Chapter 5: The Arrogant and Domineering Fake Young Master 05 Part 1

009 belatedly cried out in alarm, “It’s Shen Ji—what’s Shen Ji doing here?!”

It was all its fault for being careless, failing to detect and warn the Host in advance. 009 spun in frantic circles.

Li Ye didn’t answer 009’s question.

Without flinching or looking away, he met Shen Ji’s gaze, staring straight into the cold, murderous intent in those eyes. The corners of his lips curved faintly upward.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

And Shen Ji had never been a rabbit—he was a beast lying in wait, enduring in silence. Li Ye knew Shen Ji wouldn’t disappoint him. That was why he’d been waiting for Shen Ji to make his move.

Shen Ji stared coldly at the man before him.

From the force of being yanked and slammed, the young man braced against the car window had hair slightly disheveled, a few black strands falling across his cheek. His well-tailored black shirt set off skin that glowed like polished jade in the moonlight. Beneath long, thick lashes were a pair of exquisite, beautiful eyes. His pale pink lips were full and curved.

Right now, pinned beneath him, he looked like a beautiful prey animal laid out on a cutting board, ready to be carved up. Yet even in this disadvantageous position, there was no panic or surprise—only the same aloof disdain as always, and even a teasing smile playing at his lips.

Arrogant and proud.

Indifferent to others’ suffering, doing as he pleased.

Shen Ji’s fury was nearly tangible. The veins bulged on his clenched fist. The wind of his punch grazed Li Ye’s face, stirring a strand of hair, before stopping a hair’s breadth away.

Shen Ji stared hard at Li Ye.

Those eyes really did look like his mother’s…

Even knowing full well these two people had nothing to do with each other, he still hesitated instinctively for a moment. And in that moment, Li Ye finally spoke. He said, “You don’t dare.”

Those words snapped Shen Ji back to himself. He grabbed Li Ye by the collar and hauled him up, sneering. “How do you know I don’t dare?”

Li Ye said mildly, “If you dare lay a hand on me, I can make sure you can’t stay at S University. Not only that… I can make sure you can’t stay anywhere in S City.”

Shen Ji laughed in fury—so much so that his expression actually calmed. He said mockingly, “And if I don’t touch you, will you let me off?”

Since returning from his hometown, Shen Ji had been running everywhere to raise money—borrowing from every friend he could, taking every job he could. He’d tried nearly everything.

But his friends were ordinary students, and an orphan and widow had no relatives to speak of. The money he borrowed was a drop in the bucket. He worked day and night, sleeping only three or four hours a day, yet he was still nowhere near the surgery fee…

Shen Ji’s nerves were a taut wire. Despair and helplessness had nearly drowned him. But even so, Xu Zhaochen wouldn’t let him go. He had nowhere left to turn.

Li Ye raised an eyebrow. “No.”

What an unsurprising answer…

A cold chill surfaced in Shen Ji’s eyes. He leaned in close to Li Ye and said, word by word, into his ear: “So what do I have to be afraid of? You won’t let me live in peace, so I won’t let you live in peace either. You can’t hide among your people every day, can you? You’ll be alone sometime. What do I have to fear? I have nothing left to lose anyway.”

He abruptly released Li Ye’s collar and seized his throat instead. That slender neck in his grip—he could almost feel the blood pulsing beneath. For the first time, Shen Ji felt such a will to kill toward another person.

He wanted to actually kill him.

Shen Ji was gambling—gambling that Xu Zhaochen would be afraid and back down. A pampered young master like this had no reason to risk everything against someone like him. It wasn’t worth it.

Li Ye felt the hand slowly tighten. The slight suffocation brought a faint flush to his face. He instinctively tilted his neck back. His already exquisite, beautiful features, because of that faint blush, took on a delicate, fragile quality—yet he still wore that faint smile.

Shen Ji didn’t see a trace of what he’d wanted to see in those eyes. For a rare moment, he was stunned.

Then he heard Li Ye speak.

“Is there really nothing left for you to lose?”

“You need money.”

Li Ye looked into his eyes, the smile at the corners of his eyes spreading. “And the thing I have the most of is money.”

Shen Ji froze, as though struck in a sore spot. His eyes seemed to waver for an instant, but were quickly covered by ice again. He gave a low scoff. “So what? Would you lend me money?”

What did it matter how rich Xu Zhaochen was?

This kind of person had no compassion at all.

“That’s not certain…” Li Ye’s eyes curved gently, his tone drifting upward like a hook baited at the bottom of one’s heart. “As long as you satisfy me, what’s impossible?”

Shen Ji stared at him fixedly, lips pressed tight, but his movements slowed.

Li Ye knew it was about time.

He raised his hand and laid it over the back of Shen Ji’s hand. Perhaps from being out in the rainy night so long, Shen Ji’s hand was cold as ice. Li Ye pressed down slowly, applying force.

The moment Shen Ji was touched, he trembled slightly. The soft warmth of the other’s palm was like molten lava—he couldn’t resist it at all. Even though Li Ye used hardly any strength, in the end Shen Ji let go.

Li Ye turned to face the car window, unhurriedly straightening his collar, then glanced back over his shoulder at Shen Ji.

“If you want money, come to the Thousand Lakes Club tomorrow night.” Li Ye laughed softly. “…I’ll be waiting.”

With that, he left without looking back.

The car roared off.

009 had been holding its breath in terror, hardly daring to make a sound. It had nearly thought the Host was going to get beaten up! QAQ

009 truly hadn’t expected Shen Ji to show up out of nowhere. Granted, there was such a scene in the original book—but it hadn’t specified when or where.

And the Host had arranged everything so well these past days that 009 had had nothing to do, which had made it slack off. That was why it hadn’t detected Shen Ji in time. 009 felt deeply remorseful.

These worlds derived from novels—transformed from words into reality—inevitably contained countless details the book never described, even plots the book never covered. These were often the sticking points for Hosts trying to complete their quests. They had to adapt on the fly and improvise.

Fortunately, the Host had been calm and composed, avoiding a beating and advancing the plot.

009 said, still shaken, “That scared the system half to death just now. Host, you were really calm.”

Li Ye smiled carelessly, thinking as he drove.

Xu Zhaochen was used to solving every problem with money. He was no match for Shen Ji—facing such a thorny, ruthless character, he was actually somewhat intimidated. But his luck was good: he’d happened to seize on Shen Ji’s weak spot—his lack of money. If he’d tried to play tough instead of using his Wealth Power, recalling the vicious look in Shen Ji’s eyes just now… it was hard to say who’d have ended up dead.

Anyway, what came next was Xu Zhaochen ordering Shen Ji around and humiliating him in every way, fully demonstrating what it meant for a villain to court death—offending the Child of the Plane to the bone. Meanwhile, Shen Ji got the life-saving money and prepared to donate his bone marrow, only to discover he wasn’t Shen Fu’s biological son, and began investigating what had happened all those years ago.

As for whether Shen Ji would agree to his terms, Li Ye wasn’t worried. For the Shen Ji of today, he wouldn’t let go of any lifeline.

Even if a bottomless abyss lay ahead, he would step forward and try.

…

Shen Ji returned to the crowded youth hostel, moving quietly so as not to disturb anyone. He closed his eyes, lying on his side facing the wall.

But his mind was full of tangled thoughts, and sleep wouldn’t come.

He’d gone to corner Xu Zhaochen today intending to intimidate him, to make him back off. But Xu Zhaochen’s reaction had been completely different from what Shen Ji expected, catching him off guard.

Shen Ji had met many people. Even the ones who looked the most vicious—when they were at a disadvantage, facing death threats—even if they put on a fierce front, they usually couldn’t hide the fear inside.

But Xu Zhaochen hadn’t been like that.

He was clearly just an arrogant, spoiled rich kid, yet beneath that domineering exterior was something impossible to read or grasp.

That calm, unruffled manner… either he was truly ignorant and fearless, or he had seen completely through him.

Shen Ji closed his eyes.

That aloof, superior look, that careless tone—still replaying before his eyes. He knew what Xu Zhaochen wanted… his submission.

The young man was like a hunter in complete control, knowing exactly what the prey needed most, certain the prey would walk into the trap even knowing it was there.

Shen Ji didn’t sleep all night, tossing and turning.

The next day, before dawn, he was up. He washed his face with cold water, and when he raised his head, the dark eyes beneath his bangs held a look of desperate resolve.

No matter what—some things had to be settled in the end.

If Xu Zhaochen was just toying with him again this time, he’d show the young master the price of looking down on others.

Shen Ji didn’t bring much—just a backpack. After returning the key to the front desk, he headed back to school.

Chen Ziping was half-asleep in the dorm when he vaguely heard the door open. He poked his head over the top bunk and said in surprise, “Shen Ji, you’re back?”

Shen Ji nodded.

Chen Ziping added, “Did you come back to change clothes?”

Shen Ji shook his head. “I’m not staying off campus anymore.”

Chen Ziping sat bolt upright, delighted. “You don’t have to avoid Xu Zhaochen anymore? He’s not giving you trouble?”