The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 28

A casual black T-shirt was enough for Xie Chengxuan to exude the aura of a high-fashion model.

A large tattoo of a black night-blooming cereus spanned across his arm, stark and eye-catching, giving him the distinct vibe of a “bad boy.” Coupled with a face that radiated raw sexual magnetism, he looked like a wild, rebellious wolf cub hidden in the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal blow to his prey.

At this moment, Zhaoqing’s mind was a chaotic whirlwind of a thousand overlapping thoughts.

Xie Chengxuan’s gaze swept over everyone present: the spoiled “rich second-gen” kids from Mingsi High, the entire basketball team from High School A, and the girls sitting on the benches nearby.

The moment Xie Chengxuan arrived, Mingsi’s lackeys looked at him with eyes full of worship; it was clear he held a high status among them. Conversely, the boys from High School A were visibly intimidated. Even someone as fearless as Zhou Sixuan seemed suppressed by his presence. Nearby, several girls blushed, their eyes drifting uncontrollably toward Xie Chengxuan’s face.

Feeling Xie Chengxuan’s gaze about to land on him, Zhaoqing looked down instinctively, as if this would make him invisible. It wasn’t that he had lingering feelings for the man; but after years of entanglement, even if their youthful sentiment had long since turned to ash, seeing him again inevitably stirred a complex mix of emotions.

Xie Chengxuan always appeared bohemian and unrestrained, but only Zhaoqing knew the truth. Having lost his parents at a young age and being forced to live with his grandmother and uncle, Xie Chengxuan was hyper-sensitive to people’s micro-expressions and shifts in attitude.

Zhaoqing wasn’t afraid to show his true colors to Song Yuening, but he feared Xie Chengxuan would grow suspicious. Above all, Zhaoqing couldn’t be sure if Xie Chengxuan remembered their brief encounter on the commercial street. That incident had been so sudden that Zhaoqing’s panic had been impossible to hide, and it was far too late to fix that impression now.

As Xie Chengxuan’s gaze fell on Zhaoqing, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. He had seen this person before, just a few days ago.

He had clearly saved the boy, yet the look in the boy’s eyes at the time was as if he were staring at a demon. Most peculiarly, the boy had called out his name. Xie Chengxuan couldn’t help but study Zhaoqing for a few extra moments.

Today, however, the boy was much calmer. That day, he had been so shell-shocked he looked like a wounded fawn, so cute it made Xie Chengxuan want to reach out and pinch his cheek.

Tsk. Thinking of this, Xie Chengxuan felt his palms itch.

On that day, the sunlight had hit the beautiful youth, illuminating even the fine downy hair on his face. Xie Chengxuan imagined his skin would feel wonderful to the touch. This wasn’t because he was a natural flirt, but because the look the youth gave him was so unique.

Many people had gazed at Xie Chengxuan in his life: with disgust, flattery, envy, infatuation, or simple indifference. But the emotions in this boy’s eyes were something he couldn’t decipher so intense, yet impossible to trace.

For the first time, Xie Chengxuan felt a sudden impulse. He wanted to ask right now if the boy knew him. Why else would he look at him that way?

In the past, Xie Chengxuan never remembered the faces of “unimportant” people. Furthermore, this youth wasn’t his type at all. He preferred the “lofty flower on a high ridge” aloof, indifferent, and forever superior, much like the person in his heart. He didn’t care for a “wildflower” by the road that bloomed with a touch of vulgarity yet grew with startling vigor.

And yet, in this moment, he couldn’t control his steps as he walked toward him. Even he didn’t know what he was doing.

Zhaoqing was looking down, chanting a mantra of you can’t see me, you can’t see me in his head, when a pair of expensive, limited-edition sneakers appeared in his vision. A wave of heat brushed against his neck, forcing Zhaoqing to follow the line of the man’s legs upward.

Before he saw Xie Chengxuan’s face, he once again saw the vibrant night-blooming cereus on his arm, a tattoo representing the secret crush Xie Chengxuan could never voice.

Dumbass.

Zhaoqing cursed him in his heart. A brain-dead idiot who spent his whole life looking for a substitute. Looking at the expanse of flowers, Zhaoqing thought: I bet getting all those tattooed hurt like hell. Heh, serves him right!

Hardly had the thought crossed his mind when he looked up to find Xie Chengxuan actually wearing a smile.

He, he was smiling? Seeing the man he’d only met twice smile at him was like seeing a giant panda strolling down the street in broad daylight. Zhaoqing felt a moment of total cognitive dissonance.

The air around them fell silent for a heartbeat.

“Holy crap! Xie-ge, this kid just insulted you! I think he’s looking for a beating!” Ren Wei shouted in his gravelly, excited voice.

Zhaoqing realized with a jolt that he had actually spoken his thought out loud. Dammit… how embarrassing. He wished the ground would swallow him whole.

“What’s this? Is this how you treat your savior?” Xie Chengxuan wasn’t angry; instead, he responded with a teasing lilt.

If Zhaoqing didn’t know his true personality, he might have mistaken him for a romantic lead. Psychopath. Why is everyone’s character design collapsing so hard after my rebirth?

Xie Chengxuan sensed the boy’s intense resistance toward him. It was strange. He rubbed his own face, wondering if he really looked that repulsive.

“What ‘savior’? When did Zhaoqing ever meet you? If we want to insult you, we will don’t put on an act. And ‘Xie-ge’? Weren’t you just bragging that we from High School A couldn’t beat you? Bullying people isn’t a skill. If you’ve got guts, let’s settle this with a game!”

Zhou Sixuan, seeing this menacing “Xie-ge” take a special interest in Zhaoqing, grew nervous. But he wasn’t about to abandon his friend. He stepped forward to pull Zhaoqing back, and the other boys from High School A followed suit, forming a human wall between Zhaoqing and Xie Chengxuan.

Zhaoqing knew he was physically smaller than Xie Chengxuan; they were trying to protect him. In his past life, he had begged for respect and support, only to be discarded like trash by his family, his lover, and his supposed friends. He had thought these things were forever out of his reach yet here they were, given to him so simply.

Courage surged in Zhaoqing’s heart. His eyes grew hot; he sniffled and said loudly:

“I apologize for what I said just now. But your students were the ones who insulted us first. This is a public court, not a private one, and it doesn’t require a reservation. We should follow the rule of ‘first come, first served.’ Your students refused to follow the rules and insulted our school. Since this grudge started over basketball, let’s solve it with basketball. One game. If we win, you stay away from this court for two months and give us an apology.”

“And if you lose, not only will you stay the hell away from here forever, you’ll each have to lick our shoes!” Ren Wei shouted with overblown confidence. The Mingsi students laughed; clearly, they were certain of their victory.

Xie Chengxuan frowned at Ren Wei’s words, giving him a look of pure annoyance before turning back to Zhaoqing. His tone had returned to its usual coldness, yet it held a trace of inexplicable concern.

“You’d better not push yourselves.”

Zhaoqing didn’t answer him. He simply turned to the provocative Ren Wei and said:

“We’ll see who’s pushing themselves when the game is over!”

Forty minutes later, Zhaoqing was about to sink the final three-pointer. Ren Wei’s mind was screaming with the words Zhaoqing had spoken before the game: “If you lose, you have to apologize!”

No way. The Ren family was a prominent name in the city; if he lost to a bunch of “poor nobodies” and had to apologize, how could he ever show his face again?

In that split second of desperation, Ren Wei seemed possessed by a demon. He reached out and violently shoved Zhaoqing’s shoulder.

In a normal game, physical contact is expected, but a deliberate shove like that was a blatant foul. In a professional setting, the fans would have rioted.

Zhaoqing hadn’t expected such a cowardly move. Caught off guard, he was sent flying, and the shot missed.

The game ended. It was a draw.

“What are you doing! That’s a foul, you bastard!” “Are all Mingsi students this pathetic and underhanded?!”

The High School A players rushed over to support Zhaoqing. As the two groups teetered on the edge of a brawl, Zhaoqing painfully picked himself up. He checked his wrists and ankles—luckily, just scrapes. Nothing that would ruin his upcoming official games.

He breathed a sigh of relief, only to hear the shouting match between Zhou Sixuan and Ren Wei’s group.

“Zhou Sixuan, I’m fine! Don’t fight them!” Zhaoqing knew his teammates were dedicated students; they were no match for pampered thugs like Ren Wei who lived for violence. If a fight broke out and things got serious, the rich kids would walk away while Zhou Sixuan’s future would be ruined.

Zhaoqing fell silent for a moment before turning with a look of resignation toward Xie Chengxuan, who had been watching the scene like a bystander at a play.

“Student Xie, your friend was clearly in the wrong. You should give us an explanation, shouldn’t you?”

“How strange. The first time you saw me, you knew my full name, and now you’re calling me ‘Student Xie.’ Are you really this good at playing hard to get?”

Xie Chengxuan continued, “And let me give you some advice: if you’re asking for a favor, act like it. Standing there with your head held high like you aren’t afraid of anything, do you really think I’ll help you over my own friend?”

“How about this: fix your attitude and beg me. Maybe if I’m feeling soft-hearted, I’ll help you out.”

His words were the height of arrogance. Zhaoqing knew Xie Chengxuan was shameless, but he hadn’t realized he was this bad even as a teenager.

Xie Chengxuan actually just wanted the boy to soften his tone. Accustomed to being superior, he expected that with High School A at a disadvantage, Zhaoqing would surely fold. If he did, Xie Chengxuan had every intention of stepping in after all, it was Ren Wei’s fault.

He was just trying to tease him, but he hadn’t expected the boy to be so sensitive. I didn’t even get mad when he insulted me earlier, Xie Chengxuan thought, feeling a strange sense of grievance.

He was about to offer a way out to settle the matter.

But then he heard Zhaoqing speak in a voice thick with pure, unadulterated hatred:

“Xie Chengxuan, you want me to beg you? Wait for your next life!”

Didn’t I beg you enough in my last life?

I begged you to help me investigate Fang Yang’s death. And what did you do? You didn’t help, and you even covered for your murderous cousin. Fang Yang died without justice.

I begged you, for the sake of our years together, not to help Song Yuening sabotage my business. And yet? Can you honestly say you had nothing to do with Song Yuening stripping away my projects, my resources, and my connections?

I begged you not to go out drinking with your friends because I was unwell and wanted your company. And you? You gave me lip service while you were already halfway into Han Yizhu’s bed.

Even when we first met, and Fu Lansheng’s thugs were about to break my legs, you wanted to be my savior, you wanted me to remember your ‘kindness’ and fall for you. But even then, your posture was so superior. You leaned against the alley wall and waited for me to crawl over and beg you before you’d move a finger.

Is my life really that cheap to you? Whether you know me or not, whether you approach me by design or by accident every time I meet you, you just want to see me beg.

You are so proud, Xie Chengxuan.

That year it snowed so heavily in S-City, I stood in line for hours just to buy you a limited-edition watch. And you? Every gift you gave me was picked out by an assistant. Once, you even gave me a pair of cufflinks that were a ‘gift with purchase’ from the jewelry you bought for Han Yizhu. And I, knowing nothing, wore them with pride for so long.

You gave your love and support to Song Yuening. You gave your tenderness and indulgence to Han Yizhu.

And all I ever got from you was humiliation.

Zhaoqing didn’t want to sound like a bitter spouse, but he was truly, utterly finished with begging. If someone cherished him, he would cherish them back. But if someone shattered him, he was more than willing to drag them down with him.

Thinking of this, Zhaoqing let out a light laugh and said, syllable by syllable:

“It seems I was wrong about you. You’re no different from the rest of them. From beginning to end, you’re nothing but a beast!”

“Who the hell are you calling a beast!” Ren Wei, eager to please Xie Chengxuan, lunged forward with a flying kick aimed at Zhaoqing.

Ren Wei’s father had hired combat instructors for him since childhood; the boy was bloodthirsty and loved a fight. If that kick landed on Zhaoqing’s stomach, his internal organs would likely rupture.

“REN WEI! STOP!” “ZHAOQING, LOOK OUT!” “ZHAOQING! GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

Three voices cried out simultaneously, all sounding frantic with worry.

In that split second, a figure flashed past and wrapped Zhaoqing in a tight embrace, shielding him completely. Zhaoqing felt the sheer force of the person’s grip as they both crashed to the ground. But with the person acting as a human cushion, Zhaoqing didn’t feel any pain.

It was this sudden intervention that caused Ren Wei’s kick to miss its mark.

Zhaoqing felt a warm, thick liquid dripping onto his hand. He looked up in disbelief to see Song Yuening, with blood soaking through the fabric at his knee.