Wang Zhengxiao, who had just come upstairs for his afternoon nap, heard this and turned red from holding back his laughter. He had never imagined that a boy who looked so easy to push around could say things that cut so deep.
Coupled with that stiff yet sincere tone, it was hard not to fall apart. You couldn't say he wasn't helping; at least he had offered advice in earnest.
Wen Nan stared blankly for a while at the irritatingly white door. He couldn't believe someone as strange as Xie Zhuzhou existed.
He had originally thought Xie Zhuzhou admired him, and, unable to wait, he had insisted on seeing just what sort of freak Xie Zhuzhou was. As it turned out, the other party couldn't even be bothered to waste words on him.
Nor was he interested in his request.
Rather than anger, what Wen Nan felt most strongly now was doubt about everything he knew. He had never met anyone like Xie Zhuzhou.
At least, no one like that had ever appeared in his smooth-sailing life.
After turning down the vicious supporting male character, Xie Zhuzhou admired his own quick thinking.
Once he pulled up the covers and went to sleep, Xie Zhuzhou completely forgot about his mission.
He ended up sleeping until midnight.
He had slept so much that he felt a little tired all over. It's so late now... is there still anything to eat?
Xie Zhuzhou got up, washed his face, changed his clothes, and headed out with a cap and mask on. Now that he knew Ji Wangyun might live nearby, he had fully disguised himself to avoid running into him and getting caught.
He had been able to live out his previous life in peace because he had no right to inherit the marquis's estate, was sickly, and had lost his birth mother to illness. He had posed no threat to anyone else.
Things were different now. Even in the modern world, wealthy families had murky depths.
He didn't know what his siblings were like, but he couldn't afford to let his guard down.
At the very least, staying out of their sight would be best.
Xie Zhuzhou rode his bicycle leisurely, the cold wind blowing through his hair. Just as he rounded a corner, he suddenly heard someone talking on the phone up ahead.
That sounds like Wen Ruohuai?
"So what if I hired a water army? So what if I wrote dirt on him? My life was so miserable. Can't I get a little revenge?"
"He lived as the carefree young master of the Wen Family, but what about me? I went to school during the day and helped my family sell barbecue at our stall after classes at night, out in the wind and rain. I still remember how, in third grade, buying a school uniform took two whole months. Everyone around me mocked me, looked down on me for being poor, and called me a beggar who ate expired bread... am I supposed to just swallow all that injustice?"
"All I'm doing now is getting a little revenge and returning to the Wen Family on our birthday. What's wrong with that? That day wasn't just his birthday! It was mine too! I've never even had a normal birthday!"
Xie Zhuzhou: ...
He seemed to have overheard something rather serious.
The true young master hung up, rounded the corner, and saw him.
Xie Zhuzhou pulled his cap lower, ready to go around him and continue on his way.
"Stop!"
Xie Zhuzhou ignored him, but he spread his arms and blocked his path.
"Did you hear that?"
"So what if I did?" Xie Zhuzhou's expression was calm. Even though he didn't want to talk to anyone, that commanding tone annoyed him.
"Since you heard it, then... sign a written guarantee. You're not allowed to tell anyone."
Xie Zhuzhou had social anxiety; he wasn't a coward. This guy wasn't paying his wages, so what right did he have to make demands? Was he the center of the world, or the center of the universe?
The son of the Heavenly Dao? He doesn't look like much.
"Heh. Why should I?"
"You!" Wen Ruohuai suddenly choked on his words, left seething with nowhere to vent.
He looked Xie Zhuzhou over. He remembered that this person seemed to be with the production crew. Since he also worked in entertainment, he might expose him someday. Judging by Xie Zhuzhou's getup, he looked more like a paparazzo...
He frowned, feeling even more contempt for the person before him. He had actually eavesdropped on his conversation. For all he knew, he already had a recording hidden away.
"From the look of you, you're a paparazzo who snuck onto the production crew, aren't you? Doing something this disgusting under the guise of a part-time job-what else could you be?"
Xie Zhuzhou: ...
Does this guy have some kind of persecution complex? Has the stress driven him crazy?
The more he looked, the more it seemed that way. Xie Zhuzhou decided not to stoop to his level and said coldly, "Get out of my way."
Wen Ruohuai was stunned by his nasty attitude and refusal to answer the question. He stared incredulously at the boy sitting on the bicycle. Under the cold gaze of those eyes, he suddenly had no idea what to say.
If he really recorded it, I'm finished...
He was, after all, a young master from a prominent household. Xie Zhuzhou's innate presence alone could make people tremble with fear.
Ordinary people would only feel afraid when they sensed it.
Wen Ruohuai shuddered all over and gritted his teeth, but finally stepped aside.
He didn't understand what there was to fear about a mere staff member. What right did he have to humiliate him and speak to him so rudely?
He didn't know that even Xie Zhuzhou's mask was designer. Dark thoughts were already forming in his mind. What are you acting so high and mighty for? I'll have you gone from the production crew tomorrow.
"I'll have you kicked off the production crew!"
"I'll be waiting."
Xie Zhuzhou would even approve of him going to Director Wang and getting him dismissed.
After what he had heard tonight, Xie Zhuzhou now understood that the protagonist shou really wasn't as gentle and harmless as he appeared. Something dark and dank ran through his very bones. Those sharply contrasting black-and-white eyes had looked at him just now like a venomous snake wanting to bite him to death.
White on the outside, black on the inside. A black-hearted lotus, huh?
Xie Zhuzhou wasn't interested. As long as it didn't affect him, he didn't care about their life-and-death entanglements.
After riding for about half an hour, Xie Zhuzhou finally found a restaurant that was still open and sat down by a window.
Would eating steak this late at night give me indigestion?
Xie Zhuzhou ordered a serving of pasta and a small bowl of mashed potatoes.
Yet the moment he took off his mask, he clearly saw that tall, slender, gentle figure outside the glass wall.
Ji Wangyun's lips curved into a smile.
Xie Zhuzhou: ...
Will this ever end?
Ji Wangyun refused to leave him alone. After entering the restaurant, he was so shameless that Xie Zhuzhou was left speechless.
Looking at Ji Wangyun sitting across from him, he put down the spoon he had been stirring his mashed potatoes with.
"Good evening, Mr. Xie."
Xie Zhuzhou's expression was far from pleasant. He rarely lost control of his expression, but this guy was truly difficult to deal with.
"Mm."
"Why didn't you answer my calls today? You even blocked me. Aren't you being a little too cold and heartless, Mr. Xie?"
Xie Zhuzhou: ...
He detected a hint of yandere in the tone of this man with such a harmless-looking face.
He really had terrible luck.
He couldn't even have a meal without running into this guy.
While he was considering how to respond, the other man had already picked up the menu and ordered seafood congee.
"Is it good?" Ji Wangyun didn't seem to care whether he had answered his previous questions, always asking things as though talking to himself.
"It's okay."
Xie Zhuzhou looked at the German shepherd sitting beside Ji Wangyun's seat. He can actually bring a dog in here without anyone stopping him?
He glanced around. Apart from the two of them, even the servers had disappeared for the moment.
"We really are fated, aren't we? Wouldn't you agree, my dear little brother?"
Xie Zhuzhou's pupils contracted slightly. Although he had known the other man might guess, he hadn't expected him to be so direct.
"You've got the wrong person," he said, refusing to admit it.