Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
Thank you Lin for the kofi 💕💕💕
Song Xuanhe nodded slightly, pretending to absentmindedly watch the crowd of people passing by. He very naturally averted his gaze and changed the topic. “Since that’s the case, let’s head back together. Or, did you want to eat out tonight?”
Xiao Yuanmu followed his gaze, landing on an elderly couple, who were supporting each other as they walked, for a half-second. He then looked away and said in a cool tone, “Where’s your car?”
“In the parking lot across the road.” Song Xuanhe pointed to a store across the street. Although the store was small, there was quite a line outside. His lips curved into a smile. “I came to buy a roast goose. I heard that this shop’s roast goose is delicious.”
Xiao Yuanmu cast an indifferent glance at the shop and asked, “Who said that?”
“Zhou Nan.”
After responding, Song Xuanhe stiffened. He didn’t know if it was because he felt guilty, but his conversation with Xiao Yuanmu made him feel like he had just been caught cheating. In this scenario, he was the scummy boyfriend, and Xiao Yuanmu had just caught him in the act.
Song Xuanhe was about six or seven centimetres shorter than Xiao Yuanmu. When Xiao Yuanmu lowered his gaze, the other’s slightly curled lashes were right at eye level. He stared at them for two seconds before averting his gaze. He said, “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” Song Xuanhe was confused for a second.
“Roast goose.”
After they had bought the roast goose, they made their way to the parking lot. Song Xuanhe replayed their conversation in his head, and only then did he realize that he had been the one questioned the whole time. It was Xiao Yuanmu who had tailed him though. Song Xuanhe hadn’t done anything wrong. What was there to feel guilty about?
When Song Xuanhe thought of this, he raised his chin up slightly and cast a glance at Xiao Yuanmu’s profile. He coughed once and then slowly asked, “So, why were you following me?”
Xiao Yuanmu looked at him with a cool gaze for a second and said, “I left something in your car.”
Song Xuanhe cocked an eyebrow up slightly when he heard this. He wasn’t that easy to fool. When he spoke again, his tone now carried the same calmness and indifference as Xiao Yuanmu’s when the other had been the one interrogating. “What was it? If you had left something in my car, you could have called me. Why’d you follow me?”
“My phone.”
Song Xuanhe was silent for a few seconds. “Then, why didn’t you ask me at the company?”
“I was busy. Didn’t see you at lunch.”
Song Xuanhe looked unmoved. He seemed intent on not letting Xiao Yuanmu off. “Couldn’t you have come find me?”
“Okay.”
Okay? What was he “okay”-ing to?
Song Xuanhe had already prepared his arguments, but just as he was to say them, this one “okay” shoved his words back down his throat.
When Xiao Yuanmu saw Song Xuanhe choke, a sliver of delight flashed through his eyes, but there was no real change in his expression. He calmly added, “I’ll come find you next time.”
Song Xuanhe pursed his lips. He struggled with what to say for a long time before he finally spat out an “oh.” He then refrained from speaking again.
It was silent between them the rest of the way to the parking lot. When Song Xuanhe saw his parked car, he quickly walked over, creating distance between himself and Xiao Yuanmu. He pulled out his keys and opened the door. The moment he got his car door open, the elevator ten metres away from them dinged and slowly opened.
Song Xuanhe paused. He saw Liu Xu and her manager, Zhang Fei, walk out. Suddenly, he got a bad feeling.
“Song shao!” Liu Xu’s manager, Zhang Fei’s eyes lit up when he saw Song Xuanhe. He pulled Liu Xu over quickly. His thin face seemed to bloom, and his tone was very ardent. “I thought that you had already left. I told Liu Xu that she must not have been a very good host. Have you been waiting here for…Liu Xu?”
After saying this, Zhang Fei looked past Song Xuanhe’s shoulders with bright eyes. “And, this is?”
Song Xuanhe turned around and watched as Xiao Yuanmu slowly came over. He immediately felt a headache incoming. The tone he addressed Zhang Fei with turned cold. “None of your business.”
Zhang Fei was startled. The next second, he heard the man who had just arrived ask him a question in a dull tone. “Why would he be waiting for Liu Xu?”
“Song shao had just been having tea with our Liu Xu.”
Although Xiao Yuanmu’s voice was cool like a spring, there was no chill to it. Therefore, Zhang Fei didn’t mind it. On the contrary, he thought that Xiao Yuanmu’s presence had saved him. He could not look away from Xiao Yuanmu’s face. He, who had gotten used to the beautiful faces of the entertainment industry, was still astounded by the other’s beauty.
But with what he knew of Song Xuanhe, the people around him would very likely be people who could easily make their way into the entertainment industry if they had wished to. Therefore, he ended this train of thought and said to Song Xuanhe, “Song shao, it’s great that you haven’t left yet. I was just about to leave, because I had something to do. It wouldn’t be convenient to take Liu Xu with me. How about I hand our Liu Xu over to you, and I head out first?”
The temperature in the parking lot suddenly dropped a few degrees. Xiao Yuanmu’s voice was flat and crisp. “What do you mean, ‘hand Liu Xu over to him?’”
Zhang Fei felt that there was something off about Xiao Yuanmu’s tone. He looked up, wanting an explanation but was chilled when he faced the other’s gaze. Those eyes that had been calm and harmless just now had suddenly become dark and frosty. It felt like there was some force pressing down on him and a chill invading him through the soles of his feet, climbing up to his back. Only a few seconds had passed, but he could feel that his back was already drenched in a cold sweat. When the wind blew, it brought an icy chill.
Song Xuanhe noticed that Zhang Fei was looking at Xiao Yuanmu differently. He recalled that Zhang Fei had a reputation for pimping out young men and women in the entertainment industry. Song Xuanhe frowned. He raised his chin and spoke in a derisive tone. “Your schemes aren’t bad, but Film Empress Liu belongs to my father. I’m not interested. It would be best if you stopped with your plotting. If I hear you slander me again, I won’t be polite.”
As soon as Song Xuanhe spoke, Zhang Fei felt the pressure disappear. He quickly looked away, face pale. He didn’t dare to look at Xiao Yuanmu again. His drenched clothes stuck to his back. There was a tremble in his voice. “Song shao is right. I promise to never hold such thoughts again. I must be out of my mind, wanting to set someone like Liu Xu with someone as great as you. Liu Xu is unworthy of you. Please forgive me. We will leave now. We absolutely will not taint your eyes.”
As soon as he had said this, he pulled Liu Xu over to the van parked in the corner like his butt was on fire, not even waiting to see Song Xuanhe’s expression. He pulled the car door open, entered, and then shut the door again at a very fast speed. He was like a frightened hen being chased by a beast.
The van had left, but Song Xuanhe was still baffled. Although his words just now had been ruthless, they hadn’t been so harsh that they would have frightened someone like this. However, before he could think much of it, he heard Xiao Yuanmu say, “Not going?”
Liu Xu’s business was none of his own, especially when it came to her manager. Song Xuanhe didn’t bother thinking about it anymore and entered the car. “Let’s go.”
They didn’t speak at all on the way home. After having safely reached their destination, Xiao Yuanmu spoke up at the entrance to the apartment. “What do you want to eat?”
Song Xuanhe’s steps paused. In the past, Xiao Yuanmu used to ask him what he wanted to eat before dinner every day. But after being discharged from the hospital, he had stopped asking. Furthermore, the other’s attitude towards him had grown chillier. Song Xuanhe had thought that it was because the other had become disappointed in him over the congee affair or had realized that he had mistaken his gratitude for love.
Song Xuanhe had been both relieved and regretful. The latter was because he wouldn’t be able to have the privilege of requesting specific dishes anymore.
He hadn’t thought that the other would suddenly ask him today. Although he was shocked, Song Xuanhe still replied very quickly. “I think there are prawns in the fridge. I want to eat Longjing prawns. Just do whatever with everything else.”
Xiao Yuanmu nodded slightly and then headed into the kitchen.
Song Xuanhe sat down in the living room to wait for dinner to be made. Song Xuanhe began to ponder over Xiao Yuanmu’s changes over the last few days.
Since Xiao Yuanmu’s car accident, Song Xuanhe had attributed the changes in Xiao Yuanmu’s moods to his injury. Therefore, he hadn’t thought much about them. But when he carefully combed through his memories, he realized that Xiao Yuanmu had actually changed a lot.
He spoke more than before, but the current impression he gave off was one that made him seem even more quiet. Although he was still rather expressionless, Xiao Yuanmu’s aura had changed from aloofness to indifference.
At least Xiao Yuanmu used to never strip in front of him. He would also never have questioned him about his relationships with other people.
The unexpected kiss from Qian Qin’s birthday party suddenly emerged in his mind. Song Xuanhe picked up a cup and took a sip of water, erasing the scene from his head.
It was like everything had changed starting from that kiss. It couldn’t be that Xiao Yuanmu had really fallen for him?
Song Xuanhe was frightened by his own thoughts, causing him to choke on the water. He coughed until his eyes were red. He placed the cup down after taking a few more sips to settle his alarm.
Impossible. Even if it was the Xiao Yuanmu before rebirth, how could a fierce cub that had gone through such a rough time growing up at the orphanage fall for someone so easily?
Furthermore, when Song Xuanhe recalled their past interactions, all he remembered was him ordering Xiao Yuanmu around or Xiao Yuanmu giving him cold looks. There was nothing about their interactions that would have made either of them happy. He must be overthinking things.
“Dinner’s ready.”
Song Xuanhe looked towards the voice, eyes meeting with Xiao Yuanmu, who was by the sofa. The image of this Xiao Yuanmu and the Xiao Yuanmu who he had just met slowly merged. There was nothing different between them.
The doubt slowly dissipated. It seemed that he had really been overthinking things.
They ate very quietly. After Xiao Yuanmu came back from placing their dishes in the washing machine, Song Xuanhe tried to sound him out. “I found a really interesting movie. Come see it with me.”
Xiao Yuanmu gave him a cool glance and then dully said, “No.”
Song Xuanhe watched as Xiao Yuanmu left without looking back. Finally, he felt truly relieved.
It was as he had thought. If Xiao Yuanmu was the kind to fall in love so easily, his seven pursuers wouldn’t get any screen time later on.
After setting his mind at ease, Song Xuanhe didn’t stay in the living room anymore and headed upstairs.
The work week passed by very quickly. In a blink of an eye, it was Saturday.
At seven in the evening, Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu arrived at the reception right on time. As soon as the two of them had arrived, their handsome appearances attracted many gazes.
Most of the people here were colleagues of Song Xuanhe’s university roommate. Therefore, most of them were unaware of who Song Xuanhe was. So, when these two people, who were so attractive that they basically increased the reception’s average attractiveness score by themselves, appeared, people couldn’t help but whisper and try to find out who they were.
As the topic of such whispering, Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu were already used to being the center of attention. Their expressions didn’t change at all.
Song Xuanhe took a look around the room. He didn’t see anyone who looked like the university roommate in his memories. He thus randomly found a corner to hang around in. He had only made it halfway when Zhou Nan, who had just entered, hollered for him. Zhou Nan also greeted Xiao Yuanmu. He then laughed and spoke to Song Xuanhe. “Don’t head towards a corner. What will we do if Song Jiabao doesn’t notice you?”
Song Xuanhe knew what Zhou Nan was hinting at. He side-eyed him coldly. “Why would I want to see him?”
Zhou Nan clicked his tongue and shook his head. “You don’t get it. You’re relatives. It’s terrible of him to not invite you, his cousin, despite having started a company. Therefore, you must appear in front of him and teach him a lesson.”
Song Xuanhe sneered, “You just don’t want to miss out on a good show.”
“That is indeed the main reason.” Zhou Nan laughed frivolously, but his tone was confident as if he believed himself in the right. “Coincidentally, you also dislike him. So, make your appearance, and be an eyesore to him. It’s pretty worthwhile.”
Song Xuanhe didn’t bother with him anymore. He continued forward.
Zhou Nan followed after him. When he saw that the other was getting further and further away, he reached out, wanting to wrap an arm around the other’s shoulder. However, before his hand could make contact, it was blocked. He was startled. He turned and saw Xiao Yuanmu calmly brush at Song Xuanhe’s shoulder. His actions were very natural, as if he was dusting something away. It made Zhou Nan unable to say anything about it.
Song Xuanhe paused his steps. He noticed that Zhou Nan had a strange expression on and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Nan glanced at Xiao Yuanmu and then shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
After saying this, Zhou Nan just knew that Song Xuanhe was about to tell him to leave. Therefore, he butted in first with a, “I don’t know anyone here. Don’t chase me away. I’ll be so scared all on my own.”
Song Xuanhe’s mouth twitched. But as he was about to speak, someone interrupted him. “Oh! Isn’t this my cousin? I don’t remember sending you an invitation. Why are you here?”
The surrounding people turned to look at them. Song Xuanhe also turned towards the voice. He saw a graceful-looking man standing nearby. When the man saw him, he smiled, but that smile didn’t seem kind in any way.
Song Xuanhe also smiled back, tone indolent and full of disdain. “I don’t remember my father ever having a son like you. Were you recently adopted?”
Song Jiabao’s expression sunk. He retorted back, “I never said that I was Uncle’s son. But whether or not Uncle has a few other sons, that’s another matter. What do you think?”
Song Xuanhe’s expression didn’t change. He smiled. “It doesn’t matter how many sons he has. As long as everyone knows that only two of us will inherit the family assets, that’s fine. But now that we’re talking about this, I heard that Uncle brought home a child recently. So, I don’t really know how many sons Uncle has.”
“You!”
Song Jiabao’s face was livid with rage. The surrounding people exchanged glances. They shrunk their heads back as they heard gossip about their boss.
“What’s wrong?” Song Xuanhe tilted his head to the side, eyes curved in a smile.
Song Jiabao squeezed his fist. But seeing that they were in the middle of a large party, reason came back to him. He said, “This is the opening reception of my company. I didn’t send you an invitation. Even if we’re relatives, you can’t just come in. If you have any sense, you’ll leave right now. I’ll give you some face and won’t call security.”
Song Xuanhe laughed. He folded his arms and said, “If you don’t trust me, you should at least trust your subordinates. Do you think they’d really let me in without an invitation just ‘cause I’m good-looking?”
Zhou Nan couldn’t stifle his bark of laughter upon hearing this. Several droplets of wine splashed onto Song Jiabao’s suit. Immediately, everything went quiet. It was kind of funny.
“Sorry.” Zhou Nan waved a hand while laughing. There was no sincerity in his apology. “It was an accident.”
Song Jiabao, who had just regained his calm, was furious once more. A fire raged in his chest. However, he didn’t dare let out his temper in front of Zhou Nan. Although Song Xuanhe also had a high status, regardless of whether they bickered or fought, nothing much would come out of it. After all, they were family. No matter how big of a fuss they made, there would be elders who would smooth it out.
Zhou Nan was different. Zhou Nan was the only son of the Zhou family as well as the only successor. Even if Song Jiabao’s uncle was Song Guochao, he could not afford to offend the Zhou Family.
Therefore, Song Jiabao’s expression changed several times before he forced himself to endure it. He said, “Zhou ge did not do it on purpose. There’s no need to apologize.”
Zhou Nan took another sip of wine and smirked. “It’s good that you don’t mind.”
Song Xuanhe laughed. Song Jiabao’s eyes fell back onto him. When he saw Song Xuanhe sitting at the same table as Zhou Nan, he clenched his fists. He plastered on a fake smile. “I didn’t expect that Cousin would come with Zhou shao. If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have misunderstood.”
Zhou Nan waved a hand and said, “He didn’t come with me.”
Song Jiabao’s face lit up imperceptibly. He watched Song Xuanhe leisurely sip his wine and suppressed the pride in his chest. He said coldly, “Cousin, since no one invited you, I will have to ask you to leave.”
So what if Song Xuanhe’s family was richer than his? So what if Song Xuanhe had always overshadowed him since they were kids? Once news got out that he was kicked out of this reception, many people would jeer behind Song Xuanhe’s back. Song Jiabao knew that what his cousin valued the most was his reputation.
Just when Song Jiabao thought Song Xuanhe would leave with his tail between his legs, Song Xuanhe suddenly smiled. He was a handsome man, and his smile was bright and warm like the sun. It attracted many gazes from the women in the room.
“What are you smiling at?”
Song Xuanhe’s smile had yet to fall. He asked, tone full of interest, “You’re not the only host of this reception, are you?”
When Song Jiabao saw the ridicule and derision on Song Xuanhe’s face, his expression changed slightly. He had a bad feeling now.
Indeed, the next second, Song Jiabao saw Song Xuanhe walk towards him, brush past him, and then speak, “Congratulations on your new company.”
Song Jiabao’s body stiffened. He slowly turned his head around and saw Song Xuanhe shaking hands with his business partner, who held the most shares in their company. They seemed very familiar with each other.
He forced his stiff expression to look as natural as possible. “Guo ge, how do you and Song Xuanhe know each other?”
Because something had come up earlier, Guo Tao had just arrived. He didn’t know what had happened just now. He had just come over because he had noticed that his partner and the university roommate he had invited were standing together.
Thus, he smiled and said, “Did you forget about the friend I wanted to introduce to you? The one with the really impressive background? Well, this is him, my university roommate, Song Xuanhe. He’s one of the successors of the Song Group.”
When they heard this, several people’s eyes congregated on Song Xuanhe’s face. They all gasped collectively. They hadn’t thought that such a person would appear at the opening reception of such a small company.
When Song Jiabao heard everyone gasp at Song Xuanhe’s identity, Song Jiabao’s expression stiffened again. He hadn’t expected that Guo Tao would know Song Xuanhe or that Song Xuanhe was the friend he had said could possibly become a major client for them.
Everyone had heard what Song Jiabao had said just prior to this. Song Jiabao thought that there were certainly people making fun of him, saying that he didn’t know how to differentiate between what was good or bad for him. They were probably ridiculing him for daring to offend Song Xuanhe.
Why? He clearly shared the same great-grandfather with Song Xuanhe, but there was such a gap between their grandfathers. One grandfather was rich and powerful while the other could be considered middle-class at best. His father and Song Xuanhe’s father’s statuses were completely different.
Since they were young, because they were close in age, everyone had always compared him to Song Xuanhe. Although Song Jiabao would beat him in everything, everyone would conclude their comparison with: What a pity though. It’s Song Xuanhe who’s Song Guochao’s son.
After that, all the praise would be given to Song Xuanhe. No one ever looked at him twice.
It was only because Song Xuanhe was Great-Uncle’s grandson. Why was it like this?
Upon seeing Song Jiabao remain silent with an ugly expression on his face all this time, Guo Tao couldn’t help but ask, “Are you okay? And, are you and Xuanhe acquainted? I saw you guys talking just now.”
Song Jiabao immediately turned to look at Song Xuanhe when he heard this. When he saw the ridiculing smirk on the other’s lips, his anger only rose. However, he calmed himself down despite feeling so angry. He suddenly recalled the extremely handsome man who had been standing next to Song Xuanhe. The rumours about Song Xuanhe then popped up in his head.
Song Jiabao had an idea. His expression also improved. He laughed coldly. “He’s my cousin. But, he was kicked out of his house, because he had a fight with my uncle, so I haven’t seen him for a long time. I heard that the fight was about a man, because he had forced a man who didn’t like him to be with him.”
Song Jiabao turned around, his gaze landing on Xiao Yuanmu. With pride in his tone, he said, “If I’m not mistaken, the man in question should be this gentleman in front of me?”
Eve: I can never get enough of subtly jealous XYM. He’s even jealous of ZN I can’t.
Kara: Nah, nah, nah. He did not. He did not just do that. Boy, trying to embarrass both SXH and XYM?? Best square up, I ain’t afraid to fight. ϱ(`ન̇´)⁼³̳ Whelp, I bet neither of them will take this lying down though, so I’ll just leave it to the babies. _( :⁍ 」 )_
Announcement: GIVEAWAY/CONTEST TIME. In celebration of CG’s discord server reaching nearly 5k members, there will be a giveaway and a contest. The prize is one month of nitro on discord. There are three ways to win. I’ll summarize it quickly but you can find more details in the announcements channel on our discord.
1) Leave a review on one of the novels on CG on Novelupdates, screenshot it, and submit it to enter a random draw. There will be three winners.
2) Submit a fan art. There will be one grand prize winner and 2 runner-ups. Runner-ups will receive vanity roles, no nitro.
3) Submit a fanfic. There will be one grand prize winner and 2 runner-ups. Same deal.
The deadline is August 20th.
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