translator: Eve

editor: xiin

Song Xuanhe didn’t care that his resignation had been turned into a vacation. After handing over his work, he called Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin to meet up.

“Impressive, Song Er.” After listening to Song Xuanhe, Zhou Nan clinked glasses with him and said, “Can’t believe your dad and grandfather agreed to let you go on vacation at a time like this. A long one, too. What did you say to get them to agree? Teach me your ways.”

Song Xuanhe was completely relaxed after leaving his job. He leaned back against the couch, crossed his legs, and took a sip of beer. He was all smiles, “You wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“You’re lucky I’m nice.” Zhou Nan kicked him. He was still curious though, and scooted over to ask, “Honestly, tell me the truth. My old man’s been ordering me around like I’m a mule. I’m scared that he has illegitimate children out there who want to get rid of me by working me to the bone.”

Xiao Shenglin said in a flat voice, “Like your dad would even bother with you anymore if had illegitimate children.”

When he heard this, Zhou Nan clicked his tongue and turned to look at Xiao Shenglin. “Lin zi, you’ve really changed. You weren’t like this in the past. You used to be so gentle and warm. You’re just like Song Er now, with that vicious tongue of yours.”

He then turned to Song Er and sized the other up with scrunched brows for a while. Shaking his head, he said, “You too, Song Er. You’ve also changed. Ever since Xiao Yuanmu left, you’ve become so much like him. You’re frighteningly cold. I almost started to believe that silence was infectious. Now, you’re back to normal, but I don’t know if I should be relieved or worried.”

Song Xuanhe stared at him wordlessly as he lazed back onto the sofa, waiting for the other to continue.

Zhou Nan raised a hand and pointed to Song Xuanhe’s face. “That’s it! That insufferably arrogant, ridiculing smirk! You used to make that face all that time. But since Xiao Yuanmu left, you stopped making it. It was like you were suffering from facial paralysis all this time. I even went to ask Yu Yan for medical advice. I thought you had gotten some kind of disease and hadn’t gone to seek help.”

Song Xuanhe shook his leg, deeming it beneath himself to respond to this comment. Turning to face Xiao Shenglin, he said, “Uncle Xiao’s back from his summons to the Xiao Family. Did you hear anything from him?”

Xiao Shenglin’s faint smile disappeared. “The Xiao Family situation is complicated. Originally, they had decided to transfer him to the main branch, but then, they decided against it. They decided that it wouldn’t be pragmatic to transfer him back to his old position right away, so they gave him a new post. He had become the manager of a factory in Southeast Asia and was only able to come back now because he said that he wanted to take a break, considering his advanced age.”

Song Xuanhe dropped his leg and sat up straighter. “So what you’re saying is….”

“The Xiao Family’s a huge mess right now,” Xiao Shenglin said. “Xiao Yuanmu’s return messed up the divisions of the Xiao Family branches. He’s not incompetent or without any footing—he has RE. Anyone with eyes can see how capable he is. No matter how outstanding Xiao Baicong had been in school or during his internships, Xiao Yuanmu still outshines him, considering how he had built up such a huge company from scratch. Uncle doesn’t want to partake in this kind of power struggle, so he’s been trying to run away from it. But Xiao Yuanmu….”

Song Xuanhe’s expression changed slightly. His lips curled up in to a smile and he crossed his legs again. “You should know just how capable he is. We don’t have to worry about him.”

Zhou Nan sighed. “The more people there are, the more disputes there are. Deciding who will succeed the Xiao Family is akin to deciding who would succeed the Emperor’s throne in ancient times. There’s scheming everywhere and someone might even die if they’re not careful. It’s good that Uncle Xiao’s escaped. And Xiao Ranyun—she should avoid going to the main residence as well. But Xiao Yuanmu doesn’t have it easy. He’s got to deal with so much shit after going home. He might as well have never gone back.”

“He has no say in whether or not he gets to go back once the Xiao Family’s discovered him.” Xiao Shenglin’s voice was cold. He looked down at the glass in his hands. Gentle clinks of the ice cubes could be heard as he swayed the glass gently. “There’s only one path Xiao Yuanmu can take if he wants to live a good life.”

Zhou Nan frowned. “Don’t you think you’re exaggerating things a little too much? In any case, he’s still the Xiao Family patriarch and his legal wife’s biological son. They even did DNA testing. It’s not like he’ll die if he doesn’t take over.”

“If he didn’t have RE, maybe.” Xiao Shenglin looked up. There was an unprecedented chill and darkness in his eyes. “RE is both his footing in the Xiao Family and the sharp blade that will kill him if he were to fail in taking over the family.”

“Isn’t that too….”

Zhou Nan’s voice lowered. After a moment of silence, he kicked the desk. “Fuck, why did Xiao Yuanmu go back then?!”

The atmosphere grew heavy. The singer on the stage nearby was singing softly. Her voice was gentle, but it could not lighten up the atmosphere.

Song Xuanhe, who was the closest to Xiao Yuanmu out of the three of them, was the most relaxed. He quietly sipped on his alcohol and sized Xiao Shenglin up from the corner of his eye. Under the dim lighting, Xiao Shenglin sat there with no expression on his face.

【Xiao Shenglin’s mood is fluctuating a lot. He might be thinking about something negative.】

The System’s voice echoed in Song Xuanhe’s mind, but Song Xuanhe paid it no heed. He was thinking of something else.

He remembered seeing Xiao Shenglin when he was in school from a photo in the past. He had appeared cold, proud, aloof, reserved and just completely different from how he usually was. But the current Xiao Shenglin was similar to the Xiao Shenglin in that photo. The gaze he had whenever he mentioned the Xiao Family was raised was just like this.

Just what happened to make him change so dramatically?

Song Xuanhe was very curious.

He also thought that Xiao Shenglin’s change in personality would likely have something to do with his ‘accidental’ death by car crash in the near future. He had delayed his travelling plans because he wanted to prevent Xiao Shenglin’s death, but he didn’t know what was causing Xiao Shenglin’s intense emotional fluctuations. It made him feel uneasy.

He felt like Xiao Shenglin’s death had something to do with the Xiao Family.

“Lin zi.” Zhou Nan poured a glass of wine and handed it over to Xiao Shenglin before pouring himself a glass. He then said, “I don’t know what you’re thinking of right now, but I can tell you’re not in a good mood. As your friend, I’m worried about you. That’s why I was so worked up. I didn’t mean to speak against you. Let me dedicate this glass in apology.”

Xiao Shenglin looked up. Song Xuanhe pressed Zhou Nan’s hand down. “Why are you drinking? When aren’t you worked up? Besides, you were talking about Xiao Yuanmu just now. What are you apologizing to Lin zi for? You should be apologizing to me.”

Zhou Nan paused and then a smile erupted on his face. He handed the glass he had pushed over to Xiao Shenglin to Song Xuanhe. His movements were a bit careless and some of it spilled out. “That’s right. I was just a bit too jealous and depressed that you’re able to go out and play while I can’t. Well, it doesn’t matter who I apologize to. We’re all friends here. Come, drink up.”

Song Xuanhe shook the glass in front of Xiao Shenglin’s face. “Let’s drink together.”

Xiao Shenglin’s hand tightened, but a smile graced his face. He gave Song Xuanhe a grateful look, grabbed a bottle of beer at random and clinked glasses with the other two. “Let’s drink.”

After that drink, everyone relaxed again.

Zhou Nan’s face was flushed as he drank glass after glass. His face was red, and he whispered into Song Xuanhe’s ears, “What do you think is up with Yu Yan? He’s willing to see me one moment, but will refuse to meet with me in the next. He’ll treat me nicely and then treat me like I’m the plague a second later. What did I do wrong? People say that women are unreadable, but I think Yu Yan’s even harder to read. He’s more unfathomable than the Marianas trench. I can’t get a read on him at all.”

Song Xuanhe pushed Zhou Nan’s head away from him and said with a cold voice, “Go to the hospital and ask him yourself. How would I know?”

“Lin zi.” When he failed to get an answer, Zhou Nan changed targets and headed over to Xiao Shenglin. “What do you think? What’s Yu Yan thinking?”

Xiao Shenglin was pouring out a new wine the bartender had just brought over. He downed his drink, gaze downcast as he sat there silently. When Zhou Nan pushed him, his body swayed. There was a blank look in his eyes.

Zhou Nan had a good alcohol tolerance and was just pretending to be drunk. Since no one paid any attention to him, he decided to stop with the facade. Xiao Shenglin’s appearance had surprised him though, and he pointed to the other man, asking Song Xuanhe, “It can’t be that he’s drunk?”

Song Xuanhe had noticed that Xiao Shenglin had drunk a lot. He didn’t ask too much about it, because he knew the other was in a bad mood. In the past, Xiao Shenglin had always restrained himself while drinking. Even if Song Xuanhe and Zhou Nan were drunk, he would still be sober. This was the first time he had ever seen Xiao Shenglin drunk.

Xiao Shenglin’s body swayed for a while before setting back in place. He then poured himself another glass and drank quietly, as if he didn’t notice what was happening around him at all.

Zhou Nan was concerned. “I’ve never seen him like this before. Will something happen if we let him keep drinking like this?”

“What would happen?” Song Xuanhe sipped on his own drink and said in a milk voice, “At worst, he’ll have to go to the ER to get his stomach pumped. Let him drink.”

“Pump…” Zhou Nan licked his lips. A thought flashed through his mind and his eyes lit up. “Right, let’s just let him get it out of his system. I’ll call up Yu Yan to help out when we go to the hospital.”

Song Xuanhe rolled his eyes and didn’t respond.

“Song Er.” Zhou Nan once again scurried over and asked, “How long are you going on vacation for? I had a classmate who went travelling right after high school. His family didn’t agree, so he worked while travelling. He’s basically visited and travelled the world. But it took him three or four years to do that. You’re not going to be away for that long, are you?”

Song Xuanhe saw that Zhou Nan didn’t want to separate from him for that long. He paused while grabbing his drink, then put it back down on the table and looked away. “Who knows? It’s hard to say.”

Zhou Nan was rather tipsy and couldn’t read Song Xuanhe’s tone. He placed a hand on Song Xuanhe’s shoulder and said, “That won’t do. You have to come back for my birthday. If you don’t come back, I’ll grab you the next time you return to the Capital and send you off to Xiao Yuanmu. He’ll discipline you.”

Song Xuanhe’s reluctance to part was completely swept away by that statement. He shoved the other away. “Scram.”

Zhou Nan giggled and then suddenly fell into low spirits. “I feel like we’ve all changed….”

Song Xuanhe was taken aback. He turned to look at him.

“It was so good in the past.” Zhou Nan stared at the table full of empty glasses, eyes glazed over. “I remember how you always had that derisive smirk on your face. You’d make fun of anyone you saw. The day you threw Lu Chao in the pool is especially clear in my mind. It was so awesome. At that moment, I thought that you had finally wised up. I thought that it would be hard for you to enter our circle, so I dragged you around with me. I never thought that I’d actually get along with you.

“There’s also Lin zi. I’ve known him since we were young. Although he’s studied abroad for several years, we were really close. And then you came. You became one of us. The three of us got along so well. Whether we were drinking, boasting—whatever we did, it was always a good time. But now, Xiao Yuanmu’s left, you’ve changed, Lin zi’s changed, and Yu Yan and I…damn it, let’s drink!”

Song Xuanhe bumped glasses with him. His gaze shifted to Xiao Shenglin, who was still drinking solemnly in the corner with his eyes down.

After Zhou Nan finished off the alcohol on the table, he hollered for someone to bring more over. “Drink! We’re not going home until we’re shitfaced. No one’s allowed to go until they’re drunk.”

Song Xuanhe had always controlled himself when he drank. But when he heard Zhou Nan say this, he couldn’t help but drink a few more glasses than normal. Xiao Shenglin continued to drink without restraint. Although it was slow, he never stopped.

“Song Er, tell me something,” Zhou Nan said with red eyes, hand grabbing onto Song Xuanhe, “What’s going on between you and Xiao Yuanmu? You never seemed to be interested in travelling before, yet as soon as the Xiao banquet ended, you decided to travel. Did something happen that we didn’t know about? Did Xiao Yuanmu do something to you? Tell me and I’ll fly to America and beat him up.”

Song Xuanhe was thinking about something so he absentmindedly gave him a sound of acknowledgement. When he came back to himself, he saw Zhou Nan slam his hands on the table and stand up. He shouted, “I just knew that Xiao Yuanmu was no good!”

The music in the quiet bar was soft and easy. His shout caused most of the guests to look over.

Amongst them, there was a group of guests dressed in very ordinary clothes. They exchanged glances, then one of them coughed and asked, “Should we report this?”

Someone replied: “Probably.”

Someone else pondered over this and then said, “I guess it’s a security issue?”

“Well, it does pertain to the security of their relationship,” An average looking man confirmed. “I think Mr. Xiao would like to know about this.”

The people exchanged glances and then nodded at each other.

Song Xuanhe’s group had no idea that this conversation was going on. When Song Xuanhe saw Zhou Nan going crazy, he pulled him down. He had absentmindedly agreed earlier, but when he processed what the other had said, he asked with a perplexed expression: “What are you doing?”

“Didn’t you say Xiao Yuanmu hurt you?” Zhou Nan’s expression was blank. He wanted to stand up. “I’ll teach him a lesson for you.”

“As if you’d be able to.” Song Xuanhe kept pressing down on the other’s shoulder. “Stop acting like a crazy drunk. I know what your tolerance is.”

Zhou Nan had vented his feelings. He pouted and said, “I can’t get drunk, so why can’t I pretend?”

Song Xuanhe looked away. He didn’t want to watch the other pout. In a voice filled with disdain, he said, “Do it outside. Noone will care outside.”

Zhou Nan shrugged and spread his palms out. He snuggled into the sofa, well-behaved. He let his excited, tipsy brain calm down.

After Zhou Nan shut up, everything quieted back down, and Song Xuanhe leaned back against the sofa.

A few seconds later, Xiao Shenglin, who had been drinking quietly this whole time, suddenly looked up. “I never want to go back to the Xiao Family’s main residence again.”

Song Xuanhe was startled. He put down his arm that had been holding up his chin and straightened up. He exchanged glances with the befuddled Zhou Nan before they both turned to look at Xiao Shenglin.

Xiao Shenglin didn’t have Asian glow. Sitting there quietly, he looked no different than usual. If it wasn’t because his gaze was unfocused, no one would be able to tell that he was drunk.

He continued: “I don’t want to go to the main residence. Never again.”

Zhou Nan blinked and then turned to Song Xuanhe. He whispered, “What’s going on?”

Song Xuanhe told the other to shut up with his gaze. He then cast his gaze back onto Xiao Shenglin. “Why?”

Xiao Shenglin’s eyes were blank. It took him a while to process Song Xuanhe’s question. “I don’t like it there.”

Song Xuanhe asked again, “Why?”

Xiao Shenglin looked perplexed. His eyebrows then slowly gathered together, as if he was recalling some memory. It looked like he was trying to formulate his response. He was silent for some time.

“Song Er.” Zhou Nan shoved Song Xuanhe, voice lowered and a frown on his face. “What are you doing? You trying to wriggle it out of him?”

Song Xuanhe watched Xiao Shenglin’s expression tightly. He whispered back, “I have my reasons. Don’t get involved.”

“No way!” Zhou Nan raised his voice a bit. He observed Xiao Shenglin’s expression. When he saw that the other didn’t react, he lowered his voice again. “Lin zi probably has his reasons for not sharing this with us. You plan on taking advantage of his drunken state to get it out of him?”

Song Xuanhe ignored him and said again, “Xiao Shenglin, tell me why.”

It was probably because he heard his name but Xiao Shenglin reacted more quickly this time. His brows were furrowed tightly. “Because….”

“Song Er!”

Zhou Nan stood up and lowered his head to speak to Song Xuanhe. “What the hell are you doing? If he doesn’t want to tell us, why force him? Can’t you control your curiosity?”

Zhou Nan’s loud voice had caused Xiao Shenglin to stop talking.

Song Xuanhe was a bit angry because Zhou Nan’s interruption had prevented him from hearing Xiao Shenglin’s response. His voice cooled down. “I have my reasons. Don’t meddle.”

“What reason?” Zhou Nan asked. “What reason could there be to justify forcing someone to say something they don’t want to say?”

Song Xuanhe was about to respond when he noticed the hurt in Zhou Nan’s tense eyes. He pursed his lips and then lowered his voice a bit more. “I’m doing this for Lin zi’s sake. If you trust me, don’t ask anything more.”

When he saw Song Xuanhe’s lowered gaze, Zhou Nan calmed down. The alcohol had rushed to his brain just now. He had known Song Xuanhe for a long time. Although he hadn’t thought much of the other man in the past, they had indeed become good friends. He absolutely trusted him.

It was just… he didn’t know why, but he felt like something had changed since Xiao Yuanmu had left the Capital.

Especially when he looked at Song Xuanhe and Xiao Shenglin, who were now entangled in the Xiao Family’s mess. He felt like something was dragging the two of them into the Xiao Family’s circles where people tore each other apart for power and benefits. He was their friend, but was powerless to help them. He couldn’t do anything but watch on the sidelines.

“Of course I trust you.” Zhou Nan sat back down, both fists clenched tightly. He rubbed his face with both hands. “I just…drank too much.”

Song Xuanhe patted him on the shoulder and whispered, “I know.”

Zhou Nan nodded, his face still covered. He didn’t say anything else.

After comforting Zhou Nan, Song Xuanhe once again turned his attention to Xiao Shenglin. He softened his tone. “Xiao Shenglin, why don’t you like the Xiao Family? Why won’t you return?”

Xiao Shenglin didn’t respond. He was staring at the melted ice cubes in his otherwise empty glass. Song Xuanhe didn’t know what he was thinking about.

Song Xuanhe pursed his lips and repeated his question.

This time, Xiao Shenglin looked up. He didn’t respond though. All he did was stare at Song Xuanhe quietly.

Song Xuanhe frowned. He was about to ask again when he saw Zhou Nan look up. Zhou Nan glanced at Song Xuanhe and then went to sit next to Xiao Shenglin. He quietly said, “Lin zi, can you tell me a secret? Why don’t you like the Xiao Family?”

Only then did Xiao Shenglin respond. His brows that had just relaxed scrunched up once more. Something flashed through his eyes. He then said, “After the eldest young master of the Xiao Family disappeared, the Xiao patriarch and his wife searched all over the world. But when they came up with nothing after two years, everyone told them that Xiao Yuanmu had likely already died. They had no choice but to give up….”

Zhou Nan turned to meet eyes with Song Xuanhe. They were confused.

What did Xiao Yuanmu have to do with why Xiao Shenglin didn’t want to go back to the Xiao Family?

Xiao Shenglin didn’t notice their eye contact. He slowly continued, “The Xiao Family couldn’t be without a successor. So, the patriarch and his wife decided to have another child once their emotions stabilized. But they hadn’t been able to get pregnant even after another two years, and someone suggested that they should choose a child from a branch family. The patriarch and his wife didn’t agree at the start, but eventually, they caved under the pressure and gave in.

“Everyone knew that it was no coincedence that the eldest young master had gone missing. The most suspicious branch was my great uncle’s. But the person who had raised the suggestion had proposed that they chose a child from my great uncle’s side. Everyone else had agreed. Although the patriarch and his wife weren’t happy, they had no choice. They ended up choosing me, a child who was already in China and was related to my great uncle but had no contact with him.”

Song Xuanhe was taken aback. Zhou Nan was equally as shocked. They were so shocked that they didn’t even think to look at each other. Both of their gazes were stuck on Xiao Shenglin as they carefully listened to his words.

“Mom had a weak body. She was no match for Great Uncle and the rest of the Xiao Family. I had no choice but to leave with them. At that time, I was nearly six years old. I was old enough to understand what was going on. So I wasn’t willing to leave my mom. Even after arriving at the main residence, I always acted up. Every day, I would cause a fuss.

“The servants who took care of me had been really afraid that I would upset the patriarch and his wife. That’s why they would frequently lock me up in my room. I would only be allowed out when the patriarch and his wife wanted to see me. On my sixth birthday, many children came to the main residence. They were all children of the branch families who had come to live there temporarily while I celebrated my birthday. The matriarch had held my hand and fed me cake. She had then sent me off to play with the other children, but the other kids knew that I wasn’t the biological child of the patriarch and his wife, so they liked to bully me.

“They did so many things….In the end, I stopped talking.” Xiao Shenglin looked conflicted. “One day, someone tricked me into going into a cave in the mountains behind the castle. That person then left, leaving me there for two days.”

“I had no water or food. The cave was really dark and the sound of the wind blowing through the cave had been extremely frightening. Eventually, I decided to try to find my way back. Halfway, the search group finally managed to find me. When I woke up, I wanted to tell the matriarch that I wanted to go home.

“I didn’t expect to overhear the servants talking. They said that I was lucky to survive. But then again, maybe I was better off dead. They said that no one earnestly tried to find me after I disappeared. They said that the Xiao Family relatives wished that I was dead. Someone said that maybe my disappearance wasn’t just a childish prank. Maybe there was another reason.

“I was so afraid. I’d chosen a hiding spot at random.” Xiao Shenglin’s voice grew fainter. “I overheard the matriarch’s servants speaking. They said that the matriarch had been a bit worried in the beginning, but had then also thought that it was a good thing. She’d said, it would be wonderful if I wasn’t able to come back on my own. That maybe I would give up on going back to my mom and would decide to treat the matriarch better.

“I had been terrified. That night, I suffered a high fever.” Xiao Shenglin laughed. “My fever was so high I nearly died. Out of fear, I kept calling for my mom. So they sent me back. Who would have expected that I would recover after being sent home.”

Zhou Nan and Song Xuanhe could not conceal their shock at the end of his story. They even forgot to wonder how Xiao Shenglin was able to tell such a coherent story despite being ‘drunk’. It took them a while to come back to themselves.

“The Xiao Family is inhumane, how could they treat a child so cruelly?” Zhou Nan gritted his teeth. “They act like the child they stole isn’t a living, breathing human. Like the child’s life or death is up to them to decide.”

Song Xuanhe pursed his lips tightly and remained silent. He was trying to figure out if this story had anything to do with Xiao Shenglin’s future death. Before he could find a connection, another thought popped up in his mind. He looked up to face Xiao Shenglin. As expected, there was no trace of being drunk on his face.

Noticing Song Xuanhe’s expression, Xiao Shenglin smiled. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you two, I would have kept this cooped up inside me for the rest of my life. Not even my mom knows what happened to me while I was at the main residence. I feel a lot better after getting this off my chest.”

Eve: My heart hurts for XSL. That’s such a terrible experience to go through as a child. And ZN being soft over their friendship makes me sad. Change also makes me sad. Nostalgia is bittersweet when you think of what used to be.

xiin: here, have some stabby knives~