Xu Ting said angrily, “Your brain is nothing but a decoration!”
At this time, Song Wanhua’s phone call was over. Song Yueran leaned over and asked, “Dad, what’s the matter?” Song Wanhua smiled, patted her on the shoulder and said, “It’s nothing, it’s getting late, let the driver take you back first.”
“Why chase me away if things are fine?” It’s in a girl’s nature to be sensitive. She looked at his father, then at Xu Ting, and said, “Uncle Xu, can you let Xu Ye take me back?”
Before Xu Ting could speak, Song Wanhua tapped his daughter on the head, “You girl, have some decency. Xiao Ye and I still have a business to talk about, so you go back first.”
When he saw her blinking at him, Xu Ye knew that she was afraid that he would be reprimanded and wanted to help him escape, so he smiled and said, “You can call me anytime you want to go somewhere when you are free.”
Song Yueran nodded and left.
“How is it? What did they say over there?” Xu Ting was very anxious, “I have asked someone to prepare the money. As long as they don’t mind, we’ll pay for it all.”
Song Wanhua shook his head, “I asked the people at the auction house, the check has already been paid, and the painting has been taken away. It is too late to remedy this situation. I think it would be safer if I accompanied you to explain and sincerely apologise.”
“Is No. 6 a member of Golden Eagle?” Xu Ye asked suddenly. Looking at the expressions on Xu Ting and Song Wanhua’s faces, he knew he had guessed right.
They were probably the only ones who could silence these powerful and influential figures with a single card. No one had ever dared to reach out for the things they fancy, so that’s why the auctioneer’s face looked so shocked after he raised his card. Knowing nothing, he raised the price again and again, forcing the other party to take the painting at a high price. This behaviour was tantamount to open challenge and provocation. With the style of Golden Eagle, it was absolutely impossible to let it go. As the saying goes, if you didn’t do anything to warrant death, you would not die. Xu Ye now knew what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into with his momentary impulsiveness. If this matter was not handled properly, everything that the Xu family had struggled with for many years might disappear under the eagle’s claws.
However, things had come to this point of no escape, and there must be a consequence. Whoever caused the trouble should be the one to bear it.
Xu Ye tried his best to maintain his composure, and said, “Uncle Song, I’ll go with you to apologize.”
Xu Ting shouted: “What era is this and you still trying to be brave?!”
Song Wanhua admired the boy’s courage in his heart. After thinking for a while, he patted him on the shoulder and said, “Fine. After all, you’re the one who held up the sign, so it’s more appropriate for you to go.”
The c0cktail party continued and the banquet hall was lit up. Xu Ye followed Song Wanhua upstairs and stopped outside a suite of rooms. Outside the door stood four men in black suits, all with burly figures and shining eyes.
“Mr. Song.” One of them, standing on the left, bowed slightly to Song Wanhua.
“Heizi, long time no see.” Song Wanhua greeted with a smile, “Is Third Young Master inside?”
“Yes, please come in.” The bodyguard called Heizi stretched out his hand and opened the door without saying a word.
Xu Ye knew that the third young master referred to Chu Guangyue’s third son, Chu Xuan. Since three years ago, Chu Guangyue gradually handed over power to his three sons and retired behind the scenes to become the Overlord. Chu Xuan was only twenty-five years old but had been in business for several years. He had a number of businesses, mostly in the arts, such as performing arts companies and animation and comic book creations. The outside world described him as savage, unpredictable, and the most difficult of the three brothers. He was very interested in antique calligraphy and paintings, and he probably came here especially for the ‘Water Lilies’ today.
Before he entered the door, Xu Ye took a deep breath.
The suites were large and beautifully decorated. A drop-shaped crystal lamp hangs in a large area on the top, illuminating the room as if it were daylight. The floor was covered with a light grey carpet of dark flowers. There were many people in the room, but it was surprisingly quiet. The only person sitting was a man in the middle of the sofa.
Xu Ye’s eyes fell on him.
Unlike the ones seen in those economic weekly magazines, Chu Xuan had a very classical face, like those handsome princes in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, with a pair of slightly curved peach blossom eyes1eye in a wavy shape like a peach flower petal, as if he was smiling, but his gaze was cold. With a dark blue suit dr4p3d over his shoulders, he leaned on the sofa in a comfortable posture. The collar of the shirt was unbuttoned two times, revealing a small part of his collarbone.
“I haven’t seen Uncle Song for a long time, but you seemed to be getting younger and younger.” Chu Xuan got up and raised his hand, looking very enthusiastic, “Please sit down.”
Song Wanhua sat down on the sofa at the side, and said with a smile, “Is Third Young Master complimenting me or making fun of me?”
“Look at you.” Chu Xuan pursed his lips, “No matter how much I mess around, I can’t make fun of you.” He paused, his gaze wandered over to Xu Ye who was standing behind Song Wanhua, and he said leisurely, “If you want to talk about jokes, it seems that I am the one who is making people laugh today.”
Xu Ye’s heart sank for a moment, knowing that the heavy rain was about to come.
Song Wanhua was no less than a veteran, he spoke calmly and steadily, “Everyone outside says that the Third Young Master is a man of goodwill and kindness that donated so much to the children who have lost their education. They were all very touched.” These words made everything sound like a deliberate arrangement, putting a step under the young master’s feet.
Chu Xuan laughed out loud, and his peach blossom eyes glowed darkly, “Uncle Song’s words were so good that I couldn’t even pick out a single thing that was wrong with him. You are worthy of being a veteran.”
“Third Young Master, it was actually a misunderstanding that things turned out like this. It was his first time to come to this kind of occasion, he was ignorant and reckless. He didn’t know that No. 6 was your card, so he repeatedly increased the amount. He originally wanted to donate the money, but I wonder if Third Young Master can give him a chance?” Song Wanhua revealed his intentions. As long as Chu Xuan was willing to let Xu Ye go, the money would be paid out of the Xu family’s pocket.
“If I take the painting and let him pay for it, and the words got out, people will think that our Golden Eagle is about to go bankrupt.” Chu Xuan raised his ending voice and snapped his fingers. The two men in black behind him carried the pair of ‘Water Lilies’ and showed it in front of the three of them. Chu Xuan looked at Xu Ye with a smirk, “It is said that finding a friend who understands is hard to come by, so I guess this Young Master Xu is also someone who knows how to paint, why don’t you let me hear your opinion on this painting?”
Xu Ye stiffened, the words were aimed at him. Song Wanhua on the side couldn’t intervene, so he had to sit in silence. Chu Xuan had a lot of research on works of art, and he would be making a fool out of himself to show off his meagre knowledge of art in front of Chu Xuan, so he simply told the truth, “I don’t know much about oil paintings, but I just think this one looks very good. beautiful.”
“Oh?” Chu Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked at him, “Does Young Master Xu thinks the painting is more beautiful, or the feeling of holding the sign is more beautiful?” He was like a spotted snake lazily lurking in the grass, but his sharp fangs could kill you if you weren’t careful.
Xu Ye stood there silently, and his palms were covered with sweat.
As he saw this, Song Wanhua wanted to come out to smooth things over, “Third Young Master…”
“Just kidding, I just want to liven up the atmosphere.” Chu Xuan cut off his words, smiling with a pair of peach blossom eyes, “Life is always full of surprises, it’s rare to meet a philanthropist gentleman who bids against me, I’d love to have a drink with him and talk. Uncle Song won’t deny me that opportunity, will he?”
Song Wanhua’s eyebrows twitched, and he murmured inwardly, but he still smiled and said, “Why not? But this boy is a very poor drinker and not very good at talking, so if there is anything he has done to offend Third Young Master, I hope you won’t mind, for the sake of this old Song.”
Chu Xuan smiled and said, “Uncle Song is exaggerating.”
Song Wanhua got up and patted Xu Ye on the shoulder, said with a smile, “You guys chat” and left. Xu Ye stood alone in this hostile suite, his hands and feet were cold.
“Sit down.” Chu Xuan leaned on the armrest of the sofa, supporting his head with one arm.
Xu Ye sat down according to his words, only to hear the other party say slowly, “I think, I’m actually quite generous.” He hooked his fingers, and a man in black brought an open flask with transparent ice cracks and put it in front of him. Then he quickly opened all the bottles on the table and there were many different kinds of red wine and some foreign wines such as vodka and brandy.
Chu Xuan took two bottles casually, poured some into a vase at the same time, changed another two bottles, poured some, and changed again… until the flask was full. Then he smiled at Xu Ye, “I always use good wine when entertaining guests.”
The man in black put the flask in front of Xu Ye.
Under the light, the liquid in the bottle was turbid. One knew that such a large amount of wine mixed together would never taste good. Besides, the volume of this bottle was more than three litres, so it’s a lot of wine to drink in one go…
Xu Ye’s eyes flickered, and he smiled wryly. He didn’t know if Xu Ting had prepared an ambulance because today he was probably going to experience the feeling of being drunk to death.
He stretched out his hand to hold the flask in front of him, and asked, “If I finish drinking all this wine, is it possible for the Third Young Master to let go of the past for what happened at the auction just now?”
There was a cold glint in Chu Xuan’s gloomy gaze: “Are you making a deal with me?”
There was no way out.
Xu Ye was silent for a moment, closed his eyes, picked up the flask and poured it into his mouth. The cold liquid flowed down his oesophagus and churned in his stomach, and the alcohol quickly rushed into the limbs and bones, igniting the heat of his whole body. The throat that was forced to swallow repeatedly also felt like it was on fire, and he was so choked that he bowed his waist and coughed non-stop. Then, dizziness came one after another, encroaching on his brain.
But he had only drunk less than a third of the wine.
Xu Ye pushed himself to drink some more, and the surging alcohol hit his consciousness so hard that he could hardly hold the bottle steady. The constant discomfort made it difficult for him to swallow, and his breathing was hot and rapid.
“Can’t drink any more?” Chu Xuan folded his arms and looked at him with great interest, raised his hand and said, “Go and help him.”
Two men in black stepped forward and pressed Xu Ye onto the sofa, and the other took the flask to his mouth, squeezed his chin and poured it down.
At this moment, Heizi’s voice sounded from the door, “Second Young Master!”
A cold and deep voice shouted, “Go away!”
Then with a bang, the door was kicked open.
Xu Ye felt that the hand that was holding his jaw loosened, and the wine that had been pouring down was finally removed from above, and he began to cough violently.
There seemed to be someone talking in the room, but he couldn’t hear a word. His heart was beating faster like it was about to burst out of his chest. He slumped to the sofa, gasping for breath, his vision blurred into a haze of colour, the world spinning wildly like a giant kaleidoscope.
Someone picked him up by his arms. Xu Ye struggled feebly with his arms and legs but calmed down as he fell into the embrace. A faint trace of consciousness was maintained in the dizziness and suffocation.
The familiar scent and the warmth of the embrace were something he knew well, something he could rely on and feel at ease with. He was like a wounded little animal, leaning against the solid chest with his eyes closed, whimpering in a low voice. No one could clearly hear what he said, except for the person who was holding him—”Master…”
Then the thread of consciousness was broken, and he was completely plunged into darkness.
Support the author by buying the author’s works and/or giving some kisses here~
(it’s very easy to buy from myrics.com because they supported Paypal payment in small amount~)
We have a discord server for those who want to receive an update ping and various announcements~
Join here ^^
Check out bean’s novel here!
and her original novel about a sly cute dragon here~
Check out the other hoeni’s work here~
Check out the angst novel I co-tl with my friend here~
And please buy me some kofi if you like the translation~
Also leave some ratings if you like this series here~
Leave a Reply