Chapter 21: Feeling Defiant

Chapter 21: Feeling Defiant

Xie Guilan didn’t expect Cen Wu to show up. Cen Wu probably felt invincible with the Cen family backing him, but he wasn’t foolish. What did he stand to gain by stirring up all this trouble?

The thugs who had been knocked down were finally starting to come to, though they still couldn’t get up. They could barely manage to groan.

Each of them was covered in blood, especially the leader with the sleeve tattoos. His mouth was filled with blood as he coughed continuously. The yellow-haired thug beside him was so terrified that he wet himself and struggled to crawl farther away, afraid the leader might die next to him.

Xie Guilan had been merciless in his attack. Cen Wu’s heart pounded. Tattoo Arm and his crew had started the fight and even tried to rob them. Xie Guilan was in the right, but beating them to this extent would be hard to resolve.

The original novel was an old-school dark story, with horrific elements like heart and kidney extractions, and other grim settings.

On the surface, Lan Ye appeared to run legitimate businesses, but behind the scenes, it was the largest underground casino in Huai Jing. The fact that Tattoo Arm and his underlings dared to hang around Lan Ye suggested they were probably from the casino.

Xie Guilan didn’t know this yet, but Cen Wu did. The casino owner was actually Xie Mingcheng.

Having grown up in poverty, Xie Mingcheng had clawed his way up. Wife and children were secondary to him. He had bloodshot eyes in Huai Jing and was determined to amass wealth by any means necessary.

His business was dirty, tainted with black money. When Xie Guilan took over the Xie family’s business, Lan Ye went down with it.

That day was still over three years off.

Tattoo Arm didn’t recognize Xie Guilan’s face, so he likely saw him as just another low-level player. Beating him up wasn’t a big deal, but Tattoo Arm would definitely hold a grudge tonight and seek revenge against Xie Guilan.

Cen Wu worried that Xie Guilan might anger the higher-ups behind Tattoo Arm. If this got back to Xie Mingcheng, things could get ugly fast.

It might be safer to take the fall for everything.

Cen thought to himself and then pulled Guilan's hand.

Guilan's thin, cold eyelids lowered. Just after he had removed the blood-stained chain, Cen grabbed his hand, causing Guilan's brows to furrow and his expression to turn even colder.

Does he really enjoy holding my hand this much?

Even when my hands are covered in blood, he doesn’t mind?

Cen didn’t hesitate, grabbing Guilan’s hand and wiping the blood away despite the coldness in his eyes.

One of the thugs, still defiant, staggered to his feet and tried to fight back. Cen, visibly annoyed, smashed him with a steel pipe, sending the thug crashing back down.

Guilan said nothing.

He sometimes wondered if Cen was only putting on an act. Cen was clearly much bolder now, far more capable than before. In the past, although Cen had been arrogant, he would never have come to a place like this alone.

Even during that incident at the bar, despite Wang Yue provoking him, Cen had left it to Zhujian to handle, not daring to fight himself.

But Cen’s courage only appeared briefly. After hitting the thug with the steel pipe, his usual bravado faded when he met Guilan's eyes. He hesitated, struggling to find the right words.

Guilan lowered his gaze to Cen’s dark hair, which was slightly curled. The curl was barely noticeable, but on the tip of his cold, white ear, a small, crimson freckle stood out.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable under Guilan’s stare, Cen’s ear began to burn, the tiny mole like a blazing red dwarf under the night sky.

He gently held a few of Guilan’s fingers, bowing his head to carefully wipe the blood from Guilan’s finger bones.

Even though Guilan was cold, he was still only seventeen or eighteen, carrying the vigorous heat of a teenager. Having just fought, his palms were burning hot, the heat making Cen’s nose tingle with a light sheen of sweat.

Xie Guilan has been holding on for so long that Xie Guilan doubted Cen Wu had forgotten they weren’t actually together.

Xie Guilan wasn’t sure what he was thinking. His fingers loosely closed around Cen Wu’s hand, holding it in his burning palm.

Cen Wu was startled, his pale cheeks instantly flushing red. His eyes were filled with panic. "What are you doing?"

Fortunately, Xie Guilan let go after less than a second, and Cen Wu let out a sigh of relief, assuming it was just an accident.

He didn’t look up, so he didn’t notice the malicious pleasure in Xie Guilan’s eyes as he stared at Cen Wu’s trembling eyelashes and flushed cheeks.

"Listen," Cen Wu said urgently, "no matter who asks, say that I was the one who beat them up tonight."

He thought Xie Guilan would have questions or might not even respond, but to his surprise, Xie Guilan didn’t care at all, his attitude indifferent. He just stared at him and said, "Fine."

Cen Wu: ???

He had been preparing to persuade Xie Guilan, but when Xie Guilan agreed so suddenly, Cen Wu was momentarily confused.

The thugs: “……”

Are you serious?!

They couldn’t get up, but they weren’t dead. Didn’t they have any dignity left?!

They felt like they had met a living hellhound, standing there holding hands and discussing who had beaten them up.

The leader, Hua Bi, was so angry that he spat another mouthful of blood. He trembled as he raised his finger to point at Cen Wu. "You… you… you..."

"What about me?" Cen Wu’s expression turned cold. He kicked away Hua Bi’s hand and looked down at him. "You don’t know who I am, and you still dare to mess around at Lan Ye?"

Hua Bi wanted to scoff, but his face was so swollen he couldn’t even lift the corner of his mouth. He could only forcefully open his bruised eyelids to express his disdain.

Who did Cen Wu think he was? He looked like just a high school student. Why should he know who Cen Wu was?

Meanwhile, the yellow-haired thug, lifting his head under the dim moonlight, finally got a clear look at Cen Wu’s face.

The more he looked, the more familiar Cen Wu’s face became. His heart raced, and he frantically shook Hua Bi. "Boss, he’s… he’s the one from the Cen family..."

？

Hua Bi didn’t understand what the yellow-haired thug was saying and hadn’t expected that Cen Wu had actually called the police.

Ten minutes later, the thugs, supporting each other, their faces covered in blood, their legs trembling, walked into the police station with sorrow.

"Not you guys again?!" The female police officer glared at them coldly as soon as she saw them. "You just got out a few days ago and you’re already causing trouble? You even picked on a student! Look at what you’ve done to him!"

The thugs: “???

We’re innocent, Your Honor. Why don’t you take a look at what shape we’re in?"

Cen Wu had a slight fever, with a cooling patch on his forehead. He was young and handsome, his under-eye bags naturally deep, slightly swollen from his high fever, his lashes clumped together from moisture. Wrapped in a blanket, he looked very innocent.

Xie Guilan was also wearing a school uniform, cold and calm, having shed his usual fierce aura. He actually looked quite like a good student.

At least compared to Hua Bi and his crew.

"Scared, huh?" The female police officer kindly poured Cen Wu and Xie Guilan a cup of hot water and brought them some cookies and fruit candies, comforting them. "Don’t worry, they won’t dare to lay a hand on you again. You’re safe now."

The more Hua Bi listened, the angrier he got, feeling like he was about to explode, but the yellow-haired thug, for some reason, clamped a hand over his mouth, preventing him from speaking.

Cen Wu's voice was strained, and speaking was still difficult for him. He didn’t expect Xie Guilan to listen, so he rushed to speak, stumbling over his words to get ahead of Xie Guilan.

But Xie Guilan suddenly spoke.

"My mother is hospitalized and we're short on money," Xie Guilan's pale skin resembled mountain snow, and only his thin lips were a deep red, which accentuated his striking and handsome bone structure. His dark peach-blossom eyes looked up, creating a deceptively alluring gaze. "I work part-time near the school in the evenings. I don't know these people; they suddenly followed me."

Tattoo: "What are you talking about?! How dare you say you don't know me?!"

Tattoo almost exploded in anger but was firmly held down by the male police officer next to him, who shouted, "Stay still!"

Tattoo could only glare hatefully while continuing to squat.

Xie Guilan's peach-blossom eyes lifted slightly as he glanced at Cen Wu, then said, "Luckily, my classmate happened to be passing by and stepped in to help me."

Tattoo: "???"

Police: "???"

Cen Wu, with his unruly lashes, soft and vulnerable-looking face, and a fever patch on his forehead, looked bewildered.

The female police officer looked at Xie Guilan, who stood nearly 1.9 meters tall with a sharp and striking face, and then at Cen Wu, who was sick and wilted, her expression gradually becoming speechless.

But Xie Guilan seemed to think nothing was wrong. He turned to Cen Wu and said, "Thank you."

"..." Cen Wu said dryly, "You're... welcome."

"It... it was me who hit them," Cen Wu clenched his fist, originally intending to pretend to punch Tattoo, but when he saw the blood smeared all over Tattoo's face, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Instead, he turned and punched Xie Guilan's arm, his face red as he said, "It... it was like this when I hit."

Xie Guilan suddenly took a cotton-punch.

Xie Guilan: "..."

The cop almost laughed. "Don’t reward him for that!"

Tattoo: "Who is he insulting?! Is anyone going to stop this guy?!"

"By the way," just then, an older police officer looked at Xie Guilan and suddenly said, "I know you. You're Xie Guilan, right? The top student in Huai Jing First High School!"

His child attended Huai Jing First High School, and Xie Guilan’s photo was always up on the honor board, so it was impossible not to recognize him.

As soon as the older police officer finished speaking, the thugs felt the weight of everyone’s disapproving stares, like they were being cut down. It was bad enough to rob anyone, let alone a hardworking top student.

The nature of this incident was quite simple: a robbery near Huai Jing First High School. These people were repeat offenders, and the police at the station were quite experienced in handling their cases.

Cen Wu and Xie Guilan would soon be able to leave.

The rain had let up, and now the moonlight bathed everything in silver, while a cool breeze whispered through the night.

Cen Wu was still feeling embarrassed, like he’d done something ridiculous. He fidgeted with his hair, then looked up and caught Xie Guilan’s gaze. Xie Guilan stared at his flushed face, and his lips curved into a faint smile.

Cen Wu was certain he saw Xie Guilan smile. He quickly chased after him and grabbed Xie Guilan's wrist.

But when he looked again, Xie Guilan still had that cold, poker face. Cen Wu grumbled, "What's so funny?"

Xie Guilan didn't even glance at him.

In the dim light of night, Cen Wu's eyes gleamed faintly. "I... I could take on three guys like you. What, you think I'm kidding?"

He sure was acting tough.

But the fever patch was starting to come loose. Xie Guilan pressed it back onto his forehead, making him sway dizzily. Only then did he pull his hand away. "I never said I didn't believe you."