“Bang…” A solid ornament was mercilessly hurled to the floor. The clank of its stiff metal shell against the thick carpet made the young man standing nearby flinch.
“You’ve got some nerve. How dare you do something like this?”
The young man, who had been slightly intimidated, immediately darkened at the elder’s words. “Grandfather, you don’t need to be angry. I didn’t do it.”
The more he spoke, the more self-righteous he sounded, as if he were genuinely innocent.
Hearing this, the elder became even more furious. “Do you think all of us are fools? Or do you think that little brat from the Ren family is some worthless fool like you?”
He simply could not understand how such a spineless coward, with all courage but no skill, could be his grandson.
“Grandfather, you’ve been scared out of your wits by the Ren family, haven’t you? That Ren woman getting into trouble has nothing to do with me! You’re afraid of the Ren family, but I’m not. If they have the guts, let them come after me. It’s been days, and nothing has happened. You’re just scaring yourself…”
As the young man spoke, the corner of his eye swept across his quiet uncle and cousin nearby, and he grew even more resentful.
Why should it be this way?
The family’s fortune was earned with his father’s life, so why should his uncle reap the benefits after his father died?
Thinking of this recent incident made him feel a rush of satisfaction. The Ren family was nothing but a bunch of cowards. The old fools in his family had been scared by the Ren family’s reputation. Now, with him taking action, the Ren family would shrink back and stay hidden. After he dealt with Ren Tianxing, it would be the turn of his own family.
The young man cast a dark glance at his uncle and cousin, then said lightly to his still-fuming grandfather, “Grandfather, you’re old!”
The silent uncle of the Xu family suddenly stood up. “If you have guts, point your anger outside, don’t act tough at home.”
He signaled his son with a glance, instructing him to take the enraged nephew out.
Once the study was left with just the father and son, middle-aged Xu Rentang went over and helped his elderly father sit down again, pouring him a glass of water. “Dad, I’m sorry. I didn’t keep an eye on Lizhi this time.”
The elder waved him off, his expression grave. “Is the matter wrapped up?”
“Yes. Judging by Ren Tianxing’s reaction, I don’t think he found out it was Lizhi.”
Xu Rentang thought back to the car chase incident a few days ago and couldn’t help but chuckle.
His eldest nephew, almost thirty years old, actually dared, in today’s world full of surveillance cameras, to brazenly go looking for trouble. And the person he targeted wasn’t just anyone, it was someone from the Ren family, Ren Tianxing. Thinking about the money spent to cover this mess, he couldn’t help but feel a toothache from the frustration.
Fortunately, after splurging a huge sum, and with Ren Tianxing having just returned to the country and still unfamiliar with the local situation, they managed to escape before any solid leads could catch up.
“Rentang, the matter is truly settled, right?”
The elder, still uneasy, confirmed again with his youngest son.
“Yes, Dad. Don’t worry. The police have already investigated and found that all Ren Tianxing encountered were just some overzealous paparazzi, trying to dig up his gossip. This time, those paparazzi went too far, which caused the car collision. Everything has already been officially reported by the authorities.”
With things so clearly resolved, there was no way to reverse the outcome. Ren Tianxing, it was said, had made a fortune abroad, a tough and formidable man. However, judging by how this incident was handled, it seemed that both he and the elder had been overly wary of him. Perhaps…
The stack of photos he had been about to take out was shoved back into place. Xu Rentang seemed to recall some long-forgotten matters, his eyes narrowing slightly and his lips pressed together.
“That’s good… that’s good…”
For a while, the study was filled only with the elder’s murmuring.
Lin Haobai had no idea about the car accident that day.
He had gone to the Ren household simply to visit a friend. Who could have guessed that everything would get completely disrupted by Ren Tianxing? Yet, ever since they had taken a bath, scrubbed each other’s backs, and played in the water together, their relationship had mysteriously escalated from just friends to “good brothers.”
Thinking of that day when they slept together in the same bed, Lin Haobai shivered at the strange feeling. It was as if things were running wild, like a husky off its leash, out of control and unpredictable.
Suddenly, a big, clumsy hand swung into view, and Lin Haobai quickly reached out to block it. “Brother Wang, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? You tell me what I’m doing,” Wang You said casually, plopping down on the sofa next to Lin Haobai, placing his briefcase directly on the coffee table.
“You’ve been sneaking smiles lately. Got a girlfriend or what?” Wang You’s sharp eyes had noticed that Lin Haobai had been in an unusually good mood these past few days.
Lin Haobai, without holding back, replied, “Don’t joke around. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
No girlfriend, true. Recently, he had actually gotten a boyfriend. Well, no, a male friend. Lin Haobai thought to himself secretly.
Wang You didn’t waste words and pointed at the briefcase. “Take a look for yourself.”
He pulled out a few tissues and started wiping his face. Lately, the weather had been so hot that nobody wanted to go outside.
Seeing him so relaxed, Lin Haobai rolled his eyes. He dragged the briefcase from the coffee table over to himself, it was packed with a thick stack of papers.
“Brother Wang, this isn’t a new script, is it?”
“No, no. Didn’t you say you wanted a break? I haven’t scheduled any work for you. What you have here is a planning proposal for a new show from Banana TV. Their investors specifically requested you to participate.”
Wang You carefully watched Lin Haobai’s expression. Seeing no change at the news of new work, he knew he’d come to the right place. This kid’s mood was just too good!
“If you don’t want to take it, that’s fine too. But this program is really easy for you. It’s not like those reality shows where you have to farm, dive into the sea, or play games. Nor does it require exposing your personal life. I think it’s worth considering.”
Lin Haobai was puzzled, was this a gift falling from the sky? Such a perfect opportunity just landing in his lap?
“The best part, lots of money,” Wang You added.
At the mention of money, Lin Haobai immediately opened the proposal.
It wasn’t that he was blinded by greed; it was just that after making a wealthy male friend, he couldn’t keep relying on others’ support. Friendships worked best when both sides contributed equally. Since he had already decided to be good friends, good brothers, with Ren Tianxing, earning more money gave him confidence.
As he flipped open the neatly bound proposal, the sponsor logos immediately told him what was going on.
Of course, his good brother, Ren Tianxing, must have thought he wouldn’t get any work. He actually invested in Lin Haobai participating in a show himself. Lin Haobai couldn’t even find words to describe it, he could only call it a “divine brotherly bond.”
Suppressing his emotions, he carefully studied the basic structure of the program. The more he read, the more novel and amusing it seemed.
After about ten minutes, he pinched the bridge of his nose, put the proposal back on the coffee table, and leaned against the sofa. He thought of Ren Tianxing’s impossibly handsome face, and almost remembered that wink when he left his house yesterday. Now, glancing again at the proposal on the coffee table, he couldn’t help but think, rich people really know how to play.