ATMAWTPM Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Please, Take Me Away.

The day after the cruise party ended, news spread online that the Shen and Liang families were about to form an alliance through marriage.

The media called it a powerful combination, and many people stirred the pot by saying that the main characters were Shen Jun and Liang Yuting.

[Shen Jun is truly a young achiever, and he’s also found such a powerful backer in the Liang family. It’s estimated that the real estate industry in A City will be monopolized by the Shen family.]

[But didn’t I hear that the marriage alliance is between Shen Minghuai, the son of the Shen family’s eldest branch?]

[Yeah! Does Shen Jun need a marriage alliance with his strength? Besides, isn’t Shen Jun into men?]

[Woah, really?]

[What’s so surprising? Same-sex marriage has been legal for a long time.]

Ye Tingtong looked at their various opinions and couldn’t tell what was true and what was false. But he was really curious, so he sent a message to Yu Huanhuan, who was known as “Little All-Knowing.”

[Ye Tingtong: Shen Jun likes men?]

[Yu Huanhuan: ?]

[Yu Huanhuan: There hasn’t been any gossip about Shen Jun in the industry. His sexual orientation has always been a mystery.]

[Yu Huanhuan: The more deeply someone hides, the more likely they have eccentricities, you know what I mean, right?]

[Yu Huanhuan: Don’t bother with these strange things, stay in school recently, and don’t go to places with few people. After the marriage news came out, the Ye family will definitely be trying to catch you and bring you back.]

[Ye Tingtong: Got it! I go everywhere with my roommates.]

Just after sending the message, the dormitory head, Yu Hui, knocked on his bed curtain, “Tonzai, a new barbecue restaurant opened near the East Gate, today is the last day of discounts, do you want to go?”

Ye Tingtong immediately poked his head out, “Is it good?”

But after asking, he hesitated, “It’s outside the school gate…”

He had been guarding against the Ye family catching him recently, he hadn’t gone back to his rented apartment, and hadn’t even left the school gate. After all, the Ye family wanted to save face, so they wouldn’t dare to kidnap him at the university.

“It’s just a few steps away from the school.” Yu Hui said with a smile, “You haven’t left the school for almost two weeks, right? Minghuai isn’t back, so you won’t go out?”

“That’s not right either. Minghuai came back to the dormitory a few times, but you weren’t there. We called you, but you didn’t answer. Did you guys fight?”

Ye Tingtong didn’t say anything.

Ever since he was sure that Shen Minghuai was going to get engaged to someone, he had deliberately kept his distance. During the day, he dove into the library, and at night, he would pull his curtains early and pretend to sleep, not responding to anyone who spoke.

Shen Minghuai was busy with the engagement and didn’t have time to pester him either.

However, every time he returned to school, Shen Minghuai would bring him gifts, each one more expensive than the last.

In the past, these would have become the material of his social media posts, but this time, Ye Tingtong didn’t even remove the tags and sealed them in the corner of his closet.

Once the news of the marriage alliance broke out, Shen Minghuai was no longer his backer.

What the Ye family was plotting couldn’t be achieved by an unofficial lover.

Moreover, Ye Tingtong would not allow himself to do such a thing.

Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything, Yu Hui assumed he had guessed correctly. He sighed, “Forget it, I won’t ask, but you can’t keep this bottled up. Let’s go out for dinner tonight, and get some fresh air while we’re at it. It’s on me.”

This completely moved Ye Tingtong.

The Ye family wasn’t adding money to his meal card anymore. Every time he ate in the cafeteria, he didn’t dare to order much. Luckily, he didn’t have a big appetite and wasn’t picky, so a few hundred dollars could last a long time.

Ye Tingtong, who hadn’t had meat in two weeks, didn’t hesitate, “I’m going!”

Before going out, Ye Tingtong was fully armed, with a hat, scarf, and long down jacket, the only things visible were his eyes.

Fortunately, the temperature had plummeted recently, so his attire was still passable.

Along the way, Ye Tingtong’s eyes were like searchlights, scanning his surroundings for suspicious people 360 degrees. His two roommates were amused by him, thinking he was guarding against Shen Minghuai.

“Okay, Minghuai said he’s not coming back tonight, and we didn’t tell him we’re taking you out to eat.”

Ye Tingtong shook his head, “You don’t understand.”

He was guarding against the Ye family.

Before he met Shen Minghuai, he had been caught after running away two or three times.

He thought he was being very careful and hadn’t revealed any flaws, but as soon as he let his guard down, he would be seized by the other party and locked in that dark and hopeless little black room.

Several years had passed, but he still remembered the despair of being swallowed little by little by the darkness.

After the news of this marriage alliance came out, Ye Guodong had only sent him one message, asking him if he was coming back.

Ye Tingtong ignored it, and the other party didn’t ask again, seemingly giving up.

But he knew the Ye family wouldn’t let it go.

However, his worries seemed unnecessary. The three of them arrived safely at the barbecue restaurant, and the vitality of the new shop and the aroma of the barbecue completely dispelled the tension in his heart.

The three of them ate their fill, and Yu Hui even ordered a case of ice-cold beer. Ye Tingtong couldn’t resist the temptation and drank a bottle, feeling happy and light-headed.

But his alcohol tolerance was poor, so he didn’t dare to drink more. Afterwards, he drank soda. Before paying the bill, Ye Tingtong couldn’t help it and told them he needed to go to the bathroom.

There was no bathroom in the restaurant, so Ye Tingtong went to a public restroom not far away, guided by a staff member.

There were many shops here, and the traffic in the restrooms was high, especially during peak dining hours. There was even a line outside the women’s restroom.

Ye Tingtong’s vigilance slowly decreased. After taking care of his business, he just turned a corner when someone silently approached him from behind. He was about to turn around when his neck was suddenly grabbed, and a towel was put over his nose.

A strange smell rushed into his nose, and his consciousness quickly receded. He vaguely heard a voice beside him with a seemingly familiar tone, “I told you you drank too much, I’ll help you back.”

The hat that Ye Tingtong had used to disguise himself was placed on his head, concealing his last struggles and cries.

He didn’t know how long it had been when Ye Tingtong was awakened by cold water. He instinctively struggled, but his hands and feet were tightly bound, so he couldn’t move.

“You little bastard, why did you stop hiding?” Ye Guodong grabbed his hair, forcing Ye Tingtong to raise his head and face his anger, “Do you know how much money I spent to catch you?”

This kid was getting smarter and smarter. He had to cast a wide net and stake out all day to get this opportunity.

Ye Tingtong endured the throbbing pain in his scalp and tried to negotiate with Ye Guodong, “If my roommates know I haven’t returned, they’ll call the police. As for the money you spent, I can pay you back. Shen Minghuai gave me a lot of gifts, and I haven’t touched them.”

“Heh.” Ye Guodong sneered and let go, “You mean those things in your rented apartment? Do you really think that those things are yours?”

Ye Tingtong’s head was violently thrown to one side, and the aftereffects of the anesthetic made his vision blur for a moment.

The next second, another bucket of cold water hit him.

Ye Guodong threw the cup aside, “As for your stupid roommates, sending a message using your phone will get rid of them. Do you think anyone can come and save you?”

Ye Tingtong’s hair was wet and matted, clinging to his face, the water droplets gathering at the tip of his chin, trembling, and finally smashing onto the ground and shattering.

His face was pale, and he didn’t say anything.

Indeed, no one could save him. Shen Minghuai was busy with his engagement, and with the rift between them, he wouldn’t realize his situation. As for Yu Huanhuan, she didn’t have the power to save him from this predicament.

Ye Guodong looked at his defeated expression as he slumped to the ground, and kicked him, “You better reflect on yourself here!”

The door was closed, taking away the last bit of light in the room. Only the red, flickering security camera in the upper right corner remained, like the eyes of a venomous snake, spitting its forked tongue, coldly staring at the person on the ground.

Following a method he remembered from deep within his memory, Ye Tingtong curled himself into a ball to avoid freezing to death.

But he had still underestimated the low temperature at night. The next day, Ye Tingtong developed a high fever. He weakly begged for help at the camera, knowing that someone was watching, but even though his voice was hoarse, no one came.

“Boss, are you really not going?”

Ye Guodong looked at the huddled figure on the ground and sneered, “Don’t worry, that kid is tough as nails. If he doesn’t get properly broken down, he’ll never learn.”

Ye Tingtong felt like he was given a mouthful of water, and then the door closed again.

Hungry and cold, Ye Tingtong even started hallucinating. He heard his homeroom teacher asking him with a stern face, “Didn’t you have a high attendance rate in the past few weeks? And you were turning in your assignments on time, why are you skipping classes again? If this continues, I’ll have to advise you to withdraw from school.”

He desperately tried to explain, “Teacher, I’ve been locked up, I’ll come to class, I will, please don’t advise me to withdraw.”

But the homeroom teacher didn’t seem to hear his explanation, and stamped his withdrawal papers.

New classmates moved into the dormitory, and Yu Hui, the dormitory head, took good care of them, as if Ye Tingtong had never existed.

Yu Huanhuan apologized to him guiltily, and Shen Minghuai married Liang Yuting in a suit…

Finally, he seemed to see a figure’s back, no matter how much he called, the other person didn’t turn around, and continued walking, until they disappeared from his sight.

He didn’t know how long he was tormented by sickness, but Ye Tingtong finally received treatment.

After a bout of illness, Ye Tingtong lost weight at an extreme speed. He was already slender, but now he was almost skin and bones.

Ye Guodong yelled at the cleaning lady, “Feed him properly, how can he go out and meet people like this.”

Every time Ye Tingtong saw the cleaning lady’s fearful expression, even though he had no appetite, he would try to finish the soup. After a week of recovery, his face finally regained some color, and once he put on clothes, he looked presentable again.

On the second day he was able to get out of bed, Ye Guodong took him to the Xin Yue Guan.

Ye Tingtong had never been here. He only knew that it was a high-end club where wealthy people discussed business.

Then, he met Hu Cheng. Hu Cheng was accompanied by a young boy about his age, who was being led by hand, his head lowered, looking submissive.

When Hu Cheng saw Ye Tingtong, he smiled and greeted him, “Long time no see, are you feeling better?”

Ye Tingtong pursed his lips and didn’t say anything.

He didn’t want to think too much about why Hu Cheng knew that he was sick.

The group took the same elevator down. When the doors opened, Hu Cheng and Ye Guodong had subtle smiles on their faces, and their bodies exuded a hidden excitement.

What was even more surprising for Ye Tingtong was that after entering the basement floor, Ye Guodong generously let him roam freely, saying that he would come pick him up when the time was right.

Ye Tingtong originally thought that this was just another one of Ye Guodong’s methods, but the other party really left him there, without even leaving a guard.

After confirming that no one was watching, Ye Tingtong ran back the way he came, but he was stopped by the waiter guarding the elevator door.

“Sir, due to confidentiality agreements, guests are not allowed to leave before the end of the activities in each venue, and a valid identification is required to leave, which will be verified before you can be released.”

The hopeful expression on Ye Tingtong’s face faded into despair. He knew it, how could Ye Guodong let him be alone? It turned out he was just using another way to imprison him.

He walked around and found that the space under Xin Yue Guan was very large. After thinking about it, Ye Tingtong pushed open the door closest to him.

Half an hour later, he came out with a pale face and rushed into the nearby restroom. He hugged the toilet and threw up everything he had eaten that day.

He had never seen such a bloody and violent scene.

In the center of the stage, there was a huge cage, surrounded by sharp spikes. Inside the cage were two people, with no protection other than boxing gloves.

The whistle blew, and the two men launched attacks directly at each other. The sound effects on stage were excellent, so even if Ye Tingtong was standing far away, he could hear the muffled sounds of the punches landing on the flesh.

It wasn’t boxing; it was a massacre. As soon as they were hit near the edge, the sharp spikes would pierce their bodies. They could only keep attacking, attacking, until the other person couldn’t stand up.

In just three minutes, the smell of blood permeated the air, and the audience was shouting excitedly.

“Number 8, did you not eat today? Beat him to the edge of the cage and tear him apart!”

“Damn! Number 17, I bet 500,000 on you today, don’t you dare lose!”

Corrupt, brutal, and chaotic. The entire venue was in a frenzy, until number 17’s leg was kicked and broke, falling to the ground in a twisted position. The large screen even gave a close-up of the broken leg–

The white bone pierced through flesh and skin, with streaks of blood, coldly exposed to the air, accompanied by the owner’s frantic convulsions and the roar of the audience in the arena, marking the end.

After vomiting, Ye Tingtong felt a layer of sweat on his body, and his whole stomach was burning.

Now, as soon as he closed his eyes, the image of that twisted leg bone appeared in his mind.

He had never experienced the cruelty of reality so directly.

The lives of ants were just a means for the powerful to amuse themselves.

It had to be said, Ye Guodong’s method of intimidation was very effective. He was now trembling with fear all over his body.

Perhaps he had been in the bathroom for too long, as there was a knock on the door, “Sir, are you okay?”

It was a waiter’s voice.

Ye Tingtong tried to calm himself, but when he opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse, “I’m fine.”

His trembling voice was obviously not convincing, and the waiter remained at the door, “Sir, do you need any help? Please open the door, okay?”

Ye Tingtong bit his lip tightly.

Was the person outside brought by Ye Guodong? Was he going to sell himself to this black market? Would he be turned into a human stick, or would he be dismembered?

All kinds of terrifying guesses flashed through his mind, and the continuous inquiries from outside the door became the last straw for Ye Tingtong.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He opened the door, and before the waiter could react, he ran out with all his strength.

He had to run away.

But his body, weak from his recent illness, couldn’t withstand the exertion. Before he ran out of strength, he seemed to hear someone talking.

“Why would I lie to you? I really saw him, he’s running faster than a rabbit.”

Ye Tingtong turned a corner and unexpectedly crashed into someone’s arms. That person caught him steadily.

The embrace was warm, Ye Tingtong thought.

He looked up and saw that familiar face, and the suppressed fear suddenly burst out like a dam, he couldn’t hold back anymore, and said with a sob, “Shen Jun, please, take me away.”