Chapter 16: The Gossip Didn’t Pan Out Today; Calm on the Surface, But in His Heart…
“Xi Yun, won’t you really consider letting me keep you for a while?”
This earth-shattering sentence was like a bomb thrown into the quiet room.
Le Can’s peach-blossom eyes, which had been squinting at a jewelry box that suspectedly featured mother-of-pearl inlays on black lacquer, instantly widened into round apricot eyes, his mind thoroughly shaken.
The feet that were striding out quickly seemed to have hit a deceleration button, and his ears pricked up involuntarily. He even took the initiative to squeeze further into the corner, deliberately clearing the stage.
To one side stood a screen that was primitively simple, serene, yet elegant and tasteful; it happened to perfectly conceal the tall, slender youth. Behind the screen also became the prime viewing spot.
As the person closest to the door and the first to hear the content of those words, Yuan Cheng subconsciously skipped over the protagonist, his Brother Yun, and looked toward the party whose direct interests were being damaged—Le Can.
Unfortunately, because the timing was just right, Le Can’s series of subconscious reactions were fully captured by his eyes.
Mn, well, how to put it?
There was absolutely no sense of offense at having his “territory” coveted; there was only the pure excitement and thrill of witnessing gossip firsthand.
Yuan Cheng couldn’t understand it; Yuan Cheng was profoundly shocked!
At that moment, he just wanted to frantically shake Le Can’s head and scream in his ear: “Bro, wake up! Someone is trying to steal your husband! Your husband, hey?!”
However, no matter what posture Yuan Cheng used to rub his eyes, when he opened them again, he still saw the youth in that standard eavesdropping stance.
Those sparkling peach-blossom eyes held none of the faint, teasing smile they had shown him earlier, nor the knife-sharp fierceness directed at the scum Le Wenxin and his ilk.
There was only the spirit of gossip asking, “What? What is it?” and “Hurry up, tell me more!”
Yuan Cheng whipped his head around, attempting to seek validation from Xi Yun.
Clearly, he had only recently broken away from the Xi family, and everything at Weiyuanjing was still unstable, yet he dropped one hundred million to help Le Can cut off those mud-like relatives. (Mist)
Then, after confirming the relationship, he dragged the person back to his nest to be together day and night, inseparable. (Heavy Mist)
Furthermore, when the other party might have been in danger, he immediately pushed aside work upon receiving a call to rush over and back him up. (Riding the Clouds and Mist)
Yuan Cheng felt that although his brother looked unmoved on the surface, who knew if he was miserably in love on the inside?
Anyway, it definitely wasn’t because he had been cursed or hexed. Don’t ask why; if you ask, it’s because he secretly tested it—it’s the genuine article.
When his gaze swept over, he happened to catch Xi Yun staring in the direction of the screen. Unknown to Yuan Cheng what he saw, those silver-gray Double Pupils, which no one usually dared to look directly at, held a rare softness.
Yuan Cheng, very busy, turned his head back yet again.
At first glance, it was the rosewood screen with hollowed-out white jade inlays that he saw eight hundred times a day—nothing new. But upon a second look, half a pure white hem was exposed on one side of the screen’s dark frame.
Probably because he sensed the gazes from both Xi Yun and Yuan Cheng, Le Can, who had been wholly focused on the gossip, also discovered this loophole.
The hem was seen twitching twice before whoosh, it was yanked back behind the screen.
Yuan Cheng subconsciously turned his head yet again. But unexpectedly, midway through the turn, a soft hand with bright red nail polish suddenly reached out and fiercely pinched his chin.
“Mmph, mmph, mmph!”
No one could stop his heart from looking at Brother Yun at this moment!
Relying on sheer stubborn strength, Yuan Cheng turned his head along with that hand, barely catching the final scene of Xi Yun lowering his brow with a faint smile.
Mm~ Confirmed, his brother is truly in love. Yuan Cheng felt soothed and satisfied. No matter how the hand gripping his chin pinched him, he just kept giggling foolishly.
“What? Has Little Yuan Cheng finally turned stupid?”
“I was just thinking, if Xi Yun doesn’t agree, I could reluctantly accept him mortgaging you to me to keep for a while instead.”
Fingernails wrapped in fragrance scraped against the jaw that had frozen mid-smile. “Really stupid? Then I won’t make a losing deal…”
The breath, exhaled like the scent of orchids, hit his ear. The dark-skinned Yuan Cheng suddenly shivered, shrank his neck, and scrambled behind Xi Yun to seek protection.
Sitting in the office chair, Xi Yun turned around with some resignation. His gaze swept past the screen where Le Can was hiding, then looked at the uninvited guest.
“No.”
A straightforward and blunt refusal.
“Yuan Cheng, see Miss Xie out.”
Xi Yun lowered his head and opened the documents on the desk that needed processing. “And while you’re at it, get your employee ID back that you ‘left’ with her.”
On the other side, hearing the second sentence spoken by the visitor, Le Can pretty much knew: the melon (gossip) today wasn’t ripe.
A red dress, flamboyant and passionate like a blooming thorny rose; she was undoubtedly a beauty, and also an acquaintance.
Being able to barge in unrestricted, joking recklessly without being thrown out—there was a high probability that the speaker had a very good personal relationship with Xi Yun.
Looking closer, such a vibrant, highly recognizable beauty with striking features?
Le Can searched his memory and quickly located her identity from the first one hundred thousand words of the original novel—the next female successor of the Xie family, Xie Jun.
Xie Jun, Xi Yun’s former schoolmate, who later developed into a good friend. During their school days, many people shipped this “Golden Boy and Jade Girl” couple, and there were plenty of fans outside the text who shipped them too.
Le Can vaguely remembered that shortly after her debut, a batch of fans would howl in the comments section: “Sister slay me” and “Xi Yun, you really are a block of wood who doesn’t understand romance.”
However, the novel belonged to the “No-CP” genre, not “Romance.” Those looking for love stories had obviously come to the wrong place. Unsurprisingly, in the updates after the hundred thousand words Le Can missed, no romantic sparks would have flown between the two either.
After all, a No-CP Male Lead—those who know, know.
With no gossip to eat, Le Can let out a faint sigh.
Besides that, the prime gossip spot had instantly turned into a bizarre hiding place. Le Can had missed the good timing to leave and didn’t want to be misunderstood as some weird peeping tom.
So the youth lazily lowered his eyes, simply propped his arms loosely against the screen, and leisurely yawned, closing his eyes to rest.
Wu, when can I gnaw on duck snacks…
【Duck snacks, duck snacks, duck snacks, duck snacks xN】
——Suddenly flooded by the new inner voice screen-wipe, Xi Yun lowered his eyes to check the time displayed on his watch and sped up his document processing.
“Ouch, hearing you say that breaks my heart.”
Three seconds passed with no response. Xie Jun cast a sidelong glance at Xi Yun, who was possessed by the spirit of a workaholic, and at Little Yuan Cheng, whose eyes were dodging hers. She curled her lips in boredom.
Sigh, a big block of wood plus a little dummy; really no fun at all.
The Xie heiress, who maintained an elegant standing posture one second, pulled over a chair the next and leaned diagonally against it.
Languid and casual, as if she were in her own home, she was far more relaxed than anyone else in this office.
“See me out? Why leave?”
The beauty in the red dress reached up to cup the curly hair by her temples, then kicked off the ten-centimeter red high heels that were specially matched to her outfit.
“This old lady’s feet have only been resting here for a few seconds, and you’re chasing me away? Not leaving.”
After speaking, with eyes lined in charming eyeliner curving up, Xie Jun propped her chin on the back of her hand and looked at Xi Yun, who was rapidly issuing commands, and Yuan Cheng, who was cosplaying as a wooden stake beside him.
“No, seriously speaking, will you guys really not consider letting me help?”
The Spring Auction was imminent, yet Xi Yun was being choked by his biological father. Who knew how many people outside were waiting to see the joke?
Furthermore, as the “child from another family” (perfect role model), how much envy and hatred had he attracted, openly and secretly, from the younger generation in the circle?
Just in the lot collection phase alone, Xie Jun knew of several originally agreed-upon items that had fallen through right at the contract signing stage.
Even though commission rates, reserve prices, and delivery methods had all been settled, one phone call midway caused all prior efforts to go down the drain.
Fortunately, Xi Yun was steady. Although there were many rotten people, his reliable contacts weren’t few either. The only thing missing was a top-tier lot that could serve as the finale.
But where were top-tier lots so easily found…
Xie Jun had laid it all out, yet the two opposite her didn’t react at all, which made her laugh out of anger.
“So I’m the only one panicking here while the Emperor stays calm?”
The beauty hooked her perfectly shaped red lips; her sharp features made her even more dazzling. Yuan Cheng, who was still playing dead, heard this and thought: Bad!
He hurriedly ran two or three steps to Xie Jun’s side, attentively pouring a cup of warm water for the angry person: “Sister Jun, don’t be angry. We already have a countermeasure, just in two days…”
Seeing this “genius” method of putting out a fire, even Le Can in the dark couldn’t help but facepalm—headache.
Sure enough, Xie Jun snatched the cup Yuan Cheng offered to her lips and slammed it onto the table with a thud.
“Two days later? Still two days later! Other auction houses have already released their catalogs, and the cover for Weiyuanjing hasn’t even landed yet!”
The cover of an auction catalog is usually the season’s “King of Lots.” Xie Jun knew that Xi Yun and Yuan Cheng definitely understood what she was talking about.
“Tomorrow I’ll go to the Old Man’s place and snatch something random. You guys take it to fill the vacancy first.”
Xi Yun finalized the last plan for the preview exhibition and finally put down the work in his hands.
It was about half an hour until seven in the evening, just enough time to resolve the current final dispute and then go back for dinner on time.
“Xie Jun, I appreciate your kindness.”
One short sentence let Xie Jun know Xi Yun’s final decision. She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath: “Reason.”
Even though she knew Xi Yun had his own reasons for everything he said and did, the matter was grave. Without a sufficient reason, forgive her for finding it hard to give up.
Xi Yun filed the documents, pressed the computer shutdown button, and slowly stood up under Xie Jun’s burning gaze.
“Take Old Master Xie’s collection, and then you bid it back yourself?”
Hearing this calm question that sounded like a statement, Xie Jun’s firm gaze couldn’t help but flicker twice.
Le Can, noticing Xi Yun’s movement, quietly poked half his head out, silently going “Oh ho” in his heart. It seemed this Miss Xie’s original idea wasn’t far off from what Xi Yun said.
“The Old Man’s few items are good, certainly, but few in the circle don’t know about them.”
Le Can slowly nodded.
That grandpa was probably the show-off type; everyone knew what he had in his hands. Even if one piece were taken out, their intentions would be known to everyone.
As he spoke, Xi Yun walked toward the only screen in the room:
“I don’t mind you gifting me two commission fees, but before making this decision, have you considered what happens if the item is bought by someone else, or if it fails to sell?”
As everyone knows, the main source of income for auction houses lies in commission fees. Usually, it’s a certain percentage of the hammer price, charged to both the buyer and seller.
Xie Jun subconsciously opened her mouth.
Xi Yun anticipated what she wanted to say a step ahead: “Or do you want to cancel the transaction after the hammer drops? Or negotiate with the buyer to make them default?”
Knowing that any of these options would end ugly, Xie Jun unwillingly shut her mouth.
Finally, unable to find a reason, she simply closed her eyes: “Fine, I can’t out-talk you!”
From university to entering society, she was always the one losing. Xie Jun really wanted to spit on Xi Yun’s future partner right in front of him—her boyfriend knew nothing about yielding to a lady!
Seeing her responding like a sore loser, Xi Yun’s stern expression actually softened a few degrees.
“Two days. If you’re still worried, you can come along to see the ‘cover’ we found.”
Xie Jun looked suspicious, glancing at Xi Yun, who had walked to the edge of the screen for some reason, and Yuan Cheng, who knew nothing but to nod in agreement.
Really?
Not just an expedient measure to make her give up?
“Also, come on out…”
Hearing Xi Yun’s softened voice again, Xie Jun answered subconsciously: “Come out where? Let me put my shoes on… Fuck!”
Le Can, walking slowly out from behind the screen, raised his hand with a beaming smile and waved: “Hi!”
Author’s Note:
Xi Yun: A model of a double-standard, roasting Male Lead.
Yuan Cheng: A good little brother dedicated to spreading rumors about his bro.
Xie Jun: One second delusional about slandering Xi Yun in front of his partner, the next second the partner delivers himself to the door. Dumbfounded.JPG
Le Can: No-CP Male Lead—those who know, know.
Future: No, I don’t want to know! Clutching the kidneys (waist) that received another “attack” in sorrow.JPG
Me: [Milk Tea] [Milk Tea] [Milk Tea]
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