Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Wen Yuan forcibly dragged Shi Jian from Yu Chen’s hospital room, passing countless medical personnel rushing to the scene, including a squad of black-clad Alpha bodyguards.

They bypassed the throng, reaching the corridor’s end.

Wen Yuan, a head taller than Shi Jian, lowered his gaze under the harsh fluorescent lights, scrutinizing his adopted brother from head to toe—especially those hands, scarred from relentless knife training.

He remembered those hands dancing across black and white piano keys, slender and pale, like ten white jade butterflies.

"Though I graduated years ago, First Military Academy’s regulations have always been strictest on student brawls. For someone like you, who nearly killed a severely injured classmate—a repeat offender—even if the Alpha who taught you knife skills is the head of the Disciplinary Department, he won’t be able to protect you."

Wen Yuan paused, then gestured toward Yu Chen’s room. "Besides, you know very well this is Yu Wei’s son. If you truly killed him, many people would face serious consequences."

"So what? Is Yu Wei’s son not human? Are my teeth too dull to tear his flesh, or my blade too weak to sever his neck?" Shi Jian sneered. "A warning, confinement, or expulsion? Do you think I still care about any of that?"

"Of course you don’t. You’d love nothing more than to leave this place immediately. But what do you intend to do afterward? What *can* you do?" Wen Yuan forced him to meet his gaze. "Don’t look away."

His usual gentle facade, reserved for outsiders, vanished, replaced by sternness. "Deep down, you know better than anyone that if you don’t want to be a useless burden living off your family, an Alpha—regardless of rank—must confront their innate destiny."

"First Military Academy isn’t a good place. No military academy is. Nobody enjoys being in such a high-pressure, dangerous environment. But the real battlefield is far crueler. If you can’t even survive the academy, you’ll die even faster on the battlefield—and you might drag innocent comrades down with you."

Shi Jian clenched his fists, his eyes devoid of disappointment, replaced by cold indifference. "In your eyes, I’m just a liability."

Wen Yuan skipped the topic, but to Shi Jian, it was tacit agreement.

"Just behave. Go back quietly. I’ll handle the conflict between you and Yu Chen. There’s no need for you to learn those dangerous things. Besides, half your success today was because he was sedated and his reactions were dulled. If he’d been at full strength, you wouldn’t have lasted until I arrived."

"I’ll smooth things over with the First Military District and the academy. Aside from a few extra days in confinement, you won’t face any punishment."

Wen Yuan softened his tone slightly, his words carrying a hint of reassurance—though it wasn’t the kind meant for the wronged party. It was more like another way of telling him to let it go, to stop dwelling on it.

A soft knife always cuts deeper than a hard one.

The wounds on his hands had long scabbed over, but somewhere inside, he was still bleeding. Shi Jian didn’t understand why his entire body ached so much. Hadn’t he already endured this marrow-deep pain, with interest, in every minute and second of the past six months?

Many times, Shi Jian had believed he’d grown immune to his adopted brother’s words—that he was now impervious. But the moment he realized he no longer received the same unconditional tolerance as before, that spoiled, fragile, and overly sensitive heart—far from strong—would remind him again that it still housed an insecure crybaby.

Shi Jian shook off Wen Yuan’s grip and offered no resistance as the arriving Disciplinary Department members led him away.

Just before leaving, he stared at Wen Yuan through the crowd, his eyes blazing with a stubborn fire.

"I won’t believe your lies anymore, and I won’t keep taking shit lying down. If someone bullies me, I’ll fight back—

*‘Can’t win? Come home to Dad and your brother.’* That’s what you taught me as a child. Since you won’t stand up for me now, I’ll stand up for myself."

"Wen Yuan, make sure you relay my words *exactly* to Yu Chen. I said I’d make him pay, and I *will*."

The young man cherished promises and dignity, armed with reckless courage and resolve. He had grieved and suffered, but when he turned away, he did so without hesitation. The one truly left behind was never him.

Wen Yuan watched silently as he left. The growing distance between them was a bad sign.

Even when he intervened to stop Shi Jian, Wen Yuan had braced himself for hatred. Yet reality was far crueler than anticipation—he couldn’t ignore the cold dread crawling up his throat. It nearly drove him forward, nearly made him chase after him.

Only by biting his tongue, tasting thick blood, did Wen Yuan suppress the terrifying impulse. His gaze remained fixed on that lanky frame until it rounded the corner—just a normal turn, a fleeting glimpse of a profile that *almost* looked back.

And in that moment, a foolish, desperate hope flickered in his chest.

But no.

Shi Jian’s profile vanished behind a potted palm tree in less than half a second.

*I’ve hurt him again.*

The realization was clear and agonizing.

He knew he was hurting Shi Jian—a clingy, emotional child who had done nothing wrong.

A child who wasn’t even an adult yet, thrust into conflict far too soon, forced to navigate a world suddenly hostile and full of thorns without a moment’s preparation.

To wake one day and find the world that once loved you no longer did—even as a bystander, Wen Yuan felt Shi Jian’s despair and collapse as if it were his own.

No… he wasn’t just a bystander.

Wen Yuan laughed bitterly at himself. He was the despicable perpetrator.

Just as Shi Jian had said in that classroom, he had dumped his own misery onto him, dragging him down into hell to share the bitter consequences.

This self-sabotage couldn’t salvage the collapse of Wen Yuan’s own world. But for someone beyond saving, drinking poison to quench thirst was better than waiting for death.

Wiping the blood from his lips, Wen Yuan put his mask back on and turned toward Yu Chen’s room.

---

Shi Jian was taken back to the Reflection Building, where Muye had been waiting for what felt like ages. The moment he saw him, he unleashed a torrent of curses: "Have you lost your fucking mind?! An E-rank trying to take an A+’s life?! Do you even realize Yu Chen’s AS is one of the most aggressive elemental-type abilities? One slip, and *you’d* be the one dead!"

Only after shouting did he notice the wounds covering Shi Jian’s hands. Shock gave way to a sliver of hidden concern. "I sent you to confinement to reflect, and what do you do? Somehow get your hands on a knife—oh, so clever, learning so fast, huh? Then why didn’t you just stab Yu Chen to death?!"

Shi Jian’s reply nearly made Muye explode: "Next time, I *will* kill him."

"You—*goddammit*! Ancestor, you absolute *ancestor*! I’ll kneel and call you *Mom*, just stop provoking that Crown Prince, will you?! Yeah, he’s a trash-talking asshole who loves pushing buttons, but haven’t you put him in the hospital for weeks every time? You’re not exactly losing here! Must you always go mutually destructive?!" Muye yanked at his own hair, genuinely close to dropping to his knees.

Shi Jian remained unmoved, his blue eyes glinting with something cold like polished steel. "Not enough. Your kneeling means nothing—unless you drag him here and make him kneel in front of *everyone* in the Sky Command. Then I’ll spare him. Otherwise, no matter how many times I’m thrown into confinement, I won’t change my mind."

Seeing that neither sweet talk nor threats worked, Muye gritted his teeth. "If anything happens to Yu Chen, my career at First Military Academy is over. If anything happens to *you*, my *life* is over! None of you are easy to deal with! Stuck with you two—what rotten luck! Starting today, I’m camping in this damn building. If you’ve got the guts, try killing him right in front of me!"

Shi Jian nodded calmly. "Fine."

"*Fine*?! Don’t think Gu Shiyun covered his tracks perfectly—*everyone* knows he helped you! Think confinement’s a walk in the park? Let me warn you: Gu Shiyun’s been reassigned on a mission. No special treatment this time!"

Shi Jian’s first thought was that Gu Shiyun had been implicated because of him. Guilt flickered, but his resolve didn’t waver. Silently apologizing in his heart, he strode toward the confinement room with unprecedented determination.

A Disciplinary Department member politely said to Muye, "Instructor, please step aside. Don’t interfere with official duties."

Muye rolled his eyes and plopped down nearby, crossing his arms and legs like an immovable object—clearly ready to dig in for the long haul.

But deep down, he didn’t take Shi Jian’s words seriously. To him, this was just the tantrum of a spoiled brat used to getting his way. The dean had already declared a two-week confinement, and Muye—having endured it himself—knew how torturous those lightless, soundless cells were. Even the toughest souls cracked under the maddening isolation. A pampered young master like Shi Jian wouldn’t last.

So Muye stayed optimistic. No matter how furious Shi Jian was now, two weeks in the hole would surely humble him—

Hell, he probably wouldn’t even last the full term. He’d be begging for mercy long before, let alone plotting revenge.

With that in mind, though Muye *did* prepare to camp in the Reflection Building—eating and sleeping there outside teaching hours—he didn’t take it as a real crisis. Which was why, after half a month of vigilance, he dozed at the critical moment… and let his charge escape.