CH 31

Chapter 31 Shady Prey 

Bai Xiyu slowly sat in the vacant seat next to Bai Shuyun. The original involuntary enthusiasm seemed to be smashed, and he turned his head into a quail. 

Jian Chi, who had read the original book, knew that he was not afraid of Bai Shuyun, but more because he knew it was malicious intent and did not dare to resist. Bai Shuyun’s brainwashing made Bai Xiyu think that his arrival had occupied his brother’s favor. Although he was bullied, Bai Xiyu never blamed Bai Shuyun from beginning to end, and regarded him as his relative, his brother from the bottom of his heart. 

However, Bai Xiyu’s kindness failed to influence Bai Shuyun. Instead, it made the bullying worse. Jian Chi remembered that the mistakes Bai Shuyun made along the way were eventually forgiven by Bai Xiyu. No matter what Bai Shuyun did, Bai Xiyu’s reaction was first to be sad and helpless, then he took the mistake on himself, and finally asked his admirers not to pursue it without exception. 

Such an approach was simply incomprehensible, especially Bai Xiyu’s almost selfless tolerance. When he read the book, he kept thinking, in fact, as long as Bai Shuyun was stopped from the source, the terrifying plots such as kidnappings, injuries, and even almost disfigurement would not happen.

In a sense, the existence of Bai Shuyun had intensified the cherishing of Bai Xiyu by all admirers, including Shao Hang. It seemed a vicious method, but it was not a smart approach. 

Jian Chi took a sip of the mineral water that Zhang Yang bought, suppressing these messy thoughts. 

There were five events in the swimming competition. The number of students in the audience had tightened the nerves of the contestants to a certain extent. The competition that was originally considered to be fun suddenly became serious. Although Jian Chi was sitting in the auditorium, he was inexplicably nervous. Zhang Yang asked casually, “Jian Chi, why didn’t you sign up for the competition? It seems that there are prizes for participating.” 

Jian Chi drew a little attention and replied vaguely ‘no interest’. At that time, he rejected Teacher Gao, the reason he found was to avoid Wen Chuan, who was participating in the competition, but now he realized that what he was more afraid of seemed to be the attention of everyone. This feeling made Jian Chi feel even more uncomfortable than when the plot kept going crooked. 

“You can swim?” Shao Hang asked coldly. 

Jian Chi said, “A little bit.” 

Shao Hang didn’t know what to think, so he raised the corner of his mouth and said nothing. 

At the end of the last breaststroke, freestyle swimmers entered the field one after another, and there was a sudden burst of agitation in the audience. 

Jian Chi stared intently. Wen Chuan was walking at the end of the team, his slender body was dazzlingly white in the sun and every muscle was smooth and graceful, like a work of art crafted by the Creator. 

The scars on his body had faded a lot, and it was no longer as terrifying as the first time from a distance, adding a trace of beauty that cannot be described. The tube of ointment probably played a role. 

“God, what’s the matter with his injuries?” Zhang Yang saw it for the first time, and couldn’t help but wonder, “Would it be abuse from the Fu family?” 

“He’s been at school all this time,” Jian Chi said. 

“That’s right, I almost forgot…”

Jian Chi looked over at Shao Hang with the corner of his eye, then looked at Bai Xiyu and Bai Shuyun next to him. The former held the mineral water bottle hard, and worry and concern in his eyes were shining brightly towards Wen Chuan. If he didn’t know that he had feelings for Ji Huaisi, he would have thought Bai Xiyu also had some ulterior motives for Wen Chuan? The latter leaned back gracefully on the back of the chair, and a faint look of boredom and disgust flashed across his beautiful eyes. Perhaps he felt that no one would look at him at the moment, but Jian Chi easily captured this real emotion. 

“What are you looking at?” 

A warm palm wrapped around the back of Jian Chi’s head, and rubbed it like a cat. Jian Chi was jolted back to his senses, moved forward a little to avoid Shao Hang’s touch, and pressed down his messed up hair. He perfunctorily replied: “Nothing.” 

He no longer expected to make Shao Hang aware of his overstepping behavior with a single refusal. In fact, Shao Hang’s attention had not been on the competition from beginning to end. His two long legs were crossed, and he was boringly touching his watch. It’s as if he was just coming for a walk. 

Jian Chi put down his arms. His shoulders sank suddenly, and a touch of red hair followed into the corner of the light. Shao Hang put his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes naturally. From Jian Chi’s perspective, he could see a handsome face that was approaching, dense long eyelashes and a high nose bridge. 

“Shao…” 

“Lend it to me to rest for a while,” He said with a deep, nasal tone in his voice, and left his sentence unable to be denied, “Don’t move.” 

Jian Chi froze, he could neither move or not move and tried to ignore Zhang Yang’s shocked expression and the glare from Bai Shuyun. Coincidentally, Wen Chuan, who was standing by the pool, turned around as if sensing something and saw Jian Chi, who was looking ahead, meeting his gaze. 

The weight on his shoulders seemed a little heavier. 

Maybe a few seconds passed or maybe a few minutes. Wen Chuan retracted his gaze and walked to the swimming lane. His expression was as cold as ever, and his back was more isolated from the outside world than before.

“Is this competition important?” Zhang Yang’s voice was getting smaller and smaller, “Why do I feel that Wen Chuan is about to go to the battlefield.”

In fact, the appearance of Wen Chuan was a catastrophic pressure for all players. 

Jian Chi had already seen his real strength many times, and most of the people who came to join in the fun were seeing it for the first time—Wen Chuan quickly swam in the water, his legs seemed to turn into agile fish tails. In the blink of an eye, there was a huge gap made with ease between the second place person. 

When he reached the finish line, he took off his glasses and swimming cap. His long black hair that was bound fell on his wet cheeks like water. He raised his eyes and looked at the audience area, with a cold expression, elegant appearance, the ultimate visual impact. Jian Chi heard the sound of Zhang Yang gasping for breath next to him. Beautiful. Jian Chi guessed that most people had this simple, straightforward, yet extremely accurate words in their hearts. 

“He is coming up?” 

He didn’t know who was whispering in the back, but several contestants who couldn’t hide their frustration and conviction gathered their towels and sat in the front seat, but Wen Chuan didn’t stop. He walked straight to the auditorium and finally stopped in front of Jian Chi. He lowered his head and asked, “Is there any water?” 

Jian Chi was stunned for a few seconds, but did not respond. Bai Xiyu, who was beside him, had already stood up and handed out the mineral water that had been in his arms for a long time, with expectation flashing in his eyes, “I brought an extra bottle, but I haven’t drank it.” 

Wen Chuan didn’t look at him.

Bai Xiyu’s hand in mid-air created a faint embarrassment. Jian Chi swept over Bai Shuyun, who had no intention of opening his mouth at all. He was about to say something to ease the atmosphere, but Wen Chuan suddenly pulled the half drunken water bottle in his hand. 

“Yours?” 

Jian Chi nodded subconsciously. 

Wen Chuan unscrewed the cap, raised his head and took a sip from the bottle, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down. As if he didn’t notice Bai Xiyu’s stiffness at all, he left a plain ‘thank you’, and walked down with the bottle of water. 

Jian Chi looked at Wen Chuan’s back and wanted to say something but stopped before he could say it. His bottle of water had already been drunk, why take his own instead of a new one? 

Why did Wen Chuan reject Bai Xiyu so much? 

Shao Hang, who was leaning on his shoulder, opened his eyes at some point and stared at Wen Chuan’s figure for a while. He couldn’t hear the emotion in his words: “You know him well?” 

“Classmates in swimming class,” Jian Chi couldn’t help but say, “My shoulders are numb.” 

Shao Hang did not continue to make it difficult for him and raised his head, “Do you want to lean  on me now?” 

“…No.” 

Jian Chi massaged his shoulders, thinking that he would see Bai Xiyu’s lost expression when he turned his head, but he only saw two empty seats. He couldn’t help be startled, “Where are they?” 

“I don’t know,” Shao Hang said casually with a deep meaning in his eyes, “You seem to be concerned about them.” 

Jian Chi’s movements paused slightly, and he didn’t speak again. 

Two footsteps sounded in the empty corridor.

The one in front was a little hurried, as if trying to avoid something, while the one in the back had a leisurely rhythm. A sarcastic voice echoed in the corridor: “Where do you want to hide?” 

Bai Xiyu slowed down and finally stopped, clutching the corner of his clothes tightly. He took a few deep breaths before turning around and pulling out a forced smile, “Brother…” 

The curtains could be pulled halfway up to block the sunlight from outside. Bai Shuyun walked into the light and looked at Bai Xiyu who was standing in the shadows, his beautiful eyes flashed for a moment and the words he spat out were completely opposite to his appearance: “Who is your brother? When you were rejected, you ran out to cry, for fear that others would not know that you were rejected and that b*stard looks down on you. You two are a true match, b*stard and b*stard, you are a natural match. If you want to pity him, why don’t you pity yourself first?” 

“I’m not……” 

“Do you really think I can’t see what you’re thinking?” Bai Shuyun’s eyes showed a hint of disgust, “It’s disgusting. Every time I see you with such an expression, yes, that’s it, wronged and innocent. I know what dirty thoughts you have in your mind. Do you think Dad doesn’t know what you’re thinking? If he didn’t miss your stupid mom, how could he give you this charity?” 

Word by word, straight to the heart. 

“Even if you go back to the Bai house, your identity as an illegitimate child will not be erased. For example, if you entered Saintston with all your effort, you can only be a special recruit at the lowest level.”

Bai Xiyu’s face was desperately pale in the darkness, and he opened his bloodless lips, unable to spit out any rebuttal. 

“I warned you not to reveal our relationship in front of others.” 

Bai Shuyun raised his head and passed by Bai Xiyu with his head down, like a peacock winning a fight. The black brooch on his chest flashed a luxurious dark light, and flutteringly swept over the white brooch in front of Bai Xiyu. He evoked a gentle and harmless smile. “I don’t want to share the title of Bai family with someone like you, it’s disgusting.” 

The sound of footsteps drifted away. 

The mineral water bottle in his hand was twisted and deformed, and his varicose fingers showed paleness. Bai Xiyu slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened it again, there was a hint of coldness that was never seen before. Standing silently in the same place, shadows around him, they integrated into one. 

The author has something to say: 

Everyone acting, Jian Chi (half a beat slower): The plot seems to have gone wrong again?