Chapter 277

Chapter 277 Extra Story 1: Chen Yuanyuan vs. Qin Yan (1) Chen Yuanyuan was only nine years old when she first met Qin Yan. Her mother, Wu Shuhua, held Chen Yuanyuan's hand and said with a smile, "Call him big brother." The little girl looked up at the teenager who was a head taller than her, pursed her lips, and obediently called out, "Big brother." But the teenager didn't appreciate it at all. His eyes were full of mockery and disdain as he looked at Chen Yuanyuan. He snorted coldly, "Don't call me that. Who's your brother?" Chen Yuanyuan looked at her mother Wu Shuhua with a pitiful expression. "Mom, big brother doesn't like me." Wu Shuhua's lips twitched awkwardly. Qin Yan's father, Qin Li, shot Qin Yan a glare. "Qin Yan, this is your sister Yuanyuan. From now on, we're a family." "I don't want this sister!" Qin Yan grabbed Chen Yuanyuan's little braid, his face red with anger. "This is my home! Get out! My mom only has one child—me! I don't have a sister!" "Qin Yan, what are you doing?! Let go!" Qin Li shouted sternly. Chen Yuanyuan's braid was yanked, and she burst into tears from the pain. "Wah wah wah, Mom, Mom—" Wu Shuhua hadn't expected Qin Yan to act like this either. She hurriedly tried to pull Qin Yan away. "Xiao Yan, let go. You're hurting your sister." The teenager glared at Wu Shuhua and Chen Yuanyuan, his face stubborn as he roared, "Get out of here! I don't want a stepmother, and I don't want a sister either!" "Smack—" Qin Li slapped Qin Yan across the face. Qin Li's chest heaved with rage as he bellowed, "This family isn't yours to decide! Let go now!" Qin Yan released Chen Yuanyuan's braid, a red handprint forming on his face. "Fine, I'll leave! I don't want you as a father either!" That day, Qin Yan ran away from home. A fourteen-year-old boy, still in middle school, in the throes of teenage rebellion, full of defiance. Wu Shuhua looked at Qin Li with concern. "Xiao Yan..." Qin Li's face was ashen, the anger in his eyes still burning. "Don't worry about him. He'll come back once he runs out of money." As it turned out, Qin Li was right. After Qin Yan ran away, Qin Li cut off his financial support. Qin Yan spent the few hundred yuan in cash he had on him, and when it ran out, he had no choice but to stay at a classmate's house. On the third day, the classmate's father politely hinted that it wasn't convenient to keep hosting him. What inconvenience could there be? It was obviously Qin Li who paid them to kick Qin Yan out. Qin Yan packed his things and left the classmate's house. After wandering around outside for a day, he slunk back home. He came in through the back door and happened to be spotted by Chen Yuanyuan, who was playing house with her Barbie dolls in the backyard. Chen Yuanyuan was a little afraid of him. She timidly pursed her lips and looked at him, not daring to speak. "What are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Qin Yan glared at Chen Yuanyuan and shouted ferociously. Startled, Chen Yuanyuan burst into tears with a loud "Wah!" Qin Yan yelled, "What are you crying about?! All you know how to do is cry!" Annoyed by the little girl's noisy sobbing, he strode over, snatched her Barbie doll, and threw it on the ground. "Just looking at you is annoying!" Chen Yuanyuan cried even louder. The crying drew the attention of the household servant. "Miss, what's wrong?" The servant rushed out and saw Qin Yan looking disheveled. She paused mid-step. "Young Master, you're back?" As luck would have it, Qin Li happened to be home. Hearing Chen Yuanyuan's cries, Qin Li also came out to check. Seeing the Barbie doll thrown on the ground and Chen Yuanyuan sobbing breathlessly, what else did Qin Li need to understand? He grabbed Qin Yan by the ear and scolded, "You little brat, are you bullying your sister again?" And so, Qin Yan, who had just returned from running away, got a beating from his father for bullying his sister. The grudge between the two was sealed from that moment on. Before Chen Yuanyuan entered middle school, she was the one being bullied, unilaterally. Qin Yan loved playing pranks on Chen Yuanyuan. For example, stuffing bugs into her schoolbag, putting laxatives in her milk, and using scissors to shave all her Barbie dolls bald. Qin Li was very busy and often away from home. At first, every time Chen Yuanyuan was bullied by Qin Yan, she would go crying to her mother Wu Shuhua to complain. But as a stepmother, Wu Shuhua found it difficult to discipline Qin Yan. For the sake of family harmony, Wu Shuhua chose to turn a blind eye and didn't tell Qin Li about Chen Yuanyuan being bullied by Qin Yan. With his stepmother covering for him, Qin Yan grew even bolder. Poor Chen Yuanyuan, bullied for so long with her own mother doing nothing about it, became withdrawn and quiet. This personality led to her being bullied in middle school by classmates who didn't study and just loafed around all day. Because telling her mother had never worked before, Chen Yuanyuan subconsciously believed that no one would save her when she was bullied, that no one would take her side—that even telling teachers or parents was useless. So she silently endured it for over a year. Until the second semester of eighth grade. One afternoon after school. Chen Yuanyuan was threatened by a few girls in her class and taken to a small alley outside the school. Those girls had always enjoyed bullying Chen Yuanyuan. Even though it was an elite school, there were still students who didn't care about studying and liked to bully others. Chen Yuanyuan was one of the bullied. Those girls pulled out the textbooks and homework from Chen Yuanyuan's backpack and tossed them all over the place. Two of them stepped forward to grab Chen Yuanyuan's hair, punching and kicking her. Chen Yuanyuan fought back, but she was outnumbered, and her resistance only earned her a worse beating. She sobbed and cried out loud. People passing by saw what was happening, but no one dared to step in and stop the bullies. The cash, pocket money, and snacks on her were all ransacked by them. Just as those girls were gleefully reaching to tear off her clothes, a furious shout made them stop. "What are you doing?!" A young man rushed over, shoving the bullies aside with one hand, shielding Chen Yuanyuan behind him. Chen Yuanyuan brushed aside the disheveled hair on her forehead and looked up. The moment her eyes met the young man's, disbelief flooded her gaze. This young man who had descended from nowhere to save her from danger was actually Qin Yan, the one who usually bullied her the most. Qin Yan was already eighteen by then, having shot up to 185 centimeters tall. Standing there, he made the few girls too afraid to say a word. They exchanged glances and tried to run, but Qin Yan blocked their way. A layer of frost covered the young man's eyes, and the pressure radiating from him was suffocating. "You lot, give me your school ID badges!" The badges bore their names, student numbers, and class information. Those girls weren't stupid. They knew that if they handed over their badges, the matter of them bullying Chen Yuanyuan would definitely be reported to the teachers. Although their families were wealthy and influential, who among those attending this elite school didn't have a solid family background? They had only kept bullying Chen Yuanyuan because she was timid by nature—too afraid to tell the teachers or her parents when she was mistreated. If this really got back to the teachers, and Chen Yuanyuan's parents pursued it, they might end up punished by the school, or in serious cases, even expelled. The leading girl, bolder than the rest, spoke up. "Who are you? Why should we give you our badges?" A cold gleam flashed in Qin Yan's eyes as he stared unblinkingly at the girl who had spoken, his voice icy and menacing. "Are you going to give it, or not?" "If you don't, I'll call the police directly, and you can explain yourselves to them." With that, Qin Yan pulled out his phone and made as if to call the police. The girl panicked. "I'll give it to you. Don't call the police." After the girls obediently handed over their badges, Qin Yan still didn't let them go. He called the police on the spot. The leading girl was furious. "Didn't you say you'd let us go once we handed over the badges?" "Did I?" Qin Yan sneered coldly. "I don't remember that."