3.5 - Host, could you possibly be any more shameless?
It was already midnight, and Bai Hao himself was also unclear about why he arranged with the housekeeper to go with the driver and pick up his younger brother who had just returned home from overseas but still went out to party the next day.
He just knew that he was in a bad mood when he came home and didn""t see his younger brother. His mood only got worse after he found out that the other person had gone to a bar to party with that motley crew. In order to prevent himself from being too angry to sleep, he decisively went to the bar and took Bai Yue back from certain dirty minded people.
Don’t ask why Young Master Bai could see that Lin Yi"s mind was filthy. In his opinion, everyone in the bar except for his younger brother were all dirty minded people and anyone who wanted to approach his brother was a jerk.
Bai Yue fell asleep as soon as he got in the car; Bai Hao couldn"t figure out what he himself was angry about, and it wasn"t like he could lose his temper at a sleeping person. The more he stifled his emotions, the more oppressive his aura became. The driver was sweating throughout the entire journey, feeling some pity for the little young master - he had just come back and it was already like this; he"ll be sentenced to death by the Young Master.
Xue Ling slept soundly and did not want to wake up when he arrived at the Bai family villa. Bai Hao shook him, trying to wake him up to get out of the car, but he only squinted confusedly at his elder brother for a while before looping his arms around his neck. The gesture clearly indicated that he wanted the man to carry him in.
Bai Hao was frozen all over, but after a moment of confusion, he was overjoyed. He stared at the driver, and then embraced Xue Ling and carefully carried him out.
As a system, the little white fox gritted its teeth and puffed up its fur, wanting to frighten the man, but it was of no use at all; Bai Hao couldn"t see him. And for some unknown reason, the system felt very uncomfortable every time it got closer to him, its scalp and skin both going numb. It felt like something was wrong somewhere.
The housekeeper turned on the lights for the two young masters, and was surprised to see the drunken little young master Bai being brought back by the elder young master Bai. But then, he felt extremely gratified.
For the sake of the heirs in Bai Family, the remaining Bai family children were not allowed to be raised in the villa once the heir had been determined. This was also why Bai Yue was sent abroad. Because of this, Bai family"s relationships with branch families were very weak, and it was rare for a little young master to grow up and be willing to be close to the eldest young master. It was also rare for Bai Hao to accept the little young master so quickly considering his character.
Xue Ling was carried upstairs, but Bai Hao was not skilled with this kind of business, and so the process was a bit b.u.mpy. This made the sleeping person rather unhappy, his forehead wrinkling as he frowned.
Bai Hao placed Xue Ling on the bed, and then felt that it was a little troublesome - he couldn"t let him sleep covered in the stink of alcohol. After thinking about it for a while, he picked up a towel from the bathroom, dampened it with warm water, and wiped his face.
Xue Ling twisted his head very unhappily, annoyed by all the scrubbing. It was unclear if he was awake or not, but he glared angrily: “Cole! What are you doing?”
Bai Hao"s hand stilled, and the soft expression that was originally on his face quickly turned dark.
Xue Ling seemed to realize something was wrong, squinting to look at Bai Hao again. His face gradually changed, and he seemed to finally wake up properly, pulling himself up and pressing on his temple, evenly calling out to greet Bai Hao: "Elder brother.”
Bai Hao now felt that being called elder brother was no longer pleasant.
Xue Ling turned his head to look around and seemed surprised when he realized where he was. “Elder brother sent me up?”
Bai Hao nodded and handed him the hot towel. “Wipe your face and take a bath. I asked the housekeeper to make you a sobering tonic. Don’t drink that much next time.”
Xue Ling nodded obediently, wiping his face as he climbed out of bed. Seeing Bai Hao still standing there, he was puzzled and asked, “Shouldn"t elder brother go back and sleep?”
Bai Hao was even angrier seeing that he did not even plan to thank him, but for some reason found himself concerned over what his younger brother had blurted out just now. He thought for a moment, but could not help asking, “Is Cole Little Yue"s friend of from abroad?”
Xue Ling’s face was a little unnatural for a moment, but he soon concealed it. He shook his head and said, “No.”
Bai Hao could see that his expression was not good, and it was clear he did not want to answer. His own heart sank as he turned around to go. “I"m going back to sleep. Remember to drink the sobering tonic before going to bed, otherwise you will feel terrible tomorrow.”
Xue Ling agreed, and when Bai Hao shut the door for him, his face turned ugly as he sulkily threw the towel onto the bed.
The system was almost hit by the towel and its white fur puffed up. “Host, what are you doing!"
Xue Ling had a bellyful of anger, but he didn’t know whether he was angry with himself, or something else. Completely ignoring the system, he turned around and went into the bathroom.
The system blinked. It really did not understand what kind of craziness had overtaken its host and could only pray that he would not toss it around after he came out. It found a place that would not be in his direct line of sight and curled itself into a ball.
The water in the bathroom was flowing. Bai Hao had been kind enough to start filling up the bathtub when he came in earlier, but Xue Ling did not step in. Instead, he first turned on the shower and sprayed his head with cold water to calm down. He pursed his lips, frowned, and turned his head to look at himself in the full-body mirror opposite. It was yet again another face.
Xue Ling was unhappy.
If a person stayed with you for a long time, lavished care on you in every possible way, to the point where it was as though they wanted to offer up the whole world to you, and was unwilling to see you suffer even a tiny bit of grievance day after day for decades… was there anyone whose heart would not be moved?
But he was always stuck in his own thoughts while Cole also never told him what he was really thinking, and so Xue Ling kept his determination and stubbornly held back. As a result, they both never said anything and left the world while still holding on to their regrets.
Xue Ling urged the system to start the third world without any rest exactly because he did not want to think about things related to Cole. He wanted to find something that required thinking in order to numb himself, so that he would not have any extra time to think about such messy things.
He was not a man of these worlds, and so he always felt that he should not be nostalgic for the people and things he encountered here. But in the end, even he felt a little ridiculous - who knew whose heart was ultimately broken by his firm resolution.
Xue Ling sank into the bathtub, and what appeared before him was Cole’s face as he was leaving the world.
He was old now, but the years did not seem to dampen his good looks – even as an old man he was still handsome enough to make young women"s hearts beat faster.
He sat beside Xue Ling and quietly held his hand. When Xue Ling told him that he was leaving, Cole just nodded and told him to wait for him. Then, he said nothing more. Xue Ling actually wanted to ask him about what he really felt about himself, but ultimately he also kept his mouth shut.
They had already managed to spend their entire lives without clarifying their feelings, and there was no reason to change that now. Xue Ling closed his eyes and finally left the world. So, he didn"t know that after he had gone, the man bent over and kissed him gently on the lips, as though trying to get a sense of how it would feel.
He seemed to be somewhat distracted, but there was no hint of an old man’s turbidity in his golden eyes, and his spirit was nothing like that of a dying old man.
And then, he held Xue Ling’s hand, closed his eyes and followed him to leave the world.
Xue Ling sprang out of the bathtub, pulling on the bathrobe conveniently hung to one side, and disregarding how wet he was, rushed out of the bathroom and directly pulled out the hiding system.
The little fox"s face was confused, scared half to death. Its eyes were opened wide as it cried: “Host! What’s the matter now?”
Xue Ling’s face was serious, “If I have someone that I like, can I take them away from the world with me?”
The little fox was stunned for a moment and there seemed to be a moment’s confusion in his dark eyes. He recovered quickly, though his expression was a little strange as he asked: “What does the host mean?”
“If I like a person, can I bring him with me through the worlds?!”
The system"s face turned very strange. It looked its somewhat fl.u.s.tered host and shook its head. “The possibility is not very big. But I can try my best to try it for you."
Xue Ling let out a relieved breath, seeming to have come to an important decision, and then turned around and went back to his bath.
The system continued to stay where it was, completely muddled. What had happened just now? For a moment there, it seemed as though its body had been out of its control.
Bai Hao called his a.s.sistant when he returned to his room. Fortunately, his a.s.sistant was somewhat of a night owl, and was still awake at this time, able to answer the phone without any confusion. “Go investigate Bai Yue’s experiences after he abroad. I want to know about everyone that was around him and how their relationships were, how he spent his days, his hobbies, and so on."
This was not the first time the a.s.sistant had been called upon to help the boss investigate people, but it was the first time that the boss wanted a person"s information in so much detail and with so many exhortations. He was somewhat surprised while thinking that the "old tree" that was boss had finally started "blooming" and showing an interest in love, but when he calmed down, he realized… wasn"t Bai Yue the name of the Bai family"s second young master?
Why did the boss want to investigate his younger brother…
Bai Hao hung up the phone, the anger in his heart finally dying down a little. He himself couldn"t understand what he was upset about, just as he did not know why he could not maintain his usual calm and aloof manner around his little brother.
It was as if he had been attracted towards Bai Yue right from the start, and when he saw him, he wanted to treat him well. There was no cause or reason - it seemed to be a pure compulsion handed down from the soul. He just wanted him to live a life of comfort, wanted him to be pleased, and wanted to make sure he never suffered any grievances.
Bai Hao frowned, feeling that everything seemed wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with his brain. Finally, he could only choose to take a quick bath and go to sleep.
Xue Ling woke up a little late the next day. When he went downstairs to have breakfast, he learned that Bai Hao had gone to work a long time ago, and the old man had not yet returned from his morning exercise.
The things that he had bought in from the mall yesterday had already arrived on the same day, but since he hadn"t been home, the housekeeper did not dare to unpack everything.
Xue Ling picked out a set of clothing and put it on before asking the housekeeper to take the rest upstairs to his room.
The little young master that had dressed up and showed no shadow of a hangover attracted the eyes of most people in the villa as soon as he appeared. When the old master returned, he also praised him, saying that he was indeed his grandson; even his good looks were extraordinary.
Xue Ling’s facial features were pleasing to the eye and his laughter was particularly lovely. The maids in the villa were all soft-hearted looking at him, and many delicious snacks were pushed in front of him.
After having lunch, Xue Ling was ready to go and find a broker to sign his own contract. He was very clear that he first had to obtain a contract in order to get money to make his film. After informing the housekeeper and talking to the old man for a while, he was finally let out of the villa and was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
The system climbed excitedly onto his shoulder. “How is host planning to look for a broker?"
Although it was a system from a futuristic plane, it seemed very interested and enthusiastic about the entertainment industry. Xue Ling chose a car from the garage, sat in the driver’s seat, glanced at the system and spoke, “If I knew where to look, what would be the point in having you?”
The system was momentarily embarra.s.sed and silently did some research before asking Xue Ling, “What kind of broker does host want?”
“Powerful, but won"t overly manage me.” Xue Ling started to drive.
The system was mysteriously silent for a beat. It really wanted to ask its host if he wanted to have a fight! Could he be any more unreasonable and shameless?
Xue Ling frowned slightly and proved that he really could be more unreasonable and shameless by adding, "It would be best if they also have good resources on hand, and are willing to point them in my direction."
The system laughed sarcastically, really wanting to ignore its unrealistic host.
editor: alamerysl