Translate by Hua
Fragments of memories cut through like a blood mist. Xia Shu’an slammed on the brakes, and when he regained consciousness, he had already stopped in the middle of the road. Several young men ran down the van that came out of nowhere. Two men with sticks in their hands dashed towards him.
Xia Shu’an’s sharp eyes saw a man standing outside the van, walking over slowly like a boss.
It’s Gu Er.
Those people immediately surrounded Xia Shu’an. Seeing someone reaching out to the car door, Xia Shu’an had no choice but to step on the gas pedal. At worst, they will end up in the hospital, and he will be in the police station.
Even if he died, he had to bring these people along.
However, before he could make a move, two more SUVs rushed out from the side road. The car made a half-circle in a tricky arc and stopped in the middle of the road. Then the door opened, and a group of people ran out. One of them, holding a stick, rushed up and hit the man who reached for Xia Shu’an’s car.
The stick made a muffled sound on the man’s body. The people brought by Gu’s second child were stunned at first, and the next second, the two groups started fighting. They also shouted as they fought: “Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!”
A young man in the lead also shouted, And who the hell are you? What are you doing in broad daylight?”
Xia Shu’an: “…”
This is a familiar scene.
There are a lot of people around Gu’s second child, but most of them are his fair-weather friends. These people are used to following Gu’s second child in his arrogance, but in fact, they don’t have any skills. They just played pretend with a stick, just like Gu’s second child. Soon, they were knocked down by Lu Cai’s men. Everyone had bruises and swollen faces. Among them, Gu’s second child tried his best to hide away, but a young man chased him and beat him just like he had recognized him. He was beaten hard, and his face was smashed.
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
Gu’s second child ran quickly to the van while covering his nose with his hand.
“Damn, you coward!”
Lu Cai spat on the ground and turned around to see Xia Shu’an’s frightened face. He quickly ran forward worriedly: “Sister-in-law… Brother Xia, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Xia Shu’an gasped for air. The chaotic scene just now brings him back to the real world again. He looked at Lu Cai and said, “Why are you here?”
Lu Cai said cheerfully, “Boss asked us to protect you, Brother Xia. He said that this period of time is not peaceful, and someone may be targeting you.”
Shen Boyan always wanted to control him, and his desire for control finally had a positive effect. Xia Shu’an breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I’m fine, thank you.”
“You’re welcome; it’s good that you’re fine, Brother Xia. If something happens to you, Boss will eat me.” He said with an exaggerated expression, “Ah, I’ll send a message to the boss to report that you’re safe.”
As he spoke, he took out his mobile phone and started typing.
The mobile phone placed on the table vibrated. Shen Boyan glanced at it quietly and saw the latest message on the center of the screen: a peace sign gesture.
“…President Shen, we are looking forward to cooperating with Wenhui. We believe that we will be able to join forces and create an industry miracle!”
The people who said this seemed to completely forget that they had deliberately avoided Wenhui’s sales manager a few days ago. As soon as Gu’s incident became public on the Internet, they came over on their own. However, there’s no need to explicitly state this little trick in the business world. Shen Boyan smiled slightly and also said with a sincere face, “I believe it too.”
As the discussion came to an end, several people stood up slowly, and Shen Boyan stretched out his hand and said, “President Liu, today is a special day, so I won’t keep you here.”
“Yes, yes, President Shen, please go back early.”
Shen Boyan led several managers to the elevator entrance and watched them enter the elevator before turning around and walking back.
It was past five o’clock, and the sky outside the window was dark. Looking out, you could only see continuous lights.
Shen Boyan turned his head and said, “Well, everyone should not work overtime today; go back early.”
“Okay, thank you, President Shen.”
After returning to the office, Shen Boyan took out his mobile phone again. Lu Cai sent three messages in total. One was the peace sign at the beginning, and the second briefly explained the situation. It was indeed that bastard Gu’s second child who wanted to cause trouble, but he received a good beating.
The last one is a photo of him and the young man. This photo may have been taken secretly. Lu Cai only took half of his face into the photo. The young man turned to look at the camera with a look of confusion on his face. His lips were slightly parted, and the overgrown hair behind his ears slid down his cheek.
Shen Boyan’s gaze lingered on this photo for a few seconds before saving it. Then he got up and walked out of the office.
“I’m going back first; you guys should go back early too.”
“OK.”
……
At six o’clock in the evening on the last day of December, the moonlight was as thick as ink, and a crescent moon quietly released its white light. The coldness of winter is isolated outside the transparent glass window, which makes people sitting in the car feel even warmer. The car lights turned off, and the wind made a rustling sound through the small garden. Illuminated by the lights in front of the garden, Shen Boyan approached the door.
As he reached the door, he heard a burst of hearty laughter coming from the living room. This laughter was different from usual. It had the natural sunshine and optimism of a happy-go-lucky person, just like the playing of a cello, and the familiar youthful voice was mixed in, like gentle piano music.
Shen Boyan frowned and walked in. As soon as he entered, he saw two people sitting on the sofa playing games online in the living room to the left of the door, each holding a PS5 controller.
Xia Shu’an had his back to the door. Lu Cai saw him first and raised his hand enthusiastically: “Hey, Boss, you’re back!”
The young man turned his head. The smile he had when he was talking to Lu Cai just now still remained on his face. His eyes were slightly bright, and the light shone from his forehead to the tip of his nose, giving him an extremely peaceful sense of homeliness, as if he had been born to sit in this place.
“…” Shen Boyan looked away from Xia Shu’an and looked at Lu Cai. “Why are you here?”
Lu Cai rubbed his head. “Brother Xia asked me to come here. He asked me where I was going to go next. I said I had no place to go and I would probably just play games anywhere, so Brother Xia asked me to come back with him.”
Shen Boyan: “…”
Shen Boyan should have found someone to make an appointment with him for dinner before asking him to do something. He had a subtle feeling that this was one of the rare times he had miscalculated in the last five years.
He withdrew his gaze, walked forward, and stopped in front of the sofa, where Xia Shu’an was sitting in a natural manner. Xia Shu’an stood up from the sofa, opened his arms, and hugged him.
Lu Cai looked at the two of them with an “oh” expression on his face, his eyes shining brightly.
Shen Boyan raised the corners of his lips, took Xia Shu’an’s hand, and raised his chin towards Lu Cai: “I’ll go upstairs to change and get ready to start dinner right away.”
“Ah, okay.”
The two held hands and went upstairs. Lu Cai waited until they disappeared behind the stairs before saying, “Hey, why does Boss have to drag Brother Xia with him to change clothes?”
Doesn’t he even know how to get dressed by himself?
The auntie passing by: “…”
Lu Cai didn’t notice the aunt’s sympathetic look toward him and continued to play the game happily.
Xia Shu’an was pulled upstairs by Shen Boyan. Regardless of past life or present life, Shen Boyan was very attached to him. Sometimes they even had to take a bath together (thank God if they could finish it within an hour). In addition, Shen Boyan hardly gets to touch him these days, and Xia Shu’an completely understood his mood of wanting to paste on him like a sticker.
He walked to the closet and said very generously, “Which set of clothes do you want? I’ll help you take them out—”
The tall shadow covered him from behind, wrapping him up in an instant. The smell of sandalwood and cedar shrouded him from above, making him feel momentarily frightened.
He raised his head in a panic with his back against the closet, and when he met Shen Boyan’s gaze, he saw a familiar glow from within him. The young man’s heart instantly rang alarm bells: “Wait a minute! Lu Cai is still down there!”
Shen Boyan lowered his head and rubbed Xia Shu’an’s cheek with his chin. “I was so worried when I heard that you were attacked by that Gu child.”
—Liar, you had expected it a long time ago.
His resistance was of no avail. Shen Boyan held his chin, lowered his head, and kissed him.
…….
…….
Xia Shu’an “woke up” on the sofa. His lips were licked by the man like a cat and were grinded by his teeth. Occasionally, there would be a sucking sound in the air. His thoughts were in a trance, and it took him a long time to remember that there was someone down there.
“You–”
Shen Boyan had already stood up: “I’m going to take a shower, change my clothes, and then go down.”
“You go downstairs first.” He rubbed Xia Shu’an’s head.
“…..”
Xia Shu’an washed his face and splashed it vigorously with water. When he went down, his face was still moist, and his lips had a bright luster.
“Brother Xia, come down…”
Lu Cai pointed at the shallow teeth marks on his lips and said tremblingly, “Xia, Brother Xia…”
Xia Shu’an tilted his head and looked at him. “What’s wrong?”
Lu Cai stopped talking this time.
A few minutes later, Shen Boyan came down, glanced at the two people in the living room who fell into silence, and said calmly, “Let’s have dinner.”
Because it was New Year’s Eve dinner, the two aunts and the driver were also joining the table. Although Shen Boyan is serious to the outside world, he is not harsh, and with Xia Shu’an joining the family, there was a lot more laughter in the house. At this moment, the family was talking and enjoying the beautiful things slowly, and the atmosphere was particularly warm.
After dinner, Xia Shu’an sat on the sofa again and played the unfinished game with Lu Cai. After a while, Shen Boyan also joined. He and Xia Shu’an sat on the same sofa together, their shoulders leaning on each other’s shoulders, and occasionally their heads came together.
When Xia Shu’an was playing games, Shen Boyan would always bite his ears, causing Xia Shu’an to make several mistakes. Lu Cai couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “Boss, I’ll give you this controller. You and Brother Xia can play together.”
Shen Boyan raised his head, glanced at him coolly, and didn’t answer.
Lu Cai: “…” He scratched his head and took his hand back.
After a while, Xia Shu’an got up and went to the bathroom. Shen Boyan took his place but didn’t make a move. Instead, he walked to Lu Cai.
Lu Cai raised his head: “Boss—”
Shen Boyan looked indifferent. “You can leave.”
Lu Cai: “????”
“Boss, are you driving me away?!”
Shen Boyan gave him an “or else” look.
“…..”
Lu Cai was shocked.
I’m dead. I’m really dead. I’m like this, and you still want to drive me away? !
He walked out for a few steps and turned back silently when he reached the door. “Boss, you have changed.”
Shen Boyan didn’t even look at him.
When Xia Shu’an came back, Shen Boyan was the only one in the living room. The huge LCD screen stayed on the pause page. Xia Shu’an looked around and asked, “Where’s Lu Cai?”
“He left.”
“He left?” Xia Shu’an asked strangely: He seems to be living alone, right, and he doesn’t have a girlfriend. It’s New Year’s Eve after all; I still want to keep him here.”
“No, he…has friends with him.”
“Oh.” Xia Shu’an nodded, not taking this matter to heart.
Although Shen Boyan was full of possessiveness toward him in his previous life, he was also very kind to his friends. He even forced his friends to be introduced to him but didn’t allow him to hang out with them. This behavior was full of double standards.
Xia Shu’an thought that he was a sincere person to his friends, and since Lu Cai was also his underling, he never thought that Shen Boyan would kick Lu Cai out.
Shen Boyan looked at his oblivious look and touched his cheek calmly.
“There should be a New Year’s Eve gala this year; let’s watch it too.”
Xia Shu’an curiously asks, “Do you also watch these programs?”
“Just making up the atmosphere.”
Hua: Early update! Poor Lu Cai didn’t know he wasn’t welcome until he got kicked out. T.T
