No one in the family cared whether a live-in son-in-law lived or died, much less bothered with his clothing size.
Ye Heng had been waiting for a while already, and snow had gathered 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 filthy blood had been wiped clean.
After Tang Mingxi got in, he waited for a moment.
Yet Ye Heng did not follow him in. Instead, he coldly closed the car door for him.
His gaze merely swept over Tang Mingxi's collar. The buttons were fastened tight, and his snow-white neck was bare, with nothing on it.
Before the car door had fully shut, a slender, well-defined hand caught it in the gap.
Against the black car body, Tang Mingxi's hand looked even fairer, like a piece of Warm Jade beneath 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, and even the Bodyguard beside him looked surprised.
Tang Mingxi: ...
He instinctively felt as though he had said something that did not fit the original owner's character. :)
Though puzzled, the Bodyguard bent down and said softly, "Second Young Master, Mr. Ye has always gone to banquets alone."
Going alone? Did he even have a car? A confused expression 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. Its floor area ratio was under 0.2, nestled against the mountains and water with breathtaking scenery. That also meant there was no public transportation to Tang Family Manor.
And in the original novel, aside from his own two legs, the male lead Ye Heng's only mode of transportation in the early days was a battered old bicycle.
Tang Mingxi slowly glanced at the snow filling the sky. Walking to the city center in this weather would kill someone, wouldn't it?
His voice carried a touch 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. Going to the banquet alone? Were you planning to crawl to the city center? You want to deliberately be late for the Tang Family annual meeting and embarrass Second Young Master?"
Tang Mingxi, who had been about to speak: ??? Did all the Tang Family servants receive the same corporate culture training?! Their comprehension skills were on par with Wang Ma's. :)
Ye Heng glanced sideways. Tang Mingxi closed his eyes and forced himself to finish making up this lousy excuse. "Sit in the front."
The Bodyguard immediately understood and snarled, "Didn't you hear Second Young Master? Get your ass up front!"
Tang Mingxi went numb. ...He was already getting used to the Tang Family's corporate culture.
There was no room in his words for refusal.
Tang Mingxi had always been temperamental and unpredictable, so Ye Heng was no stranger to it. It was not unusual for Tang Mingxi 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 amid the wind and snow, frowning.
"Third Young Master, are you getting in?" the Bodyguard reminded him.
Only then did Tang Nuo come back to his senses. A flicker of displeasure crossed his heart. He had waited here specifically to hand Ye Heng a favor on a silver platter.
He had originally thought that his useless second brother would, just like in his previous life, leave Ye Heng behind and go to the banquet alone. He vaguely remembered that Ye Heng had walked a full five kilometers before hailing a taxi. In the end, he had collapsed from a high fever at the Tang Family annual meeting and nearly died.
Tang Mingxi naturally would not care whether Ye Heng lived or died. He merely felt humiliated himself, and afterward took it out on Ye Heng with 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 advantage.
He would definitely cling tightly to Ye Heng's thigh.
Although the Bentley's heater was on, it did little against Ye Heng's thin suit. His feverish mind made his breathing somewhat unsteady.
Tang Mingxi looked at him a few times, his gaze landing on the suit jacket that was too short by an inch. Ye Heng noticed his stare, but lacked the energy to figure out whether Tang Mingxi was plotting some new mischief.
Ten minutes later, the business vehicle stopped outside a shopping 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 got out calmly and strode into an Italian bespoke suit shop with the air of a young master.
There were no price tags. One could tell at a glance that the prices started at five figures, with 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 trick to humiliate him with. He sat openly on the sofa, unconsciously crossing his legs and resting his hands naturally on them. It was a habitual pose of his, making him look somewhat languid 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 can't afford a few sets of clothes?"
Looks like there was no need to worry about breaking character at all!
No matter what he did, they could always rationalize it and build him into the perfect image of a vicious scumbag.
God knew, he simply did not have a hobby of abusing minors. He saw that the male lead was underdressed and unable to withstand the cold, so he had brought him over to buy a couple of outfits!
Since things had come to this, Tang Mingxi completely gave up on the idea of getting on Ye Heng's good side. He needed to stay away from Ye Heng, and the sooner the better.
After all the fuss, the shop assistants had bundled Ye Heng up tightly. Tiny beads of sweat even formed on the tip of his nose.
Perhaps because he had never been this close to an unfamiliar woman before, Ye Heng's body was visibly stiff and unnatural. Seeing it, Tang Mingxi could not help chuckling inwardly.
He was just an underage brat. Why did he spend all day with a straight face, trying to act cool and mature?
After changing into the suit, warmth gradually returned to Ye Heng's body, and the look he gave Tang Mingxi grew increasingly profound.
In the original novel, this kid's instincts had been exceptionally sharp. Tang Mingxi hitting and cursing him was normal, but treating him well was like a weasel paying respects to a chicken—there had to be an ulterior motive.
No panic. His acting just now had been pretty good. :)
When they got into the car, the youth's voice was low and hoarse. "I'll pay you back."
"Pay me back?" Tang Mingxi realized that Ye Heng meant the cost of this suit. As the Tang Family's Second Young Master, he was hardly short on this little bit of money.
He had wanted to say there was no need to repay him, but when he saw Ye Heng's cold gaze and remembered Tang Mingxi's personality, he sighed inwardly. "Whatever."
Hearing that, the Bodyguard hurriedly added, "Heh, of course you need to pay him back. Second Young Master means he was just tossing a few scraps to a beggar!"
Ye Heng's face darkened.
Tang Mingxi: ...
Why, thank you. :)
The Tang Family annual meeting was held in a discreet, high-end private residence in the city center. It was held once a year and was not open to the public.
When Tang Mingxi arrived, the parking spaces were already filled with many luxury cars worth millions. The Bodyguard opened the door. Tang Mingxi walked in front and Ye Heng behind him, neither too close nor too far apart, like strangers as they entered the residence.
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 that it was tilted to shield him entirely. Snow had already piled on Ye Heng's shoulders, and the cold had turned the youth's lips pale.
Tang Mingxi: ...
There was no need to be so proactive about abusing himself.
Given his position, he could not actively push the umbrella toward Ye Heng.
But Ye Heng had not fully recovered from his high fever. If he kept getting soaked like this, even an iron body would not be able to take 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 gave Ye Heng a rather haughty shove. "Who allowed you to hold an umbrella for me? You come near me when you're not even recovered from being sick—are you trying to get me killed?"
However, without the Bodyguard's booming voice, it sounded more like a lover petulantly acting spoiled.
Ye Heng staggered from the shove and nearly fell. The youth looked up at him, his gaze calm and unruffled, as though he had already grown accustomed to Tang Mingxi picking a fight with him.