Chapter 22 The Teasing Yandere Boy 22

Chapter 22: The Alluring Sickly Young Master 22

Jiang Ran casually picked up a tennis ball, tossing it in his hand as he glanced indifferently at Young Master Li.

"Does Young Master Li always warm up his mouth before playing?"

That faint remark drew laughter from several bystanders.

Young Master Li's sharp tongue was nothing new, and given his past relationship with Jian Qingming—thick as thieves, they were—it was only natural he'd take a disliking to Jiang Ran.

Young Master Li's eyes darkened as he picked up a tennis ball and moved to the other side.

Mo Zixi came over, volunteering eagerly: "I'll keep score."

Though Jiang Ran rarely played, these sports were hardly a challenge for him.

The pampered young masters before him were weaklings who couldn't lift a thing, so winning against them posed no difficulty at all.

The first few rounds were entirely within Jiang Ran's control, racking up points with ease.

As the score climbed steadily, Jiang Ran seemed to find it increasingly dull, so he deliberately drew out each rally with Young Master Li for several exchanges.

He'd either whiff the ball entirely or barely reach it just to smack it out of bounds.

He scurried all over the court, drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

Young Master Li wasn't foolish—he could clearly see that Jiang Ran was humiliating him on purpose.

With defeat looming, and having just mocked Jiang Ran for not being able to afford this private court, he could already picture the crowd roasting him if he lost.

So his eyes zeroed in on Jiang Ran's knee.

If Jiang Ran got hurt and couldn't keep playing, that wasn't on him, right?

He tossed the tennis ball up and swung his racket with full force toward Jiang Ran's knee.

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Ran's eyes, but just as he prepared to counter, he caught a glimpse of the young master standing off to the side, having appeared at some point.

He swung his racket, pretending to miss, and the ball slammed right into his knee, sending him crashing to the ground.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Young Master Li's eyes, though his face quickly put on an apologetic look: "Jiang Ran, I'm so sorry! My aim sucks—I just can't control the ball."

But the next second, Qiao Ling stormed in, grabbed the tennis cart, and chucked seven or eight tennis balls in rapid fire, all nailing Young Master Li.

He covered his head, but then the balls went straight for his legs.

The second he guarded his legs, they smacked his stomach, and the wildest one nearly nailed him right in the family jewels.

Every single ball hit its mark—scarily accurate.

"Qiao Ling! Are you insane?!"

Qiao Ling flung down the racket, his voice cold and vicious: "I can't control the damn ball, what the hell am I supposed to do!"

The young master's pale face flushed with rage, and everyone watching was stunned.

They'd hung out with Qiao Ling plenty—spoiled brat that he was, he was usually all jokes and never got serious. They'd never seen him this mad before.

Mo Zixi chimed in, frowning: "Young Master Li, you're not even trying to hide that you're bullying him! You obviously aimed straight for Jiang Ran's knee!"

Seeing everyone siding with Qiao Ling and Jiang Ran, Young Master Li spat: "Are you all blind?! They're the ones who crossed the line!"

"But you started it!"

Everyone started piling on Young Master Li, and the looks of contempt on their faces stung even worse.

He'd figured Jiang Ran being out of the game would spare him the humiliation, but then out of nowhere came this Qiao Ling.

Meanwhile, Chen Ming gave a look to several uniformed men nearby, who walked over and hauled Young Master Li up, preparing to throw him out.

They weren't exactly gentle, but Chen Ming was all sweet apologies: "Young Master Li, it's scorching today—why don't you go cool off somewhere else? Sorry about that!"

Young Master Li got dragged off, still muttering curses.

And just like that, Young Master Li got kicked off the court...

Qiao Ling had someone grab a chair, propped Jiang Ran's leg up on it, and asked, "You hurt? Wanna go to the hospital?"

Jiang Ran nodded: "It stings a bit, but no need for the hospital."

Qiao Ling rolled his eyes and snapped, "Then just die from the pain, you dumbass."

He thought Jiang Ran was playing him—like he couldn't tell that hit was intentional.

With how trash Young Master Li was, Jiang Ran could've dodged that ball easily—and even if he let him score a point, so what?

What a scheming villain—all he's got is pretty-boy tricks and playing the victim.

And yet he couldn't help falling for it every time.

Chen Ming had someone help Jiang Ran back to the lounge and hollered to the others: "Keep playing! Who's up next!"

—

Qiao Ling brought ice to put on the bruise, but Jiang Ran was grinning like an idiot.

"So you finally decided to come see me?"

Qiao Ling mumbled vaguely: "Just been busy. Anyway, school's starting soon—it's not like I can disappear."

"So what if school starts? Since when does our young master show up to class on time? Or ever pass a single assignment?"

Qiao Ling: "..."

Okay, fair, but that stung.

"I've been staying at home lately—just had a lot going on."

Truth was, even at home, Qiao Ling just locked himself in his room alone.

But ever since he'd come to this world, he'd been doing everything he could to help Jiang Ran.

He'd helped him get stronger when he was frail, gotten revenge on Jian Qingming for him, helped him track down his family.

But now Jiang Ran didn't need his help anymore, and Qiao Ling felt a little hollow inside.

He'd been avoiding Jiang Ran on purpose, wanting to see if he was doing just fine on his own.

And the answer was—

Yeah, he was doing great...

And then, after he went to see him, he got hurt...

That outcome really stung!

"Busy? With what?" Jiang Ran pressed him for details, leaning in closer and closer toward the young master, who was crouched in front of him with an ice pack.

"I've been missing you a lot lately. When I went to find you, you weren't at home. Are you sneaking around with someone behind my back?"

Jiang Ran's voice started to sound all pitiful, and his words gave Qiao Ling a pang in his chest.

"I'm not."

"Really?"

"Mm."

Qiao Ling felt a bit flustered. He hadn't felt a thing when he'd just punched Young Master Li, but now, with them this close, he was starting to sweat.

The other guy pressed his advantage, drawing his injured leg back and yanking the young master into his arms.

"Damn, your leg! The ice fell off!"

"Don't need it." Jiang Ran wrapped his arms around his waist, gently rubbing his cheek against his soft, warm neck.

"If my leg ends up crippled, that just means you'll have to take care of me for the rest of my life."

Qiao Ling wanted to kick him upon hearing that, but his body didn't dare act up, so he could only fight back with words.

"Fine, fine, fine. Let you sit in a wheelchair. When we're old, I'll push you out to the square and let you watch me get cozy with some other old man."