TRWSB – Chapter 69 Qi Shaorong comes forward as the banker.

Qi Shao’an and Qi Shaofu sat across from each other in the courtyard, with Qi Shaoxuan seated nearby.

“Who would’ve thought Qi Shaorong was so formidable? Even Shaokang couldn’t beat him,” Qi Shao’an said, shaking his head. As the eldest among the Qi brothers, his talent was neither exceptional nor lacking, and he had long transitioned to managing the family’s businesses.

Qi Shaofu sighed with resignation. “I used to think I was the least accomplished in the Qi family. Turns out, the one I thought was at the bottom is actually terrifyingly strong.”

Qi Shaoxuan shook her head and added, “Speaking of which, the way Fourth Brother tore Zhuang Hao’s clothes was so cool!”

Qi Shaofu: “…”

Qi Shao’an chuckled bitterly. “Shaorong isn’t just powerful—his business acumen is top-notch too.”

“It’s a pity the family drove Fourth Brother out. Otherwise, I might’ve been able to ask him to buy me the latest cosmetics from Allure Beauty,” Qi Shaoxuan said with regret, then added indignantly, “And it’s all Fifth Sister’s fault!”

Qi Shao’an smiled wryly. “Shaorong is a bold person. I heard Principal Hu Feng walked away from the gambling houses with over a dozen chests of gold coins thanks to him.” He sighed, thinking about how his hard work managing Qi family businesses only brought in a few hundred thousand gold coins a year.

Qi Shaofu rubbed his nose. “Principal Hu Feng must feel on top of the world right now.”

Apparently, Principal Hu Feng had been walking with a spring in his step these days. With his newfound wealth, he had funded expansions for several Tianlan Academy facilities. By contrast, Principal Lu Ming of Saint Emperor Academy was in a foul mood, and the atmosphere at Saint Emperor Academy had been tense lately.

Qi Shao’an smiled and said, “Originally, if Tianlan Academy had dropped out of the top ten in the Hundred Schools Battle, the title of the Empire’s third-best academy would have gone to another school. But now…”

Qi Shaofu rested his chin on his hand, wondering to himself, Could Tianlan Academy be on the rise?

“Fourth Brother treats Principal Hu Feng very well! I heard he even gave Hu Feng ten million gold coins,” Qi Shaoxuan said sullenly.

Qi Shaofu lowered his head and thought, Fourth Brother would rather choose Principal Hu Feng, a man with no familial ties to him, as his ally than return to the Qi family. It seems Shaorong truly has no affection for the Qi family. Then again, the family hasn’t treated him well either. It’s no wonder he feels this way.

Tianlan Academy

“Student Yi Fan, your sister is here,” a student informed Yi Fan.

Yi Fan frowned and asked, “Yi Chuxue? Why is she here?”

“No idea. She looks furious, like she’s here to stir up trouble. By the way, Yi Fan, where have you been these past few days? I haven’t seen much of you,” the student added.

Yi Fan: “…” He had been in the academy the whole time but using a different identity.

Walking down the shaded path of the campus, Yi Fan soon saw Yi Chuxue storming toward him.

Yi Fan stood still, waiting.

When Yi Chuxue reached him, she raised her hand to slap him, but Yi Fan caught her wrist mid-swing. Her attempt was unsuccessful.

“What are you here for?” Yi Fan asked coldly.

Yi Chuxue glared at him darkly. “You don’t know why I’m here?”

“No clue.”

“Yi Fan, did you orchestrate what happened to Second Brother?” Yi Chuxue demanded, her face full of malice.

Yi Fan narrowed his eyes. His stepmother, Yang Man, had schemed her way into the family, but her skills clearly hadn’t passed down to Yi Chuxue, who was spoiled, arrogant, and clueless.

Regarding Yi Bing’s mishap, Yang Man and Yi Xun suspected Yi Huo, yet this naive little sister, Yi Chuxue, lacked the wit to figure things out. Ironically, sometimes simple-minded people like her stumble upon the truth by accident.

“Dear Sister Chuxue, you sure like accusing people at random. Everyone knows Yi Bing’s injury was caused by your dear older brother. Two tigers can’t share one mountain, after all,” Yi Fan said coolly.

Yi Chuxue widened her eyes in anger and glared at Yi Fan. “Nonsense! Big Brother and Second Brother get along perfectly. It was clearly you! You’re a useless waste of space, jealous of Second Brother, so you ruined him too!”

Yi Fan looked at her calmly. “Sister Chuxue, you really think highly of me, attributing such incredible abilities to someone like me.”

“Don’t bother denying it! I know it was you!” Yi Chuxue pulled her hand back and lashed a whip toward Yi Fan.

A magical wave surged forward, redirecting the whip. It struck back at Yi Chuxue, leaving a vivid red mark on her face.

Yi Chuxue cried out in shock and turned her furious gaze toward Qi Shaorong.

“Qi Shaorong, what are you doing?”

Qi Shaorong strolled out leisurely, his expression icy as he said, “Miss Yi, this is Tianlan Academy. You, a student from Mingya Academy, have no business causing trouble here.”

Yi Chuxue glared at him and retorted coldly, “Don’t give me that sanctimonious talk! Qi Shaorong, you’re just retaliating because of the broken engagement.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Qi Shaorong replied indifferently. “I am retaliating because of the engagement. Who do you think you are, barging onto my turf and acting out like this, you little wretch?”

Yi Chuxue snorted. “Qi Shaorong, you’re shameless! What you did to Zhuang Hao during the competition was outrageous.”

“All I did was rip his clothes. How is that shameless? If anything, I did everyone a favor. Tell me, Miss Yi, when I tore Zhuang Hao’s clothes, didn’t you sneak a peek? Honestly, his physique is just average. Were you disappointed?” Qi Shaorong teased mockingly.

Yi Chuxue’s eyes widened in fury, and she launched an attack on Qi Shaorong. With a wave of his staff, Qi Shaorong sent her flying backward, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.

The surrounding students watched the spectacle, their expressions a mix of amusement and astonishment at Qi Shaorong’s ruthless treatment.

“Qi Shaorong, don’t you think you’re being too harsh on Miss Yi?” a senior student asked cautiously.

Qi Shaorong glanced at him. “What? Got a problem? Or do you have feelings for her?”

The senior student quickly waved his hands and said, “No, no, I don’t have any issues.”

Qi Shaorong stepped on Yi Chuxue and sneered, “Little girl, stay far away from wherever I am, understand? Otherwise, I won’t be so polite next time.”

Yi Chuxue’s face flushed red with shame and fury.

“Qi Shaorong, the Yi family won’t let this slide!”

Qi Shaorong shrugged indifferently. “I don’t even care about Zhuang Hao’s reputation; do you think I’d be afraid of a spoiled brat like you?”

After giving Yi Chuxue a piece of his mind, Qi Shaorong left.

A student turned to Yi Fan and said, “Yi Fan, you’re really lucky! Our principal’s personal disciple stood up for you.”

Yi Fan stood with his hands behind his back. While everyone assumed Qi Shaorong’s actions were due to the annulled engagement, Yi Fan knew the truth—Qi Shaorong was simply standing up for him.

Qi Shaorong pressed his lips together and glanced back in the direction Yi Chuxue had fled. For someone as arrogant and domineering as Yi Chuxue, life would be rough without Yi Fan around. In a way, the Qi family exiling him early on was a blessing in disguise.

After dealing with Yi Chuxue, Qi Shaorong walked away. In the crowd, two figures watched his retreating back with complicated expressions.

“Shen Shao, weren’t you planning to apologize to my fourth brother? Go ahead!” Qi Shaofu urged Shen Yuan.

Scratching his head, Shen Yuan said, “Uh, maybe I’ll do it later. Your fourth brother is terrifying!”

This brutal man, Qi Shaorong, wasn’t even lenient toward women. Sure, Yi Chuxue was a bit overbearing, but knocking a beauty to the ground and stepping on her seemed a bit excessive. Then again, considering this was the same guy who stripped Zhuang Hao in public, it was clear that decorum wasn’t exactly his priority.

Qi Shaofu: “…”

“You were also planning to discuss getting him back into the Qi family, weren’t you? Go ahead!” Shen Yuan pushed.

Qi Shaofu: “…” He frowned, puzzled as to why the family had given him such a daunting task. Convincing Qi Shaorong to return to the Qi family sounded like an utterly terrifying mission.

Qi Shaorong had been walking for quite a while when he suddenly stopped and turned around. Fixing his cold gaze on the sneaky Shen Yuan and Qi Shaofu trailing behind him, he asked, “You two have been following me for quite some time. What do you want?”

Qi Shaofu stiffly raised a hand in greeting. “Fourth Brother, h-hello!”

Qi Shaorong chuckled coldly. “What do you want?”

Qi Shaofu stammered awkwardly, “The family elders… they’d like to invite you to come home for a visit.”

“Not interested.”

Although he had expected it, Qi Shaofu still felt a twinge of disappointment. “Can’t we negotiate this?”

“There’s nothing to negotiate.”

Qi Shaofu rubbed his forehead in exasperation. He had done all he could. The family couldn’t blame him for this, right? He had opposed kicking Qi Shaorong out of the family back then, but Qi Shaoru had insisted on it. Now that things had gone wrong, it was only fair for Qi Shaoru to clean up the mess herself.

Thinking of Qi Shaoru, Qi Shaofu couldn’t help but shake his head. Recently, she had been placed under house arrest by the family elders and was having a rough time.

“Fourth Brother, Shaoru has been put under house arrest.”

Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes and said, “Oh? That woman is so impulsive; it’s about time someone locked her up to cool off.”

Qi Shaorong’s gaze shifted to Shen Yuan. “Young Master Shen, do you have something to say?”

Shen Yuan, filled with remorse, said, “About the engagement annulment—I apologize. I shouldn’t have meddled. I truly regret it now.”

“Hah.”

Shen Yuan’s face flushed at Qi Shaorong’s reaction. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “Fourth Young Master Qi, the annulment wasn’t Zhuang Hao’s fault. Please don’t hold a grudge against him.”

“I don’t hold a grudge against him,” Qi Shaorong replied.

“Then why did you…”

Qi Shaorong chuckled and said, “I don’t hold a grudge, but I dislike him. I dislike people who are better-looking than me, stronger than me, and—most of all—those who stand in the way of me making money. Zhuang Hao? Tsk, he checks all the boxes.”

Shen Yuan: “…”