ADTCP Ch2

From the dance floor in the distance came a sudden burst of noisy screams, turning the place into a hellish carnival. Yet at the restroom entrance, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

That forceful declaration—“I’ll take care of you”—still hung in the air, echoing long after it was spoken. Several seconds passed before Zhu Wensheng blinked as if waking from a dream, carefully studying the person who had said it.

A strikingly beautiful blond youth.

He had been sneaking glances since earlier at the bar, standing out among his rowdy “friends” like a crane among chickens.

His bold, eye-catching hair made him glow with brightness. His small face was filled with delicate features, high nose, rosy lips, and a flashing little canine tooth. But most striking were his slightly drooping, wet-puppy eyes.

Clear, innocent, brimming with youth.

Even while “offering to keep” someone, he had managed to make it sound like a love confession.

Zhu Wensheng’s lips moved, a subtle, indescribable emotion stirring in his chest. He stared at the blond boy for a long time.
“…You’ll take care of me?”

Tao Zhen immediately nodded hard.

Zhu Wensheng was silent for a few seconds. “Do you even know who I am?”

Before Tao Zhen could answer, Li Min could no longer hold it in. She bent over suddenly, her shoulders shaking violently, scattering ash from her cigarette all over the floor, like the precursor to turning into a zombie.

Was she… laughing?

After a stunned pause, Tao Zhen’s blood rushed to his head. Realization hit late, and anger welled up. He suddenly stepped forward, grabbing Zhu Wensheng’s wrist:

“Of course I know! I know exactly who you are, and I know how hard it’s been for you all this time!”

Forced to sell his labor for tuition, forced to swallow his pride and bow to those who humiliated him.

“You don’t have to endure any of that anymore. I’ll give you money.” Tao Zhen’s face was deadly serious. The GUCCI logo on his white T-shirt sparkled under the lights, the gold jewelry on his hand cold and heavy as he gripped Zhu Wensheng’s wrist. “My name is Tao Zhen. Tao, as in ‘simple joy,’ and Zhen, as in ‘pure innocence’…”

It was as if a subtle current traveled up from the point of their touch. Zhu Wensheng’s breath quickened for a few seconds, involuntarily.

Strangely, he hated the people who threw him sultry looks or tried to hook up with him. But he didn’t hate this boy trying to “sponsor” him.

Maybe because someone with bad intentions could never have eyes so bright and dazzling.

Even so, Tao Zhen had still gotten the wrong idea.

“…I’m not that kind of person. I don’t want your money. I don’t need you to take care of me.”
In the dim light, Zhu Wensheng’s pupils were deep and cold, shutting out the world.

 He composed his breathing, peeled Tao Zhen’s hand away with hot fingertips, and said flatly: “Move aside. I need to get back to work.”

“But…!”
Tao Zhen’s lips parted, but he could only watch as the boy walked past him straight back to the bar.

The red-haired woman finally stopped laughing silently. Crushing her cigarette, she walked gracefully up to Tao Zhen, hooked a finger under his chin, and drawled lazily:

“Give it up, little brother. I just tried to force him, and even then he refused my ‘sponsorship.’”

“He’s a tough one to crack. My advice? Find someone else. Be good.”

With that, Li Min also left.

Tao Zhen stood frozen for a while. When a passerby shot him a strange look on their way to the restroom, he finally shuffled back toward his booth, hollow-eyed.

But the familiar faces were all gone. In their place, a bunch of strangers crowded around the table, drinking one moment and kissing passionately the next.

Tao Zhen stopped short, too wary to approach. He pulled out his phone and sent Binzi a message: 【Bin-Ge, where are you guys?】

The crowd jostled him hard as he tried to stand steady. Finally, he tapped open the voice reply:

【Oh, we already left. We’re heading to Cao Ji’s for crayfish. We thought you went home first, so we didn’t wait. Sorry, man.】

“…”

Tao Zhen went quiet for a long time, then rubbed his face roughly with one hand. Maybe the lights were too bright, but his eyes looked a little red.

Forget it.

No need to be so petty with friends. It was they who had first approached him, and outgoing people were naturally careless.

Pocketing his phone, Tao Zhen exhaled and pushed through the layers of people, making his way toward the bar’s exit.

On the way, couples clung to each other, kissing wildly. He kept his eyes straight, refusing to gawk. But when he passed a group of half-naked men—the “Eighteen Arhats”—he suddenly stopped.

For there, right now, they had surrounded a young waitress. Their faces glowed with drunken excitement. The terrified girl backed away clutching her tray, but the men took her resistance as a turn-on, grabbing her hand and pressing it against their abs.

Tao Zhen’s head went hot.

Before he knew it, he had rushed into the circle, placing himself firmly in front of the waitress.

The men’s disgruntled gazes shot at him.

 “Hey, bro, do we know you? What are you doing here?”

 “Yeah! Can’t you see we’re just having fun?”

The girl trembled and grabbed the hem of Tao Zhen’s shirt.

He soothed her lightly, then turned back around, golden hair shining under the neon lights as he faced them without fear.

“What am I doing? I should be asking you, why are you holding up the waitress? I’ve been waiting ages for my order!”

“…” The men faltered, guilty.

Tao Zhen guided the waitress aside and raised his voice, clear and sharp:

“Here, I’ll give you extra money. Forget them. Go grab me some bottles from the storeroom—”

His glittering jewelry and brand-new GUCCI made their eyes swim. Knowing they couldn’t afford trouble, the men’s anger ebbed away. They sat back down and resumed drinking.

Finally free, the girl almost collapsed, clinging to the bar for support. Tao Zhen steadied her and helped her sit.

Searching his pockets, he found no tissues, so he tugged up the hem of his own T-shirt to wipe her nose.

“You’re just a young girl… Don’t come work in places like this again.”

Tearful, she nodded, voice trembling: “The manager told me to stay in the back kitchen, but… but it’s my first day, I accidentally wandered here. It’s not their fault. The pay is really good—I can’t give it up.”

Tao Zhen lowered his gaze, lost in thought.

The bar’s counter was bright and quieter than the rest, and he had the faint feeling of being watched. Maybe just his imagination.

“Fine, just be careful.” He steadied her again and raised his head. “Tell your manager and take a rest in the back. I’ll be leaving.”

The girl nodded. “Thank you…”

As she watched Tao Zhen head toward the exit, she noticed the dirty hem of his T-shirt. With a quick “Hey!” she rushed to stop him.

“Wait, your shirt—”

In that instant of tugging, Tao Zhen lifted his eyes and, unprepared, collided with Zhu Wensheng’s gaze from not far away.

The air seemed to freeze solid.

The nearly 1.9-meter-tall youth’s eyes were dark as ink.
His upturned phoenix eyes were shadowed by his brow bone, hard to read—like some beast lurking deep in the forest.

On the surface, he had only just appeared here.
In truth, who knew how long he had been watching.

With a sharp bang, Zhu Wensheng flung the apron from his waist and strode away from the bar.

Tao Zhen snapped back to his senses, stumbling two steps back to avoid the girl’s touch, then hurriedly chased after him.

The crowd surged like waves. Tao Zhen nearly stepped on people’s feet several times before he managed to squeeze his way to the pitch-black corridor, glancing left and right.

Would Zhu Wensheng think he was some flirt?
Failing to “keep” him, and now trying to put moves on another staff member?

Tao Zhen couldn’t hold back a curse under his breath, head buzzing, and gritted his teeth as he stepped into the hallway.

Darkness swallowed everything; he couldn’t see a thing. He walked a couple steps by instinct—then suddenly felt his foot knock against something.

A burst of sharp, high-pitched moaning filled the air.
Mixed with a man’s curses and a girl’s coquettish pleas for mercy, along with wet, obscene sounds—it made Tao Zhen’s scalp go numb.

“Who’s there?!” the man bellowed angrily.

Cold sweat broke out all over Tao Zhen. He spun on his heel at once. The pair of illicit lovers shouted insults after him, and panic-stricken, he bolted clumsily toward the exit.

Just as he was about to trip and fall, a large hand suddenly seized his wrist. He was yanked hard into a burning-hot chest.

His back slammed against a cold wall, but in front of him was firm, warm muscle. The impact left Tao Zhen dizzy, and only when he regained his senses did he realize his T-shirt had ridden up—his slim, smooth waist now tightly gripped by a broad, calloused palm.

Who—?!

Tao Zhen’s eyes instantly brimmed with tears.
“Let go of me!”

Like a cornered, furious cub, he whimpered and kicked at the man before him several times. But the man seemed utterly unfazed, even slipping a hand under his thigh, hefting him up single-handedly and holding him in his arms.

The difference in strength was overwhelming.

The man’s power was terrifying.

Pinned in a completely helpless position, Tao Zhen couldn’t fight back. Just as he was about to sink his teeth down savagely, he heard the illicit pair run past them, still cursing as they fled into the distance.

At the same time, his eyes adjusted to the dark. In a daze, he finally saw the man’s face—

A few messy strands of black hair fell across narrow eyes, double-lidded but cold and sharp.
Strikingly handsome, brooding, and grim.

It was none other than Zhu Wensheng.