Chapter Eighty-Three: Zhou Shi's Desire for Revenge

Chen Hao had always been a homebody, unfamiliar with entertainment venues. He often saw reports about young women getting drunk in such places and assumed it was simply their own carelessness. In his memory, Ban Qianqian's suicide had been reported by the media as an accident after a young woman became intoxicated and, unable to bear the humiliation upon sobering up, jumped from a building. There had been no further details.

His classmates used to brag about how easy it was to pick up girls in entertainment venues, claiming that once the girls had a little alcohol, they became excited and could be taken home without any consequences. Chen Hao’s knowledge of KTVs was entirely hearsay, so even though he knew Ban Qianqian would be in danger that day, he thought it would merely involve some playboys taking advantage of her drunkenness. He never imagined she would be coerced.

Chen Hao was always thorough in his thinking. No matter how rational he was, as a homebody unfamiliar with such places, he couldn’t foresee everything. He believed that as long as he stayed with Ban Qianqian and kept her away from alcohol when men were present, he could prevent tragedy.

Even when there were no men in the private room, he didn’t let his guard down, keeping a close eye on the door. He never expected that in the brief two minutes he was away to use the restroom, a thug would enter. Although Dong Xiaohui and Lily were quite open, Chen Hao just assumed they fooled around with their peers. The idea of students mixing with criminal elements was beyond his understanding.

He had prepared a cautious text message in advance, fearing that if some young men entered the room and he tried to stop Ban Qianqian from drinking, a conflict might erupt, and the message could be sent for help. After all, fights in entertainment venues often involved young people.

When Ban Qianqian got through to him on the phone, he heard the chaos and immediately sent the message, then rushed toward the private room without hesitation. What he saw inside stunned him. At that moment, he thought of nothing else except protecting Ban Qianqian, grabbing a beer bottle and charging at Zhu Xiaodao.

This was Chen Hao’s first fight as an adult, driven purely by passion. He smashed the beer bottle on Zhu Xiaodao’s head, hoping to intimidate everyone in the room, but his hands trembled afterward.

Zhu Xiaodao and his crew lived lives where violence was routine. Chen Hao’s actions didn’t scare them; instead, it made them fiercer. Chen Hao abandoned reason and fought desperately, but he was no match for Zhu Xiaodao’s group. Once subdued, regret was useless.

After realizing these men were thugs who dared to coerce Ban Qianqian, Chen Hao finally understood she was being forced, not truly drunk. He wondered why the news reports were inaccurate. Seeing Zhou Shi and recalling Zhu Xiaodao’s frequent mention of “Young Zhou,” he pieced together the cause and effect.

The news had reported Ban Qianqian’s drunken accident because Zhou Shi was the one who hurt her, and the truth had been concealed. Chen Hao had always avoided Zhou Shi, feeling their values were incompatible. Zhou Shi’s promiscuity seemed a result of women willingly chasing him, and Chen Hao never truly disliked him.

Zhou Shi used to be merely flirtatious, but now he was manipulating girls in such ways, which made Chen Hao feel he was utterly shameless. Especially since, in his memory, his “wife” disappeared completely after that day, intensifying Chen Hao’s hatred. He wanted to mock Zhou Shi: “Zhou Shi, you used to be so proud and arrogant. When did you become so low?” But he didn’t give in to the urge.

Chen Hao had once slapped Zhou Shi at a class reunion, so Zhou Shi must have held a grudge. Provoking him further might drive him to do something crazy. For the sake of his and Ban Qianqian’s safety, Chen Hao could only try to stall until the police arrived.

Chen Hao was perfectly clear-headed. He smiled slightly and said, “Zhou Shi, we haven’t been in touch since high school graduation. I never expected you to be the one coming to my rescue.”

Zhou Shi’s mood was equally unsettled. Of all the women he’d played with since high school, few remained memorable, but Chen Hao was an exception. Zhou Shi had high emotional intelligence, influenced by his family, and was mature even in high school. He knew he would either pursue a career in politics or leverage connections in business.

Having gotten to know Chen Hao in their class, Zhou Shi realized Chen Hao could analyze anything methodically. Though limited by his experience and youth, he had a talent for strategy. He also noticed Chen Hao lacked confidence, had only average emotional intelligence, and was entirely without ambition.

A person highly intelligent but of average emotional intelligence and no ambition could offer advice without ever threatening Zhou Shi’s position. Not recruiting him as an advisor would be a waste. Zhou Shi deliberately befriended Chen Hao, and they grew close as “brothers.” Yet he overlooked one thing—someone with low emotional intelligence like Chen Hao could easily become stubborn.

When Zhou Shi won over Lu Feifei and played with her for a while, he didn’t see it as a big deal, but Chen Hao broke off contact because of it. Zhou Shi was extremely frustrated but didn’t give up on recruiting Chen Hao as his assistant. At a class reunion, he personally raised his glass to toast Chen Hao, only to be rebuffed.

Despite his early maturity, Zhou Shi was very proud. After that, he abandoned the idea of winning over Chen Hao. What annoyed Zhou Shi was that, as graduation approached, he still had to deal with Chen Hao because Wang Ying, whom he wanted to pursue, was closest to Chen Hao.

When Chen Hao was hospitalized, Zhou Shi, though annoyed, had to pretend to be magnanimous in front of Wang Ying and visit the hospital. By the time he arrived, Chen Hao had already been discharged, and Wang Ying’s phone was off. Zhou Shi was so infuriated that he smashed his Vertu phone worth over a hundred thousand yuan.

Chen Hao and Wang Ying had always been purely friends, but Zhou Shi, observing from outside, was sure there was affection between them. They just hadn’t crossed the line due to their lack of emotional intelligence. Never before had anyone made Zhou Shi feel so stifled. After leaving the hospital, he began to plot revenge.

Zhou Shi glanced at Ban Qianqian, who was being restrained by Dong Xiaohui and Lily. Despite having played with many women, he felt a sudden stirring of desire. The girl before him wore no makeup; her delicate, youthful face was flawless, her skin like creamy milk, fair and tender, and her petite yet curvaceous figure easily ignited a man’s desire.

Zhou Shi had a strong urge to conquer. Failing to recruit Chen Hao as his strategist and having been embarrassed by him multiple times only deepened Zhou Shi’s resentment. Wasn’t Chen Hao pretending to be high-minded and unwilling to reconcile? If he played with Chen Hao’s beautiful girlfriend right in front of him, Zhou Shi wondered how he would react.

Suddenly, Zhou Shi had a terrifying idea. He ignored Chen Hao and nodded to Zhu Xiaodao, saying, “What an unexpected surprise. Xiaodao, you’ve really gone out of your way.”

Chen Hao and Zhou Shi seemed familiar with each other, making Zhu Xiaodao nervous, afraid he’d botched the job. Hearing Zhou Shi’s praise, he relaxed and bowed, saying, “It’s my first time serving Young Zhou, so of course I put in extra effort. It took a lot of work to bring this girl here.”

Chen Hao’s heart sank. The moment he dreaded most had come—Zhou Shi was going to make a move on Qianqian right in front of him. He knew Zhou Shi was motivated by revenge, so he retorted sarcastically, “Zhou Shi, even though we haven’t been in touch for a long time, I always thought you were a man of class. I never expected you to sink this low.”

Zhou Shi shot Chen Hao a cold glance and said, “Don’t keep pretending to be noble in front of me. I’ll play with your woman right before your eyes. What can you do about it? Your so-called nobility can’t save her.”

“Animal,” Chen Hao spat, struggling desperately. He bit the ear of the thug restraining him, causing the thug to scream and raise a beer bottle to smash Chen Hao’s head. Zhou Shi reached out to stop him, saying coldly, “He’s my high school classmate. Treat him with some respect. I still want him to watch me perform.”

Zhou Shi walked toward Ban Qianqian. She curled up, fear in her eyes, and shouted, “Don’t come near me! If you touch me, I’ll kill myself!”

“Quite feisty. I like it,” Zhou Shi’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “I don’t like anyone else touching the women I’ve been with. If you die after I’m done with you, I won’t have to worry about anyone else laying a hand on you.”

Just as Zhou Shi reached Ban Qianqian, the private room door suddenly opened, and four police officers entered. The leading officer, somewhat overweight, shouted, “Everyone, crouch down and don’t move!”

(P.S.: I suddenly don’t want to explain anything anymore. Even after explanations, some people keep arguing irrationally—for example, a reader who claimed the county secretary is at the division level criticized me for not understanding official ranks, leaving me speechless. Another reader confused IQ and EQ, attributing matters of emotional intelligence to reasoning ability, exhausting my desire to explain. Now I just want to reassure those worried about the novel being abandoned: it won’t be dropped. Those who read my last book should know, despite work delays and subscriptions dropping by more than half, I still finished 1.4 million words. So put your worries to rest!)