Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
Song Yansong’s birthday banquet was grand and prestigious. The attendees were all wealthy and respectable people. By six o’clock that evening, the hotel’s entrance was already filled with luxurious cars.
Song Xuanhe and Song Xuanlin stood at the entrance to greet the guests. Originally, Song Guochao had also been present, but he had left after receiving a phone call. Song Xuanlin would chat with the arriving people in his usual steady manner. He would then call for someone else to escort the guest in before casting his gaze onto the next arrival. He said to Song Xuanhe, “If you’re bored, you can go in with Wei Chen when he arrives.”
“Really?” Song Xuanhe raised a brow, but he didn’t turn to look at Song Xuanlin. He smiled at the passing people before replying to the other in a hushed voice, “What should I do if Song Guochao comes to make trouble for me?”
Song Xuanlin responded with a simple and concise sentence, “He won’t if Wei Chen is around.”
“Okay.” Song Xuanhe smiled as he shook hands with and greeted a middle-aged couple. “Mr. Yang, Mrs. Yang, thank you so much for coming to celebrate Grandfather’s birthday with us.”
Song Xuanlin then came forward to accept their gift and chatted with the Yang couple before having someone else lead them into the hotel. Just as the couple had moved on, Wei Chen appeared.
Song Xuanlin nodded. “Wei shao.”
Wei Chen greeted him in return. He then said to Song Xuanhe, “I hadn’t expected for you to obediently stand here and welcome guests. I thought that I’d have to look for you in this crowded banquet hall.”
Song Xuanhe curled his lips into a smile. “How could I let Wei shao search for me? My father had specifically arranged for me to wait for Wei shao. I promised Father that I would make you feel at home.”
“Father?” Wei Chen laughed, understanding what Song Xuanhe was getting at. He handed his gift over to Song Xuanlin’s personal assistant and then pointed to the banquet hall. Towards Song Xuanlin, he said, “Song da shao, can I borrow your brother to guide me around this place? I’m terrified of unfamiliar places.”
Song Xuanhe glanced at Wei Chen and saw that the other looked very composed. There was an unrestrained unruliness in those sharp, jet-black eyes of his. He didn’t seem to find his own words out-of-sorts at all. When he noticed Song Xuanhe’s gaze, he even smiled at him. He looked very relaxed.
Song Xuanlin had also been stunned by the other’s shamelessness. However, he had always been mentally strong. He had only paused for half a second before nodding calmly. “If that’s the case, indeed, you should have someone with you. Xuanhe, help familiarize Wei shao with the banquet hall. Just make sure to go to Grandpa before the banquet starts.”
“Then, I’ll have to trouble you, ge.”
Song Xuanhe waved at Song Xuanlin with a grin on his face. He then nimbly turned around and left with Wei Chen.
When they had managed to get a distance away, Wei Chen leaned towards Song Xuanhe and asked in a hushed voice, “You’re not even going to thank me after I have saved you from your suffering?”
Song Xuanhe casually grabbed two glasses of champagne and handed one over to him. As they walked, he said, “Aren’t you afraid of unfamiliar surroundings? Shouldn’t you be the one thanking me for accompanying you, Wei shao?”
Wei Chen raised a brow and smiled. He didn’t continue with this topic. Instead, he asked, “Where’s Xiao Yuanmu?”
“You’re looking for him?” Song Xuanhe tilted his head towards Wei Chen. “I’ll give you the address. If you leave now, you can probably catch him.”
“Tsk.” Wei Chen took a sip of his champagne and grinned. “Keep on pretending.”
Song Xuanhe smiled without a word.
Shortly after Song Xuanhe and Wei Chen had left, Song Guochao had rushed over. He frowned upon seeing that only Song Xuanlin was there. “Where’s Song Xuanhe?”
“Wei shao has arrived, so he’s accompanying him.” Song Xuanlin took in Song Guochao’s expression and asked, “Father, is something the matter?”
“Of course there is! That brat….” Song Guochao gritted his teeth but stopped halfway through his sentence. When he saw new guests approaching, he concealed his anger and didn’t bother finishing his sentence. “I’ll stay here. You tell Song Xuanhe to wait for me in the lounge upstairs. I have something to ask him.”
Song Xuanlin calmly greeted the arriving guests. After they had left, he said, “Wei shao said that he had some business with him just now. They will probably be together tonight. If it’s nothing important, you should wait until Grandpa’s banquet is over.”
“How could it not be important?” Seeing that there were no guests around, Song Guochao’s expression sank. He said, “Your cousin was beaten up. Both his legs have been broken. Do you know who did it?”
Song Xuanlin furrowed his brows. A strange light flitted through his eyes, but there was no worry in his tone. “Song Jiabao’s legs were broken by someone?”
“Not just that! He nearly lost his life too! If it hadn’t been for the person who noticed him in time, he might have frozen to death in that parking lot!”
Song Guochao’s expression was fierce as he said this. Although Song Jiabao was his nephew, Song Guochao was someone who didn’t even really care about his own sons, let alone a nephew. If anyone else had been the culprit, he would have at most just helped to investigate who had a grudge against Song Jiabao and whether it had something to do with the Song Family. He would then have acted according to that person’s identity.
But, the person who had beaten Song Jiabao up had unexpectedly been Song Xuanhe’s lover who he had been keeping!
It was preposterous!
A thing that couldn’t even be shown in public had actually dared to beat up a member of his Song Family! Who knew if this had been orchestrated by Song Xuanhe or if Xiao Yuanmu had decided to use his status as Song Xuanhe’s lover to intimidate Song Jiabao!?
Regardless of which it was, Song Guochao felt like his authority was being provoked. He couldn’t do anything to Song Xuanhe, but he could deal with that boyfriend of his with just a word.
Song Xuanlin noticed Song Guochao’s expression, but his own remained expressionless. He only reminded the other in a flat voice, “Father, there are guests.”
Song Guochao immediately broke out into a smile and chatted with the guests. After the guests had left, his expression became heavy again. This time, before Song Xuanlin could ask, he said, “The person who beat your cousin up was Xiao Yuanmu, that boyfriend Song Xuanhe has been keeping outside. Simply audacious. He doesn’t take our Song Family seriously at all. I had thought your brother was just playing with him, so I didn’t meddle. But this time, I have to teach him a lesson.”
Song Xuanlin’s expression didn’t change. He simply asked, “Father, what do you plan on doing?”
“I’ll make him understand his place, and then, make him kneel in apology to your cousin.” Song Guochao sounded like he could just see the helpless and ugly look that would be on Song Xuanhe’s face after he suppressed Xiao Yuanmu. Because of that, his tone improved. “At the very least, he needs to know his place. Even if Song Xuanhe doesn’t inherit the company, he can’t decide his own marriage. It would be good for his little boyfriend to understand that. If we were to offend his future in-laws because of his little lover, our Song Group would suffer badly.”
Song Xuanlin finally looked at Song Guochao when he heard this. There was a bit of doubt in his tone. “You’re saying that Xuanhe won’t inherit the company?”
Seeing that Song Xuanlin had finally shown a bit of a reaction, a feeling of pride flickered through Song Guochao’s heart. He had gone so far as to forget himself in front of his son just because he was angry over Song Jiabao’s matters. The reason he had been saying so much in front of Song Xuanlin was because of this.
Since he himself had no hopes of inheriting the company, then the company could only fall into Song Xuanlin’s hands. If it were to be handed over to Song Xuanhe, then Song Guochao’s later years would really be full of despair.
“The old man hasn’t made his decision yet, so it’s hard to say.” Song Guochao smiled and nodded at the guests, continuing to speak with Song Xuanlin in a quiet voice. “But now that this has happened with Song Jiabao, we have a chance.”
Song Xuanlin paused as he looked at Song Guochao, who looked like he was devising strategies on the battlefield right now. He then turned away again and said in an insipid voice, “Father, it is up to Grandpa as to who the company will go to. I don’t need any chances.” He checked the time and then continued, “Most of the guests should have already arrived. I’ll be heading in first. Father, there’s a bit of dust on your sleeve. You should wash it off before entering.”
Song Guochao, who had just been really confident, was stunned as he stared after Song Xuanlin’s back. It took him a moment to react.
Song Xuanhe had no idea as to what had just occurred between Song Guochao and Song Xuanlin. But, he still was currently shocked anyways. This was because Zhou Nan had told him that Lu Chao had died in a street race yesterday at dawn.
“Are you for real?” Song Xuanhe’s pleased expression changed as he chatted with Zhou Nan. There was a bit of doubt in his eyes.
“Yes.” Zhou Nan also sighed. He thought about how, although Song Xuanhe and Lu Chao had already fallen out, they used to be close. Therefore, he said, “The Lu Family will probably release news about this tomorrow. They’ll probably start preparations for Lu Chao’s funeral then. You…Are you going to go?”
“Why would he go?” Of the three people, only Wei Chen still had on a relaxed expression as he sat on an armchair. In a casual tone, he said, “Song Er and Lu Chao are neither friends nor family. What, should he go to the funeral to join in on the liveliness?”
Song Xuanhe’s complicated emotions disappeared into the air with Wei Chen’s interruption. He glanced at Wei Chen before turning to look at Zhou Nan again. “Do you know why he went street racing?”
“Hasn’t he always had this kind of hobby?” Zhou Nan hadn’t been close to Lu Chao. He had only paid attention when someone had mentioned it, because he knew that Lu Chao and Song Xuanhe used to be close. Therefore, when he talked about it now, he was able to remain completely unaffected as a spectator. “It seems like he had gone to a highway in the mountains on the outskirts of town. Didn’t it rain really hard half a month ago? The rainfall had caused a landslide on the mountain, which had ended up blocking the road. It had only been recently cleared. Because not many people take that road, the railings haven’t been installed yet. They just closed it off with some yellow tape. Who would have expected that they would go over there to race?”
Wei Chen paid attention to Song Xuanhe’s expression before continuing off where Zhou Nan had stopped. “I also went to look at that highway a few days ago. Although there aren’t any railings, it still shouldn’t be a problem if you’re driving normally. They would only have fallen off the cliff if they had been doing some tricks on purpose while racing.”
Song Xuanhe turned to look at Wei Chen. When he noticed that the other’s expression didn’t change, he looked away. However, his slightly pursed lips did relax.
He knew that Wei Chen had said this because he knew about what had happened between him and Lu Chao in the past. The other didn’t want him to feel responsible.
But, Wei Chen was obviously overthinking things. Song Xuanhe was no saint. The original host had died an even more tragic death than Lu Chao had in the book. Furthermore, it was Lu Chao’s own fault. Even if Lu Chao had decided to go racing, because he had felt unhappy about Song Xuanhe bringing Lu Yue back into the Lu Family, at least it had been a decent death. Song Xuanhe already knew about Lu Chao’s secret machinations. Even if Lu Chao hadn’t died, Song Xuanhe would not have allowed him to live a good life.
What he had been thinking about just now was that, with Lu Chao’s death, the future would only be even harder to predict. He had to make preparations and changes now. However, there was one thing Song Xuanhe could confirm. Zhou Rong would certainly blame Lu Chao’s death on him. Furthermore, his method of revenge would be even more difficult-to-predict and intense than it had been in the book.
Therefore, the consequences of Lu Chao’s death have become an even thornier problem.
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