Even after the chat settled down, no one was able to provide an answer. However, that wasn’t important.

- As long as you’re handsome, you can get a high-schooler wife?

- Seriously envious.

- It must be a girl, right? Our Zhen-ge isn’t fzx like the boss, right? Right?

- You guys are such an embarrassment. What’s there to make a such a ruckus about? Bunch of bachelor brats[1]! @Zhang, Zhen-ge, are you helping your wife with her homework and accidentally sent it to the group?

Zhang: ………………

Zhang: It's just a kid I met online. They asked me about homework but how would I know? So I came to you guys for help.

The group chat flooded with lemon tree pictures[2].

- Online dating.

- Awesome.

Zhang Zhen couldn't drink the soup anymore. He understood that his brothers[3] hoped that he would find himself a partner, but they shouldn’t be dragging a high school boy into it. After explaining for a long while, he finally managed to put the matter to rest. Zhang Zhen wiped the sweet from his brow. Luckily, San-ge wasn't in the group chat, otherwise, he'd have to deal with another round of questioning from an older brother figure.

.

After Jiao Bai completed the entire practice test, Zhang Zhen finally sent over the solution steps—which were also wrong.

Jiao Bai was speechless.

Jiao Bai busied himself with his homework for a while and noticed that Shen Er'an, who had told him after school that he needed to go to the bookstore, wasn’t back yet. It was only then that he realised that even after so long, he still didn’t even have Shen Er'an’s phone number!

With no other choice, Jiao Bai got hold of Liang Dong’s number from a male classmate in their class group chat and called him. However, no one answered.

Liang Dong was at home and his phone was on his bed, where he had tossed it. He swore at the mess in the living room. His older sister had originally wanted to marry Qi Zhizhi and had already come up with three plans, named A, B and C. However, after seeing An-ge’s father up close last night, she became infatuated and insisted on being with that big shot, even if it meant being a mistress, making their mum so angry she ran away from home.

He didn’t know where his sister had gone. He was currently the only person at home.

Liang Dong turned over the exquisite fruit plate. If An-ge found out about the situation with his sister, he wouldn’t be able to show his face in front of him again.

When Liang Dong walked into his room, his phone was ringing. He answered it and said, his tone fiery, “Which rnm ne z ahsbg is looking for your dad?”

Jiao Bai got straight to the point and asked, “Is Shen Er'an with you?”

Liang Dong: “...” What the hell? How did this guy get his number?

Jiao Bai asked again, “Is he with you or not?”

Liang Dong laughed, “Who do you think you are? Why should Laozi tell you?" He wanted to know about An-ge—there was no way he would answer. He wasn’t a big hchns.

Jiao Bai's voice became cold and dark, revealing impatience and irritation. “Is he there or not?”

Liang Dong instinctively told the truth, “He’s not here.”

The call ended, leaving Liang Dong bewildered. When he saw the string of missed calls, his eyes almost popped out.

What was going on here? Why did that call feel like a wife checking up on her husband?

Liang Dong slapped himself to wake himself up a bit.

Twilight was falling as Jiao Bai left the housing complex. His mind fluctuated between the overall plot of the comic, various small details, and Shen Er'an’s face. Due to his young age and lack of experience, at this time, he didn’t possess his father’s charismatic sternness and imposing presence, and only had handsome, fresh, youthful looks and a boundless calmness.

Jiao Bai couldn’t remember if anything significant happened in the comic tonight. He hoped that Shen Er’an was just lost in a book in the bookstore and forgot the time, or that he received a call from home and returned home for dinner. However, he felt very uneasy.

This unease drove Jiao Bai to keep looking for him.

The streets grew increasingly unfamiliar, and Jiao Bai didn’t even know where he was anymore. Suddenly, he took one step back and then another, before stopping and straightening his back.

In Jiao Bai’s line of sight was a group fight and the blue veins on the back of Shen Er’an’s hands.

He suddenly remembered.

This scene was in the comic, not in the youth arc, but years later, in Liang Dong’s memories. At that time Liang Dong had already devoted himself to the family business.

This fight was initiated by the boys who tore Shen Er'an's dragonfly months earlier. After they “dropped out” of Third High, they hadn’t gone to school again, because no high school in South City would take them.

Not only that, they also couldn’t go to school in other cities. Even though they wouldn’t have learnt anything anyway, not wanting to study and not being able to study were two quite different things. The latter was far more frustrating.

This was the power of the Shen family—they could cover the sky with one hand[4], leaving no way for people to survive.

These boys ignored their families’ advice and secretly found some fzmf ldladqr to corner Shen Er'an. If the wealthy could act without fear of consequences[5] and go to extremes[6], then they would see just how many lives they had.

Shen Er'an was alone and couldn’t beat them.

In the original story, Liang Dong came over and took a hit for Shen Er'an, resulting in a broken rib.

This incident not only strengthened their friendship at the time but also laid a dramatic foundation for their eventual fallout.

Jiao Bai also recalled something unrelated to the current situation.

In the youth arc of Broken Wings, there was a scene where Shen Er'an changed roommates. Shortly after his classmate moved out, the person who moved in was… Liang Dong.

So,

Originally, Liang Dong was supposed to be Shen Er'an's roommate until the university entrance exams, but now he, Jiao Bai, had become the roommate.

Jiao Bai's breathing quickened, his head swelled, and blood rushed to his head. It couldn’t be that he was going to take Liang Dong's place and become Shen Er'an's best friend, right?

Shen Er'an saw Jiao Bai run into the alley and froze. In that moment of hesitation, he put himself in danger.

Jiao Bai saw the steel rod swinging towards the back of Shen Er'an's head, and at that moment, he wondered if the original plot had played out the same way. Liang Dong's arrival caused Shen Er'an to lose focus, giving his opponents an opening, and then…

Liang Dong (Jiao Bai) lunged over.

The difference was that Jiao Bai resentfully slapped Shen Er'an on the head, and then forcefully held him in front of himself, completely shielding him.

When the rod came down, Jiao Bai let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell to the ground, pinning Shen Er'an underneath him.

At a complete loss, Shen Er'an looked at the person lying on top of him, his rapidly rising and falling chest moving in time with the other person’s heart.

Jiao Bai curled up in pain. He strenuously brought his pale and trembling lips to Shen Er'an's ear, and haltingly said something in a breathy voice. It wasn’t something sentimental like, “Little brother, remember Big brother’s kindness,” but,

—Remember the guy who hit me... two, no, four, break four of his ribs for me.


[1] 光棍 (guānggùn) means bachelor, a single person, gangster or hoodlum

[2] 柠檬树 – Lemon Trees represent ‘young and inexperienced, pure love,’ because lemons are sour and sweet just like love. It might be mean something else but I can’t find anything about it.

[3] His comrades, not real brothers.

[4] 只手遮天 (zhǐ shǒu zhē tiān) – literally ‘cover the sky with one hand’ – they have so much power and influence that they can control everything around them.

[5] 无法无天  (wú fǎ wú tiān) – act with total disregard for laws, rules or moral principles.

[6] 赶尽杀绝  (gǎn jìn shā jué) – idiom that means ‘to jhkk every last one, leaving no survivors’ – meaning to take a ruthless or extreme approach to eliminating an opponent or problem, ensuring no traces or remnants are left behind.