Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The man’s pupils dilated in shock.

Someone nearby, sensing the situation was escalating, quickly called the police.

“I already apologized! What more do you want?” The man spat out a mouthful of blood, his voice laced with fury, as he grabbed random objects from the table and flung them wildly.

One of the plates struck Ying Xi’s temple, drawing a trickle of blood, but he seemed oblivious, continuing to methodically slam the man’s head against the table.

Screams erupted around them. Li Yang picked up a plate that had been thrown his way and walked over to Ying Xi, grabbing his arm.

“Yanyang, I’m just joking with him,” Ying Xi said with a smirk upon seeing him, finally stopping his movements before shoving the man away in disgust.

With a thud, the man’s back hit the table before he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

His face was a swollen, bloody mess, the right cheek noticeably more swollen than the left. When he spotted Li Yang, he began ranting threats.

“Do you even know who I am? I’ll make sure you pay for this. None of you will get away with it. Every hit I take now, I’ll return tenfold later!”

“Who are you?” Li Yang stared at him with exaggerated fear, his tone dripping with mock concern. “Are you really that powerful?”

“Of course! In A City, if you dare lay a hand on me, you’re all dead!”

Struggling to his feet, the man wiped the blood from his face and glared furiously at Li Yang, pulling out his phone to call for backup while spewing a barrage of obscenities.

After the call, he regained some energy and, with a dark expression, grabbed a nearby chair and flung it toward them.

Li Yang dodged in time, while the expressionless Ying Xi sent the chair flying with a kick.

“Wait a second,” Li Yang said softly, catching Ying Xi’s wrist before raising the plate with a smile. “I haven’t had my turn yet.”

Understanding his meaning, the man sneered and rolled his shoulders. “You? A Beta? You think you can hit me? I could flatten you with one hand.”

He even took the initiative, reaching out to grab Li Yang’s neck while keeping a wary eye on Ying Xi. Only when he saw Ying Xi make no move did he relax slightly.

But before his hand could make contact, a blinding pain erupted in his head.

The plate shattered, and shards of porcelain sliced through slender fingers, blood dripping to the floor in bright red droplets.

Li Yang glanced at his wound cursorily before looking up at the man with a smile. “You threw this at me earlier. Now I’m returning it.”

Despite his innocent, harmless appearance, the mocking tilt of his eyes and brows was unmistakable, fueling his rage.

The man was so enraged he barely felt the pain, nearly seeing stars on the spot.

“Are you all just standing there like idiots?!” he howled, clutching his head.

Only then did the four Alphas beside him shake off their stupor, breaking free from the pheromone suppression and lunging forward with vicious expressions.

This was Li Yang’s first time in a fight, yet something primal in him seemed to awaken, leaving him adrenaline-fueled throughout—so much so that he didn’t even feel the pain when a punch landed on him.

The bulky Alphas looked intimidating, but in reality, they were all show and no substance. Their wild swings missed entirely, giving Li Yang plenty of openings to strike back.

Half an hour later, seven men stood in a line—all bearing wounds except for Wen Yun.

Li Yang fared better. His finger had been bandaged with layers of gauze borrowed by Ying Xi, wrapped so thickly that he could barely bend it.

Only the beginnings of a bruise marred the corner of his lips, while Ying Xi’s forehead and neck were littered with bruises from the brawl.

The battered man continued making threats between calls, yet none of his reinforcements had shown up.

The other four Alphas had long since given up, squatting silently on the ground as if reconsidering their life decisions.

Ying Xi sat on a nearby chair, rubbing his cheek with one hand, legs crossed as he smirked at the five Alphas.

“Just a joke. Why so serious?”

Wen Yun nudged Li Yang and whispered, “You two took on five of them and won?”

“Not exactly a win,” Li Yang murmured, pressing a finger lightly to his sore lip. “Both Ying Xi and I got hurt.”

“Why were you all brawling in public?” The officer tapped the surveillance footage. “I’ve already notified your guardians. Now, stay quiet and explain what happened.”

The man immediately launched into a twisted version of events. “Brawling? They were the ones attacking me! Look at my injuries compared to theirs!”

The officer rapped his knuckles on the table. “I have the footage right here. Keep lying, and I’ll make you shut up myself.”

Sullenly, the man set his jaw. “Fine, I might’ve made a little joke. What’s the big deal? Can’t people talk while eating out?”

“So you admit you were the one who provoked them first with verbal provocation?” the officer pressed.

The man clearly wanted to argue, but hurried footsteps interrupted him.

Assistant Min rushed in with another man just as Li Yang was bent over, inspecting Ying Xi’s injuries.

“Classmate Li, how did you get hurt?” Assistant Min’s eyes immediately noticed Li Yang’s heavily bandaged finger before landing on Ying Xi’s bruised face. His expression twisted in horror—his bonus was as good as gone. “Young Master, you’re injured too?”

Ying Xi cocked his head. “Just had a bit of fun with someone.”

Before Li Yang could speak, Ying Xi’s gaze fell on his bruised lip, and he reached out to touch it lightly.

“Does it hurt?”

It did, but the pain quickly gave way to warmth.

Li Yang shook his head.

Assistant Min, who had been about to say more, glanced at the others and rubbed his neck. “So, you’re the ones they fought?”

The man had initially smirked at the term “Young Master,” assuming it was pretentious—until the person behind Assistant Min introduced himself as a lawyer. He froze.

“You even brought a lawyer?!”

“Uh, that lawyer’s name sounds familiar,” one of the other Alphas whispered to the man. “I think he’s the one who exclusively handles cases for the Ying Corporation. Never lost a single one.”

The man’s face went blank, his smirk wiped away. “The Ying Corporation?”

The words “Young Master” echoed in his mind, and he could no longer laugh.

The backup the man had called finally strutted in, only to deflate instantly upon seeing Assistant Min. He hurried over with an unctuous smile.

“Assistant Min! Remember me?”

Assistant Min, busy texting Li Xu with updates, barely glanced up. “Who are you?”

Before the man could answer, the battered man spluttered, “Big bro! I’m over here!”

“Anything you have to say, direct it to our lawyer,” Assistant Min said coldly before turning back to his phone. After finishing his report, he gestured for Ying Xi and Li Yang. “We need to get those wounds looked at at the hospital.”

"Li Yang and I will go together. You stay and handle things here." After signing, Ying Xi glanced at the lawyer talking with his uncle, then took Li Yang's hand to leave.

"What's gotten into you? How many times have you been here this year? And now you’ve picked a fight with the Ying family?" The middle-aged man, referred to as "brother," scolded in a low voice.

The man said woodenly, "The assistant you called… just now, he called that young man 'young master.'"

"What?" The middle-aged man’s eyes widened, and he punched the man’s head. "Always provoking people, and now you’ve messed with someone you shouldn’t have. Just wait and see."

He grabbed the man by the neck, forcing a sycophantic smile as Li Yang and Ying Xi walked past, bowing deeply at a perfect 90-degree angle.

"Our deepest apologies. My brother here has poor judgment and caused this trouble. Whatever the outcome, we’ll accept them. We’re truly sorry."

Ying Xi and Li Yang said nothing and left.

Wen Yun, slightly slower, was impressed by their quick change of face before quickly following.

"..."

Once in the car, Li Yang accidentally tugged at his cut lip and hissed, pressing a hand to his mouth to avoid further irritation.

Meeting Ying Xi’s concerned gaze, he forced a smile. "I’m fine, just easy to irritate. You should worry more about your own wounds—they're serious."

"I’m fine too." Ying Xi took his hand, gently massaging the corner of his lip with his thumb.

Li Yang’s lips parted slightly from the touch, and he hastily pulled Ying Xi’s hand away, mumbling, "Don’t press. It doesn’t hurt anymore."

From the passenger seat, Wen Yun smiled at the driver. "To the hospital, please."

As the car moved forward, he turned to study the two, finally asking, "I expected Ying Xi to fight, but Li Yang, how did you get involved?"

"I was itching to." Li Yang looked out the window, his tone indifferent.

His phone buzzed—a message from Assistant Min. The other party had been apologizing profusely, trying to pay them off to pretend it never happened.

Ying Xi replied: "We don't want their money."

Assistant Min: "Understood."

When the car stopped at the hospital, Ying Xi got out to treat his wounds just as Assistant Min arrived.

"They wrote a two-thousand-word apology letter." He handed his phone to Ying Xi.

"Bullshit." Li Yang leaned over for a glance and scoffed.

Ying Xi had no interest in reading it, leaning his head against Li Yang’s shoulder instead.

The position was awkward, but he didn’t seem to care, murmuring softly, "Yangyang, I'm in so much pain."

His breath tickled Li Yang’s neck, making him nearly shove Ying Xi away—until he remembered his injuries and stopped himself.

"Still hurts after applying medicine?"

"Mhm." Ying Xi held out his hand. "But holding hands makes it better."

This time, Li Yang didn’t refuse, locking their fingers together.

Ying Xi buried his face in Li Yang’s neck, chuckling. He loved doing this, though Li Yang was clearly uncomfortable, flinching a few times from his warm breath before finally pulling away.

"We have class soon. Let’s go back to school."

Wen Yun, witnessing their closeness, remarked, "How come fighting brought you two closer?"

That earlier awkwardness was gone.

Meanwhile, Assistant Min, at Li Xu’s request, secretly snapped a photo of them.

In the picture, Ying Xi’s face was smeared with white ointment, while Li Yang only had a slight bruise at the corner of his mouth.

Li Xu: "Who hit Yangyang? How dare they."

Assistant Min scratched his head, nearly mistaking Li Yang for her actual son.

"Useless. Couldn't even keep Yangyang safe in a fight." She sent a beating sticker.

Assistant Min couldn’t help but laugh. "Don't you care about the young master?"

"He doesn’t fight often, but when he does, he always wins. No need to worry about him." Li Xu replied. "But Yangyang actually fought? How cute."

From her words, Assistant Min truly sensed how much she adored Li Yang.

The four had a quick bite near the hospital and returned to school just in time for class.

Ying Xi’s battered face drew immediate whispers in the classroom.

Most assumed he’d beaten up the Alpha who had that rut episode before.

The chatter only stopped when the teacher slammed the desk.

"The gaokao is approaching." The teacher said gravely. "You need to focus on your studies."

In this school—especially this class—most students were destined to inherit family businesses, with a few high achievers mixed in.

Li Yang wasn’t the top, but he still felt the pressure.

So when Ying Xi stood by his side after class, Li Yang tilted his head, thinking for a moment before saying, "You once said I should put some distance between us."

"I was just being stupid." Ying Xi had abandoned that idea entirely, now all he wanted was to stick even closer to Li Yang.

If his rut got out of control, he could separate himself—even lock himself away if necessary.

But he didn’t want to stay away from Li Yang. He couldn’t.

Li Yang blinked. "Actually, you were completely right. Until graduation, let’s follow your advice—maintain proper distance when needed, study hard, and pay attention in class."