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Chapter 8: Coercion
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On the way back, Chi Mo said, “I thought you’d deleted me.”
Even though the words came from Chi Mo, who showed no emotion, they somehow carried a sarcastic edge.
Li Ran felt ashamed. “Ah?” Then he seemed to understand and explained, “I didn’t delete you. I couldn’t find a way to repay the favor, so I didn’t dare contact you first.”
“Mm.” Chi Mo responded casually.
“Aren’t you working overtime today?” Li Ran sat in the passenger seat of the Cullinan, carefully changing the subject as he glanced at Chi Mo in the driver’s seat.
There were many traffic lights near the company. Li Ran got lucky with all green lights, but Chi Mo’s luck was poorer—all red lights.
The red light countdown started at 75 seconds.
Chi Mo waited patiently and said, “Suddenly, I’m not anymore.”
“Oh.” Li Ran said, “Then you should’ve… told me in advance.”
It was clearly a protest, but he lacked the confidence to back it up.
Chi Mo said, “You’ve already arrived.”
“Oh, alright.”
To avoid seeming too useless—now that they had left the company and couldn’t go back—Li Ran deliberately said, “Since I’ve come all this way, you should at least let me tour the company.”
See? How brave and bold he was.
“So you wanted a tour. I thought you didn’t. You dawdled there forever, slowly getting off the bike, locking it up at a snail’s pace.” Chi Mo’s flat, emotionless voice sounded understanding. “I’ll take you back now.”
“Ah… no!” Li Ran jumped in immediately, his courage shattering.
Chi Mo was even more understanding. “Mm, it’s a bit late today. Come back tomorrow.”
“No…” Li Ran squeezed the words from his throat with a troubled frown, unsure if his refusal had even been heard.
Just then, the rearview mirror showed someone furiously pedaling a mountain bike. Li Ran’s face flushed with embarrassment. He instinctively tucked his chin to his chest, trying to bury his head in his lap.
He didn’t see Chi Mo chuckle at his reaction, his fingers tapping the steering wheel rhythmically—a sign of his pleasure.
Even though he knew Shen Shu couldn’t see inside the car, Li Ran still avoided the rearview mirror, afraid their eyes would meet and Shen Shu would curse him out.
The Cullinan’s four wheels, boosted to top speed, outpaced the mountain bike’s two. No matter how hard Shen Shu pedaled, smoke practically rising from his legs, he couldn’t catch up.
It was a tough chase on this stretch. While the Cullinan waited at a red light, Shen Shu finally made out the license plate and furiously shouted and gestured with his middle finger from outside the window.
The car’s soundproofing was excellent; Chi Mo heard nothing. Li Ran caught Shen Shu’s fury from the corner of his eye and felt guiltier than ever.
Shen Shu roared, “Fuck!”
Li Ran knew the word from Shen Shu’s lip movements because Chi Mo had made him ride the bike back at the company entrance.
Li Ran had tried to go himself, but Chi Mo stopped him in no uncertain terms.
It didn’t take long before he was sweating from anxiety.
A few minutes passed, and Li Ran was like one of those opportunistic paupers who touched a luxury car and then refused to get off once seated—he had practically grown roots in the vehicle. Chi Mo had already told him twice to go home; any moment now, he might say it a third time with impatience, but Li Ran still hadn’t gotten out.
Being chased off the car would be even more humiliating.
The Cullinan wasn’t just expensive; its doors were ridiculously hard to open. Forget Li Ran not having money now—even if he had it in the future, he wouldn’t buy one…
“Can’t open the car door?” Chi Mo suddenly spoke up.
Li Ran had braced himself for Mr. Chi’s mockery, terrified that in Mr. Chi’s eyes, he’d become some dishonest social climber. In his panic, he was already steeling himself to jump into the river to prove his innocence.
But Chi Mo’s voice was soft, carrying the unique guidance and reassurance of someone in a position of power.
Li Ran’s heart settled, his eyes stinging as his unease subconsciously turned to dust, no longer floating around to disturb him.
He gave up on the door and turned back, clutching the hem of his school uniform. “I…”
“At a time like this, do you know what you should do?” Chi Mo said, but he didn’t leave any time for Li Ran to think it over on his own, fearing he’d spiral back into helplessness. He continued immediately, “You should ask me for help. It’s perfectly normal. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
Li Ran’s mind, which had only just calmed a bit, dimly understood but couldn’t quite follow the logic.
Chi Mo spoke in a tone that brooked no argument. “Li Ran, ask me for help. Now.”
Li Ran’s courage was bewitched, a sudden flame bursting forth. From childhood to now, he had always been the sensible one—this was the first time he had ever asked someone for help.
“…Mr. Chi, help me.”
