translator: Eve
editor: xiin
Song Xuanhe didn’t give him a chance. He turned his phone to silent.
“Are you serious?” Zhou Nan took a bite of his bun. He widened his eyes, trying to give Song Xuanhe a reproaching glare, but he could not hide the schadenfreude from his eyes. “It’s one thing to treat me like this, but you even ignore Xiao Yuanmu’s calls?”
“Did you come over to my place this early in the morning just to gossip?” Song Xuanhe looked up. Who knew if the impatient look in his brows was from being woken up or from what Zhou Nan had said? In any case, it was directed towards Zhou Nan.
Zhou Nan shrugged and tactfully changed the subject. “You’ve been away for so long and are leaving for America in two days. I had to drag you out for some drinks.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Song Xuanhe corrected him. He then put down his chopsticks and got up. “Give me a second.”
“Tomorrow?” Zhou Nan was surprised. “Isn’t your show a week from now? Why are you leaving tomorrow?”
The only reply he got was the sound of Song Xuanhe’s door closing.
Ten minutes later, Song Xuanhe came out fully dressed. “Can we visit the Song Group first?”
“Are you being a good boy?” Zhou Nan teased. “Are you going to report to your dad?”
“I’m going to see my brother.” Song Xuanhe walked a few steps before asking Zhou Nan, “Did you hear about what Bai Mo said?”
“You know about that?” Zhou Nan frowned. “No one believed the nonsense he uttered. Don’t worry about it. He seems to have grown a brain and stopped speaking rubbish.”
“Are Jiang Deyi’s hands really ruined?”
Zhou Nan was taken aback. “Yeah…well, kind of.”
Song Xuanhe gave him a look. Zhou Nan said in a wronged tone, “How would I know whether he’s really crippled or not? He doesn’t appear in public often. Also, the only time he was seen, his hands were wrapped up. I can’t tell if it’s crippled or not unless he unwraps it.”
“Ah, but he’s also a designer. It would probably be really hard to work if you lost use of your hands.” Zhou Nan shook his head and sighed. “Who knows what kind of person that youngster offended? Although he wasn’t likeable, my feelings when I saw his hands were…complicated. What kind of deep grudge would cause someone to ruin another person’s hands? That’s a bit too ruthless.”
Song Xuanhe paused. His phone once again started to vibrate in his pocket. “Are we going or not?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Zhou Nan clicked his tongue. “Why did your patience get shorter after your trip….”
Song Xuanhe’s car followed after Zhou Nan’s. Inside the quiet car, Song Xuanhe tapped against his steering wheel, lips pursed.
【I noticed that your emotions index is really low and keeps on falling. I’ve never seen numbers like this before. Brother, what’s wrong?】After a prolonged absence, the System’s boorish voice came back online. It sounded a lot livelier than before.
Song Xuanhe stopped tapping against the wheel. “Nothing.”
The System asked：【You don’t usually tap against the steering wheel. From the humans I’ve observed, the person who taps against things the most is Xiao Yuanmu. Is the decrease in your emotions index related to this action?】
“No.” Song Xuanhe expressed his loss of patience with a single word.
【Wei Chen doesn’t know you as well as Zhou Nan does.】The System said：【Wei Chen said that your temperament got better but that wasn’t true at all. Zhou Nan said that your temper got worse. The data suggests that Zhou Nan was correct.】
Song Xuanhe: “Shut up.”
【Look, the fluctuations in your emotions prove that my data is accurate. Moreover….】Upon noticing that Song Xuanhe’s emotions index had fallen so low it was on the eve of falling below the emotionally stable line, the System shut up.
Zhou Nan and Song Xuanhe both got out of their cars upon reaching their destination. Zhou Nan eyed Song Xuanhe’s expression that was no different from the one he had when he had gotten into the car. With a smile, he said, “What’s wrong? Afraid that Lin ge will force you to stay at the company and prohibit you from leaving?”
Song Xuanhe walked into the Song Group’s building and gave him a perfunctory reply. “Afraid of bumping into Song Guochao.”
Zhou Nan retracted his leg when he imagined what would happen if Song Xuanhe and Song Guochao met. “I’ll wait for you in the car. It’s been so long since you and Lin ge have seen each other. I should give you two some space to catch up.”
Song Xuanhe’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. Zhou Nan nimbly hopped down the steps and then hit his own chest with a fist. He looked earnest. “I’m going with you.”
……
Song Xuanlin had just so happened to wrap up a meeting by the time Song Xuanhe arrived at his office. He was shocked for a moment but quickly came back to himself. He waved his secretary away.
“Finally willing to come back?”
Song Xuanlin sat down in front of Song Xuanhe and pulled out his tea set. While preparing the tea, he said, “Tell me, what did you do? Seems like you had so much fun you even forgot to give us a call to tell us you were safe and sound.”
Song Xuanhe avoided talking about the important parts and spoke of the trivial things instead. “I have pictures. I’ll send them to you later.”
Song Xuanlin looked up but he didn’t persist in his questions. He just said, “Why did you come to see me? To tell me you’re fine or to report to the company?”
“I wanted to ask you about Bai Mo.” Song Xuanhe deliberately pretended to miss Song Xuanlin’s hinting. “I’m going to America tomorrow, so it’s too much of a hassle to find Bai Mo before then. I heard that you’ve spoken to him already. That’s why I came to see you.”
Song Xuanlin furrowed his brows slightly. “It’s already been settled. You didn’t have to go out of your way to come here.”
“Ge,” Song Xuanhe asked, “Are Jiang Deyi’s hands really crippled?”
Song Xuanlin hesitated and then replied: “Yes. But it has nothing to do with you.”
“Zhou Rong’s drug had come from him and Hayden Schroder.” Song Xuanhe said flatly. “Although the fact that he was crippled has nothing to do with me, the perpetrator behind it does, am I right?”
Song Xuanlin looked down. His manner whilst pouring the tea was lithe and silent. One could hear the ice in his voice, however. “He only has himself to blame. It has nothing to do with you.”
“What about Hayden Schroder?”
Realizing that he would not be getting an answer, Song Xuanhe asked another question. “What happened to Hayden Schroder?”
“I don’t know.” Song Xuanlin pushed a cup of tea over to him, his voice mellow and rich. “Have a taste.”
Song Xuanhe didn’t pick up the cup. His brows knitted.
Since he had heard about Jiang Deyi from Wei Chen, he had initially guessed that the perpetrator was Xiao Yuanmu. But because he didn’t want to believe it, his suspicions had fallen on Song Xuanlin upon hearing that he had spoken to Bai Mo. After all, the person who had orchestrated Lu Chao’s miserable death in the original novel had most likely been Song Xuanlin. It was very likely that he might have done something to Jiang Deyi when he found out that Jiang Deyi had given Zhou Rong the drug.
Song Xuanhe’s reasoning had some ground. The Xiao Yuanmu in the novel had already taken over the Xiao Family by this point. He was too busy developing the Xiao empire while dodging bullets left and right. He also would never help take revenge for someone he hated to the bone for so long. Therefore, if he excluded Xiao Yuanmu, the most likely perpetrator who also had the ability to take revenge for the original host could only be Song Xuanlin.
Moreover, Song Xuanhe knew that although Song Xuanlin didn’t dote on the original host—he could even be said to be rather indifferent—he had a strong sense of responsibility for the original host. He would never allow an outsider to humiliate him. This strong sense of responsibility would likely have resulted in guilt after the original host’s death. It was normal for him to use Lu Chao’s life to atone for his guilt.
This sense of responsibility could also be seen as him defending the original host despite knowing that he was in the wrong. Therefore, the possibility that he would teach Jiang Deyi a lesson upon hearing that the other was the source of Zhou Rong’s drug was very high.
It was just that…when he heard that Song Xuanlin didn’t have any news on Hayden Schroder, Song Xuanhe knew that the person behind this was not him.
“Do you have any information on the Schroder Family?”
Song Xuanlin looked at Song Xuanhe surprised. He was silent for two seconds before deciding to tell the truth. “The situation in the Schroder Family has been turbulent as of late. The information I have isn’t very clear.”
“What did you hear?”
Song Xuanlin shook his head. “If you want to know, you should ask Xiao Yuanmu. He should have a very clear picture of what’s happening.”
“Furthermore, Mother’s been worried because you haven’t contacted the family for more than two months. We had no choice but to ask Xiao Yuanmu whether you were safe or not. Don’t be so headstrong next time. Since you were able to keep in contact with Xiao Yuanmu, you could at the very least call Mother to let her feel at ease.”
Song Xuanhe opened his mouth before clamping his lips back down. A long time later, he said, “I didn’t contact him.”
Song Xuanlin frowned. “How did he have information on you, then?”
“He was probably making things up.” Song Xuanhe said, “I went out to loosen up, so I didn’t want to talk to anyone. You guys don’t have to worry about me.”
Who would have expected for Song Xuanlin’s expression to grow heavy when he heard that he didn’t contact Xiao Yuanmu. “How can we not worry if no one’s able to get in touch with you?”
Song Xuanhe spoke in an innocent tone. “Didn’t I come back in one piece? Isn’t it normal to forget to call home when you’re having too much fun? Oh yeah, I’m going to continue travelling after the fashion week’s over. If I remember to call you, I will. If not, don’t worry about it. Anyways, you guys will get used to it eventually.”
Song Xuanlin’s brows furrowed even deeper upon hearing his rhetorical fallacies. “I won’t help you hide this from Mother next time.”
Song Xuanhe smiled and got up. “We’ll talk about it when the time comes. Zhou Nan’s still waiting for me downstairs. I’ll be heading out first.”
After stepping out of Song Xuanlin’s office, the smile disappeared from Song Xuanhe’s face.
The System suddenly spoke up：【Are you still intent on returning to your world while in Arang when the time comes?】
Song Xuanhe walked into the elevator. He didn’t respond.
【Didn’t Assistant Zhang discover that you were searching up Arang?】The System said ：【Or do you have another place in mind?】
Song Xuanhe replied flatly：【The country of Gollum.】
The System was quiet for a while：【Have you ever thought about what your family, friends, and Xiao Yuanmu will do after you disappear?】
【They’re the friends and family of the original host.】The elevator door opened and Song Xuanhe walked out. As he made his way to the exit, he spoke in a mild voice：【I have my own friends and family.】
【But they’re not around anymore.】The System replied：【Even if you leave, there’s no way of separating your soul from the original host’s body. Therefore, you’re already the Song Xuanhe of this world in principle. Why not stay?】
Song Xuanhe stopped walking. His gaze fell on Zhou Nan, who looked bored out of his mind. His lips curled up slightly before flattening down. A difficult-to-read emotion appeared in Song Xuanhe’s limpid eyes.【There is a reason I have to go back. In contrast, there is no reason for why I must stay.】
Eve: My heart aches. He clearly cares about his friends and family (and Mumu) or this world. But the one last thing he’s holding onto from his original world is preventing him from accepting it. This also reminds me of the fact that most MCs in transmigrator stories are orphan for a reason. Imagine having to make a choice between your old and new lives.
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