Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 51

The Eve

That evening, the trending topics about the charity gala almost completely dominated all the hot search lists.

One of the trending topics was “Shen Zhiyu’s Fans Are Rich Women.”

Shen Zhiyu clicked on the hot search and saw netizens discussing “Yu Ni Tong Xing” (Traveling with Yu), who had spent a fortune earlier that night.

Shen Zhiyu found the name somewhat familiar.

“She’s a fan of yours who is very good at photo editing. I tried to contact her before for a long-term collaboration, but she never responded to me.”

“I didn’t expect her to be a big rich woman. No wonder she ignored me.”

A comment on the photo Shen Zhiyu posted before leaving for the event had been liked to the top spot.

Wang Lei pointed it out to Shen Zhiyu, finally remembering whose editing style Jiang Zhou’s recent photos resembled.

“This fan is right. The photos CEO Jiang edits for you look very similar to ‘Yu Ni Tong Xing’s’ style.”

“Is that so?” Shen Zhiyu looked at the comment thoughtfully.

“But of course, that’s impossible. CEO Jiang is such a busy person, how could she have time to edit photos and do data for you every day?”

“Every day?”

“Yes. She has been doing data for you religiously for ten years. All the old fans know.”

“But it’s strange, she suddenly disappeared for over two months this year. Fans in the fan club even came to ask me if I had recruited her.”

“Even I thought she had switched allegiance, but who knew she would drop three million tonight.”

“Disappeared for over two months…” Shen Zhiyu found his account, scrolled to the bottom, and started reading from the very first post.

The first piece of content posted by “Yu Ni Tong Xing” was a fancam of Shen Zhiyu at the LUMEN Macau concert, captioned: It’s wonderful that I can see you like this.

Subsequent posts all revolved around Shen Zhiyu, covering almost all of his photos since his debut.

It was clear that this was a dedicated, long-time fan.

“Can you find his IP address?” Shen Zhiyu asked.

Wang Lei was alert. “What are you planning?”

“Confirming something.”

“You’re not seriously suspecting she’s CEO Jiang, are you?”

Shen Zhiyu smiled, not denying it.

“Alright, I’ll have someone look into it.”

Wang Lei called to arrange the matter.

—-

After the auction, there was a cocktail party.

Shen Zhiyu originally wanted to decline, but he had caused too much of a stir tonight, and the organizer, Liu Ye, strongly insisted he stay. In the end, he had no choice but to remain.

He was the focus of the night, and everyone came to toast him. Shen Zhiyu never drank much each time, but he couldn’t stop the sheer number of people offering toasts. After seven or eight rounds, he had consumed quite a bit.

Shen Zhiyu used the excuse of being drunk to leave early. When he went to say goodbye to Liu Ye, he overheard him on the phone.

Shen Zhiyu had no intention of eavesdropping, but when he heard Liu Ye call out “CEO Jiang,” he quietly paused.

“CEO Jiang, you’re not giving us face, running off before the auction even ended. And now you’re not even attending the cocktail party.”

The person on the other end must have explained the reason, as Liu Ye then said, “We owe a lot to CEO Jiang tonight, for cooperating with Mr. Shen to raise that painting to such a high price. It’s just a shame you didn’t come, I didn’t even get a chance to thank you properly in person.”

So, Liu Ye had asked Jiang Zhou for help, and Jiang Zhou had, in turn, given him the opportunity to shine.

“Oh, right, you left early this time and missed Mr. Shen’s auction item.”

“It was a pair of cufflinks, and they ended up selling for a high price of three million.”

“Speaking of which, those cufflinks tonight looked quite familiar. I kept thinking they were part of a series with some other product. What was it? Oh, right, I think it was a bracelet.”

“That was also an item Mr. Shen donated for auction. By the way, CEO Jiang, I remember you were the one who bid on that bracelet, right?”

Listening to their conversation, Shen Zhiyu also recalled that he had donated an item to Liu Ye’s charity auction a few years ago, which was part of the same series as tonight’s cufflinks.

But he had arrived too late then, and the auction had already ended, so he hadn’t participated in the bidding.

Later, Liu Ye told him that a friend had taken a liking to the bracelet and bought it directly.

He hadn’t expected that person to be Jiang Zhou?

“Alright. CEO Jiang, you go ahead and be busy. Let’s schedule something another day.”

Liu Ye hung up the phone.

Shen Zhiyu tugged at the corner of his mouth and walked toward him, swaying slightly. “Mr. Liu, I’m truly sorry.”

“I’ve had a bit too much to drink tonight and need to excuse myself.”

Alcohol made Shen Zhiyu’s face flush, and his face was tinged with a rosy, drunken haze. His eyes were hazy, making him look quite intoxicated.

Liu Ye had little interaction with Shen Zhiyu and wasn’t sure of his tolerance. Seeing his state, he stepped forward to support him and quickly asked a staff member to find Shen Zhiyu’s assistant. “Mr. Shen, please be careful.”

Shen Zhiyu said, “Mr. Liu, this auction really owes a lot to that fan of mine!”

He really must be drunk.

To say something like that to his face.

Liu Ye agreed, “Yes, we really must thank Mr. Shen’s fan! To bid three million, that completely exceeded our expected value for this charity auction.”

“How about this! I think I need to thank this fan in person!”

“Mr. Liu, please arrange it sometime so I can personally thank the fan.”

“Absolutely, absolutely—” Liu Ye agreed readily.

Zhang Fanshu arrived quickly and took Shen Zhiyu from Liu Ye.

Shen Zhiyu waved goodbye to Liu Ye, staggering slightly, and left the cocktail party.

The moment he stepped out the door, his mind cleared completely.

Zhang Fanshu was bewildered. “Mr. Shen?”

“I’m not drunk.” Shen Zhiyu got into the car. “You and Brother Lei go straight back yourselves. You don’t need to follow me.”

—-

Jiang Zhou hung up Liu Ye’s call, stripped off his clothes, and walked toward the bathtub.

The bathtub was filled with cold water, with ice cubes bobbing on the surface.

Jiang Zhou stepped in barefoot. The bone-chilling cold pierced his thin skin, instantly crawling from the soles of his feet to his entire body.

Jiang Zhou’s face was expressionless. He stepped into the freezing tub and sat down.

The ice water submerged him completely.

His body felt as if it had been thrown into a giant ice cellar. Every cell screamed for escape, and his muscles violently cramped and trembled uncontrollably.

Jiang Zhou was so cold that his jaw uncontrollably chattered, making a clattering sound.

His consciousness began to blur and drift under the dual assault of intense pain and low temperature.

The scene before his eyes shook violently. In the hazy landscape of his consciousness, the scene in the auction house restroom reappeared before Jiang Zhou.

At that moment, Shen Zhiyu gave him no room or space to retreat. In the tight confines, he clearly felt the change in his body. It uncontrollably pressed against Shen Zhiyu’s body, clamoring, like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting, a scorching hot current exploding deep inside.

This sensation struck him like a bolt of lightning. Immense shame and fear instantly enveloped him.

Vile! Shameless!

How dare it—

The overwhelming self-loathing crushed Jiang Zhou.

The ice water mercilessly and greedily devoured his body heat. His bones emitted a creaking sound under the unbearable strain, and Jiang Zhou’s body trembled violently from the cold.

Yet, even under such extreme conditions, the central area, caught in the crossfire of ice and fire, had not completely surrendered. The flame ignited by delusion stubbornly retained its burning heat, like a raging fire refusing to be extinguished on an ice field.

His body’s reaction was the deepest form of rebellion. That it did not immediately and completely vanish under the most severe torture further proved his filth and incorrigibility.

This realization made Jiang Zhou feel more despairing than mere physical pain.

Not enough—

Still not enough—

The punishment required heavier torture.

His gaze swept blankly, landing on the storage shelf above the sink.

A clear plastic box sat there. Inside, several individual razor blades were neatly arranged.

His fingers, blue and stiff from the cold, hooked onto the slippery edge of the tub. Jiang Zhou struggled to climb out, using both his hands and feet.

He gasped for breath, his back pressed tightly against the cold wall. His trembling fingers reached for the transparent box.

Jiang Zhou roughly grabbed the box, tearing open the lid haphazardly. The silver blades inside were exposed to the air, like instruments of torture long awaited.

Jiang Zhou pulled out a blade and tremblingly drew it across his palm, which was pale white from the cold.

“Ding-dong—”

A clear and abrupt doorbell sound suddenly pierced the deathly silence of the bathroom’s despair.

Jiang Zhou was jolted awake. The blade slipped from his trembling fingers, falling into the sink with a crisp sound.

Jiang Zhou gasped heavily. The physiological pain began to erode his body belatedly. In the bathroom mirror, a pale, hollow-eyed shadow, like a ghost, was reflected.

The phone lying on the bed rang urgently. Jiang Zhou stumbled out and pressed the mute button.

It was Shen Zhiyu.

Jiang Zhou dared not answer. A massive panic enveloped him.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t imagine how Shen Zhiyu would punish him if he saw him in his current state.

The phone stopped ringing gradually. WeChat lit up, and Jiang Zhou opened it, seeing a voice message from Shen Zhiyu.

“Jiang Zhou, open the door. I know you’re home.”

Only then did Jiang Zhou realize the light in his living room was still on.

Jiang Zhou remained still, making no sound, hoping Shen Zhiyu would think he was already asleep.

However, a few familiar meows suddenly came from the living room balcony. “Meow—”

Jiang Zhou felt like he had been struck by lightning, watching the kitten run from the balcony into the bedroom.

The kitten jumped into Jiang Zhou’s arms. Upon contact with his icy coldness, it shivered slightly. Seemingly sensing something, it cried out sharply.

Jiang Zhou received another voice message from Shen Zhiyu.

“If you don’t open the door, I’m coming in.”

The kitten stopped screaming. It extended its tongue and gently licked Jiang Zhou’s palm.

Warmth slowly transmitted from his palm to Jiang Zhou’s body. Jiang Zhou closed his eyes, and hot tears rolled down.

Jiang Zhou replied to Shen Zhiyu with a text message. “Coming.”

Jiang Zhou grabbed a random piece of clothing to put on, then rushed to the bathroom to wash his face and turn on the bathtub drain.

After locking the bathroom door, Jiang Zhou ran to open the main door.

The moment he opened it, a huge dark shadow, carrying a chilling coldness and anger, loomed over him.

Jiang Zhou subconsciously took two steps back.

There was no reprimand, nor any questioning. Shen Zhiyu simply took a step forward and gently pulled the door shut behind him with a backhand motion.

Shen Zhiyu looked down at him, like a silent judge, his gaze so heavy it was suffocating.

All disguises were futile under the other party’s all-knowing gaze, turning into ridiculous and useless struggles.

Finally, a low voice, like it came from a ten-thousand-foot ice cliff, sounded. It suppressed a violent rage and clearly smashed into the solidified air.

“Jiang Zhou, I told you—”

“There will be a punishment.”