Chapter 2436: Another Me 05

Jin Chen put down the washbasin, grabbed Lai Qiang's back collar in one hand, like dragging a chicken to be slaughtered, and directly pulled him away.

Lai Qiang was in so much pain he could not resist at all, only able to let out a miserable whimper.

Jin Chen ignored the curses and wails constantly spilling from his mouth, and dragged him into the kitchen.

There was still a little water left in the kitchen sink.

Jin Chen turned on the faucet to the max, icy water gushed down, he grabbed Lai Qiang's hair and pressed him into the sink filled with residual detergent.

Gurgle……cough……uh……help……

Lai Qiang, caught off guard, had cold water flood his mouth and nose; the irritation of the detergent plus the suffocation feeling made him struggle violently, his hands flailing against the sink's edge, his legs kicking wildly.

Jin Chen clicked his tongue, feeling his hearing under fierce attack—even a pig's slaughter squeal would be no worse.

He feared Lai Chi's body might be hurt from pulling, so he applied a clever force to a pressure point on Lai Qiang's neck side.

Lai Qiang felt one side of his body go numb suddenly, his struggling strength draining away by half in an instant; the intensely stimulating water surged madly into his mouth and nose.

Just as Lai Qiang thought he would drown in this dirty pool, Jin Chen lifted him up again.

Cough cough cough……retch……cough cough……

Lai Qiang coughed and retched violently like a broken bellows, snot and tears smeared his face, his skin flushed and shiny from irritation, as if it might burn and peel off.

Jin Chen's icy voice sounded above his head: "You're so bold, why aren't you cursing anymore?"

Lai Qiang was so frightened his soul fled, he tried to scramble backward, but Jin Chen pressed him firmly against the sink's edge.

He cried so hard he could barely breathe, his voice hoarse and distorted: "I dare not, I dare not…… spare me…… please……"

Jin Chen grabbed his head, pointing at the unopened bucket of cooking oil, his tone negotiable.

"Want to bury your head in it?"

Lai Qiang followed his finger; in his blurred vision the bucket of oil looked like a terrifying monster.

He trembled all over like sifting chaff, sobbing and shaking his head desperately: "No! No! Brother…… I was wrong! I'll never dare curse again! Never again! Wah wah wah……"

Jin Chen released his grip; Lai Qiang slid to sit on the wet floor, curled up and shivering.

"Remember," Jin Chen looked down at him, each word striking Lai Qiang's heart at the peak of fear, "from now on, if I ever hear you cursing me, or even think of going to tattle……"

"I will always have a chance to teach you a lesson alone."

"I understand…… I understand!" Lai Qiang nodded hurriedly, looking disheveled.

Jin Chen seemed satisfied, then added leisurely, "Also, tonight Lai Fendou and Qiu Juan are coming back; have your mom check your homework properly, heard?"

Lai Qiang: "???"

He was completely bewildered, what does checking homework have to do with this?

But he had already been scared out of his wits, dare not ask why, just nodded frantically: "I…… I heard! I'll have her check! Definitely check!"

Lai Chi watched the whole ordeal, as if soaked in warm, soft spring water, bubbling gurgling around him, bringing an unprecedented, soothing comfort right to his heart.

It turns out being protected like this, without reservation, favored, feels like this.

When he was little, during the darkest days after his father had just left, he curled up in a cold blanket, having often imagined having someone who would never leave, always standing in front of him.

Now, that person is inside his body, his "brother".

They will not separate, and Jin Chen will never hurt him like others do.

A strange feeling, tinged with sourness and scorching heat, quietly spread through Lai Chi's still heart-lake.

【Detected villain triggered Heartbeat Value, Heartbeat Value +8, total 8!】

"Thump thump thump!"

A clear knocking sound came from the main gate.

Jin Chen's gaze instantly shifted from the limp Lai Qiang on the floor, sharp and directed toward the main gate.

Lai Qiang, hearing the knock, a flash of hope crossed his swollen, slit eyes; he struggled to sit up and call for help.

Jin Chen's eyes turned cold; he pulled off the kitchen apron hanging on the wall, in a few quick moves bound Lai Qiang's still-numb hands and feet tightly, and stuffed a rag into his mouth.

Lai Qiang could only emit desperate whimpers.

【Wow, who came without a word, a murder scene.】 Ling Gun Gun sighed, then tapped the virtual clock, '【Host, pay attention to the time!】'

"Little Chi," Jin Chen said in his mind, voice tinged with soothing, "you handle the person outside. Switch."

Lai Chi's consciousness took over the body.

He straightened his collar and walked to the main gate.

The person outside was Zhou Shuo.

He wore a clean sports shirt, his demeanor the usual gentle yet detached concern.

"Lai Chi, I seem to have heard a big commotion at your house; did something happen?"

Lai Chi shook his head, raised his hand, and skillfully signed:

"Nothing. Only Lai Qiang is home; he lost a game and threw a tantrum."

He glanced inside; the living room had only a knocked-over chip bag and a soda can, no sign of Lai Qiang.

Zhou Shuo looked at Lai Chi's pale, calm face, then cocked his ear; indeed the house only had faint sounds, like Lai Qiang throwing a tantrum.

He relaxed a little, his gaze settling on Lai Chi's face, and gently comforted: "Don't mind him. His temper is just like that, spoiled rotten; I and Donglai are friends, and so are you—if anything…… you can tell me."

He paused, seeming to want to express kindness, but that concern always carried a strange tinge.

Jin Chen immediately set off alarm bells.

"Little Chi, I don't like the way he looks at you; close the door."

Lai Chi lowered his lashes, very obedient, and signed again to Zhou Shuo.

"Thank you."

Then, before Zhou Shuo could even react, Lai Chi swiftly shut the door.

Zhou Shuo, locked outside: "……"

He stared at the tightly shut door before him, his brow knitting tighter.

He always felt that today's Lai Chi…… seemed a bit off somewhere.

He closed the door, and Lai Chi hurried toward the kitchen.

Jin Chen said: "Little Chi, my time out each day is limited. It's almost up today."

"Next, do as I say, okay?"

Lai Chi nodded, "Mm."

Under Jin Chen's guidance, Lai Chi first took the phone Lai Qiang had dropped on the sofa, then returned to the kitchen, untied the apron binding Lai Qiang, leaving only a slipknot that could be undone with a little force, and then cleaned up the spilled detergent water on the floor.

After finishing all that, Lai Chi stood at the kitchen doorway, silently watching the curled-up figure on the floor—Lai Qiang, his face swollen and bruised, a miserable sight.

He turned around and went back to his small room.