Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Li An was already very tall among his peers, but Li Hanchen was a head taller than him, so he instinctively cringed when Li Hanchen loomed over him.
Li Hanchen reached his hand out to pull Li An’s hood. Li An hurriedly blocked with his hand, but he automatically felt scared when Li Hanchen looked at him with his deep eyes.
Li Hanchen pulled Li An’s hood hard. The instant he pulled off Li An’s hood, Li An thought he was done for.
“Explain yourself.” Li Hanchen’s threatening voice rang over Li An’s head.
Li Hanchen frowned when he saw the scratches and bruises on Li An’s face.
“Nothing. I just got into a fight.” Li An turned his head sideways and looked stubborn and pitiful.
“No dinner for you. Stay here and reflect on what you have done.” Li Hanchen’s cold angry voice startled Li An.
“Uh huh.” Li An lowered his head and stared at his toes. The large uniform made him look even slimmer.
Li Hanchen was walking upstairs when Mu Sheng entered. His profile looked cold, and Li An was standing dejectedly with wounds on his face and looked miserable.
“Why are you injured so badly?” Mu Sheng went over and looked at Li An. Since Li An was young and his skin was tender, the injuries looked even more ghastly.
“I got into a fight. I need to reflect on my actions. Just leave me alone,” said Li An nasally.
Mu Sheng said nothing and went upstairs with her bag.
Only Li An remained in the living room. He kept staring at his shoes until two drops of tears trickled down on them.
Before long, footsteps came from behind. Li An blinked and forced himself to stop crying.
“Come over.” Mu Sheng came over and sat down on the couch with a bag and patted the seat beside her.
“No. Big Bro is punishing me.” Li An kept his head lowered.
“If you don’t come here now, I won’t take you skiing tomorrow.”
In a second, Li An sat down next to Mu Sheng. He continued keeping his head lowered and did not want Mu Sheng to see him crying.
He had no clue that his red eyes had already given him away.
“If you have anything to tell me, then say it now. If my brother catches me sitting here, he’s going to beat me up…” Before Li An finished his sentence, he sensed someone touching his wounds. Li An inhaled in pain. “Ow.”
He raised his head to see Mu Sheng holding a medicated cotton swab and tending to his wounds.
“Don’t move,” said Mu Sheng as she helped to cleanse his wounds.
Li An was stunned as he looked at Mu Sheng sitting in such proximity.
Although Mu Sheng’s face looked cold, Li An found her inexplicably gentle.
Li An’s mother died shortly after he was born, but Li Hanchen was still around to protect him.
Li Hanchen was abducted when Li An was five and disappeared into thin air.
No one treated him like the young master while he lived at the Li residence. Other than his nanny, no other elder cared about him.
Li An often got into fights, but no one attended to his injuries, so he used to leave them to heal on their own.
“All done. Where else are you hurt? Let me take care of it too.”
Li An pulled up his trouser leg slightly. “I got kicked in the leg too.”
Mu Sheng took a look to see that he was kicked rather badly, and there was a big patch of bruises on his leg.
Mu Sheng applied some medication to his leg. “Why did you get into a fight? If you can’t tell your brother, you can tell me, right?”
Li An pulled the corner of his shirt for a long time before he said, “They scolded my brother.”
Li Hanchen came back on their father’s 50th birthday. A lot of guests had arrived to celebrate the joyful occasion, but Li Hanchen’s return ruined it.
His existence was a reminder of what happened ten years ago and was an unspeakable family scandal.
After the useless eldest son of the Li family returned home, it spread overnight throughout the elite circles, and everyone kept gossiping about it.
There were several people in his class who were from rich and powerful families. They said that Li Hanchen should never have come home and that he was good for nothing.
Li An was incapable of suppressing his fury, and a brawl broke out. However, he was outnumbered and no match for them, so he came back beaten up.
Mu Sheng’s hands paused. “Next time…”
“I know. I won’t take it to heart next time.” Li An looked absolutely miserable.
“The next time this happens, find some help before you fight,” said Mu Sheng gradually. “Don’t try to put on a bold front. The important thing is to win.”
Li An did not expect Mu Sheng to say this. He assumed he would get reprimanded for being insensible.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Mu Sheng as she tended to his injuries with her head lowered and suddenly felt like crying. “Sis-in-Law, you’re the best.”
No one had ever tended to his wounds after he got hurt or told him not to act tough when he got into fights.
More importantly, Mu Sheng made him feel like someone had his back. Li An grew up an insecure boy, so Mu Sheng made him feel he had finally found his harbor and made him feel safe.
Mu Sheng could not be bothered to correct what he called her. “All done. Don’t let any water touch your injuries. You’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
“Uh huh,” acknowledged Li An softly. He hesitated before he asked cautiously, “Sis-in-Law, can I hug you? Or just hold your arm?”
Mu Sheng raised her head to look at Li An. His eyes were red, and he appeared like a vulnerable little creature who was left to fend for himself for a long time in the wilderness and looked pitiful.
Mu Sheng patted her shoulder. “Okay.”
Li Hanchen stood in the corridor on the second floor for a long time. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Li An leaning vulnerably on Mu Sheng’s shoulder before he headed back to the room.
Li An cautiously grabbed Mu Sheng’s jacket sleeve before he leaned against Mu Sheng gently like a baby animal leaning against its mother as the soft light in the living room scattered over them.
Li An had already reverted to his usual absent-minded self come dinner.
“Sis-in-law.” These words came to Li An easily now. “My brother wanted to punish me. Will he scold me for eating dinner?”
“No, he won’t.” Mu Sheng knew that Li Hanchen was already standing on the second-floor corridor when she cleaned Li An’s wounds. Since Li Hanchen did not stop her, it meant that he was not angry with Li An anymore.
Li Hanchen’s footsteps came from behind, so Li An hurriedly straightened his back with his hands on the dining table obediently. He was terrified that Li Hanchen would scold him.
Just like Mu Sheng predicted, Li Hanchen did not talk about him getting into a fight, and the three of them had a peaceful dinner.
Li An slept in the next day since it was Saturday. He excitedly got up and wanted to play video games and go skiing with Mu Sheng like she promised.
The moment he got up, he spotted a box by his bed. He opened it to see the trainers he had been desperately saving hard for!
