Wen Nan had earned quite a lot of money himself over the years. Even after being kicked out of the house, he was hardly penniless.
Perhaps the more he thought about it, the worse he felt. Wen Nan hugged his knees and couldn't help sobbing.
He had no idea someone was on the balcony next door. His crying grew louder and louder, and in the end, he began cursing Wen Ruohuai under his breath. That white lotus had acted so pitiful that their parents thought it was all Wen Nan's fault.
The Wen Family had clearly brought this upon themselves. What did it have to do with him? Why did everyone think he had stolen someone else's place and was clinging greedily to it?
Xie Zhuzhou: ...
He had been focused on carving when he suddenly heard a young man crying. Looking up to his right, he saw Wen Nan draped over the railing, crying miserably.
Xie Zhuzhou rarely cried and couldn't relate, but he knew the other boy must be very upset. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hidden away to cry.
But he wasn't the type to tenderly cherish a delicate beauty.
In the end, Xie Zhuzhou went back to his own business.
He wasn't coldhearted.
Besides, when he had been sick and suffering, he had endured it on his own too.
As far as he was concerned, people who fought against an unjust fate generally had few people standing behind them.
So what if they faced it alone?
So what if someone helped?
As Xie Zhuzhou continued carving, thunder rumbled across the sky.
"..."
Having nearly stabbed his finger with the knife and caused some serious bleeding, Xie Zhuzhou looked up at the sky. Who was that bolt from the blue supposed to scare?
Since Xie Zhuzhou was sitting on a stool, hidden by flowerpots, Wen Nan hadn't noticed him.
Once he had cried enough, he wiped away his tears and went back inside.
He looked especially pitiful.
Xie Zhuzhou sighed.
So even the vicious supporting male character had gone through a whole series of emotional stages before blackening.
Otherwise, who would blacken for no reason, unless they had been born cruel and were evil by nature?
Xie Zhuzhou's carving skills fell short of the original owner's, but with his memories, getting a passing grade shouldn't be a problem.
It was just that taking the Golden-Hooped Rod back to school tomorrow...
Fuck.
People would definitely laugh at him for being a chuuni!
Back in his room, Xie Zhuzhou looked at the ridiculously cool staff in his hand and covered his face. He really had... only been thinking about doing the bare minimum to finish his homework.
That night.
Xie Zhuzhou finally went out to find food. His gaze swept over everywhere outside his room, and he confirmed once again that the livestream had ended.
The living room was empty now, with only a few guests remaining.
Wang Zhengxiao was making something tasty in the kitchen. The aroma drifting out was light and fragrant, not cloyingly sweet.
"Hey, you there. Are you going to get dinner?"
Xie Zhuzhou had only glanced at him and happened to get caught. He looked around, confirmed that he was being addressed, then shook his head and firmly declined, adding a thank-you.
Eating someone else's food wouldn't be appropriate.
Xie Zhuzhou was just about to leave when Wang Zhengxiao said, "What a shame. Everyone's already eaten. No one's here to appreciate my cooking."
Wang Zhengxiao had thought this would soften Xie Zhuzhou up. He hadn't expected the guy to be utterly impervious, refusing to have anything to do with them and heading for the front door without looking back.
Zhang Yin lowered his head and let out a snort of laughter.
"I told you he wouldn't pay you any attention."
"I didn't expect him to be such a tough nut to crack either."
At first, Zhang Yin hadn't believed Xie Zhuzhou was a guest either. He had only realized it when he saw that they were staying on the same floor.
The guy came and went like a ghost. He was clearly a guest, yet refused to appear on camera, and the director seemed content to let him be.
Hearing them discuss Xie Zhuzhou, Xuelai had mixed feelings. She had thought she was the only one who had discovered this unpolished gem, only to find so many other people had their eyes on him.
Still, Xie Zhuzhou didn't seem interested in anyone. He gave the impression of being straight.
The show was full of handsome men and beautiful women, which Xuelai thought was a shame. Everyone seemed to be squeezing the show into their spare time, and not one of them genuinely wanted to date. After all, they were all locals or worked locally, so they were simply treating it as somewhere to stay for a while.
As for the others, they barely counted as roommates they would spend two months with.
The moment Xie Zhuzhou stepped outside, a cold gust swept over him, making him hunch his neck. He went to the control room to get his bicycle. Director Wang was still busy and merely nodded at the sight of him before getting back to work.
Other people's lives really were busy.
Xie Zhuzhou got on his bicycle and rode out. At the villa entrance, he suddenly encountered a German shepherd that had broken free of its leash.
Man and dog stared at each other.
Xie Zhuzhou: ...
He took a deep breath, then decisively began pedaling like mad!
The German shepherd chased wildly after him as though it had run into someone it knew.
Holy fuck!
"Buddy, wait, I don't know you!"
"Woof, woof, woof!"
"Hey, Little Xie, walking your dog?"
"No!" Xie Zhuzhou answered the young female staff member passing by, his face dark. The German shepherd beside him was still hot on his heels.
He didn't understand why the dog was chasing him either!
But Xie Zhuzhou never wanted to experience the humiliating sight of abandoning his bicycle and getting pounced on by a dog in his entire life!
"Woof, woof, woof!"
The more the German shepherd barked and ran, the more excited it became. It didn't look as though it wanted to attack him. Xie Zhuzhou cursed under his breath, wondering why whoever was walking it hadn't put a muzzle on such a large dog.
In the end, the fifty-thousand-yuan bicycle was let down by its rider.
After riding who knew how far, Xie Zhuzhou grew tired and stopped.
The German shepherd stopped too, wagging its tail madly and sniffing his trouser leg. Then it grew even bolder, putting its paws straight onto his knees to tell him to get off.
Xie Zhuzhou finally gave in.
He swore to heaven on the original owner's name that he really didn't know this dog.
"Do we know each other?"
German shepherd: Woof, woof!
"Fine, so we don't. You've mistaken me for someone else."
Seeing that Xie Zhuzhou was about to leave, the German shepherd anxiously lowered and swished its tail, grabbing his trouser leg in its mouth. "Woof!"
Xie Zhuzhou sighed and finally reached out to pat the dog's head. His stomach began growling with hunger again, and he noticed a silver tag hanging from its collar with a phone number written on it.
He wasn't going to just stand around waiting. He would buy something to eat nearby first and wait while he ate.
"Have you not eaten? Just as well, neither have I."
"Woof, woof!"
The German shepherd looked very happy to hear that. Xie Zhuzhou called the owner of the number and told him he had found his dog and to come quickly.
After he hung up, a cold gust swept across his neck, and Xie Zhuzhou suddenly felt less hot.
He picked up the leash and rode his bicycle to a jianbing stall, where he bought a jianbing and some corn juice.
Seeing the German shepherd's goofy, drooling expression, Xie Zhuzhou also went to a pet shop and let it pick out a bone.
The two went to wait by the street.
One big and one small, they sat on a bench beneath a streetlamp.
In his previous life, Xie Zhuzhou had also been chased and licked by a dog. Born sickly, he had nearly fainted. When the mistress of the household heard, she had someone send over several hundred-year-old ginseng roots. That was the most concern she had ever shown him.
Xie Zhuzhou patted the dog's head and chuckled. "You're pretty smart. You know I have money."
The German shepherd wagged its tail.
The evening breeze lifted the young man's short black hair, revealing his finely shaped, handsome forehead.
Just then, a black luxury sports car worth over ten million pulled up right in front of him.
The sight of the incredibly cool sports car, which wasn't even very loud, immediately caught Xie Zhuzhou's interest. He didn't let it show on his face, though, merely giving it a couple of discreet looks, and the owner didn't notice either.
"Hello, thank you for helping..." After getting out, the car's owner froze at the sight of Xie Zhuzhou's face.