Little Ji, you lack understanding

Those ringing words stripped away Ji Wensheng's last shred of dignity.

His face rapidly flushed, his eyes widening as he glared at Yan Ningke with hatred.

If someone had handed him a knife, he would surely have plunged it into the other man's artery without hesitation.

Yan Ningke merely looked away calmly.

Shao Ke turned slightly and glanced at the man beside him.

What Ji Wensheng found hardest to accept was Shao Ke's silence. "Brother Shao! How can you let him slander me like this!? We grew up together. I..."

"Hey, hey, hey, stop right there!"

Yan Ningke raised a hand to interrupt him. "It's not slander. At most, it's a bit of roasting!"

Ji Wensheng was practically beside himself with rage. "You!"

"Enough!"

Shao Ke frowned, looking at him with calm indifference. "I don't think we have anything to discuss. Ji Wensheng, your road to success is over there."

Where his gaze settled, Shao Yang stood at the center of a circle of people, smiling as he raised his wineglass toward them, his expression brimming with smug satisfaction.

"Let's go."

Yan Ningke pushed him away without the slightest reluctance.

The banquet was in full swing. Everyone around them was cheerfully mingling, making their silence seem especially lonely by comparison.

Yan Ningke chattered away. "Brother Shao? Does he just keep clucking 'brother, brother' like that?"

Shao Ke gave as good as he got. "You're hardly any better, Ningke."

After a few seconds of silence, Yan Ningke suddenly laughed. "Brother, don't call me that so casually. My knees will go weak."

He really was flirting... shamelessly.

Shao Ke pressed his temples with a headache and sped up his wheelchair.

"Hey, wait for me, brother!"

Yan Ningke covered his mouth to hide his laughter and pretended to call after him as he chased him. The wheelchair ahead picked up speed again.

Once again, he marveled at how much fun flirting with men was!

But honestly, without the mockery, Shao Ke saying his name in that deep, magnetic voice was so damn sexy!

Yan Ningke smacked his lips, savoring it. He had to admit, it felt pretty good!

If Shao Ke knew what he was thinking right now, he would probably wake up in the middle of the night and slap himself twice.

At that thought, he couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Brother Shao! Watch out!"

The happy life was always so short-lived.

The swimming pool was right in front of the villa. Shao Ke had just steered his electric wheelchair alongside it when a waiter carrying a tray approached from the opposite direction.

Normally, these staff members were supposed to make way as soon as they saw a guest.

Unfortunately, two or three rich young men coming from the opposite direction were also trying to overtake the waiter, crowding the path.

The waiter saw Shao Ke and tried to step aside, only to tread on the foot of someone behind him. That person shoved him straight into the wheelchair.

Shao Ke was still a meter from the pool. The moment the accident happened, he hit the brakes.

But whether the waiter truly couldn't regain his balance or something else was going on, he actually grabbed the wheelchair's armrest as he stumbled forward.

Under that force, the wheelchair rolled backward uncontrollably.

Just as he was about to topple into the pool, Shao Ke stared coldly at the waiter in front of him. He was about to kick him away when someone seized the wheelchair!

"Fuck!"

Yan Ningke grabbed the backrest with one hand and hauled the wheelchair back, kicking the still-unsteady waiter into the water in the process.

At the enormous splash, the surroundings went silent for a second before erupting into chaos.

Yet Shao Ke couldn't hear any of it. All he could hear was the man beside him panting heavily.

He turned to look at the man still gripping the wheelchair's handle tightly. Only moonlight remained in his unfathomable eyes.

Yan Ningke stared coldly at the man flailing in the water, lingering fear still echoing in his heart.

So close. It had been so close.

Even though he had stayed right beside him, that damned plot had still been unavoidable. Fortunately, he had been able to salvage things.

"Brother Shao, are you all right?"

Ji Wensheng ran over a step too late, his anxious expression not looking feigned.

Yan Ningke was just about to remark that he wasn't entirely beyond saving when the next second proved him utterly wrong.

"Yan Ningke, look what you've done! As a caregiver, you couldn't even protect your employer. You nearly put Brother Shao in danger! Someone like you doesn't deserve to stay by his side!"

Ji Wensheng pointed at him indignantly and accused him loudly. "And I saw everything just now. You actually kicked the waiter into the pool! How could you be so vicious!"

Nobody wanted an accident to happen, and the waiter hadn't done it on purpose. The danger had already passed, yet he had still done something so immoral.

Ji Wensheng looked at Yan Ningke with disgust and ordered him imperiously, "Go apologize to him right now, or I won't let you get away with this!"

The waiter in the water had already been pulled out by his colleagues. Hearing that, he couldn't even bother coughing and waved his hands in panic. "N-no need. It was my fault."

Yan Ningke actually laughed. "Are you out of your mind?"

"If your moral standards are so high, why don't you erect a monument to your own virtue? And you're wearing designer clothes and accessories, aren't you? How could you do that? Don't you know children in the mountains can't even afford food?"

"If you're so morally superior, why don't you donate your money to people who can put it to good use?"

"Oh, not just your money. Your eyes, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys-you can donate all of those too. Countless patients are waiting for transplants every day. Why don't you hurry up and help them?"

"You really are such a terrible person!"

At some point, their surroundings had fallen silent. Even after that barrage, Yan Ningke still wasn't satisfied. He pointed at Ji Wensheng with a look of utter disappointment.

"Little Ji, you lack understanding. You still have a long way to go. Ah, it's getting late, so I won't lecture you any further. Take your time figuring it out."

Scattered laughter came from nearby.

Ji Wensheng couldn't hide his murderous intent!

He trembled all over with rage, as though his entire body were ablaze.

Yan Ningke couldn't care less. Ultimately, whoever started acting like a jerk first had to stand there and take the beating.

Swallowing his humiliation, Ji Wensheng looked at Shao Ke, hoping he would help him. Unfortunately, things never went as he wished.

Shao Ke shattered his delusions with an offhand remark. "Young Master Ji, my affairs are none of your concern. Just look after yourself."

Ji Wensheng's eyes widened in disbelief, his face instantly turning pale. "Brother Shao..."

"Young Master Ji."

Shao Ke's voice was as calm as a river beneath autumn leaves, with a bitter wind cutting through it. "Please mind your words and actions."

Yan Ningke tilted his head to look behind them and smiled leisurely. "Little Ji, your Brother Shao is here."

Then he lowered himself into a crouch and straightened Shao Ke's collar, chuckling softly. "Mr. Shao, the wind's picking up."

Their gazes met, those dark eyes seeming steeped in ink.

Shao Ke supported his arm to help him stand. The corners of his mouth relaxed slightly, his voice calm. "Let's head back."

The farce ended without affecting the mood of the banquet. Having enjoyed the show, the onlookers returned to the venue in lively groups.

"Wensheng?"

Ji Wensheng turned in shame and anger and threw himself into Shao Yang's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Brother Yang, how could Brother Shao treat me like this?"

He was so good to me. When they were little, Shao Ke had granted his every request and never had the heart to let him be sad.

He had only chosen what he needed, and Shao Ke had changed because of that?

But what choice did he have?

Who told Shao Ke to end up crippled?