【Host……】
On the way to Jian Yi’s side, 996 couldn’t help but speak up: 【If Jian Yi really transfers to Qichen, your persona role-playing might be at risk.】
【After all, you haven’t been back at the Guan Family for long, but you’ve lived with Jian Yi for over a decade.】
【He’s probably the one who knows you best……】
【Lately, our Task Energy Bar has been filling up so slowly……】
Hearing this, Shen Ju couldn’t help but hesitate a little.
When Qin Soxi said Jian Yi was willing to transfer schools, he’d been too thrilled to think it through.
But persona role-playing was crucial.
996 needed him to act as a cog to drive the “plot” forward, and he needed the rewards from a full Task Energy Bar.
He needed…
He’d bolted out of Yude School, and the familiar alley he used to take was just ahead.
Shen Ju soon spotted Jian Yi surrounded by Ma Rui and his gang.
He almost immediately shouted out.
Then he saw the injury on Jian Yi’s face, his clothes disheveled, his backpack tossed on the ground with its contents spilled everywhere—some books even trampled underfoot……
That bruise on his face clearly wasn’t fresh.
Jian Yi had lied to him.
Ma Rui had been messing with him for a while!
“Bro.”
Shen Ju’s throat tightened as the thought hit him instantly: Was it because of me?
Because I embarrassed Ma Rui at the basketball gym earlier, so he’s taking revenge on Jian Yi?!
In that moment, Shen Ju clenched his fists.
His gaze locked on Jian Yi’s left sleeve, twisted like a toy by one of them. The fabric stretched taut, highlighting the stump at the end—clearly done on purpose.
【Brother 996.】
Shen Ju took a deep breath, his voice heavy: 【Jian Yi has to transfer schools.】
【If he stays here getting bullied, how am I supposed to do my tasks…】
“Shen Ju?! How the hell are you here?!”
Jian Yi finally reacted, his face changing.
He wasn’t worried Shen Ju couldn’t handle Ma Rui’s crew—he just flat-out didn’t want Shen Ju knowing about this!
The two now faced each other, Ma Rui’s group in between. Shen Ju’s face darkened with anger, a hint of grievance too—Jian Yi had deceived him, kept it hidden! His little face set in a scowl, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward. The Guan Family didn’t know it, but he was pretty damn good at fighting, especially against bullies like these!
Ma Rui’s face changed too. He clearly hadn’t expected Shen Ju to show up out of nowhere.
Sure, he’d planned to use Shen Ju to threaten Jian Yi, but he didn’t actually want the drama in front of the guy himself.
Plus, Shen Ju wasn’t as easy a target as Jian Yi.
As Shen Ju closed in…
Ma Rui’s expression turned vicious.
The next second, the piercing wail of sirens shattered the alley’s tension.
Jian Yi pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “I called the cops ages ago.”
“Got a problem? Take it up with the police.”
“Huh?”
Shen Ju halted, blinking.
The police arrived fast—Ma Rui’s gang had no time to bolt.
After a moment of panic, they puffed up, convincing themselves it was no big deal. They were just students; worst case, a scolding and release. They could all stick to the same story: just chatting with Jian Yi. No cameras in the alley, no witnesses—how could he prove anything?
But as the cops moved to take them in for statements, Jian Yi suddenly spoke up:
“Hold on a sec.”
Jian Yi walked to a nearby trash can and fished out a phone from atop the garbage, holding it up: “This is proof of them extorting and threatening me—five thousand yuan.”
“That’s enough to meet the threshold for extortion charges, right? I want them held criminally responsible.”
“And also……”
Jian Yi calmly extended his left arm to the two officers: “Uncle, Auntie, I’m still disabled. They already shook me down once yesterday. I request an injury exam.”
At his words, the officers’ faces hardened.
Their gazes toward Ma Rui’s crew sharpened.
Before arriving, they’d figured it was just kid stuff. But this? These students were getting bold!
Ignorance really was bliss!
Click!
Handcuffs snapped on Ma Rui and the others.
“Let’s go. Back to the station with us.”
“And if you need anything, call your parents or whoever.”
Shen Ju followed Jian Yi to the station.
Along the way, he kept stealing glances at Jian Yi, but turned away whenever Jian Yi looked back, acting like he was ignoring him.
Jian Yi didn’t engage.
Once at the station, Ma Rui’s gang went pale.
This wasn’t playing out like they’d imagined—especially after Jian Yi’s phone and words. They realized it was way more serious.
During interrogation, one cracked first, sobbing for his parents.
That set off a chain reaction.
Even Ma Rui was crumbling.
He couldn’t fathom how a simple lesson for Jian Yi had escalated like this?!
The cop laid it out: extortion between 2,000 and 5,000 yuan was “significant amount,” enough for criminal penalties. Targeting a disabled person made it aggravated, and with the “completed crime” proven by Jian Yi’s injuries, jail time was on the table.
Jail?!
Ma Rui caved and called his parents right away.
Their folks’ meltdowns upon hearing the news were apocalyptic—but that’s another story. Not long after Shen Ju and Jian Yi arrived, Qin Soxi rushed in, Guan Lifeng in tow… She’d gotten Shen Ju’s message after handling Jian Yi’s transfer, and when he didn’t return, she texted to check. Shen Ju, riding in the squad car, spilled the details.
Qin Soxi nearly lost it…
Her kid goes out and ends up in a station?!
She blasted it in the family group, roping in Guan Lifeng.
Whatever the cause, they had Shen Ju’s back.
But upon arrival, they saw no need to intervene—Jian Yi had come prepared with ironclad evidence. Enough to teach those punks a real lesson. The parents caused a scene upon arriving, wheedling and bullying to downplay it.
Especially Ma Rui’s mom.
Pulling every trick—shamed by her son’s actions, furious at Jian Yi’s ruthlessness. Leveraging neighborly ties from years in the same compound, she demanded he let it slide. No apology or settlement offered. Seeing only Shen Ju with Jian Yi, she hinted he wasn’t short on cash—why be petty?
Shen Ju nearly laughed in outrage: “Whether we need money or not has nothing to do with extortion! Our finances are none of your business.”
“If you care about neighborly ties, rein in your son properly. Fix this now, or he’ll land in deeper shit later—having a convict kid isn’t a badge of honor!”
He knew the alley gossip about Jian Yi.
The sour whispers behind backs—he’d heard it all!
Same compound, kids around the same age, same high school, but huge grade gap. Behind closed doors, the jealousy dripped.
They used Jian Yi to “discipline” their own sons while looking down on him—flawed, good grades or not, no real future.
It extended to him too.
Cursed to kill parents, orphan drag.
Even to Xu Ru’s face: Poor you, raising your niece/nephew all these years. Why not ship him to his dad’s?
His dad wanted nothing to do with him.
Only Xu Ru did, raising him.
Shen Ju kept it all in mind. Even if Xu Ru was stuck in her ways now, those years were fact—he owed her.
Seeing these parents’ true colors unmasked, Shen Ju dropped the act.
He fired back.
By the time Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng arrived, the kid who’d played cocky with little backbone in front of them—nearly spilling his guts at times—was now yapping nonstop at others. Face flushed red, he tore into one after another, flustered and fierce. Kinda cute.
But kids gonna kid. Age gave the parents leverage to manipulate.
Even Jian Yi held back. Ma Rui’s mom had a point: neighbors, same compound—low heads, high meets. If he dug in, no more back-and-forth, but “under one roof,” trouble could still brew. They might not start it, but it’d find them.
This could turn into a feud.
Unless……
Something kept them from daring trouble.
Jian Yi pondered his move when Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng appeared. He tensed, glancing at them, then Shen Ju.
That Shen Chirp was still ranting!
Back turned, oblivious to his parents’ arrival!
Too late for signals now……
“Uncle, Auntie.”
Jian Yi stood.
Shen Ju’s words cut off. He whipped around, realizing Qin Soxi and Guan Lifeng were there.
Jian Yi worried.
He fretted how they’d view Shen Ju.
He knew the Guan Family had deep roots—worlds apart. Their clothes screamed it.
The pair’s entrance alone shifted the parents’ faces, subtle or not. Trailing lawyers in suits, briefcases in hand—what these folks hadn’t seen. They fell silent, exchanging uneasy looks, unsure.
Qin Soxi went straight to Shen Ju and Jian Yi, checking if they were okay, noting Jian Yi’s injury—hospital after, she said.
Like picking up Shen Ju before, emotions simmered but poise held: grace in every move.
Still, Jian Yi wondered if they truly doted on Shen Ju.
He didn’t want them bothering Shen Ju anymore.
