ARBRMW : Chapter 56

“Hahaha, Brother Xu, everyone’s mocking Si Yichen, saying he’s always showing off and looking down on people with his nose in the air. Unlike you, who just quietly wears a house on your wrist,” Tang Zhen lay on his bed playing with his phone, laughing so hard his legs kicked in the air.

Recently, Si Yichen had been living on a tight budget, but he still loved flaunting his wealth in front of his classmates. The money he got from Ms. Tao was almost entirely spent on maintaining his image as a rich young master. This self-inflicted hardship was something Chen Xu found quite amusing.

“They all say you’re the real deal, hahaha, while Si Yichen is just a nouveau riche,” Tang Zhen rolled off his bed and asked Chen Xu, who was sitting at his desk watching the stock market.

“Chen Xu, is your house really big? Like, the kind where you could get lost? And do you have one of those big dogs with long fur? That’s what they always show on TV.”

Without turning his head, Chen Xu replied, “Watch less TV.”

Tang Zhen and Ke Xinghao would probably get along well—both had wild imaginations.

*Knock knock knock…* Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Tang Zhen thought it was Zhu Yaoyuan coming back and forgetting his keys. Chen Xu thought the same and got up to open the door. To his surprise, standing outside were the counselor and an elderly couple with weathered faces.

Their faces were deeply lined, their skin rough and tanned. They wore thick cotton clothes that had faded from washing, the collars and cuffs frayed. Standing at the dorm door, they hunched their backs, their eyes darting around, filled with sorrow.

When they saw Chen Xu, they were momentarily stunned, then turned to look at the counselor.

The counselor forced an awkward smile and said to Chen Xu, “Chen Xu, these are Wu Bin’s parents. They came to the school hoping to see you.”

These two were Wu Bin’s parents? Chen Xu was surprised. Poverty had aged them beyond their years, and at first glance, he had mistaken them for Wu Bin’s grandparents.

Before he could say anything, the couple suddenly dropped to their knees in front of him. Chen Xu instinctively stepped back several paces, startled. The counselor and Tang Zhen, who had just climbed down from his bed, were equally shocked.

“Student Chen, please, have mercy. Spare our son Wu Bin. He’s our only child; he can’t go to jail. He’s the only college student to come out of our village in decades. You can’t ruin him like this!”

Wu Bin’s parents cried and kowtowed to Chen Xu, leaving the counselor completely dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected Wu Bin’s parents to pull such a stunt.

The commotion drew other students out of their rooms, curious to see what was happening. When they saw the elderly couple kneeling and kowtowing to Chen Xu, they were utterly confused.

“Please, have mercy. Wu Bin is our life. You’re so rich; that watch must be nothing to you. It’s just a small amount for you. Good people get good karma. Please, don’t hold Wu Bin responsible. You were classmates, after all.”

Chen Xu stood inside the dorm, about a meter away from the couple, his brow furrowing tighter by the second. At that moment, he finally understood where Wu Bin’s habit of blaming others and his deep-seated inferiority complex came from. Family upbringing and environment were crucial.

Listening to the couple’s words, Tang Zhen was furious. He strode forward and said to the kneeling pair, “Get this straight: it was Wu Bin who betrayed his classmates by stealing from the three of us in the dorm. We gave him a chance to settle this privately, but he refused to admit it and forced us to go to the police. Now you’re here kneeling to Chen Xu—what’s your game? Trying to ruin his reputation? Just because you’re weak, you think you’re in the right?”

Tang Zhen wanted to say more, but Chen Xu grabbed his wrist and shook his head, signaling him to stop. Reluctantly, Tang Zhen closed his mouth and turned away.

Wu Bin’s parents were momentarily stunned by Tang Zhen’s outburst, but once Chen Xu stopped him, they looked Tang Zhen up and down. Seeing him in his fluffy Pikachu onesie, with a pink hair clip holding back his bangs to reveal his smooth forehead, their eyes filled with disdain and disgust.

“A boy dressing like this, neither male nor female—isn’t this just perverted?”

Tang Zhen nearly exploded. No wonder Wu Bin was the way he was—his parents were even worse.

Chen Xu pressed Tang Zhen’s hand and said coldly, “Wu Bin is an adult. He should take responsibility for his actions. If he had the guts to steal, he should face the consequences. Coming to me won’t help. What he did was a crime.”

Hearing this, Wu Bin’s parents nearly fainted. Seeing Chen Xu’s coldness, Wu Bin’s father stood up in a rage and pointed at him, shouting, “Who stole anything?! Say that again! Who stole anything?!”

“Such a young age, and already so heartless. Rich people are all the same—no good! Our Wu Bin was fine at home. How could something like this happen once he came to school? You must have done something to him. He was just angry and made a mistake!”

“You little brat, son of a b*tch…”

Wu Bin’s parents, having little education, hurled one vulgar insult after another. The counselor couldn’t stand it anymore and quickly stepped in to stop them.

“Our child had this happen at your school. We demand an explanation, or we’ll die right here!”

The counselor had initially wanted to mediate, but he hadn’t expected Wu Bin’s parents to cause such a scene in the dorm hallway, even threatening the school.

In the end, security had to escort the couple away. The counselor had wanted to advise Chen Xu to be merciful, given their shared connection as classmates, but after the parents’ behavior, he couldn’t bring himself to plead on their behalf.

“Chen Xu, Wu Bin’s parents aren’t well-educated. They’re just worried about their son…”

“I’ll have my family’s lawyer handle this,” Chen Xu said, cutting off any further discussion.

After the counselor left, the surrounding students began to chatter.

“Damn, that scared me. Opening the door to see two people kneeling in front of Chen Xu.”

“Wu Bin’s parents are shameless. They were basically threatening Chen Xu.”

“This is just moral blackmail. ‘I’m weak, so I’m right.’ No wonder Wu Bin’s so messed up—his parents are even worse.”

“Am I the only one who feels bad for Wu Bin’s parents? They’re not wrong. That watch is just a drop in the bucket for Chen Xu. Why make such a big deal out of it?”

“Nobody’s money grows on trees, and Wu Bin committed a crime. That’s the bottom line.”

The incident sparked widespread discussion at A University. Some applauded Chen Xu for standing his ground, while others thought he was being too harsh and that Wu Bin’s family was pitiful.

Chen Xu had only wanted to teach Wu Bin a lesson, to show him that the world didn’t revolve around him. He hadn’t intended to destroy Wu Bin’s life. As for Wu Bin’s parents, more than anger, Chen Xu felt a deep sadness. Wu Bin was later found to have mental health issues, and the school granted him a leave of absence to recover at home. But everyone knew—Wu Bin would never return.

Wu Bin’s parents returned the watch to Chen Xu, but they continued to make a scene, claiming they had no money. They shoved Wu Bin’s brand-new smartphone at Zhu Yaoyuan and Tang Zhen as compensation. Zhu Yaoyuan was heartbroken over his lost game console, but he couldn’t handle people like Wu Bin’s parents. He convinced himself that getting a new phone wasn’t so bad and even gave Tang Zhen an extra thousand yuan to settle the matter.

As Christmas approached, Chen Xu and his dormmates found themselves with an empty bed in their room, as no new student had moved in. On Christmas Day, the three of them went out for dinner together. Zhu Yaoyuan and Tang Zhen had been looking forward to this moment—finally getting to splurge at Chen Xu’s expense.

“Eating Japanese food in the middle of winter? I must be crazy,” Tang Zhen muttered as he sat down, already regretting his choice. Despite the elegant decor, it was his first time in such a fancy place, and he felt uneasy. He even started wishing they’d gone for hot pot instead.

A waitress in a kimono knelt to serve them, presenting each dish with exquisite care. The food looked so delicate that both Tang Zhen and Zhu Yaoyuan hesitated to dig in.

Meanwhile, Chen Xu didn’t hesitate at all, stabbing his fork into the food without a second thought.

When he looked up, he found Zhu Yaoyuan and Tang Zhen staring at him in shock.

“What?”

“Nothing, Brother Xu, you’re really something else,” Tang Zhen said, giving him a thumbs-up.

Zhu Yaoyuan added, “You’re on a whole other level of boldness.”

Chen Xu: “…”

Tang Zhen took countless photos, then scooted over to sit next to Chen Xu, insisting on taking selfies with him. They ended up with a bunch of group photos.

“When you guys get married someday, I’ll make these photos into an album and give them to you,” Tang Zhen said with a grin.

“Sounds good! But out of the three of us, Chen Xu will probably get married first. After all, we’re both single,” Zhu Yaoyuan teased, glancing at Chen Xu.

Chen Xu didn’t have the heart to tell them he was already married.

“Oh, come on. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been chasing the department beauty from the journalism school. How’s that going?” Tang Zhen nudged Zhu Yaoyuan with his elbow.

Zhu Yaoyuan blushed furiously. “H-how did you know…?”

“Seriously, it’s obvious to anyone with eyes. Did you think I was blind?” When Tang Zhen first met Zhu Yaoyuan, he’d actually considered trying to win him over. Zhu Yaoyuan was tall, athletic, and sunny—exactly Tang Zhen’s type.

But as they spent more time together, Tang Zhen realized Zhu Yaoyuan was completely straight. Besides, their dynamic worked better as friends than as lovers. Tang Zhen hadn’t been serious about his feelings anyway, so now he teased Zhu Yaoyuan mercilessly about his crush.

“Do you think I have a chance with Zhenzhen?” Zhu Yaoyuan asked, his face still red.

Tang Zhen grimaced and leaned back. “Don’t call her that. It feels like you’re talking about me.”

Zhu Yaoyuan: “…”

Chen Xu looked confused. “Who’s he talking about?”

Tang Zhen pulled out his phone, scrolled through a few things, and somehow managed to find a photo of Qin Yuzhen, the department beauty, on a friend’s social media. He showed it to Chen Xu. “This is her. Qin Yuzhen, the journalism department’s beauty queen. She’s got a lot of admirers, so you’d better step up your game, Old Zhu.”

Qin Yuzhen was indeed beautiful, with particularly lively eyes. She and Zhu Yaoyuan actually looked quite well-matched.

Hearing this, Zhu Yaoyuan sighed. “It’s so hard.”

“At least you have a target. I want to fall in love too, but I have no idea where my dream man is,” Tang Zhen said, glancing at Chen Xu with envy. “Brother Xu’s got it good. His boyfriend is obviously a tall, rich, and handsome guy.”

“I’ve heard that sleeping with a man is… really fun.”

“Brother Xu, is that true?” Tang Zhen’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Chen Xu calmly sipped his sake. “I wouldn’t know.”

“What? You and your boyfriend haven’t… you know, done it yet?” Tang Zhen was shocked. If he had a boyfriend as amazing as Chen Xu’s, he’d never want to leave the bed. Yet Chen Xu hadn’t even taken a bite of the feast right in front of him. Truly, Brother Xu was on another level.

“Your boyfriend hasn’t made a move either?” Tang Zhen thought back to the photo Chen Xu had shared in their group chat. Even he, a total bottom, had felt tempted to switch roles after seeing it. How could Chen Xu’s boyfriend resist?

“If he’s not craving your body, he must be a eunuch!”

Chen Xu: “…”

“Cough cough… hahaha, where do you even learn these things? I’m dying of laughter!” Zhu Yaoyuan choked on his drink, laughing uncontrollably.

Tang Zhen’s words made Chen Xu pause. He recalled the two times he’d been intimate with Si Ye. The first time, Si Ye hadn’t asked for his help, and the second time, it had been Chen Xu who’d offered. Si Ye had never pushed for more, as if Chen Xu’s comfort was all that mattered.

But Chen Xu remembered that day in the car, in the cramped, stifling space, when Si Ye had held his hand, his eyes blazing with desire. In that moment, Si Ye’s usual cold demeanor had melted away, replaced by something irresistibly sensual.

Si Ye did want him—he was just too careful, too protective.

Rain : “You can’t ruin him like this!”  Excuse me ? He started this sht himself ok?!