Two Big Shots

When Song Xuanhe still said nothing, the system began to panic. [Have you made up your mind? We really can negotiate!]

"How?"

[Say, I give you one chance to ask for help?] At Song Xuanhe's derisive laugh, the system hastily upped its offer. [Two! Two chances!]

"Three, or there's nothing to discuss."

The system agonized over it, then finally gritted its metaphorical teeth. [Three it is. Deal!]

Only then did Song Xuanhe stretch out, a sly smile on his face. "All right. From now on, your name is Ergou."

The system: ...

"What? Didn't you say I had naming rights?"

[Perhaps we could negotiate?]

"Are we following the plot or not, buddy?"

Ergou choked on its reply and grudgingly accepted the name. [From now on, you can speak to me directly in your mind. You don't need to say anything aloud. I'm lifting the time freeze now. Just follow the plot. Anyway, when the protagonist isn't involved, you can improvise as long as you don't deviate from the storyline.]

[Didn't you say I had to read out that passage?] Song Xuanhe adapted quickly, speaking inside his head. [So I only have to stick closely to the script when Xiao Yuanmu is there? Everywhere else, I can mess around however I like, as long as it doesn't affect the main plot?]

The words "mess around" gave the system a sinking feeling, but it answered honestly. [Yes.]

Song Xuanhe's eyes curved into smiling crescents. [All right. Lift the time freeze.]

With scarcely any perceptible change, everything before him came alive again. His assistant still looked worried. Having received no answer from Song Xuanhe, he asked again, "Young Master, are you feeling unwell?"

Song Xuanhe waved a hand and glanced through the window at the orphanage gates. "It's nothing. Let's get out."

"Aren't you going to look over the information?" Zhang Chao asked.

"No need. I already learned everything I need to know. Let's go straight in."

Zhang Chao nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he tried to reason with him anyway. "Young Master, Xiao Yuanmu may not know what's good for him, but someone of your standing has no need to take offense. Give him time, and he'll agree to what you want."

Song Xuanhe turned to look at Zhang Chao and smiled. "I know what I'm doing."

Zhang Chao followed Song Xuanhe into the orphanage. They had come under the pretext of donating supplies, so the director soon appeared to greet them.

The orphanage director was a woman of about sixty, a little frail but warm and kindly. Smiling, she gave Song Xuanhe and Zhang Chao a tour before taking them to her office.

Song Xuanhe discreetly surveyed the very spartan office, gaining a fair idea of the orphanage's finances. Then he smiled. "Grandma, the main reason I wanted to donate supplies today is Xiao Yuanmu. He graduated from a prestigious university, and he's exceptionally capable at work. I happened to hear that he was an orphan, so I wanted to visit the place that raised him. Every little bit helps."

The director smiled at his praise of Xiao Yuanmu before asking, "Are you one of Yuanmu's coworkers?"

"Yes." Song Xuanhe was fair-skinned and handsome, with a smile that made it easy to like him. "Is he here today?"

"Of course!" the director said with a smile. "He so rarely has friends come to see him. I'll go get him for you."

Before long, Xiao Yuanmu followed the director through the door. The moment he saw Song Xuanhe, the faint softness on his face vanished, replaced by coldness and wariness. With the director still present, however, he merely asked in an unreadable voice, "What are you doing here?"

The director frowned in disapproval. "Yuanmu, your friend has come to see you. How can you speak to him like that?"

Xiao Yuanmu pressed his lips together. His gaze on Song Xuanhe was full of loathing and apprehension, but he said nothing.

Zhang Chao felt a little sorry for Xiao Yuanmu, but Song Xuanhe was his immediate superior. All he could do was try to ease the situation. "Director, it looks as though Xuanhe and Yuanmu have something to discuss. Perhaps you could tell me a little more about the facilities?"

The director nodded, said a few words to Xiao Yuanmu, and left with Zhang Chao.

Only when their footsteps outside had faded almost beyond hearing did Xiao Yuanmu lower his voice and ask coldly, "What are you doing here? I've already resigned."

Song Xuanhe folded his arms and leaned lazily back against the sofa. He was just about to speak when a piece of wood sticking through a hole in the backrest jabbed him, making him jerk forward. So much for his air of leisurely command. Fighting through the pain, he could only struggle to keep up appearances and recite his line. "How can you resign when I haven't approved it?"

Xiao Yuanmu's gaze sharpened as Song Xuanhe continued, "You've seen it yourself. This orphanage couldn't be any more run-down. I hear a new one has opened on the outskirts of the capital—spacious, bright, beautifully built. Most of the children left here have medical conditions. It's only the director's kindness that keeps this place limping along. Otherwise, this little dump could be bulldozed at any moment. Tell me—should I give the director a hand?"

"What do you mean?"

Song Xuanhe scooted forward a little, though the smile on his face remained thoroughly punchable. "Exactly what you think I mean. Agree to what I want, and someone will fund both the basic supplies and improvements to the buildings. Refuse, and this orphanage might very well be demolished to make way for a high-rise. This land belongs to our Song Group. You should know I have the power to do it."

Xiao Yuanmu said nothing. Yet even in silence, his ice-laden eyes radiated an almost tangible chill.

Song Xuanhe paid it no mind. He simply smiled. "I'm giving you three days to think it over. In three days, you can either be a good boy and agree, or watch this orphanage get razed to the ground. It's entirely your choice."

With that, he rose unhurriedly, told Xiao Yuanmu to think carefully, and turned to leave.

On the way back, the system exclaimed in delighted surprise, [Buddy, for someone who studied design, you're a pretty good actor!]

[When you're making your way in the world, it never hurts to have another skill.] Song Xuanhe lounged against the leather seatback. The spot where the wood had jabbed his back still ached faintly.

[True. Just what I'd expect from a host chosen by me, Z4—Ergou.] The system bravely accepted its new name, then added, [I'll send you the information on the Song family. Have a look. It'll help you settle into life with them more smoothly.]

Three days later.

By the time Song Xuanhe came downstairs, everyone else was already at the dining table.

A woman with a mature, poised air looked up and smiled broadly when she saw him. "Come on, hurry. We've all been waiting for you."

Seated closer to the head of the table, the middle-aged man was checking his phone. At her words, he looked up and frowned. "You're getting more outrageous by the day. First you openly pursue a man at the office, and now you make the whole family wait for you to have breakfast. Have you no sense of propriety?"

Song Xuanhe's lips curved into a provocative smile. "Grandpa hasn't said a word. Why are you so worked up, Dad? Did that newly crowned Best Actress fail to satisfy you yesterday?"

"How dare you!" Song Guochao shot to his feet, his face turning a dark, liverish red with rage. "Is that any way to speak to your father? Do you have any respect for me at all?"

Song Xuanhe shrugged and was about to answer when the old man at the head of the table spoke. "Enough. What's all this shouting first thing in the morning? Sit down and eat."

Still furious, Song Guochao had no choice but to sit. Song Xuanhe went to his own seat as well.

With everyone seated, breakfast finally began. The servants brought out the food in an orderly procession, plate after plate. Not counting the individual soup pots, bowls of congee, or fruit juice, each person had at least five or six plates or bamboo steamers in front of them. Every breakfast item was exquisite and beautifully presented, a mix of Chinese and Western dishes. Judging by the spread alone, even this family's breakfast budget was extravagantly lavish.

Song Xuanhe lowered his eyes and ate quietly. Over the past three days, he had gotten a thorough grasp of the original Song Xuanhe's personality and family.

The original Song Xuanhe was haughty, domineering, and arrogant, with a touch of cynicism born of his age and upbringing. He was essentially still stuck in his adolescent "I'm the center of the universe" phase, complete with its most obvious hallmark: rebellion.

Anything that let him defy Song Guochao was something he could never get enough of.

Still, after three days with the Song family, Song Xuanhe felt that growing up warped in an environment like this was simply a natural response to the conditions.

The family's makeup alone offered plenty of clues: a grandfather who had the final say in everything and permitted no dissent; a weak, incompetent, womanizing father who could throw his weight around only in front of his sons; a mother who spoiled her younger son without any limits; and an older brother who was far more accomplished than he was in every respect.

Just as in the novel, the Song family owned the capital's largest private enterprise and was also its wealthiest family. Since Song Xuanhe's father, Song Guochao, had no talent whatsoever for business and was obsessed with women, Song Xuanhe's grandfather still ran the family. Song Guochao was also being skipped entirely in the succession: the next heir would be chosen from Song Xuanhe and his older brother, Song Xuanlin.

The original Song Xuanhe, however, had no intention of inheriting the family fortune. He had never wanted for anything and was accustomed to courting disaster while his family trailed after him, cleaning up his messes. Naturally, he wanted no responsibilities. And if not for Xiao Yuanmu, the Song family really would have been capable of letting him live that way for the rest of his life.

But Song Xuanhe had no desire to maintain the character's persona by acting like a fighting cock, forever finding ways to pick a fight with Song Guochao whenever he saw him. Even less did he want to acquire a whole host of enemies besides Xiao Yuanmu.

He therefore needed a way to stop this behavior naturally, in keeping with the original character's personality, and then carry that change in temperament through.

Just yesterday, when he saw the affair rumors about Song Guochao and the newly crowned Best Actress, a solution had immediately come to him. There was no rush, though. Getting through today's required plot scene came first.

This time, his assistant Zhang Chao did not accompany him. Song Xuanhe drove to the Qingshi Orphanage alone.

The gatekeeper was the same man who had let him in last time. Seeing him, the man made no attempt to stop him, but smiled and called into the grounds, "Little Xiao, your friend's here!"

Song Xuanhe paused midstep.

Little-little?

In Chinese, "Little Xiao" sounded just like "little-little." The ice-cold big shot who would one day be so outrageously cool, domineering, arrogant, and twisted that he might as well be insanity incarnate had once answered to a nickname that cute? Somehow, the contrast was kind of cute.

Xiao Yuanmu came out. He showed no surprise at the sight of Song Xuanhe and said coldly, "Follow me."

Song Xuanhe followed him to the director's office they had visited three days earlier. Without being asked, he found an intact armchair and sat down, then lifted his chin and began reciting his lines. "Have you made up your mind?"

Xiao Yuanmu's gaze was dark. He stared at Song Xuanhe for a long moment before saying flatly, "Do I have a choice?"

Song Xuanhe shrugged, his lips curling into a smile. "No."

Xiao Yuanmu's eyes grew colder still, his jaw tightening. After a brief silence, he said, "I agree."

Only at this almost humiliating capitulation did Song Xuanhe look up to take stock of Xiao Yuanmu. He was almost excessively good-looking, his back always straight, his shoulders broad, his legs long. Even a cheap white T-shirt and jeans washed nearly white looked strikingly expensive on him.

Just looking at him like this, Song Xuanhe could easily understand why the original character had fallen for Xiao Yuanmu and been determined to have him.

"Then pack your things and come back with me." Song Xuanhe looked away. "From now on, you'll live with me in the apartment near the office."

Xiao Yuanmu lowered his eyes. His voice was very quiet, with a trace of coldness. "Remember what you promised me."

"Of course." Song Xuanhe stood, looking pleased with himself. "As long as you're a good boy and do as you're told, this orphanage will only get better."

[With that, Song Xuanhe gently tipped up Xiao Yuanmu's chin. Under his cool gaze, Song Xuanhe curled his lips and said, "Since I've agreed to help fund the orphanage, I ought to collect a little interest. Don't you think?"

Xiao Yuanmu's expression shifted slightly. Wariness and disgust entered his eyes as he looked at Song Xuanhe. "What are you planning to do?" he asked coldly.

Song Xuanhe gave a wickedly seductive smile. Still holding Xiao Yuanmu's chin, he pulled him down and kissed him on the lips. He let go before Xiao Yuanmu could push him away and teased, "You taste pretty good."]

Song Xuanhe had been getting up to leave. He froze. He quickly realized what the passage appearing in his mind meant, but clung to one last shred of hope. [You don't actually expect me to do what it says, do you?]

Ergou shattered that hope. [You've got this, buddy.]