Liu Erxing sent Yun Fan a phone case. …
Others didn’t know what Zhu Zhiqian was talking about, but Yun Fan understood perfectly well. The implication was simply for Yun Fan to look at him if he couldn’t reach the heights of the wealthy elite, he could always throw himself into Zhu Zhiqian’s arms instead.
Then, Yun Fan could offer himself up as a stepping stone.
Yun Fan wasn’t that foolish. He had to nip every budding intention in the cradle. He didn’t want to endure the bitterness of work, and he wouldn’t so much as taste the bitterness of love.
Seeing that Yun Fan remained unmoved, Zhu Zhiqian felt a bit awkward and frowned at him. Yun Fan was indeed very much to his taste, but he didn’t seem too bright right now.
How could anyone think about climbing the social ladder? Utterly unrealistic.
Because the protagonist’s love interest had ruined his mood, Yun Fan felt somewhat glum. Fortunately, by the time he returned to Langyun Terrace and washed his hands, Uncle Man called out to him.
“Steward Yun, come quick and try this bowl of mango pomelo sago,” Uncle Man said, his face creased with smiles. “I thought you might know the young master’s tastes better than I do. Give me your honest opinion.”
Sweet with a hint of tart, soft and crunchy in perfect balance, the fragrant flavor instantly turned Yun Fan’s mood from cloudy to sunny. He smiled and said, “The young master will definitely love it!”
The old steward frowned slightly from a distance. In the past, the fat cook had always asked him, hadn’t he? Zhu Zhiqian shrugged his shoulders. “Father, if you don’t help me soon, your job might just get snatched away.”
Ever since Yun Fan had arrived, Uncle Man had noticed that his words never fell flat. He didn’t watch crosstalk, so he didn’t understand that Yun Fan was a perfect straight man he only knew that talking to Yun Fan made him happy.
“Here, let me tell you the story behind this mango pomelo sago,” Uncle Man said with a smile. “Guanyin Bodhisattva holds a willow branch in her right hand, and the dew in the vase in her left hand is called ‘yangzhi ganlu’ willow-branch nectar.”
“Legend has it that this dew can bring people good fortune and peace.”
“Little Yun, Uncle Man hopes that after drinking this nectar, you’ll find sweetness after bitterness and live a long, healthy life.” Uncle Man looked at Yun Fan with great kindness and patted his head.
Yun Fan smiled with narrowed eyes. Of course, he could see the sincere blessing in Uncle Man’s words. In the past, older people had said similar things to him, and he had always accepted them.
“Mmm, thank you, Uncle Man,” Yun Fan said from the bottom of his heart, his mouth still filled with sweetness.
Zhu Zhiqian raised an eyebrow. “Look at that a mere steward, and he’s got the whole building charmed. Dad, that’s something you haven’t managed to do in decades.”
The old steward clenched his left fist and shifted it awkwardly before replying, “I answer only to my employer.”
Liu Erxing rarely visited his father’s office, and when he did, he drew the attention of the entire company. The gazes were too intense, so he curled the corner of his mouth and raised a hand in a casual salute to everyone.
He was the type who looked slim in clothes but was well-built underneath. He walked with a brisk, confident stride, like a model.
But everyone knew this Young Master Liu didn’t like walking on the ground he preferred flying in the sky. He was a pilot for the aviation rescue team. Apart from eating, drinking, and having fun, he spent the rest of his time saving lives.
A pretty dashing guy, and pretty impressive too.
But in the eyes of his father, Liu Jun, he was pretty damn crazy.
Liu Jun was stationed at the mainland branch of Wenming Entertainment. Above him, the head of the Hong Kong headquarters was Wen Tingwang, Liu Erxing’s god-grandfather and Wen Zhaofu’s great-uncle.
Liu Jun had climbed to this position thanks to Liu Erxing. Liu Erxing’s grandparents had been close friends with Wen Tingwang, and since Wen Tingwang had never married or had children, he had adopted Liu Erxing as his god-grandson.
Liu Jun and Liu Erxing’s mother had divorced long ago. When he heard that his son had managed to become a godson of a wealthy family, he eagerly came crawling back and insisted that Wen Tingwang accept him as a godson as well.
Wen Tingwang, who at seventy was still alone and found everything troublesome, rarely left Harbor City. But expanding Wenming Entertainment’s territory was something that had to be done, so he simply handed it over to Liu Jun.
“Take this box of snail caviar to your god-grandfather,” Liu Jun said, placing an exquisite box in front of Liu Erxing. “I heard he’s been looking for top-quality goods lately, so I had someone buy some from France.”
Liu Erxing pushed the box away with utter disdain, waving his hand in front of his nose. “It’s definitely not good. If it were, the ancestors would have written it down long ago.”
“Never mind that. What matters is that the old man is happy when he sees it.” Liu Jun smiled without sincerity.
“Right, for god-grandfather’s happiness, you’d even have me change my surname.” Liu Erxing flashed his handsome face with a wild grin.
Liu Jun had indeed brought this up before. If not for the will Liu Erxing’s grandfather left before his death, strictly forbidding the father and son from changing their surnames, there might already be a “Wen Jun” or “Wen Erxing” by now.
“Xingxing, stop flying that crappy plane. It’s tiring and dangerous, why not get into the entertainment industry instead?” Liu Jun urged. “With your looks, you’re no worse than the current top stars. Come on board, I’ll feed you resources. Father and son working together, how great would that be?”
“Nope, I’m flying that crappy plane.” Liu Erxing shrugged. “I save more people, balance the family’s karma. So some people don’t do too many shady deeds and leave my grandfather restless up in heaven.”
Every word was a jab at Liu Jun, and of course he could hear it. But for the sake of his grand plan, he pretended not to notice.
“Remember what I told you. I won’t bother with anything else.” Liu Jun waved his hand, signaling Liu Erxing to leave.
Liu Erxing said nothing, stood up, and walked out. What could Liu Jun possibly ask of him? Nothing more than to keep close ties with the Wen family, fawn over Wen Tingwang, and after the old man passed, fight for more real money and gold.
To Liu Erxing, this was childish. Would a wealthy family like the Wens of Harbor City just sit back and let an outsider take their money? They’d have started planning asset protection measures decades ago.
Carrying the caviar, Liu Erxing walked into the open office area. His peach-blossom eyes swept around and spotted something amusing.
“Miss, where’d you get that phone case?” Liu Erxing pulled out his phone. “Add me on WeChat and send me the link.”
Instantly, the surroundings went quiet. Young Master Liu proactively adding someone on WeChat a first!
The next afternoon, Yun Fan received an air-shipped box of snail caviar and a phone case. On the case was a sticky note with Liu Erxing’s flamboyant handwriting.
[Steward Yun, felt it suited you perfectly. The quality online is mediocre, so I had one custom-made. Please accept it.]
Yun Fan saw the words printed on the case and laughed.
“Dog catcher. Catcher of disobedient dogs.”
What, did Liu Erxing sense that Yun Fan had some kind of dog-training aura?
Yun Fan turned the phone case over in his hands, left and right, and thought the color scheme was indeed quite nice. His old case had been badly scuffed from that fall he took, so swapping it out was a good idea.
Otherwise, the old steward would nag again a steward’s belongings should match the tone of a wealthy household.
Though that phone still followed him around, the contact information of those people from the past was no longer in it. It was old, yet new.
While fiddling with his phone, Wen Zhaofu returned. He looked up and saw Yun Fan smiling, so he asked what happy thing he had encountered.
Yun Fan showed the phone case to Wen Zhaofu, saying it was a gift from Liu’er Xing.
“Oh? From Da Liu?” Wen Zhaofu looked surprised, then after a moment, smiled again. “Perhaps it’s to thank you for hosting him. Keep it.”
Yun Fan shook his head. “I was just working according to your requirements. He should be thanking you.”
Ever since they changed their meal times, Wen Zhaofu had become much more relaxed, and he would eat a bit more at dinner than usual. Today, when he had the mango pomelo sago, he was delighted, and his expression was much lighter.
After Wen Zhaofu finished eating and contacted Wen Tingwang, Yun Fan took the caviar and headed toward Li Pavilion.
It had rained again in the afternoon, and now the sky was pitch black, the air sticky and humid. Yun Fan felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Just as he was walking with full concentration, a sudden “woof” came from the bushes.
“Good heavens! Whose big dog is that!” Yun Fan jumped back a step, landing in a puddle.
Wen Haochen rushed out, grabbing the leash and pulling back his husky. The dog was still staring at Yun Fan, who looked helplessly at his soaked pant legs.
“Are all rich people’s dogs this fierce?” Yun Fan muttered.
“I’m sorry, Quanquan just arrived and isn’t familiar with this place. His temperament is actually very gentle, you know.” Wen Haochen scratched the back of his head. “Where are you headed? Let me walk you there.”
Yun Fan waved the hand holding his phone, about to say no need, when he saw the husky freeze in place. Yun Fan was momentarily stunned, then shook his phone again. The husky remained sitting obediently.
“Oh my, this phone case really does tame dogs!” Yun Fan exclaimed in delight. “I’m off now. You keep walking your dog. If you can’t control him anymore, feel free to come find me!”
Seeing Yun Fan leave cheerfully, Wen Haochen watched his bouncing, skipping figure with a puzzled look. He slapped his forehead—he’d forgotten to tell Yun Fan that Grandpa had said it was Langyun Terrace’s turn to be in charge of afternoon tea this month.