Chapter 32 Pain

Chapter 32: Hurt

Yan Zhoubai also knew that his answer didn't quite match the question, so he quickly replied, "It was bandaged this morning. It should be okay."

His voice was very soft, with a hint of awkwardness from having said the wrong thing.

Zhan Jiayu didn't say anything, released Yan Zhoubai's wrist, then started the car and turned around. The black Maybach drove away from the Western Hills villa area.

"Yan Anxuan is quite concerned about you."

As the car descended from the Western Hills, it merged into the bustling evening traffic of Jing City. Zhan Jiayu suddenly spoke up.

"My eldest brother is really good."

Yan Zhoubai sat obediently in the passenger seat. By now, the sky had completely darkened, and the night in Jing City was also brilliantly lit, giving off a feeling of a city that never sleeps.

Inside the dimly lit car, the glow from streetlights and neon signs from roadside skyscrapers streamed through the window, casting faint, indistinct shadows on Yan Zhoubai's profile, making it hard to see clearly, but his eyes were strikingly bright.

"Hmph," Zhan Jiayu let out a light, ambiguous scoff, "If he's so good to you, why didn't he say a word in your defense at your coming-of-age ceremony the other night?"

"That's just how eldest brother is."

Yan Zhoubai didn't see any problem with it, though he could also tell that Zhan Jiayu seemed to have some issues with his eldest brother.

He didn't understand why these two, who should have only met once, would dislike each other so much. But he didn't dare mediate between them—both were people he couldn't afford to offend.

Zhan Jiayu didn't say anything more and changed the subject: "I don't know your preferences, but thinking that you lived in a Taoist temple for a few years, I booked a restaurant with lighter dishes."

That Riverview Courtyard was where he had gone once when meeting his Buddhist fourth uncle last time; the dishes were quite good.

He wasn't particularly picky about food himself—anything was fine with him. But he inexplicably felt that Yan Zhoubai must be quite delicate, and the dishes there were carefully designed and prepared, with a classical ambiance, so he thought Yan Zhoubai would like it.

"Anything is fine with me; I'm not picky," Yan Zhoubai quickly responded, surprised that Zhan Jiayu would be so considerate about his tastes.

Although he had spent three years at Cangru Temple, his palate wasn't actually that particular.

At Cangru Temple, everyone took turns cooking. Yan Zhoubai couldn't cook, so he could only assist with prep work. The brothers on the mountain weren't particularly fussy about food either—they ate everything, regardless of whether it was light or not. Especially Qin Hemeng, who was the best cook and often took charge—his tastes were actually quite strong, preferring dishes with strong flavors and plenty of oil.

The traffic on Jing City's inner ring road after 7 p.m. was like a traffic jam; the cars could hardly move, only inching forward intermittently.

After the previous topic ended, the car fell silent again, and neither of them spoke. But Yan Zhoubai felt this was a good opportunity to connect with the formidable boss, yet he couldn't find a suitable topic to discuss. Moreover, Zhan Jiayu seemed like someone who took driving very seriously—would it be impolite to talk to him while he was driving?

With these thoughts, Yan Zhoubai became somewhat fidgety. He really wanted to seize this opportunity but didn't know how.

"What's wrong? Does your hand hurt?"

Just as they stopped at a red light, Zhan Jiayu noticed Yan Zhoubai's uneasy expression and asked.

"No..." Yan Zhoubai hesitated, then finally said, "I feel like I should chat with you about something, otherwise it's too quiet, but I really don't know what to say."

Yan Zhoubai looked down slightly. He was wearing a yellow-and-white striped shirt and loose light-blue shorts, revealing his slightly pink knees and slender, pale calves. His small white bag across his chest was placed in front of him, but since he was leaning back in the seat, the strap was pulled up a bit, and the bag rested right on his stomach.

From Zhan Jiayu's perspective, he found it utterly adorable—this slightly troubled expression, this voice tinged with a hint of grievance—it was a kind of gentle charm he had never experienced in his over twenty years of life.

Moreover, Yan Zhoubai's outfit today was very fresh and energetic-looking. His long black hair lay neatly over his shoulders, his skin was pale, and the small white crossbody bag, though somewhat childish, suited Yan Zhoubai perfectly.

Zhan Jiayu recalled what he used to wear when he was seventeen or eighteen. Certainly nothing as bright—mostly blacks, whites, and grays, with black predominating because it was practical. He had spent much of his time on physical and combat training.

"You don't need to be like this."

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It's like how humans instantly switch to a softer tone when they see an adorable cat—it's the same idea.

"I'm the one who invited you out, so I should be the one initiating conversation. Don't be so nervous; every time you see me, you seem a bit tense. I'm not going to bite," Zhan Jiayu chuckled. "Who told you I'm scary?"

Yan Zhoubai thought to himself: The system told me, and you're not just scary—you're the big boss.

"Nothing really, but I've heard about you from others, know how impressive you are, so I'm a bit cautious," Yan Zhoubai explained.

"Heard about me from others?" Zhan Jiayu raised an eyebrow. "What did they say? Tell me."

This stumped Yan Zhoubai. It was true that he knew about Zhan Jiayu's situation, but not from others—it was all from the system. And what he knew wasn't exactly positive—how could he say that?

"Just that you're very capable, taking over the Zhan family at such a young age."

Yan Zhoubai could only pick the nicer things to say. After all, he couldn't very well say that he knew Zhan Jiayu was ruthless, had connections in both legal and illegal circles abroad, and occasionally dabbled in gray-area methods back home before eventually being taken down by the protagonist?

"Capable?" Zhan Jiayu scoffed lightly, his tone unreadable. "I doubt they put it that nicely."

Did Zhan Jiayu not know how people in Jing City's circles talked about him? On one hand, they feared the Zhan family's influence overseas; on the other, they believed his rapid rise to power at a young age must have involved shady methods, labeling him as ruthless.

Yan Zhoubai gave a weak smile; there was no good way to respond to that.

Fortunately, the traffic started flowing again, and the black Maybach finally started advancing.

When there was no traffic, the drive was quite quick. In just over twenty minutes, Zhan Jiayu pulled up at the entrance of Riverview Courtyard.

After getting out, Yan Zhoubai was surprised to see such a classically styled restaurant.

The restaurant's decor was very refined, offering a peaceful oasis in the bustling city. Although Yan Zhoubai wasn't particularly knowledgeable, as the young master of the Yan family, he had visited plenty of high-end venues. He could tell that this restaurant was definitely the kind that catered only to specific clients.

What surprised him was that Zhan Jiayu would choose such a classically styled restaurant. Didn't he grow up in Country A? This wasn't something he should be familiar with or interested in, right?

Zhan Jiayu led Yan Zhoubai directly to a private room. The room was also decorated in an ancient style, with appropriate poetic lines carved by the door, perfectly capturing the ambiance.

As soon as Yan Zhoubai sat down, Zhan Jiayu asked for a medical kit to change the bandage on Yan Zhoubai's hand.

After learning in the car that the bandage had been applied that morning, he hadn't said anything because he planned to change it once they arrived, so there was no need to discuss it further.

The medical kit was brought by the staff very quickly, almost as if it had been prepared in advance. So Yan Zhoubai didn't have time to protest before his wrist was grasped by Zhan Jiayu once more.

He watched as Zhan Jiayu carefully unwrapped the bandage on his hand, studied his wound briefly, and then his expression darkened noticeably.

What was wrong? There was nothing wrong with his wound; it was healing quite well and wasn't as scary-looking as it had that morning when it was still bleeding.

"You didn't get this from a regular fall, did you?"

Zhan Jiayu had too much experience with injuries to tell at a glance that this wound couldn't have come from a simple fall. A fall wouldn't have caused such a deep wound; it looked like someone had shoved him hard.

"Did someone push you?" Though it was a question, Zhan Jiayu's tone was certain.

Yan Zhoubai was astonished. How could he tell?

"As expected of the villainous big shot, he figured it out immediately."

The system chimed in perfectly timed, not seeing anything wrong with rooting for an antagonist.

"Who pushed you?" Zhan Jiayu could tell from Yan Zhoubai's stunned look that his judgment was correct.

"It was Bu Qiran who pushed me." Since he'd been found out, Yan Zhoubai didn't see the need to hide it anymore.

Upon hearing Bu Qiran’s name, Zhan Jiayu’s grip on Yan Zhoubai’s wrist tightened involuntarily.

Wasn’t he supposed to be the vicious cannon fodder character, the arrogant fake young master? How could he end up being bullied by the protagonist like this? And Yan Zhoubai had been all smiles the whole way—if he hadn’t asked, would Yan Zhoubai have even planned to tell him?

"Host, just a reminder—as a system, I know the general direction of the plot, but minor details aren’t fully spelled out in the storyline, so some discrepancies are normal. Besides, it seems you haven’t fully understood the cause and effect of the situation."

Zhan Jiayu’s system, sensing its host’s anger, quickly chimed in to explain. It had been quiet for quite a while.

Yan Zhoubai didn’t know what was happening, only that Zhan Jiayu’s grip on his wrist suddenly tightened. Unable to bear it, he yelped:

"Ouch."

...

Meanwhile, at the Yan residence.

Yan Anxuan and Yan Ren returned home around the same time.

As soon as Bai Rong got back, she called for Yan Zhoubai, as she needed to talk to him. But after calling twice with no response, she was puzzled and she muttered to herself, "Wasn’t he supposed to be staying home studying these past few days?"

"Mom, I’ll go check upstairs," Yan Anxuan said, heading upstairs.

However, after knocking several times on Yan Zhoubai’s door, no one answered. Yan Anxuan seemed to have realized something.

He went back to the living room and asked one of the maids who was cleaning if she had seen Yan Zhoubai.

"The young master went out over an hour ago."

"Where did he go?"

His suspicions confirmed, Yan Anxuan truly hadn’t expected Yan Zhoubai to leave. He'd explicitly forbidden him from going to see Zhan Jiayu.

He had left in the evening feeling reassured because Yan Zhoubai had always been obedient—just saying something was enough, no need to keep an eye on him. Yet, he had slipped out just like that.

"I… I don’t know."

The maid was a little intimidated by Yan Anxuan’s imposing manner—the young master looked furious.

"With so many of you around, didn't anyone think to ask where he was going?" Yan Anxuan felt a fire burning in his chest.

"No, because in all these years, no one has ever asked about the young master’s whereabouts before." The maid felt a bit wronged.

At these words, the entire living room fell silent.

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Author’s note: Here it is! The next chapter will be updated the day after tomorrow.

No one has been leaving comments lately [crying loudly].