Fortunately, at that moment, the young man’s assistant finally arrived and briefly explained the situation to Song Yun.

“…So my younger brother married a man fifteen years older than him a few years ago. Now this man is dead, my brother inherited his estate, and today he appeared at the police station because of a dispute over the inheritance?”

The assistant, surnamed Wang, nodded, a hint of affirmation on his face.

Song Yun fell silent for a moment, then finally let out a sharp exclamation.

“—What kind of dispute could make him dress like this, and even get chained up? Isn’t this illegal? Or are the standards abroad different from ours?”

Song Yun’s exclamation echoed throughout the police station. Fortunately, most people present did not understand him, and only the embassy staff wiped their sweat desperately.

Luckily, Assistant Wang remained professional, simply smiling as Song Yun vented his emotions, without saying a word.

After all…

His boss intended to keep all of these past few years’ experiences completely secret.

Assistant Wang recalled the unusually eventful life of his boss over the past year and silently closed his mouth, gazing affectionately at his boss’s older brother.

…He was completely untouched by the behaviors of these free countries, a person from a peaceful nation.

Those matters were better left unmentioned to avoid frightening him.

Song Yun, however, had no idea what the assistant was thinking. He truly could not comprehend the situation.

His younger brother, who had been away for five years, had returned, which was good, but why had he gotten married abroad and also become widowed in those few years?!

His life had progressed far too quickly!

And now he had been involved in an inheritance dispute. When brought to the police station, he was dressed so scantily—Song Yun refused to believe the silly cosplay excuse.

He stared at his younger brother in disbelief. What had these past few years done to him?

How had he gone from an ordinary rebellious youth to a widower?

Yet, when Song Yun saw the thin clothing on his brother, he swallowed his accusations.

—His younger brother had said that someone had just tried to force themselves on him!

Thinking of this, Song Yun pulled his brother close and began checking him from head to toe for injuries, constantly asking: “Are you all right? You weren’t injected with any strange drugs, right? You didn’t get involved with any addictive substances, right?”

Song Yun’s tone was anxious, while the young man’s usually cold face showed a trace of helplessness, though his voice remained steady.

“No, don’t worry. I’m very healthy.”

The embassy staff also nodded, wiping their sweat while thinking that this person’s physical condition was indeed guaranteed to be healthy—otherwise, someone would be in trouble.

With the embassy staff as witnesses, Song Yun finally relaxed. Then, thinking about what his younger brother had endured, the man who had stayed at home as a househusband for several years finally regained a bit of his youthful temperament.

He gritted his teeth and asked Ye Wangxing,

“Who exactly did this to you?”

The young man hesitated to answer, but a voice interrupted his plans.

“Hi~ big brother-in-law~”

Assistant Wang, standing nearby, felt a jolt at the voice, and his gaze toward Song Yun carried a trace of sympathy.

‘Hopefully my boss’s older brother won’t get scared—otherwise, that person will really have no chance at gaining any upper hand.’

Assistant Wang sighed silently.

Song Yun, unaware of what the assistant thought, instinctively turned at the somewhat flippant voice.

—Then he saw a red-haired man, handsome even behind sunglasses, greeting him.

The man wore a playful smile.

He sat in a cell behind Song Yun, but unlike a typical prisoner, he showed no fear. Instead, he looked relaxed, as if the place were his own home.

His flamboyant expression matched his fiery red hair.

But what drew the most attention was his physique—his T-shirt clung tightly to his muscular chest, outlining his well-defined pectorals.

Many people stared.

However, Song Yun did not. He stared at the man in disbelief, repeating the man’s words.

“Big brother-in-law??”

Song Yun turned sharply, his neck nearly cracking, to look at his younger brother beside him.

The young man, usually cold-faced, showed the first flicker of emotion. He said with a complex expression,

“Don’t mind him. He’s just a rat coveting the inheritance.”

Yet the young man’s expression did not anger the handsome man in the cell. On the contrary, upon seeing it, the man’s smile grew wider.

He stood, the dog-tag-like necklace around his neck swinging with his movements.

“Honey, your expression is beautiful too, but I’m not coveting his inheritance. I inherited it through proper means.”

The red-haired man removed his sunglasses, showing his bright white teeth with a smile.

“—Including you, dear.”

Assistant Wang and his boss stood there calmly, their emotions stable, not even twitching an eyelid, as if they were already used to the boss’s habit of saying shocking things at any moment.

Song Yun, however, looked at the red-haired man openly teasing his younger brother, his mouth slowly opening: “……”

What was this?

Was this… kicking in the widow’s door at night?

Song Yun quickly shook his head, dismissing the bizarre thought from his mind.

It seemed there were quite a few people coveting the inheritance, but the amount probably wasn’t huge. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to resort to such underhanded methods—in this USA, shooting his brother would have been a much faster way to inherit.

Song Yun thought naively and rolled up his sleeves, intending to step forward and teach the redhead a lesson.

But the young man beside him, seemingly unable to contain himself, turned toward the red-haired youth and squeezed out through his teeth: “—Say one more word, and I’ll shove your head into your mouth.”

After speaking, the handsome young man seemed to realize he had gotten too agitated, so he suppressed his emotion.

Everyone present inhaled sharply, including Assistant Wang.

He looked at his boss’s beautiful, cold face in shock—not because it was wrong for his boss to curse,

—but because seeing someone with such a face deliver curses without expression was, in some ways, really striking.

And it really matched certain people’s aesthetic.

Thinking of this, Assistant Wang slowly sighed.

Song Yun, on the other hand, almost let out another sharp exclamation.

What had his younger brother learned in these past few years?!

Those around the police reacted more slowly than the man in the cell, who immediately laughed. He looked like he saw a tiny, clawing kitten and spoke with a playful smile: “But what if I only want to shove your head into your mouth?”

Song Yun had no idea how he even left that room. He only remembered his younger brother punching the man in the stomach, making him stagger back several steps, nearly vomiting.

Yet when he looked up, the man was still smiling at his brother: “You’re spicy, sweetheart.”

Song Yun: “……”

Was he a masochist or something?!

Ye Wangxing nearly rushed into the cell to beat the man up.

Fortunately, the police stopped him, preventing a bigger incident.

Before they finished signing the paperwork and leaving, the red-haired man seemed to recover. He stood in the cell, smiling at the younger brother, and said: “Sweetheart, I look forward to our next meeting—I’ll find you first.”

Song Yun looked at the red-haired man’s expression and felt a chill all over his body. His crescent-shaped golden eyes and bright white teeth made Song Yun extremely uncomfortable.

So he chose to immediately pull Ye Wangxing away, putting distance between them and the man who unsettled him.

Only after Song Yun got into the car, along with Assistant Wang and the embassy staff, safely leaving the police station, did he finally exhale in relief.

Yet when he turned to Ye Wangxing, he still felt some worry.

“Wangxing, that man back at the police station… he didn’t really come looking for us, did he?”

Song Yun was a little panicked. After all, they weren’t in their own country—they were in a famously free nation. If something happened, there would be no one to appeal to.

“He didn’t.”

The young man’s answer did not ease Song Yun’s panic.

“Is it because he couldn’t, or…”

Song Yun asked anxiously.

“Because I already tore up his passport and visa, and shredded his driver’s license and identification.”

The young man spoke the most explosive words in the calmest tone.

“—I’ll see how he finds me without these.”

Song Yun: “…Wait, how did his ID end up with you?”

Shouldn’t these things have been kept in a separate cabinet, hidden? Normally, no one outside the family or staff would handle them.

The young man said nothing, but Song Yun, considering the liberal atmosphere here, then held his brother’s hands and said seriously: “I’ll pretend I didn’t know about this. Anyway, we’ll return to our country in a few days. Make sure you don’t mention it to anyone.”

The young man nodded reluctantly. After receiving confirmation, Song Yun finally relaxed, leaning back in his seat.

His mind was a mess after everything that had happened. Even though Assistant Wang had explained some things, he had not revealed anything about the man his brother married or today’s events.

He would have to ask Wangxing privately.

Song Yun sighed, thinking about what his younger brother must have gone through to end up at the police station. Life abroad had clearly not been easy.

‘—That old man better have left a generous inheritance for my brother!’

Song Yun gritted his teeth.

While he and the young man spoke, the vehicle slowly merged into traffic. Song Yun, feeling a little car sick, unintentionally fell asleep. When he woke again, they had reached their destination.

Song Yun slowly opened his mouth as he looked at the main building of thei destination.

—Wasn’t this the five-star luxury hotel near the national forest park that had made him wince even at the cheapest standard room?

Yet what surprised him even more came afterward.

Song Yun sat dumbfounded in the presidential suite, staring blankly at the surrounding decor, while Ye Wangxing went to rest with his personal assistant, leaving only Assistant Wang to explain the following schedule.

“…We will rest here for two hours, then we will head to the airport to take a first-class flight back to the country. This is the upcoming itinerary. Do you have any questions?”

Assistant Wang said with a smile.

“Back to the country in two hours? Not stay here overnight? And his luggage isn’t packed. Even if it’s only for two hours, you can’t check out of a presidential suite. Even though there’s a lot of inheritance, it can’t be spent recklessly…”

Song Yun instinctively started calculating the cost. After reaching a shocking number, he quickly spoke.

Assistant Wang still smiled, though the curve of his smile widened slightly: “Please rest assured about this.

—This hotel is one of the inheritances the boss received.

—If the flight hadn’t been temporarily unavailable, the boss originally planned to return by private jet.”

Song Yun, a stay-at-home husband who had at most flown first class: “…Ah?”

By the time Song Yun got into first class, he still couldn’t fully process it.

He looked at Ye Wangxing, who had finally dressed properly after being refreshed, lying relaxed in first class, showing no restraint. He could hardly believe that the little tag-along from his childhood now…

Recalling the inheritances Assistant Wang mentioned Ye Wangxing had received, Song Yun felt dizzy.

So much money! Song Yun had only ever seen that much during ceremonial paper burning—hundreds of billions in assets!

But if that was the case, why did the man in the station treat his brother that way? Was there something he didn’t know?

Song Yun thought about asking but didn’t.

After all, they were already on the flight back home. No matter how long that man’s reach was, he couldn’t reach their country—such acts would be illegal there.

Moreover, it wouldn’t be like here, where money could buy comfort even in prison.

Song Yun thought.

As the plane climbed and leveled off, Song Yun gradually began chatting with Ye Wangxing.

Questions arose naturally: where he had been these past years, why he disappeared two years ago, and about his husband.

After all, as family, even if he hadn’t met Ye Wangxing’s now-deceased husband, he had to know what kind of person he had been.

“…These past years, I just traveled abroad, working everywhere, backpacking on a tight budget.”

“…It was difficult at first, but after saving some money, it was fine. I also met some friends along the way.”

“As for my husband…”

The handsome young man fell silent for a moment, then slowly said: “He was a very good person. Unfortunately, he had a car accident last October.”

Song Yun calculated the time and said regretfully: “It’s been half a year already.”

Hearing Song Yun, the young man froze, then murmured in a daze: “So… it’s already been half a year.”

‘I thought it had been a lifetime…’

Song Yun saw the slight brokenness in the young man’s eyes, and the thought involuntarily came to mind. He gently patted the young man’s arm and nervously changed the topic.

But…

‘…No wonder that red-haired guy clung to Wangxing so much.’

Song Yun couldn’t help but think.

The widow who had just lost his beloved husband carried a subtle aura of death and sorrow…

Wait, what was he thinking? Song Yun slapped his forehead to suppress the rest of the thought.

Sure enough, when people were nervous, untimely thoughts always popped up.

Song Yun sighed and then enthusiastically began telling Ye Wangxing about his life back home, especially about his actor husband.

“…His acting was really good. He never engaged in tax evasion or extramarital affairs. At most, he would discuss acting with veteran actors, but always in groups.”

Song Yun spoke with great interest, not noticing the faint confusion in the young man’s otherwise neutral expression.

[19, it seems Song Yun’s behavior and thought patterns are normal. He shows no signs of being love-struck like others in the previous world.]

Ye Wangxing heard 19 voice in his mind.

[After all, the difficulty of this world’s mission increased, and their thinking logic tends toward normal.]

Ye Wangxing nodded but still frowned tightly.

[But 19, I still feel something is off.]

Ye Wangxing hesitated.

[Think about it—a celebrity in the entertainment industry, a non-method-trained top actor produced by a company. No affairs, no tax evasion, no private fan interactions, no hookups, no on-set couples, publicly declared his marriage, didn’t participate in shadow contracts, and focused only on national-level productions…]

[Is that normal?]

19 quickly searched for tax and personal life records of all entertainment stars in this world.

He fell silent, then after a long while said with certainty: [Host, this Shi Xuanzhu definitely has a problem.]

“Ah-choo!”

Shi Xuanzhu sneezed at home, checked the time, and realized Song Yun’s flight should have arrived at the airport.

He squinted, thinking how to use this to make Song Yun rely on him more.

He had grown tired of Song Yun constantly meddling in his family matters, prioritizing them.

Though he would join the crew in two days, Song Yun insisted on going abroad to fetch his brother.

Fortunately, Song Yun didn’t wait three days, he went and returned on the same day, two days earlier.

Shi Xuanzhu felt satisfied and decided to show more concern for Song Yun upon his return—he needed such a capable assistant to manage family affairs.

Only then could he climb the career peak and support his family.

Yes, the family.

Though many online mocked clan culture as feudal relics, Shi Xuanzhu benefited from it. Though he wasn’t the legitimate eldest grandson and experienced some neglect as a child, after becoming the leader of the family’s film industry branch, the family served him.

He naturally protected the Shi family and worked to elevate his status in the industry.

And…

He placed younger family members in important positions.

Other family members also participated in various fields. Just imagining this future scenario made Shi Xuanzhu’s heart race.

Song Yun was also part of his plan, Shi Xuanzhu intended for Song Yun to support him to the top of the entertainment industry, rewarding him with equivalent status.

—But beyond that, he didn’t think further, Song Yun and he had little in common. Song Yun had already become a competent matriarch.

Shi Xuanzhu wouldn’t have affairs, which could damage his career. At most, he chatted with people who resonated with his soul.

Those who resonated with his soul would never do household chores for him.

Shi Xuanzhu was clear-headed.

Yet…

He found it strange that Song Yun had managed to buy a first-class ticket to fly back early.

As Shi Xuanzhu pondered, a voice reached him.

“Oh, thank you so much, son-in-law, for taking the time to prepare your villa for our relatives. Also, blame my useless youngest son for running away for over five years, making his brother fly across the globe to bring him back.”

Song Yun’s father spoke warmly, looking at Shi Xuanzhu, whose presence and square jaw radiated satisfaction.

Especially since this son-in-law was a top actor, that identity alone secured him the top spot among relatives.

At family gatherings, he had always sat in the main seat after his father’s death.

“We’re all family, no need to distinguish two households. Song Yun’s brother is my brother, he had trouble abroad, so the family helps where it can,” Shi Xuanzhu said politely.

Inwardly, he was annoyed at Song Yun’s father, who had little influence in the original family, treating him as a savior to maintain his status—just amusing.

Nearby, Ye Wangxing’s mother had the same expression, with a hint of worry.

Shi Xuanzhu guessed she worried about her youngest son returning without dignity and being ridiculed by relatives.

He rubbed his forehead, deciding to help Song Yun to prevent issues with his parents.

After all, a child who ran away at 18 and called his brother to fetch him from the USA. had a low chance of success, it was more likely he’d return humbly.

Shi Xuanzhu sighed.

Half an hour later, Shi Xuanzhu stared in shock at a Rolls-Royce Phantom and the handsome young man descending it casually. He froze.

The surrounding relatives didn’t dare to speak.

The young man ignored them, answered the assistant’s call, frowned, and stepped aside. Only nearby relatives heard the word “embassy.”

They immediately surrounded Song Yun, asking what had happened.

When the handsome young man returned, he saw the relatives gathered, shouting in surprise.

“—The person rescued a few days ago, the captive… was little Ye?!”

 

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