...despair, and the indifferent expression that had finally settled on Ye Heng's face.
Tang Mingxi's face went pale. His stomach churned, and he wanted to vomit. To avoid making a scene, he hurriedly stood and rushed out of the room.
It looked as if Ye Heng's attitude had angered him enough to drive him away.
Seeing this, Aunt Wang shot Ye Heng a glare and spat, "You little bastard! Watch yourself!"
The door clicked shut from outside.
In an instant, only Ye Heng and Tang Nuo remained in the room.
In the silent room, Ye Heng was the first to break the silence. His cold gaze fell on Tang Nuo's neck, where a faintly visible red string hung.
It was like the one he had seen while half-awake earlier.
The boy's thin, cool lips parted, and he sparingly uttered two words: "Thank you."
Other than Tang Nuo, no one else in the Tang Family would treat him so well.
Ye Heng looked at him calmly. Both of them had been raised by the Tang Family.
Yet Tang Nuo was a hundred times better than that useless fool.
Tang Nuo paused slightly, seeming to hesitate over something. Then he let out a soft breath, put on a gentle smile, and accepted the sentiment. "We're family. There's no need for thanks. Don't be so formal with me."
He opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but Ye Heng had already braced himself and unsteadily climbed out of bed.
Tang Nuo instinctively reached out to support him. Though the boy had yet to fully grow into his looks, he was already more than half a head taller than Tang Nuo. His sharp brows and eyes already hinted at the handsome face he would have in the future.
Ye Heng avoided his hand and returned to his icy, detached demeanor—he had no goodwill toward anyone in the Tang Family.
Tang Nuo's hand froze in midair for a moment. He said gently, "Where are you going? Your fever is so severe. Why not lie down and rest a little longer?"
Where else could he go? Ye Heng sneered inwardly. Just because Tang Mingxi had smashed his brain and hadn't dragged him from the bed to throw him out earlier did not mean he could tolerate Ye Heng sleeping in the guest room forever.
Should he stay in bed and wait for Tang Mingxi to settle scores with him later?
Without a word, Ye Heng pulled open the door and disappeared down the corridor.
Tang Nuo took two steps after him, but finally stopped at the doorway. Staring at Ye Heng's retreating back, his gentle expression vanished in an instant. A few seconds later, it was replaced by the incredulous ecstasy of someone who had survived a disaster.
Seventeen-year-old Ye Heng!
Ye Heng, who had not yet become the helmsman of the Yunjing Ye family, the future demon who ruled both the underworld and the legitimate world—he was only seventeen now, still the Tang Family's live-in son-in-law!
Tang Nuo had never imagined that he would get to live another life!
Yes, Tang Nuo had been reborn.
In his previous life, Tang Nuo had clearly possessed brilliant methods and extraordinary talent for business, yet because he was an illegitimate son, he could never obtain the right to inherit the Tang Family's businesses. Meanwhile, his second brother, Tang Mingxi, an uneducated playboy who indulged in debauchery, had effortlessly obtained what Tang Nuo had strived for his entire life and never attained.
Not only that, after Tang Mingxi angered their eldest brother Tang Yun to death and gained the Tang Family's inheritance, he did not manage the family properly. Instead, he hollowed out the entire family's assets for gambling.
Even more terrifyingly, no one had expected that the poor boy who had married Tang Mingxi back then would turn out to be Ye Heng, the legitimate heir of the Yunjing Ye family!
After Ye Heng seized power, the first family he targeted was the Tang Family.
Tang Nuo would never forget how that nightmare of a man had forced every member of the Tang Family step by step onto the road to death.
Nor could he forget Tang Mingxi's eyes, wide open in death, as though he had seen something utterly horrifying just before he died.
The Tang Family was gone.
And Tang Nuo was the only one who survived. The reason was absurdly laughable—only because he had brought Ye Heng a cup of water when he had a fever.
But what was the point of surviving? His family, his eldest brother, the Tang Family—everything was gone!
Recalling everything from his previous life, a thin sheen of cold sweat broke out on Tang Nuo's fair cheeks.
He clutched his collar tightly and gasped for breath. Having been given another life, he absolutely could not let his fate repeat itself.
His useless second brother Tang Mingxi had contributed no little to the Tang Family's downfall. As long as he died—Tang Nuo's gaze darkened.
As long as Tang Mingxi died, and Tang Nuo firmly secured his relationship with Ye Heng, then once Ye Heng regained his identity as the Ye Family's heir, why would the Tang Family have to worry about not rising again?
He knew that in his previous life, Ye Heng's attitude toward him had differed from that toward everyone else. That was why Tang Nuo was confident in himself. A
Cup of hot water alone had made Ye Heng remember him so deeply. What reborn Tang Nuo could give him was far more than just a cup of hot water.
By then... Tang Nuo's heart pounded wildly. He would surely rise above the rest and make everyone look at him in a new light.
After Tang Mingxi returned to his room, he had Aunt Wang make him a bowl of ginger water to ward off the cold. Only then did he slowly let out a breath and begin sorting through the general plot of The City's Ultimate Live-in Son-in-Law.
In the original novel, shortly after Ye Heng turned eighteen, he returned to Cloud Capital, seized the Ye Family's inheritance, and then took only half a year to destroy the Tang Family completely.
There was only one year left until Ye Heng came of age.
Tang Mingxi analyzed the situation in utter despair: the ultimate reason Ye Heng had wiped out the Tang Family was Second Young Master Tang, the good-for-nothing himself. From the beginning to the end of the story, he had tormented the male lead to the utmost and firmly claimed ninety percent of the hatred.
By the time he had transmigrated here, the original owner had already offended Ye Heng beyond repair. The path of currying favor and clinging to him had been completely blocked.
Only one path remained: stay far away from Ye Heng!
But staying away from Ye Heng would not be so easy.
As the Tang Family's second young master, it would be easy for Tang Mingxi to leave the country. But as Ye Heng's influence expanded, let alone leaving the country, even if he hid on an astronaut space station, the male lead could drag him back and skin him alive.
He had to think of a way to stay away from Ye Heng while ensuring Ye Heng could search heaven and earth and still never find him!
Tang Mingxi racked his brains and pondered bitterly for half the day, but came up with nothing.
Aunt Wang set the ginger soup on the table and reminded him, "Second Young Master, there's still the annual meeting tonight."
Hearing that, Tang Mingxi sighed. He could only wait until after the annual meeting to slowly consider how to run away.
While changing clothes, he discovered that a red string still hung around his neck, hidden beneath his collar, with a piece of Warm Jade tied to its end.
Tang Mingxi had never liked wearing such accessories, and he made to take it off.
Seeing this, Aunt Wang curled her lip. "It's good that Second Young Master is taking it off. At least you won't be wearing the same thing as that lowly Tang Nuo."
As Tang Mingxi listened, Aunt Wang continued to complain, "The eldest young master really is something else. Those two pieces of jade were clearly gifts from the old master for you and him upon reaching adulthood. Who would have thought that on the day Tang Nuo, that illegitimate son, was acknowledged by the Tang Family, the eldest young master would give his jade to him? Such a fine thing—according to the old master, it was obtained from Spirit Blessing Temple and could ward off evil."
Ward off evil?
Tang Mingxi shuddered in alarm and hurriedly pulled off the red string.
He absolutely could not wear this thing! What if it really could ward off evil and one day scattered the soul of an otherworldly transmigrator like him?
Winter evenings came early. A dim, dark blue shroud covered the entire Tang Family Manor, while warm lights flickered on one after another.
Tang Mingxi changed into formal attire, draped a dark overcoat over it, and stepped out through the front doors.
The moment he appeared, the bodyguards efficiently opened a heavy black umbrella, shielding Tang Mingxi from the blizzard.
Not far away, a Bentley sedan was parked, with a tall bodyguard standing by its door.
Beside the bodyguard stood a seventeen-year-old boy in a thin suit. His expression was cold, and a layer of snow had already settled over his shoulders. It was Ye Heng.
The wind and snow raged, and the weather was bitterly cold.
Yet no one held an umbrella for him.
Chapter 4: Traveling Together
Tang Mingxi paused, his expression turning subtle. It's so cold. Why is he wearing so little?
Thinking of the clothes he had seen in Ye Heng's room, every piece had indeed been extremely thin. This suit also looked somewhat ill-fitting. Boys in the middle of their growth spurts grew quickly, seeming to gain a new height every day. Tang Mingxi estimated that Tang