Chapter 3 What Friends Are For

Li Meilin glanced at the phone beside her as she drove through the streets of Solar City.

2 a.m.

That bastard cousin of hers left her to handle his affairs again. Usually, it didn't bother her this much but the look in those two youngsters' eyes gave her an off feeling. Something definitely was not right. It was already this late too. So they lied about the 'sending home early'. No surprise there.

If Li Tian bothered to check his schedule at all, he wouldn't even have to think twice about heading out tonight. After all, tomorrow was lunch with his mother.

If he didn't look sharp, or at least presentable, Auntie's eyes would pierce him into oblivion.

RING RING.

She pressed the answer button on her earpiece.

"This is Li Meilin. Where is he?"

"Red Palace, private room X3," a husky voice said from the other side.

"Got it," she paused for a moment before continuing. "Is it bad?"

"Definitely going to need some effort in PR the next morning."

Meilin furrowed her eyebrows at the thought of what she might be walking into tonight. Ending the call, she stepped on the gas pedal and sped off into the direction she had to extricate Li Tian from. She probably needed back up too.

.....

"Oh wow, Tian, you actually managed to do it," Lila fawned.

The rest voiced their surprise as well at the way the star managed to get easy access to some of Huaxia's leading fashion brand's unreleased designs. He tapped the tablet in hand like a pro, pulling out expensive brand names in seconds.

"Who do you think I am? I'm loaded with connections in and out," Li Tian boasted proudly. He waved the tablet around before it fell out of his hand and into Yijun's reflexive catch. It was a wonder how he managed to even look at the screen with how tipsy he was.

"Your credit card is already input in this, right?" Yijun asked curiously.

"Huh? Yeah, probably."

"Ooh! Can I buy something?" Lila begged.

"Wow, if she can, I want one too!" Cass chirped.

"Aawe, you can't just spoil the girls now can ya?" Zexi laughed.

"Please! Please! Li Tian!"

"Being able to get something that's not even out yet would definitely solidify you as South's most influential young man."

"Maybe even the whole of Huaxia!"

"Oh my god that would mean we're friends to Huaxia's most amazing celebrity!"

The girls praised him to the sky, expanding his ego as much as they could, all the while, constantly filling up his empty glass.

It was to a point the exploited guy didn't even know what he was drinking anymore. Everything they called in was the most expensive on the menu.

"Yeah, Li Tian. Treat your friends to some rare goodies," Yijun brought the tablet to Li Tian's face.

On it was one of the cheapest items in the cart, just waiting for finger verification.

The longer he looked at it, the more his head hurt. It was the cheapest anyway so what would it matter.

"Yeah, sure sure!" he waved his hand disinterestedly and put his finger against the scanner. "Get whatever you guys want!"

"Yay!!!

"You the man, Li!!"

"Gimme! Gimme!"

"Man of the hour right here!!"

They all hurried to grab the tablet and searched for whatever desirable they could find. They made sure to input the address for the purchases as well.

Li Tian felt his head aching more and more, the words they were saying barely reaching him. It felt like the room was just spinning. He took another sip.

He didn't know how long had passed nor how many times he had placed his finger down but it was beyond any doubt more than four times. What the heck were they even buying? How many drinks did he even have?

By this time, his companions were no longer searching for things they liked. They were all huddled up around him and pointing to almost every item on the catalog, starting from the priciest.

They made subtle speeches like "this one too," "this looks nice," by his ear as they gently moved his arm to scan his finger.

Seeing him at their mercy, Yijun gestured to the two girls. This could be another chance.

The girls nodded in affirmation and began to firmly lock Li Tian in place. Even if he wasn't all for it, he was still a sitting duck just waiting to be ravaged. Besides, with a little push, it wouldn't be long for him to want them back.

The tablet had already been pushed aside, while the guys stood up with their phones ready on the record button.

"What are you guys doing...?" Li Tian asked groggily.

"No worries, 𝘛𝘪𝘢𝘯," Cass whispered in his ear.

While he was still stuck in his drunken stupor, Lila took the chance to sit on his lap. "We're just here to help you feel good."

Li Tian was known for never taking his shirt off. His chest or abs had never actually been seen in its entirety by the public before. At most, you could see bits and pieces like from a half-buttoned shirt. No one knew why.

The two guys already started to record the situation; didn't want to miss anything.

"It's time to see what you've been hiding..." Lila grabbed his shirt and sensually began to unbutton him from the top.

But that was when the man in question grabbed her hands roughly with a muddled stare. He was clearly trying to wake himself up. "Stop."

Cass wasn't having any of it. She pushed his chest back down, using the entire weight of her body to keep him there. "We just wanna have a little fun... Surely the almighty Li Tian has 𝘧𝘶𝘯 right..."

As if out of nowhere, she produced a pair of handcuffs and skilfully locked both of Li Tian's hands to one of the poles behind the sofa. The little star barely had a chance. He definitely struggled, but having two thick women pushing him down while the strong alcohol infected his system had made his movements sluggish.

Yijun clicked his tongue behind the camera, getting the attention of the two females. "Hurry up!" he mouthed silently, the expression on his face indicating the victim's lower area.

Lila immediately moved one of her hands down, licking her lips bewitchingly. "Seeing as how you're still so reluctant... Maybe we should start from the bottom."

Li Tian's eyebrows furrowed even further. No one could tell what he was thinking but it didn't matter to them regardless. That was until he yelled, "W-Waiter!"

Lila frantically used her extra hand to cover up his mouth, causing only very inaudible muffles to echo through it. "Listen here, you little shit! You're gonna sit here quietly and be our little 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 and you're gonna 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 it!!" she hissed in his face.

His eyes widened at her words. No one ever dared to speak to him like that before. He unconsciously looked at the people around him. Gone were the eyes of worship, all that he saw was hostility, resentment and ill will.

Seeing his shock, everyone couldn't stop themselves from sniggering. It didn't matter that they would be catching themselves on camera. They managed to hit a nerve in 𝘵𝘩𝘦 Li Tian. Revenge tasted sweet.

"Yeah, no one likes you, 𝘓𝘪," Yijun spat full of venom in his voice.

"You think you're sooo much better than all of us."

"No one is ever good enough for you are they."

"All you've been using is your family's fame and money anyway, you spoilt shit."

"Never got mommy's attention didja big boy?"

Yijun walked up to the man in their grasp and sneered, "We'll get you tons of attention. In fact," he flashed his camera in Li Tian's face, "We'll get you more attention than you will ever need. After all... that's what friends are for."

Not wanting to hear a second more, Li Tian bit the hand covering his mouth, causing the girl to yell in pain, and proceeded to spit into Yijun's face. He smirked at his success. "You're right... I am better than all of you."

Their faces contorted in anger.

BAM!

Yijun punched him right in the face. It was probably not the best idea but none of them had any complaints.

Li Tian's head swung harshly to the side upon the impact. The guy really didn't pull his punches.

𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵... he thought silently. He was definitely more awake now.

Not wanting to show any weakness, he spat the blood out and began laughing maniacally. The girls had already distanced themselves from the action but seeing a man laughing like that while he was down made their hairs stand.

"Bhahahaha...cough cough...hahahah!" Li Tian coughed in between laughs. "Is that all you've got!? Hahahahahah!!!"

Yijun's face twisted. He had this man under their absolute mercy! Yet why was 𝘩𝘦 the one feeling completely under the laughing man's control?? The guy was supposed to be younger than him!

He gripped his fist tightly. No longer was he going to be stepped under this prick's shiny shoes.

"I'm the boss now, you fucker!!!" Yijun attacked.

Fist after fist came raining down onto Li Tian's face, chest, stomach, but the only thing that came out of his bloody mouth was that manic laughter.

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Yijun! Yijun stop!" Zexi ran to pull his mate back.

"He deserves it!!" he punched even harder. "This bastard should just-"

BAM! The doors slammed open.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" a woman's commanding voice thundered from the doorway.

It was Li Meilin.

"FREEZE!"

"HANDS UP!"

A number of men in suits and police uniforms arrived at the scene not even a second later.

The show was done for the night.

.....