Chapter 10: The Ultimatum

Jiang Yu stood still.

“I’ll just mix it standing.”

“I told you to sit.”

Li Xiao’s voice deepened a notch. “This is a customer’s request. Or does the service at your bar not include following reasonable seating arrangements?”

Jiang Yu’s fingers curled.

He eventually sat down, on the very edge of the sofa, half a person’s distance away from Li Xiao. His body was stiff, his back ramrod straight.

Li Xiao didn’t seem to mind his distance. He turned slightly, resting one hand on the back of the sofa, forming a semi-enclosing posture that trapped Jiang Yu within his aura.

“No strong liquor today.”

Li Xiao leaned in closer.

His voice lowered, his warm breath nearly brushing Jiang Yu’s ear.

“Mix something mild. Whatever you’re good at.”

Jiang Yu abruptly turned his head away, creating a bit of distance.

“Okay.”

He took out his tools and began mixing.

His movements were still fluid and professional, but the slight tremor in his fingertips and the overly tight line of his jaw betrayed his inner turmoil.

Li Xiao sat beside him, quietly watching. He watched his profile, his lowered eyelashes, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly from nerves, and the small patch of pale neck exposed above his shirt collar. The distance was close.

Close enough for Li Xiao to smell the faint scent of soap on him, mixed with a trace of liquor. Completely different from the strong, pungent perfumes in the bar.

Li Xiao suddenly felt the irritability that had plagued him for days strangely subside a little. He even found it somewhat enjoyable, just watching Jiang Yu mix drinks like this.

Jiang Yu quickly finished mixing a cocktail with a fresh color and slid it in front of him.

“Your drink.”

Li Xiao took it and took a sip.

“Not bad.”

He set down the glass, his gaze still locked on Jiang Yu’s face.

“From now on, I’ll come at this time every evening. You sit here and mix drinks for me.”

Jiang Yu pressed his lips together and said nothing.

“If you don’t speak, I’ll take it as agreement.”

Li Xiao smiled, the smile carrying a certain pleasure of control.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

He leaned back, his tone casual, but he dropped a bombshell.

“Your sister Jiang Qing is in Class 7, Grade 12 at City No.1 High School, right? I heard she’s recently applied for some… college financial aid program? Sounds pretty competitive.”

Jiang Yu’s head snapped up, his pupils constricted, and he stared hard at Li Xiao.

“You investigated me?”

His voice trembled slightly from shock and anger.

“Just looking into it. Any problem?” Li Xiao raised an eyebrow, his tone matter-of-fact. “That aid program—I happen to know the head of the review committee. Just a word.”

He paused, watching Jiang Yu’s face turn deathly pale, then slowly added.

“Of course, whether I help your sister get approved smoothly… or cause her some trouble and make her lose eligibility, it all depends on your performance.”

“Li Xiao!” Jiang Yu abruptly stood up, his chest heaving, eyes blazing with anger. “Don’t you dare touch my sister!”

“That depends on what you do.” Li Xiao sat on the sofa, looking up at him, still composed, even with a hint of amusement at the prey’s struggle.

“Sit down.”

Jiang Yu stood still, hands clenched into fists, nails digging deep into his flesh.

“I told you to sit down.”

Li Xiao’s voice turned cold. The atmosphere around the booth instantly dropped to freezing point. In the distance, music blared and figures swayed on the dance floor, but this small corner was frozen by an invisible ice.

Jiang Yu glared at Li Xiao, eyes red, chest heaving with rage.

Li Xiao met his gaze without flinching, his eyes cold and domineering.

After a few seconds, Jiang Yu seemed to have all strength drained from him; his shoulders slumped. He slowly sat back down on the sofa. His back no longer straight, slightly hunched, as if carrying a thousand-pound burden.

Seeing him like this, the smug satisfaction of revenge in Li Xiao’s heart, for some reason, was not as strong as he had imagined. Instead, a bit… irritated. He frowned, suppressing this inexplicable emotion.

“That’s right.” Li Xiao leaned back into the sofa, picked up the cocktail, and took a sip. “Don’t worry, as long as you behave, your sister will be fine. I’ll also take care of that aid program for her.”

Jiang Yu lowered his head and said nothing.

After a long while, he spoke in a voice barely audible.

“…What do you want me to do?”

Li Xiao set down the glass, reached out, and gently grasped Jiang Yu’s chin, forcing him to look up.

Jiang Yu didn’t resist; he just closed his eyes, his long lashes casting a small shadow under his eyes, trembling slightly.

Li Xiao looked at the pale face so close to his, and the irritation in his heart grew heavier. But he didn’t let go. His thumb lightly stroked the skin of Jiang Yu’s jaw, the touch delicate and slightly cool.

“Simple.” Li Xiao spoke, his voice low. “From today, be available whenever I call. Do whatever I tell you.”

Jiang Yu’s lashes trembled even more. But he still kept his eyes closed, said nothing, just nodded.

Li Xiao released his hand.

“That’s all for tonight.” He stood up and picked up his jacket. “Tomorrow at nine in the evening, I’ll be waiting for you.”

With that, he turned and left the booth, disappearing into the crowd.

Jiang Yu sat alone on the sofa for a long, long time. Until the manager came over and asked cautiously.

“Mr. Li left? He’s not upset, is he?”

Jiang Yu’s eyes were hollow, no anger, no sadness, only a dead, gray desolation.

“No.”

He stood up and walked toward the back door, his steps unsteady. Pushing open the back door, the night wind rushed in, making him shiver. The alley was pitch black, with only a faint light from a distant streetlamp.

Jiang Yu leaned against the cold wall and slowly slid down to sit. He buried his face in his knees, his shoulders shaking slightly. No sound.

Only the night wind whimpering through the narrow alley, whisking up a few dead leaves.

After an unknown amount of time, he raised his head and wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand. Then he stood up, straightened his wrinkled shirt and vest. He pulled open the bar’s back door and walked back inside.

The music was still loud, the lights still hazy. No one noticed the young bartender’s reddened eyes, or the cold light in them that had been shattered and then forcefully pieced back together.

He walked back to the bar and said to Wu Qi.

“Tell the manager for me, I can’t finish the rest of my shift. I’m not feeling well.”

Then he changed back into his own clothes and left the bar.

Walking on the empty early-morning streets, Jiang Yu took out his phone and looked at the smiling emoji his sister Jiang Qing had sent hours ago, along with the message: “Bro, I just finished a practice test.”

He stared at that message for a long time. Then he put away his phone and looked up at the pitch-black sky.

No stars. Only thick clouds, oppressively covering the city.

What Li Xiao wanted was not just his body. He wanted his complete submission, to turn him into a possession that could be summoned at will and dismissed at will. Using his sister’s future, he had grasped his last weak spot.

‘Can’t escape anymore.’

Jiang Yu tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile uglier than a cry.

‘Then… I won’t escape.’

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