Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
Song Xuanhe’s gaze fell on Xiao Ranyun, who was calmly standing a short distance away. He then shifted his eyes to Boss Sun, who was cutting a sorry figure in his crumpled clothes. In the end, his eyes fell on the cocktail in Xiao Ranyun’s hand, in which the contents had already mixed together.
His gaze stayed on the cocktail for a few seconds as a complicated emotion flitted through his eyes. Although he had managed to force back the emotion, his expression was still as cold as ice. However, there was still a trace of warmth in his voice as he spoke to Xiao Ranyun. “What happened?”
Xiao Ranyun had already been feeling guilty. When she saw Song Xuanhe’s expression, she felt even more dejected. She gave the wine glass to Song Xuanhe and said, “Xuanhe gege, I’m really sorry. I accidentally spilled some of it.”
“It’s fine.” Song Xuanhe shook his head slightly. He took the drink from her hand and downed it. The bitter, spicy, tart, and sour liquid slid down his throat, irritating it. However, the expression on Song Xiao Shaoye, who would always eat less of a dish if it didn’t suit his palate just right, hadn’t changed in the slightest. He placed the glass down onto the white tablecloth that had half-fallen off the table. The corner of his lips rose as he said, “It’s just one drink. It’s nothing major.”
“Song Er—”
Zhou Nan, who hadn’t been able to stop the other in time, stared at Song Xuanhe’s calm expression in shock. If he hadn’t personally watched Song Xuanhe mix that drink and knew what that drink tasted like, he would have suspected Song Xuanhe of having drunk a fake version of it.
The flavour of the cocktail gradually disappeared from his mouth. Song Xuanhe’s cold expression slowly eased up as well. Back then, when he had first created this drink, he had succeeded in fooling Zhou Yunyang. Zhou Yunyang had been so furious that a physical fight had nearly broken out between them. Later on, because he had really liked the colour of the drink, he would ask Song Xuanhe to mix it many times. He’d then use that drink to prank other people.
Back then, when Zhou Yunyang and Song Xuanhe would see their victims grimace after drinking the beverage, the trouble-making duo would clink glasses with each other, smiles plastered on their faces. As long as this drink had been mixed, someone would have had to drink it in Zhou Yunyang’s stead. Every glass had to be finished. It absolutely could not have been wasted.
Back then, the rule that every glass had to be drunk had only been formed as a part of their pranks. After Zhou Yunyang had died, however, this drink had becaoe a promise between the two. Every year on the anniversary of Zhou Yunyang’s death, Song Xuanhe would mix a glass and drink it himself. After Zhou Yunyang’s death, no one else had ever gotten to drink it again.
Today, he had been carried on an impulse and had let Zhou Nan drink it. After that, he had only agreed to mix another one for Xiao Ranyun, because she had said that same thing as Zhou Yunyang.
It was just that, no matter how disgusting it tasted, it was not something that just anyone was allowed to drink.
Song Xuanhe looked at Boss Sun, who was sucking in his belly. His lips curled into a cold arc, but his tone was still polite. “May I ask who you are?”
“My surname is Sun. Song Ershao can just call me Xiao Sun.” Boss Sun didn’t dare to wipe the cold sweat off his forehead. He cautiously examined the expression on Song Er’s face. Even though he saw that the other seemed indifferent and not too angry, he still didn’t dare relax.
Song Xuanhe was the second young master of the Song Group. Sun Jinren had lived in the Capital for many years. Naturally, there was no way he wouldn’t be able to recognize the other. He had also known that the pretty boy he had been taking liberties with was Song Xuanhe’s boyfriend. It was just that it was a totally different matter to dally with the young master’s little lover behind his back versus being caught by said young master while dallying and bullying his little lover.
Even if it was as that other young master of the Song Family had said—that Song Xuanhe only saw Xiao Yuanmu as a plaything that could be given away at any time—even when you wanted to beat the dog, you should still be clear on who their master was. He had so ostentatiously disrespected Song Xuanhe. How could he not be afraid?
“Xiao Sun?” Song Xuanhe’s eyes scanned Sun Jinren’s large body. His lips then pulled into a mocking smile. “As someone younger than you, I don’t dare call you Xiao Sun. If I did, I’d be disrespecting Boss Sun’s precious body, which is a result of many years of eating very well.”
When they had heard what Song Xuanhe had said, several snickers echoed throughout the deck. There had also been some people who didn’t even bother concealing their laughter. After all, there was practically no one here who was afraid of offending Boss Sun, who must have only been able to board this ship by latching onto someone more influential. Therefore, they simply laughed out loud.
Zhou Nan was also one of the ones who laughed out loud. He covered his stomach and gave a thumbs up. “Song Er, you’re one mean b*stard.”
There was laughter all around, but Sun Jinren didn’t dare show any anger. Instead, he smiled apologetically. “You can also call me Boss Sun. Anything is fine as long as Ershao is happy.”
“And, what if I’m not happy?”
Song Xuanhe tilted his head slightly. The drooping corners of his eyes held a smile as if he was asking purely out of curiosity.
A fawning expression appeared on Sun Jinren’s chubby face. “If Ershao isn’t happy, I will definitely think of a way to make you happy.”
“Oh?” Song Xuanhe said with a smile, “What will Boss Sun do to make me happy?”
Although it wasn’t apparent on his face, Sun Jinren was furious at how this younger man, who could have basically been his son, was so unwilling to forgive him. Although the Song Family was an entity that he could not afford to offend, Song Xuanhe was nothing but a profligate young master standing in the shadows of the true successor of the Song Group. What was there to be afraid of? Sun Jinren didn’t believe that the Song Family would attack him over Song Xuanhe.
The issue was that standing beside Song Xuanhe was the only successor of the Zhou Family. There was also the young miss and young master of the Xiao Family, one of the major eight families in the world. If it had just been Song Xuanhe, he would have just said a few casual, perfunctory things to de-escalate the matter, but he didn’t dare be so casual with the others in fear of offending them.
Therefore, even if he was furious, Sun Jinren still smiled his most greasy smile. “I can do anything as long as it makes Ershao happy.”
Song Xuanhe blinked. The cold expression he had had on in the beginning disappeared. It was replaced by a more innocent expression. He asked, “Really?”
“Of course!”
Sun Jinren stuck out his stomach and spoke in a powerful and resonating voice. He had always been an expert at reading people. Otherwise, he would never have been able to make it as far as he had. When he saw the expression Song Xuanhe made, he knew that this young master had never experienced the dark side of life. Even if he had been angry, he could be coaxed with just a few words.
Song Xuanhe smiled at that. “It just so happens that I was just telling Zhou shao and them how bored I am since the auction hasn’t started yet. I was saying how, since we’re out on the sea, I wanted to see some kind of show in the water. Boss Sun, how about you give us a show?”
Boss Sun’s expression grew rigid. He couldn’t maintain his smile anymore.
“What? You won’t do it?”
The smile on Song Xuanhe’s face faded. Arms folded over his chest, he stood by the long table. He was a head taller than Boss Sun, and he was currently peering down at the other. There wasn’t much of an expression on his face, but Sun Jinren felt like the other was looking at him like he was nothing but a disgusting, skittering bug.
Sun Jinren froze and remained silent while the spectators broke out into more laughter. Someone even added fuel to the flames. “Boss Sun, you should keep your word. Everyone here is someone with some status. Don’t businessmen value good faith the most? If you go back on your word now, no one will want to do business with you.”
Song Xuanhe just stood there with his arms crossed, staring at the silent older man.
Zhou Nan had also wanted to see a good show, but Song Xuanhe was his good friend. Therefore, he had more concerns than a bystander would. There weren’t many people on the deck right now, and everyone here was young. However, this had been going on for a while now, so Song Guochao might rush over at any moment now.
If Song Guochao came, even if Song Xuanhe had been in the right, Song Guochao would make him seem like he had been in the wrong. Moreover, no matter how you looked at it, making Sun Jinren jump into the sea was going overboard.
Even Zhou Nan had thought of this. Naturally, so did Xiao Shenglin. He whispered in Song Xuanhe’s ear, “Uncle Song is also aboard this ship.”
Although Song Xuanhe wasn’t afraid of Sun Jinren, who would soon die, he also knew that it would make him seem unreasonable if he continued making a fuss over this. Therefore, although he was still angry, he didn’t actually insist on the matter.
He looked up slightly, gaze falling on Xiao Yuanmu, who stood a short distance away. Coincidentally, Xiao Yuanmu also looked in his direction. Their gazes met for a second before both of them calmly looked away. Neither of their expressions changed.
Song Xuanhe then shifted his gaze to Zhou Nan and gave the other a signal with his eyes.
Zhou Nan understood what he had wanted to say. He wrapped an arm over Song Xuanhe’s shoulders and said to Sun Jinren, “My friend likes to joke around. Don’t take him seriously, Boss Sun. We’re your juniors, how could we actually let you jump into the sea? Besides, even if we weren’t your juniors, we shouldn’t be breaking the law anyway.”
“Song Er usually jokes around like this when he’s in a good mood.” Zhou Nan beamed. “Boss Sun, you won’t take offence, right?”
How could Sun Jinren not accept this chance to get out of this predicament? He smiled quickly and said, “Of course not. I’m definitely not offended. It is my honour to make Ershao happy.”
Song Xuanhe reached out to pat Boss Sun’s thick, squishy shoulder and smiled. “Uncle Sun, we, your juniors, are the ones who should be honoured. Since everything’s fine, let’s not keep Boss Sun from his business.”
Boss Sun, who had just relaxed, tensed up again. From the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Xiao Yuanmu. He then smiled flatteringly at Song Xuanhe, “I wasn’t busy. I had just been strolling around before the auction started. Now that the auction is about to start, I’ll head over first.”
After having said this, Sun Jinren bid farewell to Song Xuanhe and his friends before apologizing to Xiao Ranyun again. He then turned around and disappeared quickly from the deck.
When he saw that Sun Jinren had left, Zhou Nan broke out into a laugh. “I wonder who brought him here. Hurts my eyes.”
Xiao Shenglin smiled slightly and then reminded Song Xuanhe, “Mr. Xiao is over there. It would be better for you to have him come with us when the auction starts.”
Hearing this, Song Xuanhe turned to look at Xiao Yuanmu. He saw him looking at the direction Sun Jinren had left, a pensive look on his face. Song Xuanhe hesitated and then walked over to him.
“Didn’t I tell you to go to our room?” Song Xuanhe asked, frowning. “Why are you here?”
Xiao Yuanmu shifted his eyes to Song Xuanhe’s face. When he saw that there was undisguised concern on the other’s face, he averted his gaze. He then said in a cool voice, “I came looking for you.”
Song Xuanhe had wanted to say something else, but the emotion he had seen on Xiao Yuanmu’s face was a very familiar one that he hadn’t seen in a long time. That and the words “I came looking for you” stopped the words in his throat. He pursed his lips. In the end, he turned his head away and said, “Why didn’t you call me?”
Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze fell on his pale ears. He noticed that the usually smooth, soft, fair ears were currently flushed, turning a darker shade by the second. Subconsciously, his fingers curled slightly.
He looked away, rescinding the darkness in his eyes. There was an inaudible raspy tone to his chilly voice. “You didn’t pick up.”
Song Xuanhe was surprised. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and discovered that it had run out of battery. It was probably because he had used it for too long in the afternoon and had forgotten to charge it before boarding the ship.
“Let’s go.” Zhou Nan smiled at Xiao Yuanmu in greeting. He then patted Song Xuanhe’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go inside. We still have an hour before the auction starts.”
Their party returned to their booth at the bar. No one had touched their things. It was exactly as they had left it.
Zhou Nan sat down and finished the tiny bit of watermelon juice he hadn’t had time to drink earlier. He then said to Song Xuanhe, “I will never drink that cocktail of yours ever again. I don’t want to drink anything but watermelon juice for the rest of the night.”
Now that the matter had been resolved, Xiao Ranyun had regained her liveliness. She looked at Xiao Yuanmu curiously and asked, “Xuanhe gege, is this your boyfriend?”
“Yes,” Song Xuanhe introduced them, “Xiao Yuanmu. The young lady in front of you is Xiao Shenglin’s cousin, Xiao Ranyun.”
Xiao Yuanmu nodded and said to Xiao Ranyun, “Hello.”
Xiao Ranyun beamed at him and replied, “Hi Yuanmu gege.”
Zhou Nan was shaking a pair of dice, telling Song Xuanhe to guess whether it’d be high or low. Song Xuanhe had just been about to make his guess when he heard Xiao Yuanmu speak to Xiao Ranyun in a gentle tone. He couldn’t help but pause and turn to look at the other.
Sensing Song Xuanhe’s gaze on him, Xiao Yuanmu asked, “What’s wrong?”
When he heard Xiao Yuanmu’s refreshingly clear voice that held no chill, Song Xuanhe was taken aback. He then shook his head and said, “Nothing.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s voice had probably sounded a bit weird because of the bar’s music and dark environment. With that in mind, Song Xuanhe eliminated the suspicion in his heart.
Zhou Nan seemed to have gotten addicted to playing with dice. He drank with Song Xuanhe while grumbling about how the other and Xiao Shenglin wouldn’t go to the casino with him. Whenever he’d win, he would make Song Xuanhe drink with a radiant smile.
Song Xuanhe knew that his body’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t high. After having drank a few glasses, he got serious. In a flash, he had the advantage. However, Zhou Nan wasn’t willing to concede. He raised his hand and called for more alcohol.
Shortly after, a waiter came with more alcohol. The waiter opened the bottle and placed it down onto the table. However, when he stood back up, he accidentally knocked over a glass of unfinished alcohol that he had been about to take away.
The spilled alcohol just so happened to splash all over Xiao Yuanmu. Alarmed, the waiter apologized repeatedly at once.
Zhou Nan sat on the sofa opposite of the one Xiao Yuanmu was on. When he saw who the waiter was, he frowned. “What are you doing?”
The waiter looked towards Song Xuanhe, appearing pitiful. He quietly said, “I really didn’t mean to do it. My hand was suddenly pushed just now. That’s why the glass fell over. I really didn’t mean it, Ershao.”
It had been fine before he gave this explanation. But once he had, it was obvious that he was putting the blame on Xiao Yuanmu.
The place where he was standing was close to the sofa Xiao Yuanmu was sitting on. When he had been placing the alcohol down, the only person who could have made contact with him was Xiao Yuanmu. He was practically saying that Xiao Yuanmu had purposely shoved his hand.
Compared to Zhou Nan who was furious, not only was Song Xuanhe not angry, but he also actually found this kind of funny. Xiao Yuanmu was no pushover. He was not someone who just anyone could try to bully.
“So, you’re saying that Xiao Yuanmu knocked against you?” Song Xuanhe asked.
The waiter secretly peeked at Song Xuanhe’s expression. However, the lighting here was dim. The swerving lights above were not currently illuminating this section of the bar, so he couldn’t get a good look at Song Xuanhe’s face. Nonetheless, he understood the other man. When he had heard the other’s tone, he knew that he wasn’t angry. Therefore, his courage grew. He said, “I don’t know. But when I had been picking up the other glasses, I knew that there was still liquid inside, so I had been really careful. I didn’t think I’d be pushed. That’s why it fell over.”
“How could you not know?” Xiao Ranyun had a good impression on Xiao Yuanmu. In contrast, she didn’t have a good impression of this waiter. She furrowed her brows slightly. “Only Yuanmu gege could bump into you with you standing there. Aren’t you basically saying that Yuanmu gege purposely pushed you?”
“Miss Xiao….” The waiter lowered his head and didn’t speak again, appearing very wronged.
Xiao Ranyun’s brows knitted more tightly, seeing him act like this. But, she didn’t know what to say. Therefore, she turned to Xiao Shenglin and said, “Gege, you were sitting in front of Yuanmu gege. You should have seen whether Yuanmu gege had pushed him earlier.”
Actually, Xiao Shenglin hadn’t seen a thing. Nonetheless, although he hadn’t interacted much with Xiao Yuanmu, he knew that the other wouldn’t do such a petty thing. When the three of them had just arrived on the deck earlier, they had seen Xiao Yuanmu send Boss Sun flying with a kick. Based on that, he could easily deduce that if Xiao Yuanmu wasn’t happy, he would never vent his anger so secretly.
Xiao Shenglin said in an insipid tone, “Even if someone had bumped into you, you’re still the one who didn’t have a firm hold on it. It’s a fact that you messed up your work and ended up dirtying a client’s clothes. Shouldn’t you be apologizing?”
The waiter’s expression changed. He raised his head to look at Song Xuanhe, a wronged expression all over his pale face. He looked like he was hoping Song Xuanhe would support him.
But, Song Xuanhe couldn’t see his face, let alone his expression. Regardless, even if he could have seen it, he wouldn’t have said anything anyway. He wanted to see how Xiao Yuanmu would handle this.
Therefore, Song Xuanhe asked, “What do you want to do?”
Xiao Yuanmu took off his suit jacket. There was no emotion in his clear, cool voice. “Call your manager over.”
The waiter’s expression changed again. He raised his voice, “Ershao, I really didn’t do it on purpose.”
“It’s not like I’m the one you spilled the drink on.” Song Xuanhe remained unmoved. “Even if it wasn’t on purpose, I’m not the one you should be speaking to.”
The waiter’s eyes turned red. He had also gone to see what had happened on the deck outside since it had been so noisy. He knew that Xiao Yuanmu was Song Xuanhe’s current boyfriend. But, so what? He was nothing but an orphan. Xiao Yuanmu was even worse off than him. Moreover, the waiter knew that he had been Song shao’s longest relationship. He also knew that what Song Xuanhe liked the most was an adorable, innocent lover. Therefore, he had the confidence to make Song Xuanhe fall in love with him again.
The person Song shao had doted on the most in the past had been him. How could he be willing to apologize to this man?
“Call your manager over.” Zhou Nan raised his hand, instructing a different waiter.
When he saw his co-worker really left to call for the manager, he couldn’t help but say in a wronged tone, “Mr. Xiao, I’m sorry. I misunderstood you just now. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“A hundred and twenty thousand yuan,” Xiao Yuanmu said coolly, “That’s how much this outfit costs.”
The waiter was taken aback. He didn’t know how to react.
“What do you mean?”
“You dirtied Yuanmu gege’s clothes, so obviously you have to pay for them.” Xiao Ranyun smiled. She had heard that this waiter had previously tricked Xuanhe gege out of his money and then left. What someone like this liked the most was money. Therefore, making him pay was the best punishment.
“You want me to pay for your clothes?” The waiter widened his eyes, voice getting louder.
“You dirtied his clothes, of course you have to compensate him.”
Song Xuanhe had originally been surprised at the way Xiao Yuanmu was handling this. However, a second later, he had more-or-less understood. Xiao Yuanmu was really talented in reading people. Making this person, who would do anything for money, pay for damages was probably the most unbearable punishment for him.
“I don’t have any money,” The waiter said, “Mr. Xiao, I’m just a waiter, I don’t have all that money. How about I wash it for you instead?”
Xiao Yuanmu didn’t speak. Zhou Nan chimed in instead, “Didn’t you have two million yuan before? How can you say you have no money?”
As soon as Zhou Nan had spoken, the manager came rushing over. He bowed and apologized at once. He then listened to what had happened before sincerely saying, “Mr. Xiao, it is our employee’s fault. We will definitely compensate you for your clothes. He doesn’t have the money, so I will compensate you on his behalf first.”
Who would have expected that the waiter would be so alarmed by these words that he’d start crying? He knelt down all of a sudden and said, “Mr. Xiao, I beg you to forgive me. I’ll give you the money, just give me some time. I’ll get a hundred and twenty thousand yuan together at once and give it back to you.”
The waiter knew what “business” the manager of the bar did in secret. If the manager paid on his behalf and found out he had offended some influential bigwigs, he would be directly sent to those kinds of clubs. From then on, he would not be able to live well.
“I beg you.” The waiter grabbed Xiao Yuanmu’s pants. “I’ll get it to you right away. It won’t take very long. Give me two days. When we reach the shore, I’ll give it to you then.”
Xiao Yuanmu moved his leg away. He then looked at the manager, who had on an indifferent expression. With a flat tone, he said, “Transfer the money right now.”
The manager was startled. He had thought that Xiao Yuanmu would agree to give the waiter two days. Since even the waiter knew about what had happened outside, the manager was also in the know. Therefore, he knew who Xiao Yuanmu was. Based on Xiao Yuanmu and the waiter’s statuses, the best way to resolve this would be to let the other off lightly.
He hadn’t expected that Xiao Yuanmu would have him transfer the funds. Wasn’t this slapping his boyfriend’s ex in the face?
Although he had thought this, the manager also thought that this was to be expected. He was engaged in shady businesses. He often interacted with many ruthless figures. He was definitely no ordinary fellow to get to where he currently was. The moment he had laid eyes on Xiao Yuanmu, he knew that this was no ordinary person. From what he had seen of the interactions between Xiao Yuanmu and Song Xuanhe, it didn’t seem like their relationship was that of a kept lover and his financial backer.
Regardless, none of that mattered. All he knew was that he had one more working boy who could make him money.
Song shaoye’s taste was good. The manager had already had his sights on this waiter and had been preparing to get his hands on him. Now, he had a proper reason to do so.
The manager’s lips curled up slightly. He bowed and said, “Mr. Xiao, please choose the method in which you would like your funds transferred.”
The author has something to say:
Song Xuanhe: I hope that more idiots will walk into Xiao Yuanmu’s line of fire and pull some of his hatred away from me.
Eve: Honestly, I do feel kind of bad for the waiter. Like, I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone butttttttt. He’s also an asshole and this is fiction so I’ll root for my babies instead.
Kara: Amazing. Kick *ss and take names, Mumu. (ง •̀_•́)ง This waiter cannot defeat you!! burningelmo.gif
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