palm.
How could anyone have such a waist? It looks like it would snap with a single bend.
Watching the still-flustered Wen Ze, the man felt a ripple in his heart.
Quite cute, too.
A righteous gentleman.
Wen Ze had no idea what the man was thinking; he merely evaluated him as such in his mind.
If he had known, he probably wouldn’t have given such a high rating.
Calling him a pervert wouldn’t have been out of the question either.
There was a slight height difference between the two; even standing up straight, Wen Ze could only tilt his head up to look at the other person.
And this look revealed something rather odd.
The man was dressed in a crisp black suit, looking every bit the successful elite, yet a few strands of dark red were dyed into his neat short hair, making him look somewhat out of place.
If they were in Hell, such hair color was quite common either through family lineage or an excess of fire elements, much like his own Flame Demon target. But in the mortal world… it felt a bit non-mainstream.
It was just that the man’s natural aura kept it under control, instead making his demeanor appear all the more striking.
“Thank you.” Wen Ze was the type to remember someone’s complete appearance at a single glance, and his internal confusion didn’t prevent him from lowering his head and speaking softly in gratitude.
“Just a small favor.” The man looked like he wanted to turn and leave, but paused mid-turn and added instead, “Need any help?”
Even though he had been watching for a long time and knew this was a case of one willing to beat and the other willing to endure, he still couldn’t help asking, hoping for an affirmative reply.
“Thank you, but no need.”
Unsurprisingly, the boy in front of him rejected the offer in a voice that was soft yet firm.
The man sighed, handed over a business card, and said, “Gu Chao. Whenever you change your mind, you can still come find me.”
“Wen Ze.”
Wen Ze flashed a brilliant smile.
It didn’t quite fit his current persona, but it was undeniably dazzling.
The man seemed startled by the smile as well, responding in a low voice before walking away in apparent haste.
Wen Ze’s gaze lingered on that retreating figure for a long time.
He had a hunch they would meet again.
A cold voice came from his side: “Taken a fancy to him? Are you really that desperate for men?”
Wen Ze felt a trace of annoyance.
It was one thing to use these people to amuse himself when he was bored, but now that he had found something new and interesting, he naturally had no energy left to keep up pretexts with them.
Still, ending things so hastily after putting so much effort into laying out the layout wouldn’t look good either, so Wen Ze had to rein in his patience, look up at Zhou Zichen, and fill his eyes with hurt: “Zichen… I just wanted to thank him…”
“Enough!”
The sight of Wen Ze looking like that filled Zhou Zichen with disgust.
Every single time it was like this crying at the drop of a hat.
If not for that, why would he still not have touched this person to this day? Total mood-killer.
“Let’s go.”
With that said, Zhou Zichen strode forward without the slightest regard for whether Wen Ze could keep up with his pace.
He was tall and long-legged, towering over Wen Ze by more than a dozen centimeters, leaving Wen Ze to trot along the entire way in hot pursuit, looking utterly wretched.
Suddenly, Zhou Zichen came to a halt, causing Wen Ze to bump straight into his back unprepared.
“Are you blind?!”
Zhou Zichen’s anger, accumulated over twenty-four hours, finally erupted.
He gave Wen Ze a hard shove, sending him tumbling onto the cold floor.
Zhou Zichen looked down at him from on high, not a shred of pity in his eyes: “Wen Ze, stop putting on a pitiful act. Who do you think you’re fooling? Coming so late on purpose you must be laughing at me behind my back right now, aren’t you?”
“Zichen, I didn’t!”
Wen Ze frantically reached out to grab his trouser leg, only to be kicked away mercilessly.
This farce attracted disgusted and probing looks from countless passersby, which finally made Zhou Zichen rein in his temper slightly.
The group of three got into a car—Wen Ze’s car.
“Brother Zhou,” Wen Ze was driving when he heard Liu Ming say with unctuous flattery, “They’ve set up a game and invited you over, saying there are a few fresh goods. What do you think…”
“Fresh goods” meant newcomers.
It seemed someone else was about to fall victim to their poison.
“They” didn’t know how many people had already been played to death out there.
Demons didn’t have that much empathy, but he genuinely felt this group didn’t even deserve to descend into Hell.
A cold, strange glint flashed in Wen Ze’s eyes, and his fair fingers resting on the steering wheel twitched almost imperceptibly.
Zhou Zichen never let Wen Ze get involved in those things.
Yet Wen Ze felt this wasn’t protection, but rather a lack of trust.
After all, a soft little sheep like the original host would probably spill everything if questioned about anything.
Having stayed up all night, Zhou Zichen was in poor spirits, but he genuinely wanted to find some entertainment, so he motioned for Liu Ming to go up front and drive, then told Wen Ze, “Get out.”
The car was heading in the direction of Zhou Zichen’s house, which was running in the exact opposite direction of Wen Ze’s apartment complex.
They had already been driving for over ten minutes; dropping Wen Ze off here meant Zhou Zichen hadn’t considered how Wen Ze was supposed to get back at all.
Yet the original host was just that submissive, and Wen Ze had no desire to play word games with them either, so he obediently got out of the car.
The car drove off into the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust straight into people’s faces.
Wen Ze coughed twice and directly pulled out his phone to hail a cab.
Hailing a cab was so convenient nowadays why wouldn’t he?
He wasn’t the original host, like some tragic melodrama male lead who would let himself be dumped by Zhou Zichen on a torrential mountain pass and stubbornly walk all the way back on foot.
Resting his chin against the car window, Wen Ze let his thoughts drift back to that man.
For some reason, that streak of near-highlighted red hair remained firmly imprinted in his mind.
He should look him up when he got back; if he were just an ordinary mortal, he shouldn’t have caused such a strong flutter in his chest.
What Wen Ze didn’t know was that, at virtually the exact same moment, in the tallest office building in the city, someone else was issuing the exact same order.