Chapter 32: Hand It Over

Chapter 32: Bring It Over

"Gu Junhan."

Wen Yu ran into him again. The jade bracelet on his wrist felt off.

Gu Junhan's voice was gentle, unreadable. "Come sit by me."

Wen Yu glanced at the seven or eight people standing next to Gu Junhan—all wearing dark suits.

They were burly, every one of them wearing grim expressions.

They had half-exposed tattoos and knuckles marked with old scars.

A cold sweat broke out on Wen Yu's back as he sneaked glances at them from the corner of his eye.

Why did they look so much like the gangsters in TV dramas who flip tables at the drop of a hat?

Wen Yu sat down beside Gu Junhan.

The man's gaze landed on his slightly red-rimmed eyes. "Someone bullied you?"

Wen Yu instinctively shrank his shoulders and shook his head. "No... I just don't have money, so I can't compete with others. It's only natural they'd mock me."

"Natural?"

Those two words seemed to strike a nerve in Gu Junhan.

The man was different today—wearing glasses, and the eyes behind the lenses turned cold in an instant.

"If Little Treasure feels wronged, then that counts as being bullied." Gu Junhan's tone was gentle, yet suffocatingly oppressive. "Didn't you tell me to teach you?"

"Didn't you say you could change things yourself?"

"Already chickening out?"

Wen Yu was left speechless by Gu Junhan's questions. Resentment and frustration surged up inside him. "I... I don't know."

"The card I gave you isn't just for show." Gu Junhan sighed, carrying a hint of exasperation.

The man exposed a sliver of pale wrist as he placed a new black card on the table. "Little Treasure, bid on and win every single item downstairs."

Wen Yu looked up in shock. "But... that's your money."

The moment those words left his mouth, the surrounding noise went dead silent.

"I told you—you need to learn to use leverage, to borrow momentum."

Gu Junhan's jawline was sharp, his Adam's apple prominent. He lowered his eyes and gestured casually.

One of his men understood. "Young Master Wen, if you please."

Wen Yu clutched the cold card and slowly headed downstairs.

He was obedient and did as he was told.

When Wen Yu reappeared in the lobby, he still looked a bit timid.

"The starting bid is two million."

"Three million." Wen Yu raised his paddle with his eyes squeezed shut, his voice barely audible.

"Five million." Wen Yu raised it again, doubling it outright.

Then came the second item, the third...

Wen Yu felt like he had opened the door to a whole new world, blowing money left and right. It felt amazing.

Whether it was antique porcelain or jewelry and diamonds, anything Wen Yu laid his eyes on seemed to be his for the taking.

The people who had mocked him earlier went from sneering to shocked.

"How does Wen Yu have so much money?"

"That card... could it be the legendary black card?"

He Wanyue sat not far away, her face darkening by the second.

When Wen Yu raised his paddle to win tonight's grand finale—a priceless pink diamond—He Wanyue couldn't take it anymore.

She clicked her way over on her high heels and stopped in front of Wen Yu. "Little Wen, it's really embarrassing if you can't pay up. If you want it that badly, beg me—maybe I'll be in a good mood and cover this for you."

The room went silent.

Wen Yu slowly turned around and pulled out the black card from his pocket. His movements were a little clumsy, but the card definitely caught everyone's eye. "Miss He... I've got money."

He Wanyue's face flushed with anger. "Where'd you get that card? Did the Shen family give it to you?"

Wen Yu puffed out his chest a little, his face flushing. "None of your business."

He Wanyue's expression stiffened. "Fine. Just wait, Wen Yu."

He Wanyue stormed out in a huff, and for the first time, Wen Yu saw someone walk away looking defeated because of him.

He felt so proud of himself.

Up in the second-floor private room, Gu Junhan's subordinate held up a tablet showing Wen Yu's every move. The gloom in his eyes lifted. "Not bad."

Wen Yu went back to Gu Junhan.

The door to the private room closed behind him, cutting off the faint gasps and murmurs drifting up from downstairs.

Gu Junhan leaned against the window, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. All his men were gone.

Only Wen Yu was left.

Wen Yu got nervous. Why did everyone leave?

"Gu..." Wen Yu called out. "Gu Junhan."

Gu Junhan watched Wen Yu edge closer, like a rabbit about to be fed to a crocodile—pitiful and naive.

"Thank you." Wen Yu stopped in front of him, bending at the waist.

Wen Yu expected Gu Junhan to praise him. But instead, the man said,

"Bring me that ruler, Wen Yu."

Wen Yu's body stiffened suddenly. He looked up, his eyes full of terror and confusion, his voice soft and trembling.

"Are you going to hit me?"

Gu Junhan wasn't joking in the slightest.

Wen Yu instinctively took a step back.

When the man saw he wasn't moving, his tone turned harsh.

"I told you before—if someone bullies you and you don't fight back, I'll have to teach you a lesson."

"What? You don't need me anymore?"

Wen Yu retorted reluctantly, "But I did fight back, so there's no need to punish me."

"Oh?" Gu Junhan reached out and rolled up Wen Yu's sleeve. "Little treasure did what I told you, but that's not enough."

The man's gentleness was eerily unsettling. "I gave you money so you'd learn to use your power to crush others, to stomp on their dignity. But you—"

Gu Junhan looked down at him from his full height, "You used my money, but not the methods I taught you. How is that revenge? You're merely relying on my influence, like a little dog that only bares its teeth at its enemy when its master's got its back."

Wen Yu's cheeks flushed crimson instantly, shame and hurt twisting together as fear crept in.

"Wen Yu, bring it over." Gu Junhan glanced at the ruler lying cold on the side.

(Note: a ruler, a measuring tool.)

Wen Yu shuffled over slowly.

Trembling, he handed the ruler to the man, head bowed. "Here you go."

Gu Junhan took it.

The man looked at his palm, then, without warning, struck with the flat edge.

"This hand—it was raised high earlier, and you bid loud and clear."

A sharp crack rang out.

The pain wasn't bad, but it was deeply humiliating.

Wen Yu's body jolted hard, tears welling up, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Gu Junhan let go, and Wen Yu stumbled back, clutching his reddened palm.

"What're you crying for?"

Wen Yu bit his lower lip hard, forcing the sob back down his throat, holding his struck hand. "I... I tried so hard..."

"I did fight back—I raised the paddle, I spent the money, I made Miss He storm off... So why are you still hitting me..."

Just one hit, and Wen Yu was already feeling wronged.

"I'm not some little dog..." Wen Yu sobbed. "I'm Wen Yu... your friend..."

Gu Junhan held the ruler with deliberate calm. "Little treasure, it's exactly because we're friends that I can take the time to teach you."

The man forced Wen Yu's palm open.

The palm had already flushed red, standing out starkly against his pale skin.

He brought it down again.

Wen Yu instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but Gu Junhan held it firmly, leaving him no room to move.

His body went limp, and he sank to his knees on his own. The floor was carpeted. Wen Yu looked at his hand—a deeper bruise instantly surfacing over the red mark.

A few more strikes.

And that was it.

The pain left Wen Yu speechless.

Wen Yu's voice shattered.

"Stop... stop... Gu Junhan..."

Wen Yu cried until his nose was red, tinged with a pitiful pink. "I shouldn't have... shouldn't have let you down..."

Gu Junhan watched him kneeling on the carpet, trembling as he wept, his gaze growing darker. Wen Yu kept one hand behind his back, restless, trying to pull it away repeatedly.

"Trying to get off easy, huh? Since the hand won't behave, let's find another spot to teach it a lesson."