Chapter 9: The Invisible Net

Li Xiao’s face was expressionless. He nodded faintly, then followed the manager to the corner booth. It had the best view and was the most spacious.

His gaze swept across the bar as if unintentionally. It briefly met Jiang Yu’s eyes in the air. Li Xiao curled the corner of his mouth. The smile was faint, carrying a hint of confident possessiveness. Then he looked away.

Jiang Yu’s heart inexplicably missed a beat. He lowered his head and continued mixing the next drink, but his fingers were stiff.

Li Xiao sat down in the booth. The manager personally brought the drink menu and a fruit platter, excessively attentive. He ordered an expensive bottle of whiskey, leaned back into the sofa, and cast his gaze toward the bar again.

Li Xiao watched Jiang Yu, head lowered, focused on shaking the cocktail shaker. Under the bar light, his profile was clear and clean.

After not seeing him for a few days, his complexion seemed a bit better, but he was still thin. The black work shirt hung loosely on him.

Li Xiao remembered the detailed report on Jiang Yu that his subordinate had delivered that afternoon.

After the college entrance exam that summer, Jiang Yu’s parents died in a traffic accident.

The at-fault driver’s vehicle wasn’t insured, and though he was fully liable, he couldn’t pay. The compensation had yet to be enforced.

Jiang Yu raised his younger sister, who was only thirteen at the time, all by himself.

He had worked as a construction laborer, a restaurant waiter, and now juggled three jobs: delivering food during the day, bartending at night, and occasionally taking odd moving jobs on weekends.

The high-interest loan he owed was taken out for his parents’ emergency medical treatment and funeral expenses. He sold their house to pay part of it, but due to compound interest, the debt was still substantial.

The report even included a few photos: one of Jiang Yu’s high school graduation picture. In it, the young man had bright eyes and a clean smile, a world apart from the silent, enduring bartender now.

Li Xiao looked at the report, and that inexplicable irritation rose within him again.

He had originally planned to find Jiang Yu’s weakness, then apply pressure directly and force him to submit.

Hadn’t Jiang Yu called him “disgusting”?

Then he’d make it even more disgusting.

But when he actually saw these words and photos, Li Xiao found that he somehow… couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He could even imagine how eighteen-year-old Jiang Yu had shouldered the entire family overnight, how he had worked desperately day and night, how he had gritted his teeth and signed that unequal loan agreement under the threat of loan sharks.

This train of thought made Li Xiao very uncomfortable.

He had never been a soft-hearted person.

Growing up in a place like the Li family, as a despised illegitimate child, he had seen all kinds of human fickleness and had long forged a heart of stone.

But Jiang Yu…

Li Xiao swirled the glass in his hand. The ice clinked against the sides.

He tilted his head back and took a sip. The strong liquor burned as it went down his throat.

Then he put down the glass, stood up, and walked directly toward the bar.

The manager saw this and hurriedly tried to follow, but Li Xiao stopped him with a glance.

Jiang Yu was cutting lemons. Hearing footsteps, he looked up.

Li Xiao had already reached the bar. Across the smooth counter, he looked at Jiang Yu.

“Jiang Yu.”

Li Xiao called his name. His voice wasn’t loud, but against the noisy background music, it was exceptionally clear.

“What would you like to order?”

Jiang Yu lowered his eyes. His tone was professionally standard, betraying no emotion.

Li Xiao stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

“Pretending not to know me?”

“You are a customer; I am a bartender.”

Jiang Yu still didn’t look at him.

“Would you like to place an order?”

Li Xiao leaned forward slightly, elbows on the counter, closing the distance between them.

This posture carried obvious pressure.

“What I need, don’t you know?”

He lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear.

“How about my proposal from last time? Have you considered it?”

Jiang Yu stopped cutting the lemon.

He raised his eyes and met Li Xiao’s gaze.

The light from the bar’s top lamp fell into his eyes, startlingly bright and equally cold.

“I refuse.”

“Last time, the time before, my answer was the same. Mr. Li, if you’re here to drink, I welcome you. If you’re here to say this, please return to your booth.”

The smile faded from Li Xiao’s face.

He stared at Jiang Yu for a long time, then suddenly straightened up.

“Fine.”

Without another word, he turned and went back to his booth.

For the next two hours, Li Xiao sat there, slowly drinking, occasionally glancing toward the bar, but he didn’t come over again.

Jiang Yu tried to ignore that intensely present gaze and focus on his work.

But he could feel a taut string constantly at his back.

At two in the morning, Li Xiao got up and left.

Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

But before he could fully relax, the manager walked over quickly, his face tense and somewhat reproachful.

“Jiang Yu! What did you say to Mr. Li just now? Why did he leave with such an ugly expression?”

“Nothing.”

Jiang Yu said calmly.

“I’m warning you, don’t offend him again!”

The manager lowered his voice.

“Just now, before Mr. Li left, he told me that he’ll come again tomorrow night and specifically requested you… to go to his booth and mix drinks for him exclusively.”

Jiang Yu looked up abruptly.

“I’m a bar bartender; I don’t do booth service.”

“Now you do!”

The manager’s tone was firm.

“Starting tomorrow, from nine to twelve at night, you’ll serve Mr. Li’s booth. You’ll be responsible for his table! This is a work assignment; you must obey!”

“Manager—”

“No negotiation!”

The manager cut him off.

“Jiang Yu, don’t be at odds with money, and don’t be at odds with me! Understood?”

Jiang Yu looked at the manager’s unyielding expression, all his words stuck in his throat.

He slowly clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm.

Then he released his hand and lowered his head.

“…Understood.”

Only then did the manager show satisfaction. He patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder.

“That’s right! Work hard; Mr. Li won’t treat you badly.”

The manager left.

Jiang Yu stood there, looking at the colorful bottles on the bar. Those brilliant colors now seemed like cold fetters.

Li Xiao hadn’t used violence or loan-sharking threats.

He hadn’t even done anything. He just spent two hundred thousand to become the bar’s top VIP.

Then, effortlessly, under the guise of a “work assignment,” he had transferred Jiang Yu to his side.

This was the real “disgusting”—using power and money to weave an invisible net, leaving Jiang Yu no room to resist, forcing him to step in step by step.

Jiang Yu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, only exhaustion and resignation remained.

There was no escape.

Li Xiao wouldn’t let him go.

And now, he didn’t even have the confidence to refuse this “work assignment.”

Because he needed this job; he needed the money.

…

The next night at nine.

Jiang Yu changed out of his bar uniform into the white shirt and black vest required for booth servers.

This outfit was more form-fitting, outlining his slender waist and straight long legs.

He carried his mixing tools and walked toward the exclusive corner booth.

Li Xiao was already seated there.

Today he wore a dark gray silk shirt with two buttons undone, revealing the clear line of his collarbone.

He lounged lazily in the sofa, toying with a metal lighter in his hand.

Seeing Jiang Yu approach, he looked up, his gaze sweeping over him, finally resting on Jiang Yu’s waist cinched by the vest.

The look was like admiring an object that belonged to him.

Jiang Yu reached the booth and lowered his eyes.

“Good evening, Mr. Li. What would you like to drink tonight?”

Li Xiao didn’t answer immediately.

He looked at Jiang Yu for a few seconds before pointing to the seat next to him and speaking slowly.

“Sit.”

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