Vase cannon fodder is pampered by the group again

Chapter 83.1

“Alright, alright!”

Wei Shuo finally couldn’t hold back. Frowning, he pulled away from Yang Ning, his cheeks flushing with an almost imperceptible red.

Interacting like this with his usual sparring partner made Wei Shuo thoroughly uncomfortable. He was already itching to snap at someone to release the tension.

Yang Ning stubbornly grabbed at his hand: “No way. If my idol sees I didn’t take good care of you, he’ll be unhappy.”

Wei Shuo brushed him off dismissively: “Xiao Ci isn’t that petty… Speaking of which, why hasn’t he come back yet?”

Logically speaking, if it was just greeting a friend, it should only take a few minutes.

But the BGM had already moved to the next song, and they still hadn’t seen Shen Ci’s figure. Wei Shuo felt concerned and got up, heading toward the shop entrance.

Yang Ning quickly stood up too: “Wait! I’m coming too!”

“…Calm down! Bai Yan, big brother, hold him back!”

As soon as they approached the shop entrance, the two heard Shen Ci’s anxious shouting. It seemed someone had gotten into an argument.

Wei Shuo furrowed his brow and hurried over: “What’s going on…”

Taking a closer look, he blurted out a curse.

No wonder Shen Ci was delayed. Shao Jinhuan had actually shown up and was going at it with Shen Bie.

Not far away, Shen Bie was viciously gripping Shao Jinhuan’s collar, loudly questioning him about something.

Both men were tall, and when they got confrontational like this, it was quite intimidating. These two were both fierce when it came to fighting, so Shen Ci’s anxiety was perfectly normal.

Shen Ci was hugging his big brother’s waist from behind, desperately pulling him back: “Big brother, don’t be impulsive! He hasn’t done anything!”

Shen Bie refused to let go of Shao Jinhuan’s collar, saying coldly: “Should I wait until he actually does something before beating him up? Get lost right now!”

Meanwhile, Shao Jinhuan remained silent throughout, thin lips pressed tightly as he stared at Shen Bie: “I just came to attend a childhood friend’s gathering.”

Shen Bie’s eyes flared: “Now you remember he’s your childhood friend and want to treat him well? When my little brother was crashing into you and getting his head bloodied, getting hurt by you and crying in my office every day—you’ve forgotten all that?!”

At these words, everyone fell into silence. Shao Jinhuan’s pupils trembled slightly, and he remained quietly speechless.

Shen Ci awkwardly closed his eyes and knocked his forehead against his big brother’s back several times, signaling him to shut up quickly.

Bai Yan stepped in at the right moment to pry Shen Bie’s hands away. Yang Ning also came to help, and they finally managed to pull Shen Bie to a safe distance. However, he continued glaring fiercely at Shao Jinhuan like an enraged wolf.

Shao Jinhuan’s collar was disheveled. The perfect, aloof movie emperor from the screen now looked somewhat bedraggled.

His assistant quickly stepped forward to straighten Shao Jinhuan’s appearance, crying in his heart.

Tomorrow Shao Jinhuan was supposed to go to M Country for an event. He should have been resting well tonight, but inexplicably decided he wanted to come here, and without an invitation, no less.

Shao Jinhuan’s status was high enough that even his manager couldn’t control him. The assistant could only resign himself to driving him here.

Who would have thought Shao Jinhuan had come to get beaten up… The assistant was heartbroken. Shao Jinhuan had been restless lately. Already naturally taciturn, he could now go an entire day without uttering half a word.

Had his brain really gone bad?

“Big brother, let’s go inside and have some water to cool down!” Shen Ci wouldn’t let go, hugging his big brother’s waist and dragging him toward the shop.

Shen Bie had business tonight and arrived late. Shen Ci didn’t know what he’d been doing, but could tell at a glance that his mood was terrible.

Coincidentally… Shao Jinhuan had shown up uninvited, arriving right behind Shen Bie with impeccable timing.

And seeing him, Shen Bie predictably exploded, roaring as he lunged forward to fight. It took great effort to hold him back.

Feeling his sleeve being tugged, Shen Ci turned to meet Shao Jinhuan’s deep eyes. His expression held a hint of pleading.

“…Can we talk?”

“Big brother!” Shen Ci quickly stood on his tiptoes to cover Shen Bie’s mouth, preventing him from cursing: “I have lots of friends watching, and they’re waiting for the gathering… If this gets out of hand, it’ll be difficult to resolve.”

“…” Hearing this, Shen Bie’s brow furrowed. He pried away his little brother’s hand, his eyes fierce and resistant: “For Xiao Ci’s sake, I’ll spare you for now. What do you want to talk about? Hurry up and don’t waste time.”

Shen Ci sighed in relief: “Then let’s sit down first—ahhhh!”

Being hoisted up by his strength-venting big brother, Shen Ci got quite a scare.

Shen Bie strode forward on his long legs with a sour expression, tossing his little brother onto a sofa in a private room before sprawling beside him. Staff brought them tea.

Shao Jinhuan silently followed them in, glanced at Shen Bie, and gestured wordlessly.

Shen Bie said arrogantly: “What are you looking at? A guardian must be present!”

“…” Shao Jinhuan could only sit down facing Shen Ci, his gaze calm.

Tonight Shen Ci wore simple athletic wear, his semi-long chestnut hair refreshingly tied in a small topknot with scattered strands falling by his fair ears. His dewy deer-like eyes sparkled like scattered stars.

Shao Jinhuan suppressed the urge to reach out and brush away his loose strands, drinking some water to cool his head before saying softly: “Xiao Ci, your styling looks great today.”

Goosebumps rose on Shen Ci’s arms. He wasn’t used to such ambiguous praise: “Uh… thanks?”

Shen Bie warned: “No sexual harassment!”

Shao Jinhuan ignored him and continued: “You’ve been busy studying and filming, so we’ve never had time to talk face-to-face.”

Shen Ci awkwardly scratched his cheek, mumbling quietly: “I feel like there’s nothing much to talk about…”

The fingers Shao Jinhuan had resting on his teacup immediately tightened, clearly showing his knuckles, but he pressed his lips and said nothing.

The person before him… had once tirelessly circled around him, chattering about “liking” him, wanting to give him the whole world, eagerly waiting for his response.

But Shao Jinhuan, busy with his acting career, only found his childhood friend’s admiration troublesome and annoying.

He deliberately acted cold toward Shen Ci, hoping Shen Ci would sensibly leave and find someone else to like.

Later… Shen Ci indeed became disheartened overnight and stopped pestering him as he’d wished.

But then he suddenly couldn’t bear to let go. When he turned around, no one was waiting for him anymore.

Even a simple chat between friends had become difficult to achieve.

Shao Jinhuan’s Adam’s apple moved slowly as he lowered his gaze and said quietly: “About what happened before… I was wrong. I missed many things.”

Like… missing you.

“Not at all, I was the one who was wrong.” Shen Ci quickly shook his head, genuinely apologizing for his past foolish cannon fodder behavior: “I was too willful and caused you so much trouble. I’m really sorry.”

Shao Jinhuan was stunned. What Shen Ci said was… too distant and unfamiliar. He panicked a little.

Shen Bie got annoyed listening: “With your big brother here, why the hell are you apologizing, Xiao Ci! If you’re unhappy, just beat the crap out of him!”

Shen Ci: “Big brother, if you just go around fighting, Dr. Mo will be angry.”

Shen Bie: “…Don’t mention him!”

Shen Ci: “Why are you suddenly shouting so loud? Did you have a fight with Dr. Mo?”

Shen Bie: “…Kids shouldn’t meddle in adult business!”

Shen Ci: “Where am I a kid!”

The brothers bickered loudly while Shao Jinhuan seemed to hear nothing.

His fingers clenched painfully as he gently set down his porcelain cup, took a deep breath, and met Shen Ci’s eyes with his deep gaze.

“I just want to ask one question.”

The two quieted down, looking toward Shao Jinhuan who was speaking with lowered eyes.

His voice was low and hoarse: “Xiao Ci, if we could start over, would you be willing to be with me…”

“Sorry, Brother Shao.” Shen Ci immediately interrupted, guessing what Shao Jinhuan was about to say.

Shen Ci couldn’t help but sigh: “Dwelling on the past is meaningless. Brother Shao, you understand this principle, right?”

What’s past is past. Everything has already been decided.

“…”

Shao Jinhuan lowered his head in silence for a long while, slowly opening his palm to see the complex, scattered lines on his palm where the clear love line stretched far before ending at the side of his hand.

He looked up at Shen Ci, his eyes calm yet determined: “I understand.”

“But we can at least be friends again, right?”

Shen Bie immediately narrowed his eyes, extremely wary.

Shao Jinhuan looked directly at Shen Ci: “You, me, and Ah Shuo. We’re childhood friends after all.”

“Don’t you think it’s a pity that things have gotten to this point?”

Shen Ci pressed his lips together, somewhat moved. After all, the three had indeed grown up together. The first one to damage their relationship was… actually Shen Ci, who had carelessly spoken of “liking”.

He scratched his head: “I certainly don’t have a problem with it… As for Shuo Shuo, I’ll help put in a good word for you.”

“Okay.” Shao Jinhuan’s tone was flat: “Thank you.”

“Mm…” Having nothing left to chat about, Shen Ci simply got up to leave: “Everyone’s here, I need to go set up the livestream!”

After speaking, he stepped over Shen Bie’s legs and ran off to tend to his friends.

Shao Jinhuan had no intention of leaving. He poured himself a cup of tea and thoughtfully refilled Shen Bie’s cup as well.

“Pretty talkative tonight. Aren’t you supposed to be aloof?” Shen Bie crossed his arms arrogantly: “I advise you not to play any tricks. Uncle Lu is much more ruthless than me. He devours people without spitting out the bones.”

“Being aloof depends on the person.” Shao Jinhuan lowered his eyes to drink his hot tea, hiding the complex emotions in his gaze.

“Just friends. I won’t go back on my word.”