Missed the Performance

The original owner had latched onto more than one powerful family. He would have avoided an occasion like this, where his facade could so easily slip, but Wen Shuang was different. He had no danger radar and had no idea Xuan Zhe had dug such a huge pit for him. The moment he jumped in, he was splattered head to toe with mud.

Hang in there! Don't panic! Wen Shuang encouraged himself. Being a player who cast a wide net was something the original owner had done. What did it have to do with him?

Wen Shuang adjusted the mask on his face, immediately putting on a proper smile as he stayed close by Xuan Zhe's side, as if afraid people wouldn't know they had come together.

Xuan Zhe shot Wen Shuang a sidelong glance, his voice so low that only the two of them could hear. "Do you think that if you embarrass yourself, you embarrass me?"

Wen Shuang squeezed out four words through gritted teeth. "How could that be?"

Where there were lots of people, gossip was inevitable. Even under these dazzling lights, plated with incomparable luxury, things still descended into vulgarity. Before long, word spread from mouth to mouth about what Wen Shuang did and what he had supposedly done in the past. Rumors grew ever more absurd, surpassing the truth by far. Wen Shuang caught a few snippets now and then, and his mind went blank. Good lord, if this kept spreading, he would become some scumbag who got people pregnant and abandoned them—but every single one of them was a damn man!

Xuan Zhe carried an aura that warned strangers to keep away. As someone at the peak of the pyramid, even if people were curious why he had brought Wen Shuang along, none dared step forward to ask.

Cao Nanyu casually mentioned to a few friends, "Wen Shuang? President Xuan's new G Country interpreter."

An interpreter? That gold-digging parasite who barely had any learning in his head and spouted nonsense all day long—since when could he speak the language of G Country? Quite a few among them had either been used by Wen Shuang or had resisted his temptations and ignored him. Their faces filled with contempt, cold as frost. If Wen Shuang had not been sticking so close to Xuan Zhe, they would have loved to splash him with sulfuric acid and burn that hypocritical exterior until his skin split open.

"Disgusting!" someone cursed loudly, and mocking, derisive gazes all turned toward him.

Wen Shuang's hand at his side trembled.

In all his life, no one had ever spoken to him like that. Nor had he ever faced such overwhelming malice.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Cao Nanyu's expression was complicated. This was the first time he had heard of Wen Shuang's past behavior, and it felt worlds apart from the image he knew. An ordinary person would probably have crumbled under a scene as piercing as needles.

Wen Shuang kept hypnotizing himself. After all, he really had not done any of those things.

Then he took the chance to sneak a glance at Xuan Zhe, hoping to find some discomfort or guilt on the man's face. But the man stood tall and refined, carrying himself with noble poise. Oh, right. Capitalists didn't have things like consciences!

It was not until Dilanda appeared that Wen Shuang's day improved, if only by a tiny bit.

"Oh my! His interpreting is pretty slick. Looks like the intelligence was wrong."

"Damn! I minored in G Country language at university. I quit after three days. That stuff isn't meant for humans to learn."

Wen Shuang blocked out those voices. He either interpreted dutifully or chatted with Mr. Dilanda. This foreign setting was not particularly welcoming to Dilanda, but Wen Shuang's eloquence and knowledge put him much more at ease. He would ask President Xuan later—if they did not need Wen Shuang, or if Wen Shuang was willing, he could take him away himself.

As Wen Shuang chatted with Dilanda, the conversation somehow turned to the watch on Dilanda's wrist.

Wen Shuang was thinking entirely of the company's interests, wanting only to please their business partner, so he kept showering the man with praise. But there were cultural differences between the two countries. Dilanda thought Wen Shuang liked it. It was one of his own favorite pieces, but this young man was simply too adorable. As an old Hua Nation saying went, "A kindred spirit is hard to find." So Dilanda generously removed the watch and, under Wen Shuang's increasingly frozen smile and wide-eyed stare, slipped it onto his wrist. Finally, he said in G Country language, "Just right."

This... a watch that would fly off with one flick of his hand was called just right?

People from G Country really were enthusiastic.

Wen Shuang recognized the item. It was a limited edition, worth hundreds of thousands even as a collectible. It was way too valuable! He could not accept it.

So when Xuan Zhe came back around, he saw Wen Shuang and Didalan fussing over a watch as though they were exchanging cups of wine.

Someone who had watched the whole thing muttered, "This... he's got some skills! Mr. Dilanda even gave him a watch. You know, in G Country, that means he likes you. Tsk tsk, he's unfathomable. No wonder so many young masters from the Li Household, Chen Household, and Xu Household fell victim to him."

Xuan Zhe: "..." He had only made one round, and he had already missed Wen Shuang's "performance"?