Chapter Twenty-eight.

That man slowly got up in a miserable state after a long delay. At first, he was muttering about finding someone to kill the two of them, but after he got a clear look at Qiao Ye's face, he sobered up completely and exclaimed, "Young… Young Master Qiao?"

Even Qiao Ye couldn't recognize this person and coldly replied with a sneer, "I don't deserve it."

"This...you see, maybe it's just a misunderstanding..." he gestured towards Taoran, "He's just a..."

Qiao Ye punched him in the nose and two streams of blood squirted out.

At this moment, Jia Mingxuan and his group also arrived. They were a few teenagers who were impulsive and fearless. Seeing Qiao Ye attacking someone without any attempt at mediation, they all rushed over and started throwing punches and kicks.

"What's wrong, Brother Qiao?" Tang Hao approached and asked.

Qiao Ye frowned and coldly said, "He's acting like a rascal." Tao Ran was behind him, and Qiao Ye turned his head slightly and said in a calm tone, "Don't be afraid, we'll help you deal with him."

Jia Mingxuan happened to overhear from outside and angrily kicked the pig's groin twice, saying "Damn it, this is getting tiresome. How dare my sister-in-law be touched?"

That man later couldn't even utter a plea for mercy, holding his head as he gasped for breath on the ground. Tao Ran's hands and feet were cold, and he quickly pulled Qiao Ye aside and said, "I'm fine. Forget it. If we keep hitting him, something bad might happen to him."

Qiao Ye isn't afraid of causing trouble, but he's afraid of scaring everyone, including Tao Ran today. In a low voice he said, "Alright."

The person in charge of the KTV has already arrived, but no one stopped them. As Qiao Ye led the group out, a young man wearing a trendy brand and a duckbill cap greeted Qiao Ye with a smile and said, "Please tell Master Qiao when you get home that I miss him so much."

Qiao Ye was somewhat speechless. Did his elder brother establish that kind of relationship with the small business owner in bed?

After Tao Ran walked out the door, he was awakened even more by the chilly night breeze. His face hadn't eased up yet as he asked, "What time is it, Qiao Ye?"

Qiao Ye gave Jia Mingxuan a fierce glance, then pulled out his phone - it was already 11:30.

Tao Ran felt dizzy for a moment and before he could gather his thoughts, he asked, "Where's my phone?"

"I've taken it out for you, but it's run out of battery." Tang Hao handed it to him and patted Tao Ran on the shoulder. "It's okay. Your brother was just trying to scare you. You're not a girl, it's normal to come home late at night. We didn't have fun earlier, let's go grab something to eat now?"

Qiao Ye sighed and shook his head at Tang Hao. "You guys go ahead, I'll take him home," he said.

Tao Ran followed behind Qiao Ye, and both of them were silent. After a long time, it was surprisingly Tao Ran who spoke first, "I'm sorry for not letting you have a good birthday."

Qiao Ye felt a sense of self-satisfaction for the first time. He opened his mouth, but didn't have the courage to reveal the truth: "We caused you to come home late, will you get punished when you get home?"

Tao Ran shook his head and leaned against the car window. Upon closer inspection, his face still showed a hint of paleness as he said, "...there shouldn't be anything wrong."

This time there wasn't any traffic, and they arrived at the residential area in just over 20 minutes. The McLaren had such strong acceleration that Tao Ran didn't feel any excitement, but rather felt nauseous with his stomach churning.

Qiao Ye followed Tao Ran out of the car and helped him sit down for a while under the green trees by the roadside. He gently patted Tao Ran's back with his palm and asked, "Feeling nauseous?"

Tao Ran shook his head and said, "I'm going home now. You should also go back and rest early."

Qiao Ye helped Tao Ran up and said, "Let me escort you upstairs."

"No need, I'm not a little girl. Even if I go to the entrance of the community, could I still lose my way?" Tao Ran smiled at Qiao Ye and said, "I'm really fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"...Fine then." Qiao Ye bit his lip. "Don't be late for school tomorrow, I'll bring you breakfast and you can sleep for an extra twenty minutes."

"Alright, bye." Tao Ran waved his hand at him and turned around to enter the residential complex.

As soon as Tao Ran entered the house, he forced himself to get the charger to charge his phone, but his physical exhaustion was too much, coupled with being drunk, he fell asleep on the sofa before the phone could even power on.

Tao Ran slept straight through until seven o'clock the following morning. After hurriedly washing his face and brushing his teeth, he rushed downstairs where Old Wang was waiting at their usual spot.

"Young master, where did you go last night?" Old Wang finally eased his tired expression, but his tone was still heavy. "The boss called me five times last night."

Tao Ran remained silent and turned on his phone from the back seat. The screen was filled with missed calls from the previous night - there were over ten missed calls from Uncle Wang but only two from Li Zekun. One was at 10:30 pm and the other was at 12:30 am.

Tao Ran almost didn't think and pressed the callback button, but the calls were disconnected after a few attempts. He bites his lips tightly, feeling afraid. He knows he was wrong and fears that if he makes Li Zekun angry, he will lose everything.

Old Wang also thinks that it's not a big deal for a kid to forget about time while playing with classmates. He comforted him by saying, "Boss is just worried about you. It's probably just a small misunderstanding that will be resolved in no time. Just call him after your evening self-study session."

"Mmm, thank you Uncle Wang.", Tao Ran forced a smile.

He was lost in thought the whole way to school, but luckily arrived on time without being late.

Qiaoye kept craning his neck to look towards the door. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Taoran: "Did you not get punished last night?"

Tao Ran shook his head.

Qiao Ye also let out a sigh and said, "See, I told you so."

He rummaged through the table and pulled out four or five types of breakfast: "Come and eat something, I'll keep an eye on the teacher for you."

Although Tao Ran tried to decline, he ended up eating two shaomais and drinking half a cup of red bean milk. His mind was preoccupied with how to talk to Li Zekun that evening, causing him to be absent-minded no matter what he did.

"Are you still drunk? The teacher has been watching you for a long time," said Qiao Ye, who had caught Tao Ran absent-mindedly during class for the first time in a while. He quickly whispered a greeting to Tao Ran.

Tao Ran drooped his head listlessly and said, "I'm tired."

Qiao Ye was somewhat speechless as he patted down Tao Ran's morning bedhead that he hadn't combed yet. "I'll watch the teacher for you, just take a quick nap, class will be over soon anyways."

Tao Ran obediently responded with a nod. During his first class, he leaned on the desk. He wasn't actually very tired, but he just missed Li Zekun a little bit.