AM Chapter 31

31 Wishful Thinking

Ever since his self-pleasure session was interrupted, Chen Mo’s evening schedule had become packed. After having dinner with Liang Jingren in the evening, he sped off to the next “hot” scene that made his whole body tingle—the bar.

He vowed to catch that Yu guy and finish what was started, but in a different way, with his own hands.

However, after camping out at the Night Shade Bar’s second location for two consecutive days, he didn’t even see a glimpse of a man with long hair. And no matter how he inquired, from the staff to the customers, everyone shook their heads, saying they’d never heard of a man named Yu.

After his repeated questioning, a bartender finally showed a nervous expression upon hearing the words “smiling lips, braided hair,” but the only information he could extract was that the smiling-lipped, braided-haired man seemed to be their second store’s manager.

“If he’s the store’s manager, why hasn’t he been at the store these past few days?” Chen Mo asked, leaning against the bar.

The bartender quickly wiped the glasses, his eyes darting around evasively, “M-maybe he went to the main store?”

Thus, Chen Mo added a visit to the main store to his schedule.

However, when he arrived at the Night Shade Bar’s main location, he received an even more puzzling reception—Strong Bro and the others gave him the cold shoulder.

Chen Mo took the initiative to greet everyone upon entering, and most of them responded, but only with the kind of response they’d give to a regular customer. Apart from that, no one enthusiastically rushed over to ask him questions or engage in small talk like before.

Even if he managed to exchange a few words with someone who was slightly easier to talk to, the person would push him out the door, saying, “Chen Mo, go back. We… don’t welcome you here.”

Chen Mo frowned deeply, completely unable to understand the sudden change in their attitude. He felt as if they had been instructed or instigated by someone.

“Don’t welcome me? Why?” Chen Mo said with a cold laugh as he turned around and sat on a chair beside the bar, directly picking up the drink menu next to him. “I’m a customer. Are you going to chase me away even if I come here to drink?”

The guy who was about to “see him off” hesitated and clasped his hands together. Chen Mo curled his lips and scanned the drink menu in his hand.

“Bang,” a glass of wine suddenly appeared on the bar. Chen Mo was startled. He removed the drink menu and looked at the glass on the counter, then looked up at the person who had deliberately slammed the glass down so hard.

“Chen Mo, don’t meddle in other people’s business. Strong Bro is treating you to this drink today. Drink it and go home,” Strong Bro said to him, his thick arms propped up on the bar.

Chen Mo didn’t drink the wine, after all, he had driven there and had to drive back.

After Chen Mo gave his reason for refusing, a lackey popped out from behind Strong Bro, fawning and rubbing his palms together, saying he could be his designated driver. But Chen Mo had already decided not to drink the wine—he was chicken. He felt that the people in this store were looking at him with a mysterious and chilling glint in their eyes, and he was really worried that the wine had been spiked with something.

After coming out of Night Shade Bar’s main location, Chen Mo looked back every few steps.

He felt that once he left this time, he would never be able to enter this store again.

He felt that the people inside were all sick, drugged. He knew that the person who had instructed them, the one who had “drugged” them, was even worse and dirtier at heart.

Looking at the yellow and purple neon sign hanging above the store, Chen Mo thought: that Yu guy is probably more than just the manager of the second store. He’s infiltrated even the main store now.

Chen Mo only knew one person who could make Strong Bro and the others listen and obey: Liang Jingren. Therefore, he could only guess that the Yu guy really had an extraordinary relationship with Liang Jingren.

If what that bastard said was true…

Chen Mo bit his lip hard, stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, and stared intently at the [Night Shade] sign, his fists clenched and trembling at his sides.

–Liang Jingren, you’re acting as a hands-off boss, so Night Shade has become your love nest, huh? I hope I can give you high blood pressure if I throw dog blood into your store.

Even though Chen Mo was furious, he still didn’t forget that this was a society ruled by law. Therefore, he could only fantasize about some plans in his mind but couldn’t implement them.

After glaring disdainfully at the camera under the neon sign, Chen Mo turned around and left angrily. He thought: it’s so annoying, there are surveillance cameras everywhere.

Tonight was not only as fruitless as the previous few days but also filled him with anger. Chen Mo’s mood was extremely foul.

He was somewhat surprised to see Little Zhuang standing aside waiting for him when he went to pick up his car at the parking spot. However, Chen Mo was in no mood to talk to him at all, and he was too lazy to even scold him.

He had seen last time that Little Zhuang and that bastard trusted each other. He thought that Little Zhuang had been sent by that bastard to mock him and further provoke him. He couldn’t fall for the other party’s trick.

As a result, when Little Zhuang saw that he was completely ignoring him and directly pulled open the car door to get in, he quickly rushed forward and blocked the car door with his arm, saying, “Chen Mo, everyone didn’t intentionally want to target you!”

The car parked in the alley was not lit up, Chen Mo’s dark eyes glanced upwards, and those dark pupils sucked in the flustered person in front of him like a vortex.

He didn’t use force to pull the car door like a tug-of-war. Seeing Little Zhuang’s attitude, he suddenly wanted to hear what Little Zhuang was going to say. If he wasn’t satisfied with the content, he could drive off and slam the door at any time.

“It’s Bro who doesn’t let us talk to you!” Little Zhuang said.

What a boring and meaningless excuse. Chen Mo was not satisfied at all.

But he didn’t directly push Little Zhuang away. Instead, he coldly spewed out a barrage of sarcasm without giving the other party a chance to breathe, “Oh, what are you talking about? Are you guys elementary school students? You just do whatever you’re told?”

“And who’s ‘Bro’? Liang Jingren? It wasn’t Liang Jingren who didn’t let you, right? Who’s being so petty?”

“Also, what’s with calling him ‘Bro’? Can you tell the difference? Why don’t you call him ‘Sister-in-law’? So effeminate, speechless.”

While Little Zhuang was stunned by his machine-gun-like questions, Chen Mo closed the car door and drove off.

He could say whatever sarcastic words he wanted to others as much as he pleased, but when he returned to his quiet apartment at night and lay in bed, Chen Mo thought carefully: how could he have so readily accepted that the Yu guy was the big sister-in-law of those gangsters?

Wouldn’t that be tantamount to admitting that that bastard was Liang Jingren’s lover?

The more Chen Mo thought about it, the deeper he went, and he found it hard to fall asleep.

Later, he thought again: no, I was supposed to give him trouble, so how did I end up in this state of not wanting to eat or sleep? This won’t do.

He sat up, took two deep breaths, and turned to look out the window at the skyscrapers that still glowed with lights in the early morning, occupying the vantage point of the open night sky.

He felt that he shouldn’t be so “narrow-minded.” His vision needed to be broader—

Since that Yu bastard claimed to have an extraordinary relationship with Liang Jingren, then wouldn’t it be great if I spared no effort to snatch Liang Jingren over?

That’s right, this plan is simply perfect. It can both anger that Yu guy and satisfy my own desire to be lovey-dovey with Liang Jingren. It’s killing two birds with one stone!

Chen Mo understood and gloated over his own wit. He raised his hand to adjust the air conditioner to a suitable room temperature, then lay back into the soft bed and began to enjoy a wonderful sleep.

In his dream, Liang Jingren would definitely listen patiently to his sweet talk, fire that Yu guy, and tie up that bastard, throwing him out of the store with a public shaming. Then, he would listen to his “sweet words” and once again present that bold and unrestrained face in front of him…

The next morning, Chen Mo turned off his cell phone alarm, silently walked into the bathroom, and took a cold shower from head to toe.

The Liang Jingren in his dream was too scary, constantly demanding from him, even straddling him. Although he didn’t dislike it, continuing like this would negatively affect his work.

Speaking of which, had that Yu guy really done anything disrespectful to Liang Jingren? Would he play S★M with Liang Jingren?

Although the other party might just be saying some extreme words to deceive him, Chen Mo thought in another direction—if Liang Jingren really played S★M with someone, then was he…★M?

Liang Jingren was ★M?

After all, that Yu guy didn’t look like he could be ★M at all. Chen Mo thought, and neither could I.

…

If I asked Liang Jingren: “Brother Ren, can I whip you?”

…

Liang Jingren would probably reply: “Are you looking to die right now?”

Never mind, never mind.

I’d better hurry up and get ready for work. Working can purify my heart and reduce my desires.