Chapter 56 I love him. This time, it's my turn to protect you. ...

Xing Lan paused for a moment, as if she had a bad feeling. Her heart tightened, and she quickened her pace to enter the house.

Upon entering, the living room appeared to have been robbed, with many items smashed and broken, transforming its once clean and tidy state into a complete mess.

The "Fu" character pasted on the window and the New Year pictures hanging on the wall were ruthlessly torn and crumpled, carelessly crumpled into balls and thrown on the ground, blown by the chilly winter wind into dark corners. Li Baidong's favorite light blue glass vase was also smashed, with sharp, reflective crystal shards scattered all over the ground.

The kitten and puppy were startled and quickly scurried under the sofa, trembling and refusing to come out.

Two tall men of different ages stood in the dimly lit corridor. One of them was Li Baidong, and the other was Xing Yi, who had arrived uninvited not long ago.

"Smack!"

Xing Yi frowned, his face showing displeasure. Suddenly, he raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap to Li Baidong's thin, handsome face, causing blood to immediately seep from the corner of his mouth and his face to turn to the side.

Li Baidong did not retaliate, but silently lowered his eyes, leaned against the wall with his head down, and looked gloomy.

His long hair fell from his forehead, making him appear even more sorrowful and helpless, with an undeniable vulnerability.

"Li Baidong!"

Xing Lan opened her eyes wide, rushed into the house, forcefully pushed away the aggressive Xing Yi, and protected Li Baidong behind her.

He clenched his fists, staring at Xing Yi with hatred, his voice icy as he questioned Xing Yi, word by word: "Who gave you permission to come to my house? What right did you have to hit him?"

Xing Yi snorted coldly, slowly straightening his sleeves, his gaze sweeping contemptuously across Xing Lan's face: "Do I need to report to anyone when I come to my own son's house? Don't forget, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have the chance to be born!"

Xing Yi glanced down and saw Xing Lan's clenched fist. He chuckled coldly, "What, you want to hit me? Just for this kid hiding behind you? Hmph, looks like you two are really deeply in love..."

His expression changed instantly, the smile vanished from his lips, and his voice rose sharply: "Two shameless, filthy things! Utterly disgusting!"

"Xing Lan, Xing Lan, where did you learn such improper conduct? You attended the best schools in the country and received the best education since you were a child! How dare you live with a man of unknown origin for so long behind everyone's back? Where will you put the reputation of the Xing family in the future? You are utterly shameless! I am ashamed for you!"

Xing Yi grabbed the glass fruit plate from the coffee table and smashed it on the ground as if in a show of defiance. Pointing at Xing Lan, he glared at him and commanded, "I don't care what kind of improper and disgusting relationship you two had before. From today onwards, you must break up with him! Otherwise, I will pretend I don't have a son like you, and our Xing family will no longer have you!"

Xing Lan's face was pale, and although she tried to appear calm, her shoulders were trembling very slightly. This trembling was not due to fear, but rather stemmed from an unbearable anger in her heart.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly curled his lips into a slightly sarcastic smile.

He looked at Xing Yi, who seemed confident of victory, and sneered silently, then nodded obediently, feigning compliance: "Alright."

Xing Yi's expression relaxed slightly, thinking that Xing Lan had agreed to break up with the boy in front of him. However, the next second, he heard Xing Lan suddenly shout fiercely at him: "Do whatever you want, kick me out of the Xing family if you want. Anyway, no matter what, I will not break up with him!"

In the quiet room, every word was spoken with resounding force, and all three people present heard it clearly.

Upon hearing this, Li Baidong, standing behind him, couldn't help but slightly raise his eyes, a hint of indescribable emotion flashing across his pitiful expression.

"You're the one who should get out." Xing Lan pointed to the door and said to Xing Yi indifferently, "Get out of my house right now, or I'll call the police!"

Xing Yi was stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief: "You'd abandon your family for a man? You're insane! It's a pity our Xing family raised you for so many years, only to produce such an ungrateful wretch!"

"You're a madman!" Xing Yi pointed angrily at Xing Lan and blurted out, "Just like your mother!"

A cold glint flashed in Xing Lan's eyes, and she clenched her fists even tighter, her expression as cold as ice: "What did you say?"

"I'm telling you, you and your mother are the same, you two are both crazy!" Xing Yi said in a deep voice. "You always hold a grudge against me because of what happened to your mother back then, but you don't know that what happened back then was entirely your mother's fault!"

"It's your mother who's always suspicious, doubting everyone who gets close to me has ulterior motives. She herself changed drastically after giving birth, completely losing her former gentleness and only having endless malicious speculation about others, which has caused me to suffer from neurasthenia. I have a home, but I'm afraid to go back!"

"Just because she gave birth to a child, does that make her incredibly glorious? Just because I'm busy with work and don't have time to cater to her inexplicably overly sensitive nerves 24/7, does that make me a heinous criminal?" Xing Yi scoffed coldly, his expression arrogant, casually fiddling with his watch. "I've never felt a single bit of wifely warmth from her. As a wife, she's far from qualified!"

"Shut up!"

Xing Lan shouted those two words with all her might, her fair neck gradually turning a thin blush of excitement, her thin chest heaving violently, and the blood in her body almost freezing due to excessive anger.

He slammed his fist on the table, staring intently at Xing Yi, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Don't think that just because my mother is gone, you can twist the truth! Everyone in the company knows what your relationship with your lover really is, and when you started messing around together!"

“You killed my mother, you cold-blooded and selfish murderer…” Xing Lan’s eyes were red, a tear silently slid down her cheek, and her voice trembled uncontrollably, “Yes, I am gay, I like men, but at least I didn’t kill anyone!”

"You keep referring to the Xing family, but what exactly is the Xing family? A family that harbors murderers, isn't that despicable enough?"

Xing Yi sneered, his expression unchanged, still looking down at Xing Lan: "Whether you want to be a member of the Xing family or not, as long as you haven't been skinned alive, as long as you still have half the blood of the Xing family flowing in your veins... you can never do such a heinous thing!"

"You have no choice. I'm telling you, break up with this guy today, come with me to meet Miss Lin tomorrow, the two families will meet and have a meal the day after tomorrow, and then we'll pick an auspicious day and you two will get your marriage certificate this month. This marriage is settled."

With just a few words, Xing Lan's life was laid out clearly.

Seeing the two people opposite him with their heads down and not uttering a word, Xing Yi curled his lips in a knowing smile. He glanced arrogantly at Xing Lan, then turned to leave.

The anger that had been building up inside him could no longer be suppressed. Before Li Baidong could react, Xing Lan suddenly rushed to the door and punched Xing Yi hard in the arrogant face.

His fists were now covered in a mess of bloodstains, from his own blood when he was injured while smashing the table, and now his own father's blood.

Xing Yi's face stiffened, and he covered his face, the smugness in his eyes vanishing instantly: "You hit me? You dare to hit me?"

Xing Yi's thinking was very feudal. In his mind, only fathers could discipline their sons. If a son dared to hit his father, it was a sin punishable by heaven.

Although Xing Lan had always been at odds with him, at most she would only make sarcastic remarks, but this was the first time she had actually taken action against him.

Xing Yi's expression twisted, his face grew increasingly ugly, his eyes twitched, and he looked at Xing Lan with an almost hostile gaze, as if he wished he could tear him to pieces immediately.

"You hit my boyfriend, of course I have to hit him back for him." Xing Lan's hand was cut and bleeding, but she didn't feel any pain as she stared at Xing Yi and said lightly.

"you……"

Xing Yi's face turned ashen. He angrily pointed at Li Baidong and shouted at Xing Lan, "Say it again, what is he to you?"

Xing Lan answered calmly and without hesitation, "My boyfriend."

“We’ve lived together for a long time, and I’m happy every day with him, at least tens of thousands of times happier than I was at the Xing family home.” As she said this, Xing Lan smiled gently, a smile that didn’t seem to be faked to spite Xing Yi, but rather very genuine.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly lost in sweet memories in front of Xing Yi.

"He's very good to me. Although he's young, he's very considerate. Even though he can be a little childish at times, once you get used to it, you find him quite adorable."

"In short, I like him very much, I love him. In my heart, he is the best, and I can't consider anyone else. He is the only choice I have in this life." Xing Lan stared coldly at Xing Yi and said with unwavering determination.

"...Nonsense!"

"You're a complete bastard!" Enraged, Xing Yi abandoned all pretense of maintaining a good father image and slapped Xing Lan across the face.

This is the second time Xing Yi has hit Xing Lan, and he hit her even harder than the last time.

Xing Lan's whole body tilted to one side, she staggered, her hand lost its grip on the wall, and she almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Li Baidong caught her in time and carefully pulled her into his arms.

Before Xing Lan could even stand up straight, Xing Yi's harsh curses rang in her ears again.

"Do you know what you're saying? You disgusting homosexual pervert! What sins did I commit in my past life to have a son like you?!"

With her tongue pressed against her back teeth, Xing Lan had just regained her balance when, ignoring Li Baidong's attempts to stop her, she stumbled and tried to kick Xing Yi again.

"You gave birth to a son like me? Ha, do you think I wanted to be born? If you're so capable, you should have kept your lower half in check! If you're so capable, you shouldn't have had the nerve to mess with my mother in the first place! Do you know you've ruined her life! Xing Yi! You're a beast!"

"Fine! I raised you from a baby with great care, giving you everything you needed, and now you've fallen for some random man and dare to talk to your old man like that! It seems I was too good to you before, spoiling you rotten!"

Xing Yi's face turned bright red, veins bulging on his forehead. He rolled up his sleeves, angrily picked up a heavy ceramic vase from the corner, and was about to throw it at Xing Lan without a second thought.

Xing Yi was completely out of his mind with rage. The vase was made of hard material, large and heavy, about half a person's height; if thrown at it, it could probably kill someone half to death. If someone accidentally injured their head, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xing Lan broke free from Li Baidong's embrace and stared at Xing Yi without fear. When she saw the large vase being thrown straight at her, she didn't blink or dodge.

It doesn't matter. If Xing Yi dares to smash him, he'll dare to die in front of him.

Xing Yi indirectly caused his mother's death years ago, and now he has directly caused his death. The difference is that this time, he will pay the price for his impulsive actions.

The next second, he felt as if his shoulders were suddenly gripped tightly, and under that person's pressure, his body was forced to turn around.

Li Baidong suddenly lunged forward, turned his back to shield him, closed his eyes, and hugged him tightly.

After a loud crash, the delicate, blood-stained shards of the vase scattered all over the floor.

Xing Lan was unharmed, but Li Baidong in front of her frowned and let out a barely audible groan.

"elder brother……"

He looked at Xing Lan, blinked very slowly, his usually straight back gradually bent, his voice was very weak, and suddenly he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“…Li Baidong?!” Xing Lan’s breath hitched, her pupils dilated, and she quickly reached out to support him.

Li Baidong was severely injured, with a horrifying wound on his back from being cut by sharp shards of a vase.

Large gushes of blood flowed from his back, soaking almost his entire white shirt red. The blood dripped slowly down the boy's slightly hunched back onto the blindingly white tiled floor, forming a horrifying river of blood.

Not to mention Xing Lan, even Xing Yi, who was standing at the door, was startled by the scene and his face froze.

Li Baidong lost too much blood and had no strength left. He collapsed into Xing Lan's arms, his head drooping, his life hanging in the balance.

Xing Lan trembled as she hugged him tightly, looking at Li Baidong's weak and pale face, her vision gradually becoming completely blurred by tears that welled up without her noticing.

With the last vestiges of his sanity, he looked up and yelled at Xing Yi to call an ambulance.

Xing Yi paused, remained silent for a long time, and finally took out his phone to make a call for them. He then gave them a cold glance, his eyes still full of disgust, and hurriedly walked out of the house.

“Li Baidong… Li Baidong…” Xing Lan lowered her head, her throat choked with sobs, and called his name softly, her handsome face showing a rare panic. “Don’t sleep, I beg you, don’t sleep…”

"Open your eyes, open your eyes and look at me... Don't sleep..."

Li Baidong, who was lying in Xing Lan's arms, had almost completely white lips, but the corners of his lips were still slightly upturned.

Unlike Xing Lan's fear and dread, his heart was filled with peace and happiness.

elder brother.

This time, it's finally my turn to protect you.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! I'm currently working on [Xing Yi], just 99% away from completing it. Come and join me!