When the young man arrived, he also heard what they said, but he did not speak much. He first had the Rolls-Royce parked in the garage, then walked into the villa.

The relatives instinctively gathered around him and crowded him into the main seat at the head of the table.

As they walked, the relatives looked at the young man with curiosity. Although they knew that Song’s father and Ye’s mother were attractive and that the two sons were good-looking, the young man seemed different from before, as if he had been retouched abroad.

This made the relatives even more curious about the young man’s past experiences.

When everyone was finally seated at the dining table, they learned what had happened with the news about the young man being imprisoned a few days earlier.

The story started with the embassy.

After receiving a call that one of their citizens had been detained, the embassy immediately contacted the local police to prepare for a rescue. However, without a search warrant and with the suspect having considerable local influence, the embassy’s attempts failed multiple times.

This incident attracted the attention of the local news media, and the story quickly appeared in domestic news.

Under both public opinion and diplomatic pressure, the local police obtained a search warrant and promised to rescue the young man soon.

“…I even watched the rescue video shot by the local police. At first, I only thought the person looked somewhat familiar. I didn’t expect it to be you, brother. By the way, are you psychologically okay?”

The young cousin asked, shocked.

While scrolling through short videos, she had been fascinated by the case, but she did not expect that one of the main characters was her cousin who had run away years ago!

After the rescue video was released yesterday, her cousin had returned to the country today!

The family quickly checked the news on their phones and looked at the handsome young man in the main seat with stunned expressions.

He had been imprisoned by a local tycoon. Just from that brief description, they could imagine quite a lot of the situation.

Their eyes softened with a hint of sympathy toward him.

After the cousin expressed concern, the family—usually fond of small benefits—swallowed the questions about details and began to care about his physical condition.

“…Do you want Aunt to recommend a few psychologists? They’re all from big hospitals abroad, it’s hard to get an appointment.”

“…Your Uncle just opened a wellness hotel in Sanya. The sea is right outside, and the stay is comfortable. Plus, it’s mostly elderly people who don’t read the news.”

“…If anything happens, tell the family. We’re all family, we’ll help when needed.”

The relatives words also snapped Song’s father and Ye’s mother to attention, though their expressions differed from the other relatives.

“Oh, what psychological problem? That’s just pretentious boredom. And getting locked up was his own fault, he ran away without a word back then.”

Song’s father waved his hand in the manner of a family elder, while Ye’s mother chimed in, frowning and speaking seriously: “Besides, this matter is not something to publicize. Let’s act as if nothing happened. Let Ye Wangxing stay at home a few more days, don’t go out, okay?”

She glanced at the outspoken little cousin, making her shrink back slightly.

But lowering her head, she pursed her lips in disdain. She really could not like her aunt and uncle, who pretended to act for the children’s sake but were obsessed with face.

Her aunt could be excused—a top-level teacher, strict with children, which was understandable since teachers often value study.

But her uncle was just an ordinary worker who never even became a class monitor, yet he ordered his top-teacher wife around at home. Her father held the same position and never let her mother enter the kitchen.

Now he acted domineering in front of the cousin returning in a Rolls-Royce Phantom.

“…Tch, just because she’s the mother, she doesn’t treat the child like a human being,” the little cousin muttered, only to get smacked on the thigh by her mother. She fell silent but still felt indignant, angrily opening her phone. She saw 99+ messages in her friends’ group and began scrolling frantically.

Song Yun felt frustrated with his parents. They always belittled him in front of outsiders. When something happened, they never sided with their child, always claiming he was at fault.

Normally, he could tolerate it, but this was the first time in long time that Ye Wangxing returned to the country. If he ran away again, they might never find him.

And Ye Wangxing now had a fortune worth billions!

Song Yun was about to mention Ye Wangxing’s situation, but a calm voice sounded beside him.

“There’s no need for psychologists. My private doctor has already checked me, it’s not a serious problem. Don’t pay attention to the news—it won’t spread.”

The handsome young man said, casually pouring himself a glass of red wine.

He spoke lightly, but the relatives were surprised—it was the first time they had truly encountered someone with a private doctor.

Father Song frowned, feeling as if his dignity had been insulted.

Ye’s mother’s scolding was about to erupt from her throat.

“Ah!?”

At that moment, a scream drew everyone’s attention.

Following the sound, they saw the little cousin staring at her phone, her pupils shaking. She then handed the phone directly to Ye Wangxing, sitting at the main seat, and said incredulously: “Brother! That suspect who locked you up before said you’re his boyfriend—his last name is Aldrin! That Aldrin involved in both arms and oil industry!”

The little cousin’s words shocked everyone and stunned all the relatives. Song’s father and Ye’s mother swallowed their words at once.

They stared at their youngest son, unusually dumbfounded.

Shi Xuanzhu had not yet realized which Aldrin had made the little cousin so excited, when he saw the young man take the phone, glance at it, and immediately frown, showing disgust for the first time.

“You listen to this bastard spouting nonsense!”

The handsome young man cursed angrily.

After that outburst, he did not explain his relationship with Chris Aldrin. His expression carried a hint of ferocity. Only after sending a message did he return to a normal look.

Yet he remained silent.

The relatives wisely did not press further, but their eyes showed some contemplation. The little cousin seemed to realize she had caused trouble, she obediently shrank next to her parents, silent, only lowering her head to pick at her food.

Meanwhile, the young man, seemingly silent but thoughtful, listened as 19 reported the investigation results in his mind.

[…The host’s situation is as follows: the Shi family has considerable influence in the country. Whether in civil service, other business sectors, or engineering, there are Shi family members everywhere. The entertainment industry is managed by Shi Xuanzhu, and he seems to strongly adhere to the clan’s methods.]

19 recounted the previous investigation results, reporting details on several Shi family members, including tax evasion records and disciplinary violations.

“No wonder Shi Xuanzhu seemed normal on the surface, even with the demeanor of an ancient noble, but when listening closely to his words and expressions in the videos, it’s clear why…”

Ye Wangxing had no intention of letting the Shi family off. As a responsible citizen, once he had the information, he had 19 anonymously send it to the complaint email.

They would wait and see when the investigation team would act.

“The investigation will take at least several months. Perhaps by the time our task is completed, they still won’t have gathered all the data, but that’s normal,” 19 reported.

Ye Wangxing then shifted the topic back to Shi Xuanzhu and Song Yun.

[If this family is like that, and Shi Xuanzhu trains Song Yun in the ‘selecting mistress’ manner, it’s no wonder Song Yun became so pathological in the original plot—people would want to lock Shi Xuanzhu up.]

In the original plot, Song Yun had stayed at home as a househusband, striving to become the version of himself that Shi Xuanzhu desired.

When the story began, Song Yun had sought Shi Xuanzhu’s help regarding his brother’s supposed death abroad. Shi Xuanzhu readily agreed, allowing Song Yun to collect his brother’s body.

Song Yun had initially been happy, but the process was long and troublesome. He returned to the country a day late, thinking it was no problem. But Shi Xuanzhu had exploded in anger.

In the original household, Shi Xuanzhu had been valued but not fully respected until he gained some influence in the entertainment industry. His father still occasionally punished him.

This caused Shi Xuanzhu to subconsciously imitate his father’s behavior.

—for instance, this incident almost led him to invoke family law to punish Song Yun physically.

Fortunately, Song Yun remained clear-headed and was not manipulated by Shi Xuanzhu. Instead, he stared in disbelief and called 110.

They immediately went to the police station, where Shi Xuanzhu pretended to have come to his senses, promising not to act that way again. Song’s father and Ye’s mother naturally sided with the son-in-law who preserved their family’s face, so Song Yun returned home to live normally.

Later, Shi Xuanzhu and Song Yun participated in variety shows. They avoided online harassment, but the shows allowed Shi Xuanzhu to meet more industry insiders—and his soulmates.

Song Yun noticed this, but unfortunately, Shi Xuanzhu always remained perfect, only spiritually unfaithful.

—but his mental abuse toward Song Yun was real.

He would not talk with Song Yun except to assign tasks. If Song Yun showed signs of wanting a divorce, Shi Xuanzhu would contact Song Yun’s parents to help “correct” him.

Song Yun’s parents, benefiting from Shi Xuanzhu’s favors, naturally sided with him.

Unsurprisingly, Song Yun’s mental state deteriorated. But his intelligence was unaffected, allowing him to devise the best solution:

—As long as he controlled Shi Xuanzhu, required him to report every movement, and monitored his actions, Shi Xuanzhu could not escape his control.

His parents did not advise him to tie down a man’s heart just because Shi Xuanzhu might divorce him.

At first, Shi Xuanzhu naturally resisted, but when Song Yun presented all the evidence of their crimes that he had collected, Shi Xuanzhu silently agreed to Song Yun’s controlling desire.

Years later, in an interview, Song Yun smiled and said that Shi Xuanzhu had helped him escape his parents control, while Shi Xuanzhu said that Song Yun had given him a sense of security, allowing him to heal the wounds inflicted by his father.

At the end of this mission’s storyline, Ye Wangxing had a full “subway old man” question mark on his face.

He had originally wanted to play a song called Mutually Tortured Until White-Haired, but after thinking carefully, Ye Wangxing canceled the BGM.

After all, rather than being mutual torture, it was more like only Song Yun was being tortured.

From Ye Wangxing’s one-sided perspective, Shi Xuanzhu enjoyed Song Yun’s control—after all, after so many years, Song Yun was just a stay-at-home husband, he had nothing besides the evidence in his hands, and Shi Xuanzhu obediently listened to his control.

But Ye Wangxing did not think this was love, he thought Shi Xuanzhu had simply found the easiest slave to control.

If Shi Xuanzhu had revealed everything to Song Yun and Song Yun still willingly stayed by his side, Ye Wangxing would not have thought much of it.

The key, however, was that Shi Xuanzhu never spoke to Song Yun about his family matters.

[…I really didn’t expect the “love-brain” in this world to be the male lead. But the object wasn’t fixed, if someone else struck him, he might even like that person—honestly, does he really have no father-complex?]

Ye Wangxing said this and couldn’t help complaining: [And the Qing Dynasty has been gone for over a hundred years—how are there still so many old coffin-dwelling people running around? They live too long.]

[Maybe this is what you mean, Host: vested interests protect their own interests.] 19 said flatly.

Ye Wangxing sighed: [This situation is the hardest to deal with. We can only hope the investigation team hits harder, so that Shi Xuanzhu loses his protective umbrella.]

[Besides him, Song’s father and Ye’s mother are also accomplices. Song Yun was actually a normal person, forced by them into mental abnormalities, and the original host wasn’t much better.]

Ye Wangxing sighed.

The original host’s life had been rather plain: a shy child belittled by his parents during adolescence, who then rebelled and eventually went abroad to work and backpack.

His luck was decent, he earned some money, and just as he planned to settle abroad, a stray bullet hit him and he passed away.

In the storyline, after the brother identified the body and returned home, his parents did not even want to hold a funeral for him, thinking he was shameful.

They did not dislike his inheritance, however.

Only his older brother, Song Yun, ran around for him—not only buying a tombstone but also remembering to visit him.

Thinking about this, Ye Wangxing sighed again, which was also why he had not spoken when he entered and saw Song’s father and Ye’s mother.

[19, I start to feel glad that you gave me this irritable persona—at least I can scold back when needed… though sometimes cursing feels awkward.]

Ye Wangxing recalled the curse he had spat out a day ago and wanted to cover his face.

Although saying it in English removed the mother-tongue shame, the translated meaning still embarrassed him.

—Especially since he had used it to curse 19.

[It’s fine, Host. You already apologized to me 39 times yesterday, it was just a line.] 19 calm voice soothed Ye Wangxing’s shame.

[Besides, I will have more extreme lines later, so I hope you won’t mind.]

Hearing 19 in his mind, Ye Wangxing silently covered his face.

Could those more extreme lines also have been written by him?

But…

‘I really never learn from my mistakes.’ Ye Wangxing looked at his three S and one A ratings and suppressed his embarrassment.

Although the lines were embarrassing, they were effective!

—This was confirmed by 19 after analysis!

Later, at the banquet, Shi Xuanzhu, after realizing the situation, took on the role of energizing the table, trying to build a relationship with Ye Wangxing.

He wasn’t a fool, his brother-in-law was surely connected to that prominent family.

He had just researched Chris Aldrin, who was somewhat the head of the Aldrin family.

The previous presidential election had landed many of their family members in prison, leaving only him to manage the family business outside.

Even so, he had not allowed the family business to shrink, it flourished, clashing fiercely with the head of another old family, reaching a stalemate.

Coincidentally, six months ago, at the peak of the stalemate, the other family head died in a car accident, breaking the deadlock.

Yet the remaining family members stabilized the situation, preventing major losses, and had now started to recover.

That family had nothing to do with Shi Xuanzhu, he only needed to connect with Ye Wangxing, and getting recommended for international films would be a matter of a single word. The only thing he lacked was opportunity.

Shi Xuanzhu raised another toast to Ye Wangxing, but the young man in the main seat remained still, calmly observing Shi Xuanzhu as if seeing through his intentions.

This embarrassed Shi Xuanzhu. As a top actor, relying on family power to dominate the entertainment industry, he had already drunk five glasses of wine, and the young man still hadn’t responded—did he not value him?

Shi Xuanzhu frowned and adjusted his expression, turning his downcast look toward Song Yun.

Naturally, Song’s father and Ye’s mother noticed.

“Ye Wangxing, your brother-in-law toasted you, why didn’t you respond?” Song’s father frowned.

Ye’s mother looked at her son-in-law with concern: “Ye Wangxing, have a drink with your brother-in-law.”

She spoke Ye Wangxing’s name word by word as a warning.

Song Yun also wanted to speak but, seeing the faint deathly aura on Ye Wangxing and thinking of his experiences, he sided with Ye Wangxing and prepared to quietly explain his experiences abroad to his parents, so they wouldn’t be so aggressive.

But Ye Wangxing spoke first.

“My private doctor said I shouldn’t drink. As for what my brother-in-law intends, he should know himself.”

The young man glanced at Shi Xuanzhu and said: “Planning to use me to reach the international stage, but only trying to pressure me with a few drinks through my parents?”

“Even Koreans didn’t draw maps as perfectly as you imagine.”

His tone remained calm, yet his words made everyone’s nerves jump.

Song’s father slammed the table: “Ye Wangxing, you’ve grown bold! How dare you speak to your brother-in-law like that? I am still your father!”

“Ah, almost forgot you.” The young man turned to Song’s father expressionlessly.

“Were you scolded at the factory?”

Everyone paused, then heard him fire off a string of words like a rapid machine gun: “—Seems so. Planning to take out your anger on me?”

“You never cared about me at the factory, but you belittled me a lot. Nodded and kowtowed at work, hit home hard, strong outside, weak inside, flattering above, domineering below—you pick your poison.”

Song’s father shouted angrily: “I am your father! Do you think being sent back in a Rolls-Royce Phantom makes you special? I am your father, always have been, and I have the right to control you! And where did that car come from?”

The young cousin rolled her eyes, itching to intervene.

The young man did not flinch, instead, he surveyed Song’s father up and down.

“You… want to press filial piety on me? Only a kind father gets a filial son, Mr. Song. Confucius would have slammed the ancestral latch twice for this.”

The young man’s sharp words nearly made the little cousin applaud—she even wondered if one kiss from him might poison her.

As Song’s father nearly fainted from anger, stuttering, Ye’s mother took over: “You dare to talk back? Huh? You’ve been abroad for years and grown wings, huh?!”

Her voice was angry, but the young man replied in the same calm tone: “Resorting to filial piety because you have no reason—looks like you deserves two hits too.”

Now both Song’s father and Ye’s mother sat in anger. Relatives nearby couldn’t stand it, and before they could intervene, the young man spoke gently: “…Finally, that Rolls-Royce Phantom was given to me by my husband.”

The relatives froze. The young man continued in a calm, almost sorrowful tone: “He passed away last year.”

“…”

Everyone present didn’t care about being surprised. They immediately turned to look at Song’s father and Ye’s mother who had just been cursing.

—With a look of contempt.

The contempt in little cousin’s eyes was even most profound.

“It’s bad enough that the parents don’t care about their children, but they also bully the widow. Bah!”

 

 

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