As Xiao Yuanchun took the ball, she spotted Song Liang. She tossed it away, then smiled and teased, “Well, if it isn’t my future brother-in-law. Long time no see.”
Song Liang had not forgotten how this woman had handed him her business card and offered to keep him. He walked over in a few strides. “I thought you were exercising a dog.”
“Close enough, at this age.”
Song Liang offered no comment. Watching the child happily scamper after the ball with his bottom sticking out, he couldn’t resist asking, “Can I have a turn?”
Xiao Yuanchun: “…”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure. Become his stepfather first.”
Song Liang sighed. “Bigamy is illegal.”
“I thought you’d say you only liked men.”
“Not necessarily.”
“So I still have a chance?”
“Not necessarily.”
Xiao Yuanchun laughed and threw the ball the child had just brought back. “A young master of the Song family, working as a host at my club? How did that happen?”
“I needed money then.”
“And now you don’t?”
“Now I’ve landed your younger brother.”
Xiao Yuanchun burst out laughing, and the lingering annoyance she felt over being kept in the dark disappeared. “I hear you kicked Xiao Wenyu and talked back to both Xiao Guangjin and the old man?”
“News travels that fast?”
“The Xiaos love gossip.” Her smile paused, then turned knowing. “They say you held up Uncle’s watch and even gave the old man a dressing-down.”
“A peaceful exchange of views.”
“Then where’s the watch?”
Xiao Yuanchun wasn’t curious about how Song Liang had persuaded Xiao Ji to bring him home to the Xiao family. She wanted to know how he had won her formidable uncle’s approval for the marriage—and even received a watch he had personally worn, as though her uncle feared he would be mistreated here.
Song Liang raised his left hand for her to see. Xiao Yuanchun lifted an eyebrow. “My uncle is very particular about people.”
Song Liang looked relieved. “Good thing I’m exceptional enough.”
His confidence made her laugh. “For a start, your gender falls short. You can’t bear children.”
“No man can. By that logic, only women are exceptional.” Song Liang added, “If your uncle wants that, he can find a woman to marry himself.”
Xiao Yuanchun considered this. “I don’t think my uncle likes women or men. I’ve never seen him like anyone.”
Song Liang said, “Oh. An equal-opportunity hater.”
Xiao Yuanchun: “…”
Just how much did her uncle indulge Xiao Ji to accept someone with such a bizarre train of thought as his future nephew-in-law?
While they talked, the child returned with the ball and noticed Song Liang. His large, watery eyes, dark as grapes, studied the stranger curiously.
Song Liang looked back. The child grew shy under his gaze, smiled, and hid in Xiao Yuanchun’s arms.
“Mommy, is this my new daddy?” he asked in a muffled voice.
Song Liang: “…”
Xiao Yuanchun laughed and lifted the child onto her lap. “Would you like him to be your daddy?”
“Yes.” The child pressed his lips together and stole a look at Song Liang, a little dimple appearing beside his mouth. “Mommy, when is he going to marry you?”
“He’ll have to divorce your uncle first.”
“…”
Looking at the child’s dark eyes, Song Liang asked, “The Xiaos seem to inherit black eyes. Your uncle’s are dark green. Was his mother a foreigner?”
Xiao Yuanchun’s movements paused almost imperceptibly. “I don’t know. His mother had already passed away when he came back to the Xiao family. He doesn’t like talking about her either. Why do you ask?”
“Curiosity.”
“There’s nothing to be curious about. Just the usual things.”
Xiao Yuanchun handed the child to the assistant behind her. As she stood, something occurred to her.
“A thief broke into the mansion on the day you interviewed. Apparently, he even had the nerve to enter the top floor. For some reason, they never caught him, and nothing went missing. Only Xiao Wenyu claimed the thief had kicked him hard enough to rupture his spleen. My other younger brother, Xiao Ji, couldn’t give a clear account either.”
“Coincidentally, my uncle actually called me that day to ask whether I had a host named Kevin. That was certainly a first.”
Song Liang made no attempt to hide it. “That was me.”
Xiao Yuanchun’s gaze grew more pointed. “You’re very different from the Song family’s second son I’ve heard about.”
“How so?”
“You have an awfully strong will to live. You don’t seem like someone who would jump into the sea over a rejected confession.”
He was certainly attractive and had an unusual personality, both of which she appreciated. But that was nowhere near enough to gain entry into the Xiao family. She was more inclined to think he served as a smokescreen for Xiao Ji and his uncle, or had some other purpose.
She glanced at his bandaged arm hanging against his chest and recalled hearing how he had risked his life to save Xiao Ji in the crash.
“I just don’t think someone like you would be interested in Xiao Ji.”
Song Liang: 【A kindred spirit.】
【…】
When he remained silent, Xiao Yuanchun’s tone became even more suggestive.
“From the moment you arrived, you haven’t mentioned Xiao Ji once. Yet you’re very curious about my uncle. It makes me think you’re more interested in him than in Xiao Ji.”
【What a terrifying woman.】
Song Liang’s expression didn’t change. “Liking someone doesn’t mean you have to mention them constantly. You can keep them in your heart.”
“Really?” Xiao Yuanchun remained noncommittal. “But you strike me as someone who would put the person you liked on a pedestal just to announce that you had the best taste in the world.”
Song Liang: 【What a terrifying woman.】
【…】
Song Liang adopted a solemn expression. “I’m occasionally modest.”
“Really?”
“…”
Under her skeptical gaze, Song Liang pointed at the large stretch of red nearby.
“What flowers are those?”
“Hibiscus. They were planted a long time ago. When the estate was renovated, they were going to remove them and plant something else, but my uncle stopped them.”
Xiao Yuanchun glanced toward the flowers, then abruptly added, “My uncle likes people who take the initiative.”
With that, she left.
Song Liang: “…”
Despite all the mockery 3085 had subjected him to lately, Song Liang had never thought there was anything wrong with his attitude toward Xiao Yi. But now even Xiao Yuanchun, whom he had only met twice, believed he had ulterior motives concerning her uncle.
He began to examine himself.
“Do I really look like someone who would seduce his boyfriend’s uncle?”
【You’re not.】
【You just want his body.】
Song Liang grew doubtful. “Do I? I haven’t even seen his body.”
【…】
The Xiao estate was enormous. Xiao Ji still hadn’t returned, and the birthday banquet had yet to begin. None of the guests knew Song Liang personally, but he heard his own name countless times.
The stories were mostly the same: an inspirational tale of an upstart family’s illegitimate son landing a young master from a powerful clan. Very moving.
… It had better actually be inspirational.
Song Liang: Guaranteed.
The reception, dining, entertainment, and residential areas were all separate, with considerable distances between them. Eventually, Song Liang asked someone to find him a small self-balancing scooter. With his arm in a sling, he toured the estate’s entire inner grounds.
Along the way, he passed several groups of Xiaos catching up with one another. Every one of them stared at him as though they had seen a ghost.
Once he was out of sight, they began whispering furiously. Riding his scooter through the Xiao estate, he left legends in his wake.
At last, he stopped outside a detached building. Abandoning the scooter, Song Liang found the elevator and went straight to the sixth floor at the top.
Before he could say anything, the system spoke.
【There are security cameras. I’ve already switched the feed.】
Song Liang gave it a thumbs-up. “Good system.”
In just a few short months, it had grown accustomed to his unconventional methods. Truly an advanced system that had transcended Type-C.
The building showed plenty of signs of daily life. The top floor even had a private gym and tea room, so it clearly belonged to the residential area. Yet it was very quiet, as though nobody lived there regularly.
Song Liang was walking down the corridor when he suddenly heard footsteps ahead. He immediately retreated a few steps and slipped into an alcove beside a window.
“He hated the Song family so much back then. If he truly regarded Xiao Ji as his own son, he would never have agreed to this marriage.”
“He’s probably tired of playing the good uncle after all these years.”
“…”
Something stirred in Song Liang’s mind.
The Song family?
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