Chapter 95

Central City’s lights lit up in the night, amid the dusk and neon glow. Shen Yu held an umbrella as he strode across the street, his shoes stepping on the slightly damp road. He soon reached the bar’s entrance.

He folded the umbrella and placed it in the rain bucket outside the door before walking inside listlessly.

“Huh?”

His long legs paused just as he was about to step through the bar’s entrance. Shen Yu stopped, shoved his hands in his pockets, and took three steps back. He tilted his head up to look at the sign above the bar.

The sign outside the bar flickered. Colorful lights were blurred by the rain into a unique sheen that shone on Shen Yu’s face. The sign bore three dazzling characters—

Sonata Harbor.

Although Shen Yu couldn’t remember the bar’s previous name, he recalled that it had been two characters. It definitely hadn’t been this name.

The security guards at the door stood with their hands crossed over their chests, dressed in suits. They quickly recognized Shen Yu.

Seeing his confusion, one of the burly security guards kindly explained, “Brother Shen, our bar got acquired by someone. They renamed it this morning. It won’t affect you at all—everything’s business as usual. You came pretty early today. The new makeup artist just arrived and is waiting for you backstage.”

He could already hear the music from inside before even entering the bar door. Shen Yu didn’t care who owned the bar, as long as it made money. He nodded and headed inside.

Although he had arrived early, quite a few people were already there. The clink of ice as the bartenders mixed drinks, the pop of bottles opening, and the band’s music all wove together. Just the sounds alone were enough to give one a tipsy feeling.

Having worked together many times, Shen Yu was familiar with the band members. After greeting them, he headed backstage as usual.

Upside-down glasses hung from the ceiling above the bar counter, colorful lights flowing across their glass surfaces.

Shen Yu habitually glanced at the liquor cabinet and noticed that all the bottles inside had been replaced with expensive varieties.

He remembered the boss being notoriously stingy. Was this the new high-end direction after the acquisition?

But more than that, Shen Yu was concerned about whether he’d get laid off.

No, he wasn’t even on the official payroll, so that wasn’t a thing.

Shen Yu mentally tallied his income and expenses, feeling a headache coming on. Could he ask the boss for triple pay?

Shen Yu licked his canine tooth and walked toward the backstage with an expressionless face.

The backstage lights glowed dimly. The new makeup artist was a long-haired female alpha with an exceptionally romantic air. When Shen Yu entered, she sat on the sofa next to the makeup table with her long legs crossed, lazily scrolling through videos on her terminal.

Hearing the door open, the makeup artist looked up. Her gaze swept over Shen Yu, a flash of amazement in her eyes.

The long-haired alpha stood and extended her hand first. “Hello, Pei Weixi.”

Pei?

The hand reaching out was slender and beautiful, with glossy skin—the kind that had never seen a day’s hard labor.

Shen Yu’s gaze shifted upward as he impassively observed the alpha in front of him. She didn’t seem like someone who would appear in a place like a bar, let alone as a makeup artist.

Shen Yu pursed his lips and gripped her hand. “Shen Yu,” he said coolly.

The man in front of her was indeed stunningly handsome. No wonder he had the power to stir Pei Ji’s heart. His aura was just a bit gloomy, evoking the feel of damp air.

Pei Weixi glanced at him and smiled as she started to pull her hand back. But suddenly, her palm tightened in a flexible, elastic grip. She was then tugged forward.

A cool breath wafted into her nose, carrying a dizzyingly enchanting fragrance. Pei Weixi’s brows shot up in surprise. Before she could react to Shen Yu’s sudden move, she leaned toward him.

The distance between them closed abruptly. Warm breaths mingled with rapidly accelerating heartbeats, like an irregular audio track.

Shen Yu lowered his eyes, gently tugged Pei Weixi’s hand toward him, then reached out to catch the earring that had fallen from her left ear. His slender fingers inadvertently brushed the hair at the side of her face, bringing a light chill.

There was no actual touch, yet Pei Weixi felt a faint itch.

Then, a warm breath carried a sexy, alluring voice right to her eardrum.

“Your earring fell.”

Shen Yu released the woman’s hand and stepped back two paces. He opened his palm to reveal the fallen earring.

The long, purple crystal caught the light, scattering watery sparkles in his hand.

Pei Weixi blinked, her long lashes fluttering. She pursed her red lips, feeling the quickened beat of her heart in her chest.

Had she just been seduced by an omega?

Pei Weixi’s fingers twitched slightly as she took the earring.

Shen Yu crossed his arms and sat lazily on the edge of the makeup table. He leaned back against the chair, his bangs casting a small shadow over his forehead. Through the mirror, his emotionless gaze fixed on Pei Weixi. “You’re not the new makeup artist, are you?” he said flatly.

Pei Weixi didn’t put the earring back on. She casually tossed the purple crystal onto the messy makeup table. She hadn’t planned to keep up the disguise anyway. Leaning back against the table edge next to Shen Yu with her hands braced behind her, her inky long hair cascaded down her back. She hooked her lips into a slow smile. “Didn’t I disguise myself well?”

Shen Yu extended his leg under the makeup table, but the space was cramped. He could only curl it halfway. He draped his arm over the table and fiddled with the incomprehensible makeup products, his expression cold. “Disguise and reality have nothing to do with each other.”

He paused briefly before continuing, “So, what’s this about?”

Pei Weixi looked down at the man sitting in the chair.

From her angle, she had a perfect view of the straight line of his collarbone propping up the black hoodie, along with his pleasingly cool shoulder and neck lines—like a work of art.

Few things perfectly matched Pei Weixi’s aesthetic, and she didn’t mind taking a few extra looks.

Once she’d had her fill, Pei Weixi hooked her lips and asked, “Do you know Pei Ji?”

As expected, it was about Pei Ji.

Shen Yu leaned back in the chair and shook his head decisively. “No.”

“. . .”

The completely unexpected answer left Pei Weixi silent for a full three seconds. If she hadn’t investigated beforehand, she might have been fooled by Shen Yu’s utterly detached demeanor.

Pei Weixi hooked her lips, no longer bothering with the roundabout talk. She cut straight to the point. “Five million star coins. I want you to seduce Pei Ji.”

Shen Yu frowned, momentarily thinking he’d stumbled into some melodramatic wealthy family drama. Leaving aside whether it was true or not, five million star coins was a number mad enough to drive anyone crazy—enough for Shen Yu to live luxuriously for ten lifetimes.

The figure was so astronomically large that it felt ethereal and unreal.

The woman in front of him had the surname Pei, so she was probably from the Pei Family. But Shen Yu wasn’t curious at all about who she was. None of this had anything to do with him.

A cold arc tugged at Shen Yu’s lips. “You have the wrong person. I don’t know Pei Ji.”

Both of them knew full well whether he knew Pei Ji or not. These words were clearly a refusal.

Pei Weixi was somewhat surprised by his unhesitating rejection.

She had gathered info on him: his mother had remarried, his father was a gambler who lost everything and racked up millions in debts to loan companies, plus a bunch of bloodsucking relatives.

Nightclub work paid well enough to cover living expenses, but Shen Yu funneled half his earnings into that bottomless family pit. Even with day-night shifts, he could barely scrape by in the Central District.

Pei Weixi’s slender eyes narrowed slightly.

A moment later, she frowned and left a pure black business card printed with her terminal number on the makeup table. She picked up a perfume bottle filled with pale pink liquid and used it to weigh down the card’s edge.

“If you change your mind, contact me anytime. You can name your price.”

With that, Pei Weixi withdrew her gaze, straightened up, and left.

Once Pei Weixi had gone, the backstage fell into a quiet atmosphere.

A moment later, the real makeup artist arrived to do Shen Yu’s makeup.

The boss’s theme was striptease, but this wasn’t some seedy sex trade den. It was just a gimmick to draw crowds by skirting the edges. How far he went was entirely up to Shen Yu’s mood in the moment.

Shen Yu leaned back in the chair, recalling his triple-pay plan. He called out to a staff member and asked them to buy a leather jacket from the nearby supermarket.

Shen Yu emphasized, “Zipper style.”

The staff member got the hint and casually asked, “Isn’t the heat on enough?”

Shen Yu: “. . . I’m cold.”

Once he’d given the instructions, Shen Yu closed his eyes and let the makeup girl work on his face.

The makeup artist quietly marveled at his good skin while applying the makeup. When she finished, she frowned deeply, propping her chin as she stared, sensing something off everywhere.

Finally, she furrowed her brows, removed the makeup, and relaxed.

After all the back-and-forth, Shen Yu dozed off in a daze midway through. When he woke, it was nearly time. A staff member was softly calling his name.

“Brother Shen, wake up . . .”

His consciousness cleared from the sticky haze. Shen Yu blinked, his lowered lashes casting a slender shadow at the corners of his eyes.

Shen Yu gestured to the staff member that he was awake, then took out the leather jacket they’d bought. It felt surprisingly soft, with a subtle sheen.

Shen Yu didn’t check the brand and just yanked off the tag, tossing it aside.

He stood from the seat, bent down to remove his hoodie. The backstage heater was on full blast—it really wasn’t cold.

With that thought, Shen Yu slipped on the jacket and headed for the door.

Central City’s night deepened, and Light Ring Street’s neon lights grew brighter.

The streets, dormant all day, awoke the moment the sunlight faded at dusk. Bar and club signs lit up one after another, forming flickering lines of light like the city’s veins.

Luxury cars flowed to the curbs like water. Fragrant winds from elegant attire wafted as red-clad men and green-dressed women shuttled through.

All sorts of raucous music filled the air nonstop, peaking at midnight amid the frantic flash of multicolored lights crisscrossing the dance floor.

The bar owner received the message and hurried out from backstage. On the deep red leather sofa sat a young alpha with his legs crossed—noble and mild in demeanor. Yet everyone around kept their heads bowed, not daring to look at him.

The owner was an alpha too, a former underground boxer in the lower district. He’d saved enough to open this bar on Light Ring Street. Even without pheromones released, he could sense the sharp aura radiating from Pei Ji.

His keen instincts told him—

This smiling alpha was a dangerous ruthless character.

More dangerous than the toughest opponent he’d ever faced in the ring.

This was also the first time the bar owner had laid eyes on the bar’s true proprietor since the acquisition and renaming to Sonata Harbor.

The owner dismissed the staff, feeling uneasy inside. He strode forward, his tone tinged with anxiety. “Young Master Pei, what brings you here? Is there a problem with the revenue?”

Pei Ji’s idly tapping fingers on the sofa paused slightly. He raised his eyes to the middle-aged alpha in front of him, taking in the man’s reaction fully.

Pei Ji smiled and shook his head reassuringly. “As per the contract, I’m responsible for funding and channels. Bar management is entirely up to you. Profits are yours, losses mine. Why would I care about that?”

No matter how many times he heard this unreasonable contract clause, the bar owner still found it unbelievable. But it was written in black and white, with encrypted electronic archives to boot.

It was precisely because of the huge benefits that the bar owner had agreed to the acquisition. He couldn’t help but sigh that all sorts of strange things happened these days.

The fortune teller had said his life would be one of ups and downs, with an empty career palace and only a cat in his children palace. Only after fifty would his luck turn.

And it had come true.

The owner lowered his gaze, hesitating. “Then what brings you here?”

Pei Ji hooked his lips into a smile. “Got tired from classes. Came to unwind.”

He wasn’t sure how much of that was true, but the bar owner got the gist—Pei Ji’s visit had nothing to do with business.

Relieved, the owner stopped bothering him and quickly left.

The air was thick with perfume and alcohol scents. Bottles opened one after another under the hazy, flickering lights. The DJ’s noise blared, drums pounded relentlessly, and the whole venue’s atmosphere exploded with hype.

But it could get even more hyped.

“Shen Yu!”

Someone in the dance pool spotted that handsome and captivating figure with sharp eyes and subconsciously called out. Everyone turned to look.

A slender and agile figure leaped gracefully onto the stage.

Shen Yu wore a black leather jacket on his upper body. The jacket was perfectly tailored, hugging the lines and curves of his body flawlessly. Below, his long legs were wrapped in black pants, straight and powerful. His slightly messy black short hair flowed with a cold, gloomy sheen under the colorful lights.

Shen Yu’s style today was different from before.

Previously, he danced wildly, exploding with the intense music rhythm right from the start. The lazy, captivating, and utterly wild smile at the corner of his lips unleashed his restless charm without restraint, stirring the hearts of onlookers.

Today, however, he was unusually restrained. His eyelids hung low the whole time, and he barely smiled, letting the shadow of his lashes cast a lonely veil over his eyes—

His entire aura was like the damp, sticky rain outside.

Gloomy, icy, laced with moisture.

The explosive music on stage shifted, suddenly turning slow and ambiguous. The song was lingering and teasing, evoking images of a rainy night, with damp bedsheets tangled like knotted ropes under the dangerous red glow.

The previously hyped atmosphere went still in an instant, sinking into this wet, seductive vibe.

Shen Yu scanned the crowd. His distinctively knuckled fingers trailed from his throat downward. Then, his fingers gripped the zipper of the black leather jacket and pulled it down from top to bottom—

Screams erupted from the crowd instantly.

The man on stage had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His shoulders and neck stretched the jacket into a straight line, and the coat hung open cleanly—

Nothing underneath.

In the dazzling lights, white skin hid beneath black, pink flashes teased the eye. His soft, full pecs and beautifully sculpted abs rose and fell with his breaths, partially veiled by the jacket, glistening with sweaty moisture and a supple sheen.

As Shen Yu swayed and shook dramatically, the jacket sides gradually slipped down, soon falling from his snowy-white shoulders to hang loosely at his elbows.

“Ahhh bro I love you—”

“Bro can I ride you, please bro—”

Someone nearby exclaimed in shock, “Holy shit, bro, aren’t you an Alpha?”

Alphas and Alphas could never have a good ending.

“Fuck, can’t I, your father, cut out my gland?”

The atmosphere, which had dipped low, exploded again with Shen Yu shedding the black leather jacket. The raucous noise nearly lifted the ceiling.

What next?

How far would he go?

Everyone stirred with anticipation.

Shen Yu kept his eyelids lowered. One hand hovered loosely at his hip, the other slid across his chest to the thin layer of muscle at his waist and abs. His knuckled fingers brushed the slightly darker black leather belt at his waist.

Above the belt, the black edge printed with white letters peeked out, veins like tree roots stretching inward like grasping hands.

A suffocating silence spread once more.

Shen Yu gripped the belt and slowly drew it from his waist. His fingers moved unhurriedly, full of visual appeal, following a leisurely rhythm. The belt rubbed against the fabric at his waist, and even from afar, one could almost hear the faint swish of friction.

Just as the belt was about to be fully pulled out—

Shen Yu paused.

The crowd’s breaths hitched too, eyes locked unblinkingly on his every move.

“Eh—”

His hoarse voice rose and fell lightly, like a devil’s murmur tinged with a hint of complaint.

“Stuck.”

Shen Yu tilted his head, lifting his eyelids slightly. A smile finally curved his lips—the first since he took the stage.

He blinked, and without the mic’s amplification, his voice sounded even more seductive.

“Seems like the buckle broke.”

The words were like a drop of water in hot oil. The dance pool erupted in chaos.

The thick whiskey scent spread through the air, mingling with various liquors and heavy odors. Reason had long been swept away by the man on stage, evaporated with the alcohol.

People in the dance pool surged wildly toward Shen Yu. Who cared if it was stuck or not, broken or not—they just wanted to yank down those annoying black pants themselves.

Pei Ji’s throat bobbed. He aimed the terminal’s camera at the stage and snapped a photo, then sent it to Gu Yang with a flick of his finger. “My future partner. Handsome?”

Gu Yang’s focus was oddly unique. He asked, “Your future partner acting like this, and you’re not jealous?”

Jealous?

Pei Ji narrowed his long, slender eyes and smiled, suppressing his body’s reaction. Two terrifying, complex emotions tugged at his chest.

Tch.

Pei Ji looked up, gazing long at the shining figure on stage. His eyes fixed on the smile at his lips as he licked his own dry ones.

“But—

Gu Yang, he’s having a blast right now, isn’t he?”