Chapter 11 - The great fall

'this bastard...' Jua glared at the smiling monster who stood above him.

It was not the time to be distracted. He only had a few seconds to act. Swiftly, he reached out behind him and pulled the young boy into his embrace.

The next second, he hit the steps hard. The sharp edge hit his ribs.

"AHH!" A searing pain spread through his body. But that was not the end. They both rolled down uncontrollably.

Jua Gu tightly cupped the child's neck and his back, protecting his vitals. Their little bodies rolled down onto the ground.

Groaning loudly, Jua gu released the child. His whole body hurt, especially his broken arm. 'Oh my god, this body!!'

"Jua!" the young man who pushed him acted all innocent and pulled him onto his lap. "Are you hurt? Call the doctor!" he shouted, pretending to be anxious.

From this angle, Jua was able to see the man's twisted smile. 'Oh, this fake lotus is really pissing me off…' he let out a groan, feeling the hands pinch his neck.

"Jua…" the boy hugged him. "It will get worse if you try to run away from me…" he whispered softly into his ear. Jua's eyelid twitched. 'Psycho…'

He slowly turned his aching head to the side to see the young boy. He looked unharmed but seemed to be in shock. He reached out to the boy. 'Your darling brother is a scheming snake… don't believe him…'

His mouth moved, but only a soft gasp came out of it.

The last thing he remembered was a loud dinging sound before he lost consciousness.

Ying Mao watched the servants carry the unconscious boy away with a blank stare. He did not know what happened. It was all blank. One second he was running after his brother, and the next he was hugged by a warm body falling down the stairs.

"Mao…" his brother gently cupped his face. "Are you hurt?"

"No," he shook his head.

"Oh, thank god…" he hugged him tightly. "We should carpet these steps… Jua, that clumsy guy…" he mumbled under his breath.

Mao hugged his brother back. 'But I didn't hear him slip…' He had been right behind Jua Gu. If he had slipped, he would have seen it. 'How did he fall, then?' He closed his eyes tightly.

Jua Gu remained unconscious for a long time, so the servants hurried to take the child away to the hospital once again.

"Ying Mao," Ying Di waved a hand over his face. "Are you really okay? Did you hit your head?"

"No," Mao touched the back of his head. Jua's warm hands had cupped the back of his head, cushioning his fall. "It's better to get it checked out."

"No. I just want to sleep." Ying Mao stood up with his trembling legs. "It's okay, brother," he tried to smile, but it came out strained.

Ying Di nodded softly. "Rest well. I'll check on Jua."

Ying Mao carefully walked up the stairs and peered at the first step. Jua was wearing sneakers. If he had slipped, it would definitely have left some skid marks.

He knelt down and gazed at the floor. There were no marks on the clean floor.

His eyes narrowed. 'He did not fall…'

There was no CCTV on the second floor to protect their privacy. The hall CCTV must not have caught the top of the stairs.

So the fall was left as a mystery.

Ying Mao tiredly walked to his room and laid on the soft bed. The sheets felt cold, making him think about the warm embrace. 'Why is he so warm? Is he sick?'

No one in their family was that warm.

Even his older brother was cold to touch.

But Jua gu was hot.

He quickly called the caretaker who had taken Jua gu to the hospital. "Young Master, Mr. Jua has been admitted to the ER. Thankfully, he is not wounded. Just that his pain tolerance is not that great, so he fainted from pain."

"is his temperature normal?"

"yes he is not sick master."

Mao nodded to himself. "When he wakes up, check his shin for me. See if he feels pain around that area."

"Oh… okay, Young Master."

Ying Mao cut the call and laid on the bed frowning. If Jua gu had bruises or even felt slight pain near his shin, then it was likely that he slipped.

If not…

His eyes went cold.

'Ying Di pushed him…'

'If that was the case, then I need to be careful.'

Ying Di was not his real brother. He was his stepmother's son. He came to the family after his father remarried.

His own mother passed away when he was very young, so when he got a new brother, he was very happy. He clung to the boy all day.

But one day he heard something.

His stepmother talking to Ying Di, saying that he was the firstborn of the Ying family and that he needed to take the place quickly. Ying Di had nodded and said he would get rid of the obstacle fast.

It sounded unbelievable.

Soon as he was kidnapped, everything made sense. His own stepmother and stepbrother wanted to kill him.

Because he was the real son.

From then on, he put on a fake mask to fool the two new family members. Only then would he be able to survive this household.