Crisis

Shi Yuan rode home with a goofy smile, unaware that Wei Zexuan was behind his repeated failed interviews. Wei Zelin knew, but he would have liked nothing better than to keep Shi Yuan right under his nose.

As Shi Yuan went to Oak Bay every day to teach, he gradually grew familiar with the household. Xiao Rong had put on a cold face at first, but as he got to know Shi Yuan, a little of his childish side began to show.

Shi Yuan had never asked where the lady of the house had gone, but he could more or less sense that the child was starved for affection.

There was a public school near Oak Bay, the very one Xiao Rong attended.

A lot of stationery stores lined the street beside the school. Whenever Shi Yuan passed by, he would buy a little toy or an unusually shaped pen or some paper to bring Xiao Rong during lessons. None of it was worth much, but Xiao Rong still secretly cried the first time he received a little raccoon pencil sharpener. Shi Yuan never saw him cry-the little brat immediately locked himself in his bedroom, only emerging half an hour later to awkwardly thank him with red eyes. Shi Yuan had no choice but to work an extra half hour.

Shi Yuan came out of the subway station and strolled along the roadside.

The new school term had arrived. A crowd of miserable students gathered at the school gates, along with their beaming parents, who breezily left after dropping their children off.

Shi Yuan gazed longingly at the gates, wishing he could follow those chattering little brats inside.

The tutoring paid well and had solved his immediate financial crisis. He even dared to pick out trousers costing over eighty now. But it still wasn't enough to support renting a place of his own. He desperately longed for the stability of a public-sector job and the on-campus housing available to teachers.

"Xiao Rong?"

The child riding his bike to school alone stood out among the parents dropping off their children. Every so often, a parent glanced at him.

Shi Yuan ran over and patted his small, young shoulder.

Xiao Rong turned around with a sour expression. He hadn't expected to see Shi Yuan and said in surprise, "Mr. Shi? What are you doing here?"

It was still early for Shi Yuan to start work. He had come so early today to buy autumn clothes. The weather was gradually cooling, and he felt chilly riding his bike at night, so he planned to buy a jacket.

Still, cheering the child up wouldn't hurt. Shi Yuan smiled at him and said, "School's starting, so I came to keep you company. You're being assigned to new classes today, right?"

Xiao Rong looked noticeably happier, his eyes curving into a smile along with Shi Yuan's. "Yeah, we're moving up to fifth grade, so they're rearranging the classes."

They were short on time, so after only exchanging a few words, Xiao Rong pushed his bike into the school. His steps were noticeably lighter.

Shi Yuan wandered the nearby streets. Last night, he thought he had seen a banner outside a shopping mall advertising thirty percent off autumn clothes, but it had been too late then. Since he had plenty of free time during the day, he had deliberately come early to take a look.

Before long, he did find the mall. The first two floors sold affordable brands and were the most crowded. He specifically sought out the racks of discounted clothes. They really were much cheaper than usual, and the quality was better than what he bought at the wholesale market.

He took a liking to a plain black baseball jacket, priced at 175 after the discount. He tried it on, and it fit well too. Seeing his interest, the sales assistant smiled and said, "Looking even more handsome in our clothes, handsome! The season's about to change, so our boss wants to clear everything out cheaply to make room for new styles. Normally, this would cost at least five or six hundred. Why not pick out another couple of things? It's a fantastic deal!"

Shi Yuan politely declined with a smile, saying one was enough. Who didn't like new clothes? His wallet just couldn't handle it.

After paying, he turned to leave, only for the sales assistant to call out again, "Handsome, there's an extra discount if you buy two items. Are you sure you don't want another?"

Shi Yuan came out of the mall carrying two bags, turned the corner, and boarded the subway again. This time, he was going to the Wei Corporation.

Over the past few days, Wei Zelin had bought peaches for him several more times after noticing how much he liked them. Shi Yuan felt embarrassed about always eating them for free and wanted to buy some himself. He circled the area around the Wei Corporation twice, but still couldn't find the peach vendor Wei Zelin had mentioned.

He wasn't particularly disappointed. Luckily, he had another thank-you gift. He lifted the bags a couple of times. Inside were one black garment and one white. The black one was his baseball jacket, jumbled up from being jostled around in its bag. The white one was a substantial brushed-cotton shirt, neatly folded inside a brown paper box, which had then been placed in a shopping bag.

It wasn't an expensive gift, but the care Shi Yuan had put into it gave the shirt a special significance.

He ducked behind a tree and took out his phone-11:37.

He should be off work by now, right?

"Brother Lin," Shi Yuan said as the call connected.

"I..." Before he could finish, someone snatched the phone from his hand.

With a crack, the phone that had been with him for months lay shattered on the ground. Shi Yuan's heart bled. It was currently his most valuable possession.

But the instant he looked up, he reined in his anger.

"Wei... Brother Xuan, what are you doing here?"

A wise man knew when to yield. Shi Yuan was alone, and however valuable his phone was, his life mattered more. If he truly angered a mad dog like Wei Zexuan, the man wouldn't give a damn about law and order. He still had marks on his body from the vicious beating last time.

"What, you're calling me brother again?" A group of men still followed behind Wei Zexuan, but this time, Huang Shiren's place had been taken by a man in a tight T-shirt. He stood close beside Wei Zexuan with a numb expression, looking unlike an ordinary lackey.

In the book, "Shi Yuan" had met his end because of Wei Zelin. Shi Yuan had naively thought that as long as he got along with Wei Zelin, he could live in peace.

Hadn't the beating Wei Zexuan gave him for interfering in You Gui's affairs last time been enough? Why wasn't he busy dealing with the Shi Family's company? Why come after a nobody like him?

"Come on, Brother Xuan. Haven't I always followed your lead in everything? Now that my family's fallen on hard times, I'm no use to you anymore. I just didn't want to hang around and annoy you."

Clinging to a faint hope, Shi Yuan tried to awaken a little conscience in Wei Zexuan. "Shi Yuan" had done plenty for him in the past. His fall from rich heir to penniless pauper had been entirely Wei Zexuan's doing. Wasn't it going a little too far to keep hounding him?

But did Wei Zexuan possess anything resembling a conscience? Clearly not. He was petty beyond belief. He didn't think of all the days "Shi Yuan" had slaved away for him. All he remembered was Shi Yuan standing in front of You Gui and challenging his authority, then slipping completely out of his control after marrying Wei Zelin and defying him.

"If a dog disobeys, I can throw it away. But I'll never allow it to betray its master and run off on its own!" Wei Zexuan said menacingly.

"What do you say?"

I say I'm your daddy. Shi Yuan kept his face blank as he cursed inwardly.

Wei Zexuan might act high and mighty, but Shi Yuan had never had to put up with this kind of crap either!

Who are you calling a dog? If not for the hulking men behind Wei Zexuan, he would have jumped up and slapped him twice.

Just as Shi Yuan faced the danger of being hauled away a second time, something unexpected happened.

"Mr. Shi?"

Shi Yuan's relatively calm expression froze. After a two-second pause, he inexplicably said to the suddenly appeared Xiao Rong, "You've got the wrong person, haven't you? Who here is your teacher?"

There hadn't been any proper lessons at school today. They had only assigned classes, met their new classmates, and handed out textbooks, all of which had taken half a day. That morning, he had heard Shi Yuan say he was coming this way to buy peaches, so after school, he had ridden over, thinking he might run into him.

Now he had indeed found him, but his teacher seemed to have offended someone formidable.

He stopped walking toward Shi Yuan. Quick to react, he looked at Wei Zexuan and the bodyguards behind him, then immediately corrected himself. "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else."

Wei Zexuan chuckled. "Mistook him? Trying to pull a fast one right under my nose?"

The moment those words left his mouth, two burly bodyguards behind him charged out without needing any further instructions.

Xiao Rong was only a child in his early teens, after all. They caught him and brought him back in no time.

Shi Yuan took a deep breath.

"Wei Zexuan, Brother Xuan, do you know who this little brat is?"

Xiao Rong looked exasperated. Why was his teacher calling him that? "I'm not a little brat!"

Shi Yuan turned and glared at him. "Shut up!"

Xiao Rong looked deeply wronged.

Wei Zexuan didn't have that much patience for two nobodies.

He lashed out with a kick. Shi Yuan clutched his arm and staggered half a step backward. Fortunately, Wei Zexuan indulged in both drink and women, so there wasn't much strength behind it.

Bearing the pain, Shi Yuan pulled Xiao Rong behind him. "Wei Zexuan, you can have your men deal with me, but this child's father works for the government. If you..." Dare touch him!

Shi Yuan stopped himself halfway through. Wei Zexuan was a lawless lunatic. Saying that would probably anger him more than it would give him pause.

The thought turned over in Shi Yuan's mind for three seconds. Once he had figured it out, he immediately changed his attitude, putting on a completely unconcerned expression. "Brother Xuan, if you want to deal with me, I'll accept it. I'll go with you. As for this kid... do whatever you like."

Behind him, Xiao Rong stared at him in disbelief.

Fan You smiled mockingly. Sure enough, in the face of danger, bonds between siblings or teachers and students couldn't withstand a thing. Everyone would think of themselves first.

Wei Zexuan, on the other hand, grew suspicious. In any case, this child was nobody important.

He waved at the bodyguards, and the men surrounding them dragged Xiao Rong out from behind Shi Yuan and flung him aside.

Seeing that none of them even looked at him, Xiao Rong knew they meant to let him go. He bit his lip. He was only a child, after all, and those tall, imposing bodyguards had frightened him badly. He looked at Shi Yuan a couple of times with reddened eyes, then quickly ran away.