Chapter 8

Tang Mingxi: ...

No wonder the hair on the back of his neck had stood on end!

He had helped the male lead just now, after all. Even if Ye Heng remembered grudges but not favors, he did not have to be such an ungrateful wretch :)

Ten minutes later, Tang Nuo finally arrived.

After greeting Tang Yun, he respectfully addressed Tang Mingxi. "Second Brother."

Then he gave Ye Heng a slight nod. At the same time, the bone-deep hatred in Ye Heng's eyes faded somewhat, replaced by a slightly gentler look.

Tang Mingxi watched it all and could not help sighing. As expected of the male lead's close friend in the original novel. His treatment was completely different from that of a scumbag cannon fodder like him.

After Tang Yu ran off, a seat among the main family relatives was left empty.

Ye Heng naturally took Tang Yu's former seat, drawing displeased looks from some people at the table.

Out of consideration for Tang Yun, they did not dare make any overt moves, but their petty tricks were endless.

Eleven sets of bowls and chopsticks were brought out, with only Ye Heng's set missing.

Ye Heng looked as though he was already used to it, sitting silently at the table.

Though starving and freezing, he would not grab the food with his hands. He did not want the Tang Family to laugh at him.

Tang Mingxi saw it and felt a little sorry for him.

Ever since Ye Heng entered the Tang Family home, he had never once eaten at the table under the torment of the original "Tang Mingxi."

He was either fobbed off with a few scraps of leftovers or forced to fill his stomach with cold water. Speaking of which, Tang Mingxi could not help feeling a little envious—worthy of being the male lead. Even eating leftovers, he had grown this tall.

Even so, the original owner had thought the humiliation insufficient and gave Ye Heng one hundred yuan in pocket money every day as if tossing alms to a beggar.

Anyone could guess that someone as proud as Ye Heng would never use that money.

After kneeling all afternoon, Ye Heng had been drenched by the heavy snow. His fever had not fully subsided, and his mind was now muddled. Being able to sit upright was already a blessing.

The Tang Family's cruelty at today's banquet was like spotting a dying stray dog by the roadside and stepping on it twice just to vent their own malice.

The male lead was suffering right in front of him, and Tang Mingxi truly... could not swallow his food.

Physically could not swallow it—after all, every hardship the male lead suffered today would become a blade stabbed into him in the future.

Tang Mingxi could practically see his own miserable end inside a shark's belly through Ye Heng's gloomy gaze.

He quietly let out a breath, then frowned and slammed his bowl and chopsticks onto the table impatiently. "Has the Tang Family gone bankrupt? What kind of chef did you hire? There isn't a single dish I like!"

The bowl and chopsticks clattered loudly. The porcelain chopsticks fell onto the banquet hall floor and snapped in two, and everyone at the table looked over.

Tang Yun, who was closest to him, said helplessly, "If the food doesn't suit your taste, have it taken away and replaced. Why throw a tantrum for no reason?"

In the original novel, Tang Mingxi's eldest brother, Tang Yun, had indulged his biological younger brother to the extreme, granting his every request. Even when Tang Mingxi threw a tantrum and acted outrageously at the annual meeting, Tang Yun had never gotten angry.

"I'm not eating it. Take it away and replace the whole table!" Tang Mingxi acted spoiled and arrogant, playing the role of a profligate young master to perfection.

Tang Yun raised his hand and instructed the attendants to clear the dishes. His gaze naturally fell on the space before Ye Heng, and only then did he notice that Ye Heng did not have any bowls or chopsticks.

Seeing this, Tang Nuo quickly seized the opportunity to speak, softly reprimanding the attendants. "How do you people do your jobs? You can even forget a set of bowls and chopsticks?"

The attendant's back turned cold. Everyone acted according to the mood of those above them; humiliating Ye Heng was as easy as drinking water.

They had simply not expected the Third Young Master to notice. Doing things behind the scenes was one thing, but once it was brought into the open, no one looked good.

Tang Yun glanced at Tang Nuo and said coldly, "The annual meeting is busy today, so there are bound to be oversights. Just make up for what was missed. It's New Year's—don't make trouble for yourself!"

Tang Nuo was scolded for no reason. He clenched his fists beneath the table, lowered his head in embarrassment, and lowered his lashes awkwardly. "...Eldest Brother is right."

Tang Mingxi looked at Tang Yun in surprise, thinking that his cheap brother really was hypocrisy incarnate.

He could act this outrageously and still remain safe, while Tang Nuo was given a barbed reprimand for saying a few words for Ye Heng. It was obvious that Tang Nuo was not particularly welcome in the Tang Family either. He and Ye Heng really did make quite a pair.

Ah, Tang Mingxi sighed. It was precisely Tang Yun's unconditional favoritism toward him that had made the "Tang Mingxi" of the original novel increasingly spoiled and arrogant, ultimately destroying the entire Tang Family.

Why was my life so miserable qvq?

The dishes were cleared and replaced. Tang Mingxi demanded porridge, forcing everyone at the entire table to eat bland, watery food with faces as green as vegetables, yet none of them dared voice their anger at him.

Only Ye Heng ate comfortably. His fever had not gone down, and he was still sick; the sight of chicken, duck, fish, meat, and other rich dishes made him nauseous.

A mouthful of hot porridge was just enough to warm the stomach he had left empty all day.

The youth ate very quickly. Tang Mingxi glanced at him and thought, No one's going to steal it from you. You can drink porridge that hot...?

But what he did not know was that Ye Heng had basically always had to fight for food in the Tang Family. He ate at the same table as the servants in the back kitchen, and if he ate too slowly, there would be nothing left for him. He would go hungry for the entire day.

" Tang Mingxi" had never been kind enough to save him dinner.

Still, seeing Ye Heng focus on eating without becoming suspicious of his sudden demand for plain porridge, Tang Mingxi breathed a sigh of relief.

After making such a huge fuss and even sacrificing his own reputation, all just to let the male lead have a bowl of hot porridge—if I'm not one of Ningcheng's Ten Most Touching People this year, would that be fair?

The following annual meeting segment was the reporting session.

Tang Mingxi and Tang Nuo each held a subsidiary company and had run them for a year. Tang Mingxi had lived up to expectations by running his subsidiary into the ground and piling up a mountain of debt.

Tang Nuo, meanwhile, had brought his subsidiary to the level of going public. His excellent financial reports made him the center of attention.

Gradually, murmurs and gossip rose in the banquet hall. When they reached Tang Nuo's ears, the corners of his lips could not help lifting slightly.

"Why does Second Tang even have the nerve to sit here? Isn't he only relying on his eldest brother?"

"I think the Tang Family may end up in Third Young Master's hands."

"Comparing people really makes you furious. Born of the same father, so why is the gap this huge?"

"He looks like a woman and even married a man. Isn't he embarrassed? If I were him, I'd rather die."

"If you ask me, he and that useless son-in-law are a good match."

Hearing those taunts, Tang Mingxi did not care: everyone would be killed by the male lead next year anyway :)

Ye Heng, on the other hand, curled his lips in mockery and gave Tang Mingxi a contemptuous glance.

Seeing how shameless he was, how he took pride in what he should have been ashamed of, made Ye Heng feel even more disgusted.

After hearing this, Tang Yun frowned slightly and comforted Tang Mingxi gently. "Don't listen to their sour remarks. You're still young, just a child. You have plenty of room to grow in the future."

Tang Mingxi nearly sprayed out his orange juice: ...A twenty-one-year-old child? Eldest Brother, wake up. What kind of filter is this?!

"Besides, with your brother here, you don't need to work hard. Your brother will protect you for the rest of your life."

Tang Mingxi did not know whether to laugh or cry. Thinking of Ye Heng's future methods, he complained inwardly: ...Thanks, Brother. Next year, we'll be walking the road to the underworld together.

After the brothers caught up for a while, the annual meeting came to an end.

Tang Yun's group returned to the old residence. The Bentley stopped at the gate, and Ye Heng had already gotten out of the car on his own, walking coldly toward the stables.

Tang Mingxi looked at the weather and felt somewhat conflicted. It's so cold, and the male lead still has a high fever. Can anyone even sleep in that cardboard shack beside the stables?

...Forget it. He would find an opportunity later to get Ye Heng inside to sleep.

Though he knew Ye Heng would kill him in the future, he could always run away in advance. At least for now, Tang Mingxi could not say he disliked Ye Heng.

Looking at Ye Heng's lonely, isolated back, Tang Mingxi felt a faint unease in his heart, as though he had forgotten something.