Chapter 36: Let Me Protect You (IV)

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Chapter 36: Let Me Protect You (IV)

Compared with the other children their age, Shang Ke and Feng Juan were both relatively small and slender. Coupled with their East Asian features, they inevitably became targets for a little “bullying” after starting elementary school. However, despite Shang Ke’s impaired right leg, dealing with a few children was still easy enough. Within a few days, he had thoroughly subdued the brats who kept asking for trouble without even alerting the teachers.

Schoolwork at Fran Primary School was easy, leaving Shang Ke with plenty of free time, so he began thinking about getting a computer.

When Mr. and Mrs. Ferg, their foster parents, heard that they wanted a computer, they immediately offered to take them shopping for one.

Shang Ke said, “Mr. Ferg, I want to earn the money and buy it myself.”

Mr. Ferg smiled. “And how do you plan to earn the money?”

“I saw a violin in the study yesterday.” Shang Ke looked at Mr. Ferg expectantly. “Mr. Ferg, could you lend it to me? I’d like to perform in the park for tips.”

“Oh?” Mr. Ferg was surprised. “You can play the violin?”

Shang Ke nodded shyly.

“All right. Let me hear you play first. If you’re good, I’ll let you perform in the park.” Mr. Ferg enthusiastically fetched his violin and handed it to Shang Ke.

Shang Ke tested the instrument’s tone, then stood perfectly straight and bowed to the Fergs and Feng Juan. His aristocratic manner made it seem as though he were about to give a private recital, amusing everyone immensely.

Shang Ke raised the violin to his shoulder, set the bow against the strings, and skillfully began playing a lively children’s tune.

Delight flashed through Mr. Ferg’s eyes. He hadn’t expected the child to truly know how to play, much less play so beautifully. His violin was nothing particularly valuable, but in Shang Ke’s hands, it produced a moving melody with a rich, full tone.

Once the performance ended, Mr. Ferg agreed without hesitation. From then on, he took the two boys to the park every afternoon so Shang Ke could perform until he had earned enough money for a computer.

Feng Juan had watched quietly from the side the entire time, his gaze dark and subdued.

Shang Ke was always so dazzling, so talented at everything. Compared with him, Feng Juan felt utterly useless.

At the park, Shang Ke finished his final piece to enthusiastic applause. When he turned around, he found Feng Juan looking dejected.

He handed the violin and the day’s earnings to Mr. Ferg. “Mr. Ferg, I’d like to stay in the park with Ian a little longer.”

Mr. Ferg glanced at Feng Juan, understanding dawning in his eyes, and nodded. “Be careful and come home early.”

After Mr. Ferg left, Shang Ke pulled Feng Juan over to a park bench and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Feng Juan pursed his lips, his expression downcast.

“Juanjuan.” Shang Ke looked at him seriously. “We’re brothers. We’re family. We should be honest with each other. If you’re unhappy, then I’ll be unhappy too.”

Feng Juan raised his head and met Shang Ke’s crystal-clear eyes. Beads of sweat glittered on Shang Ke’s forehead beneath the setting sun, seeming to brim with vitality.

Standing before someone so radiant, Feng Juan couldn’t help feeling inferior.

“Keke, am I useless?” Feng Juan asked dejectedly. “You’re always the one protecting me and taking care of me. Now you can even earn money by yourself, while all I can do is watch. I can’t do anything.”

“Juanjuan, do you want to protect me too, take care of me, and earn money for me to spend?” Shang Ke asked with a smile.

Feng Juan nodded firmly. “Yes.”

“Then…” A sly gleam flashed through Shang Ke’s eyes. “Let’s make a promise.”

“What kind of promise?”

“I’ll teach you everything I know. Once you surpass me, you can support me from then on.”

“Can I… really surpass you?” Cautious hope appeared on Feng Juan’s face.

“Of course.” Shang Ke vigorously ruffled his hair. “Our Juanjuan is the smartest.”

The gloom gradually faded from Feng Juan’s eyes, replaced by renewed light. He looked at Shang Ke and said with utmost seriousness, “Keke, I’ll definitely support you when I grow up.”

Shang Ke broke into a smile and couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his cheek. “All right. I’ll be waiting.”

Two months later, Shang Ke successfully assembled two computers: one desktop and one laptop. Mr. Ferg even contributed $200 toward the cost.

With their own computers, Shang Ke could finally put his skills to full use, and his life with Feng Juan officially entered fast-forward.

They ran in the mornings, spent their free time after school in the library, studied computers and worked through exercises in the evenings, and practiced martial arts and trained their bodies on holidays.

Shang Ke taught Feng Juan everything he knew, down to the smallest detail. In Feng Juan’s heart, Shang Ke was not merely his brother, but also his teacher.

The two went everywhere together and were practically inseparable. Their lives were full and happy. Before they knew it, five years had passed, and both were admitted to the same secondary school. Feng Juan entered with the highest score, while Shang Ke barely scraped through.

Feng Juan was extremely dissatisfied. “What happened to us getting high scores together?”

Shang Ke shrugged helplessly. “Sorry. I pulled an all-nighter the night before, so I could barely stay awake during the exam. I almost fell asleep and didn’t even finish half the questions.”

Feng Juan gave him an icy look. “You’d better not let me find out you did it on purpose.”

Shang Ke smiled innocently. At thirteen, his features were gradually maturing, like jade being polished to reveal its natural luster. He was becoming increasingly striking, and more and more eyes were drawn to him.

Feng Juan was one of them. His eyes held only Shang Ke, and his gaze lingered on no one else.

Shang Ke had never truly encountered a genius before, but now he was thoroughly convinced. The only reason he had mastered so many skills was because of the System’s assistance and the enormous amount of time he had spent training. Feng Juan, on the other hand, relied entirely on his own talent and hard work.

Feng Juan was already taller than Shang Ke, and the gap between their computer skills had narrowed to almost nothing. Shang Ke’s only real advantage now was probably his experience from the “future.”

“Oh, right. Mr. Ferg prepared a bedroom for you. Let’s go take a look.”

Feng Juan allowed Shang Ke to pull him along and said calmly, “No need. I’ve already decided to turn that room into a small library.”

“Hm?” Shang Ke stopped and looked at him in confusion. “A library?”

“We keep getting more and more books, and Mr. Ferg’s study is too small to hold them all, so I suggested turning that room into a library.”

“He agreed?”

“Mm.” Feng Juan nodded without changing expression. Even if Mr. Ferg hadn’t agreed yet, Feng Juan would make sure he did.

“But don’t you think our bed is getting a little cramped for two people?” The main problem was Feng Juan. At only twelve, he had shot up as though he had been pumped full of growth hormones, while Shang Ke was still short enough that he had to look up at him, leaving him feeling decidedly unbalanced.

“Let’s go.” Feng Juan took Shang Ke by the hand and turned toward the door.

“Where?”

“To buy a bed.”

“！”

“!”

That very day, Feng Juan really did take Shang Ke to the shopping center and buy a large bed. Their already small bedroom lost nearly half its floor space to it.

The Fergs found the sight both surprising and amusing, though it also left them a little concerned. Weren’t the two growing boys in their household just a bit too close? Were they planning to sleep together for the rest of their lives?

That night, Shang Ke rolled across the new bed twice, then sprawled out in the middle like a starfish, looking thoroughly satisfied.

A trace of amusement flashed through Feng Juan’s eyes when he saw how pleased Shang Ke looked. Then he turned his attention back to his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard as he silently hacked into the Kruse Secondary School server. He found their student numbers and discovered that, as expected, they had been assigned to different classes.

Kruse Secondary School did not assign classes strictly according to academic results. Higher scores simply gave a student a better chance of entering an elite class, while the remaining placements were relatively random.

Feng Juan quickly swapped Shang Ke’s student number with that of an average-performing student assigned to Class A, erased all traces of his intrusion, and logged out of the server.

Afterward, Feng Juan looked up at Shang Ke and found him already asleep on the bed, hugging an unbelievably ugly stuffed bear. Feng Juan had bought it for him two years earlier with the first money he had ever saved. Ridiculous as the bear looked, Shang Ke had always treated it as his favorite pillow.

Feng Juan shut down the computer, walked over to the bed, lifted Shang Ke and moved him farther inward, then lay down beside him and peacefully closed his eyes.

When summer vacation ended, Shang Ke and Feng Juan reported to Kruse Secondary School together.

Both were exceptionally good-looking, and their East Asian features were relatively uncommon there, so they immediately drew plenty of attention as they walked through the campus.

Britain was relatively open when it came to dating, and twelve- and thirteen-year-olds were just beginning to develop crushes. With their black hair and dark eyes, Shang Ke and Feng Juan stood out sharply among the blond- and brown-haired students around them. From their very first day, both found themselves added to the target lists of more than a few boys and girls.

Feng Juan had entered Kruse Secondary School with the highest score and was also this year’s freshman representative, making him an instant campus prince. Shang Ke’s popularity rose along with his, though compared with Shang Ke’s refined, gentle good looks, Feng Juan’s tall, aloof handsomeness was clearly even more popular.

After entering secondary school, Shang Ke deliberately maintained fairly average grades, while Feng Juan soared straight to the top and remained unrivaled.

Ding-dong. A text-message notification sounded from Shang Ke’s phone.

He opened it and found an invitation to a party. Their classmates frequently held parties and invited friends over, and in the past six months, he and Feng Juan had received more than ten invitations.

Shang Ke looked up at Feng Juan. Sure enough, he had received one too. Their eyes met, and Feng Juan asked, “Do you want to go?”

Socializing was an important part of school life. If they repeatedly rejected invitations, they would eventually be excluded from their classmates’ social circles and regarded as antisocial outsiders.

“Let’s go.” Shang Ke put away his phone. “We already turned them down last time. It’d be awkward to refuse again.”

Feng Juan nodded without saying anything more.

The person inviting them this time was a girl named Daisy. Her family owned a villa where she frequently hosted themed parties, making her one of the most popular girls on campus—the complete opposite of Feng Juan.

The two arrived at the villa on time, and Daisy enthusiastically welcomed them inside. The moment they entered the living room, whistles and teasing cheers erupted around them.

Shang Ke glanced around. There were more than thirty people present, most of them attractive teenagers dressed rather boldly. Several were clearly not students from their school and looked to be around twenty years old.

Shang Ke and Feng Juan were dragged into the crowd, and someone thrust a drink into each of their hands.

Shang Ke sniffed his glass. Alcohol?

At that moment, Feng Juan took the glass from Shang Ke’s hand and quietly pushed away a girl who had sidled up beside him, suspicion flashing through his eyes.

“Ian, Bruno, are you two even men?” Daisy teased. “You don’t dare drink even one glass?”

The surrounding crowd immediately joined in.

Feng Juan replied flatly, “Minors aren’t supposed to drink alcohol.”

“Hahaha!” Everyone burst into laughter.

Daisy held another glass out to Feng Juan. “Forget about whether you’re an adult or not. The important thing here is having fun.”

“Exactly!” The others raised their glasses in agreement.

Shang Ke figured kids this age generally liked showing how unconventional they were. They might be a little reckless, but surely nothing too serious would happen. So he smiled. “All right. Cheers.” Then he raised the glass and took a small sip.

Feng Juan also took a token sip.

Satisfied, Daisy stopped pestering them and ran off to bother someone else.

Music began playing, someone grabbed a microphone and started belting out a song, and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Listening to the noisy chaos around him, Shang Ke suddenly regretted coming. He turned toward Feng Juan and saw him sitting there with a solemn expression, stiff as a statue and completely out of place in the party atmosphere.

Shang Ke couldn’t help laughing. Apparently, Feng Juan was just as uncomfortable with this kind of wild scene as he was.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Feng Juan leaned closer and murmured, “We’ll leave when I get back.”

Shang Ke nodded without objection. He had originally thought this would just be an ordinary party for kids, but instead it had taken on a distinctly adult tone. He wondered whether Daisy’s family knew what was going on. Perhaps he should anonymously call them later, before these kids went too far.

While he was thinking, someone suddenly sat down beside him and slipped an arm around his waist.

At first, Shang Ke assumed it was Feng Juan and paid no attention. When he turned, however, he found an unfamiliar young man of eighteen or nineteen sitting beside him. He was reasonably handsome, though there was something rather predatory about his flirtatious eyes.

The young man leaned toward Shang Ke’s ear and asked softly, “Your name is Bruno, right?”

Shang Ke shifted away slightly. “Yes.”

“I’ve been watching you for a while.” The young man’s hand slowly moved from Shang Ke’s waist toward the back of his neck. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.” Shang Ke pushed his hand away.

The young man remained unfazed. “A boyfriend?”

Shang Ke stared at him. “You’re gay?”

The young man smiled with obvious interest. “Looks like you’re not as innocent as I thought. How about trying it with me? I guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself.”

“Not interested.” Propositioning a minor like this—what a complete animal! Shang Ke clenched his fist, ready to punch him at any moment, while wondering why Feng Juan still hadn’t returned.

At that moment, Feng Juan had just left the bathroom when he heard strange moans coming from around a corner. Following the sound, he was stunned to see two boys tangled together in an unmistakably sexual encounter, kissing and touching without regard for anyone around them, one partially undressed as their bodies pressed closely together.

Feng Juan’s face instantly turned bright red. Seeing such an intimate scene without warning was an enormous shock to someone who had never encountered anything like it. Although he was mature for his age, he was still completely inexperienced when it came to romance and sex. Whenever girls showed interest in him, he had always remained unmoved.

Yet seeing two boys being intimate suddenly stirred a strange feeling inside him.

Feng Juan retreated into the shadows and leaned his head against the wall, pressing a hand over his rapidly pounding heart as confusion and uncertainty flickered through his eyes…

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