The secluded alley was overgrown with weeds and moss, with no one to clear them away.
From where Jiang Xun stood, he could see three burly men with tattooed arms standing in a corner not far away. They wore gold chains around their necks and looked vicious even from behind.
At that moment, all three were cursing as they punched and kicked a boy in a blue-and-white school uniform who lay on the ground.
The boy curled in on himself, his back drawn taut as a fully stretched bowstring, forming a fragile curve. His body was almost entirely blocked from view.
Jiang Xun couldn't see his face, but he could see his hand lying on the ground-long-fingered and covered in dirt, the back scraped raw, his nails digging deep into the soil.
His school uniform, washed clean and faded white, was covered in dust and footprints, even flecked with blood.
Jiang Xun hurriedly withdrew his gaze and pressed himself against the wall, sighing inwardly. He really is a poor little misery magnet.
The mission was to save Bai Lian from the debt collectors, so he couldn't wait until those men finished beating him and left, then swoop in afterward.
Jiang Xun squeezed his own skinny arms and legs. They weren't even as thick as those tattooed men's arms. One slap could send him flying.
A head-on fight was out of the question, so his only option was to run-and he might not even be able to outrun them.
Jiang Xun's face scrunched up in misery.
After hesitating for two seconds, Jiang Xun steeled himself and leaned halfway out, about to shout.
"Mmph..."
A warm, dry hand suddenly covered his mouth from behind. At the same time, a strong, muscular arm swept across him, locked firmly around his waist, and pulled him back.
Jiang Xun's back pressed against a warm, solid body. He could almost feel the powerful heart beating inside the other man's chest.
An overpowering scent of masculine pheromones washed over him, enveloping him completely.
With his mouth covered, he widened his eyes in shock and turned his head, meeting a face he had seen only a short while ago.
The man's jawline was sharp and clean, his expression calm and composed.
Fu Yanli.
Jiang Xun was stunned, but his heart, which had been lodged in his throat, suddenly settled. He didn't struggle at all.
He patted Fu Yanli's large hand around his waist, signaling with his eyes for him to let go.
Fu Yanli rested his chin on the crown of Jiang Xun's head, his chest pressed against the boy's slender back.
Jiang Xun's warm breath brushed his palm with every exhalation, tickling a little.
Fu Yanli removed the hand covering Jiang Xun's mouth, but his other hand remained around his waist.
Through the thin layer of fabric, the skin beneath his palm felt warm. There wasn't much flesh there, but it was surprisingly soft.
The hand at his waist was impossible to ignore, and Jiang Xun felt a little awkward. He raised his round puppy eyes toward the man behind him, not daring to speak loudly, and whispered, "Uncle, your hand. Let go..."
Without a change in expression, Fu Yanli raised a long index finger to his lips, signaling for silence.
Then he lowered his head, his thin lips almost brushing the rim of Jiang Xun's left ear. They moved slightly, as though he had said something.
Naturally, Jiang Xun couldn't hear a thing. All he felt was a warm breath spilling into his ear, sending a shiver tingling across his scalp.
He instinctively tilted his head away, dodging it.
He wanted to ask what Fu Yanli had just said, but the man suddenly released his waist and stepped half a pace back, putting some distance between them.
Then he took out his phone, unlocked it, and tapped nimbly across the screen.
-Want to deal with the men in there?
Jiang Xun kept feeling that something was off, but looking at Fu Yanli's impassive face, he decided he must be overthinking it.
He nodded several times, like a chick pecking at grain.
Fu Yanli continued typing.
-Stay hidden. Don't make a sound.
Jiang Xun kept nodding like a chick pecking at grain.
Don't ask. He simply had blind faith in the big shot.
Fu Yanli switched off the screen, then handed his phone to Jiang Xun, indicating that he should hold it for now.
Jiang Xun took the phone in a daze, then watched Fu Yanli, dressed in an exquisitely tailored suit, bend down and pick up a brick from the ground.
His expensive black leather shoes stepped onto the filthy ground as he silently walked toward the three tattooed men, as casually as if he were strolling through a garden.
"Kid, you're the one who wouldn't pay up. You can't blame us for this, right?"
"Cut the fucking crap. If you still can't come up with the money in three days, I'll cripple one of your legs!"
"That's enough. If we actually cripple him, who's going to earn the money to pay us back?"
The boy lay barely breathing on the ground while the three burly men looked down at him, each chiming in.
None of them noticed someone silently approaching from behind.
Fu Yanli stopped two steps away, raised the brick in his hand, and smashed it into the back of one man's head without so much as blinking.
The man screamed. The one beside him immediately turned. "You..." Before he could strike, a brick slammed straight into his forehead.
The last man muttered a curse and swung a steel pipe viciously at Fu Yanli's head.
Fu Yanli dropped the brick and sidestepped, catching the man's wrist and twisting it hard.
"Aah!"
Standing a short distance away, Jiang Xun watched the scene, dumbfounded.
With one clean, decisive shoulder throw, the burly man hit the ground screaming.
A black leather shoe stepped onto the back of his hand and slowly ground down a few times. The movement was almost elegant, revealing its owner's unruffled composure.
"Aah! Spare me, boss! Spare me..."
Fu Yanli had no deep-seated grudge against them. After a moment, he lifted his foot.
The burly man had a vicious face with a knife scar across it, yet now he looked like a chick caught by the throat, staring fearfully at the stranger who had suddenly appeared.
Handsome and refined, the man carried himself with understated restraint, yet a powerful, unapproachable aura surrounded him.
Instinct told him this was someone he couldn't afford to cross.
Supporting his two companions, who lay groaning on the ground, the burly man limped past Jiang Xun without even daring to look back.
Jiang Xun watched the three tattooed men flee in disgrace. After a moment of stunned silence, he turned to look at Fu Yanli on the other side.
Some distance away, the man stood tall and straight as a pine, his suit still impeccably neat.
Holding a handkerchief, he carefully wiped the dirt and specks of blood from his hands.
His eyes were half-lowered, thick lashes concealing the calm within them. They were like an abyss, or a deep forest shrouded in fog-unfathomable, drawing people to venture through that mist and discover what lay beyond.
Jiang Xun came back to his senses. Looking at the blood staining the man's fingertips, he felt another brief chill.
Fu Yanli had swung that brick with ruthless, cold-blooded efficiency, without even blinking, as though he did this sort of thing often.
Jiang Xun shuddered. I must never offend this big shot, or I'll be the next one getting hit with a brick.
Composing himself, Jiang Xun hurried over with excited little steps, clapping like a seal and delivering his enthusiasm perfectly. "You're amazing, Uncle! You took them all down!"
Fu Yanli put away his handkerchief, glanced at the boy lying barely conscious on the ground, then raised his eyes to Jiang Xun.
His meaning was obvious.
Jiang Xun rubbed the tip of his nose, his gaze darting around as he chuckled awkwardly. "I like helping people. I can't stand seeing a bunch of people gang up on one person."
Whether Fu Yanli believed him or not, he merely repeated with an inscrutable tone, "Mm. Helping people."
He drew the words out slightly, sounding rather casual.
Jiang Xun could barely keep smiling. He awkwardly shifted the subject to Fu Yanli. "What about you, Uncle?"
Fu Yanli said, "Just passing by."
Jiang Xun said, "...Oh."
Fine. Let's stop asking questions and let each other save face.
Thinking of the bloody state those three tattooed men had been in, Jiang Xun couldn't help feeling concerned. "Those guys won't be seriously hurt, will they?"
"I know how to hold back." Fu Yanli looked at his gauze-wrapped forehead. "You, on the other hand..."
Jiang Xun bared his teeth in a grin. "I'm fine. Couldn't be better."
Fu Yanli said, "Clearly."
He could still sprint several kilometers, after all.
The two of them chatted back and forth, completely ignoring the injured boy lying barely breathing on the ground.
Jiang Xun couldn't keep the conversation going. Just as he was wondering how to get Fu Yanli to leave, the phone in his hand suddenly began vibrating.
It was a call from a subordinate at the company.
He hurriedly returned the phone to Fu Yanli, speaking faster. "Uncle, if you've got something to do, go ahead. I won't keep you from your work."
Fu Yanli could tell that he was being shooed away.
Ungrateful little thing.
Fu Yanli took the phone, his warm fingertips brushing ever so lightly across the boy's skin. He let the phone keep vibrating. "Come to me if you need anything."
With that, he turned and strode out of the alley on his long legs, disappearing around the corner in an instant.
Jiang Xun let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his face.
Why did Fu Yanli suddenly show up here? Surely he wasn't really just passing by?
Was he following me?
Why would a CEO with a million things to do have the time to follow his nephew's fiancé?
What would he get out of it?
Ha. Fine, just passing by it is.
Fu Yanli really is surprisingly nice. He helped me deal with a huge problem.
He definitely wouldn't hurt me.
Finally remembering that someone was still lying on the ground, he hurried over to check on him.
Bai Lian seemed to have passed out. His hands and face were covered in bruises and scrapes, and the thin fabric of his school uniform wrapped around his lean, slender body.
His neat, short black hair left his brow and eyes fully exposed. Despite the injuries on his face, it was still clear that he was very handsome.
He had a pronounced brow, striking features, and thin lips, with a lingering trace of youthful innocence.
School-heartthrob material.
Next, he had to take this poor little misery magnet home.
With considerable effort, Jiang Xun helped Bai Lian sit up, resting his head against his own shoulder, and gently shook him.
"Little misery... Hey, kid, wake up!"
After being shaken for a while, Bai Lian furrowed his brow in discomfort, then opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar, youthful face entered his vision, smiling. "You're finally awake."
Bai Lian frowned, looking at Jiang Xun with wariness and indifference. He brusquely brushed Jiang Xun's hand away, staggered to his feet, and slowly made his way out.
Jiang Xun secretly gritted his teeth. Honestly, if I didn't have a mission to complete, who would want to stick their nose into someone else's business?
He immediately stood and chased after him.
"Hey, where do you live? Let me take you home."
"Look at you. You're hurt so badly. Let me help you walk."