“Brother Mo, it’s all my fault. My tongue just slipped, and I blurted everything out all at once.”
Wang Shu slapped himself across the mouth, his heart filled with deep regret. Why had he suffered a sudden brain cramp and made that call? He hadn’t even confirmed who was picking up the phone before he started rattling off the truth.
Looking at Tang Mo’s listless expression, he felt like he wanted to seek death as an apology.
Tang Mo’s eyes were dull. He couldn’t even focus on his classes, staring only at his WeChat interface. However, the messages he had sent out were like stones sinking into the vast ocean; to this day, he hadn’t received a single reply.
Wang Shu counted the days with a bit of heartache. This great beauty was truly cold-hearted; he had been away on a business trip for half a month and hadn’t returned a single message.
Maybe he hasn’t even looked at them once, Wang Shu thought.
He peeked at Tang Mo, not daring to voice his inner suspicions. Instead, he comforted him: “When the great beauty returns, I’ll go explain it to him. The idea was mine, I’m the one who did it—it has nothing to do with you.”
“It’s useless.” Tang Mo stared at the message he had sent ten minutes ago. He scrolled up through the chat history; it was filled with his explanations and admissions of guilt from the past half-month.
Wang Shu had watched him staring at these chat logs for several days now, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy.
What a mess this is.
The chime of an incoming call suddenly broke Tang Mo’s focus on the past messages. He glanced at the number; it looked familiar. After thinking for a moment, he remembered it belonged to Tang Chen.
Tang Chen’s commanding tone came through the phone: “Tang Mo, come to the hospital right now.”
It was succinct; he hung up immediately after speaking.
Wang Shu let out a direct sneer. “Has he always been this… self-important?”
Tang Mo held his phone, completely disregarding the call. With a few swift swipes, he blacklisted Tang Chen.
Tang Chen, who had waited until evening without seeing anyone, was furious. When he tried to call again only to realize he had been blocked, his rage boiled over. He could only complain to Tang Guoming about Tang Mo’s lack of sense.
“Dad, look at Tang Mo. Do you really feel safe letting him replace me?”
Tang Chen clenched his fists. Ever since he realized the marriage alliance was unavoidable, he hadn’t had a single peaceful day. Especially now that his father was considering letting Tang Mo take his place, the resentment in his heart became increasingly obvious.
“Your brother is still young, but in a few years, he’ll mature,” Tang Guoming said dismissively. “Besides, we have to give the Su family an explanation. We can’t let them catch us with the excuse of your prior infidelity and lose the Tang family’s face.”
This matter was Tang Chen’s fault to begin with. Tang Guoming had repeatedly guaranteed Su Juan that he would let his younger son take over, letting the two of them spend time together first. If it worked out, the alliance would continue, and neither side would lose anything.
He thought his plan was perfect, but Tang Chen had no intention of agreeing. Why should Tang Mo enjoy the fruits of his labor without lifting a finger?
“Don’t think poorly of Xiao Mo. He’s still young and a bit unsettled. I plan to let him temper himself in the company for a while. After all, these Tang family industries will eventually need to be inherited by you two brothers.”
Tang Guoming believed he was being fair to both sons, but Tang Chen felt his father was completely biased toward Tang Mo. He suppressed his burning anger until Tang Guoming left, then he placed a call to Jiang Baiyu.
Jiang Baiyu listened calmly to his words, but his mouth offered a refusal: “I’m afraid I won’t be able to do this well.”
Tang Chen’s tone turned fierce. “You must handle this properly. Otherwise, if the day comes when my brother climbs over my head, forget about marrying into the Tang family even I might be kicked out.”
“How could it be that serious?” Jiang Baiyu didn’t believe for a second that Tang Mo could climb over him. After all, according to the “plot,” Tang Chen was the future controller of the Tang Corporation.
However, Tang Chen’s previous implication made Jiang Baiyu very dissatisfied it was clear he was still thinking about continuing the alliance with Su Chengning.
“Just treat this as a test from the heavens for us. My dad has already agreed to let me break off the engagement with Su Chengning. Once I have full control of the Tang Corporation, everything will be up to me.”
Tang Chen glanced at his legs. If he weren’t currently immobile, he wouldn’t need to employ such a foolish person. He coaxed Jiang Baiyu with his words, but in his heart, he thought nothing of him.
Jiang Baiyu, however, was also having many thoughts. Since you’re still thinking about the alliance with Su Chengning, I won’t let you have your way. He thought even further than Tang Chen; perhaps he could achieve his desires even faster.
Reluctantly accepting the task, Jiang Baiyu emphasized: “I’ll try my best. You know Tang Mo has always been blunt with me; I might not be able to get him to come out.”
“Just find a topic he’s interested in and ask him out.”
Jiang Baiyu waited until there were few people around to find Tang Mo. When Tang Mo saw him, his expression grew even colder.
“Go away.”
His tone was icy. Seeing Jiang Baiyu standing frozen in front of him, Tang Mo didn’t bother further and simply tried to walk around him.
“Tang Mo!” Jiang Baiyu shouted at his back. Seeing that the other had no intention of stopping, he had to jog to get in front of him. “I have something to tell you. It’s about your brother and Mr. Su.”
Tang Mo stared at him with an unfriendly gaze. Under that blunt stare, Jiang Baiyu felt a sense of guilt, as if he were being seen through.
“What do you want to say?”
Jiang Baiyu looked at the people coming and going around them and lowered his voice. “Can we find somewhere else to talk?”
Tang Mo gave a cold snort and followed him away from the school.
“This is a bar where I used to work. There aren’t many customers at this hour. Let’s go into a private booth to talk.”
The two arrived at a very ordinary small bar. At this time, there were only two customers inside. One of them seemed to recognize Jiang Baiyu and proactively greeted him.
The man had a lecherous smile on his face and reached out as if to touch Jiang Baiyu’s hand. Jiang Baiyu took two steps back, hiding beside Tang Mo with a look of disgust.
Tang Mo swept a cold gaze over the man. When he looked at someone coldly, he appeared ruthlessly stoic. He was tall with long legs, standing a full head taller than the man. The man’s momentum instantly weakened, and he let out a couple of awkward laughs.
Once they entered the booth, the man cursed under his breath: “What a piece of work. Before, he was clinging to me wanting me to keep him, and now that he’s found a younger one, he acts like he’s too good for me.”
“Why did you specifically bring me here? What is it you want to tell me?” Tang Mo asked directly the moment he sat down.
Jiang Baiyu sat on the other side, feeling flustered in his heart while putting on a timid expression. His fidgeting manner made Tang Mo’s expression grow colder.
“Speak.”
Jiang Baiyu stiffened at the cold, detached words. He gave a few forced laughs before saying: “Actually, your brother doesn’t like Mr. Su. He loves me.”
“But because of unrequited love, Mr. Su wants to drive me away from your brother’s side. He’s deliberately kicking your brother out of the Tang Group’s power center and taking away the major projects he was responsible for. Now, while your brother’s leg injury hasn’t healed, he’s even using the marriage alliance to threaten him…”
He talked to himself, not noticing how icy Tang Mo’s eyes had become. It wasn’t until he finished describing the “Su Chengning” he knew that he looked up and met Tang Mo’s ruthless gaze.
Jiang Baiyu: “…”
“Why are you telling me this?” Tang Mo suppressed the anger in his heart and spoke calmly. “Do you think we have some brotherly bond, and that I, as the younger brother, should protect his ‘beautiful love’?”
It was truly disgusting. But at this moment, Tang Mo felt this “beautiful love” was actually quite timely.
Jiang Baiyu nodded blankly. “Can you help… us?”
“How?” Tang Mo looked at Jiang Baiyu as if looking at an idiot, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. He was suddenly curious about what interesting things this person would say.
“I heard from your brother that Chairman Tang seems to intend for you to replace him in the alliance with Mr. Su.”
Tang Mo’s fist suddenly tightened.
“So, you want me to agree to this, so that no one will block you and my brother from being together?”
Jiang Baiyu looked up at him with a face full of hope. “Your brother and I are a pair truly in love. We are classmates, surely you wouldn’t want me to—”
“I naturally don’t want you and my brother to be separated.”
Tang Mo cut him off directly. Sometimes he really doubted whether some people’s brains worked properly, and there was one right in front of him. But he wouldn’t refuse a request that was beneficial to himself.
“I can help you, but you must do one thing for me.”