âThat wasnât what I meant, Eldest Young Master.â Lu Dapeng hurriedly denied in a terrified voice. âI- I just wanted to express that if Eldest Young Master had informed me beforehand, I could have gone to welcome you.â
Lu Dapeng was filled with apprehension and fear. âWasnât this fiend perfectly fine with remaining outside the country? What did he come back for?!â
The Lu family was a clan that had more than a hundred years of history. Their clan rules were very strict about hierarchy. Even if Lu Qingyun called him âSecond Uncleâ, he was merely a member of the side branch and Lu Qingyun was from the main line. These years the main branch had moved their base of operations out of the country, so Lu Dapeng didnât know why he came backâŠ
âThat wonât be necessary.â Lu Qingyunâs gaze landed on Shi Sheng.
Shi Sheng immediately smiled. âThis is the patron, the future patron, canât offend him.â
Lin Shanshan went into a daze as she stared at him. You probably couldnât find a man handsomer than him in the entertainment circle. And from how Lu Dapeng addressed him, one could see his status was much higher. If she was able to get this person to take a liking to herâŠ
Thinking up to this point, Lin Shanshan immediately knocked that train of thought out of her head and the infatuation in her eyes slowly faded.
This man didnât seem easy to get close to. If he warranted such fearful respect from Lu Dapeng, he wasnât one she could afford to provoke. She might as well stick with Lu Dapeng, or else she might end up not gaining anything but instead losing everything.
Lin Shanshan clearly knew her own limits. But when she looked up, she saw Shi Sheng smiling at that man, who actually walked over, causing Lin Shanshan to hate Shi Sheng even more. âWhy her?!âïŒ
âPatr- Mr Lu, what a coincidence!â Shi Sheng greeted with smiling eyes.
When Lu Dapeng saw Lu Qingyun nod at Shi Sheng, he was so terrified his soul nearly left his body. âWasnât Jiang Wan just a normal person? When did she get to know this demon?â
âDo you still have business here, Second Uncle Lu?â Lu Qingyun stood next to Shi Sheng as he shot a side glance at Lu Dapeng who didnât dare to move an inch.
Lu Dapengâs body shivered as he quickly shook his head. âNo, no, nothing at all. Iâll be leaving now, Eldest Young Master.â
Lu Dapeng pulled Lin Shanshan and headed towards the door, pretty much having given up on attending the party. âLike hell Iâd still attend! With this freak here, Iâd only go in if I didnât feel like living anymore!â
âWait a second.â
Lu Dapeng paused as he turned around and spoke in a respectful and apprehensive voice, âDoes Eldest Young Master have any more orders?â
âApologise.â
âApologise?!â Lu Dapeng was beginning to feel unwell. âJust what relationship does Jiang Wan have with this devil? He actually told him to apologise to her!â
Lu Dapeng had cold sweat pouring off him as he looked at Jiang Wan before bowing, âMs Jiang, it was my mistake earlier. Do be generous and let me off. Iâm not the one who has enmity with you, itâs only because Lin Shanshan incited me that I let pig oil cover my heart[1]âŠâ
Lin Shanshan paled. She hadnât expected Lu Dapeng to sell her out so easily.
âLu Dapeng, what is the meaning of this?â Just because he was afraid of this man, heâd put all the blame on her?
âShut up.â Lu Dapeng rebuked Lin Shanshan with a vicious face. Had it not been for her, he wouldnât have even looked at Jiang Wan, let alone have offended this demon because of her matter.
âI donât need to teach you what to do, do I?â
âNo, no, not at all. Rest assured Young Master, I will definitely resolve this matter satisfactorily.â
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Lu Dapengâs eyes. Lin Shanshan had nearly caused him to offend this devil. Having no other outlet, he could only vent on Lin Shanshan.
âDonât let down the reputation of my Lu family.â Lu Qingyun waved his hand. As if he had just received an amnesty, Lu Dapeng immediately dragged a pale-faced Lin Shanshan out the door.
âYouâre actually this impressive.â Shi Sheng made a worshipful expression. âPresident Lu is already one of the top players in the industry, youâre really amazing to be able to get him to call you âEldest Young Masterâ.â
Lu Qingyunâs gaze landed on Shi Shengâs calm eyes. There wasnât the slightest ripple there. This woman clearly didnât wish to praise him.
âYou should at least put more effort into your acting. Right now, youâre clearly just being perfunctory with me.â
Young Master Lu once again doubted his own charm. âWhy was it useless against this woman?â
âYou donât feel like praising me yet you went against your conscience to do so. Donât you feel upset?â
âEven if youâre going to go against your conscience to praise me, you should at least put more effort into hiding it! Just what do you mean by completely not hiding your true thoughtsâŠâ
âNope.â
âGetting a verbal praise from me(bbb)Â is already not bad but you still want a sincere one? In your dreams!â
Lu Qingyun ââŠâ
For the first time, he found himself unable to say anything to that. âIsnât this being a bit too honest?!â
âEh? Lu Qingyun, whereâd you kidnap this girl from? All I did was go to park the car and you abandoned me! And I even went to the trouble of fetching you too, are you still human?!â
âKidnap? This phrasing was simplyâŠâ
Shi Sheng looked at the newcomer. He was dressed normally for this kind of event and looked rather good too.
Not waiting for Lu Qingyun to reply though, he immediately leapt to the next topic, âI saw Lu Dapeng just now. Did he eat gunpowder or something? He was ranting at a woman, just what did you do to him?â
Shi Sheng was speechless. âIt seems like this fellow really understands Lu Qingyun ah. All he saw was Lu Dapeng getting angry and he could guess that it was Lu Qingyunâs doing. Thereâs only one person that fit this description, and thatâs Lu Qingyunâs good friend[2]/accomplice: Su Yixiu.â
âAnd this is?â Su Yixiu changed the topic back to Shi Sheng in a flash as he curiously examined her. âLady, your heart must be huge if you can stand with him for this long.â
âWasnât this the one Lu Qingyun asked me about the last time? Being able to stand with him without any change in expression, no wonder he wanted to ask about her.â
âBig enough for the world[3].â Shi Sheng spoke with a straight face.
âPft~â Su Yixiu couldnât help laughing.
Shi Sheng glared at him. âWhat are you laughing at, eh?!â
âI am Jiang Wan.â âHeâs on future patronâs side. Just ignore him.â
Su Yixiu revealed an expression of pleasant surprise and his tone was more excited than before. âSo youâre Ms Jiang. I am Su Yixiu, Lu Qingyunâs childhood buddy cum nanny.â
Shi Shengâs lips twitched. âChildhood friend and nanny⊠you sure those fit? I(bbb) donât understand the logic of villains!â
âThanks for that matter last time. Had it not been for you, I figure Lu Qingyun wouldâve probably been done for back there. You might not know this but his only flaw is that his stamina is horrible. Why, back in junior highâŠâ
âIf youâd shut up, youâd be more pleasing to look at.â Lu Qingyun interrupted Su Yixiu.
âEven if Iâm donât, Iâm still eye-candy.â Su Yixiu humphed though he didnât continue his previous line of conversation.
Shi Sheng ââŠâ
âHehe[4], I feel like Iâve fucked a dog[5]. Why is there such an adorably dumb person in the villain camp?â
âMs Jiang, are you here alone tonight?â Since Lu Qingyun was interested in this girl, then as his nanny/assistant/best friend, he naturally had to help him out.
âTemporarily yes.â Xi Mo hadnât showed up yet, not sure what he was up to.
âThatâs great. Uh, Iâve got some stuff to deal with so I gotta go first. Lu Qingyunâs only just returned from abroad and isnât quite used to this place yet so might I be able to trouble Ms Jiang to help me look after him for the night?â âBro, I can only help you to this point.â
Shi Sheng felt like there was something weird with Su Yixiuâs choice of words.
âThen itâs settled. Ms Jiang youâre a good person. Then, Iâll just take my leave now.â Su Yixiu finished his one-sided âconversationâ. As if he wasnât reassured though, he warned Lu Qingyun, âLu Qingyun, I am telling you right now, donât fuck this up. Our friendship wonât be able to stand it.â
Su Yixiu then ran out the door as if someone was hot on his heels.
Shi Sheng, who had received a âgood person cardâ, was speechless. âHey, the hell? I havenât agreed yet and you just left? Though⊠I wouldnât have rejected anyways.â
[1]Â An idiom for letting petty stuff like jealousy, greed, etc win against his conscience.
[2] Thereâs a connotation for gay fuck buddy here. This will be relevant later on. (ͥ° ÍÊ ÍĄÂ°)
[3] This has several meanings. One is caring for the world (Which I doubt is what Shi Sheng meant since sheâs⊠well, Shi Sheng). Another is having grand ambitions (i.e conquer the world)
[4] Guess there was no getting around this one was there? Well this is the pinyin for what the raws say is âć”ć”â. It can convey⊠a lot of things. Mostly used to express âI am so done with your nonsenseâ. Itâs one of those language specific slangs. I couldnât replace it here like I did before. Itâs pronounced more like hurhur than heh heh.
[5]Â NO THIS IS NOT LITERAL. Itâs just to emphasize her disbelief. See also: Looked like she had swallowed a fly. Itâs basically like saying âWTF?!â but reekahia said this sounded more charming so itâs staying in.