Fu Yanshi was in a meeting when he received the call from the police station.
Hearing the police say that his scoundrel of a cousin, Gu Mingrui, had gotten into a fight at a bar, he cursed inwardly and hurried to the station to get him out.
To put it simply, less than three days after their breakup, Gu Mingrui had run into his ex-boyfriend at a bar with one of Gu Mingrui’s own good-for-nothing friends.
Feeling like a complete clown, he had started a fight with that friend. He threw the first punch.
Fu Yanshi thought to himself, could you really blame Gu Mingrui for this?
If it were him, he would have beaten up that damn, unscrupulous friend too.
But they were at the police station, after all. While getting him out, Fu Yanshi still put on a show of scolding Gu Mingrui.
“No matter what, resorting to violence is wrong. Is there anything that can’t be talked out properly?”
Gu Mingrui couldn’t help but argue, “Bro! It was clearly them who”
Fu Yanshi smacked Gu Mingrui hard on the back of the head. “You brat, still talking back! Just you wait until we get home.”
Having played the bad cop, Fu Yanshi prepared to play the good cop. He said politely to the police officer, “Sorry for the trouble. I’ll be sure to teach him a lesson when we get back.”
It wasn’t a major incident to begin with, so the officer said a few perfunctory words and let Fu Yanshi take him away.
Once they were out of the room, Gu Mingrui pouted aggrievedly, his eyes turning red. He mumbled something under his breath, the very picture of misery.
Fu Yanshi hooked an arm around Gu Mingrui’s neck, pulling him into his side. “What’s the big deal? Get a grip,” he said, amused.
Gu Mingrui said stubbornly, “Bro, it really wasn’t my fault.”
Fu Yanshi said, “That brat from the Tao family is a real piece of work, stealing his own brother’s man. Don’t worry, I’ll get even for you. His old man was just asking to have that brat come train at my company a while back. I’ll give him a good ‘training’.”
Hearing this, Gu Mingrui’s mood finally brightened. Fu Yanshi ruffled his hair and was about to lead him away with an arm around his shoulders when his peripheral vision caught a crowd of people standing in the next room.
Fu Yanshi’s gaze landed instantly on a young man standing ramrod straight, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Fu Yanshi said to Gu Mingrui, “You go on ahead.”
Gu Mingrui was still heartbroken and wanted to pour out his woes to Fu Yanshi. “Bro”
Fu Yanshi took out his phone and tapped on it a few times.
Gu Mingrui’s phone buzzed. A text message showed a deposit of one hundred thousand yuan into his bank account.
Fu Yanshi said, “Go find some fun for yourself.”
“You got it, bro!” Gu Mingrui’s face went from cloudy to sunny. He blew a kiss at Fu Yanshi as he ran off. “I love you, bro!”
Then he was out of Fu Yanshi’s sight within ten seconds.
Fu Yanshi knew it. The power of money was still the most effective.
Leaning against the doorframe, Fu Yanshi listened to the farce unfolding inside.
Zhou Luo was loudly accusing, “If Shen Zhinan didn’t steal my watch, how would it have just appeared in his closet for no reason!”
Shen Zhinan’s lips were a straight line as he said coldly, “I didn’t steal your things.”
Zhou Luo sneered, “So what you’re saying is, my watch grew legs and ran into your closet? Everyone saw it crystal clear. The watch was found in your closet.”
Shen Zhinan said, “Speak with evidence. If you don’t believe me, we can have the watch tested for my fingerprints. A forensic analysis won’t lie.”
Zhou Luo choked for a second, then quickly retorted, “You could have just worn gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. Is that so hard to do?”
Shen Zhinan was beginning to understand. No matter what he said, Zhou Luo would find a plausible excuse to refute him.
There were no security cameras in the dorm room. The fact remained that the watch was found in his closet. No matter what Shen Zhinan said, it sounded like a weak excuse.
“Besides, everyone knows you’re not well-off, but you recently bought a very expensive computer. Who knows where that money came from!”
His previous computer had been too slow for running data. The so-called new computer was one Shen Zhinan had bought with his scholarship money after selling the old one.
Shen Zhinan didn’t know why Zhou Luo was suddenly bringing this up. He said, “I have a scholarship, and I work part-time. Every cent I have can stand up to scrutiny. Zhou Luo, I suggest you watch your mouth if you have no evidence. This is called slander. If everyone just spouted nonsense like you, couldn’t I also suspect that you orchestrated this whole thing yourself?”
“You!” Zhou Luo, having been hit where it hurt, felt a flicker of guilt, but he still lifted his chin and glared fiercely at Shen Zhinan. “The other roommates can prove it. You even said my watch was nice before! A poor bastard like you has never seen something so fine. You must have wanted to steal it back then!”
Shen Zhinan almost laughed at that. When Zhou Luo had first moved into the dorm, it happened to be his birthday. His dad had given him a watch, and he had gone around asking everyone, “Is my watch nice?”
Shen Zhinan was a normal person who understood basic social etiquette, and his brain was fully functional.
Rolling his eyes internally, Shen Zhinan said in a deadpan voice, “It was your birthday, and you asked me if the watch your dad gave you was nice. If I didn’t say it was nice, was I supposed to say, ‘Yep, your watch is hideous’?”
“Alright, alright, stop arguing for a moment.” The police officer’s head was throbbing from their bickering.
Dormitory situations were the hardest to judge. Since nothing was actually lost, the best solution was a private settlement.
The matter could be big or small. The watch was worth a hundred thousand yuan; if pursued seriously, it could lead to jail time.
The officer was also getting a headache. Zhou Luo was relentless, and Shen Zhinan denied it to the death, each with their own reasoning.
“If I had really stolen it, I wouldn’t have been foolish enough to suggest calling the police myself,” Shen Zhinan emphasized one last time. “I didn’t steal it, and that’s that. The reason I’m confident there are no fingerprints of mine on the watch is because I never once touched it.”
“I’ve been extremely busy lately, basically leaving early and coming back late. The only time I could have done it would be in the middle of the night. My bed and Zhou Luo’s are the farthest apart in the room. No one in the dorm uses bed curtains, and my roommate across from me is a notorious night owl who often plays games all night. If I were to steal this watch, it would be completely illogical from any angle.”
The student counselor also tried to smooth things over. “I think for this matter, why don’t we just let it go? The watch wasn’t lost, and you didn’t suffer any losses, right, Zhou Luo?”
Zhou Luo was adamant. “I’ll drop it on one condition: Shen Zhinan has to move out of the dorm. I don’t want to live with a thief!”
Just as Shen Zhinan was about to say something, someone cut in. “Watch your mouth, kid.”
The scent of cedarwood filled his nostrils. Shen Zhinan’s eyes flew open, almost thinking he was hallucinating.
“You, what are you doing here!?” Shen Zhinan said in surprise.
“Don’t worry about that for now.” Fu Yanshi pulled Shen Zhinan behind him, frowning sternly at Zhou Luo. “The matter isn’t settled yet. Don’t be throwing the word ‘thief’ around.”
Zhou Luo shot back, “And who are you!”
Fu Yanshi lied without batting an eye. “I’m his older brother.”
“I’ve heard the gist of it. This matter can’t just be dropped.” Fu Yanshi shot a sharp glare at the counselor and said in a severe tone, “Drop what? We don’t care about that stupid watch. Is our Zhinan’s reputation something a worthless watch can compare to?”
“This matter must be thoroughly investigated.”
Fu Yanshi usually spoke in a lazy drawl, a faint smile often playing on his lips, making him seem easygoing. But having navigated the business world for so many years, when he truly became serious, his words carried a powerful authority.
The incident escalated, spreading across the campus forums until the whole university knew about it.
Finally, the police intervened and interrogated the other two roommates. One of them was timid, and when the police told him that withholding information was considered abetting, he got scared and confessed everything.
He said that one afternoon, he had been taking a nap but wasn’t fully asleep. He saw Zhou Luo place the watch in Shen Zhinan’s closet himself.
Zhou Luo never expected things to blow up this much, let alone that there was an eyewitness. His bluff collapsed, and after a mental breakdown, he tearfully admitted to it.
He had only wanted to play a prank on Shen Zhinan and never thought it would get so out of hand.
How the matter would be handled ultimately depended on Shen Zhinan’s attitude.
Zhou Luo tearfully apologized to Shen Zhinan many times. Even Zhou Luo’s parents came to the university, and the family of three begged for Shen Zhinan’s forgiveness.
Fu Yanshi didn’t interfere, letting Shen Zhinan decide for himself.
In the end, Shen Zhinan listed the costs for lost work and emotional distress. This whole mess had cost him a lot of money in lost earnings over the past few days, and he didn’t inflate the numbers. As for the emotional distress fee, Shen Zhinan felt he was more than entitled to it.
Finally, Shen Zhinan looked at the cold, hard numbers in his bank account and broke into a warm smile.
Zhou Luo ended up taking a leave of absence from school. He couldn’t stay on campus anymore, and so this incredibly absurd incident came to a close.
After this, Shen Zhinan rented a small apartment near the university.
On one hand, living in the dorm was inconvenient for many things, like how he often had to stay up late coding. On the other hand, he really didn’t have the energy to maintain roommate relationships anymore. The incident had been so annoying, and he couldn’t bear to go through it again.
He used the compensation money to pay for the rent. With the remaining funds, Shen Zhinan was uncharacteristically generous and invited Fu Yanshi to dinner at the city’s most popular sky garden restaurant.
Remembering how Fu Yanshi had stood in front of him and defended him that day, Shen Zhinan was still deeply moved.
The alpha’s tall figure had shielded him, blocking out the surging malice and the room full of doubt.
Most importantly, Fu Yanshi had believed him.
The word “believe” is easy to say, but instinctive trust is an incredibly precious thing.
He had asked Fu Yanshi why he believed him. Fu Yanshi had said that if he were really someone who would do anything for money, he might as well get it from him it would be more practical than stealing a stupid watch.
And then there was his intuition.
Fu Yanshi told Shen Zhinan that he just believed him.
This feeling of having someone back you up, of someone taking your side without a second thought, was unfamiliar to Shen Zhinan. A different kind of feeling began to well up inside him.
The garden restaurant had a wonderful ambiance. Shen Zhinan arrived half an hour earlier than the agreed time.
He sat at the table, his fingers tapping unconsciously on his thigh, checking his phone for the time every so often.
Fu Yanshi was a little late due to traffic. When he saw Shen Zhinan sitting under the lights, his pupils dilated slightly.
Shen Zhinan was dressed very formally today. He had specially bought a suit and even made a trip to the hair salon to have the stylist give him the most suitable haircut.
The stylist had given him a wool-perm.
The omega wore a white suit. Under the dim restaurant lighting, his skin was like fine suet jade, lustrous and radiant. His eyes were downcast, his long, thick eyelashes fluttering like a butterfly’s wings.
His already palm-sized face looked even more strikingly small framed by the fluffy hairstyle. He was as exquisite as a real-life ball-jointed doll.
Fu Yanshi pulled out the chair opposite Shen Zhinan. Shen Zhinan looked up and heard Fu Yanshi say with a laugh, “Well now, which fairy tale did this prince just step out of?” Fu Yanshi gave him another look and casually complimented, “Nice suit. It suits you.”
Shen Zhinan scratched his head, embarrassed. “I doubt any prince would wear a discounted suit set that cost 139.89 yuan.”
Fu Yanshi: “…”
He had spoken too soon.
“Traffic was a bit heavy.” Fu Yanshi flipped through the menu, explaining why he was late. “Have you been waiting long?”
“Not too long.” Shen Zhinan looked at the menu in Fu Yanshi’s hands. “My treat today, so be mindful of what you order.”
Fu Yanshi: ?
Was that how you were supposed to say it?
Shen Zhinan: “Haha, I’m kidding. Order whatever you want, don’t be polite.”
Fu Yanshi had a feeling Shen Zhinan had been completely serious with that first sentence.
Figuring this dinner was to thank him, Fu Yanshi didn’t offer to pay himself. Instead, he symbolically ordered a few of the signature dishes that were moderately priced.
After ordering, Fu Yanshi began to study Shen Zhinan again.
He felt the young man was a bit tense today.
“Are you nervous?” Fu Yanshi propped his chin on one hand, finding it somewhat amusing.
Shen Zhinan covered his mouth with his hand and whispered to Fu Yanshi, “This might be called handsome-shame. I dressed up too handsomely today, so I’m a little nervous.”
Fu Yanshi chuckled but still affirmed, “You do look really good today.”
The restaurant was popular for a reason; the food was genuinely delicious.
It was just that while Fu Yanshi was eating, he kept feeling Shen Zhinan sneaking glances at him.
“Is there something on my face?” Fu Yanshi couldn’t help but ask.
Shen Zhinan: “Maybe you’re a little strange today.”
Fu Yanshi: “Hm?”
Shen Zhinan: “…Strangely handsome.”
Fu Yanshi: ?
Fu Yanshi: “Was that Erguotou you were drinking just now, not water?”
Why was he suddenly acting like he was tipsy?
Shen Zhinan’s toes curled in his shoes for a long moment before he finally said what he had really wanted to say all night.
“Actually, what I wanted to say is…” Shen Zhinan threw caution to the wind. “Let’s end our friends-with-benefits relationship here!”