translator: Eve
editor: kara
After watching Jiang Deyi, who was so angry that he was twitching, and Bai Mo, whose smile was rigid, leave, Zhou Nan asked, “Zhou Rong’s drug came from the Schroder family? Wait, how do you know that it had been sold by Jiang Deyi? And, was Jiang Deyi’s injury caused by Xiao Yuanmu?”
Zhou Nan had a lot of questions, but Song Xuanhe didn’t hear a single word. His eyes were downcast, and there was a pensive look in his eyes.
Actually, when he had found out that this matter was related to the Hoffman Family, Song Xuanhe had been curious. The Hoffman Family had accumulated its wealth from war. Their company was the most influential manufacturers of weapons in the world. Regardless of whether it was a private company or a country, no one was usually willing to offend the Hoffman Family. A family like them does not lack influence nor wealth. They would never engage in drug trafficking.
That was why he knew that it must have been done by a subordinate family. When he thought of this, there was naturally only one candidate in mind. The only subordinate clan that followed the Hoffman Family that he knew of was the Schroder Family.
Many people knew exactly what kind of drugs the Schroder Family came up with. However, drug trafficking was not prohibited in every country. The Schroder Family would even sell some of their drugs as “medication.” In this way, they were able to bring in huge sums of profit. It wasn’t just the Schroder Family doing this either. That was why, even though everyone knew about it, it didn’t affect the Schroder Family all that much.
But recently, most countries had begun to crack down on drugs. Although the number of people using didn’t decrease, and the Schroder Family’s business wasn’t all that affected, the rapidly increasing legal danger had split the Schroder Family into two divisions. One side wanted to continue their business in the drug industry while the other side wanted to rid themselves of it. The two sides were fighting. As a result, the Schroder Family had not created any new drugs for a long time.
Therefore, after a never-before-seen drug had arrived on the market, Song Xuanhe thought that it had very likely come from the Schroder Family considering their data.
It was just that he hadn’t had any idea how Zhou Rong had managed to get connections with the Schroder Family. That was until he had come back to China and Wei Chen had told him about what Bai Mo had said and that Jiang Deyi was injured.
Jiang Deyi’s injury was very enigmatic. Moreover, he and Jiang Deyi had had disagreements in the past. If Zhou Rong had known about this and had tried to convince Jiang Deyi to be his means to buy the new drug, Jiang Deyi would have definitely been tempted. Furthermore, Zhou Rong had also gotten the drug from the Schroder Family in the book. This meant that, regardless of what his relationship with Jiang Deyi was like, Jiang Deyi had been tempted to use this method to make money for a long time now.
Jiang Deyi had no choice but to rely on Hayden Schroder if he had wanted to get the drugs. Furthermore, the Schroder Family was subordinate to the Hoffman Family. Everything made sense once all these clues were all linked up.
It was just that, even if he was mostly sure, he still wanted to confirm this with Xiao Shenglin. Unexpectedly, he had been able to get the truth out of Jiang Deyi when they had bumped into him and Bai Mo.
However, contrary to expectations, this knowledge only made it feel like something heavy was pressing down on his chest.
It made him realize once again just how deep Xiao Yuanmu’s feelings for him were. It made him realize how much Xiao Yuanmu had paid for him on his behalf without him knowing. It made him gain a deeper understanding of just how warm and meticulous the other man was under his icy, dark exterior.
Song Xuanhe recalled every change he had witnessed in Xiao Yuanmu since their first meeting. He also contrasted them with the changes in himself. He thought about how he had felt guarded against Xiao Yuanmu in the beginning. Gradually, that feeling had morphed into a difficult-to-understand trust in the other man. To this day, he still felt like this change inside himself was fantastical.
Everything made him suddenly recall the words his mother had left with him just before her death.
Although he had been young, because his father had died earlier, he already knew what death meant. Therefore, he had been unable to control his fear. He had held onto his mother’s weak, icy fingers and pleaded, pleaded for her to not leave him, pleaded for her to take him with her. He had begged her to love him for the rest of his life, the way she had every night before he had gone to bed.
He had been afraid of being left alone from that day on. A young child could not hide his feelings. His helplessness and fear had filled his cries. His cries had been heart-wrenching. No one had been able to coax him. In the end, his voice had become so hoarse that he hadn’t been able to speak anymore. And yet, he had continued to beg his mother not to die.
But, she hadn’t been able to promise him that. All she had been able to do was keep a smile on her face and hold his hand. She had quietly and gently told him, “Darling, don’t be afraid. One day, someone else will appear. They will love you more than Mommy and Daddy do. That person will be by your side forever. They will protect you on Mommy and Daddy’s behalf. You will trust that person like you do us. You will love that person like you do us. Therefore, you have to promise me that you will grow up into a strong man before you meet that person. Promise me that you’ll become a very good person. That will ensure that you will be able to meet that person.”
Song Xuanhe had cried and shook his head. He had continued to cry so hard that his throat hurt so much and felt like it would split apart in the next second. He had sobbed, yelling for his mother to not leave, that he didn’t want to meet that person. All he had wanted was for his parents to be with him.
His mother had continued to smile at him. With a soft, gentle voice, she had continued, “Mommy and Daddy will protect you until you meet that person. Before that, Darling, promise me that you’ll become a man, a man who lives with no regrets like you had promised on your sixth birthday. Okay?”
Song Xuanhe would forever remember the smile on his mother’s face along with the reluctance and sorrow in her eyes at that moment. When he had been young, he hadn’t understood the helplessness and sadness his mother had felt. After growing up, he finally understood after a long period of being muddleheaded. That was why he had changed himself. He did not want to let down his parents.
But, so much time had passed, and he still had never met the person who he would love and trust the same way he had his parents.
Song Xuanhe had thought that he would never meet that person. Even so, he had never been upset. Frankly, he had never even looked forward to it. He had always thought that it would be very difficult for him to truly fall in love with someone.
But now that that person had finally appeared, Song Xuanhe hurt.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Nan’s voice interrupted Song Xuanhe’s thoughts.
Song Xuanhe looked up and met with the worry in Zhou Nan’s eyes. Zhou Nan carefully examined Song Xuanhe’s expression. A few seconds later, he cautiously said, “I thought you were about to cry just now.”
Song Xuanhe paused. Suddenly, his nose stung. He looked away. “I’m super upset over Jiang Deyi’s injury.”
Zhou Nan’s worried expression grew rigid. He then rolled his eyes. “Save your crocodile tears. I thought you had encountered some life-changing difficulty. I didn’t even dare to breathe from how scared I was. I didn’t even dare to open the door all this time. I thought you would suddenly break out into tears. Actually, now that I think about it, I kind of want to see that.”
Song Xuanhe glanced at him and then pushed the door open. “You even snivel when engaged in a fight. You want to hear someone cry? It’ll be faster if you let me beat you up than wait for me to cry.”
When he saw that Song Xuanhe was still in the mood to talk back, Zhou Nan finally set down his concern. He wrapped an arm around Song Xuanhe’s shoulder and beamed at him. “Alright, alright, we’re both law-abiding, cultured, young men. Forget about fighting. If we really fight, and you cry, I’m going to record it.”
“Piss off.”
Song Xuanhe pushed him off, a smile on his face as he cursed at Zhou Nan. Xiao Shenglin, who had been waiting in the private room for a long time, stood up. “I heard voices at the door and was just about to check. As expected, it’s you guys.”
“It’s all Song Er.” Zhou Nan let himself be pushed and simply moved over to pull a nearby chair out. After sitting down, he said, “I went to pick him up at his place, but he had so many errands to run. He was even mean to me. After being mean to me, he went to remind everyone of his existence at the Song Group. We bumped into Bai Mo and Jiang Deyi at the entrance just now too. He pissed them off so much that they nearly fainted from anger. After so many detours, I’m starving.”
“I’ll tell them to serve the food at once.”
Zhou Nan’s gaze shifted over to the person next to Xiao Shenglin. “What’s wrong, Xiao Ranyun? You’re not even greeting us after not seeing us for so long.”
Xiao Ranyun sweetly called out “Zhou Nan gege” and then hesitantly looked at Song Xuanhe. In a quiet, shy voice, she said, “I don’t know if I should call you Xuanhe gege or Gefu....”
Song Xuanhe was taken aback. Zhou Nan smacked the table and roared with laughter. “You should obviously call him Gefu. If you don’t call him that, Xiao Yuanmu will be displeased when he hears about it.”
Xiao Ranyun thought this seemed reasonable. She smiled sweetly and called out: “Hi, Gefu.”
Song Xuanhe’s lips twitched. Before he could speak, Zhou Nan cut in. “Shouldn’t you give her a gift to commemorate your new status? Xiao Ranyun, don’t let him off. This fellow’s rich as hell. He just came back from abroad as well. Who knows how many good things he’s brought back? Quickly, make him give you a gift.”
“When did I become rich as hell?” Song Xuanhe looked at Zhou Nan, raising a brow.
Zhou Nan: “You’re obviously rich. You’re the one who has the most stocks in a company out of all of us. It’s almost the end of the year, which means payday. If you’re not rich as hell, who is? If I don’t screw you over, who should I screw over?”
Song Xuanhe kicked Zhou Nan’s chair as a silent warning to shut up. He then turned to the girl, who was usually easy-going and lively. At present, she had a shy, expectant look on her face. He suppressed his irritation and said, “Your cousin and I…we haven’t formally confirmed our relationship. It’s not appropriate for you to change how you address me right now. Just call me the same way you used to call me.”
Xiao Ranyun’s smile morphed into one of disappointment. She carefully looked at Song Xuanhe and quietly asked, “Ge—Xuanhe gege, do you not like my cousin? Why?”
Song Xuanhe licked his chapped lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed a few times. He didn’t know what to say.
The disappointment in Xiao Ranyun’s eyes deepened. “Yuanmu gege really likes you. Before Yuanmu gege came back, you also liked him a lot. Why don’t you like him now? Is it because he’s in America while you’re in China? Because, you’re really far apart?”
Song Xuanhe pursed his lips and was going to respond, but Xiao Ranyun continued to speak. “But, Yuanmu gege has already decided to transfer RE’s HQ to China. You two can be together when the time comes. Xuanhe gege, don’t dislike Yuanmu gege. He really loves you.”
“He’s going to transfer RE’s HQ to China?”
Song Xuanhe had yet to recover from his shock and reply when Zhou Nan shouted: “Has Xiao Yuanmu gone crazy?!”
Eve: Xuanhe recalling his parents made me sad. Poor baby.
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