“It’s my dear older brother.”
Tang Mo was sitting in the car when he received the call.
Wang Shu, who was driving, glanced at him from the side and clearly saw the hypocritical brotherly affection written all over his face.
Because the space in the passenger seat was limited, Tang Mo crossed his long legs somewhat uncomfortably, adjusted his posture, and lazily rolled down the window.
The wind blew in from outside, tossing the broken hair on his forehead and revealing sharp, piercing dark eyes.
Adopting a carefree posture, he casually pressed the speakerphone and said with a hint of mockery, “I heard there’s some trouble at the branch office. Could it be that the people there are fooling you, Brother, and making you angry?”
Tang Chen faintly heard the sound of the wind. His brows furrowed slightly, and his voice sounded somewhat cold as he spoke: “You don’t need to worry about company matters. Just answer my question.”
“Have you seen Su Chengning lately?” he asked again.
“You mean Chengning-ge—”
“I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
They say that a single day apart feels like three autumns; they hadn’t seen each other for over ten hours, so in his mind, it truly had been a long time.
Wang Shu chuckled secretly to himself. This kid was fooling his big brother again.
Tang Chen didn’t catch the tenderness and longing in his words; he simply took it to mean they really hadn’t met in a while.
So he said, “Give him a call and ask him where he is right now.”
The tenderness in Tang Mo’s eyes turned icy the moment he heard Tang Chen’s request. He spoke with a tone of disgust, “Can’t you ask him yourself?”
Tang Chen muttered a silent curse. “He’s unwilling to tell me.”
The truth was, ever since Su Chengning had blacklisted him, even if he called from someone else’s phone, the man simply wouldn’t answer. Tang Chen had already tried using the phones of Su Group staff members, but he still couldn’t get through to Su Chengning.
He couldn’t exactly ask his father to call Su Chengning; that would let his father know they were having a conflict.
“Chengning-ge has such a good temper; why wouldn’t he tell you where he is?” Tang Mo said with feigned surprise. “Could it be that you did something to make him angry, Brother?”
“How could he be angry over such a small matter?”
Tang Chen firmly believed that the incident was just a trivial, minor mistake that any man might make.
Tang Mo let out a cold laugh. For a split second, his gaze was so icy it seemed as if he wanted to pierce through the phone and stab Tang Chen.
To treat cheating as a “small matter” he truly was a textbook scumbag.
“Since you’re so confident, Brother, you surely don’t need a younger brother like me for such a small thing.” He curled his lips into a mocking sneer.
“I’m going out to have fun with Wang Shu. I’m a bit busy today, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you.”
Tang Chen was infuriated by this dismissive attitude, the veins on the hand gripping his phone bulging. Just as he was about to say more, he heard a dial tone.
He was so angry he kicked over a nearby chair.
Wang Shu laughed gloatingly when he saw Tang Mo hang up on Tang Chen without a shred of mercy.
“I’d bet the Great Beauty has blacklisted your brother.”
Tang Mo looked down at the familiar number saved in his phone. He hesitated for a moment before finally pressing the dial button.
During the few seconds of waiting, Tang Mo suddenly took a deep breath, making Wang Shu feel a bit speechless. Just a moment ago, he had been acting all high and mighty with his brother, and now he was nervous like a primary schooler who had done something wrong and was waiting for the teacher to call his parents.
“Tang Mo?”
Su Chengning’s voice came through the phone. Tang Mo noticed his palms were sweating slightly. In his nervousness, he subconsciously wiped them on his deep blue jeans.
“Chengning-ge,” he called out obediently. He scratched his head sheepishly and reached out to close the car window, blocking out any faint noise that might interfere with the call.
“I just… missed you a little—”
“Missed me for what?” Su Chengning teased with a low laugh. He was clearly in a good mood as he joked, “Missing how I let you do whatever you wanted yesterday?”
Tang Mo raised his other hand to cover one of his ears. His blushing ear was perfectly hidden from view, though it drew a curious look from Wang Shu.
For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“I was just worried that you weren’t feeling well or that you wouldn’t eat properly,” Tang Mo said after a long silence, his voice full of concern.
“And if I refuse to eat, what then?” Su Chengning spoke slowly, glancing at the luxury lunch provided by the hotel. For some reason, it looked greasy and unappetizing.
“I can cook for you.” There was an indescribable yearning in Tang Mo’s voice, as if being able to cook for him was an exceptionally happy and important matter.
Wang Shu mouthed to him: I want to eat too.
Tang Mo slapped his head aside and pointed forward: Drive properly.
Su Chengning let out a soft laugh upon hearing this. He pushed aside the lunch and walked over to the massive floor-to-ceiling window. The sunlight streamed in, bathing him in a warm glow.
He looked out at the iconic high tower in the distance and replied softly, “Alright then, come to Linhai City to find me.”
The call ended quickly. The warmth on Tang Mo’s face vanished instantly as he said to Wang Shu, “I need to go to Linhai City.”
“Huh?” Wang Shu was completely confused.
“Chengning-ge is in Linhai City.”
“But don’t we have things to take care of?” They had been busy all morning for this.
“My brother is also in Linhai City.”
Wang Shu understood instantly. “Then you go. I’ll handle things here.”
Tang Mo thought for a moment and said, “Find an unfamiliar face to handle the appearance. Don’t let anyone know we are the ones behind this.”
Wang Shu thought about it and gave an “OK” gesture. “Rest easy, I’ll get it done.”
Kyoto University was very lively on the weekend. Students were coming and going, mostly in groups of two or three, chatting and laughing.
Jiang Baiyu had just returned from the cafeteria and walked into the dormitory looking somewhat distracted.
Seeing his dazed expression, a roommate asked, “Baiyu, did you not sleep well last night?”
Another roommate chimed in, “Looked like he slept pretty soundly to me. I even heard you talking in your sleep last night. You said something like… ‘Do not bully the young for being poor.’ Have you been reading some chuunibyou novels? You’re blurting out lines like that in your sleep.”
Jiang Baiyu laughed awkwardly. “I just read a novel before bed and remembered the line the protagonist said at the end.”
In reality, what he had dreamed about last night were the original character’s childhood experiences from The Spoiled Heart of the Wealthy Young Master. These experiences weren’t in the original book; they were memories existing within this body.
Because of the integration over these past few days, he had been able to completely enter the novel’s plot, calmly accepting his identity as the “protagonist shou” and taking pride in it.
According to the plot he knew, the affair between him and Tang Chen was supposed to be accidentally exposed yesterday. Su Chengning was meant to have a mental breakdown and immediately get into a car accident, resulting in him being paralyzed in both legs a useless man.
This was a major turning point in his destiny.
He only needed to destroy Su Chengning’s pride and make him sink into a depression from which he could never recover. Then, he could easily obtain everything Su Chengning owned. This included the vast Su family estate and Su Chengning’s beloved fiancé.
However, he had been scrolling through Weibo and checking various news outlets all morning, and he hadn’t seen any news about Su Chengning being in a car accident.
By noon, Jiang Baiyu was still empty-handed and feeling restless.
Seeing him silently scrolling through his phone again, his roommates stopped talking out of boredom.
According to the plot, once this matter was exposed, the biggest impact should have been on the Su Group’s stock. He had originally been a bit distressed about the drop in stock value, as it would all belong to him later. But now, not only had the stock price not dropped at all, it was rising steadily. It made his eyes turn red with envy.
Could it be that the news of the accident was suppressed?
Thinking this, Jiang Baiyu felt an urgent need to contact Tang Chen to confirm the news. He looked at the others in the dorm and hurriedly walked out with his phone.
Behind the dormitory building was a narrow path. Few people passed through here, and with white birch trees lining both sides for cover, it was an excellent location.
Jiang Baiyu unlocked his screen and found Tang Chen’s number. Just as he was about to press it, an unknown number called him. He hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
The person on the other end got straight to the point: “Is this Mr. Jiang Baiyu?”
Jiang Baiyu looked carefully at the number displayed on the screen and asked in confusion, “Who are you?”
He instinctively looked around. Seeing no one passing by, he focused back on the call. “Are you… one of Mr. Tang’s people?”
He asked tentatively, suppressing a surge of excitement while trying to make his tone and expression seem natural.
He knew that in the plot, after Su Chengning’s accident, Tang Chen stayed by his side in the hospital day and night to appease the Su family, making them feel his deep affection. Because Tang Chen couldn’t get away during that time, he had arranged for Jiang Baiyu to stay in a high-end apartment, and the two could only meet privately.
What he needed to do was appear at the appropriate time to go to the hospital and provoke Su Chengning, destroying his pride. Although he would have to endure being hidden for a while, Jiang Baiyu figured he could wait that long.
As long as Su Chengning couldn’t take the stimulation and committed suicide by jumping off a building, the entire Su family would be his. Soon, he would shed the title of an illegitimate son, take on the identity of the Su family heir, and leap to the top of society.
This beautiful future spread before his eyes like a brilliant painting, and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud with pride.
The person on the other end of the phone was a bit speechless hearing his laughter: Is this person a psycho?
Recalling his mission, he said succinctly, “Mr. Tang has been quite busy lately and is afraid he won’t be able to look after you, Mr. Jiang.”
Jiang Baiyu immediately pulled back the smile on his face. He knew it Tang Chen must be busy taking care of the broken-legged Su Chengning.
He felt indignant: I’ll let Su Chengning have his way for a few days.
He said considerately, “I understand that Mr. Tang is busy with work. I won’t complain, as long as Mr. Tang doesn’t forget me.”
His gentle tone displayed his sweet and sensible nature.
“Naturally, he won’t forget,” the person replied. “Mr. Tang wants to give you a surprise. He has a house in the city center; it’s one of his most private residences…”
Tang Chen had finally met Su Chengning just as his patience was running out.
His handsome features seemed frozen in frost. From the moment Su Chengning stepped into the meeting room, Tang Chen remained seated with a cold face, never standing up.
Su Chengning dismissed everyone else and sat in the seat furthest away from Tang Chen. This obvious distance made Tang Chen’s already dissatisfied expression look even worse.
“President Tang, my time is precious. If you have something to say, say it.”
His tone was indifferent, as if the person sitting in front of him were an insignificant nobody. The fact that he was deigning to listen was a great favor.
Tang Chen clearly felt Su Chengning’s coldness. His brow furrowed. “Chengning, are you still angry with me?”
“Didn’t I already explain it to you? That was just a small matter of ‘acting the part.'”
“You are the one who is my actual fiancé.”
Su Chengning immediately countered, “Wrong. I am no longer your boyfriend, and our engagement is no longer valid.”
“Impossible. I will not agree to break the engagement,” Tang Chen said forcefully.
Su Chengning said, “I will explain this matter to Uncle Tang myself. And—”
“I don’t want to discuss private matters in a professional setting.”
Tang Chen’s eyes darkened as he suddenly thought he understood. “You want to use this matter to blackmail me, which is why you deliberately stalled my project progress.”
“We are going to be family sooner or later; why be so petty?”
He felt he had figured out Su Chengning’s goal. Although he was extremely dissatisfied with this behavior, Tang Chen compromised, “Fine, I’ll give you a few more percentage points.”
“Does President Tang always have such a high opinion of himself?” Su Chengning said with a cold laugh. “I truly can’t compete with your ability to talk to yourself.”
He picked up his phone to check the time, and a message happened to pop up. Su Chengning’s cold expression instantly gave way to a trace of a smile.
He replied to the other person: [Arrived so quickly.]
Tang Mo had been staring at his phone and replied immediately: [Flying is still too slow.]
He wished he could teleport and appear by Su Chengning’s side instantly.
Su Chengning laughed softly: [I have an annoying fellow here. I’ll come find you at the hotel once I’m done.]
He sent the hotel location and room number.
Then he added a line: [Wash yourself clean; I’m going to inspect you later.]
Tang Mo sat in the taxi with his handsome face turning bright red.
Tang Chen was still feeling the sting of giving up those percentage points when he saw Su Chengning engrossed in a WeChat conversation. Angry, he reached out and snatched the phone away.
When he saw the chat history, his face turned black as coal. He roared, “You’re hooking up with some wild man behind my back!”
Su Chengning was amused by his righteous “catching a cheater” tone.
Tang Chen pointed at the WeChat contact named “Little Idiot” and demanded loudly, “Who is this person?”