CH 28

Facing Shu Wan’s long speech, Shu Youcheng immediately sent Chen Yuyin a dark look.

The latter received this gaze cast by her own son and quickly donned an extremely aggrieved expression. “A-Wan, ah, look at what you’re saying, it’s all this mother and son’s fault?”

“We’ve only lived here two or three days, how much of your food have we eaten? How much did it cost? And you just scold us like this in front of outsiders? Besides, Youcheng is here to do something big, and if he makes money in the future, you as a dear aunt will also enjoy the blessings!”

Shu Wan saw everything clearly. “Sister-in-law, if you really enjoy blessings, would you share them with me?”

“You, you……”

Chen Yuyin got stuck.

Shu Youcheng glanced at the friends who were gradually waking up on the sofa. Fearing that what he boasted about last night would be exposed, he suppressed his impatience and hurriedly approached to say, “Auntie, you have to help us out for my dad’s sake, right?”

“I heard that you used to go out to study and work, and my dad was the only one in the whole family who turned to you and secretly gave you money!”

When she heard this last sentence, the speechless Chen Yuyin seemed to have found something, and her voice suddenly became louder, “That’s right!”

“Your brother took out all my dowry back then so that you could study! When I gave birth, I didn’t even have the money to eat an old hen!”

“For the only lifeblood of your old Shu family, I have walked through the gates of hell! My hands shake, ah, so much that I can’t even hold the chopsticks steadily……”

The more Chen Yuyin talked, the more excited she became, and she made up all kinds of nonsense.

Shu Youcheng looked at his still-chattering mother and his hungover head throbbed at her sharp voice, but due to the current situation, he had to endure it silently.

Pei Yi was irritated by these arguments the most, and unnoticeably retreated half a step as if to stay away from the noise pollution.

He glanced at Bo Yueming, who was also frowning beside him, and suddenly regretted inviting him over today—

The son of a wealthy family with a noble background, how could he listen to these small household affairs?

What’s more, Bo Yueming’s eyesight was not good, and most of the time he had to rely on his ears to distinguish directions and movement. This current noisy environment would be really difficult for him to bear.

Since it’s noisy, don’t listen to it.

Pei Yi raised his head and approached Bo Yueming, then directly covered the other’s ears with his hands. “Er-ge.”

Slightly cool palms were pressed against his ears, accompanied by this soft and delicate Er-ge. Bo Yueming felt that the noise was effectively isolated, and the world seemed to clear up all of a sudden.

He was startled, and touched the backs of Pei Yi’s delicate hands. “En?”

Pei Yi glanced at Chu Yuyin, who was still talking nonsense, and deliberately exaggerated in order to fight fire with fire. “Don’t listen, don’t listen, the tortoise is chanting sutras!”[1]

Chen Yuyin’s complaints stopped abruptly, and she looked at the loudly-yelling Pei Yi in astonishment.

“…….”

Tortoise?

Was this a different way of scolding her?

Bo Yueming couldn’t see the expressions of other people, and was only aware that the irritability in his heart was washed away by the sound of this cute viewpoint.

He couldn’t hold back, and squeezed Pei Yi’s hands on his ears before pulling them down gently. “En.”

“…….”

Still looking upward, Pei Yi caught the smile in those dark blue eyes. They were like the lingering waves in the deep sea glowing under the moonlight, so beautiful that people couldn’t extricate themselves from indulging in it.

He was caught off guard, and his heart skipped a beat.

Pei Yi’s throat inexplicably tensed up, and when he moved, he realized that his hands were still enveloped in Bo Yueming’s palms.

The difference in stature between the two of them was obvious, but unexpectedly, even the sizes of their hands was very much apparent.

There was no telling whose hands were hot at this moment, and the faint heat made Pei Yi feel a little uncomfortable. “Er, Er-Ge.”

Bo Yueming heard his slight nervousness and responded with a smile, “Understood, just ignore tortoises.”

This time, Chen Yuyin would have to be an idiot not to hear it!

Her face flushed, and she responded unwittingly, “You, who are you scolding!”

Shu Wan watched Pei Yi and Bo Yueming’s brief interaction, and felt a rare sense of peace in her heart. She looked back at Chen Yuyin again, and her tone was firmer than before, “Is my sister-in-law not yet sure who Xiao Yi is talking about?”

Chen Yuyin was overbearing and stingy, but her elder brother was honest and simple, and naively handed over all the family money to his wife.

After Chen Yuyin became pregnant, she relied on the seed of the old Shu family in her belly and asked the old Shu couple who were still alive at the time to kill chickens for her and buy her supplements.

Because she ate too well during pregnancy, the baby in her stomach was too big and she almost had complications during childbirth! However, within ten days of giving birth, she was able to stand up and scold the next door neighbor in full swing!

Shu Wan took the money from her brother back then, but the latter had borrowed it from a friend to give to her. Later, she worked and studied in the Imperial Capital and paid back the money early!

Chen Yuyin had been regarding mules as horses all these years, and even tricked herself into it!

“Sister-in-law, you have your child to take care of, and I also have my Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yi to protect! I have done my best as a relative, so either you leave now, or I’ll call the police!”

“Good, good! Are you disregarding your elder brother’s only bloodline?”

When Chen Yuyin beheld the always soft Shu Wan saying no, she immediately yelled and cursed with a finger pointed at her nose, practically writing the word “treacherous” on her forehead.

“Which woman doesn’t help her family after she marries? It turns out that you were lucky and went to the big city to be glamorous, but in the end, you found a short-lived husband and gave birth to a useless and stupid son. You……”

Pei Yi’s eyes darkened when he heard this, and in the next second, he suddenly heard a loud, crisp clap.

—Pa!

“Chen Yuyin, you shut up!” The always gentle Shu Wang unexpectedly slapped Chen Yuyin hard, and snapped loudly, “Get the hell out of my house now!”

Short-lived husband? Stupid son?

Her daughter just used to marry someone in exchange for a bride price?

Pei Ruye’s death and Pei Yi’s accident had always been unspeakable points of pain in Shu Wan’s heart. She absolutely would not allow others to make thoughtless remarks in front of her!

Shu Wan had originally wanted to give the mother and son a little face for the sake of her deceased brother, thinking that in the face of her soft rejection, they would retreat in spite of the difficulties.

Now it seemed that she was indeed too soft-hearted!

“Shu Youcheng is thirty years old this year, right? Does it look like he’s serious about making money? The savings that my brother saved up, and the compensation after his death, were they not squandered by him?”

Shu Wan was not a person who liked to speak harshly, but now she couldn’t hold back her anger anymore. “You spoiled such a useless thing yourself, how dare you insult my son!”

“Also, it’s true that Xiao Yuan is a girl! But I love her and cherish her, and I will not use her marriage as a bargaining chip in exchange for benefits! You mother and son think too much!”

The reason she decided to rent this villa after moving out of Baiyang Alley was that Shu Wan just wanted to give her daughter a better environment and make up for what she owed her all these years.

If Pei Yuan never married for the rest of her life, she, a mother, would not force it!

The paternal aunt in their memories who was always easy to deal with suddenly went wild, and Shu Youcheng, who was scolded as useless, looked embarrassed.

And Chen Yuyin covered her slap-heated cheek, stunned in disbelief for a few seconds, then fell to the ground and began to make an unreasonable scene.

“Lao Shu, ah, look at the sister you missed every day when you were alive, ah! See how she humiliates this mother and son in front of outsiders like this! I can’t live anymore, I might as well die, ah!”

Bo Yueming was annoyed beyond endurance, and whispered, “Uncle Kai, call the police.”

Uncle Kai immediately went out to do so.

Pei Yi looked at Chen Yuyin who was throwing a tantrum on the floor, and quickly walked to the kitchen. Less than half a minute later, he came out with a kitchen knife.

Shing, he aimed it at Chen Yuyin. “Okay, die, ba.”

His eyes were cold, but his tone was light.

With a kitchen knife in his hand, it was extremely convenient and easy to hurt people.

“……..”

Aside from Bo Yueming, everyone else was taken aback by Pei Yi’s bold behavior.

Chen Yuyin stared at the shiny kitchen knife in front of her, pale-faced. Her crying act was immediately swallowed back into her stomach, and she shrank her neck back in fear—

This, this was really a lunatic, ah!

Bo Yueming didn’t know what kind of dangerous behavior Pei Yi had shown, but he stood on his side and warned in a low voice, “It is illegal to break into a private residence without the consent of the head of household and take it as your own. Get out now, or the police will be called.”

This gleaming kitchen knife held in Pei Yi’s hand hung a few centimeters from her own neck. How could Chen Yuyin, who was almost the greediest and most fearful of death, dare to say the word ‘no?’

She scrambled away and stood up, holding her son’s hand and trying to escape, “Wait, wait, wait, we’ll leave right away!”

This Shu Wan was no longer as easy to handle as before, and if they stayed, the mother and son might suffer!

At the same time, Shu Wan also approached, afraid that Pei Yi would hurt the woman. “Good Pei Yi, ah, it’s Mom’s fault that you were scared. Let’s not play with a kitchen knife, don’t hurt yourself.”

Pei Yi didn’t intend to do anything, and only wanted to scare the mother and son into leaving.

Seeing Shu Wan’s anxious expression, he obediently handed over the kitchen knife. “En.”

Shu Wan hurried back to the kitchen, intending to seal up such dangerous items first.

After realizing Pei Yi’s dangerous behavior, Bo Yueming frowned. “Pei Yi, come here.”

Chen Yuyin was trying to take Shu Youcheng away at the door, but Pei Yi couldn’t be bothered to give the mother and son an extra glance. He turned around and walked toward Bo Yueming.

Suddenly, a curse came with a blast of air, “Fuck, Laozi is going to teach you a lesson today!”

“—Pei Yi!”

Perceiving the danger, Pei Yi’s eyes moved slightly.

At the critical moment, Bo Yueming somehow sensed the danger and immediately pulled him into his arms, changing his position instinctively to shield the person in his arms.

His line of sight switched—

Pei Yi saw that Shu Youcheng was holding a broomstick, which he smashed fiercely against Bo Yueming’s shoulders and the back of his neck. The force seemed to be very heavy.

Bo Yueming, who was protecting him, closed his eyes at once and turned the pain falling onto his body into a muffled and forbearing grunt.

Pei Yi subconsciously grabbed Bo Yueming’s clothes, flustered. “Er-ge?”

Bo Yueming’s breath went tight for a moment, and he felt his head go blank and dizzy. His original line of sight seemed to be flickering, and it was difficult to respond for a moment.

He maintained his tight guard of Pei Yi with one hand and used the other to grab the cabinet next to him for support.

Shu Youcheng looked at his friends who had been awakened, and didn’t care whether he was disgraced or not. “What are you two still doing? Brothers, help me teach these two guys a good lesson!”

The plastic broom handle was not usable at all, having broken just after it smashed down.

Seeing this, Shu Youcheng simply threw it on the ground.

After Bo Yueming shielded him from pain, Pei Yi’s suppressed anger finally erupted and he momentarily forgot to maintain his facade of foolishness.

“Fuck! Are you looking for death!”

This piece of shit dared to play dirty?

The strength of the hand holding his waist suddenly loosened, and the furious Pei Yi rushed out at once. He punched Shu Youcheng hard, and the other’s scream resounded instantly.

“…….”

Bo Yueming, who had just gotten over his dizziness, slowly withdrew his hand with a rare look of uncertainty on his face—

Wait a minute?

Did Pei Yi just swear?

Uncle Kai hastened back with the driver, Lao Fu, and saw Pei Yi and Shu Youcheng wrestling together.

Lao Fu rushed forward without saying a word and deliberately favored one side. “Little Sir, be careful.”

Uncle Kai noticed the abnormal red mark on the back of Bo Yueming’s neck and hurriedly approached. “Second Young Master, what happened?”

“…….It’s nothing.”

Bo Yueming raised his hand to gesture for silence and shook his head slightly, moving his hand to his eyes in disbelief as he saw—

The original layers of light and shadow began to condense. Although it was still very blurry, the shape and color of his fingers could be vaguely distinguished.

“Second, Second Young Master, what is the matter?”

Uncle Kai was alarmed by Bo Yueming’s inexplicable expression, his heart pounding, and he feared that his improving eyes would have problems again.

“It’s fine.”

Bo Yueming spoke more firmly, and tried to test his eyesight at a closer distance.

To the side on the sofa, the two friends who had already sobered up were hesitating over whether to come forward and help, and met Bo Yueming’s gaze inadvertently.

“If you don’t want to go to jail like him, then leave right now.”

With sharp and full eyebrows and a height of 1.9 meters, even just standing there was enough to shock people’s hearts.

The two people looked at each other, and the impulse to “help fight” vanished immediately. “We, we were called over by him for drinks, we don’t know anything about the rest!”

“Right, us two won’t get involved in your family affairs.”

Both of them were gamblers that Shu Youcheng met at the poker table. They would occasionally get together after playing cards all night to eat, drink, and have fun, and could be called “drinking buddies” at most.

About a week ago, the two had mentioned that they wanted to start a joint business venture. As a result, Shu Youcheng who was sitting at the side wanted to get involved when he heard that it would be profitable, but they played dumb and were perfunctory with him.

Yesterday, Shu Youcheng suddenly invited them to his “home” as guests, and the two of them really thought that he was a bit rich, but didn’t expect such a thing when they woke up.

Could a person with this sort of virtue be a partner? They feared he would use underhanded methods to gain profits behind their backs in the future!

Thinking of this, the two immediately tripped over their feet to leave while taking advantage of the chaos.

The fight at the door continued.

Pei Yi and Shu Youcheng, who was a head taller than him, scuffled together. The old driver tried his best to help, and Chen Yuyin wanted to step forward and get involved, but Shu Wan was afraid of her son getting hurt and dragged her away.

Shouting and howling, the commotion was not small.

Bo Yueming tried to locate Pei Yi in his blurred field of vision. Although he couldn’t make out a clear face, at least the small body wearing sky blue clothes was easy to identify.

He was afraid that Pei Yi would suffer, and called, “Pei Yi, come here!”

Pei Yi was having a good time fighting. When he suddenly heard Bo Yueming’s command, he loosened his clenched fist for a moment, said “Oops” in his heart, and ran back with an aggrieved expression.

“Er-ge, he bullied me!”

As always, he pretended to be a good boy in his opening remarks.

Bo Yueming lowered his eyes to look at the blurry figure in his vision, and vaguely saw a dull tuft of hair on Pei Yi’s head.

It was likely messed up after fighting.

Bo Yueming suppressed a helpless smile and asked knowingly, “Did you go beat him?”

When the old driver restrained Shu Youcheng just now, Pei Yi had taken advantage of the time to punch and kick, and even aimed at the joints that were most prone to pain.

Don’t look at Shu Youcheng’s face that was still in good shape, there must be pain everywhere on his body!

Pei Yi was proud internally, but on the surface, he gave a miserable groan. “I didn’t, my hand hurts.”

Shu Youcheng was severely restrained by the stronger driver, and the knee that was kicked by Pei Yi was so painful that he almost knelt on the ground.

Hearing Pei Yi’s grievance and pain, he was even more aggrieved—

Fuck!

What hurt?

Who was the most ruthless one just now?

Hurried footsteps sounded, and the villa area security led two police officers in uniforms inside. “Hello, we’re from the Yiting District Police Station. Who called the police?”

Uncle Kai quickly responded, “It was our side that called.”

The police station and the villa were separated by one road, so the dispatch speed was very fast.

Bo Yueming protected Pei Yi behind him again and took the initiative to speak out, “Hello, I am the owner of this house, and this mother and son are trespassing.”

Aside from Uncle Kai, everyone present was taken aback by these words.

Owner of the house?

Didn’t he find the rental villa through his connections?

Pei Yi looked at Bo Yueming who was shielding him with his body, and there was suddenly a touch of subtlety in his heart that he had never felt before.

Bo Yueming took advantage of everyone’s stupefaction, and continued to emphasize in a deep voice, “By the way, this Mr. Shu hit me with an object just now. I’ll need to conduct further injury appraisal so that my lawyers can carry out subsequent prosecution for compensation.”

The two policemen exchanged glances, knowing exactly what this was about.

If it was said that illegal intrusion into other people’s homes was worth just detention and some fines, once the crime of assaulting others was set in stone, he would definitely go to prison!

Shu Youcheng was dumbfounded, and immediately shouted, “They, they made the first move! They ganged up on me! I, I want to do this kind of injury appraisal!”

The ignorant Chen Yuyin was already panicking, and only knew to shout after her son, “Yes, that’s right! He took a kitchen knife and tried to kill me first!”

When he was pointed at by her, Pei Yi feigned fear and hid behind Bo Yueming.

The distressed Shu Wan defended him, “Comrade policemen, my son had an accident when he was a child and his mind is feeble. He was just stimulated and frightened, and he absolutely didn’t harm anyone!”

At this moment, Shu Youcheng only felt pain all over his body, and the alcohol left in his hungover brain eroded his limited reasoning. “You fucking fart!”

The two policemen had met countless people, so they naturally had their own criteria for making judgements.

As soon as they heard Shu Youcheng curse due to a guilty conscience, they knew that there was a serious problem with this person.

“Stop making noise, are you justified in hitting someone? Talk about it at the police station!”

Shu Youcheng was taken aback by the scolding.

As soon as Chen Yuyin heard the words ‘police station,’ she became more frightened and panicked. She only knew how to dote on her son and went to stand in front of Shu Youcheng.

“Comrade policemen, that’s not the case, my son……ah!”

Her excuse cut off abruptly.

Chu Yuyin, who had only run two steps, stepped on the broomstick that Shu Youcheng had casually discarded. The sole of her foot slipped unexpectedly, and she fell over in front of everyone.

—Crack.

There was a slight sound in Chen Yuyin’s body.

Immediately afterwards, the sharp pain in her waist caused her face to turn from red to white, and she couldn’t even utter a cry.

. . . . . .

An hour later, at the district police station.

Shu Youcheng looked at the Public Security Management penalty decision in front of him, and his pupils trembled rapidly. “What?”

The police officers who had already obtained evidence remained unmoved, and continued to carry out proper business. “Just relying on how he broke into someone’s home and beat them, as we clearly saw, we will first detain him for seven days and wait until Mr. Bo’s injury is examined.”

“I already said, they were the ones who hurt people first!”

Shu Youcheng’s gaze moved away from the decision letter, and he raised his eyes to glare—

Bo Yueming and Pei Yi were sitting opposite him, and a lawyer who had been informed was beside them.

The latter wore a professional fake smile, and couldn’t be bothered to give Shu Youcheng a glance. “Comrade police, if there is nothing else, my clients and I will leave first. If there is any need in the future, the police can call me directly.”

The police officers nodded. “En.”

The lawyer acknowledged them and said, “Mr. Bo, Little Mister Pei, we can go.”

“En.”

In front of the police officers, Bo Yueming fumbled to take out the extendable guide cane in his pocket and stood up slowly and cautiously. 

Those charming, deep eyes explored everything around them with a lack of focus, as if unable to determine the direction of the exit. 

“Pei Yi, let’s go.”

Having been named, Pei Yi obeyed the command. He looked at the angry face above after getting up and instantly shrank back in fear. While lowering his head, he grabbed the corner of Bo Yueming’s clothes.

“Er, Er-ge!”

The short address had a hint of a sob, as if Shu Youcheng had brought him great harm.

“Don’t be afraid, we’re leaving.”

Bo Yueming comforted him, then slowly left the room with the lawyer’s help.

The door of the interrogation room was closed again.

One of the police officers looked at Shu Youcheng, who was about to be detained by public security, and asked, “Tell me, what are you still arguing about? One of those two is blind, and the other is a little fool. Could they make the first move to strike you?”

“…….”

Shu Youcheng was speechless. He couldn’t figure it out—

Wait! No!

Clearly, these two people were not in such a state at the villa, were they? Why did the blind get blinder and the dumb get dumber when they came to the police station?

He stared at the public security detention decision before him. The joints in his body still ached like there were needles in them, and in a daze, he recalled his boasting and fantasies after getting drunk last night.

What luxurious villa bed?

He feared there was only a cold iron prison bed waiting for him ahead!

. . . . . .

Three minutes later, a group of people stepped outside the police station gate.

Pei Yi silently let go of the hand that was holding the corner of Bo Yueming’s clothes. As for the pitiful and humble look, it also disappeared.

Bo Yueming noticed the looseness of the corner of his clothes and his eyes dipped slightly. There was a faint smile on his face.

“Pei Yi.”

“En?” Pei Yi hummed and met his gaze.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Bo Yueming asked.

Pei Yi shook his head, his eyes unconsciously drifting to the back of Bo Yueming’s neck, where there was still obvious redness and swelling. He received this injury while protecting him.

At this thought, Pei Yi’s emotions were indescribably complicated.

“The next time you meet that sort of person, don’t even think about fighting, in case you hurt yourself. I have plenty of ways to deal with them.”

“…….”

Pei Yi thought about his behavior today. It was indeed a little bit impulsive. After all, the original owner didn’t seem to have ever fought with others the previous times he ‘went crazy.’

Fortunately Bo Yueming was still blind, otherwise his previous disguise would be in vain!

Seeing that he was silent, Bo Yueming continued to instruct, “Uncle Kai and I will go to the hospital. You and Aunt Shu go to the villa first, and I will come to you later.”

He actually cared more about the specific condition of his eyes than the identification of the injuries on the back of his neck and shoulders.

Speaking of surprises, Bo Yueming didn’t expect that the broomstick would “assist” his eyesight by mistake, and now he had to go for a detailed and timely examination.

Bo Yueming looked at the indistinct figure that had just taken shape in front of him. He remembered Pei Yi’s “friendly” muttering before the fight, and couldn’t hold back a chuckle for a moment.

Pei Yi, who was thankful that he hadn’t revealed anything, raised his eyes in confusion. “Er-ge?”

“It’s nothing.”

Bo Yueming didn’t express his true thoughts—

He just found it funny.

It turned out that a kitten could also curse when anxious, and was also quite fierce when beating people.

[1] This is a slang phrase used when ignoring someone’s words, sort of like covering your ears and going “Lalalalala.” Also, “tortoise” can translate to “bastard.” ⮐