"Lin Ruiyi is back too. He just got off the plane this morning. You said he stayed in North America for so long. Why did he suddenly come back now?" Qi Xiao smiled at him while biting the straw.
When Qi Jinguan heard the name, he frowned and looked at Lucas Qi. He had never liked his brother's first love because he was too aggressive in everything he did. If they wanted to rekindle their old relationship, he would start to consider becoming a bad guy.
"It's none of my business," Lucas Qi patted his elder brother's shoulder, signaling him not to think too much, "There's no possibility for him and me."
Of course, everyone didn't believe it and started to make a fuss. Qi Yi, who was watching the fun, fanned the flames and said, "I've already given him your number. Good luck to you."
... Lucas Qi threw the sauce-soaked chopsticks at him, and when he saw him dodge in time and then lamented about the suit he had just ordered and put on, he felt better: "Anyway, I can't be with him."
"Then it's possible with Ethan Ling?" Qi Xiao suddenly interrupted.
When they heard the name, they were all stunned, and then they all asked Qi Xiao for details.
Not understanding where Qi Xiao's inexplicable idea came from, Lucas Qi laughed and scolded him. He saw several figures pushing a person into the alley next to him. He looked over and couldn't help but frown. This is the old city, and the location is remote. Several streets are mainly selling hardware products, supplemented by massage parlors. It is not a serious place. And those figures are all wearing the same school uniform as Adrian Ling. Students whose tuition fees for half a semester are equivalent to the annual expenses of ordinary families should not appear here.
"Yi, what's wrong?" Qi Jinguan was his brother after all, so he asked when he saw him frowning. He looked in the direction he was staring and saw only a few massage parlors with ambiguous lighting.
Qi Tian also saw it and started to make fun of it: "You said it was impossible for others, but you were so anxious that you thought about this as soon as you came back---"
Ignoring everyone's teasing, Lucas Qi turned around and asked Qi Xiao: "Where does that alley lead to?"
Qi Xiao was the most ruthless of the group. He had a hobby in his early years and had left the Qi family behind to join the underworld. In the midst of wind, rain and thunder, he had helped the Qi family to open up a secret passage. He had been through a lot before, and he was most familiar with this kind of mixed place. He carefully recalled the terrain before saying, "It's a dead end road."
"A group of people just went in," Lucas Qi looked at his watch, tapped the dial with his fingertips, and took out his cell phone to dial, "three minutes ago, and they haven't come out yet. Judging from their clothes, they seem to be students from Adrian Ling's school."
Qi Tian's eyes widened: "Wow, wearing school uniform to cause trouble? You're not that stupid..."
"Students in aristocratic schools are afraid of causing trouble," Qi Yi said, smiling, not caring about the young people. "Parents will take responsibility for any trouble, and the school will help suppress it for the sake of its reputation. Besides, if a classmate bullies a classmate, the one being bullied..."
"Five minutes." Lucas Qi interrupted him, hung up the phone, stood up and took the car keys his brother had left on the table, "The Ling family said Ethan Ling hasn't come home yet, so I went over to check on them. They're just a few students, nothing serious, so don't follow me. Let's make an appointment another day."
We grew up together, so I just waved my hand and let him go.
"Don't we need to go over there? Didn't they say there was a group of people there?" Qi Tian looked over there.
Qi Xiao laughed and slapped him on the back of his head: "Ajin was robbed at gunpoint by three black men in the UK before and he was able to beat them, how could a few high school students not be able to beat them?"
"Just to show off." Qi Tian rolled his eyes at him and sucked the empty glass bottle. "Besides, we haven't finished eating yet. Why don't we just bring him back to eat together? We can make an appointment another day..."
"He is afraid of the embarrassment of being rescued--" Qi Yi shook his head. His younger brother Qi Tian is the youngest among them, and he is really naive and cute.
but...
He looked at Lucas Qi's receding back, a man who was too lazy to even unscrew the bottle cap himself, but his series of actions just now were so efficient. Was he too concerned about Ethan Ling?
The alley was very narrow, with the torn walls revealing the old bricks inside, and the ground was covered with dirty water that was reflected in colors by the neon signs. Lucas Qi looked at this unusual dilapidated scenery with interest, turned a few corners, and saw several middle school-aged boys standing in groups of three or four at the end of the street, with their long sleeves rolled up to their elbows, surrounding two people.
Ethan Ling still stood straight, looking at the person in front of him with cold eyes.
A quarter of an hour had passed since they walked in, and no physical conflict had occurred. Lucas Qi was not in a hurry and stood in the shadow of the corner, not intending to go over before figuring out the situation.
"Speak up, pretty boy," Travis Ye smiled, "I don't want your money or your life, but I let you steal the test paper. Is that not too much? After all, you are half a member of the Xue family. You won't be expelled if you are caught. At most, you will be punished. We are different. We have money but no power. Or does your stepmother really not care about you?"
He grabbed Adrian Ling's tie and looked him over: "Yes, you didn't even notice your son was beaten like this. How pitiful."
Being beaten? Lucas Qi frowned, thinking of Adrian Ling's long-sleeved shirt with the cuffs tied tightly.
Ethan Ling waved away the arm holding his tie, with a look of indifference and impatience: "If you want to steal, go ahead and steal it yourself."
"That's fine," Travis Ye was surprisingly easy to talk to. It seemed that he just wanted to find an excuse to beat Adrian Ling up. "Then please hide your face and arms so you don't get hit---"
The eldest brother mentioned the current situation of the Ling family while they were drinking tea. He said that they were being squeezed out badly by several emerging families, but fortunately there was still the Jiang family. Lucas Qi did not expect that it would affect Ethan Ling. He thought that based on the child's personality, he should not suffer too much.
Now that he had roughly understood the situation, he sighed and was about to go over when he heard the man suddenly say "Hey", looked around at the people around him as if he had thought of something, and laughed softly: "Hey wait, no, I've thought of a more interesting way to play. I was wrong just now, I don't want your money, but your people---"
Before he could finish his words, Lucas Qi kicked him in the knee from behind, causing him to fall to his knees in pain.
Lucas Qi had no intention of fighting with the high school students, he just wanted to teach them a lesson, but his body overrode his brain, and even his face darkened. He pulled the man's hair, forced him to look up at his eyes, and stared into his eyes solemnly: "What do you want to do with his people?"
He played power forward for three years on the school basketball team in high school. After going abroad, he was also a streetball expert. He used so much force that the man's scalp was almost torn off. He was forced to stare with his eyes shut and yelled, "Who the hell are you?!"
The incident happened suddenly, and before anyone could react, they just stared blankly at Travis Ye being swayed by Lucas Qi. Lucas Qi was still laughing as he was pulling, "Who I am has nothing to do with you?"
Ethan Ling, one of the parties involved, didn't say anything, nor did he stop him. She just showed a slight surprise when he appeared, and then acted as if she didn't know Lucas Qi, and watched the show with her hands folded.
Travis Ye was shaken like a dead leaf in the wind, and his mouth seemed to have a disc stuck. He kept saying, "Who the hell are you?!"
Lucas Qi was annoyed by what he heard and almost wanted to press him into the dirty water on the ground to gag him, but Adrian Ling smiled and said in a cold voice, "Yes, who are you?"
He really didn't learn to be grateful. He let go of Travis Ye's hair, letting him fall into the dirty water, and said casually: "I am his brother."
There were slight inhalations from all around, and someone brave enough shouted, "Jiang family?"
He glanced over and said, "It's not yours anyway."
Before he had finished his words, someone nearby clenched his fist. Lucas Qi saw that person's action and subconsciously stood in front of Adrian Ling, only to find that everyone was concerned about him and didn't dare to step forward.
Most minors who do bad things will have an inexplicable fear when facing adults. When he saw that they even made their fists incorrectly, he realized that this was not in the UK and the people in front of him were just a group of dandy teenagers.
Of course, he couldn't really fight with a child. Lucas Qi relaxed, but a fire was still simmering in his heart. He lit a cigarette irritably, took out his wallet, pulled out a stack of banknotes and threw it at the person he kicked: "Take it and look at your leg."
He knew when to kick, so it would only hurt for a while. Throwing money away was just a way to save trouble.
Ethan Ling sneered, and was very disgusted with his behavior of using Clara Jiang's money to show off.
Lucas Qi could guess what his "tsk" meant, and was too lazy to explain. He pulled him up and prepared to leave. Travis Ye gritted his teeth, struggled to get up with red eyes, and his pink banknotes fell into the sewage: "How long can you protect him? If you take him away now, he won't have an easy time when he returns to school!"
Lucas Qi paused and laughed for no apparent reason. The threats of children always sounded ridiculous and powerless. He spoke patiently: "How difficult do you think it is to get a list of students from your school, to find your files, and to bring down your family? Kindly look at the nouveau riche temperament that you inherited from your family name. If you make it difficult for him to go back to school, then I sincerely wish your family wealth and prosperity. Let's see if you will have a good time when you leave school and return home?"
The people standing there took another deep breath and dispersed. Their families were all newly rich, and they were not fools. They just believed Travis Ye's words and saw the decline of the Ling family. They just happened to catch Adrian Ling, the stepson who was rumored to be disliked by Clara Jiang, to have fun. They did not intend to sacrifice their parents' careers.
Ethan Ling suddenly gently broke free from Lucas Qi's hand. Lucas Qi looked at Ethan Ling, thinking that if he said anything like "It's none of your business", he would let go immediately. But Ethan Ling didn't say anything. He just walked out of the alley without looking back.
Those high school students still shouted Ethan Ling's name a few times in dissatisfaction. Lucas Qi didn't bother to talk to them any more. He turned around and took two quick steps to catch up with Ethan Ling and show him the location of the car.
-
He started the car, adjusted the seat and rearview mirror, and asked Adrian Ling: "Did you miss dinner and go to Xingfa to eat wonton noodles?"
Seeing that the child didn't move, he kindly reminded him: "Sir, fasten your seat belt."
Ethan Ling still didn't move. He watched the people wearing the same school uniform as him walk away outside the car window. Then he turned to look at him: "You parked your car so close, aren't you afraid of being scratched by them?"
Lucas Qi smiled indifferently and knocked on the car logo on the steering wheel: "They dare not." The limited edition Bentley that his eldest brother pestered his sister-in-law for a whole week before being approved to buy made even he feel jealous, so he took the opportunity to grab it and drive it.
Ethan Ling glanced at him. Here it comes again. This kind of person - "a dog taking advantage of the power of others" was the first word that came to his mind. However, considering that he helped her out, he crossed it out and replaced it with the less unpleasant "a fox borrowing the power of a tiger to bully others".
No matter what, a problem that has been temporarily solved will make people feel better. He said, "Oh," and raised the corners of his mouth: "I thought you didn't know what kind of car this is."
Lucas Qi: ... This kid really deserves a beating.
Adrian Ling was happy to see him get humiliated, and her mood that had been irritated by Travis Ye calmed down a lot. She said in a slightly slower tone: "Why are you here?"
"I happened to be having supper with someone nearby---" Lucas Qi observed Adrian Ling's reaction, "Do you think I'm following you?"
It was fate. Adrian Ling lowered his eyes, swallowed the words he wanted to say to stab him, and leaned back on the seat: "No. Go to Xingfa."
"Seat belt, kid." Lucas Qi, who was mistaken for the driver, had no choice but to unbuckle his own seat belt without complaint, lean over to help Adrian Ling fasten it, and then set off.
-
The car radio was playing lingering old songs, and neon lights were sliding past the car window in a series of colorful lines, shining on the two people's faces like a few pieces of colorful dreams.
Lucas Qi saw the kid playing with his tie with his head down, and worried that he might be in a bad mood, so he talked to him: "Don't you want to chat in the car?"
"What are you talking about?" Ethan Ling lowered his head and used his body temperature to iron out the wrinkles on his tie. "Why didn't you tell me you were my dad?"
"I'm not your father." Lucas Qi looked at him with amusement, "I beg you, little Ling, I'm only twenty-seven." He rolled down the car window, the Dupont was dinging, and he lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers while the light was red.
He didn't understand why Adrian Ling had the time to go out with the bad boys and get beaten up, but didn't have the time to find the housekeeper or Clara Jiang to find out who he was. Maybe the world in the eyes of young people is always simple, and they are only willing to believe what they believe.
"Of course you are not, and you will never be." Adrian Ling reached out and snatched the cigarette from his hand, leaned back a little, and leaned back. Twenty-seven, a prime time, why did he choose to climb into bed when there were so many things he could do.
Lucas Qi sighed, parked the car on the side of the road, pulled the handbrake, patiently unbuckled the seat belt, leaned over, and looked at Adrian Ling with a bad face: "Give me back the cigarette."
In response he was greeted by a puff of smoke in his face, and the smell of tobacco flowed through the car and dispersed in the wind.
Ethan Ling narrowed her eyes slightly, and the corners of her mouth curved up. Her dark pupils were illuminated by the street lights outside the window. She smiled at him through the smoke and said, "Pay it to me."
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