Chapter 8 Your Brother Is with Me

Zhao Xiangting recoiled, only to be blocked by that leg again. The person even gave his arm a shove, as several others flashed their cameras.

"Excuse me, make way." A lazy, indifferent voice cut through the din.

The commotion ceased, and everyone turned.

The moment he saw Jiang Shen, Zhao Xiangting felt a wave of despair—wasn’t this a case of "when it rains, it pours"?

That night, Jiang Shen had said to "let bygones be bygones," but Zhao Xiangting still harbored doubts.

These people didn't recognize Jiang Shen—or more accurately, they weren't in his social circle. Zhao Xiangting, however, lowered his voice and called out, "Young Master Jiang."

"Oh ho, Young Master Jiang," the one who had been teasing Zhao Xiangting mimicked, "Is this the person you came to pick up?"

Not exactly. Zhao Xiangting’s roommate had texted him when these guys cornered him, saying he was too dizzy and had hitched a ride home first.

Jiang Shen ignored everyone and spoke directly to Zhao Xiangting, "Done talking?"

Zhao Xiangting blinked, then seemed to grasp something from those words. His eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, "Yeah, yeah!"

Jiang Shen: "Then let’s go."

"Go? Go where?" The other party pressed on relentlessly.

The next second, Jiang Shen stepped past Zhao Xiangting, hands in his pockets, and lifted a foot. With a powerful kick, the square table shuddered with a loud "bang," sending half of the empty bottles clattering to the ground. The crowd stared in shock.

"Hey, what the hell—" The guy instantly flared up.

But the security at this upscale bar wasn’t for show. Almost as soon as the commotion started, seven or eight black-clad bodyguards converged quickly from all directions.

Seeing this, the other side grew nervous and quickly played the victim, complaining to the manager, "Brother Zhang, he started it!"

Manager Zhang’s expression turned serious when he saw Jiang Shen. "Young Master Jiang, are you having trouble here?"

Hearing this, the other party was stunned.

Jiang Shen was a frequent patron at this bar—he’d even gotten three gold cards. These hangers-on, leaching off Jia Xinjue, meant nothing in Manager Zhang’s eyes.

"If you’re here, it’s no trouble," Jiang Shen said. "Put the table damage on my tab."

"Don’t even mention it."

Jiang Shen tilted his head slightly, motioning for Zhao Xiangting to follow.

Zhao Xiangting hurried after him, relieved.

This Young Master Jiang was quite the stand-up guy.

Outside the bar, a light drizzle was still falling. Jiang Shen stopped under the overhang and asked Zhao Xiangting, "Did you drive here?"

"No, I took a taxi."

It occurred to Jiang Shen, "A student?"

"Yeah, at A University, third year."

Jiang Shen checked his watch. "Then it’s past curfew now."

"It’s fine, I’ll get a room outside—"

Jiang Shen shot him a look.

Zhao Xiangting instinctively fell silent, feeling that gaze was on par with his brother’s.

"You’re here because I bailed you out. If something happens this late, and your brother comes asking me for you, what then?"

Zhao Xiangting: "My brother wouldn’t."

"Cut the crap. He didn’t hesitate to throw hands that day."

Zhao Xiangting: "..." Knew it wouldn’t be that easy to move on!

"Call your brother. Have him pick you up."

Zhao Xiangting: "My phone’s dead."

Seeing Jiang Shen’s disbelief, Zhao Xiangting quickly pulled it out and pressed the button several times—the screen remained black.

Jiang Shen shook his head and took out his own phone. "Recite the number."

It was an unequivocal command. Having just been rescued, Zhao Xiangting wasn’t in a position to argue, so he recited the digits.

"But my brother might not answer. He usually ignores unknown numbers," Zhao Xiangting said.

As luck would have it, Zhao Louyue was in his office at that moment, dozing with his eyes closed. Hearing the ring, he didn’t check the caller ID and swiped to answer with practiced ease.

"Hello?" His tone was lazy, clear in the quiet night.

Jiang Shen hesitated a moment before speaking. "Your brother is with me."

Zhao Louyue’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up straight. His mind was still foggy, not quite catching up, and he blurted out, "Your voice—"

"It’s me, Jiang Shen."

Zhao Louyue’s palm instantly got sweaty.

"Ah, Young Master Jiang, why are you calling me so late?" Zhao Louyue’s tone was perfectly natural.

"Did you not hear me?" Jiang Shen repeated. "Your brother is with me."

Zhao Louyue’s fatigue-numbed brain rebooted, returning to normal in a matter of seconds. He stood and grabbed his jacket. "Where are you?"

Jiang Shen gave the address.

Ting'an Technology wasn’t far from there—just a ten-minute drive.

In the meantime, Jiang Shen smoked and scrolled through his phone, exchanging no words with Zhao Xiangting, who squirmed under the awkward silence. He couldn’t stand the tension.

Before Jiang Shen could finish his cigarette, headlights suddenly illuminated the area. The car turned to avoid shining directly in their eyes and came to a stop.

It was indeed Zhao Louyue.

Zhao Louyue held an umbrella, with another in his hand. As he approached, he offered the spare to Jiang Shen, who accepted without refusal. He’d fished out his brother, so borrowing an umbrella wasn’t too much to ask.

"What happened?" Zhao Louyue asked.

Zhao Xiangting felt the whole situation was one big mess and had no idea where to start explaining.

Jiang Shen chimed in warmly, "Seems like it was a friend of your brother's ex. They blocked him."

Zhao Louyue's face instantly darkened.

"Former! Former!" Zhao Xiangting emphasized, "I was just picking up my roommate, who knew it'd be such a coincidence. Bro, I've really gotten over it!"

"Oh?" Jiang Shen added, "I remember you saying you still had feelings for him."

Zhao Xiangting: "..."

I'll just die right here.

Zhao Louyue grabbed his younger brother by the back of the neck, yanked him closer. "Alright, explain yourself. What happened?"

Zhao Xiangting was ready to cry: "That was a lie, I swear!"

Jiang Shen: "Which is it?"

Zhao Xiangting shot him an utterly miserable look.

Jiang Shen almost burst out laughing.

"If I didn't say it, they wouldn't let me leave..." Zhao Xiangting explained quietly.

"And you couldn't call me?!"

"My phone died..." Zhao Xiangting whined, "Young Master Jiang was the one who helped make this call."

Zhao Louyue actually had no comeback.

"You'd better have gotten over it," Zhao Louyue said in a lowered voice. "If you keep being hung up on that jerk, he's going to end up dead because of me."

"I don't care what happens to him," Zhao Xiangting said. "I still want to have a good life. Bro, I'm so tired, can we go home?"

Zhao Louyue ignored him and turned to Jiang Shen: "Thank you for tonight, Young Master Jiang. Sorry you had to see this mess."

Jiang Shen said frankly, "I enjoyed it."

Zhao Xiangting took a deep breath.

The darkness in Zhao Louyue's eyes lifted, and he smiled. "Young Master Jiang, are you hungry? Let me treat you to a late-night snack."

"No need," Jiang Shen waved the umbrella in his hand. "Take this as thanks."

"Not enough," Zhao Louyue said.

Jiang Shen didn't respond either way, opened the umbrella, and walked down the steps, soon disappearing around the corner.

Zhao Louyue stood still, not moving.

Suddenly, a hand waved in front of his face like a windshield wiper: "Bro, what are you staring at?"

Nothing, really. It was just that when Jiang Shen passed by, the scent of pine mixed with tobacco lingered, and the gray suit suited him perfectly—his waistline was just too damn good.

"Just figuring out where to bury you," Zhao Louyue said irritably.

Zhao Xiangting: "..."