The Sickly Omega Is No Longer Pretending to Be Good/Obedient - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Ringing the Bell – “Getting Revenge for Him”

The auction ended and was followed by a dinner party. Wen Jiangchu originally intended to take Shen Qiudu downstairs to socialize and meet other people, but Shen Qiudu flatly refused. He remained silent, watching as Wen Jiangchu was compelled to go downstairs to network.

Shen Qiudu stood alone by the railing on the second floor, his dark suit making him inconspicuous. His gaze roamed over the faces of the prominent figures in Suzhou City gathered in the hall.

Soon, he noticed a waiter with an unusual expression not far from Wen Jiangchu. The waiter was holding a glass of red wine and acting normally, but every now and then he would glance up, searching for Wen Jiangchu’s figure, which was very suspicious.

Shen Qiudu frowned, just as he was about to pick up his phone to send Wen Jiangchu a text message to warn him, his wrist was suddenly pressed down by someone.

Shen Qiudu turned his head and saw that Xu Zhouye had secretly sneaked up again.

“Why are you running up to the second floor again?”

Although Shen Qiudu currently didn’t have a good impression of Wen Jiangchu, Xu Zhouye made him even more irritable. Therefore, Shen Qiudu didn’t bother to use kind words.

Xu Zhouye, however, smiled at him as if he didn’t care. “I saw you were alone on the second floor, and I was afraid you were bored, so I thought I’d come up to keep you company. What, you don’t want to be with me?”

“You’re quite self-aware.”

“…”

Xu Zhouye hadn’t expected Shen Qiudu to give him no consideration at all. The smile on the corner of his mouth stiffened, and he withdrew his hand awkwardly.

“Fine, but I just saw that you were about to text Wen Jiangchu to warn him that the waiter was problematic, right?”

“How did you know?”

Shen Qiudu tightened his grip on his phone, glancing indifferently at Xu Zhouye beside him, his obscure eyes carrying an emotion that Xu Zhouye couldn’t decipher.

Xu Zhouye chuckled lightly, “I can only say that you haven’t been with Wen Jiangchu for very long. I’ve long been accustomed to these things, and so has Wen Jiangchu.”

“Do you know how many times Wen Jiangchu has been drugged since childhood? It happens almost every three banquets. He’s already immune to this kind of drug.”

“So, you don’t need to worry. Wen Jiangchu will figure it out himself. He’s not as naive as you think.”

Shen Qiudu didn’t reply, his gaze quietly falling upon Wen Jiangchu downstairs, who was talking happily with others. He watched him accept the glass of red wine offered by others with a gentle yet distant smile, and drink it all in one gulp without hesitation.

“So, after he figures it out, what will he do? Throw it away? And then arrest the mastermind?”

“Arrest them?”

Xu Zhouye seemed to have heard an extremely naive joke. The wine glass in his hand shook uncontrollably, and he raised his hand to cover the side of his face.

“Shen Qiudu, should I call you naive, or foolish?”

“But then again, someone like you probably only had one life problem in the past, and that was how to make money to survive, after all, eating and staying warm were issues.”

“But Shen Qiudu, Wen Jiangchu is different. The background of the people who do these dirty things is more valuable than all the people in your entire slum combined, and the network of interests is like a spiderweb. You wouldn’t be unaware of the principle that touching one part moves the whole body, would you?”

“Indeed, before Wen Jiangchu’s parents passed away, not many people dared to do this, and his family would stand up for him. After all, everyone in Suzhou City had to fear the Wen family.”

“But now, everything is completely different.”

“How is it different?”

Xu Zhouye took a sip of red wine, clicked his tongue, turned, and leaned against the railing, concealing the strong irony in his eyes.

“His family is all dead.”

“The current Wen Jiangchu no longer has anyone behind him, and thus no one to back him up or get revenge for him.”

“You probably don’t know what the Wen family has become in our circle now, do you?”

“In the eyes of this group of people consumed by greed, the Wen family is a treasure trove without a master; anyone can stick their hands in. No matter how capable Wen Jiangchu is, he can’t manage everything.”

“Minor things like drugging, Wen Jiangchu can only turn a blind eye to. However, he is almost developing an antibody to the drug now, so no matter how much he drinks, it won’t have a major impact.”

Xu Zhouye’s tone was relaxed, and he even swung his body with interest to match the violin music, as if the “Wen Jiangchu” he spoke of was just a stranger, not his close friend of many years.

A sense of anger inexplicably welled up in Shen Qiudu’s heart, not just towards Xu Zhouye, but also towards Wen Jiangchu.

He was angry at Xu Zhouye’s casual, superior, and stingy manner; angry at him for being Wen Jiangchu’s close friend yet watching him fall into a whirlpool, acting as if it were only natural.

But he was even angrier at Wen Jiangchu for having so many schemes regarding himself, yet suffering in silence in such a situation.

“What, after hearing me, you feel sorry for Wen Jiangchu?”

Seeing Shen Qiudu keep his eyes lowered and remain silent, Xu Zhouye raised an eyebrow and looked over, but met Shen Qiudu’s cold eyes.

“I just think you talk too much.”

“When are you leaving here? I like to be alone. I advise you not to get in my way, or else I really won’t leave.”

Shen Qiudu had realized long ago that in this verbal agreement with Xu Zhouye, he was the dominant one.

Although he didn’t know why Xu Zhouye insisted on taking him away, he was happy to take advantage of this somewhat mentally troubled person like Xu Zhouye—no reason not to use him.

As expected, Xu Zhouye immediately scowled upon hearing this. “I’ll leave after I finish this glass.”

But as Xu Zhouye’s lips neared the rim of the glass, Shen Qiudu snatched it away and mercilessly spilled all the contents onto the floor.

“What the hell, do you know how much this red wine costs? Shen Qiudu, are you sick?!”

Shen Qiudu ignored the enraged Xu Zhouye, casually thrust the wine glass into his hand, and turned to leave.

“No.”

“But I know you should go.”

Shen Qiudu directly closed the door to the private room, shutting out Xu Zhouye’s sporadic curses. The lights inside the room were turned on, and Shen Qiudu walked straight into the smiling eyes of Uncle Liang.

It seemed that everything he had said and done with Xu Zhouye just now had been heard by Uncle Liang.

Fortunately, he hadn’t said anything inappropriate to Xu Zhouye.

Shen Qiudu secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, although he didn’t know why he felt so guilty. He looked away and greeted him in a low tone, “Uncle Liang.”

Uncle Liang chuckled softly, motioned for Shen Qiudu to sit down, personally poured him a cup of tea, and handed over a tissue.

“Hurry and wipe your hands. You must have gotten some wine on you just now when you spilled it, right?”

“…Thank you, Uncle Liang.”

Shen Qiudu took the tissue and wiped his hands, but Uncle Liang’s gaze never left him. Shen Qiudu felt uncomfortable and pursed his lips awkwardly.

“Thank you.”

Suddenly, Uncle Liang’s hoarse but sincere voice rang out in his ears.

Shen Qiudu was not good at dealing with such sincere and genuine words. His body stiffened, and he dared not look up at Uncle Liang.

Uncle Liang rubbed the cane in his hand and sighed, “I heard a lot of what Young Master Xu just said, and it’s quite true.”

“Ah-Chu has suffered too much these past few years. Every time he endures it alone, or hides in the study to recover.”

“This is also my fault. I’m old and useless. I can’t take good care of Ah-Chu or get revenge for him like his parents did.”

“Many people say those things, and they are facts, but besides Ah-Chu’s family, no one has ever stood up for Ah-Chu, so thank you, Qiudu.”

“I wasn’t sticking up for him. It’s just that Xu Zhouye is too annoying.”

Shen Qiudu retorted mercilessly, then looked up to meet Uncle Liang’s eyes, and said seriously, “Don’t overthink it. Also, you’re not allowed to tell Wen Jiangchu.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t tell, I won’t tell…” Uncle Liang couldn’t help but chuckle, nodding repeatedly as if coaxing a child.

Shen Qiudu looked away, but in the end, still worried, he asked, “So, today… will Wen Jiangchu still drink that glass of wine?”

Uncle Liang put away his smile and nodded helplessly, “Yes, the antidote is already prepared at home, and a doctor has been called. They are on standby in case of any unforeseen circumstances.”

“Don’t worry, Ah-Chu knows what he’s doing. He’s long been familiar with these procedures…”

Shen Qiudu frowned, “So you still don’t know exactly what drug was used?”

“After all, we are not all-powerful immortals; we can only test it bit by bit. Ah-Chu can only drink it with a smile and accept all the reactions. After all, they don’t dare to use a lethal dose or a drug that will kill, that much we can guarantee.”

Shen Qiudu fell silent, looking up at the screen where the waiter was already close to Wen Jiangchu. He watched as Wen Jiangchu smiled and accepted the drink, uncaringly, and little by little drank it all.

His pale face appeared even more weary and hopeless under the blue light. Shen Qiudu clearly saw Wen Jiangchu’s body tremble slightly, and his eyes look somewhat dazed, but he still supported himself, dealing with the crowds coming and going.

In the end, he still couldn’t sit still.

“Don’t tell Wen Jiangchu I went downstairs.”

Leaving only this simple sentence, Shen Qiudu went downstairs from the opposite direction, closely following the waiter out of the main hall.

It was the first time Shen Qiudu was grateful for his smaller physique, which allowed him to easily slip into the crowd unnoticed.

He followed the waiter into the abandoned garden outside the banquet hall, clutching the long stick he had just picked up. His body was trembling slightly due to the intense tension, and his heart pounded so loudly it threatened to drown everything else out, but Shen Qiudu dared not relax.

In truth, Shen Qiudu didn’t know why he had followed. It was just that seeing Wen Jiangchu in that state made him feel uneasy.

And with his strength, he might collapse from exhaustion before he even raised the stick.

But Shen Qiudu somehow felt that this kind of drugging should only be done by him.

Only he could bully Wen Jiangchu.

So even if it meant harming himself greatly while causing little harm to the enemy, he wanted to try.

Shen Qiudu had previously seen the map of the banquet location. The garden ultimately led only to the central circular fountain. So, Shen Qiudu took a gamble and hid first by the fountain from the other direction, waiting for the waiter to fall into the trap.

Sure enough, his gamble paid off.

The waiter, upon reaching the deserted fountain, relaxed his guard and quickly took off his black and white uniform, preparing to run away. Shen Qiudu did not hesitate, raising his hand to strike him with the stick from behind, knocking him unconscious instantly.

If the person who administered the drug was him, perhaps he could find information about the antidote.

Even if not, he could still teach him a lesson.

Either way, it wouldn’t be a loss.

Thinking this, Shen Qiudu gave the man on the ground a couple more kicks and threw away all the clothes he hadn’t finished changing into, leaving him to escape naked.

He felt a pill in the man’s pocket. Shen Qiudu estimated that this one pill must be the antidote, so he took it back with him.

After doing all this, Shen Qiudu was utterly exhausted. A thin layer of sweat covered his forehead, and he gasped for air, leaning on the wall to support himself as he left.

Although this was not the first time Shen Qiudu had done something like this, it was the first time he had used brute force physically. His already frail and unrecovered body now felt like dragging a giant snail shell, moving slowly.

His increasingly blurry consciousness made Shen Qiudu subconsciously want to seek out a familiar scent.

So, he walked straight into the main hall. Everyone on the first floor instantly fell silent, watching the bruised and battered Shen Qiudu, who even had bl00d on him, stagger towards Wen Jiangchu.

“Qiu… Qiudu?!”

Wen Jiangchu was also stunned, but his actions were quicker than his mind. He quickly pulled Shen Qiudu into his arms.

“What happened? Where did you go? Didn’t you promise me you’d stay on the second floor?”

As soon as he said this, everyone understood that Shen Qiudu and Wen Jiangchu’s relationship was unusual. For a moment, their probing gazes turned into gossip.

Shen Qiudu didn’t bother to care. He shoved the pill in his hand into Wen Jiangchu’s arms and leaned into his ear, murmuring, “The drug…”

Wen Jiangchu’s body stiffened. Ignoring everyone present, he immediately led Shen Qiudu away from the scene, rushing towards the second floor, leaving the bodyguards to stabilize the crowd.

Entering the private room on the second floor, Uncle Liang was already gone, and even the lighting had been adjusted to a dark purple-blue hue.

Neither of them noticed anything wrong. Wen Jiangchu hastily adjusted Shen Qiudu in his arms to a more comfortable position, constantly feeding him small sips of water.

“Qiudu… Qiudu, were you drugged?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay… don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

“I’ll call the doctor right now.”

Wen Jiangchu’s voice trembled. Because of his extreme nervousness and fear, the water cup he was holding spilled, and there was even a hint of a sob in his voice, terrified that Shen Qiudu had ingested something.

The warm embrace he was held in was a kind of care Shen Qiudu hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Shen Qiudu just felt that Wen Jiangchu was really foolish.

He didn’t care at all that he was drugged, but he was so scared and nervous about him.

This person was truly strange.

Seeing that Wen Jiangchu was about to cry, Shen Qiudu had no choice but to force his eyes open, “This is… for you…”

“For me?”

Wen Jiangchu was stunned. “Are you going to drug me too?”

Confirmed, this person was really a lunatic.

Shen Qiudu was immediately amused by the absurdity, exerting all his strength to press Wen Jiangchu’s head down so that he could get closer to his ear.

However, he momentarily misjudged the force, and his hot, thin lips accidentally touched Wen Jiangchu’s cheek.

“! Qiudu, you…”

Shen Qiudu didn’t react, instead, he said angrily in his ear, “You, damn it, this is the antidote I got for you! Only a lunatic would drug you!”

After saying the last sentence, Shen Qiudu couldn’t hold on any longer and released his strength, wanting only to bury his head in Wen Jiangchu’s shoulder.

The familiar scent made him feel safe, and his heart slowly calmed down.

In the last moment before falling asleep, Shen Qiudu had only one thought—

Why did this Wen Jiangchu smell so good?

What kind of perfume was he wearing that was so much to his liking?