DASFAM_CH 14

The cool air spread through the room.

The restless stirring in his chest finally began to settle.

Shang Yanxiao got up out of bed and moved steadily, working the stiffness from a body that had been lying down for so long, "I asked you earlier to look into Bai Xu's background. Have you sorted it out?"

Xie Qi reported everything he had found, "The earliest records only go back to when Bai Xu was around three or four years old— he was an abandoned infant, picked up by an elderly person living alone who then went through the formal adoption process."

"……"

Shang Yanxiao's brow furrowed slightly, and he gestured with his eyes for his assistant to continue.

"The old man fell ill and passed away when Bai Xu was seven. Having no children of his own, and with the neighbors unwilling to take the boy in, Bai Xu was handed over to a welfare home by the relevant authorities."

From abandoned infant to adopted child to orphan— a childhood that turbulent would make anyone shake their head.

By fortune or misfortune, Bai Xu was soon taken in by the Bai family, who saw promise in him and adopted him, making him their nominal young master.

Xie Qi thought of something he had turned up and brought it up with some reservation, "Through a servant who used to work for the Bai family, I learned that the late Bai patriarch was apparently a firm believer in feng shui and fate. He adopted Bai Xu at the time in order to draw on his luck."

Shang Yanxiao's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, "Absurd."

"Bai Xu's life in the Bai household seems to have been far from easy. While the family publicly gave him the title of 'young master', they never treated him as such behind closed doors."

"In the past, Bai Xu attended several banquets where he was made a laughingstock and pushed around, and the Bai family consistently turned a blind eye."

Shang Yanxiao had heard fragments of this before.

"On top of that, I found that while still at university, Bai Xu joined a ceramics studio on the recommendation of his professor, and had to supplement his own living expenses each month with a meager intern's wage."

"A ceramics studio?"

"Yes. He enrolled in a related program at Capital University."

Xie Qi's report left no room for embellishment, "A month ago, Bai Rendao forced him into this marriage arrangement. He reportedly resisted and was injured. After that, it's all the things you already know, Third Young Master."

As Shang Yanxiao listened to the account of Bai Xu's past and thought back over the other man's behavior these past few days, a question slowly pressed itself into the back of his mind, impossible to dissolve.

Xie Qi watched his employer's expression and asked quietly, "Third Young Master, don't you find it strange?"

Shang Yanxiao answered plainly, "Yes."

Weak? Incompetent? Despised by all?

None of it matched the Bai Xu standing before him now— so strikingly different it was as if they were not the same person. Unless Bai Xu had been putting on an act in front of the Bai family all these years?

"By the way, Third Young Master, I just received confirmed word—"

Xie Qi pushed up his glasses, a quiet satisfaction flickering in the depths of his eyes, "The chairman has had someone call off the collaboration with Jinbai. The second branch won't be getting that project."

Shang Yanxiao received the answer he had already expected, "The collaboration was never the better choice to begin with."

Jinbai had been on a downward slide for years. The Old Master Shang had plans to build a chain of commercial district projects, with the aim of expanding from the mainland to overseas within ten years.

The reason he had previously considered agreeing to collaborate with Jinbai was partly because Jinbai had experience in overseas commercial expansion, and partly because the Old Master, at his age, had developed a preference for playing it safe.

But in Shang Yanxiao's view, Shang Group had its own funding channels and supplier networks— there was simply no need to give away a share of the profits.

It would be far better to use the opportunity for an acquisition or a takeover, using that as the foundation for domestic projects and building from there with a second round of planning. Of course, going that route would mean a corresponding increase in the time, effort, and costs required upfront.

Xie Qi nodded, "It's a good thing that project didn't fall into the second branch's hands. Who knows how much they would have skimmed off the top."

"Third Young Master, you should have seen the way Shang Songming carried on yesterday— the arrogance he showed toward Fourth Young Master, not even bothering to hide it. Thank goodness Young Master Bai stepped in."

"And the Old Master calling off the collaboration, he had no small part in pushing that along either."

Shang Yanxiao had long since worked out the logic of it all. A glint of deeper meaning surfaced in his eyes, "Bai Xu must have calculated everything in advance—"

"He used the first family dinner after the incident involving the third branch, acting under the third branch's name, and leveraged the impression of weakness he had built up in the eyes of outsiders recently. Along the way, using the grandfather's hand, he cut Jinbai off at what amounted to its lifeline."

Jinbai was already a paper tiger— formidable on the surface, hollow within. Without the Shang Group's capital as medicine, its days were numbered.

"Chen Shaoxuan used his family's standing to bully others, so Bai Xu simply resolved the problem at the root. The second branch and Xiao Yan probably didn't even see it coming, that whole sequence of moves."

Xie Qi was taken aback, "How could he have calculated all of that?"

Shang Yanxiao did not yet have a definitive answer, but if it were truly the case, he would have to regard Bai Xu in a considerably higher light.

"I'm only guessing. Since he hasn't done anything to harm the interests of the third branch so far, we'll keep watching for now. There's no need to be especially on guard against him at home."

Shang Yanxiao suddenly recalled the brief physical contact from just moments ago, and his throat moved almost imperceptibly, "Right, next time, don't let him come into my room alone. Especially at night."

He bore down just slightly on those last five words.

Xie Qi caught the subtle undertone and let the corner of his mouth curve upward, "Understood, Third Young Master."

...

Bai Xu was woken by the vibration of an incoming call on his phone.

He groped for the phone on the nightstand through a haze of drowsiness and answered it without looking, "Hello?"

His voice, fresh from sleep, was rough with a soft, slightly nasal edge.

The person on the other end paused, and when she spoke, her voice had naturally slowed, "Xiao Bai, it's me, Sister Qiu. Did I just wake you?"

"……"

Sister Qiu?

Bai Xu's thoughts were still coming back online, so he went with instinct and murmured, "Mm. What's up?"

Sister Qiu on the other end said, "You haven't come into the studio in nearly a month. How's the competition piece coming along? The boss wants you to come in this afternoon, two o'clock."

"……"

The studio? A competition piece? The boss?

Bai Xu strained to connect these fragments from somewhere in his memory, and the last of his drowsiness faded from his eyes.

He sat up in bed, "Got it. I'll come by this afternoon. Thanks, Sister Qiu."

Sister Qiu smiled, "Alright, see you then."

The call ended.

Bai Xu stared at the still-lit screen of his phone, then opened his WeChat Moments on a whim—

To any outside eye, his Moments would appear spotlessly blank. In truth, the original host had set all previous posts to visible only to himself.

The hidden content was mostly notes on ceramic designs and kiln firings.

Even if the 'cannon fodder' of the original novel had appeared in only a handful of lines, the years the original host had actually lived through were real—

His academic results had been solid. He had tested into Capital University's ceramics design program on his own and shown a certain spark and talent for the field, taking part in a number of design projects alongside his professor as early as his second year.

During his fourth-year internship, on his professor's recommendation, he joined a design studio called 'Taojing' and signed on as an independent ceramics designer.

Before the original host's misfortune, the studio's boss had been asking him to design a new piece for an international exhibition— with one month to complete it.

Memories belonging to the original host began to surface in his mind.

Bai Xu's expression shifted. He switched off his phone without hesitation. It was time to properly meet the people at the studio— on the original host's behalf.

...

At two o'clock sharp, the car pulled up in front of a detached villa.

Chen Yufei, who had come along, spotted the 'Taojing Studio' sign by the entrance and turned to look at Bai Xu in the back seat, "Young Master Bai, would you like me to come in with you?"

"No need. Find somewhere to park and wait for me."

Bai Xu glanced at the time, "I'll be out in half an hour at most."

Chen Yufei had received his employer's instructions just the night before, there was no need to keep a 'close' eye on Bai Xu, "Alright."

Bai Xu got out of the car and pushed open the iron gate surrounding the villa.

A short-haired woman in casual clothes soon came out from inside, a steaming cup of herbal tea cradled in her hands, smiling warmly as she approached.

"Xiao Bai, I knew you'd be on time. You're looking well."

Bai Xu recognized her, "Sister Qiu."

Qiu Yi was a senior to the original host—she had joined the studio three years ahead of him. Beyond her design work, she also handled the studio's exhibitions and operations, capable and accomplished in every regard.

The original host had been introverted and averse to socializing, and whenever there was a team outing or an exhibition, Qiu Yi had always looked after him the way an older sister would. She was warm and good-natured.

Qiu Yi glanced after the black car pulling away from the gate, curious, "Who brought you today?"

Bai Xu answered simply, "A friend."

Qiu Yi accepted this without question, but before they went inside she held him back and murmured, "Just a heads-up, keep your wits about you in there. The boss doesn't look particularly pleased."

"Oh, and Master Song is here too. They're both up in the meeting room on the second floor right now."

"……"

The warmth in Bai Xu's expression faded slightly, "Understood. Thanks, Sister Qiu."

The 'Master Song' Qiu Yi referred to was Song Zhiqing, the original host's university professor, a highly regarded figure in China's ceramics industry.

Two months prior, the studio boss had asked the original host to design an original piece for an exhibition, to be submitted under the team's name. With the registration deadline fast approaching and still no sign of any progress, he had evidently decided today was the day to call him to account.

Bai Xu followed the spiral staircase up, and through the glass wall he could already make out the two figures inside—

The boss, Fang Xu, was lounging with his legs crossed, gesturing at something to Song Zhiqing, who sat on the sofa nearby at an angle.

Song Zhiqing, older and wearing the traditional-style mandarin jacket he always favored, listened quietly while sipping his hot tea.

Bai Xu steadied himself, then knocked on the door.

The two inside heard it and looked up in unison.

Fang Xu caught sight of his tardy employee Bai Xu and his expression shifted at once, as though he harbored the deepest dissatisfaction with the man.

Song Zhiqing, sensing the change in the person beside him, maintained his composed and genial air, "Bai Xu's here? Come in."

Bai Xu stepped forward, "Boss. Master Song."

Fang Xu leaned back against the sofa and got in the first word, making his displeasure plain, "Bai Xu, I'm not going to mince words, you've been completely out of line lately."

"If I hadn't had Qiu Yi call you, were you just planning never to come back to work? I give you as much freedom as anyone could ask for, but that doesn't mean I'm paying you to slack off and waste time!"

"……"

Bai Xu held his tongue and waited quietly for the second act.

Sure enough, Song Zhiqing stepped in to 'smooth things over' on his behalf.

"Mr. Fang, Xiao Bai was in the wrong here, and I apologize on his behalf. He's a student I've guided from the beginning, I know his character—"

As he spoke, he poured a fresh cup of tea for Fang Xu without being asked.

"Xiao Bai is absolutely not the sort to be slack or unmotivated. Something must have come up at home these past weeks to hold him back. As a favor to me, please, let it go."

Fang Xu accepted the tea, and his expression softened a degree, "Master Song, you're too kind. How could I possibly refuse you?"

With Fang Xu's mood smoothed over, Song Zhiqing turned back to Bai Xu and got to the point, "Xiao Bai, Mr. Fang tells me there's an international ceramics design exhibition at the end of the month? He worked hard to secure one precious spot."

"Mr. Fang is willing to give you this chance. You need to rise to it, for the sake of our school's reputation and my own, and for the benefit of your own future as well."

As Bai Xu watched the two of them play their parts in perfect tandem, wave after wave of contempt and revulsion rose within him—

Song Zhiqing appeared warm and upright on the surface, all gentle virtue and quiet integrity. Behind that facade, he was a fraud through and through.

As far back as the original host's university days, Song Zhiqing had taken notice of the ceramics talent the original host displayed, and used his position as professor to claim the original host's work as his own more than once— trading on a reputation he had done nothing to earn!

Even when the original host had seen through his true intentions, Song Zhiqing could seize the moral high ground and, with a calm and unbothered air, deploy one layer of manipulation after another— at times openly, at times covertly using the 'professor' title as a cudgel.

The reason Song Zhiqing had brought the original host into Taojing Studio in the first place was that he held shares there in secret under a family member's name, operating on the principle of keeping the benefits in the family.

This was far from the first time any of this had happened—

The two of them played good cop and bad cop, applying as much pressure as possible on the original host, whose nature was timid, with one aim in mind: to squeeze his painstakingly designed original work out of his hands.

They dressed it up as teamwork and collaboration, but in the end all the credit and profit went to them. Utterly shameless.

The original host had always known all of this. Beyond his genuine love for the work, he had endured it because there was no one to stand up for him and no avenue for complaint—

Because if he refused to go along with the two of them, Fang Xu's connections and Song Zhiqing's standing in the field would surely cut off every path he had left in the industry.

Seeing that Bai Xu had not said a word for some time, Fang Xu glanced toward Song Zhiqing, who used the motion of raising his teacup as cover to pass him a subtle look.

Fang Xu took the cue and kept up his stern act, "Bai Xu, I'm asking you a question. How far along are you? The registration deadline is almost here."

The memories surfaced alongside the deep, suppressed anguish of the original host. Bai Xu looked at them, his cold eyes carrying a contempt that had never been there before.

"Since this spot is so precious, why don't you enter yourselves?"

–

TL: Muji

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