Marrying the Scumbag Gong’s Villainous Older Brother [Transmigration] - Chapter 1

“He’s out!”

“Shh! Be quiet!”

16:30 PM. VIP Channel, Capital International Airport.

Several armed police officers stood in a row beside a long security line. They were fully geared, making the crowded arrival gate much quieter than usual. Not only were the usual professional celebrity stalkers (daipai) completely cordoned off, but many staff members carrying professional cameras—looking like reporters from major television stations—were also waiting outside.

Confused passersby asked the nearby stalkers for information: “Which big star is this? Such a huge reception!”

Most of the stalkers were well-informed, but some were equally bewildered by today’s situation. However, a few with wide connections provided answers: “It’s not a big star, but he’s even more impressive! It’s that genius youth who went abroad for a competition. He’s returning to the country today!”

“…Are you talking about the one who swept the Math Olympiads in Europe and America before, and has been participating in international robotics competitions these past two years?”

“Yes, that’s him! His name is Jing Xun!”

“I haven’t seen the news these past few days. How was it? Did he win?”

“Of course he won. Champion. You can tell just by this reception and treatment!”

As they were discussing, a group of people appeared between the two long security lines. It was a team of five or six young men, and walking at the very front—surrounded like a moon by stars—was a youth wearing a black baseball cap.

The boy’s physical features were very prominent. From the moment his figure appeared, the television and official evening news reporters who had been waiting nearby erupted into a frenzy.

As a national-level genius contestant, Student Jing Xun had been competing for the country since the age of fifteen. Over the past five years, he had participated in more than ten competitions of various sizes and had never suffered a single defeat. Because he frequently appeared in the news, anyone who followed current events would find him familiar.

Furthermore, the youth’s signature frail physique and overly exquisite facial features left a deep impression on people. Even now, with his face half-hidden by the brim of his hat, one could tell from his high bridge of the nose and thin lips that he was quite handsome. The only flaw was that he appeared a bit too thin. A set of currently popular domestic slim-fit sportswear looked overly loose on him, leaving his delicate bone structure and slender frame fully exposed.

It truly lived up to the saying: whether it’s Math Olympiads or computer programming, they are all brain-taxing things. Not something an average person can do.

Flowers and applause appeared simultaneously, and countless microphones were extended toward him.

“Don’t push!”

The staff responsible for maintaining stability spoke out again as several armed police officers acted in unison. Usually, things wouldn’t be this formal. It was only because a hero was returning in triumph that he was given such a high level of protocol.

However, it was clear that the youth belonged to the refined and elegant type, not caring for pomp at all. Facing the microphones and cameras almost pressed against his face, he showed no anger. Although there was no color in his slightly upturned face, he still smiled and answered some of the reporters’ questions.

Inside the private car, Jing Xun leaned against the back of the seat and let out a soft breath. It was already October weather, yet a layer of thin sweat had broken out on Jing Xun’s forehead. It was cold sweat—the kind caused by physical weakness.

He had no choice but to take off his baseball cap and draw a tissue to wipe his temples. In doing so, his handsome features were completely exposed. His facial contours were near perfect, his skin as white as snow, and most strikingly, there was an exquisite small tear mole near the corner of his right eye.

However, his overly pale lips made him look extremely weak, much like the “beauty as delicate as a willow in a weak wind” described in ancient poetry—so thin it made one’s heart ache.

The three seniors who had competed and shared the car with him couldn’t help but worry: “Junior, are you okay? Hold on for a bit longer, you’ll be able to rest soon!”

Jing Xun’s health had been poor since childhood. He was the type who felt like he’d run out of breath after taking three steps. After a series of brain-burning finals followed by a ten-hour flight back home, his body was naturally unable to cope.

The seniors knew his physical condition. They also knew he had been an orphan since childhood and had only grown up under the special care of the state; his desperate participation in competitions was merely to repay that kindness… These experiences made them want to care for him from the bottom of their hearts.

Moreover, although they were elite representatives selected nationwide—mostly doctoral students older than Jing Xun—they were indeed inferior to him in their professional fields. Take this Robot AI competition: if Jing Xun hadn’t integrated the data in advance to compile a completely new system and firewall, their team might have missed the championship.

Who wouldn’t feel affection for such a powerful yet physically fragile junior?

Senior 1: “Axun, don’t be afraid. We’ll be there in a moment… Hahaha, let me tell you something interesting. I read this novel on the plane just now, and the protagonist shou in it has a name very similar to yours!”

As Senior 1 spoke, he pulled out a physical book, making Senior 2 beside him frown: “What kind of messy things are you reading? How could our Axun be a shou?…”

Senior 2 stopped halfway, looking at Jing Xun’s vivid eyes and long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, suddenly unable to continue.

“Senior Pei, what novel is it?” Jing Xun asked curiously.

Though extremely polite before the media, he usually only answered competition-related questions and nothing else. He gave people the impression of being upright, cold, and as pure as an elf lost in the human world. But those close to him—his teachers—knew that Jing Xun was actually curious about everything. It was only because of his poor health and lack of energy that he had no time to see or appreciate anything outside of his professional courses.

Because of this, the seniors always spared no effort to show Jing Xun the outside world. But this time, Senior Pei regretted it a bit.

That book didn’t fit the current style of web novels; it was a “scumbag-top/cheap-bottom” (zha jian) story published over a decade ago. The protagonist shou, who shared a name with Jing Xun, met with tragic encounters throughout and had an even more miserable ending. Generally speaking, it was the kind of novel that felt like an attack on society.

“It’s okay.” Jing Xun tilted his head slightly, a weak smile curling his pale lips, though his eyes retained a spark of light. “I want to hear it.”

“Well, alright. Just treat it as… looking at something bizarre!”

Senior Pei couldn’t resist the light in Jing Xun’s eyes. He glanced at Senior 2, who was looking at him with dissatisfaction, and began to tell Jing Xun the plot of the novel.

It was clear this Senior Pei was a good storyteller. Because Jing Xun was weak and spent most of his time resting with his eyes closed, the seniors usually had to “input information” to him orally. Even if they had been clumsy with words before, they had long since practiced and improved during the months of training and living together.

Jing Xun knew the seniors were deliberately coaxing him, so even though he was indeed very uncomfortable right now, he still acted very interested and listened intently. He closed his eyes gently, as was his habit.

In the darkness, after Senior Pei finished the plot summary, he heard Senior 2 ask indignantly: “The scumbag gong was already that trashy—how did they get a Happy Ending (HE) in the end?!”

“There was no HE. In the end, the scumbag gong and his little gang were all wiped out by the villain.” Senior Pei answered blankly, then reacted and began to chatter: “Who told you it was an HE? If this could be an HE, the author would be sent razor blades!”

Senior 2’s momentum weakened: “Sorry, I forgot this was an old-school novel. I thought you only read Jinjiang novels…”

Senior Pei: “Your perspective is too narrow.”

Senior 2, aggrieved: “…”

Jing Xun’s breathing was heavy at this point, but he still slightly curled his lips at the sound of the two seniors bickering. He liked this lighthearted and cheerful atmosphere. It made it feel as though life was vivid.

Unknowingly, his eyelids—thin as cicada wings—trembled, and his consciousness began to sink. Later, he fell asleep to the sound of his senior narrating the plot. Or perhaps, as usual, he just dazed off for a moment.

Regardless, when he opened his eyes again, everything had changed.

“Look! Someone’s going to jump off the building!”

Jing Xun was startled by this piercing voice close to him and forced his eyelids open. Upon looking up, he found that he was somehow exposed on a second-floor rooftop terrace.

The wind on the terrace was very strong. The night wind was somewhat chilly, and Jing Xun’s thin body swayed precariously in the wind. One more step forward, or even just a simple lean forward, and he would fall directly from here.

Jing Xun wasn’t afraid of heights, but he was still stunned for a moment. Because it was impossible. The current situation was impossible. His broken body couldn’t handle the wind at all; let alone being allowed to come here, he had never even been permitted to do something like go up to a rooftop.

So how was this…

“I bet a hundred bucks he doesn’t dare to jump.”

Though he was on a terrace, Jing Xun’s surroundings were unexpectedly not empty. Instead, they were crowded with people. Several young men and women were laughing and holding up their phones, taking pictures and recording him.

“Hehe, you’re going to lose then. Who doesn’t know that Yan Jing Xun loves our Second Young Master to death? What does jumping from the second floor to prove his feelings matter? I bet he jumps right away! If he doesn’t, I’ll do a handstand and eat sh*t!”

These words were spoken very loudly, as if deliberately provoking someone to commit suicide. Jing Xun couldn’t help but frown, turning his head to look at the few young people talking not far away. He didn’t like this behavior of treating life as a game.

But at the same time, he almost understood what was going on. In the novel the senior had just told him about, the protagonist shou was named Yan Jing Xun. And because the protagonist gong was a rich second generation and the second child in his family, he was often called Second Young Master.

… He had transmigrated into the book. He had become the Yan Jing Xun in the story whose name was very similar to his.

How this scientifically impossible thing happened, Jing Xun couldn’t figure out for the moment. But Senior Pei’s naturally good voice could perfectly echo in his mind right now—

《Although I Love You》 was a typical scumbag-top/cheap-bottom novel. In summary: the scumbag gong torments the shou a thousand times, and the shou treats the gong like his first love.

The first few chapters were normal “sweet treats”: the scumbag gong, pretending to be poor for some reason, met the stunningly brilliant senior at school. Since then, he was awestruck and pursued him frantically. But the story took a sharp turn after the senior—the protagonist shou—fell in love. The author began to use rich ink to describe the scumbag’s nature of not cherishing what he had obtained, as well as the shou’s stubbornness and persistence in the relationship.

The scene Jing Xun was currently in should be the plot after the scumbag gong began to feel bored with the shou, was no longer bothered to pretend to be poor, and stopped acting as a devoted man—

The scumbag gong began to subject the shou to cold violence, either frequently disappearing or messing around in bars with his friends. The protagonist shou truly couldn’t stand this neglect and mustered up the courage to find him on this day, only to be broken up with by the scumbag gong in public. Following that was the scene where he was humiliated by the scumbag gong’s group of friends.

Because of the scumbag gong’s previous portrayals in front of his friends, in their eyes, Yan Jing Xun was a “shameless hanger-on,” someone “without any dignity or bottom line in front of Second Young Master,” and “like a dog.”

Before this, the protagonist shou was just a poor and honest university student who valued decency and face above all else. How could he withstand such humiliation? Moreover, seeing the person he liked allowing his friends to humiliate him, the original owner was struck by the change in the scumbag gong. In a moment of mental daze, he walked directly onto the rooftop terrace.

Jing Xun remembered the subsequent plot. The protagonist shou was further taunted by the scumbag gong’s friends who followed him up, and unable to bear it, he actually jumped. Fortunately, the bar was only two stories high. Yan Jing Xun suffered a fractured arm, and his life was not in danger.

However, the news of someone jumping off a building for the Second Young Master of the Shen family spread through the elite circles. Everyone knew Yan Jing Xun loved Shen Bohan so much that he didn’t even care for his own life. From then on, Yan Jing Xun became a famous “cheap shou” in Long City. Being cursed and loathed by everyone was also the first step in his being subjected to the scumbag gong’s PUA (Pick-up Artist/Emotional Manipulation) and physical/mental abuse.

“Hey, Yan Jing Xun, are you going to jump or not?”

“You guys really believe he can jump? He’s standing there for no other reason than to get Second Young Master to come up and look at him. You should give up now, Yan Jing Xun. Look how long you’ve been standing there—Second Young Master hasn’t even bothered to come up.”

“I believe it, I believe it! How could our always serious and earnest Senior Yan just be putting on a show? How could he jump just to get his boyfriend to look at him? That would be too shameless, hahaha!”

A trace of cool wind brushed past his ear. Jing Xun suddenly turned around, his gaze directed straight at the people who had just made the bet. His cold expression was fully exposed. This sudden turn of his actually made the chattering young people on the opposite side freeze in shock.

To fit into their circle, Yan Jing Xun had always tried to maintain a calm and natural image in front of them. But these people had grown up in upper-class circles since childhood and had seen much more of the world than an average university student. They could tell at a glance Yan Jing Xun’s tension and awkwardness when interacting with them. It was precisely because of this that they dared to bully him so brazenly.

In their eyes, Yan Jing Xun was at most a pet toy that came to fawn over Second Young Master. He wasn’t in their class at all, let alone worthy of thinking about Second Young Master.

But now…

The moment Jing Xun turned around, all of the original owner’s anxiety and awkwardness vanished completely. Without needing to do anything, his calm expression and sharp gaze already suppressed everyone present. His clothes and appearance hadn’t changed, and he had only simply turned around. Yet, he seemed like a true aristocrat.

Although these people likely didn’t realize the seriousness of jumping off a building and only wanted to tease the original owner and make him lose face, for Jing Xun—who had wandered through the gates of death many times since childhood and fought desperately to survive—this was too much.

He walked directly toward those few people. While everyone was still stunned, he reached out toward the person who had just made the bet.

“You lost.”

“What?” The person clearly didn’t react in time.

Jing Xun didn’t care. He looked down at him and patiently reminded: “Young Master Lin said it himself. You bet that I’d jump immediately, otherwise you would do a handstand…”

His voice paused slightly. As an elite talent trained by the state since childhood, Jing Xun really couldn’t bring himself to describe that action.

“Surely no one really thinks I’d do something stupid for some person, right?” Jing Xun’s gaze shifted, looking seriously and earnestly into the eyes of everyone in Young Master Lin’s group. His eyes held genuine surprise. “Furthermore… sorry, I don’t love Second Young Master anymore.”

Without waiting for a reaction, Jing Xun smiled radiantly: “So, Young Master Lin… so many people are recording with their phones, you can’t back out.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the others around them burst into loud laughter. Except for Lin Li’s group, the others were just there to spend money at the nightclub; hearing that someone was going to jump for love, they came up to watch the excitement and didn’t care who was which Young Master.

“You…”

Lin Li couldn’t save his face and found it hard to believe that Yan Jing Xun—who always only knew how to smile politely to please Shen’s second young master—dared to… treat him like this! You should know that before, Yan Jing Xun didn’t even dare to look them in the eye! Let alone being so aggressive…

Young Master Lin couldn’t help but shout: “Are you crazy?!”

“But you’d better go somewhere private for your performance. It wouldn’t be good to be recorded. After all…” Jing Xun ignored his outburst and said with a light smile, “…it would be an offense against public decency.”

Inside a private booth on the first floor of the bar, besides those who ran up to watch the excitement after hearing Yan Jing Xun was going to jump, a few people were sitting around Shen Bohan.

“Don’t worry, Second Young Master. What era is this? Who would actually die for love? Nothing will happen,” someone advised.

On the other side, a boy wearing makeup and acting deliberately coquettish pressed close to Shen Bohan’s thigh and mocked: “Don’t talk nonsense. How could Second Young Master be worried? It’s just an annoying toy. Right, Second Young Master?”

Shen Bohan had originally wanted to go up and see, but as his other friends said, it was just a plaything. If he immediately went to check as soon as he heard Yan Jing Xun was jumping, wouldn’t that appear… Besides, what could happen?

Simply sprawling on the sofa, the second young master of the Shen family stretched out his legs and said with feigned indifference: “I told him not to come looking for me, but he insisted on coming. If he can’t take it, he has to go to the rooftop. Tsk.”

“Exactly, exactly,” the coquettish boy echoed beside him.

“Besides, my big brother is coming over tonight. If he happens to run into him…” Shen Bohan was reluctant to mention this. Changing the subject, he said: “Hu Xiaopeng, go call those guys back. We’ll leave after sitting for a bit and change places.”

Hu Xiaopeng, wearing light makeup, stood up reluctantly and asked deliberately: “Then what about that Yan Jing Xun?”

Before Shen Bohan could speak, the door to the booth was pushed open. It was the people who had run up earlier returning. Yan Jing Xun was not among them. Seeing that these few people had very strange expressions—if one had to describe it, they looked a bit humiliated—Shen Bohan couldn’t help but ask: “Where is he?”

Hu Xiaopeng laughed: “He didn’t really jump, did he?”

“No,” one of them said, and at the same time took out his phone, handed it to Shen Bohan, and showed him the last part of the video just recorded.

In the video, Yan Jing Xun’s clear and pleasant voice sounded. Lin Li said indignantly: “Second Young Master, what’s going on? Isn’t that senior of yours quite cowardly and cares a lot about his face? Why did he…”

Why did he come down from the rooftop so calmly and even take the opportunity to shift the target of mockery, making Lin Li the one embarrassed in the end? Amidst that widespread laughter, Lin Li still hadn’t recovered his senses!

Shen Bohan listened to Yan Jing Xun’s calm voice in the video. The video taken by the phone wasn’t clear and the screen shook violently, but this didn’t affect the handsome appearance of the youth in the lens at all.

Yan Jing Xun was good-looking. He had the kind of good looks that would amaze even Shen Bohan, who had seen countless people. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have taken an interest in him at first sight. Unfortunately, this person was too tactless and loved clinging to him, making him lose face in front of his friends.

But this Yan Jing Xun in the video… ignoring the sudden change in his attitude, why did it feel like his entire temperament was different?

Over there, Lin Li was still cursing. Shen Bohan suddenly felt his voice was grating and couldn’t help asking: “So, did you do a handstand and eat sh*t?”

Lin Li: “…”

He was rebuffed again. The Lin family couldn’t compare to the Shen family. Although Young Master Lin was also a “Young Master,” in this small circle, he still had to follow Shen Bohan’s lead and naturally didn’t dare to be as arrogant as he was on the rooftop.

Shen Bohan was suddenly feeling a bit irritable right now and didn’t want to care about Young Master Lin’s feelings at all. He just asked again: “Where is Yan Jing Xun?”

“I don’t know. He was the first one to go downstairs and then he vanished. When we just came down, we saw your big brother… how would we dare to look for him? We hurried back!” another person said.