The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 57

“It’s him, Song Zhaoqing. Look at how tacky this broken rabbit is,” Lu Pei, the heir of the Lu family, replied instinctively to the voice behind him. He then turned his head slightly, and upon seeing the dark muzzle of a gun, his legs turned to jelly, and he nearly collapsed.

“Song Zhaoqing?” Yuening repeated the name, his voice lingering on the syllables.

“Young Master Yuening, Young Master Yuening, you’re joking, right? Please, put the gun down,” Lu Pei said with a forced smile, trying to push the barrel away. He was answered by the sharp, metallic click of a bullet being chambered.

“You think you’re worthy of speaking Zhaozhao’s name?” Yuening’s previously indifferent tone suddenly sharpened, sending a shudder through Lu Pei and the surrounding rich kids.

“This, this is a misunderstanding, Young Master Yuening!”

“Exactly! Lu Pei. I mean, Lu Pei didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Young Master Yuening, Song Zhaoqing just hit Haoyang for no reason. Lu Pei was just standing up for him. We wouldn’t dream of causing trouble at your event!” The group scrambled to make excuses, hoping Yuening wouldn’t be too hard on Lu Pei.

They had clearly overestimated their own worth and underestimated Yuening’s ruthlessness.

Yuening finally followed their gaze to the half-dead Fang Haoyang lying on the ground. He looked down at the pathetic sight like a monarch surveying a commoner, then turned to Zhaoqing, his voice dropping into a tender whisper.

“Zhaozhao, does your hand hurt?”

The onlookers raised their eyebrows, the dynamic between the two of them appearing increasingly bizarre.

“Ah! Haoyang! What happened to you, Haoyang?!” The commotion had grown loud enough to draw a crowd, including Haoyang’s mother, Mrs. Fang, and Lu Pei’s parents.

“Song Zhaoqing! You lowly wretch! How dare you lay a hand on my son! Haoyang! My poor baby, are you alright?” Mrs. Fang shrieked as she rushed over to cradle Haoyang’s bloated figure.

“I hit him because he deserved it. A rapist who has the gall to insult his victim in public deserves more than just a beating,” Zhaoqing said righteously, his obsidian-like eyes glaring at Mrs. Fang without a hint of fear.

“You little slut!” Mrs. Fang screamed. She couldn’t bear having her son’s crimes exposed in front of the socialites. She raised her handbag to strike Zhaoqing, but before it could even reach the peak of its arc, Yuening’s bodyguards intercepted her, pinning her to the ground like a stray dog.

“How dare you! How dare you!” Mrs. Fang continued to howl until a bodyguard silenced her by stuffing a rag into her mouth.

Seeing Yuening look at him again, Haoyang began to shake like a leaf. “Yue—Yuening you can’t do this. We’re, we’re friends! How can you take the side of this country bumpkin?”

Yuening said nothing. He simply stepped forward and delivered a brutal kick to Haoyang’s stomach with his long, slender leg. The force sent Haoyang sprawling, his face covered in blood. Yuening then coolly ordered the bodyguards to take Haoyang directly to the police station rather than back to the Fang residence.

Amidst the collective gasp of the guests, Yuening had systematically dismantled the Fang mother and son without showing the slightest regard for the Fang family’s status.

With them out of the way, Yuening finally turned his attention to the eyesore that was Lu Pei.

“Give it to me.”

“Wh—what?” Lu Pei stammered.

“I said, give me Zhaozhao’s gift!” Yuening’s brow furrowed with impatience.

Lu Pei was stunned. He slowly opened his hand to reveal the once-white, cute little knitted rabbit. It was now dirty and torn, with a few loose threads sticking out a stark contrast to the mountain of luxury gifts filling the room.

“What is that?” “Is that really the gift the ‘adopted’ son gave Young Master Yuening?” “Oh, what ‘adopted’ son? He’s the biological one, but he’s such a failure Mr. Song won’t even acknowledge him.” “True. Look at Yuening and then look at him. They are worlds apart.” “Did you see the marks on his neck?” “Heavens, I can’t even look… it’s scandalous…”

The guests began to pile on, emboldened by the rumors the Old Madame and Song Zhiyuan had previously spread about Zhaoqing.

Hearing their filthy remarks, Yuening’s expression shifted to one of deep pain. He hadn’t expected them to be so bold in front of Zhaoqing. Zhaoqing, however, gave a mocking smirk. This wasn’t new; in his past life, he had been locked in a freezing basement during Yuening’s coming-of-age ceremony because the Songs were ashamed of him. Yuening’s “pity” now felt incredibly hypocritical.

“Exactly, Young Master Yuening,” Lu Pei said, his posture straightening as he heard the crowd’s support. “Our families have business together. Don’t let a temper flare over a well, over a rabbit.” He assumed the elegant Yuening was just putting on a show of defending the bumpkin for appearance’s sake.

Lu Pei adjusted his suit and prepared to leave, tossing one last look of disdain at Zhaoqing. He hadn’t moved two steps before a massive force shoved him directly into the swimming pool.

“Help! Help! I can’t swim!” Lu Pei thrashed wildly in the water. Yuening, the one who had shoved him, watched coldly. A bodyguard moved to help but was stopped by a single look from Yuening.

The crowd watched in horror as Lu Pei’s parents began to scream. “Pei! Pei! Are you all dead? Save him! Save him!”

No one moved without Yuening’s command. Finally, out of desperation, Lu Pei’s father jumped into the water himself to fish his son out. When a gasping Lu Pei was finally dragged onto the tiles, Yuening walked up to him.

“Apologize, Lu Pei. Don’t make me say it again.”

“I’m… I’m sorry…” Lu Pei muttered, his hatred boiling, but he was cowed by Yuening’s aura.

Yuening shook his head. “Not to me. To my Zhaozhao.”

“To… to him?” Lu Pei was incredulous. Why should he apologize to this wretch?

“Young Master Song, show some mercy!” Lu Pei hissed through gritted teeth.

“And what if I don’t?” Yuening’s patience snapped. He fired a warning shot into the air, then, amidst the screams of the guests, shot Lu Pei in the thigh. As Lu Pei rolled on the ground in agony, Yuening pressed the gun to his forehead.

“A warning. Do you want to apologize, or do you want your head to bloom?”

“I… I…” Lu Pei was in blinding pain, but with a gun to his skull, he finally realized: Song Yuening was a literal madman.

“I can’t walk over there…” Lu Pei sobbed.

“Then crawl,” Yuening replied, his voice like ice.

Under the complex gazes of the elite, Lu Pei crawled inch by inch to Zhaoqing’s feet and wailed: “I’m sorry!”

“Louder,” Yuening commanded.

“Young Master Zhaoqing, I’m sorry! Please, have mercy on me!” Lu Pei’s spirit was utterly broken.

Zhaoqing, having lost all interest in the spectacle, turned and walked away. Yuening ignored the bleeding Lu Pei and hurried after Zhaoqing, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Zhaozhao, thank you for the gift. I love it. It’s my fault for letting such unlucky people near you. Are you alright? You look pale… if you aren’t satisfied, I can—”

I’m not scared of them; I’m scared of you, Zhaoqing thought. He simply said, “I’m tired. I want to rest. I don’t want to be at this party anymore. You go on; you’re the host.”

“Zhaozhao, let me take you upstairs.”

“No. I’ll just sleep for a bit. Go. The party can’t start without you.”

“Alright, if you need anything, have Xiao Yue call me immediately.” Yuening kissed his forehead lingeringly before departing.

The moment he was gone, Zhaoqing’s eyes regained their sharpness. He hurried to his room and pulled his long-confiscated phone from a pocket, heart pounding as he turned it on.

He hadn’t known Yuening was leaving the country. Why didn’t he tell me? He realized Yuening likely intended to take him along as a captive. He had to leave. Now.

He checked his messages: hundreds from Fang Yang, Xie Chengxuan, and his friends. The latest was from his homeroom teacher, asking why he had suddenly applied for a leave of absence.

A leave of absence… It was confirmed. Yuening intended to spirit him away.

Zhaoqing pulled a brass key from his sleeve a key he had found after scouring the study when Xiao Yue “forgot” to lock the door. He took a deep breath and inserted it into the safe hidden in Yuening’s nightstand.

He was leaving, but he wasn’t leaving without his mother’s relic.