He's Not a Dog, He's a Stray Cat I Picked Up

Yan Xianjue's body moved before his brain did, and he reached out to grab Lin Shi's extended arm.

He gave him a fierce Shoulder Throw.

With a loud bang, Lin Shi's entire back slammed hard into the floor.

Lin Shi didn't react in time and was left dazed by the impact.

But the experiences of growing up being beaten by his father made his body swiftly assume a defensive posture.

As he struggled, Yan Xianjue actually failed to pin him down at first.

Although he had learned quite a few grappling techniques from Uncle Lu.

Compared to Lin Shi, he still had far too little experience fighting.

"Holy shit!"

Zhou Ye was just one step behind. By the time he came out, Yan Xianjue and Lin Shi were already fighting in the hallway.

Ji Xi and Shen Fangli stood helplessly amid the crowd.

"How... how did this happen?" Ji Xi asked.

Shen Fangli shook her head. "I... I don't know..."

She hadn't known Yan Xianjue any longer than Ji Xi had!

But as far as she remembered, Yan Xianjue didn't seem to have any history of fighting at school.

So why had he suddenly started a fight?

It couldn't possibly be because of Ji Xi, could it?

She looked at Ji Xi in surprise.

Ji Xi looked utterly speechless. "Don't overthink it. Impossible. He just thinks I'm cheap and useful."

"Uh..."

As someone who could hear Yan Xianjue's thoughts, Shen Fangli had to admit that he had a remarkably accurate understanding of his own place in things.

Zhou Ye had no time to care about those two.

He waved them aside.

Then he shouted at Lin Shi's lackeys, who were standing nearby too afraid to step in, "What are you waiting for? Break it up!"

"The teachers will be here soon!"

Hearing that, Lin Shi's lackeys rushed forward in a fluster to separate them.

Compared to them, Zhou Ye and Yan Xianjue worked together with perfect coordination.

Rather than helping break up the fight, it was more accurate to say Zhou Ye stepped in to help restrain Lin Shi.

Yan Xianjue quickly subdued Lin Shi again.

Lin Shi gritted his teeth. "You're really something."

"Hah."

Yan Xianjue let out a mocking breath.

"Not as much as you."

Yan Xianjue admitted that his memories from his previous life had affected him to some extent.

That remark about being lower class had gotten to him.

Whenever he had faced similar mockery in the past, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and his grievances.

He had wanted to beat the other person senseless, too.

But every time he thought about how good fighting felt in the moment, while the medical bills afterward were something he could never afford.

He quickly regained his rationality.

To put it bluntly, because he was poor, he had never had the confidence to seek justice for his own grievances.

Much less get into a fight.

He pinned Lin Shi to the ground, both hands gripping his arms.

One knee pressed against his back.

He lowered his clear voice, giving it a slightly mature huskiness. "Lin Shi."

"You wouldn't want anyone else to find out that your father beats you at home like a dead dog, would you?"

Half of Lin Shi's face was forced against the floor. He panted heavily, struggling to breathe.

"Are you threatening me?"

Yan Xianjue raised a brow. "You can think of it that way."

"Why? Because of Ji Xi?"

Yan Xianjue looked up at the sky in exasperation. "I just find you annoying."

"And I don't understand why you have it out for him."

"Maybe it's for Su Su."

Lin Shi's tone was so casual, as if he weren't the one pinned to the floor and humiliated.

"Tch."

Yan Xianjue said, "I don't believe you can't see it."

With someone like Lin Shi, who had an extreme need for control and almost no empathy.

Yan Xianjue had only believed Lin Shi loved Su Su deeply when he had first awakened his memories.

Back then, he had been blinded by the plot.

Thinking it over carefully, the male and female leads had yet to go through all those things together.

The opposition from their families, the female supporting character stirring up trouble, the male supporting character plotting in secret—none of that had happened yet.

Su Su also hadn't healed Lin Shi's battered, scar-ridden heart.

Where would any feelings have come from?

He didn't believe Lin Shi couldn't see Ji Xi's rejection of Su Su.

That nasty young master from a wealthy family merely wanted to use it as an excuse to target Ji Xi.

And he could also enjoy watching the female lead, Su Su, put on her clumsy act in front of him.

It really killed two birds with one stone.

All Lin Shi needed to do was wait until Su Su had finished performing.

Then use the opportunity to go after Ji Xi.

Yan Xianjue had only one assessment of this: "Lin Shi, you're truly awful."

Lin Shi chuckled twice. "Thanks. I think so too."

Yan Xianjue was choked speechless.

Without warning, he dislocated Lin Shi's right wrist.

"I heard you planned to become a doctor someday?"

"For the sake of your future patients, should I just cripple your hand?"

Yan Xianjue's voice remained calm and unhurried.

The surrounding students watched helplessly as cold sweat poured down Lin Shi's face from the pain, and they couldn't help shuddering.

No matter how much trouble Lin Shi usually caused.

He had never gone straight for someone's hand with the intent to cripple it!

"Wuwuwu! So scary!"

"Why does Yan Xianjue look even scarier than Lin Shi right now?"

"Should we say it's no wonder he's a young master as famous as Lin Shi?"

Shen Fangli listened to the murmurs around her.

She blinked rapidly a few times.

Was she the only one who thought this was incredibly satisfying?

If you didn't provoke him, it wasn't like he dislocated people's hands for fun.

Compared to Lin Shi, who had started the trouble, he was leagues above him.

Lin Shi let out a muffled cry of pain, and it took him a long while to recover a little.

He could still smile. "Young Master Yan, even if your hands aren't steady, you can still be a doctor."

"You should know that for families like ours, nothing can truly become an obstacle."

Yan Xianjue sincerely felt sorry for Lin Shi's future teachers.

Getting a student like Lin Shi would probably ruin their lifelong reputation.

"Why do you hang out with Ji Xi?" Lin Shi asked, voicing his confusion.

"I don't hang out with him."

He's my business partner!

My cheap, useful worker!

You have no idea how many little tasks he's handled for me lately.

You don't know shit, you dumb asshole!

Lin Shi laughed silently. "There's no difference. He's still just one of your dogs."

Yan Xianjue's expression remained blank. "He's not a dog. He's a stray cat I picked up."

The kind that had fallen into the water, one Yan Xianjue had lured away with a dry towel.

"Only a lunatic like you keeps calling people dogs at the drop of a hat."

Lin Shi continued laughing softly.

If Yan Xianjue weren't still pinning him down.

He probably would have dramatically clutched his stomach.

"Do you think calling him a stray cat makes it any better?"

You still aren't treating him like a person.

After Zhou Ye quietly reminded him from the side that the teacher had arrived.

Yan Xianjue naturally stood up and released Lin Shi.

He gave Ji Xi and Shen Fangli a look.

Telling them to leave first.

Ji Xi wanted to stay and help Yan Xianjue explain things to the teacher.

But Shen Fangli grabbed his arm and dragged him away. "All right, let's go. If you stay, Yan Xianjue will have an even harder time explaining himself."

She covered her face and snickered. "I can already imagine how lively the forum will be for the next few days."

Ji Xi: "..."

"Does Yan Xianjue know you enjoy watching the excitement without worrying about making things worse?"

Shen Fangli shrugged. "The first time we met, we watched you and Lin Shi make a scene together outside the classroom."

"The time before last, he brought his whole family to watch me make a scene."

"Last time..."

Ji Xi: "..."

Fine.

Lin Shi shook his hand and climbed to his feet awkwardly.

"Hey, Yan Xianjue, don't tell me you only know how to dislocate joints and not put them back?"