The current situation, however, did not allow Fu Juncheng the luxury of deep thought.
It would have been fine if he were just by himself earlier, but now Xu Yaozhou was here too. Xu Yaozhou and he were not walking the same path to begin with, so there was no need to drag Xu Yaozhou down into this muddy water.
Fu Juncheng was about to speak up when the scar-faced man seized the moment while his attention was fixed on Xu Yaozhou. With lightning speed, the man picked up the wooden club that had rolled to the ground, leaped up, and aimed directly at the back of Fu Juncheng’s head, completely reckless and determined to avenge the kick he had just received.
Reacting almost instinctively by turning around, Fu Juncheng caught the club barehanded. His expression darkened severely, and the moment he opened his mouth, a habitual trace of rebelliousness slipped into his tone: “Even youngsters know to abide by martial ethics, so why are you, an ugly freak, still resorting to sneak attacks? Have you no shame left for your elderly face?”
The scar-faced man fancied that he had roamed society for so many years, yet he had never encountered such a moment. Especially in front of his underlings, he had completely lost face.
Since he could not win in a fight, he could only resort to bravado with his words.
A mouthful of curses was already on the tip of his tongue. Inadvertently lifting his head, his gaze swept past Fu Juncheng and landed on the young man standing behind him.
He saw that the other person’s face was concealed within a vast expanse of darkness, making it impossible to clearly discern his features.
Late at night like this, he had no idea what kind of punk had popped out of nowhere, hiding his face behind a cap.
Just as he was thinking this, the person raised his chin slightly at the exact moment his gaze swept over.
A car happened to pass by, its headlights flashing swiftly across the young man’s delicate features and eyes. His deep pupils narrowed slightly out of displeasure, staring straight at him. In that intersection of light and shadow, the scar-faced man was left momentarily stunned for quite a while.
Then, recalling something, his face suddenly turned as pale as paper.
This reaction was too abrupt.
Fu Juncheng was also slightly dazed for a few seconds before he saw the scar-faced man swallow hard, hurriedly release his grip, and back away. The man’s voice dropped several octaves all at once as he stammered: “Today, consider it my good mood. I will not bicker with a kid, and I will let you guys off the hook for now. If the money is not returned by next week, the scene will not end like this.”
Intending to shield Xu Yaozhou behind him, Fu Juncheng watched the vigilant scar-faced man remain frozen in place. Only after hesitating for a moment did he frown in dissatisfaction and say, “You said you would not bicker, and just like that, you are dropping it?”
Hearing this, the scar-faced man froze. His gaze then oscillated between Fu Juncheng and Xu Yaozhou for a brief moment before locking back onto Fu Juncheng, demanding unreasonably, “Little brat, what kind of games are you trying to play again?”
“The money will be given to you in a few days.”
Fu Juncheng spoke indifferently. After pondering briefly, he suddenly took a stride forward.
The man’s temple twitched sharply, and he instinctively stepped back half a step, displaying a defensive posture.
Unexpectedly, Fu Juncheng leaned forward and grabbed Fu Dad by the collar. The middle-aged man was already skin and bones to begin with, and at this moment, it looked as though Fu Juncheng was about to lift him straight up off the ground.
“As for you, I am warning you, this is the last time,” Fu Juncheng said in a light tone. “I was not just playing around with what I said earlier.”
Fu Dad: “……”
Pausing briefly, the corners of Fu Juncheng’s lips curved slightly.
Pronouncing every single word with absolute clarity: “You better remember this, Dad.”
Since the original owner still respected him, loved him, could not bear to see this man suffer, and had gone through great lengths to raise the money for him.
Fu Juncheng thought to himself that he would just treat it as fulfilling the original owner’s final wish and give him that sum of money. From then on, he would no longer owe him anything.
Even so, it was still a considerable amount, so how could he just hand it over easily? He had to teach this man a lesson first.
As his voice trailed off, Fu Juncheng let go. Without caring whether the scar-faced man would pin the man down again, he straightened his back, shoved his hands into his pockets, and strolled leisurely back.
As he brushed past Xu Yaozhou, Fu Juncheng glanced sideways and subconsciously lowered his head to rub his ear with his hand.
For some unknown reason, the tip of his ear seemed to still retain the fleeting warmth from just a moment ago, bringing along a subtle, tingling current that swept across the entire expanse of skin on the back of his neck. It was so sensitive that it was unbearable and made his face burn intensely.
Truth be told, back when he was filming before, it was not as though he had never been in close contact with people like this, but it had never felt like this.
Fu Juncheng wondered to himself whether he was being influenced by the original owner.
He lowered his head, his pace speeding up unconsciously.
Meanwhile, Xu Yaozhou’s dark, heavy gaze gently rested upon the tip of Fu Juncheng’s ear. That tiny flush should not have been very noticeable in the night, yet it was completely betrayed by his overly fair skin. Coupled with the few times Fu Juncheng had unconsciously rubbed it, it looked even more brilliantly crimson.
After walking a good distance, Fu Juncheng finally realized that Xu Yaozhou was still following right behind him.
Fu Juncheng scratched the back of his head, momentarily not knowing what to say. After holding back for several seconds, he finally managed: “Thanks to you back there.”
Glancing past the brim of his cap, Xu Yaozhou’s peach-blossom eyes, hidden beneath that shadow, quietly watched him without responding.
Fu Juncheng opened his mouth, preparing to say something more.
Xu Yaozhou asked: “Did you run into some kind of trouble? Do you need my help?”
Fu Juncheng hesitated over how to explain things to Xu Yaozhou.
Xu Yaozhou said: “Do you need money?”
Fu Juncheng was rendered completely speechless by Xu Yaozhou’s barrage of three crazy questions, though upon second thought, he felt it was entirely normal.
Given the early-stage little angel persona of the male lead shou, even if Xu Yaozhou proactively offered to help him pay off his debts right now, he would not find it strange at all.
Thinking along those lines, Fu Juncheng already bantered aloud: “You would not want to help me pay off my debts, would you?”
Xu Yaozhou kept his eyes fixed on him without looking away, answering without a shred of hesitation: “There is still some money in the bank card I left with you. Although it is not much, but…”
“Stop right there!”
Fu Juncheng cast several glances at Xu Yaozhou, bursting into a chuckle: “You and I have no relation to each other, why on earth are you being so good to me?”
Once he finished speaking, Fu Juncheng saw Xu Yaozhou lower his eyelids slightly under his gaze, gradually blushing a little.
This kid…
Was actually quite shy?
Fu Juncheng began to internally chastise himself for whether he should be teasing the white-moonlight little angel.
Then he heard Xu Yaozhou say softly: “I do not know why either. The very first time I saw Brother, I felt a sense of familiarity.”
Fu Juncheng: “……”
Fu Juncheng thought to himself, nonsense, it is probably because we look alike.
Just as this thought popped into his head, he began to have second thoughts.
Actually, it was fine at first, but after a few interactions, he increasingly felt that anyone who said he and Xu Yaozhou looked alike must be blind.
Did they even look alike at all?
He could never hope to match Xu Yaozhou’s temperament.
Or perhaps good-looking people all shared similar facial features?
Taking advantage of the moment, Xu Yaozhou pressed on: “My own brother has never been close to me. Compared to him, I actually feel like you are more like my brother.”
Fu Juncheng: “……”
Xu Yaozhou asked: “Can I call you brother?”
Having barely managed to calm down earlier, Fu Juncheng felt his ears grow hot once again under Xu Yaozhou’s utterly sincere gaze.
If anyone else said things like that, he would definitely find that person phony.
Yet coming from Xu Yaozhou’s mouth, it did not feel cloying at all, coupled with that jaw-dropping face.
As expected!
Good-looking people are right no matter what they say!
Fu Juncheng suddenly felt an urge to reach out and ruffle the top of Xu Yaozhou’s head.
Xu Yaozhou’s hair looked so soft and very touchable.
They said people with soft hair had soft hearts too.
Sigh.
Suppressing the urge, Fu Juncheng muttered inwardly:
You silly kid, your real brother is afraid you might covet his position and family property, so he wishes he could get rid of you sooner rather than later. It would be a miracle if he were close to you!
Fu Juncheng’s thoughts drifted off into outer space.
Yet Xu Yaozhou gradually let a trace of a disappointed expression show through the silence, subsequently raising a hand to lightly dab at the corners of his eyes with his fingertips.
Why was he acting aggrieved now?
Fu Juncheng moved his lips, but before he could make a sound, he suddenly caught sight of a tiny bloody scratch near the corner of Xu Yaozhou’s eye.
He hadn’t noticed it at first, but with Xu Yaozhou’s little gesture stirring things up, it became all the more obvious.
Fu Juncheng was instantly alarmed: “Did those guys hit you just now?”
Was it when he was shielding him?
Xu Yaozhou lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
After lingering for a brief moment, he answered: “I am not sure. The corner of my eye just hurts a little, it should not matter.”
Looking at Xu Yaozhou’s reddened eye-tail, Fu Juncheng instantly flared up: “You wait right here, Brother is going to go teach those guys a lesson!”
With that, he made to turn around.
Xu Yaozhou hurriedly grabbed his wrist: “I am fine.”
You call this fine?!
The more Fu Juncheng looked, the angrier he got. Given Xu Yaozhou’s looks, how on earth could those people bear to lay a hand on him?
This face must not get injured!
Thank goodness the wound was small, otherwise Xu Yaozhou’s massive harem and fandom would surely die of grief!
Besides, being in the entertainment industry meant relying on one’s face to make a living.
Fu Juncheng immediately snapped back to his senses: “Right, right, right. Let us go to the hospital and get it checked first. We absolutely cannot let it leave a scar.”
In his past life, he once accidentally bumped his eyebrow, and it had worried his manager sick for several days.
Amused by Fu Juncheng’s worried expression, Xu Yaozhou said in a gentle tone: “It is just a minor injury, no need to go to the hospital.”
Reminded by Xu Yaozhou’s words, Fu Juncheng recalled: “Right, how is the injury on your waist? Why don’t we just go get some medicine and change the dressing together?”
Muttering to himself: Why does this unlucky kid keep getting hurt?
Was this some kind of special protagonist-shou buff?
Xu Yaozhou kept a firm grip on Fu Juncheng’s hand without letting go, explaining: “If we go to the hospital this late, someone might spot us, and it will probably stir up all sorts of wild gossip again.”
Thinking about it, Fu Juncheng realized he had a point, and nodded thoughtfully.
Then another matter popped into his head.
Fu Juncheng asked suspiciously: “So why on earth were you passing by here this late at night?”
Xu Yaozhou: “……”
Fu Juncheng gave Xu Yaozhou a suspicious up-and-down once-over.
Under Fu Juncheng’s unspoken gaze, Xu Yaozhou let out a soft sigh and smiled: “Is Brother suspecting me of something?”
Fu Juncheng’s throat hitched.
Although it was heavily suspicious.
He wasn’t narcissistic enough to think Xu Yaozhou was stalking him, though.
He was just a teeny-tiny bit curious.
Yes, just curious!
Xu Yaozhou smiled and said: “I have an apartment right nearby, and I occasionally come over to stay for a few days.”
Fu Juncheng couldn’t help but feel baffled.
Would a young master like Xu Yaozhou buy property in a neighborhood like this?
Shouldn’t he be living in some notoriously affluent neighborhood known for luxury?
Wasn’t he trying to trick him?
Seeming to guess what Fu Juncheng was thinking, the amusement in Xu Yaozhou’s eyes deepened, as if coated with a layer of gentle radiance, and he looked at him with keen interest.
“It is so late already, is Brother still heading back?” Xu Yaozhou said. “Or would you like to come over to my place and rest for the night?”
Fu Juncheng froze.
Xu Yaozhou raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Provided that Brother does not mind my humble place, of course.”