Chapter 2434: Another Me 03

After a brief shock, Qiu Juan looked at the wasted expensive lobster, her anger burned even fiercer, her voice sharp.

You little rabbit bastard, you've rebelled against heaven! Who let you eat this? This is Donglai and Xiaoqiang's, do you deserve it! Put it down now!

Jin Chen's expression settled, becoming somewhat sombre, he stared straight at Qiu Juan, "This was bought with my mother's money, it's my father's house, what right do you have to stop me?"

Qiu Juan trembled with anger, before she could scold again, Li Qiang beside her had already been hooked by the greed worm and lost his reason.

He was used to being domineering, couldn't tolerate this anger, and couldn't stand seeing the delicious food being snatched by this mute, he roared, "Dare to steal my food!"

Immediately Li Qiang charged like a bull, swinging his fist straight at Jin Chen's face.

Jin Chen grabbed the kitchen knife placed nearby as a spare, and at the moment Li Qiang's fist was about to fall, he swung his arm, a blade flash.

Bang!

The flashing knife chopped hard into the solid wood dining table in front of Li Qiang.

The blade sank deep into the wood, less than an inch from Li Qiang's swinging arm.

Li Qiang's fist froze mid-air, the ferocity on his face instantly replaced by terror.

He clearly felt the wind from the blade brush his skin, let out a strange cry, his legs went weak, he plopped onto the ground, his face deathly pale, lips trembling, staring at the knife still slightly trembling on the table, his soul not yet settled.

Qiu Juan's scream cut off abruptly, as if her throat were choked, leaving only her wide eyes of terror.

The dining room was deathly silent.

Jin Chen gripped the knife handle, his gaze swept over the stunned Li Qiang, the pallid Qiu Juan, and the equally shocked Li Donglai.

"The exams are over, I'm an adult now, you can't confine me, you'd better behave."

After saying that, he exerted force with his wrist, pulled out the knife stuck in the table, making Li Qiang on the floor shudder again.

Jin Chen also didn't look at them again, casually placed the knife with some wood chips on it beside him, blade facing the table.

He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating as if no one else were there.

He couldn't not eat, his wife was too thin, looking at her made him ache.

In his sea of consciousness, Li Chi waited a few seconds before a faint, inexplicably naive admiring thought came through.

"You... are amazing."

"It's a pity he's so cowardly, not that brave."

Jin Chen's motion of picking up vegetables paused slightly, he responded to him, his voice gentle as if he were a different person from before.

"Xiao Chi, I can be brave for you."

"No one will be able to bully you anymore."

Li Chi's heart swelled, and he fell silent again.

Jin Chen said no more, eating his rice leisurely.

He ate his fill until more than half the dishes on the table were gone, his gaze swept over the cabinet in the corner of the dining room, seeing a can labelled with foreign text, expensive imported milk powder.

Jin Chen then made another large cup of warm milk.

He held the cup of milk in one hand and the gleaming cold knife in the other, under the fearful yet resentful gazes of Qiu Juan and her son, he calmly walked back to that small room.

"Click."

The sound of the door being bolted locked rang out crisply.

Jin Chen walked to the bathroom, placed the knife aside, turned on the faucet, and washed his hands clean.

After washing, he lowered his gaze to Li Chi's hands, somewhat slender and pale from malnutrition, water droplets sliding down the knuckles.

"Clean," Jin Chen said softly, "Xiao Chi, do you want to come out?"

After a few seconds, a very soft reply came from his sea of consciousness, "... mm."

Jin Chen smiled, returning control of the body.

Li Chi once again felt the existence of his body.

He lowered his head to look at his hands, just carefully washed clean, then glanced at the cup placed on the old desk, steaming milk, and the knife lying still beside it.

It felt too unreal.

He felt both novelty and unease about the emergence of the second personality.

No one had ever told him "I'll protect you," and no one had ever cared for him like this, stepping up for him.

He felt he was no longer in a state of transparency, as if he had suddenly gained substance in this world.

The deterrent power of last night's knife was evidently longer-lasting than Jin Chen had anticipated.

Qiu Juan and her three family members were surprisingly well-behaved, not daring to come all night.

——

Morning light squeezed through the gap of that small window, a few strands falling onto Li Chi's tightly shut eyelids.

From outside the living room came a faint sound.

Then came Li Fendou's lowered voice speaking, plus Qiu Juan's accusations, the noise growing louder.

Li Chi was jerked awake.

His eyelids twitched, he opened his eyes somewhat dazedly, and sat up.

The lingering milk scent in the room seemed still there, reminding him that last night's events were not a dream.

Li Chi unconsciously pursed his lips, his gaze blank on the wall, as if waiting for something.

Jin Chen's voice sounded at the right time, lazy, "Xiao Chi, good morning."

Li Chi's eyes brightened a little, he lightly nodded, responding in a breathy tone.

"... morning."

It really wasn't a dream.

Li Chi felt a bit happy.

Just then, a knocking sounded at the door, heavier than Li Qiang's last night, carrying an adult man's irritability—it was Li Fendou.

"Li Chi, open the door and come out!"

The glint in Li Chi's eyes instantly faded.

He instinctively resisted, his body tensed, and his fingers unconsciously clenched the thin blanket covering his legs.

That door, every time it was knocked like that, meant trouble and humiliation.

Jin Chen recalled the original plot, paused, and said, "Don't be afraid."

"Little Chi, you don't need to do anything; just like usual, go over and open the door."

Li Chi's breathing quickened slightly.

Jin Chen continued, "Everything Father left behind is clenched in his hand; we need to think of a way to get it out."

Li Chi remained silent for a few seconds, threw off the blanket, and stepped barefoot onto the cold floor.

He walked to the door, suppressing the emotions surging beneath his eyes.

The door lock opened.

Outside the door, Li Fendou was raising his hand to knock again when the door suddenly opened; he almost hit Li Chi's face.

Behind him stood Qiu Juan and Li Qiang; Qiu Juan's eyes were red and swollen, while Li Qiang wore a complex expression of hatred and fear.

Li Chi lowered his head, hunched his shoulders, completely the usual picture of resigned submission, not even daring to breathe.

Li Fendou furrowed his brows, sized up Li Chi from head to toe, and questioned him in a rough voice.

"What happened last night? Your aunt and Xiao Qiang said you went mad and even slashed people with a knife?"

His tone was full of distrust, after all, this nephew had been like a shadow for over a decade; how could he suddenly become a person?

Li Qiang instinctively stepped back, his eyes darting uncertainly over Li Chi's face.

Qiu Juan also didn't dare get too close, glaring at him resentfully, but seeing Li Chi's familiar demeanor, she seemed to relax a little.

Li Chi lifted his eyelids, glanced quickly at Li Fendou, then immediately drooped as if startled.

He raised his hand, making awkward gestures, the movements somewhat frantic, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"I didn't... I don't dare..."

Timid, helpless, with a hint of being wronged.