Chapter 31

Water droplets trickled down along her hair.

There was no smile on her face. Her pitch-black peach blossom eyes brewed with a gathering storm.

An Xiang was usually kind to everyone. Perhaps because she had endured too much hurt since childhood, she had become detached from worldly desires and unwilling to fight with anyone.

But—

He should never have hurt her only family.

An Xiang got to her feet, took two steps forward, and shoved the stunned An Ruoming straight into the pool.

Only then did he react, anger surging up inside him again. Just as he was about to climb out and confront her, An Xiang immediately pressed his head back underwater.

She knelt at the poolside, both hands pressing tightly on An Ruoming's head, giving him no chance to get out.

Old grudges and new hatred combined, filling her heart with endless fury. That fury became strength, all of it gathering in her hands.

An Xiang's vicious expression was frightening. Not only were the others stunned, even An Zimo sat there blankly, unable to say a word.

An Ruoming could not exert any strength in the water and gulped down mouthful after mouthful.

An Xiang yanked him up by the hair, her eyes bloodshot as she shouted hoarsely, "Does it hurt?!"

"You fucking—"

Splash!

An Xiang shoved him back under again.

She had been bullied plenty by that face when she was little.

Pureblood families had no tradition of splitting into separate branches. Uncles, cousins, and brothers all lived together. An Ruoming and An Yanze's parents had died young, and because the two were clever, they quickly won An Xiang's parents' affection. They poured all their energy into the brothers, giving them the very best in food, clothes, toys, and everything else.

An Xiang had been born mute, so even when she was bullied, she had no way to tell anyone.

An Ruoming took advantage of that. Every night, he would go to her room and beat her black and blue.

She did not possess the Vampire Clan's strong physique and was terribly afraid of the cold. An Ruoming would throw her into the woodshed in the middle of winter.

There were too many incidents to count. An Xiang had thought she no longer cared, but when she saw An Ruoming bullying her son, she suddenly realized that evil people would always be evil. Bullying the weak was in his nature.

An Xiang had been afraid before.

But she was no longer afraid. She had already left that family and had nothing to do with them anymore.

"An Xiang, let go."

An Yanze came over to persuade her, only for her to glare him back.

An Ruoming flailed constantly from lack of oxygen. He wanted to fight back, but the buoyancy of the water made it impossible to exert force. With his hair being pulled, he could not dive down either. He thrashed his arms wildly and grabbed An Xiang's arm, trying to pull her into the water.

"Momo, bite him—!"

The sudden command jolted An Zimo awake. The next second, he lunged forward and bit down on that arm, hitting precisely the spot where he had bitten before.

His teeth seemed stronger than an ordinary person's. His cheeks trembled from how hard he was biting.

The metallic scent unique to blood filled his mouth, and an odd feeling suddenly surfaced in his heart. He did not find the taste disgusting. He even wanted to bite harder...

Blood trickled down from the corners of An Zimo's lips. A low whine came from his throat as he looked like a vicious little beast.

One mother held someone underwater while her son bit him. Their fierce momentum was so intimidating that no one dared go over to stop them.

"An Xiang, something will happen if you keep this up." Ignoring everything else, An Yanze stepped forward, grabbed An Xiang, and pulled her back.

An Xiang had already gone red with rage. She swung her fist backward and punched An Yanze directly in the eye socket.

He let out a muffled groan but did not dare let go. He forcibly dragged her away.

Someone had called security by then. The music had stopped at some point, and the entire venue had fallen silent.

An Xiang panted heavily, staring at An Ruoming as though she wanted to kill him.

"What happened?"

"Cough, cough, cough—" An Ruoming coughed as he climbed out of the pool. His lips were bluish-purple, and he glared viciously at An Xiang as he trembled and threatened, "You... just you wait."

An Xiang grabbed a crystal glass from the table and hurled it viciously at that hateful face.

An Ruoming had not recovered his mobility and was struck dead-on. His eyes rolled back, and he staggered before falling into the water again.

An Yanze looked at An Xiang, then at An Ruoming. In the end, he released her, jumped into the pool, and fished his half-conscious younger brother out.

"Are you the one causing trouble here?" Two security guards stepped forward and grabbed An Xiang. "We've already contacted the police. Please come with us."

An Xiang had yet to calm down. Her mind was completely blank.

She stubbornly pressed her lips together, her eyes fixed tightly on An Ruoming, who was gasping on the ground.

"He bullied my son first. It wasn't my fault." An Xiang's eyes were red, and she did not think she had done anything wrong.

"Sorry, but you'll need to come with us to the security office first. We'll discuss everything else afterward." The guards did not listen to An Xiang's explanation. An Ruoming was a black card member of the resort. With things having escalated this badly, it would be difficult for them if they did not give him an explanation.

Seeing An Xiang about to be taken away, An Zimo finally found that man.

"Uncle Pei—!" He jumped up from the ground, opened his mouth, and shouted toward the distance, "Uncle Pei, come quickly!!" This idiot had arrived late, but not too late. It was the perfect chance to play the hero and save the beauty!!

An Zimo's eyes gleamed as he hurried over and hooked his fingers around Pei Yizhou's.

In an instant, everyone's gaze fell on Pei Yizhou.

The man came through the shadows, as though stepping beneath the stars and moon.

As the most talked-about figure in the business world, he had always been low-key and reserved in person. He was famously cold, distant, and difficult to approach.

Yet at that moment, the young man whose hand was being held by a child showed a trace of confusion for the first time. Combined with his casual outfit, he looked less like a decisive young chairman and more like a slightly helpless new father.

An Zimo pulled Pei Yizhou over to An Xiang, only then noticing that Pei Yizhou was wearing different clothes from before.

In other words, he had suddenly disappeared to change clothes!!!

An Zimo could hardly believe it and could not help looking up to ask, "Uncle Pei, did you go change clothes just now?"

"Mm."

"..."

"..."

As if sensing An Zimo's speechlessness, he added blandly, "Someone spilled wine on me." The lighting had probably been too dim and there had been too many people. In five minutes, he had been splashed with at least two glasses of wine. Naturally, he could not meet the girl he had been longing for in that state.

With no other choice, Pei Yizhou had gone back to change. Naturally, he had also spent over ten minutes hesitating in front of the mirror about what to wear.

An Zimo stood close enough to hear his thoughts clearly.

He could not help being shocked.

This man had actually dawdled for so long just because he was changing clothes!!!!

Pei Yizhou's gaze shifted, and his eyes immediately found An Xiang.

The moment he saw her, his breathing stalled, and his clear mind went blank for several seconds.

An Xiang stood beneath the lights, so fair she was almost dazzling.

Though her swimsuit was conservative, it suited her perfectly. Her exposed arms were slender, her legs straight, and the curve of her waist was alluringly beautiful.

She stood there obediently, her wet hair clinging tightly to her long neck.

—Cute, lovely, like a star.

Pei Yizhou's Adam's apple bobbed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw An Ruoming raise his arm and swing it toward the girl.

Pei Yizhou took two steps forward and stood in front of An Xiang, his tall body firmly shielding her behind him.

He effortlessly gripped the other man's wrist. His fingers tightened around the bones, and although he did not seem to use much force, An Ruoming could not break free at all.

"Pei Yizhou, let go! Stop meddling in other people's business!"

"Oh." Pei Yizhou's expression remained indifferent. "I like to."

An Ruoming stared at him in disbelief and pointed behind him. "Do you know what this woman just did?!"

"No."

"You're getting involved even though you don't know?!"

"I want to."

An Ruoming was burning with anger but knew he could not outargue Pei Yizhou. Gritting his teeth, he forcefully pulled his wrist free. Pei Yizhou had used a great deal of strength, and in that short time, red-purple finger marks had already appeared on his wrist. Worst of all was the place that had been bitten. The flesh looked rotten, red and swollen, with blood constantly seeping out.

Even with a vampire's powerful healing ability, bite marks like that would not heal anytime soon.

"Mr. Pei, look..." The guards were caught between a rock and a hard place. They could not simply ignore the matter, but they also could not forcefully take An Xiang away in front of Pei Yizhou.

"Before handling a matter, you should at least understand the full circumstances. Dragging her away like this is far too rash." Seeing the girl beside him shivering, Pei Yizhou contemplated for a moment, then slowly unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and draped it over An Xiang's shoulders.

The light shirt still carried a crisp, cool scent.

Unable to help herself, she took another sniff, then silently raised her eyes to glance at the man's chest right in front of her.

It was firm and smooth. His abs looked very tempting to touch.

An Xiang immediately lowered her eyes and returned the shirt. "I don't want it. Put it back on." Her voice was soft, like that of a harmless little animal.

Pei Yizhou fell silent. His lashes trembled slightly as he lowered his voice. "...I've already taken it off."

Her fingers paused. She said nothing and wrapped the shirt around her shoulders again.

Pei Yizhou kept An Xiang protected behind him, then looked at An Zimo. "Tell me what happened."

"He pushed me into the water, which constitutes intentional assault." An Zimo pointed at An Ruoming, calmly and clearly recounting what had happened. "My mother pulled me out, and this uncle attempted to harm us a second time. Therefore, to prevent him from committing another crime, my mother exercised her rightful right to self-defense."

An Zimo's little mouth left everyone speechless.

An Ruoming was dumbfounded. "You little bastard, don't talk nonsense! You clearly ran into me and fell in yourself. What does that have to do with me? Tell me, when did I ever push you?!"

"So many people saw it." An Zimo's expression remained blank, without the slightest panic, even though what An Ruoming said was indeed true.

He had observed the surroundings the moment he came in.

There were three surveillance cameras around the pool. By coincidence, they had been standing in a blind spot. With so many people around, the dim lights, and his small size, outsiders would indeed have seen An Ruoming lose his temper first and start hitting him. Besides hitting him, An Ruoming had also cursed quite a bit.

"I believe the surveillance footage has records as well. It will be obvious who started it." An Zimo curled his lips confidently. "If that's not enough, we can ask the media to judge who's right."

They were just ordinary citizens. Even if this matter were exposed, it would not affect their lives in any way.

But An Ruoming was different. So many competitors were watching, waiting to throw dirt on them. How could they possibly let such a good opportunity go?

Just as An Ruoming was about to flare up, he was stopped. "Enough." An Yanze's expression was icy, clearly filled with anger.

Seeing his older brother about to lose his temper, An Ruoming shrank back. He immediately stood obediently to the side and did not make another move.

"Mm, it seems everyone understands now." Pei Yizhou called the child to his side and looked at the two brothers with a half-smile. "Do you have anything else to say?"

An Yanze's head throbbed. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and said, "In the end, my younger brother was the one who acted thoughtlessly. How about this? We'll cover Miss An Xiang's expenses for the next few days. If you want to take the child to a doctor, we'll arrange it personally as well. I hope you can be understanding."

Pei Yizhou looked back and asked softly, "What do you think?"

"No need." An Xiang replied coldly with those three words. She bent down, picked up An Zimo, avoided the crowd, and hurried away from the place of trouble.

It was not as though she had no money. She did not care for anything from their family.

Besides, she did not want to be understanding. That person had no right to ask for her understanding.

With the matter resolved, Pei Yizhou could not be bothered to deal with the two brothers any longer. He took long strides and followed closely behind An Xiang.

Pei Yizhou: I'm just a tool character with no presence. (:з"∠).

For emphasis, the title is "I'm the Genius's Mom," not "I'm Fucking a Genius." Don't say "I'm Fucking a Genius updated!" ever again! Sob sob sob.

Random red envelopes.