Back to the Flower House

Shi Yuan got into the car and buckled his seat belt before bringing up Fan You with Wei Zelin.

"Do you remember when we went to S City in October? I went with you to Magic Cube Technology's reception, and there was a waiter being bullied. I spoke to him, too."

Wei Zelin started the car. Its headlights dispelled the darkness as he gently turned the steering wheel. "I think I remember that."

"That man just now was the waiter," Shi Yuan said.

"Then shouldn't he be in S City?" Wei Zelin took a small box of chocolates from the center console and handed it to Shi Yuan.

Shi Yuan opened the box and ate a small piece. A faint bitterness mingled with its sweet, smooth flavor.

"Exactly. Shouldn't he be in S City? How could it be such a coincidence that he came to Capital City right after we returned, and happened to move in next door?" Shi Yuan said thoughtfully.

Wei Zelin's lips curved. "Quite a coincidence." His wife might be kind, but he wasn't stupid.

Of course Shi Yuan wasn't stupid. He had even taken the incident to heart and begun to feel wary of Fan You.

You Gui had suffered because she overestimated other people's morals. Shi Yuan himself had little worth scheming for, but Wei Zelin's position in the Wei Family was extremely precarious, like walking a tightrope on one foot. If Shi Yuan couldn't help him, he could at least avoid holding him back.

Unlike the previous occasions when they had been summoned to eat at the Flower House while living under someone else's roof, the ornate, old-fashioned gates opened automatically as soon as their car reached the Manor's entrance. They drove straight to the Flower House without obstruction.

"We're parking here?" Shi Yuan asked in surprise. There were no parking spaces outside the Flower House, only a path paved with some unknown precious stone and a soft, neatly trimmed lawn. Whatever variety of grass it was, it remained tender and green even in the depths of winter, and their car was ruthlessly crushing it.

Wei Zelin didn't hurry to get out. His hands remained on the steering wheel. With the headlights off, the faint pinpricks of light from the lawn lamps couldn't reach inside the car. Shrouded in darkness, he spoke in his usual calm voice. "Yuanyuan, would you believe me if I said we could go even further? How would you like to pay them back for the grievances you suffered before?"

Even though Shi Yuan couldn't see his expression or hear any change in his tone, he could sense Wei Zelin's inner turmoil. He was human, after all, not a god. People had emotions and desires, weaknesses and hopes. Even Wei Zelin, who had always kept his edge concealed, might still carry wounds from his childhood that had never healed.

Shi Yuan turned to look at him with concern.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Only after a long while did Wei Zelin notice Shi Yuan's silence, further proving that his state of mind had been off. He had been caught in some emotion he couldn't escape.

Shi Yuan drew his large hand into his arms and said earnestly, "I've never doubted your abilities, not from the start. I also guessed you'd probably already begun planning something. But Wei Zexuan is arrogant, domineering, and has no regard for human life. Both father and son are so underhanded. We should still avoid clashing with them and be careful."

When Wei Zelin remained silent, Shi Yuan added, "Besides, I didn't really suffer any grievances. They fed me, anyway." The lifeless atmosphere in the car grew lively again.

Wei Zelin understood that Shi Yuan was being so cautious for his sake. Hearing him keep saying "we," he let out a contented breath.

"All right. I'll listen to you." He would let Shi Yuan enjoy a peaceful New Year.

Hearing the car, the butler came out to greet them. He ignored the crushed lawn, a practiced smile on his face.

"Eldest Young Master, Young Madam, please come inside."

Shi Yuan's mouth twitched. What the hell was "Young Madam"?

It was the first time since transmigrating that anyone had addressed him so respectfully, and it made him uncomfortable all over.

Wei Zelin led him inside by the hand. The Flower House was as lavish as ever, and the people inside were the same as before. The only difference was that a few hypocritical smiles now adorned a once-arrogant face-Wei Ming's alone.

Wei Wanwan had long known Wei Zelin wouldn't side with her and her son. Perhaps her son's release from prison also made her feel that her pillar of support had returned. The worn-out exhaustion of a betrayed middle-aged woman had vanished, and the arrogance of the Wei Family's eldest daughter had returned to her face. Her cold gaze held undisguised loathing.

Naturally, most of her hostile looks were directed at Wei Ming and the mistress beside him, Lin Qingxue.

After Shi Yuan and Wei Zelin entered, the two sides were still trading heated insults.

Wei Zexuan did most of the attacking. He had lost considerable weight, and even his cheeks had hollowed, making him look more spiteful.

"If I remember correctly, my grandfather left this house to my mother... Why haven't you taken your mistress and bastards and gotten out? You still have the nerve to shamelessly stay here? Who gave you that courage?"

He drew out his words, unable to conceal the malice in them.

Wei Ming's face turned livid. "I raised you for over twenty years, and this is how you speak to me?"

He had expected Wei Zexuan to cause trouble and resist, but never imagined he would dare break with him completely. Their twenty-odd years as father and son weren't a sham, after all. As long as Wei Zexuan fully supported him, wouldn't he receive a share of the company after Wei Ming died?

This son is a lost cause...

Clutching his chest, Wei Ming made a show of beckoning to Wei Zelin, who had been watching the spectacle from the doorway for some time.

"Zelin, come here. Since your brother is determined to stand against us, everything Dad has will be yours in the future."

Lin Qingxue, who had been silently huddling off to one side with the children in her arms, suddenly looked up at him, then quietly lowered her head again.

Wei Zelin had put on that hypocritical smile the moment he entered. Shi Yuan wanted to say they really were father and son-their genes were powerful, and each was more hypocritical than the other. But remembering that one of them was his husband suddenly made it feel strange. He wanted to laugh but feared making a sound, so he followed Wei Zelin to stand behind Wei Ming with a contorted expression.

Wei Zelin silently declared his allegiance.

"My dear brother, you really can swallow anything. Have you forgotten how that old bastard used to treat you?"

Wei Zexuan sneered. "It's one thing for us to fight this out. What makes you think someone like you is qualified to get involved?"

Any random shareholder or managerial talent in the company mattered far more than Wei Zelin. Wei Zexuan and his mother didn't take him seriously at all.

Strictly following his beloved's advice, Wei Zelin acted as though Wei Zexuan wasn't talking about him. Without a word, he thoughtfully hung up the coat Shi Yuan had taken off.

Shi Yuan was even less inclined to respond. He secretly took out his phone to chat with You Gui.

Shi Yuan: "We're here. That psycho Wei Zexuan is even more of a psycho after getting out of prison!"

On the other end, You Gui was a little worried about Shi Yuan.

You Gui: "He hasn't done anything to you, has he? Don't get involved in their family's business."

Shi Yuan: "Don't worry, don't worry. Father and son are at each other's throats. Nobody's paying attention to me."

Shi Yuan sent another message.

Shi Yuan: "Things are getting really heated. A whole room of psychos competing over their acting skills!"

Seeing him typing away enthusiastically, Wei Zelin casually glanced at his screen...

"Psychos?"

"Does that include me?"

"Yuanyuan..."

Expressionlessly, Shi Yuan slipped his phone into his pocket and ignored its faint vibrations. He clung to Wei Zelin's arm with both hands, rose onto his toes, and brought his lips close to his ear, coaxing softly, "Of course you're different from them. You're my precious sweetheart!"

After saying that in a soft, husky voice, he couldn't help laughing before Wei Zelin could even react.

Wei Zelin pinched and kneaded his cheek, teasing him. "Your precious sweetheart?"

Lin Qingxue, standing in front of them, also heard the sappy declaration. Her gaze drifted back to the side, hoping to see Wei Zelin's reaction, only to meet a pair of icy eyes that held a clear warning.

Lin Qingxue looked away and lowered her head, pressing a hand over her wildly pounding heart.

Already unhappy, Wei Zexuan grew displeased at the sight of their merriment.

"Shi Yuan, enjoying yourself? Looks like I did a good job playing matchmaker for you two. My brother's good in bed, isn't he? I hear plenty of people at the company fancy him, too. Who knows how many people he's charmed with that face?"

How could Shi Yuan possibly believe his nonsense and start doubting Wei Zelin?

When he didn't respond, Wei Zexuan provoked him again with a mirthless smile. "Oh, right. When you have time, why don't I invite you both onto my family's cruise ship? Shi Yuan should be very familiar with it. Shame it's cold now. The seawater won't be as warm as it was back then."

Shi Yuan shuddered. Although the room was comfortably warm, over twenty degrees, a chill coursed through his body, raising goosebumps beneath his clothes. Four months had already passed, yet the terror of nearly dying in the deep sea remained vivid. Faced with the destructive forces of nature, human beings were undeniably small and fragile.

Standing close beside him, Wei Zelin immediately noticed the change. He reached over and, sure enough, took hold of a pair of cold, stiff hands.

Wei Zelin wrapped his broad hands around Shi Yuan's to warm them. When he looked up at Wei Zexuan again, his calm gaze had turned unfathomably dark.

No one could read the emotions within it.

I wanted to spend a peaceful New Year with Shi Yuan. But since they insist on courting death...

"Bring another chair." Wei Zelin's steady voice rang out.

Everyone in the room looked at him in surprise, including Shi Yuan. Only Lin Qingxue still had her head lowered, soothing the children in her arms.

Both children were well behaved, sitting quietly in their mother's arms, but they weren't close to Wei Ming.

Shi Yuan had noticed it last time. They were afraid of Wei Ming and usually clung to their mother.

Wei Zexuan laughed mockingly. "Ha! How hilarious. That old bastard sweet-talks you a little, and you really think you're the master of this house?"

Wei Ming was still puzzled by his eldest son's sudden command when his second son's words, "old bastard," left him panting with rage.

Yet the next moment, everyone watched as the butler, who had worked diligently in the old house for more than ten years, personally dragged over a chair upon hearing Wei Zelin's command without even calling a servant.

The Flower House's furniture was lavish and old-fashioned, made from heavy, aged wood. Yet now the butler's dizziness and aching back had vanished. His eagerness made him seem like an entirely different person from his usual rigid, meticulous self.

Wei Zelin put away the phone he had just used and gave the butler a look. Once the man obediently left the Flower House, he took the bewildered Shi Yuan and firmly pressed him into the chair, then lowered himself into a half crouch before him.

"Do you trust me?"

"I do," Shi Yuan said dazedly. Even the old butler, who had looked disgusted at any mention of Wei Zelin on Shi Yuan's first day with the Wei Family, had been won over. Was there anything Wei Zelin couldn't do?

"Good. Don't be scared in a moment. I'll be here through everything, all right?"

Wei Zelin's voice was tender enough to melt.

Some of Shi Yuan's unease faded, and he obediently nodded.

Having reassured Shi Yuan, Wei Zelin straightened and shielded him behind his body. He adjusted his glasses and lifted his chin slightly, the lines of his face gradually tightening. His superior height allowed him to look down on everyone present. His indifferent expression vanished, his gaze sharpening as his entire bearing suddenly changed.

"Wei Ming." Wei Zelin's low voice rang out.

Veins bulged on Wei Ming's forehead in anger. Both sons had addressed him by name, showing no respect for him as their father.

Wei Zexuan was one thing. He had half of the Wei Corporation and the late President Wei's connections behind him. But Wei Zelin relied on Wei Ming's protection; otherwise, he couldn't even step through the Flower House's doors. In truth, it wasn't just Wei Zexuan and Wei Wanwan-even his own father had never truly thought much of him.

He was trying to win Wei Zelin over now not because he was particularly valuable, but because he knew the Wei Corporation's head of finance was madly infatuated with him. He wanted to exploit that relationship.

His promise to leave the company to Wei Zelin after his death was pure bullshit. Not one person present, including Wei Wanwan, believed that nonsense.

"Zelin, if he isn't feeling well, you can go home first," Wei Ming said. By "he," he meant Shi Yuan. He had never regarded Shi Yuan as anyone of importance, and after the Shi Family's downfall, he thought even less of him. Sooner or later, he would make Wei Zelin enter another marriage alliance.

"Heh." Wei Zelin laughed.

"Since you invited us here, we certainly can't leave so easily."

Wei Ming narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

A sense of foreboding rose in him. Just then, Wei Zexuan's phone rang.

"What is it?"

"What did you say?"

"Impossible!"

Wei Zexuan shot up from the sofa, his face twisted as he screamed into the phone.

"Son, what happened?" Wei Wanwan couldn't sit still either.

"Director Qi is being investigated by the political commissar. His driver just called us in secret, asking us to put up money and find connections."

"How is that possible?" Wei Wanwan said in disbelief. "The election is coming up. His rival must have exposed him!"

Wei Zexuan tugged unconsciously at his hair and said in anguish, "If they've come to us, it means they're already preparing for the worst."

Wei Wanwan understood that, too. The Qi Family usually maintained an air of official superiority. When Wei Zexuan had been imprisoned, she had personally gone to beg Director Qi, and he hadn't even treated her kindly. Now he could only send his driver to contact them in secret.

"It's over. It's all over." Wei Wanwan slumped onto the sofa, her eyes vacant.

Director Qi headed a district in a directly administered municipality, but what sort of place was Capital City? A department-level director there wielded even more influence than one at the provincial level. Officials either acted as strictly as Director Ren, never leaving the slightest opening to be used against them, or they were like Director Qi, with an established family firmly supporting them from behind. The two sides complemented each other and helped each other succeed.

The Wei Family had begun cultivating ties with the powerful back in the days of its old chairman, Wei Wanwan's grandfather. They had spent more than half their fortune helping Director Qi reach his high position, and had nurtured countless lower-level officials beneath him. That was how they had remained standing for three generations in Capital City, a place overflowing with talent.

If Director Qi truly fell, what could those low-level officials accomplish? Even setting aside everything else, Director Qi's political enemies alone could make their lives a misery.

Their feud with Director Ren wasn't an isolated case. Had they offended any shortage of people over the years while pushing Director Qi into power?