"Brother, no, no, I didn't do anything!" Gu Xiuli was so frightened by that look that he shuddered all over and followed Gu Xiuyi helplessly, trying to explain.
Gu Xiuyi stepped over the broken glass on the floor and approached Ji Ruan. Ji Ruan looked up at him, then quickly turned his head away, tears streaming down his large, watery eyes.
What a pitiful crying act.
Gu Xiuyi's eyes were filled with the sight of Ji Ruan's tear-streaked face and reddened nose. His mind went blank for two seconds before he squatted down to check Ji Ruan's injured ankle.
The injury wasn't serious, just a shallow cut, but perhaps because Ji Ruan's skin was so delicate, a few drops of blood were still seeping out, hanging precariously on the wound and refusing to clot.
"Big Brother..." Gu Xiuli was still trying to explain in a low voice behind them, "Please believe me..."
"Go get the first aid kit," Gu Xiuyi said in a low voice.
"What?" Gu Xiuli seemed not to understand, pointing at himself, "Me?"
"Who else?" Gu Xiuyi, with his elbow resting on his knee, turned to look at him, "And bring a broom to clean up the mess on the floor."
Gu Xiuli's eyes widened in disbelief as he took several steps back, "You're asking me to do a servant's work?!"
Ji Ruan's tears were running low, and he couldn't keep crying. He leaned against the piano, covering his face with his hand, secretly leaving a gap to watch the drama unfold.
Gu Xiuyi stood up, his face stern, "What do you mean by a servant? Aren't they people too? If they can do it, why can't you?"
He casually pointed to the mess on the floor, "Clean it up, not a single piece of debris should be left."
"Brother!" Gu Xiuli wanted to argue, on the verge of tears, but under Gu Xiuyi's icy gaze, he had no choice but to swallow his words.
Gu Xiuyi's tall figure was intimidating to them. Even just standing there doing nothing, his sharp aura was enough to make Gu Xiuli tremble with fear.
Clenching his fists tightly and biting his lip hard, Gu Xiuli ran out.
By the time Fang Lan noticed something was wrong and hurried over, the piano room was brightly lit. Ji Ruan was leaning against the piano, being comforted softly by Gu Xiuyi, while her own son was sweeping the floor, tears and snot running down his face.
This scene felt like a slap to Fang Lan's face. She snatched the broom from her son's hands and forced a stiff smile as she took a couple of steps towards Gu Xiuyi, "Xiuyi, what are you doing?"
Gu Xiuyi, busy comforting Ji Ruan, didn't even lift his head, "Oh, nothing, Xiao Li made a mistake, so I'm punishing him a bit."
"What mistake did he make?" Fang Lan took a deep breath.
Gu Xiuyi coldly glanced at her, "He injured my child's leg."
Fang Lan's gaze immediately shifted to Ji Ruan's fair leg, where a white band-aid was stuck on the ankle.
Such a small piece!
It looked like an injury that would heal on its own soon if left untreated!
Fang Lan felt her temples throbbing with anger.
"Mom! It wasn't me!" Gu Xiuli, tears streaming down his face, held onto Fang Lan's arm, "He broke the picture frame himself. I just wanted to apologize and make peace. It was him! He scolded me without any reason and even broke things!"
"Shut up!" Fang Lan shook off her son's hand, trying her best to maintain a kind appearance, "Xiuyi, you heard it. Xiao Li said he's innocent. You can't not believe your own brother."
"Is that so..." Gu Xiuyi thoughtfully nodded, lifting Ji Ruan's chin, "Is what he said true?"
Ji Ruan didn't answer. His swollen eyes showed a moment of confusion, as if he hadn't expected to be questioned. After several seconds, he lowered his eyes in extreme disappointment, biting his lower lip to hold back his tears.
Gu Xiuyi immediately hugged Ji Ruan, rubbing the back of his head and soothing him softly, "Alright, alright, don't cry. I understand."
He turned to look at the mother and son, "You see, Xiao Li wasn't wronged."
"Big Brother!" Gu Xiuli's emotions were out of control, "Why do you believe everything he says? No... he hasn't even said anything. I'm your own brother!"
"That's enough, Xiao Li!" Fang Lan held onto Gu Xiuli tightly, maintaining her last bit of composure, "Xiuyi... yes, even if Xiao Li made a mistake, I apologize for him, okay? But you can't punish him like this..."
Gu Xiuyi was puzzled, "How did I punish him?"
Fang Lan, feeling greatly humiliated, said with tears in her eyes, "You can't make him do a servant's work. He's the second young master of the Gu family!"
"Sigh," Gu Xiuyi sighed with a headache, "Aunt Fang, the remnants of feudalism are too strong with you. What era is this, and you're still talking about servants? With such an education, no wonder Xiao Li is so unruly."
Fang Lan was furious, but hearing Gu Xiuyi's words, she suddenly sensed a different meaning, "What do you mean?"
Gu Xiuyi smiled, "Xiao Li is about to graduate from college, isn't he? How about sending him abroad for further studies?"
"No way!" Fang Lan exclaimed, her long-maintained facade shattering at that moment, "He is supposed to join the company after graduation!"
"There's no rush," Gu Xiuyi said lightly. "Xiao Li himself said he's not capable enough. I'm sending him abroad for his own good."
"No, no, that's not possible!" Fang Lan's voice trembled. "Xiao Li has never traveled far on his own before. It's so chaotic abroad..."
Gu Xiuyi responded nonchalantly, "It's not chaotic. I studied abroad for many years and came back just fine. Besides, he's a Gu family son. How could he suffer any grievances out there?"
"That's it then," he said as he picked up Ji Ruan and walked out. "I'll have my secretary gather information on various universities. Xiao Li should be able to go abroad to continue his studies soon."
Gu Xiuli was completely frozen in place.
Fang Lan took a few steps and grabbed Gu Xiuyi's sleeve. "You're being too much of a bully. Even if Xiao Li has to go abroad, it should be decided by your father!"
Gu Xiuyi looked at Fang Lan, who seemed to be at her wit's end, and smiled calmly. "If you think telling Gu Zhaoxu will help, go ahead."
With that, he stopped paying attention to the mother and son and walked away briskly with Ji Ruan in his arms, feeling refreshed.
As the fabric slipped from her hands, Fang Lan stumbled, but Gu Xiuli held her up.
Gu Xiuli stared blankly ahead at the hallway. "Mom... so I really am going to be sent abroad?"
Fang Lan closed her eyes, breathing heavily and saying nothing.
Gu Xiuli's mind felt blank. "Let's tell Dad. He definitely won't let me go!"
Fang Lan slowly straightened up. "Do you think Gu Xiuyi cares about your dad anymore?"
"But he still has some say in the matter!" Gu Xiuli said urgently.
"It's no use," Fang Lan looked at her son. "He made up his mind long ago."
"W-what?"
Fang Lan's eyes were sunken, making her look much older suddenly. "Gu Xiuyi has long wanted to send you away. Having you in the company is a threat to him. Today, he just used that little bitch's incident to make it clear."
She pushed Gu Xiuli's hand away and staggered out. "Even if not now, tomorrow, the day after, or next month, he would still find an excuse to send you abroad..."
·…
"You actually planned this all along, didn't you?"
Back home, Ji Ruan lay on the bed after taking a shower, holding an ice pack to his eyes and speaking slowly.
"What?"
Gu Xiuyi sat at the bedside, pressing a bandage on Ji Ruan's ankle wound.
"I mean, you've long wanted to get rid of your cheap little brother, right?" Ji Ruan teased. "Saying it's to stand up for me, but you had your own plans."
Gu Xiuyi chuckled lightly. "I can send him away anytime I want."
"But not like today, yelling at him while sending him off, right?"
Ji Ruan removed the ice pack, sat up, and rested his chin on his hand as he looked at Gu Xiuyi. "Normally, with how difficult your stepmother is, wouldn't you have to fake a smile and deal with them for a long time to get it done? How could it be so straightforward today?"
Gu Xiuyi tugged at the corner of his mouth but said nothing.
If he didn't answer, Ji Ruan would keep staring at him until he did.
Gu Xiuyi sighed. "What do you think?"
Ji Ruan, who didn't like thinking much, replied casually, "I think it's great. With his IQ, even if he gets into the company, he can't stir up much trouble. The main issue is annoyance. Who wouldn't be disgusted seeing someone they dislike every day?"
Gu Xiuyi was amused by Ji Ruan's choice of words and tapped his fair calf with his index finger. "Crude language."
His fingers were long, and just with his index finger tapping Ji Ruan's calf, there was an inexplicable hint of something suggestive.
Ji Ruan instinctively shrank back, only for Gu Xiuyi to naturally grab his ankle and pull him back.
"Ahem," Ji Ruan scratched his nose. "Actually, there's one more thing I'm worried about..."
Gu Xiuyi looked up, signaling him to continue.
"It's just..." Ji Ruan hesitated. "If those two think you're sending him away because you're afraid of that little brat's talent, wouldn't that be even more disgusting?"
Gu Xiuyi's hand paused, his jaw tightening suddenly. He seemed genuinely disgusted by the thought.
His stepmother likely did think that way. She would rather believe all the men in the world had died than admit her son wasn't smart.
"Let's not talk about this anymore," Gu Xiuyi exhaled and looked at Ji Ruan's ankle with a more serious expression. "This wound doesn't look right. Why won't the bleeding stop?"
Ji Ruan craned his neck to look. Gu Xiuyi had already used several small bandages. The amount of bleeding was indeed excessive compared to the depth of the wound, but it wasn't a lot.
"It's nothing," Ji Ruan pouted. "I probably reopened it while showering. A band-aid will do."
Gu Xiuyi didn't respond but carefully examined the small, shallow wound again. It seemed Ji Ruan's slow healing was due to his poor constitution.
"Even if it's to vent, you shouldn't hurt yourself." Gu Xiuyi said while applying a band-aid.
"This was really an accident," Ji Ruan said, hugging a teddy bear. "I was aiming at your brother, threw it quite far, but who knew the broken glass would fly over."
He sighed. "I guess hurting others ends up hurting oneself. I really shouldn't be bad or do evil in the future."
"That's quite an epiphany." Gu Xiuyi leaned against the wooden table at the foot of the bed. "But they did evil first. You're no villain, little one."
He said this as he moved closer, examining the face Ji Ruan had buried in the teddy bear and smirked.
"At most, you're just an unlucky kid."
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The author has something to say: Ruan Ruan: How dare he call me unlucky?! (First day holding a grudge)
T/N: Had a busy last week that’s why I’m behind schedule. I’ll make up for it this Sunday~