180 Degrees

Discord

*** A/N: Originally, the villain of this story was supposed to be another "Word of Honor" actor but after thinking it over, I don't feel it's quite right since this is a JunZhe fic a.k.a. Real People, not WenZhou a.k.a. Fictional Characters. So while his design/appearance is still based on the actor, we decided to give him an original name.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the name of the villain's gang is "White Tiger Group." Zhang Zhehan calls the villain "Lao Hu (老虎)" which simply means "Old Tiger." "Hu" is his surname (we didn't really give him a name). Because Zhang Zhehan has known him for a long time, he refers to the villain as "Lao Hu" as a sign of familiarity (similar to how Zhou Zishu calls Wen Kexing "Lao Wen").

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"It has been a while since we last met. I trust you are doing well, Master Zhang?"

Zhang Zhehan didn't say a word in response to this greeting. His eyes stared at the tiger tattoo on the man's wrist, then returned up to meet his gaze. There was no smile on his face; he kept his right hand inside his pocket and his left hand holding his champagne glass, completely and deliberately ignoring the obvious offer for a formal handshake.

Nevertheless, being met with blatant refusal on his very first attempt at striking a conversation did not deter the Alpha's determination to continue speaking with him. The man pulled his hand back, after which he took a step closer to Zhang Zhehan.

"Still as ice cold as ever," he clicked his tongue, shaking his head slowly with a pitying expression, "How come you were all nice and friendly with Young Master Wang earlier but instantly turned surly as soon as we saw each other? What did he have that I lack?"

"I have no reason to be nice and friendly with you," Zhang Zhehan replied in a frigid tone, "Besides, don't you think you have some explaining to do?"

"Whatever does Master Zhang mean by that?"

"Stop playing dumb, Lao Hu," the Omega's gaze was as sharp as a knife, "I know the incident at the red-light district was your doing. What do you have to say for yourself?"

The man called "Lao Hu," the leader of the White Tiger Group, smiled subtly upon hearing these words. He did not appear the slightest bit flustered, let alone remorseful. Instead, he shrugged lightly and shook his head once more.

"What can I say? I've done every good deed I could think of for so many years so that the beauty would spare me a glance, yet this was to no avail. Only by taking extreme measures could I finally make you look my way. Can you blame me for that?" he said, "My dear Zhehan, had I not done what I did that day, you wouldn't even bother talking with me this evening, would you?"

"So causing trouble in my territory and sending people to try to get me killed was your idea of getting my attention, huh? Has anyone ever told you that you're pretty sick in the head?"

"The end justifies the means — this has always been my motto, you know that. I did manage to get you to talk with me now, didn't I?" Lao Hu remained unfazed, "Furthermore, it wasn't as if I truly want you dead. I had some people there to observe the situation; should things spiral out of control, they would jump in at once to scoop you out of the chaos."

"And then you would claim the credit of being my savior, would you not?"

"You know me well. Zhehan, my dear, I'm very touched," said the Alpha, "Though, for some reason, you were able to slip out of my men's watch that night. I wonder where you ran off with that injury? Did you call for help? Did your men come to pick you up?"

"It's none of your business," Zhang Zhehan replied curtly, "And I would appreciate it if you stay out of my way from here on out."

"Really now? Even though we could've become so much stronger if we were to join forces?"