Is This The Right Way To Repay A Favor? Chapter 71
byRESTRAINT
Jiang Zhou had lost count of how many times he had been pushed to the boundary between consciousness and existence, and he couldn’t remember how much time had passed.
Every time he reached that point, the belief he held so firmly would collapse.
With enough shattering, that frantic, devout obsession became shaky and indistinct.
After an unknown period, Shen Zhiyu released his grip and whispered a number in his ear. “Twenty-four times left.”
His wrists were chafed raw, showing circles of red marks. Jiang Zhou looked up at the calendar.
September 4th.
They had been in the room for four full days.
Jiang Zhou’s voice was completely hoarse.
Shen Zhiyu truly had immense self-control; he hadn’t allowed Jiang Zhou to touch him even once. The only time anything happened, Shen Zhiyu had taken care of himself right in front of Jiang Zhou.
Sunlight streamed in through the window. Jiang Zhou closed his eyes, savoring the long-lost warmth of the sun.
Shen Zhiyu sat down beside him, picked up his phone, and asked thoughtfully, “Want to look at your phone?”
Jiang Zhou’s hands hurt, and he didn’t want to move, so he just lazily lifted his eyes.
Shen Zhiyu: “There’s a trending topic about me. Do you want to hear it?”
“Mm.” A single, shockingly hoarse syllable rolled out of his throat.
Shen Zhiyu fed him a few sips of water, then read his own trending topic aloud.
“Explosive: Shen Zhiyu sexually exploits a minor!”
Jiang Zhou’s eyes snapped open, and he snatched the phone from Shen Zhiyu’s hand.
A paparazzo had exposed that a few days ago, during a trip organized by Languang Media, Shen Zhiyu had attempted to sexually exploit a newly signed company artist, Xu Binbin. Xu Binbin refused, and a conflict erupted. Languang Media later suppressed the incident, terminated Xu Binbin’s contract, and demanded an astronomical penalty fee for breach of contract.
The paparazzo furiously accused Shen Zhiyu of being a beast in human skin, claiming he specifically targeted newly adult minors, and that this wasn’t his first offense. They also publicly criticized Languang Media for feeding on human flesh buns, using the power of capital to suppress the matter, and forcing Xu Binbin to pay an exorbitant penalty fee.
Unlike previous anonymous or coded leaks, this exposé named names directly.
The hashtag instantly soared to the top of the trending list.
Furthermore, the paparazzo exposed photos of Shen Zhiyu’s partially open hotel room door, as well as pictures of the room’s interior.
Following this main topic were several related trending searches:
#XuBinbinSuicide
#ShenZhiyuAttemptedRapeAndForcedXuBinbinToDie
#XuBinbinSuccessfullyRescued,CryingOnHospitalBedDenouncingShenZhiyu
The further Jiang Zhou read, the darker his expression became.
The person at the center of the storm, however, looked completely calm and composed.
The accusation was naturally false. But the opposing party was playing such a high-stakes game—publicly naming him and even staging a suicide attempt—that it made Jiang Zhou inexplicably nervous. He felt there was something hidden behind all this.
Xu Binbin was making such a huge scene, clearly determined to drag Shen Zhiyu down.
Even if the sexual exploitation was false, and the attempted rape was false, Xu Binbin’s suicide attempt had photographic evidence and a clear story. Even if Shen Zhiyu clarified the situation later, it would be extremely detrimental to his reputation.
Jiang Zhou immediately grabbed his own phone, walked to the window, and called Wei Yan, clearly outlining a series of tasks, completely forgetting his own injuries.
Shen Zhiyu leaned casually on the sofa, his gaze quietly following Jiang Zhou’s busy figure as he worked on his behalf. A silent surge of joy, feeling infinitely satisfied and gratified, washed over him—it was more intoxicating than any physical fulfillment.
Today’s trending topics were just the beginning.
Ye family wanted to reclaim Ye Mo from his hands, and slinging mud was only the first step.
Shen Zhiyu could have guarded against this, or even solved it more directly, whether through the Shen family or the Lu family; it wasn’t a major issue. Everyone was a player in the game, and everything could be negotiated.
But this incident came too coincidentally; for Shen Zhiyu, it was a godsend.
He was struggling with how to correct Jiang Zhou’s perception of him.
That so-called double repayment count could only solve the immediate problem, not the long term.
He didn’t want Jiang Zhou’s god-like reverence; he wanted true equality with Jiang Zhou.
Since Jiang Zhou didn’t want to rise up and sit beside him, he would willingly fall from the altar.
He had given Jiang Zhou a warning shot long ago.
He had once asked Jiang Zhou what he would do if he ever fell from the altar.
Jiang Zhou’s answer then was that he would do everything in his power to send him back to the altar.
Soon, he would fall from the altar.
This time, when he returned to the altar, he would hold Jiang Zhou’s hand and they would return together.
If Jiang Zhou refused, then he would sink into hell with Jiang Zhou.
In any case, he had never cared whether he was on the altar or in hell.
He had searched the human world only to find some amusement.
Now, he had found that interesting person. Wherever he was, Shen Zhiyu would be there too.
—
After Jiang Zhou finished handling these matters, he turned around and met Shen Zhiyu’s burning gaze.
Jiang Zhou reassured him, “Don’t worry, the company will handle it well.”
Shen Zhiyu smiled and praised him without reservation, “CEO Jiang is truly amazing. If it weren’t for CEO Jiang, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
He deliberately made his words sound exaggerated. Jiang Zhou felt his cheeks flush slightly, and deep down, he couldn’t help but feel a secret delight at being needed and satisfied.
Shen Zhiyu suddenly stood up and walked toward him, reaching out to grasp his left wrist and gently lift it.
Jiang Zhou instinctively flinched, still traumatized by the recent “repayments,” and his voice trembled slightly.
“Don’t… I, I really can’t take any more.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhiyu chuckled softly twice. “CEO Jiang, being so aroused in broad daylight isn’t very proper, is it?”
The only reason he would think that was because of what Shen Zhiyu had done to him these past few days.
Jiang Zhou’s face turned crimson, and he tried to pull his hand back.
The touch of cold metal pressed against his skin. Jiang Zhou looked down and saw the bracelet Shen Zhiyu had given him in the mountains.
After returning from the mountains last time, Jiang Zhou had taken it off and stored it in the room.
“Don’t take it off,” Shen Zhiyu threatened. “Otherwise, I’ll use something else to tie you up.”
The heavy emphasis on the word “tie” reminded Jiang Zhou of the tie that had bound him for four days, making the hairs on his body stand up.
“Okay,” Jiang Zhou quickly agreed.
Shen Zhiyu gently stroked the red marks on his wrist, his tone soft. “Does it still hurt?”
A faint current seemed to pass through him. Jiang Zhou bit his lip and shook his head lightly, his eyes carrying a hint of pleading.
His body had been conditioned to be extremely sensitive these past few days; even a slight touch could provoke a strong reaction.
But they had been too frantic lately, and he hadn’t eaten much, so he truly couldn’t endure any more.
Shen Zhiyu released him, his long finger lightly brushing the corner of Jiang Zhou’s eye, his voice tinged with emotion and slightly husky. “Don’t use that look to seduce me.”
Jiang Zhou: ….
He quickly turned his head away.
The next second, his hand was lifted again, and a chain was placed in his palm.
“Put it on me,” Shen Zhiyu leaned in close to Jiang Zhou’s ear and whispered.
Jiang Zhou looked up at him, mesmerized by his gaze, and instinctively picked up the thin chain and looped it around Shen Zhiyu’s wrist.
His hand was shaking, and his vision was disturbed by the strong sunlight, causing him to miss the clasp several times.
Shen Zhiyu’s gaze rested heavily on Jiang Zhou’s lowered eyelashes, sounding somewhat helpless. “Why are you still so clumsy? You can’t even put on a bracelet.”
Jiang Zhou remembered the time in the company car when Shen Zhiyu, claiming his hands were slippery from hand cream, asked him to help put on the bracelet, and it had also taken a long time.
Last time it was due to nervousness and the interference of the hand cream.
This time, it wasn’t entirely his fault; Shen Zhiyu’s close breathing was too invasive.
Jiang Zhou suddenly realized that time in the company car, Shen Zhiyu seemed to have deliberately leaned in close to him as well.
He suspected Shen Zhiyu had been intentional that time too, and immediately retorted irritably, “It would be fine if you just stayed away from me.”
“Oh,” Shen Zhiyu replied verbally, but instead of retreating, he lowered his head even further, almost resting it on Jiang Zhou’s shoulder. “Like this?”
As he spoke, his cool lips lightly brushed Jiang Zhou’s neck and shoulder, a blatant act of provocation.
“Shen Zhiyu!” Jiang Zhou quickly fastened the bracelet, unable to bear it any longer, and cried out softly.
Shen Zhiyu laughed even harder, causing Jiang Zhou’s shoulder to tremble with the movement. “It’s rare to hear CEO Jiang call my name.”
“It sounds so good, it’s making me hard.” Shen Zhiyu pulled him closer to feel his reaction.
….
He was beyond saving.
Shen Zhiyu was hopelessly insane.
Jiang Zhou abruptly pushed him away, looking at him with an indescribable expression. “Are you crazy?”
“Yes, crazy from missing you.”
Jiang Zhou: ……
He suspected Shen Zhiyu had been possessed. But he had no proof.
—
An hour after the public opinion began to ferment, Languang Media issued a stern statement.
In the statement, they first expressed shock and sorrow over Xu Binbin’s suicide attempt, firmly denied the accusation of sexual exploitation, stated that they had reported the matter to the police and entrusted a law firm to handle it fully, and finally appealed to the public to remain rational and respect life.
After the statement was released, fans jumped in to control the comments, but many netizens still weren’t convinced.
“Not taking sides yet, let’s wait for more dirt to fly.”
“Shen Zhiyu has been scandal-free for over ten years since his debut. Honestly, I don’t believe it. He’s just too good at hiding things.”
“If it wasn’t true, would he dare to expose it by name? He’d be waiting to be sued. I feel like the situation isn’t that simple.”
“If it wasn’t true, why would Xu Binbin attempt suicide, throwing away her life?”
The trending topic remained for two full days. Netizens dug deep but truly couldn’t find any dirt on Shen Zhiyu.
Later, news broke about a top male star cheating on multiple women, and the heat surrounding Shen Zhiyu’s incident slowly began to subside.
Shen Zhiyu hadn’t left the house these past few days, staying home to catch up on sleep, completely unconcerned about the trending topic.
Being confined to the house was not only torture for Jiang Zhou but even more so for Shen Zhiyu. The meat was right in front of him, and he not only had to maintain extreme self-control not to eat it but also had to serve it.
After this experience, Shen Zhiyu felt he could become a monk.
No, even monks couldn’t endure what he had.
It was three days later when Shen Zhiyu finally recovered.
The trending topic about him and Xu Binbin had dropped, but the matter wasn’t over.
Languang Media had reported the case to the police on the company’s behalf, and Shen Zhiyu needed to cooperate by going to the police station to give a statement.
Wang Lei was assigned to pick him up for the statement.
They hadn’t seen each other for a week, and Wang Lei was startled when he saw him. “Holy cow! How wild were you these past few days? You look completely drained!”
Shen Zhiyu didn’t even lift an eyelid. “Bro, are you blind? I’m clearly suffering from severe sexual frustration!”
Wang Lei chuckled secretly. “CEO Jiang is really something.”
Shen Zhiyu: “Don’t praise him.”
Wang Lei: “…”
Shen Zhiyu: “I’ll get jealous.” His tone was incredibly serious.
Wang Lei: ???
Sure enough, people in love were all crazy.
Wang Lei got back to business. “I heard Xu Binbin admitted to slander and false accusation during her statement yesterday.”
“That person must have a hole in their head. She knew it was a false accusation and still dared to name names online. What do you think she was after?”
“Money, what else?” Shen Zhiyu said, while reading a message from Lu Shen.
“The Ye family wants to talk to you and asked me to mediate.”
Shen Zhiyu replied immediately, “No talking.”
They threw mud at him and now they want to talk? Did they think he was easy to bully? Besides, he never had any intention of negotiating peace.
“Alright. Be careful going forward.”
“I heard Ye Chengming was diagnosed with oligospermia, and they haven’t managed to conceive despite trying for half a year. That’s why they are so determined to snatch Ye Mo back this time.”