Be Kind to Your Head

Jiang Ning was baffled. "Bro?"

Jiang Suqing acted as though he had not heard him. He went on high alert against Wen Shuang and demanded coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Wen Shuang looked utterly innocent. "I'm filming the show."

Filming my ass! Jiang Suqing nearly roared. He turned to Xuan Zhe and saw that his childhood friend was perfectly composed. Then he realized Xuan Zhe had known all along. Jiang Suqing had always been used to throwing his weight around; as long as Xuan Zhe did not get angry, he could act up a little too. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Xuan Zhe shot him a sidelong glance. "Do I need to specifically report this to you?"

With nowhere to vent his anger, Jiang Suqing could only glare resentfully at Wen Shuang. His tone was hostile. "Get lost, get lost, get lost!" He would contact the production crew later. What sort of people had they invited?

Wen Shuang turned and left immediately. Fine, he would get lost!

Xuan Zhe's expression darkened slightly, as though he wanted to say something.

"Wait." Jiang Ning spoke up. He broke free of Jiang Suqing's grip and looked at his older brother as if meeting him for the first time. "Why are you throwing a tantrum for no reason? Did Wen Shuang provoke you just standing there?"

Jiang Suqing had always doted on Jiang Ning, so he hurriedly explained, "Do you know who he is? Just stay away from him! Don't get set up someday without even realizing it. You're my only brother. If something happens to you, I..."

"Enough." Xuan Zhe cut him off in a deep voice.

He saw Wen Shuang lower his head. A faint glimmer seeped through the gaps between his lashes, carrying an inexpressible grievance. Thinking of how Wen Shuang had been trying desperately to improve his standing lately, Xuan Zhe suddenly could not bear it. What was wrong with these people? Wen Shuang was his employee now, after all. Every one of them treated him like a son who needed scolding, grabbing every chance to lash out at him. Had they asked Xuan Zhe?

"If you want to eat, then eat. If not, take Jiang Ning home," Xuan Zhe continued.

Jiang Suqing: "???"

"Whose brother are you, exactly?! You're taking his side?" Jiang Suqing could not stand this injustice.

"Young Master Jiang." This time, Wen Shuang spoke. The mask of playing dumb had vanished from his face, and his eyes held a clarity that seemed to see through everything. "I can't explain many things from the past, but the show was arranged by the company. I don't have any hostility toward Young Master Jiang either."

Jiang Suqing wanted to say more, but Xuan Zhe stepped forward. "Is filming over already?"

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"Not bad. They just didn't provide boxed meals." Wen Shuang frowned slightly as he said this, displaying obvious dissatisfaction, as if missing one boxed meal were an enormous loss.

Xuan Zhe nearly laughed. "Hungry?"

"Mm-hm!"

Jiang Ning came over with a smile. "Then let's go eat! I'm hungry too."

Jiang Suqing snorted, but no one paid him any attention.

Half an hour later, the four of them arrived at a restaurant. Young Master Jiang's expression had been awful ever since they got into the car. Jiang Ning was being so enthusiastic, and had Xuan Zhe taken the wrong medicine? He was actually backing Wen Shuang up! Jiang Suqing was isolated and helpless, so he did not dare make any rash moves for the moment.

Jiang Ning talked a lot along the way. It turned out that during filming, he had noticed Wen Shuang was the fastest at undoing the knots. He had also noticed Wen Shuang switch the finished product with Chen Zong's.

"If you'd gotten first place, I'd have accepted it wholeheartedly. But that Chen Zong was acting way too fake, so I turned on my light right away." Jiang Ning was Jiang Suqing's younger brother, but the brothers had vastly different personalities. Jiang Suqing was loyal to a fault and believed his friends' words without question, so Wen Shuang was utterly vile in his eyes. Jiang Ning, however, knew that seeing was not always believing and hearing was not always the truth. He always left some room for doubt when judging people and things, and he trusted his intuition deeply. In his view, Wen Shuang was simply a person with a clean heart.

Xuan Zhe was somewhat surprised. "You were the first to finish?"

Wen Shuang gave a small laugh and sipped his juice without answering.

"Why didn't you turn on your light?" Xuan Zhe asked again.

Wen Shuang answered seriously, "I promised Sister Zhu Lian I'd help Chen Zong as much as possible. Besides, I'm not interested in this sort of thing." As long as he completed the task and got paid, that was enough.

No one paid Jiang Suqing any attention. With nowhere to release all his pent-up irritation, he gradually calmed down instead and quietly studied Wen Shuang. He had to admit that this man possessed an extraordinarily seductive appearance, but being first at undoing knots was too exaggerated, was it not? His younger brother had received professional training in that area as a child; ordinary people truly could not beat him. Yet something still felt off. Jiang Suqing had vaguely sensed something was wrong ever since learning that Wen Shuang spoke G Country's language. The Wen Shuang described by his friends had been a useless waste who knew nothing except how to use his looks.

Wen Shuang really was hungry. Once the hot dishes arrived, he ate without lifting his head even once. Jiang Suqing lit a cigarette, and his habit of being cutting flared up again. "What, did they starve you for three days?"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Wen Shuang tensed up the moment Jiang Suqing said that. His first thought was whether he might embarrass Xuan Zhe. He inhaled wrong in his panic and started choking.

Jiang Ning shot Jiang Suqing a vicious glare.

Xuan Zhe gave him an indifferent glance that nearly blew the top of Jiang Suqing's skull off.

Nice one. You sure know how to act! Jiang Suqing thought.

But Wen Shuang was not acting. At first, he could suppress it, but it felt as though something had lodged in his throat. Soon, he bent over the table and coughed violently. He looked painfully thin, as though there was a hollow beneath his white shirt. From Xuan Zhe's angle, he could just make out the faint rise of his shoulder blades.

So he spent all day eating for nothing, Xuan Zhe thought. He placed a cup of warm water in front of Wen Shuang. After a moment's thought, he reached out and rubbed his back. Perhaps the warmth of his palm was too scorching, but Wen Shuang gradually settled down. He raised his head, grabbed the cup, and drank. Only after gulping down over half of it did his breathing finally ease. Then he apologized hoarsely, "Sorry. That was rude of me."

Jiang Ning looked concerned. "It's fine, it's fine."

Seeing that no one truly minded, Wen Shuang placed a chicken wing on his plate.

The corner of Xuan Zhe's mouth twitched slightly. "You're still eating?"

Wen Shuang lowered his voice. "I'm not full..."

Xuan Zhe: "..."

By the time they finished dinner, it was already eight in the evening. Jiang Suqing and Jiang Ning headed back together. Wen Shuang waved goodbye to them, then told Xuan Zhe he could take the bus home. But the man pulled up beside him, and through the lowered window, Wen Shuang could see his incomparably handsome profile. His heart stirred, and he understood what Xuan Zhe meant. He opened the car door and got in.

Xuan Zhe drove steadily, even more steadily than Cao Nanyu. Wen Shuang leaned against the seat and gradually became drowsy.

When they passed over a speed bump, the car jolted. Wen Shuang knocked his head against the window with a muffled sound, then covered his head and rubbed it.

Xuan Zhe spared him a glance. He clearly looked silly and foolish, yet most of the time, he was sharp beyond belief.

"Be kinder to your head," Xuan Zhe said deeply. "You're so delicate. It'll be swollen again when you wake up tomorrow."

"Got it," Wen Shuang answered.

At the intersection, Wen Shuang got out of the car and politely invited Xuan Zhe upstairs for a visit. As expected, Xuan Zhe declined. Watching the car disappear around the corner, Wen Shuang thought Xuan Zhe really was a good person. Though he held a high position, his reserve was measured just right. Wen Shuang had seen people who could command the winds and rains yet casually trample on human nature, but Xuan Zhe was not like that. He bound himself within rules that conformed to the world's sense of human decency.

The first thing he did upon getting home was open his email. Wen Shuang had already sent the materials to Lei Wenxu. This was the third day, and he did not know whether Lei Wenxu had any intention of accepting, or if he had merely been teasing him. Either way, he had to try.

His inbox was still completely empty. Wen Shuang slumped back in slight dejection. Still no good?

Thinking about it, that made sense. What kind of person was Lei Wenxu? He was the smoothest of talkers. Perhaps what he had said to Fang Su had only been to reassure her. Lei Wenxu might agree someday, but what about Yu Feng? And Yu Feng's mother? They probably could not wait any longer.

What Wen Shuang did not know was that Lei Wenxu had bypassed him and contacted Yu Feng directly. In a quiet private room, Yu Feng had already gone three rounds of drinks with Lei Wenxu, lowering his stance as far as possible. Now, as long as he could bring New Orchid back to life and save his mother, let alone drinking with someone, he would even kneel.

But Yu Feng had never imagined things would progress so smoothly. After Lei Wenxu made his final confirmation, he signed the contract directly. This sum of money meant little to Lei Wenxu, but to Yu Feng, it was rain after a long drought. Lei Wenxu had acquired Yu Feng's secret recipe for making wine. He stood only to profit.

Yu Feng coughed lightly, his face flushed red. He had wanted to sell the recipe before, but everyone had dismissed it with scorn, and no one had shown interest. To him now, Lei Wenxu was an enormous benefactor. "Thank you! Truly, thank you so much!"

Lei Wenxu smiled faintly. "You should thank me. Of course, the person you should thank most isn't me."

Yu Feng did not understand. "President Lei, what do you mean?"

Lei Wenxu said something unknown, and Yu Feng's eyes suddenly widened.