Wang Zhenzhu looked at Bai Shuijin, who seemed to have fallen into a pile of girls, her face full of surprise.
What was going on? She just went to change clothes, and now he had turned into a heartthrob.
She walked up to Wang Huanxiu, wanting to ask what happened, and at a glance…
Oops, her big brother’s expression was strange.
Although Wang Huanxiu’s demeanor rarely changed and his emotions were never particularly intense, his expression at this moment was not the same as the usual calm gaze he gave people.
In his obsidian-like pupils was an indescribable irritation, as if he wanted to crush everything in his hands.
It was like he was saying: So annoying.
Wang Zhenzhu shook her head. Her big brother couldn’t possibly say something like that.
At this moment, Wang Muguang appeared behind her. “This young lady is really beauti…Ah! Fuck!”
The moment someone appeared behind her, Wang Zhenzhu instinctively elbowed him hard in the stomach.
The movement was swift, the reaction sharp, and the elbow strike even stirred up a breeze in the air.
Wang Muguang instantly broke into a cold sweat, and his perfectly managed handsome face twisted in pain. If there weren’t other people around, or if it weren’t for the need to maintain his image, he would’ve rolled on the floor screaming.
“Little Sister… you’re so cruel.” He had just wanted to come over and compliment her after seeing her change outfits, hoping to cheer the girl up.
After all, who didn’t like being praised by a handsome guy? Especially someone as handsome as him.
Who would’ve thought Wang Zhenzhu would be so cruel to him?
Wang Muguang’s face flushed red and veins bulged on his forehead. His eight-pack abs had been smashed to pieces.
Wang Zhenzhu was startled too, first because Wang Muguang suddenly appeared behind her, and second because she had actually hit him.
The arrogant young lady rarely looked guilty. “I didn’t mean to. Why did you suddenly appear behind me? You scared me.”
Wang Muguang’s voice was hoarse from holding back, “I wanted to surprise you.”
“It was more like a shock.”
Seeing him in so much pain, Wang Zhenzhu felt guilty and said, “Second Brother, are you okay?”
Looking at his sister’s worried face, he said, “I’m fine, just a little bruise.”
Any harder and he would’ve been dead.
“Really?” Wang Zhenzhu’s face brightened into a smile. “Second Brother, that move just now was my ultimate killer technique.”
“…”
She really was trying to take his life just now.
He knew Wang Zhenzhu had been learning Muay Thai for self-defense, but he had never experienced it firsthand. After taking that hit, he just wanted to light a candle for himself. She had practiced every move of Muay Thai on him.
Wang Muguang took a long time to recover, his complexion finally returning to normal. Just a little more, and he would’ve gone straight to heaven. Heaven almost tasted the flavor of him.
Seeing Wang Zhenzhu staring intently at something, Wang Muguang got curious. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m looking at big brother,” Wang Zhenzhu whispered.
‘Big brother? What about him?’
Wang Muguang followed her gaze and saw Wang Huanxiu standing not far away, his usual oppressive aura surrounding him, face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Wang Muguang was startled. At this moment, Wang Huanxiu was also staring fixedly at something, and the world was like a giant nesting doll.
He followed Wang Huanxiu’s gaze and saw a loud crowd surrounding one person.
It was none other than Bai Shuijin, who had just stunned everyone with his dancing.
Wang Muguang cleared his throat. “I admit it.”
Wang Zhenzhu was confused. “Admit what?”
“I admit that he did look a bit more handsome than me while dancing just now.” Although he didn’t want to admit it, he had to admit that Bai Shuijin had attracted everyone’s attention with his overwhelming presence. When he danced, he was glowing.
Wang Zhenzhu: “…”
Wang Zhenzhu chuckled speechlessly. Hearing such words from Wang Muguang was rare, it was basically the highest praise he could give.
So earlier, Bai Shuijin had attracted a swarm of dance invitations by dancing with someone on the dance floor.
Although it was surprising to see Bai Shuijin surrounded like that, her second brother’s focus was completely off.
“Don’t you think big brother’s expression is kind of strange?”
“No, I just think it looks green.”
‘Yes! Green.’
Wang Zhenzhu was confused. “Bai Shuijin danced with someone else. Why would he be unhappy? I asked him before and he said he didn’t like Bai Shuijin.”
Just a few days ago, Wang Huanxiu had answered very straightforwardly, with an expression as blank as his tone, showing no hint of affection toward Bai Shuijin.
“Big brother really doesn’t like Bai Shuijin.” Wang Muguang agreed. After all, he had been staying in the house for over a month. Wang Huanxiu’s attitude toward Bai Shuijin had always been cold and indifferent, never taking the initiative to do anything for him.
Even giving up his room for Bai Shuijin, Wang Muguang had interpreted that as compensation.
After all, Bai Shuijin had been hit with a show of power the second day he arrived and lived in the storage room for an entire winter.
Everything else between them had been Bai Shuijin’s one-sided effort. Wang Muguang always believed the Wang Huanxiu that Bai Shuijin saw was the same one he and Zhenzhu saw;
Taciturn, workaholic, no communication, no time together. But unlike them, Bai Shuijin liked sticking to Wang Huanxiu even more.
No one in this world had a god’s-eye view of their own life. All feelings and perceptions could only be experienced by oneself, what you felt was what it was.
For the three siblings who had been separated for years, there was still a distance between them and Wang Huanxiu that couldn’t be bridged.
It didn’t show on the surface, but there was a gap in the heart.
When they were young, Wang Muguang had taken Wang Zhenzhu to visit Wang Huanxiu more than once, but every time it was brief. Their big brother always left in a hurry, so fast that even if they ran and chased after him, they couldn’t catch up.
But now that they were living together again, Wang Muguang did feel waves ripple in his heart. Their life now felt like when their parents were still alive.
Wang Zhenzhu asked, “Then why would big brother be angry just because Bai Shuijin danced with someone else?”
“Wouldn’t you be angry if you were made to wear a green hat?”
Wang Zhenzhu realized. “True.”
Even if her big brother didn’t like Bai Shuijin, he was still his husband in name.
She leaned in close to Wang Muguang and whispered, “Big brother’s face is green.”
Wang Muguang nodded. “Mm, dark green.”
“No, I think it’s light green.”
They looked at each other and said in unison, “Gradient green.”
“…”
Wang Zhenzhu walked onto the dance floor. As the protagonist of the birthday banquet reappeared, the spotlight immediately returned to her. The celebration lasted all the way until midnight, and it concluded with a waltz danced by Wang Zhenzhu and Bai Shuijin at the end.
After the banquet ended, people began saying goodbye and leaving one by one, and Wang Zhenzhu pulled Bai Shuijin into the lounge.
“Bai Shuijin, thank you for today.” She looked into his eyes, full of sincerity.
Bai Shuijin had a great time tonight. He had never had so much fun in his entire two lives.
“Thank me? For the birthday cake incident?”
Wang Zhenzhu nodded. She has had many people protecting her since she was a child, but it was the first time someone had stood up for her so fearlessly and without reservation.
She felt moved for a long time when she went to the lounge earlier to change her dress.
Bai Shuijin grinned brightly, a little dimple showing at the corner of his lips. “What’s the big deal? Aren’t we family? It’s only natural.”
Even he blushed after saying it.
They were family. Wang Zhenzhu, just like Wang Huanxiu and Wang Muguang, was his family.
“By the way…” He still had something on his mind. “Zhenzhu, do you still like Lu Ming?”
At the mention of Lu Ming, Wang Zhenzhu’s face turned angry. “Of course not! After what happened, if I still foolishly liked him, what would that make me?”
If she still stubbornly indulged in her secret feelings, then she wouldn’t be Wang Zhenzhu.
“From now on, whenever I see Lu Ming and He Xiaoxiao, I’ll avoid them!”
Bai Shuijin let out a breath of relief. If Wang Zhenzhu no longer obsessed over Lu Ming, then there was a much higher chance she could avoid ending up with that tragic ending.
“That’s good.”
Wang Zhenzhu: “The prerequisite for loving someone else is to love yourself. We have to love ourselves.”
Wang Muguang walked in and saw the two of them chatting. He was curious and asked, “What are you talking about?”
“We are talking about how one must love themselves.” Bai Shuijin glanced at Wang Muguang, “But you don’t need to.”
Wang Muguang: “…”
.
Even though they had celebrated Wang Zhenzhu’s birthday until late into the night the day before, Wang Huanxiu still showed up at the office on time the next morning, as if thunder couldn’t shake his schedule.
His suit was impeccable, without a single hair out of place, and his energy was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Even when secretaries and assistants often had to alternate shifts when traveling for work, there was only him always bearing the load.
Without a strong body and such abundant energy, no one else could have handled it.
But this level of exhaustion was brushed off lightly by Wang Huanxiu. This domineering president could even spare time to go to the gym.
Inside the office, Wang Huanxiu and the chief assistant were reviewing the schedule when suddenly, angry and shrill cursing came from outside the door.
“What right do you have to stop me? Do you know who I am? I’ll have you all fired in a second!”
“Where’s Wang Huanxiu? Tell him to get out here and see me! Ever since big brother died, he has become more and more unruly without parents to discipline him. He doesn’t even know how to respect his elders!”
“Get out! All of you get out of my way!”
The cursing grew closer and soon burst into the office.
Wang Huanxiu’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t even glance at the source of the noise and continued looking at the schedule.
Wang Wang looked at his nonchalant attitude and was fuming, “Wang Huanxiu, are you fucking blind?! Can’t you see me?!”
Behind him, the secretary and assistant who had been blocking Wang Wang were looking at Wang Huanxiu in fear.
Everything had happened so suddenly. Normally, no one would come up to this floor. Even if someone did, they’d send news first. No one would ever show up without Wang Huanxiu’s summons.
Who knew Wang Wang would barge out of the elevator like a madman and head straight for the president’s office? They tried to stop him, but failed.
“President Wang…” The assistant tried to explain.
Wang Huanxiu looked at them and said, “We don’t need you here for now. You may leave.”
The secretary and assistant immediately retreated. Since their boss wasn’t angry, it was better to leave quickly and not show their faces anymore.
Once the secretary and assistant left, there was no one else in the office to deal with Wang Wang. Wang Huanxiu went on checking work matters as if Wang Wang didn’t even exist in the room.
Wang Wang’s face turned dark. He stormed forward and swept all the documents off the desk onto the floor. “Wang Huanxiu, don’t go too far! Do you even acknowledge me as your elder anymore?!”
Wang Huanxiu waved off the chief assistant. “You go too.”
“Yes.”
After the chief assistant left, only then did Wang Huanxiu lift his eyes to look directly at Wang Wang.
Wang Wang pointed at him, so furious he was about to explode, “Who gave you the right to reject the Lu Cooperation’s project? That’s a collaboration I negotiated from the branch I manage, what right do you have to interfere?! What right do you have to refuse?!”
Having all the power wasn’t enough for this little demon, he even dared stick his hand into his pockets. This was just too much.
A few days ago, he had just finalized a project proposal with the Lu Cooperation that would achieve a win-win for both sides. But when he arrived at the office this morning, he saw someone from headquarters had been sent down to cut off the project midway.
He didn’t even have to guess who did it. Who else had the authority to send someone to the branch? Besides Wang Huanxiu, there was no one with that much power to override him.
Being suppressed by a junior was like living with chickens and ducks, unbearable!
Wang Huanxiu was calm. “Why can’t I reject it?”
Wang Wang slammed his hand on the desk. “That’s my company!”
“That’s the company Dad gave to me!!!”
It was something the old man had given him!
Wang Huanxiu laughed, a cold and eerie laugh that sent chills up Wang Wang’s spine.
He didn’t say anything, but Wang Wang felt the accusation.
Was it really his company?
Right now, with Wang Huanxiu in control of the Wang family, even the smallest ant in the family followed his word.
“Wang Huanxiu, I’m telling you, don’t push it too far. You never allowed Ping Tian into the company and I let that slide. But now you’re even sticking your hand into my side? Are you trying to drive our whole family into a dead end?”
“You’re overthinking it. I’ve never tried to push you. I said it before…your family isn’t suited for this.”
“Bullshit! You just want all the power for yourself! You’re just like your father, greedy and insatiable!”
Wang Huanxiu raised his dark eyes. “Third Uncle, you’re right.”
“You!”
Everyone said that after his older brother and sister-in-law died, Wang Huanxiu changed, that he became more mature, no longer rebellious or arrogant. But Wang Wang didn’t think so. In his eyes, Wang Huanxiu was still the same little demon as he was when he was a child.
Their entire family had been suppressed by Wang Huanxiu within the Wang household. Other than the old man, no one else interacted much with them because of Wang Huanxiu. They were even isolated in their own home.
It’s all because of Wang Huanxiu.
Wang Wang’s finger trembled as he pointed at Wang Huanxiu, “You beast, you…”
He suddenly couldn’t catch his breath and collapsed on the spot.
At 7 p.m., Bai Shuijin curled up on the sofa. Tonight, Aunt Li had specially made clay pot rice. He had never had it before, so he was a little greedy and was looking forward to dinner.
But Wang Huanxiu still hadn’t come back. He wanted to wait for him to come home and eat together.
Lately, Wang Huanxiu had been getting off work earlier, and they almost always had dinner together, so he also made a point of waiting for him.
Anyway, waiting a little longer wouldn’t starve him, and it was better than having Wang Huanxiu come home to eat alone.
But by the time he’d tossed and turned on the sofa until 8 p.m. and still hadn’t seen Wang Huanxiu, he couldn’t sit still anymore. His stomach was like an asteroid hitting Earth.
He grabbed his phone and called Wang Huanxiu at the office. As usual, it was his secretary who answered.
After politely greeting her, Bai Shuijin asked about Wang Huanxiu’s whereabouts. “Excuse me, has my laogong-ge not gotten off work yet?”
The secretary sounded surprised. “President Wang got off work at 4 p.m. today.”
‘He got off work at 4? It was rare to be so punctual.’
So he had already finished work～
“Okay, thanks, I got it.”
He hung up the phone. The workaholic wasn’t at work…he had already gotten off.
He narrowed his eyes, then suddenly opened them wide.
Wait a minute! He got off at 4! Then where is laogong-ge now?
He ran in his slippers to Wang Muguang’s room and flung the door open.
“Little Uncle, your brother is not home.”
Wang Muguang was reading trashy novels, and the sudden scene out of the novel made him blurt out, “Sister-in-law!”
Bai Shuijin: “…”
Wang Muguang looked completely yellow.
Wang Huanxiu not coming home made Wang Muguang surprised as well. “Maybe he has a dinner engagement tonight?”
Just then, the butler came hurrying in from outside. “Young Master Shuijin, sir is currently at the old house.”
Bai Shuijin was puzzled. “What is he doing at the old house?”
.
Old house, ancestral hall.
Wang Huanxiu had taken off his suit jacket, and was kneeling on the wooden floor wearing only a shirt and black dress pants.
The old master, stooped with age, held a cane and struck him again and again with force. “Look at what you’ve done! Open your eyes and see what you’ve done! You actually drove your third uncle into the hospital, how could a human being do something like that?!”
“Look at your father and mother.” The old man pointed at the ancestral tablets in front of them. “Do you have the face to say what you did out loud?! This is how you treat your father’s younger brother, your father’s own flesh and blood!”
The came landed on flesh with a deep, heavy thud. Wang Huanxiu gritted his teeth and didn’t say a word.
From the age of fourteen, as long as someone brought up his parents to pressure him, he would fall completely silent, even showing the flustered panic of a teenager.
“Can you face your father?! If it weren’t for me raising you with my own hands, how would you have what you have today? You think you could be in charge of the company? You think you could control your third uncle? I must have been blind, truly blind back then, I should never have nurtured you!”
Just like how he once nurtured Wang Huanxiu’s father, like father like son, when the beam above is crooked, the beam below won’t be straight either. Neither of them knew how to be grateful.
Wang Huanxiu didn’t even know how many times he had knelt here. Ever since he was brought back to the old house when he was young, every time he made a mistake or every time the old man was unhappy, he would be dragged here, made to kneel in front of his parents.
He never resisted. When it came to his parents, he never defended himself.
Life in the old house was suffocating every single day. There was endless learning, endless reading and practice. If he wanted freedom, the only way was to climb upward with everything he had. That was why his father had firmly opposed the old man’s idea of raising him here when he was born.
He didn’t want his son to repeat his own childhood.
Yet after he was gone, Wang Huanxiu was still brought back, with a huge burden on his back.
The guilt of killing his parents.
Old Master Wang beat hard on his back, aiming to break the spine that still stood straight. “If it weren’t for you, would your father and mother have gone abroad? Would they have gotten into a plane crash so bad that there weren’t even bodies to retrieve?”
“Wang Huanxiu, you think you’ve grown wings now? This old man can’t control you anymore? You’ve even started laying hands on family!”
Wang Huanxiu closed his eyes, his breathing heavy. If he wasn’t at the old house, it would be Wang Muguang who was here. If he didn’t hold power, then the ones being bullied today would be Wang Muguang and Wang Zhenzhu.
In his teenage years, Wang Huanxiu ran forward with everything he had, even leaving his younger siblings behind, regardless of whether they misunderstood him or had rifts.
His father had always been an odd one in the Wang family, he was the son of the first wife, neither loved by his father nor his mother. Only because he had a head for business did the old man value him. Wang Huanxiu was the same. Without that, their whole branch would’ve been food on the Wang family’s table and no one cared about the first wife’s line.
Especially with Old Master Wang doting on his second wife, they would’ve been picked clean to the bones.
“Speak! Tell your parents what a great job you’ve done!”
Wang Huanxiu gritted his teeth. A thin layer of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Boom!
A loud bang hit the door.
The sudden noise interrupted the violence inside the room.
Wang Muguang’s voice rang out from outside. “Fuck, the door won’t budge!”
Bai Shuijin’s wise voice followed closely, “Is it possible this door opens by pulling?”
“…”
Creak…
The handle was pulled, and Wang Muguang’s eyes widened. It really opened!
Old Master Wang hadn’t locked the door. Normally, when using the family discipline, no one would dare come in.
But today was different. Bai Shuijin stood at the doorway with Wang Muguang and Wang Zhenzhu, and they immediately saw Wang Huanxiu kneeling on the ground.
Old Master Wang still had his cane raised high in the air.
Bai Shuijin’s pupils shrank sharply and he shot inside like a small cannonball. “What are you doing?!”
Seeing the red bleeding through Wang Huanxiu’s shirt on his back, Bai Shuijin stepped in between him and Old Master Wang and shielded him.
The raised cane looked like it was going to pierce the heavens. Wang Huanxiu’s forehead was drenched in sweat. Who knew how long he had been beaten before they arrived?
It was only through the butler that Bai Shuijin found out Wang Huanxiu had been called back by the old man because he had made Wang Wang so angry during the day that he ended up in the hospital, and had been unconscious ever since.
He’d thought that, with his laogong-ge’s villainous personality, a trip back to the old house would not be a big deal. Who would’ve thought the butler would say he was being beaten according to the family rules…and that it was literal, he was being beaten.
Wang Huanxiu rarely showed pain on his face. He didn’t make a sound even when he broke a bone before, but now, his face was pale as paper.
Just how hard must he have been beaten?
Old Master Wang was still his own blood, yet he beat him up so viciously.
If it had been him, he couldn’t bear to treat Wang Huanxiu like this. It was obvious that Old Master Wang and Wang Huanxiu were bound by blood, he didn’t understand why family had to punish each other so harshly.
Bai Shuijin was too angry to speak. He glared at the old man and said, “Can’t you talk it out? Why… why do you have to beat him?!”
Old Master Wang looked at the brat who had suddenly appeared. He had never taken Bai Shuijin seriously from the start. “I’m his grandfather, why can’t I beat him?”
“Fine, a symbolic hit is one thing, but why did you…” Bai Shuijin glanced at Wang Huanxiu.
‘Make him kneel. It’s so… indecent.’
He didn’t know how to put it into words, but now that he was here, the beating had to stop.
“No more beating!”
The old man looked at him and his temper flared. He waved the cane. “I’m his grandfather. I’ll beat him if I want to!”
“Well, he’s also my laogong-ge.” Bai Shuijin retorted, “If you hit him, of course it will hurt me too!!!”
Wang Huanxiu looked at the floor and blinked.
Seeing the old man raise the cane again, Bai Shuijin directly snatched it out of his hands.
‘I dare you to hit!’ Bai Shuijin gritted his teeth, raised his knee, gripped both ends of the cane, and smashed it down hard.
A groan followed.
It didn’t break.
He just smashed it onto himself instead.
