Chapter 38: Fleeing in Disarray

Chapter 38: Fleeing in Disgrace

Shen Xingran never dreamed that one day, when he turned to Shen Xingzhuo for help, his brother would pay no attention to his words and instead ask if Lu Ran had been wronged.

"What are you talking about, Brother?" Shen Xingran asked in disbelief.

He instinctively avoided Shen Xingzhuo's question and tugged on his arm, pleading, "Brother, please help me! Only you can save me!"

"Shen Xingran."

Shen Xingzhuo called out his full name.

With emphasis on every syllable.

Shen Xingran looked up, confusion in his eyes as they met Shen Xingzhuo's dark, brooding gaze.

Shen Xingzhuo's expression was unfamiliar to Shen Xingran.

He had seen Shen Xingzhuo angry, upset, or even when they two had their own tantrums.

But this time, Shen Xingzhuo's tone was too calm.

He stared at him tranquilly and asked, "Was it you?"

Those words made Shen Xingran jump like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

He was utterly terrified.

Madam Shen had always been cold towards him.

Now, even Shen Xingzhuo was doing the same?

"Brother, it wasn't me," Shen Xingran, unsure of how much Shen Xingzhuo knew, could only try his best to defend himself. "It was Zhang Lin's plan! He just told me he wanted to cause trouble for Lu Ran, and I even advised against it. I truly had no idea he wanted to sleep with Lu Ran!"

What Shen Xingran said was the truth.

Yet, just as he finished speaking, he saw Shen Xingzhuo's expression turn fiercely grim. "What did you say?"

Shen Xingzhuo even stepped forward and grabbed Shen Xingran's collar. "What does he want to do to Lu Ran?!"

Shen Xingran was furious inside.

He was about to say something else when Shen Xingzhuo suddenly released his hand and walked back.

Shen Xingran still remembered the purpose of his visit.

He hurriedly ran over to stop Shen Xingzhuo and asked, "Brother, can you help me out?"

Flames seemed to be burning in Shen Xingzhuo's eyes.

As he walked toward the car, he forcefully restrained his temper and asked, "Help with what?"

"You... You..." Shen Xingran suppressed the panic in his heart and pleaded, "Just like when we were kids, please tell Mom that the rumor about the illegitimate child was your idea, okay?"

Shen Xingzhuo paused in his steps.

He looked at Shen Xingran in disbelief.

At his brother whom he had doted on for many years.

"What are you saying, Shen Xingran?" he asked.

"Brother! Please listen to me," Shen Xingran hastily explained. "You're Mom's biological son. Even if she's angry, it won't last long, and she wouldn't do anything to you. But I'm just an adopted child. So, Brother, can you please help me?"

The wind was strong that day.

It whistled sharply through the gaps, piercingly cold.

Shen Xingzhuo looked down at Shen Xingran.

Suddenly, he felt like laughing. "Do you really think Mother would believe that? Why would I target Lu Ran and claim he's a bastard?"

Shen Xingran seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

In recent times, he had first endured Mrs. Shen's cold treatment.

Now, Shen Xingzhuo, who had always indulged him, was taking this attitude.

Shen Xingzhuo could no longer hold back.

"What's wrong with you, Shen Xingzhuo?!" He wiped away his vulnerable expression and pointed at Shen Xingzhuo in disbelief. "What's going on with you?"

"Didn't you always hate Lu Ran?"

"Why am I begging you, yet all you keep mentioning is Lu Ran, Lu Ran, Lu Ran?!"

"What does it have to do with you whether he lives or dies?!"

"Because he's my brother!"

Shen Xingzhuo roared.

His roar was intertwined with the piercing wind, almost capable of rupturing one's eardrums.

There was a loud bang.

Shen Xingzhuo closed the car door and left.

---

At a private club.

The rhythmic beat of music echoed loudly within the private room.

The noise of the crowd was deafening.

The circular room was surrounded by a circle of luxurious leather sofas.

In the center stood a glass platform, elevated from the ground.

This platform wasn't a coffee table but rather a small stage.

At that moment, there was no seductive dancer on stage; instead, a male server in uniform stood there, his expression blank.

Amidst the jeering of the surrounding people, someone took a bottle of alcohol and poured it over his head, bottle after bottle.

Wine cascaded down from above, soaking through the collar and staining the pristine waiter's uniform a crimson red.

The club owner, fearing trouble, approached the person seated at the main seat to apologize personally. "Young Master Zhang, please forgive his ignorance. It's his first day on the job, and he's unaware of your preferences. Allow me to remove him from your sight and replace him with more compliant staff?"

Zhang Lin remained unperturbed.

He gestured for the attendant beside him to continue pouring.

With each bottle emptied, someone would shout out the price.

The exorbitant prices made the young man on the platform tremble incessantly.

His trembling eventually transformed into a profound numbness.

The owner stood by, his face etched with distress.

Just as he was instructing someone to find the contact information for Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang.

The private room's door suddenly swung open.

Silence fell upon the room.

Zhang Lin looked at Shen Xingzhuo, equally stunned.

He greeted with a smile, "Oh, what a rare guest! Why is Second Young Master Shen here today?"

His tone sounded casual.

But in reality, Zhang Lin was far from relaxed.

Because he had just realized that Shen Xingzhuo bore a resemblance to Lu Ran.

Zhang Lin had developed full-blown PTSD when it came to Lu Ran.

Shen Xingzhuo didn't say a word.

His gaze swept around the private room before pointing at the person singing. "Get out."

The noise in the room subsided.

Next, Shen Xingzhuo turned to the others. "All of you, out."

The others hesitated for a few seconds, glanced at Zhang Lin, then at Shen Xingzhuo, and silently left the room, one by one.

As they passed the circular stage, Shen Xingzhuo casually said, "You too, get out."

The owner, as if relieved, hurriedly signaled for the boy on the platform to leave.

The moment the boy had gone, the owner received the same command, "What are you still doing here?"

Rubbing his hands together, the owner reluctantly left as well.

When everyone in the private room had departed, Zhang Lin sat up straight, looking at Shen Xingzhuo with a hint of curiosity. "What are you planning to do?"

His relationship with Shen Xingzhuo wasn't particularly good or bad.

After all, there was still the matter of Shen Xingran between them.

But in the next moment, Zhang Lin felt a sharp pain on his cheekbone.

Shen Xingzhuo grabbed his hair, forcing him to the ground and raised his hand to strike.

Shen Xingzhuo had practiced kickboxing and his punches were deadly heavy. This time, he was determined to beat Zhang Lin to a pulp.

Zhang Lin was immediately dazed by the assault.

He held his face and howled in pain for a while before he found an opening to ask, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Who told you to mess with my brother?"

Shen Xingzhuo lifted his gaze, his eyes reddened, which startled Zhang Lin, "Y-You, what did you say?"

"Who the hell gave you permission to provoke my brother!"

Fists rained down like a storm.

Even as Zhang Lin was knocked unconscious, he was still bewildered: "Who provoked Shen Xingran?"

Nighttime.

Lu Ran was still guarding the shop.

Little Wang had a date with his girlfriend and had left early.

Usually, Little Wang was very considerate towards Lu Ran and would let him leave first.

Therefore, this time, Lu Ran voluntarily chose to stay.

But at this hour, there usually weren't many customers.

It perfectly exemplified the characteristic someone mentioned about the low foot traffic during non-working hours.

Lu Ran recited vocabulary while glancing at the time on his phone, patiently awaiting the moment to close the store after work.

Arrival time for picking up Big Yellow was a bit late today.

He wondered if Big Yellow would be worried.

In the midst of his thoughts,

the automatic door chimed with a "ding-dong."

Lu Ran's expression immediately fell.

It was like the discomfort of receiving an unexpected overtime notice just before leaving work.

But he quickly regained his composure and said, "Welcome."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Lu Ran looked up and saw Shen Xingzhuo.

The man seemed travel-worn.

His hair was somewhat disheveled.

There was a calm after the storm of his previous agitation.

As he approached, Lu Ran keenly noticed the blood still on his fists.

The skin around his knuckles had split, revealing tiny cuts.

Evidently, he had just finished beating someone up.

Observing him warily, Lu Ran retreated swiftly, putting about eight meters between them as Shen Xingzhuo neared the counter.

Holding onto the kitchen door frame, Lu Ran regarded Shen Xingzhuo guardedly and asked, "What brings you here?"

Shen Xingzhuo was taken aback by his evasiveness.

Soon, he also realized that his current appearance was rather unsettling.

He raised his hand nonchalantly and said, "I just punched an idiot."

"Oh," Lu Ran replied, showing no interest in whom Shen Xingzhuo had punched.

Well, as long as they don't hit me, it's fine.

Shen Xingzhuo cast his gaze upon the youth who had half of his body concealed in the back kitchen, revealing only the upper half of his face to peer at him.

He paused, took two steps back, and sat down at a nearby table.

He began by straightening the collar that had become disarrayed from the scuffle.

He then took another tissue to wipe the blood from his hands.

But the blood had already dried, sticking to the skin and proving impossible to wipe away.

Lu Ran had slowly made his way back to the counter from the kitchen.

He rummaged through his bag and threw a pack of wet wipes at Shen Xingzhuo.

Shen Xingzhuo reached up to catch them, a surge of relief washing over him.

Upon looking down, he saw that the package read: Pet Wipes.

Lu Ran added, "To wipe Big Yellow's eye boogers."

Shen Xingzhuo: "…"

He felt it was both necessary and unnecessary to use it.

In the end, he still took one out and wiped his face casually.

Glancing at the pattern printed on the packaging, Shen Xingzhuo thought of the yellow dog again and asked, "Where have you put Big Yellow?"

As soon as he finished asking, he realized something was amiss.

Lifting his head, he met Lu Ran's wary gaze.

Lu Ran asked, "Why do you want to know?"

The ruthlessness Shen Xingzhuo had displayed when beating up Zhang Lin vanished instantly.

He instinctively explained, "I'm not… I just, you know, asked out of curiosity."

"Oh." Lu Ran acknowledged, but didn't believe it.

He continued with his own tasks, head down.

Then he heard Shen Xingzhuo ask, "Are you still working at that shop?"

Lu Ran looked up and saw the naive innocence in the young master's eyes as he asked, "Are you really short on money?"

"Is there another reason?" Lu Ran almost chuckled. "Am I lacking in part-time job experience?"

Shen Xingzhuo realized he might have asked a foolish question.

He lowered his head to fiddle with his phone.

Suddenly, Lu Ran's phone vibrated.

He picked it up and froze when he saw the notification.

Shen Xingzhuo had transferred him some money.

Unlike the petty cash from part-time jobs before, this was a substantial transfer. A six-figure sum. To others in the Shen family, such an amount might be commonplace. For Shen Xingran, it could merely be pocket money. Yet, it was more than enough to astonish Lu Ran. "Why did you transfer me money?" Lu Ran asked. Shen Xingzhuo looked up, confused. "Didn't you need money?" With caution in his gaze, Lu Ran replied, "Big Yellow isn't for sale." "No, I… I just wanted to help," Shen Xingzhuo explained.

Shen Xingzhuo never imagined that there would come a day when he would need to invent reasons to give money.

Lu Ran gazed at the substantial transfer amount.

His mind raced, trying to figure out Shen Xingzhuo's intentions.

Although he knew that one should never turn down money, this sum surpassed the psychological threshold for an ordinary college student like Lu Ran.

Unusual occurrences always harbored ulterior motives.

Lu Ran dared not accept it.

In the next moment, Shen Xingzhuo received a notification that the transfer had been refunded.

Shen Xingzhuo froze.

He lifted his head and looked towards the counter.

The youth stood there, quietly gazing at him.

The dim, golden light of the café falls upon the young man's strands of hair and the depths of his eyes, imbuing him with an intangible sense of distance that seems almost untouchable.

"I've returned the money," Lu Ran said. "I'm doing well in my current job and don't really feel like changing it."

A sudden pang stabbed at Shen Xingzhuo's chest.

The return of the money was equivalent to slapping him in the face.

Yet, Shen Xingzhuo didn't feel the slightest urge to flare up.

He had lost even the energy to speak.

He merely nodded silently.

Extending his arm, he placed the pack of pet wet wipes back on the counter.

Then, he turned around and fled the cafe as if in retreat.