22: Chapter 22 Su Muyang, Deceived

Outside the "Jizhi" BBQ restaurant, a cold wind swirled dead leaves on the ground.

Su Muyang took off the jacket he had just bought and draped it over Qian Li.

He looked at the girl before him, who had just touched up her makeup and had bright red lips; his heart was pounding like a drum.

"Lili, are we... really going there?" Su Muyang pointed at the towering Hilton Hotel across the street, his throat feeling dry.

Qian Li wrapped the jacket tighter around herself, avoiding Su Muyang's burning gaze.

She could feel the phone in her bag vibrating intermittently; it was Wang Hao's silent urging.

"What, are you afraid?" Qian Li pretended to be calm as she took his arm, though her body was as stiff as a board. "I'm afraid Wang Hao will send people to block me again. There's security at the hotel, so it's safer. And... I want to spend some time with you, just the two of us."

This sentence shattered all of Su Muyang's reason.

He nodded vigorously and gripped Qian Li's cold hand: "Alright, I'll listen to you. With me here, no one will be able to bully you."

The two crossed the street and walked into the magnificent, gold-adorned lobby.

When checking in, Su Muyang rushed to swipe that black card.

The receptionist looked at the student in ordinary clothes pulling out a supreme black card, her eyes shifting repeatedly, before finally handing over two room cards respectfully.

"302, sir, I wish you a pleasant night."

The elevator went up.

In the enclosed space, Su Muyang's palms were covered in sweat.

He watched the changing numbers, his mind filled with impure thoughts, completely failing to notice that Qian Li beside him was pale, staring intensely at her phone screen.

Ding. The third floor arrived.

They swiped the card and entered.

The room was large, with the night view of Jiangcheng outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, and white sheets spread over the large bed.

Su Muyang stood awkwardly in the center of the carpet, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.

"You go take a shower." Qian Li threw her bag on the sofa, keeping her back to him, her voice trembling slightly. "You smell like BBQ, it's disgusting."

"Oh... okay! I'll go right now!" Su Muyang, as if granted amnesty, grabbed a bathrobe and dashed into the bathroom.

The sound of rushing water began.

Qian Li collapsed onto the bed as if she had lost all strength.

She took out her phone, just about to message Wang Hao that she had brought him, when the screen suddenly lit up.

It was a video call request from Wang Hao.

Qian Li's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the phone.

She took a deep breath and tapped to accept.

On the screen, Wang Hao was sitting in that bmw, a band-aid on his face, his eyes as venomous as a snake flicking its tongue.

He held a photo in his hand and shook it in front of the camera.

In the photo, Qian Li was lying in his arms, disheveled and flushed.

"Brought him there?" Wang Hao's voice came through the earpiece, laced with mockery.

"He's... he's taking a shower." Qian Li lowered her voice, glancing at the closed bathroom door. "Young Master Wang, when will you bring people up? After you take the video, can you delete the photos?"

"Up? Who said I was coming up?" Wang Hao laughed strangely and tossed the photo onto the passenger seat. "This young master has changed his mind. This kind of low-class setup is too boring. I want to play something more exciting."

"What... do you mean?"

"Now, immediately, get down here right now." Wang Hao lit a cigarette, the flame illuminating his twisted face. "My car is right downstairs at the hotel. You have three minutes. If I don't see you, this photo will appear on Su Muyang's WeChat. Oh, and I've also bought a pinned post on your school's confession wall."

"Wang Hao! Don't push me too far!" Qian Li was so anxious that tears came to her eyes.

"Two minutes and fifty seconds left." Wang Hao coldly exhaled a puff of smoke. "You can try and see if your legs are faster, or if my internet speed is faster."

Beep— The video disconnected.

Qian Li stared at the darkened screen, her whole body trembling.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

"Lili, I'm done washing, do you want to..." Su Muyang pushed the door open, wrapped in a bath towel, his face flushed with shyness, his hair still dripping.

As soon as he looked up, he saw Qian Li with her bag on her back, already standing by the door, her hand gripping the doorknob.

"You're leaving?" Su Muyang froze, the smile on his face stiffening in mid-air.

Qian Li didn't dare look into his clear eyes; she lowered her head and spoke extremely fast: "Um... the counselor just sent a notice in the group chat, there's a surprise dormitory inspection tonight, and anyone not in the dorm will get a demerit. I have to go back immediately."

"Dorm inspection?" Su Muyang looked at the wall clock; it was only nine in the evening. "What kind of inspection is this? And we just checked in..."

"Oh, you don't understand! Our counselor is a pervert!" Qian Li shouted to cover up her inner panic. "Anyway, I have to go! You stay here yourself!"

With that, she pulled the door open and dashed out as if fleeing for her life.

"Lili! Let me take you!" Su Muyang wanted to chase after her, but realized he was only wearing a bath towel.

By the time he scrambled to put on his pants and chased into the hallway, the elevator door had just closed, and the red numbers began to descend rapidly.

Su Muyang stood in the empty hallway, clutching the extra room card in his hand.

An indescribable sense of unease grew like weeds in his heart.

The girlfriend who wanted to "spend some time alone" with him ten minutes ago had become a completely different person after receiving a phone call.

Was it really a dorm inspection?

Downstairs at the hotel, in the shadows.

A black bmw 7 Series had not turned off its engine.

Qian Li ran out of the revolving door, panting, and spotted the car immediately.

She pulled open the back door and climbed in; before she could even sit down properly, a stack of red banknotes was smashed into her face.

Slap!

The banknotes scattered everywhere, covering the car floor.

"You're quite fast. It seems you're still quite sensible." Wang Hao turned around and looked at the disheveled Qian Li, his eyes full of contempt.

Qian Li didn't bother picking up the money; she grabbed the back of Wang Hao's seat. "Young Master Wang, I did as you said. What about the photos? Did you delete them?"

"What's the rush?" Wang Hao reached out and pinched Qian Li's chin, forcing her to look up. "That kid must be upstairs right now, doubting life like an idiot, right? Tsk tsk, I really want to see his expression right now."

"What exactly do you want?" Qian Li bit her lip, tears of humiliation welling up in her eyes.

"Spend the night with me." Wang Hao pointed to the money on the floor. "There's a hundred thousand here. As long as you please me tonight, this money is yours, and I'll delete the photos in front of you."

Qian Li looked at the red covering the floor, her breathing becoming rapid.

A hundred thousand.

She worked part-time at a milk tea shop, and even after standing until her legs broke, she only earned two thousand a month.

This hundred thousand was enough for her to buy that bag she had been dreaming of, enough to replace her cracked-screen phone, and even enough to pay her four years of university tuition.

But... Su Muyang was still upstairs.

"I won't do it!" Qian Li pushed Wang Hao's hand away and went to push the car door. "I have a boyfriend! I don't do this kind of thing!"

The car doors were locked tight.

"Boyfriend?" Wang Hao acted as if he had heard a joke and pulled his phone out of his pocket, pulling up an interface. "Whether that poor boyfriend of yours can get his degree now depends entirely on my mood. If I were to say a word to the Board Director and say that Su Muyang has bad character, who do you think the school will believe?"

Qian Li's hand froze on the door handle.

"And," Wang Hao leaned close to her face, his voice like a demon's whisper, "do you think that nouveau riche father of Su Muyang's can protect him for his whole life? If Tiansheng Group really takes action, crushing the two of them, father and son, would be like crushing two ants. When that time comes, if you stay with that poor guy, what will you have besides suffering?"

"Smart people know how to choose."

Wang Hao patted Qian Li's cheek, sat back in the driver's seat, and slammed on the gas.

The bmw roared and drove onto the main road.

Qian Li curled up in the corner of the back seat, staring at the glaring banknotes all over the floor.

She slowly crouched down, her hands trembling, and picked up the first one.

Then the second, the third...

Tears fell in large drops onto the banknotes, blurring them with water stains.

She knew that from this moment on, the Su Muyang who would warm his hands in winter to warm her face had completely died in her world.

"That's right." Wang Hao watched this scene in the rearview mirror, a cruel arc tugging at the corners of his mouth. "What are you crying for? You should be happy. After tonight, you'll be half a rich person."

Qian Li held that pile of money, unable to stop her whole body from shivering.

Meanwhile, in room 302 of the Hilton Hotel.

Su Muyang sat alone on the edge of the bed, looking at the bustling Jiangcheng outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The phone screen was lit up, showing the WeChat message he had sent to Qian Li.

【Lili, have you arrived at school? Reply to me.】

Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed.

The chat box was dead silent.

Su Muyang clutched his chest; that ominous feeling was growing stronger and stronger, like an invisible hand gripping his heart tightly.