A fist carrying a faint scent of fragrance smashed into the face of the buzz-cut Alpha. He staggered back several steps, just as the blonde Alpha’s fist came flying toward Xie Yun.
Xie Yun calmly intercepted the punch. His fingers slid down the attacker’s arm, and he clamped down on the wrist with a sudden twist, making the man howl in pain and beg for mercy.
Another person rushed forward, but Xie Yun bent his leg and delivered a sharp thrust into the attacker’s body.
The lackeys were effortlessly taken down in an instant.
“Let’s go, hurry.”
He then grabbed Lu Yibing’s wrist. After uttering the low, heavy command, he sprinted straight toward the South Gate.
Seeing that the group wasn’t chasing them, Xie Yun finally let go. However, Lu Yibing reached back out to pull him, and Xie Yun immediately rejected the contact. “What are you doing?”
Xie Yun looked at him with eyes devoid of emotion.
“My leg hurts, Brother.”
Lu Yibing’s brows knitted together slightly, and he met Xie Yun’s gaze with a somewhat pitiful look. “Run a bit slower.”
Remembering the situation, Xie Yun paused his footsteps with a resigned sigh.
Suddenly, a weight leaned onto his shoulder. Xie Yun froze as half of the other boy’s body pressed against him. “Sorry, Brother. Could you help me? It really hurts…”
Lu Yibing hung his head, his brow furrowed as if he were in extreme pain.
Xie Yun recalled the blonde guy stomping on his foot.
…Does it really hurt that much?
[Perhaps? He did just run all that way, after all.]
The system was never one to miss a chance to stir the pot.
Since they were almost at the South Gate anyway, Xie Yun decided to let him lean on him.
Xie Yun gave a resigned grunt of agreement and reached out, gently supporting the boy’s waist as they walked forward.
He chose the waist because leaning on the shoulder felt too strange.
…So heavy, he complained internally.
But before Xie Yun could lead him very far toward the South Gate, the troublemaker spoke up again: “Brother, I left my bicycle at the North Gate.”
Hearing this, Xie Yun looked at him in confusion. “?”
“Brother, did you forget?”
Lu Yibing looked back, his eyes curving like a fox’s when he smiled. “Last week you said that after you returned to the country, you’d ride a bike to take me home. That day I specifically left my bike at school; I only forgot about it yesterday, which is why I had the butler drive me.”
The person who supposedly promised to take him home continued to be bewildered: ??
Did I ever say that?
[Host, the original owner said it.]
Having already transmigrated into the original owner’s body, he could only think: ……
He didn’t believe it; their relationship definitely wasn’t that good.
“But the butler just now…”
[Agree to it.]
“…Fine, wait a moment.”
He had to believe it even if he didn’t want to. Once again feeling helpless, Xie Yun pulled out his phone and sent a message to the butler.
[x: I’m truly sorry to have made you wait so long. You should head back first; I’m going home with Yibing. He has a vehicle.]
A bicycle.
Xie Yun smiled bitterly.
Typing out the three characters for “Lu Yibing” felt a bit stiff, so Xie Yun simply dropped the surname.
On the other end, the butler took out his phone and looked at the message.
When did the Eldest Young Master get so close to the Second Young Master?
After sending the message, Xie Yun tossed his phone back into his pocket and changed direction with the beaming Lu Yibing.
“Weren’t you supposed to wait for me in the classroom? Why did you come out first?” Xie Yun asked him.
Lu Yibing sighed softly. “I just went downstairs to buy a bottle of water. I didn’t expect to get cornered.”
Xie Yun gave him a suspicious look but didn’t say anything further.
The green shade of the trees on both sides opened up into a narrow asphalt path. Xie Yun supported the limping Lu Yibing past the fountain, attracting many frequent glances.
Supporting this person while carrying a bag full of textbooks and a school uniform that felt heavier than himself, he truly regretted not resisting the system to take the butler’s car.
Life is so bitter. +1
The cool wind blew the two to the North Gate. Xie Yun could finally unload his burden, tossing his schoolbag into the front basket.
Lu Yibing silently kept his backpack on, standing and waiting for him.
Xie Yun turned his gaze toward him. “How about you ride? Your brother is a bit tired today.”
As soon as he spoke, Lu Yibing gripped his backpack straps and lowered his eyelashes, murmuring, “But my leg is injured, Brother.”
Xie Yun: “…”
He really is just a kid.
With all these “Brothers” being called out, Xie Yun was out of options.
“Get on.”
Xie Yun swung his long leg over the bicycle seat and took the driver’s position. The bike was just right for carrying a passenger. Lu Yibing hummed in response and sat on the back rack.
For a grown man squeezed onto a back rack, there was inevitably nowhere to put his legs, so Lu Yibing sat sideways. Xie Yun began to push the pedals.
…So heavy.
He struggled to get moving. “How much do you weigh?”
“73 kilograms?”
Lu Yibing recalled his last physical; it was exactly 73.
Why does it feel like 80…
Xie Yun smiled bitterly.
He himself was only 67 kilograms.
Xie Yun laboriously pedaled Lu Yibing out of the campus, drawing even more stares.
Suddenly, a circle of warmth wrapped around him.
Almost as a reflex, Xie Yun’s whole body shuddered. His long legs hit the ground to stop the bike, and he spat out two words with a cold face: “Let go.”
He didn’t turn back to look at the culprit. The culprit spoke first in a pitiful tone: “Brother, I’m afraid of falling…”
As he spoke, the arms encircling Xie Yun’s waist tightened.
“If you’re afraid of falling, walk home yourself.” This sentence was even colder.
The two were at a standstill for a second. Perhaps afraid of making his brother angry, Lu Yibing reluctantly let go.
Arriving at the ocean-view villa, Xie Yun braked and stepped off, only to find the family’s black car already parked at the entrance.
“Hmm? Eldest Young Master?”
At that moment, Butler Gu happened to step out of the black Porsche. “You and the Second Young Master rode this back?”
Butler Gu, dressed in a black suit, showed several flickers of surprise on his face.
Feeling the awkwardness of being caught in the act, Xie Yun explained with a smile, “I suddenly felt like riding a bike with Yibing today. I didn’t want to trouble you at first, but I only remembered to tell you Yibing had a bike after school was over.”
As he finished speaking, Lu Yibing cast his gaze toward Xie Yun.
The butler didn’t ask further and hurriedly said, “Then please come in quickly. Aunt Qian should have dinner ready.”
Xie Yun agreed and pushed the bike, entering through the main gate with Lu Yibing.
Butler Gu took their backpacks, and they changed into slippers before sitting on the sofa in the living room.
The rectangular, overlapping chandeliers in black and white cast a cold light. The interior maintained a grey-and-white style; the square, pure black leather sofas and the long white table all exuded a faint, crisp chill.
Indeed, if one smelled carefully, there was a very thin scent of cedarwood.
It was an aromatherapy scent Xie Yun had specifically set out before returning to school.
This house was built according to the preferences of the original Xie Yun. He loved the ocean and minimalist styles, and it was close to the school.
His parents had specifically bought this ocean-view villa for him, and the property deed was in his name.
However, the parents disliked this style, so they lived in a pastoral-style villa which was more convenient for work; they didn’t come home often.
Thus, only Xie Yun and Lu Yibing stayed in this massive house.
After finishing work, Aunt Qian and Butler Gu lived in a small house nearby, making it easy to commute.
As luck would have it, this Xie Yun also adored this style.
Minimalist and elegant. It shared the same cold serenity as his own personality.
The original owner had been abroad for two years. During that time, Lu Yibing had stayed in this enormous house alone. Now that he was back, it could be considered having some company.
As he sat on the sofa thinking, he didn’t notice when Lu Yibing had sat down beside him.
Ding-dong. A message arrived on his phone.
[Mom: Xiao Yun, your father and I are off work and coming over to your place for dinner today! The car is already passing Feilode. Have you and Xiao Bing reached home yet? If not, should we come pick you up?]
Xie Yun typed a line in response.
[x: We’re home, Mom. Butler Gu already brought us back.]
[Mom: Then Aunt Qian must have finished cooking, right? I specifically instructed her—tonight is full of things you both like. Also, even when Mom and Dad aren’t around, you must eat more. Look how thin you are; as the older brother, you’re not even as tall as Xiao Bing.]
Xie Yun replied with a smile on his lips. Sitting beside him, Lu Yibing took in that smile.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling window straight ahead, the azure sea stretched endlessly. A youth in school clothes sat obediently by his side, looking at his phone.
The eyes that usually seemed frozen with a thin layer of ice were now gently curved, as if the ice had been broken by warm water.
A soft, tender warmth bubbled out.
He looked very beautiful when he smiled.
It matched the grey-and-white decor perfectly; though he was smiling, he didn’t lose his cold, noble aura.
Who is he chatting with? Why is he smiling so happily?
Lu Yibing felt his face beginning to heat up again.
After finishing his typing, Xie Yun suddenly seemed to remember something. He stood up and rummaged through the first-aid kit next to the large television, pulling out a tube of ointment.
He then walked back and handed it to Lu Yibing.
His pale fingers covered the words on the ointment, but the person sitting could vaguely see “Yunnan Baiyao” written on it.
“Brother, this is?” Having been lost in his thoughts, he didn’t react immediately.
Hearing this, Xie Yun’s eyebrows arched slightly. His tone suggested he thought the other was stating the obvious. “Isn’t your foot injured? This stops pain and reduces swelling.”
Lu Yibing snapped back to reality.
“Thank you, Brother.”
He looked up at Xie Yun standing before him, murmured those three words, and reached out toward him.
His fingertips inadvertently brushed against the other’s warm, soft fingers. Lu Yibing quickly took the ointment and remained silent, his ear-tips turning red.
After delivering the medicine, Xie Yun didn’t spare him many more glances and turned to enter the bathroom.
Once again, he left behind a tall, slender silhouette. The person sitting watched him and, with a curled smile, slowly and deliberately pressed a kiss onto the spot where he had just touched the other’s fingers.
Meanwhile, the one in the bathroom was also feeling rather smug.
The protagonist-receiver got bullied? He stepped in directly. The protagonist-receiver was injured? He gave him medicine promptly.
He must be one step closer to his goal.
He really was a good brother.
However.
He really didn’t want it to be like this.
The boy saw him as a brother, yet Xie Yun wanted to “conquer” him.
It was too hateful. The system was sick, the school was sick, the F4s and the entire student body were all sick.
A straight man’s tears.
[System, can I check the protagonist-receiver’s current favorability toward me?]
It hadn’t been mentioned since the beginning.
The system received the request and chuckled: [It’s still too early, Host. Let’s wait a while~]
[Get your competition sorted out fir~st~~]
Someone was speechless.
The system was the sickest of them all.
Xie Yun exited the bathroom.
Ding-dong— The doorbell rang.
Butler Gu went to open the door, only to see a stern middle-aged man wearing silver-rimmed glasses entering the house with a beautiful woman on his arm.
“President Xie, Madam.”
He lowered his gaze.
With jet-black, soft hair reaching her waist, Lu Yuan wore light makeup that made her look even more beautiful and striking. A necklace hung around her pale neck, and she wore a deep purple knee-length dress, looking dignified and elegant.
The gentleman beside her had his hair neatly combed, possessing a hint of refinement within his sternness.
The silver-rimmed glasses made him look quite shrewd; with his tall stature and facial features, he was clearly a business tycoon at a glance.
The butler took her bag. Xie Yun and Lu Yibing had already helped pull out the chairs, and the group sat down to prepare for the meal.
Pan-seared chicken breast paired with seasonal vegetables exuded a savory, cooked aroma; a salad wrapped with salmon was rich and creamy; the French onion soup was bursting with fresh flavor. Several places at the table were also set with bowls of creamy mushroom pasta.
Tonight was Western cuisine.
Aunt Qian knew Xie Yun preferred tomato meat sauce pasta, so she had made a separate portion just for him.
“Xiao Yun, you’ve been in school for a while now. Do you feel like you’ve been able to adapt?”
Having just sat down, Father Xie looked toward Xie Yun with a kind expression.