The red-haired man clutched his head, trying to stand up and fight back. He wanted to grab a brick or something from the ground, but all he found were shards of broken glass. Not only did he fail to find a weapon, but his hand was also cut in the process.

Seeing that the man was still being stubborn, Yu Wanlai bent down and delivered an elbow strike to the man’s neck. With his other hand, he pushed the man’s head straight toward the ground. The man’s face was just inches away from the glass shards when he finally panicked and began to plead for mercy.

“Aaah! No, please, bro… big brother, I won’t dare anymore… I swear I won’t…”

Yu Wanlai wasn’t actually planning to hurt him seriously, just to scare him. Hearing the desperate pleas, he loosened his grip but wasn’t about to let the man off that easily. His voice dropped, cold and threatening, “You won’t dare…?”

Suddenly, one of the short-haired women noticed another man getting up and trying to ambush Yu Wanlai from behind. She screamed, “Watch out! He—”

Hearing the warning, Yu Wanlai quickly turned his head and saw the man he had kicked into the bushes earlier charging at him with a brick. He dodged swiftly and grabbed a broken bottle neck from the ground, stabbing it into the man’s hand. The man cried out in pain and dropped the brick immediately.

A few minutes later, police sirens echoed from a distance, drawing closer. Yu Wanlai finally exhaled in relief. Taking on three men at once was challenging—he had worried he might be caught off guard.

However, just as he relaxed, the red-haired man he had subdued earlier suddenly smashed a beer bottle against his back.

“Damn it… you dare ruin my fun… Let’s see if you can survive this!”

A sharp, searing pain spread from Yu Wanlai’s back, causing cold sweat to break out on his forehead. He hadn’t expected the man to still seek revenge despite the police arriving.

Gritting his teeth, Yu Wanlai lowered his body and backed away. The moment he gained some distance, he turned and delivered a powerful kick to the man’s head. His full strength went into the blow, sending the man’s head crashing against a tree trunk. The man’s head hit hard, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out instantly.

Yu Wanlai sighed in relief, checking on the two women to ensure they were unharmed. Once satisfied, he grabbed his leather jacket, ready to leave. He wasn’t keen on dealing with the police—it would be too troublesome to explain everything. All he wanted was to go home and sleep.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. His injuries slowed him down, and before he could disappear into a nearby alley, the police arrived and mistook him for one of the attackers.

In the police car, Yu Wanlai looked down at the cold metal handcuffs around his wrists, trying to explain.

“…I’m not a bad guy!”

The officer scoffed, “Yeah, yeah, everyone says that. Keep quiet!”

“I’m serious! I was helping those girls!”

Hearing this, the two women who had been rescued spoke up, explaining the situation to the officers. Only then did the police finally believe Yu Wanlai and remove the handcuffs.

“If you weren’t guilty, why were you trying to run, huh?”

“Well… if I didn’t run, wouldn’t you have arrested me anyway?” Yu Wanlai replied, his tone a mix of sarcasm and frustration.

The officer couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head. “Fine, fine. Once we verify you didn’t commit any crimes, you’ll be free to go. Relax.”

“Right. While we’re at it, you can help us with the report. Come inside.”

Yu Wanlai shrugged but followed along, muttering under his breath, “Running gets me arrested, staying gets me interrogated… how fair.”

Only when he removed his leather jacket did the officers notice the bleeding wound on his back.

“You’re injured! Why didn’t you mention this earlier? We could’ve sent you to the hospital with the others!”

Yu Wanlai winced but forced a grin, mimicking their words. “Ah well, since I’m already here, let’s finish the report first, right?”

After giving his statement, backed by the testimonies of the two victims, Yu Wanlai was finally allowed to leave. However, due to his injury, the police insisted on contacting a guardian to pick him up.

Left with no choice, he called Uncle Li, the family driver. While waiting, a nearby clinic treated his wound to stop the bleeding.

The long night didn’t end there—Yu Wanlai had to visit the hospital for a tetanus shot. By the time he finally got home, the sun was already rising.

Though Uncle Li drove carefully, every traffic light seemed to turn red, and each brake pressed against his wounded back, making him wince in pain.

When they finally arrived home, Yu Wanlai was still catching his breath when his father, Yu Cheng, walked out the door. Seeing his son in a disheveled state, bloodstains on his clothes, his expression darkened.

“Did you stay out all night again? Got into a fight, huh? Can’t you be more like your younger brother and stop worrying me for once?!”

Yu Wanlai, exhausted and in pain, couldn’t be bothered to argue. His father already had a poor impression of him, and it wasn’t something he could fix overnight.

Ignoring the scolding, he simply greeted, “Morning, Dad. Drive safe. Bye.”

Seeing his son still capable of backtalk, Yu Cheng’s anger shifted slightly to concern. He got into his car but still asked Uncle Li about Yu Wanlai’s recent behavior on the way out.

Yu Wanlai passed by a restaurant, not originally planning to eat, but when he saw his younger brother, Yu Qingyue, sitting slowly eating breakfast, and today there were youtiao (fried dough sticks), Yu Wanlai’s feet turned and he headed into the restaurant.

He sat down next to Yu Qingyue. “Good morning, little brother~”

Hearing this overly sweet voice so early in the morning, Yu Qingyue was immediately creeped out. He pushed his chair away from Yu Wanlai and pretended not to hear him.

Yu Wanlai stood up and served himself a bowl of seafood porridge, placing it on the table with a “thud.” He didn’t get a response from Yu Qingyue and wasn’t bothered. He continued chatting away as if he were the only one performing a monologue.

Annoyed by the noise, Yu Qingyue was about to turn around and scold him, but when he saw Yu Wanlai with some grass bits stuck to his head and his clothes in tatters, he instantly turned his head back. A few words flashed through his mind: “Unruly and unrefined, unworthy of any respect!”

Yu Wanlai, who had always had thick skin, wasn’t fazed by the disdainful look from Yu Qingyue. As long as people weren’t staring at him while he ate, he could care less.

After finishing breakfast, Yu Qingyue stood up. While adjusting his cuffs, he accidentally saw the faint bloodstains seeping through the back of Yu Wanlai’s shirt. His eyes flickered with surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. This seemed to fit his stereotype of the brother who suddenly entered their lives—probably involved in fights or something like that.

As Yu Qingyue walked away, Yu Wanlai, feeling dejected, pouted. “This family is so cold-hearted. They either scold me or ignore me.”

However, the warm porridge in front of him was comforting. After all the chaos of the night before, drinking a bowl of it early in the morning made his stomach feel warm and pleasant.

Yu Wanlai spent the entire day lounging in bed, only getting up a few times to grab water. He was a little bored, but at least the violinist wasn’t on duty at the restaurant today. Otherwise, he’d probably end up performing a bloody romantic scene for the guests right there.