The moment Lu Yubai finished speaking, Fan Chiran heard a buzzing in his ears that left him frozen.
No... he didn't want Xiaoxiao to see such an ugly bruise.
Once that realization hit him, Fan Chiran instinctively reached for his collar, wanting to pull it up over the bruise. But when he met Lu Xiaoxiao's surprised gaze, he suddenly realized that doing so would only make it more obvious that he was hiding something.
His grip loosened, and embarrassment crept across his face. He tried hard to force a smile, but the curve of his lips looked worse than if he had been crying.
"It's... it's nothing. I just bumped into something by accident..."
Fan Chiran spoke quietly as he reached for the jacket tossed to one side, wanting to put it on quickly and hide his injuries, only for Lu Yubai to stop him angrily.
"What do you mean, you bumped into something? Who do you think you're fooling?! Does that look like something you did to yourself? Is it because I haven't been at school these past couple of days? Have Jiang Haoxin and his gang been bullying you behind my back again?"
Over the past several days, Lu Yubai had first gone to Deserted Island to find Lu Xiaoxiao, then returned only to have Lu Bochen attempt suicide by taking pills. He really had taken quite a few days off and didn't know much about how Fan Chiran had been doing at school.
The mere possibility that someone had bullied Fan Chiran while he was away made Lu Yubai feel ready to explode.
It was one thing back when he and Fan Chiran had misunderstood each other! But now, who at school didn't know that Fan Chiran was a friend under Young Master Lu's protection?!
And they