Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
Song Xuanhe thought that this was really awkward.
But what was even more awkward was that because he had pressed down on the message a second time just as it had ended, it played again. It was like the message was playing on surround sound as if it was tangibly encircling Xiao Yuanmu, who was currently looking at him.
When the message had ended the second time, the large VIP room fell into a weird and awkward silence.
Song Xuanhe looked at Xiao Yuanmu.
Xiao Yuanmu looked at Song Xuanhe.
The two of them gazed at each other. One of them was pretending to be calm while the other had no expression on his face. It was really, really awkward.
Song Xuanhe’s phone was still vibrating. When Zhou Nan had gotten no response, he continued to barrage Song Xuanhe with messages. He sent both texts and voice messages that were all full of disdain and complaint. Who knew what court drama he must have had taken inspiration from to actually call himself Nobleman Nan? He had also named Xiao Shenglin as Imperial Consort Lin and Xiao Yuanmu as the Empress. He had turned this into some big imperial court drama.
Among them, the most scummy and unbridled was naturally “Emperor” Song Xuanhe.
From the corner of his eye, he could see message after message appear on his phone’s screen. Song Xuanhe couldn’t keep his expression calm. He quickly turned off the screen and then forced out a laugh. “Zhou Nan’s been watching a lot of court dramas with his mother recently, hahahaha.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes shifted. He looked at Song Xuanhe’s embarrassed smile and calmly asked, “Emperor?”
Song Xuanhe coughed. He had felt ashamed for some reason when he saw Xiao Yuanmu say that word with such a blank expression. At the same time, he had felt his back go cold. He continued to laugh in a fake manner, “Hahaha, Zhou Nan’s just joking.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s eyelids lowered slightly, and he came in a bit closer. He asked in a quiet voice, “How many concubines are in the Emperor’s harem?”
Song Xuanhe didn’t know if Xiao Yuanmu was just asking or if there was a deeper meaning behind his question. In any case, he felt like the other didn’t harbour any good intentions. Song Xuanhe stared at Xiao Yuanmu’s eyelashes, which were so straight and long that they could poke someone.
“There’s no one in the harem.” Song Xuanhe watched as Xiao Yuanmu looked up. He quickly corrected, “There’s only an Empress, no concubines.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s lips seemed to curl up slightly. They then fell back down. At the same time, Zhang Chao’s voice echoed alongside the boarding notification in the VIP waiting room. “Xiao Shaoye, Young Master Xiao, we should board the plane.”
Song Xuanhe felt the oppressing atmosphere around them disappear. When he turned to look at Zhang Chao, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Yuanmu’s calm expression in his peripheral vision. Song Xuanhe raised his chin that had been slightly lowered before. He then walked in Zhang Chao’s direction with his back straight, the air of an arrogant young master around him.
【Brother, you seem really scared.】
Song Xuanhe had just taken his seat and had refused the flight attendant’s beverage offer when he heard the System say this.
【Me? Scared? 】Song Xuanhe glanced at Xiao Yuanmu, who was at least a metre and a half away from him. His response had been in a very relaxed tone.
【In human words, you know how to adapt to the situation!】The system’s boorish voice was filled with admiration ：【I’ve noticed that every time the data says that the big shot’s spirits are high, you rain down tyrannical abuse on him. When the big shot’s spirits are low, you immediately concede. You’re very flexible! You’re a genius!】
Song Xuanhe：……
【Do you Systems have a Chinese teacher?】Song Xuanhe said expressionlessly：【I think your Chinese is lacking. You need to get a new database. Should “tyrannical abuse” and “concede” be used like this? What I was doing should be called “going after gain while avoiding harm.” This is an outstanding skill that has helped establish humans at the top of the food chain. Do you understand?】
The System was silent for a bit before quietly saying：【Actually, there’s been something I’ve been wanting to tell you. I didn’t tell you before, because I wasn’t too sure about it. Although I’m still uncertain, I think I should still tell you.】
When he had heard the System’s tone, Song Xuanhe thought that it couldn’t be anything good.
Therefore, he ruthlessly declined：【I don’t want to know.】
【You really don’t want to know?】The System was astonished. After all, this matter was very important. Therefore, it couldn’t help but say a bit more in hopes of rousing Song Xuanhe’s interest：【I think that your intuition is spot on. You didn’t used to be so afraid of Xiao Yuanmu, remember? It was only recently that you began to fear him. Don’t you want to know why?】
However, Song Xuanhe remained unmoved. His words were curt and firm：【No.】
The System sighed and said：【Alright. I’ll let you know when I’ve confirmed it then.】
After saying this, the System still seemed like it wanted to say something more. However, when it saw Song Xuanhe had closed his eyes, looking like he was about to go back to sleep, it didn’t say anything in the end.
The flight from the Capital to Lan City would take less than an hour. Very quickly, the plane had landed. Song Xuanhe was woken up by Zhang Chao.
He had slept quite a bit if you added the duration of the car ride and flight together, so he had more-or-less slept his fill. Although he was a bit muddle-headed upon waking up again, he was able to wake up quickly this time.
There had already been people waiting for them at the airport. Shortly after, they were brought to the hotel nearest to the harbour.
Zhang Chao had booked a presidential suite with two bedrooms. This was because Song Xuanhe had emphasized that he and Xiao Yuanmu needed to have two separate rooms. Although Zhang Chao didn’t understand why lovers would sleep apart, he also didn’t have a habit of inquiring too much into his master’s life. All he did was get matters done quickly.
Aside from the two master bedrooms, the presidential suite also had a few bedrooms for accompanying subordinates. Therefore, Zhang Chao also lived there. It was just that his room was a bit further from Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu’s rooms.
The presidential suite had also come with a personal butler. The butler, dressed in a swallow-tailed coat, led them inside. He meticulously and properly set down some wine, a fruit platter, and some hot towels. He then softly asked Zhang Chao about the two masters’ habits and taboos. He then retreated to the living room in a refined and courteous manner.
Although Song Xuanhe had slept his fill, he was still tired from the journey. There wasn’t much time left until the cruise ship would dock, so he didn’t bother going out. He entered his own bedroom and washed up. He then lied down on his bed and played on his phone.
Zhou Nan had already sent 99+ messages in the meantime. Xiao Shenglin had also replied a few times. The two of them had joked around and had figured out what they would do tonight. They had decided to go hang out at the casino on the cruise ship’s third floor.
Song Xuanhe thought that Zhou Nan would definitely give him a hard time today. If he were to look up his horoscope for today, it’d probably tell him that he should avoid Zhou Nan.
However, Song xiao shaoye, who would lose nine out of ten times when gambling, couldn’t stop himself from wanting to play when he heard that they would be gambling.
Therefore, he opened up a horoscopes website and went to read the one for Gemini. After having read his horoscope, he found out that his luck was really ordinary today. As such, he started to read through the text more carefully.
However, after reading just one paragraph, he started to get annoyed. It said that Geminis’ luck wasn’t particularly good today except for when it came to love. His love fortune was a full five stars. Underneath the five stars was a comment saying that he would encounter true love at the start of the second half of the year. That person would be his soulmate, who would spend the rest of his life with him. Today, his luck in love would increase. The two of them would get closer. It also said that he had to make sure to cherish and grab hold of this chance today. Just by looking at this, Song Xuanhe knew that this was just some nonsense someone had come up with. It wasn’t reliable at all.
Song Xuanhe furrowed his brows and continued scrolling as he held his temper back. He skimmed through until he found the section on what to avoid for the day.
What to Avoid: If Geminis are going out today, it would be best to avoid being with Cancers, especially if they’re male.
Song Xuanhe raised a brow. He opened up WeChat and messaged Zhou Nan.
Laozi is the Most Handsome Man in the World: What’s your astrological sign?
A second later, a reply came.
Daddy’s Handsomeness is Unrivalled: Why? [I’m confused.jpg]
Daddy’s Handsomeness is Unrivalled: What, it can’t be that you’re still not satisfied even though you have Lin zi now? Did you take a fancy to me too?
Laozi is the Most Handsome Man in the World: Are you planning on walking down the red carpet at next year’s Oscars?
Daddy’s Handsomeness is Unrivalled: Forget it. I’ve retired from acting a long time ago. I would feel sorry if I were to snatch it from the newcomers. So many of my fans would show up and crowd around me to the point that I wouldn’t be able to move. If the media gets pictures of that, they’ll all say I usurped the red carpet once again.
Daddy’s Handsomeness is Unrivalled: [Auntie batting her eyes and brushing her hair back flirtatiously.jpg]
Upon seeing this nauseating emoticon, Song Xuanhe felt like he had made a mistake. He shouldn’t have given Zhou Nan any more fodder to weave his ridiculous tales.
Laozi is the Most Handsome Man in the World: Shut up. Astrological sign.
Daddy’s Handsomeness is Unrivalled: You don’t even know my astrological sign? Fake friend! You fickle, heartless rat!
Song Xuanhe sucked in a deep breath, restraining himself. When he opened his eyes, he went to blacklist Zhou Nan.
After blacklisting him, he felt refreshed. His chest was no longer stuffy. His thumbs even typed more nimbly too.
He then opened up Xiao Shenglin’s WeChat. He asked: Do you know Zhou Nan’s astrological sign?
Xiao Shenglin replied very quickly.
Deep in the Woods You Hear the Sound of a Xiao: His birthday’s June 22nd, so he’s probably a Cancer.
Song Xuanhe looked at the astrological sign in front of him. He now thought that horoscopes held some truth to them. After thanking Xiao Shenglin, he chatted with the other a bit before putting his phone down.
He rested for a while. Zhang Chao had then knocked on his door to tell Song Xuanhe that Song Guochao, Li Nianan, and Song Xuanlin had arrived. He had also asked if Song Xuanhe wanted to change now and eat dinner with them.
Song Xuanhe naturally wouldn’t go. He finally changed only when it was nearing eight o’clock. He then waited outside for Xiao Yuanmu.
“What clothing did you prepare for Xiao Yuanmu?”
While waiting, Song Xuanhe asked this casually.
But before Zhang Chao could respond, Xiao Yuanmu had already opened the door and come out.
Xiao Yuanmu had broad shoulders and long legs. He was very eye-catching, dressed in a tailored, fitting suit. Even though Song Xuanhe had already gotten used to his appearance, his eyes still lit up. However, he realized that something was off about it.
“That suit….” Song Xuanhe looked down at his own, “Is it from the same series as mine?”
Zhang Chao nodded, expression earnest. “Your suit and Young Master Xiao’s suits are both from XX’s newest ready-to-wear collection. These two suits reflect Young Master Xiao’s and your personalities.”
One black and one white. They really did reflect their personalities. Song Xuanhe looked bright and cheerful whereas Xiao Yuanmu looked calm and reserved.
However, who wanted to be in couple clothes with Xiao Yuanmu?
These two pieces were a set. But in this world, where same-sex marriage was legal except for blood-related brothers, only couples would wear things from the same set. Wouldn’t this infuriate Song Guochao to death if he and Xiao Yuanmu appeared like this?
Song Xuanhe’s eyes lit up. Originally, he had been planning on changing, but he had changed his mind. He patted Zhang Chao’s shoulder, pleased. “Not bad.”
*
The moment Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu had boarded the cruise ship, many eyes were drawn to them. Aside from the fact that the two of them were very handsome, most people were also curious about their identities.
Ignoring everyone’s stares, Song Xuanhe headed straight for the second floor. The entire second floor was where the entertainment was. Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin, who had already arrived, were probably there.
However, just as he had stepped foot on the carpeted floor of the second floor’s hall, he heard a lovable voice. The owner of said lovable voice made a beeline for the two of them. In the end, she stopped in front of Xiao Yuanmu.
“Hey mister, can I have your number?”
The girl’s eyes were beautiful. Paired with her pink cheeks, she was adorable. Well, at least Song Xuanhe thought that she was quite attractive.
However, Xiao Yuanmu didn’t even look at her. He reached out and pulled Song Xuanhe towards him. He then said in a cool voice, “I have a boyfriend.”
Song Xuanhe also remembered that he had a role to act out too. Therefore, he nodded and said in a flat voice, “He’s not interested in girls.”
That girl glared at him and pouted her lips. “Well, my big brother is better looking than you! He suits this mister more than you do!”
Song Xuanhe really wanted to say, “Then, give him to your brother,” but he could only smile in disdain. “Whether I suit him or not isn’t up to you.”
After saying this, he raised a brow and looked at the crowd of gorgeously dressed young men and women a distance away. He then said, “You should pick better targets when playing this kind of game. Otherwise, don’t cry when you lose.”
The girl widened her eyes, face flushing. Her voice quieted. “How did you know?”
“Gege’s played this kind of game a lot more than you have.” Song Xuanhe smiled. He pulled his arm out of Xiao Yuanmu’s hold and then held the other’s hand. He said, “Enough. Go play.”
The girl looked at Song Xuanhe hesitantly. She then said in a quiet voice, “How about giving me your contact information? I don’t think you’re that ugly. Actually, you’re even a little handsome.”
Song Xuanhe’s lips twitched. He had been about to speak but had ended up pulled away by Xiao Yuanmu before the words could leave his mouth. They ended up leaving the girl far in the dust.
After drawing some distance between them and the girl, Song Xuanhe let go of Xiao Yuanmu’s hand. He pulled out a room card and handed it to Xiao Yuanmu. “I’m going to drink with my friends. The room’s on the sixth level. You can head there yourself.”
Xiao Yuanmu looked at him without much of an expression on his face. He accepted the room card and left.
Song Xuanhe pursed his lips, staring at Xiao Yuanmu’s back. When he thought about his goal for this cruise, he clicked his tongue, feeling a bit antsy. He then headed towards the bar by the deck.
It was already a bit past eight. All of the cruise’s guests had just arrived. Most of them were gathered at the banquet hall on the first floor or had headed directly to the auction hall on the third floor. Therefore, there weren’t a lot of people at the bar right now. Song Xuanhe saw Zhou Nan as soon as he had entered.
Song Xuanhe looked around and asked, “Where’s Lin zi?”
Zhou Nan had a cocktail in his hand as he gestured with his chin. “Over there. As soon as he had arrived, some girl started pestering him. Who knows which family she belongs to?”
Song Xuanhe followed the other’s gaze and saw that Xiao Shenglin was currently chatting with an exquisitely pretty young girl. The girl’s smile was beautiful.
“That girl looks like she has just come of age.” Song Xuanhe swept a gaze before looking away. “She looks young.”
“Yeah.” Zhou Nan clicked his tongue. “That youngster usually seems so upright, but he’s not even willing to let off a young girl.”
A waiter in a vest bowed and handed the drinks menu to Song Xuanhe. Song Xuanhe casually glanced through it and then ordered a wine with a low alcohol content that he usually drank. The waiter took his order but didn’t leave.
The waiter stood very close by. Song Xuanhe furrowed his brows and turned his head to say, “Is something wrong?”
The pretty young man wearing the vest pouted and said, “Er shao, do you not recognize me?”
Song Xuanhe was confused. “Should I?”
The young man’s eyes turned red. He choked and said, “No.” He then looked at him with anticipation in his eyes one last time before taking the drink menu away.
“Who was that?” Song Xuanhe was mystified.
Zhou Nan laughed. “You can’t even recognize your ex?”
Song Xuanhe was taken aback. He carefully recalled that face that had been illuminated by the faint light. He had only seen that the other’s face seemed pale and was normal-looking. He couldn’t find this face in his memories. Therefore, he didn’t bother thinking about it anymore. He stretched out his legs and smiled lazily. “I’ve had so many lovers, how can I remember them all?”
Zhou Nan laughed and called him arrogant. He then said in a serious tone, “That man can’t even compare to Xiao Yuanmu’s fingernail. Don’t go back to him.”
Song Xuanhe knew that Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin thought that he and Xiao Yuanmu suited each other well. Therefore, he didn’t comment and just asked, “You know that guy?”
“Okay, just keep pretending.” Zhou Nan rolled his eyes and continued, “Do you really think that you’re the Emperor with three thousand wives in your harem? You’ve actually forgotten someone you’d favoured before. Don’t you remember that he cheated twenty million yuan out of you?”
Only then did he figure out who they were. “Is he that boyfriend I had during university? Isn’t he a graduate of a well-known university? What’s he doing here as a waiter?”
“Waiter” was putting it nicely. The young women and men who ran over to wait at a place like a cruise have all given tacit approval to become priced “attendants.” This meant that they knew fully well that they were also goods to be sold on the cruise.
“That youngster likes to gamble. Twenty million isn’t enough for him,” Zhou Nan sneered in disdain, “And, you’re an idiot who spends money recklessly. You gave him the money so easily.”
Even though their families were well-off and could afford spending several tens of millions, there were different ways to spend money after all. If they used the money to invest or for their studies, their families wouldn’t say much about it. However, only wastrels would spend that much on lovers who they were just playing with.
People outside of the circles would always talk about some rich guy spending tens of millions to buy cars or homes for their lover, but in reality, there were very few people who were born into money that actually did this. This was because they had all been taught financial management and investment since they had been young. They knew how to best utilize every dollar. How could they bear to give all their elders a bad impression for the sake of a little plaything? They’d also become a laughingstock among people their age.
This wasn’t how those born into money flaunted their wealth. This was how new money generations led themselves to ruin.
Zhou Nan had used to watch Song Xuanhe from afar in the past. Not only had he seen how Song Xuanhe had liked to hang out with fastidious but incompetent people and good-for-nothing wastrels who fawned over him, but he had also seen how the other had wasted money like he was part of the nouveau riche. That had made him really unhappy.
However, ever since Song Xuanhe had gotten together with Xiao Yuanmu, things had changed. Zhou Nan really liked this change. Song Xuanhe’s change was also more in line with what their circumstances entailed. Therefore, that had been why he had tried to approach the other slowly. After having interacted with each other for a while, he had realized that Song Xuanhe was no longer as stupid as he once had been. Only then had Zhou Nan really accepted him.
Therefore, when he had seen that guy just now, Zhou Nan’s guard had gone up. If Song Xuanhe had been seduced by that guy again, all their efforts would have gone to waste, and the other would have reverted back to his old ways.
When he had thought of this, Zhou Nan had carefully examined Song Xuanhe’s expression. He had been ready to act as soon as he had found something wrong.
Except Song Xuanhe hadn’t even taken another look at that waiter. When Song Xuanhe found out that the original host had given that guy twenty million, he had been shocked. However, strictly speaking, it hadn’t been his money. He didn’t even know that guy either, so he didn’t really care.
However, although Song Xuanhe didn’t care, that didn’t mean that that waiter didn’t have any intentions on seducing him again.
Shortly after, that young man came back carrying wine. When he bent down, he had purposely leaned towards Song Xuanhe. His fair face appeared before Song Xuanhe. The other said in a docile voice, “Er shao, this is the wine you had ordered. I also remembered that you liked to eat mango. These were transported to the kitchen this morning. I peeled it for you and cut it into pieces.”
Song Xuanhe glanced at the mango. He hadn’t even opened his mouth yet when he heard Zhou Nan say, “Enough. Go back. Don’t come over again unless someone calls for you.”
The young man looked at Song Xuanhe, feeling wronged. Song Xuanhe naturally didn’t want him to stay either. He had been about to tell him to leave when he saw Xiao Shenglin come over with the pretty girl from before.
When he saw them, Xiao Shenglin smiled. “This is my cousin, Xiao Ranyun. She came with her parents today and was bored, so she came looking for me. It should be fine for her to join us, ba.”
Zhou Nan and Song Xuanhe naturally didn’t mind. Zhou Nan said, “Sit. Since you’re Lin zi’s little sister, you’re also my little sister. Order whatever you want to drink. The fruits’ pretty good here. There’s freshly cut mango in that dish. I heard that it was transported here just this morning. You can have some.”
Xiao Ranyun smiled and nodded. She sat down in front of Song Xuanhe alongside Xiao Shenglin. She said, “Thank you, Zhou Nan gege. And, thank you, Xuanhe gege. But, I can’t eat mangoes. We’re both allergic to mangoes. But, I can eat other fruits.”
Xiao Shenglin said in a gentle voice, “I told her about you two just now.”
When Zhou Nan heard this, he nodded in understanding. He said, “Since no one’s going to eat the mangoes here, take it away.”
The young man looked at Song Xuanhe with red eyes, hoping that Song Xuanhe would say something in his defense. He had remembered that Song Xuanhe had liked to eat mangoes the most, especially the mangoes he cut up, because he had always been very careful whenever he did it. He would always meticulously cut around the seed, only leaving the flesh.
Song Xuanhe naturally couldn’t read the grievances on the young man’s face. He waved his hand indifferently. “No one wants this. Take it away.”
When Zhou Nan saw how Song Xuanhe didn’t seem to feel anything for his old flame, he relaxed. His fingers that had been just about to type out a message moved away from his phone’s screen.
Seeing that no one was defending him, the young man left with the dish full of fruit, looking wronged. Zhou Nan frowned as he stared at the other’s back. “You better be more steadfast. That youngster can’t even be compared to Xiao Yuanmu’s….”
“Can’t even compare to his fingernail, I know.” Song Xuanhe interrupted him, stopping him from continuing. In a show of his “loyalty,” he said, “I will never take an interest in anyone else. I only like Xiao Yuanmu, okay?”
Zhou Nan pulled his finger off the voice message button and beamed, satisfied. “Xiao Yuanmu got your message.”
Song Xuanhe had just taken a sip of his wine, so he hadn’t really processed what Zhou Nan had said. He replied, “If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought you were a part of Xiao Yuanmu’s family. Why do you like him so much? And what about me makes you think that if I take so much as another look at someone, I’ll cheat?”
After having said this, he only just realized what Zhou Nan had said. He spat the wine he had just sipped back out and started coughing. With red eyes and a hoarse voice, he asked, “What exactly did Xiao Yuanmu receive?”
Eve: Zhou Nan best wingman hahahahaha.
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