SM Chapter 26

Chapter 26 You’ve Really Made Something of Yourself

Chapter 26 You’ve Really Made Something of Yourself

Ye Lai changed his clothes and went downstairs. Sheng Mingqian had already set out the plates and was sitting at the dining table, drinking milk and watching the news.

Fried eggs, sausages, salad, and two golden-yellow egg crepes. Ye Lai swallowed his saliva as he walked, reaching the dining table and pulling out a chair next to Sheng Mingqian’s seat.

But as soon as his butt touched the chair, the pain made him gasp and stand up again, clutching his backside, forgetting all about swallowing his saliva.

“It hurts…” Ye Lai yelled dramatically, wincing.

Although Sheng Mingqian had applied medicine for him last night, he had hit him too hard. It was okay if he didn’t touch it, but as soon as he touched it, it burned with pain.

Sheng Mingqian was startled by Ye Lai’s yell. He put down the milk in his hand, stood up, went to the sofa, and took a softer cushion, placing it on Ye Lai’s chair.

Ye Lai slowly and cautiously sat down, keeping his back straight. Although he could still feel the pain, the soft cushion under his butt made it much better. After sitting down steadily, he let out a long breath, glancing at Sheng Mingqian out of the corner of his eye, “Can you not hit my butt next time?”

Sheng Mingqian continued to eat slowly and methodically, not answering him. Ye Lai didn’t ask anymore either. He pulled the plate closer to himself, picked up his chopsticks, and ate quietly.

Sheng Mingqian rarely had breakfast with him, so Ye Lai ate very slowly, savoring the rare time together.

“How much work do you have left?” Sheng Mingqian had finished eating long ago. After watching the midday news, he suddenly turned his head to ask Ye Lai.

Ye Lai was stunned for a moment before replying, “Only that TV series. It was originally supposed to end next month, but now it can’t be filmed, so I’m free.”

“Then don’t take on any new work for now. Come with me to Finland next week.”

“Go to Finland?”

As soon as Ye Lai asked, he remembered that Sheng Mingqian’s parents were in Finland, and he would go to visit them for a while after finishing each movie.

“Is the post-production of your new movie almost finished?”

“Almost.”

“You,” Ye Lai put down his chopsticks, pointing at himself, “You’re letting me go to Finland with you? Aren’t you going to visit your parents?”

“You’re coming with me.” Sheng Mingqian’s tone left no room for discussion.

Ye Lai was taken aback by Sheng Mingqian’s words. Sheng Mingqian had never mentioned him going with him to Finland before, and especially not to his parents’ place.

“Why do you want me to go with you?”

“Aren’t you out of work?”

“I am out of work.”

“Then come along.”

Going around in circles, they returned to the starting point. Ye Lai suppressed the shock in his heart and secretly guessed that Sheng Mingqian might not trust him to be in the country alone, worried that he would expose their relationship again. He would only feel at ease if he kept him in sight. This was fine too.

He had been with Sheng Mingqian for so long, but had never met his parents. He had only heard about them from Lin Han, who said that Sheng Mingqian’s parents were kind and easy to get along with.

–

–

After confirming the time and itinerary, Ye Lai first went back to the orphanage. Sheng Mingqian didn’t go with him this time. The director brought up her friend’s son again. Ye Lai made up a random excuse and brushed it off. This time, the director insisted on stuffing a business card into his hand. Ye Lai didn’t even look at it and just shoved it into his pocket, saying he would contact them later. Afraid that the director would keep pressing him, he hurried out to play with the children.

Last time he came back, Xiao Yu was sick with a fever. This time, Xiao Yu had injuries all over his face and body, with dark circles around his eyes. It was obvious that he had been beaten. Ye Lai hugged him, feeling distressed, and asked him what happened.

At first, Xiao Yu didn’t tell the truth, only saying that he had accidentally fallen. Ye Lai coaxed him for a long time before he stammered the truth. He said that he had been bullied by several older kids from the middle school section. They had caught him in a small alley after school on Friday night and beat him up. They also demanded money from him to buy cigarettes, specifying a certain brand that cost over a hundred yuan a pack. If Xiao Yu didn’t buy them, he would continue to be beaten next week.

Ye Lai was furious when he heard this. He had always been protective of his own. He had been bullied a lot when he was a kid, and now he couldn’t stand seeing children being bullied. He stood up and said he was going to go find those kids.

Xiao Yu grabbed Ye Lai’s hand and said, “Lai-gege, there are five of them.”

“Don’t be afraid. The more afraid you are, the more they will bully you. Today they’re making you buy cigarettes. If you’re scared and buy them, they’ll only become more demanding next time. Lai-gege will back you up.”

Xiao Yu’s eyes darted around. He tugged at Ye Lai’s clothes and asked, “Lai-gege, what about that long-legged uncle who came with you last time? Why didn’t he come? He looked like he was really good at fighting, with such long legs, such broad shoulders, and such big fists… If he could come, our chances of winning might be better.”

Ye Lai was amused by Xiao Yu’s words. He rolled up his sleeves and showed Xiao Yu his clenched fist, “Lai-gege exercises regularly. Lai-gege was very good at fighting when he was a kid.”

“The director told us that if you couldn’t win a fight, you would throw bugs or snakes at people.”

Ye Lai’s embarrassing past was brought up. Afraid that Xiao Yu would imitate him, he patiently explained to him that snakes couldn’t be grabbed and released randomly, and that he had to be careful because snakes could be poisonous.

–

–

Xiao Yu took Ye Lai to the school. The kids who skipped class all day were basically hanging out in the nearby underworld internet cafes.

Ye Lai had Xiao Yu go call them out alone. The five kids thought Xiao Yu was bringing them money, so they quickly followed him to a nearby alley, not expecting to be met by Xiao Yu’s older brother.

Thirteen or fourteen-year-old kids had an instinctive sense of submission to an adult who was a head taller than them. Ye Lai was wearing sunglasses to cover his eyes. The leather jacket he wore today added to his gangster-like aura. Seeing that Xiao Yu had brought all of them, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, standing deep in the alley and blowing a few smoke rings at them. His aura was quite intimidating.

Ye Lai held the cigarette butt in one hand, and the pack of cigarettes in the other. He opened the pack and scanned it in front of them one by one, “My brother said you guys made him buy cigarettes, right? That brand you mentioned is too low. Cool people don’t smoke that kind of cigarette anymore. Come on, little brothers, try my cigarettes. You’re all in middle school now, so you should smoke good ones. Xiao Yu is young and can’t afford them, but I have money. I’ll buy them for you.”

The five kids didn’t move, staring wide-eyed at Ye Lai. When Ye Lai walked towards them, they shrank back. Ye Lai took a step forward, and the kids, who were half a head shorter than him, took a step back. In the end, they were forced all the way to the wall of the alley. Their backs were against the wall, and flakes of gray paint fell down.

Seeing that they weren’t taking the cigarettes, Ye Lai straightened up, “What’s wrong? You don’t want the cigarettes now? Really…”

One of the kids finally couldn’t help it and spoke in a trembling voice, “Who, who are you? What do you want?”

Ye Lai turned his head, looked at the boy who spoke, smiled, and quickly judged that he was the leader of the five kids. The others had all looked at his expression when they retreated just now.

Ye Lai found his target. He rested his arm directly on the wall of the alley, blocking the tall boy’s way. He hooked the boy’s collar with the little finger that was holding the cigarette, “You’re their boss, right? Don’t always pick on weaker elementary school students. What kind of skill is that?”

The “boss,” who had been directly exposed, opened his mouth to deny it, but for the sake of his reputation, he stubbornly refused to back down and retorted bravely, “I am the boss. What do you want?”

Ye Lai had acted for so many years after all, so acting as a fierce villain was no problem. They were all wearing school uniforms, with name tags pinned on their chests. Ye Lai narrowed his eyes and looked at them, directly calling out his name, “Li Ming? Is that right?”

They were all intimidated for a moment, forgetting that there were name tags with their names on their chests. They didn’t expect Ye Lai to directly call out his name, which scared them so much that they shivered, and beads of sweat rolled down their cheeks.

Ye Lai raised the half-burnt cigarette between his thumb and index finger, and lightly tapped the cigarette column with his index finger, causing the ash to fall down and be quickly blown away by the wind in the alley.

He held the cigarette in his mouth and put his arm around Xiao Yu’s shoulders, “I’ve remembered all five of your names. Next time if you cause trouble for my brother again, I’ll personally go to your house to deliver cigarettes.”

The boss named Li Ming had never seen this kind of situation before. He saw an opportunity, yelled “Ah,” and ran away, not even turning his head back.

As soon as the boss ran, the remaining four kids instantly lost their backbone. They all spoke up, guaranteeing that they would never cause trouble for Xiao Yu again, afraid that Ye Lai’s fists would fall on them if they were too slow, or that he would pull out a knife from behind and stab them in the chest at any moment. The white blade would go in, and the red blade would come out, just like on TV.

Even though Ye Lai’s tone of voice hadn’t changed from beginning to end, and he had only smoked a cigarette and said a few sarcastic words to them, the overloaded malevolence on his body was enough to terrify them. It wasn’t just a simple villain, but more like a demon from the underworld, someone they couldn’t afford to offend. That was their most direct feeling at that moment.

All five kids ran away. Ye Lai took a deep breath, and the breath that had been building up in his chest was slowly suppressed by him.

Xiao Yu didn’t notice Ye Lai’s change. He only knew that Lai-gege had scared away those bad guys with a few words. His eyes were full of admiration.

Ye Lai had just calmed down when he turned around carelessly and bumped his eye against the blue stone wall. The leg of his sunglasses broke, and the sand protruding from the wall scratched the corner of his eye, leaving a short white mark, which quickly turned red.

“Lai-gege, be careful.”

Ye Lai took off the broken sunglasses and threw them into the trash can next to him. He gently rubbed his eyes, “Xiao Yu, next time you encounter something like this again, you have to tell the school teacher and Ye Lai-gege, understand?”

Xiao Yu excitedly patted his chest, “Understood.”

After sending Xiao Yu back, Ye Lai drove to his apartment, wanting to pack his things before going to Finland in a few days. On the way, he received a call from Sheng Mingqian, so he turned around and went back to the villa.

Sheng Mingqian had already returned, sitting on the sofa with his long legs crossed. There were several photos on the coffee table, showing him bringing Xiao Yu to “reason” with those kids in the alley this afternoon.

“Ye Lai, you’re really capable now. You beat up the investor half to death a few days ago, and today you’re bullying middle school students…”

Ye Lai picked up the photos on the table and looked at them. He had forgotten that the idol drama he filmed some time ago had become popular, and now there were many people watching them. He didn’t know when the photos were taken, but although he was wearing sunglasses in the photos, the photography equipment was professional, so it was still possible to recognize that the person smoking and intimidating the kids was indeed him.

Since the photos had already reached Sheng Mingqian’s hands, it meant that he had already taken care of the matter. These photos would no longer appear in any place they shouldn’t.

“They bullied Xiao Yu.” Ye Lai didn’t explain much.

“You have countless better solutions.” Sheng Mingqian stared at Ye Lai.

“But isn’t this the most effective? The suppression of power by power has always been the most direct way. Besides, I didn’t lay a hand on them.”

“Did you also want to deal with them in the same way you dealt with Li Tianfeng?”

Sheng Mingqian’s words instantly silenced Ye Lai. He quickly went through the afternoon’s events in his mind.

The oldest of those kids was only fourteen or fifteen years old. Seeing how they reacted in front of him, he knew that the worst thing they had done was to ask younger kids for money to buy cigarettes and play games in underworld internet cafes. They might not have even seen a real villain before.

Would he still lose control?

Ye Lai was still in a daze when he suddenly felt someone touch the corner of his eye. Warm fingertips were touching his face. Ye Lai subconsciously wanted to dodge, but then he remembered that the person touching the corner of his eye was Sheng Mingqian, so he suppressed the urge to dodge and blinked lightly, casting a small shadow with his long eyelashes.

“How did you hurt your eye? Did you lose a fight with the kids?”

Sheng Mingqian made a light-hearted joke, instantly sweeping away the haze in Ye Lai’s mind. The gray area in his heart was once again covered in sunlight.

He raised his hand and touched the corner of his eye, “I didn’t lose the fight. I accidentally bumped into the wall.”

“You’ve really made something of yourself,” Sheng Mingqian said.

Ye Lai burst out laughing at his words, but as he laughed, his heart began to ache, and a wave of grievance washed over him. When he was bullied back then, all he wanted was for someone to back him up.

He turned around, raised his hand, and hugged Sheng Mingqian’s waist. Ye Lai closed his eyes and lazily leaned on his leg, just like in those past nights, secretly absorbing a little of the warmth and light from him.

The author has something to say:

Ye Lai: Nervous, about to meet the parents~ picking at his fingers.