You’d Better Break the Engagement Soon - Chapter 1

“Hey, have you even been listening to a word I’ve said?!”

The afternoon sun spilled into the room, filtered by the glass windows into mottled patches across the dining table. The man speaking sat in the shadows, his face etched with the indignation of someone being ignored.

Shi Zhi was snapped back to reality by the dissatisfied questioning. Pulling his gaze away from the window, he glanced at the man across from him, only to quickly look away a second before their eyes could meet.

Staring at the other man’s collar, he said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening. Could you say that again?”

Yu Chongyao choked on his words, unsure if Shi Zhi was doing this on purpose. However, remembering his goal for the day, he suppressed the anger rising in his chest and forced a fake smile. “Why haven’t you broken off the engagement yet?”

“Huh?”

“I said—when are you going to break off the engagement?” Yu Chongyao stared into Shi Zhi’s eyes, emphasizing every word. “Don’t you already know about the affair between me and Brother Yining? Why haven’t you called it off?”

Shi Zhi was a bit stunned by the question.

He couldn’t understand why the topic had shifted so abruptly. One second they were showing off their “love,” and the next, it had turned into a forced confrontation.

Shi Zhi peeked up quietly.

The beautiful man before him, named Yu Chongyao, claimed to be Xu Yining’s boyfriend. Since they had sat down, he had spent a long time recounting the sweet history of their relationship.

Shi Zhi didn’t particularly want to hear it.

One reason was that Xu Yining was his fiancé.

The second reason was that his lack of sleep made it impossible to concentrate.

When he received the call from Xu Yining’s “boyfriend,” Shi Zhi had already been cooped up at home for over half a month. Looking at his art drafts—which had been revised so many times they had lost their soul—he had agreed to Yu Chongyao’s suggestion to meet.

However, after sitting there for most of the day, the other party only cared about talking about every little detail of his time with Xu Yining and how well Xu Yining treated him. Since the man wouldn’t get to the point, Shi Zhi had drifted off.

After all, he hadn’t come here just to listen to someone brag about their romance…

“A marriage without love is a grave. Brother Yining stopped loving you long ago. Before you actually get married, it’s better for everyone if you just end it now, don’t you think?” Seeing Shi Zhi dazing off again, Yu Chongyao repeated what he had said over the phone.

He then waited with a provocative expression for Shi Zhi to lose his temper.

An explanation wavered on the tip of Shi Zhi’s tongue, but after a moment of thought, he decided it wasn’t necessary. He simply nodded. “Fine. I will speak to him again.”

“Wh… what?” Yu Chongyao didn’t react immediately.

“The matter of breaking the engagement—I will mention it to Xu Yining again.” Shi Zhi stared blankly at the teacup in front of him, his mind seemingly elsewhere, but his tone was very cooperative. “I won’t make you wait too long.”

Yu Chongyao was completely thrown off by this response.

He hadn’t expected that facing his provocation, the other party would agree so easily. No argument, no questioning, no hysterics—just a light, “I will speak to Xu Yining again.”

From Yu Chongyao’s perspective, Shi Zhi’s head was lowered, his chin nearly buried in his maroon hoodie. His hair, perhaps unmanaged for too long, was a bit long and draped casually over his forehead, hiding his brow and the expression in his eyes. Only his slightly curled eyelashes rested gently against his lower lids. The setting sun passed through the glass window and fell on half of his face, highlighting the faint downy hair on his flushed cheeks.

He looked so obedient, so pitiful.

Yu Chongyao’s heart was a mess of emotions. He felt a sense of suspension, like he had prepared eighteen different martial arts moves only to have his punch land on a ball of cotton.

He had played the provocateur more than once. Before coming to find Shi Zhi, Yu Chongyao had prepared himself for the other man to explode with rage—ideally, Shi Zhi would slap him twice and leave a mark.

He was certain Shi Zhi would break down; after all, no normal person could tolerate a partner’s infidelity and the audacity of the “other person” coming to taunt them.

But Shi Zhi was too “cunning.” Not only was he not angry, but he also put on this pitiful, bullied appearance.

I am not in the wrong; I am only defending my love, Yu Chongyao thought, biting his lip.

Setting the facts aside, was Shi Zhi really without fault? Was he truly completely innocent?

Yu Chongyao took a deep breath, intending to offer some mock consolation, but Shi Zhi spoke first with an exceptionally sincere expression: “You shouldn’t blame yourself. The primary responsibility isn’t yours.”

“…Wh… what do you mean?” Yu Chongyao was confused.

Shi Zhi looked at Yu Chongyao, unable to fathom why the man couldn’t understand such a simple point. Did Yu Chongyao think the fault lay with himself rather than Xu Yining? Did he love Xu Yining so much that he was willing to take the blame for him?

Shi Zhi felt that Yu Chongyao was a bit pathetic.

“I’m saying… being the ‘third wheel’ isn’t entirely your fault,” Shi Zhi explained patiently. “The one at fault is the cheating Xu Yining. He is the one who made you the ‘other man.'”

“You mother—!” This sentence enraged Yu Chongyao. He suddenly stood up, his voice rising sharply. “Who are you calling the ‘other man’?!”

The hall suddenly went silent.

Shi Zhi was surrounded by the gazes of strangers. He instinctively shrunk back toward the window, but a line of dialogue from a TV show that Fu Yumeng often quoted popped into his head: Keep your voice down; is this something to be proud of?

He couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

This smile caused Yu Chongyao to snap completely. He shrieked, “Are you mocking me?!”

“Uh… no.” Shi Zhi quickly scanned the surrounding tea-drinkers watching the drama and said in a low voice, “I’m not mocking you. You… why don’t you sit down and talk?”

Realizing he had lost his composure, Yu Chongyao pretended to straighten his clothes and sat back down. He hissed a rebuttal in a low voice: “I am not the ‘other man’! I knew Brother Yining before you did! I slept with him before you did! You are the third wheel!”

As if desperate to prove something, Yu Chongyao began to count their history: “…All of our firsts belong to each other. We eat together, we travel together. He gives me so many gifts and has taken me to many places. We share the same values, hobbies, and tastes. We are even compatible in bed. He said he feels comfortable with me—even the frequency of our lovemaking is higher than with you! The one who isn’t loved is the interloper. You’re the third wheel!”

“You and Brother Yining aren’t compatible at all!” Yu Chongyao searched desperately for evidence to convince both himself and Shi Zhi, his voice sounding both stubborn and aggrieved. “You like staying at home while he likes excitement. You like solitude while he has many friends. You don’t know how to do anything and always make him take care of you. He gets tired! He gets tired too! He told me himself that he only feels responsibility for you, not love! He and I are the best match!”

“So, you are the one who is loved?” Shi Zhi was genuinely curious. “Is what you described considered ‘being loved’?”

Yu Chongyao: “…”

“Then why aren’t you two married?” Shi Zhi asked again.

“Because you haven’t broken the engagement yet!” Yu Chongyao hissed. “Once you break it off with Brother Yining, we will naturally get married!”

Shi Zhi looked at the frozen smile on Yu Chongyao’s face and felt the man was foolishly sensitive; he could even take such a simple question the wrong way. He sighed and said, “I meant before Xu Yining got engaged—and before he was with me. There were so many opportunities; why didn’t he marry you then? Was it because you weren’t willing?”

The air seemed to freeze in that moment.

The expression on Yu Chongyao’s face could no longer be maintained. His lips quivered, and his mouth opened several times without making a sound. Opposite him, Shi Zhi tilted his head and watched him seriously, as if he insisted on hearing an answer.

“Shi Zhi, you’re too much.” Yu Chongyao’s eyes burned, and his heart felt bitter. He could only repeat, “We will get married. Once you call off the engagement, we will get married.”

The other man’s accusation was entirely illogical, but seeing that Yu Chongyao looked like he was about to cry, Shi Zhi didn’t say anything more. He simply nodded and said, “I will break the engagement with him.”

After a thought, he added one more thing.

“Don’t be sad.”

The last traces of the sunset retreated from the city sky, and night descended quietly alongside a cold snap.

Shi Zhi avoided the crowds, walking back slowly and passing the neon-lit night scenery. Finally, he stopped at the entrance of a bar called 【First Encounter】.

A bar at night is a paradise for the indulgent. Some left with their arms around each other, some walked away shouting hysterically, some were sober while others were lost, some were restrained while others were intoxicated.

Shi Zhi swore he didn’t intend to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

He just happened to pass by and happened to be attracted by the bar’s unique design. He was simply curious about what the bars Fu Yumeng talked about looked like. He had only gone in to have a glass of “juice-alcohol” that didn’t taste very good and a piece of mousse cake that was actually quite delicious.

He didn’t know how things had escalated to this.

Shi Zhi was cornered at the mouth of an alley, leaning against a wall covered in graffiti. He forced himself to stay calm and shouted, “If you don’t leave, I… I’ll call the police!”

“Oh? Trying to bluff us?” A man with dyed pink hair said oily, “We haven’t done anything to you. Even if the ‘uncles in hats’ (police) come, they can’t frame good people.”

“Little brother, don’t be scared. We just want to play with you, no ill intent.” Another person who looked decent but spoke indecently said, “You can choose the position and the style; we’ll make sure you’re served comfortably.”

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Shi Zhi.

Shi Zhi dodged backward, his back pressing fully against the wall. A wave of nausea surged in his chest, and his vision began to blur. The “juice-alcohol” he had at the bar clearly hadn’t been low-proof, as he now felt quite dizzy.

He braced himself against the wall to stand steady and pinched his thigh hard to regain a moment of clarity. He then pulled out the cash in his pocket, putting on the air of someone who knew the ropes: “I’m asexual/frigid, I’m not very good in bed. Why don’t you guys go hire an MB (Money Boy)? I’ll pay.”

He had withdrawn the cash before going to the bar because Fu Yumeng had said that in mysterious places like bars, there were many “rules.” Drinks could be paid for online, but tips were best given in cash. The amount didn’t matter; what mattered was the feeling of throwing the cash out.

He hadn’t dared to withdraw much, only 1,000 yuan. He had spent 200 on a tip, leaving 800. Shi Zhi didn’t know how much an MB cost; he thought if it wasn’t enough, he could transfer more, but his phone was dead and he needed to find a place to charge it…

“…” Pink Hair froze for a second, then waved his hand, sending the cash flying all over the ground. He cursed, “Are you freaking crazy? Do I need you to teach me whether or not to order a ‘duck’ (male prostitute)? You’re ‘frigid’ but you come to a gay bar? You know about MBs but you’re ‘frigid’? Do I look like I’m easy to fool? You’re treating me like a total idiot!”

How could Shi Zhi have known he had just walked into a gay bar? He only went in because Fu Yumeng said she was a regular. The term “MB” was something he had heard from her; he was just borrowing the terminology.

“I didn’t lie…”

“Brother.” The “decent-looking” man lost his patience and stopped acting. He interrupted Shi Zhi with shameless words: “We’re all adults. Meeting is fate; let’s just sleep together and have a good time. We noticed you inside earlier. It’s not very fair to provoke our sexual interest and then say something like that. Besides, being ‘frigid’ just means you haven’t met the right person. We’ll make you hot.”

Shi Zhi really did feel his body getting hot. Only then did he realize there was something wrong with the drink. He said in disbelief, “You… you drugged me? This is a crim—”

“Hey, hey, watch your mouth. It’s just a little something to set the mood, to make you happier. How can you call it drugging?”

The “decent” man said, “Stop wasting time. It looks like the effects have kicked in. To the hotel.” He grabbed Shi Zhi’s arm and covered his mouth, intending to leave.

Shi Zhi was trembling all over and had no strength left.

He thought: It’s over.

Just as Shi Zhi was wondering how to call for help or escape, a cold voice came from nearby: “Forcibly having sexual relations through violence, coercion, or other means constitutes the crime of rape, punishable by three to ten years of imprisonment.”

Shi Zhi looked up blankly, following the sound.

The person stood against the light, their facial expression unclear. One could only discern a tall, upright silhouette. The man held up his phone and seemed to let out a small chuckle.

“Do you need me to help you call the police?”