Vixen Above, Mensao Below (14)

That was why, anything else can be changed and compromised upon, except for Ye Jia being kicked out of the Ye family. Song Jia was determined to hug Papa Ye's thigh, and even if it hurt her throat, she would definitely call Ye Minzhe 'gege'!

Wen Yan was still talking to Gu Yuan.

"After they went out to complain, they didn't come back for an hour. Sheng Li and I were left alone inside the room, and the two of us became worried, so we decided to look for them. But before we could get out of the door, one of them returned, and his neck was bleeding. Sheng Li bandaged him while I wanted to call for help, but he tried to attack Sheng Li!"

Gu Yuan frowned. "He must have been bitten."

Wen Yan nodded. "That's what we guessed too. Anyway, the two of us managed to lock him inside the bathroom and escape. We wanted to inform the crew so we went down the stairs to the lower decks, but who knew that the situation here is even worse!"

Song Jia asked, "Does that mean the upper decks are safe?"

Wen Yan bit her lip and looked at Sheng Li. In return, Sheng Li glanced at Ye Minzhe. Although Ding Xiuxiu often protected Ye Jia, they knew how much Ye Minzhe hated his half-sister. They didn't want to provoke Ye Minzhe for a single Ye Jia, so they decided to ignore her.

Looking at their ugly expressions, Song Jia's lips twitched. The situation was already like this, and yet they still have the energy to act out a dog blood drama.

"What, you don't want to answer her?" Ye Minzhe narrowed his eyes in anger. They actually dared to bully Ye Jia in front of him? Did they think he, Ye Minzhe, was already dead?

He wrapped an arm around Song Jia's shoulders and pulled her close, resting his chin on top of her head. His dark eyes were cold as they looked at the two girls.

"Laozi [1] saved the two of you so that Jia wouldn't have to dirty her hands. Seeing as the two of you seem to be a bunch of white-eyed wolves, don't let this young master see your ugly faces again. Scram!"

Sheng Li and Wen Yan directly turned pale with fright. "P-Prince Ye..."

Gu Yuan also stepped forward to help them, "Student Ye..."

Ye Minzhe pointed his bloody baseball bat at him. "Speak another word and I'll make you scram too!"

Anyway, he had never liked this teacher from the beginning. Always sticking close to Jia, what did he intend to do? Ye Minzhe didn't care if this old cow liked eating tender grass, but Ye Jia was off-limits. That old thing wouldn't be able to afford her.

Ye Minzhe decided on the spot. Since Ye Jia wanted to be his 'little sister', then she should follow all of his conditions. With this amazing and handsome older brother on front, why would she need other men for?

That's why, no dating before the age of thirty!

Ye Minzhe waved his baseball bat menacingly. Those other men with bad intentions, see if he doesn't beat them to a death!

As for those other rumors of Ye Jia being a 'vixen' and having slept with numerous men, Ye Minzhe decided that they weren't true at all. Maybe he had believed them at first, but now, he felt that those women were just jealous. Ye Jia was too good, it would inevitably attract hate and envy.

Song Jia pinched Ye Minzhe's waist.

"Why are you hovering around me like a tiger protecting its cub? Their attitude, isn't that because of you?"

Ye Minzhe lowered his bat and stared blankly at her. "Because of me?"

He did splash mop water on her earlier, but that was because Ouyang Che gave him the idea!

Ye Minzhe decidedly pushed the pot on Ouyang Che's head.

Song Jia escaped his hold and poked his chest. "Ye Minzhe, don't act innocent. You were the one who bullied me the most!"

Ye Minzhe, "..."

He finally remembered some things he did which felt like a long time ago. Seems that...she was right?

Ye Minzhe stiffened, looking like a frozen statue. A heavy feeling settled in his stomach, and his face was black.

With a look of not being able to live and yet not being able to die, he licked his dry lips and said, "That was...Jia, that was a long time ago, you should be open-minded and forget those."

Song Jia pursed her lips. "Ye Minzhe, how hard is it to simply apologize to me? Do you think I could easily forget? When I first visited your home and slept because of jet lag, you drew all over my face with a permanent marker. When I first went to school and entered the classroom, you put a bucket of water on top of the door to spill on me. You disguised a balloon as a cake so when I sliced it open on my birthday, it popped and threw frosting all over my face..."

Song Jia went on for more than five minutes, listing every misdeed he had done to Ye Jia. Finally taking a breath after her long soliloquy, she asked, "Ye Minzhe, do you think I could forget those? As long as you don't apologize, don't even try sticking close to me!"

She snorted and stalked off, going towards the direction of the promenade deck. As the distance between them widened, Ye Minzhe finally showed a trace of panic and shouted, "Jia, wait!"

Sheng Li and Wen Yan were dumbstruck. They watched as Ye Minzhe ran after Song Jia, going in front of her and walking backwards as he told her something. Song Jia shook her head and hit him, covering her ears. Ye Minzhe smiled and hooked his arm around her shoulders, half-hugging and half-dragging her forward. The clothes they wore were of the same color, almost as if they were wearing matching couple outfits.

Watching them, Sheng Li remembered a game she used to play in her childhood. The game would start by having them divide into two teams, who would line up opposite each other, holding hands.

One child from each team would start by hurling himself at the other side's line, trying to break through between them. If he breaks through, the children on either side of him must go back with him and join his team. If he doesn't, he stays and becomes a member of that team. Because Sheng Li had played with her much older cousins, no matter how much she hurled herself forward, she could never break their formation. [2]

She felt as if she had been transported back to that time, where even before she hurled herself forward, she already knew it would be useless to try.

Sheng Li pressed her lips and said to Wen Yan, "Let's go, let's catch up to them."

Even if she couldn't get through, what did it matter? Ye Jia was Ye Minzhe's half-sister. She didn't need to compete with her.

The uncomfortable feeling that tightened Sheng Li's gut finally loosened, and she followed the two of them with a lighter heart.

[1] An arrogant way to call one's self

[2] This is a Ch. game called 'Forcing the City Gates.'