Chapter 103: Is Someone Trying to Sledgehammer My Wall? Look at me, did I recover too…
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
The charity auction that Le Can and Xi Yun prepared to attend was in the form of a dinner gala, held in the ballroom of the Selbellos Hotel, the top hotel in this district.
To give Jian Yu a “surprise,” Le Can chose not to go with Xi Yun. Instead, he quietly and low-key followed Xie Jun as her male companion, verifying their identities before entering the venue.
On the way to the refreshment area, led by a waiter, Le Can casually flipped through the introductory booklet of the charity project, his expression showing a hint of emotion.
The theme of today’s charity auction was to assist children in impoverished areas with their education.
As a vivid example of someone who grew up in a small mountain village and changed his fate through education, Le Can understood the importance of education for children from poor families more deeply than anyone.
Education changing lives was not an empty phrase. Many children with poor family conditions, due to various reasons, might be missing such an opportunity to change themselves.
Beside him, Xie Jun, who saw everything, also had a flash of sentiment in her eyes.
She spoke softly: “If you want to help them more, you can bid on a few more items at the auction later.”
As she spoke, Xie Jun pointed to the corner of the booklet where the initiator was listed—the mother of a certain mega-billionaire in the circle.
“With this lady present, you don’t have to worry about the proceeds from the auction being embezzled or diverted.”
Businessmen might be profit-driven, but at the level of that billionaire’s mother, unless it was a massive fortune, small amounts wouldn’t cause a ripple in their hearts.
On the contrary, certain spiritual pursuits had become the new choice for these wealthy people with both time and money.
On one hand, they could help the weak and gain inner satisfaction; on the other hand, they could win honor and assist the family’s industries—it was truly killing multiple birds with one stone.
Additionally, perhaps as one gets older, the heart softens. That grandmother-aged lady couldn’t stand seeing children like flower buds wither away before even seeing the world.
And in the eyes of the somewhat superstitious older generation, doing more charity could accumulate blessings for their descendants. No matter how you looked at it, it was a good thing for everyone.
Xie Jun lowered her voice, leaning into Le Can’s ear: “In summary, that person could never screw things up and ruin her reputation over this bit of ‘small money’!”
Because she was reliable and had a high status, whether out of sincerity or hypocritical compliance, the donations received and put to practical use every year were not small amounts. The good things actually accomplished were countless.
After saying that, Xie Jun gave a light laugh, her tone sounding very casual: “After the auction, if you intend to donate a bit more, I can take you to meet her.”
Some of the charity the Xie family did every year was also brokered through this billionaire’s mother; over time, Xie Jun was able to speak in front of her.
Of course, Xie Jun mentioned this introduction casually, but in reality, such an opportunity was obviously hard to come by—ordinary people couldn’t even find a door to knock on if they wanted to get close.
Le Can had already made a small charitable donation at the time of entry. After hearing Xie Jun’s suggestion, he shook his head slightly.
It wasn’t that Le Can didn’t see Xie Jun’s kindness, but this kindness was a bit too valuable. After all, so many people sent money to that billionaire’s mother every year, and it wasn’t just to do charity.
As long as they left a deep impression on her, not to mention anything else, just her casually mentioning it to her son or others would bring invisible benefits that were difficult to estimate.
The simplest and most obvious point was that the money donated for charity would probably return in other forms, doubled.
Le Can closed the booklet nonchalantly. “I’d rather bid on a few more items. As for matters like communication and investment, I’ll leave that to Xi Yun to worry about himself.”
Le Can had confidence in the male lead’s ability and charm. As for himself? He’d rather just be a salted fish who didn’t use his brain and only spent money.
“That works too,” Xie Jun nodded. “Then let’s go to the exhibition area later to see what tonight’s auction items are. We’ll mark the ones we’re interested in, and when the time comes, we’ll take turns bidding on them all!”
As she spoke, Le Can saw the person beside him turn around and wink at him, her face filled with unhidden mockery.
“Anyway, your husband is very rich now. Save on anything but don’t save money for him—spend it as much as you like!”
Xi Yun, who had only taken Wei Yuanjing from the Xi family, couldn’t be considered rich in the circle. But since he got married and inherited his mother’s legacy, his net worth had skyrocketed.
Even Xie Jun, the designated heir of the Xie family, sometimes couldn’t help but feel envious and want to rob Xi Yun—robbing the rich to help the poor, so to speak.
One could imagine how rich Xi Yun was!
Speaking of this, Xie Jun’s face carried a hint of a secret warning.
“Once a man has money, external temptations will immediately swarm in. Yao Yao, you have to be careful that Xi Yun doesn’t turn bad!”
Of course, whether there was any selfish intent in these “eye-drops,” only Xie Jun herself knew.
Le Can lifted his eyelids, picked up a glass of champagne from the table and took a sip, then looked in one direction with a half-smile.
“Indeed,” he let out a soft sigh.
“Look, I’m still here, and someone is already eager to sledgehammer my wall…”
Xi Yun held a string of Buddhist beads in his hand, his eyes lowered, his fingers rolling over each bead one by one.
It had only been ten minutes since he and Le Can separated—in other words, it had only been ten minutes since he returned to the chaotic state of five days ago.
Clearly, for such a long time before, Xi Yun had endured it alone, but just after the youth had accompanied him for five days and left, in less than half an hour, his whole being became uncontrollably irritable.
Silently chanting his lover’s name in his heart, Xi Yun was like a patient forced into withdrawal after an addiction; he was terminally ill and could only use these things to deceive and numb himself to gain even a little bit of solace…
Liang Yusheng was a perfect assistant. While his nerves were tensed, he stood with a polite smile in front of his “relapsed” boss, blocking all unimportant people and matters two steps away.
Most of the people who could come to this charity auction had good discernment and brains. Normally, one or two rebuffs would make them leave sensibly.
Except for… those who didn’t have brains themselves and used other means to sneak in.
“Ruowan, good child, don’t be shy. This is my nephew, Xi Yun.”
Suddenly appearing, Bai Xiaotong led a girl in a white dress with a flushed face directly toward Xi Yun, who appeared to be resting with his eyes closed.
Liang Yusheng frowned and took a step forward, blocking Bai Xiaotong, who was intentionally ignoring him, and said purposefully:
“Nephew? Madam, if I remember correctly, my boss does not have such a [blood-related] relative.”
The words “blood-related” were specifically emphasized by Liang Yusheng to remind certain people who couldn’t tell left from right to clearly see their true identity.
Bai Xiaotong’s face, which carried a kind smile, instantly turned cold. She tilted her chin, her gaze disdainful, wanting to look down on the person in front of her.
But the natural height disadvantage was there; even though Bai Xiaotong wore ten-centimeter heels, she was still half a head shorter than Liang Yusheng.
She grew angry: “What kind of thing are you? Get lost!”
A cold chill flashed in Liang Yusheng’s eyes, and he was about to speak. Suddenly, a faint “Liang Yusheng” came from behind him.
Liang Yusheng instantly turned around.
Xi Yun, who had been closing his eyes, opened them at some point.
Those silver-grey eyes looked over indifferently; the strange double pupils carried no emotion, as if they were observing ghosts and gods from another world. But no matter which they belonged to, they were not of her kind.
“Get out.”
Just by them standing there, their filthy thoughts were already continuously entering his ears.
Xi Yun, whose endurance had dropped below the baseline, still maintained a thread of reason because of the location and the youth who was about to arrive, and only coldly told them to get out.
Bai Xiaotong, who was prepared, couldn’t help but clench her fists, barely managing to pull a stiff smile.
Beside her, the girl in the white dress, who was originally full of fantasies, was so frightened that her face turned pale. The red also faded from her trembling lips—obviously, she was already having second thoughts.
Seeing this scene, Bai Xiaotong secretly gnashed her teeth, but in the end, greed suppressed fear. She gripped the hand of the person beside her and pushed forward two steps.
“Xi Yun, look at you, you’re so young, and you only have men around you. How could they take good care of a comatose person?”
“This is Ruowan. This child has studied nursing; she’s careful, gentle, and can endure hardship. Taking care of people couldn’t be better. Why don’t you take her back with you today?”
[What a “dashing-the-map-to-reveal-the-dagger” moment!]
[It’s just that Auntie Bai’s map preparation wasn’t done well—it’s a bit too short, tsk tsk.]
The familiar voice was like a stream of the coolest mountain spring water in summer, instantly dousing all kinds of negative emotions in Xi Yun’s heart.
Bai Xiaotong happened to witness the moment Xi Yun’s brows relaxed. The cold ferocity, as if ice and snow had melted, was replaced by a soft, unknown emotion.
Bai Xiaotong’s breath hitched. The next second, the excitement that surged up made her face flush. She thought Xi Yun was moved by her suggestion.
Feeling the person in her hand gradually loosen from her stiffness, Bai Xiaotong also knew that although Fang Ruowan was still hesitant, she also harbored a trace of unwillingness.
This girl might look soft and innocent on the surface, but anyone who knew her knew that she was the most arrogant and had a massive appetite!
After her previous promotion and listing all the wealth Xi Yun possessed, she didn’t even need to say anything else—this person came begging at the door herself.
Feeling ten-percent sure—and believing that no man wasn’t lecherous—Bai Xiaotong suddenly pushed the person forward, her face blooming into a smile.
“Look at this, young people really are thin-skinned. Then I, your Auntie, will be the thick-skinned one.”
“Ruowan, don’t run around either. Just follow your Brother Xi, and go over to the villa to help tonight.”
As long as she followed him, as time went by, would she need to worry about not being able to conceive a child or two? When the time came, if the child’s father had some accident, the things in his hands…
Fang Ruowan stumbled and landed right in front of Xi Yun, barely managing to steady herself before crashing into him.
After hearing Bai Xiaotong’s assisting words, she suddenly lowered her head, her face turning crimson.
Then, like a little white flower, the girl pinched the hem of her white dress with one hand while stuttering softly: “B-Brother Xi…”
Le Can, who was watching the scene from the side, suddenly sighed. He couldn’t watch this play any longer.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
A sudden burst of crisp applause sounded from the side.
“Auntie Bai, so you actually knew you were thick-skinned. I thought you had no idea.”
The slender, bamboo-like youth holding a champagne glass slowly walked out from the side.
He walked naturally to Xi Yun’s side, pressing his free hand on the shoulder of the man who wanted to stand up to greet him, pushing him back into the center of the seat.
Xi Yun immediately grabbed the hand on his shoulder, his gaze fixed on the youth, his head turning like a sunflower chasing the sun.
Le Can, standing behind Xi Yun, was amused. He naturally stuffed the wine glass in his other hand into the man’s hand. After the other took it, he dropped a champagne-flavored kiss as a reward.
The kiss, as light as a dragonfly skimming the water, was broken when Xi Yun tried to chase after it, only for Le Can to press his finger against the side of the man’s face, pushing him away affectionately and wantonly.
After the kiss, Le Can braced his hands on Xi Yun’s shoulders, leaning down while lifting his eyelids to look indifferently at the two women opposite him, both of whose faces were extremely ugly.
He deliberately hooked his lips and smiled, the smile not reaching his eyes.
“Oh dear, look at me. Did I recover at an inconvenient time?”
T/N: “Sledgehammer my wall” (撬牆角) is an idiom for stealing someone’s partner. “Dashing the map to reveal the dagger” (圖窮匕見) refers to revealing one’s true intentions at the last moment. “Salted fish” (鹹魚) is slang for someone who doesn’t want to do anything and just wants to relax.
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