Jiang Ling turned toward the door and saw Yan Qingming walking in.
Jiang Ling looked truly wretched. His once-clean shirt was stained with blood, and there were several small cuts on his face. It was obvious who he had suffered these injuries for. He looked at Yan Qingming with a hint of grievance in his eyes. Combined with his gentle appearance, he looked incredibly innocent and pitiful, a stark contrast to the mad dog standing nearby with a face as dark as a pot.
Although Yan Qingming had known that Qi Xiaolin was back, his heart still fluttered uncontrollably the moment he saw Qi Xiaolin standing in the room. He withdrew his gaze from Jiang Ling and looked at Qi Xiaolin, remarking as if it were a casual observation, “Punishing your subordinates? In that case, I will not interrupt.”
He turned to head upstairs, but Qi Xiaolin barked an angry order: “Stop right there!”
Yan Qingming paused and turned back to look at him.
Qi Xiaolin squeezed the words out through his teeth: “Where did you go today? You had better give me a reasonable explanation, or I will not let you off!”
Yan Qingming watched him quietly and delivered a single sentence that instantly sent Qi Xiaolin’s rage into the stratosphere. His thin lips parted slightly. “Oh, me? I went out to cheat on you.”
“Yan Qingming!”
Qi Xiaolin strode toward him, shoved him against the wall with his large hands, and stared at him with bloodshot, terrifying eyes. “You had better have a limit to how much you piss me off!”
Yan Qingming always knew exactly how to make Qi Xiaolin lose his composure with a single sentence. Even though Qi Xiaolin knew the likelihood was slim, he could not bear the thought. He could not control his emotions until he heard the answer he wanted.
All his attention shifted away from Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling was safe now, but Yan Qingming was in trouble.
His shoulder bones creaked under the pressure, the pain bordering on a fracture, causing his face to pale. His brows furrowed involuntarily from the agony. He stared at Qi Xiaolin, his displeasure no longer hidden. “You brat, why should I be restricted by you wherever I go? What right do you have to control me?”
Qi Xiaolin had long since forgotten his own strength. As his anger mounted, his grip tightened even further. His eyes were red with fury, and his tone was chillingly lethal. “Why can’t I restrict you? Why can’t I control you? Yan Qingming, do you want people to watch me constantly just so you can sneak away? To run? To leave me? Don’t even think about it! Even if you die, I will carry your ashes with me for the rest of my life!”
The veins on the back of the hand pinning Yan Qingming’s shoulder bulged. Yan Qingming gritted his teeth to avoid crying out in pain. The strength was truly inhuman. He raised his arm to break free from the restraint, intending to throw a punch at Qi Xiaolin’s ribs.
They had argued many times, and Yan Qingming preferred actions to words. Qi Xiaolin was accustomed to Yan Qingming’s underhanded tactics and had been on guard. The moment Yan Qingming moved, he seized his wrist, twisted his arm, and pinned him against a wooden cabinet.
With a loud crash, a vase on the cabinet tumbled to the floor and shattered.
With both arms twisted and pinned behind his back, Yan Qingming was unable to move. He could only glare at Qi Xiaolin with hateful, sidelong eyes.
The man behind him gave a low laugh and leaned down. The thin, scrawny little boy who once had to look up and call Yan Qingming brother had long since shed his former self. The man he once had to look up to was now powerless, trapped beneath him.
There was a trace of mockery in his tone. “Brother Ming, I am stronger than you now.”