Chapter 8
With an uncomfortably empty stomach, Xie Wangyuan habitually wanted to light a cigarette, but the pack was empty. He also felt like vomiting, so he had to give up.
Ren Yi was still a bit indignant and couldn’t help but tease, “The Xie family is really something. Gone bankrupt and can’t even afford to buy clothes?”
Although the possibility of the Xie family going bankrupt was zero, Xie Wangyuan thought about the scene and found it somewhat amusing. “Maybe.”
“I have blocker patches in my car.”
The patch he had just put on was already soaked from the rain, and Xie Wangyuan had torn it off earlier. Thinking Ren Yi was a Beta and wouldn’t keep such things in his car, Xie Wangyuan opened the center console and took out a fresh one.
“Prepared for my sister,” Ren Yi explained, then asked, “What are your plans now?”
Xie Wangyuan smiled. “What else? Go find my brother.”
“Your brother…” Ren Yi asked hesitantly, “He wouldn’t ignore your health too, right?”
“Who knows.” Xie Wangyuan didn’t care about Xie Jun’s thoughts at all, saying coolly, “But he’ll probably advise me to listen to my dad too.”
After all, Xie Jun had married a well-matched Omega lady with highly compatible pheromones.
Ren Yi sighed with emotion. “Wolves in front and tigers behind, Brother Yuan. You’re the standard protagonist of a shonen manga right now.”
Xie Wangyuan laughed. “Give it a rest. Have you ever seen an Alpha like me, who everyone curses, be the protagonist?”
“Being a villain is pretty good. Handsome and cool.” Xie Wangyuan adjusted his seat back, clasping his hands behind his head and leaning back comfortably. “Ideally, before I get my bento box and exit the stage, there should be some cliché redemption story.”
“I like reading those the most.”
The next day, Xie Wangyuan slept until noon and ordered room service. Ren Yi had arranged for someone early in the morning to deliver several sets of clothes once Xie Wangyuan woke up.
At 2:00 PM, Xie Wangyuan, chewing gum and spreading his legs wide, sat on the sofa in the lobby of his family’s company building.
Soon, the receptionist walked over hurriedly, an awkward smile on her face. “Second Young Master, I’m terribly sorry. The one just now is new…”
Xie Wangyuan thought it would have been more credible to just say she hadn’t read the entertainment news. “Forget it. Is my brother in his office?”
“Yes, he is.”
Xie Wangyuan stood up with his hands in his pockets, blowing a bubble, perfectly embodying the image of a street lounger. “I can go up myself.”
As the elevator doors closed, the receptionists were still shaken. “I don’t usually follow entertainment gossip. How was I supposed to know he was really the Second Young Master! I’ve only heard the name, never seen the person. I wouldn’t dare just let him up.”
“Even if you haven’t seen the news from the last few days, don’t you know where you work?”
“Forget it, forget it. She’s new too. Just take it as a lesson. Remember clearly next time. The Second Young Master is back in the country, and he might even join the company in the future.”
“I was really scared to death by his aura just now. Are Alphas all this scary?”
“Not really. They’re both Alphas and part of the same family, but the Second Young Master’s aura is nothing like Chairman Xie’s. No wonder rumors say he’s a second-generation hedonist.”
“Shh! He just went up. You’ve got guts talking about this on Xie family turf!”
Xie Jun was thirty-six this year. Although they were biological brothers, he and Xie Wangyuan weren’t actually close.
Xie Jun had been groomed as the heir since childhood. He also presented early and didn’t come home often. He only remembered that this younger brother of his had been withdrawn since he was small, ignoring everyone, and had a very average relationship with Xie Tiancheng.
Later, when Xie Wangyuan grew older, Xie Jun, who occasionally returned home, saw he had strayed even further. He wanted to discipline him but always heard Xie Tiancheng say that as long as he didn’t do anything illegal, the Xie family could support him for a lifetime. So, Xie Jun let his younger brother be.
After all, who would really blame a child whose mother died giving birth to him?
Xie Jun looked up from the pile of documents on his desk and asked, “Played for so long, finally willing to come back?”
Xie Wangyuan had no proper sitting posture, slumping into the sofa. “Brother, give me a lighter.”
Xie Jun rummaged through several drawers before finding a new lighter and tossing it over, asking helplessly, “Where’s yours?”
“Forgot it.” Xie Wangyuan lit a cigarette, puffing out smoke while turning the lighter over in his hand to examine it. “Brother, this lighter is nice. Who gave it to you? I’m taking it.”
The secretary came in with tea, hesitating to speak. “Second Young Master…”
Xie Jun shook his head. The secretary immediately shut her mouth and placed the tea in front of Xie Wangyuan. “Sorry, Second Young Master. Please have some tea.”
After she left, Xie Wangyuan raised his eyes lazily. “Brother, can’t smoke in your office?”
“Smoke.” Xie Jun got up and opened the window, then asked, “What about the serious business I just asked you?”
“What serious business?” Xie Wangyuan lowered his eyes again to play with the lighter, saying casually, “Got tired of playing with Betas abroad, came back to change my taste.”
Xie Jun took another ashtray from a drawer and placed it on the coffee table in front of Xie Wangyuan. He stepped back a few paces, leaned against the desk with his arms spread supporting himself on the edge, and said, “Since you’re tired of playing with Betas, why not consider Omegas?”
Xie Wangyuan’s eyes flashed. “You’ve met him?”
“Lele? Haven’t bumped into him yet.” Seeing Xie Wangyuan’s expression was fairly calm, Xie Jun continued, “Dad told me everything. He can help stabilize your pheromones. When the time comes and you go through one of his heat cycles, you won’t be so repulsed anymore.”
The same old tune. Xie Wangyuan pulled the corner of his mouth.
“Isn’t he quite popular right now? Even if his background from the orphanage isn’t great, with his current status entering the Xie family, no one will say anything. Besides, no one knows about the incident when you two went to the hospital back then, so there’s no need to worry about outsiders knowing about your illness.”
“Quite popular…” Xie Wangyuan laughed contemptuously. “Heard Dad even invested?”
“I only found out about that later too,” Xie Jun said. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy for an Omega like him with no background to gain a foothold in the entertainment industry.”
Xie Wangyuan smiled maliciously. “My pheromones are controlled very well; I don’t need his help. Since Dad likes him so much, I think it’s better to let him be the Third Young Master of the Xie family. Brother, you call the shots in the Xie family now. Arrange it however you say. I’ll definitely attend the banquet to introduce this younger brother to the public, how about it?”
“Wangyuan…”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. If you guys really want to tie me down in C City, might as well arrange a random position for me in the company.” Xie Wangyuan stood up, extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray, walked to the door, grabbed the handle, and said, “By the way, Brother, I’m going to the clubhouse to play tonight. Since my cards are suspended, I’ll borrow your name for now. If you think I’m ruining your reputation, just have Dad unfreeze my cards.”
Xie Wangyuan booked a private box at Chunshui Xifeng and, as usual, called a few Betas in to keep him company.
Dodging a hand reaching out from a Beta, Xie Wangyuan tossed two decks of cards onto the table, then fished out the lighter he had swiped from Xie Jun. After lighting a cigarette, he tossed it over as well. “Limited edition 18K. Whoever wins the most tonight gets this lighter.”
Xie Wangyuan poured himself half a glass of wine, crossed his legs on the sofa to the side, and tapped idly on his phone screen.
The phone under his hand vibrated. Xie Wangyuan lowered his eyes. 9:00 PM, right on time.
Xie Wangyuan stood up, looked at the cards of the five people in turn, then leaned down beside the Beta who had won the most. In an ambiguous posture, he gathered the Beta into his arms and casually grabbed the lighter from the table.
“Nice skills.” Xie Wangyuan praised in a low voice by the Beta’s ear. satisfied to see the earlobe near his mouth turn red, he withdrew the hand supporting himself on the table, hooked open the Beta’s collar with a finger, smiled, and let go, allowing the lighter to slide down the fair chest and land on the Beta’s lap. “It’s yours.”
The Beta’s face was also red, boldly grabbing Xie Wangyuan’s hand. “Second Young Master…”
Xie Wangyuan hooked a lock of hair by the Beta’s face, laughing softly. “Pity. Can’t keep you company. Tonight I have a date with a beauty.”
The “beauty,” Xie Jun, returned to the Xie residence alone in the evening and was sitting on the sofa drinking tea with Xie Tiancheng. Hearing the noise, he turned his head. “Wangyuan, come have a cup of tea?”
Xie Wangyuan sat in a single sofa chair, crossing his legs. “No need. Drinking tea late at night, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep.”
Xie Tiancheng scoffed coldly. “With that smell of alcohol, you’re not afraid of not sleeping, but having a cup of tea with us makes you afraid?”
“Just say it, Dad.” Xie Wangyuan was impervious, speaking directly. “It’s already very late. Don’t delay my brother from going home, lest my sister-in-law say later that we’re destroying their marital harmony.”
Xie Jun: “…”
Xie Wangyuan raised his eyes, blocking what Xie Tiancheng wanted to say. “Dad, stop using freezing my cards to threaten me. One day, if you push me too far and I run abroad again, or fool around in some improper place and bring back an improper Beta, it’s not like I wouldn’t do it.”
Xie Tiancheng was so angry at Xie Wangyuan’s “dead pig not afraid of boiling water” attitude that his brain throbbed. He finally regretted letting him run wild too much. “Fine, fine…”
Xie Tiancheng rubbed his chest to smooth his breath. His gaze paused on the back of Xie Wangyuan’s neck for a moment before he said sternly, “I heard from Jun that you want to go to the company?”
“It’s not that I want to go to the company; it’s just that I have to show some gesture for my cards, right?” Xie Wangyuan spread his hands. “If you unfreeze them for me right now, why would I go to any company?”
Xie Tiancheng said expressionlessly, “Next week, Jun will arrange it for you. Get your ass to work honestly.”
Xie Wangyuan nodded, agreeing very quickly. “I can go to work. Unfreeze my cards first.”
“I haven’t finished.” Xie Tiancheng continued, “You’ve always been outside before. Now that you’re back, there are some occasions you should attend and some people you should meet, to stop everyone from saying my Xie family produced a hedonistic scoundrel.”
“Occasions.” Xie Wangyuan paused. “Such as?”
Xie Tiancheng snorted coldly. “The nearest one, the day after tomorrow, the Wang family has a banquet. Let Jun take you there to see the world.”
Xie Jun explained from the side, “The day after tomorrow is the birthday banquet for the Wang family’s youngest grandson. Although the Wang family’s company has gone downhill these years and Wang Changlu is the second son of the Wang family, his spouse is Qin Jingzhuo, so many people will be there.”
The Qin family?
Xie Wangyuan’s eyes lit up. “Sure, I will definitely attend.”
TRANSLATOR’S NOTE: THIS IS ALL THE CHAPTERS I HAVE TRANSLATED. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ AND SUPPORT IN VELICREASREALM. I HAVE ASKED DISCORD TO REMOVE MY LINKS OF THIS NOVEL. THANK YOU!
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