A Little Plaything, That's All

When Father Wen and Brother Wen brought Zhong Mohan back, Mother Wen had already come out of Wen Chengze's room and was sitting alone on the sofa, lost in thought.

Thinking she was worried about her younger son's condition, Father Wen walked over, put an arm around his wife, and comforted her. "Xiao Ze is probably just having trouble adjusting after returning. He'll get better soon, so don't worry too much."

Wen Chenglin thought so too.

Though he felt it was possible something had happened last night, when he saw Xiao Ze, aside from his flushed face, there was no other obvious abnormality. Besides, Zhong Mohan had been there. No one could be stupid enough to provoke the head of the Zhong Household at the Zhong Household's own banquet.

The father and son truly adored Wen Chengze, but when it came to certain matters, both of them were rather slow on the uptake.

Mother Wen looked at the foolish father and son, then recalled what Xiao Ze had said earlier, and felt a headache coming on.

In the end, though, she said nothing. Since Xiao Ze said he could handle it, she would trust him.

"Mm, I know. It's just that Xiao Ze is sick, so I can't help worrying along with him."

While those downstairs worried over Wen Chengze's illness, Wen Chengze upstairs did not go back to sleep.

Curled up beneath the covers, he pondered why Zhong Mohan had come here today.

Yesterday, Zhong Mohan had publicly announced that he was the new head of the Zhong Household. He was also an international superstar. Someone like him should have been busy right now; he would never show up at the Wen Household for no reason.

Unless there was something here that he absolutely had to come for.

At that thought, Wen Chengze remembered what Father Wen had said before about that thing concerning the Zhong Household.

It seemed that thing was very important. Yet he still did not know what it was, nor did he know what kind of impact it would have on the Wen Household in the future.

His home was the only pure sanctuary he had in this world. He would not allow anyone to destroy it.

If he truly wanted to know, he could simply ask his father. But since his father had not told him everything before, it meant he did not want him involved in the entire matter. So Wen Chengze could only find a way to investigate it himself.

Looking at it this way, there were far too many headaches to deal with.

Zhong Mohan's ambiguous attitude was impossible to fathom, but one thing was certain: Zhong Mohan absolutely wanted to muddy the waters. He likely wanted to reshuffle the entire balance of power. Or, more boldly, perhaps he wanted to seize all power for himself.

If that was truly the case, then it would be impossible for the Wen Household to stay out of it.

Then there was what happened last night. It had definitely been a trap set for Zhong Mohan. As for the other person involved, it could have been anyone; Wen Chengze had merely happened to be the unlucky one.

After all, the room door could not be opened at first last night. Once they were done, it could be opened again. Yet no one had come by in between. If that had not been deliberately arranged, then Wen Chengze had lived all these years for nothing.

Wait!

Wen Chengze's gaze sharpened.

If he worked backward from that, whoever wanted to see Zhong Mohan make a fool of himself could not possibly have stayed away the whole time. And now, nearly twelve hours had passed since it happened, yet there had been no reaction whatsoever. There was only one explanation: what they wanted was not for Zhong Mohan to embarrass himself.

Then what did they want?

He felt that he might have overlooked some details.

After thinking it over carefully, Wen Chengze clenched his fingers. Perhaps they had targeted him and Zhong Mohan from the very beginning!

The Wen Household possessed something extremely important to the Zhong Household, so naturally many people had their eyes on the Wen Household. As the Wen Household's young master, he was a very useful weapon.

After what happened last night, even if it could not turn them and the Zhong Household into sworn enemies, they definitely would not continue cooperating. Then others would benefit.

With a long sigh, he suddenly felt that someone might have been watching him from the moment he returned to the country.

Perhaps Haicheng's waters ran far deeper than he had imagined.

And right now, I'm in the open while the enemy is in the shadows. There was hardly any chance to make a move.

As for starting with the Zhong Household's enemies, heh, that was even more of a fantasy.

The Zhong Household itself probably did not even know how many people it had offended.

The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became, until he could not help cursing again. "That bastard is nothing but trouble!"

Wen Chengze tossed and turned, but someone else was very happy.

After leaving the Wen Household, Zhong Mohan was in an excellent mood.

Even his assistant was somewhat surprised. Their boss had always kept his emotions hidden, so why was he so happy today?

After holding back for a long while, the assistant finally said, "Sir, are you happy because the cooperation with the Wen Household has been settled?"

"Mm." He had gained an ally without lifting a finger, and those idiots had personally delivered that ally to him. How could he not be happy?

Perhaps because he was used to seeing Zhong Mohan with a cold expression, but his assistant felt that his boss was very different today. Then he suddenly thought of the boss from yesterday, practically overflowing with hormones.

Was this what a man who had finally tasted flesh was like?

After choosing his words carefully, he said, "Then what do you plan to do about the Wen Household's young master?"

Zhong Mohan paused at the person his assistant had suddenly mentioned. That young master was indeed somewhat interesting, but his interest was not particularly strong. His main goal was to cooperate with the Wen Household. That young master was merely an excuse.

"Just a little plaything, that's all."

Hearing his boss say that, the assistant understood what attitude he should take toward the Wen Household in the future.

After some thought, however, he still said, "That young master is obviously sick today because of what happened yesterday. Although you don't care about it, I suggest sending him some ointment. After all, we'll be cooperating with the Wen Household in the future." Noticing his boss's strange expression, the assistant quickly added, "Of course, it's fine if you don't send anything."

After a long pause, Zhong Mohan asked, "What does being sick have to do with last night? Didn't he have a fever?"

The assistant was stunned. He had never imagined that his boss lacked knowledge in that area.

Thinking of how Young Master Wen had looked today, no wonder he had been tormented into that state by his boss.

He forced himself to explain, "Actually, afterward, if one does not clean up properly and rest, one can get sick. It can cause inflammation, which can then lead to a fever."

Zhong Mohan unconsciously rubbed the web between his thumb and forefinger.

When he saw Wen Chengze this morning, he had only said it casually. Now it seemed he was not merely half responsible; he was fully responsible.

"Contact a doctor and have the best ointment sent over."

That afternoon, Wen Chengze received something delivered by the Zhong Household.

"This is medicine sent by the head of the Household for Young Master Wen." The person who came was not the previous assistant, but someone else.

Though the Wen family was puzzled, Father Wen recalled what he had discussed with Zhong Mohan and was not overly surprised. The Wen Household's doctors were top-notch anyway, so he waved a hand and had someone carry the bag upstairs to Wen Chengze.

At first, Wen Chengze was a little surprised. But after taking everything out of the bag, his entire face turned bright red.