WMR | Chapter 6

Jiang Baiyu thought this not to help Lu Qingci get out of his predicament sooner, but for another girl, Lu Qingchu. Lu Qingci’s younger sister.

...Yes, Lu Qingci’s mother had been one of those runaway-with-a-kid situations.

Unlike the aloof and chilly Lu Qingci, Lu Qingchu was lively, kind, and helpful.

In his previous life, after the Jiang family fell and he and his family were trapped in poverty, Lu Qingchu had been the only one who ever helped him.

Only, her health had never been good to begin with, and because they had no money, she missed the best time for surgery. In the end, she was left with a severe lingering illness, and such a kind girl died so young.

He thought that if the Lu family could recognize the twin children who had been lost outside sooner, Lu Qingchu’s illness might have received better, more timely treatment.

Just as he was hesitating, a burst of applause rose from the banquet hall, and not far away, members of the Yan family wheeled Old Master Yan out.

Old Master Yan, ninety years old, had snow-white hair and was still as imposing as ever. The moment he appeared, he became the center of attention at the banquet. Many guests gathered around to wish him a happy birthday and offer congratulations. Jiang Baiyu followed his parents over as well.

Although the old man’s legs and feet were not convenient, his hearing and eyesight were keen, and his mind was clear. He could tell precisely the identity, status, and occupation of every guest who came to congratulate him. In the middle of all the social niceties, he did not lose an ounce of the Yan family’s dignity or bearing.

When it was the Jiang family’s turn to step forward, the old man’s slightly clouded gaze settled on Jiang Baiyu. He spoke slowly. “This is a child from the Jiang family, right? He looks very much like Old Master Jiang.”

Jiang Chengyi and Shen Shiyi smiled politely. “Yes, Old Master Yan. Baiyu does look more like my father.”

Old Master Yan looked at Jiang Baiyu kindly and asked, “What was your name again?”

Jiang Baiyu stepped forward and said, “Hello, Grandpa Yan. My name is Jiang Baiyu.”

“Good name.”

Old Master Yan nodded, then suddenly laughed. “Old Master Jiang and I have been old friends for more than seventy years, the only intimate friend of my whole life. What a pity, Old Master Jiang left too early, leaving me all alone.”

Jiang Chengyi said, “You’re joking, sir. You have five generations living under one roof now, with branches and leaves everywhere. So many people envy your good fortune.”

“Good fortune?”

Old Master Yan snorted. “My bunch of unfilial sons and grandsons still haven’t angered me to death.”

With that, Old Master Yan beckoned to Jiang Baiyu. “Child, come here, let me take a good look at you.”

“Yes, Grandpa Yan.”

Jiang Baiyu stepped forward and let Old Master Yan hold his hand obediently.

The old man’s hand was dry and rough, but his knuckles were long and powerful. The moment he was held, Jiang Baiyu felt an abrupt, inescapable pressure. His heart skipped in instinctive panic, and he looked up straight into Old Master Yan’s eyes.

The old man’s eyes were clouded, but deep, sharp, and piercing. Being looked at like that made it feel as if everything about him had been seen through.

Fortunately, Old Master Yan soon let go of his hand and said with apparent affection, “This child is blessed.”

“Thank you, Grandpa Yan.”

Jiang Baiyu forced himself to stay calm, though he could not stop trembling inwardly. So this was the sharpness of the man who controlled the vast Yan family.

Old Master Yan asked again, “Do you like boys or girls?”

Jiang Baiyu: ??

His face heated as he lowered his voice. “Boys.”

“I’m old now, and I forget things easily. But the engagement between our descendants that my old friend and I agreed on before he passed, I’ve kept it in my heart all along.”

Old Master Yan laughed heartily and looked at Jiang Baiyu. “Child, our Yan family lacks nothing except grandsons. Take your time and choose today. Tell me which one catches your eye, and I’ll make the decision for you.”

Jiang Baiyu was so shocked he didn’t know what to say. So this was how his engagement to the Yan family came about.

Jiang Chengyi and Shen Shiyi were also stunned, and hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. They laughed. “Ah, that was just the old man joking back then. Don’t take it to heart, sir. Besides, Baiyu is only seventeen and hasn’t even graduated high school yet. Marriage is still far off.”

The few people nearby who heard it all took it as the old man making a joke too, and after a few words of agreement and flattery, the topic came to an end.

---

Halfway through the birthday banquet, the gathering of people from every field had also become a marketplace of power and profit.

Adults were busy building connections and deepening ties. Young people were busy expanding their circle of friends, and the children had been sent to the side hall entertainment room to play.

The Yan residence was huge, and when Jiang Baiyu went looking for the side hall, he actually got lost. He ended up walking farther and farther off course along a quiet path in the garden, so silent that he could not hear a single human voice.

Jiang Baiyu hurriedly tried to find his way back to the banquet hall, but suddenly heard heavy muffled sounds coming from beyond the flowerbed.

He instinctively moved closer to take a careful look, and the whole of him froze at once.

On the other side of the flowerbed, a man had been tied up and thrown to the ground, and several tall men who looked like bodyguards were kicking and beating him viciously. The dull thuds of the blows rang out one after another, making the peaceful garden feel terrifyingly eerie.

Jiang Baiyu’s breathing stopped, and he did not dare make a sound.

He had heard that the internal struggles in the Yan family were fierce. He never expected that they would dare do something like this even on Old Master Yan’s birthday.

Soon the kicking stopped, and a haughty male voice rang out. “Yan Jinzhou, you really dare to come back. You think getting your name into the Yan family genealogy register makes you one of the Yan family?”

“Let me tell you, this is only a small appetizer. If you don’t want to die, stay obediently overseas and don’t let me see you again.”

Yan Jinzhou?

The one being beaten was Yan Jinzhou?

Jiang Baiyu’s pupils contracted, and he looked toward the flowerbed again.

A man looked down from above at Yan Jinzhou, who was being kicked by the bodyguards, and said mockingly, “A bastard born from a filthy woman thinks he deserves to be my younger brother? Hmph, he’s simply humiliating the Yan family name.”

The speaker was Yan Shuyan, Yan Jinzhou’s half-brother.

The man wore expensive, exquisite formalwear, yet spat out the crudest filthy curses, shamelessly humiliating Yan Jinzhou.

On the ground, Yan Jinzhou, who had originally been dressed neatly in a suit, was now disheveled and covered in dust. His hands were bound behind his back as he struggled hard, but he could not break free from the suppression of the three burly bodyguards.

He was kicked in the stomach, in the back... yet he stubbornly did not let out a single cry of pain.

Jiang Baiyu bit down hard on his lip, his eyes turning red.

On the way here, he had roughly learned about Yan Jinzhou’s background, and could also guess the hardship and misery he had endured in the Yan family. But the scene before him made him understand that Yan Jinzhou’s experiences and situation were even more miserable and tragic than he had imagined.

And even so, Yan Jinzhou could still hide all his pain and present his best face to the world with such strength.

Jiang Baiyu thought of the warm embrace that had caught him when he fainted on the field, the pleasant voice, the gentle face.

He clenched his teeth, picked up a small stone from the ground, and threw it hard toward the flowerbed.

“Someone’s there!”

“Who is it?!”

...

Jiang Baiyu turned and ran.

He would not let Yan Jinzhou see his sympathy or help. Just like in his previous life, at his most helpless and miserable, he had also feared running into familiar friends and acquaintances from before.

He thought that since Yan Jinzhou would one day become the Yan family head, he would definitely be able to withstand and fight off the bullying from the Yan family.

On the far side of the flowerbed, while the bodyguards were chasing after the person who had run off, Yan Jinzhou finally freed his hands.

Like a wolf that had at last regained its freedom, he burst up with surging, fierce strength and kicked Yan Shuyan over.

Yan Shuyan’s scream had the bodyguards rushing back to help him, but before they could even move, Yan Jinzhou easily slammed all three of them to the ground. His movements were crisp and decisive, ruthless and always striking at vital points.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Shuyan saw that all of his bodyguards were already lying on the ground. Panicking, he ignored the pain and turned to run.

“Brother.”

Yan Jinzhou moved in front of him in a flash.

This brother, born of an illegitimate mother, had just been pinned to the ground by him and left for him to humiliate. Now there was even a smile on his face as he said, as if nothing had happened, “Brother, where do you think you’re going?”

Yan Jinzhou’s smile was extremely pleasant, as though the humiliation just now had all been enjoyable. “Brother, you gave me such a big gift. How should I repay you?”

His pleasant voice was cold and teasing, and the pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes he lifted held a bewitching poison.

“You, you bastard...”

Yan Shuyan suddenly went cold all over and tried to flee.

“Don’t go.”

Yan Jinzhou’s long, strong hand caught the collar at his neck, and with the strength in his wrist, he lifted Yan Shuyan’s body and slammed him hard against the flowerbed wall.

“Mm... mm...”

Yan Shuyan’s feet kicked uselessly in the air, and one of his gleaming leather shoes flew off. His throat was crushed tight, leaving him unable to breathe, and his face turned a deep purple.

He tried to pry off the hand clamped around his throat, but no matter how hard he used both hands, he could not budge Yan Jinzhou’s iron grip.

Yan Jinzhou, meanwhile, leisurely used his free hand to brush the dust from his clothes, glanced at his watch, and said, “1:45 p.m.”

With a slight upward curve to his lips, he leaned near Yan Shuyan’s ear and said softly, as if breathing onto it, “Brother, I’ll give you one more month to kill me. If you can’t kill me, then at 3:45 p.m. one month from now, I’ll send you to die. All right?”

That voice sounded like Death itself whispering intimately in his ear.

Yan Shuyan stared at the younger brother he had just been humiliating, his eyes full of terror, arms and legs thrashing desperately.

Yan Jinzhou chuckled softly and, with cultured gentleness, touched Yan Shuyan’s face. Then he said unhurriedly, “Brother, the way you look right now is very pleasing. But what should I do?”

In Yan Jinzhou’s alluring peach blossom eyes, a troubled look surfaced as he said, “I still want to have a little more fun. Is one month not enough?”

The bodyguards struggled to their feet, but looking at Yan Jinzhou like this, none of them dared step forward.

They kept begging for Yan Shuyan. “Young Master Jinzhou, please let him go quickly, someone is going to die.”

“Die?”

Yan Jinzhou raised a brow and smiled softly. “Right. If he dies too early, it won’t be any fun.”

He suddenly let go, and Yan Shuyan’s body, which had been hanging there, fell to the ground like a giant rag doll, collapsing completely on the floor.

Yan Shuyan lay there trembling all over, fearfully crying out, “You, you...”

Yan Jinzhou took a handkerchief from the pocket of his suit jacket and slowly wiped his hands, then put on his original gentle, refined expression and said, “Brother, take good care of yourself.”