Chapter 17#
He Brought It On Himself#
Unlike his pure appearance, He Junhua could actually hold his liquor quite well.
Usually, when he had nothing to do, he’d gather with these people and they’d drink some alcoholic beverages. Sometimes, when the mood struck, they’d bring out something stronger—just a little drink to lift the spirits.
After drinking, he’d still drive to school just the same.
It was just that there were always a few clueless old men and women on the road who’d pretend to be bumped into, trying to scam him.
When he encountered these kinds of people, He Junhua naturally got very angry. His white Porsche was a birthday gift from his father, and it held special significance to him—because his mutant bloodline was that of a fox, a pure white flawless little white fox.
White was He Junhua’s destined color.
So this car was his favorite birthday gift since childhood. A single scratch or ding would make him ache for ages—it wasn’t something just anyone had the privilege to touch.
At the moment, He Junhua had been handed a drink by Zhen Ye.
He’d originally planned to use the excuse that he still needed to drive back to school for the evening class.
But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Little President Lin was watching the two of them with great interest.
He Junhua always carried some psychological baggage. He felt that, in all likelihood, he would marry into the Rong family in the future.
In the eyes of Lin Heye, this nephew, a future little aunt-in-law must be gentle and magnanimous—she wouldn’t publicly embarrass her own brother-in-law’s goodwill.
“Alright…”
For the sake of his image, He Junhua gulped down the first glass of wine in one go.
46-degree whiskey, with its smoky spiciness, burned all the way from his throat down to his stomach. He Junhua was choked and burst into violent coughing.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Meng Yimeng couldn’t bear to watch anymore and said to Zhen Ye with displeasure, “If we’re playing a game, you as the older brother can’t just let your younger brother take all the burden. At the very least, you have to drink a glass too.”
She’d expected Zhen Ye to refuse, but instead, he picked up a glass himself and smiled: “An older brother naturally has to keep his brother company. Then I’ll drink three glasses, and Junhua drinks three.”
Zhen Ye turned his face away, raised his arm, and drank.
He Junhua had originally planned to just have one glass and call it done, but now that Meng Yimeng had stirred things up, he had to keep up as well.
Still, he glanced at Zhen Ye’s pale complexion. Zhen Ye would suffer violent stomach pain after drinking, even vomiting endlessly. He wouldn’t.
Three glasses for three glasses. A good deal.
He Junhua revealed a gentle, beautiful smile, thinking about how miserable Zhen Ye would be tonight—the happier he felt inside.
He spoke with a smile: “Brother, we haven’t gotten together in a long time. You didn’t even come to my birthday last time. Today, you absolutely have to toast me one.”
Zhen Ye lowered his gaze. Surprisingly, he’d lost his earlier stubbornness and smoothly clinked glasses: “Then let’s toast to today—to my brother and me having a new ‘beginning.’”
One glass after another. By the third glass, Zhen Ye seemed to be already unsteady on his feet.
Just then, Lin Heye stood up at the right moment, saying, “What deep brotherly affection.” As he spoke, he subtly extended his hand, intending to support Zhen Ye’s waist.
But Zhen Ye turned around, conveniently dodging his hand.
Zhen Ye slowly opened his phone and checked the time: “It’s almost seven. I need to get going. Please give me a good review, everyone.”
Hearing it was almost seven, He Junhua also stood up: “Bye friends, I’m off to class! It’s the last one of the semester.”
Someone suddenly said, “Junhua, why don’t you get a designated driver? You just drank.”
He Junhua was a bit dizzy from the alcohol, carrying a vague sense of unexplained unease. But he jingled the car keys in his hand, unconcerned: “It’s fine, it’s only a five-minute drive to school.”
“Alright, alright, hurry up then.”
Before leaving, He Junhua turned back to look at Zhen Ye again, wanting to see if his brother’s face was full of discomfort.
But he didn’t see him.
Probably ran to the bathroom to throw up.
He Junhua started the car. The engine growled low twice, and the sports car glided into the bustling street.
Suddenly, the view ahead brightened. Red and blue police lights cut across, blocking his path.
“Screech—”
He Junhua slammed on the brakes, gripping the steering wheel. Half his drunkenness instantly sobered.
The window was knocked on with a thump-thump-thump, and a stern traffic officer’s face appeared outside the window:
“Hello, please step out of the vehicle for inspection!”
The red and blue police lights flashed across He Junhua’s face, reflecting his momentary panic.
But he was used to these situations and quickly calmed down—it was just drunk driving. A single phone call to his friends could sort it out.
He Junhua pushed open the door and got out, pulling out his phone.
College students on the street gradually stopped to watch, clearly recognizing this car that acted so arrogantly.
There was also an old grandmother who stopped selling her vegetables and squeezed over to point and criticize: “This white car, I have no idea how fast it drives every day! That day it nearly ran this old lady over.”
He Junhua frowned at the words and was just about to retort that she was the one who didn’t watch where she was going, when a clear, professional voice suddenly cut in:
“Hello, ma’am, I’m a reporter for the Maocheng Metropolis livestream segment. Are you certain this is the car?”
He Junhua turned his head in shock. There was actually a reporter and a cameraman documenting the scene.
The camera light glowed red. It was live.
The old woman pointed: “It’s him—”
The camera lights suddenly swiveled with everyone’s gaze, illuminating He Junhua’s face until it was deathly pale.
He Junhua’s mind went blank. Cold sweat poured down abruptly, his heart racing out of control.
…No, no! Uncle Rong can’t see this…
The next second, his body moved faster than his mind. He covered his face, yanked open the car door, floored the accelerator, and fled in panic.
“BANG—!”
A deafening crash.
The utility pole toppled with a roar, smashing into the front of the car, kicking up filthy dust.
Meanwhile, behind the noisy crowd of onlookers, in the shadows by the roadside, stood a tall, slim figure. He held a cigarette between slender fingers, raised it to his lips, and exhaled a barely-there smoke ring, the corners of his mouth silently curving into a smile.
Zhen Ye admired the Porsche with its crumpled front end.
A 1.2 million yuan car—indeed, it was beautiful.
He raised his phone. Click. He took a commemorative photo.
Then he stubbed out the cigarette butt and threw it, along with the black neck gaiter soaked with liquor, into the trash bin.
The alcohol—he’d never actually drunk it.
Zhen Ye worked at a restaurant. He’d lost count of how many tricks he’d seen at the dinner table: using clothes to dodge drinks or hide them.
In a dimly lit bar, this trick came as easy as reaching into one’s pocket.
·
That evening after work, perhaps because he’d been too tired during the day, Zhen Ye felt drowsy.
It took twenty minutes to walk home, so Zhen Ye chose to take the bus instead.
He leaned his forehead against the glass window and pulled out his phone to check. Just then, a message from Cheng Zhiran suddenly popped up:
[Orange Juice]: Xiao Ye! Did you see it?? Breaking news—your brother got into a DUI and knocked over a utility pole!
As he spoke, he threw over a link to a post.
The title was [Someone tell me what happened at the university town, so many people gathered (scratching head.jpg)]
Top comment on the first floor had a photo, with many replies:
[No way, isn’t this our Maoda omega campus heartthrob’s car? Is he okay?]
[I was there live. The traffic cops were about to catch him, but he fled drunk—floored it and flew out, smashing the whole front end flat]
[Damn, the campus heartthrob didn’t get his face smashed up, did he?]
[Definitely did. When the ambulance pulled him out, his face was covered in blood, and his nose looked crooked (horrified.jpg)]
[He Junhua is so vain, vlogging every day—he’s gonna cry to death when he wakes up]
[How many pounds of baijiu did he drink?? Why was he so wasted?]
Reply to above: [I’m his friend, he didn’t even drink that much—we ordered lemon tea first and only got alcohol after]
[Please! Doesn’t anyone have basic common sense? Strong tea can’t be mixed with alcohol—it makes your heart race and your head spin, and it’s super easy to get into a car accident (taps the blackboard)]
[Then this time, the campus heartthrob’s just plain unlucky, huh…]
[This isn’t unlucky, this is him bringing it entirely on himself. You’re all just pitying him—have you considered that he knowingly drank and still drove, and could’ve hit pedestrians on the road? Whether or not lemon tea had the extra kick, this kind of road killer was bound to cause an accident sooner or later!]
…
The comments each argued their own side, and before long, the post had passed a thousand likes.
Zhen Ye also clicked “like” and saved the post.
[Orange Juice]: I was wondering whose arrogant Porsche that was—turns out it was your green-tea little brother’s. This one’s truly satisfying! (dancing.jpg)
[Orange Juice]: But wait, lemon tea has the same caffeine strength as strong tea? No wonder I always can’t sleep at night after drinking fruit tea.
Zhen Ye smiled and replied with a “shocked” bunny emoji.
He didn’t say anything more.
Zhen Ye shoved his hands into his pockets, his fingers brushing against the pillbox of blood pressure medication.
He took it out and glanced at it. The box had been opened, and a small corner of the foil blister pack inside had been torn away.
A very inconspicuous, yet very crucial corner.
A symbol of a small beginning.
…
The bus quickly arrived at the stop. Zhen Ye opened his text messages, wanting to see if Mr. Rong had replied.
Nothing.
He suddenly smiled with a sense of release. Well, what was he even expecting? They weren’t related, it wasn’t like he had any real relationship with the man. Why would the other party bother to respond to him?
Perhaps by now, his pheromones had already been metabolized, the man was sober, saw his message, and simply ignored it.
Thinking this, Zhen Ye had already gone upstairs and arrived home.
When he opened the door, an unfamiliar woman in a sharp business suit was sitting on the sofa.
Zhen Ye froze for a moment.
Xu Linlin happened to have just finished doing laundry and came out carrying a basin, greeting him: “Zhen Ye, you’re back!”
Then she tilted her chin toward the sofa: “Just now I saw her waiting for you downstairs, saying she needed to deliver important documents to you. It was freezing outside, so I invited her up to wait a bit.”
Xu Linlin was an innocent sweetheart and had no idea what the other woman wanted with Zhen Ye.
Qu Lan stood up and introduced herself: “Hello, I’m Qu Lan. Just call me Attorney Qu. Mr. Zhen, I’m here to deliver the notarized contract.”
Contract.
Zhen Ye’s heart thumped heavily. Instantly, he felt his chest tighten and suffocate, unable to catch his breath in the span of a second.
Xu Linlin looked over curiously.
Zhen Ye kept his eyes slightly lowered, the hand hidden inside his coat trembling faintly with cold: “Attorney Qu, would it be convenient to talk outside?”
The two went downstairs.
But Attorney Qu didn’t continue the conversation with him. Instead, she handed him the document bag and said matter-of-factly: “My employer is just ahead. You can speak with him directly.”
Zhen Ye clutched the contract, walking against the night wind, resigned to his fate.
The Maybach door opened. Zhen Ye steeled himself and got in. The back seat was dim, and the man seated within was like a silhouette in profile.
Was it Chen Kangshi?
The next second, the dome light came on.
He blinked his lashes, his pupils contracting under the light, slowly making out that noble, handsome face, gently smiling.
Zhen Ye: “…?!”
All drowsiness instantly gone.