Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The last remaining scion of the Wang family, caught up in the "knowledge is power" incident, was taken away by the police for attempted murder and extortion.

"I bet Madam doesn’t know this yet," the driver joked on the way back, "but Mr. Yu has trained in martial arts."

Tian Ruan was still fretting over the small scuff on his backpack when he froze at the words: "Martial arts?"

"Yes, he became national martial arts champion at fifteen."

"..." So, his attempt to save Yu Jingmo earlier had been completely unnecessary?

"Quiet," Yu Jingmo said curtly.

The driver, who had worked for Yu Jingmo for over a decade, had watched the once-gentle boy—who lost his mother—grow into the ruthless man he was today. He knew Yu Jingmo better than most and merely chuckled in response.

This was an accident, but if it happened again, Yu Jingmo didn’t want Tian Ruan taking risks.

Someone as proud as the head of the Yu family would never voice such sentimental thoughts aloud, of course. It was up to the driver to read between the lines.

An assassination attempt wasn’t exactly a major incident—those in power were used to such things—but it wasn’t minor either. That very evening, a swarm of relatives, including Elder Yu and various aunts and uncles, crowded the living room.

The Yu family was weird like that—except for Yu Jingmo, everyone else moved as a unit, like conjoined twins.

Tian Ruan sat stiffly beside Yu Jingmo, listening to their chatter, fighting back a yawn.

"...I heard Tian Ruan has started school?" Elder Yu asked, his tone noticeably milder than before. "In the same class as Yu Shang?"

"Yes," Yu Jingmo replied.

"Going to school is good. Young people should focus on their studies, not wasting time."

"Mm."

He wasn’t wrong—the original guy hadn’t exactly been diligent.

Elder Yu eyed Tian Ruan’s school uniform and nodded. "You look respectable now."

"...Thank you for the praise, Grandfather."

Yu Er snorted in disdain. "Probably just faking it."

Elder Yu countered, "If Yu Jun could fake it half as well, you’d have fewer headaches."

"Dad, don’t say that. Xiao Jun is already twenty-eight."

"Twenty-eight and still hasn’t finished university."

"..."

It took Tian Ruan a while to recall Yu Jun—Yu Er’s grandson, Elder Yu’s great-grandson, only two years younger than Yu Jingmo but obliged to call him "Uncle."

The man was a useless delinquent who had been sent abroad for school, only to be kicked out quietly for fighting and drug use. His father, Yu Fada, had tried everything but gave up on his hopeless son. Only Yu Er still doted on his bloodline.

Yu Fada also had a driven illegitimate son, who currently attended a prestigious high school.

This illegitimate son would later cross paths with Yu Shang, inadvertently revealing his true origins.

Zoned out, Tian Ruan only realized everyone had stood up when they did, jumping up hurriedly.

"No need to walk us out, go to bed early. Both Yu Shang and Tian Ruan have school tomorrow," Elder Yu said.

The estate finally settled into quiet, and Tian Ruan hurried to his room. After washing up and lying in bed, he fell asleep within ten minutes, without even drinking his usual sleep-aid peach gum milk.

The next morning, Tian Ruan quickly gathered the textbooks he’d need for the day, along with his gym clothes and sneakers—there was a P.E. class in the afternoon.

Yu Jingmo offered to drive him.

Tian Ruan said, "Mr. Yu, you don’t have to give me rides every day."

Yu Jingmo replied flatly, "It’s not every day. I’m going on a business trip tonight."

"Oh."

"Stay out of trouble at school these two days."

Tian Ruan glared at him indignantly. "I never cause trouble."

Yu Jingmo, like some old official, held his phone far from his eyes, resting it on his raised knee as he skimmed through a long string of French text. He lifted his thick lashes and gave Tian Ruan a calm look. "You don’t cause trouble, but trouble comes looking for you."

"Why?"

"Do you know what the busiest thing in the world is?"

"The President?"

"Money."

Tian Ruan understood. "But I don’t have any money."

Yu Jingmo gave him an incredulous look.

"...We’re married, but your money isn’t mine."

"Naïve." Yu Jingmo tossed out those words just as the newly bought Rolls-Royce came to a gentle stop.

Tian Ruan scooped up his backpack and got out of the car, stomping off in a huff.

The driver chuckled. "Mr. Yu, the young mistress isn’t happy with what you said."

Yu Jingmo ignored the comment, watching Tian Ruan’s retreating figure until it disappeared before saying, "To the office."

Once in the classroom, Tian Ruan dove into morning English reading, completely forgetting Yu Jingmo’s words. He didn’t even go to the break room during the short break.

When Yu Shang returned from the student council and found Tian Ruan alone in the classroom, he asked, "Why didn’t you go for tea?"

Tian Ruan fished out a bottle of Liu Ma’s homemade iced black tea from his bag. "I have this."

"..." Yu Shang began reviewing the next lesson, ignoring him.

Before leaving in the morning, Liu Ma made sure to pack Tian Ruan an extra meal—a small bento box and a bottle of black tea—saying, "Mrs. Yu, with you not coming home for lunch, I’ll feel so lonely."

Tian Ruan replied, "If you think about it, with no master at home, you can turn up the radio and do square dancing."

Liu Ma turned red. "...How did you know we do square dancing?"

Of course, it was mentioned in the book, he thought—a such a funny detail that Tian Ruan remembered it vividly. The original Tian Yuan loved going out, smoking, drinking, fighting, and playing mahjong, often staying away from home.

Meanwhile, Yu Jingmo was frequently away on business, leaving the staff free to have fun. Their way of relaxing? Doing square dancing together.

The morning was completely ordinary. During lunch, Tian Ruan sat at the same table with Yu Shang and Lu Qiuyan, sharing the egg rolls Liu Ma made for him with Lu Qiuyan.

Lu Qiuyan didn’t hold back either, passing him a soda and casually remarking, “You don’t look twenty—more like sixteen, tops.”

Tian Ruan smiled.

“Why’d you get married so young?”

“…My mom needed medical expenses.” Bringing it up, Tian Ruan realized it’d been days since he last visited the hospital.

Lu Qiuyan looked surprised for a moment before nodding. “I see. I could tell just looking at you—you’re the honest type, not what they say.”

“They?” Tian Ruan glanced at Yu Shang.

Yu Shang: “…I didn’t say anything.”

Lu Qiuyan chuckled. “The prez isn’t one to gossip. Just haters being salty.”

There were too many haters, and Tian Ruan didn’t care enough to ask.

During afternoon gym class, Tian Ruan changed in the boys’ locker room next to the sports field. Each class had its own locker area, with personal floor lockers. So guys from three classes all changed in one big space, separated only by curtains.

The field was huge, so this gym class was shared by three classes.

This was a fancy school, so the locker room actually smelled nice—faint scents of soap and air freshener lingered. Tian Ruan stripped off his shirt at his locker and pulled on a round-necked sports top.

“Figured you’d be a twig, but you’re kinda ripped,” a guy remarked. “Even abs?”

Tian Ruan sidestepped slightly. “Comes with throwing hands.”

The guy pulled back, embarrassed. “Throwing hands? You’re bluffing, right?”

Tian Ruan fake-flexed his fist. “Wanna find out?” Of course, the fighting part was a lie, but Tian Ruan did pay attention to fitness—he had that lean, toned look.

“Fighting’s bad. You’re Tian Ruan, right? I’m Wang Weiqi.” The guy stuck out his hand.

Tian Ruan glanced at Wang Weiqi’s sweaty palm and simply changed into his sports pants before walking out. “Good thing you’re not a Wang.”

Wang Weiqi chased after him. “Why?”

“‘Winter comes for the Wangs’—storybook rules.”

“This isn’t a storybook,” Wang Weiqi snorted, unfazed. “Hey, Tian, wait up! Wanna be my push-up buddy later?”

Tian Ruan paused. Partner push-ups?

He’d totally blanked on this key scene—during one gym class, Class 1 and Lu Qiuyan’s Class 6 had a joint session. For the partner push-ups, no one wanted the unruly Lu Qiuyan, so Yu Shang volunteered to pair with him.

Then came the almost-kiss moment everyone ships—the spark that set off romantic tension between the main leads.

And Tian Ruan was about to witness it firsthand.

Tian Ruan: OMG, this is happening!

Too excited to contain himself, he simply started running.

Wang Weiqi called after him, “Hey?! Wanna be my partner?”

Tian Ruan didn't hear clearly and turned his head, saying, "You wanna see too? Keep up!"

"...Hey, there's someone!"

Tian Ruan slammed into a solid wall of muscle with a thud. Clutching his head, he looked up—

"What are you running for? Always rushing." Yu Jingmo's gaze paused slightly as he raised his slender, well-defined fingers to pluck a stray blade of grass that had somehow gotten tangled in Tian Ruan's hair.

Tian Ruan stared blankly at the unbelievably handsome man before him. "Mr. Yu, what brings you here?"

Yu Jingmo replied, "From the look on your face, you're scheming something."

Tian Ruan: "..."