Demonic King of the Metropolis - Chapter 87 - Indulging the Pain

ot at the back of the cemetery, where the tombstones were densely packed together. From his distance, he couldn’t see the inscriptions clearly, and Tang Jie wasn’t interested, so he turned his head back to watch the surroundings. After quite a while, Chen Shuran finally walked out of the cemetery. When she got in the car, her eyes were clearly red, indicating that she had just been crying.

Without needing to say anything, Tang Jie knew what to do. He instructed the driver to head back to the city center as soon as possible.

The entire ride was filled with silence as Chen Shuran sat quietly in the car. Tang Jie didn’t offer any comforting words either; he was feeling troubled himself. Although he guessed that Chen Shuran’s mother must have treated her well, at such moments, anything said would be useless. So he chose to remain silent.

“Tang Jie, will you accompany me to unwind a bit?” Just as they were nearing the city center, Chen Shuran suddenly made this request. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tang Jie agreed.

“Where do you want to go?” Since he couldn’t find the right words to comfort her, accompanying her to ease her mind was still something he could do. After all, as her personal bodyguard, that was part of his duty.

When Chen Shuran mentioned the Passion Bar, Tang Jie frowned slightly. It was still broad daylight, and the bar probably wasn’t officially open yet. Although he thought this, he didn’t voice his concerns. Since Chen Shuran was in a bad mood, he would let her choose where to go. If it turned out to be closed, they could just find another place.

However, things didn’t go as Tang Jie had anticipated. The Passion Bar was open during the day as well, though it was less crowded than at night. There were only a few people scattered around, sitting leisurely in the seats, most of them sipping tea and chatting.

Chen Shuran went straight to the bar counter, and the waiter and bartender recognized her immediately and came over with smiles.

“Shuran-Jie, we haven’t seen you around these days! What brings you here?” The waiter who brought the drinks noticed Chen Shuran’s unusual demeanor and quickly understood, glancing at Tang Jie beside her, a smirk forming on his face.

Tang Jie realized they must have thought he and Chen Shuran were dating, which had displeased her. He couldn’t be bothered to clarify that. Chen Shuran ordered a few bottles of alcohol, and the waiter quickly fetched them without saying a word.

Chen Shuran picked up one of the bottles, paused for a moment as if hesitating, but then started drinking. Tang Jie felt a slight headache watching her. With the way she was drinking, it wouldn’t be long before she got drunk. He wanted to stop her, but seeing her distressed expression made him reconsider. After a moment of contemplation, he decided against it and just watched her from the side.

“Tang Jie, stay and drink with me.” Chen Shuran downed half a bottle of alcohol and looked at the unmoving Tang Jie, her voice faint.

“Alright, but take it easy. If you get drunk, it’ll be hard to deal with later when we go back,” Tang Jie replied, picking up another bottle from the bar counter and starting to drink, his expression complicated.

Chen Shuran didn’t seem to pay attention to his warning. Before long, the first bottle was empty. She set it down and reached for a second. Tang Jie quickly grabbed it from her.

“Enough! If you keep drinking like this, you won’t even be able to stand later. It’s not ladylike for a girl to get completely drunk,” Tang Jie said, his tone a mix of reprimand and concern.

He recalled the first time he saw Chen Shuran in the bar; she had been completely different from the person she was now. Drinking makes people more vulnerable, especially when they’re feeling down, and he didn’t want to have to carry her back later. Carrying her wouldn’t be a problem, but he couldn’t bear to think about what she might be like if she got drunk. If she started acting crazy, he wouldn’t know how to handle it.

“Give it to me! Hurry!” Chen Shuran lunged for the bottle in Tang Jie’s hand. He didn’t let go, and they were locked in a standoff. Chen Shuran’s face was starting to flush, and as she looked at him, tears began to well up in her already reddened eyes.

Seeing her like this made Tang Jie’s heart ache a little, but he still wouldn’t release the bottle. Chen Shuran sniffled a few times and said, “Tang Jie, please! Just this once, I promise.”

Her tone suddenly softened, laced with desperation, and it tugged at Tang Jie’s heartstrings. He felt a pang of sympathy for her but didn’t know how to comfort her. Eventually, he relented.

Tang Jie watched as Chen Shuran gulped down another bottle of alcohol quickly. There were still two bottles on the bar counter, and in an effort to divert her attention from drinking, as well as due to the emotional toll she was taking on him, he resolved to drink as well, hoping to finish what was left before she could go for another.

Sure enough, before the second bottle was fully consumed, Chen Shuran’s body began to sway. She leaned against the bar counter for support and then laid her head down on it.

Tang Jie immediately set down his drink and said gently, “If you’re not feeling well, we should go back.”

Though he spoke softly, Chen Shuran didn’t respond for quite a while. Just as he was about to say something more, she managed to sit up, her face glistening with tears.

“Tang Jie, I feel so awful,” she admitted. Tang Jie couldn’t help but feel frustrated. He had told her not to drink, yet here she was insisting on it, and now she was realizing just how bad it felt.

“Is there anything to help her sober up? Get her a glass,” Tang Jie instructed the waiter at the bar counter, pulling over a chair to sit next to Chen Shuran. He wanted to support her so she wouldn’t wobble and fall. However, to his surprise, Chen Shuran leaned into him, and once settled, she began to sob softly.

Tang Jie looked around and noticed that people were casting strange glances in their direction. He felt a mix of emotions that he couldn’t quite articulate, but seeing Chen Shuran so upset, he felt he had to stay beside her no matter what.

The waiter brought over a glass of celery juice meant to help with sobriety and, noticing the situation, kindly offered a tissue as well. Tang Jie gave him a grateful nod and took a tissue to wipe away Chen Shuran’s tears.

“Tang Jie, what do you think is the most important thing in the world?” Chen Shuran suddenly asked, her question seeming out of the blue. Assuming she was drunk, Tang Jie replied casually, “Money, I guess. Money is everything; when you have money, you can do anything you want.”

“Idiot!” Chen Shuran shot back at his answer, her expression a mix of tears and a hint of a smile.

“Well then, it must be life. Life is the most important,” Tang Jie decided not to argue with her. As long as she wasn’t crying, he wouldn’t mind if she insulted him.

“Right, you’re right. Life is the most important; being alive is what matters. What good is money? Money is cold; it’s worthless…” Chen Shuran began to ramble, but Tang Jie could sense the underlying sadness in her words.

Could it be that visiting the cemetery had stirred up painful memories for her?

“So, who were you visiting just now?” He hadn’t intended to ask, but seeing how she had rushed from the cemetery to the bar and was intent on drinking to forget her sorrow, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“I went to see someone who’s no longer here. They’ve disappeared, permanently. I won’t ever see them again…” Chen Shuran nestled deeper into Tang Jie’s embrace, her tears soaking through his white shirt. Tang Jie felt a wave of ache in his chest; he realized he was hurting for her.

At that moment, he felt like Chen Shuran was his girlfriend whom he couldn’t bear to see in pain. The urge to comfort her overwhelmed him, and he instinctively reached out to stroke her hair. He didn’t know what to say to cheer her up; he wasn’t good at comforting people and didn’t have sweet words to offer-only his cold, hard skills in combat.

Yet, he found comfort in the feeling of her leaning against him, igniting a sense of protectiveness and fulfillment within him. Just moments ago, he had wished for her to go home quickly, but now he didn’t want her to move. He let her stay close to him, pouring out her drunken thoughts between tears.

“Hey! Look who it is!”

A few people walked into the bar, and since it wasn’t very crowded at this hour, the first one, a somewhat chubby man, immediately spotted Chen Shuran slumped against a man whose face he couldn’t quite see at the bar counter.

Tang Jie, sitting with his back to the entrance, turned around at the sound and recognized a familiar face among the newcomers-it was Zhu Nan, the man he had defeated last time.

The chubby guy, a friend of Zhu Nan’s and someone involved in the local underworld, knew Chen Shuran as well. As soon as he walked in and saw her, he deliberately raised his voice to make a remark, turning his attention back to Zhu Nan, who followed behind him.

At first, Zhu Nan was drawn in by the chubby guy’s words, but when he looked over and saw Chen Shuran, his gaze quickly shifted to the man she was leaning against-Tang Jie. His expression darkened, and after a moment of stunned silence, he quietly moved to an empty booth to sit down.

Noticing Zhu Nan’s strange reaction, the chubby guy began to scrutinize Tang Jie. He had heard about the previous confrontation but had never seen Tang Jie in person. However, seeing the change in Zhu Nan’s expression and the way he was clearly avoiding eye contact with the people at the bar counter, an expression of suppressed anger crept into his eyes. He quickly pieced together who Tang Jie was.

“That kid over there is that girl’s bodyguard?” After settling into the booth, the chubby guy leaned in and whispered to Zhu Nan, watching Chen Shuran and Tang Jie closely.

Zhu Nan didn’t respond verbally but nodded slightly before calling for the waiter to order drinks loudly.

The chubby guy noticed that Zhu Nan was clearly venting his frustration but didn’t dare confront the people at the bar. A smug smile crossed his face, tinged with malice.

Tang Jie could clearly see that it was Zhu Nan now. Chen Shuran was almost asleep in his arms, and he noticed Zhu Nan’s displeasure. It was evident that Zhu Nan was fearful of him. But he also couldn’t ignore the chubby guy, who had not taken his eyes off them since entering. Tang Jie was mentally calculating how to get Chen Shuran home safely as quickly as possible.

After settling the bill, Tang Jie helped the unsteady Chen Shuran out of the bar, but he had an unsettling feeling that someone was watching them from behind.

“Seriously, what does that kid have that makes you so scared of him?” As soon as Tang Jie and Chen Shuran stepped out of the bar, the chubby guy couldn’t help but mock Zhu Nan.

His eyes gleamed with a lascivious spark, and seeing Chen Shuran’s drunken state had given him quite a stir. That girl was attractive, and if that kid hadn’t been there, he would have certainly found a way to get her into bed. Just the thought of it sent shivers of delight through him.