Chapter 25: Alcohol Addiction

Chapter 25: Alcohol Addiction

Zhao Yu had had too much to drink, and he'd barely sat down in the police station before he started dozing off. The men were still loudly arguing and shifting blame with the police, while Zhou Lan was also arguing their case. The station was as loud as a vegetable market.

Zhao Yu's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up absentmindedly, glanced at it, and immediately snapped awake, most of his drowsiness gone.

Gu Hansheng hadn't reached out in days, yet he chose today of all days to call. Zhao Yu hesitated before answering. After a few seconds of silence, the man's icy voice came over the phone: "Where are you? Why is it so noisy?"

Zhao Yu hesitated for a long moment. "...At the police station."

"The police station? What did you do?"

"...Got into a fight and was arrested."

Another few seconds of silence passed, then the man asked: "Which police station?"

Zhao Yu gave the location, and the call ended as soon as he finished speaking.

It never rains but it pours. Zhao Yu had been behaving himself for months, and the one time he got into a fight, Gu Hansheng just happened to find out. He looked at his reflection in the glass window—face bruised and swollen, ugly enough to make anyone wince.

Twenty minutes later, the police had gone hoarse from mediating. Zhou Lan said he was willing to let it go—both sides were at fault, and a mutual apology would do. But those guys were being unreasonable and refused to cooperate.

The boy sat nearby, crying the whole time, getting on everyone's nerves.

Zhao Yu couldn't take it anymore. "What are you crying about? Isn't this all your fault?"

"My face is disfigured!" the boy said, pointing at a tiny scrape on his chin.

Zhao Yu was speechless. He got up to ask a female cop for a glass of water to rinse the taste of blood out of his mouth.

The shortest of the three men saw Zhao Yu walk past him like he wasn't even there, and immediately got riled up again. He charged over cursing, grabbing at Zhao Yu and knocking the cup out of his hand.

Water went everywhere, soaking Zhao Yu. He wasn't fully sober yet, and after receiving Gu Hansheng's call, his mood was even worse—he was about to blow his top. He immediately moved to fight back.

The cops hurried to intervene, and Zhou Lan rushed over to hold Zhao Yu back: "We're in a police station. Calm down—there's no need to get worked up over these guys!"

One of the men suddenly plopped himself down on the floor, pointing at Zhao Yu and shouting: "I'm dizzy! I can't take it anymore—I need to go to the hospital! This kid hits the hardest—he's gotta pay up!"

He'd been arguing at full volume just moments ago, and now he pulled this stunt. Not just Zhou Lan—even the cops were speechless.

Suddenly, a slick lawyer in a suit walked in carrying a briefcase. He surveyed the situation first, checking everyone's injuries, paying special attention to Zhao Yu. Then, stepping past the man still throwing a fit on the floor, he walked straight to the police and said with a smile: "Hello, officer. I'm Mr. Zhao's attorney. I have a general idea of the situation. If this gentleman insists on going to the hospital, then my client will need a medical examination too."

He then said to the man on the floor: "If the exam shows minor injuries and this turns into a criminal case, well, this is basically a mutual brawl. There's no point in everyone going back and forth here today. As for damages and sentencing, we can hash it out in court."

The men's faces showed mixed emotions. They only wanted money—they hadn't expected things to blow up this much. One of them immediately caved: "We're not trying to drag this out. Just pay us some money and we'll call it even..."

"I don't believe Mr. Zhao is solely at fault, so he won't be paying anything."

Seeing a lawyer appear out of nowhere, Zhao Yu looked at Zhou Lan, who also shook his head, just as clueless.

Over the next hour, the lawyer used a mix of soft persuasion and hard pressure. The four men finally couldn't keep up the act and reluctantly signed the settlement agreement.

As they walked out of the police station, the lawyer handed Zhao Yu his card: "Mr. Zhao, if they keep harassing you or if the police call you in, feel free to contact me."

Zhao Yu took the card: "Thank you. You are..."

"Almost forgot—Mr. Gu sent me."

Zhao Yu pocketed the card and looked up toward the gate. He suddenly spotted the man's tall figure under the streetlight, the tip of his cigarette glowing faintly on and off.

Zhao Yu stepped forward, tripped, and nearly tumbled down the steps. Zhou Lan quickly grabbed his arm, threw it over his shoulder, and wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him as they headed down: "I told you not to drink so much. You still dizzy?"

"Not really..."

Gu Hansheng stubbed out his cigarette, watching Zhou Lan help Zhao Yu out with his arm around his waist—it was an eyesore.

"Mr. Gu." Zhao Yu called out nervously.

Gu Hansheng didn't respond, just coldly looked at his bruised face: "Weren't you supposed to keep imitating Chen Xitong? You talked big back then. Is this how you do things?"

Zhao Yu tried to explain: "The fight... it was because I'd had too much to drink. I didn't expect you to reach out today."

Gu Hansheng stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, and shoved him into the back seat. Zhao Yu stumbled a few steps, tumbled awkwardly into the car, and smacked the back of his head on the door frame, wincing in pain.

Zhou Lan moved to stop him, but Gu Hansheng pushed him aside without ceremony: "Do your own job. Stay out of things that don't concern you."

"I know you're upset, but Xiao Yu is already hurt. He can't do anything tonight!" Zhou Lan said.

Hearing the way he said "Xiao Yu," Gu Hansheng instantly saw right through him. When someone develops feelings for another person, no matter how restrained or careful they are, it can't be hidden—emotion always seeps through in the little things they say.

"Can't do anything? That's not necessarily true. Or do you want to come along and see what I'm planning to do?" Gu Hansheng said with a half-smile: "I don't mind doing it in front of others. As for whether Zhao Yu wants an audience, you can ask him."

Now that he knew how Zhou Lan felt, he mercilessly trampled those feelings with arrogance, forcing Zhou Lan to face the reality of his own powerlessness.

Zhou Lan clenched his jaw, finally fell silent, and watched Gu Hansheng's taillights disappear into the distance. As long as Zhao Yu needed something from Gu Hansheng, the man held near-absolute power. This man controlled Zhao Yu's fate, and if Zhou Lan forced his way in, he'd only destroy everything Zhao Yu had worked so hard to gain.

From being a bystander at the start to still being just a bystander now—Zhou Lan was helpless.

The tension in the car was suffocating. Zhao Yu sat in the back with his head down, not daring to say a word. The car stopped at a pharmacy. Gu Hansheng went in, bought band-aids, iodine, and bruise medicine, then tossed the bag at Zhao Yu. He slammed the door shut, movements full of anger, still not saying a word.

Zhao Yu quietly muttered "thanks," placed the bag on his lap, and didn't dare move.

The car drove into the villa district and pulled into Gu Hansheng's garage. Zhao Yu got out, head down, and followed him inside. Gu Hansheng headed upstairs, and Zhao Yu started following him up too.

"What, you want me to put the medicine on for you?" Gu Hansheng turned on the stairs, looking down at him.

"...No." Zhao Yu had assumed he'd been brought here for sex, but now it was clear that wasn't the plan. He awkwardly turned and headed back down the stairs.

Gu Hansheng ignored him, went upstairs, and never came back down. Zhao Yu sat at the dining table putting medicine on himself. With no instructions from Gu Hansheng, he felt lost.

He looked in the mirror and put a band-aid on the cut on the bridge of his nose. Staring at his battered reflection, he couldn't help feeling regret. The only asset he had to offer was his face—if that got ruined, Gu Hansheng would probably lose interest.

He leaned back in the chair, looked up at the chandelier, and let out a soft sigh. Growing up, Zhao Lianfeng had beaten him countless times when drunk. He knew better than anyone how terrifying alcohol-fueled violence could be, yet he'd followed in those footsteps, letting his emotions take over his mind.

When he'd thrown punches at those three men, it had felt exhilarating. Every punch hurt down to his bones, but even so, he couldn't stop. Once the emotions were spent, all that remained was a hollow emptiness. What was frightening was the craving for alcohol surging back up.

Drink until he blacked out and he could forget everything—no need to think about what the next day would bring. He was helplessly falling into the trap of alcohol addiction.

The bedroom on the first floor had been rearranged, and all the clothes Zhao Yu had left behind were thrown away. Every trace of his stay had been wiped clean—a clear sign of how much Gu Hansheng hated him.

Zhao Yu wasn't sure if he was still allowed in that bedroom, so he slept at the table all night.

In the morning, Gu Hansheng came downstairs, and Zhao Yu woke up right away. Half his face was covered in red marks from sleeping, his hair messier than a bird's nest, and he looked at Gu Hansheng with sleepy eyes as the man changed his shoes. Zhao Yu got up and followed him to the door.

"Where do you think you're going looking like that?" Gu Hansheng frowned, his tone full of disdain.

"Going home."

"Is that Zhou guy waiting for you?"

Zhao Yu didn't know why Gu Hansheng had brought up Zhou Lan, and replied, "Probably, yeah."

"So you two live together?"

"No, Zhou Lan brings me meals every day."

"I'll have someone bring your stuff over."

Zhao Yu took a second to process, then jolted alert: "You want me to live here?"

Gu Hansheng adjusted his sleeve in front of the hallway mirror, his face still grim, and said in a harsh tone, "Stay put. If you stir up trouble and mess up that face again, you're on your own."

Zhao Yu stared blankly as he left, the door slamming in his face with a gust of wind.

Before long, the housekeeper came and made up the bed on the first floor, and Gu Hansheng's assistant also brought over his clothes.

In the afternoon, a plastic surgeon came. She examined the injuries on Zhao Yu's face and said, "It's not a big deal, but you need to be careful with the wound on your nose. Don't scratch it once it scabs. If you apply medication daily, it won't leave a scar."

She cleaned and redressed his wounds, then looked at the bite mark on his arm: "This wound is quite deep. If you want to avoid scarring, it's best to come to the hospital with me for treatment."

"The arm doesn't matter," Zhao Yu said. "It's mainly my face."

The female doctor was a bit surprised: "Bitten that deep, that must hurt a lot, right? Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"

"No need."

"Alright then. It's getting hot, so be careful not to sweat or get it wet, and apply medication every day."

After the doctor left, Zhao Yu sent a quick message to Zhou Lan to let him know he was safe, took a hasty shower, and collapsed onto the bed.

He never thought he'd sleep in this bed again. Countless nights of holding each other in the dark had happened here, and only when he returned did he realize those almost illusory memories had truly existed.