Chapter 13

Could his younger brother, so innocent, really handle Shen Yujun, who seemed stubborn and impulsive but was inwardly calculating and ruthless enough to be this cruel even to himself?

Thinking this, Li Rongyu glanced at Li Eleven without changing expression. Li Ten silently nodded. Shen Yujun, who appeared careless but was actually skilled at reading people, noticed the exchange between them and curled his lips disdainfully. In his view, his dealings with Li Rongxiu, and even the Li family, were nothing more than an exchange of interests. Other than that, Shen Yujun wanted nothing to do with the Li family, so Li Rongyu's concerns were completely unnecessary.

He stood quietly to one side, listening as Li Rongyu gave Li Rongxiu a long lecture as though he were instructing a son. Then the black Bach slowly drove away, leaving only him, Li Rongxiu, and the expressionless Li Ten in black by the roadside.

Shen Yujun silently glanced at Li Ten's familiar attire, and his entire body began to ache faintly. He remembered being beaten up by the Li family's bodyguards on the yacht that day—if those injuries had not piled onto his existing wounds, he would not have been too weak to fight back when Shen Zongming beat him today. So, at the end of the day, Li Rongxiu and the Li family bodyguards bore an inescapable share of responsibility for his current miserable state.

Li Rongxiu turned to look at the silent Shen Yujun, whose gaze kept shifting, and asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"

Shen Yujun came back to himself. Looking at Li Rongxiu, whose eyes had widened slightly with curiosity and whose cheeks were faintly puffed out, he shook his head. "Nothing."

From the first time they met, Shen Yujun had noticed that Li Rongxiu had especially rich expressions and little movements. Psychologically speaking, people like that were usually cheerful and optimistic, without excessive wariness toward the outside world. Put simply, they had been well protected by those around them and had not experienced many setbacks in reality. That was why their reactions to people and matters were more straightforward.

In Shen Yujun's view, being around someone like Li Rongxiu was quite nice too. Since his secret had already been exposed, he did not need to conceal himself against his nature. Nor did he need to rack his brains guessing what the other person was thinking—one look at Li Rongxiu's expression made it obvious—so there was no pressure at all.

In Li Rongxiu's eyes, Shen Yujun was also someone worth paying attention to. Like a house cat that had been kept indoors for too long and sometimes became curious about the living environment of stray cats, Li Rongxiu's curiosity about Shen Yujun mostly stemmed from how Shen Yujun had managed to reach this point despite the Shen family's deliberate neglect and suppression.

For Li Rongxiu, who had always lived a smooth and easy life, days without family support or companionship were simply unimaginable.

However, Li Rongxiu had not realized at this point that Shen Yujun was not some stray cat at all. He was a calculating black panther, skilled at disguising and concealing himself. Though both belonged to the feline family, their danger levels were worlds apart. If Li Rongxiu, a house cat, carelessly bared his soft belly and his not-so-sharp claws for too long, what kind of consequences would follow...

The three of them headed toward the school while walking and talking—or rather, Shen Yujun and Li Ten walked while Li Rongxiu chatted to himself. Passersby stared strangely at the trio with their wildly different styles—

Li Ten dressed entirely in black, Shen Yujun in tattered clothes, and Li Rongxiu, who was clearly pampered and proud, became the most eye-catching sight along the way. The attention continued until the three entered the school. Unable to enter through the gates, Li Ten stood at the entrance and watched Li Rongxiu and Shen Yujun head toward the dormitories. Only after they vanished from sight did he turn and leave.

Meanwhile, Li Rongxiu paid no attention to the whispers around him as he led Shen Yujun through the crowd of watching students and teachers to the student dormitory he had never actually lived in, using it only as a place to gather and rest. Thanks to the Li family's wealth and Li Rongyu's strong insistence, Li Rongxiu had applied upon enrollment for the single dormitory Li Rongyu had lived in during his school days. Its furnishings had not changed in all these years. Li Rongxiu had even kept an old school uniform Li Rongyu once wore in the wardrobe, preserving evidence that his brother had once been there. A family portrait of the Li family also sat on the bedside table.

Standing in the middle of the room, Shen Yujun looked around the small but clean, tidy, and cozy single dormitory. His expression grew slightly dazed as he thought of the little house he had shared with his mother before she died.

Li Rongxiu took out the thoroughly washed old uniform and handed it to Shen Yujun, pointing toward the bathroom. "Hurry up and take a shower and change. You're filthy. I honestly can't believe I endured all those judgmental looks on the way here."

After a pause, he could not help boasting smugly, "I really am such a kind and wonderful person."

Faced with Li Rongxiu's shameless self-praise, Shen Yujun could do nothing but roll his eyes and take the uniform into the bathroom. Half an hour later, Shen Yujun emerged with wet hair still dripping water. Li Rongyu's uniform fit him perfectly. Yet Li Rongxiu sprang up from the bed as if his fur had stood on end and said to Shen Yujun with an intolerant expression, "Why did you come out without drying your hair? Don't get my brother's clothes dirty."

Shen Yujun once again resisted the urge to roll his eyes and went back into the bathroom to dry his hair before coming out again. Li Rongxiu followed him in, took the white towel hanging from the rack, ordered Shen Yujun to lower his head, and wiped his neck dry for him.

Li Rongxiu's movements were habitually gentle. The soft towel lightly brushed Shen Yujun's warm neck, creating an illusion of tenderness. Shen Yujun, who had never been treated like this since his mother died, froze before snatching the towel from Li Rongxiu's hand and saying roughly, "You're making my neck itch. I'll do it myself."

Li Rongxiu pursed his lips unhappily, took two steps back, and leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed. "You don't know how to appreciate kindness."

After saying that, Li Rongxiu seemed to think of something. He turned and went out to make a phone call.

Once Shen Yujun had finished tidying himself up, Li Rongxiu directed him to sit by the bed. A first-aid kit had already been set out on the table, with liniment, gauze, and cotton swabs arranged separately. Seeing Li Rongxiu's preparations, Shen Yujun could not resist teasing him. "What, you're not afraid I'll get your brother's old clothes dirty now?"

"It's fine. I suddenly realized you don't need to wear my brother's old clothes at all—I called Zhao Qijun and told him to get another uniform from the logistics department according to your measurements. You'll have new clothes to wear." As he spoke, Li Rongxiu arrogantly ordered Shen Yujun to take off the uniform he was wearing. Shen Yujun was already speechless at Li Rongxiu's ability to fuss over things.

Less than two minutes later, Zhao Qijun, who treated Li Rongxiu's every order like an imperial decree and dared not disobey, panted as he knocked open the dormitory door. A burst of blinding sunlight hit him in the face. Zhao Qijun instinctively closed his eyes, then opened them again, only to stare dumbfounded at the scene inside—the room. Li Rongxiu had one leg braced on the floor and the other kneeling on the bed, his upper body leaning forward as his right hand gently stroked the smooth, broad, powerful, clearly defined back of the person in front of him.

Before him was an unfamiliar boy stripped down to nothing but briefs. The boy's limbs were long and well-proportioned, and the elegant lines of his muscles contained an undeniable power. He lounged lazily on the bed, supporting his head with one hand and idly fiddling with the neatly folded uniform in front of him, like a resting black panther. Hearing the door open behind them, the boy and Li Rongxiu turned around at the same time.

In an instant, a handsome face with deeply defined features and obvious mixed heritage, so striking it carried a faintly wicked air, entered Zhao Qijun's sight. Zhao Qijun's eyes widened in disbelief, and the uniform in his hands fell heavily to the floor. He shakily raised a finger and pointed at the two people inside. After a long while, he could not help howling, "Young Master Xiu, how could you... I'm irreconcilable with the Shen family!"

Chapter 13

Diwan High School, where Li Rongxiu studied, was one of the Empire's most famous private secondary schools. Its predecessor was Wancheng Academy, founded by Elder Zhang, an imperial tutor for three generations. Later, the Empire reformed its system, and Wancheng Academy was naturally renamed Diwan High School. As social attitudes became increasingly open and domestic women's rights movements rose one after another, Diwan High School answered the royal family's call by establishing a girls' school within its grounds. Thus, present-day Diwan High School was made up of two divisions: Moral Education Boys' School and Benevolence Girls' School.

To show his firm support for Shen Yujun and make things difficult for the Shen family, Li Rongxiu brought his lackey Zhao Qijun and escorted Shen Yujun all the way from the dormitory to his classroom, attracting countless burning stares along the way. Seeing everyone gathered in twos and threes, whispering among themselves, Li Rongxiu felt his ears grow hot, and it seemed as if the gazes fixed on his back were about to burn through him. Shen Yujun beside him, however, acted as though he noticed nothing and remained as carefree as ever.

Zhao Qijun, whose skin had grown thicker by the day, sneakily sidled over and whispered to Li Rongxiu, "Young Master Xiu, I just asked around. That woman Shen Manyao didn't come to class today. I heard the school shareholders unanimously believe that the scandal between Shen Manyao and Chi Junrui, as well as Shen Manyao getting pregnant out of wedlock, have damaged the school's reputation. They're trying to persuade Shen Manyao to withdraw, but the Shen family won't agree. From the looks of it, she's probably preparing to take a leave of absence."

Li Rongxiu: "..."

He was very curious how Zhao Qijun, who had been following behind him the whole time, had managed to find out so much in such a short time. Could it be that Zhao Qijun, despite looking foolish, was actually like Shen Yujun and exceptionally suited for intelligence work?

Still full of doubt, Li Rongxiu was about to speak when his gaze swept over Chi Junhao approaching from ahead, and his expression immediately turned cold. Before the uneasy-looking Chi Junhao could open his mouth, loyal lackey Zhao Qijun jumped out at once, pointed at Chi Junhao's nose, and said arrogantly, "You shameless traitor, you still dare show your face in front of Young Master Xiu? You have no shame at all. But you're finished. Young Master Xiu won't forgive you. Even your position has already been replaced."

As Zhao Qijun spoke, he did not forget to point at Shen Yujun standing beside Li Rongxiu.

Li Rongxiu, who had inexplicably gained a lackey: "...(⊙o⊙)?"

Shen Yujun, who had inexplicably become someone else's lackey: "...-_-!"

Chi Junhao nearly keeled over from rage after Zhao Qijun's barrage of nonsense. But he had no time to argue now. He could only ignore Zhao Qijun's sarcasm and force himself to say to Li Rongxiu, "Young Master Xiu... I know you must be very angry about what happened yesterday. But I really didn't know about my brother and Senior Shen. Otherwise, I definitely would have told you."

Li Rongxiu stood where he was, maintaining a properly polite smile. Only after Chi Junhao finished speaking did he say courteously, "This student, you're blocking my way. Could you please move aside?"

The moment those words came out, Chi Junhao's heart sank. Behind Li Rongxiu, Zhao Qijun nearly laughed aloud in schadenfreude. Everyone knew Li Rongxiu's habits: he would never be overly polite to his own lackeys. Once he was, it meant that the lackey had offended him somehow. In other words, that person was about to have a very bad time.

And now—everyone knew that the person about to suffer was definitely Chi Junhao.

Of course, given Li Rongxiu's temperament, he probably wanted to deal with Chi Junrui more. But who told him that Chi Junrui was not a student at Diwan? As the Empire's old saying went, a father's debt was paid by his son. Now, a brother's debt being paid by his younger brother was close enough.

After stepping past Chi Junhao, whose face had turned green and white with humiliation, Li Rongxiu sent Shen Yujun back to class before returning unhurriedly to his own classroom with Zhao Qijun. The morning preparatory bell rang as he stepped inside. Class monitor Song Ruofeng walked up to Li Rongxiu holding a stack of homework books and gestured for him to hand in his assignment.

Li Rongxiu: "(⊙o⊙)?"

Then he spread his hands helplessly at Song Ruofeng. "I forgot to do my homework yesterday."

Hearing Li Rongxiu's words, a look of sudden understanding flashed across Song Ruofeng's face, and he immediately said, "It's fine. I'm sure the teacher will understand."