Brother, You’re So Easy to Placate

Feng Yanshan came over quickly. Bai Yunsheng did not even need to look to know he was angry. The gust from his palm lifted the loose strands at Bai Yunsheng's forehead, and from the corner of his eye, Bai Yunsheng caught Feng Tingfan's faint smile.

"Chairman Feng."

The familiar voice carried obvious anger. The approaching slap stopped abruptly in midair, just an inch from Bai Yunsheng's face.

"Chairman Feng, what are you doing?"

Bai Yunsheng's eyes trembled. He raised his head and looked behind him, as though he had once again seen a cat darting out of the bushes and birds flying low overhead.

Bai Yunsheng opened his mouth, but his throat tightened with bitterness, and he could not bring himself to say the words "Mr. Meng."

Feng Yanshan awkwardly withdrew his hand. "Chairman Meng, why are you here?"

Meng Shangzhi walked over to Bai Yunsheng's side. "Medical checkup."

The brightly lit corridor had the same lights, the same furnishings, the same walls and floors, yet from the moment Meng Shangzhi arrived, it seemed to be divided by an impassable boundary.

On one side were the Feng Household.

On the other were Meng Shangzhi and Bai Yunsheng.

Only after swallowing several times did Bai Yunsheng softly say, "Mr. Meng."

Meng Shangzhi's gaze landed heavily on Bai Yunsheng, but unlike Feng Yanshan's, it did not make him uncomfortable. It was clearly powerful, yet when it touched Bai Yunsheng, it was as light as a feather—a white feather.

Clean and gentle.

Meng Shangzhi shielded Bai Yunsheng slightly. "How did you get hurt? Why is there blood on your face?" After speaking, he carefully examined Bai Yunsheng's face for a while. Only after confirming there were no wounds did he take a gray handkerchief from his pocket. The fabric felt like silk, and Bai Yunsheng barely felt it as it wiped over his face.

"It's dried. It won't come off." He casually handed over the handkerchief. The person who had come with Meng Shangzhi immediately took it and tossed it into the trash. Meng Shangzhi said gently, "When we get back, wash up properly. Don't keep the school uniform either. It's dirty."

Feng Yanshan looked embarrassed as he cautiously studied Meng Shangzhi's expression.

Meng Shangzhi's movements had been gentle, as though he were touching something fragile, but when he looked up at Feng Yanshan and the others, unprecedented coldness burst from his eyes. "Were they bullying you?"

Manager Hu, seeing how deferential Feng Yanshan was and hearing the surname Meng, immediately guessed who this was. A bad premonition rose in his heart.

Bai Yunsheng said, "I hit someone, and they wanted me to apologize. But I don't think I was wrong."

Meng Shangzhi glanced behind him. "Zheng Long, take Shengsheng to the car. Chairman Feng, you don't mind if I take your son away, do you? This afternoon is just review class anyway. I'll talk to him about our upcoming cooperation."

Feng Yanshan was more than happy for Meng Shangzhi and Bai Yunsheng to spend more time together. "Not at all. Then I'll have to trouble Chairman Meng to guide him well."

Meng Shangzhi ignored him.

Hu Ye's mother still seemed not to understand what was happening. She tried to stop them, but Manager Hu grabbed her.

Bai Yunsheng followed Zheng Long to the garage and got into the car.

Zheng Long said, "Young Master Bai, wait here for me."

Bai Yunsheng nodded. Zheng Long left for ten minutes, and when he returned, he was carrying a bag.

"Young Master Bai, wipe yourself off. There's a jacket inside too. Make do with it for now."

Bai Yunsheng said, "Thanks."

Zheng Long gave a quiet acknowledgment and went outside to wait. A few minutes later, someone knocked on the car window several times, and only then did Zheng Long get back into the car.

Bai Yunsheng looked at the expressionless Zheng Long and leaned a little toward the front passenger seat. "Did Mr. Meng really come for a medical checkup?"

Zheng Long said, "No. Chairman Meng learned something had happened to you, so he came."

Bai Yunsheng had not expected Zheng Long to tell the truth. "How did Mr. Meng know something had happened to me?"

Zheng Long answered honestly as ever, "Chairman Meng has people at the school."

Bai Yunsheng said, "Is it really okay for you to tell me everything like this?"

Zheng Long said, "Chairman Meng said there was no need to hide it from you. He said to tell you the truth. He said you're smart and would be able to guess even if we didn't tell you."

Just then, the car door opened.

Bai Yunsheng shifted to the side.

Meng Shangzhi said, "Drive."

Then Bai Yunsheng heard Meng Shangzhi say, "I came too late."

Bai Yunsheng's lips parted as if he wanted to speak. Then he pressed them together. "I didn't suffer any loss."

Meng Shangzhi said, "If I'd been one second later, Feng Yanshan's slap would have landed on your face."

Bai Yunsheng said, "But you came. At just the right time."

"And it's fine. I'm used to it already."

Meng Shangzhi said nothing. The air in the car seemed to freeze around them. Only then did Bai Yunsheng realize belatedly that he had said the wrong thing. He secretly glanced over and saw that Meng Shangzhi's jaw was tightly clenched. He did not even blink.

Was he angry?

Bai Yunsheng was not sure.

He had indeed said the wrong thing.

But Meng Shangzhi probably would not get angry over one sentence like that, right?

Yet the car passed one traffic light after another, and Meng Shangzhi never spoke.

Only then was Bai Yunsheng certain.

Meng Shangzhi was angry.

Bai Yunsheng looked at the two people seated in front. One was driving intently, while the other stared ahead as though he could not sense the presence of the two people in the back seat.

After struggling with himself for a long while, Bai Yunsheng shifted a little closer to Meng Shangzhi. "Brother."

Bai Yunsheng saw Meng Shangzhi's tense jaw loosen for an instant, and he seemed to sit up a little straighter. Bai Yunsheng moved closer still and placed his hand over Meng Shangzhi's. "Brother, I was wrong. I won't say things like that again. If Feng Yanshan tries to hit me next time, I definitely won't just stand there. I'll run away, hide, and call you."

"Let you stand up for me."

Meng Shangzhi's body went completely rigid. Bai Yunsheng's words carried the soft warmth of his breath, brushing against his ear, light yet tingling.

Bai Yunsheng said, "Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Meng Shangzhi's Adam's apple bobbed. He mechanically turned his head and met a pair of sparkling eyes. They were no longer gray and dim, but filled with light—not like the sun, but like stars in the night, bright without being harsh. Meng Shangzhi saw his own figure reflected so nakedly in Bai Yunsheng's eyes.

"Brother?"

Meng Shangzhi froze and instinctively pulled his hand away. But he was too nervous and moved too quickly, and the accessory on his wrist scraped across Bai Yunsheng's palm.

"Hiss." Bai Yunsheng let out a pained sound on instinct.

Meng Shangzhi said, "What happened?"

Bai Yunsheng quietly withdrew his hand. "Nothing. I was just trying to scare you. All right, don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Meng Shangzhi stared at Bai Yunsheng. Seeing that his expression was normal, he believed him. "I'm not angry anymore."

The pain in Bai Yunsheng's hand was negligible. If Meng Shangzhi found out he had been hurt because of him, even if it was only a tiny cut, Meng Shangzhi would surely blame himself and feel upset.

He knew Meng Shangzhi liked him.

Perhaps it was more than just liking.

Bai Yunsheng said with a smile, "Brother, you're so easy to pacify."