“……” Feng Yuan bit his cigarette, his expression unreadable. Gao Chun and the others hadn’t expected Gong Ze to dare dampen Feng Yuan’s spirits. Although Feng Yuan had said he was fine with anything, he had clearly been in a good mood and wanted to continue having fun.
Besides, since when did a sugar daddy happily make plans to go out, and a kept little lover have the right to say no?
Were you even qualified?
Why had Gong Ze suddenly lost all sense of social cues?
Ji Huai, Gao Chun, and the others exchanged uncertain glances.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Lin’an put his arm around Gong Ze’s shoulder and chuckled. “What do you need to go home for? It’s a waste of a good time.”
“I need to go find a place to live.”
The dull Alpha didn’t understand Jiang Lin’an’s hint. He was as thick as a block of wood. “The real estate agent said they could only wait for me until six in the evening. Any later and I’d have to do it tomorrow.”
“Move? You……”
Feng Yuan suddenly looked up at Gong Ze, his tone unreadable. “What about the place you were living in before?”
“I’m not planning to rent it anymore.”
Gong Ze shook his head.
“I’ll find you a hotel to stay in temporarily. Tell me what kind of house you want, and I’ll have someone buy it. Be good. Don’t make me unhappy.” Feng Yuan sounded like he was discussing it with Gong Ze, but his dark, heavy eyes radiated a dangerous signal.
Gong Ze frowned.
The others looked at the sky and the ground, pretending they didn’t exist.
Then, Gong Ze’s not-so-bright brain suddenly had a flash of insight. He looked at Feng Yuan, shocked. “I’m not asking you for a house! I really just want to rent a different place. You already gave me money!”
He wasn’t asking for things!
But Feng Yuan didn’t want to hear his explanation. He snapped, “Enough. Just follow me, and you’ll have whatever you want. Stop dawdling. Just behave.”
Gong Ze: “……”
Is there something wrong with this guy’s head!?
Gong Ze sulked, gripping the strap of his crossbody bag tightly. He lowered his head, his stubborn temper flaring up, and ignored Feng Yuan.
Seeing Gong Ze like this, Feng Yuan immediately got angry. His face twisted, and he took a big step forward as if to hit him. Jiang Lin’an hurriedly held him back, and Gao Chun and Ji Huai also stepped in between them.
“What are you doing? You were just fine a moment ago… Gong Ze is simple-minded. He’s not like those gold-digging little lovers you usually play with. He’s with you because he’s grateful, not because he wants something from you. What’s there to be unhappy about? Right?”
Jiang Lin’an tried to reason with him.
“You wronged him, so can’t he be upset?”
Feng Yuan sneered, glaring at Gong Ze. “He’s just been spoiled.”
Gao Chun sighed. “Just say a little less. You two were as close as one person a moment ago.”
Ji Huai winked at Gong Ze.
Signaling that if Gong Ze just apologized, the whole thing would blow over.
Gong Ze thought, Why should I?
I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?
He’s unhappy, and so am I.
Although Gong Ze was usually timid and weak, when his stubborn temper flared, he was as stubborn as a mule.
Seeing that Gong Ze wasn’t backing down and was still defying him, making him lose face in front of his friends, Feng Yuan was so angry that he gritted his teeth and let out a series of cold laughs.
He pointed at Gong Ze. “Fine! You’re something else!”
With that, Feng Yuan pulled a long face, pushed Jiang Lin’an aside, and stormed off in a huff.
Jiang Lin’an looked helplessly at Gong Ze. “Gong Ze, why did you have to do that? Feng Yuan’s temper just needs to be handled gently. And he’s not wrong. He spends money, you spend time. Isn’t that a good deal? You have a family member who needs to be in the hospital. Following Feng Yuan can save you years of struggle. Do you know how many people would kill to latch onto someone rich? Be a little more sensible. In the future, just do whatever he says. He won’t treat you badly.”
Gong Ze’s eyes were downcast.
He clearly wasn’t convinced.
“I’m not wrong… He really did wrong me……”
Hearing this, Jiang Lin’an found it funny. He had thought Gong Ze was smart, but now he felt Gong Ze was far too naive.
The relationship between the two of them was a mutual, transactional exchange of money for companionship.
Did he really think they were dating?
Did he expect his sugar daddy to humbly coddle him? To demand fairness?
If you want fairness, then go have a proper, serious relationship. Why sell yourself?
“Ah, just think it over carefully.”
Jiang Lin’an went after Feng Yuan with Ji Huai and Gao Chun. Although they liked Gong Ze, who was an honest person, Feng Yuan was their friend.
“……” Gong Ze was the only one left halfway down the mountain. He stood there for a while, then pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and silently turned around to walk down the mountain.
When he reached the bottom, he ran into Feng Yuan, Jiang Lin’an, and the others, who were waiting there for their family drivers.
Gong Ze ignored the icy stares falling on him. He silently stood off to the side by himself.
“Hmph…”
Feng Yuan let out a cold snort and got into his car with Jiang Lin’an and the others.
Soft-hearted Gao Chun had wanted to invite Gong Ze along, but Ji Huai shook his head at him. Gao Chun glanced at the Alpha standing alone in the distance, shook his head, and left too.
It was a pity to abandon him like that.
After all, this hill was private property. There were no buses and no people around.
The only way to leave was on foot.
It would be at least a couple of hours to walk to the bus stop from the front.
But Feng Yuan was pretending not to see him, so none of them dared to invite Gong Ze.
The two luxury cars drove out of Gong Ze’s sight and disappeared at the end of the road.
Only then did Gong Ze belatedly realize that he had been abandoned. He felt a little wronged that Feng Yuan wouldn’t let him in the car.
He wasn’t the type to have much pride.
He was a wimp, after all.
When he had sulked at home before, his parents would give him an out. But out in the world, no one pampered him.
Gong Ze dimly learned a social lesson: Don’t talk back to the boss.
Next time Feng Yuan criticized him, he would just pretend he didn’t hear…
The wimp quickly adjusted his self-esteem.
How was he going to get back?
Gong Ze hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the gatekeeper uncle’s booth and quietly asked if there was a bus here.
“What? No one came to pick you up?”
The uncle had his dogs with him. Now that the boss was gone, he, as the gatekeeper, had to lock up the security booth and go home too.
Hearing Gong Ze’s question, the uncle made a casual, harmless remark.
Seeing Gong Ze’s appearance, he had assumed Gong Ze was also a rich young master.
Gong Ze shook his head and said in a low, gloomy voice, “My boss left me behind…”
The uncle’s face immediately filled with sympathy.
It was hard to serve the rich. The uncle assumed he was an employee who had been called by his boss to accompany him fishing.
Maybe the boss’s fishing skills weren’t good, and he hadn’t caught many fish. Angry, he had taken it out on the young worker and left him behind.
“There’s no bus stop here. The nearest one is ten kilometers away. It’s hard to get a ride-hailing car out here in the middle of nowhere.”
The uncle felt sorry for him. “You’d better call a friend to come pick you up. If you go on foot, you’ll be walking until dark.”
Gong Ze’s eyes widened.
Ten kilometers?!
He opened his mouth. “But I don’t have any friends here who can pick me up…”
The uncle felt even more sorry for him.
“Then there’s nothing I can do.”
“……”
Stiffly frozen in place for a moment, Gong Ze’s face paled. He said thank you to the uncle, then turned around dejectedly and started walking back slowly, clutching his bag.
After about ten minutes, he suddenly heard a honk behind him.
Gong Ze turned around in a daze.
The uncle, driving a fuel-powered tricycle, came to a stop beside him with a putt-putt-putt. He shouted to Gong Ze, “Young man, you look pitiful. Hop on. I’ll give you a ride to the bus stop. But this tricycle of mine doesn’t have any other seats. There’s a bed in the back, though. You can sit back there with my big yellow dog!”
Gong Ze’s eyes lit up instantly.
……
……
The sun was setting. The red clouds of dusk painted the whole sky.
The air was fresh and fragrant. Crickets and cicadas chirped loudly. In the far distance, someone was herding sheep.
Gong Ze sat in the bouncing, jolting bed of the tricycle, hugging his knees. Under him was a cushion the uncle had kindly lent him. On either side of him, pressed up against him, were Big Yellow and the other village dog.
The two dogs and the one man faced the rosy clouds, squinting contentedly in the wind. The dogs’ ears were blown backward by the breeze.
Gong Ze reached out and flipped them back.
The two dogs looked at him, then suddenly tilted their heads and leaned against his arm.
Gong Ze hugged his knees and continued watching the sunset.
By the time he reached the bus stop, it was already dark. Gong Ze caught the last bus and returned to the city in the evening breeze.
It was already ten o’clock at night when he arrived in the city. The matter of finding a place to live was still delayed…
Gong Ze stood quietly in front of the closed real estate agency for a while, then silently turned around and walked back.
He had a little over twenty thousand yuan left of the hundred thousand in his pocket.
To rent the cheapest two-bedroom place, he would need to pay a deposit and three months’ rent upfront, which came to a little over ten thousand yuan.
That would leave him with about fifteen thousand to use.
Food and drink, buying clothes for his cheap son, purchasing some necessities…
The Alpha with the amazing body and deep, handsome features walked alone on the street, exuding a melancholic air.
Outsiders would only stop for this stunning Alpha, guessing that he had some heartbreaking and mysterious past, unaware that he was simply worrying about whether he should go back to work to earn money.
Otherwise, next month he would be eating instant noodles.
After the unpleasant parting today, Feng Yuan probably wouldn’t continue to let him live off him. Gong Ze thought about the card in his pocket but decided against using it.
Since we’re not involved anymore, would using the card be considered credit card fraud?
The seemingly high-class, glamorous Alpha pondered with his geriatric-brain.
In the end, he decided against it.
Prison is too scary.
Better to eat instant noodles.
The dejected man drooped his head, pressed his thin lips together, and when he lowered his eyes, the sadness in them made countless passersby’s hearts break.
He must be so sad because he’s experienced something truly cruel!
Gong Ze: Yes. From now on, I’ll only dare to buy the bagged version of instant noodles. My life is really bitter.
[If only you had used Feng Yuan’s card to pay for the gym lessons!]
The system lamented.
Then they would have had an extra twenty thousand yuan.
They still had a little baby to support in the hospital! Adults could scrimp, but what about the baby?
Gong Ze walked back home, admiring the moonlight. Upon hearing this, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “It’s not that bad. We haven’t really broken up. I’m just letting outsiders think that ‘I’ think we’ve broken up.”
In colloquial terms, ‘Gong Ze’ was rather stubborn.
He was missing a screw.
Feng Yuan made him think they were over.
So Gong Ze wouldn’t go and appease Feng Yuan. When other dogs get abandoned, they turn back and grovel to their master. But he was so stupid he would just stay there for a while, then turn around and leave.
Let go? Let go, and it’s gone.
[So you need to find a job?]
“Mm… At least put on a show. Make Feng Yuan think I’m living a really hard life…”
But I can’t actually endure hardship.
Let someone else eat the bitterness of love. Let whoever wants to eat the bitterness of life eat it.
The black-bellied Master Gong said as much.
The next morning, Gong Ze carried his bag and rushed to the gym. The money was already spent and couldn’t be refunded. If he didn’t work out, it would be a waste.
He stayed at the gym until after ten o’clock, then showered and cleaned himself up. He changed into the expensive new clothes he had bought with Feng Yuan’s card and met up with the real estate agent.
The agent didn’t understand. “Look at you, you can even afford to wear [Brand Name]. Why do you insist on renting a cheap, old place?”
“These clothes are fake. High-quality knockoffs.”
Gong Ze lied without changing his expression. “At my old job, the boss required us to wear formal wear. There was no other choice, so I bought these.”
The agent eyed his clothes doubtfully. “Well, your knockoffs are pretty good…”
They looked real.
Gong Ze nodded modestly. “Mm.”
After exchanging a few casual words, the agent took Gong Ze on his electric scooter and started showing him one apartment after another.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Feng Yuan looked at their chat log. Gong Ze hadn’t sent him a single message since last night. He let out a dismissive scoff.
“We’ll see how long you can hold out before you come begging to me!”
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