Chapter 10

He remained unmoved, his expression clearly tinged with anger.

Huo Yiran raised an eyebrow. As if he had discovered something amusing, he hooked the scarf up with his toe. Then Ye Heng's bone-chillingly cold, hoarse voice rang out: "Don't touch it."

At the same time, the moment Tang Mingxi saw that red scarf, his beautiful almond-shaped eyes widened slightly.

This was the last scarf Ye Yue had knitted for the male lead before she went blind!

Huo Yiran seemed to have found a new source of entertainment. He shook the scarf, his smile utterly malicious. "Ye Heng, since you said you didn't steal anything, then these clothes aren't yours either, right?"

Alarm bells went off in Tang Mingxi's mind. The next second, Huo Yiran pulled out a lighter and held it beneath the scarf. "Then it doesn't matter if I burn it, does it?"

Fuck—!

Tang Mingxi nearly cursed out loud!

Why was this brat so good at courting death? He was truly the uncrowned king of tap-dancing through minefields :)

In the original novel, the scarf meant a great deal to Ye Heng. It was also one of the biggest triggers that intensified Ye Heng's hatred for the Tang Family, so he absolutely had to stop this brat from burning it.

Tang Mingxi's heart nearly leaped into his throat. Yet at this critical moment, he became calm instead. Frowning at Ye Heng, he drew a deep breath and said, "Why aren't you picking up the clothes on the ground? I told you to put away the clothes, not scatter them all over the yard!"

The moment he finished speaking, three pairs of eyes turned toward Tang Mingxi in unison.

Ye Heng's expression was dark and unreadable.

Tang Nuo looked surprised, a flicker of shock passing through his eyes. This useless second brother was actually acting differently from his previous life.

Huo Yiran, meanwhile, was completely dumbfounded!

"Uncle, what are you talking about?" Huo Yiran froze and immediately loosened his grip on the lighter.

Tang Mingxi lifted his chin slightly, looking noble and composed as he lied without changing expression. "I gave those clothes to Ye Heng."

"How is that possible?!" Huo Yiran's anger flared. "You're lying to me! Tang Nuo was clearly the one who delivered those clothes to him!"

Tang Mingxi: ...So you knew. You little brat, you really were deliberately stirring up trouble :)

He cleared his throat and said without the slightest blush, "I told Tang Nuo to deliver them. Do you have a problem with that?"

Shock and various other emotions flickered through Huo Yiran's eyes before settling into confusion. "...Why? Uncle, don't you hate him to death?"

What he meant was that he did not understand why Tang Mingxi was helping Ye Heng cover up the lie.

"Otherwise?" Tang Mingxi shot him a glance. The corners of his eyes lifted, lending him an indescribable, breathtaking beauty that made Huo Yiran's heart skip a beat.

Tang Mingxi stepped closer. A faint, sweet fragrance enveloped Huo Yiran, whose Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably.

What perfume was Uncle wearing...? Huo Yiran felt a little lightheaded from the scent.

As a thoroughly straight man, Tang Mingxi did not notice how close they were. He merely lowered his voice and scolded him softly, "You wanted to expose Tang Nuo for delivering clothes to Ye Heng? My brother-in-law meeting my little brother-in-law in secret in the middle of the night—if word gets out, where am I supposed to put my dignity? Are you truly stupid, or are you deliberately trying to ruin me? Does the Tang Family lack some huge joke like you to put on display?"

Tang Mingxi deliberately put extra weight into that final sentence. Huo Yiran's expression changed at once, and he said aggrievedly, "I didn't think that much. I just wanted to stand up for you..."

"If you wanted to stand up for me, couldn't you pick something else? Why did you have to make trouble at a time like this?" Tang Mingxi sighed in relief, thinking, Huo Yiran may be awful to everyone else, but he was rather innocent with me. Was he really this easy to coax?

"But we can't let him off that easily." A vicious glint flashed through Huo Yiran's eyes. "Tang Nuo knows this piece of trash's relationship with you, yet he still dared to meet him in secret at night. He clearly has no respect for you at all!"

Tang Mingxi: ...You're overthinking it. I don't care.

"That's right. I'd forgotten about it. Good thing Second Brother remembered, or I wouldn't have known how to resolve this today." Tang Nuo spoke at once, going along with the excuse and forcing out an impeccable smile. "Since it was all a misunderstanding, I think everyone should return to their rooms and rest. It's snowing so heavily—there's no need to catch a cold."

Ye Heng remained standing where he was, his gaze fixed on the scarf without wavering for even a moment. He looked so ferocious that it seemed he would lunge forward and snatch it back the next second.

Seeing that he did not move, Tang Mingxi had no choice but to give himself another way out. He spoke coldly, "It's fine if you want to mistreat yourself, but don't ruin the clothes I bought for you in weather like this. What, weren't you going to return them to me? Are you planning to return a piece of rag?"

After saying that, he prepared to take the scarf from Huo Yiran and return it to Ye Heng. He had even thought up his next line: "Who cares about your lousy scarf?" Perfect. It completely matched the persona of Second Young Master Tang :)

However, Huo Yiran's chilling tone cut off Tang Mingxi's performance.

His expression was terrible, his eyes bloodshot as he glared furiously at Tang Mingxi. "Uncle, what did you just say?"

Tang Mingxi: ...?

"You said," Huo Yiran enunciated each word, the jealousy in his eyes nearly turning into flames that would burn Ye Heng to ashes, "the clothes this piece of trash is wearing were bought by you personally?"

A trace of bewilderment crossed Tang Mingxi's face before he inwardly cried out in alarm. In the original novel, Huo Yiran was an extremely jealous man, and his obsessive possessiveness toward "Tang Mingxi" had reached a perverse degree!

He vaguely remembered that, spoiled as the original owner had been, he had never bought anything for anyone from childhood to adulthood.

Ye Heng was currently the first.

...A miscalculation.

Tang Mingxi stiffened all over. Before he could come up with a solution, Huo Yiran's furious voice rang out.

"Since Uncle has spoken up for you, I'll let you off today. But since you didn't steal anything, you'll have to prove your innocence somehow." Ice seemed to gleam in Huo Yiran's eyes as he smiled terrifyingly. "Someone, strip this piece of trash!"

The Fox Spirit

"Wait!"

Tang Mingxi was utterly baffled. Why was everyone so fixated on Ye Heng's suit today?

First the cousin stripped him, now the cousin's son wanted to strip him too?

Couldn't they just leave the male lead a piece of clothing to wear?

Huo Yiran had already been blinded by jealousy. All he could see was the white shirt Ye Heng was wearing.

Tang Mingxi had bought it for him himself, yet Uncle had never bought clothes for Huo Yiran!

If Tang Mingxi could hear Huo Yiran's inner monologue right now, he would definitely drag him straight to a suit store.

Buy whatever you want. As long as you stop taking me to the male lead to court death, I'll even buy the whole store and give it to you.

Huo Yiran really paused when he heard his voice.

The several servants who had eagerly been about to strip Ye Heng were also caught in a dilemma, unsure whether they should listen to the young master from the main branch or the second young master.

Tang Mingxi took off his suit jacket, shivering from the cold. For the sake of maintaining his persona, he resisted the urge to hunch his shoulders.

But the next second, he draped his suit jacket over Huo Yiran's shoulders. A clean, mild sweetness drifted up to Huo Yiran's nose.

That gesture greatly soothed Huo Yiran, and Tang Mingxi's next words pleased him even more.

"It's only a piece of clothing. When could Uncle not buy you one if you wanted it?"

Most of Huo Yiran's anger immediately subsided, and Ye Heng no longer looked quite so unpleasant to him.

However, he was still not satisfied, and for the moment, he could not think of any way to torment Ye Heng.

Then he looked down and saw that he was still holding the red scarf. Remembering Ye Heng's anxious expression earlier, Huo Yiran came up with an idea.

Before anyone could react, he directly set the scarf on fire. Flames danced amid the snow as his careless voice rang out. "Sorry, my hand slipped."

Tang Mingxi stared in stunned disbelief. He had gone to such lengths to placate him, only for this brat to set the scarf on fire anyway.

At that moment, Ye Heng's expression darkened instantly, his voice hoarse. "Give it back to me!"

"Give it back?" Huo Yiran sneered, forcefully tossing the scarf toward the ornamental pond in the courtyard before clapping his hands. "Then go pick it up yourself."

Ye Heng's face was so dark he looked ready to devour someone. Tang Mingxi's back prickled beneath his stare.

In the male lead's eyes, Huo Yiran was probably acting on his orders.