Reluctantly Willing

Level B3 was dim and damp. Noise came from the various rooms. Different from the above-ground environment, it felt eerie and wet here. The upper levels were about lust and richness. Here, it was filled with rot.

An Xiaoyan was pushed forward by Gu Jun. Strange cries occasionally came from the rooms on either side. He looked back at Gu Jun and saw his eyes shining in the darkness. He was like a beast. An Xiaoyan randomly pulled aside a curtain. Seeing the scene inside through a slit, his hand shot back as if he’d been shocked by electricity.

“What is this place?”

“A disgusting place.”

“I want to go upstairs!”

Before An Xiaoyan could walk forward, Gu Jun grabbed him, yanking his arm bag. Gu Jun’s cufflinks flashed.

“Let go!”

“You’re the first person who dares to talk to me like this. The main show hasn’t started yet.”

An Xiaoyan guessed something. He grabbed Gu Jun’s suit jacket. “What exactly did you do? If you did something, I won’t forgive you.”

Gu Jun was unmoved. “Okay, I’d like to see how that goes.”

He continued dragging An Xiaoyan forward. The further they went, the louder the moans became. An Xiaoyan’s heart jumped in his chest. He had a feeling this had something to do with him.

They stopped before a room. The panting inside was obvious. Through the crack in the door, he could make out a large bed.

“Go in.”

An Xiaoyan reached out to open the door, but his hand stopped an inch away from the door. There was a huge secret hidden behind it. He wanted to unveil it, but he’d rather be left in the dark.

He seemed to hesitate for a century. Then, taking a deep breath, he opened the door softly. The old door creaked and then he could see everything inside.

When he saw the scene, tears streamed uncontrollably out of An Xiaoyan’s eyes. His eyes widened in horror.

The people on the bed weren’t affected by the man at the door. They continued moving. The old bed seemed to teeter into An Xiaoyan’s heart.

“Gu Jun, why don’t you get run over by a car? Why are you still alive? Why did you do this to him?”

An Xiaoyan punched Gu Jun’s muscular chest, but the chest was like a steel board. It didn’t budge.

“He chose this.”

An Xiaoyan went to pull the men away. He smacked the ones that he couldn’t pull away with a stool. However, those men kept thrusting like zombies.

“Just give up. They’re all regulars that haven’t touched someone in a long time. They finally saved up the money to have some fun. They won’t give up so easily. Plus, they have a lot of diseases.”

“Liu Cheng, get up. Come with me.”

The man lying on the bed just glanced up at the voice and then continued staring into space.

“You have a way, don’t you? Make them leave.”

Gu Jun brought some muscular men from the outside and pulled away the people around Liu Cheng. An Xiaoyan fell to Liu Cheng’s side. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around Liu Cheng. He hugged his friend while calling out his name. What was this? It had only been a few months. How did this happen? An Xiaoyan hugged Liu Cheng’s body that was covered in sweat and a disgusting smell. He wanted to know what had happened.

Liu Cheng seemed to have heard someone calling for him in the endless darkness. He saw a shred of light in the distance. He ran toward it with all his might and jumped out of the darkness. Seeing An Xiaoyan’s familiar face, he moved his lips and said weakly, “Yan Zi, you’re here.”

“Yes, I’m here. What happened? Come home with me.”

“Yan Zi, we can’t leave anymore.” Liu Cheng rose beside An Xiaoyan and shook his hand away. He pulled some clothes from the ground and put them on. Then he walked out the room. When he passed by Gu Jun, he said, “Happy now?” and left. An Xiaoyan, still dazed, was left alone.

He started to run after Liu Cheng, but Gu Jun stopped him. “He deserves it. What are you getting involved for?”

“Gu Jun, what did you do to him? Why do you have to involve the people around me? He’s different from me.”

“How is he different? Finish the show before leaving.”

An Xiaoyan moved to chase after Liu Cheng, but a bunch of guards surrounded him right away. They blocked Liu Cheng and he disappeared from sight. An Xiaoyan squatted down and buried his face in his hands. He’d dragged Liu Cheng into this. It was alright if he was punished for the crime. Why did two people have to be hurt at once?

“I know you can save him from here. Tell me. What must I do?”

Gu Jun smirked. “If you take the initiative for once, I’ll take him out of here. You should know how fierce the men here are. With his body, he’ll be ruined very quickly.”

“F*ck off.” An Xiaoyan tried to slap him, but Gu Jun caught his hand.

“You should fix your temper. You can show your claws sometimes but not every day.”

“If I do it, will you really take him out of here?” An Xiaoyan asked cautiously. This was hell. If sacrificing himself again could save Liu Cheng, then it was okay. He’d caused this in the first place.

“I keep my word.”

An Xiaoyan stood up and wiped away his tears. “Okay. Take him away. I want to see him leave with my own eyes and I’ll satisfy your request.”

Gu Jun snapped his finger. The guard beside him nodded and left.

“How do you want to say goodbye to your old friend? You want to make small talk with him or something?”

This question was just a test. An Xiaoyan took a deep breath. “I just want to see from afar.”

Liu Cheng must not want An Xiaoyan to see his pathetic state. It was humiliating and he knew Liu Cheng. This was why he wanted to protect Liu Cheng’s last bit of dignity.

The Night Charm’s sign glowed in the darkness. An Xiaoyan sat in the car. Through the window, he saw some people drag Liu Cheng out. Those were the Night Charm’s security guards. They were called security guards, but security guards were just there to prevent fights from happening. Mos of these people were from gangs.

An Xiaoyan pressed against the window, staring at Liu Cheng. He watched Liu Cheng stand up and tidy his clothes. His messy hair fluttered in the night wind.

His backside grew smaller and smaller. The moment Liu Cheng was about to disappear from his sight, Liu Cheng turned around and glanced at the black car in the distance. An Xiaoyan hurriedly rolled up the window to block their vision. He didn’t know that that would be their last time seeing each other.

“He’s gone. Why are you still looking?”

An Xiaoyan snapped back to reality. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “What did you do to him?”

Gu Jun acted as if this was none of his business. “He caused this for himself. It has nothing to do with me. But it’s partly because of you. The one who should die the most is you. You hurt them all.”

An Xiaoyan froze. Yes, he’d caused all this. He didn’t know how many people he’d harmed with his own hands.

The one who should die the most is you. The one who should die the most. Yes, he deserved to die. If he died, none of this would have happened. Before, he was afraid of dying, because he still had his parents. Now, he didn’t have family or friends. What was the point of living?