The Sickly Beauty is Too Good at Seducing - Chapter 15

Upon hearing Shen Congbai’s voice, Jiang Yan raised his foot and kicked the man kneeling at his feet aside. He shot a glance at his subordinates and walked toward a slightly brighter corridor to take the call.

Only a small patch of sunlight projected onto him. Jiang Yan idly watched two birds bickering on the windowsill. “I didn’t expect you would actually take the initiative to call me.”

Shen Congbai forcefully ignored the shiver rising up his spine. He pursed his lips and asked, “I know everything now. You were the one who sent that bouquet.”

“Do you like it?” The corners of Jiang Yan’s mouth curled up. “The climate in Port A can’t sustain tulips. I spent a lot of energy to grow them that well.”

“…I know you want me dead. I won’t hold the slightest grudge for anything you do to me.” Shen Congbai grit his teeth. “But you shouldn’t have sent them in Shen Que’s name. You made me misunderstand him for so many years!”

“Then the Young Master has truly wronged me. I never wrote his name.”

“You left the surname ‘Shen.’ Wasn’t that intentionally guiding me to think of Shen Que?”

Jiang Yan teased the two birds, replying leisurely, “What of it? I am also a member of the Shen family. By the Young Master’s logic, is the surname Shen only for Shen Que’s use?”

“You!” Shen Congbai’s fingertips couldn’t stop trembling; his breathing suddenly became rapid. “Then what did you mean by ‘trading Port A for something’? What exactly does that mean?”

The expression on Jiang Yan’s face turned indifferent. His fingertip rested on the head of the little bird that kept hopping around, stroking it slowly. “The Young Master has asked me so many questions, but you still haven’t answered me did you like that bouquet of tulips?”

Shen Congbai’s eyes reddened as he roared in a breakdown, “Tell me first! What did Shen Que trade with you? Why haven’t our identities been swapped back yet? What kind of deal did you and Shen Que make?”

Jiang Yan’s entire aura suddenly tightened. His fingertips exerted a slight force, and the bird in his palm was suddenly robbed of breath. It struggled and shrieked, its sharp claws inadvertently leaving a white mark on his hand.

“Did you call me just for Shen Que?” Jiang Yan’s pupils were mapped with bloodshot veins, his pale, gorgeous face gradually twisting. “Why do you ignore me every time for some insignificant trifle? Young Master, clearly I am the one who understands you best.”

Shen Congbai heard the sound of bone snapping. Panic filled his eyes. “You madman, what are you doing now?”

“I know I owe you a lot, and I will naturally find a way to compensate you, but you can’t vent your resentment toward me onto others.”

“Ha… a madman?” Jiang Yan burst into a mocking laugh. “You’re right, I am a madman. Madmen don’t consider others or the consequences of their actions.”

Jiang Yan held up the bird that was now a mangled mess. His eyes were full of playfulness as he slowly held it up to the window. “Young Master, since you’re so curious, how can you find out without coming to see me?”

“After all… our ‘Good Brother,’ in order to preserve your dignity, spent a considerable amount of effort.”

As the words landed, he turned his palm over. The twisted body of the little bird fell rapidly, dropping into the traffic below and being crushed into bloody pulp by a speeding wheel.

Shen Congbai hung up the phone.

Jiang Yan looked at the remaining bird, which was looking at him curiously. He suddenly flashed a smile. “It’s dead. You should go and accompany it, shouldn’t you?”

In the next instant, a bird with broken wings fell silently into the traffic.

Shen Congbai looked at the screen as it faded to black, his chest so tight he could barely breathe.

He suddenly felt a great sense of frustration. Since he was a child, he had always been causing trouble, but he always felt that Shen Que was there to back him up. Thus, he had unscrupulously done many bad things to offend people, never knowing how much energy Shen Que had spent because of it.

He had treated Shen Que that way just a few days ago. When Shen Que was being hit and scolded as “disgusting” by him, was he disappointed?

He clutched the hem of his shirt, staring blankly at a spot. How could he not be disappointed? In the previous life, he never came to see me even until death; he must have been utterly disappointed.

Since Heaven had given him another chance, he couldn’t just stand still. He had to face the things he needed to face himself.

Wasn’t it just Port A? If Jiang Yan could go there, why couldn’t he?

It seemed even the heavens were silently supporting him. The next day, while the two were having lunch, Shen Que received a call and left in a hurry, saying an emergency meeting had been called. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to tell Shen Congbai to honestly finish the vegetables in his bowl.

The moment he left, Shen Congbai silently pushed the vegetables into the trash can and pulled up Tu Zhi’s contact info. “Zhi Zhi, help me buy a plane ticket to Port A. Yes, I’m sure. It’s urgent. The sooner the better.”

It wasn’t until he got off the plane and stood at the exit looking at the unfamiliar environment that Shen Congbai felt a belated sense of retreat.

The people passing by were only wearing thin long sleeves. He tugged at the down jacket he was wearing, feeling like an outlier. It seemed everyone passing by was looking at him curiously.

Shen Congbai’s face stiffened. He had come in such a hurry that he just grabbed his ID and left, forgetting to check the weather in Port A.

He took off the jacket and draped it over his arm, lowering his head to scroll through his phone to see if there were any large shopping malls nearby.

Standing in the distance, Liu Qi had noticed this boy from the start. He radiated nobility but was wearing an incongruous winter outfit. His eyes looked at the surroundings with confusion; at a glance, he was clearly a young master raised by a wealthy family.

Liu Qi spat on the ground and signaled his men to look over. “A big order has arrived.”

“Then Boss, the brothers will go first.”

Liu Qi patted his shoulder. “Go ahead.”

Shen Congbai suddenly heard several sets of footsteps. The accompanying smell of smoke and alcohol made him frown slightly as he looked up.

A few thugs dressed in a flashy, disreputable manner approached him step by step. Shen Congbai realized something was wrong; he pursed his lips and tried to leave, only to have his path blocked by one of them. He realized he had already been surrounded.

The leader lit a cigarette, dangling it from the corner of his mouth as he swaggered closer to Shen Congbai. With every breath, the stench of the cigarette blew right into Shen Congbai’s face, making him want to gag. “Hey kid, where are you from? Need a ride? The brothers can drop you off on the way.”

Shen Congbai tilted his head to dodge. “No need, thank you,” he said coldly.

An arm draped over his shoulder, forcibly pressing him toward a dark area. “Are you not going to give the brothers face?”

Shen Congbai couldn’t stand the smell of smoke and alcohol; in just a short time, his chest felt tight and he could hardly breathe. He pulled away the arm on his shoulder and tried to struggle and run, but his wrists and mouth were restrained, and he was forcibly taken into a dark alleyway.

“Ugh…”

Shen Congbai’s back slammed hard against the peeling wall. The intense pain exploded instantly, causing him to let out a muffled groan. Several shadows loomed over him.

Liu Qi knelt down, an unlit cigarette resting between his grimy fingers. He greeted Shen Congbai with a smile, “Hey kid, want one?”

Shen Congbai’s phone and ID had long been snatched away by them. His cream-colored wool sweater was covered in filth. Yet, in such a wretched state, he still possessed an elegant, handsome face. When he looked at Liu Qi with reddened eyes, it involuntarily stirred some sadistic thoughts.

“Go away! Do you know who I am? I advise you to be sensible and give my things back, or else when my brother comes, he’ll make you pay!”

“Oh…” Liu Qi laughed toward his subordinates, mocking him. “Did you hear that? He’s going to make us pay, hahaha.”

Mockery erupted all around.

“Pfft, which boss is your brother?”

“With a pretty face like that, looking all girly, who knows if it’s ‘brother’ or ‘sugar daddy’?”

“Who knows? Why else would a son of a normal family come to a place like Port A?”

Shen Congbai shrunk back to avoid Liu Qi’s reaching hand, hoping Shen Que’s name would intimidate them. “My brother is Shen Que. You must know the Shen family. If you dare touch me, he won’t let you off.”

After speaking, he grit his teeth and forced himself to remain calm, trying to use his peripheral vision to find an escape route.

To his surprise, after hearing his words, Liu Qi became even bolder. “Your brother is Shen Que? Then I’m Jiang Yan!”

Shen Congbai’s racing heart, however, settled. He feigned composure, his fingernails sinking deep into his palms. “My phone is in your hands. It contains not only my brother’s number but also Jiang Yan’s contact information. You can see for yourselves whether it’s true or false.”

His expression was too calm. Liu Qi believed him about thirty percent. Jiang Yan was not someone a person like him could afford to offend; in less than three years, his influence had completely permeated Port A.

There had always been rumors in Port A that Jiang Yan was Shen Que’s paternal half-brother, and everyone was speculating whether the head of the Shen family would change.

If it were truly as Shen Congbai said if Jiang Yan found out he had touched his brother… within ten minutes, he would be thrown into the sea to feed the fish.

While Liu Qi was weighing the pros and cons, Shen Congbai suddenly ran toward an unguarded side path. Even if these people feared Shen Que and Jiang Yan, Shen Que was still in Kyoto, and Jiang Yan couldn’t possibly come to save him. To escape, he had to find a way himself first.

Liu Qi realized he had been tricked. His face twisted instantly. “Grab him! Don’t let him get away!”

Several lackeys were still wary of Jiang Yan’s name and hesitated to act.

Liu Qi slapped them on the head. “Don’t be fooled! The Shen family only has two young masters; where did this kid suddenly sprout from? Catch him! Once we have him, we’ll ask his family for ransom. The brothers won’t have to worry about money for the next few years!”

The air in Shen Congbai’s chest was getting thinner and thinner. The oxygen he breathed in was filled with a turbid, fishy stench. He felt increasingly desperate. This body always failed at critical moments; the current symptoms were clearly a relapse of his asthma. If he continued to run violently, he would suffocate to death even if he wasn’t caught and killed by the thugs.

In the next instant, his shoulder was grabbed violently. At the critical moment, Shen Congbai’s hands, which were about to lose all strength, suddenly regained their energy. He actually managed to shake off the thug who was close behind.

However, after that effort, he was also pushed to the ground by the rebounding force. His knees and elbows slid half a meter across the rough ground. Shen Congbai slammed face-first into the dirt, looking utterly wretched.

He struggled to rise, tears filling his eyes from the intense pain. His snow-white cheeks were covered in dust. Just as he looked up to push himself off the ground, he locked eyes with a pair of bottomless pupils.

Shen Congbai heard someone whisper to the man: “Second Young Master, shall we deal with these people?”