5 – Second Young Master Xie, you scared her
The banquet came to an end.
As Xie Zong was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. “Rao Rao.”
“I heard from your mother that you’ve been practicing ballroom dancing lately?”
Xie Yurao was taken aback.
Xie Zong was always swamped with work, so it was rare for him to show interest in what kind of dance she was practicing.
It seemed Qin Yun was right—he did have a preference for ballroom dancing.
“Yes,” Xie Yurao replied obediently. “I plan to perform a ballroom dance at the Venus International Celebration at the end of the month.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Jingchuan abruptly looked up.
Even as an outsider, he knew.
The Venus Celebration was a hallowed stage in the hearts of art students.
Xie Yurao’s invitation as a guest was largely due to Qin Yun’s reputation as a former national goddess and her own exceptional talent in classical dance, which she had honed since childhood.
To think that, just to please Xie Zong, she would choose to perform ballroom dance on such an important occasion.
He lazily curled his lips, sneering silently.
How foolishly sentimental.
However, Xie Zong’s next words instantly wiped the smile off his face.
“Good. After the celebration, I’ll give you a reward.”
Xie Zong’s gaze was uncharacteristically gentle as he spoke generously to his daughter. “You can ask for anything you want then.”
“…”
Xie Jingchuan: “?”
Xie Yurao’s eyes immediately lit up.
Was there really such a good thing?
Qin Yun gave Xie Yurao a meaningful look, as if she had expected this all along.
With a smile on her lips, she reminded her, “Hurry up and thank your father.”
Xie Yurao replied sweetly, “Thank you, Dad.”
Xie Zong nodded, said nothing more, and then left with Qin Yun.
After they were gone, Xie Yurao was already happily considering what to ask for.
Directly inheriting the family fortune was obviously unrealistic, but a portion of the assets was still possible.
For example, a subsidiary of the group, a private hospital under their name, an undeveloped mine…
“Hah—”
A low, lazy sneer interrupted her thoughts.
Xie Yurao looked up and met Xie Jingchuan’s handsome, devilish face.
Now that the guests had dispersed, Xie Jingchuan no longer bothered to pretend. He leaned casually against the banquet table, one long leg slightly bent.
The Xie family’s genes were extraordinary, and Xie Jingchuan, being of mixed heritage from two countries, had naturally pure silver hair.
His face alone was indeed a sight to behold.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, his tone was dripping with sarcasm. “Little sister Rao Rao really knows how to please people.”
Xie Jingchuan had learned this from a young age.
Xie Yurao always had this ability to make everyone dote on her and treat her like a star.
Often, things he had to work tirelessly to obtain.
Xie Yurao could get them with just a little bit of acting cute.
“Oh, what’s that smell?”
Xie Yurao raised her delicate little hand and touched the tip of her nose, her tone even more sarcastic than his.
Her sweet, lazy voice trailed off.
“So sour~”
“…”
Xie Jingchuan looked at her with a cold gaze and sneered.
Xie Yurao widened her innocent fox-like eyes and offered Xie Jingchuan a friendly suggestion. “If it really doesn’t work out, why don’t you learn how to dance ballroom too, Second Brother?”
“Maybe if Dad is in a good mood, he’ll give you a reward too.”
The pretty little fox smiled charmingly, but her heart was full of mischief.
Xie Jingchuan’s long, enchanting eyes narrowed as he curled his lips into a mocking smile.
“Such methods of pleasing others are unnecessary for me.”
He deliberately emphasized the words “pleasing others,” lacing them with a hint of ridicule.
Tan Shen glanced down at the little fox.
Dance was her passion and her faith.
Xie Jingchuan had stepped on a landmine.
Sure enough, Xie Yurao’s expression immediately turned cold. But then, as if remembering something, she curved her eyes into a smile again.
“No need…”
She idly played with her slender white fingers as she spoke lazily to Xie Jingchuan.
“I heard that after Second Brother returned to the country, he set his sights on the medical Research Institute on South Island.”
Xie Jingchuan paused, a vague sense of foreboding creeping over him.
Then he heard Xie Yurao say casually, “Then I’ll just ask Dad for that when the time comes.”
“…”
Xie Jingchuan’s expression instantly changed. “You want the Research Institute?”
Tan Shen couldn’t help but let a slight smile curl his lips.
A petty little fox who always returns tit for tat.
Though born with a delicate and soft frame, her temper was anything but small.
Beneath his silver hair, Xie Jingchuan’s face flushed with obvious anger, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
He glared darkly at Xie Yurao. “Do you even know medical research? How dare you ask for a Research Institute just like that?”
Each field has its own expertise. Grabbing things recklessly—isn’t she afraid of choking on it?
“Nope.”
Xie Yurao answered bluntly.
She blinked, a lazy smile on her lips. “But I can hire people from medical schools to do the research.”
“…”
Why did you have to provoke her?
Xie Jingchuan, who was always in control and accustomed to keeping a straight face, now felt so furious he could only think of cursing.
“Xie—Yu—rao!”
“Second Young Master Xie.”
Tan Shen interrupted him, his deep eyes resting on him, devoid of any emotion.
Even as a lowly bodyguard, he showed not a trace of timidity in the face of this favored son of heaven.
“Please control the volume of your voice.”
The man spoke impassively, his tone cool.
“You’re scaring her.”
“…”
Xie Jingchuan: “?”
Scaring who?
Why don’t you listen to yourself? What are you even saying?
Yet Tan Shen maintained a completely serious expression, as if his young mistress were indeed a delicate and precious little princess.
His gaze icy, he retorted, Is there a problem?
Xie Yurao didn’t see a problem either.
Her slender white fingers clutched at Tan Shen’s crisp suit jacket, slowly crumpling it with her small hands.
She mumbled in agreement, “Yeah, he’s so mean…”
“…”
Xie Jingchuan couldn’t hold back any longer, letting out a scornful laugh in his anger.
Quite the actress.
As if it wasn’t her who once rode a pony and kicked him with its hooves.
Back when he first arrived at the Xie family, he was only twelve years old, pitifully thin and frail. Then came the haughty young girl, fresh from the Horse Farm.
Astride her pony, she kicked him to the ground in one swift motion.
The servants all watched and laughed, not a single one stepping forward to help him up.
“Are you the one who made my mommy unhappy?”
She sat atop her reddish-brown pony, her two pale, slender legs dangling. Her young, fox-like eyes tilted upward as she gazed down at him coldly.
“You’d better get out of my house on your own.”
“Otherwise.”
“You’ll be played to death by me.”
Arrogant, malicious, beautiful, and wicked.
That was Xie Jingchuan’s first impression of her.
Clutching the dirt on the ground, he felt the humiliation deeply, digging his nails into his own palms.
“Is that so? Then let’s give it a try.”
His mother was critically ill and needed the Xie family to cover the exorbitant medical expenses. The price was sending him back to the Xie family.
So no matter what, he had to survive in the Xie household.
Living under someone else’s roof, while Xie Yurao was the center of attention at home, she bullied him relentlessly. Even the servants followed her lead, feeding him leftovers.
Of course, Xie Jingchuan was no pushover either.
Knowing Xie Yurao was allergic to oranges, he squeezed orange juice into her drink.
That night.
The pampered young mistress’s arms were covered in red spots, itchy and painful. She cried pitifully, tears streaming down like pear blossoms.
The entire Xie family buzzed around their treasured darling.
He leaned against the wall nearby, watching the commotion with a smile.
Xie Jingchuan looked at the radiant young woman hiding behind Tan Shen. Even now that she had grown up, she was still just like before.
The man’s dangerously charming expression carried a hint of lazy amusement.
“Then, as your second brother, I’ll wish Rao Rao success in advance.”
“May your performance go smoothly.”