Chapter 31#

The Playboy (1)#

Li Tang, who had been so affectionate just moments before, froze on the spot. He never imagined that the man who had once been willing to die for him would one day treat him like this.

Whether it was playing hard to get or something else entirely, Li Tang—who had been pampered and praised since childhood—immediately wore an ugly expression.

Seeing this young master Li lose his temper, a slightly shrill female voice rang out in the ward, which was thick with the smell of disinfectant: “Child, what are you getting angry about? Mom knows you’re unhappy, but you can’t just vent your anger randomly.”

She then turned to Li Tang, her smile tinged with flattery, her tone ingratiating: “Li Tang, my son Lu Yi hasn’t been in a good mood lately. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against him.”

This shrill-voiced woman was none other than the original owner’s stepmother, Gao Xue.

The original owner was still a college student. He had attempted suicide in his dormitory. The next morning, his roommate noticed something wrong and immediately called emergency services.

The ambulance arriving at the school early in the morning caused quite a commotion in the dormitory building. The school managed to suppress the incident, hoping to minimize the negative impact of a student suicide.

But even so, the people who needed to know found out—such as Li Tang, one of the culprits behind the original owner’s suicide, and the original owner’s biological father and stepmother.

Originally, the stepmother hadn’t planned to visit. But when she heard that Li Tang was coming to check on the patient, she arrived early in the morning, waiting to ingratiate herself.

After all, she was the stepmother. She had her own child, and together with the original owner’s father, she had given birth to a son. It was only natural that she couldn’t feel close to a child that wasn’t her own.

But after the original owner’s suicide, as his legal mother, she showed no concern for him whatsoever. Instead, she made a racket in the ward, disturbing the patient’s rest, just to curry favor with the very person who had driven him to this. That was truly disgusting.

Lu Yi glanced at her face, thickly caked with makeup, his eyes tinged with disgust: “You get out too.”

Lu Yi’s stepmother opened her mouth wide in shock. She knew that her stepson had always been a wallflower at home, timid and submissive. The only truly outrageous thing he had ever done was to get tangled up with a man.

Now, not only was he glaring at that man, but he was also showing such disrespect to her, an elder.

A thought flashed through Gao Xue’s mind: Lu Yi must have water in his brain. He’s rebelling.

She wanted to scold Lu Yi, but with Li Tang present, and since Li Tang had just mentioned wanting to get back together with him, she still hoped to use this connection to the Li family. Forcing herself to suppress her displeasure, she squeezed out a smile for her stepson: “Child, Mom is just worried about you.”

After getting a handle on his situation, Lu Yi showed no mercy to Gao Xue: “The patient needs quiet. You’re being very noisy. If you want to chat with Mr. Li here, please do it outside.”

He pointed to the sign hanging at the ward’s entrance, which clearly read in large letters: “Please Keep Quiet.”

Lu Yi said with a half-smile: “Aunt Gao, you’re a college graduate, cultured and literate. You should be able to read.”

With just a few words, he tore down all the gold leaf Gao Xue had pasted on herself.

When had this little brat become so sharp-tongued? Could it be that nearly dying had made him reckless?

Gao Xue didn’t think in terms of supernatural possession. After all, someone who had brushed death’s door could very well undergo a drastic personality change.

Damn Lu Yi, showing no mercy at all. He had made his words so final that Gao Xue’s smile almost froze on her face.

But an old fox is still cunning. Even if Lu Yi’s tongue had grown sharper, Gao Xue’s skin was thicker.

At first, she hadn’t reacted in time. After Lu Yi finished speaking, she maintained her smile: “Auntie was inconsiderate. I know you don’t like calling me Auntie. I was just so happy to see you wake up that I got a bit emotional. If you really don’t want to see me, I’ll leave right now. But no matter what, don’t take it out on your own body.”

By the end, Gao Xue’s eyes were half-red on cue. She wasn’t young, but her face and figure were well-maintained. The effect was almost pitifully endearing.

Her implication was that Lu Yi was rebellious and disobedient, while she, with all her maternal love, was utterly betrayed by her rebellious stepson.

Unfortunately, the two people present were both gay, with no appreciation for such a display.

Hearing Gao Xue’s words, Lu Yi couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

“If you were really concerned about me…”

Lu Yi got off the hospital bed himself, poured a glass of water with his right hand—the one not hooked up to an IV—and his hoarse voice eased considerably, becoming noticeably clearer: “After hearing me speak, you would have chosen to pour me a glass of water. At the very least, you would have asked if I was thirsty. Don’t you agree?”

That’s right. If he were really her biological child, upon hearing his hoarse voice, she would certainly have wondered if he was thirsty or uncomfortable, rushing over to shower him with care.

She cried about caring for him, but took no real action.

“Alright, I’ll say it again: the ward needs quiet. I need to rest now. You.”

Lu Yi used the polite “nin,” which sounded courteous yet distant, but the sarcasm was unmistakable.

“Alright, let Lu Yi rest.” Li Tang, who hadn’t said a word, finally spoke, then turned and left with a cold face.

He still liked him. If feelings could be given up so easily, Lu Yi wouldn’t have made such a scene, crying and dying in front of him.

He figured that what he had said before must have been too hurtful, and the other party was still angry, which was why he was acting like this.

But he wasn’t about to let Lu Yi walk all over him. Even if the other had attempted suicide, it was just the original owner being dramatic and causing trouble. What did that have to do with him?

Faced with a suddenly venomous and indifferent Lu Yi, he didn’t think it was because his charm had waned. He thought Lu Yi was playing hard to get.

Trying to play that game with him was far too naïve. It was practically asking for a slap in the face. He planned to give Lu Yi the cold shoulder until the other couldn’t take it anymore, and then he would be generous and not hold it against him.

Gao Xue had only come for Li Tang in the first place. As soon as he left, she hurried after him.

Once those two eyesores were gone, Lu Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. At last, the world was quiet.

Although he didn’t know why he had become this Lu Yi, he had a feeling he might be stuck in this world for good. In that case, since he had taken over the original owner’s body and identity, he had to take responsibility for the other’s life.

The original owner’s family situation was complicated. Gao Xue, the stepmother, was the kind of person you couldn’t melt with love—that only happened in melodramas. In reality, it was impossible.

Lu Yi wasn’t as starved for affection as the original owner, so he wasn’t about to go out of his way to humiliate himself.

As for the original owner’s father, after marrying Gao Xue, he had hardly fulfilled his role as a father.

When the original owner was hospitalized for suicide, the father hadn’t even come to see him.

From the original owner’s memories, Lu Yi could almost picture the man’s reaction when he heard the news.

That man would furrow his brows in disgust: “How did this happen? Stirring up a suicide attempt, disgracing the Lu family name. Couldn’t even die cleanly. Stuck in the hospital for so long, wasting my money.”

Although this man had many flaws, he had at least provided for the original owner, raising him to adulthood. So Lu Yi would fulfill his filial duties by paying the legally mandated amount of alimony. As for anything else, his father could forget it.

But Lu Yi’s father and Gao Xue weren’t the main focus. The real focus was the ex-boyfriend who had just shown up.

He wasn’t entirely sure how he should proceed, but he knew the goal: to make Li Tang’s life miserable.

That seemed incredibly difficult because Li Tang was a well-known playboy. Yet, thanks to his handsome face and wealthy background, many still threw themselves at him like moths to a flame.

If not Lu Yi, there would be Zhao Yi, Qian Yi, Sun Yi, or Li Yi hovering around him.

Should he ruin the face Li Tang was so proud of? That was too malicious. Lu Yi couldn’t do something like that. The revenge he wanted was for Li Tang to reap the consequences of his terrible character and behavior, not through violent means.

If he stooped to that, how would he be any different from a scumbag like Li Tang?

The problem was that as long as Li Tang’s looks and wealth remained, he would never be left alone.

But for now, there was one advantage: the original owner had attempted suicide and wasn’t close to his family. A drastic personality change wouldn’t seem too strange to others.

Never mind. He wouldn’t overthink it for now. His body was still very weak, and thinking too much gave him a headache.

Perhaps Gao Xue had whispered something in his father’s ear. After four or five days in the hospital, Lu Yi still hadn’t fully recovered when the hospital staff told him to leave early. No one had renewed his hospitalization fees, and the hospital had a shortage of beds—they couldn’t use limited medical resources for charity.

After leaving the hospital, Lu Yi certainly couldn’t go back to the house where his father and Gao Xue lived. Instead, he followed the route in his memory and returned to his university dormitory.

When he got back, the other roommates were out. Lu Yi glanced at the class schedule pasted on the original owner’s desk.

At this time, the others should have been in class.

Returning to the familiar dormitory clarified many of the original owner’s fuzzy memories.

After starting college, in case his unreliable father, under his wife’s influence, cut off all financial support, the original owner had taken on several part-time jobs to save some money for emergencies.

But because he didn’t go home during breaks, his father learned about his summer and winter jobs. Without caring how much Lu Yi actually earned, he used it as an excuse to claim that since his son was an adult now and the family was having financial difficulties, Lu Yi should become financially independent. That meant no more living expenses or tuition.

Relying on tutoring, various part-time jobs, and hard-earned scholarships, the original owner barely managed to cover his living expenses and tuition. But it was just barely.

Boys usually develop later than girls, and some keep growing taller even past twenty. The original owner was 17 when he started college and still under 20, right in the middle of his growth spurt. Because he shot up quickly but could only afford to eat until he was 70-80% full, he was very thin.

Every time Lu Yi changed clothes, he noticed that the body was so skinny it lacked any aesthetic appeal. He was all skin and bones, and looser clothes just hung on him limply.

At least his face was decent. Despite a somewhat gloomy personality, his good looks and melancholic aura had attracted a few suitors.

Being liked by others made the original owner happy, but he had mostly rejected them because most of those who confessed were sweet girls—and he liked men.

Society had become much more tolerant of homosexuality compared to ten years ago. You could even see same-sex couples on university campuses. But same-sex marriage wasn’t yet legal. As a minority, he might receive blessings from strangers, but parents and older relatives were generally opposed.

Once he realized he only liked men, the original owner didn’t want to cause trouble for the girls who genuinely liked him, so he turned them down from the start.

Later, somehow, news spread that he was gay, and Li Tang sought him out.

Unlike the original owner, who had nothing going for him except good grades and a nice face, Li Tang was a notorious playboy at their school. But he was only a playboy with men; he didn’t touch women at all.

It was said that Li Tang had come out in high school. Since his family didn’t expect him to be the heir anyway, after a big fuss, they gave up on him.

As long as he didn’t mess around and catch some nasty disease, his family didn’t bother with him.

With his outstanding appearance, cheerful personality, various talents, and a knack for having fun, even though some gay-haters avoided him, he was never short of people wanting to be friends with him.

There were straight guys, gay guys, and some younger female students who admired him.

To the original owner—cowardly and used to swallowing his feelings—Li Tang was a shining light he yearned for. So when Li Tang came to confess, the original owner was first surprised, then flattered, and immediately agreed.

Even though he had heard about Li Tang’s bad reputation, under his lover’s sweet talk, he chose to trust him unconditionally.

Until the day he had saved up from multiple part-time jobs and scrimping to buy a necklace Li Tang had casually mentioned liking, prepared a surprise full of joy.

But on Li Tang’s birthday, before he could even give the gift, his boyfriend broke up with him.

With red eyes, the original owner asked Li Tang: “Everything was fine. Why suddenly break up? Don’t joke like this. I can’t take it, really.”

At the time, there were quite a few people present—good buddies who had come to celebrate Li Tang’s birthday. One of them, either out of sympathy or some other motive, directly told him: “Don’t be naive. Brother Tang only came after you in the first place because of a round of Truth or Dare. He chose the dare.”

The original owner was stunned. He looked at his boyfriend in disbelief, his voice trembling as he begged for a denial: “That’s not true, right? Tell me it’s a lie.”

Every night before bed, he would think of their sweetness and feel happy. Was it all just a joke to the other?

Li Tang hesitated, then shrugged: “You know what kind of person I am. Honestly, I didn’t want to hurt you this way.”

He didn’t directly say it was a lie, but those words were an acknowledgment that what the other had said was true.

Exhausted and heartbroken, and now hit with this blow, the original owner couldn’t think straight. He bought a bottle of pesticide and that very night secretly drank it in his bed.

He chose to die at school because, deep down, he had a thought: even if he died, he wanted to be somewhere people knew him. He didn’t want to die and have the whole world know, while Li Tang remained ignorant.

Of course, there was also a hint of revenge in his heart. If Li Tang drove someone to death, regardless of the reason, public opinion would inevitably affect him to some extent.

But later, the original owner didn’t die. The bad influence it caused wasn’t aimed at Li Tang—it was aimed at himself.

He became a fool in others’ mouths, while Li Tang, because someone was willing to die for him, seemed even more charming in others’ eyes.

What a pitiful, naive child. The original owner certainly had his faults—being too dependent on others, placing too much importance on feelings, and not valuing himself enough.

But the true cause of the tragedy was still a scumbag like Li Tang, who casually used others’ feelings and hurt people without regard.

Lu Yi pressed his hand to his chest, waiting for the intense emotions that weren’t his own to fade. Then he began sorting through various materials and calculating all of the original owner’s assets.

It was the first semester of junior year. There weren’t many classes left—only three big lectures a week—so the original owner had plenty of time for part-time jobs.

He had already paid for tuition, dorm fees, and class fees at the start of the semester, so now he only needed to cover his living expenses to avoid starving.

The original owner’s savings account had six hundred yuan left—his budget for one month’s living expenses. And for Li Tang, he had spent all his savings on a ten-thousand-yuan necklace.

Since he was crushed on that day, the gift never got delivered, and it was still in the original owner’s drawer.

Even though the original owner had the bad luck of meeting a scumbag, his dormmates were decent enough. They weren’t overly warm or friendly, but they weren’t terrible either. They got along reasonably well. Otherwise, the original owner might have been found dead after drinking pesticide.

After he had been away for a while, his cards and such were still there, along with the expensive necklace.

Right now, the most valuable thing he owned was that necklace.

He dug out the original packaging. The product information card stated that within seven days, if there were defects or other issues, a full refund was possible. After seven days, exchanges only.

After a month, even defective items wouldn’t be accepted.

Negotiating a refund for such items was tough, and Lu Yi didn’t plan to waste time and energy on that.

He searched online, downloaded a second-hand trading app, and listed the necklace for sale at 80% of the market price. He uploaded photos of the receipt, packaging, and the item itself.

After a moment’s thought, he also posted on the school’s official forum and in the part-time job group.

The school wasn’t that big; there weren’t many students selling such expensive necklaces.

Usually, buying a luxury item like that was for giving as a gift. Rich people wouldn’t sell it if they didn’t give it away—it would be too embarrassing.

And truly rich students wouldn’t buy a second-hand gift either.

Lu Yi didn’t expect to sell it immediately. After sorting things out, he also gathered all the valuable items Li Tang had given to the original owner, took photos, and put them all up for sale.

They had been together for half a year. Li Tang had given the original owner some things, but the original owner hadn’t accepted anything too expensive. Small trinkets worth a few hundred or a thousand—if he refused, Li Tang would get upset.

The original owner had accepted them all and always put a lot of thought into return gifts.

Of course, the gifts Li Tang gave were kept in near-mint condition. As for what the original owner gave, it had probably been tossed into some corner where no one could find it.

Now that they were broken up, these things had no value to Lu Yi.

He didn’t plan to waste time on those old part-time jobs for now, but he didn’t want to go hungry either. Every bit counted, even if he sold at 50-60% of the price. Scattered amounts could still be money.

His post quickly attracted attention. The school forum was managed by current students, many of whom were friends with Li Tang.

Even though he hadn’t posted his name and used a random ID, someone guessed his identity almost as soon as he posted, and they notified Li Tang.

At that moment, Li Tang was playing a game with his roommates and didn’t notice the message. When he finished and checked, he immediately got furious.

He commented under the post: “I’ll take everything the OP is selling.”

After leaving that comment, he went straight to Lu Yi’s dormitory. Since they were all male students, the dorm matron didn’t stop him.

Without a key, he pounded on the door: “Lu Yi, get out here!”

Lu Yi ignored him and kept tidying up.

Li Tang then said: “I’m the ‘Sugartang’ from the school forum. Are you selling stuff or not?!”

The next second, the door opened.

Lu Yi saw it was Li Tang and said as his first words: “Everything’s packed up. Take your pick. If you want it all, I can give you another 5% off.”