After My Engagement Was Broken, I Married My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 22.1

Jiang Xingyuan’s expression faltered. Seeing the approaching Xie Su, he gave an awkward laugh. “Brother Su, that wouldn’t be good. People might get the wrong idea.”

Suddenly, Jiang Xingyuan felt a powerful surge of pheromones, a heavy pressure lunging toward him.

Jiang Xingyuan’s smile remained, but there was no warmth in his eyes. He said in an ambiguous tone, “Brother Su, don’t be like this. Let’s talk nicely!”

Disgusted by Jiang Xingyuan’s words, Xie Su furrowed his brows and sneered.

“Enough talk.”

Seeing the incoming fist, Jiang Xingyuan’s pupils contracted, and he dodged to the side. “Xie Chao’s brother, you’re playing for real?”

“I’m getting engaged to Xie Huai next month. We’ll be relatives. Is there really a need to be so ruthless?”

“You said it yourself, it’s next month. You aren’t yet.”

Xie Su was a skilled fighter. Though Jiang Xingyuan was agile, he began to struggle after a few exchanges.

His movements slowed, and he gradually became exhausted.

He took several hits to his body.

At the same time, high-level Alpha pheromones were released.

Jiang Xingyuan felt an overwhelming pressure. It was suffocating, the sheer weight of a higher-rank suppression.

“Can we… talk this out?”

“If Ninth Uncle hadn’t been protecting you before, I would have dealt with you long ago,” a cold voice whispered in his ear.

Jiang Xingyuan froze at those words.

The next second, a fist accompanied by a gust of wind struck him. He clutched his abdomen in pain.

As he opened his eyes, another punch aimed for his face.

“Big brother! Not the face!”

Following a dull thud, Jiang Xingyuan was kicked to the ground by a massive force. His palms burned with pain.

In Jingya Hall, the sound of a zither echoed through the courtyard.

“This is bad.”

Su Quan rushed to Xie Junqing’s side.

“What is with all the fuss? What are you so worked up about?”

“It’s about Young Master Jiang.”

Su Quan looked anxious. “Ninth Master, Xie Su is about to beat Young Master Jiang to death.”

Xie Junqing’s hand on the zither stopped abruptly. He frowned slightly but continued to pluck the strings.

“Did he go and provoke Xie Su?”

Su Quan shook his head. “I don’t know the full story.”

Xie Junqing sighed. “I told him long ago to keep a low profile and stop causing trouble. Getting a beating this time might teach him a lesson. Not everyone is as kind as I am.”

Kind? Su Quan wondered if he had misheard. Since when was the Ninth Master so… thick-skinned?

Still, that tone sounded familiar.

He sighed and said, “I just happened to pass by. The screaming sounded quite pitiful.”

“After all, I’ve eaten the things the boy sent over a few times. I couldn’t bear to watch.”

At that moment, with a sharp twang, a string snapped.

Xie Junqing stopped.

He looked at Su Quan and said with a light smile, “You certainly are kind-hearted.”

“I can’t help it. I’m getting old and soft,” Su Quan replied.

Perhaps after spending time with Jiang Xingyuan, he had picked up a bit of that “thick skin.”

“The string is broken. Take the zither to be repaired.”

Su Quan immediately stepped forward to pick up the broken instrument and followed behind Xie Junqing.

He breathed a secret sigh of relief. He knew the Ninth Master felt differently about that boy.

Despite the words, he was going immediately.

Jiang Xingyuan lay on the ground, covered in mud and looking incredibly pathetic.

“Weren’t you very arrogant before? Where’s that arrogance now?”

Xie Su’s cold mockery rang in his ears. His body was in intense pain.

“My brother isn’t someone a piece of trash like you can bully.”

Jiang Xingyuan tasted blood in his mouth. He looked up with sharp eyes. “If you hit me this hard, aren’t you afraid Xie Rong’an will find out?”

“So what if he knows? This is my territory. Even if I beat you until you’re bedridden for days, he won’t say a word.”

Xie Su’s eyes were full of contempt. “Believe it or not, even if I beat you today, the next time your father sees me, he’ll praise me to my face and say I did well.”

“Just garbage that climbed up through flattery.”

Jiang Xingyuan tilted his head, his face expressionless. “You win. Curse or hit me as you like, I don’t care.”

“But even if you’re Xie Chao’s brother, I have to say it.”

He looked at the man with a defiant gaze. “Xie Chao is a spineless coward. Since he can’t beat me, he calls for his parents. Tell him not to come out and play anymore, stay home and drink milk!”

“Do me a favor and tell him: I look down on him.”

Jiang Xingyuan successfully saw a flash of rage on Xie Su’s face.

He sneered, his tongue pressing against his teeth. “If you have the guts, then kill me!”

“Don’t think I won’t. Killing you is easier than crushing an ant.”

Jiang Xingyuan’s eyes were bloodshot.

Since he couldn’t win the fight, he was going to win the shouting match.

“Then crush me! Anyone can talk big, you grandson!”

As he spoke, he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva toward Xie Su’s face. “If you have the guts to kill me, go find Xie Huai a suitable engagement partner right after!”

This move successfully enraged Xie Su.

Jiang Xingyuan was right, he didn’t actually dare to kill him. He only wanted to teach him a lesson.

There was no need to offend the third branch of the family over such a person.

But Jiang Xingyuan’s provocation made it impossible for him to swallow his pride.

Just as he was about to throw a punch!

Jiang Xingyuan let out a low laugh. “Remember, if you don’t kill me today, I’m not done with you.”

“Xie Su, what are you doing?”

The sudden voice made Xie Su’s raised fist stop mid-air.

Xie Su turned and saw the newcomer. His pupils shrank. “Ninth Uncle, why are you here?”

He immediately let go.

Jiang Xingyuan’s body stiffened the moment he heard that familiar voice.

“Am I not allowed to be here?” Xie Junqing’s tone was cold.

His eyes swept over the youth, who seemed badly injured, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The next second, he shifted his gaze, looking sharply at Xie Su. “Does my whereabouts require a report to you?”

Xie Su’s expression changed instantly. “Ninth Uncle, of course I didn’t mean that.”

“Then what did you mean?”

Xie Junqing curled his lip into a smile. “Since when is the Xie family under your command?”

Xie Su immediately lowered his head, not daring to argue. “Ninth Uncle, I wouldn’t dare.”

“Xie Su, according to family rules, for publicly disrespecting an elder, go to the ancestral hall and reflect in solitude for one night,” Xie Junqing said coldly.

“Ninth Uncle…”

Xie Su gritted his teeth, hiding his resentment. He shot a sinister look at Jiang Xingyuan.

The kid got lucky! To think he was caught by Ninth Uncle.

He bowed. “Xie Su accepts the punishment.”

Once Xie Su left, the area became silent.

Suddenly, Su Quan spoke up: “Ninth Master, the repairman for the zither has arrived. Should I take it over first?”

Xie Junqing nodded.

After Su Quan left, only the two of them remained.

Neither spoke first.

Xie Junqing’s gaze fell on Jiang Xingyuan, who hadn’t said a word from beginning to end, simply standing there silently.

He couldn’t help but frown.

If Jiang Xingyuan wasn’t going to speak, he didn’t need to meddle.

However, just as he turned to leave, the hem of his robe was tugged.

“Ninth Uncle…”

Jiang Xingyuan’s voice, slightly hoarse, sounded behind him.

With a trace of a wronged sob, the boy accused him: “Why did you only come now?”

All the stubborn resistance and persistence he had shown before collapsed the moment Xie Junqing appeared.

Xie Junqing was taken aback. “How did you know I was coming?”

Jiang Xingyuan didn’t speak. His eyes were red as he looked at the man. “I just knew.”

“I was almost beaten to death.”

Xie Junqing suddenly met a pair of eyes filled with tears, beautiful eyes brimming with grievance and accusation. He was momentarily stunned.

“If I had been beaten to death, would you miss me?”

Xie Junqing’s brow furrowed, and he instinctively scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Being yelled at made Jiang Xingyuan feel even more wronged.

“You won’t be in danger.”

Seeing the boy’s red eyes, Xie Junqing realized his tone had been too harsh. He pursed his lips and softened his voice. “Don’t cry. You are an Alpha.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xingyuan flared up and argued passionately, “Why can’t I cry! I’m an Alpha, yes, but first and foremost I’m a human! Humans have emotions. You can’t strip away my right to cry. I’m hurting, so I want to cry!”

Seeing Jiang Xingyuan’s spirited energy, Xie Junqing knew he hadn’t suffered any life-threatening injuries.

“Then why didn’t you cry earlier?”

Jiang Xingyuan wiped the tears from his cheeks with his sleeve, turned his head away, and muttered, “It was too embarrassing.”

Suddenly, someone rubbed his head.

“Does it hurt?”

At the same time, a warm, gentle voice like a breeze brushed past his ear, making his heart tremble.

Jiang Xingyuan lowered his head, his cheeks flushed, and his voice became as faint as a mosquito.

“It really hurts.”