DASFAM_CH 09

The lake wind passed through, stirring another shimmer of rippling light across the water's surface.

Shang Queyan stared at Bai Xu without blinking, half convinced he'd just experienced an auditory hallucination.

Since the accident, he had grown accustomed to round after round of comfort from elders, medical staff, and the butler. This was the first time he'd heard anything that was the complete opposite—and the truth of it was cutting and cruel.

Go and die?

Shang Queyan thought of the path he'd already set one foot upon. Without quite realizing it, his voice turned hoarse and hollow, "You don't need to provoke me. You think I don't dare?"

He became aware of the emptiness in the lower half of his body, "Do you know what I used to do?"

Bai Xu raised an eyebrow, "I know. Racing driver."

Formula racing is one of the most dangerous sports in the world. The surge of adrenaline comes hand in hand with an ever-present threat of death, one wrong move and both driver and car are destroyed.

Racing, in a sense, is dancing with death.

Bai Xu understood what Shang Queyan was implying. His assessment went straight to the point, "Ending your life in a race, maybe your fans would even call you a hero. If you drown yourself in a lake, you're just a coward."

"......"

Bai Xu bent down, a sharpness entirely at odds with his mild appearance in his eyes, "Look at the sorry state you're in right now. Honestly, it's not so different from a coward."

The tendons on the hands Shang Queyan had clenched around the blanket rose up, and he roared out in protest, "Shut up! My affairs are none of your business! Get away from me!"

Bai Xu held his ground against the fury and continued puncturing the truths he refused to admit, "Do you have any idea how many people are watching from the shadows—watching you, watching your brother, watching the whole third branch make a spectacle of itself?"

"The Third Young Master is already lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Those with ulterior motives are just waiting for you to fall as well."

"What's so hard about dying? Running away isn't hard either. Then go ahead, Fourth Young Master, watch with your own eyes—"

"Watch as everything that once belonged to your third branch, everything that belonged to your brother, gets carved away piece by piece by people with their own agendas. By the day you've lost the shelter of the Old Master and Madam Shang entirely, you'll know what it means to wish you were dead."

The higher up the world of wealth and power, the more ruthlessly the law of the jungle applies.

For now, with the authority of Old Master Shang holding everything in check, the Shang family at large still kept up appearances—all brotherly warmth and surface harmony. But the Old Master and Madam Shang were already at that age—

Even heroes grow old.

The day would come, sooner or later, when he could no longer hold it all in check.

In the middle arc of the original novel, from the point where Old Master Shang fell ill and took to his bed, what closed in around the Shang family was one scheme and calculation after another.

"When that day comes, the Third Young Master, even if he doesn't die, will have to 'die' all the same."

"......"

Shang Queyan's breath caught, his trembling impossible to conceal, "Say one more word cursing my brother and see what happens!"

The two brothers were less than four years apart, yet their temperaments and interests were worlds away from each other.

All these years, it was precisely because Shang Yanxiao had willingly shouldered the burden of the group's affairs that Shang Queyan had been free to 'rebel' and do as he pleased.

In Shang Queyan's heart, his older brother was simply the finest person in existence.

Bai Xu caught the depth of Shang Queyan's feeling for his brother, and thinking of Shang Yanxiao lying in that hospital bed, a flicker of amusement passed through him.

"You've got it wrong. I'm hoping the Third Young Master lives as long as possible. I've finally found such a perfect match for this marriage alliance—of course I'm going to hold on tight."

The second half of that was delivered with obvious deliberate intent.

Bai Xu bent down and met Shang Queyan's eyes, "Your brother's quite good-looking. His figure's probably not bad either. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime."

"You dare!"

Shang Queyan's agitation surged forward, and the despondency and death wish from moments ago vanished without a trace, "My brother would never look twice at pretty boy like you!"

Bai Xu confirmed his state and pressed on unerringly, "First a parasite, now pretty boy. Little brother, why are you still throwing insults around?"

Shang Queyan glared at him with fierce eyes, "How much older are you than me?"

Bai Xu assumed an air of great seriousness, "Well, given the marriage alliance between me and the Third Young Master, you could technically call me—"

"Don't even think about it!" Shang Queyan cut off whatever title hadn't yet left his mouth, the tips of his ears seemingly gone red with indignation, "Isn't that disgusting?"

Bai Xu confirmed he was perfectly fine, and raised an eyebrow, "One more thing before I go—"

"Sometimes, living takes more courage than dying. At least while you're alive, you still have the chance to rewrite your fate."

Shang Queyan stilled.

Bai Xu was firmly convinced that, as the male lead of the original novel, he wasn't so fragile as all that. He turned and walked away without hesitation, "I'm off. Stay here on your own."

"......"

Shang Queyan watched Bai Xu's figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance. He loosened the hands that had been clenched around the blanket all this time. The heavy grief that had occupied him for days lifted, unexpectedly, by no small measure.

"Fourth Young Master!"

Butler Lin came hurrying over in a panic, "How could you wander out here alone without saying a word? Where's the bodyguard who was supposed to be with you? What kind of job is he doing! When I get back I'll have words with—"

"Uncle Lin, it has nothing to do with anyone else. I wanted to be alone for a bit."

Shang Queyan looked at the worry in the butler's eyes. The fog clouding his mind seemed to break open into clarity, "Don't worry. I won't do anything foolish again."

"......"

Uncle Lin sensed the shift in his mood and felt a quiet surge of surprised relief.

Shang Queyan lowered his eyes to the blanket across his legs and drew a slow breath. Then, carefully, he lifted it back little by little.

"Fourth Young Master!"

Uncle Lin's heart leapt straight to his throat.

Shang Queyan stared at what had become an irreversible reality, and showed none of the fierce, frantic resistance he had before.

"Uncle Lin, my parents are gone. My brother is unconscious. So from today on, the third branch can only count on me, isn't that right?"

Uncle Lin didn't want to place too heavy a burden on Shang Queyan's shoulders, "Things will get better. The Third Young Master will wake up, and you'll recover too, Fourth Young Master."

The Old Madam had already been in contact with the most reputable prosthetics manufacturer. The moment Shang Queyan was willing, and as soon as the wound had fully healed, he could begin rehabilitation.

Bai Xu's words from moments ago still echoed in Shang Queyan's mind. Those sharp, unflinching words had been like a blade, cutting through the layers of darkness that had closed around him for days.

He was right. He couldn't let outsiders look down on him, look down on his brother, and look down on their third branch.

However hard the road ahead might be, he had to gather his courage and walk it one step at a time.

For the first time in nearly two months, Shang Queyan felt a will to live, "Uncle Lin, I'm hungry. I want to go back and eat something."

Uncle Lin's joy burst through at once, "Yes! Yes! Let's go back right now."

...

In the vast master bedroom on the second floor, Shang Yanxiao had dropped all pretense of his earlier 'stupor'. He was calmly enjoying a refined and appetizing lunch.

Before long, he set down his chopsticks.

Xie Qi looked at what remained on the plates and asked with concern, "Third Young Master, won't you have a bit more? You've lost quite a lot of weight recently."

To keep up a convincing act in front of others, and to guard against the deliberate scrutiny of uninvited attention—

Shang Yanxiao had been strictly controlling his food intake every day. His exercise, which had once centered on a fondness for working out, had also been scaled back considerably, so naturally his weight had dropped.

"No more."

Shang Yanxiao picked up a damp cloth and wiped his hands at an unhurried pace, then climbed out of bed and walked slowly to the window. Through a gap in the curtains, he observed the scenery outside the villa. Not a trace of ease showed in his eyes.

"Where's Xiao Yan? How is he?"

"Uncle Lin says the Fourth Young Master's mood has been very unstable during this period. From the look of him this morning, he's lost a great deal of weight."

The Shang Queyan of before had been an openly 'cool' sort—living with optimism, confidence, and an unrestrained flair. Not like this, sitting in a wheelchair with all the life drained out of him, the entire person hollowed of vitality.

"......"

Shang Yanxiao's brow furrowed as he listened.

Xie Qi asked again, pressing gently, "Third Young Master, is there no need to tell the Fourth Young Master your true situation?"

A flicker of something reluctant passed through Shang Yanxiao's eyes, yet his words came out firm, "Not yet. In a household like this, where everyone schemes against each other, he can't rely on me for the rest of his life."

In the past, Shang Yanxiao might have indulged his younger brother and let him go on doing whatever he loved. But things were different now—

The dead cannot return. The third branch had taken a devastating blow. To reestablish themselves within the Shang family going forward, his own careful planning and maneuvering alone would not be enough.

Shang Yanxiao's heart ached for his brother, but more than that, he hoped that in such desperate straits, Shang Queyan would be tempered and grow, rather than give himself up to despair and become fodder for others' mockery and gossip.

If Shang Queyan were to collapse and never recover, Shang Yanxiao could only feel grief and regret. That would be the true mark of a coward.

"Tomorrow is the family dinner."

Shang Yanxiao turned, weighing everything that might unfold in the days ahead, "Tonight, find time to have a word with Xiao Yan and Uncle Lin. Remind them to keep a close eye on the second branch's side of things tomorrow evening."

Xie Qi caught his meaning at once, "Understood!"

They had already looked into it thoroughly. The caretaker with ulterior motives from before had been driven by money from the second branch's side, and the person coordinating with him behind the scenes was a distant relative of the second branch.

Going through three or four layers of connections to bribe a single caretaker?

Being this careful about it — one really couldn't tell whether the second branch was being overly cautious or simply foolish beyond measure.

Xie Qi recalled something else and asked quietly, "Third Young Master, what about Young Master Bai? Does he need a word of guidance from me as well?"

Old Master Shang had always had a somewhat unpredictable temperament, his moods impossible to read, and there were very few in the entire household who could make him out. If Bai Xu accidentally said the wrong thing and set him off, it would be their third branch that suffered for it.

At an occasion like the family dinner, at the very least, if silence was possible, silence was best.

Shang Yanxiao's brow furrowed slightly. Before he could open his mouth to respond, a voice rang out from the doorway of the master bedroom— Chen Yufei's voice.

"Young Master Bai, you're back?"

The volume was noticeably higher than usual, carrying within it the urgency of a hasty warning. Shang Yanxiao and Xie Qi's expressions shifted at the same moment.

"Quick!"

Shang Yanxiao crossed the room in long strides and got back into bed. The composure he usually wore took on a rare edge of urgency. Reattaching the monitor leads now was clearly out of the question.

"Stop him. He can't come in."

"Got it!"

Xie Qi snapped to attention at once. He moved the food from the tray onto the side table in the sitting area, then walked quickly toward the door.

Click.

The door opened.

And what greeted him was Bai Xu's offhand remark: "Nothing to do after lunch, thought I'd look in on the Third Young Master."

"Young Master Bai, about that—" Xie Qi stepped forward in time, gave his glasses a slight push, and said, "Now isn't a convenient moment to go in."

Bai Xu looked puzzled, "Not convenient?"

Xie Qi had weathered plenty of high-pressure moments, he gave nothing away, "We're helping the Third Young Master with his wash and change, so now isn't a good time."

"......"

Something shifted in Bai Xu's expression, "Is that so?"

A business assistant responsible for his employer's daily bathing and grooming as well?

Xie Qi didn't so much as blink, "We haven't found a new caretaker yet, so I've been filling in for the time being. But actually, Young Master Bai, your timing is good. There's something else I wanted to speak with you about."

Bai Xu said, "Oh?"

"Jinbai has already been paying to suppress the trending heat since this morning. If they spend enough, this wave of public opinion probably won't last much longer."

Xie Qi had indeed moved on to the real matter at hand. A flicker of conflict passed behind his lenses, "And I've heard that someone has started spreading word in certain circles—"

"Claiming it was you who spoke offensively first, and that you had your bodyguard assault someone, that Chen Shaoxuan's injuries were serious enough to put him in hospital."

Chen Yufei's expression shifted sharply, "That's absurd!"

This was plainly a case of the wrongdoer crying foul first.

His combat skills had been specifically trained, and he'd held back considerably in the moment—there was absolutely no way the injuries could have been that severe.

Chen Yufei was rarely one to feel aggrieved, yet Bai Xu showed not the slightest anger at being falsely accused, "It's fine. They won't be able to keep that story up for long."

This time it was Xie Qi who didn't follow, "What do you mean?"

Bai Xu didn't elaborate. He simply asked, "The family dinner tomorrow evening, what time does it start?"

"The Old Master's long-standing rule is half past five," Xie Qi added a well-intentioned word of caution, "Young Master Bai, at an occasion like that tomorrow night, try to speak as little as possible. Just finish the meal and come back with us."

"......"

Bai Xu thought of Old Master Shang's unpredictable temperament in the original novel—each family dinner had been virtually a session of public criticism. At the thought of it, rather than feeling any apprehension, the anticipation stirring inside him only grew.

"Young Master Bai?" Xie Qi prompted.

Faced with the other man's good intentions, Bai Xu responded with easy nonchalance, "Mm. I've got it."

Speak as little as possible?

That simply wouldn't do.

He'd been waiting to put on a good show for quite some time now.

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