Chapter 17: Fighting Back
How Do You Know This Gentleman?
Lu Suichu’s mind was in turmoil. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chu Baihan stepping closer to his side.
“An An, don’t misunderstand Xiao Chu. If you come home, he will definitely be very happy.”
Chu Baihan’s voice was as gentle as always, and his words were meant to defend him, yet Lu Suichu still clenched his fists in dissatisfaction.
He had noticed the way Chu Baihan addressed Yuan An.
Yuan An was also somewhat bewildered by Chu Baihan’s use of “An An.” He didn’t understand why, after five years, this person was suddenly using his childhood nickname again.
However, since he understood Chu Baihan fairly well, that initial confusion quickly morphed into pure disgust.
Chu Baihan was a man who always overflowed with sympathy for the weak. It was highly likely that because Yuan An’s acting just now had been too realistic, this man was starting to pity him instead.
Even so, Yuan An didn’t let any of it show. Looking at Lu Suichu’s unhappy expression, a soft, sweet smile graced his face once more. Lowering his eyes, he said, “Mm, of course I know.”
Chu Baihan let out a sigh of relief, his expression turning tender.
He raised his hand, intending to stroke Yuan An’s hair, but right at that moment, Yuan An happened to squat down and place Beika on the ground.
Chu Baihan’s hand missed its mark entirely. After a brief, awkward pause, he could only withdraw his arm and let it drop to his side.
“Then I won’t disturb your picnic any further. I’m going to continue walking Beika.”
Yuan An stood up, the light smile on his face unchanged.
Only then did Lu Suichu’s attention shift to Beika. His eyelids twitched, his chest heaving a few times as he said, “Is this your puppy? How cute.”
The moment the sentence left his lips, Lu Suichu’s breathing abruptly grew rapid and shallow.
Sensing that something was wrong, Chu Baihan finally turned his head to look at him, and his expression instantly shifted.
“Xiao Chu, what’s wrong? Don’t get worked up.”
Chu Baihan wrapped an arm around Lu Suichu’s shoulders while gently patting his back with his other hand.
“Zhao Yu, check Xiao Chu’s bag and see if he brought his medication!” his voice rang out urgently.
“Brother Chu, I’m fine. It’s just… just that seeing An An’s puppy made me think of Doudou.”
Hearing Lu Suichu’s words, the smile on Yuan An’s face stiffened for a fraction of a second, and his eyes darkened.
Doudou was a small black-and-white puppy that Lu Suichu used to raise. It was very well-behaved. Occasionally, when Yuan An would secretly pet it, it would nuzzle against his palm and respond with sweet obedience.
But later, that little dog reportedly snuck out and never returned.
Of course, that was only what everyone else believed.
In his previous life, while he was hospitalized during the terminal stage of his stomach cancer, Lu Suichu had thought Yuan An was asleep one day and let slip Doudou’s true whereabouts.
Because the dog didn’t dislike Yuan An, Lu Suichu had thrown it away.
It was as simple and petty a reason as that.
Yuan An didn’t know what kind of psychological motive drove Lu Suichu to mention Doudou right now. Was it guilt?
Yet, Lu Suichu looked as if he were on the verge of a heart attack, and his expression seemed to carry far more fear than anything else.
What was he afraid of?
Yuan An stepped forward, intending to use the gesture of supporting Lu Suichu to get closer and investigate further, but unexpectedly, he was violently shoved away.
Zhao Yu held a bottle of medicine in one hand while gripping Yuan An’s arm with the other. Before Yuan An could even react, he barked out fiercely, “Stop being so hypocritical! If you hadn’t brought this filthy dog over here, how could Lu Suichu have suffered an attack!”
With that, he hurriedly stuffed the medicine into Chu Baihan’s hand, clenched his freed hand into a fist, and aimed a heavy punch directly at Yuan An’s face.
At such close proximity and with his arm pinned, it was impossible for Yuan An to dodge!
The surrounding wealthy youths let out a collective gasp, and some even closed their eyes instinctively, unable to bear the sight of Yuan An getting beaten.
However, in the next second, they watched in astonishment as Yuan An swiftly tilted his head to the side just before Zhao Yu’s fist could connect. He evaded the blow entirely, then ruthlessly slammed a counter-punch right onto Zhao Yu’s nose.
Taking advantage of Zhao Yu releasing his grip from the sudden pain, Yuan An yanked his arm free, took a step back, and stared at him coldly.
“Ah!” Zhao Yu wailed in agony.
The nose was far more fragile than other areas of the face, and Yuan An had packed serious force behind that strike. Aside from the intense pain, Zhao Yu felt two streams of liquid spilling from his nostrils.
He wiped at it, and sure enough, it was blood.
Utterly infuriated, Zhao Yu raised his fist to charge forward again, but his arm was forcefully wrapped up by someone.
It was Yu Shihan. The lingering panic in her eyes hadn’t entirely faded, but her voice was resolute: “Zhao Yu, stop making a scene out of nothing! It’s not like he knew we were here and brought the puppy over on purpose!”
Yuan An was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected this girl to step forward and speak on his behalf.
With Yu Shihan taking the lead, several other wealthy youths also stepped forward to persuade Zhao Yu to calm down.
At the same time, a few rather critical glances subtly drifted toward Lu Suichu, who was currently taking refuge in Chu Baihan’s embrace.
Yuan An had been holding the dog from the very beginning. This young master of the Lu family had shown absolutely no reaction while talking to him at such a close distance earlier, yet he conveniently suffered an “attack” right at this moment. Was he trying to milk a fake injury?
However, the Lu and Chu families were top-tier corporate households in Hejiang City that they couldn’t afford to offend, so no one dared to say anything aloud to either of them.
Listening to the continuous barrage of warnings from the surrounding youths, Zhao Yu grew increasingly irritated. Ultimately, he directed his fury squarely at Yu Shihan, who was still clutching his arm: “He broke my nose like this, and you’re still defending him? Yu Shihan, you are my fiancée!”
Frightened by his aggressive tone, Yu Shihan’s eyes turned red. She bit her lip in silence, pulling out a tissue to wipe the nosebleed from Zhao Yu’s face.
If it weren’t for her family forcing her into it, she wouldn’t want an arranged marriage with him either!
Zhao Yu turned his head to look at Yuan An standing not far away, and the sight only added fuel to his burning rage.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted that accursed dog right by his feet. Zhao Yu let out a cold laugh and cursed, “Fucking filthy dog, exactly like your trash owner!”
Yuan An knitted his brows in displeasure. Just as he was about to speak, a lazy voice drifted over from behind them: “I was wondering why the air smelled foul as I walked closer. Turns out there’s someone with a filthy mouth farting out words right here.”
The group turned toward the sound and saw a curly-haired youth walking toward them with his hands casually stuffed in his pockets, his pace unhurried.
Yuan An also saw Song Chucheng, feeling somewhat surprised.
He hadn’t expected that despite having just returned to the country, Song Chucheng would already be this proficient at trading insults.
“Who the hell are you?” Zhao Yu narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
Song Chucheng walked up to Yuan An’s side, crossed his arms, and said, “It’s normal that you don’t recognize me. A person like you isn’t worthy of knowing who I am.”
“You!” Furious, Zhao Yu wanted to charge forward again, but he was held back once more.
Yu Shihan whispered urgently into his ear, “That’s President Qin’s cousin, Song Chucheng! I caught a glimpse of him by chance a while ago—he’s from Jingshi!”
President Qin. Jingshi.
Aside from that specific man, Zhao Yu couldn’t think of anyone else.
It truly was someone he wasn’t worthy of knowing.
Zhao Yu’s rage was extinguished in an instant. He could only glare at Song Chucheng with a suffocated expression, his eyes filled with resentment.
At this moment, Song Chucheng stepped forward with an expression of deep affection and picked up Beika, cooing, “Oh, my darling Beika, Daddy came too late. You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
Zhao Yu’s entire body froze.
The dog didn’t belong to Yuan An?! The owner of the dog he had just insulted was actually Song Chucheng?
Lu Suichu was also momentarily paralyzed.
The moment he had noticed the thin white marking on Beika’s head earlier, he had wondered if it might be that specific dog…
But he had harbored a shred of wishful thinking, hoping it was merely a coincidence. Now, Song Chucheng’s sudden appearance utterly shattered the illusions in his heart.
Lu Suichu stared fixedly at Song Chucheng and the dog in his arms, his body starting to tremble uncontrollably.
Noticing this, Chu Baihan lowered his head and asked gently, “Xiao Chu, what’s wrong? Are you cold?”
Lu Suichu shook his head, breaking free from Chu Baihan’s embrace. He walked directly over to stand in front of Yuan An, asking in a low, strained voice:
“An An… how do you know this gentleman?”
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