ALCSRB Chapter 11

Shen Xingyan had caught Jiang Mingyi with his own body. He gently furrowed his brows, fear still lingering in his eyes.
Seeing Jiang Mingyi staring up at him in a daze, his delicate, fair face now completely drained of color, Shen Xingyan instantly felt a deep ache in his heart.
He gently stroked Jiang Mingyi’s head while softly comforting him,
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

His voice was as deep and steady as always, but anyone who knew him well could hear the tremble in it—the fear and panic of seeing someone precious in danger.

Jiang Mingyi’s fingers instinctively tightened around the man’s shirt. His slightly parted lips moved, but no sound came out.

It was as if in a distant space and time, he had held on this tightly before, like clinging to a newfound hope, unwilling to let go.
Until a young boy had tightly held his hand, smiled brightly at him, and said, “Xiao Yi, don’t be afraid. I’ll always protect you.”

“Ge…” he unconsciously called out, but just as the words left his lips, something seemed to slip from the corner of his eye, and he fell silent.

“Don’t cry.”
A slightly rough fingertip gently wiped away the tear. Shen Xingyan hugged him with heartache in his eyes.
“Gege is here. I won’t let anything hurt you.”

That arm was strong and steady, like a castle full of security, wrapping Jiang Mingyi tightly in its protection, shielding him from all danger and harm.

Jiang Mingyi buried his face in Shen Xingyan’s chest, listening to the calm rhythm of his voice.
After a while, his rationality slowly returned.

Somewhat embarrassed, he pulled away from Shen Xingyan’s embrace. The corners of his eyes were tinged red, and his pair of beautiful, peach blossom eyes didn’t dare to meet Shen Xingyan’s gaze.

He knew that if Shen Xingyan hadn’t appeared just now, he likely would’ve fallen straight down the stairs. At best, he’d have broken a bone; at worst, the consequences were unthinkable.
Even though he was still a bit shaken, he managed to say, “Thank you.”

The voice was soft, but Shen Xingyan heard it clearly, and the worry in his heart finally eased a little.

Lifting his gaze, he looked toward Lu Jingze, who was standing not far away.

Lu Jingze’s heart clenched when he heard the man’s gentle voice say,
“Xiao Yi, wait here for ge for a moment.”

Then he began walking toward him.

Those deep black eyes held a bone-chilling coldness. Just one look made Lu Jingze instinctively take a step back in fear.

“I…”
Lu Jingze didn’t even dare to meet his eyes. He looked down, letting his gaze fall on the unharmed Jiang Mingyi.
“I was just messing around with him.”

He was still gripping the phone he had snatched from Jiang Mingyi. Now he was holding onto it so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand bulged as he tried to suppress the rising panic in his chest.

“I didn’t think he’d lose his balance…”
Lu Jingze was still trying to explain himself when suddenly a blur flashed in front of his eyes, and a heavy blow landed on his stomach. His body flew backward.

Behind him was a wall, scribbled with notes and doodles from students. It was mottled and dirty.

With a loud thud, his back slammed hard against the grimy white wall.

Shen Xingyan retracted his foot, brushed the dust off his shoe with the back of his hand, his gaze filled with disdain, voice cold as ice:
“What, can’t stand straight either?”

Lu Jingze tried to push himself up with his arms, but he couldn’t stand. He collapsed back to the ground, the force of the impact making his entire back burn with pain—though it was his stomach that hurt even more.

The strength behind the kick that sent him flying made Lu Jingze terrified. But what scared him even more was the look in the man’s eyes—standing tall and looking down on him with such contempt, as if he were nothing but an ant. It made Lu Jingze feel like he didn’t even deserve to exist in this world.

At this moment, he truly saw the cold and merciless side of the man before him, such a stark contrast to the gentle and comforting way he had just treated Jiang Mingyi.

“Looks like your little tricks are useless after all.”

Lu Jingze’s legs gave out, and he slumped weakly.

Watching the man step closer, Lu Jingze realized he had nowhere left to retreat.

His throat moved slightly, and he shut his eyes in fear.

When he opened them a few seconds later, he saw the man bending down to pick up the phone that had fallen to the side.

There was a small crack on the phone screen. Shen Xingyan narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced coldly at Lu Jingze, and then gave a chilling smirk under Lu Jingze’s terrified gaze.

His tone was indifferent, but his words made Lu Jingze’s blood run cold:
“Qin Hao, call Lu Guozhang. Tell him, if he doesn’t know how to discipline his son, I don’t mind doing it for him.”

On the lower level of the staircase, Qin Hao pulled out his phone and dialed directly.

---

Jiang Mingyi was led to the car by Shen Xingyan, hand in hand.

The car’s air conditioning chased away the heat from outside.
Shen Xingyan sat beside him, head turned slightly, quietly staring at him.

Jiang Mingyi felt a little uneasy under his gaze. He pressed his lips together and broke the silence,
“Why did you suddenly come to the school?”

Shen Xingyan didn’t look away, but his gaze softened a bit.
“I wasn’t planning to come… but now I’m really glad I did.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked at that and said,
“Thank you for saving me.”
He thanked him again.

The first time had felt awkward, but the second time came more naturally—especially after watching Shen Xingyan deal with Lu Jingze on his behalf.
Thinking about how pitiful and useless Lu Jingze had looked just now made Jiang Mingyi want to laugh.

He held back a smile but spoke up with concern,
“Earlier when you called Uncle Lu like that… I’m afraid he might be upset.”

Shen Xingyan met his eyes and lightly flicked his forehead.

Jiang Mingyi frowned and rubbed the spot.
He was worried about the relationship between the two families—yet this guy still hit him?

Seeing his little pout, Shen Xingyan chuckled.
“Lu Guozhang wouldn’t dare.”

“Huh?”

A large hand gently ruffled the dazed boy’s hair.
“Even though the Lu family is also a wealthy family, they’re nowhere near the level of our Shen family. Xiao Yi, just remember this—you’re the young master of the Shen family. You never have to lower yourself or worry about pleasing anyone.”

Shen Xingyan paused for a second before adding,
“On the contrary, it’s the Lu family that needs to rely on us.”

Was this… arrogance?

Jiang Mingyi blinked and met the man’s overbearing and prideful gaze.
Suddenly, he recalled the narrative he had been taught.

In the original version, everything about him had been framed around how he bullied Bai Yumo, how many foolish things he’d done.
The more he hurt Bai Yumo, the more Lu Jingze hated him—and the more he liked Bai Yumo.

In that version of the story, he was like a ridiculous clown, diligently carrying out his role as the malicious and evil antagonist. Only after Shen Jili and Su Wanxin completely lost hope in him and cut off their ties did he finally suffer the consequences and retaliation from those people.

So, the heavy burden he carried—so immense that ordinary people couldn’t shake it—was the Shen family.

Even with Lu Jingze basking in the aura of a male lead, he was still no match for a single finger of Shen Xingyan?

Jiang Mingyi took a sharp breath.

That meant he really didn’t need to care about Lu Jingze or Bai Yumo. Whatever the two of them did was none of his business.

Realizing this made Jiang Mingyi feel a lot more at ease.

Shen Xingyan had been observing his expressions the whole time. Seeing the brightness return to his eyes, he smiled and said,
“Do you understand now?”

“Mm.” Jiang Mingyi nodded hard,
“Lu Jingze is trash. I’ll never bother with him again.”

Seeing the radiant smile return to the boy’s face, Shen Xingyan’s eyes softened with warmth and affection.

“No one gets to bully my little brother, Shen Xingyan’s little brother.”

Qin Hao, holding the repaired phone, got into the car.
“Young master, your phone.”

Jiang Mingyi was momentarily surprised before accepting it. Looking at the now good-as-new phone, he beamed like a flower.

“Thank you, Assistant Qin.”

“You’re too polite, young master. This is just my duty.”

Shen Xingyan signaled to start driving. Qin Hao hesitated for a moment, then asked,
“Boss, do we need to go to the hospital?”

Jiang Mingyi paused in playing with his phone and looked at Shen Xingyan with confusion.

Shen Xingyan didn’t explain anything to Jiang Mingyi. He just told Qin Yuan,
“No need. Head straight home.”

Qin Hao furrowed his brows ever so slightly, but in the end, he simply started the car and drove off.

The car fell into silence, save for the occasional WeChat notification sounds from Jiang Mingyi’s phone.

[Pei Shiqing]: Yi Bao, why did you leave without waiting for me? [crying.jpg]

Jiang Mingyi stole a glance at the man beside him, choosing not to mention anything about his encounter with Lu Jingze.

Jiang Mingyi: My brother came to pick me up.

[Pei Shiqiing]: QAQ So you just abandoned me like that! [heartbreaker.jpg]

He looked down, lips curling into a smile, and continued typing.

Jiang Mingyi: Want me to get my brother to pick you up instead? [smug.jpg]

The chat went silent for a moment.

A few minutes later—

[Pei Shiqing]: The driver’s here to get me. [bye.jpg]

Jiang Mingyi flashed a victorious grin. But the moment he looked up, he met Shen Xingyan’s gentle gaze.

Shen Xingyan’s eyes glanced at his phone.
“Having such a good time chatting with Shiqing?”

Jiang Mingyi hesitated for a moment. “It was Pei Shiqing.”

Afraid that he wouldn’t remember, he added,
“You saw him at the birthday party.”

Shen Xingyan: “The young master from the Pei family.”

“Mm.” Jiang Mingyi nodded quickly.

“You two are close.”
It was a statement, not a question.

Jiang Mingyi smiled, “Yeah, we’re good brothers.”

Shen Xingyan didn’t say anything else, and the car became quiet again.

Jiang Mingyi turned to glance at him, then put his phone back into his pocket.
After a while, Shen Xingyan suddenly spoke: “The Pei family isn’t bad.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked.
“…What do you mean?”

The car continued driving all the way back to the Shen residence.

As soon as it stopped, Jiang Mingyi opened the door and got out first.

While closing the door, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Shen Xingyan’s movements as he got out were a bit stiff.

He let out an “Oh” and was about to say something when Shen Jili’s car also drove in.

Jiang Mingyi happily waved and shouted toward Shen Jili,
“Dad! You’re home early today!”

Shen Jili got out of the car and looked at his beloved youngest son, saying,
“I knew you had an exam today, so I wanted to get off work early and spend time with you.”

“Dad, you’re the best!”
Jiang Mingyi affectionately held onto his arm and leaned his head against Shen Jili’s shoulder.
“But you can’t take the exam for me, so it’s useless.”

Shen Jili smiled and teased, “But I can supervise your studying.”

“Ugh~ no way.”
Jiang Mingyi stuck out his tongue and ran into the villa with a look of disgust.

Shen Xingyan walked over, his expression calm, and said to Shen Jili,
“Lu Guozhang called you.”

Shen Jili’s smile faded.
“He wants to invite our family to dinner.”

Shen Xingyan let out a cold laugh.
“Wishful thinking.”