Chapter 1

I was on a date when I found out my boyfriend owed money—and planned to hand me over to a blond punk as collateral.

“What’s another guy worth? I’m not gay!” the punk scoffed.

Then he saw my face. He froze, turned to my boyfriend, and said, “I’ll give you a hundred years interest-free to start.”

……

My boyfriend said he was taking me on a date.

Instead, a gang of boys on souped-up motorcycles blocked our way.

Their leader was a young man with dyed blond hair. He propped a steel pipe—who knew where he’d ripped it off—against my boyfriend’s car.

“You owe my brother five million yuan for construction work, and you still haven’t paid. What’s that about? Let’s start with this car.”

“I need the car for business,” my boyfriend said solemnly. “You can’t take it.”

The blond punk looked at his wrist. “That watch looks decent. Should cover a hundred thousand or so.”

My boyfriend shook his head. “It’s a status symbol. You can’t take that either.”

The punk gave a cold laugh. “Won’t hand over your stuff? Then hand over yourself.”

He jabbed the pipe against my boyfriend’s chest. “A friend of mine is sick. Give him a kidney, and we’ll knock two hundred thousand off.”

“Your health is your greatest asset,” my boyfriend protested. “How am I supposed to earn money to pay you back if I’m not healthy?”

The punk spat. “You sure talk a lot of shit. Think I’m my brother? Think I’ll swallow anything you say?”

He swung onto his motorcycle. “Screw this. We’re going to your place and taking the house.”

Panic crossed my boyfriend’s face. “Wait, wait! I can give you someone!”

He dragged me out from behind him. “My boyfriend. A professor at University A. Educated, smart, in excellent health. Take him as collateral and give me a little more time.”

The blond punk scoffed. “What’s another guy worth? I’m not gay!”

Then he got his first proper look at me, and his expression went blank.

A moment later, his ears red, he told my boyfriend, “I’ll give you a hundred years interest-free to start.”

My boyfriend stared, then lit up.

“Lin Ye, stay with them for now. I’ll come get you as soon as I make the money.”

I caught his sleeve.

“You’re leaving me with a bunch of thugs?”

“Be good, Yeye. Just bear with it. I’ll pay them back soon.”

He shook me off and drove away.

The blond punk stepped into the space he’d left.

“Hey. I’m your owner now. You should be looking at me.”

He was standing so close that I couldn’t help getting a good look at his face.

Handsome features. Half a head taller than me. Unfortunately, the slouch and swagger made him look like trouble.

Oddly enough, once I actually looked at him, he started squirming like a monkey.

His face was about the color of a monkey’s ass, too.

“I—I’m Shen Chichuan. You can call me Chichi. Or Chuan.”

I had no patience for these little delinquents. “No.”

The other biker boys seemed appalled. They whispered among themselves.

“Boss, he’s way out of line. You have to punish him. Teach him a lesson.”

Shen Chichuan stared at my face and scratched his head. “Well, okay. You can use my full name.”

The boys looked at him. What?

I wasn’t in the mood to play house with a bunch of kids.

I took out my phone to call a cab home. Shen Chichuan spotted it.

“What are you doing? Did I say you could leave?”

I looked at this young man, so pleased with his borrowed authority. “If I don’t go home, where am I supposed to go? Your place?”

The boys were outraged by the provocation. “Boss! He’s way out of line! I can’t stand it!”

Shen Chichuan blushed and took my hand.

“Well, since you put it that way, come home with me.”

The boys looked from him to me.

What the hell?