Just as Xiao Yi arrived back to his courtyard and went to check on his plants, three simple knocks came from his doorway.
He looked at the time and sighed. Who knocks on an apartment door at 3 in the morning?
Nonetheless, he rolled the chair back and opened the door, only to be met with a similar scene.
Two old people who ought to have been put in a nursing home by now standing at his door with expressions that wained between annoyance, disgust, and hate as they took in their youngest son's face.
Xiao Yi's face mimicked their own for a moment before he sneered, crossing his body against the doorframe so they couldn't get in. "Why are you here?"
He would have shooed them away, shut the door in their faces, and called it a night, but this used to be the apartment he shared with Xiao Qiu. If they were here to bother his brother, they'd have an issue with him.
Also… How did they get into the building?
Mrs. Xiao crossed her arms and said. "Go to the reporters and tell them it was all a misunderstanding."
Xiao Yi was speechless. Truly, speechless. His mouth hung open slightly as his brain tried to comprehend what she was saying, ordering, him to do. Eventually, he let out an incredulous laugh and said. "Why? Going to try to kill me again? That's a bit repetitive, don't you think?"
Mr. Xiao stepped forward and pointed. "You -"
"Yes, me. It was me who leaked the video. Didn't you read the post I made the other day? Unless you want to be dragged through court and be judged by the public…" He leaned forward and stared at them with sharp blue eyes. "Go away."
"Then, all we need is your computer." His mother's tone grew cold and three men dressed in black stepped out of the staircase.
"Hah." Xiao Yi sighed and closed the apartment door, locking it behind him.
A minute later, his door was being kicked down and he walked out of the bedroom door with a baseball bat in one hand and fingers full of rings that Xiao Qiu had apparently gathered.
He stood in the middle of the living room with a peaceful expression, leaning against the baseball bat as he watched the door.
Could he have called the police? Yes.
Would he? No.
His parents willingly walked into his domain, thinking that he was still the young kid they stabbed, the kid they neglected for years in favor of his older brother.
He did have a small semblance of humanity, he wouldn't beat the old couple up but the ones that came with them? Well, they should have thought twice.
Honestly, even he had to admit that his parents were insane. Which family fights like this? Which parents treat their kids like this? Which human would act as vile as this?
Were they in the middle of a psychotic break?
He was so sick of this drama, he just wanted a peaceful little life.
As the thoughts ran through his mind, the door swung open and he got off the baseball bat and swung it over his shoulders, calmly stating. "Think twice."
The men in black, in fact, did not think twice before storming in.
Xiao Yi had the men on the floor in a matter of minutes and by the time he turned back to the door to confront his parents, they'd left, and in their place were six men in pajamas, two of them with bats of their own.
"Haah…" He wiped his forehead with his hand and looked between the door and the groaning men on the ground. He pointed the bat at them while stating. "I'm the owner, I've got it covered."
Six heads nodded slowly, each of the men aiming to get a better look at the situation through the very small doorway. One of them offered. "Want us to drag them out?"
Xiao Yi looked at the guys on the ground and shook his head. "It's not like I can close the door so they can't get in again." He walked up to who seemed to be the leader and tilted his head forward with the bottom of the bat. "Hey, you're fixing the door, right?"
The man blinked. "I'll fix it."
"That's good. We have no issues then."
Footsteps came running down the hallway accompanied by a scream. "Xiao Yi! Xiao Yi, are you okay?!"
Xiao Qiu burst through the crowd of people to see his brother surrounded by three men, his foot on one of their backs, and a bat lifting one of their heads up.
His mouth sputtered open and closed, not able to decide on what he should say as his wide eyes stared at the people on the ground.
Was his brother this strong?
When did his brother learn to fight?
It must be Chen Qiang's fault - his cute younger brother resembled a loan shark!
Xiao Yi dropped the bat, quickly moved his foot off the guy's back, and walked a few feet away, clearly trying to look innocent.
He pointed at one of the guys with the bats and stated. "It was him."
The witnesses who watched him beat up three men with their own eyes. "…"