ADTCP Ch1

That night, Tao Zhen had been dragged to a bar by some college classmates he hadn’t known for long, supposedly to “broaden his horizons.”

Pushing open the dark skull-carved doors and stepping onto the wooden floor littered with colorful streamers, he was greeted by a scene of wild debauchery: strangers pairing off at tables, joking one moment and passionately kissing the next, hands wandering freely over each other’s private parts.

The promoter at the entrance spotted their group and enthusiastically led them to a booth, casually shielding a half-naked couple with his hand as if drawing a censor bar, then launched into a smooth introduction of the evening’s drink list.

—The intensity of this place was clearly beyond the imagination of little virgin Tao Zhen.

His eyes landed on a suspicious white stain on the sofa for a few seconds, and he froze like his feet were rooted to the ground. He absolutely could not sit down, and turned to leave this den of sin.

But before he could take two steps, a classmate grabbed his arm.

“Hey, Tao Zhen. Didn’t we agree to come here together to see the world? What, you scared?”

Sure enough, Tao Zhen stopped.

They pressed harder: “Back in Xuancheng, that tiny place, you wouldn’t know how it is. Bars in Nancheng are always like this—it’s normal~”

Normal?

This was supposed to be normal??

Suspicious in his heart, Tao Zhen forced a casual expression. “Ahem… I’m not scared.”

Seeing through his bluster, the classmates chuckled and tugged him down by the sleeve, shoving the drink list at him.

“Alright, alright, you’re not scared. Just play with us once and you’ll love it here.”

 “The drinks are already ordered, you just pick up the bill.”

A payment QR code was handed over, with a four-digit number that wasn’t exactly small. The group exchanged looks, smirked, and gestured slyly under the table.

They weren’t really his kind of friends. They had a simple reason for keeping him around: Tao Zhen was a rich second-generation heir.

More than ten years ago, Tao Zhen’s father had struck it rich in the mines, going from penniless to a coal boss worth tens of millions. That wealth made Tao Zhen shine. Though not the best student, his father’s money got him into Nancheng University’s international exchange department.

What’s more, Tao Zhen was generous to a fault. Meals, shopping, he always paid without blinking. A fool with money like this was a rare treasure.

The lights were dim, so Tao Zhen didn’t notice their sneaky glances. Holding his breath against the overpowering perfume in the air, he whipped out his phone and paid without hesitation.

A cheery “ding-dong,” and the promoter retreated with a smile. His classmates stopped hovering around him.

Only then did Tao Zhen sigh in relief, glancing down nervously to check his pants, making sure nothing dirty had stained them.

The old saying was true: pride makes one suffer.

This place was far too chaotic—one experience was enough.

Just as he raised his eyes again, his gaze locked onto someone across the way and refused to let go.

—A bartender.

Amidst the revelry, he stood steady behind the bar. His devastatingly handsome face was etched with cold indifference. His white shirt was buttoned all the way to the top, neat and proper, like a lotus blooming pure from the mud.

Something to be admired from afar, not touched.

Tao Zhen stared blankly for a few seconds, his heart suddenly pounding.

He straightened unconsciously, wanting to approach the bartender, only to see someone beat him to it, phone in hand, striking up a friendly conversation.

But the bartender had no intention of responding. With a calm expression, he turned away and kept wiping glasses, saying nothing.

Tao Zhen hesitated, halfway rising, then froze in place, distracted.

Until the drinks arrived, and his classmates noticed his dazed look. One slapped his shoulder with a grin: “What’s up? Got your eye on some chick?”

Startled back to himself, Tao Zhen hesitated, then forced a relaxed tone: “No, not a girl. I just thought… that bartender over there was really, really handsome…”

They followed his gaze, faces flickering with surprise.

Of course they knew who Tao Zhen meant. Zhu Wensheng, the boy who’d caused a stir the moment he started working at Light Bar.

To be fair, he was striking, sharp brow bones, phoenix eyes with upturned corners, narrow lids, thick lashes. His heavy brows lent his face a brooding, aloof air rather than cruelty.

But Zhu Wensheng was arrogant, arrogant enough to annoy people. No matter how many boys and girls threw themselves at him, he remained unmoved.

In the murky lighting, someone’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, you mean Zhu Wensheng? Then you’re out of luck. Through normal channels, you’ll never get his WeChat.”

Tao Zhen had already seen that for himself, but still felt a twinge of disappointment. He forced a smile. “No big deal. Then forget it…”

“Hey, don’t just forget it! Normal channels don’t work, but who said you can’t try other ways?” The speaker winked. “Didn’t you notice his look? What does it tell you?”

Tao Zhen froze. Even from a distance, he could see the boy’s strong hands, the defined forearm, broad shoulders narrowing into a lean waist, every line radiating strength. His clothes were plain, no brands, no jewelry, and when his sleeves rode up, bruises and scrapes peeked through.

“His family background…” Tao Zhen murmured, as if realizing something, “it’s not good, is it?”

“Exactly! He’s obviously a poor student working part-time. And what’s the one thing he lacks? Money! Which is exactly what you have. So don’t think of your relationship with him in conventional terms—”

Tao Zhen: “But…”

“But what? You’d be helping him, protecting him. If it’s you, fine. If it’s someone else, that would be degrading. Do you think we’d trick you?”

Tao Zhen fell silent, as if enlightened.

Later, when he left for the bathroom, the classmates dropped their act, laughing uproariously and gossiping about how Tao Zhen was doomed to embarrass himself.

“Hahaha, Binzi, you’re vicious!”

“Seriously! How did you even think of telling Tao Zhen to go sponsor Zhu Wensheng? If those two actually got together, I’d eat shit standing on my head!”

Binzi smirked. “Of course they won’t. That’s the point…”

“That’s why it’ll be fun to watch, right?”

***

 

The bar was deafening, filled with cloying, prying gazes that made one’s skin crawl.

After brushing off yet another burly man trying to hook up, Zhu Wensheng coldly tossed aside his apron, leaving the bar for the bathroom to wash his face.

At the door, he happened to run into Li Min coming out from the other side.

The red-haired woman in a black dress lifted the curtain, and when she saw him, she visibly paused. Her crimson lips pressed down on a cigarette butt as she looked at Zhu Wensheng with a teasing smile:

“Little master, do you regret it now?”

Zhu Wensheng turned his face slightly, the hostility in him easing a little.
The warm yellow light swept across the tall bridge of his nose, illuminating his ear.

It looked different from most people’s, its upper half twisted and swollen, shaped like a dumpling.

This was the result of repeated injury and blood congestion, just like the bruises and cuts often found on his body. It was the mark of an MMA fighter.

Li Min smiled faintly: “Grown up all these years, but you’ve never been harassed and humiliated by so many people every single day, have you?”

That wasn’t untrue.

As the young master of the Zhu family in Nancheng, what he had never endured in nineteen years, he now experienced in a single day here.

People mistook him for a poor student working part-time, assuming that if they threw him a little money, he would debase himself and cling to them.

He found it disgusting, through and through.

But—“I don’t regret it.”

Zhu Wensheng pulled back his gaze, twisted the faucet open, and bent down to wash his face.

Beads of water traced his sharp jawline, soaking the collar of his white shirt and clinging to his skin. With each breath, the rise and fall of his chest was revealed.

On the young fighter, every inch of skin was carved with precision.

Fighters were born madmen, willing to use any means to reach their goal. After endless training and combat, every muscle fiber was activated, their bodies dehydrated and replenished in cycles. When they leapt into the ring, they were like starving beasts from the jungle—pure and bloodthirsty.

“Cousin, thank you.”

“…”

“Damn it, stop thanking me, you’ll be the death of me.”

Li Min, helpless against him, wiped the smile from her face, flicked the ash from her cigarette, and said flatly:

“Who told you to abandon your cushy life as the Zhu family heir, only to come train MMA in my club? Thanks to you, I’ve been scolded to death by our grandparents, and nearly ruined by your other set of grandparents’ tricks.”

“You don’t even know how much I’ve sacrificed for you!”

Thinking of her hardships, Li Min gritted her teeth, grabbed Zhu Wensheng by the collar, and shook him in frustration. The glowing red ember at her fingertips flickered, dropping ash onto his damp shirt collar.

Zhu Wensheng didn’t resist. He simply lowered his head calmly, not realizing how pitiful he looked at that moment.

Then, light footsteps echoed from the men’s restroom behind them.

A tall, slender figure brushed past the curtain, and his gaze froze instantly.

Hot blood surged in Tao Zhen’s chest. His eyes widened, his breath quickened.

Maybe Binzi and the others had been right.

He had hesitated, thinking that even if Zhu Wensheng was poor, it was wrong to frame their relationship as “sponsorship.”

But this scene before him told him he was wrong.

If he didn’t take Zhu Wensheng under his wing, then Zhu Wensheng would continue to be humiliated by others like this.

With that thought, Tao Zhen took a deep breath.

“Let him go!”

He strode forward, placing himself between them and shielding Zhu Wensheng behind his back. His wet, puppy-dog eyes glared fiercely at Li Min:

“From now on, he’s mine. You’re not allowed to bully him.”

Then Tao Zhen turned around, lifting his chin to look at Zhu Wensheng.

“How much was she about to give you? I’ll double it.”

“I’ll take care of you!”

 

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BTW I’m still looking for story to translate, feel free to give me reccomendations.