Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 55

Closer

Before dawn, Jiang Zhou fled back to his own home.

Regarding the act he shared with Shen Zhiyu, Jiang Zhou had now completely accepted it.

The sun, moon, and stars still wax and wane; all things in heaven and earth follow birth and death. Life itself is the most vigorous desire.

The divine is no exception; this is the nature of life.

He breathes, he walks in the mortal world, and he must follow those worldly desires.

Since the divine chose him, then let him, the humble believer, bear this unavoidable desire that belongs to life.

This was his honor, and all he could do for Shen Zhiyu.

As long as Shen Zhiyu could gain a moment of joy or satisfaction from it, everything about Jiang Zhou could be shattered without reservation.

When Jiang Zhou told Yuan Rong this, Yuan Rong simply said he was crazy.

Jiang Zhou did not deny it. The moment his feelings for Shen Zhiyu changed, the moment he dreamt of Shen Zhiyu, he went mad.

For Shen Zhiyu, he was willing to be a lunatic.

The boss hadn’t asked him about Shen Zhiyu’s situation for several days again.

Wei Yan organized Shen Zhiyu’s schedule and status for the past month, ready for Chairman Jiang’s call at any time.

Finally, as soon as he arrived at work that day, Jiang Zhou called him into the office.

“What has Teacher Shen been busy with lately?”

Wei Yan smiled knowingly and immediately handed Jiang Zhou the schedule he had prepared.

After finishing the filming in Yanzhen last time, Shen Zhiyu’s schedule was extremely tight, almost without gaps.

But despite how full Shen Zhiyu’s schedule looked, it was all filler. Variety shows, galas, and even endorsements were all refused. There were no important roles in film and television, only cameos.

A while ago, Shen Zhiyu had just managed to appease his fans. As a result, when fans tracked him offline and found these subpar schedules, they started making a fuss again, fiercely tearing into Languang Media. Even Jiang Zhou was dragged out and cursed on the hot searches a few times.

Languang Media’s public relations team also had unspoken difficulties. They asked Shen Zhiyu’s side, and Teacher Shen told them not to worry about it. They asked Languang Media’s side, and Wei Yan had no instructions, as Jiang Zhou was currently sulking again and not asking about Shen Zhiyu’s affairs.

Wei Yan couldn’t understand it either.

Returning to the domestic entertainment scene with great fanfare, the best resources were offered to him on a silver platter. Yet, the main star picked none of them, opting instead for a pile of cameos.

If he were the boss, he would be driven mad with anger.

Wei Yan couldn’t help but secretly glance at Jiang Zhou’s expression.

Good. Not mad. He was even self-reflecting, asking Wei Yan if the resources provided were not to Shen Zhiyu’s liking.

Or maybe he was a little too mad.

What kind of boss is this self-reflective?

Wei Yan reviewed some of the cameo roles Shen Zhiyu had chosen: the malicious senior disciple in a fantasy film, the traitorous guard in a political drama, the crazed delivery man in a slice-of-life drama, the perverted killer in a suspense series…

Not a single normal person.

Wei Yan carefully chose his words, “Perhaps Teacher Shen enjoys challenging roles with great contrast, roles completely opposite to reality.”

Jiang Zhou scanned the list of roles and felt that Wei Yan had a point.

He thought for a moment and instructed, “Have the screenwriting team write a few more scripts focusing on these complex, extreme characters.”

“Understood,” Wei Yan noted it down.

Jiang Zhou remembered something else, “Are the people around him on vacation?”

Wei Yan was stunned, “I haven’t heard anything. I’ll check again.”

“Alright, you may leave.”

Wei Yan left the office.

Jiang Zhou looked at Shen Zhiyu’s schedule again, densely packed, leaving no room for rest.

No wonder the fatigue in his eyes was so hard to suppress when he saw him last night.

And, he had lost quite a bit of weight.

Jiang Zhou could still vaguely recall the bulging muscle lines on Shen Zhiyu’s body as they moved—firm and hot.

Just thinking about it made his body start to heat up. Jiang Zhou drank a glass of ice water to calm down.

Why was Shen Zhiyu pushing himself so hard?

Was he unable to adapt to the domestic pace after returning home?

Jiang Zhou felt this was highly likely.

After all, when Shen Zhiyu was in South Korea, his workload and exercise volume were much higher than now. A sudden decrease after returning home would indeed be difficult to adapt to.

Jiang Zhou couldn’t help but recall Shen Zhiyu’s various reactions in the Peach Garden. He always seemed to be constantly finding things to do, rarely having pure rest time.

Jiang Zhou reflected that he had been inconsiderate again, failing to think of this possibility.

Jiang Zhou sat and waited for a while, but the urge for self-harming punishment did not arrive as expected.

He smiled, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.

Sure enough, when one sinks to the bottom, they no longer need external injuries to prove their punishment.

The moment he offered himself, that was eternal punishment.

In the evening, two trending topics with only ten comments each suddenly appeared.

One was about the victim’s family causing a scene at Mingde Private Hospital, reporting the doctor by name for violating medical ethics and using his position to assault a minor girl.

The other was about a disturbance at Diqian Bar, which was subsequently shut down for rectification.

Both hot searches were aimed at Yuan Chong.

Jiang Zhou received a call from the police station, asking him to pick someone up.

Jiang Zhou had been preoccupied with his and Shen Zhiyu’s affairs recently and had forgotten about Yuan Chong.

After signing the documents and completing the procedures, Jiang Zhou saw Yuan Chong.

Yuan Chong looked disheveled, his clothes torn and marked with various stains. His hair was messy, and a bright red scratch ran from the bridge of his nose to the corner of his eye.

Jiang Zhou was startled, “How did you end up like this?”

Yuan Chong didn’t say anything, looking listless.

The two walked out of the police station in silence. A black Audi was parked at the entrance, and Lu Shen leaned against the car, looking towards them.

“I’ll wait for you in the car,” Jiang Zhou offered.

Yuan Chong lowered his eyelids, not even glancing at Lu Shen, and got straight into the car.

“No need.”

Jiang Zhou thought for a moment and walked up to Lu Shen.

“Secretary Lu—”

Lu Shen’s gaze only fully retracted after the other person got into the car. He looked at Jiang Zhou and nodded, “Chairman Jiang.”

Jiang Zhou didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “Can Secretary Lu resolve these matters?”

“Yes.”

“I apologize for causing you harm because of me.”

After receiving confirmation, Jiang Zhou had nothing more to say to him and turned to leave.

Lu Shen took a bottle of medicine from his pocket and placed it in Jiang Zhou’s hand, “A special blend from the team, very effective for wounds. I’ll trouble Chairman Jiang.”

Jiang Zhou’s throat moved. He wanted to say something, but seemed to have nothing to say.

He nodded at Lu Shen and left.

“Home or the bar?” Jiang Zhou twisted a cotton swab, dipped it in medicine, and applied it to Yuan Chong’s wound.

The strong smell of medicinal alcohol spread through the car.

Yuan Chong stared at the bottle of medicine, his eyes somewhat dark, his voice slightly hoarse, “Let’s go back to the bar first to check the situation.”

After applying the medicine and screwing the cap back on, Jiang Zhou placed the bottle in Yuan Chong’s hand.

The bar was a mess, with tables and chairs scattered everywhere. The air was thick and heavy, mixing the sour smell of spilled liquor with a faint scent of blood.

Staff members were cleaning up the remnants on the floor. Seeing the two return, they stepped forward and greeted, “Brother Chong, Chairman Jiang.”

Yuan Chong casually righted two stools.

Jiang Zhou sat down with him.

The matter was actually very simple: getting entangled with Lu Shen would lead to such consequences.

The Lu family was of noble lineage and had strict rules; they were not people who could be casually attached to.

Today’s incident was just a small warning.

Yuan Chong knew the outcome from the start, yet he rushed forward like a moth to a flame, without hesitation.

He said it was just a fling, but they kept getting entangled again and again.

Jiang Zhou sometimes felt that Yuan Chong was no different from himself.

His madness was hidden beneath those repeated punishments.

And Yuan Chong’s madness was hidden beneath his unrestrained behavior.

“Let’s go back, Ah Zhou,” Yuan Chong stood up and arranged the stools. “I still have a lot to deal with here.”

Jiang Zhou noticed the redness in his eyes and knew he had made his decision.

His heart thumped slightly, and a bitter feeling surged up.

For some reason, Jiang Zhou desperately wanted to see Shen Zhiyu at this moment.

He knew that he and Yuan Chong were the same; there was destined to be no future between him and Shen Zhiyu.

Or rather, Jiang Zhou had never even dared to hope for a future.

If that was the case, then why couldn’t he be more proactive, even more proactive? At least while it was still possible to get close, he should absorb more.

With so many memories, the rest of his life wouldn’t be so bitter, would it?

Shen Zhiyu’s cameo this time was in a slice-of-life drama, where he played a crazed delivery man who would draw lots every day before setting out to randomly retaliate against society.

His scenes were simple and were finished in less than half a day.

The director and screenwriter on set racked their brains trying to add more scenes for him, even magically altering the plot to give him a romantic and a family storyline.

Shen Zhiyu looked at the newly added plot and politely declined, “No need. I really am just here for a cameo. You don’t need to feel pressured.”

This was the sentence Shen Zhiyu had said the most since returning to work in China.

The crew members always thought he had ulterior motives and tried various ways to add plotlines and change his character setting, but Shen Zhiyu refused them all.

The fans’ doubts were correct, but they were doubting the wrong person.

Languang Media’s plan was flawless, and the resources available for him to choose from were unparalleled.

But Shen Zhiyu was completely uninterested.

Everyone thought he loved the stage and enjoyed performing, which was why he persisted for over ten years.

But the truth was not so. He was just bored, bored enough to watch different people go crazy for them in various places.

Those unfamiliar expressions of excitement and passion, the bodies dancing to the rhythm of the music, could briefly numb his nerves and allow him to find a trace of fun.

Unfortunately, this trace of fun was becoming shorter and shorter, less and less, eventually tending toward zero.

Thus, Shen Zhiyu entertained the idea of leaving.

After returning to China, he met Jiang Zhou.

Shen Zhiyu found that his interest in Jiang Zhou was significant. Or, more accurately, he was very interested in his body.

He could be easily aroused by Jiang Zhou—a look, a trembling sound, even the expanse of white skin on his neck was an enticement to him.

However, the little cat had sharp claws, a strange personality, and was even secretly in love with someone else.

It was rare to meet such a person. To prevent himself from losing interest too quickly, Shen Zhiyu patiently wore him down, enticing him again and again.

Sure enough, this time, his interest, under his deliberate manipulation, was long and lingering.

The first time was impulsive.

Shen Zhiyu hadn’t originally intended to sleep with Jiang Zhou so quickly. But for some reason, when he saw Jiang Zhou shivering and icy cold that day, anger and lust surged like a tide, completely swallowing his rationality.

Before sleeping with Jiang Zhou, Shen Zhiyu even felt regret that his interest might vanish after that encounter.

But after tasting him once, he found himself like an insatiable beast, with all his violent, bestial instincts triggered. He wanted to penetrate him, tear him apart regardless of the consequences, and watch him tremble beneath him, unable to control himself, only able to helplessly cling to him in surrender.

The first night, they did it three times.

But Shen Zhiyu still felt it wasn’t enough; he wanted more. However, the other person was tormented too pitifully, as if he would shatter if bent one more time. Shen Zhiyu still had some conscience, so the last time, he watched him take care of himself.

Waking up the next day, Shen Zhiyu still wanted to share some tenderness with him.

But this little cat truly had issues. He opened his mouth talking about drunken mistakes and closed it saying they should move on.

It was the first time Shen Zhiyu had been so blatantly rejected, and he was too annoyed to bother with him.

But one day, two days…

Shen Zhiyu found that he missed him terribly. His interest in Jiang Zhou had not disappeared; instead, it intensified.

Finally, he even resorted to a low-down trick like pretending to be drunk to sleep with him.

Shen Zhiyu hadn’t expected the person to be even more excessive than the first time—he simply fled.

Shen Zhiyu was rejected again.

Shen Zhiyu checked his phone. A week had passed since the last time, and the person still hadn’t made a move.

And he, Shen Zhiyu, was so consumed by the fire that he was sleepless night after night, even having to use work to numb himself.

Forget it.

The little cat hadn’t been fully tamed yet; he still needed more patience.

Shen Zhiyu found Jiang Zhou’s WeChat and sent him a message.

“Chairman Jiang, when is it convenient for you to return my bracelet?”

After sending the message, he looked up and saw a familiar, thin figure flash past in the corner of the set.