Chapter 17: Forcing Him to Eat Meat!

In the hotel.

“You don’t really think gamblers make money purely on luck, do you?” Xiao Fen continued to say to Ou Yu. “Ten gamblers out of ten lose. Either they lose everything—family scattered, hated by all—or they cheat, and the casino beats them into a cripple. If you dare sit at that gambling table tomorrow, tonight’s fate of Wu Hao will be yours!”

Under those clear cognac-colored eyes, Ou Yu’s expression clearly panicked. “You… you know…”

“Bro, you’ve been sitting next to me all evening—how could I not know those little schemes in your heart?” Xiao Fen’s fair index finger poked at the spot over his heart on his chest.

Ou Yu’s heart jumped and thumped, his ears turning a bit red.

“Then you framed him and got his hand cut off…”

“Hey, it wasn’t framing—he was cheating from the start, and you saw it. I just helped the casino catch him.” Xiao Fen clarified. “Tonight’s outcome is what he deserved. If losing one hand sobers him up and keeps him away from the tables forever, then he’s saved. If he keeps gambling even with a broken hand, then he’s done for.”

Tenderness swirled in his eyes, the corners of his mouth curved up slightly, and he looked at Ou Yu earnestly. “At least you haven’t yet.”

Tonight’s business with Skinny Guy’s hand had been deliberate on his part—a shock to jolt Ou Yu before he could indulge his desires and fall into depravity.

“I…” Ou Yu didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Suddenly, he leaned forward, hugged Xiao Fen entirely into his arms over the takeout box.

【I somehow feel like Xiao Fen is all warm and fuzzy.】

【Going and empathizing with a gambling addict? You brain-dead fans are sick—two sweet words and you believe anything.】

【But watching tonight, I think Brother Fen stayed calm from start to finish. No madness in his eyes like a gambler should have. He was leading them around the whole time, not acting like one.】

【Yeah, gamblers only have eyes for money. Brother Fen doesn’t. He tossed out a million in cash like it was nothing. I wish I was that carefree.】

【You think a couple acts mean he’s not? So gullible?】

【With acting like that, he’d at least win a Film Emperor award. Ending up like this just means his real-life character is trash.】

【You guys are too much. First you called him a flower vase with no skills. Now you can’t trash his skills, so you go after his character. Can’t stand to see him do well?】

【What skills? Gambling skills or sneaky cheating skills? I never saw any upright abilities from him.】

Xiao Fen’s personal live stream chat erupted in arguments again, while the viewer count kept climbing. Even in the dead of night, there were sixty-five million people online.

Xiao Fen, tightly held by him, twisted uncomfortably and muttered in a low voice, “I’m eating here—what are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Ou Yu let go, his expression looking perfectly normal as he picked up a chopstick of fish and put it in his bowl. “Eat more. You’re so skinny.”

“Don’t call me skinny!” Xiao Fen immediately bristled.

The word “skinny” instantly reminded him of Fang Si Ting calling him “Skinny Dog.”

It was the original body’s fault for being skin and bones from starvation—what did it have to do with him now?

He would bulk up!

His head got a knock from a knuckle as the Film Emperor big bro scolded him.

“You’re skinny and you won’t admit it? Holding you feels like hugging a bag of bones.”

Xiao Fen huffily scooped a huge chopstick of steamed pork into his bowl.

“What are you doing?”

“Aren’t you working out?” Xiao Fen said. “You’ve been working so hard—eat more.”

“No way!” Ou Yu thought of his manager possibly watching the stream and hurriedly moved his bowl away. He said to the camera filming the live broadcast, “I don’t eat meat. Even on stream, I stick to my discipline. Don’t listen to his nonsense.”

“I don’t care—you have to finish it all today, or I won’t forgive you for calling me skinny.” Xiao Fen’s eyes held a threat.

“Fine.” Ou Yu gritted his teeth inwardly, torn between maintaining his figure and the irresistible temptation of the meat.

He didn’t dare look anymore, or he’d really eat it.

He poked at the steamed pork with his chopsticks, looked up, and caught Xiao Fen giving him a knowing smile.

“Eat lots of it. If you don’t finish, I won’t forgive you.” He added another huge chopstick of fish to his bowl.

Little Fen wouldn’t think he’d only eaten a few bites of rice earlier because he was afraid to eat too much on stream, right?

Ou Yu mixed some rice with two bites of meat, a sour feeling in his heart.

It smelled so good.

Fine, he’d just stop calling him that skinny from now on.

How was it always the little brother taking care of him?

【The mighty Film Emperor acting like he hasn’t seen meat in 800 years.】

【Heard his manager is super strict—makes him work out for hours every day but only eat low-fat, low-oil stuff.】

【Poor Film Emperor, getting bullied by Xiao Fen. Tears are flowing from the corner of his mouth.】

Ou Yu had risen to fame young and held high status in the industry, so few dared give him attitude. He was always polite in return. Because of that excessive courtesy, people in the circle knew he was warm on the outside but cold within—courteous but distant. Fans knew his personality too, making him most people’s “gentle white moonlight.”

This side of him, tasting the food of mortals, let fans see a different facet.

After they finished eating, Xiao Fen, ever aware he was a fugitive, quickly cleaned up and sneaked out of the hotel with Ou Yu.

Fifteen minutes later, Bai Zhu arrived with his team. After questioning the boss, they burst into the room.

Unfortunately, it was already empty inside, leaving only the remnants of their finished meal on the table.

Surveillance confirmed it was Xiao Fen and Ou Yu.

“You think you’re tourists, boldly checking into a hotel?” Bai Zhu smiled, his expression fierce and vicious, scaring the hotel boss witless.

“Bai Zhu, the Pursuit Bureau got a report from the public—someone was carrying a knife and assaulting people in the Lin Cuo Neighborhood tonight. And,” Xu An paused, “Xiao Fen and Ou Yu were spotted nearby. The victim identified them as the attackers. Did you catch them?”

“What? Isn’t this a variety show? How are they actually hurting people?”

“I don’t know either. The boss already went to investigate.”

++

When Fang Si Ting arrived at the hospital, Wu Hao’s severed hand had just been surgically reattached, and he was still unconscious.

The one who brought him was a middle-aged woman in faded clothes stained with blood spots, her skin rough and sallow from years of sun exposure, crying nonstop.

【Wait, my brain can’t process this. Isn’t this woman the one whose husband lost money gambling and whose son needs dialysis? Why is she with Wu Hao?】

【What Xiao Fen said can’t be true, right? Are those two in cahoots?】

【Impossible. This big sis looks so honest and kind. She must’ve seen Wu Hao hurt, set aside grudges, and brought him to the hospital.】

“Boss,” Tang Shen saw Fang Si Ting arrive and shared the info from his questioning. “These two are gambling addicts. The guy’s Wu Hao—got cheated caught and done in by the casino. The woman came out of the casino, saw him dumped on the roadside looking pitiful, and brought him here. She learned who we are and asked if we could cover his medical bills.”

Fang Si Ting glanced at his notes on the statement, then walked up to the woman.

The woman wailed piteously about not having money for the bills, recounted her hardships, dabbed at her tears weakly, and looked up at him with teary eyes. He couldn’t help taking two steps back.

“How about… I wait for him to wake up… no need… do you, uh, have anything else? If not, I’ll…” She swallowed.

“What’s your name?”

“…Li.”

“Ms. Li, have a seat.” Fang Si Ting pointed to a row of chairs in the hospital corridor.

The hospital was empty in the early morning hours, voices echoing with the smell of disinfectant.

Big Sister Li sat down reluctantly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. In front of the standing Fang Si Ting, she seemed even more frail and helpless.

His tall frame cast a silent pressure in the dim corridor light.

Big Sister Li’s hands on her lap twisted together involuntarily. “Um… I have things to do…”

“Ms. Li, just a few questions—won’t take long.” Fang Si Ting said.

Big Sister Li’s mouth twitched, the shadows of her nasolabial folds shifting. “I’m just a country bumpkin.”

“Where did you run into this person with Wu Hao tonight?” Fang Si Ting didn’t use Tang Shen’s photo but showed her the program’s Wanted Notice on his phone.

“Just some rundown neighborhood with broken streetlights—I didn’t see clearly…” the woman mumbled.

“Didn’t see clearly? Then how did you ID him for sure?”

“I… I might’ve been wrong, my eyes aren’t great. All you young folks look alike these days, with that hairstyle, all skinny.” Seeing he was not to be trifled with, the woman hurried to gloss over it.

“This person is a key pursuit target. If you have any info on him, contact us—he’s very dangerous.” Fang Si Ting pocketed his phone and signaled the others to leave.

Tang Shen was baffled. “We’re just leaving? Not even two questions? I got more info than that.”

“Send a few Vice Squad Officers to tail her quietly.” With that, Fang Si Ting got in the car.

++

Xiao Fen and Ou Yu slipped out of the hotel and hid behind nearby bushes, watching Bai Zhu and his team rush in, then leave shortly after.

As fugitives, registering at the hotel meant the Pursuit Bureau would know their location instantly.

Ou Yu checked his watch and yawned. “It’s almost three. Let’s crash on a park bench for the night.” They’d showered anyway.

“Don’t you have that family you’re planning to sponsor?” Xiao Fen bumped him with his shoulder.

“I haven’t sponsored them yet—how could I impose? Besides, I’m not sponsoring her to get help from them.”

“Oh, I thought you called her.”

Ou Yu followed his gaze. That woman from the casino tonight lurked suspiciously at the hotel entrance, soon meeting a man, and they headed their way.

“Wu Hao and this woman really are in cahoots!”

He fumed indignantly, but on closer look, the man was similar in height and build, cheeks sunken and face sallow and thin—some resemblance, but not Wu Hao.

Big Sister Li fumed. “Didn’t I tell you to tail them? You lost two grown men? What use are you for anything after this?”

Just as she finished berating, Xiao Fen and Ou Yu sprang out from left and right.