On the other end of the phone, the already spoiled young master immediately exploded.
"I'll be your dad! I'll keep your mom company!"
"Dumbass, if you're so good at pimping, why not rope in your whole family? Get everyone from the oldest to the youngest in on it, and that old bastard Zhou can ascend to heaven with all of you!"
Qi Bin gritted his teeth in fury. "Nan Qing, you're nothing now. You can't even afford a meal. I'm trying to help you out of the goodness of my heart!"
Nan Qing swore at him. "Take that shitty kindness of yours to the grave!"
Qi Bin tried to say something else, but he had barely gotten out a "You-" before the call was abruptly disconnected.
Those disgusting remarks had infuriated Nan Qing.
In all the years since he had transmigrated into the book, he had always been the one bullying others. No one had ever dared covet him.
Being disgusted by an ungrateful, biting wolf like Qi Bin was especially revolting.
Nan Qing felt his stomach churn.
Good thing he hadn't eaten breakfast, or he would have thrown up.
The pretty, delicate young master pursed his lips in anger. When he looked up, he met Huo Yuzhou's dark eyes.
There was no telling what the other man was thinking. His expression was somewhat complicated.
Nan Qing met his gaze, had a brief burst of anger that went nowhere, then sheepishly slid off Huo Yuzhou's lap.
Sure enough.
Even if a vicious cannon fodder didn't exit the story, he still had to get face-slapped.
He was now a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat, with neither status nor standing. Even his job was barely secure, and everyone wanted to bully him.
Huo Yuzhou raised his large, long-fingered hand.
But Nan Qing was like a wary little hedgehog, instantly bristling with every spine.
He glared at him with round, bright eyes, his lips vividly red.
"Are you going to hit me too?"
The next moment, the man's fingers settled gently against his back and patted him.
The touch was very light.
It was like when they had still lived in the same huge villa. Whenever the puffed-up young master threw a tantrum, the silent Huo Yuzhou would comfort him this way.
Nan Qing's defenses were like a ball punctured by a needle, all the anger deflating out of him.
That broad palm gently stroked his back. Perhaps because they were so close, Huo Yuzhou's voice was unusually low, and it even sounded somewhat gentle to his ears.
"I told you long ago that they were no good."
Nan Qing felt a burning sting.
Sure enough, his earlier confidence had earned him another slap in the face.
He looked down at his knees, lightly rubbing his fingers over them, and murmured a rebuttal as though refusing to admit defeat.
"You're no good either..."
After all, according to the original plot, Huo Yuzhou, this scheming lunatic, would ruthlessly come between the main gong and shou, trying to claim the little white flower Bai Ruanruan for himself.
Besides that, he was a lawbreaking celebrity who skirted the edges of the law. With his own two hands, he stirred up storms in S City, turning everything upside down and fearing nothing.
The system had told him back then that even many years after he, the vicious cannon fodder Nan Qing, had exited the story, Huo Yuzhou would dig up his urn to desecrate his remains.
Nan Qing started picking at his nails again.
He considered the possibility of going out wrapped in a bedsheet, or perhaps secretly cutting Huo Yuzhou's trousers short and wearing them out as shorts.
Something suddenly cast a shadow before him.
Nan Qing raised his kitten-like eyes and saw the document Huo Yuzhou was holding out.
It was the document he had been holding and reading ever since Nan Qing woke up.
Nan Qing was a little confused, but he still instantly covered his eyes.
"No, no, no, I'm not looking!"
"Is this some kind of trade secret? Are you deliberately setting me up by showing it to me, so you can send me to prison afterward?"
"I'm telling you, Huo Yuzhou, you're a heartless capitalist bastard! I'm definitely not falling for your tricks!"
Someone lightly patted his head.
The man's large hand caught his wrist and effortlessly moved it away from his face.
Nan Qing kept the newly exposed eye tightly shut.
Yet the eye he was still covering secretly opened a sliver, peeking out furtively.
At the top of the contract were large, bold letters: Long-term romantic relationship cooperation agreement.
Nan Qing quickly lowered the fingers covering his eye.
He glanced at the unruffled Huo Yuzhou, then back at the contract.
Huo Yuzhou was listed as Party A, while his own name appeared under Party B.
Huo Yuzhou openly handed him the contract.
"After you proposed dating me yesterday, I had my assistant contact the company's legal department to draft this contract."
"After all, a boy like you..."
Huo Yuzhou paused, the corners of his lips curving as he imitated Nan Qing's tone from yesterday.
"So popular, so pretty, with so many suitors, condescending to offer me a chance-I had to take it seriously."
Nan Qing was dumbfounded.
He felt the man was being sarcastic at his expense, but he had no proof.
Nan Qing's gaze swept across Huo Yuzhou's face before quickly returning to the specific wording of the contract in his hands.
"Parties A and B, voluntarily and as equals... huge villa... luxury goods... luxury cars worth over five million... all expenses..."
Nan Qing skimmed ten lines at a glance, his eyes growing brighter as he read.
He restrained the urge to sign immediately and gave Huo Yuzhou a reserved look.
"You're not going to screw me over, are you?"
The refined, handsome man looked at him, a faint smile appearing on his thin lips.
Fingers like carved jade closed around Nan Qing's fingers. Holding his hand, Huo Yuzhou turned the document back a few pages and pointed to a spot on the thin sheaf of paper.
Party A's obligations filled three and a half pages.
Party B's duties took up fewer than two lines.
"Eat and sleep on time. Don't be naughty."
Nan Qing blinked in bewilderment.
He should have been happy.
With his current identity, despised by everyone, people either wanted to curse him out and bully him or use him as a tool for their own gain.
He had fallen from that lofty position into the dust. He didn't even have a guaranteed place to sleep, and in an international metropolis like this, the balance in his account wouldn't even cover more than a few meals of steamed buns.
This contract had clearly solved all his problems.
He no longer had to worry about survival.
Yet for some reason, tears blurred his eyes.
It felt as though a wad of cotton had lodged in his chest, and his nose began to sting. With great restraint, he sniffled softly again, trying hard to suppress the welling tears.
Like the spoiled young master he had once been, he strove to make even his voice sound smug.
"All right. Actually, I only mentioned it in passing, but since you're being so sincere-"
Nan Qing took the pen from his hand and signed his name without the slightest hesitation.
The dark red ink pad lay exposed to the air. Nan Qing extended a finger and pressed it firmly beside his signature.
The texture of the ink stuck his finger to the document before they separated with a pop.
His eyes rimmed red, Nan Qing handed the document over.
Huo Yuzhou took it expressionlessly and signed his name in bold, sweeping strokes.
Where Huo Yuzhou couldn't see, he secretly raised a hand and wiped at his reddened eyes.
The voice that had sounded many times the night before rang out again, slightly hoarse, seemingly carrying a yielding sigh.
[Baby, you can be naughty too.]