Red Line Resurrection Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Do not be afraid.

People came and went around the bar, and the three of them standing there were particularly conspicuous. When Shen Lingjun saw Ji Yuxuan, his mind went blank. He didn’t hear what Ji Yuxuan asked, only replying, “How did you find me?”

He had never told Ji Yuxuan where he lived now.

Suddenly, he remembered the message he received this morning. A former friend had asked him for his address, saying they wanted to mail him something.

Because that person was genuinely one of the few people he had a good relationship with, he had given the school address without any suspicion. Even now, he didn’t think his friend had lied to him; it must have been Ji Yuxuan who had tricked his friend into giving up the address.

He just hadn’t expected Ji Yuxuan to come looking for him.

The expression on Ji Yuxuan’s face was a mix of a laugh and a cry. “How did I find you?”

“You suddenly broke up with me last night. I was so damn angry I didn’t sleep all night. I took a six-hour train ride first thing this morning to come find you.” Ji Yuxuan grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall. Why did Shen Lingjun get to initiate this kind of unilateral, sudden breakup? If anyone was going to break up, it should be him!

“You were the one who came to me asking to date in the first place. What is this now? You got a rich life and then kicked me to the curb, is that it? I’m telling you, no way! What kind of person are you to think you can break up with me?”

At Ji Yuxuan’s age, the anger over being dumped far surpassed the sadness of the breakup. Shen Lingjun, whose clothes were being pulled, felt a little breathless. Hearing this, he found it amusing, looking at Ji Yuxuan and sneering, “Were you very good to me when we were together?”

More and more onlookers gathered. Shen Lingjun didn’t want to argue with him and be treated like a joke, and he didn’t want to waste time. If Liang Ji’an came to pick him up, missed him, and then found out he had lied, he would be in serious trouble when he got back.

Zhou Shunan, who had been standing by without moving, suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Ji Yuxuan by the back of the neck, and yanked him away. The incident happened too quickly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to intervene, but the first thing the Delinquent said had confused him, and he was genuinely curious. Furthermore, Shen Lingjun’s resistance toward him earlier in the bar had caused him a subtle annoyance, so he simply stood there and watched the show for a bit.

Ji Yuxuan was already looking for a place to vent his anger. He couldn’t bring himself to hit Shen Lingjun, but now the person behind him was trying to start a fight. Like a mad dog, he lifted his foot and kicked backward, cursing, “I waited for you outside your school the whole time! I watched you go eat hotpot and hang out at the bar with him after school. Shen Lingjun, you’re really something. Are you cheating on me or trying for a seamless transition? Is this the new sugar daddy you hooked up with? He just looks like a pretty boy. Is he super rich?”

His words were truly nasty. Zhou Shunan turned around and landed a punch. A crowd had gathered outside the bar entrance. Shen Lingjun felt humiliated. He shouted twice for them to stop fighting, but no one listened. Furious, he stepped up and kicked Ji Yuxuan. “Can you just go back where you came from?”

Ji Yuxuan rolled over and lay on the ground like a scoundrel, his face half-swollen. “No.”

“What was your attitude when you begged me to be your boyfriend? And what is your attitude now? If you really want to part ways amicably, give me money! I need compensation for the emotional distress I suffered during the year we were together, right? I’m a straight man, okay? It was very hard being with you!”

Zhou Shunan wanted to hit him again, but Shen Lingjun shook his head at him, signaling that he would handle it.

“I don’t owe you anything, Ji Yuxuan.” He calmed down slightly, but his eyes were red with anger. “First, he and I are just friends; I didn’t do anything to betray you. Second, I didn’t shortchange you emotionally; you know why you dated me. Third, I never owed you a single cent before, and I certainly don’t now.”

Ji Yuxuan staggered to his feet. He couldn’t hear anything Shen Lingjun said, only feeling that he was defending Zhou Shunan. More malicious words uncontrollably spilled from his mouth. “Won’t your new boyfriend find you disgusting? Does he know you have a…”

“Slap—”

Before he could finish, Shen Lingjun raised his hand and delivered a sharp slap. The crisp sound silenced the surrounding area. When Shen Lingjun looked at him again, his eyes were practically blazing with fury. “Ji Yuxuan, try saying that one more time?”

After hitting him, Shen Lingjun himself felt sickened. When he was five, he was using the restroom, and Ji Yuxuan peered over the wall. He hadn’t seen anything, only seeing Shen Lingjun squatting to pee, but he went around telling everyone that Shen Lingjun was a Two-Chair. It was hard to believe such words could come from a child less than five years old. From then on, his peers had called him that, even though none of them had ever seen anything, yet they all acted as if they had witnessed it firsthand.

Rumors never needed confirmation; they only needed to be constantly spread to become the widely known “truth.” And unfortunately, in a certain sense, this was a fact for him. Shen Lingjun had no way to argue, only carefully avoiding everyone.

Later, when he got together with Ji Yuxuan, the days of being occasionally bullied did stop, but it turned into a more bizarre relationship.

He was certainly seeking protection, but for him, wasn’t it also a form of revenge?

The person who had initially looked down on him the most had still ended up becoming his boyfriend.

The surroundings were still noisy. Shen Lingjun’s face was as white as paper. He flexed his wrist and delivered another slap with his backhand. At this moment, looking at Ji Yuxuan, he only felt ridiculous. “What were you trying to say just now?”

Ji Yuxuan was stunned by the hit, snapping back to reality as if waking from a dream. What was he going to say? Those were the jokes he was used to making with his friends. He knew very well they were lies because he had never actually seen anything, but he had said them so often that even he started to believe them, almost letting them slip out.

After hitting him, Shen Lingjun belatedly realized that Liang Ji’an had arrived at some point. It was already past nine o’clock. Perhaps after failing to find him at the hotpot restaurant, he had stumbled upon him here.

Shen Lingjun looked up at Liang Ji’an. His first reaction wasn’t the fear of being caught lying again, but a sense of indescribable relief. Although he had been in this new home for less than a month, he knew Liang Ji’an cared about him, and so he unconsciously relied on him.

The two faces he had seen countless times in the documents appeared before Liang Ji’an. He waved at Shen Lingjun. “Come here.”

Shen Lingjun quickly ran toward him. The moment his hand grasped Liang Ji’an’s forearm, tears instantly streamed down his face, uncontrollable. Liang Ji’an patted his back, comforting him. “Do not be afraid.”

“Everything will be handled.”

It was only two sentences, but Shen Lingjun instantly calmed down. Liang Ji’an truly would support him, all because of this half-blood relationship.

Shen Lingjun sincerely believed this.