DASFAM_CH 08

Xie Qi's work efficiency was very high. By the following evening, discussions about the issue had appeared on major local media, forums, and even nationwide social media platforms in the capital.

Chen Shaoxuan’s rather arrogant remarks had become the target of many online users’ criticisms:

—“I heard it was Jinbai’ Young Master, right? Get lost.”

—“Let me correct you. These are at most nouveau riche second-generation rich kids. The young masters and young ladies from truly wealthy families have much better manners.”

—“Why are ordinary people being targeted? Farmers’ children, why are they being targeted? What right do those born with a silver spoon have to look down on others?”

—“The service attitude at Jinbai’s counter is indeed poor. Just glance at you and if they think you have no money, they ignore you, which is extremely uncomfortable.”

—“There are so many shopping districts in the country, where can’t you go? Avoid Jinbai. I’m a consumer, not someone to be mistreated.”

—“Why the distinction between different classes? Whether it’s the Jinbai Shopping District or the brand itself, without us consumers, you’re nothing!”

Bai Xu leaned on the bed, silently following the development of the situation on the internet.

The brand was the first to respond to the public outcry. GD Brand’s headquarters in the capital city issued a statement:

The brand had immediately dismissed Lin Xu, the assistant manager of the Jinbai’s counter in the capital, and promised to focus on supervising and training the staff at major stores to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Comparison creates gaps.

Jinbai hadn't issued any statement yet, which only further fueled the anger of netizens. Some hurled insults, others filed complaints, and everyone banded together to attack!

If things continued like this, the group's reputation would inevitably be affected. It was estimated that within the next couple of days, Jinbai’s PR team would have to respond.

Bai Xu anticipated the general development of the situation. However, compared to short-term reputational damage, what the group’s management cared most about was the present and future profits.

This public outcry was merely the fuse he had set.

Bai Xu already had a plan in mind. Without showing any anxiety, he casually tossed his phone aside and went to sleep.

In a daze, he once again drifted through a night of fragmented dreams.

Some belonged to the original host, some were Bai Xu's own, blending reality and fantasy together. When he awoke, it was already nearing noon.

Bai Xu washed up quickly. As soon as he opened his room door, he heard the commotion coming from downstairs. He took a few steps toward the staircase and glanced down with curiosity.

On the first floor, five or six workers were busy moving a pile of large equipment into the guest room, while a middle-aged man stood at the foot of the stairs giving instructions.

Looking down from above, Bai Xu could vaguely see strands of white in the man's hair, though he still appeared full of energy.

Bai Xu couldn't recall his name from memory, but the next second he heard Xie Qi's voice, "Mr. Xiao Bai, you're awake?"

Bai Xu withdrew his gaze from downstairs, "What is this?"

Xie Qi gave a brief explanation, "Fourth Young Master insisted on leaving the hospital last night. The Old Madam couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she instructed everyone early this morning to prepare a new room for him."

Although Shang Queyan had lived abroad for many years, there had always been a room reserved for him in the manor. However, since his mobility was now limited, the Old Madam temporarily arranged for a new room on the first floor.

"……"

No wonder.

Every corner of the room had soft padding, likely to prevent Shang Queyan from accidentally injuring himself.

Bai Xu gestured subtly with his eyes and asked in a quiet voice, "Is the man downstairs Butler Lin?"

Xie Qi nodded, "You can just call him Uncle Lin. He and Aunt Zhuang, who manages the kitchen, are a couple and have been working in the family for many years."

To the two young masters, Uncle Lin and Aunt Zhuang were not blood relatives, but they were closer than family.

Bai Xu understood and cast another subtle glance downstairs.

Xie Qi seemed to sense something and reminded him, "Mr. Xiao Bai, if I may, I need to remind you. Since the accident, the Fourth Young Master's emotional state has been very unstable."

The car accident had come out of nowhere, and Shang Queyan, in a deep coma, had no choice but to have part of his leg amputated to save his life.

It’s difficult for any normal person to accept such a reality while conscious, let alone someone like Shang Queyan, who was a race car driver.

When he woke up and learned about the double blow of his family’s tragedy and his own, his emotions completely collapsed several times. At his worst, he even had tendency to commit suicide.

It was only thanks to the timely intervention of the Old Madam and Uncle Lin, the butler, who managed to talk him down with great effort.

Worried that Bai Xu might not fully understand, Xie Qi made his point clearer, "It's not just you, Mr. Xiao Bai, but everyone else in the family should avoid being alone with the Fourth Young Master as much as possible, and don’t hang around him idly."

"……"

Bai Xu understood Xie Qi's concerns but disagreed.

The more they allowed Shang Queyan to wallow in his negative emotions, carefully shielding him from any potential ‘triggers’, the more likely such excessive protection would backfire.

Though Bai Xu didn’t argue, he accepted the well-meaning advice, "Okay, I know. I’ll go downstairs to eat something."

"Alright."

As Bai Xu walked downstairs, it was inevitable that he would meet Butler Lin's gaze.

Typically, unless it involved work, Bai Xu wasn’t fond of conversing with strangers. Following the original host character’s usual behavior, he simply nodded and said, "Hello."

His greeting was soft and harmless.

"Hello, Mr. Xiao Bai."

Butler Lin had long known about Bai Xu and Shang Yanxiao's ‘marriage’. Although he personally didn’t approve of it, he didn’t have the right to oppose it.

"If you ever need anything in this house, feel free to let me know in the future."

Even though the master and mistress were gone and the two young masters had their own struggles, the ‘home’ still had to keep running— this was his responsibility as the butler.

In the original novel, Butler Lin was an entirely positive character.

Bai Xu was well aware of this and nodded. “En."

It seemed that with Shang Queyan returning home, Aunt Zhuang had prepared a few extra dishes. Yet, the table of food in front of them remained largely untouched.

Aunt Zhuang handed a bowl of hot rice to Bai Xu and said worriedly, "Mr. Xiao Bai, you go ahead and eat first. Fourth Young Master said he doesn’t have much of an appetite."

“En.”

Bai Xu glanced at the workers still busy setting up the guest room on the first floor. He didn't say much and just filled his stomach quietly. Afterward, instead of returning to his room, he stepped outside the villa for a leisurely walk to help digest his food.

The manor was vast, with each villa spaced apart by a considerable distance. It would take an entire day to explore the grounds on foot.

Before he knew it, Bai Xu found himself by an artificial lake. His wandering gaze suddenly froze—

On the lakeside, a young man with outstanding looks was sitting quietly, and not in an ordinary chair but a wheelchair for walking

The breeze from the lake lifted the corner of the blanket draped over him, revealing emptiness beneath. Even though the sunlight shone warmly upon him, there was a palpable sense of lifelessness that clung to him, impossible to dispel.

"……"

Bai Xu frowned slightly, instantly recognizing the person in front of him—

It was the Fourth Young Master of the Shang family, Shang Queyan, who was also the main male protagonist in the original novel ‘The Abyss’.

According to the novel's main storyline, Shang Queyan had once been a free-spirited, genius race car driver. However, a car accident orchestrated by internal family schemes shattered both his family and his life.

After losing his ability to walk, Shang Queyan became the subject of ridicule among many in the elite circles of the capital and the international racing community. And over time, his once vibrant personality turned dark and obsessive.

Driven by a desire to avenge his parents, Shang Queyan forced himself to take over his elder brother’s position in the family business, something he had never cared for, and secretly began a series of strategic moves to rise to power within the group.

As for the elder brother Shang Yanxiao who became a ‘vegetative state’ in the car accident, he woke up after being in a coma for a long time, but the good times didn't last long, because he died again to save his younger brother from disaster.

This event became the final straw that broke Shang Queyan's rationality. From that moment on, he had no more restraints. Teaming up with the Zhang family, he went all out, ultimately wiping out the entire Shang family’s relatives in a ruthless sweep.

From the plot summary, this story was a classic example of a male protagonist revenge narrative, full of dramatic comebacks.

Brainless but cool.

Unfortunately, Bai Xu never got to finish reading the family business war arc before unexpectedly getting transported into the novel.

…

Bai Xu pulled his thoughts away from the original plot, hesitating whether to approach. Based on the current timeline and what he'd heard, Shang Queyan was still trapped in the dark vortex of trauma, unable to pull himself out. Otherwise, he would have noticed Bai Xu by now.

Suddenly, Shang Queyan, who was not far away took an action. He manipulated his wheelchair without any expression, gradually closing the distance between the lakeside and the water's edge.

Bai Xu's heart clenched. Acting on instinct, he rushed over to stop him, "What are you doing?!"

Bai Xu grabbed the handles at the back of the wheelchair, forcefully pulling Shang Queyan away from the edge of the lake.

—Screech!

The sharp sound of the wheelchair scraping against the ground sent a shiver through Bai Xu.

At the same time, the blanket covering Shang Queyan's legs slipped to the ground, fully exposing the pitiful reality it had been hiding.

Shang Queyan's hands flailed helplessly in the air, his previously numb expression cracking open, revealing a deep pain.

An oppressive silence spread like a cold wave.

Even though Bai Xu had known about Shang Queyan's physical condition for some time, witnessing it in person left him momentarily stunned.

“......”

Noticing Bai Xu's brief gaze lingering on him, Shang Queyan's deeply buried insecurities and sensitivity erupted. Instead of feeling any gratitude or relief at being ‘saved’, his eyes flared with anger.

"What are you looking at?"

Bai Xu picked up the blanket for him. "Sorry, I…"

Shang Queyan snatched the blanket back and yelled, "Get lost! Have I asked you to meddle too much?"

"……"

Great, Bai Xu thought. Good intentions gone wrong. He had inadvertently stepped right into trouble.

Bai Xu could understand Shang Queyan's emotional state and carefully chose his words, "Sorry, I just saw your wheelchair move forward a few inches and was afraid you'd fall in."

In reality, it wasn't the wheelchair that had slipped—it was the person controlling it, acting with a death wish.

Shang Queyan recalled the fleeting, reckless thought he'd just had, and his disappointment in himself deepened further.

He knew Bai Xu's actions were probably well-intentioned, but his instinctive reaction was to reject them, "I don't need your fake concern!"

Shang Queyan stared at the unfamiliar face before him and suddenly realized something, "You're Bai Xu? The one who married my brother?"

Bai Xu didn’t deny it.

Shang Queyan confirmed his identity, and his expression darkened with both wariness and disgust, "Tell me, how much did my second uncle's family offer you? Using this marriage as an excuse to stay by my brother’s side and disgust him?"

Hearing this, Bai Xu realized Shang Queyan had misunderstood him, "You're overthinking it."

"Stop pretending. I've seen plenty of people like you—"

Shang Queyan, as if finally finding an outlet for his inner torment, sharpened his pain into a bloody blade and unleashing it indiscriminately.

“Cowardly by nature and lacking any ability, you just go wherever there's money, always surviving like a leech clinging to others' charity. What, don't you find yourself disgusting?”

Despite the sharp insults, Bai Xu saw through it clearly. Shang Queyan wasn’t just mocking him. Beneath the surface, he was also tearing down his own current and future self.

A flicker of amusement passed through Bai Xu’s eyes, and he asked lightly, "So, should I just push you down, then?"

"……"

What?

Shang Queyan was stunned by the unexpected response.

"No, if I pushed you, that would be illegal."

Bai Xu said with a click of his tongue, his gaze calm and detached, like that of an uninterested observer, "If you really don't want to live, just throw yourself and the wheelchair down together."

"I promise…"

Bai Xu fixed his eyes on Shang Queyan with a serious expression, "I won’t be kind enough to pull you again, but out of humanitarian concern, I will tell others to collect your body for you."

–

TL: Muji

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