He Was Cannon Fodder, So He Deserved It

Watching Fang Yao's cheerful figure disappear, Bo Hanmo pressed trembling fingers to his temples. Lu You looked at Bo Zhe in utter confusion.

What was going on?

Bo Zhe sent Xiao Xi away. While Fang Yao was out of earshot, he told Lu You that they could hear his brother's thoughts.

Lu You stood stunned for a long while. Only when the others grew impatient did he say, "Maybe we should take our sister-in-law to a psychologist. And get ourselves checked while we're at it! No, we should call in a master..."

Bo Hanmo shot down the idea with a cold look and left. He wasn't going to the office today, but he still had work to handle.

Lu You curled his lip and kept asking, "So our sister-in-law really can predict the future? Chen Qing is really that vicious?"

Bo Zhe said, "From what we know so far, yes. When we found out yesterday, you have no idea how awful it felt."

"Mm-hmm. We sent someone to look into it. We should hear back soon." Bo Miao admired her freshly done nails.

Lu You's eyes flickered. "Then, Zhe, our sister-in-law said Xiao Xi will make us turn on each other and die in a fight. What do you think will make us fall for her?"

Bo Zhe paused. "Hard to say. Maybe she'll save us, and we'll pledge ourselves to her. Or maybe..."

Lu You nodded. "Let's not speculate about that yet. What matters now is finding out who's behind Xiao Xi."

"Fine. You look into it first. If you can't find anything, I'll take over."

"Who says I can't? Hey, should we bring the others over and see if they can hear our sister-in-law's thoughts?" Lu You pushed Bo Zhe away and gave him an irritated look.

Lu You then scooted closer to Bo Zhe and draped an arm over his shoulders.

"Forget that for now. Big Brother gave us a job." Bo Miao waved her phone in front of them.

Once she had their attention, she set it on the table. Bo Zhe and Lu You read the message and scratched their heads in unison.

"What can we do? Knock our sister-in-law out?" Bo Zhe made a chopping motion with his hand.

Lu You shook his head. "That won't work. I think she knows how to fight. She might beat you up before you can knock her out. How about I hide in a corner when she goes out and splash water on her? Then she won't be able to leave."

"Your idea isn't much better. It might work once or twice, but after that, she'd catch on." Bo Zhe rolled his eyes. Lu You had criticized his idea, but his own was hardly an improvement.

They traded retorts until they were arguing, their faces flushed and their voices rising.

Bo Miao looked at Big Brother's message asking them to stop their sister-in-law from going to the marriage registry. "Enough, you two. We'll go out with Big Brother and our sister-in-law and play it by ear. Whoever fails has to buy dinner for whoever succeeds. Any objections?"

Bo Zhe and Lu You glanced at each other and released each other's collars.

"Let's do it!"

Bo Zhe went to get the car from the garage, while Bo Miao went to change. She planned to drag her sister-in-law shopping when they passed the mall. If they shopped long enough, her sister-in-law might forget all about the divorce.

And someone else would pay for the clothes she'd had her eye on. Haha.

Bo Miao giggled to herself. She was so clever. At the thought of that outfit, she couldn't help bouncing on her toes before skipping back to her room.

Lu You scratched his head. What was Miao Miao laughing about? She looked so cute skipping around. He grinned like a lovesick fool.

In her room, Fang Yao took off the clothes she was wearing and changed into her own. She tidied her hair in the mirror, then left. She ran into Bo Hanmo by the stairs.

"Let's go."

"Mm."

Fang Yao looked at the three people in the car. "What are you doing here?"

"Sister-in-law, we're going out to have some fun. We're just hitching a ride. Come on, get in." Bo Miao poked her head out and beckoned to Fang Yao.

Fang Yao's mouth twitched. Whatever. She climbed in, leaving Bo Hanmo outside.

Bo Hanmo looked at Lu You. After a moment, Lu You gestured that he understood, got out through his door, and climbed into the front passenger seat.

Everyone in the car was lost in thought, and the ride was quiet. Then, as they passed an alley—

Screech!

"Ow! What happened?" Fang Yao had hit her forehead on the seat in front of her. She rubbed it.

She looked up at Bo Zhe behind the wheel, but before she could speak, he shoved his door open and ran off...

Everyone stared after him, baffled.

"Is Second Brother really that bold? Does he think stopping the car will keep our sister-in-law from leaving? Big Brother can drive." Bo Miao leaned toward Lu You and whispered in his ear.

Bo Miao thought her second brother was being rather stupid. She frowned in disdain.

Lu You felt her warm breath against his ear, and his ears instantly turned red. "Zhe must have something to take care of. I—damn..."

Lu You glanced in Bo Zhe's direction, then shoved his door open and ran after him.

So that's why Bo Zhe falls for that scheming little act of hers.

Fang Yao leaned against the car window and looked into the alley. Several thugs had Xiao Xi surrounded, their faces menacing. Fang Yao couldn't hear what Xiao Xi said, but one of them shoved her hard, sending her to the ground.

Bo Zhe had spotted the men harassing Xiao Xi when he glanced down the side street. Seeing her fall, he had slammed on the brakes and run over without stopping to explain. He caught a thug's club before it could strike.

"Zhe! Watch out!" Xiao Xi stared at the club in terror, then covered her head and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the blow.

When no pain came, she opened her eyes and saw Bo Zhe standing there. Xiao Xi smiled. A second later, her trembling voice rang out.

Summoning strength from nowhere, Xiao Xi shoved the thug in front of her aside and threw her arms around Bo Zhe, taking the knife thrust at his back.

"Xiao Xi!!!"

"Zhe! Xiao Xi! Are you all right?"

Bo Zhe went pale as the knife closed in on Xiao Xi. Lu You punched the thug away and picked up the knife from the ground.

"I'm fine, Lu You. Zhe, are you hurt?" Xiao Xi didn't even check herself for injuries. She anxiously looked Bo Zhe over.

What a heroic move, taking a knife for him. Too bad Lu You got there so quickly. Otherwise, Bo Zhe would've fallen for her act hook, line, and sinker.

Should I tell these two that she staged the whole thing? She'd have been fine even if they hadn't saved her. If they hadn't shown up today, she was going to call them over. Putting on this show day after day without either of them appearing must've been exhausting.

But Bo Zhe looks genuinely moved. I almost don't want to tell him.

Bo Zhe's mind went blank for a moment when he heard that. Then anger surged through him at being played for a fool. He pulled Xiao Xi's hands off his arm and opened his mouth to ask whether it was true.

"Bo Zhe, shut up."

Bo Zhe stiffened for a moment, then took a deep breath and turned to Xiao Xi beside him.

"Xiao Xi, stay right here. I'm going to help Lu You."