After a brief silence among the group, Bai Zhen shook the hand he had hidden behind his back and slowly spoke, “Sorry, I have other things to do today.”
“Okay,” Cheng Yue nodded and pulled Ji Xu back to the car.
After getting into the car, Cheng Yue was about to lower the window and wave to Bai Zhen on the street, but saw Bai Zhen spinning around in place and frantically waving his hand.
“What’s wrong with Bai Zhen?” Cheng Yue watched for a moment and felt something was off, so he thought about getting out of the car to check.
“He’s probably just excited,” Tang Jing said, clicking his tongue. “After all, not everyone gets the chance to shake hands with Ji Xu.”
“Really?” Cheng Yue looked out the window again and saw Bai Zhen looking at him. Bai Zhen quickly stood up straight, smiled, and his face, which had been fierce moments earlier, was now calm. He even waved back at them.
“Wow,” Tang Jing said, observing Bai Zhen’s rapid change of expression through the window. He leaned closer to Ji Xu and lowered his voice, “This kid has two faces. He’s quite a schemer.”
Ji Xu raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him.
“Well, he can’t compare to you,” Tang Jing quickly flattered. “You’re much smoother at changing faces.”
“What face?” Cheng Yue, sitting in the back seat, overheard.
“Nothing,” Ji Xu said with a smile as he started the car.
“Tang Jing mentioned that the auction items for this event are oil paintings you painted yourself?” Tang Jing turned to Cheng Yue with interest. “Are they finished? The works need to be taken over there in advance.”
Cheng Yue nodded, “They’re done.”
“Then I’ll just take them today. I was planning to pick them up the day after tomorrow,” Tang Jing said, then asked curiously, “What did you paint?”
“…It’s a secret,” Cheng Yue replied with a smile.
Hearing this, both Tang Jing and Ji Xu became interested.
However, even when Cheng Yue brought the painting out from a small room, they couldn’t see what the painting was.
“So big?” Tang Jing looked at the large size of the painting and pointed at the white cloth covering it. “It’s too mysterious. You didn’t actually paint anything, did you…?”
Cheng Yue stared at him, silent.
“Hey…” Tang Jing smiled as he took the painting. “You have to at least tell me the title of the work.”
Ji Xu brought over two cups of water, placing one in front of Tang Jing and handing the other to Cheng Yue.
Cheng Yue took a sip of water and looked at the cup, saying, “…Home.”
“Huh?” Tang Jing didn’t hear clearly.
“Home,” Cheng Yue looked up.
Tang Jing and Ji Xu were both taken aback.
“The auction is on Thursday this week,” Tang Jing said as he stood up. “Cheng Yue, are you going?”
Cheng Yue’s eyes lit up. He then thought about having to study that day and hesitated, looking at Ji Xu.
“Do you want to go?” Ji Xu asked.
Cheng Yue immediately nodded.
“Then go,” Ji Xu patted him on the head. “Don’t forget to finish your homework.”
Cheng Yue made a face, thinking Ji Xu wouldn’t see.
On Thursday, Cheng Yue had a hard time getting out of bed early but was pulled out of the covers by Ji Xu.
“Isn’t there no school today?” Cheng Yue mumbled with a heavy nasal voice.
“What time did you go to bed last night?” Ji Xu asked as he turned off the air conditioner. “The room’s air conditioning shouldn’t be set so low.”
“Mm…” Cheng Yue replied with a blanket wrapped around him, barely awake.
Ji Xu sighed, picked him up, and said, “If you keep sleeping, you’ll have to go to class today.”
When Cheng Yue was lifted off the ground, he woke up immediately in surprise.
He knew Ji Xu was strong, but he didn’t expect to be lifted up with the blanket.
The auction started at noon, held at a hotel.
After having breakfast and doing some homework, Cheng Yue and Ji Xu left the house.
Once inside the venue, Cheng Yue realized there were not only many invited guests but also a lot of reporters and media present.
As soon as he sat down, Cheng Yue looked at the small cakes and snacks on the table with some disdain. “They look terrible.”
Ji Xu glanced at the table and poured him a drink, saying, “Eat something and go back.”
The opening was an old man in a suit, talking on and on.
Feeling bored halfway through, Cheng Yue leaned over to Ji Xu and whispered, “I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Can you find it?” Ji Xu asked.
Cheng Yue looked around and then turned back. “I can find it.”
“Don’t wander around after you’re done,” Ji Xu said.
Cheng Yue nodded and got up to head outside. After walking around, he found he couldn’t locate the bathroom. After standing there for a while, he stopped a passing waiter to ask for directions.
As soon as Cheng Yue stepped into the bathroom, he saw a man standing there, urinating, with a cigarette in his mouth. The man turned and looked at him.
Cheng Yue frowned and took a step back. The man looked somewhat familiar, but Cheng Yue couldn’t place him immediately.
“Cheng Yue?” The man mumbled through the cigarette, with a surprised look, shaking his pants as he pulled them up.
As soon as the man spoke, Cheng Yue remembered who he was—he was the man who had been with Tan Minmin the other day. His name was Tan Wenwen.
Tan Minmin’s brother?
Cheng Yue recalled that Tan Minmin had mentioned her brother before, complaining about him being a mess and foolish. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that like attracts like—Tan Minmin wasn’t any better.
“Are you alone?” Tan Wenwen looked at Cheng Yue, and after confirming there was no one else around, his expression turned somewhat hostile. “Your friend is quite harsh, huh? Why didn’t he come with you today?”
Cheng Yue frowned at him, remembering Bai Zhen had told him about beating up Tan Wenwen.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know,” Tan Wenwen stepped closer, glaring at Cheng Yue.
“You must have been the one who instigated it. You dared to have someone beat me up. You’ve got some nerve.”
Cheng Yue remained silent. He didn’t want to get into a conflict with such a person—it was pointless. Besides, Ji Xu had told him not to get into fights.
Moreover, he probably wouldn’t win the fight anyway. Getting beaten up and coming back with bruises would only result in Ji Xu scolding him, which was a small issue compared to the embarrassment.
—
“What’s wrong, planning to run away?” Tan Wenwen forced a fake smile, approached, and poked Cheng Yue’s shoulder. “How pathetic you must be, with your parents dead. Do you cry every day, hiding under the covers, missing your mom? Should I be your dad…?”
Cheng Yue’s pupils constricted suddenly, and then a burst of anger exploded in his mind. The buzzing in his ears grew louder, and his eyes immediately turned red.
Before Tan Wenwen could react to Cheng Yue’s rapidly reddening eyes, the finger he was poking Cheng Yue with was subjected to sharp, excruciating pain.
“Ah! Ah! You damn little bastard!” The pain in his finger made Tan Wenwen kneel on the ground. “You damn…”
“F*ck your grandpa!” Cheng Yue didn’t wait for him to finish. His anger had made him lose control. Tan Wenwen’s finger, which Cheng Yue was twisting backward, even made a strange creaking sound.
“Ah!” Tan Wenwen’s eyes widened. As he tried to stand up, Cheng Yue immediately kicked him in the kneecap, causing Tan Wenwen to fall flat on the ground.
Although Cheng Yue’s kick knocked Tan Wenwen down, he loosened his grip on Tan Wenwen’s finger.
Tan Wenwen, now free from Cheng Yue’s grip, charged forward with reddened eyes.
Cheng Yue didn’t dodge and embraced him directly.
As they tumbled together on the bathroom floor, Cheng Yue heard a service staff’s scream and the sound of someone running away to call for help.
While Cheng Yue was momentarily distracted, Tan Wenwen landed several punches to his abdomen. The pain made Cheng Yue immediately grab Tan Wenwen’s neck and squeeze with all his might.
Tan Wenwen’s eyes started to roll back, and his legs kicked frantically at Cheng Yue. Despite several knee strikes to Cheng Yue’s stomach, Tan Wenwen couldn’t break free.
Cheng Yue, despite being bad at fighting and afraid of pain, was so enraged at the moment that he didn’t let go of Tan Wenwen’s neck.
As Tan Wenwen’s eyes widened and he struggled to breathe, it seemed like he was on the verge of death. A group of people suddenly burst into the bathroom and pulled them apart.
“Stop fighting! Stop fighting!”
“Whose child is this?”
“Let go! This person is about to die!”
Two large men struggled to pull Cheng Yue’s hands off Tan Wenwen’s neck. As Tan Wenwen began to froth at the mouth, a sharp female voice cut through.
“Ah!” Tan Minmin screamed as she saw her brother’s eyes rolling back. Without seeing clearly, she swung at the person holding her brother’s neck.
People in the bathroom quickly intervened to stop her.
Ji Xu, who had sensed something wrong when he heard about the fight in the bathroom and noticed Cheng Yue was taking too long to return, got up and walked towards the bathroom with a serious expression.
By the time Ji Xu reached the bathroom, it was already in chaos. Voices of spectators—both male and female—were mixed and loud.
As Ji Xu squeezed through the crowd, he saw a small circle of people surrounding the area, but couldn’t see the situation clearly inside.
“Cheng Yue, let go!” Tan Minmin was crying and desperately clawing at Cheng Yue’s hands.
Hearing Tan Minmin’s cries, Ji Xu’s expression immediately darkened. He pushed through the crowd and got inside.
Tan Minmin, seeing Cheng Yue still wouldn’t let go, raised her hand to strike Cheng Yue, but was suddenly pulled away.
She was startled and tried to turn back, but twisted her ankle and fell.
Ji Xu stopped Tan Minmin, threw her aside, and grabbed Cheng Yue’s arm.
“Cheng Yue.” Ji Xu, seeing something was clearly wrong, tightened his brow and shouted into his ear.
Cheng Yue’s mind was a mess. All he could see was Tan Wenwen’s face, but Ji Xu’s sudden voice made him momentarily pause.
Seeing Cheng Yue release his grip, the people nearby quickly took the chance to separate them.
“What are you doing?” Ji Xu, holding Cheng Yue, questioned with a dark face.
When Cheng Yue finally came to his senses and saw Ji Xu’s grim expression, he felt a jolt of unease. Just as he was about to explain, a sharp pain twisted in his stomach.
He dry-heaved a few times before he couldn’t hold it anymore. He broke free from Ji Xu’s grasp and threw up at the sink.
After vomiting, he looked up and was startled by the blood mixed with the vomit.
Cheng Yue pressed on his stomach, worried he might have internal bleeding from Tan Wenwen’s beating.
But the continuous taste of blood in his mouth made him pause, and he touched the cut on his cheek with his tongue, finally relieved.
Ji Xu also saw the blood and immediately turned his attention to Tan Wenwen. He picked up the still-breathing Tan Wenwen, who was being held by Tan Minmin, and slammed him against the wall.
Tan Minmin, frightened, screamed and tried to pull him back but fell instead. She looked up just in time to see her brother being violently thrown against the wall by Ji Xu.
No one dared to intervene. The sound of Tan Wenwen hitting the wall was particularly muffled, a sound only someone of Ji Xu’s strength could produce. Tan Minmin was terrified into silence.
Tan Wenwen, who was already half unconscious from Cheng Yue’s choking, lost consciousness entirely when slammed against the wall. His eyes rolled back, and he fell limp to the ground.
Ji Xu let go, and Tan Wenwen crumpled to the floor like a limp rag.
“Go to the hospital,” Ji Xu said, turning back and picking up Cheng Yue to carry him out.
“I’m fine, just a cut on my mouth,” Cheng Yue, seeing Ji Xu’s pale face, thought he must have misunderstood. He quickly showed Ji Xu the wound in his mouth, saying, “It’s not my stomach, just my mouth.”
Ji Xu looked closely and finally felt some relief but remained stern. “Who told you to fight?”
Cheng Yue became angry at the mention of it, the fire in his mind flaring up again. “I didn’t kill him, so I’m doing my mom a favor. That son of a bitch! His mouth was like eating leftover shit…”
Cheng Yue’s voice gradually lowered as he noticed Ji Xu’s face growing darker.
Author’s Note:
Ji Xu: Maybe I didn’t buy enough skirts; that’s why he’s so disobedient.
