Chapter 3

A hint of reddish-brown beneath his eyes, with two tiny red moles.

Though his features were somewhat feminine, one could still tell at a glance that he was a beautiful young man.

"Second Young Master, Ye Heng seems to have fainted." Aunt Wang kicked Ye Heng and discovered that he was not pretending.

Tang Mingxi: ...I can see. No need to kick the protagonist and make him hate me even more!

Could Aunt Wang please break this bad habit of getting physical? :)

Tang Mingxi sighed helplessly and used the back of his hand to check Ye Heng's temperature. He was burning up.

Aunt Wang asked, "Second Young Master, does this brat have a fever?"

Tang Mingxi nodded, only to see Aunt Wang's expression change. She hurriedly pulled Tang Mingxi away, leaving him with a: ?

Aunt Wang hurriedly said, "Second Young Master! Stay away from this brat, or he might pass his illness on to you!"

Tang Mingxi: ...

Now he understood just how low Ye Heng's status in the Tang Family was.

Aunt Wang hesitated for a moment before asking, "Second Young Master, what should we do now?"

What else could they do? The protagonist was about to die! Of course they had to give him some medicine and bring down his fever first!

Tang Mingxi said, "Aunt Wang, go fetch a basin of water."

Aunt Wang froze, then suddenly understood. "I get it, Second Young Master!"

Watching Aunt Wang happily run off, Tang Mingxi: ...?

What exactly did you get?

In less than twenty seconds, Aunt Wang returned carrying a basin of ice water.

Tang Mingxi was dumbfounded. After choking on his words for a while, he paused for several seconds before asking, "Why did you bring cold water?"

Aunt Wang said, "Wasn't that what you ordered, Second Young Master? Please step aside. I understand—we'll splash Ye Heng awake and make him keep kneeling!"

Tang Mingxi remained expressionless. ...You're so brutal, Aunt Wang.

Could you please stop doing reading comprehension on everything I say?!

Wait! Was this how he usually dealt with Ye Heng? The hatred meter was being built up far too steadily.

"Did you misunderstand something?" Tang Mingxi pressed a hand to his forehead and quickly came up with an excuse. "He fainted in my room. If you splash him with cold water and he dies, what then? If Big Brother hears about it, he'll scold me for no reason again. Wang Ma, are you harboring ulterior motives? Are you deliberately trying to harm me?"

For that last sentence, Tang Mingxi lowered his voice, putting on an arrogant air as he swiftly turned the accusation around.

Aunt Wang's face went pale with fright. "Second Young Master! I didn't! I truly didn't!"

Tang Mingxi immediately softened his tone. "I know you wanted to vent my anger for me. There will be plenty of chances later. Why cause trouble at Tang Family Manor?"

Still, the urgent matter was getting Ye Heng onto a bed first.

He definitely could not lie on Tang Mingxi's bed. In the original novel, Tang Mingxi loathed Ye Heng, so although they were engaged, they had always slept in separate rooms.

With his personality, there was no way he would let Ye Heng touch his bed.

So, Tang Mingxi planned to move Ye Heng back to his own room.

Once Tang Mingxi made up his mind, he bent down, slid both arms beneath Ye Heng, and heaved upward... heaved! Heaved!!

Heaved... but failed to lift him.

Tang Mingxi stared expressionlessly at Ye Heng's face and fell into a subtle silence.

He didn't look like he had much flesh on him... Could he be the type who looked skinny in clothes but was all muscle underneath?!

Besides, why could he not even carry a minor?!

He suddenly began missing the six-pack abs he had before transmigrating.

Aunt Wang cautiously said, "Second Young Master, how about I do it?"

Tang Mingxi's ears reddened slightly as he stepped aside.

Aunt Wang bent down, and her thick, powerful arms instantly lifted Ye Heng.

Tang Mingxi was stunned. Wang Ma, you're incredible!

Five minutes later, standing at the door of this so-called "room," Tang Mingxi's worldview was shattered once more.

Ye Heng lived in a storage room beside the stables, a container pieced together from several movable panels, guaranteed to be freezing in winter and sweltering in summer.

The room was less than ten square meters and divided into two sections. There was a small bed about 1.2 meters wide, which was really just a raised wire mesh frame. It had a thin bedsheet, a summer quilt, and some clothes piled on top. Ye Heng had probably taken out every bit of warmth he owned and placed it on the bed.

The other half of the room was piled with cleaning supplies for the stables,

and some discarded tools.

It was filthy, messy, and rundown.

Tang Mingxi could not even bring himself to step inside.

"...Let's change rooms."

Tang Mingxi felt inexplicably guilty as he pressed a hand to his forehead and spoke.

Following Tang Mingxi's instructions, Aunt Wang fetched fresh hot water, hot towels, and various common fever medicines.

Tang Mingxi soaked a towel in hot water, then waited for it to cool slightly before placing it on Ye Heng's forehead to lower his temperature.

Half-asleep, Ye Heng could only vaguely sense that someone was taking care of him.

Then he was helped upright and drowsily swallowed the fever medicine.

A faint sweet fragrance lingered beneath his nose, impossible to disperse.

So warm...

Ye Heng struggled to open his eyes, but he could only see a blurred figure.

A faint section of red string hung around that person's slender neck.

Tang Mingxi had just finished and risen to his feet when someone announced outside the door, "Second Young Master, the Young Master has returned!"

The Young Master? Tang Mingxi froze.

Hurried footsteps already sounded in the corridor, then the door was pushed open with great force.

A handsome young man, dusty from travel, stood at the entrance. His gaze first fell on Tang Mingxi, then on Ye Heng.

Seeing the bruises on Ye Heng's face, the newcomer finally snapped, "Second Brother, don't take things too far!"

A name reflexively sprang into Tang Mingxi's mind: Tang Nuo!

This young man was the Tang Family's Young Master!

At the same time, he was Ye Heng's close friend in the original novel.

Thanks

Although Tang Mingxi and Tang Nuo were biological brothers, they did not look very alike because they had different mothers.

Tang Nuo, standing at the door, had delicate features and a clean, clear temperament, as cool and bright as moonlight.

Tang Mingxi, on the other hand, had strikingly gorgeous features, bold and flamboyant in appearance, with a beautiful face that looked born to stir up trouble.

Tang Nuo's forceful entrance woke Ye Heng on the bed.

The warm, dry bedding and the spacious, bright room left Ye Heng stunned for several seconds.

Tang Nuo frowned. "Second Brother, I know you've always disliked Ye Heng. But tonight is the Tang Family's annual gathering. No matter how much you dislike him, you still have to take him with you. Why did you have to hit Ye Heng so hard?"

Tang Mingxi also remembered that the Tang Family held its annual gathering once a year, and everyone in the family had to attend.

Aunt Wang was the first to break the silence. "Young Master Tang, this is our Second Young Master's family matter. Aren't you, an outsider, meddling a little too much?"

Tang Mingxi and Tang Nuo had never gotten along very well since childhood. On top of that, Tang Nuo's status as an illegitimate child had always made him unwelcome in the Tang Family.

As Second Young Master's servant, Aunt Wang naturally did not show Tang Nuo much kindness.

Tang Nuo's good temper meant that he usually did not argue with servants, so he tolerated Aunt Wang's offense.

Tang Mingxi sat calmly and said in an unconcerned tone, "I know my limits. I won't beat him to death. Besides, even if I did beat him to death, the Tang Family couldn't do anything to me."

—Of course, the iron fist of the law would mercilessly knock me down, Tang Mingxi silently added in his heart.

Hearing his contemptuous words about human life, Ye Heng could not help curling his lips in a derisive sneer.

Tang Mingxi's animal instincts were exceptionally sharp. He immediately felt as though two icy blades had been pressed against his back, sending a chill through his body.

When he turned around, Ye Heng still wore that cold, coffin-like expression. Tang Mingxi's instinctive memories immediately presented him with his final ending.

The freezing seawater, the agonizing pain of sharks tearing into him, endless...