ADTCP Ch7

The crown prince with “peculiar tastes” casually put away his phone.

The group of people who had been watching Tao Zhen from a distance had already slipped out of sight, no longer swaggering through the aisles looking for a show.

 Perhaps they were so jealous they could’ve clawed their own faces apart, unable to keep up appearances any longer.

How did Tao Zhen even get mixed up with those guys?

Zhu Wensheng narrowed his eyes slightly, then lowered his gaze to the blond boy in front of him.

After the unexpected surprise, Tao Zhen was positively glowing, his wet puppy eyes sparkling like starlight.

Once he confirmed the VIP card was genuine with the store manager, he let go of his doubts, tugged Zhu Wensheng along, and happily continued shopping at the next boutique.

From Fendi to Gucci, from Chanel to Hermès.

By the time they stepped out of the air-conditioned mall, the evening sky was ablaze with red clouds and the hot summer wind hit them full in the face.

Tao Zhen quietly pried open Zhu Wensheng’s palm and stuffed half the shopping bags into it—including a brand-new top-spec smartphone.

Zhu Wensheng froze.
He thought after all his refusals, Tao Zhen would have given up.

“I don’t need it. I told you, I’m not interested in these things—”

“That won’t do! I brought you out today to buy you things. My dad says, the most valuable quality in a man is to do what he says—no empty promises, no big talk.” To stop him from refusing again, Tao Zhen stepped back quickly, eyes crinkling as he bared his little canine tooth, looking mischievous and childish. 

“I’m asking you to accompany me to the party. Since you’re helping me, it’s only right that I treat you well.”

Zhu Wensheng pressed his lips together and lowered his head, meeting Tao Zhen’s gaze seriously for the first time.

The boy’s face was alive with spirit—playful, proud.

“And thanks to you, I came to this mall today. I’ve never experienced such low discounts before—getting the same thing for half the price,” Tao Zhen grinned. “I bought the new cosmetics for my mom, a belt for my dad, and gifts for my childhood friends… There are so many things here you can’t even find back in Xuancheng!”

He lifted the shopping bag in his hand and shook it.

Cosmetics, a belt—everything was for other people.

By the time it came to himself, there was nothing left.

And yet he remained completely oblivious.

Zhu Wensheng lowered his eyes, a strange feeling stirring in his chest. The primal urge to devour Tao Zhen, like jungle law, slipped quietly into the background.

After a pause, he suddenly asked: “Can I ask… why did you go to Light Bar last night?”

“Who took you there?”

Tao Zhen didn’t understand why he’d suddenly changed the subject, but he tilted his head honestly and innocently. 

“Yeah. Some new classmates from university said they’d take me to broaden my horizons… They’re also in the International Department, so even before school started, they added my contact info.”

“What are their names, and exactly what do they look like?”

“The one who first contacted me was Wu Bin…” Tao Zhen obediently pulled out his phone, opening their WeChat profiles for Zhu Wensheng to see.

Zhu Wensheng memorized each one without a flicker of emotion before looking away.

As expected—it was the same bunch he’d seen earlier that afternoon.

They’d acted warm and friendly at first, making the gullible little heir willingly spend money on them; eaten up with jealousy, they’d then deliberately suggested “keeping someone” to mock him—never expecting him to actually succeed. When their plan to see him make a fool of himself backfired, they were left gnashing their teeth.

“Don’t spend too much time with them in the future, they’re—”

They’re only using you. They see you as an easy mark—naïve, rich, and easy to push around.

But when Zhu Wensheng looked into Tao Zhen’s bright eyes and radiant smile, he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest.

The blond boy puffed his little chest proudly, lugging bags full of gifts for family and friends. He looked like a triumphant little soldier—or a hamster hoarding food.

“Mm? What about them?” Tao Zhen pressed.

“…Nothing,” Zhu Wensheng said after a pause.

Forget it.

It would be too cruel to say now. He’d already asked someone to look into it—by the time of the welcome party, Tao Zhen would find out the truth on his own.

And besides, Tao Zhen wasn’t completely clueless. He hadn’t rushed to buy gifts for Wu Bin’s crew today.

“If it’s nothing, then let’s not talk about it.” Tao Zhen gazed at him hopefully. “These things—will you accept them?  At the welcome party, wear them, and let me come pick you up. Okay?”

Zhu Wensheng lowered his eyes to the bags in his hand.

That strange feeling again, reason and sentiment intertwining—reminding him that “being kept” was just a whim, a joke between them. A relationship that could end at any moment.

The right thing to do was to rip away Wu Bin’s mask of hypocrisy, clear up the misunderstandings between him and Tao Zhen, and step back.

Once the welcome party was over, everything would return to normal.

That would probably be the last time they saw each other.

“…Alright.”

After a brief silence, Zhu Wensheng slowly opened one of the bags in his hand—

Inside, a brown Fendi shirt covered in logos.

The words practically floated in the air: “I’m a nouveau riche.”

Snap.

Zhu Wensheng closed the bag again and shut his eyes.

No. He still couldn’t bring himself to wear it.

***

Night fell. Towering skyscrapers lit up the skyline.

After seeing Zhu Wensheng back to the bar, Tao Zhen mailed out his parcels, rushed home, showered, and suddenly realized how hungry he was.

The pork knuckle from lunch had long since digested. He pulled out homemade sauerkraut-and-pork dumplings from the fridge—courtesy of Mr. Tao Dajun—set a pot of water on the stove, and lit the gas.

While waiting for it to boil, he opened WeChat and tapped into his pinned three-person group chat, called “Peerless Style.”

The name was simple: two boys, one girl. Three childhood friends. All of them gay.

Having not checked his phone all afternoon, Tao Zhen found the chat already flooded with messages.

The only girl, Tong Xia, had once again fallen for a straight woman, only to be once again treated as her “bestie.” She was venting furiously, cursing ancestors themselves:

【Something must be wrong with our family graves. Otherwise how could all three of us end up with ‘abnormal’ orientations?】

Their flamboyant gay friend, Gu Xingzhou, immediately chimed in indignantly:
【I think so too! But I’ve been drinking Chinese medicine to regulate myself. I’ve locked my heart and sealed off love—I’ll never like men again.】

Tao Zhen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He sent a photo of the package label from the gift he’d mailed. A second later, Gu Xingzhou screeched into the chat like a rubber chicken:

“Ahhh! Zhenbao! I love you! How did you know I’ve been wanting this forever?!”

—So much for “sealed off love.” The fastest slap in the face ever.

Tong Xia, with her baby-doll face and poisonous tongue, replied mercilessly:
【Gu Zihan, looks like your Chinese medicine isn’t working that well after all.】

Gu Xingzhou exploded: “I told you, stop calling me by my old name!”

The two of them always bickered like this. Tao Zhen was used to it. Casually, he sent a picture of Tong Xia’s gift in the group too. Immediately, he received a virtual kiss from the beauty, along with a dramatic declaration: “I want to turn straight for you!”

Tao Zhen laughed, ready to reply with his usual “Sure, princess”—but then something struck him. At the last second, his fingers shifted.

【Zhen Zhibang: No.】

The two characters appeared on the screen. Instantly, question marks from both Gu and Tong Xia filled the chat.

They’d known each other since they were toddlers, even back when Tao Zhen was fumbling through puberty and confused about his orientation—it was Gu Xingzhou and Tong Xia who had helped him figure it out, opening the door to a new world.

So when something felt off with him now, they noticed immediately. A group call came through, demanding answers.

“Why not?!” Gu Xingzhou shrieked. “Tao Zhen, are you hiding something from us?”

On the stove, the pot of water was bubbling furiously. Tao Zhen gave a nervous laugh and confessed to them about his relationship with Zhu Wensheng.

When they heard he’d gone to a bar—and even “kept” a poor student bartender-slash-underground-fighter—they both gasped.

For years, they’d swapped crushes, both in secret and out loud. Tao Zhen, though, had never had one. They’d thought he just wasn’t interested. Who would’ve guessed that when he finally acted, it would be earth-shattering—

Skipping over dating entirely, straight to keeping someone.

“Zhenbao, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Gu Xingzhou said, his voice going shrill. “If Uncle Dajun finds out, he’ll beat your ass raw.”

Normally innocent, Tao Zhen couldn’t help but flinch. The dumplings in his hand slipped into the pot with a plop, splashing water.

He knew.

His fate might well be the same as those dumplings.

“But Wensheng is really pitiful,” Tao Zhen mumbled. “If I don’t support him… he’s just a poor student fighting underground matches. He’d get bullied to death.”

Tong Xia sighed. “Zihan’s right. And besides, how do you know this guy isn’t just setting you up? Are you sure he’s really as broke as he says?”

“I’m sure!” Tao Zhen said firmly.

He thought of the 50-yuan “sponsorship fee,” that shattered phone… and his heart ached.
His little boyfriend was far too tragic.
If only Xiaxia and Zihan had seen him, they’d understand.

“…Fine, fine. Just don’t let yourself get taken advantage of.” Tong Xia gave in at last. “What does he look like? Any photos?”

“Yeah, you’re spending money, you should at least get something back,” Gu Xingzhou, ever the flamboyant gay, seized on the important part, his eyes lighting up. “Zhenbao, after all these years—you still haven’t… done it, have you?”

The dumplings floated to the surface. Tao Zhen poked one to test if it was cooked.
At Gu’s words, he choked so hard he nearly died, face flushing bright red.
“Cough—cough cough cough!”

“Zihan, your brain is always in the gutter,” Tong Xia sighed, sounding disappointed. “Zhenbao, is the guy… big? How many centimeters?”
She didn’t hesitate: “Less than eighteen, don’t bother. And don’t take someone used either.”

“…”

“Tong Xia! How can you say that!” He shrieked, then immediately turned mischievous. “My advice? Next time you take him out, find a chance to go to the bathroom together.
Then sneak a look. If it’s like a baby’s arm, veins popping, very satisfactory—you just ask if he needs a hand—”

Tao Zhen’s face flamed scarlet. He slammed the call shut with a snap.

The water in the pot was at a full boil now, white dumplings bobbing and tumbling. The steam clung to his skin, soaking him in sweat even though he’d just bathed.

He turned off the gas, fanning his flushed stomach with his T-shirt, exposing a strip of pale, slim waist. But no amount of fanning could cool the heat inside him.

After a long while, he covered his face.
Suddenly, he couldn’t wait for the welcome party.

Zhu Wensheng… was he big or not???