Chapter 4: No Way Out

Masked, Chi Lanyi braced himself and weaved through the crowd.

Parisian nights were never short of young people seeking thrills. The bars, big and small along the river, ran the gamut from tame to wild, from mild to intense. As night fell and the sun dropped, a scene of revelry and debauchery rose along the riverbank.

Chi Lanyi had never been here before, partly out of fear, partly because no one had ever brought him, but mostly because he felt he simply didn’t belong in this environment. The feeling of being stared at intensely always made him want to go crazy.

But today, he had to come here—not for fun, but to clear his name.

Just as Chi Lanyi stiffly reached the bar entrance, he heard the security guard say, “Take off your mask.”

He froze. The guard saw his black hair: “Understand French? If you’re coming into the bar, you need to take off your mask.”

Everyone waiting in line looked over at him. For a moment, Chi Lanyi was so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Carefully, he removed the mask from his ears, hearing a few wolf whistles from behind.

“Pretty good-looking, why hide your face?” The security guard also teased him, “Go on in, have a pleasant evening.”

Pleasant?

It was fundamentally impossible to be pleasant. As long as the school situation was unresolved, he couldn’t feel pleasant.

The pounding music from the dance floor made Chi Lanyi’s ears ache, and the dazzling lights made his eyes swim. Chi Lanyi could least tolerate this kind of high-frequency, high-decibel stimulation; he felt his fragile nerves being pulled back and forth repeatedly, about to snap.

A massive amount of information surged into his mind. In his peripheral vision, several people were already closing in on him.

Some had spotted him at the entrance, others had followed as he walked.

“What’s your name?”

“Hey, are you a student? First time seeing you.”

“What’s your Instagram?”

Chi Lanyi felt an invisible hand inside his chest, squeezing his heart tight and fast. Dazzled and trembling, he finally escaped their pursuit by ducking into the restroom.

Shaking, he pulled out his phone and messaged that classmate surnamed Zou: “Hello, I’m at the bar. Where are you?”

Chi Lanyi knew this person was also from F University, but a master’s student in the fashion management department. This person had added Chi Lanyi as soon as he enrolled; Chi Lanyi had no impression of him whatsoever. But Chi Lanyi had remembered that after the Renault incident broke, this person had proactively reached out with concern.

Chi Lanyi was very sensitive. He could tell from a person’s micro-expressions whether they harbored ill intentions toward him, yet he was hopelessly slow at deciphering meaning from text online.

But now, he had no way out. Chi Lanyi could only hope that Zou Jun was telling the truth, that he really did know who Renault’s actual lover was.

Even though he always had a vague feeling that perhaps more of his Chinese classmates knew the identity of Renault’s lover than he imagined.

They had simply all chosen not to tell him.

From the adjacent stall came wet, sticky sounds, like the noises two people make while French kissing. Chi Lanyi’s body was taut; he didn’t dare glance over there, staring only at his screen, waiting for Zou Jun’s reply.

The door opened. From the mirror, Chi Lanyi saw that the ones emerging from the stall were two men. One of them swept a glance at him. In that moment, Chi Lanyi’s heart skipped a beat, and he felt an overwhelming sense of wanting to vanish into the ground.

Two men, intimately caressing each other, left the restroom together. Chi Lanyi couldn’t bear to imagine the relationship between them. He struggled to control himself, making his breathing even, until another man entered the restroom and noticed him.

“Hey, are you here alone tonight?”

Feeling that person’s gaze land on him, Chi Lanyi couldn’t even muster the most basic politeness. He pretended to stare at the floor, understanding nothing, hearing nothing, remaining silent.

The man, thinking Chi Lanyi didn’t understand French, said something to his companion who came in later, like “too bad he’s so pretty,” and then left after finishing his business.

Chi Lanyi continued standing there. He imagined he was a tree, something that should be senseless, unheeded.

Something especially untouched by thoughts of men, sex, homosexuality—a numb thing.

Thankfully, his torment paused for a moment. A new message appeared in Zou Jun’s chat window: “You’re here? Then come up to the third floor. We’re in a private room.”

“Third floor… is that a private area?”

“Yeah. Just tell them it’s the Yuanzhou room.”

Yuanzhou. The name sounded a bit familiar. Without time to dwell on it, Chi Lanyi held his phone, navigated through the crowd, and finally made it into the elevator.

The atmosphere of the bar was suffocating him.

Compared to the first floor, the third floor was somewhat quieter, but not by much. Chi Lanyi gave the server the name “Yuanzhou.” The server called to confirm, and as they talked, walked off down the corridor.

Chi Lanyi could only wait alone at the desk. After his legs had grown somewhat numb, he finally saw someone approach him: “Hey, been waiting long?”

The man then glanced behind him: “Alone?”

Chi Lanyi nodded. He noticed that Zou Jun was wearing very new chunky sneakers. The shoes were clearly new, looking recently bought, yet they were stained with strange grime.

This filthy, somewhat unusual detail made Chi Lanyi uncomfortable.

Zou Jun smiled at him: “Oh, came alone, good, good. Come on, let’s go into the room and chat.”

Chi Lanyi stood rooted to the spot. Zou Jun then asked, “What’s wrong? Something odd?”

“I…”

Asking about what someone else had on their shoes felt too personal. Chi Lanyi hesitated, then said quietly, “Why Yuanzhou?”

“Oh, that’s a friend’s name. He booked the private room. To get a room on the third floor here, you need some degree of status. He’s sort of a celebrity; maybe you’ll recognize him when you see him,” Zou Jun laughed.

Chi Lanyi racked his brain trying to recall who “Yuanzhou” might be, but drew a blank. He was perpetually immersed in his own major and knew next to nothing about current celebrities.

Watching Chi Lanyi’s silent, docile demeanor, Zou Jun’s gaze involuntarily swept over his waist, legs, and ankles. He said nonchalantly, “You really are just like they say, aren’t you.”

“…Hm?”

“Soft voice, very pale skin, very thin. Looks fragile and beautiful.”

Chi Lanyi felt a bit uncomfortable. He didn’t think this was appropriate commentary between classmates. Yet causing a scene over something like this would also be strange.

He followed Zou Jun into the private room. The room smelled sticky-sweet, some kind of air freshener perhaps. Lights were strobing. Chi Lanyi saw many unfamiliar faces; his dizziness returned.

F University wasn’t a popular choice for Chinese students studying abroad. It was too specialized. There weren’t many Chinese students at the school to begin with, and Chi Lanyi’s social difficulties made those he knew even fewer.

It was as if Zou Jun could read his mind: “Besides people from our school, there are friends from other schools here too. Everyone, get to know this one, this is Chi Lanyi.”

“Yo, Chi Lanyi, huh.” Someone came up to shake his hand, “Seeing you lives up to the reputation.”

The eagerness with which that person approached felt more like a predator pouncing on prey than a warm greeting. Chi Lanyi smelled a sour odor on him and was instantly on guard.

Outwardly, he only said softly: “…Hello.”

After being introduced to a few people, every single one struck Chi Lanyi as strange. He felt very uncomfortable. Even though they were all fellow international students, he had a strong sense of having entered a circle he didn’t belong to.

However, there was one even stranger student. He was tall and slender like Chi Lanyi, but was huddled in a corner, looking like he desperately wanted to leave but was held back by some invisible pressure.

“And this here is Yuanzhou,” Zou Jun introduced. “Lanyi, you two actually have some connection, come to think of it.”

Less than ten minutes since meeting, and Zou Jun had already dropped his surname. Chi Lanyi felt uncomfortable again. He said to Yuanzhou, “Hello.”

Yuanzhou looked at him with a rather bizarre expression. Bewildered, Chi Lanyi seemed to see a bit of pain in that expression, and a bit of guilt.

After the round of introductions, Zou Jun invited Chi Lanyi to sit down and play cards. Chi Lanyi had absolutely no mind for playing cards; his head was full of the school hearing. Unable to endure it for long, he said to Zou Jun, “Zou Jun, I was thinking about the school matter…”

“The school matter? Why think about school now? Come on, come on, draw another card.”

Chi Lanyi endured a moment: “But the reason I came here was for… If you need my help professionally…”

“Didn’t you come here to make friends? Look, here’s the thing. They want to know where you were on the night of the 15th, and you can’t prove you weren’t in that apartment. So, you need someone to vouch that you were somewhere else.” Finished speaking, Zou Jun picked up a cup and turned to look at the others, “So, everyone, aren’t we all Chi Lanyi’s friends?”

“Yes!” several people chorused.

“With this many friends, can we all prove where Chi Lanyi was on the night of the 15th?”

“Of course! He was hanging out with us!” someone said, chewing on something that sounded like candy.

“There you have it!” Zou Jun handed the glass of alcohol to Chi Lanyi. “Here, we’re all friends now, drink up!”

Chi Lanyi looked down at the pink liquid swirling in the glass. He lifted his head, looked at the several people casting meaningful glances at him, and pressed his lips together.

Friends?

He didn’t want to be friends with Zou Jun.

Zou Jun wore filthy shoes and stood in this chaotic environment. Zou Jun didn’t seem like an F University student at all; he was the complete opposite of Chi Lanyi’s aesthetic.

And the pressuring look in Zou Jun’s eyes made him extremely, extremely uncomfortable. Chi Lanyi even found himself thinking: How could Zou Jun be his classmate?

What did someone like Zou Jun rely on to be admitted to F University?

On the surface, Chi Lanyi struggled to maintain politeness: “I really can’t drink. My tolerance is terrible…”

Zou Jun’s smile dimmed: “Ah, isn’t that just refusing to give your friends face?”

Their gazes clashed momentarily. Chi Lanyi held his ground, refusing to yield. Just then, the “Yuanzhou” near the doorway sprang up and came over.

“Hey, hey, I already drank from that glass. Open a new one for him.”

As he spoke, his fingers popped the tab, and a freshly opened can of beer was thrust in front of Chi Lanyi. Zou Jun was clearly displeased. He stared at Yuanzhou for a moment, then said to Chi Lanyi, “Well? Are you drinking or not?”

Chi Lanyi stood up directly.

“I didn’t come here to drink,” he said coldly. “I’m leaving.”

Chi Lanyi turned. Zou Jun said at that moment, “I really do know who Renault’s lover is.”

“…”

“And besides, all these rumors are no big deal. You’re only 19, right? No wonder you take it so seriously. You come asking for help, yet you have no manners at all. Who’d want to help you? No wonder, with such a big incident, no one’s stepped up to speak for you.”

As if stung, Chi Lanyi’s face went deathly pale. Another person nearby quickly added, “Ah, Brother Zou, why be so harsh… Chi Lanyi, don’t be angry. He’s just concerned about face, but Brother Zou is very loyal. When your situation first blew up, even though he wasn’t close to you, he went around trying to gather information, saying he couldn’t stand seeing someone from his hometown falsely accused.”

Chi Lanyi lowered his head and remained silent. Zou Jun seemed to have worn himself out, and said impatiently, “Fine, fine, can’t take a joke at all. Fang Heng, know him?”

That was the name of a senior a year above Chi Lanyi. Zou Jun continued, “I even found photos of him with Renault. I’ll send them to you later.”

Zou Jun was completely calm. But Yuanzhou, standing beside them, stiffened, his face displaying a “you can actually play this?” expression.

After a long moment, Chi Lanyi moved too. He didn’t take the drink Yuanzhou offered either, but opened a new can of beer himself.

Then, he put it to his lips and drank.

Usually quiet and reserved, Chi Lanyi drank fiercely this time, practically downing it in one go. The beer finished, a bright blush spread across his cheeks. He looked at Zou Jun and said seriously, “Sorry.”

Zou Jun beamed with delight, immediately saying things like “It’s nothing, it’s nothing, drinking makes us good friends,” and cheerfully called for more drinks to be opened.

Gao Yuanzhou, who had been constantly called “Yuanzhou,” watched them drink, his heart pounding nervously. He knew this couldn’t end well tonight. Just as his phone vibrated, he used it as an excuse to slip out of the room.

Looking down, Gao Yuanzhou was again startled by the caller ID. Quickly, he answered.

“Right now, what are you all doing?”

From the receiver came Gao Rong’s cold voice.

Gao Rong was actually calling him proactively? Gao Yuanzhou froze, then quickly said, “Busy making new friends and drinking together.”

“New friends?”

“Yeah, yeah, really good-looking, pale and slender, but drinks pretty fiercely. Uncle, you should have seen it; one can of beer, just shotgunned it like that.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. A moment later, Gao Rong hung up harshly.

“Damn, what’s going on? First time seeing him so emotionally unstable. How did I piss him off?”

Gao Yuanzhou grumbled internally. Turning back, he saw Zou Jun stepping out of the private room. Zou Jun whispered conspiratorially with someone else for a while, then took a set of keys from a server.

The keys jangled and swung, reflecting an ominous glint in the shadows.