Chapter 225: Repeating Old Tricks

For this century wedding that had captured everyone's attention, the noble families within Beidu City had all arrived. Even if Xiao Yu was unwilling in his heart, he could only summon the composure of a matriarch and greet the guests with a forced smile. Because Jin Yunchu was feeling unwell, he did not board the ship.

This made Jin Bei, who was somewhat reliant on his younger sibling, feel a bit uncomfortable.

When he passed through the corridor, he coincidentally saw the utility room door open. Ling Wu and Yin Huaiyu walked out one after the other, looking disheveled.

An affair?

A secret meeting?

Jin Bei narrowed his eyes and immediately took out his phone to snap a picture of this scene.

He stared at the photo on the screen, his fingertips slowly rubbing the phone case. Deep within his pitch-black pupils surged a chilling, sinister malice, and the shadows on his face flickered with the sharpness of vicious scheming.

The laughter that spilled from Jin Bei's throat was like a viper flicking its tongue, cold and viscous: "Ling Wu, oh Ling Wu, I didn't want to cause you trouble anymore, but who told you to personally deliver evidence right to my doorstep again."

The grievances he had endured in the Jin Family would all be repaid.

Jin Bei kept his footsteps very light, quickly following them from the corridor. Seeing Yin Huaiyu take the elevator downstairs, he immediately became unscrupulous.

"Ling Wu!"

"Stop right there!"

Ling Wu turned his head and saw that the person who had come was Jin Bei.

"What do you want?"

Jin Bei faced the phone screen toward him, his lips curling into a twisted arc: "You're almost married, yet you're still involved with Yin Huaiyu. I heard everything you said in the utility room."

Married?

Involved?

Ling Wu's focus wasn't on this; he only heard Jin Bei say he had overheard their conversation in the utility room. The smile on his face froze instantly, as cold as the frost of the twelfth lunar month: "You heard us talking?"

Jin Bei leaned against the carved wall, nonchalantly stuffing his phone into his trouser pocket. Seeing Ling Wu's smile freeze, he mistook it for fear and said with a deliberately drawn-out tone: "That's right."

"You say, if I send this photo to Shao Yu, what will he think? His fiancé having an affair with his brother at their own wedding... such a huge scandal, do you guess he will still enter into a marriage alliance with you?"

"You're right." Ling Wu nodded.

"Are you trying to use this photo to threaten me?"

His posture remained calm and unhurried.

Jin Bei, however, was incensed by this indifferent and nonchalant demeanor.

He suddenly stepped forward, fiercely grabbing Ling Wu's wrist, his fingertips exerting enough force to almost crush the bone, his tone sinister: "What are you still pretending to be the winner for? Ling Wu, I advise you to get one thing straight: now it is I who has your leverage."

"You should be begging me instead!"

"Is that so?" Ling Wu sneered.

The arc of his eyes was lifted in a look that was not quite a smile.

The disgust in the depths of Jin Bei's eyes was fleeting; he demanded: "What are you laughing at?"

"What am I laughing at?" Ling Wu said: "Laughing at how stupid you are."

Jin Bei's anger flared, and he raised his hand into a fist, wanting to strike.

Before that fist could land on Ling Wu, his knee was kicked hard, and his whole body fell solidly to the ground.

"Ling Wu! You..."

Ling Wu rubbed his forehead: "Did you accidentally grow the placenta instead of the brain back then? You really are dragging down our family's overall IQ."

Jin Bei pondered for two seconds, and after realizing Ling Wu was beating around the bush to insult him, his already livid complexion turned as dark as if it were dripping ink.

He cursed angrily: "Your mouth is as cheap as Jin Shaoyu's! No wonder you're biological brothers! You're both disgusting in exactly the same way!"

"So noisy." Ling Wu's expression changed abruptly. He lowered his head, his drooping bangs slightly obscuring the upper half of his face, so that the dim light under the corridor could only illuminate the tip of his chin; those eyes seemed to hide the rainy season.

"Please shut up!"

He grabbed Jin Bei's head and smashed it fiercely against the wall, producing a dull thud.

"Bang!"

Jin Bei's head suffered a violent impact, and he felt dizzy, as if he had been knocked into a concussion. He still wouldn't let it go: "Ling Wu, if you have the ability, kill me. What kind of ability is it to hit me?"

"Otherwise, I will definitely hang that photo on the big screen at your wedding ceremony. You just wait for me..."

A bit of blood flowed down the wall.

Jin Bei's voice grew smaller and smaller.

He passed out.

Ling Wu pushed open the room door and bent down, preparing to drag Jin Bei inside, but a man's low voice came from beside his ear—"Do you need my help?"

He grabbed Jin Bei's collar, and just as he looked up, he saw Wei Ranxu, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Ling Wu did not refuse: "Help me carry him in."

Wei Ranxu pulled a clean silk handkerchief from his suit pocket and placed it on his palm to touch Jin Bei's body: "Happy to help."

As it turned out, Ling Wu's choice of helper was correct. Wei Ranxu rolled up his sleeves, the muscle lines of his arms taut and full of strength; in just a few seconds, he had moved Jin Bei into the room.

Wei Ranxu: "Where should I put him?"

Ling Wu closed the door behind him: "Just throw him on the floor."

"Oh, okay." Wei Ranxu followed instructions perfectly, not hesitating in the slightest. He simply let go of his hands, and Jin Bei fell solidly onto the floor.

A muffled groan was emitted.

"Ugh..."

Wei Ranxu stared at Jin Bei's face, which was covered in blood: "Did he provoke you? He was beaten so miserably."

No sound came from behind him.

Just as Wei Ranxu turned his head, an ashtray came flying toward his face and smashed into the ground. He slumped to the floor, his head throbbing with pain, and he could barely speak.

And the culprit, Ling Wu, stood over him, looking down from above while holding the blood-stained ashtray.

The cold light from the glass window outlined Ling Wu's eye sockets, his expression unfathomable. Those eyes were veiled in a thin mist, infinitely deep, revealing a stifling dampness...

Wei Ranxu: "Ling Wu, you..."

Why?

"I am truly sorry."

Ling Wu said he was sorry, but there was not a shred of apology in his eyes; he resolutely and firmly raised the ashtray in his hand high: "To ensure nothing goes wrong, I can only let you temporarily lose the ability to cause trouble."

His hand rose and the ashtray fell.

Wei Ranxu was struck hard on the head and passed out completely.

Ling Wu raised his hand to brush his stray hair back, revealing a smooth, full forehead; he took down the curtains, tore them into strips, helped Wei Ranxu and Jin Bei up, and tied them to chairs in the bathroom respectively.

After dealing with the two of them, Ling Wu brushed the dust off his hands.

He pulled a few wet wipes from the living room, then opened the room door and simply wiped the bloodstains on the wall in the hallway; although it could not be wiped completely clean, it was not easy to notice at first glance with the help of the dim lighting.

Afterwards, Ling Wu threw away the dirty wet wipes, turned the doorknob, and took the elevator downstairs without any hesitation.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Wei Ranxu and Jin Bei woke up one after another.

"Ling Wu!" Jin Bei's head hurt terribly; he had just wanted to stand up when he discovered his hands and feet were tied, and he raged helplessly: "Ling Wu! I'll screw your ancestors for eighteen generations!"

Wei Ranxu: "..."

"Can you stop making noise?"

It was all Jin Bei's fault for getting him tied up here too.

Wei Ranxu tilted his head back, unable to help but wonder, what exactly did Ling Wu want to do?

And what Wei Ranxu did not know was that at this moment, Ling Wu was greeting his plastic brother.

"Shen Zhaojue?" Ling Wu was a little surprised: "Didn't you say you wouldn't come?"

"..." Shen Zhaojue's expression was subtle, and he quickly said righteously: "An invitation was sent to our Shen Family."

"I just feel like coming to join the fun, it's none of your business!"

If Shen Zhaojue had known that this was the last time he and Ling Wu would ever see each other in this life, he certainly would not have said such things, at least not such insincere things.

Ling Wu did not hold it against him and nodded with a smile: "There are still a few hours before the ceremony begins; if Shen feels bored, you can go to the chess and card room or the billiards room on the second floor."

Shen Zhaojue just couldn't understand; he had spoken like that, so why wouldn't this person Ling Wu hold it against him?

"Brother!"

Shao Yu called him.

Ling Wu waved at him and turned his head to say to Shen Zhaojue: "Excuse me for a moment, Shen."

The warm sea breeze blew in, the tip of the nose filled with a fishy, salty scent; the sunlight was like poured molten gold, dyeing the sea surface an eye-catching amber color; Shen Zhaojue stood on the deck, staring at Ling Wu's retreating back, his white tailcoat particularly conspicuous, adding a touch of gentle temperament to the vast sea surface...

Shen Zhaojue thought to himself, he still liked this person.

No reason.

Shao Yu asked: "Brother, what did you want me for?"

Ling Wu said in a half-joking tone: "Shao Yu, I just hit Jin Bei; I'm afraid he'll cause trouble at the wedding ceremony, can you help me keep an eye on him?"

"Damn it!" Shao Yu: "Brother, did that idiot Jin Bei come to provoke you? I think his skin is itching again and he needs someone to loosen it up for him."

Ling Wu tugged on his sleeve: "Shh."

"Keep your voice down."

"There are many eyes and ears on the ship, don't let people hear you."

Shao Yu honestly lowered his volume: "Oh, got it."

"Where is he, can we just throw him into the sea?"

"Have you forgotten what day it is today?" Ling Wu said.

Shao Yu knew that there could be no bloodshed at a wedding, and besides, it wouldn't be easy to clean up if Jin Bei were killed, so he could only say sullenly: "Got it."

The two took the elevator upstairs.

Ling Wu swiped the room card to open the door and walked toward the bathroom; Shao Yu followed behind him lazily with his hands in his pockets, but when he saw Wei Ranxu, his expression sank abruptly, and he pointed at the person and turned to question his brother: "Why is he here?"

Ling Wu touched his nose unnaturally: "Buy one get one free."

What a "buy one get one free."

Wei Ranxu was so angry he laughed.

Jin Bei cursed loudly: "Shao Yu! Ling Wu! You two sons of bitches, hurry up and let me go!"

Shao Yu held the back of his neck, tilted his head, stretched his body slightly, and raised his leg to kick Jin Bei in the face, but stopped abruptly when he heard his next sentence.

Jin Bei was covered in blood, fearless: "Ling Wu, you're about to get married, yet you're still having an affair with Yin Huaiyu in the utility room, bah! You have no shame!"

Wei Ranxu looked at Ling Wu silently: "..."

Shao Yu looked at Ling Wu in shock: "..."

The person involved, Ling Wu, was calm and composed: "He is slandering me."

Wei Ranxu realized: "No wonder he was beaten into such a sorry state."

"Jin Bei, I'm going to pull out every one of your dog teeth." Shao Yu kicked him in the chest, instantly knocking Jin Bei over along with the chair; the posture was very comical.

"Like he has rabies, biting whoever he catches."

Jin Bei groaned in pain: "Ugh..."

Wei Ranxu closed his eyes, unable to bear looking.

After beating Jin Bei, Shao Yu looked at Wei Ranxu and asked preemptively: "What's the deal with him?"

Wei Ranxu was, after all, an heir carefully cultivated by his family, and compared to Jin Bei, he was much more composed: "Jin Bei misunderstood."

"Ling Wu, I really didn't expect it; you helped me just a moment ago, and the next moment you could knock me unconscious."

Ling Wu: "..."

He brought Jin Shaoyu out from the bathroom, sat him on the sofa, and said to him, "Shao Yu, you help me keep an eye on them first; until I send you a message, don't come out yet."

"Be obedient."

Jin Shaoyu was suspicious: "Brother, do you have some kind of plan?"

Ling Wu said nothing; he wrapped his arms around Jin Shaoyu's neck in a gesture that was almost dependent, his nose felt sour, and the struggle deep in his eyes quickly faded into calm.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Jin Shaoyu hugged him back.

Ling Wu took a sip of mineral water to suppress the sourness in his throat; his eyes were pierced by the sunlight into an amber color, and the curve of his lips seemed capable of melting a pool of winter snow, making even the surrounding air feel warm.

Jin Shaoyu only felt that it had been a long time since he had sat so quietly with Ling Wu.

Ling Wu said, "I just feel that time passes very quickly; Shao Yu has already changed from the crybaby of his childhood into someone who can truly protect his brother."

Jin Shaoyu rubbed his shoulders: "Why are you suddenly saying such sentimental things?"

"Don't like hearing it?" Ling Wu said leisurely: "Don't you always mind that I don't praise you?"

"I specifically went online to look up things to say."

Jin Shaoyu was afraid he would misunderstand: "No, no."

"I love hearing it."

"It's just very cheesy."

Jin Shaoyu added slowly: "When was I a crybaby when I was little? Clearly, I wasn't, okay? Even if I did cry, that was a strategic cry."

"As the saying goes, the crying child gets the candy."

Candy?

Speaking of which, Ling Wu took a lot of pomelo candies from his suit jacket and placed them in his palm, saying to Jin Shaoyu, "I forgot to tell you, I bought a lot of pomelo candies last night and put them on the nightstand in your room."

"It's the brand you like, too."

Jin Shaoyu proudly stuffed the candies into his pocket: "That's more like it."

Ling Wu saw him smiling very happily and couldn't bear to say that he was lying to him; he had deceived Jin Shaoyu again, using the same trick.

Once bitten, twice shy.

But Jin Shaoyu was completely unaware.

It seems he still trusts him too much.

Seeing that the time was about right, and that it was not the time for melancholy, Ling Wu said: "Remember to arrive on time for the ceremony."

Jin Shaoyu put a candy into his mouth: "I know."

The room fell quiet.

Ling Wu stood up and patted his shoulder as usual, only this time the force used seemed exceptionally heavy, and his gaze was exceptionally reluctant to part; perhaps because he knew he would not return, he did not mention a date of return: "Shao Yu, Brother is leaving."