Not only Chen Yannan, but even Zhu Sichun and Chi Yelai, who had remained silent in shock beside him, stared unblinkingly at Li Shu.
As though they were waiting for an answer.
Li Shu: "..."
What are you looking at?
Li Shu awkwardly kept ducking behind Pei Song'an. "He did kiss me once, but I swear it was all within the bounds of normal social interaction."
There was nothing he could do. He thought it was strange too, but that was what Pei Song'an had told him.
The veins in Chen Yannan's forehead throbbed fiercely. "Who told you that was normal social interaction?"
Li Shu instinctively looked at Pei Song'an.
"Say something! You did it, and now you want me to explain???"
"What is this? Don't make it sound like I kissed you!"
"Pei Song'an!"
Do you insist on making me appoint you a corrupt official!?
Sunlight fell across Li Shu's straight, elegant nose, and the bead of his upper lip was a little pale. He was still waiting for Pei Song'an to speak when a burst of admiring exclamations suddenly rose behind them, immediately drawing his attention.
"Huh?"
"What's that noise? Let me take a look."
Pei Song'an raised his head, his gaze following Li Shu's movement to a young man holding a gun not far away.
Several consecutive bull's-eyes were enough to draw considerable admiration.
Li Shu went closer and got a clear look at the young man holding the gun. He had a neat buzz cut and a piercing gaze, with a plain silver hoop hanging from his right ear that swayed slightly as he spoke.
Just bull's-eyes. Nothing special.
Pei Song'an must be even better than him.
Suddenly, the system, which had not made its presence felt in a long time, spoke:
[Host, I suggest you have the male lead, Pei Song'an, leave immediately.]
Li Shu instantly went on alert. [Why? Is there danger?]
The system paused, seemingly weighing whether the level of danger was manageable. After a moment's deliberation, it said:
[Although the guns are not loaded with live ammunition, shots hitting a human body can still cause fractures. With the crowd in disarray, there is no telling which stray bullet might accidentally take Pei Song'an's life.]
Li Shu found it a little strange. Apart from the piercing alarm it had sounded for no reason last time, this was the first time the system had been so subjective.
Then could he take that to mean danger really would occur, but Pei Song'an was not its target, and the system had detected the possibility of collateral injury in the ensuing chaos, which was why it had issued Li Shu this warning?
But regardless, he did not want Pei Song'an getting hurt. He had stood up for him and applied medicine for him; he just had this additional problem of needing physical contact before he could let his guard down.
He was a privileged young heir, after all. Spoiled and pampered. It wasn't too much to ask.
Li Shu turned and ran back, moving so fast that he did not know whom he had tripped over.
At the same time, a gunshot suddenly rang out behind him. It was so fast there was no time to make out the bullet's trajectory. Li Shu's heart skipped a beat, his insides clenched, and the air he inhaled went straight down his esophagus, choking him until even his lungs hurt.
"Pei Song'an!"
Everything happened too quickly. Li Shu had no time to think about who had fired or why. There was only one thought in his head.
Nothing could happen to Pei Song'an!
Watching the face suddenly grow larger before his eyes, Pei Song'an reached out and caught the young man who came rushing over like the wind. Momentum brought those moist lips right up close, his hot breath washing over the man's cheek.
Li Shu's almond-shaped eyes slowly widened, reflecting the cool, sharply defined corners of Pei Song'an's lips.
Their bodies pressed together as they staggered two steps. Before they had even steadied themselves, Li Shu could not wait to ask, "Are you okay? Are your arms and legs still there? Where does it hurt? Say something! Weren't you so sharp-tongued with Chen Yannan just now!?"
Li Shu had barely finished when Xue Chen, not far away, clutched his arm and cried out in pain.
"Ah-"
The scene instantly descended into chaos. Screams rose one after another, and many people scrambled to run outside, trying to escape this dangerous place.
Pei Song'an quickly wrapped an arm around Li Shu's slender waist and stepped sideways to a safe spot. His last glance met Chen Yannan's eyes; the difference was that Xue Chen, in Chen Yannan's arms, was deathly pale with pain.
He gave Chen Yannan a smile.
In a seemingly respectable contest, only one side left in disgrace.
"You're okay?"
"Thank goodness..." Li Shu let out a long breath. His mouth had gone dry from his earlier anxiety. "Go pray at a temple when you have a chance. You must have run afoul of something, getting into danger this easily. Good thing you had me."
Pei Song'an patted Li Shu's back soothingly and praised him. "Well done. I'll reward you when we get back. Let's head back first."
Li Shu followed the man, muttering as they walked, "What reward? Why do you make it sound so gross?"
The chaos at the Manor was soon brought under control. There were no bloody scenes like those on television. The shooter was the buzz-cut young man wearing the plain hoop earring, and his reason for shooting Xue Chen was simple: his original target had been Pei Song'an, but his poor technique had sent the shot astray.
Sitting in the room, Li Shu listened as Zheng Linchuan reported all this to Pei Song'an, belatedly finding it odd.
Wasn't this guy a star shooter who could hit consecutive bull's-eyes?
Come on, come on. That excuse about missing his shot was obviously meant to fool an idiot.
Zheng Linchuan continued, "Chen Yannan wants us to hand the shooter over to him."
Pei Song'an did not even raise his eyes as he cleaned Li Shu's grubby hands with a wet wipe. "Tell him this happened on the Pei family's property. Besides, I was the original target. We can't release him."
With such solid grounds, Chen Yannan had no way to keep pressing the matter.
"Wait, wait, wait. Something isn't right." The thought that suddenly occurred to Li Shu frightened him so much his vision went dark.
There was little expression on Pei Song'an's face, but amusement was still visible in his eyes as he slowly rubbed his thumb and forefinger together over the lingering warmth:
"Let's hear it."
Li Shu sat as straight as a little tree. "That handsome shooter clearly had such a high hit rate. How could he possibly miss? Don't tell me you arranged for him beforehand, deliberately having him shoot Xue Chen when his guard was down to get revenge for me?"
"Even if Chen Yannan wants to pursue it, that handsome guy insists he was trying to get you, so there's no way he'll ever end up in the Chen Family's hands."
"Xue Chen can only suffer in silence."
At this point, Li Shu's eyes sparkled, and he felt fired up all over.
"Boohoo, you really-I could cry! Pei Song'an, I thought that Human-shaped Target was already impressive enough. I never imagined you'd actually spoil me like an emperor!"
Pei Song'an said, "Handsome, handsome, handsome. Is he really that handsome?"
Li Shu paid it no mind and laughed. "You're handsome, you're handsome. You're the most handsome!"
Pei Song'an's gaze lingered on the pale side of Li Shu's neck, open and unashamed, with no intention of looking away. "Actually, that wasn't my real goal."
"Hm?" Li Shu twisted sideways and scooted toward Pei Song'an, completely forgetting that he had classified this man as a pervert not long ago. "What was your goal?"
"To make Chen Yannan face reality once and for all."
"What reality? Pei Song'an, are you talking or squeezing out toothpaste?"
"You're mine." Pei Song'an laid his palm over the back of Li Shu's cold hand, staring intently at his thin eyelids. "I'm happy you worried about me. Are you gradually getting used to my scent now?"
"I'm a strong, mighty man, not anyone's." Li Shu pulled his hand back, spreading his fingers before clenching them again. "Pei Song'an, cut that nonsense out."
The man smiled and pushed his luck, taking hold of Li Shu's wrist without budging.
"If I kiss your waist this time, will you still get shy?"
"Li Xiaoshu."
Before you continue