Chapter 25: He Yields to Softness Part 2

Jiang Ye sized up the girl before him, considering her words.

Bai Tao slowly retied her crooked ponytail and straightened her clothes. Her round face looked innocent and pitiful, but her words cut straight to the bone. “If Big Brother Jiang wants to leave me here to die, no one escapes unscathed. Like that day, I’ll drag you all down with me before I go.”

“Big talk,” Jiang Ye said, arms crossed, meeting her gaze with displeasure. “You can barely stand—how do you plan to protect anyone?”

“I heard what you said to him just now,” Bai Tao analyzed rationally, certain. “It’s temporary. I’ll recover.”

Jiang Ye grew impatient, finding Bai Tao increasingly irritating. The thought that Bai Chen Zhu had spread rumors pairing them up…

Bai Chen Zhu inexplicably caught Jiang Ye’s glare, confused since he hadn’t said or done anything. He asked Jiang Ye, “She makes sense. What’s your plan next?”

“Then prove your worth to me.” Jiang Ye lifted his chin arrogantly at Bai Tao. “I’m heading out with him soon. Sister Hua still needs rest. As you said, you protect Zhou Zhuo Hua and hold down the fort during that time.”

“That’s the sincerity required to join us.”

Bai Chen Zhu glanced at the standoff, then pulled Zhou Zhuo Hua into the room. She worried Jiang Ye and Bai Tao might clash and kept looking back at first, reluctant.

But she eventually followed Bai Chen Zhu’s pull.

Bai Chen Zhu had nothing much to say; he just handed her a folding knife.

“Thanks.” Zhou Zhuo Hua accepted it without refusal, her expression complex. “Be careful out there. Don’t worry about me—I can protect myself now, at least.”

She knew her body wasn’t fully recovered, and with Bai Tao there, she didn’t insist on tagging along, but she still worried.

Bai Chen Zhu glanced at the door. He knew Jiang Ye and Bai Tao were still talking, and he had blocked Bai Tao’s mental power from entering—speaking of which, Bai Chen Zhu felt Jiang Ye had led him astray, teaching him only to make a “shield.”

Jiang Ye was tuning his psychic-type Ability User to his tastes, like forging a shield from a sharp spear for himself.

Bai Chen Zhu knew this.

But so what? At a stage where others were still fumbling, Jiang Ye was more than a shortcut. Bai Chen Zhu stuck with him precisely for info that would help him grow stronger.

“Ability Users, especially ones like Bai Tao, draw zombies’ attention far easier than ordinary people,” Bai Chen Zhu said flatly.

He paused, recalling Jiang Ye’s earlier metaphor, and curved his lips, echoing him. “She’s like roast chicken, you’re like plain rice. If you run into a mutant you can’t beat…”

He left it at that. Zhou Zhuo Hua understood and gripped the knife tighter. “Don’t worry, I’m not as fragile as you think. I pity Bai Tao, but I won’t give my life for it. You be careful instead, Little Bai. Jiang Ye’s wild by nature—sometimes he acts on impulse. Don’t let him call all the shots out there, or you’ll suffer.”

It wasn’t unfounded for Zhou Zhuo Hua to worry. In her view, Jiang Ye held the upper hand with Bai Chen Zhu, who seemed too compliant.

Bai Chen Zhu didn’t know her assessment of him, or he’d probably laugh until he couldn’t stand.

Recalling how someone had suddenly yanked him out a window before, he nodded deeply. “No use. Jiang Ye never listens to me, but he’ll at least hear Sister Hua out.”

“Then here’s a secret: Jiang Ye yields to softness, not force.” At this, Zhou Zhuo Hua smiled, a hint of slyness. “You’re a boy, but you can show a little weakness now and then.”

Jiang Ye surprisingly bought it. Bai Chen Zhu pondered for a moment and rubbed his chin. “Wasn’t I ‘weak’ enough before?”

“Sigh, this weakness isn’t that weakness. Before, you were like a matador’s red cape to a bull—Jiang Ye just got more fired up the more he fought.” Zhou Zhuo Hua waved the knife in her hand. “Just take it as a thank-you gift and figure it out yourself.”

Bai Chen Zhu truly couldn’t figure it out, but when he thought back to their first meeting and the group of underlings surrounding Jiang Ye, could it be that Jiang Ye really liked that sort of thing? Was it still not too late to hug his thigh now?

Bai Chen Zhu began to contemplate his positioning beside the male lead. Should he give it a shot and aim to become the top underling?

By the time he and Zhou Zhuo Hua went out, the two of them had already reached an agreement.

Bai Chen Zhu twitched his nose, faintly catching a whiff of blood. He frowned at the pair and looked around, but he couldn’t pinpoint the source of the bloody smell.

Bai Tao yawned, looking drowsy and ready to see them off. Jiang Ye, however, was wide awake, his face dark as he gave Zhou Zhuo Hua a few instructions before leading Bai Chen Zhu away.

The hotel corridor’s carpet was thick, muffling their footsteps almost completely.

Jiang Ye and Bai Chen Zhu walked one behind the other. Bai Chen Zhu slowed his pace and listened carefully, then suddenly said, “Jiang Ye, do you hear any dog barking?”

Jiang Ye stopped and listened intently as prompted, then shook his head. “What’s up?”

“Ever since we got near this place, I’ve been hearing faint dog barks off and on.” Bai Chen Zhu pinched the bridge of his nose, quite annoyed. “Maybe it’s just my imagination. Don’t mind it.”

After packing up, Bai Chen Zhu slung his backpack over his shoulder while Jiang Ye grabbed a plain baseball bat.

The guy was sly—he traveled light with just his pockets, but along the way, he kept trying to stuff his things into Bai Chen Zhu’s backpack countless times.

In the end, all the items got tossed out. Bai Chen Zhu looked so fierce that it seemed like he wanted to bury Jiang Ye alive right there.

If Jiang Ye knew what Zhou Zhuo Hua had said about him having the upper hand, he’d probably feel like there was a fishbone stuck in his throat.

And if he knew what Bai Chen Zhu had been thinking just now, he’d definitely say something like: What kind of underling are you? Fiercer than the big brother.

The moment they stepped out of the hotel door, Jiang Ye couldn’t hold back his curiosity anymore. He looked at the unusually quiet Bai Chen Zhu. “Hey! Why aren’t you asking why we’re going to People’s Park? Aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you off?”

Jiang Ye had been holding it in, waiting for Bai Chen Zhu to ask, but this time, Bai Chen Zhu didn’t play by the script.

Bai Chen Zhu rolled up his sleeves, smoothing out the wrinkles, and replied indifferently, “I don’t know why you’re going, but you won’t sell me off.”

Jiang Ye scoffed at his naivety. “You think I wouldn’t dare?”

“No, of course you dare.” Bai Chen Zhu tilted his head slightly, his phoenix eyes gleaming with confident flair as he met Jiang Ye’s gaze. “But you won’t, because you need me.”

Jiang Ye was stunned.

“Cat got your tongue?” Bai Chen Zhu smiled, his tone brimming with certainty. “You won’t let me die easily, so taking this ‘burden’ like me out this time is just like last time—you want me to practice my superpowers more.”

“You really are…” Jiang Ye ground his back teeth. “Figured out my plan and looking all smug about it.”

He was pretty smug. Bai Chen Zhu looked at Jiang Ye in front of him and couldn’t help but recall Zhou Zhuo Hua’s words: Jiang Ye eats soft but not hard.

Since they were heading out next, why not test it? After thinking it over, Bai Chen Zhu thickened his face and said to Jiang Ye with sincere intent, “Doesn’t big bro think I’m right?”

B-big bro? Jiang Ye shuddered all over. He turned his head suspiciously, narrowed his eyes, and scanned Bai Chen Zhu up and down like he was seeing a stranger for the first time—or someone with ulterior motives.

Bai Chen Zhu kept chattering. “Jiang-ge? Big Bro Jiang? Boss Jiang?”

Jiang Ye grew irritated from all the nicknames, and seeing the clear teasing in Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes, he snapped, “Shut up!”

He really did fall for it. Bai Chen Zhu had an epiphany. Though his identity in this world made him a year older than Jiang Ye physically, in terms of soul age, Jiang Ye was four years older, so calling him bro was no problem at all.

It seemed that calling someone bro worked not just between opposite sexes but same sexes too. At its core, it was about showing admiration for the strong and submission.

However, Bai Chen Zhu’s “bro” calls had ulterior motives.

Pressing his advantage, Bai Chen Zhu showed weakness with sincere eyes. “Actually, I’m pretty afraid of pain, and scared of heights too. Bro, you’ll protect me and not let me suffer, right?”

Please don’t go jumping out a window again at the drop of a hat.

“Protect your ass!” Jiang Ye was pissed by his inconsistent act. “You talk like I’ve ever made you suffer. Should I just get a glass jar to put you in and display you on a shelf as a treasure?”

At the word “treasure,” Bai Chen Zhu’s eyes lit up. He curved his lips into a smile and drawled, “There’s a good deal like that?”

Jiang Ye: …