Shang Yang bit into an apple, then tossed the man over to the bodyguards, clearly annoyed.
Shang Yi nodded and instructed, “Take them to the police station.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Wait—no! Don’t! Let me off this time, and I’ll do anything you say from now on!”
There was no way he could go to the police station. If his father found out, he’d be beaten half to death—and his reputation would be completely ruined. No matter what, he couldn’t go!
Hearing this, Shang Yang let out an “oh,” completely unconcerned. She sized him up from head to toe, then clicked her tongue in disdain.
The boy: …︵╰(‵□′)╯︵
“What could you even do for me?”
The boy immediately tried to sell himself. “My name’s Jiang Xian. You’ve heard of the Thirteen Courts of the Jiang family in the capital, right? We’ve got a lot of influence around here—really! You’ve got to believe me!”
Afraid she wouldn’t buy it, he quickly shot a look at the street punks beside him. Catching the signal, they nodded frantically in agreement.
“Yes, yes! The Jiang family is a local tyrant in the capital. This deal is definitely worth it!”
It sounded impressive, but Shang Yan hadn’t heard of them in books, so she didn’t know anything about them. She turned to look at Shang Yi, “Have you heard of them?”
Shang Yi pursed his lips and nodded slightly. The Jiang family had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, wielding considerable power in the capital. No one dared to cross them.
Shang Yan asked again, “Is it powerful?”
Shang Yi: “Not bad.”
Jiang Xian’s eyes widened. Not bad? More than just not bad! The Thirteen Courts were a towering tree! Who in the underworld wouldn’t avoid the Jiang family if they heard their name? They were local emperors!
“Then he should be taken to the police station! What local thug? Let the police take him to the anti-gangster squad!”
The street thug: (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)?!
Upon hearing the order, the bodyguard immediately pulled the man into the car. Jiang Xian was dumbfounded, struggling desperately against the car door. This wasn’t how he expected it!
“Sister! You’re my sister… Big brother, big brother! I beg you, I’ll listen to you in everything from now on!”
Shang Yan leisurely munched on an apple, and the alley fell silent for a moment, as if everyone was waiting for her to speak. After thinking for a moment, she added a condition, “Call me whenever I need you, and follow my lead?”
Seeing that there was room for negotiation, Jiang Xian immediately nodded, “Of course, of course, as long as you agree, I’ll call you boss from now on!”
Shang Yan raised her hand, and the bodyguards immediately released her. Jiang Xian breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed to thank her. The other street thugs were also quite perceptive, bowing lower and lower, almost kneeling and kowtowing.
Shang Yi, who had been silent all along, spoke up at this moment. He looked at Jiang Xian, “Who did this?”
Jiang Xian was already a little scared by his gaze, so she spoke frankly, “Lü Yan, Lü Yan called us to come.”
Lü Yan?
Shang Yi’s lips tightened, his eyelids drooped, the shadows of his eyelashes fell, and a low pressure emanated from him.
He only really noticed this person after Lü Yan mentioned Shang Yan’s name last time; before that, he didn’t even know her name.
He had clearly warned her to stay away from them, why didn’t she listen?
“Sounds like a woman, damn it, being pretty makes you a target.” Shang Yan rambled on, turning her head to look at her younger brother’s dark face, raising an eyebrow, “You know her?” Shang Yi shook his head, then nodded.
Shang Yan’s pupils rolled upwards, and she took two more bites of her apple, leaving a frill around the edge. Suddenly, she remembered someone, and she held up her hand to her face.
“Is she the one with a small face, bangs, oh right, and two girls following behind?” The most important thing was the last sentence.
Last time, that girl stood in the middle, with two obedient girls following behind her, giving off the vibe of a feudal society’s young lady accompanied by two personal maids.
Shang Yi’s memory was pretty good, and he remembered Lü Yan, so after Shang Yan’s description, he immediately recognized her face and nodded.
“It really is her.” Shang Yan looked Shang Yi up and down, seemingly a little angry. “Tell me, did you offend her?”
Otherwise, why would she have come to confront her last time and insisted on asking what their relationship was… Wait, Shang Yan’s eyes darted around, and she carefully examined Shang Yi’s face again before suddenly realizing.
Shang Yi’s dark eyes stared straight at Shang Yan, tilting his head slightly, not understanding Shang Yan’s gossipy expression.
“I thought you’d gotten into some debt, turns out it’s a love debt.”
“This is juicy gossip!” Jiang Xian, who had been listening to the commotion, hadn’t left yet, but he’d already chased away the other street thugs. “Did someone take a liking to your boyfriend, get jealous, and then pay someone to take care of you?”
Seeing his gossipy and clever look, Shang Yan slapped him on the back of the head. “What boyfriend? I’m his sister, his own flesh and blood, we came from the same womb!”
Are you blind? Can’t you see how alike they are?
Shang Yi wasn’t happy to hear Shang Yan admit to outsiders that she was his sister. Instead, he clenched his fists, his cold lips tightening in a frightening way. So, it was because of him that Shang Yan was in danger?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xian looked at the two faces again, scrutinizing them several times before exclaiming, “Holy crap!” They really did look alike!
Because it was a boy and a girl, he didn’t think of it that way at all, assuming they just looked alike from being close. Plus, Shang Yi had been giving him that sinister look, so he misunderstood.
Picking up her schoolbag, Shang Yan dusted it off and went to get the cake from the old lady. Seeing her, the old lady smiled kindly, “You won, girl?”
Shang Yan took the cake, “I won, don’t worry, sir.”
The old lady nodded, then closed her eyes to enjoy the leisure. Sure enough, she was a student from Beijing No. 1 High School; even her fighting skills were better than other kids.
“Hey boss, what’s your name? Let’s exchange contact information so we can stay in touch.”
Jiang Xian followed Shang Yan around, being incredibly attentive. He could easily have just turned his back and run away, but he was a man of the underworld, and loyalty was paramount; he couldn’t go back on a promise.
“Shang Yan, Shang as in the Shang Dynasty, Yang as in the Central Government plus the ‘woman’ radical.” Shang Yan pulled out her phone, exchanged contact information with him, and then pointed to the person next to her.
“His name is Shang Yi, Yi as in ‘game’.”
Jiang Xian gave an OK sign, smiling broadly, completely forgetting about the beating he’d just received.
Shang Yan looked at his bruised face and twitched her lips. “Why don’t you go to the hospital to get it checked out?”
To her surprise, he didn’t care at all, waving his hand nonchalantly. “A man’s a little bruise on his face is part of his experience. It’s nothing. Hey, if you need someone to teach that woman a lesson, just tell me, I guarantee it’ll work!”
“Sure.” Shang Yan nodded. “If I don’t teach her a lesson she won’t behave, I’m not a Shang!”
Jiang Xian gave a thumbs up. “Brother, you’re awesome.”
Back in the car, the driver, Uncle Chen, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn’t help but turn around and ask what had happened. When he came out, the young master had a dark face and rushed off, followed by a car full of bodyguards, looking like he was going to settle a score.
Shang Yan smiled easily. “It’s nothing serious. The old lady’s cat at the alley entrance went missing, and I sent someone to look for it.”
She could make up lies so easily, and Shang Yi couldn’t help but glance at her.
Uncle Chen said “Oh,” although it was absurd to send a bodyguard to find the cat, as long as no one was hurt, that was fine. He then asked, “Did you find it?”
“No.” Shang Yan sighed regretfully, “Maybe it grew wings and flew away.”
Uncle Chen, the driver: ?
Seeing that Shang Yi was a little down, Shang Yan handed him the cake box and shook it, “Here, take this, it’s from hunting.”
How could it not be considered hunting? She spent half a day dealing with a bunch of street thugs there, it really was a self-fulfilling prophecy. She would definitely watch her mouth from now on.
Shang Yi took the cake, still looking preoccupied. Shang Yan glanced at him a few times, and finally couldn’t help but pinch his face, “What are you thinking about? You’ve had a dark face since the beginning.”
Shang Yi hugged the cake box tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. After a long while, he finally spoke in a trembling voice,
“I’m sorry.”