Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Tian Ruan called in a huff to complain to Yu Jingmo.

Yu Jingmo was silent for a moment before saying, "Deduct Butler Wang’s bonus for this month and half of his year-end bonus. How does that sound?"

Tian Ruan thought for a bit. "No need to deduct the year-end bonus. A slap on the wrist is enough—just make sure he keeps his mouth shut in the future."

Yu Jingmo chuckled. "If you think of him as the Grand Chamberlain, maybe you won’t be as angry."

"Grand Chamberlain?" Tian Ruan connected the term with the butler and found many similarities. "If he’s the Grand Chamberlain, then you must be the emperor?"

"If I’m the emperor, then you’re the empress who’s finally gained favor after years of neglect?"

"...What empress." Tian Ruan’s ears turned pink but couldn’t help asking, "Then, do you have any imperial concubines?"

"No, you rule the harem alone."

"By that logic, it could also be you ruling the harem alone."

Yu Jingmo laughed softly. "Fine, you be the emperor, and I’ll be the empress."

"Really?"

"Mhm, your wish is my command."

Tian Ruan happily called out, "Empress, remember to bring two sticks of candied haws when you pick me up later. It’s been so long since I’ve had them."

Yu Jingmo replied, "As you command, my little liege."

Tian Ruan entered the gates of Deyin grinning like a fool, hanging up the phone only to see Lu Qiuyan staring at him speechlessly. Tian Ruan coughed awkwardly. "Don’t listen to the butler’s nonsense. That’s not what happened."

Lu Qiuyan said, "You’re already calling each other emperor and empress, and you still say nothing happened?"

"..."

Soon, it was noon. Tian Ruan carried his lunchbox to look for Lu Qiuyan, only to find Yu Shang sitting alone at their regular table.

"Where’s Lu Qiuyan?" Tian Ruan asked as he sat across from Yu Shang.

Yu Shang replied, "Don’t know."

Tian Ruan looked at the two large lunchboxes in front of Yu Shang—each as big as a small basin—filled with Liu Ma’s home-cooked feasts, all ready to eat after a quick microwave.

In comparison, Tian Ruan’s lunchbox was half the size, but it was packed with meat, eggs, and vegetables, all prepared with extra care.

Liu Ma’s lunches for Yu Shang prioritized quantity and filling portions, while Tian Ruan’s were crafted with love—carrots cut into flowers, fried eggs shaped like hearts, hot dogs cut to look like octopuses, and even tomato sauce spelling 'love'...

Tian Ruan had originally wanted to share the "love" with Lu Qiuyan.

He had set aside two egg rolls, but even as he neared the end of his meal, Lu Qiuyan still hadn’t shown up.

Tian Ruan and Yu Shang looked at each other. "You don’t think something happened to Lu Qiuyan?"

Yu Shang called him, but there was no response.

He tried again—still nothing. Yu Shang frowned.

Tian Ruan sent Lu Qiuyan a WeChat message, but after a while, there was still no reply. He cleared his lunch things and stood. "Let’s pull up the security cameras."

The student council had some oversight of Deyin, allowing them to access any classroom's surveillance footage at any time. The two went to the school's monitoring room and, after a word with the security guard, pulled up the classroom’s surveillance footage for Class 6 of the second year of high school.

In the footage, Lu Qiuyan glanced at his phone after the last morning class and walked out of the classroom. However, instead of heading to the cafeteria as usual, he headed for the school gate.

Yu Shang checked the surveillance cameras around the school but could only determine which street Lu Qiuyan had gone to—they couldn’t pinpoint his exact location.

Tian Ruan called Lu Qiuyan again, and this time, the call connected.

Lu Qiuyan's voice sounded hurried: "What’s with the barrage of calls?"

"Where are you?" Tian Ruan asked urgently.

"Fighting."

"Fighting? Where?"

"Not your concern." With that, Lu Qiuyan hung up.

Yu Shang called next, only to be hung up on as well.

Tian Ruan glanced at Yu Shang's face—dark as a storm cloud.

"That Lu Qiuyan..." Yu Shang growled through clenched teeth before walking out.

Tian Ruan quickly followed.

Yu Shang tried to stop him. "Stay here."

"No chance. Lu Qiuyan is my friend too, and I'm worried about him." Tian Ruan scrambled to remember the original novel’s plot—Lu Qiuyan got into fights all the time, like clockwork. While most ended without serious consequences, there had been a few near-death scrapes.

Even with his protagonist immunity and unkillable status shielding him, Tian Ruan needed to see for himself to believe.

"I promise I won't get involved in the fight. I'll stay far away," he said.

Yu Shang wasn’t in the mood to argue. He left the school, got into the car, and—

The driver assigned exclusively to Yu Shang, who usually had little to do after dropping him off at Deyin and would wander around nearby, got there in under three minutes.

"Maple Leaf Avenue," Yu Shang ordered.

"You don’t usually shop, Sir. What are you buying?" the driver made small talk.

"Not shopping."

Accustomed to Yu Shang’s curt replies, the driver turned to Tian Ruan instead. "Does Madam need to pick anything up?"

Tian Ruan: "Not shopping—rescuing."

"?? Who?"

"My classmate."

The driver glanced in the rearview to make sure the bodyguards' car was following—no need for him to worry.

Maple Leaf Avenue was Deyin’s liveliest nearby street, packed with high-end stores, food stands, and even an arcade. While it couldn’t compare to the city center, it was plenty for Deyin’s privileged kids to blow off steam.

By noon, the street was clogged with fancy cars as Deyin's rich kids, tired of the school cafeteria, hit up Michelin spots—overrated but a change of pace.

So picking out Deyin students in uniform was easy.

Tian Ruan spoke with experience, "Lu Qiuyan always picks alleyways for fights. Let’s get out and look on foot."

Yu Shang nodded and stepped out of the car.

The two entered the alley and split up to search.

Mao Qi ran ahead of Tian Ruan. "Boss, I'll look for him. You rest."

Tian Ruan replied, "Just hurry up and search."

Before long, Mao Qi's ears twitched, and he abruptly stopped.

Tian Ruan couldn’t stop in time and swerved hard, crashing into the wall with a *thud*. "Ah!"

Mao Qi: "...Sir, are you alright?"

Clutching the rough alley wall, Tian Ruan turned his head and forced a smile. "I'm fine." Other than Yu Jingmo, he refused to crash into anyone else—no need for extra trouble.

"This way." Mao Qi darted toward an intersection.

The *honk* of an e-scooter sounded, and Mao Qi stepped aside, waiting for it to pass before slipping into another alley.

This alley was completely out of the way, surrounded by walls blocking off nearby houses—the very edge of the neighborhood. Beyond, there was no path, a spot nobody ever comes to, making it the perfect place for a fight.

Inside, four teenagers were going at it, all banged up.

A girl around fifteen or sixteen from another school was sobbing, "Stop fighting, please stop! I don’t want to be the reason you guys are fighting..."

Tian Ruan: "..."

Well, girls at this age were just being dramatic.

Mao Qi stepped in to intervene. "Stop fighting, or I’ll call the police!"

The group froze, giving Lu Qiuyan the opening to kick them one by one, sending them sprawling to the ground with yelps. "Who the hell are you?!"

Mao Qi: "I’m your damn grandpa."

"Grandpa? My grandpa’s long dead—drop dead too!"

Without another word, Mao Qi took down the cursing boy and whipped out a rope to tie him up. The remaining two boys freaked out. "You kidnapping us?!"

Ignoring them, Mao Qi glanced at Tian Ruan.

Tian Ruan sized up Lu Qiuyan and let out a relieved sigh. Aside from some scrapes on his hands and face, he seemed mostly unharmed. He couldn’t help but give him a light punch. "You ran off to fight without even eating. Yu Shang was freaking worried."

Lu Qiuyan wiped the blood from his face. "...He came too?"

As if on cue, Yu Shang appeared at the alley entrance, tall and stern, his expression icy as he strode over. "Are you alright?"

Lu Qiuyan replied casually, "Yeah, fine. I told you not to come, but you insisted."

Yu Shang’s eyes, dark and deep like Yu Jingmo’s, fixed on Lu Qiuyan as he said slowly and clearly, "Lu Qiuyan, if you fight again, I’ll deduct your credits."

Lu Qiuyan snapped, "What right do you have to deduct my credits? I fought off-campus—what’s it to you? You came here uninvited, spouting nonsense about penalties."

Yu Shang, slightly taller, lowered his gaze imperiously. "Because you’re a student of Deyin, and I’m the student council president. Deyin School Regulations, Article Seven: Fighting, brawling, or inciting disturbances—on or off campus—is prohibited."

"..." Lu Qiuyan’s face tightened. "I don’t accept that."

"You're a student of Deyin, so you must comply. Otherwise, get out of Deyin." Yu Shang’s voice cut like ice, chilling the air.

After a long pause, Lu Qiuyan picked up his school uniform from the ground—now ruined beyond wearing—and flung it at Yu Shang. "Screw this, I’m leaving!"

With that, he turned and stormed off.

Tian Ruan gaped, floored. The original novel had indeed described this exact scene—where Yu Shang, furious after finding Lu Qiuyan throwing punches, forbade him from fighting again under threat of losing academic credits.

Lu Qiuyan, stubborn as ever, refused to attend school afterward, and they didn’t speak for days.

The trust they’d built nearly collapsed over this incident.

And all over a stupid misunderstanding.

Reading the original, Tian Ruan had been furious—if only the main couple or anyone involved had just talked, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.

Now, watching history about to repeat itself, Tian Ruan was grateful he’d followed. He strode after Lu Qiuyan and grabbed his wrist. "Lu Qiuyan, don’t go."

"Let go." Lu Qiuyan’s eyes burned with impatience, but he didn’t shake Tian Ruan off. "There’s nothing to say to that brick wall Yu Shang."

"Yeah, he *is* a brick wall," Tian Ruan agreed. "Talking to him is like talking to a wall."

Yu Shang: "..."

Tian Ruan turned to scold Yu Shang. "You didn’t even ask—just went straight to punishing him! Did he *want* to fight?"

Yu Shang pressed his lips together. "No excuses for fighting."

Tian Ruan pointed at the three boys from another school on the ground. "Lu Qiuyan would never start a fight—they started it!"

The three boys had nothing to say.

Then Tian Ruan pointed at the girl. "Stop crying. This is because of you, isn’t it?"

The girl avoided his gaze, sniffling. "I only called Lu Qiuyan’s phone..."

"Spit it out!"

She flinched and confessed, "They were harassing me, and I got scared, so I called Lu Qiuyan to come. As soon as he arrived, they attacked him because they thought he was my boyfriend. But we’re just neighbors..."

Just like in the novel—the girl next door was being bullied, and of course the protagonist couldn’t just ignore it. Yet this dumb misunderstanding had led to their cold war.

Once the truth came out, Yu Shang fell silent for a moment before saying to Lu Qiuyan, "I was wrong about you."

Lu Qiuyan rolled his eyes. "Save it."

Tian Ruan dragged Lu Qiuyan back toward Yu Shang. "Apologies aren’t enough—shake hands."

"..."

Yu Shang extended his hand for reconciliation.

Lu Qiuyan swatted his hand aside and turned his face, breaking free from Tian Ruan’s grip. "No!"

Yu Shang thought for a second, then pulled out a massive lunchbox from his bag. "Then eat. It’s still hot."

"...Pass."

"You’re seriously not hungry?"

"Why do you care if I'm hungry?"

Yu Shang said nothing.

Tian Ruan couldn’t take it anymore. "Of course it matters to Yu Shang! He hates seeing you go hungry!"

Silence fell the moment he said that.

The three boys recoiled in horror, wondering if they were dreaming—since when did people say such mushy stuff? The neighbor girl was even more stunned, stammering, "Are you two really just classmates?"

Smart kid, asking the real questions. Tian Ruan flashed her a cryptic smile. "Kids shouldn’t stick their noses in grown-up stuff."

The girl: "..." To a middle schooler, high schoolers *were* adults.

Tian Ruan kept pushing his agenda. "This lunchbox is pretty heavy. Lu Qiuyan, if you don’t take it soon, Yu Shang’s arm’s gonna fall off."

Lu Qiuyan silently took the lunchbox—it was indeed hefty. When he opened it, the aroma of food wafted out, complete with meat, eggs, and a carton of milk. His stomach growled loudly.

Chopsticks in hand, he started eating right by the wall.

The three boys stared in disbelief. "The hell? You’re eating *now*?!"

Lu Qiuyan: "Need fuel to kick your asses."

With the boys restrained by bodyguards, Tian Ruan had a sudden idea. He dangled a chicken leg tauntingly in front of them. "Look at this juicy, delicious chicken leg~"

"...Yeah, right." No sooner had they spoken than their stomachs growled in unison.

Tian Ruan dangled the chicken leg teasingly. "Chicken leg~ Chicken leg~ Tasty braised chicken leg~ And you can’t have any."

The bodyguards were *loving* this.

The three boys: "..."

Out of nowhere, a little yellow mutt came running, barking excitedly. Tian Ruan tossed the chicken leg its way. "Here you go, pup!"

The puppy caught the chicken leg with a happy yip, wagging its tail furiously. "Woof woof~"

Tian Ruan cackled, hands on hips, the picture of a smug villain.

Mao Qi quietly snapped a photo of the scene and sent it to Yu Jingmo.

From the highest office in the downtown corporate tower, Yu Jingmo chuckled. Seemed his troublemaker of a wife was up to her usual antics today.