Trapped in a Cage - Chapter 2

Jiang Ruobai was trembling all over. He did not know what to say or what to do to make the demon before him let him go. Aside from abandoning his dignity to beg for mercy, he could not think of any other way.

“I am sorry, Young Master Pei. I was wrong. I am just an ordinary waiter. Please, please spare me.”

He knelt cautiously on the floor, finding it difficult even to breathe.

Pei Sichen’s gaze was weary and lazy, carrying a nonchalant scrutiny. He looked down as if evaluating a lifeless object.

Perhaps it was the stimulation of alcohol, or perhaps it was the sheer terror within; the corners of Jiang Ruobai’s eyes were flushed red. Coupled with his naturally fair and pinkish face, he actually looked quite tempting.

Cool fingers lightly brushed against his jaw, causing the man beneath them to shudder violently.

“Why are you shaking?” Pei Sichen spoke, his voice not loud, a cryptic smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Are you afraid of me?”

His tone was extremely light, yet it was more terrifying than any savage threat.

Jiang Ruobai’s pupils shrank suddenly. He could not understand the turbulent emotions beneath Pei Sichen’s calm tone. He replied timidly, “I, I,”

He was scared out of his wits, his voice shaking uncontrollably. Every word felt like it was being squeezed through his teeth. “Scared.”

Jiang Ruobai knew that people like Pei Sichen despised “fools” who tried to act smart. What he wanted to see was the fear and submission of those he toyed with.

Therefore, he allowed his tears to flow, revealing his pathetic state in a posture of complete, defenseless submission, gambling that the man across from him would show some mercy.

The flicker of interest in Pei Sichen’s eyes seemed to fade. He let go of his hand, allowing Jiang Ruobai to collapse onto the floor like he had lost all strength.

“Get out.”

He spoke indifferently, as if discarding a boring toy.

These two words were like a divine pardon. Jiang Ruobai’s eyes lit up instantly. He staggered to his feet, half-bowing to the man in front of him, and gasped out his gratitude, “Thank you, Young Master Pei!”

“Mhm.” Pei Sichen gave a light hum, not bothering to spare him another glance.

Jiang Ruobai scrambled up, not daring to look at the man on the sofa again. He fled the private booth without looking back, completely failing to notice the shocked expressions on the faces of the others in the room.

Pei Sichen, this “princeling,” was notorious in Haishi. Of all those who had displeased him over the years, Jiang Ruobai was the only one who had managed to leave unscathed.

The heavy door of the private booth swung shut silently after Jiang Ruobai left, cutting off the cold, decadent air and the last ray of freedom.

The air, previously thick with fear and the scent of blood, was now shrouded in a heavy, dead silence.

The others knelt in the corner, not daring to breathe. Aside from the shock in their eyes, they were eerily still, like soulless husks.

Pei Sichen seemed oblivious to the strange atmosphere. He lightly swirled the wine glass in his hand; the melting ice spheres bumped against the glass walls with a dull thud.

He leaned back against the sofa, adjusting himself into a comfortable position. After closing his eyes to rest for a moment, he suddenly let out a very soft, mocking chuckle.

He drained the last drop of wine and tossed the empty glass onto the smooth tabletop.

“To the top floor.”

As soon as he spoke, the door opened.

Meanwhile, having escaped the “demon’s den,” Jiang Ruobai clutched the railing of the stairwell, moving downward in a pathetic state. He did not even dare use the elevator; he would not gamble on even the one-in-a-million chance of running into Pei Sichen.

His stomach had been pumped full of alcohol, and now it felt like a churning sea of fire.

His vision grew increasingly blurred. His steps felt soft and powerless, as if he were walking on clouds, and his head felt heavy, making him feel like he might topple over at any moment.

Though he had only walked a few steps, he was already drenched in sweat.

“Ugh.”

Suddenly, a stranger’s gasp came from nearby, followed by a distorted, greasy groan.

Realizing what the other person was doing, Jiang Ruobai’s face turned from white to red, then from red to black.

Despite covering his ears immediately, the fragmented moans and unbearable gasps still hammered relentlessly into his ears.

At “An Se,” such things were commonplace, but for a traditional man like Jiang Ruobai, he could not accept this with indifference.

If it were not to raise the surgery fees for his hospitalized wife, he would never have stepped foot in this place in his life, let alone find himself in this predicament.

Every patron at “An Se” was a powerful figure he could not afford to offend.

He could not leave yet, nor did he dare return upstairs. He could only hide sheepishly in a corner, hoping the people nearby would finish quickly. The burning pain in his stomach and the repeated stimulation of the alcohol became too much; he slowly slid down the wall.

In the blurred space of his mind, he seemed to see his wife again. Just like countless ordinary afternoons, she smiled and asked about his work, tenderly helping him off with his jacket and telling him to rest on the bed.

Looking at his gentle wife, Jiang Ruobai’s guard gradually dropped. He lay obediently on the bed, allowing her to remove his heavy outer clothing.

He closed his eyes wearily, but suddenly, those dark, terrifying eyes from the booth flashed in his mind. Like a drowning man, he snapped awake, his eyes bloodshot.

Only then did he see his actual situation. There was no gentle wife before him; instead, a greasy, portly man was pinning him down.

The man smiled shamelessly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

The massive shock sent Jiang Ruobai’s blood boiling. He swung a fist blindly at the man’s head.

Caught off guard, the greasy man screamed in pain and rolled off him, clutching his head.

Blinded by rage, Jiang Ruobai did not care about the man’s identity. He threw punches with a desperate, life-risking intensity.

He straddled the man, beating him until the victim wailed repeatedly, his fists flying with terrifying force.

“Damn it! Someone help me!”

The greasy man rolled on the ground, clutching his head, and screamed piteously toward the door.

Hearing the commotion, security guards rushed in. Seeing Jiang Ruobai on top of a customer, they immediately pulled him off and dragged him aside.

The greasy man was carefully helped up.

“Motherfucker!”

When the man opened his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm mixed with two broken teeth.

“Fuck, I am going to kill you today!”

Having lost face in front of so many people, the man truly had murder in his heart.

“Hold him still for me! Otherwise, I will take care of you all as well!”

The man frantically adjusted his half-removed pants. Once steady, he swung a fist heavily into Jiang Ruobai’s head.

Feeling it was not enough, he ordered someone to bring an iron rod and, without a word, jabbed it hard into Jiang Ruobai’s abdomen.

Jiang Ruobai, whose stomach was already churning, could no longer hold it back. Nausea surged up his throat, and he doubled over, vomiting all over the floor. The filthy liquid splashed onto the man’s expensive leather shoes. Before the man could even explode in anger, a wave of dizziness completely shattered Jiang Ruobai’s consciousness. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

“Damn it, get up! Do not play dead with me!” The man slapped Jiang Ruobai hard, but seeing no reaction, he gripped the iron rod, his eyes full of ruthlessness.

“Do not think you can escape like this. You dared to mess with me? I am going to make sure you die here today!”

The man raised the iron rod, aiming it straight at Jiang Ruobai’s head.

“Zhou Taohai, you have got quite a temper.”

A teasing voice came from nearby. This familiar voice, unless one did not want to survive in Haishi, no one in their social circle failed to recognize Pei Sichen.

“Young Master Pei, what brings you here?”

The man turned around. Upon seeing Pei Sichen, he instantly retracted his ferocious look and put on a flattering smile.

“I heard some noise upstairs and came down out of curiosity to see who in Haishi has a bigger temper than mine,” Pei Sichen said, fiddling with a ring on his finger, half-jokingly.

At the same time, another high-quality Alpha beside Pei Sichen teased, “What is this? Did he fail to satisfy Boss Zhou, so you are in a hurry to silence him? Since when did the public security in Haishi get this bad?”

“Young Master Su, what are you saying? How would I dare?”

Zhou Taohai smiled apologetically. The Su and Pei families were old allies. Neither of the two men before him was someone he could cross.

“Is that so? Then I have wronged you.”

Pei Sichen raised an eyebrow. His tone seemed nonchalant, but it turned Zhou Taohai’s face deathly pale instantly.

Zhou Taohai turned and slapped himself hard across the face without hesitation. “I have disturbed your fun. I will get out of here right now.”

Su Jiachen chuckled. This Zhou Taohai might look wretched, but his reactions were certainly fast.

“Get lost. Do not let me see you again.”

“Yes! I am leaving now.”

After Zhou Taohai left, the security guards holding Jiang Ruobai prepared to leave as well. As they passed Pei Sichen, he stopped them.

“What is his name?”

Pei Sichen turned to look at the bloody, battered Jiang Ruobai, his expression carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

Truly an unlucky Beta.

Guard: “Young Master Pei, he is a new waiter today. His name is Jiang Ruobai.”

“Send him to the hospital.”

Guard: “Yes, sir.”

Sensing a bit of gossip, Su Jiachen leaned toward Pei Sichen with a mischievous, improper grin. “Oho, has our Young Master Pei changed his taste?”

Seeing Su Jiachen’s annoying look, Pei Sichen was speechless. “If you have the energy to care about such boring things, you would be better off worrying about that illegitimate child at your house. Are you not afraid your old man will go crazy one day and bring back a brother to fight for the inheritance?”

Su Jiachen looked indifferent. “An illegitimate child who cannot see the light is not nearly as interesting as hearing gossip about our Young Master Pei.”

Pei Sichen’s eyes flickered with disdain. “If your brain is full of water, you should find time to drain it.”

“So, you are not interested?”

“Boring.”

“Is that so? Well, that is a relief.”

“Relief for what?”

“Relief that those Omegas will not be crying on the rooftops anymore,” Su Jiachen laughed loudly.

Recalling those fools who acted like lapdogs trying to figure out Pei Sichen’s preferences, hallucinating about getting their daughters into his bed, Su Jiachen’s smile widened.

A devious, cunning capitalist, a wicked and cold-blooded madman, and yet, those people still squeezed their way in just to climb into his bed.

But Pei Sichen had the capital to be that arrogant.

The Pei Group was not only involved in both the legal and underworld businesses but also had the backing of the military and political sectors. In Haishi, the Pei family was a presence that truly covered the sky with one hand.

As the sole heir to the Pei Group, Pei Sichen acted without restraint.

Therefore, even though people knew of his cruelty and had witnessed his violent, unpredictable nature, countless people still flocked to him. They did so just to climb to the top of the capitalist hierarchy and achieve a so-called “class leap,” unaware that all the “benefits” they imagined already had a price tag from the very beginning.

However, if one wanted to climb into Pei Sichen’s bed, they had to see if they had the life to survive it.

“By the way, Vice Mayor Lin has been waiting for you for a long time,” Su Jiachen said, putting an arm around Pei Sichen’s shoulder to remind him of the guest waiting in the booth.

“Mhm, let us go.”

Pei Sichen turned without hesitation, and the two were led by an attendant to the top-floor private booth.

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