DASFAM_CH 13
Another nightfall descended.
A black business sedan slowly came to a stop in front of a small Western-style house.
The driver quickly got out and pulled open the rear door, addressing the furious man inside with utmost deference, "Chairman Chen, we've arrived. These past few days, the Young Master has followed your orders and hasn't left this building once."
Chen Rong looked at the brightly lit house, his expression stiff as he walked toward it. As he drew closer to the front door, he could hear the thunderous sound of music thumping from within, along with the rowdy noise of men and women mingling together.
"……"
Chen Rong's face instantly darkened, "That unfilial wretch. I put him under house arrest and he still can't behave!"
Outside the door, fury raged. Inside, the party carried on in full swing.
Chen Shaoxuan lounged with one arm around each of two curvaceous girls, his eyes glazed with drink, his head bobbing up and down to the beat of the music.
"This is the life! Look at this, what kind of house arrest is this? As long as you're breathing, there's always a way to have fun."
One of his friends, worn out from dancing, had collapsed onto the sofa across from him, "I've been meaning to ask. Why did your dad put you under house arrest? What did you do?"
Chen Shaoxuan took a swig of his beer and sneered, "Pfft, what else could it be? All that trash Bai Xu's fault. That pathetic lowlife thought he was clever, recording that video."
The online backlash had, to varying degrees, affected Jinbai Group, much to the displeasure of the senior shareholders.
As the Group's chairman, Chen Rong had inevitably given Chen Shaoxuan a thorough dressing-down. Worried that his son's loose mouth would lead to more trouble outside, he had cut off his cards and placed him under house arrest.
A friend chimed in consolingly, "Ah, what does a little online drama matter? That's just what poor people do— green with envy, hating on the rich. They'll forget all about it in a while. It won't amount to anything."
A girl beside him added, "Still, I heard that Bai Xu has some connection to the third branch of the Shang family? Those aren't people you'd want to mess with."
Chen Shaoxuan raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "Please. That might have meant something three months ago, but who in all of the capital doesn't know by now? The Shang family's third branch is a complete joke. I didn't even..."
Before he could finish, the closed front door suddenly swung open.
The reek of smoke and alcohol hit Chen Rong square in the face, darkening his expression yet another shade. He cast a glance at the speakers still blasting noise, stepped behind them, and yanked the cord out.
—Bang!
The room fell instantly silent. Everyone who had been caught up in the revelry froze where they stood.
Chen Rong surveyed his son's gaggle of fair-weather friends and dispensed with any pleasantries, "Clear out, all of you. I have something to say to my son."
"……"
"Dad."
Chen Shaoxuan shook off some of his drunkenness and stood up, bewildered, "What are you doing here?"
Chen Rong, seething with barely contained rage, stepped up to Chen Shaoxuan and delivered a slap across his face, "You worthless thing! And you have the nerve to ask me that?"
The sharp, unexpected crack of the slap startled everyone in the room.
Seeing how badly things had turned, not one of them dared to linger. They took to their heels and scattered in an instant.
Chen Shaoxuan stood there stunned, taking several seconds to recover before cradling his stinging cheek, "Dad! You did that in front of all my friends, do I mean nothing to you?"
"Mean something? The way I see it, you don't care whether you live or die!"
Recalling the news he had received earlier that evening, Chen Rong was overcome with fury and struck his troublemaking son again, "Do you have any idea what you've done to the entire Jinbai Group?"
Chen Shaoxuan strained his neck and shouted back, "What's that got to do with me?! Jinbai doesn't need a bunch of broke keyboard warriors who only run their mouths online! Besides, Bai Xu had his bodyguard hit me first!"
"And didn't you deserve it?"
Chen Rong pointed at him and raged, "Our group was on the verge of signing a contract with the Shang family and securing their partnership fund— and now look. The Shang Group's chairman personally issued the order to call off the collaboration."
In truth, Jinbai had been on a downward slide for years, and serious problems had emerged with its cash flow.
On the surface it looked like an equal partnership with Shang Group, but in reality it was Jinbai that desperately needed the other party's capital injection— and now it had all come to nothing, the collaboration reduced to smoke.
What made it truly devastating was this: the moment news of Shang Group pulling out spread, other conglomerates and companies would inevitably sit back and watch. To avoid offending Shang Group, none of them would dare approach Jinbai for talks.
"What's ever in your head besides drinking and fooling around with women? If the group can't hold on, if our family goes bankrupt, I'd like to see what young master swagger you'll have left to put on!"
"…B- bankrupt?"
Chen Shaoxuan was shaken, "Dad, you're exaggerating, aren't you?"
Chen Rong had spent the evening being taken to task by a group of shareholders, and now, seeing his unfilial son show not a shred of remorse, rage surged through him.
He swept his gaze around the room, snatched up a golf club that had been left out for amusement, and snarled, "You brainless fool who doesn't know his own place, shut your mouth! If I don't beat you half to death today, I'm not your father!"
A father disciplining his son, entirely within his rights.
Chen Shaoxuan, scared out of his wits, covered his head and scrambled to get away, every last trace of drunkenness gone in an instant, "Ah!"
But begging for mercy was utterly useless now. Chen Rong raised the club and brought it down, and the pain that landed on his body proved even more brutal than what Chen Yufei had once dealt out.
...
The night grew deeper.
Chen Yufei, keeping watch in the master bedroom, heard a knock at the door. He opened it and fixed his gaze on Bai Xu standing there with a change of clothes and toiletries, "Young Master Bai, what brings you here?"
Bai Xu glanced into the room and asked, "Xie Qi isn't here tonight?"
Chen Yufei shook his head, "He's in his own room. I'm on night watch."
Bai Xu gave a thoughtful nod and stated his reason for coming, "The shower in my room is broken, no water coming out. I'd like to use Third Young Master's bathroom."
Chen Yufei hesitated, "Broken?"
Bai Xu leaned against the doorframe, "What, you don't trust me? It really is broken. Go check for yourself if you don't believe me."
If it had been anyone else from the Shang household, Chen Yufei would not have budged an inch. But after these past few days together, Bai Xu had proven himself trustworthy enough.
He stepped aside to let Bai Xu through, "Young Master Bai, I'll go take a look and see if I can fix it."
Bai Xu nodded, "Sure, thanks."
The bedroom door closed softly behind him, there was no need to lock it deliberately.
Bai Xu carried his change of clothes toward the inner room, and from a short distance, his gaze fell on Shang Yanxiao lying on the bed—
The dim light of the bedside lamp traced the contours of his face, and the medical equipment monitored his vitals without pause, yet even after lying here for so many days—
Shang Yanxiao's appearance remained striking, nothing like that of someone who had been bedridden so long. He looked as though he were only in a light sleep, as though at any moment he might open his eyes and strike a fatal blow at whoever dared to covet what was his.
Bai Xu's gaze stayed fixed on him, filled with a subtle feeling he could not quite name.
Strictly speaking, a vegetative state resulting from acute brain injury did not mean the loss of all other bodily functions, and no matter how wealthy the Shang family was or how many people they had watching over him around the clock—
Shang Yanxiao seemed just a little too clean?
"……"
Bai Xu recalled the caretaker's probing from the other day, and his brow furrowed again:
Faking unconsciousness? Surely not. After all, Zhang Changxu's medical team still came every other day for routine check-ups.
Besides, as a reader with a god's-eye view, the original story's plot was right there before him. It was impossible that not a single clue would have slipped through.
A glint of scrutiny flickered in Bai Xu's eyes, and then he stepped into the bathroom.
The soft patter of water followed.
On the bed, Shang Yanxiao instantly 'woke up'.
He turned his head to look at the play of water light filtering through the frosted glass of the bathroom door, and a ripple stirred in his thoughts:
Bai Xu's gaze just now had lingered far too long— long enough that for the first time he felt the unease of nearly being found out. He had the distinct sense that the other person had grown suspicious.
Shang Yanxiao was nothing if not vigilant. Fearing that Bai Xu might still have something up his sleeve, he swiftly picked up the phone from his nightstand and sent a message to his assistant:
"Come."
The seconds ticked by one after another. Then, click, the locked bathroom door showed signs of opening again.
Bai Xu came out wearing the bathrobe he had brought with him, except that his hands now held a washbasin taken from the bathroom, inside which sat a small amount of warm water and a towel.
Rather than heading straight for the door, he walked directly over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
—Swish.
As Bai Xu wrung out the warm towel, he spoke to Shang Yanxiao lying on the bed, "Normally, this isn't really the sort of thing I'd do, but after the family dinner last night, the Old Madam pulled me aside again for another round of reminders."
The words sounded like a murmur to himself, yet they were deliberately candid in a way that was almost pointed.
"We are bound by a marriage arrangement, after all, so I really ought to..." Bai Xu lingered meaningfully on each syllable, then simply took Shang Yanxiao's right hand in his own, "...take good 'care' of you."
The cool touch unique to that palm met his fingers, the burn on the back of his hand already fading to something lighter.
A faint gleam entered Bai Xu's eyes. As if by chance, he pinched the tips of Shang Yanxiao's fingers; once, twice, three times—
Shang Yanxiao's expression did not change in the slightest, as though he could not feel so simple a stimulus.
"Tsk, your hands are rather cold."
Bai Xu concealed his unspoken probing and gave Shang Yanxiao's arms a simple wipe-down before rising and drawing closer still.
Close enough that warm breath drifted between them.
The warm towel began at his forehead, swept across his brow, then descended little by little.
The fingertips holding the towel moved like a feather pen, tracing gently— gliding over the bridge of his nose, grazing his cheek, even mischievously kneading his earlobe.
A tender, ticklish warmth accompanied his openly indulgent and deliberate teasing.
"What lovely eyebrows~"
"Tsk, and quite a high nose bridge too~"
"The skin behind this ear is so soft to the touch— Shang Yanxiao, don't tell me you'll be a pushover for your other half in the future?"
"……"
Shang Yanxiao's breathing was shallow and steady.
The look hidden beneath Bai Xu's smile gradually deepened, and he began to wonder if his suspicions had been wrong all along:
He had already gone this far in his 'teasing'— if the person before him were truly faking unconsciousness, surely there would have been some reaction by now?
Bai Xu's gaze drifted downward with a moment's hesitation, and he raised an eyebrow with mild uncertainty:
What if he pushed things a little further?
Bai Xu lifted the blanket covering Shang Yanxiao and put the thought into action, his fingertips found the buttons of his clothes and undid them one by one.
Before long, the figure hidden beneath Shang Yanxiao's clothes was revealed in most of its entirety—
Broad shoulders, wide chest, narrow waist, and smooth muscle lines that were not exaggerated. Even after lying in bed for so long, the traces of past physical conditioning were still plain to see.
"……"
Bai Xu was, in a rare moment, visibly thrown off— the intent to probe slipped from his mind entirely, and before he had managed to draw any reaction from Shang Yanxiao, he was the one who cleared his throat with a faint unease first.
They were both men, what was the big deal about seeing a body? He was already halfway through; he could hardly stop now.
Bai Xu wrung out the towel again and, without letting it show, quietly steadied his breathing. Using the act of wiping as cover, he resumed his probing— and then his fingertips made a deliberate circle over Shang Yanxiao's lower abdomen.
Something stirred inexplicably, as though a fire had been lit.
The temperature in the room seemed to climb, and the faint scent of body wash drifted through the air— light, lingering around the two of them.
In that instant, Bai Xu felt the person beneath him tense—briefly, so briefly it was almost an illusion—and then the bedroom door was pushed open from outside.
—Bang!
Xie Qi stepped in and stopped in his tracks, his surprise for once poorly concealed, "Young Master Bai, what- what are you doing?"
"……"
Caught in the act, Bai Xu was flustered for half a second before producing a suitable explanation, "The Old Madam reminded me yesterday that I should spend more time in the same room as Third Young Master day to day, and that caring for him isn't something that can always be left to you all."
"Though I'm admittedly not very practiced at this sort of thing," he rose composedly and tossed the towel back into the washbasin, "I'll leave it to you all the same. It's getting late. I'll head back to my room."
Xie Qi opened his mouth, then stopped himself.
Bai Xu ignored his reaction and strode out of the master bedroom.
Chen Yufei happened to be coming out just then with his toolbox, and they met face to face, "Young Master Bai, the shower's fixed. You'll be able to use it normally tomorrow night."
Bai Xu said, "Right, thanks."
Chen Yufei studied his complexion, "Young Master Bai, are you feeling hot?"
"…Oh. Just finished my shower, a bit."
Bai Xu let the words fall a beat too late, then made his way quickly back to his own room.
The door locked with a firm click, as though sealing out the warmth that still lingered in the air. With no one around, Bai Xu let out a long, heavy sigh:
All right.
No more probing.
Shang Yanxiao had let him carry on with all that nonsense and still hadn't stirred— how could he possibly still be conscious? He had nearly gotten himself worked up in the process!
...
The door to the master bedroom closed at the same time.
Shang Yanxiao abruptly sat up in bed, his breathing suddenly heavier.
He looked toward Xie Qi, who had come to the bedside, and said in a hoarse voice, "You could have come a little later."
"……"
Just what had Young Master Bai done?
It was rare to see Third Young Master this unsettled.
Xie Qi accepted the blame with an air of innocence, "Third Young Master, I was handling the project reports from the branch office and didn't notice your message for a moment. My apologies."
Shang Yanxiao had no time to pay attention to his assistant's covert scrutiny. He, who was normally so measured with water, did something entirely out of character— he tipped his head back and drained an entire glass of cold water in one go.
The heat wandering through his body was finally suppressed, if only slightly. Yet the tip of his nose seemed to still carry a trace of Bai Xu's scent, along with the faint tingling and flutter that had come from that brush of skin against skin.
Shang Yanxiao's throat moved involuntarily. He said nothing, and quietly gathered his open clothing back into place, though the veins faintly visible on the back of his hand were more than enough to betray the turmoil within him at that moment.
Xie Qi sensed something was off, "Third Young Master? Are you all right?"
Shang Yanxiao said one thing and meant another, "Fine."
He paused for two seconds, then could no longer hold back against that strange, persistent heat, "…Turn on the air conditioning."
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