Harsh Words

Si Youlin dropped those cruel words and immediately broke into a run, as if some vicious ghost were chasing close behind him.

Jiang Ran stood where she was, watching his retreating figure. She pressed her lips together, a trace of mockery flashing through her eyes.

She truly could not comprehend the original owner’s bizarre way of thinking—beating and scolding her own biological son at every turn, yet being sweet-talked and deceived by despicable people who coveted her wealth.

Utterly foolish!

And now, she had to clean up all these rotten messes for her.

“How unlucky…” Jiang Ran lowered her gaze and muttered softly. Just as she was about to turn and leave, a sudden sense of unease flashed through her mind.

Her expression changed at once. Jiang Ran hurriedly chased after the direction Si Youlin had gone.

At the same time, a deep red Mercedes was speeding down the road, racing straight toward Si Youlin.

“Watch out!” In her panic, Jiang Ran cried out.

Hearing her voice, Si Youlin’s steps faltered. With an annoyed expression, he was about to turn around when a glance caught the danger approaching.

In an instant, the color drained from his face. Pale as paper, his body froze in place, unable to move at all.

The car was coming far too fast. Jiang Ran only had time to warn him before it was about to slam into him head-on—

Bang!

With a deafening crash, accompanied by the screams of passersby, the out-of-control car suddenly swerved away from Si Youlin and flipped over out of nowhere.

Everything happened too abruptly.

Jiang Ran stared at Si Youlin in shock. Around him, a cyan light flickered, encircling his body like a suit of armor, forming a protective barrier.

“Azure Dragon Protection…?” Jiang Ran murmured under her breath, a trace of astonishment flashing in her eyes at the sight.

That made sense. Even if the dragon aura on him was weak now, his fate was what it was—unless it was divine retribution, his life would not be in danger.

Thinking this, Jiang Ran secretly formed a hand seal and calculated quickly. Her brow furrowed, and she rushed toward Si Youlin.

Si Youlin was still reeling from what had just happened, unable to snap out of it, when he suddenly felt someone grab him from behind. Instinctively, he struggled to break free.

“What the he—”

Before he could finish, he heard Jiang Ran let out a muffled groan.

Si Youlin came back to his senses, yanking himself free and turning to look at her. Just as he was about to scold her harshly, his gaze shifted and landed on a clear gash on her arm, blood seeping out.

Looking down, he saw a shard of shattered car window glass lying on the ground.

So… she had rushed over to save him?

The realization struck Si Youlin all at once. He stared at Jiang Ran in disbelief. His face was still deathly pale from the accident, his eyes filled with shock.

But the thought barely lasted a moment before he dismissed it as wishful thinking.

Someone like her—selfish and self-serving—how could she possibly come to save him? She probably wished he were dead!

Jiang Ran sucked in a breath from the pain. When she looked up, she saw the child in her arms staring at her with a pale face.

She paused, then frowned and spoke:

“What are you staring at? Can’t you see I’m injured?”

Si Youlin had been lost in his thoughts, but her words snapped him back to reality.

He looked at her, his gaze complicated.

Then, remembering Jiang Ran’s usual behavior, his expression darkened again. He quickly took a step back, pulling away from her embrace, and said coldly, “How hypocritical.”

Damn it—he had almost been moved just now!

Thinking about that fleeting moment of emotional turmoil made Si Youlin feel so ashamed he wanted to die.

After spitting those words out, he turned and fled.

Watching Si Youlin’s retreating figure, Jiang Ran’s eyes filled with helplessness. It seemed that on the road to easing the relationship between the two of them, she still had a long way to go…

Feeling the sharp pain coming from her arm, Jiang Ran lowered her head. The blood from the wound hadn’t stopped and had already soaked half her sleeve.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran didn’t really care. She simply shook her head, her tone full of self-mockery. “Nosy.”

It was probably just a human instinct that made her rush forward to protect him.

Or perhaps… a maternal instinct?

The moment that thought crossed her mind, she snorted in disdain.

Maternal instinct? From the original owner?

She almost believed it herself.

The most pressing matter now was to tend to the wound.

Once she’d sorted that out, Jiang Ran finally realized that she’d really taken on a troublesome situation…

What if… that kid took it seriously?

…

Meanwhile, on the other side—

After quickly leaving the accident scene, Si Youlin’s mind was a tangled mess the entire way.

She must be plotting something!

With a hint of childishness, Si Youlin shook his head, trying to shake those thoughts out of his mind.

He then hurried into a private room at an internet café. Sitting at the computer was a boy who looked almost exactly like him. With flaxen, tousled hair partially covering his amber eyes, he gave off a cold, unapproachable aura completely unlike Si Youlin’s.

Despite his young age, his presence was chilling.

The boy’s fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code jumping rapidly across the screen.

“Brother,” Si Youlin called out from behind him.

Hearing his voice, Si Zuochen stopped typing and turned around. His dark eyes were filled with indifference, but the moment he saw Si Youlin, he quickly withdrew that expression.

Now, Si Youlin was his only weakness. He never revealed his other side in front of his younger brother.

“Why are you here?” Si Zuochen asked with a faint smile.