Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 1: Rebirth

On a dark and rainy night, where pale streetlights cast shadows from the roadside greenery into an eerie atmosphere, sits a man in his tiny and narrow rented apartment.
He has his eyes closed, so deep in thought that even the racket that is happening outside could not affect him.

“Lu Qi! You bastard! You’d better open this door up! You think you can just run after borrowing money? There is nothing in this world that would be that easy – the money that was borrowed and the additional interest must be returned! Fifty thousand yuan – not a penny less!”

How could it turn out like this……

The man finally opened his eyes and turned on his phone, staring at the screen for a very long time.
His finger forcefully swiped on the date display, and he finally believed that he returned to the past, five years ago.

From a small town to the big city, once again penniless, and saddled with debt as a mere university student – it looked like the situation was very bad, but compared to five years later when he had tried to deceive Huo Ming Chen for his wealth and being counterattacked into death together, this was a way better situation.

With the constant yelling outside, Lu Qi finally moved to the doorway.
Through the padded door, his voice clearly reached the ears of the person outside.

“3 months later, as per the contract, I will return the borrowed money and interest of thirty five thousand yuan.”

“You can make a big fuss, with the worst outcome of calling the police.
We can both go to the station, but you have to think carefully, as being a loan shark is against the law.
You’ll have nothing in the end.”

The person outside the door was stunned, and after huffing and puffing for some time, he finally spat out —

“Fuck you! Fifty thousand yuan and no less!”

Lu Qi said,

“Forty thousand yuan, take it or leave it.
I can pay it back after working 3 part time jobs in a couple of months.
If you don’t want it, I can open this door, and you can just take my life.”

“……”

The loan shark was probably a novice, and could not understand complicated words.
He did not know how to deal with this kind of crafty street smarts, and was bluffed by Lu Qi.
If he had been more of a black hearted, cruel man, he would have just chopped off a leg or an arm for his money.

Time was ticking, and Lu Qi was not in a hurry.
He even took some time to light up a cigarette.
After a while, the pale faced loan shark finally relented.

“All of your identification is with me.
I know which school you go to.
Your written debt contact is legal, and I can take you to court.
At that time, I don’t think anyone would be happy.”

“Don’t worry,”

Lu Qi leaned against the door, narrowing his eyes, with the smoke from the cigarette surrounding him in darkness.

“I will return your money.”

In his past life, he was deathly scared of being poor, studying as if his life was on the line to come to the capital.
His eyes were full of determination to be at the top, but who could have thought that the difference between a small town and the city was so large.

Someone’s one meal could have been your entire month’s expenses.
Someone’s watch could be so expensive that you still can’t pay for it even after saving for half a year by not eating or drinking.

This is the world that Lu Qi never could have imagined.
A world that he loathes but also longed for in his heart.

He was like a snail, working to climb upwards to a height he doesn’t belong to.
Until he met Huo Ming Chen……

He extinguishes his cigarette with brutal force, thinking of how much planning he had to do in the next five years.
There weren’t a lot of issues.
The only problem he had was being too hasty, too impatient, and forcing Huo Ming Chen to go crazy.

A crazy guy can do anything and isn’t afraid of anything.

Past Lu Qi had everything taken away, but it doesn’t matter.
With this life, he is going to take it slow, one step at a time, to get all the things he desired.

His phone suddenly rang, and Lu Qi snapped out of his thoughts.
He looked at his phone, and was shocked for one moment.
He answered his phone,

“Hello?”

“Is this Lu Qi?”

The background of the caller was very noisy,

“I am Fang Qi.
Ming Chen is drunk and can’t drive.
Can you come pick him up?”

The caller quickly ended the call after letting him know the address.

Those with money and power will naturally look down on commoners, and those that are in the same circle of friends and status as Huo Ming Chen has never viewed him positively.
They believed him to be with Huo Ming Chen for his power and money.

Well……

Lu Qi laughed, thinking, wasn’t it for money? He thought that he hid it very well in his past life, but everyone saw through it already……

Perhaps this even included Huo Ming Chen.

He glanced at the heavy rain outside, and took an umbrella before leaving.

At this time Huo Ming Chen only saw Lu Qi as a plaything, and he never held any serious intentions towards their relationship.
To be honest, they’re not of the same status.
After playing around and getting what they wanted, it was time to return to their respective worlds.

But in the end, Huo Ming Chen played himself.
And Lu Qi did not want to return to his status before.
His heart had been touched by the colorfulness of this new world, and he never wanted to return to the grey bland tones of his own.

The bar was full of screams and echoes, as a group of drunk wealthy young men were singing into the microphones.
What language they were singing, only drunks could understand.
The tables in the room were filled with bottles of alcohol.
These men seem to want to party one last time before the new school term.

Lu Qi walked into the bar, and he felt a sense of familiarity as he looked at the pool of women and men dancing crazily in the middle.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then he pulled his shirt collar up and covered his chin.
Amidst the gazes of women ogling him, he headed up the elevator.

As he went up, there was a beautiful woman beckoning him with her fingers, smiling loosely,

“Hey handsome, come down! Let’s get to know each other!”

With a narrow waist and a lean body, his entire aura was like a deathly sensual beacon not only to bottoms, but also to women.
A token to the legend of being sensual to both men and women.

There was a reason why Huo Ming Chen could hook up with Lu Qi, a poor young man with nothing in the city.

Lu Qi found the room and pushed the door open.
Inside, nothing was missing from the regular parties – playing games, singing songs, never ending alcohol being brought over and over.
All going through what wealthy people do day in and day out, in dreams or in reality.

Huo Ming Chen looked to be really drunk.
He was sleeping on the sofa, and the others did not dare wake him up.
The Huo family has strict rules, which meant Fang Qi and the others did not dare send him home.
If they were caught by his grandfather, with them drinking so heavily, they would definitely not be missing any sort of punishment.

“Wake up.”

Lu Qi patted Huo Ming Chen’s face.
In the dimmed room, Huo Ming Chen’s face was little unclear.
You could see a bit of adolescence that is usually hidden away.
In his sleep, you can see a bit of a gentle temperament, which was a direct contrast to Lu Qi’s memory of a fickle personality whose mood continuously changed between happiness a