CFRFGC Chapter 38

⌈A large transfer⌋

Shen Xingran never expected it, even in his wildest dreams.

One day, when he sought help from Shen Xingzhuo,

Shen Xingzhuo didn’t care at all about what he was saying. Instead, he grabbed him and asked if Lu Ran had been wronged.

“Brother, what are you talking about?” Shen Xingran was incredulous.

He instinctively avoided Shen Xingzhuo’s question, clinging to his arm and pleading, “Brother, please help me! Only you can help me!”

“Shen Xingran.”

Shen Xingzhuo called his full name.

Shen Xingran looked up, bewildered, meeting Shen Xingzhuo’s dark gaze.

Shen Xingzhuo’s expression felt strange to Shen Xingran.

He had seen Shen Xingzhuo angry, upset, or even when they argued with each other.

But this time, Shen Xingzhuo’s tone was unnervingly calm.

He stared at him steadily, asking, “Was it you?”

That one sentence made Shen Xingran jump up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He was utterly panicked.

Madam Shen was already cold and indifferent toward him.

And now Shen Xingzhuo was like this too?

“Brother, I didn’t.” Shen Xingran wasn’t sure how much Shen Xingzhuo knew, so he could only try his best to defend himself, “It was Zhang Lin’s own idea! He only told me he was going to give Lu Ran trouble, and I even tried to dissuade him. I really didn’t know he planned to… sleep with Lu Ran!”

What he said was indeed the truth.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Shen Xingzhuo’s expression turn suddenly fierce: “What did you say?”

Shen Xingzhuo even took a step forward, grabbing Shen Xingran’s collar. “What did he want to do to Lu Ran?!”

Shen Xingran’s heart was filled with deep regret.

Just as he was about to say more, Shen Xingzhuo suddenly released him and strode away.

Shen Xingran still remembered his reason for coming here.

He hurriedly ran over, blocking Shen Xingzhuo’s path, and asked, “Brother, can you do me a favor?”

A flicker of rage nearly burned in Shen Xingzhuo’s eyes.

While walking toward his car, he forced himself to ask in a restrained voice, “What do you want my help with?”

“You, you…” Shen Xingran forced down his inner panic, pleading, “Just like when we were kids, brother, can you tell Mom that the rumors about the illegitimate child were your idea?”

Shen Xingzhuo stopped in his tracks.

He looked at Shen Xingran with disbelief, at this younger brother he had spoiled for so many years.

“Shen Xingran, what are you saying?” he asked.

“Brother! Listen to me.” Shen Xingran hurriedly explained, “You’re mom’s biological son. Even if she gets angry, she won’t stay mad for long, and she won’t do anything to you. But I’m just adopted, so brother, please help me, won’t you?”

Today, the wind was strong.

The cold wind whistled sharply through the cracks.

Shen Xingzhuo lowered his gaze, looking at Shen Xingran.

He suddenly felt a strange urge to laugh, and asked, “Do you think Mom would believe that? Why would I go after Lu Ran, calling him an illegitimate child?”

Shen Xingran was suddenly on the verge of breaking down.

Recently, he had endured Madam Shen’s cold indifference.

Now, Shen Xingzhuo, who had always doted on him, was acting this way too.

Finally, Shen Xingran couldn’t hold back.

“What’s wrong with you, Shen Xingzhuo!” His feeble demeanor disappeared as he pointed at Shen Xingzhuo in disbelief, scolding, “What’s gotten into you?”

“Haven’t you always hated Lu Ran?”

“Why is it that when I’m begging you, it’s ‘Lu Ran this, Lu Ran that’ over and over!”

“What does his life or death have to do with you!”

“Because he’s my brother!”

Shen Xingzhuo shouted.

His yell cut through the piercing wind, almost enough to shatter eardrums.

With a loud “bang”, Shen Xingzhuo slammed the car door shut and left.

…

At a private club.

In a private room, the music’s beat pulsed in a lively rhythm.

The chatter was deafening.

The booth was circular, surrounded by a ring of expensive leather sofas.

At the center was a circular glass platform.

This wasn’t a coffee table; it was a small stage.

At the moment, there was no seductive dancer on the stage, but a young man wearing a server’s uniform.

The young man stood there, his eyes dull.

As the crowd jeered around him, someone held a bottle and poured it over his head, one bottle after another.

The alcohol dripped from his head.

It soaked his collar, staining the white server uniform a dark crimson hue from the liquor.

The club’s owner, worried that things might get out of hand, came over personally to apologize to the man seated at the head of the room. “Young Master Zhang, please, let’s not make a scene. This kid’s new on the job and doesn’t know your preferences yet. I’ll get someone more obedient in here, so he doesn’t bother you?”

Zhang Lin remained unmoved.

With a wave of his hand, he signaled his followers to keep pouring.

Each time a bottle was emptied, someone nearby would call out the price.

The exorbitant amounts made the young man on the platform tremble uncontrollably.

Gradually, his shaking turned into complete numbness.

The club owner stood off to the side, wearing an expression of helplessness.

Just as he was about to contact Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, the door to the private room suddenly swung open.

The room fell silent.

Zhang Lin looked at Shen Xingzhuo in surprise.

With a casual smile, he greeted, “Well, well, an unexpected guest. What brings Second Young Master Shen here today?”

His tone sounded lighthearted.

But in truth, Zhang Lin felt anything but relaxed.

Because he suddenly realized that Shen Xingzhuo bore a slight resemblance to Lu Ran.

Right now, Zhang Lin was practically traumatized by Lu Ran.

Shen Xingzhuo didn’t respond.

His gaze swept around the room and he pointed at the person singing. “Out.”

The room went quiet.

Then Shen Xingzhuo looked at everyone else in the room and said, “All of you, leave.”

The others hesitated for a few seconds, glancing between Zhang Lin and Shen Xingzhuo, then silently stopped what they were doing and filed out of the room.

As they passed the circular stage, Shen Xingzhuo casually said, “You too, get out.”

The club owner, relieved, quickly signaled the young man on the platform to leave.

Once the young man exited, Shen Xingzhuo turned to the club owner and said, “Why are you still here?”

The owner, wringing his hands, left reluctantly.

Once everyone had cleared out of the room, Zhang Lin sat up straight, looking at Shen Xingzhuo in confusion, and asked, “What do you want?”

His relationship with Shen Xingzhuo was neither good nor bad—partially buffered by Shen Xingran’s presence.

But in the next moment, a sharp pain shot through Zhang Lin’s cheekbone.

Shen Xingzhuo grabbed him by the hair, pinned him to the floor, and began pummeling him.

Shen Xingzhuo had trained in kickboxing, and his punches were brutally heavy. This time, he was hitting to do real damage.

Zhang Lin was stunned by the assault.

Clutching his face and howling in pain, he managed to find a break to ask, “Are you crazy?”

“Who gave you the right to mess with my brother?”

Shen Xingzhuo’s bloodshot eyes made Zhang Lin shudder. “W-what are you saying?”

“Who the hell gave you permission to touch my brother?!”

His fists rained down again like a storm.

Right up until he was beaten into unconsciousness, Zhang Lin was still utterly baffled: “Who messed with Shen Xingran?”

…

Evening.

Lu Ran was still at the shop.

Today, Xiao Wang had a date with his girlfriend and had left early.

Usually, Xiao Wang treated Lu Ran kindly, always letting him go home first.

So this time, Lu Ran chose to stay behind.

At this hour, there usually weren’t many customers.

It perfectly confirmed what someone had said about the “low foot traffic outside rush hours.”

As Lu Ran waited patiently for closing time, he studied vocabulary words while checking the time on his phone.

He’d be picking up Da Huang a bit later than usual tonight.

He wondered if Da Huang would be anxious.

While he was thinking this, the automatic door chimed.

Lu Ran’s face instantly fell.

It was the kind of frustration you get from getting overtime assigned right before clocking out.

But he quickly adjusted his mood and said, “Welcome.”

The moment he looked up, Lu Ran saw Shen Xingzhuo.

This man looked weathered and worn from travel.

His hair was a bit messy.

There was a strange calmness about him, like the stillness after a storm of rage.

As he got closer, Lu Ran noticed with a sharp eye that there was blood on Shen Xingzhuo’s fists.

The skin on his knuckles was split open, with small cuts here and there.

He’d obviously just been in a fight.

Seeing him approach the counter, Lu Ran immediately backed up eight steps, clinging to the doorframe of the kitchen, and stared at Shen Xingzhuo warily. “What are you doing here?”

Shen Xingzhuo was briefly startled by his retreat.

He quickly realized how he must look.

He waved his hand casually. “Just beat up an idiot.”

“Oh.” Lu Ran didn’t care at all who he’d hit.

As long as he didn’t hit him, that was all that mattered.

Shen Xingzhuo looked at the boy, who had half his body hidden behind the kitchen door, only his head peeking out to watch him.

He paused, took two steps back, and sat down at a nearby table.

First, he adjusted the collar that had been disheveled in the fight.

Then he took a tissue to wipe the blood off his hand.

But the blood had already dried, sticking to his skin and refusing to come off no matter how hard he wiped.

Lu Ran had slowly made his way back to the counter from the kitchen.

He rummaged through his bag, pulled out a pack of wet wipes, and tossed them to Shen Xingzhuo.

Shen Xingzhuo caught them, feeling oddly pleased.

But as he looked down, he noticed the label on the package: Pet Wipes.

Lu Ran added, “Those are for wiping Da Huang’s eye gunk.”

Shen Xingzhuo: “…”

He was torn—he couldn’t exactly use them, but not using them felt awkward too.

In the end, he took one out and wiped his hands casually.

Looking at the dog illustration on the packaging, Shen Xingzhuo thought of that yellow dog and asked, “Where’s Da Huang staying right now?”

He realized immediately that he’d asked the wrong question.

When he looked up, he met Lu Ran’s wary gaze.

Lu Ran asked, “Why do you want to know?”

In an instant, the fierceness Shen Xingzhuo had shown while beating Zhang Lin was gone.

He instinctively explained, “I didn’t mean… it was just a casual question.”

“Oh.” Lu Ran responded but didn’t believe him.

He lowered his head and went back to his tasks.

Then Shen Xingzhuo asked, “Are you still working at this place?”

Lu Ran looked up, only to see this young master staring at him with a look of naïve confusion and asking, “Are you really strapped for cash?”

“What else?” Lu Ran almost laughed. “Do you think I’m doing it to gain work experience?”

Shen Xingzhuo realized he’d asked a dumb question and looked down, fiddling with his phone.

Suddenly, Lu Ran’s phone buzzed.

He picked it up and his eyes went wide.

Shen Xingzhuo had transferred him a sum of money.

It was nothing like the odd jobs he’d done for pocket change before.

This was a substantial amount.

A six-figure sum.

Six figures might be no big deal to other members of the Shen family.

To Shen Xingran, it might even be just average pocket money.

But it was enough to leave Lu Ran stunned.

“Why did you send me money?” Lu Ran asked.

Shen Xingzhuo looked up, puzzled. “Aren’t you short on cash?”

Lu Ran stared at him suspiciously and said, “Da Huang’s not for sale.”

“No, I…”

Shen Xingzhuo hadn’t expected that one day he’d need a reason just to give someone money.

Lu Ran stared at the substantial transfer.

His mind raced, trying to figure out what Shen Xingzhuo was up to.

Although he knew that passing up free money was foolish, the amount was well beyond what an ordinary college student like him was comfortable with.

Anything out of the ordinary usually had a catch.

Lu Ran didn’t dare accept it.

The next moment, Shen Xingzhuo’s phone notified him that the transfer had been returned.

He froze.

Looking up at the counter, he saw the young man standing there, watching him quietly.

The café’s warm, dim lights cast a glow on Lu Ran’s hair and eyes, adding a soft, unapproachable distance.

“I returned the money,” Lu Ran said. “I’m fine with my current job and don’t really want to change.”

Shen Xingzhuo felt a sudden ache in his chest.

Having the money sent back felt like a slap to his face.

Yet, he didn’t feel the slightest urge to get angry.

He even felt as if he had no strength left to speak.

He merely nodded in silence, reaching out to place the pack of pet wipes back on the counter.

Then he turned around and, as if fleeing, hurried out of the café.

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