Spoiled by a Paranoid Big Shot Since Childhood - Chapter 22.2

Xi Bei choked on his words, a bit dumbfounded and speechless.

Butler Gu, who had been listening to their conversation from the front seat the whole time, turned his head with a smile and asked gently, “Young Master Xi Bei, who are you two talking about?”

“A friend we just met today, her name is Jiang Wanjiao,” Xi Bei knew Qin Yian wouldn’t answer, so he took the initiative. “But we seem to have made her angry because she wanted me to be her little brother, and I said I couldn’t.”

“I wanted An’an to go tell her not to be sad, but it seems… it backfired.”

“Oh… so that’s how it is,” Butler Gu smiled. “I know Young Master Yian’s temper, so this is very normal.”

“Hm?” Qin Yian said coldly, “What temper do I have?”

Butler Gu immediately changed his tone and smiled, “My apologies.”

Xi Bei couldn’t help but chuckle secretly. He straightened up, leaned forward, and sighed, “…Uncle Gu, I remember this Jiang Wanjiao is in the Development Division, and she looks very confident. What is her background?”

It would be bad if he accidentally let Qin Yian offend her.

“Ah, Young Master Xi Bei doesn’t need to worry about that,” Butler Gu shook his head with a smile. “This little friction doesn’t mean anything. As long as the Qin family’s Hexuan group stands, you have nothing to fear.”

In China, corporate groups were ranked. There were very few at the very top: The Qin family’s Hexuan group was the leading group in the capital, but its influence wasn’t confined to the capital alone. Similar to them were the Yan family’s Honghu group in Sujiang and the Chi family’s Tianliu group in Licheng, all on par with the Qin group. The Qin family was flourishing domestically this year, while Honghu tended to focus internationally, and the Chi family seemed more involved in politics. The three didn’t interfere with each other and were all developing steadily.

Other groups weren’t as formidable. The Jiang family was in the second tier. Wen Li, who had tried to make Qin Yian look at him, was in the third tier.

“…Furthermore,” Butler Gu coughed lightly, “in my opinion, Miss Jiang wasn’t fully in a conflict with the two young masters. Just say a few words later and it will be fine.”

Xi Bei, who had been worried, finally let go of the heavy stone in his heart.

“That’s good. I was afraid An’an would be bullied alone in the Development Division.”

“…”

Qin Yian, who had been resting his chin in his hand and listening quietly, finally turned his head.

“I’m being bullied?” Qin Yian shook his head. His voice was calm, but the underlying meaning was sarcastic. “I think it’s easier to be bullied if people know the Qin family only ‘partially’ went bankrupt.”

Xi Bei was still stunned, but Butler Gu had already understood his meaning. The car stopped with a squeak. Qin Yian didn’t speak; he put on Xi Bei’s bag and planned to go home to phone his father and reason with him. But the moment he got down, he was pulled back by Butler Gu.

“Young Master,” Butler Gu paused, “Don’t say things like that in front of Mr. Qin.”

Qin Yian’s expression was icy. “Why?”

“Because the Qin family cannot be ‘partially’ bankrupt unless Mr. Qin meant for it to be,” Butler Gu said softly. “Do you understand what I mean?”

Qin Yian’s chest heaved noticeably. After a moment, he reached out, pinched Xi Bei’s cheek, and said softly, “Let’s go inside first.”

Xi Bei looked at their expressions and nodded slightly. “Okay.”

Watching Xi Bei greet the servants and return home, Qin Yian turned back.

“I understand what you meant,” Qin Yian said with cold eyes. “But I don’t know why he would do this. What benefit does this do him? Is there even a shred of benefit?”

Butler Gu was silent for a while before smiling and saying, “Although Young Master Xi Bei carries the title of ‘Young Master’, his household registration is under my name. Do you understand?”

“So what?” Qin Yian remained puzzled. “Xi Bei is my treasure.”

“…” Butler Gu finally sighed gloomily. “Exactly because of that, Young Master.”

“Although sending Young Master Xi Bei to the Regular Division doesn’t sound great for the Qin family’s reputation, for Mr. Qin, the benefits naturally outweigh the disadvantages.”

“You treat Xi Bei too much like your treasure.”

Qin Yian was silent, then finally said:

“That has nothing to do with him.”

“You treat Xi Bei like your treasure, intending to share everything you have with him in the future, or rather, not just half you want to give it all to him,” Butler Gu said. “Do you think Mr. Qin would be happy about that?”

“In Mr. Qin’s eyes, Xi Bei is just your future good friend and an adopted brother. Once he oversteps in your life, Mr. Qin will inevitably do something to correct it, letting you understand where your positions should be.”

Qin Yian’s tense face was as cold as frost.

“So, this time, letting Young Master Xi Bei go to the Regular Division was naturally Mr. Qin’s idea,” Butler Gu sighed. “He thought that if he could separate you and Young Master Xi Bei for a while, you would surely make some friends similar to Miss Jiang Wanjiao. Friends like that are very good for you and provide great support…”

But for Qin Yian, that was simply impossible. Make friends? What Jiang something-Wanjiao? Qin Yian didn’t care about any of that. He only cared about Xi Bei that was all.

“Young Master Yian,” Butler Gu said solemnly, “Please be careful this time. Don’t go questioning Mr. Qin yourself; let me do the talking to have Mr. Qin change his mind.”

“But even if you both go to the Development Division, things can’t be like they were before.”

“Your current relationship with Young Master Xi Bei is indeed too close, which easily leads to unnecessary misunderstandings…”

Upon hearing the third point, Qin Yian finally sneered.

“Too close?”

Qin Yian’s eyes were almost freezing as he asked sharply:

“Why didn’t Qin Yueyuan ever think about why I’m like this? My only friend, Xie Ye, was introduced by Mom.”

Every friend Qin Yueyuan urged him to make had been hypocritical. Qin Yian hated them. Hated them to death. He only wanted Xi Bei, only liked Xi Bei, and only wanted to be with Xi Bei.

“What friends does he want me to make in the Development Division?”

Qin Yian threw out the cold question. Friends like Wen Li?

When Qin Yian returned to the classroom this afternoon, he saw them huddled together, whispering behind his back, their words filled with critiques of him. He was too lazy to listen to what they were saying specifically. But he knew sharply that it certainly wasn’t anything good. The name “Qin family” indeed allowed him to have many “friends,” but were they really friends? Even Jiang Wanjiao although she seemed willing to be friends at first, once rejected, she would certainly hold a grudge.

Qin Yian had always been inclined to use the worst malice to speculate about these young masters and misses. Anyway, he didn’t really care. Butler Gu rarely saw such a moment from Qin Yian; he lowered his head, wanting to sigh but holding it back.

“I understand, Young Master.”

“You go back first. I will speak to Mr. Qin.”

“…”

Qin Yian didn’t speak. He just put on Xi Bei’s bag, took his own bag, walked out of the car in silence, and headed inside without looking back. Butler Gu followed behind. He watched from afar as the two children entered the door, leaning together intimately as they ate, and then having to lean together to sleep at night. The person who didn’t like to talk much talked for a long time with Xi Bei, as if he couldn’t stop until he had made up for the day they had missed.

Butler Gu sighed silently, seeming to realize something.

…

10:30 PM.

He told a little lie while making the phone call.

“Hello, Mr. Qin, it’s me.”

“Young Master Yian has made new friends in his class, yes… but his friend asked him why he was alone and where his brother with the excellent grades was…”

Qin Yueyuan, who had been in a good mood on the other end, hesitated upon hearing the latter half of the sentence. He hesitated for a while before asking a few more questions.

“Yes, yes, that’s right, the two are grown up, so naturally they aren’t as close as before; they are just good brothers… Yes, it’s the truth.”

Qin Yueyuan seemed to be relieved, gave Butler Gu a few more instructions, and ordered him to keep an eye on the two children at all times. Butler Gu covered the microphone and glanced at the third-floor bedroom with the small light on.

He sighed silently in his heart.

Butler Gu said respectfully:

“Alright, I understand.”

…

&

Butler Gu was indeed able to help.

The two children didn’t know what he had said to Qin Yueyuan, but at the very least, they could now have Xi Bei transferred back to the Development Division, and he would be with Qin Yian.

When Qin Yian heard this news, he finally managed a slight pull at the corner of his mouth. During the activity class that afternoon, he helped Xi Bei pack his things and, amidst the reluctant greetings of many, brought Xi Bei to his own classroom, packed his things piece by piece, and placed them right next to his own.

When they entered, the Development Division’s A1 class went silent, as if boiling water were slowly cooling down; only the residual heat near the kettle showed how intense their discussion had been just moments before.

Wen Li and his crew were still whispering:

“Who is this new kid?”

“…Don’t you see who’s next to him? He’s from Qin Yian’s family. I heard my parents say they have an adopted son, don’t know if it’s true.”

“Yes… I was their elementary school classmate; the new one is Qin Yian’s brother; they have a very good relationship.”

“Ah, an adopted son? Do you know why he was adopted?”

“This…”

“…”

Qin Yian put down the water cup in his hand with a “bang,” his eyes sweeping coldly over those people. They were caught and immediately went silent, looking at each other, their eyes darting around.

“weren’t you chatting happily just now?” Qin Yian sneered. “Why stop?”

Wen Li stood up instantly, cleared his throat as if wanting to speak, but started with a cold laugh first. Qin Yian didn’t budge an inch.

Until Xi Bei called out softly:

“An’an.”

Qin Yian paused and lowered his eyes. He thought: They can talk about me all they want, but not about Xi Bei.

“It’s okay,” Xi Bei didn’t care much, just smiled at Qin Yian with curved eyes, “Really.”

“And Uncle Gu told me.”

This time, Xi Bei’s gaze toward Qin Yian held a hint of caution. It was rare for him to show such an expression. Because their situation was currently a bit dire. Xi Bei was a little sun; many people in his original class liked him and were friends with him. But in this current class, he was a stranger in a strange land, and the only person he knew by name, Jiang Wanjiao, seemed still to be angry. As for Qin Yian, needless to say, he wouldn’t initiate conversations with others, nor did he like those who approached him with ulterior motives.

The two were essentially “isolated and helpless” in class. And Butler Gu had just told Xi Bei to keep Qin Yian from getting into conflicts with others for Xi Bei’s sake; otherwise, Qin Yueyuan wouldn’t be comfortable, and it would be disastrous if he changed his mind again.

Qin Yian seemed to realize this issue as well. Because Qin Yueyuan didn’t want to see anything like the incident with Li Chengyi again, they had to be patient. Qin Yian sat down and turned his head. He reached out to tidy up Xi Bei’s books. A moment ago, he had been at daggers drawn with Wen Li and his crew, but now he was sitting down calmly. Clear-eyed people could see he didn’t want to get entangled with those flies, but the flies themselves thought they were so impressive that Qin Yian was afraid of them.

Wen Li couldn’t help but reveal a triumphant smile: “So you know you’re in the wrong? We’re just chatting; what right do you have to stop us from talking?”

Qin Yian held back. He didn’t say a single word. The entire class fell into a weird silence, with only the people on Wen Li’s side wearing various expressions. Jiang Wanjiao, who had been keeping her head down in the front row, suddenly paused. The boy next to her clicked his tongue twice, and she reprimanded him angrily: “What are you watching?!” The boy was speechless.

Wen Li continued to be aggrieved:

“Also, I greeted you before, but you didn’t respond. Just because you’re Qin Yian, you can look down on your classmates like that? You…”

“Can you shut up!”

A girl’s scream.

“…”

The whole class went quiet, stunned. Jiang Wanjiao finally couldn’t take it anymore. Her voice was incredibly loud as she roared at Wen Li:

“You guys have been talking behind people’s backs more than once! Your favorite thing to do every day is gossip! Gossip! And now you’re even doing it to their faces saying bullshit!”

It wasn’t just Xi Bei and Qin Yian who were surprised. Wen Li was even more stunned. He didn’t seem to expect Jiang Wanjiao to suddenly pop up as this messenger of justice, and he clearly remembered that Jiang Wanjiao had a conflict with Qin Yian she had even told him to “get lost” that day. Even more so, Jiang Wanjiao had been telling everyone in class the location and scale of her birthday party these past few days, but not Qin Yian. Wen Li thought their conflict was huge. Jiang Wanjiao would be on my side!

“…What’s it to you? Meddlesome,” Wen Li frowned. “It’s the truth, aren’t people allowed to talk?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Wanjiao stood up and sneered, “I just won’t let you talk. What are you going to do about it?”

“You guys feel like Qin Yian is arrogant the moment he arrives, cooler and more handsome than you are. Of course, you people who want to be school bullies can’t stand him. You provoke others with malicious intent, then stand on the moral high ground to criticize him?!”

Jiang Wanjiao hit the nail on the head:

“Can’t find a point to attack him, so you attack his brother? How shameless!”

Wen Li’s tongue was tied; he didn’t expect this little princess to be so good at scolding people. His eyes widened for a moment: “You…”

“What about me? Let me tell you, his brother is also my brother; I just recognized him,” Jiang Wanjiao spat at him, her branded items dazzling. “If you dare talk about him again, I think you’re looking for stars in the bright sun daydreaming!”

After saying this, she flicked her braided hair with satisfaction and sat down. Wen Li turned his head in disbelief and whispered to his cronies, not daring to say anything more to Qin Yian.

“…”

Xi Bei and Qin Yian looked at each other. Xi Bei, especially, couldn’t help but smile after hearing this phrase that had so much of Qin Yian’s style.

After a moment, he pulled Qin Yian up, walked gently to Jiang Wanjiao, and whispered, “Can you come out for a second?”

Jiang Wanjiao paused, but stood up awkwardly. She followed the two outside before finally releasing her crossed arms and denying in a low voice, “I wasn’t helping you! I just can’t stand the way they act like bullies! …Mmph!”

“…What did you call me just now?”

She seemed to have suddenly heard something and turned her head, pleasantly surprised.

“Sister Wanjiao.”

Xi Bei curved his eyes: “Thank you.”

Qin Yian, beside him, rarely didn’t stop Xi Bei, but he cast his gaze into the distance, only adding calmly after a moment:

“He only calls you ‘Sister’ because you’re older.”

However, Jiang Wanjiao didn’t listen to Qin Yian’s additions. She was overjoyed, her smile widening until she couldn’t suppress it, and she said happily: “Alright, little brother!”

She added before Qin Yian could, “I know! A good friend’s little brother, no need for you to add anything else!”

Xi Bei was beaming.

Jiang Wanjiao said triumphantly, “I’ve long found them an eyesore; there just happened to be a chance for me to show them, no need to thank me.”

Even Qin Yian rarely curled his lips.

“Oh, right,” Jiang Wanjiao smiled, “This Saturday, my birthday party. It’s at the newly opened Huatingqiu Hotel here, you must come and play.”

Xi Bei smiled and said, “We’ll bring good gifts.”

Jiang Wanjiao smiled brightly: “What gifts? Just showing up is enough!”

“Alright,” she flicked her hair nonchalantly. “Nothing else, right? Get inside quickly, lest the teacher comes…”

“Wait!”

Xi Bei suddenly called out to stop her. He pulled Qin Yian over, took out their phones, had her give her QQ number, and added her as a friend.

“There’s also a group. The only people in it are me, An’an, and two other friends,” Xi Bei thought for a moment. “That, would you mind being added?”

This was equivalent to a private territory! Although they hadn’t known each other for many days, this “sharing of weal and woe” obviously laid the foundation for the deep friendship of the group.

Jiang Wanjiao was, of course, more than happy to do so. She agreed readily and asked casually: “What’s the group name? Let me accept the invitation.”

Xi Bei hesitated rarely.

It was Qin Yian who spoke up coldly instead:

“Shohoku Five.”

Jiang Wanjiao: “…?”

She looked bewildered: “What ‘Five’?”