BIAC CH 24

Chapter 24: If You Want to Play with Him, You’ll Have to Get in Line Behind Me

As soon as Tang He stepped into Dream Advertising, he immediately sensed something was wrong. He didn’t know what had happened, but a crowd had gathered in a commotion. It wasn’t a festive buzz—rather, it sounded like an argument had broken out. From the edge of the crowd, voices could be heard, their tones unpleasant, though it was hard to make out what was actually being said.

Tang He pushed his way through the group toward the center, a bad feeling gnawing at his gut.

Then he heard Du Jianyou’s voice.

He’s back?

A few people were surrounding Du Jianyou and Wang Guoqing. Zhao Tiancheng stood off to the side, trying to mediate between the two sides in a panic.

Du Jianyou thought bitterly, What a cursed day. He had just finished wrapping up the out-of-town shoot a day ahead of schedule and originally planned to surprise Tang He by picking him up from work. But because he needed to drop off Zhao Tiancheng and a few staff members at the studio to handle post-editing, he returned to the company first.

Since he was already back, he thought he might as well check in with the few colleagues still on duty and drop off some local snacks he’d brought back as souvenirs. That single stray thought led to a nightmare—he ran straight into Wang Guoqing, who was pestering the employees who’d stayed behind.

This Wang Guoqing had already drunk himself silly, and it wasn’t even 6 PM yet. He must have started drinking at lunch. Drunk, homeless, and now causing a scene at the company—he reeked of alcohol and kept loudly demanding that Du Jianyou come out and see him. It was intolerable.

“Chairman Wang, I remember I already had someone pass on the message last time: if you show up here causing trouble again, I will call the police,” Du Jianyou said coldly, arms crossed, stepping forward to shield his colleague from the harassment.

“Aw, don’t be like that!” Wang Guoqing slurred, eyes lighting up as he finally laid eyes on the delicate and fair-faced Du Jianyou. “I just wanted to be friends! No need to be so distant!” He reeked of alcohol as he leaned closer, hands creeping toward Du Jianyou’s chest and waist. Du Jianyou swiftly stepped back to avoid him, and Zhao Tiancheng rushed to wedge himself between them.

But Wang Guoqing wasn’t done. He shoved Zhao Tiancheng aside and staggered forward, pulling out a wad of cash from his suit pocket. Enraged, he roared, “What, I can’t even touch you? Don’t act all high and mighty—I’ve got money! Isn’t that what you’re after? With enough cash, you’ll do any filthy job. I know for a fact the people you’ve serviced were full of praise! I’m just trying to have a little fun. Stop pretending you’re pure. Name your price—whatever it is, I can pay!”

With that, he threw the thick wad of cash right into Du Jianyou’s face.

Du Jianyou’s eyes blazed with fury, his whole body trembling. He’d learned a bit of karate from An Zicheng, and reminded himself that it was for self-defense—not for attacking others. He used all his strength to hold back, but he couldn’t stop the anger burning in his chest. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, and even his lower lip had been bitten until it bled.

Du Jianyou had heard plenty of rumors before—he knew how awful they could be. But this was the first time someone had come to his face, cash in hand, to humiliate him. Seeing it with his own eyes, hearing it with his own ears, and all of it happening in front of his colleagues—he was completely at a loss. After several days of exhausting work and travel, having barely eaten or drunk anything all day, his blood was now boiling with fury, and he truly felt like he was going to faint from anger.

Just then, Tang He finally squeezed through the crowd. As he overheard Wang Guoqing’s disgusting words aimed at Du Jianyou, he could also feel the employees around them murmuring angrily and shouting in outrage. Anxious, he pushed his way to the center—just in time to see Wang Guoqing slap a wad of cash across Du Jianyou’s face.

Tang He bellowed, “What the hell are you doing?!” and grabbed Wang Guoqing by the collar in a flash. He knew this man—Wang Guoqing was the typical kind of sleazeball who would always try to curry favor at social events, hoping to get in good with the Guangsheng Group. Tang He had never taken him seriously.

“Huh…?” Wang Guoqing felt someone grab him and struggled to break free. When he turned and saw who it was, he squinted through his drunken haze. “Oh! President Tang? What a coincidence—you’re here too?”

Du Jianyou was stunned to see Tang He suddenly step in. He hadn’t noticed he was there earlier, and now all he could think about was whether his brother had heard everything that disgusting Wang Guoqing had just said.

“Ge… why are you here?” Du Jianyou asked weakly, a bit guilty.

“I’m not allowed to be here?” Tang He didn’t even glance at him, his eyes locked on Wang Guoqing with a murderous glare.

Wang Guoqing, never one to read the room even when sober, was now drunk and completely uninhibited. He held onto Tang He and slurred loudly, “President Tang, you’re here to see this Du Jianyou too, huh? I’ll tell you what—I saw him first. I had my eyes on him before you. I heard all about how good he is in bed—he’s got skills. I even brought money, see? You want to have a go? Then get in line behind me!”

Du Jianyou’s face flushed with fury and shame. He wanted to lunge at Wang Guoqing and tear his filthy mouth apart, but Zhao Tiancheng had him in a tight hold around the waist, stopping him from advancing. All he could do was stomp his feet and scream at the top of his lungs, “Shut up! Shut up! What the hell are you saying?! Someone call the police! Hurry, call the police!”

A few people quickly scattered to make the call.

Du Jianyou looked at Tang He, who still had his back to him, gripping Wang Guoqing by the collar. His voice trembled with bitterness as he pleaded, “Ge… don’t listen to him. I… I didn’t…” I didn’t do anything I shouldn’t have.

Hearing Du Jianyou yell about calling the police and then explain himself to Tang He only seemed to enrage Wang Guoqing more. “Didn’t do anything? What, you think you’re too good for the rest of us just because you’ve climbed up the ladder and snagged President Tang? Still pretending? President Tang, I’m telling you this as a friend—don’t be fooled by him. He’s just a slut. As long as you’ve got money, he’ll do whatever you want. You can screw him however you like…”

He dragged out the last words in a filthy, lewd tone.

Tang He’s fury exploded. His grip on Wang Guoqing’s collar tightened, until the man began to struggle to breathe. Wang Guoqing clawed at his hand, gasping, but a drunk like him was no match for Tang He. When he realized Tang He wasn’t letting go, he started shouting again, “You don’t believe me, do you? I’ve got proof! Just you wait…”

As he fumbled around in his suit pocket, he finally pulled out a photo and smacked it against Tang He’s chest.

Reflexively, Tang He grabbed it and glanced at it—and instantly froze. His entire body stiffened. His hand, which had been clutching Wang Guoqing, loosened unconsciously. Without that support, Wang Guoqing slumped to the floor, gasping for air.

Du Jianyou immediately sensed that something was wrong when he saw Tang He staring motionlessly at the photo. He tried to step forward to snatch it away, but Zhao Tiancheng only tightened his grip, preventing him from moving.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Tang He quickly crumpled the photo into a ball—he didn’t want Du Jianyou to see it.

“See that filthy look on his face? Now do you believe me? He’s just a dirty little whore—”

Before he could finish, Tang He lunged forward, grabbed him by the collar, and landed a punch square on his face—then another, and another. People nearby screamed in shock. Those closest, including Zhao Tiancheng, quickly rushed forward to pull Tang He away.

In the chaos and shouts around him, Du Jianyou spotted the crumpled photo that had fallen to the ground. In one swift motion, he dashed over, crouched down, and picked it up. When he smoothed it out and took a look—he was met with the most humiliating image he had ever seen in his life.

The photo showed him lying on a sofa in some private room, eyes closed. His shirt had been completely unbuttoned, revealing his bare upper body. Surrounding him were three men—none of their faces were visible, but one of them was straddling Du Jianyou, working at the buckle of his pants. Another stood nearby, looking aroused as he began undoing his own belt. The third had his face pressed against Du Jianyou’s body, apparently biting at his collarbone, based on the red marks visible on his skin.

Du Jianyou stared at the image in disbelief. When had this happened? Had he been drugged? How could he have no memory of this at all?

Fury surged within him. The metallic taste of blood rose to his throat and rushed to his head. In a flash, he stood up from the floor, eyes blazing with the intent to strangle Wang Guoqing with his bare hands.

But suddenly, a wave of darkness swept over him like a black curtain crashing down from the sky.

Du Jianyou staggered two steps forward, his knees buckled—and he collapsed to the ground.

(To be continued…)