The Wei family’s ancestral home actually had quite a history to it. Its aesthetic had been handed down since the old patriarch’s generation, consistently preserving the traditional style of Song Dynasty aesthetics. As long time family friends of the Weis, the Su family’s aesthetic was not much different. Old Man Su had also hired professional Chinese style interior designers, though theirs incorporated a few Western elements. As a result, the Su villa’s decoration style was a bit more fashionable than the Wei family’s ancestral home, yet remained far more solemn and dignified than entirely Western designed residences, carrying a rich Nanyang retro charm.
The villa where Yan Chong lived alone did not belong to either of these styles, its gloomy, solemn decor even reminded Su Xingyan of the Wabi-sabi style that had become popular in recent years. Minimalist, cold, and austere. Su Xingyan didn’t dislike it, yet he felt a strange, inexplicable resistance to it.
Su Xingyan cast a few more glances before slowly stepping out of the bedroom. Yan Chong was sitting leisurely in the main seat, reading a financial magazine. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Su Xingyan coming out. Yan Chong raised his eyes to look at him, a trace of a smile curling his lips. “I cooked a steak for you. Perfect timing.” Then he frowned and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”
Su Xingyan stood barefoot on the solid wood floor. Hearing this, he lowered his eyes to look at the steak placed on the dining table, it was still steaming hot. However, this cold and quiet house didn’t look like it employed a maid. Su Xingyan looked at Yan Chong with curiosity, “You live alone? …Did you make these yourself?”
“Otherwise? Did you originally plan to come over and help me?”
Yan Chong raised his brows slightly and smiled. Suddenly, he remembered that he had carried Su Xingyan back himself, so naturally, Su Xingyan couldn’t find any shoes upon coming out. Yan Chong put down the magazine, walked step by step to the entryway, and returned holding a pair of brand-new, unopened slippers.
Su Xingyan lowered his eyes, quietly watching Yan Chong’s long, slender fingers open the packaging bag, unhurriedly pulling out a pair of pure white plush slippers. “…The year I graduated from middle school, I was thrown overseas by Yan Hongfang to study. Having lived alone all these years, if I didn’t know how to cook, I would have starved to death long ago.”
Yan Chong slowly dropped to one knee in front of Su Xingyan. Holding the plush slippers, he raised his eyes and looked at him with a half-smile. “Lift your foot.”
Su Xingyan was still immersed in the story of Yan Chong growing up alone overseas. Suddenly seeing his tall frame drop to one knee in front of him, Su Xingyan’s heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, he saw Yan Chong actually reaching out his hand, looking as if he were about to grasp his ankle, “Or do you need me to help you?”
“…N-No need!” Su Xingyan’s face flushed red with shame and indignation. He was already sick, and this surge of emotion made his head feel even more dizzy and heavy, he couldn’t exert any strength throughout his body. Yan Chong’s hand hovered just millimeters away from his ankle. Hearing those words, Yan Chong raised his eyes and gave him an amused glance. “Why ‘no need’? You came to my house, is there anything wrong with me showing hospitality as the host?”
Su Xingyan pressed his lips tightly together and glared at Yan Chong, his eyes full of warning, while his lowered hand had already balled tightly into a fist without him realizing it. Su Xingyan took a deep breath, exerting all his effort to swallow down the word “scoundrel” that rushed to his lips. Turning his face away, he gritted his teeth and said, “No one shows host hospitality like this. …You, just leave them down. I’ll do it myself.”
Yan Chong raised his brows slowly, then smiled with relief. Su Xingyan was simply someone who couldn’t handle being teased. Yan Chong then placed the slippers by Su Xingyan’s feet, when the soft fur touched Su Xingyan’s toes, Su Xingyan subconsciously took a step back.
Just like a cat suffering from a stress reaction.
When Yan Chong stood up, he couldn’t help but glance at him with another laugh.
“Alright. Put your shoes on and come eat.”
Su Xingyan: ?
Su Xingyan was so angry his chest heaved up and down. He turned his face away, refusing to pay him any mind.
Perhaps because all the doors and windows were tightly shut, the cold draft couldn’t be felt in the solemn, dignified living room. On the contrary, the air pressure felt quite low, causing an inexplicable sense of oppression. Seeing Yan Chong walk back to the dining table, Su Xingyan finally raised his feet and slipped into the slippers. Taking a deep breath, he followed him over.
“…Your wedding banquet, how was it handled in the end?” Yan Chong was already seated back at the head of the table, his tall frame leaning back casually. His narrow pair of phoenix eyes quietly scanned Su Xingyan. Unable to withstand his gaze, Su Xingyan turned his face away and asked about yesterday’s chaotic wedding banquet.
Yan Chong guessed Su Xingyan would ask. With a faint smile, he asked back, “Handled how?” Seeing Su Xingyan glare over at him, Yan Chong broke into a helpless laugh and changed his tune. “Aren’t you hungry? …Sit down and eat first. We can talk while we eat.”
Su Xingyan: ?
Su Xingyan took a deep look at Yan Chong, let out a soft sigh, and ultimately sat down beside him. However, he didn’t touch the knife or fork, just staring quietly at Yan Chong.
Yan Chong didn’t force him either, picking up his knife and fork to slice the steak for himself. “Today at the Grand Yue Hotel, there was no wedding banquet, only a birthday banquet. Old Madam Yan’s 70th birthday. The guests gathered happily, enjoying a harmonious celebration. Unfortunately, you had a fever of 41 degrees at the time, so you didn’t get to see it.” Yan Chong spoke in a calm, unhurried tone. Once finished, he pushed the plate in his hand forward, swapping the neatly cut steak over to Su Xingyan. “Give me some face. Cooking a steak isn’t easy.”
Yan Chong glanced at the tense expression on Su Xingyan’s face and couldn’t help but curl his lips to tease him.
Su Xingyan’s tense expression didn’t soften much, but hearing this, he still pursed his lips, lowered his head to take the plate handed over by Yan Chong, picked up his knife and fork, and took a small bite. Medium rare, with juices running when bitten, it was his longstanding preference. Perhaps because there was food filling his stomach, Su Xingyan’s anxious emotions eased. After chewing slowly and swallowing, he finally raised his eyes, looking at Yan Chong with a calm gaze to hear him continue.
“As for me taking you away from the birthday banquet, it was ‘coincidentally’ caught on camera by paparazzi lurking at the hotel. Based on just a photo of your back, they made a massive fuss, claiming I forcibly took another man’s wife, acting worse than a beast… I assume you’ve seen it all.” As Yan Chong spoke, the thin lips curled into a self-deprecating smile, his gaze carrying a hint of resentment as he looked toward Su Xingyan. Su Xingyan felt his face grow hot under his gaze, he silently averted his eyes and took another bite of the steak.
After swallowing, Su Xingyan finally asked vaguely, “Didn’t they fail to capture a front view? How did they know it was me?”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Su Xingyan’s delicate eyebrows knit together. He raised his eyes and looked at Yan Chong hesitantly. “Your younger brother? Yan Youwei?”
Yan Chong broke into a laugh, casting a meaningful look at Su Xingyan before slowly opening his mouth. “Yan Youwei has his people inside the hotel. When I brought you back, his people probably saw it. I’ve looked into the few media outlets stirring up trouble, they are indeed his men.”
Pausing, Yan Chong added, “However, I immediately had Zheng Tianming release the photos of Wei Chengran and Tang Songzhi running away together… With the news colliding, I’m afraid the elopement makes for a far bigger sensation.”
Although the Zheng family originally built their empire on hotels in their early years, in today’s digital information era, everything has to adapt to the times. Although Zheng Tianming appeared playful and cynical on the surface, he had actually been calculating every step over the years and now controlled Ronggang’s top-tier entertainment company in terms of web traffic. The moment the incident happened, the entertainment accounts under the Zheng family’s name had already been spinning “love stories” between Wei Chengran and Tang Songzhi from various angles.
As for Yan Chong and Su Xingyan.
They were nothing more than two pitiful souls betrayed by their partners. Even if there were romantic scandals, by this time, people were actually looking forward to it. Zheng Tianming certainly knew how to manipulate public opinion.
Yan Chong continued slicing his steak, the cold knife and fork cutting through the tomahawk steak as juices overflowed. Yan Chong deliberately raised his eyes to look at Su Xingyan, comforting him with a half-smile, “Madam, rest assured. Everyone in Ronggang is currently focused on your husband and my fiancée. Our matter…”
“They have no time to care about it.”
Yan Chong’s tone was frivolous and ambiguous, speaking as if they shared some kind of improper relationship.
Su Xingyan, with his ears turning red, pretended not to hear a word. While Yan Chong was talking, he had already gone online to search for today’s news reports. Seeing that news regarding “forcibly taking another man’s wife” had vanished without a trace, replaced entirely by “Wealthy Second Gen Steals Bride, Flees Wedding with Another’s Fiancée” even he had been completely left out, without a single mention. Su Xingyan put down his phone and breathed a sigh of relief. Yan Chong was indeed different from Wei Chengran, he handled matters reliably and flawlessly. Although he was habitually arrogant and conceited, he never acted recklessly on major affairs. Yan Chong had his own strategies for doing things.
The chandelier overhead wasn’t very bright, casting only a faint warm light. Under this warm light, Su Xingyan frowned slightly, looking at Yan Chong with an unreadable expression, “…Actually, you didn’t have to make such a big scene out of it. Why?”
“Yeah, why.”
Yan Chong repeated Su Xingyan’s question with total ease. After devouring the last piece of steak on his plate, Yan Chong raised his eyes, a glint of cunning flashing through his narrow phoenix eyes, though it passed in a flash, it was still caught by Su Xingyan.
Yan Chong looked into Su Xingyan’s eyes, saying word by word. “Because only by making a scene this big will you have no way to turn back.”
Su Xingyan’s eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. Perhaps without even realizing it himself, his voice unconsciously raised a bit, “You think I would turn back?”
Yan Chong smiled faintly, his dark eyes looking back at Su Xingyan without flinching, “I think you will definitely deny it.”
Su Xingyan took a soft breath, and even his grip on the knife and fork unconsciously tightened considerably, “You are insulting me.”
“I’m just telling the truth,” Yan Chong said in a calm tone.
Night in Ronggang was quiet. The rain had stopped long ago.
Su Xingyan, likely due to his illness, didn’t have much energy to argue with him. After letting out a soft sigh, he took a napkin and quietly wiped his mouth. Today had been far too chaotic, he couldn’t stay here any longer.
Su Xingyan slowly stood up, preparing to leave the Yan residence. But the moment he turned around, he unexpectedly bumped into a pair of shocked and furious eyes.
Yan Hongfang gripped the dragon head walking stick in his hand. Even though news reports were flying everywhere and he should have anticipated this, seeing Su Xingyan in his son’s house at this moment still made him stare at Su Xingyan in disbelief, “…Yan Chong, you! You’re getting more and more out of hand! How dare you openly bring him into your house!”
“Regarding today’s matter, aren’t you going to give me, and give your grandmother an explanation!”
Yan Youwei hurriedly rushed over to support his old father, yet his eyes kept peeking over at Yan Chong. Supported by Aunt Fang, Old Madam Yan also held her walking stick as she walked forward slowly. Her naturally majestic face revealed no discernable emotion. The old lady merely stared quietly at Yan Chong and Su Xingyan in the living room.
Yan Chong maintained his completely calm and composed demeanor, looking as if he had long expected them to come and demand accountability. Yan Chong raised his eyelids, looking at Yan Hongfang with a faint hint of a smile, “What explanation do you want from me? Isn’t today’s matter exactly as you see it?”
“Tang Songzhi was taken away by Wei Chengran. And I brought back Su Xingyan.”
“If he hadn’t fainted with a fever today, then the ones getting married today would have been me and him. But it doesn’t matter.”
Yan Chong shifted his gaze, looking at Su Xingyan with a half-smile, “As for the wedding banquet, we can just make up for it later.”
Su Xingyan’s eyes widened in horror. Madman! Yan Chong is simply a total mad…