Chapter 37: Let Me Protect You (V)

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Chapter 37: Let Me Protect You (V)

Feng Juan quietly slipped past the two men making out in the hallway and hurried back to the living room, only to find a young man sitting beside Shang Ke, behaving flirtatiously and looking at him suggestively.

The scene he had just witnessed in the hallway flashed through Feng Juan’s mind again. Anger surged through him, and he strode over in several quick steps, yanked Shang Ke to his feet, and said coldly, “We’re leaving.”

“Hey, the party’s only just started.” The young man grabbed Shang Ke’s other arm.

Feng Juan reacted instantly, twisting the young man’s wrist in a hold that nearly dislocated it.

“Ah!” The young man cried out in pain and released him.

Feng Juan pulled Shang Ke toward the exit, only for a group of people to block their path.

“Move!” Feng Juan barked coldly.

“Boys, since you’re already here, why not stay and have some fun with us?” a brown-haired young man said with a crooked smile.

“Move,” Feng Juan repeated.

“You don’t know what kind of party this is?” someone beside him laughed. “It’s a sex party, specifically for inexperienced kids like you.”

Several of the older youths laughed. The other children wore mixed expressions—some excited, some expectant, and others visibly nervous and embarrassed. Clearly, they had known what kind of party this was beforehand and had gone along with it.

Shang Ke was speechless. The youngest one here is only twelve! Did they seriously have to take things this far?

Disgust flashed through Feng Juan’s eyes. He shoved the young man in front of him aside and prepared to force his way through.

“You two are staying here tonight,” the young man whose wrist Feng Juan had nearly broken ordered as he came over.

“And if we don’t?” Feng Juan stared at them expressionlessly.

“Then don’t blame us for getting rough.” The young man gestured to his companions.

Feng Juan didn’t wait for them to surround him. He kicked over the coffee table, then drove a fist into the nearest young man’s face, sending blood spraying from his nose as he screamed.

Shang Ke didn’t stand idle either. He grabbed another person’s arm and twisted it sharply behind his back. With a crisp crack, the arm was gloriously dislocated.

The two of them were like deceptively delicate tigers charging into a flock of sturdy sheep, launching a completely one-sided “massacre.”

Daisy and the others retreated in alarm, staring dumbfounded at the chaos unfolding before them.

The fight ended in less than three minutes. Bodies were sprawled all over the floor, while Shang Ke and Feng Juan didn’t even have a wrinkle out of place.

Shang Ke pulled out his phone and snapped several particularly flattering photos of their miserable state. Smiling, he said, “We had a great time today. Let’s do this again sometime.”

Again? Feng Juan shot him an unfriendly sideways glance.

Shang Ke turned toward Daisy and the others and warned, “Daisy, don’t organize another party like this. If you do, I’m calling the police. That goes for the rest of you too!”

That last sentence was directed at the other reckless children who had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

“Fuck—” Someone had barely begun cursing when Feng Juan planted a foot against his neck.

Amid a chorus of pained groans, Feng Juan took Shang Ke by the hand and strode away.

“Shit! Just you wait!” the young man who had tried to proposition Shang Ke shouted after them.

Daisy walked over to him and said softly, “Clyde, I’m really sorry. I forgot to mention that Bruno and Ian are both skilled in Chinese martial arts…”

Clyde: “&%$#@!”

“Juanjuan, you’re not hurt, are you?” Shang Ke asked when he saw Feng Juan’s dark expression.

“I’m fine.” Feng Juan said angrily, “You’re not allowed to go to another messed-up party like that again!”

“Of course.” Shang Ke had no intention of throwing away what remained of his dignity.

Feng Juan’s expression remained dark.

“Juanjuan, what’s wrong?” Shang Ke could tell something about his mood was off.

“Did that guy do anything strange to you just now?” Feng Juan asked stiffly.

Did inviting him to a one-night stand count as something strange?

“No.” The adult world was far too complicated. Better not contaminate an innocent child’s mind.

“Really?” Feng Juan gave him a sharp look. His still-youthful face somehow managed to look remarkably imposing.

Shang Ke calmly nodded.

Feng Juan pursed his lips and stopped talking. There was no need to tell Keke about romantic matters between men and risk corrupting his innocent mind. (Shang Ke: Huh?)

After they returned home, Shang Ke took off his coat and went straight into the bathroom.

Mr. Ferg called Feng Juan away for a game of chess. By the time he returned, Shang Ke had finished a long hot shower. His damp hair hung loosely over his forehead, and he was lounging comfortably on the deep-blue bedding in a T-shirt.

Feng Juan’s gaze shifted. He walked over, sat beside Shang Ke, and gently pressed his right leg. “Does it hurt again?”

Shang Ke smiled. “Mm, a little.”

“Leave the fighting to me from now on. I’m not the helpless kid who needed you to protect him anymore.” Feng Juan expertly massaged his leg. He would never forget that Keke had suffered this injury because of him. If Keke hadn’t risked his life to protect him back then, Feng Juan probably would have died long ago. To him, Keke was irreplaceable.

Then what was he to Keke? What did he mean to him?

“Mm, sure,” Shang Ke replied lazily.

Feng Juan glanced up at him. Shang Ke was resting against the ugly bear with his eyes half-closed, looking completely relaxed while Feng Juan continued massaging his leg.

Feng Juan’s thoughts wandered uncontrollably back to the scene he had witnessed at Daisy’s villa. Only this time, in his imagination, the people in that scene had somehow become himself and Shang Ke…

Feng Juan abruptly shot to his feet and fled into the bathroom as though running for his life.

Shang Ke opened his eyes and looked toward the bathroom in confusion. If he needed to use the bathroom that badly, why didn’t he just go earlier? Why hold it in until he looked like that?

Feng Juan leaned against the bathroom door, breathing hard. His body had reacted so strongly and unexpectedly that he was left flustered and uncomfortable.

He quickly stripped down, turned on the shower, and stood beneath the cold water.

Looking down at his obvious physical reaction, Feng Juan flushed with embarrassment. He understood perfectly well what it meant; he simply hadn’t expected the feeling to hit him so suddenly.

Damn it! Wasn’t he developing a little too early?

Feng Juan stayed in the bathroom for nearly an hour. By the time he came out, Shang Ke was already asleep beneath the blankets.

It was probably better that Shang Ke was asleep. Otherwise, Feng Juan was genuinely worried he might notice something. Feng Juan quietly climbed into bed and carefully lay beside him, turning onto his side to gaze at Keke’s sleeping face, his feelings in turmoil.

“Keke…” Feng Juan let out a troubled sigh in the darkness.

The next day at school, the two had barely entered the classroom when Daisy hurried over. “Clyde was asking me about you yesterday. He might try something, so be careful. His family is very rich, and he’s a notorious playboy among the nearby schools.”

“If you knew what he was like, why did you drag the other kids into this?” Shang Ke’s tone was unusually stern.

Daisy looked aggrieved. “They all agreed to it.”

“So did we?” Shang Ke asked unhappily. “When you invited us, you never told us what kind of party it was!”

Daisy lowered her head and muttered, “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”

“Fine. From now on, if you’re the one hosting a party, neither of us will be attending.” With that, Shang Ke ignored her.

Feng Juan didn’t even glance at Daisy. All his attention remained fixed on Shang Ke. His Keke really was incredible. No one could compare.

Daisy pouted and stalked away.

After Daisy’s warning, Shang Ke and Feng Juan both became wary of Clyde.

That evening, the two divided up the work and used their computer skills to gather information on Clyde.

Shang Ke investigated Clyde’s family background while Feng Juan hacked into Clyde’s computer.

After a while, Shang Ke said, “His father is the CEO of Stellar Technologies, and his mother is a moderately well-known pianist. Their family is worth over a hundred million, so they really do have considerable influence in Bancher County.”

He continued going over Clyde’s background in detail, but after speaking for a while, he noticed Feng Juan pressing both hands down hard on the laptop, his expression stiff.

“Juanjuan?” Shang Ke looked at him in confusion.

Feng Juan snapped back to himself and quickly tapped a few keys before saying, “Who he is doesn’t matter. What matters is that we have leverage over him.”

“What?” Shang Ke leaned closer and looked at the laptop screen.

Feng Juan opened a folder containing hundreds of explicit photos of Clyde with different women. They were so graphic that even Shang Ke, despite having lived through several lifetimes, couldn’t help flushing.

He quickly switched away from the page and told Feng Juan, “Just keep the files for now. Don’t look at them any more than necessary.”

Feng Juan had been watching his reaction the entire time. Seeing Shang Ke’s face turn red, his expression shifted slightly. “Mm,” he answered quietly.

Relieved, Shang Ke patted Feng Juan on the shoulder and said earnestly, “We’re still young. Filthy things like that aren’t suitable for innocent, ignorant youths like us.”

Feng Juan: “…”

With that, Shang Ke tossed the laptop onto the bed and cheerfully headed for the bathroom. With this kind of leverage in hand, it wouldn’t matter how capable Clyde was!

After Shang Ke left, Feng Juan opened another page containing a folder labeled “Playgay.”

The “Playgay” folder didn’t contain still images but explicit gay videos.

He had accidentally opened one earlier, and the explicit content had left him so flustered that he nearly lost control of himself. Fortunately, the laptop survived his death grip—and even more fortunately, his headphones had been plugged in, so none of the compromising audio played aloud.

Before Shang Ke came back out, Feng Juan quickly hid and encrypted all the video files. He also planted a powerful virus in the directory, then disguised the whole thing behind a file titled “Academic Survey Report on Human Behavior.”

Feng Juan stared silently at the screen. Wasn’t this just making it look even more suspicious? Fuck, this was stupid.

Still, he had begun to realize something he could no longer ignore: he might really be gay, and his feelings toward Keke were clearly more than ordinary affection.

At that thought, Feng Juan suddenly had no idea how he was supposed to look Keke in the eye anymore…

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