translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
“Bai Jing, how could you be like this…" Zhu Ting covered her face and wept, her weak body gently trembling.
“Who is she?” Xiao Sa was already very angry by now, and he embraced Bai Jing in a very overbearing way to demonstrate his ownership, staring at Zhu Ting as though he was examining a dead object.
“You… you…” Zhu Ting was frightened and shivered. She was afraid of Xiao Sa, as she could immediately tell that she had provoked someone who should never be offended. However, she had never expected that Bai Jing would have this kind of relationship with this man.
“Who knows where she ran out from?” Bai Jing did not mince his words as he looked scornfully at her like he had seen something dirty.
Zhu Ting was more and more miserable. She looked like she'd suffered a great attack, her eyes dim and filled with tears as she stared at Bai Jing, but she couldn't keep her eyes from wandering over to look at Xiao Sa. That man's presence was really too strong, "You… How could you say that? It doesn't matter if you don't acknowledge that there was anything between us, but I thought that you must have at least loved me before. Do you think I wanted to end up like this? I was also compelled to do this… Back then, you cut off our relationship without a word, and it left me worried for a very long time. I continued to inquire and ask for news about you everywhere even after the apocalypse. If it wasn't for you, how else would I have offended Bai Miao and end up falling to such a level…."
Bai Jing was so angry he was laughing; this damned woman was still trying to provoke problems between him and Xiao Sa at this very moment. He parted his lips and spat out coldly, "Get lost!"
Zhu Ting sobbed, pale and shaky, and looked at Xiao Sa with eyes full of grievance. In her mind, Bai Jing was nothing but a useless dandy. It must be the man beside him who allowed him to live so wonderfully right now. How disgusting. Zhu Ting firmly believed that Bai Jing was only able to live so well by selling his body. How could a man's body be more satisfying than a woman's? Now that she had discovered the relationship between the two, Zhu Ting's thoughts turned quickly, and she immediately set her sights on Xiao Sa. She could tell that this man was a powerhouse with just a glance.
Zhu Ting’s strategy was very good. She first exposed the relationship between herself and Bai Jing and then accused Bai Jing of heartlessness. As long as the two of them became estranged from one another, she would be able to take advantage of it.
Unfortunately, she miscalculated the nature of Xiao Sa’s and Bai Jing’s relationship. Xiao Sa was very enraged now, and even if he knew that this woman had nothing to do with Little Jing, he still felt really aggrieved. He already gave off an aura that discouraged others from getting close, and he relentlessly ramped up the pressure from his level five powers on Zhu Ting. If it wasn't because this was the wrong place to do it, he would really want to tear this woman apart right here.
Jealous men couldn't be provoked; Xu Feng and Yang Lin showed a rare united front as they stepped back and then even further back again. They backed up until they were in a corner, trying to erase their presence as much as possible. If they could have, they would've drilled underground and hid there.
Zhu Ting's eyes grew wide in horror. Her body went soft, and she stumbled. How had this situation turned out to be so different from her expectations? Why couldn't this man have a little compassion? Not even the tiniest bit?
Xiao Sa glared at her coldly, and killing intent flashed across his gaze.
Fear swept through Zhu Ting’s entire body, and she felt as though she would die in the next second. The tremor that came up from her soul made her realize that this man would really kill her, “I… I won't dare to do it again…" Those who submitted to fate would come up on top; she had relied on this intuition to survive for so long.
Bai Jing let loose a light laugh and lost all interest in going to the bar. He tugged on Xiao Sa's clothes, "Let's go. Why are you losing your temper on a woman like this?"
Xiao Sa's expression was dark as he turned around. He caught Bai Jing's hand and angrily began to head back.
Bai Jing wasn't afraid of his anger, and a smile was always on his lips. It was healthy to eat a little vinegar every now and then. To be honest, he was actually quite proud.
Only after their figures disappeared did Zhu Ting suddenly collapse on the ground. She discovered that her body was damp with cold sweat. Her originally flimsy clothes became even more revealing.
“Yo! Who is this? How come you're sitting on the ground?" A couple of women next to her came up to take advantage of the situation.
“Isn’t this the mayor's beloved daughter?"
“Psht, based on her current situation, is she still the mayor's treasured daughter? She has to sell her body to survive!"
“She really kicked an iron plate this time."
“I heard it was an ex-boyfriend.”
“Wrong. It was the ex-boyfriend's man."
“Such a slut, she's even trying to snatch away other men's boyfriends."
“If she wasn't a slut, how could she end up here? I'm telling you, she hooked up with Young Miss Bai's man, which is how she ended up here."
“She deserves it.”
“…”
As they continued to maliciously gossip, Zhu Ting's heart was full of determination. She bit her lip harshly until it started to bleed, then gloomily pushed herself up from the ground. She ignored the others' laughing eyes and ran home from the bar to cry and weep loudly. She had just survived an encounter with the god of death, and it was as though she wanted to cry out all the residual fear along with the grievances she had suffered since apocalypse. She seethed with hate in her heart towards Bai Miao's viciousness, Bai Jing's heartlessness, and the men who played with her then abandoned her.
Only, what could she do about it?
Some time later, Zhu Ting's eyes were red and swollen. She was tired and exhausted from crying as she dragged her body up, washing her face with the water she hadn't used up that morning. She lit candles to fix up her make-up; she was living in a slum, and there was no water or electricity where she lived, so she could only make do with what she had and save what she could.
“What are you doing, Zhu Ting? Elder Brother Feng is calling for your company. Hurry up."
“Coming.”
Throwing away all these thoughts, Zhu Ting responded numbly. She went through and selected a flimsy blouse for herself and began to calculate what kind of benefits she would be able to get from Brother Feng this time. In any case, she didn't want to die. Life would go on, and she still had to make ends meet!
Xiao Sa went straight back to the villa, but his expression didn't improve at all. The group had gone out in joy and returned in disappointment. Yang Lin wanted to avoid getting implicated and disappeared as soon as they returned.
For once, Xu Feng was very clever. He gave Wu Guoan a quick look, and they tacitly communicated with each other. In a twinkling of an eye, only Xiao Sa and Bai Jing remained in the villa's main hall.
After getting out, Xu Feng patted his chest, feeling some lingering palpitations. It had been too scary; Xiao Sa's low pressure was so fierce that he was unable to bear it.
“What’s wrong?” Wu Guoan laughed conspiratorially, his eyes darting everywhere.
Xu Feng closed his mouth and shook his head. He wasn't very willing to speak. Were they joking? He didn’t want to die yet. If Brother Sa found out, he would be dead.
“Come on, who are we to each other? Just tell me. As brothers, I promise I won't tell anyone." Wu Guoan was quite interested; unsurprisingly, the more mysterious Xu Feng was, the more curious others would be.
Xu Feng looked around and saw that there was nobody around. He lowered his voice, “Do you promise not to tell?”
Wu Guoan raised three fingers to swear, acting as though he hadn't seen the people eavesdropping behind Xu Feng. "I promise."
“Let me tell you… that woman… Brother Sa…” Xu Feng began to pour out the entire story, his words making the situation even more exaggerated. It became a classic dogblood love story.
“Oh--” Qin Lie suddenly understood. No wonder Xiao Sa’s expression had been horrible. He was jealous.
“Why are you guys here?” Xu Feng was shocked. He had been very careful; his heart thudded, and he pointed his finger at Wu Guoan, his expression full of grievances.
Wu Guoan laughed dryly and clapped Xu Feng heavily on the shoulder, “I'll keep it a secret for you.”
Qin Lie's lips twitched, and he said, "We've been here the whole time."
“Then I…” Xu Feng was really about to cry.
“We all heard it.” Li Ran forced himself to keep the smile from his face. In fact, they couldn't be blamed for eavesdropping. A good many people had been standing here, but Xu Feng simply hadn't noticed them. Who was to blame?
“My condolences.”
Xu Feng had a strong sense of foreboding. He was going to suffer!
Xiao Sa dragged Bai Jing back to their room and sat down silently on the bed.
Bai Jing felt rather helpless but also somewhat amused, "Don’t be angry. It was a few years ago when I was a young and ignorant youth. Who hasn't dated a couple times before?"
“I’m still unhappy." Xiao Sa was glum when he thought about the woman's previous relationship with Little Jing. He really wanted to tear that person into bits.
“In two lifetimes, I've loved only you." Bai Jing laughed lightly, but what he had just said was the truth.
“I don’t care. You have to compensate me.”
“How do you want to be compensated?”
“At night…”
“Get lost…”
The topic went off-track as they talked. Xiao Sa began to act like a rogue, and Bai Jing was relieved. They laughed and joked for a while, and before long, Little Lin arrived to pick them up. Bai Jingcheng and Zhang Qiucheng were already waiting in the hotel, and they were expected at the restaurant.
On the way over, Bai Jing noticed that people's gazes were very odd. The glances they sent towards him and Xiao Sa were fleeting and dodgy. He had always believed that power overruled everything; he casually grabbed someone and quickly found out why. His face instantly turned black.
Over the next few months, people would soon discover that Young Master Jing had become generous. The supplies they were provided with grew more abundant, with not only cigarettes but even alcohol, to the point that even a group of old smokers were able to feed their addiction. The only one who was left glaring was Xu Feng, who could watch but couldn't smoke. He felt suffocated; the most painful thing in the world was seeing the thing he wanted most right in front of him but not being able to partake. Xu Feng was really in tears and would rather have had Bai Jing beat him to death. At least that way, he would only need to be in pain for a single day before it was over.
Their group soon arrived at the hotel. The banquet was on the second floor of the restaurant.
It was night time, but this made no difference to the hotel as the lights were on, and it was still as bright as usual.
“You're finally here." As soon as Bai Jing and the others arrived on the second floor, Wang Qiang smiled and welcomed them over. He was one of Zhang Qiucheng's subordinates, and they had left Jing Sa City together. They could be considered old acquaintances.
“Long time no see.” Bai Jing nodded his head lightly, but Xiao Sa did not even bother to give him a glance.
Wang Qiang smiled and ignored their indifference, “Please, come on in. Now that you brothers are here today, we wanted to host a welcome banquet for you. We hope that Young Master Jing and Brother Sa can enjoy it."
This was the so-called, 'can't beat up a smiling person'. Bai Jing raised his eyebrows and looked him over. "You've been doing well. You've fattened up."
“Don’t laugh at me, Yong Master Jing. It's insignificant, and there are happier things to attend to."
“I'm not so fortunate." Bai Jing pouted, and after they exchanged a few more words, they had already arrived at the hall. There were many people they didn't recognize inside, but Bai Jingcheng waved them over when he noticed their arrival. "Little Jing, come here. Father will introduce you to some seniors."
Bai Jing did not refuse. He knew this was well-intentioned of Bai Jingcheng; it was always better for them to know more people since they had only just arrived at the Capital.
for those who couldn’t figure out why Xu Feng was getting targeted by Bai Jing: it’s probably because of the incident at the bar and how Xu Feng couldn’t keep quiet about it.