Chapter 46: “I Didn’t Do Anything!” (A Play Without Malice…)
“It looks like… I’m not too late.”
The voice was gloomy, reminiscent of the dampest, darkest corner during a ceaseless rainy season. Moist water vapor seemed to cling to everything, and the dim light brought with it a sense of oppression.
Yet, when Le Can looked into Xi Yun’s eyes, they lit up with a biu.
Although he hadn’t yet seen the newcomer’s face, that familiar vocal timbre, that haunting, ghostly aura that refused to dissipate…
Jian Yu, your backup has arrived!
While drums and gongs were beating in his heart, on the surface, Le Can still had to show some restraint.
He pursed his lips, trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were attempting to curl upward. A pair of peach-blossom eyes, seemingly capable of hooking souls, contained a smile as he blinked at Xi Yun, who appeared slightly stunned.
Le Can thought, The Male Lead is still too humble.
Only a few minutes ago, he had told him to wait for the right moment. And look, the “right moment” had hurried over, stepping through the gates of Yayun Ancient Workshop at the very last second.
But you’re even better! Is this what they call ‘your word is law’? or just incredible foresight?
Xi Yun, who had been wondering what exactly this “backup” was, truly froze when he heard the first half of Le Can’s internal thought.
But when his gaze shifted and inadvertently crashed into the young man’s slender, pale neck, he suppressed his rising line of sight. With heavy breathing, he shifted his gaze toward the entrance.
To the side, Le Can didn’t notice the abnormality of the person next to him.
His heart, which had been suspended in mid-air, settled steadily back into its original place.
With confidence in his heart, his slightly stiff limbs began to soften. The young man leaned lazily against the hard back of the grandmaster chair, preparing to watch the show with great interest.
Sigh… strictly speaking, Xi Yun was his employer, and Jian Yu was just his employer’s friend. Le Can should have observed coldly from the sidelines from start to finish.
What did the interests or relationships of two outsiders have to do with him?
Le Can sighed faintly.
Having lived a second life, his excessive sense of morality still popped up occasionally… he needed to reflect on that.
However, when dealing with people who had no morals, there was no need to worry about this issue. Because he… could also be devoid of morals. Hehe!
Xi Ziyu didn’t expect that while he was plotting against others, he was also being targeted.
He walked into the room bathed in numerous gazes, a pair of gloomy eyes half-drooping, seemingly listless. In reality, his pitch-black pupils were slightly dilated, carrying an irrepressible excitement as they locked firmly onto the true target of this trip through the gaps of his eyelashes.
Xi Yun gave him an indifferent glance and then withdrew his gaze.
As for Le Can, who was implicated by association? Not only was he not angry, but he also waved at the man with an exceptionally good mood and temper.
However, that careless expression and movement looked exactly like someone casually teasing a cat or dog; it certainly didn’t look like he was greeting a person.
The strangely curved smile on Xi Ziyu’s lips suddenly froze.
He stopped in his tracks, staring fixedly at Le Can and Xi Yun for a moment. Then, looking at the two people who were sitting on separate stools but leaning their upper bodies toward each other without realizing it, he let out a laugh of unclear meaning.
The laughter was short, hoarse, and muddy.
Mixed with static noise, it wasn’t just unpleasant; it sounded like something was stuck in his throat. Le Can frowned slightly, feeling so uncomfortable that he wanted to pour a bottle of cough syrup down the other party’s throat, followed by a bowl of mute medicine.
Stinky younger brother just needs to be taught a lesson!
The lively and somewhat vicious inner voice was like a sudden rainstorm, washing away the irritability in Xi Yun’s heart.
The man’s gaze lightly swept over the eyebrows of the person beside him. When he withdrew his gaze, his tense brows slowly relaxed.
This time, his immobility was truly a stillness of the heart.
Behind Le Can and Xi Yun, Yuan Cheng and Liang Yusheng, who had been indignant, covered their mouths in unison, having long forgotten the uninvited and disgusting Xi Ziyu.
Three pairs of eyes, taking in the interaction between the two, twinkled with tears of excitement.
Why three pairs? Because Yuan Cheng, displaying great camaraderie, had once again whipped out his phone and video-called Xie Jun, who wasn’t on the scene.
Liang Yusheng was also very moved, wanting to seek benefits for everyone at Wei Yuan Jing. Opportunities wait for no one, and this was especially true for the eye contact between the Boss and his “spouse.”
Therefore, he could only eat this melon alone with tears in his eyes, waiting to enthusiastically narrate and share (show off) to the group later. Sugar-free white steamed bun evil smile.JPG
Because he was in a bad mood, Xi Ziyu’s words to Jian Yu were laced with hidden daggers.
“Boss Jian has been doing business for so many years, don’t you know that you should wait for everyone to arrive before announcing the start?”
He glanced at the man who was as distinct as the moon and breeze compared to himself, and the fire in his heart burned even hotter.
“What? Do I, an outsider, need to teach you such a simple principle?!”
Wow! Seizing the initiative by speaking first, then using words to suppress and belittle, throwing the opponent into disarray… Le Can sighed lightly.
After sowing discord and impotent rage, where did the younger brother learn these new tricks?
But the quality of the trick didn’t matter; what mattered was whether it matched the target. Le Can propped his chin up with his hand, tilting his head to look opposite him.
Facing the provocation and interrogation, Jian Yu remained sitting steadily in his seat. His most direct reaction was to lower his head slightly and push up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
Step one in facing rumors: do not explain immediately in a stress response.
Then, the gentle and elegant man wore a faint smile that was just right. The eyes revealed behind the lenses didn’t carry any negative emotions but were as peaceful as ever.
“Jian was previously ignorant and ill-informed. I actually didn’t know when the Second Young Master of the Xi family developed a fondness for antiques…”
Why specifically say “Second Young Master of the Xi family”? Because everyone in the circle knew that, counting the seeds sown outside by that old romantic ghost Xi Chong, who knew what number Xi Ziyu was actually ranked.
Unfortunately, the people here knew more or less about the Xi family’s background. Some people with upright family traditions immediately revealed expressions of avoidance. Others, who weren’t afraid of the Xi family’s intimidation at all, immediately began to whisper.
Besides, anyone who had been to Yayun Ancient Workshop and been hosted by Jian Yu knew that this Boss Jian was a young talent with an excellent memory.
Not only could he match the faces of these customers with their names, but he could also remember their collecting preferences.
Porcelain, calligraphy, jade, copper coins, furniture… whenever Yayun Ancient Workshop received a new item, the news would be delivered to the corresponding client immediately.
Because of this thoughtfulness, the first thing many new customers who had done their “homework” did when coming to Yayun Ancient Workshop was to let Boss Jian have a look at them.
People Boss Jian hadn’t met were either walk-in customers acting on a whim or people who wanted to reach the sky in a single bound without putting in the effort.
Regardless of the situation, these old customers disdained associating with them…
Listening to Liang Yusheng’s thoughtful supplementary information about Jian Yu, Le Can was truly amazed.
With a single sentence of retreating to advance, all the doubts Xi Ziyu had cast on Jian Yu were returned to him with interest.
If anger could be materialized, then Xi Ziyu, standing outside the crowd and rejected by it, would probably be a burning man visible only by his outline.
Is the younger brother really just a younger brother?
Le Can saw the veins bulging on Xi Ziyu’s neck. The blue-black color surfaced under his pale skin, looking exactly like some dark creature from a movie that lived in shadows year-round.
The taste of being dragged out and exposed to the sun—one could guess it wasn’t pleasant.
Le Can’s gaze inadvertently swept over Xi Ziyu’s clenched hands and faintly trembling arms, but he felt no sympathy or pity in his heart.
He who stirs the pot acts cheaply.
This wasn’t the first time Xi Ziyu had done something like this.
He had even once acted out against Le Can. Sympathy was limited; better not waste it on creatures that would bite back.
Not to mention, Le Can was just the fake partner of the brother who had already severed ties with him.
Even if it were his father—at such an age, he should learn to think twice before acting and take responsibility for the consequences of his behavior.
Le Can’s fingers, propped against his chin, tapped lightly on his cheek.
If at the beginning, he felt the probability of Xi Ziyu taking that fake Northern Song Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glaze Lotus Leaf Brush Washer was only fifty percent, now, the probability had skyrocketed to eighty percent.
The remaining twenty percent…
Le Can lifted his chin slightly, and the hand he released reached forward. After extending a certain distance, his index finger aimed for the right moment and hooked the sharp, perfect angle of a jawline.
With a teasing touch devoid of malice, the force wasn’t heavy.
Yet, the person being teased turned his face sideways following the force of the finger.
Le Can didn’t notice this detail. Seeing Xi Yun look over, he leaned in close to his ear.
“Xi Yun, do you think the younger brother has the financial power to outbid everyone?”
The remaining twenty percent—Le Can was afraid Xi Ziyu didn’t have enough money. After all, the competition for what everyone saw as a real Ru porcelain would inevitably be fierce.
The sudden proximity brought not only the warmth of another person carried by the wind but also a clean, pleasant scent exclusive to someone.
The deep black double pupils turned, reflecting four tiny Le Cans.
Xi Yun spoke with a slightly hoarse voice, “Xi Ziyu doesn’t…”
“Huh? Huh?!”
Eighty percent plummeted straight to zero.
Le Can subconsciously tightened his grip on the thing in his hand, suppressing the urge to turn around and glare at Xi Ziyu, using both his eyes and words to accuse the other party of being disappointing.
Xi Yun had actively left the Xi family, taking only Wei Yuan Jing, which was related to his mother. Xi Ziyu had thus become Xi Chong’s sole legal heir; how could he not even take out two hundred million?
His brother Xi Yun, who came out to start his own business, could take out three hundred million to get a wife without blinking an eye!
Although two hundred million of that was paid in installments, the first one hundred million was taken out in a lump sum despite tight funds.
Le Can didn’t demand Xi Ziyu to take out three hundred million directly, but doubling one hundred million to make two hundred million wasn’t excessive, right? But he didn’t expect…
Xi Yun looked down at the distressed young man and chuckled lightly, speaking the remaining half of the sentence.
“Xi Ziyu can’t, but the people behind him can.”
Whether it was the extravagant Xi Chong or his good stepmother Ke Yun, although both were incompetent people, the wealth they inherited from their ancestors was still quite substantial.
“That means!”
Le Can, understanding the subtext, saw his eyes brighten instantly.
Xi Yun nodded gently: “There’s no need for too many scruples in this game. Let go and have fun… Le Can.”
The peach-blossom eyes instantly curved into a bright crescent moon.
Le Can looked up at Xi Yun with joy, words of praise about to burst from his mouth.
But in the next second, a jarring smear of red appeared in his vision, making him forget what he was about to say.
On the side of the man’s smooth face, there was a small mark. Red, exceptionally conspicuous on the pale skin.
Le Can’s gaze couldn’t help but shift to the side, meeting his own claw that was still touching the other’s chin.
So, the thing he had squeezed in his hand out of anger just now…
The young man instantly retracted his arm, and his body, which was almost leaning out of the chair area, pulled back. He sat properly and upright in the middle of the wide grandmaster chair.
I didn’t see anything, and I didn’t do anything!
“Having your word is enough.”
He would definitely play a good game with the younger brother.
Translator’s Note: No update yesterday, here it is today!
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