The first time Shen Dong met Luo Bai was on a beautifully sunny afternoon, at a banquet hosted by an aristocratic family. Luo Bai was playing the piano alone in the back garden. Seen in profile, his skin had a sickly, delicate quality, and he looked so sweet... one look made people want to protect him.
Though his technique was a little rusty, he still played with great effort and concentration.
"It's all right. I know things haven't been going well for your family lately." Shen Dong drew his gaze away, afraid Luo Bai would be frightened if he looked at him for too long.
Luo Bai was sweet, but also very timid. Apparently, his adoptive parents had often abused him, which had made him this way.
Every time Shen Dong heard about it, his heart ached for him.
"A-Dong, I... I feel like I can't hold on much longer." Luo Bai suddenly clutched his chest and began to cry.
Shen Dong heard Luo Bai's voice turn choked and trembling, every word filled with fear.
Shen Dong immediately panicked, feeling as though he couldn't breathe. He hurriedly said, "Don't be scared, Luo Bai. Whatever trouble you're having, tell your big brother A-Dong!"
In his anxiety, he got up and sat right beside Luo Bai, gathering his trembling, weeping body into his arms and comforting him softly. "It's all right, it's all right. Everything will pass..."
"I don't want to drag you into this, Dong... really, I'm just upset. My life has always been so difficult. Nothing has ever gone smoothly. I just wanted someone to talk to..." His voice grew muffled against Shen Dong's chest, tinged with a nasal sound.
"Luo Beishi bullied you, didn't he? I knew he wouldn't stop! Don't cry. I'll go find him later!"
Even as Shen Dong's heart ached for Luo Bai, he loathed that sinister, vicious scoundrel Luo Beishi. Many of the injuries he had seen on Luo Bai had been caused by Luo Beishi. Some people really were rotten to the bone from birth. And Luo Bai still defended him!
Luo Bai said, "I'm fine. I'm just a little upset. I'll feel better once I've cried it out."
Luo Bai lifted his eyes, their rims red from crying. Tear tracks covered his face, and some tears had rubbed off on Shen Dong's khaki suit. The sight made him even more heartbreaking.
"Shen Dong... I only asked you out because I wanted to see you, not because I wanted your help... besides, we can't take on the Huo Family... sob." Luo Bai continued crying as he tugged at his jacket.
"Hmph, Huo Cixiao is bedridden. Without his protection, what does the Huo Corporation amount to?!" Where did Shen Dong's confidence come from? The Shen Family was also one of the Capital's top aristocratic families, with businesses all over the country.
"Don't worry about your family's affairs. As for the taxes, I'll have someone contact Uncle Luo in the next couple of days..."
"Host, host, Luo Bai met the second male lead. I'll play the recording for you."
"What? Shen Dong, that ultimate simp?" Luo Beishi lay expressionless in his rocking chair, having already finished watching the recording in his head.
Compared with the Huo Family, the Shen Family wasn't worth shit.
How much was Huo Cixiao worth? Just that 2% had cost forty billion, and he had originally held 28%. How much would that be?
Besides, the Huo Family ran the nation's leading enterprise, the benchmark of the industry. Even if the Shen Family wanted to trip them up, that would be difficult, wouldn't it?
"What do you think about letting him and Huo Cifeng go at each other like dogs? Aren't they both infatuated with Luo Bai? We'll see once the Shen Family makes a major move."
"All right, host."
"Oh, right, didn't I slap Luo Ming's face twice last time? Where are my face-slapping points?"
"Two face-slapping points. Sending them to your account now."
"Tongtong, are you trying to shortchange me?! You keep forgetting!"
"You're falsely accusing the system, host!"
After ending their conversation in his head, Luo Beishi picked Huo Cixiao up and took him to the back garden for some sun.
The two lay on loungers, perfectly at ease.
"Hubby, I don't even want to go to class anymore..."
Luo Beishi's voice was lazy and drawn out, as if he were wheedling. Though Huo Cixiao could no longer feel his body, at that moment, he felt as though a feather had brushed lightly across his heart.
Why did my bargain wife seem to be getting lazier about everything except matters involving me?
Did my bargain wife want to take a break from school to keep me company? Actually, I wouldn't mind being a little bored.
Hmph, my bargain wife was so clingy. What a nuisance. Didn't he have any friends of his own? All he did was keep me company all day.
A while later, Luo Beishi had someone bring him binoculars.
Luo Beishi said, "Wow, not bad. Hubby, I forgot to tell you, I'm using your lawn to grow vegetables. Those ten assassin maids are hoeing the ground right now. Not bad, but they're swinging those hoes too slowly."
Huo Cixiao: "..." Should I call you a little smartass?
Using my villa's grounds to farm. That's just like you, bargain wife.
Luo Beishi said, "Not bad. By the time you wake up, you might even have fruit to eat. I had them plant some trees too. Yesterday, I arranged for a teacher from an agricultural college to give them a lesson. They're looking pretty competent at planting now."
Huo Cixiao: "..." To be honest, he wasn't even sure whether he would wake up.
If he lived his whole life like this, would Luo Beishi stay with him?
Perhaps Luo Beishi's interest in him was just a passing whim? After all, his looks hardly guaranteed that someone wouldn't tire of looking at him...
The more he thought, the more agitated he became, until he heard approaching footsteps in leather shoes.
"Young madam, someone at the gate is asking to see you," the bodyguard A-Niu came over to report.
Luo Beishi asked, "Who?"
A-Niu said, "The Shen Family's eldest young master, Shen Dong."
At his leisure, Luo Beishi lowered the binoculars and handed them to A-Niu. "Oh, that stupid dog. Then we'll have to change the slogan. Tell him, no simps or backup options allowed. Please leave."
As A-Niu took the binoculars back, he heard this. Good thing he was a professional, or he would have laughed out loud. The young madam really knew how to infuriate people.
Huo Cixiao: "..." He was already wondering whether his bargain wife might anger him to death if they argued.
Two minutes later, Young Master Shen received his reply outside the gate.
The bodyguards solemnly informed him, "Our madam said no simps or backup options are allowed inside the villa! Please leave!"
Since many people had been visiting Huo Cixiao's home lately, someone was even secretly livestreaming from a corner.
As a result, they caught yet another scene that was both hilarious and infuriating.
When Shen Dong, the Shen Family's eldest young master, heard this, his expression immediately darkened. His handsome face looked ready to erupt in fury at any moment. No one had ever humiliated him like this!
Simp? Backup option?
What did that mean? Was he implying that I was Luo Bai's simp?
Luo Beishi, you'd better never leave the house!
Shen Dong was so furious his lungs nearly burst. His face flushed red, he kicked the large iron gate in a rage, only to be instantly knocked down by an electric "Bzzzt..."
The Shen Family's driver and bodyguards rushed over in alarm and took Shen Dong, whose face had instantly turned deathly pale, to the hospital.
In a certain streamer's livestream chat
"Why does this feel kind of satisfying?"
"I saw the Shen Family's eldest young master get out of his car looking furious and thought he was going to challenge them."
"Simp Shen? Can we call him that from now on? Haha."
"Why are they calling Young Master Shen a simp? I don't know anything about rich people's circles. Can someone explain?"
"In short, Young Master Shen is crazily obsessed with Luo Bai, the Luo Corporation family's biological son."
"Never seen him. Is Luo Bai some heavenly beauty? Why do so many people like him?"
"He's average. Luo Bai is just sort of a delicate, modest beauty, isn't he? On our school forum, he's so good at playing the green tea bitch. Here's the link. Go look for yourselves."