Shi Ruan rather liked Song Xia’s personality and envied her freedom. He nodded obediently and fastened his seatbelt.
So obedient!
This was the conclusion Song Xia reached about Shi Ruan in her heart. If not for the existence of Thin Jing, whom she knew she could not beat in a fight, she would have already made her move on the little cutie.
Alas, carrying a mood of lingering regret, Song Xia drove with a hint of fury, especially after intentionally blowing a mouthful of exhaust fumes right into Thin Jing’s face.
Donning her sunglasses, she sped straight toward the supermarket. Only now did Shi Ruan understand what Song Xia meant by telling him to fasten his seatbelt.
It turned out she was afraid he would be flung flying out of the car, but such a thrilling sensation was something Shi Ruan had never experienced before.
Only after getting into the car did Xu Rui realize he was still tightly gripping Shi Yan’s arm, and he hurriedly let go.
“Apologies.”
“It is fine. It does not hurt.”
Gazing at Shi Yan’s smiling face, Xu Rui could only feel that the spot where he had just held Shi Yan’s arm was faintly burning hot, and an ambiguous warmth seemed to be fermenting between the two of them.
At that moment, Thin Jing suddenly started the car. Xu Rui felt as though he was about to be flung flying out, completely shattering any lingering romantic atmosphere.
“What the heck, Uncle, are you out of your mind?!”
Fortunately, Shi Yan had fastened his seatbelt the moment he got into the car, so only Xu Rui was left to bear the brunt of the disaster.
[Thin Jing: You dare sit in my car and flirt with my wife.]
[Hahaha, the user above hit the nail on the head.]
The live chat was busy shipping Shi Yan and Thin Jing, completely unaware that the truth was nothing like what they imagined.
They arrived at the shopping mall very quickly. Shi Ruan hadn’t even registered that they had stopped and sat there in a dazed, blank state.
It wasn’t until Song Xia reached out and snapped her fingers right beside his ear that she finally recalled his wits back.
Seeing him still staring blankly at her, Song Xia naturally generated a sense of powerlessness akin to an eunuch at court. It was all her own fault for being too timid, letting such a beauty fall into someone else’s hands.
“We have arrived.”
“Ah, right.”
Shi Ruan had never ridden in such a thrilling car before, and he never expected that driving could actually be this much fun.
When Song Xia called him back to his senses, he only felt embarrassed, figuring he had probably made a fool of himself on the show once again. He only hoped Manager Liu wouldn’t be too angry when she saw this.
Seeing Shi Ruan blush once more, Song Xia forced herself to adopt a blind persona, pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.
The atmosphere inside the car gradually grew eerie; neither of them spoke up to get out. Just as Shi Ruan was about to open his mouth to say something:
“Knock, knock.”
When Shi Ruan turned his head, what he saw was Thin Jing looking at him with a deadpan, serious expression while knocking on the window.
“Thin Jing?”
“Are you not getting out of the car?”
Only then did Shi Ruan realize how strange it looked for the two of them to just sit like that in the car, and he hurriedly pushed the car door open and stepped out.
Seeing that Shi Ruan hadn’t picked up any messy, uninvited pheromones on his body, Thin Jing finally allowed himself to relax slightly.
Earlier, seeing the car ahead stop and watching as no one came out for the longest time, Thin Jing’s mind had conjured up an array of unfavorable scenarios.
So much so that when he rushed over, his pheromones had leaked out a bit due to excessive emotional fluctuation.
The moment he stepped out of the car, Shi Ruan caught a rich scent of cedar and wondered why Thin Jing had sprayed such strong perfume.
For the first time, however, Thin Jing did not cast his gaze on Shi Ruan. Instead, with a crushing sense of oppression, he glared straight at Song Xia. Feeling the faintly volatile pheromones surging in the surrounding air, Song Xia genuinely felt like the wronged Dou E of ancient legend.
She really hadn’t done anything! Even though she actually wanted to do something, Song Xia didn’t dare look in their direction, carrying a trace of lingering guilt.
“Uncle, why did you run over so fast?”
The moment the car stopped, Thin Jing had hopped out, causing the live chat to frantically speculate whether Thin Jing had been angered to that point by the two people sitting in the back seat.
As a result, when the camera panned back to capture Thin Jing again, they saw him trapping Shi Ruan against the passenger-side door in a posture resembling a wall-pin.
Only then did everyone suddenly realize: Did we end up shipping the wrong pairing?
[Family members, the White Jade couple is real, ahhhhh!!!!]
[Fine, another shipping fan has perished, but to be fair, the very first people I felt chemistry between were President Thin and Shi Ruan.]
[What good does feeling it at the beginning do? I was shipping Shi Yan and President Thin, I am seriously done for. My ship sank before it even set sail.]
[Wuwuwu, sister above, same world, same doomed ship.]
[Let me recommend something to cheer up heartbroken sisters: Shi Yan and Xu Rui are also very cute together. Let us all become professional shippers!]
The live chat had already descended into complete chaos. Shi Ruan only now realized how close he was to Thin Jing and gave Thin Jing a light push, wanting him to back away a little.
Instead, Thin Jing caught his hand with a reverse grab. Shi Ruan could only feel that Thin Jing’s scent had grown even more distinct, yet for some reason, this scent inexplicably gave him a sense of security.
“Are you not going?”
Shi Ruan looked confusedly at Thin Jing. In truth, he didn’t actually feel any repulsion toward physical contact with Thin Jing; it was simply that the occasion was truly inappropriate.
Only when Shi Ruan spoke did Thin Jing snap out of it. With a trace of apologetic reluctance, he released his grip and stepped aside, though his lowered fingers were still lingeringly rubbing together in reminiscence.
“Brother, let us hurry and go. I still have a lot of things to buy.”
Although Shi Yan had already sensed Xu Rui’s feelings toward him, he still wanted Thin Jing. After all, compared to Thin Jing, Xu Rui could only be considered a wealthy second-generation heir with some family money.
Thin Jing was different. In elite circles, if mentioning Xu Rui meant very few people would know him, mentioning Thin Jing meant every local tyrant and heavyweight everywhere had to show you three points of respect.
Shi Yan wasn’t content with just dating a rich second-generation heir for a few days; he wanted to lead the Shi family in taking a flying leap into the upper echelons of the social elite.
If not for the fact that he might lack a successor, he probably wouldn’t even want to drag the Shi family along with him—he would simply bind his own name and Thin Jing’s together.
Countless benefits would be delivered straight to his doorstep without him ever needing to open his mouth, leaving them there for him to pick and choose.
Harboring such thoughts, Shi Yan found Shi Ruan increasingly obnoxious, single-mindedly plotting to find an opportunity to kick Shi Ruan off this dating show.
For now, however, he still had to stick close to Shi Ruan to leech off some screen time.
“Mm.”
Shi Ruan deeply resisted Shi Yan coming close to him, but under the cameras, he still had to endure the discomfort and fake a harmonious brotherly relationship.
Suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain flared from the inside of his upper arm. Shi Ruan let out a muffled groan, then frowned as he looked at Shi Yan. He never expected that after all these years,
Shi Yan would still dare to directly assault him right under the camera lenses, while the culprit himself maintained an expression full of deep concern for him.
“Brother?”
The sweeter Shi Yan smiled on the surface, the heavier the force applied by his hand became. Shielded beneath their clothing, absolutely no one caught the dirty tricks he was pulling.
Seeing Shi Yan acting like this, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness welled up inside Shi Ruan. No matter what kind of person I become, am I destined to always be bullied by Shi Yan?
“What is the matter?” Thin Jing pulled him closer to his side. Seeing him stay silent, he asked again, “Are you uncomfortable?”
Hearing Thin Jing’s voice ring out right beside his ear, Shi Ruan suddenly realized that the piercing pain had already receded, leaving only Thin Jing’s caring face in his field of vision.
At that moment, Shi Ruan suddenly felt a strong urge to cry. In the past, Shi Yan’s acts of violence always ended with Shi Ruan begging for mercy or passing out; this was the first time an ordeal ended with someone caring about him.
Shi Ruan felt like a child who had suddenly been handed a piece of candy; fear and anxiety were clearly reflected in his eyes, breaking Thin Jing’s heart into agonizing spasms.
Noticing that Shi Ruan had cried until his eyes were red from pain, Thin Jing made a decisive executive decision: “You guys go ahead and purchase your supplies. I am taking Shi Ruan to visit the clinic next door.”
“Should I take Brother instead?” Seeing that Thin Jing seemed unwilling, Shi Yan continued, “You do not know Brother’s medical history; this is an old ailment of his. It might be better if I tag along, right?”
Naturally, Shi Yan wouldn’t give up any opportunity for Shi Ruan and Thin Jing to spend time alone. If the two of them went out somewhere together and things progressed between them, wouldn’t he lose all his chances? Besides, going along had its own benefits; upon returning, he could directly announce to everyone that Shi Ruan’s condition was extremely critical and required strict recuperation.
He could force Shi Ruan to withdraw from the show right then and there. At worst, he could just make the Shi family grit their teeth and pay the penalty for breaching the contract on Shi Ruan’s behalf; he could always earn the money back later anyway.
What caught Thin Jing’s attention instead, however, was: “Is your Shi family that poor?”
“Ah?”
Shi Yan didn’t understand what Thin Jing meant by this. Stunned, he stood there blankly, completely unsure how to answer, seeing that Thin Jing wore a dead-serious expression, as if he had just asked the most ordinary question in the world.
Seeing him like that, Shi Yan could only probe tentatively: “The Shi family… although incomparable to the Thin family, we still have a bit of assets.”
[An ordinary bit of assets? I wouldn’t earn as much money as the Shi family has in my entire lifetime, let alone compare to the Thin family.]
[The Shi family is wealthy, but they still can’t compare to the Thin family. The Thin family isn’t even a matter of money anymore; old noble houses like that hold real, tangible power in their hands.]
[You guys are all arguing about money, while I’m the only one wanting to know what President Thin actually meant by asking that?]
[Add plus one to wanting to know.]
Never mind the live chat—even Shi Yan wanted to know what Thin Jing was driving at.
“So that means you have a little spare cash, then?”
You could say that. Shi Yan nodded slowly.
As a result, Thin Jing, who had just maintained a completely calm expression, suddenly had his face stained with anger: “With money, you still refuse to treat your own biological son’s illness, letting it drag on until it became a chronic ailment?”
Shi Yan gave a start, not expecting Thin Jing to set a trap for him right here. Stammering, he found himself utterly incapable of coming up with an explanation for a moment.
“Hmph, the Shi family is that reluctant to spend money? Looks like making money is pretty useless, then, isn’t it?”
Thin Jing’s words carried a heavy, palpable threat. Shi Yan was simultaneously shocked and furious; what was Thin Jing’s problem? Wasn’t he supposed to be interested in him?
Why was he standing up for Shi Ruan instead?
Shi Yan truly had delusions running way too wild; had he actually managed to brainwash even himself?
[Is the Shi family really that unwilling to spend money to cure poor little Shi Ruan?]
[This is terrifying to think about, absolutely terrifying! Didn’t Shi Yan spend the entire time implying that Shi Ruan bullied him at home?]
[Replying to the user above: looking at it this way, the one actually getting bullied is probably someone else entirely.]
[What are you people thinking? Can’t it just be that Shi Ruan himself is defective?]
[Who are you calling defective upstairs? Our Shi Ruan is completely normal.]
[My point is, couldn’t it be that Shi Ruan has been like this since childhood, and couldn’t be cured due to his constitution? How can you pin that blame on Shi Yan?]
[……]
Whatever the live chat could think of, Shi Yan could naturally think of as well. At first, he had merely been intimidated by the aura Thin Jing was projecting.
Thin Jing actually dared to publicly make him lose face. Even if he currently held absolute control over the Thin family, Xu Rui still had a fighting chance to inherit the Thin family as well.
Rumor had it that Thin Jing’s father had publicly announced his illegitimate child and little mistress while Thin Ruan’s mother was severely ill; the moment Thin Jing rose to power, his father had vanished without a trace.
Such a ruthless, unfeeling person—Shi Yan couldn’t claim he had a hundred percent chance of manipulating him. Xu Rui, however, was a different story; Xu Rui looked like someone with well-developed limbs and a simple mind, making him the easiest to manipulate.
Running through this logical analysis, then glancing back at Thin Jing’s frosty face, Shi Yan couldn’t even fathom why he had originally targeted Thin Jing as his primary goal in the first place.
Obviously, Xu Rui was the most suitable match for him. Thinking along those lines, Shi Yan filled his eyes with tears and cast an involuntary, helpless glance toward Xu Rui for help.
“Brother’s condition has been there since birth. Over the years, the family has tried treating him many times, but the doctors always recommended quiet recuperation, which is why…”
Normally, let alone speaking while his little uncle was angry, if Xu Rui even caught wind that his little uncle was in a bad mood, he would proactively take a long detour just to avoid him.
Perhaps addled by the ambiguous atmosphere, however, he spoke up carefully: “Uncle, since it has been like this since childhood, you can’t really blame Shi Yan for it, can you.”
When he first started speaking, Xu Rui still carried a bit of confidence, but his voice grew softer and softer until he finally shut his mouth entirely.
Shi Yan standing beside him couldn’t even bear to look at this spineless coward, forcing himself to repeat a hypnotic chant in his heart: At least he’s easy to manipulate, he’s easy to manipulate.
“Wuwu…”
Shi Ruan had originally wanted to step in and smooth things over for Thin Jing—his injuries didn’t hurt anymore, and he had honestly thought Thin Jing was fond of Shi Yan as well.
He never expected Thin Jing to be standing up for him. Forget about feeling aggrieved; right now, Shi Ruan’s entire heart was enveloped by a wave of lingering warmth.
For some reason, the moment he experienced genuine kindness, Shi Ruan felt an overwhelming urge to weep. That caused his voice to come out trembling and tearful the moment he opened his mouth, and remembering that this was a live broadcast, he hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.
That resulted in a voice so short and rushed that no one except Thin Jing standing right beside him heard it. Without another word, Thin Jing turned around and started walking away.
Shi Ruan assumed he had been overstepping and annoyed him, making Thin Jing irritated with him. Xu Rui let out a massive sigh of relief; seeing his little uncle’s terrifying demeanor, he had been terrified his little uncle would beat him up next.
To his surprise, Thin Jing simply turned and walked away, allowing him to escape disaster by the skin of his teeth. Shi Yan felt a similar wave of relief wash over him.
Although he no longer looked down upon Thin Jing romantically, that didn’t mean he could afford to offend Thin Jing either.
“Are you still not going to follow?”
When Thin Jing looked back, he saw that the little blockhead was still rooted to the spot with his head lowered, looking for all the world like a wronged little daughter-in-law.
In Thin Jing’s eyes, the back of that figure practically screamed: Hurry up and come comfort me!
Turning his head and seeing Thin Jing staring intently at him, Shi Ruan saw an explosion of light in those eyes that was almost bright enough to dazzle him. So, he wasn’t angry after all!
“Um, I will go take a look at my ailment with Thin… President Thin first. You guys go ahead and shop.”
“Go ahead. We definitely won’t wait for you; we’re heading back once we’re done buying.”
Shi Ruan cast a grateful look at him, then cheerfully trotted toward Thin Jing. To make himself look somewhat normal,
Shi Ruan refrained from running over with unseemly haste, instead taking long, purposeful strides across the pavement.
[So sweet! Did the White Jade couple ring in the New Year early?]
[Is no one going to speak up for Song Xia? Watching the love of her life walk toward someone else while putting on a brave, humorous front.]
[Me too, I’ve already mentally drafted an entire epic of heartbreak literature.]
[I really want to flame President Thin for lacking basic manners, but upon careful thought, manners are completely useless on a guy like that.]
[Yet I am hopelessly addicted to President Thin’s archetype…]
[User above, same here. I feel like my brain is malfunctioning already.]
[……]
Seeing them walk away while ignoring him completely, Shi Yan gritted his back teeth and clenched his hands into tight fists, using the stinging pain in his palms to anchor his focus.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the camera lens in the cameraman’s hands, rolled his eyes, and opened his mouth once more: “……”