Chapter 6: Shall I Punish Him for Xiaoyaoās Sake?
Su Huaiyao lightly swung the sky-blue music note pendant in his hand. A faint smile lingered on his lips, but his eyes grew increasingly dark as he looked at the youth. His tone was full of mockery:
“Xiuqing-gege gave this to you, huh? Tsk, in that case, there’s even less chance of me giving it back to you, you little mongrel.”
“Give… it… back…”
Shen Yuan repeated with difficulty, the blood stains on his cheek looking particularly startling under the light.
Due to the fall and his severe physical exhaustion, he couldn’t get up no matter how hard he tried. He could only lie prone on the floor.
His scarred little hands braced against the cold, hard tiles as he crawled inch by inch toward the person in front of him…
Su Huaiyao stood still, enjoying his pathetic appearance. He suddenly found it quite entertaining.
Originally, as a high-achieving graduate from a famous music academy, he wouldn’t deign to lower himself to deal with such a lowly servant. But who told this little brat to have such a beautiful face that made people jealous? And to have stayed by his Xiuqing-gegeās side for two whole years!
At that thought, the fire of anger in Su Huaiyaoās eyes grew hotter. His hand gripping the necklace tightened involuntarily.
Finally, Shen Yuan reached out and tremblingly grabbed the hem of his trousers. He tilted his head up slightly, his voice weak to the extreme: “I beg you…”
The next second, his hand was violently kicked away. Then, a foot wearing a white leather shoe stepped onto his small face, grinding down heavily. The pressure was so great it felt like his face would be crushed!
The man looked down at Shen Yuan, leaning over slightly with one hand on his knee. His expression was one of boredom as he asked, “Is that the only sentence you know?”
But then Su Huaiyao realized something and gave a mocking laugh: “I almost forgot. You’re an idiot. Even talking is a struggle for you, so how could I expect you to curse at me? Hahaha!”
Shen Yuan clenched his teeth against the pain. His head was ringing, and he let out broken whimpers of grievance.
In his two years at the Yu house, although he was often punished by Mister Yu for making mistakes, no one besides Xiansheng had ever humiliated him like this, stepping on his face with their foot…
This face, which Mister Yu had praised as beautiful, was currently being crushed by a dirty sole, and he couldn’t fight back.
Why was Xianshengās white moonlight so, so mean…
At that moment, the door to the room suddenly moved, and the sound of steady footsteps approached.
Su Huaiyaoās heart jumped. He immediately recognized who the footsteps belonged to and hurriedly lifted his foot off the youth’s face.
“Shen Yuan, I just came over to see how you were doing…”
His voice sounded weak and gentle, but his eyes were fixed on the tall figure walking past the curtain.
Then, just as a pale hand was about to pull back the curtain, Su Huaiyao steeled himself. He threw himself heavily onto the floor and let out a pained cry: “Ow!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Yu Xiuqing quickened his pace. He happened to see Shen Yuanās hand resting on Su Huaiyaoās injured ankle, and his brow furrowed slightly.
He immediately helped his beloved up with great care, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He looked worried as he asked:
“How are you?”
Su Huaiyao, who had been arrogant just moments ago, suddenly seemed to lose all his strength. He leaned weakly into the man’s embrace, looking as if he might faint at any moment. His voice carried a sobbing tone:
“I’m fine… Xiuqing-gege, you’re here?”
But why hadn’t he gone to Su Huaiyao’s room to take care of him instead of coming here to Shen Yuan?
Su Huaiyao wanted to ask, but didn’t dare. He pressed his body closer to the man, his affectionate peach blossom eyes filled with grievance and an undetectable trace of jealousy.
Yu Xiuqing gave a soft “mm” and picked up the crutch from the floor. He glanced at the leg Su Huaiyao had “faked” injuring, then looked at the youth sobbing quietly on the floor. His heart gave an inexplicable tremor.
He turned and gently stroked Su Huaiyaoās flushed face, his tone laced with a hint of blame and concern: “What happened? What are you doing in his room? You shouldn’t be moving around with your leg like that.”
Su Huaiyao bit his lip, his eyes red and swollen like a bullied bride. He said piteously:
“I just found out that Shen Yuan gave me a blood transfusion, and I felt very bad about it. I wanted to come over and thank him, but he didn’t seem to welcome me…”
The man raised an eyebrow slightly. His thumb gently wiped away a tear from the corner of the other’s eye. He said in a deep voice: “So he pushed you?”
Su Huaiyao lowered his head. From the corner of his eye, he secretly observed the man’s expression, fearing that his earlier mockery of Shen Yuan had been heard. But seeing the manās concern for him without any hint of suspicion, he breathed a secret sigh of relief.
He quickly raised his tear-filled eyes to look at Yu Xiuqing, biting his lip. Acting as though he were being understanding, he explained:
“It’s fine. Don’t blame Shen Yuan. He probably feels like I’ve taken you away from him, and in a moment of anger, he pushed me. It doesn’t hurt. Xiuqing-gege, please don’t blame him.”
Yu Xiuqing narrowed his eyes. The corners of his upward-tilted eyes curved into a beautiful arc, his gaze cold and murderous. His tone was light: “Then shall I punish him lightly for Xiaoyaoās sake?”
Seeing the bloody, dark red flash in the man’s eyes, Su Huaiyao couldn’t help but shiver. Even the sob in his voice stopped, replaced by a slight tremor:
“No… no need. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
Yu Xiuqing carefully helped him sit on the edge of the bed. He leaned down to look at him, the smile in his eyes deepening: “Wouldn’t it be too unfair to Xiaoyao to let him off so easily?”
Su Huaiyao pursed his lips, smoothing the fine strands of hair by his ear. He stole a glance at the piteous, helpless youth on the floor and shook his head, saying softly: “It’s fine…”
Though he said this, his heart was desperately urging Yu Xiuqing to hurry up and deal with that little mongrel. It would be best if he were crippled!
The man suddenly patted his shoulder lightly. Those eyes, which seemed able to see through a person’s soul, looked at him with a half-smile. He said:
“Be good and sit here. Don’t move.”
Su Huaiyaoās heart skipped a beat. He quickly snapped out of his malicious thoughts, nodding in a daze: “Okay.”
Shen Yuan, on the floor, was already at death’s door from the torture. He curled into a ball, shivering and breathing as faintly as a thread.
He struggled to open his eyes, lifting his injured head to try and see the man standing before him.
Seeing that handsome and familiar face, Shen Yuan, who always lacked a sense of security, was already covered in tears. He wanted so badly to throw himself into Xianshengās arms, but he had no strength left.
The tip of his small nose was red. He could only murmur softly:
“Xiansheng… it wasn’t me… the person Xiansheng likes is so mean. Yuanyuan really didn’t do anything…”
He looked so weak and piteous that anyone who saw him would feel their heart ache. Even Yu Xiuqing couldn’t help but freeze for a moment, a trace of cold cruelty brewing in his dark eyes.
Then, he slowly crouched down. He reached out a hand, his thumb gently stroking the youthās exquisite, porcelain-like cheek.
The manās palm carried a specific warmth. His fingertips were slightly calloused, and as they touched the skin, there was a rough, scratchy sensation.
But Shen Yuan felt exceptionally safe. He tilted his small face up slightly, leaning into the manās palm.
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