Vase cannon fodder is pampered by the group again

Chapter 61.2

Editor: Princess

Min Shoubei had found Shen Ci three professional instructors and scheduled a whole week’s worth of lessons around his class-auditing schedule.

This afternoon, Shen Ci was heading to the company for acting training, and at night, he had a body movement class.

When Shen Ci arrived at the designated practice room that night, something felt off… This teacher looked suspiciously like a famous dancer.

The instructor gave him a friendly yet devilish smile. “Hello, Xiao Shen. For the next three months, I’ll be teaching you ballet to help with your body control, posture, and overall presence.”

Shen Ci: “……”

So body movement training actually meant dance practice?!

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“Aaah—ow, ow, ow—!”

Shen Ci yelped in pain as his leg was forcefully lifted and pressed down. His face scrunched up in agony, and even the instructor hesitated, almost feeling bad for him.

Sighing, she let go. “You’re this stiff? You’re stuck at the most basic level.”

Shen Ci immediately plopped down on the floor, baring his teeth in pain as he rubbed the sore spot on his inner thigh. His eyes were even welling up with tears.

It wasn’t that he was naturally stiff. It was because two nights ago, he’d been worked over so hard that his back was sore, his legs were cramping, and every muscle ached. The moment he stretched, the pain flared up all over again.

Lu Xiao had even praised his flexibility that night… Shen Ci’s face burned red as he gritted his teeth and mentally pummeled Lu Xiao.

There was no way he could explain this to the dance instructor, so he could only grit his teeth and push through the pain—stretching his legs, pressing his shoulders down, and practicing the basic ballet poses.

Even he himself was surprised by his determination. Somehow, he had endured the entire lesson.

If this had been before, he would’ve whined, pouted, and acted coquettishly to go home. But today, he didn’t want to give up so easily.

Lu Xiao, Min Shoubei, Brother Zhang, Shen Bie, Min Song… Everyone around him was amazing, the best in their own fields.

Since Min Shoubei had given him this chance, he wanted to make the most of it. He didn’t want to be a useless little thing that always needed protecting.

By the time class ended, his training clothes were completely soaked in sweat. His legs were shaking so badly that he nearly collapsed the moment he took a step.

Thankfully, the next dance class was the day after tomorrow, so he had at least one day to recover.

He felt like crying but had no tears left. His coordination was so bad. He was definitely going to be tortured to death by this class…

After saying goodbye to the instructor, Brother Zhang helped him out of the company. And seeing him limp around looking completely drained almost made him die laughing.

Shen Ci was pissed. “Stop laughing!”

“Alright, alright, our little friend is getting embarrassed now.”

Brother Zhang tried to hold in his laughter, but his face was turning red from the effort. He didn’t dare open his mouth, afraid he’d lose control.

It took him a while to calm down. He ruffled Shen Ci’s hair, which was all puffed up in frustration. “But I have to hand it to you. I even made up an excuse to take you home halfway through, but you actually stuck it out.”

Shen Ci tried to ignore his burning thighs, lifted his chin, and grinned proudly. “Impressive, right?”

“Super impressive. Xiao Ci’s all grown up.”

The elevator doors opened, and Shen Ci hobbled toward the nanny van, but Brother Zhang pulled him back. “Hey, don’t go there. President Lu said he’d pick you up on his way.”

Lu Xiao? Shen Ci blinked in confusion. It was already past 9 PM. Lu Xiao should’ve been off work long ago. How was this “on the way”?

“Baby.”

Shen Ci was suddenly lifted off the ground, catching him completely off guard. He looked up in shock—it was Lu Xiao.

Where did he even come from?! Scared him half to death.

“What’s wrong with your legs?” Lu Xiao frowned slightly. “And why’s your face so pale? What happened?”

A dozen steps away, a familiar Bentley sat parked with the driver’s door wide open. Clearly, Lu Xiao had jumped out in a hurry.

Brother Zhang had bolted the moment Lu Xiao appeared, and so with no one else around, Shen Ci huffed and threw a little tantrum. “It’s from dance class! The stretching hurt like hell! And it’s all your fault!”

Lu Xiao’s leather shoes clicked against the pavement in slow, steady steps as he carried Shen Ci toward the car. “What happened exactly?”

Shen Ci, still sulking, complained aggrievedly about his miserable night, exaggerating how much his scrapes and bruises hurt when they got stretched. Lu Xiao’s frown deepened the more he listened. The second he placed Shen Ci in the car, he reached for his belt.

Panicked, Shen Ci swatted his hand away. “What are you doing?! Are you trying to bully me again?!”

Lu Xiao chuckled helplessly. “Baby, be good. Let me check your injuries.”

Then seeing Shen Ci still on high alert, he sighed, feeling a bit guilty for going too hard that night. He lowered his head slightly and coaxed softly, “I swear, I won’t do anything extra.”

Lu Xiao never broke his promises, so after hesitating for a moment, Shen Ci let go of his grip reluctantly. “Then… be careful…”

“Good boy.” Lu Xiao kissed his forehead.

Shen Ci had been exaggerating for dramatic effect, but when he actually looked down… it was worse than he’d described.

The spots where scabs had started to form were now split open again, faint traces of dried blood scattered messily across his skin. The contrast made the deep bruises stand out even more against his pale skin. It looked… absolutely miserable.

“Baby, I’m sorry.” Lu Xiao’s eyes were filled with both guilt and tenderness as he leaned down and kissed the bruises on Shen Ci’s leg.

“!” Shen Ci shuddered, instantly pushing Lu Xiao away as he scrambled to pull his pants back on. “I’ll just put some medicine on at home! The next class isn’t until the day after tomorrow, so I’ll have time to recover!”

But Lu Xiao wasn’t having it. He sped to the pharmacy, bought a whole bunch of medicine, and followed him straight to his apartment.

“I’m also attending the variety show you’re filming tomorrow, so I might as well stay here tonight.” Lu Xiao carried him to the couch, set him down, locked the door, and left Shen Ci with no room to argue.

As soon as he walked in, Lu Xiao took off his suit jacket and got to work—running hot water for a bath, helping Shen Ci soak, drying him off, then settling him on the bed to apply warm compresses before disinfecting and dressing his wounds again.

Shen Ci was being taken care of so well that he nearly fell asleep in the bath. The only thing that kept him from fully dozing off was the sting of the disinfectant when Lu Xiao treated his wounds.

“Little Uncle…” He mumbled softly, drowsy and half-conscious.

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