Chapter 140

Chapter 140

"Damn, big bro, you guys gotta pace yourselves," Tian Ruan said earnestly, giving Du Henbie's lower back a sympathetic look.

Du Henbie had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Despite his refined and handsome appearance, he was muscular under his clothes, having grown up overseas eating steak. His build was comparable to that of Westerners—though it wasn’t obvious when he stood alone, the contrast became striking when paired with the slender He Lansi.

But even with that powerhouse build, he could still strain his back from overdoing it.

Tian Ruan’s gaze lingered too long. Du Henbie gave He Lansi a tight smile. "We’ll be careful. Thanks for your concern."

He Lansi played dumb. "What are you here for? Did Yu Jingmo hurt his back too?"

Tian Ruan: "Not at all! Mr. Yu's back is just fine... It's my ankle I twisted."

Yu Jingmo: "The orthopedics department here is quite good."

Du Henbie nodded. "I’m taking He Lansi to get checked."

Tian Ruan stepped aside, only to notice He Lansi walking stiffly, needing to lean on Du Henbie’s arm to waddle up the steps like a penguin, yet maintaining an utterly composed expression as he entered the clinic.

Tian Ruan: "...Huh?"

So it wasn’t Du Henbie who strained his back—it was He Lansi?

"Big bro's really something else," Tian Ruan muttered.

Yu Jingmo scooped him up bridal-style and carried him to the car, slipping new leather shoes onto his feet. "Still going to school?"

"As a member of the student council, I can't just ditch."

"You just want to see the show."

Tian Ruan blushed. "Mr. Yu's really getting me these days."

Yu Jingmo accompanied him to Deyin, where Assistant Xu brought over a wheelchair. After Tian Ruan settled in, Yu Jingmo tucked a small blanket around his legs.

Pushing the wheelchair, Yu Jingmo strolled through the campus toward the library, where the film crew was hustling.

"What’s going to happen to Yu Linluo?" Tian Ruan’s thoughts wandered, suddenly recalling the man.

Yu Jingmo’s voice was calm. "If he knows what's good for him, he'll only get a day of lecturing at the police station."

Tian Ruan was puzzled. "What was he even trying to do?"

"Didn’t you say he wanted to fight Yu Shang for the family inheritance?"

"I don’t think it’s that simple. Back at the ancestral home, Yu Linluo was so arrogant, looking down his nose at us, then suddenly tried to make peace?" It hit him. "Yu Ba said his company was in trouble—did you have a hand in that?"

"Yes."

"...Would he guess it was you?"

"Possibly."

Putting two and two together, Tian Ruan pieced most of it out. "So Yu Ba sent his son to hound us for payback. If it actually worked, he'd come out on top."

"Mm."

They say all's fair in business, but in truth, it’s even more ruthless—nothing but backstabbing and shady deals. Yu Ba was clearly a real piece of work.

Unfortunately, Yu Jingmo was impervious to both soft and hard tactics—if he didn’t want to do something, no one could force him.

The filming at the library went smoothly. Yu Jingmo pushed Tian Ruan in to watch the commotion, but no one noticed; everyone was fully engrossed in watching X’s deductions.

It had to be said that X truly had a professional spirit. Even when invited to perform at the annual gala and facing Du Henbie after so long, despite the immense pressure inside, he still managed to put on his best performance for the audience.

With such excellent stress resistance, no wonder he was famous. Tian Ruan finally noticed X’s good qualities and smiled at him.

Meanwhile, X, deep in deduction, suddenly looked up and saw Tian Ruan and the legendary tycoon beside him. Instantly, he was thrown off his game, his mind filled with thoughts of debt repayment.

"..." X forcibly averted his gaze and continued acting.

Tian Ruan was excited for the plot to unfold.

In the original novel, during this segment, the "suspect" faked a haunting and toppled a bookshelf, just as Lu Qiuyan was hiding behind it with no way to escape.

At the critical moment, Yu Shang heroically stepped forward, shielding Lu Qiuyan with his back as the bookshelf fell, injuring his spine. As a result, Lu Qiuyan guiltily took care of Yu Shang for a whole month.

During that month, Lu Qiuyan dropped his prickly attitude and became utterly obedient to Yu Shang, giving readers major fluff.

Recalling this, Tian Ruan snickered to himself.

The already quiet filming site suddenly drew everyone’s attention.

"..."

Yu Jingmo stood unmoving behind Tian Ruan, his intimidating presence making them look away—only daring to peek occasionally.

Tian Ruan clamped his mouth shut, only to see Lu Qiuyan walking over with his hands in his pockets. “?”

On the filming set, the "suspect" abruptly pushed over a bookshelf, and the girl screamed, “Big Bro X!”

X immediately rushed over to save the day. “Xiao Hua!”

Others rushed to grab the “suspect.”

Yu Shang stood by with his arms crossed, cool as a cucumber.

Tian Ruan: “…………”

Lu Qiuyan stopped in front of Tian Ruan. “What’s that face for?”

Tian Ruan was speechless. Wasn’t the male lead supposed to save the other male lead? Where was that big romantic moment??

Meanwhile, on “stage,” the dramatic scene continued. X was hit by the bookshelf, his face contorted in pain, and the guests quickly pulled him out—though it was part of the script, it actually hurt!

The girls freaked out. “X, are you okay? Our school’s bookshelves are custom-made from old sandalwood—they’re really heavy!”

Tian Ruan looked at the scattered books on the floor. “…Those are one-of-a-kind books. They’re very expensive.”

The rich private school once again shocked the production team. The crew hurried to tidy up the books, but a few were inevitably damaged.

The librarian, who also played the “twin NPCs,” had to kick the production team out.

The director awkwardly said, “We’ll cover the cost.”

Poor X had to continue filming, finishing the shoot despite his injury.

Tian Ruan sighed. “Guess no job’s easy. XX is so famous, but here he is working hurt.”

Yu Jingmo: "For someone at his tier, pulling in a mil a day is no problem."

Tian Ruan: "...Never mind, I rescind my pity."

If he were paid a million, he could endure hardship for a whole day too.

It’s just a shame about the main couple's sweet moments in the original story—were they really lost forever? Tian Ruan shot a sulky look at Lu Qiuyan, who was completely checked out.

Lu Qiuyan was genuinely bored. He had somehow found a brick and was tossing it around like a hacky sack, kicking it playfully. With one hard kick, the brick went flying—

*Thud!* It smacked Yu Shang right in the back of the skull.

Lu Qiuyan: "..."

Tian Ruan: "..."

The brick clattered to the ground, splitting in two. Yu Shang turned around expressionlessly, his frosty glare locking onto Lu Qiuyan’s bewildered stare.

Yu Jingmo froze.

Xi Qin and Xie Tangyan, walking beside Yu Shang, also froze, their faces pale with shock. "B-Boss... your head..."

A streak of bright red blood trickled down Yu Shang’s slender neck, disappearing into his neatly buttoned collar.

Yu Shang wiped at it with his hand—his hand came back bloody. His pupils contracted, his eyes glazing over before he completely lost consciousness.

"Yu Shang!" Tian Ruan and Lu Qiuyan shouted simultaneously.

Xi Qin quickly caught Yu Shang. "Hey?"

Xie Tangyan: "Boss, don’t die!"

Surrounding students: "???"

While others suffered unexpected misfortunes, Yu Shang got an unexpected brick. Instead of heroically saving the main couple, he was laid out flat by Lu Qiuyan’s brick.

The infirmary was dead silent.

Tian Ruan asked, "Why did you hit Yu Shang?"

Lu Qiuyan’s brows were scrunched up like a pretzel as he stared at Yu Shang on the single bed. "I don’t know... the stupid thing just took off..."

"Dude, you kicked a brick—how’s your foot not broken?"

"Yeah, like hell."

Tian Ruan fell silent. He figured the universe was railroading Lu Qiuyan—Yu Shang was fated to get wrecked, and Lu Qiuyan was doomed to feel like crap.

"My bad, Uncle," Lu Qiuyan muttered, hanging his head toward Yu Jingmo.

Yu Jingmo glanced at Yu Shang, now bandaged. "Save it for when he’s conscious."

"Okay." Lu Qiuyan didn’t budge.

Tian Ruan said, "Sit down and take off your shoes. Your foot’s gotta be messed up."

"Nah, I’ve taken worse hits in fights."

[silence]

Lu Qiuyan realized it might not be appropriate to mention fighting in front of Yu Jingmo, so he stepped aside and leaned against the wall, waiting for Yu Shang to wake up.

Yu Jingmo stood up and said to Tian Ruan, "I'll come back in about an hour to pick you up."

Tian Ruan nodded. "Mr. Yu, go ahead. Lu Qiuyan and I will stay with him."

With Yu Jingmo gone, the school doctor’s tension eased considerably. Truth was, Yu Shang wasn’t seriously hurt—the cut on the back of his head was small and hadn’t bled much. He’d probably fainted from shock.

Tian Ruan reassured Lu Qiuyan, "Yu Shang will be fine. He just has a bit of a fear of blood."

"A fear of blood?" Lu Qiuyan frowned, puzzled.

Tian Ruan hesitated, glancing at the school nurse. Tutting, the nurse caught on and excused herself to use the restroom.

Lu Qiuyan sat on the next cot, leaning forward, listening intently. "What do you mean?"

Tian Ruan paused. In the original story, Lu Qiuyan didn't learn about Yu Shang's fear of blood until much later. But now that he knew, revealing it early might actually bring them closer.

"Yu Shang’s birth mother ran a dessert shop. She was killed during a robbery when he was very young—you’ve heard that before, right?" Tian Ruan asked.

Lu Qiuyan stiffened. His family had once been well-off; he’d heard whispers about the incident, vague bits of gossip passed around like dinner-table chatter. He never looked into it deeply. “Yeah.”

“She was stabbed repeatedly… and bled heavily. Yu Shang saw her at the hospital.”

Lu Qiuyan’s chest lurched, as if something inside had torn open. He felt short of breath. He glanced at Yu Shang but couldn’t bear to look long, his throat tight with emotion.

He’d never imagined that beneath Yu Shang’s glittering wealth and status lay a past too raw to share.

Even if he was just a kid then—too young to remember details—trauma lingered. It chipped away at Yu Shang’s pride and composure, leaving him fragile, like a child.

Of course, this side of him was meant only for the protagonist to see.

But Tian Ruan, knowing the original plot, watched Lu Qiuyan’s expression darken with guilt and hid a smirk. “He doesn’t hate fighting,” he said softly. “He hates seeing you bleed.”

Lu Qiuyan muttered an “Mm,” lips pressed tight.

So when Yu Shang woke half an hour later, the first thing he saw was Lu Qiuyan’s guilt-ridden face. “Yu Shang, I’m sorry. I won’t fight again.”

Yu Shang: “?”

Yu Shang: “Write me a promise.”

They stared at each other. Then, obediently, Lu Qiuyan pulled out paper and pen from his bag and wrote the note.

Yu Shang took it and scowled at the scribbled words. “Rewrite it. Neatly.”

Lu Qiuyan bristled, ready to snap—but caught sight of Yu Shang’s bandage and bit back his temper. Carefully, he rewrote it. “There.”

Yu Shang finally nodded, then frowned, touching his head. “I dreamed you hit me with a brick.”

Lu Qiuyan: *“…It wasn’t a dream.”*

“Hm?”

*“It was me.”*

Yu Shang eyeballed him. “Explains why you’re suddenly so docile.”

The word *docile* carried a hint of unspoken fondness, unusual for two boys. Lu Qiuyan shot him a glare, but the moment his icy gaze touched the bandage, his glare lost its edge.

Yu Shang seized the opportunity to say, "Drop the bar job too."

Lu Qiuyan smiled. "Don't push your luck."

"At least till I'm better."

Lu Qiuyan thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll pick it back up once you're good."

Yu Shang knew he had made a concession and didn’t press further. But as he turned his head, he suddenly realized how close they were. When handing over the written pledge, Lu Qiuyan had naturally sat on the edge of the bed, and while listening to Yu Shang speak, he always turned his head closer.

The crisp, boyish scent filled Yu Shang’s nose. He kept a straight face, not budging an inch.

Lu Qiuyan, however, stiffened and abruptly stood up. "D-Do you want anything to eat? Maybe some bananas? Good for the brain."

"..."

Tian Ruan, having returned from the restroom, wheeled himself back in, taking his sweet time. Catching a snippet of the conversation, he was startled and called out from behind the curtain, "Lu Qiuyan, are you eating Yu Shang’s banana?"

"…………"

That question went right over Lu Qiuyan’s head.