Chapter 74: Go Down

The scene fell into an eerie silence.

Only the crisp sound of the slap echoed.

Shen Xingyu's slap was too resolute.

Even the shrieking Young Master Fang was stunned.

Thus, everyone in the room clearly heard Shen Xingyu's cold tone, "I'm very sorry, I will give you a proper explanation."

As he spoke, he slightly bowed towards Young Master Fang.

Straightening up, he then turned to look at Lu Ran, who had been standing still.

He said, "Go back, this isn't the place for your antics."

Lu Ran was in a daze.

The stinging sensation on his cheek gradually reawakened his sense of control over his body.

Then, another voice, laced with anger, pierced through his eardrums.

"Shen Xingyu, what are you doing?!"

Lu Ran was taken aback and instinctively reached out in the direction of the sound.

His wait was not in vain.

His outstretched hand was grasped by a familiar touch.

The owner of that hand made no complaint about the cold sweat on the palm of Lu Ran's hand, nor did they mind the cream adhered to his fingertips.

Instead, they enfolded his hand without reservation, offering him a firm and steady support.

"Boss, why are you here?" Lu Ran managed to ask, his voice strained.

The moment Ji Min tightened his grip on Lu Ran's hand, he knew precisely what was happening.

In that instant, an indescribable wave of regret washed over him.

Why didn't he take him to the hospital last time?

Why did he leave him alone at the Shen residence?

When Young Master Fang fell into the water, Shen Hongyuan was still personally supervising the underwater fireworks display.

Upon hearing the news, he nearly leaped out of his seat.

"What happened?" he asked.

The servant who had come to inform him said, "It's said that Young Master Lu Ran pushed him in."

Shen Hongyuan instantly flew into a rage. "This thing! Always spoiling my good mood!"

With that, he stormed out angrily.

After a few steps, he paused.

Something's off here.

Shen Hongyuan had witnessed Lu Ran's actions on several occasions and quickly sensed that this wasn't like him at all.

"No, no, it's not him," Shen Hongyuan told the servant.

His expression was rather complicated.

If it were Lu Ran, he wouldn't have pushed someone into a swimming pool.

He would have shoved them into a sewage pit.

Though Shen Hongyuan could be unpredictable at times, he was still the head of the family.

Now that Young Master Fang was in the water, any misstep could jeopardize the Shen family's project.

Despite his rage, with the situation as it was, Shen Hongyuan's primary concern now was—

He must prevent Lu Ran from going berserk.

For now, it was fortunate that Lu Ran had only fallen into the water. If he were to lose control...

Shen Hongyuan's vision immediately darkened.

Then, the servant continued, "Also, Young Master just returned and is dealing with this situation."

"Hmph, he still knows how to come home." Shen Hongyuan's face darkened for a second before he suddenly slapped his thigh and jumped up. "Crap! Quick, quick, go!"

Bouncing along with his belly, he dashed to the pool.

Just in time to see Shen Xingyu slap Lu Ran.

In that instant, Shen Hongyuan nearly knelt down before Shen Xingyu. "Y-You... Why did you hit him?!"

At that moment, Shen Xingyu was looking at Ji Min and Lu Ran in surprise.

Shen Xingzhuo also approached, tugging on his collar. "Shen Xingyu, why did you hit him?!"

Seeing Shen Xingzhuo causing trouble, Shen Hongyuan rushed over.

Over there, Young Master Fang was once again in a furious rage, bellowing, "I don't care about your Shen family's mess! Whoever pushed me must be thrown down!"

The situation was already chaotic.

Upon hearing Shen Hongyuan's voice, Shen Xingyu felt another headache coming on.

He turned his head, suppressing the myriad emotions in his eyes and spoke to Shen Hongyuan in a low voice:

"It's pointless to seek the truth now; quelling the Fang family's anger should be our priority."

Shen Hongyuan wore an expression of profound helplessness. "Of course I know that, but you..."

You've got the wrong person!

Shen Xingyu frowned, failing to grasp Shen Hongyuan's meaning.

"Go and see how Young Master Fang is doing!" Shen Hongyuan directed his gaze at Lu Ran.

As he lifted his eyes, he found himself locked in Ji Min's dark, murderous stare.

Yet, he quickly suppressed his emotions and whispered to Lu Ran beside him, "Let's go to the hospital."

Lu Ran still looked lost at this moment, as if he could only rely helplessly on the man in the wheelchair.

However, amidst everyone's gaze, he suddenly spoke up.

The hand that Ji Min was supporting was still trembling.

With his other hand, he straightened it out, pointing at Shen Xingyu who was heading towards Young Master Fang.

"Stop right there."

Shen Xingyu froze, looking over at him.

Shen Hongyuan, on the other hand, got a jolt, thinking to himself, Shit, it's over.

He moved his lips, wanting to make one last effort,

only to see Lu Ran's finger pointing back at him, "Shut your mouth."

Upon hearing these words, the crowd around them fell into a momentary stupor.

Only to witness that after uttering those two sentences, the nearly exhausted Lu Ran seemed to have regained his strength.

He turned his head and pointed at the still-raging Young Master Fang, "And you, shut up too! Your howling is driving me crazy!"

Young Master Fang had never been insulted like this in his life; he was utterly stunned.

Suddenly, the atmosphere fell silent.

All eyes turned to the young man, bent at the waist and gripping the armrests of his wheelchair.

I saw him slowly straighten up, his cheeks still bearing the marks of the recent blows.

Now, the fingerprints that belonged to Shen Xingyu had turned red and swollen significantly.

Seeing him like this, Ji Min's gaze darkened further.

"Let's head to the hospital first," he said.

Lu Ran shook his head at him.

The teenager seemed to have just realized something, slowly looking down at his right hand held by Ji Min, then turning his head to gaze at his empty left hand.

Suddenly, he cursed, "Damn it! What happened to my big slice of cake?"

The outburst was abrupt and nonsensical, leaving everyone momentarily stunned.

But Chen Sheng, who was anxiously observing Lu Ran from a distance, along with others, seemed to have caught on to something.

Silently, they all took a step back.

At that moment, Big Yellow barked.

Everyone looked over to see the puppy circling around a mangled mess of what used to be a cherry pie.

"Ah, there it is," Lu Ran said.

He released Ji Min's hand and walked steadily towards the remains of the cake.

Bending down, he picked up the crushed tray from the ground.

Then, holding the unrecognizable mess in his hand, he slowly but resolutely walked up to Shen Xingyu.

He lifted his face and asked, "Did you just hit me?"

Shen Xingyu's gaze fell on the red mark on the side of his face before gently shifting away.

He furrowed his brow, opening his mouth as if to say something.

In the next second, the cherry cake, mixed with dirt and grass, that had been trampled into an unrecognizable mess, suddenly smeared all over his face.

Even with Shen Xingyu's extensive experience at a young age, he never expected such a move.

As a result, he didn't manage to dodge it and was hit full-on.

He froze in place, stunned.

Lu Ran had put all his strength into that action.

The cake, complete with its tray, stuck directly to Shen Xingyu's handsome face.

The entire venue fell silent.

Everyone was dumbfounded, staring at the tall and capable Shen Xingyu, who had always been held up as an example by others.

That Shen Xingyu, who had been compared to other people's children since he was young.

They gawked at the cake that had been trodden on countless times by others, now smeared across his face.

They watched as dirt and bits of grass trailed down his chiseled jawline.

All the way into the pristine collar of his white shirt.

A rotten cherry even splattered onto his forehead.

It stood crookedly atop his head, oh my goodness!

That was Shen Xingyu!

Even Shen Xingzhuo, who stood beside Shen Xingyu and was well aware of Lu Ran's antics, including being a victim of his pranks himself, was stunned at this sight.

Despite all this, he still found it hard to react properly to the current situation.

In that instant, he felt as if the vast distance between him and his unattainable elder brother had somehow narrowed.

But Lu Ran didn't consider what he had done to be some incredible feat.

He clapped his hands, feeling refreshed all over.

Recalling something, he turned his head in a certain direction and fixed his gaze on someone by the poolside, asking, "Who said I pushed him? Was it you?"

The man hurriedly waved his hands when he found himself under scrutiny.

However, with everyone's eyes on him, he could only nod reluctantly. "What if it was me! I saw it! You were the one who pushed!"

Lu Ran acknowledged him with a nod. "Yes, you're right."

The man's face lit up with delight. "I knew it..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Lu Ran kicked him into the water.

"Ahh!" The man plunged into the water with a splash.

Lu Ran turned to another person nearby. "Anyone else? You agreed just now, didn't you?"

"I... I didn't mean that, I was just..."

The man attempted to clarify.

"Off you go." Lu Ran's kicks were precise.

As he walked along, he kicked down anyone who had accused him earlier, based on his memory.

He finally stopped in front of Shen Xingran.

Shen Xingran was momentarily stunned.

He instinctively explained, "I didn't mean you!"

After Young Master Fang fell into the water, he had quietly commented, "Young Master Fang only hates your dog. How could you do that, Brother?"

Lu Ran smiled at him. "I know you didn't mean it."

Shen Xingran thought he had dodged a bullet.

In the next second, Lu Ran said rather unreasonably, "But I don't like you, so you can go down too."

With a splash, Shen Xingran also fell in.

By the time Shen Xingyu reacted, removed his coat to wipe off the dirt on his face, he looked up to see that the lakeside had lost a circle of people, as if they were dumplings being dropped into the water one after another.

In the pool, the underwater fireworks Shen Hongyuan had meticulously prepared had turned into a chaotic, colorful mess.

Shen Xingran and his friends were struggling to keep afloat amidst it all.

Shen Xingyu suddenly understood why Shen Hongyuan had reacted so strongly just now.

Even he couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

After his initial shock, he remembered his responsibilities and was about to step forward to restore order.

But Lu Ran wasn't finished yet.

He called Big Yellow over and pointed at the pool, "Big Yellow, do your business."

Although Big Yellow had been neutered, he was still a male dog, so he would lift his leg to urinate.

Just as Shen Xingran and the others emerged from the water, scrambling to climb out, they were greeted with this unexpected command.

A warm stream of golden liquid rained down from above.

And it splashed right back onto them.

The moment Shen Xingran realized what had just drenched him, he let out a shrill scream and frantically dove into the water.

The pool area turned chaotic in an instant.

Those who had been kicked in with him were stunned, pointing at Shen Xingran as they hastily cried, "Y-Y-You, don't move! It'll spread if you do!"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was kicked in the back by his struggling companion.

Choking on the water, he turned ashen-faced, either from the ingestion or the disgust.

The spectators, who had watched the entire scene unfold from the sidelines, all gaped with wide, O-shaped mouths.

Someone must have taken the lead, for the crowd moved in unison, taking a large step backward.

Afraid of accidentally plunging into this fragrant pool.

Shen Xingyu watched the scene, his aloof handsome face utterly shattered.

He instinctively held his breath and couldn't help but step back slightly.

Ji Min, sitting in the wheelchair, raised his hand to rub his forehead.

He looked at Lu Ran as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he closed his mouth, silently picked up Big Yellow, and nestled him into his arms.

It was better to be kinder to the service dog.

Lu Ran turned his head to seriously observe the scene in the pool.

Suddenly, he extended his finger and began counting, "One, two, three..."

Then, he turned his head and precisely looked at Young Master Fang, who was lying on a chaise lounge, still wrapped in a blanket, drenched from head to toe.

Young Master Fang was currently staring fixedly at the pool, so absorbed that he had forgotten to shiver.

When had he ever seen such a scene in his life?

Too, too outrageous, wasn't it?

That was genuine dog pee!

As Young Master Fang's eyeballs were still stuck in the pool, he heard a voice beside his ear.

The voice asked, "You say, who pushed you?"

Young Master Fang jolted, almost jumping right off his lounge chair.

He gazed upon the youth before him, who was poised to extend a hand devilishly toward him, and swiftly cried out in the loudest, most heartfelt tone:

"Not you! I swear, anyone could be, but definitely not you!"