Spoiled by a Paranoid Big Shot Since Childhood - Chapter 24

A sharp gust of air accompanied by anger, madness, and disgust the surrounding atmosphere seemed to compress as it slammed into Wen Li, the pain causing him to let out a sharp shriek.

“Ahhh—!”

Qin Yian had promised himself he would stay calm. But right now, he couldn’t. Xi Bei had asked him not to be angry, and he truly wanted to listen to Xi Bei. However, the more he thought about the way Xi Bei had sweetly asked him not to be angry, the more he thought of Xi Bei’s grievances, the more he thought of that man’s ugly face, and the angrier he became.

Qin Yian pulled his fist back indifferently. Because he had used too much force, his knuckles were already numb. He didn’t feel fear; only the lingering tremors of violence vibrated in his heart.

So, you know pain, too. Qin Yian said softly in his heart. But you don’t know how much I am hurting right now.

Seeing Xi Bei trembling all over, his eyes somewhat unfocused, felt like a sudden return to that rainy day five years ago. Seeing Xi Bei curled up in a corner like a stray animal, seeing Xi Bei silently wailing in agony amidst the sound of the piano.

Thump.

Another punch.

Qin Yian gritted his teeth, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and the veins on his neck bulged, showing just how much strength, he had just exerted. He studied boxing only to protect himself; he had never implemented violence. Yet today, he couldn’t stay calm.

“Ugh… cough, cough, cough…”

Wen Li had been beaten so badly by the previous two blows that he couldn’t even summon the strength to fight back. His eyes landed barely on Qin Yian as he struggled to reach out a hand, trying to grab Qin Yian’s collar.

“…I didn’t know he was allergic,” Wen Li slurred, “How could he…”

Xi Bei, Xi Bei.

He had clearly sworn to Xi Bei that he would protect him well; he had clearly sworn he would make everyone envy him. Yet, because of his own actions, leading others to dislike him, Xi Bei had been harmed.

Qin Yian was silent, only slamming into Wen Li again. Despite being hit in the face himself amidst the chaos, leaving his lip bruised and bloody, with the metallic taste of blood choking his throat, he didn’t stop. He was like someone forged of copper and iron, afraid of nothing. Anyone looking would know his reason had left the cage, completely out of control.

“You wanted to target me from the start, didn’t you?”

Qin Yian spoke suddenly. Bloodshot veins covered his eyes.

The people around were actually stunned; all of this happened in a flash. The first to react was surprisingly Jiang Wanjiao. She was naturally on Qin Yian’s side, running toward them while shouting in a hurried, anxious voice: “Qin Yian! Stop hitting him first, calm down…”

The three followers also scrambled over, pulling Wen Li from under Qin Yian’s hands, terrified as they saw the nosebleed streaming out.

Qin Yian reached out to wipe the blood from his lip, looking down at him from a height:

“If your goal was to make me afraid, to make me go crazy.”

“Congratulations, you succeeded.”

He abruptly released his grip, tossing him aside like a bag of trash, then finally relaxed his own trembling hands and walked to the sofa where Xi Bei was.

Xi Bei, lying on the sofa, was somewhat bewildered and unfocused; he had immersed himself in his own world—highly stressed, palpitating, panicked. When Qin Yian’s hand reached out, he trembled for a second before instinctively hugging that hand. Like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood.

Qin Yian picked Xi Bei up, and amidst Jiang Wanjiao’s screams and the clamor of the crowd, walked silently out of the private box.

While running, he seemed to finally understand some things.

If Xi Bei doesn’t come to see his performance or might be dating someone else, he gets angry. Even though they are both ‘younger brothers’, he sometimes finds Qin Siyu ‘annoying’. If someone tries to take Xi Bei away, he becomes very anxious. If his father tries to separate them, he feels very painful.

He had originally thought it was his possessiveness over his treasure, his unwillingness for his person, his treasure, to be snatched away by others and disappear from his sight. But now he thought, no, that’s not it.

It was that he was afraid that after his treasure left, he would go mad; he would lose his purpose and meaning. Every time he saw Xi Bei hurt and in pain, it was as if his own soul had been wounded.

Because Xi Bei had long since become far more than a “treasure” in Qin Yian’s heart.

He is the light.

It might sound shocking, unbelievable. But Qin Yian discovered that Xi Bei was his reliance, his spiritual pillar. Xi Bei was like the king in chess; as long as he stood there, Qin Yian would act like thousands of troops to guard and escort him.

“Tuantuan,” Qin Yian said softly, “Don’t be afraid anymore, open your eyes and look at me, okay?”

“Can you still hear me talking?”

“…”

Buzzing sounds. The entire head felt as if it had been soaked in water; every call seemed hazy and unclear, only a buzzing sound kept telling Xi Bei that someone was calling him. Xi Bei thought dazed, who is it? Who is calling me? A thought darted through his mind: It’s Qin Yian. It’s Yian, it’s An’an.

Upon realizing this, Xi Bei actually had an urge to cry. So An’an is still by his side.

Xi Bei thought he hadn’t been this cowardly since he was seven. He even felt as if he was about to melt away along with those sparklers. In this moment of incomparable terror, Xi Bei’s mind held only one person.

That was Qin Yian. The person he depended on the most.

Although he could feel Qin Yian’s presence, he still hadn’t fully recovered from his previous state. His lashes trembled, but he couldn’t see anything clearly; his heart was still beating very, very fast, his whole heart pulled together.

“An’an…” Xi Bei lay on Qin Yian, suddenly whispering, “You, are angry.”

“Blood…”

“I’m sorry.” Qin Yian’s voice was somewhat strained, “It won’t happen again.”

Xi Bei was silent for a long while before whispering, “Will be, scolded, by Uncle.”

Qin Yian said in a low voice, “Don’t fear him.”

Butler Gu received the call and rushed over, running to the children in a daze, stunned: “T-this is… what happened to Bei Bei? Hurry up and get in the car to go home and rest, this is…”

Qin Yian held Xi Bei and got in the car. Butler Gu left someone behind to handle Jiang Wanjiao’s matter, while he himself followed the two children home upstairs, ordering people to fetch hot water and wringing out several towels.

“Young Master Yian, let me…”

Qin Yian blocked Butler Gu’s hand, his voice very low: “No need.”

“…”

Butler Gu watched Qin Yian wipe the sweat from Xi Bei’s brow with a warm towel, then unbutton the collar of his shirt, carefully and earnestly wiping his body bit by bit, paying careful attention to the blanket on the side so that Xi Bei wouldn’t catch a cold.

Qin Yian’s own lip wound had scabbed over, the bruising somewhat obvious and quite frightening. The towel in the butler’s hand was gripped tight, then released. Finally, he sighed and said softly:

“Little Liu just reported back to me, Young Master, you hit someone, didn’t you?”

The damp, cold towel was tossed by Qin Yian into the basin of hot water nearby.

Plop.

“Yes.”

Qin Yian said very calmly: “I was the one who hit him.”

“…” Butler Gu actually smiled, saying softly, “I never thought before that you would ever hit anyone.”

—”For Xi Bei, right?”

Butler Gu laughed enough and suddenly came out with this.

“…”

Qin Yian didn’t want to speak. He didn’t know the intention behind Butler Gu’s words, just slowly cast his gaze over.

“You must know, Xi Bei is different from you.”

Butler Gu’s expression looked cold, no longer with the earlier smile. He knew he was the butler, a servant, a person who served Qin Yian; he shouldn’t, and couldn’t, say these things to Qin Yian, shouldn’t loudly reprimand Qin Yian. But Xi Bei was like a little sun that made people want to do many things for him. Every time Butler Gu saw the beaming Xi Bei, he felt his own heart soften.

“You are the young master,” Butler Gu said, “No matter what, you are the young master. If you make a mistake, you can be forgiven and have room for redemption, but if this matter falls on Xi Bei, he will not receive the same treatment as you.”

Qin Yian froze in place.

“Mr. Qin is on a business trip in Sujiang, the plane returns today.”

Butler Gu suddenly restrained his earlier expression.

“I’m going out now.”

“…”

Bang. The door was closed.

Qin Yian’s hand was soaked in the boiling hot water, his skin turned bright red, but he still didn’t take the towel out, looking somewhat lost.

…

Evening at 6:30, in the stretch Lincoln returning from the airport to the Qin residence.

“…What did you say?”

The document in Qin Yueyuan’s hand was thrown heavily to the side, sliding along the seat to his feet. The man’s perfectly polished leather shoes shone coldly in the dim light. Lifting them slightly and then putting them down, repeating several times, one could feel that his mood was extremely terrible. Butler Gu lowered his head, picking up the document for him with extreme humility and caution.

“The little young master went to attend Miss Jiang Wanjiao’s birthday banquet today, and someone who previously disliked the little young master snuck into the banquet,” Butler Gu’s voice grew lower, “Later, the young master and that person had a verbal altercation, and the young master fought with him.”

“…”

Qin Yueyuan was incredulous.

Fought? Who? Qin Yian? He knew his son’s character, at least to some extent he wouldn’t say much and wouldn’t want to get into disputes with others; he absolutely had his own sense of proportion and couldn’t possibly do something as stupid as involving himself in a disadvantageous position. If it weren’t for Butler Gu reporting this to him seriously and earnestly in person, he would have thought someone was joking with him.

But the situation was clearly not like that. As “victims,” the Wen family discovered their youngest son had been beaten like this, so naturally, they wouldn’t just swallow it or let it go. Although there was the Jiang family mediating, this call filled with resentment still reached Qin Yueyuan’s phone.

Ding, ding, ding—

Qin Yueyuan exchanged a glance with Butler Gu, his face livid, forcing himself to relax for a moment, squeezing out a smile, and answering the phone.

“Hello, hello,” Qin Yueyuan rubbed his furrowed brow, “I’ve heard about the matter.”

The parents of the Wen family on the other end were on speakerphone, the mother full of resentment, dragging her son in front of her:

“You tell me, what happened today, how did you get beaten like this? Didn’t you tell me you were going to a classmate’s birthday banquet? Also, the call from the Jiang family was unclear, they just told us not to pursue it, why not pursue it?”

A series of follow-up questions showed the atmosphere and environment of their family, and Wen Li, holding his bruised cheek, was still sobbing, mumbling:

“I’m sorry, Mom, I didn’t mean it.”

Qin Yueyuan froze, casting a puzzled gaze at Butler Gu. If it wasn’t Qin Yian who hit him, what is this Wen Li apologizing for? Hadn’t they figured things out even after calling? Clearly, the Wen couple on the other end also discovered something wrong and rebuked angrily:

“Speak clearly. We only know now that a Qin Yian beat you up like this, we don’t know anything else, what exactly did you do?”

“…”

This seemed to be the first time Wen Li had encountered such a thing. He had originally wanted to scare Qin Yian, just out of jealousy; but when he saw Xi Bei almost collapsing, which was outside his plan, he was truly stunned. Qin Yian had grabbed him so madly and beaten him up; besides feeling fear, he felt full of regret. Would Xi Bei be alright? Is it a severe allergy? Would it lead to death?

When he came to his senses, Wen Li had already tearfully and snot-nosed explained these things.

“…I really didn’t mean it, I wasn’t…”

Not only was Qin Yueyuan stunned, the Wen couple on the other end were silent too; they wished they could grab the boy and beat him again! They originally thought they were victims, but now it was clear that they were the ones who provoked first, their child snuck into Miss Jiang’s birthday banquet, then used sparklers to scare people, and was ultimately beaten.

Qin Yueyuan didn’t have time to think about Qin Yian and Xi Bei right now, first speaking up, pressing home his advantage:

“You’ve heard the story too. You may not know, but the child in my house has had post-traumatic stress disorder since he was a child, and any fire source is not allowed to appear in the house; but your child deliberately took things to scare people, what if something happened?”

“…This, this,” the Wen couple were somewhat tongue-tied, “we are also at fault in this matter… it cannot be blamed entirely on your child…”

Matters were easy to solve at this point. Who was Qin Yueyuan? He had fought in the shopping malls for many years, so dealing with these two parents was easy: Wen Li had to transfer schools, and both sides’ compensations were waived.

Beep. The phone was hung up.

Qin Yueyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, turning his head to look at Butler Gu, finally having the leisure to think about other things.

“This is what you told me, they grew up and aren’t as close as before?!” Qin Yueyuan said angrily, “It’s simply outrageous. I shouldn’t have listened to Qin Yian at the start, what kind of spell is he under?!”

Butler Gu lowered his head and said softly: “Sir, this matter today has nothing to do with Xi Bei; the young master told me that the two people wanted to scare him, but they scared the wrong person, and that face was too much, so he…”

“Lie!”

Qin Yueyuan’s chest heaved violently, his eyes seeming to see through everything:

“Does Qin Yian care about how others scare him? Would he hit someone over such a small matter? It’s nothing but Xi Bei!”

Li Chengyi—including Qin Siyu—were all Qin Yian’s “criminal records.” Qin Yueyuan was naturally not willing to let Xi Bei be bullied. But Xi Bei being bullied was something he could solve; he absolutely did not want to see Qin Yian violating the “excellent heir” mold and losing his reason!

Butler Gu was silent, not knowing what to say. Meanwhile, with a “squeak,” the car had already stopped. This time Qin Yueyuan didn’t look at Butler Gu, pushing open the car door after it stopped steadily, walking up the stairs in long strides, the anger all over him unconcealable.

He walked to the room of Qin Yian and Xi Bei, and pressed the door handle.

Qin Yueyuan took a deep breath:

His precious son, Qin Yian. His extremely excellent, illustrious son was kneeling on one knee beside the bed, with basins of hot water and wrung-out towels by his side, taking care of the teenager curled up on the bed like a nanny. Although the teenager on the bed looked extremely pale, barely blinking his eyes, looking pitiful like an injured little animal.

But this was no reason for them to hold hands and whisper while touching foreheads like this. Qin Yian should not lose his reason for anyone.

“…Qin Yian,” Qin Yueyuan said coldly, “What did you do today?”

Qin Yian was silent for a while, then calmly and indifferently turned his gaze toward his father, saying calmly: “I went to attend Jiang Wanjiao’s birthday banquet and hit someone.”

Seeing him admit it so calmly, Qin Yueyuan was choked for a moment, unable to speak.

“Why did you hit someone?” Qin Yueyuan’s falcon-like eyes landed on Xi Bei, “Because of Xi Bei? Was he scared by sparklers?”

The back of Qin Yian’s hand, scalded red by the hot water, trembled imperceptibly behind his back. The feeling of being scalding hot and sour, desperately wanting to struggle but being unable to do anything, made his whole heart rise to his throat. Compared to the kind of sour, painful feeling in his heart, the pain on his hand didn’t seem worth mentioning.

“No.”

Qin Yian denied:

“Wen Li wanted to scare me, he’s troubled me several times, I didn’t want to tolerate him today, so that’s it.”

After he finished speaking, he crossed his arms, assuming a defensive posture, as if he would maintain this narrative no matter what his father said. Xi Bei, hazy by the ears, seemed to realize something was wrong too; he blinked dully, then turned his head.

In the dim light, this pair of opposing father and son didn’t give way, their eyes clashing in the air, one mature, one youthful, sparks almost flying.

“Are you sure?” Qin Yueyuan shifted his focus, “I remember Xi Bei is afraid of fire, right? You weren’t doing it for him?”

“…My own fault, what does it have to do with Xi Bei?”

Qin Yian clenched his fists, turning his head as if he didn’t care. He knew his shirt hem was being lightly pinched and tugged by Xi Bei. Xi Bei’s soft fingertips were cold, yet when they landed on him, they felt as scalding as magma.

“Is that so?”

Qin Yueyuan’s words held some doubt, but on the surface, he seemed to have believed it.

“Since it’s your fault, you must accept the punishment.”

Qin Yueyuan said coldly:

“From today on, your sleep time will be reduced by another hour; every day practice piano, boxing, equestrian, and golf time will also increase every week, you…”

“…Qin Uncle.”

Xi Bei spoke suddenly, his voice still very hoarse, almost inaudible. His hands were cold, and they were gripped by Qin Yian’s scalding hand.

Qin Yian suddenly turned back. He blocked in front of Xi Bei, shouting first:

“I accept!”

Xi Bei shook his head powerlessly; his beautiful little face looked like he wanted to cry, the illness only making his face look pale, while his lips were a beautiful red, as if fresh blood was about to flow out.

“Qin Yian, shut up,”

Qin Yueyuan took a deep breath. He knew it. He didn’t know when this habit of theirs, having to protect each other, had started. If it hadn’t been for that call on the car, he might have been fooled. But Butler Gu and Qin Yian were lying, even if it was a white lie. Qin Yueyuan didn’t think this was a bad behavior, but he had to admit he was really angry.

It shouldn’t be like this.

“Xi Bei,” Qin Yueyuan looked at his pale face, finally speaking, “You’re thirteen years old too, right? Having your own room is freer. Right?”

“…” Xi Bei said hoarsely, “Qin Uncle…”

“Dad,” Qin Yian said with an extremely bad face, “I don’t want to sleep alone.”

Qin Yueyuan scolded sternly: “Qin Yian!”

“I said, I accept the punishment, and I will bear the things I’ve done myself. But you cannot let Xi Bei go,” Qin Yian said coldly, “If you feel this punishment is not enough, I can take it double, on the premise of ensuring I am the first in the grade…”

Qin Yian was simply stubborn.

“…”

“How old are you, still want to hold a doll to sleep?”

Qin Yueyuan asked back. All three were stunned.

“Even if you always want to drag someone else to sleep with you, you have to see if others are willing.”

Qin Yueyuan, almost failing to create a plan, switched to speaking to Xi Bei:

“You are not children anymore, always sticking together is not good…”

“Qin Uncle…”

Xi Bei whispered, very, very slowly: “Today, I will go to Young Master Yian’s toy room to sleep.”

Qin Yueyuan finally achieved his goal; he finally revealed a smile that couldn’t be called sincere:

“Hm, it’s fine, don’t worry, if your body is not well today, rest first.”

“No need, Qin Uncle,” Xi Bei used his arms to support himself, sat up, and said hoarsely, “I have rested for a whole afternoon, I have been fine for a long time.”

As he spoke, he threw off the blanket, showing a smile toward Qin Yueyuan: “Thank you, Qin Uncle.”

Qin Yian had been keeping silent since Xi Bei started speaking. He silently watched Xi Bei and Qin Yueyuan talking, and silently watched the pale-faced Xi Bei get up.

Until Xi Bei stumbled when he got out of bed, Qin Yian suddenly rushed forward, holding Xi Bei steadily.

Qin Yueyuan sighed: “Alright, then I’ll go upstairs first, you guys sleep early soon too…”

Click. Qin Yueyuan went out first, closing the door.

Xi Bei revealed a smile, holding Qin Yian’s hand and whispering: “…An’an.”

“Let me go to the toy room,” he said, “Okay?”

Xi Bei took his own pillow, holding Qin Yian’s hand, walking very slowly toward the place he had been on the first day he came. This toy room was actually very full; large beanbags were like mountains, with lively and bright color combinations; if it could really be a room, it was actually quite nice.

Plop.

The light turned on. Xi Bei whispered “Wow.”

“It’s very beautiful, An’an.”

Qin Yian didn’t speak. Xi Bei knew he was in a bad mood, and also knew that he had “failed” his efforts. After pondering for a moment, he tried his best to tell a dry joke.

“An’an, do you know why I want to sleep here?”

He asked and answered himself, revealing a silly smile.

“Because the beanbags here are all tuantuan (masses), so Tuan Tuan should sleep here too, right?”

But perhaps because he wasn’t feeling well, this dry joke of his wasn’t as lively as before.

“An’an, you go back to sleep,” Xi Bei whispered, “You took care of me today, it was very hard for you.”

Qin Yian still didn’t speak, nor did he move. Not until Xi Bei thought he was really angry and didn’t plan to pay attention to him, Qin Yian suddenly spoke.

Against the backdrop of the soft dim light, the two teenagers leaned closely together. One was pale but wore a soft, cute smile; the other had a normal complexion, but his eyes were lowered, looking as if he were about to cry.

The handsome and red-eyed Qin Yian whispered.

“I don’t want to.”

“…”

Xi Bei sensed something and lowered his eyes too. Dark and bright eyes met the crystal-clear, glass-like eyes.

“Why?”

“Because my Tuan Tuan sleeps here, so I should sleep here too, right?”

Qin Yian said softly.