3.2 - This big golden thigh seems a little not right
Because the housekeeper was notified beforehand, a Bai family car was waiting when he exited the airport. Xue Ling handed the luggage over to the driver, sat in the car, and somewhat lazily stretched out his neck.
The best news for him was that because Bai Yue didn"t really have any acquaintances, there was no need to fake his personality. Even the sc.u.m gong who loved him from afar was only someone who he interacted with in his youth, when they attended the same high school together. At best, he could be considered the other party"s childhood sweetheart and nowadays could barely be described as friends.
According to Bai Yue’s memory, he and Lin Yi were just ordinary friends and could not even be called "good friends". It was unknown why Lin Yi would become so fascinated with him, to the point of even finding a stand-in. It must be said that the original host never gave Lin Yi any hint of ambiguous intentions or flirtatious actions. Communication between the two had always been very normal, and other than unhesitatingly investing in his films, Lin Yi had never done anything out of the ordinary in front of Bai Yue.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, then forget it. Xue Ling"s task was to change the protagonists" fate and ensure that they brought disgrace and ruin upon themselves. What went on in that neurotic brain of Lin Yi"s didn’t matter.
The system sat on Xue Ling’s lap without revealing any of its feelings; it was unknown what it was thinking about. It seemed to be hesitating over something it wanted to say, but Xue Ling kept looking out the window, so the system ultimately chose to keep its mouth shut.
He had just noticed that something seemed to have followed them into this world, but right now, it appeared to have nothing to do with the host and should not affect him, so it was better not to bring it up now and save its host some worry.
The Bai family villa was located in the suburbs. It was a wealthy area quite a distance away from the airport. When Xue Ling arrived, the house was ablaze with lights even from the outside. He looked over the Bai family mansion and gave it full points.
After all, as someone who had spent the last life living in a castle, he didn"t have much feelings about a mansion. However, if even Old Master Bai had picked this place to grow old in, the environment here should be very good.
Hai City was the city that had become the most prosperous after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and its development was comparable to that of the United States. Bai family was an old family that existed since the founding of the Republic. After various ups and downs, it could now be considered the leading group in China.
Xue Ling quite enjoyed the fact that although every ident.i.ty had a bitter life, they all had good family backgrounds. He entered the mansion with his luggage in tow.
The décor of the mansion leaned towards antiques, which was most likely due to the old man"s influence. But although it seemed somewhat archaic, it had its own charm and was pleasing to the eye. The housekeeper was waiting on the porch, and when he saw Xue Ling, he couldn"t help but be a little dazzled.
The last time the young master came back for New Year, he stayed for two days and went abroad again. He spent the whole time writing scripts in his room, and had little interaction with his family. This time, the young master seemed different from the past. The academic sweater and shirt made him look very delicate, like an adolescent. He was pulling a suitcase in each hand, but his movements were not clumsy. On the contrary, he looked particularly elegant.
Upon seeing the housekeeper, he even curved his lips up in a smile, displaying the dimples on his cheeks. "Good evening, housekeeper Qiu."
Housekeeper Qiu felt that he had been won over by this one smile.
From Xue Ling’s viewpoint, he could see that another man approached them from behind housekeeper Qiu, head held high and a measuring look in his eyes, and so he waved again and greeted, "Good evening, elder brother."
Bai Hao’s footsteps paused. The look in his eyes became strange as he looked at Xue Ling.
Regardless of what Bai Hao was thinking, Xue Ling placed the two suitcases on the floor, took off his shoes, changed into slippers, and then stuffed one suitcase into Bai Hao’s hands. “Is my room the same one as before?”
The housekeeper hastily pulled himself together, nodded and said, “Yes, at the end of the second floor corridor.”
Xue Ling pulled his luggage and headed over, even urging the Bai Hao that was still standing rooted to the spot. "Elder brother, what are you standing there foolishly for? Help me bring up the luggage first."
Bai Hao gave him a meaningful look but unexpectedly said nothing, instead helping him carry the suitcase upstairs.
Old Master Bai lived on the first floor. When he heard the noise, he came out and saw his two grandsons cordially carrying the two suitcases upstairs. Although he was already used to strong winds and big waves, Old Master Bai was still surprised and looked at the housekeeper.
The housekeeper’s face was also complicated. He pointed to the two people"s backs and said, “The little young master seems to be a bit different."
Old Master Bai"s expression was closed, and it wasn"t known what he was thinking, but suddenly he looked relieved. His older grandson already had complete control over Bai family, and although his younger grandson was not talkative, he had never done anything unexpected. The reason why the two had not been close before was because they had always ignored each other"s existence. If they started to grow closer now, it wouldn"t be such a bad thing.
With that in mind, the old man had a smile on his face as he told the housekeeper to start serving dinner, heading into the dining room by himself.
Bai Yue had only lived in this room whenever he came back for New Years, but because he called in the morning, the housekeeper had arranged for people to tidy it up. Even so, it was still only spa.r.s.ely decorated, appearing more like a guest room with no resemblance to a master bedroom at all. Xue Ling didn"t mind, turning to send Bai Hao out after placing both suitcases in the room.
Young Master Bai frowned discontentedly as he looked at the room and said, “You plan to live here?”
Xue Ling wrinkled his brows, lips pursed as he answered, "What do you suggest? Is elder brother planning to give me his room?"
His sudden approach made Bai Hao a little uncomfortable; he wasn"t used to it. This kind of feeling as though someone had rushed into his territory was not very good. He frowned and stepped back before saying, “You never call me elder brother.”
Xue Ling blinked, a smile still present on his face. "Probably because there is a favour to ask of others, so it"s better to be more well behaved." He stepped through the door, paused at the doorway and looked back with a pair of beautiful eyes filled with innocence. “Could it be that you won"t let me call you elder brother?"
His eyes were as light colored as his hair, and looked particularly soft under the lights. The tear moles at the corners of his eyes moved as he laughed. That pair of eyes were clearly evil, but this man was just like a little angel. Bai Ho"s eyes darkened as he shook his head and said, "No. I am indeed your elder brother."
“Fine, let"s not get hung up over this.~" Xue Ling did not look at him anymore. It took a certain amount of skill to hug a big thigh, and right now he had already used a little cleverness to make a good impression. He would need to slowly build up goodwill later. "It smells really good, what delicious things are for dinner tonight?"
Bai Hao followed him outside, laughing as he answered. “The housekeeper heard that you were coming back to have dinner and made the kitchen cook a lot of good things. He didn"t know what you like, so he made more than usual."
This was the first time that Xue Ling saw Bai Hao smile. Bai Yue had few memories of his brother. He vaguely remembered that this man was serious in speech and manner. It was unexpected that it would be so easy to interact with him, but this was good news for him. Without saying anything more, Bai Yue went downstairs in great spirits.
The system was behind him, cursing its host as it ran. Even if you wanted to act like a sweet and innocent youth that had just emerged from his ivory tower, there was still no need to foolishly laugh like a young girl, right? Your temperament just now really clashed!
Bai Hao stared at his back for a while, then smiled helplessly and followed him downstairs.
This younger brother of his seemed to be different from before.
He greeted Old Master Bai and coaxed him by saying that he would stay in China to develop in the future, making the old man beam happily. Hearing that Bai Yue needed to make a film and win an award in order to graduate, the old man waved his hand and said, “Making a film is no big deal. Just talk to your elder brother.”
Xue Ling looked at Bai Hao with eager eyes.
Bai Hao coughed and said, “I’ll talk to the staff tomorrow.”
Xue Ling gave him a small smile, picked up some food for his grandfather"s plate and began to eat.
Bai Hao waited for a while before suddenly opening his mouth to ask, “Do you know anything about actors? You’ve been abroad all year round. You shouldn"t have done any preparation for any aspects of the film yet, right?"
Xue Ling"s hand paused and he looked up at him in surprise, as though wondering why he cared. But since he was asked, he still opened his mouth and answered, “I want to be the lead actor myself. The other actors can be auditioned when the time comes… With so many actors in elder brother’s company, I should be able to find what I want."
“You want to be the lead actor?" The old man’s attention was drawn. “What, you want to act?”
Xue Ling nodded and said, “Well yes, this time coming back, other than filming, I also want to enter the entertainment circle.” When he said this, his face was full of innocence. Even though the old man wanted to say something when he heard those words, those innocent eyes of his made him pause.
“Little Yue.” The old man was very serious as he spoke: “The entertainment circle is not a clean place. If you want to go and shoot a film, your brother can protect you and I won"t be worried. But if you want to shoot a movie and be an actor… "
He was considering how to continue, but Xue Ling grabbed the thread of the conversation first, and went on, “Can’t elder brother protect me if I become an actor?"
Old Master Bai looked discomfited.
Xue Ling continued, “If I sign under White Light Entertainment, elder brother will be able to watch over me, and Grandpa will have nothing to worry about. And my main profession is not acting - I"m just doing it for plot inspiration. I can"t write good scripts if I"m always closed up by myself, I want to personally experience what it"s like to make a movie and adjust my state."
Old Master Bai still wanted to say something, but was stopped by Bai Hao. “Grandpa, let him try it if he wants to. Like he said, it"s not like I can"t protect him. White Light Entertainment has a lot of influence in the entertainment industry, and nothing will happen. Let him do what he wants."
Xue Ling"s lips twitched – he had not expected his elder brother would help him speak. He had originally thought he would have to continue making his case for another two days. It wasn"t as if they could break his legs to keep him in the house. Now, it seemed that this Bai family older brother was quite easy-going. For this body"s original owner to become estranged with such a big golden thigh also took some skill. He nodded his head towards Bai Hao in thanks. Old Master Bai looked at one grandson, and then the other, and could only helplessly continue eating dinner.
He was also getting old; if the young people wanted to make trouble, then let them do as they like.
Back in his room, Xue Ling picked up the system and sat down on the bed, frowning as he questioned it. “Is there something wrong? Bai Hao feels different from what is given in the information!"
The system was held up by the scruff of its neck, swaying and flailing. It cried: "Host, can we talk properly without resorting to physical power?"
Xue Ling smoothly pinched its foxy face and let go of it: “If there are any more lousy ideas this time, I will strangle you."
“No, don"t!” The system wanted to express that it was a bystander who didn’t do anything - why did it get blamed for any accidents? It was obviously a plug-in, why didn’t it get praised when it was useful? After cursing in its heart, it still obediently confessed, “A lot of the informational material came from the body"s original host and the novel. The less these characters are described in the novel, the less distinct and elusive their character is. Their actions are also not under our control."
Xue Ling rubbed his chin and thought of Cole from his previous life. The man did not appear in the text at all, but still managed to thoroughly stir up his life. Should he be considered as one of those people who could act freely? The deviation that happened with Elaine was also due to his intervention, making things very messy.
“Will their unpredictable personality have an impact on our mission?”
“In general, no.” The system is quite certain about this point, firmly a.s.suring its host. “Host can also try to use them to achieve his own goals. After all, we only need to destroy the protagonists" fate trajectory.”
“How is it enough to only destroy their fate?” Xue Ling sneered and thought of Bai Yue’s experiences. His gaze was deep as he said, “They definitely need to pay out something to compensate me for my bad mood.”
System: “…” Can we discuss this seriously? Will you die if you don"t act like a middle-schooler?
Thump Thump Thump. There was a knock at the door.
Xue Ling knocked on the little fox’s head, got up and opened the door.
On the other side of the door was Bai Hao. He had clearly just taken a bath and changed into casual clothes. His face was slightly cold, and he held a doc.u.ment in his hand. “Are you free? I have something to discuss with you.”
Xue Ling raised his brows and stepped sideways to let him in.
editors: alamerysl & BlueBug (they are seriously the best!)
BB: Belated happy new year"s eve from me XDD
warning! and spoiler alert!
i"ve been debating with myself over whether not to say this and ‘spoiler’ the arc for you guys, but i realize that it might end up backfiring if some of you are against this kind of thing. so, i will say this now for those who haven’t figured it out yet~ the ML for this arc is Bai Hao, the elder brother.
if incest is a no-no for you, then it"ll probably be a good idea to skip out on this arc.