Chapter 11: Looking for Friends

Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

Thank you San Xiaojie for the kofi 🥰💕

How could a group of adults have a dinner party and not drink? The atmosphere that had turned slightly reserved upon Song Xuanhe's arrival quickly heated up again after several glasses of alcohol.

One of Xiao Yuanmu's coworkers saw that he had been continuously grilling meat and then placing all of it into Song Xuanhe's bowl. Xiao Yuanmu himself hadn't eaten any. This coworker couldn't help but bolster up his courage and tease, "Xiao Xiao and Young Mr. Song's relationship is quite good."

Song Xuanhe had just swallowed down a piece of meat. When he heard this, he looked at Xiao Yuanmu's expression from the corner of his eyes. When he saw that the other's expression hadn't changed, he took back his gaze and said with a smile, "Jealous, ah?"

That person hadn't expected that Song Xuanhe would reply. He looked overwhelmed with favour. With a smile on his face, he approached Song Xuanhe with a flattering look, "Young Mr. Song, your relationship with Xiao Xiao is so good, of course we're jealous."

"If you're jealous, go find a boyfriend or girlfriend for yourself." Song Xuanhe sipped on his alcohol and smiled lazily.

Seeing that someone had struck up a conversation with Song Xuanhe, who wasn't as aloof as they had thought and had even made such an easy-going joke, the others' courage grew as well. After all, there weren't many chances to interact with the company's young master. Even if they didn't leave an impression on Song Xuanhe, it was still quite good for them to exchange a few words with him.

Thus, as soon as the person in front of him had spoken, someone else cut in using this topic as an excuse. He said, "Xiao Xiao hasn't eaten much. Young Mr. Song, doesn't your heart ache for him?"

Song Xuanhe gave that person an askanced look. Although his smile didn't change, his tone was pressuring, "If my heart doesn't ache for him, will yours?"

That person's expression grew stiff. He didn't think that Song Xuanhe's temper would change just like that. He said, embarrassed, "I always shoot my mouth. I said something that I shouldn't have. I'll drink in punishment! I hope that Young Mr. Song won't take offense."

Before the other could pick up his glass though, Song Xuanhe had already softened his tone. He said with a smile, "What punishment? You're right, my heart obviously aches."

After saying this, he picked up a piece of meat from his bowl with his chopsticks and brought it over to Xiao Yuanmu's mouth. Eyes curved into a smile, he said, "Ah—quickly have a bit. Otherwise, others will say that I don't care about you."

Everyone at the table was focused on them. Xiao Yuanmu didn't open his mouth. He only coldly gazed into Song Xuanhe's eyes.

Song Xuanhe knew that Xiao Yuanmu wouldn't eat. Not only that, but he would also leave his seat because of this. At that moment, Song Xuanhe was to become angry and then pull Xiao Yuanmu back down, shoving the piece of meat into his mouth under everyone's gazes.

Song Xuanhe was waiting for Xiao Yuanmu to leave. He then felt his chopsticks suddenly lighten. He looked up and discovered that Xiao Yuanmu had indifferently eaten the piece of meat he had brought to his lips.

Song Xuanhe widened his eyes in shock. He raised his voice in his mind: [Xiao Yuanmu actually ate the piece of meat! This didn't happen in the plot!]

[I saw.]Er Gou was also quite confused. However, it wasn't like this kind of thing hadn't happened before. After all, a book was a book, and reality was reality. The only thing that did not change in reality was the ever-changing nature of reality. There would always be some kind of deviation. Therefore, its tone was very calm :[This is normal. Although the book was written from Xiao Yuanmu's POV, this world is a real world. Anything could cause deviations. Only, in order to comply with reality, you don't have to get angry like in the plot. Just shove a piece of meat in his mouth. Remember to use your hands.]

When he heard Er Gou's unimpressed tone, Song Xuanhe let go of the shock in his heart. Actually, he wasn't one to be easily flustered. It was just that it was the first time Xiao Yuanmu hadn't acted according to the plot. It was really unexpected. Moreover, it also felt strange.

It was like a thin, 2D portrait had suddenly come to life. It was like fiction and reality had suddenly come together, making him feel dizzy and dazzled. He also suddenly realized that Xiao Yuanmu was not just a character in a story but a living, breathing human.

Xiao Yuanmu slowly chewed the piece of meat in his mouth. His gaze had never left Song Xuanhe. He saw every single change in expression, from the surprise of having his expectations destroyed to the current strange expression of seemingly looking through Xiao Yuanmu and gazing at something else, despite obviously looking at him. And now, some fear quickly flitted through his eyes.

What had Song Xuanhe thought of in those few seconds to make him raise his guard even further?

Actually, ever since he had seen Song Xuanhe at the orphanage, he had perceived the other's extremely concealed vigilance against him. At that time, when he thought of the difference in their statuses, Xiao Yuanmu thought that he must have been imagining things. But after living together, he had confirmed his intuition.

Moreover, after observing the other, he very quickly discovered that although Song Xuanhe acted intimate with him, that was only on the surface. He was usually heavily on guard against him but also would occasionally be completely off guard.

The only thing he was certain about was that Song Xuanhe didn't actually like him. He didn't even like him superficially for his looks.

Xiao Yuanmu lowered his gaze. If Song Xuanhe didn't like him, then why had he approached him?

Song Xuanhe came back to himself, seeing that Xiao Yuanmu had lowered his eyes and had finished eating. Gaze sweeping over his thin, long eyelashes, Song Xuanhe directly shoved a piece of pork belly wrapped in lettuce into Xiao Yuanmu's mouth. His action was fast and smooth. Everyone was dumbfounded upon seeing this.

Xiao Yuanmu grabbed a napkin and wiped the sauce dribbling out the side of his mouth. His icy gaze fell on Song Xuanhe. For a moment, no one spoke.

A few seconds later, someone forced a laugh and tried mediating the situation. "And, you still say that Young Mr. Song doesn't care about Xiao Xiao? That piece of pork belly had been carefully layered with sauce and wrapped in lettuce. If that wasn't caring, then what would be considered caring?"

When these words were uttered, the others all looked like they had found the antidote to relieving this awkward atmosphere. They promptly agreed one after another. Without conscience, they praised Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu for being a model, loving couple. Someone had even said, "May you give birth to a son soon."

The atmosphere became lively again. Only a girl sitting in the corner didn't speak. She lowered her head and texted, occasionally looking in Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu's direction. Her gaze was icy. She didn't blend in with the atmosphere of the dinner party at all.

The others ignored her. After all, everyone knew that this woman had tried chasing after Xiao Yuanmu before. She had tried to get Xiao Yuanmu to eat with her before but was discovered by Young Mr. Song. Young Mr. Song directly pronounced that Xiao Yuanmu belonged to him. It would only make things awkward if she spoke.

When the dinner party ended, Song Xuanhe's phone rang. Unsurprisingly, it was Mother Song asking him to come back. This phone call finally broke the calm surface that had been in place since the morning entertainment news.

When he reached the main residence, the lights were on. Song Guochao and Mother Song sat in the living room. The former was livid with rage. The latter had a peaceful expression. Song Xuanlin was also sitting on the side, on a call. When he saw Song Xuanhe come in, he hung up.

Song Xuanhe had just appeared when Song Guochao stood up and grabbed the things on the coffee table, throwing them at him. At the same time, he yelled angrily, "Unfilial son!"

Song Xuanhe had seen him move. He dodged, but his actions were a little slow. The ashtray skimmed his shoulder.

The originally calm Mother Song suddenly stood up. With an anxious look, she said, "He Bao! What are you doing?! You picked up a girl outside, and you still dare to put on airs in front of my son, do you think that there's no one left in my Li Family?!"

In the last few years, Song Guochao and his wife had long since grown apart despite appearing harmonious on the surface. When they were young, Mother Song had fiercely shouted and screamed over the matter of Song Guochao cheating. Now, she turned a blind eye. So long as she could maintain her two sons' benefits and reputations, she didn't care about what Song Guochao did outside. Even when he had bought his first love a mansion and jewelry, so long as it wasn't over-the-top, she would calmly shut her eyes.

However, Song Guochao had actually dared to hurt her son in front of her. Moreover, it was her youngest son who she had carefully held in the palm of her hands since he was young, afraid that he would break. That ashtray hitting his body was no different than hitting her own. It actually made her heart ache more than if it were to have hit her.

Song Guochao was also flustered. When he had seen Song Xuanhe leisurely walking in with a devil-may-care expression on his face and then thought about how the woman he had been playing with had crawled into this son's bed in the blink of an eye, how could Song Guochao not get extremely furious?

However, he calmed down upon hearing his wife yell at him. It wouldn't be good if it got out that this pair of father and son was fighting over some woman. Furthermore, the reason why he was angry wasn't because of this mistress but because Song Xuanhe had time and time again provoked his anger. Right now, he even dared to challenge his authority. He even dared to fight over his woman. If he let this go, this evil creature would possibly even fall out with him.

"I'm not angry with him over that lowly actress," Song Guochao glared at Song Xuanhe coldly with a face full of rage and said, "Do you know what your son has done? As soon as he entered the company, he began to ostentatiously chase after a male employee. After he failed, he threatened the other with his relatives. Right now, he's forcing the employee to live with him. If this continues, one day he might just kill someone or commit arson!"

Song Xuanhe didn't know how Song Guochao had managed to link his relationship with Xiao Yuanmu to killing people or arson, but even if he didn't have the original host's loathing for Song Guochao, he still didn't like men like Song Guochao. Therefore, he didn't hold back at all when attacking the other, "Father needn't worry about that. You haven't even killed anyone or set anything on fire. Although they say that the pupil outdoes their master, I don't care for women as much as you do. I only went to that dinner party because I was interested in the film. I couldn't stop Liu Xu from clinging onto me when she saw me. Maybe it's because you're old, and your stamina is no good, so she wanted to look for someone else?"

"Don't fuss. If there wasn't me, there would be someone else, ah. Besides, I'm not interested in her. Even if I was, isn't it still good to keep the goodies within the family?"

Song Guochao's mood that had just calmed down was once again ignited by Song Xuanhe. No matter what age they were, no man could endure being questioned about in that area. Let alone his son who had stolen his woman. This undoubtedly made his anger soar through the sky.

"You vile spawn with no conscience!" Song Guochao pointed at Song Xuanhe, finger trembling from fury. "Get the hell out of here! I don't have a son like you! From now on, don't let me see you again!"

Song Guochao boasted that he was a graceful and civilized gentleman. For more than half of his lifetime, he had lived high up like a prince. There were very few people who dared to challenge his status and make him curse them. Therefore, even though he was so infuriated, he only switched back and forth between "unfilial son" and "vile spawn." At most, he would add a few adjectives before them. Song Xuanhe felt increasingly bored, listening to him.

"Do you think I'll stop showing up just because you said so?" Song Xuanhe sneered, extremely mocking, "You don't have authority over this home."

Song Guochao had been extremely angered by Song Xuanhe. But now, he calmed down. He looked at Song Xuanhe. There was no familial affection in Song Xuanhe's eyes when he looked at him, only loathing and disgust. Song Guochao naturally knew that he could not chase Song Xuanhe out, but he couldn't swallow this down either.

Song Guochao's face grew dark. With a cold voice, he said, "I won't bicker with you about what's already happened. However, if there's a next time, although I can't do anything to you, I have no misgivings about that man you're hiding."

Eve: MuMu sees through you, Xuanhe.

Kara: Song Guochao, you've got a big storm coming, if you think you can take on Xiao Yuanmu. You should be the one to watch out if you do something bad to Xuanhe!! MuMu will protect him!....eventually....(・∀・)