Hua Jian had no idea that his internal grumbling had disrupted the book's plot.
If Lu Zexi hadn't heard his thoughts, he would have fallen for Shu Yao at first sight at UP that night.
He would also have asked Brother Shen about Shu Yao's identity.
When Shu Yao visited UP again, Lu Zexi would have found a way to get to know him, then helped him escape disaster when Shu Yan drugged him.
The romantic first encounter between the bottom protagonist and his devoted, fawning top had been inadvertently ruined by Hua Jian.
When he returned to his apartment that night, he didn't rush to bed.
He started another livestream and spent an unknown amount of time painting in his studio. Only when the vague gloom in his chest finally dissipated did he stretch languidly.
The camera was behind him, showing his back on the stream. After painting all that time, he slowly raised both hands, making his pajamas ride up and briefly reveal his lean waist.
He quickly lowered his arms and turned halfway around, seemingly only then remembering the livestream behind him.
[Holy shit... This is ridiculous. This guy's legs are that long?]
[You scared me when you suddenly stood up, streamer.]
[Followed. Calling dibs on this hottie, hehe. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs.]
Plenty of night owls were still awake, and when Hua Jian started the stream, he hadn't realized he had accidentally enabled the "local" option.
Local and nearby recommendations brought a steady flow of viewers into his stream, only for them to leave again.
He painted for an hour and a half, with a dozen or so viewers remaining at the end.
Hua Jian casually glanced at the comments and said evenly, "Thanks for watching. See you next stream."
Without pausing even a second after that, he ended the stream.
He had gained twenty followers during this stream. Hua Jian opened his follower list and examined them one by one.
Finally, among the last few names, he spotted a username: L.
"Could it be him?"
Hua Jian opened L's profile. There was nothing written on it.
A default avatar, no location, no bio, and one followed account-Hua Jian's.
In the original novel, Shu Yao had an extraordinarily resourceful "friend."
The book rarely described him directly, only mentioning that this "friend" was someone Shu Yao had met online while livestreaming his painting.
They appreciated each other online: one loved painting, and the other understood it.
Shu Yao shared his life, his troubles, his joys, and his love life with him.
When "Hua Jian" offended Shu Yao, this "friend" helped Shu Yao find evidence that "Hua Jian" had deliberately harmed someone, then helped him bring down the Xie Family.
It was fair to say that Shu Yao and his few fawning suitors alone could never have taken Xie Zhiwei down so easily.
Hua Jian didn't know whether he could change the plot, but he wanted to try.
After all, Xie Zhiwei was a pretty decent guy. He had given him a hundred thousand in spending money.
"Ah, for the money's sake, I'll make an effort to befriend this L online. If he isn't Shu Yao's 'friend,' don't blame me for not helping."
With a tap of his finger, he and L became mutual followers.
Egret River Villa District, in the southern outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
After returning home, Bo Lin first showered to wash away the smell of smoke and alcohol, then went to Qi Fanling's room.
The little girl lay nestled in her soft, large bed, her cheeks rosy with sleep. Bo Lin's expression softened as he covered her exposed little belly and kissed her forehead.
Qi Fanling was sound asleep and noticed nothing.
As he was leaving, Bo Lin spotted a painting on the easel beside the door.
The brushwork was simple and fluid. Its subject was a little girl, presumably Qi Fanling.
In the blank space at the lower right was a somewhat crudely drawn UFO.
Qi Fanling clearly liked it very much. She had even placed one of her favorite stickers in the corner of the painting.
Bo Lin looked away and opened the door. The light from the hallway gradually dwindled over the painting, and soon the room was plunged into darkness again.
His room was at the far end of the second floor, a suite with both a study and a bedroom.
The alcohol he had drunk at Lu Zexi's place that night had quite a kick. He wasn't sleepy at all, so he decided to do some more work.
For some reason, though, he felt uncomfortable, unable to settle whether sitting or standing.
He glanced up at the silent climate-control system, set down the documents in his hands, and got up to open the window.
A late-night summer breeze swept in, dispelling his restlessness. He leaned against the windowsill and looked into the distance.
Egret River Villa District was far removed from the bustle and noise of the Imperial Capital. His lighter clicked, and he lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.
In the stillness, his phone suddenly chimed.
He glanced over indifferently. It was a notification from a livestreaming platform Lu Zexi had recently acquired.
Bo Lin held a thirty-five percent stake in it.
When they acquired it, Bo Lin had downloaded the app while he was at it. Occasionally, he opened it to check its recommendations.
He picked up his phone and tapped the notification. The app loaded quickly, and a livestream popped up.
The streamer was less than ten kilometers away. The content was neither noisy nor vulgar; he was painting.
A young man in a white shirt showed a long neck and slender back. The jawline occasionally revealed as he painted was exquisitely defined.
That quiet atmosphere kept Bo Lin's finger hovering over the close button.
After finishing his cigarette, Bo Lin grew bored. Just as he was about to close the stream, the person on-screen suddenly moved.
A lean waist flashed into view, followed by legs that filled the camera frame as he stood. The few dozen viewers suddenly grew excited.
All at once, more comments flooded the screen.
Bo Lin raised an eyebrow and glanced at them, then heard the streamer speak.
"Thanks for watching. See you next stream."
The voice, somewhere between a boy's and a man's, finished speaking. The final image lingered on the streamer's prominent Adam's apple, but before Bo Lin could look closely, the screen went black. The stream had ended.
Bo Lin's finger paused, then accidentally landed on the red button.
[Thanks for following: Ordinary Great Painter]
Whatever. He had followed him, so be it. He wouldn't watch again anyway.
After a cigarette and some fresh air, most of Bo Lin's restlessness had dissipated.
As he lay in bed and gradually grew sleepy, the thought he had suppressed resurfaced.
Xie Zhiwei was probably a bottom, just like him, right?
On Friday, Hua Jian received a call from Xie Zhiwei just after his last class ended.
"Big brother, you wanted me?"
"I'm at your school's south gate. Let's have lunch."
He hung up as soon as he finished, giving Hua Jian no chance to refuse.
He had a lesson with Qi Fanling at two, and it was now eleven forty-five. Calculating the time, Hua Jian hurried toward the south gate.
From Imperial University to the restaurant, Hua Jian and Xie Zhiwei didn't exchange a word, because Xie Zhiwei was on the phone the entire time.
Xie Zhiwei listened intently, and Hua Jian picked up a few clues from his occasional replies.
I get it now.
Xie Zhiwei's call was nearly finished when he suddenly heard the young man beside him.
He looked over without betraying anything. The young man was gazing out the window, but thoughts kept pouring out of his head.
Interest flickered in Xie Zhiwei's eyes. Last time, this young man had helped Zhiyan find that surveillance footage, doing him a huge favor.
Could he know about things beyond their family affairs, too?
Isn't this the first scheme that led to the Xie Family's bankruptcy?
The smile on Xie Zhiwei's face instantly froze.
Xie Zhiwei approached Lu Zexi about working together, but Lu Zexi refused because it required too much working capital. The Xie Family also had several new projects that needed funding, so Xie Zhiwei had no choice but to agree to work with Shen Ling.
"Mr. Xie, are you still listening? Would signing the contract with Mr. Shen this afternoon work for you? Mr. Shen's finance team said that once the contract is signed, an initial two billion can reach our corporate account today. Mr. Xie? Hello?"
The questions coming through the phone sounded distant.
Hua Jian grew angrier as his thoughts continued.
Normally, Xie Zhiwei would be right to do this-find several capable partners. After all, you can't put all your eggs in one basket. The problem is that Shen Ling is rotten. He invested two billion in the project on the very first day of their partnership. It looked like he was solving the Xie Family's urgent crisis, but he was actually dragging them straight into a death trap!
Who could have guessed that Shen Ling was nothing more than a castoff of the Shen Family, and that his two billion was all illicit money from overseas! Ah! The poor Xie Family, screwed over by that bastard Shen Ling...
Xie Zhiwei's head buzzed.
For this project, he naturally considered Lu Zexi the ideal partner.
But just two days earlier, Lu Zexi had told Xie Zhiwei that he and his business partner, Bo Lin, weren't particularly interested in the project.
Xie Zhiwei had been disappointed, but he had expected it.
Just then, Shen Ling, from the second branch of the wealthy Shen Family in the Imperial Capital, had approached him with an interest in working together.
He had no fondness for a rich wastrel like Shen Ling.
But Shen Ling repeatedly insisted that he would only provide the money and take no part in business operations. Only then had Xie Zhiwei looked into his background.
Just half an hour earlier, he had parted ways with Shen Ling after agreeing to sign the contract that afternoon.
But how did Hua Jian know about these confidential matters?
"Big brother, are you okay? You look terrible."
Hua Jian frowned and opened the window a little.
Xie Zhiwei stared at Hua Jian, his expression unreadable.
Hua Jian looked puzzled. "Big brother?"
They reached the restaurant just then. As the car stopped, Hua Jian heard Xie Zhiwei say quietly, "Get out and eat by yourself. I have something to take care of."
"Huh?"
A minute later, Hua Jian had been abandoned in the parking lot of a private kitchen restaurant, watching Xie Zhiwei's car drive off.
"Is he nuts?" Hua Jian scratched his head irritably. "He asked me to lunch, then ditched me..."
Ding.
His phone chimed. Hua Jian opened it with a bitter scowl, only for his eyes to widen.
[Imperial Capital Bank] On xx/x/x, Sun xx transferred 100,000.00 yuan into your account ending in 9966. Your balance is 168,349.18 yuan.
He immediately beamed. "Pfft, Xie Zhiwei isn't nuts. I am. Tsk, tsk, tsk. A hundred thousand in spending money for getting stood up? What a deal! What a deal!"
Before you continue