Chapter 5

The Tang family would not concern itself with the life or death of a live-in son-in-law, much less care about his clothing size.

Ye Heng had been waiting for a while, and snow had already accumulated on his shoulders.

He opened the car door for Tang Mingxi, his expression indifferent. The wound on his face had yet to scab over, but the blood had been wiped clean.

After Tang Mingxi got in, he waited for a moment.

Yet Ye Heng did not follow him inside. Instead, he detachedly closed the car door for him.

However, his gaze swept over Tang Mingxi's collar. It was buttoned up tight, and his snow-white neck was bare, with nothing on it.

Before the gap in the car door could close, a distinctively jointed hand caught it in the middle.

Against the black car body, Tang Mingxi's hand appeared even fairer, like a piece of warm jade amid the snowy light.

"Wait." Tang Mingxi looked up at Ye Heng. "You're not getting in?"

A trace of mockery flashed through Ye Heng's eyes. Even the Bodyguard beside him looked surprised.

Tang Mingxi: ...

He instinctively felt that he had said something that did not fit the original owner's character settings. :)

Though puzzled, the Bodyguard bent down and said quietly, "Second Young Master, Mr. Ye has always attended banquets by himself."

Attended banquets alone? Did he even have a car? Confusion appeared on Tang Mingxi's face.

As far as he knew, Tang Family Manor was located in the outskirts of Ningcheng, halfway up a mountain in a wealthy villa district. The floor area ratio was less than 0.2, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with breathtaking scenery. That also meant there was no public transportation leading to Tang Family Manor.

And in the original novel, the male lead Ye Heng's only means of transportation in the early days, aside from his own legs, was an old bicycle.

Tang Mingxi slowly glanced at the heavy snowfall. Walking to the city center in this weather was practically suicidal.

His voice carried a hint of helplessness. "Get in."

Upon hearing this, the Bodyguard immediately barked, "Mr. Ye, if Second Young Master tells you to get in, then get in. Don't think we don't know what you're planning. Attending a banquet alone? Were you planning to crawl to the city center? You want to deliberately arrive late to the Tang Family's annual meeting and make Second Young Master lose face?"

Tang Mingxi, who had been about to speak: ??? Do all the Tang Family servants receive the same corporate culture training? Their comprehension skills were on par with Wang Ma's. :)

Ye Heng cast him a sidelong glance. Tang Mingxi closed his eyes and stubbornly completed this terrible excuse. "Sit in the front."

The Bodyguard immediately understood and snarled, "Didn't you hear Second Young Master? Get your ass in the front seat!"

Tang Mingxi blankly thought: ...He had already gotten used to the Tang Family's corporate culture.

There was no room for him to refuse.

Tang Mingxi had always been unpredictable in temperament, and Ye Heng was accustomed to it. It was not strange for him to suddenly decide to let him ride in the car.

Seeing him get in, Tang Mingxi let out a breath of relief.

The Bentley slowly drove out of Tang Family Manor. At the gate, Tang Nuo stood in the wind and snow with a frown.

"Third Young Master, are you getting in?" the Bodyguard reminded him.

Tang Nuo finally came back to himself, a flicker of displeasure passing through his heart. He had waited here specifically to hand Ye Heng a favor for free.

He had originally thought that his useless second brother would, just like in his previous life, abandon Ye Heng and go to the banquet alone. He vaguely remembered that Ye Heng had walked a full five kilometers before flagging down a taxi. In the end, he had collapsed with a high fever at the Tang Family's annual meeting and nearly died.

Tang Mingxi naturally would not care whether Ye Heng lived or died. He merely thought Ye Heng had made him lose face, so afterward he subjected him to another round of revenge and torment.

But after returning from rebirth, Tang Mingxi had become impossible for him to understand.

Tang Nuo bent down and got into the car. It did not matter if he could not understand him; he had already seized the initiative.

He was definitely going to hold tightly onto Ye Heng's thigh.

Though the Bentley's heater was on, Ye Heng's thin suit did little to help. His persistently feverish head made his breathing somewhat unsteady.

Tang Mingxi looked at him several times, his gaze settling on Ye Heng's suit jacket, which was too short by a section. Ye Heng noticed his gaze, but he had no energy to determine whether Tang Mingxi was plotting some new malicious scheme.

Ten minutes later, the business van stopped outside a mall. Just as Ye Heng was wondering why, the Bodyguard had already opened the door and led him inside to buy a suit.

Tang Mingxi calmly got out of the car and entered an Italian bespoke suit shop with the bearing of a young master.

There were no price tags. One could tell without thinking that the prices started at five figures and had no upper limit.

Ye Heng looked at him coldly, unable for the moment to guess what new humiliating trick Tang Mingxi had

come up with.

Tang Mingxi truly had no new humiliating trick. He sat openly on the sofa, crossing his legs unconsciously and resting his hands naturally on them. It was a habit of his, making him appear somewhat lazy without diminishing his charm.

Tang Mingxi had already learned not to speak. Sure enough, the next second, the Bodyguard immediately berated Ye Heng, perfectly explaining Tang Mingxi's strange behavior. "Who are you trying to embarrass by dressing like that? Second Young Master kindly brought you here to buy some clothes, and you still dare not answer him. Do you want people at the annual meeting to think our Second Young Master cannot afford a few outfits?"

Looks like he did not need to worry at all about breaking character!

No matter what he did, they could always rationalize it and construct a perfect image of him as a vicious scumbag.

God knew that he simply did not have a hobby of abusing minors. Ye Heng was wearing too little to withstand the cold, so he had only brought him here to buy a couple of outfits!

At this point, Tang Mingxi completely gave up on the idea of getting along with Ye Heng. He needed to stay away from him, and the sooner the better.

After a round of fussing, the shop assistants had Ye Heng wrapped up tightly. There were even tiny beads of sweat on the tip of his nose.

Perhaps because he had never been so close to an unfamiliar woman before, Ye Heng's body was visibly stiff and unnatural. Seeing this, Tang Mingxi could not help chuckling inwardly.

He was just an underage brat. Why did he have to keep a straight face all day, pretending to be cool and mature?

Once he had changed into the suit, Ye Heng's body gradually warmed up. The look he gave Tang Mingxi grew increasingly profound.

In the original novel, this brat's instincts had been exceptionally sharp. It was normal for Tang Mingxi to beat and scold him, but treating him well was like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—there had to be ulterior motives.

No panic. His acting just now had been decent. :)

As they got into the car, the teenager's voice was low and hoarse. "I'll pay you back."

"Pay me back?" Tang Mingxi realized Ye Heng meant the cost of this suit. As the Tang Family's second young master, he was not short of that little money.

He had wanted to say there was no need to repay him, but seeing Ye Heng's cold eyes, he remembered Tang Mingxi's personality and sighed inwardly. "Whatever."

Hearing that, the Bodyguard hurriedly added, "Heh, you think you need to pay it back? Second Young Master means he's just throwing scraps to a beggar!"

Ye Heng's face darkened.

Tang Mingxi: ...

Why, thank you. :)

The Tang Family's annual meeting was held in a discreet, upscale private mansion in the city center. It was held once a year and was not open to the public.

By the time Tang Mingxi arrived, the parking lot was already filled with luxury cars worth millions. The Bodyguard opened the door. Tang Mingxi walked in front, Ye Heng behind him. Neither too close nor too far apart, the two entered the mansion like strangers.

With a cold expression, Ye Heng consciously took the umbrella from the Bodyguard and held it over Tang Mingxi.

Though the heavy black umbrella was large, Tang Mingxi noticed it was tilted to shield only him. Snow had already accumulated on Ye Heng's shoulders, and the teenager's lips had turned pale from the cold.

Tang Mingxi: ...

There was no need to take the initiative to abuse himself like this.

Given his position, he could not take the initiative to push the umbrella toward Ye Heng.

But Ye Heng had not fully recovered from his high fever. If he kept getting soaked like this, not even an iron body could endure it.

Tang Mingxi's heart was not made of iron either. He could only raise his voice. This time, before the Bodyguard could speak, he arrogantly shoved Ye Heng. "Who allowed you to hold an umbrella for me? You're still sick, yet you insist on coming near me. Are you trying to get me killed?"

However, without the Bodyguard's booming voice, it sounded more like a lover throwing a tantrum and acting spoiled.

Ye Heng staggered from the shove and nearly fell. The teenager looked up at him, his eyes calm and unruffled, as though he had already grown accustomed to Tang Mingxi's attacks.