DASFAM_26

The monthly family dinner arrived as scheduled.

When Bai Xu finished getting ready and came downstairs, Shang Queyan and Uncle Lin were already waiting below. The latter was the first to spot him. "Young Master Bai, are you ready? The shuttle is already waiting at the door, we can leave anytime."

Bai Xu met Shang Queyan's gaze and broke into a grin. "Well, well, the Fourth Young Master actually waited for me this time? Last time you slipped away pretty fast."

"……"

Shang Queyan knew he was in the wrong, yet still kept his chin up stubbornly. "I only did it for my brother's sake."

Bai Xu cooperated with an obliging nod. "Sure~"

He paused at the foot of the stairs and deliberately tilted his head up toward the master bedroom on the second floor. "Thank you, Third Young Master, for lending me your face~"

One tease, two reactions.

Shang Yanxiao in the master bedroom responded with silence. Shang Queyan downstairs cracked first. "I give up on you!"

With that, he swiftly maneuvered his wheelchair out the villa door.

Uncle Lin stifled a smile. "Young Master Bai, it's nearly time. If we arrive late, the Old Master will not be pleased."

Bai Xu gave a nod. "Mm."

When the shuttle pulled up to the main house entrance, it happened to arrive at the same moment as another shuttle pulling to a stop. As luck—or misfortune—would have it, the passengers were none other than the second branch family.

"What did I say?" Shang Queyan muttered under his breath. "Of all the people to run into."

Bai Xu took it in stride. "It's a family dinner. Running into each other is unavoidable. Whatever comes, we deal with it. What's there to be afraid of?"

At the last dinner, hadn't Fang Yuhua and Shang Songming that mother and son duo—picked a fight and ended up badly burned for it?

"Xiao Yan, you've arrived too?" Shang Yun, ever the peacemaker, was the first to speak. "Songming, go help lift your younger brother's wheelchair."

Shang Songming looked across at Bai Xu and Uncle Lin stepping off the opposite shuttle, and the memory of that 'butler' remark from last time surfaced again, leaving a sour taste in his chest.

"Can't the servants handle that?" He forced the words out through gritted teeth. "If you want to play the good guy, why don't you do it yourself? You want me to lower myself to help him?"

Shang Yun's smile froze. He scolded in a hushed voice, "Watch how you speak!"

Fang Yuhua raised a hand to fix her hair, using the gesture to hide her expression, and joined her son in blaming her husband. "What did Songming say wrong? If you're so eager to put on a show, save it for in front of the Old Master."

If it could win the old man's favor, there was still something to be gained from it— why on earth would she waste a pleasant expression on the third branch?

While the three of them exchanged their brief words, Bai Xu and the others had already made their way off the shuttle without incident.

Shang Queyan steered his wheelchair forward and offered a greeting that said one thing while feeling another. "Second Uncle. Second Aunt."

Shang Yun put his smiling mask back on. "Ah, you're here. Have you been keeping well lately?"

Fang Yuhua kept her eyes down, pretending not to hear. She had not forgotten—

At the last dinner, Shang Queyan and Bai Xu had played off each other so perfectly that she and the second branch had taken an enormous fall. The Shang family had called off its cooperation with Jinbai— and that project had originally belonged to them, the second branch!

A cooked duck had flown right off the plate before their eyes!

Because of this incident, her husband Shang Yun had spent the entire past month picking at her and dressing her down.

Shang Yun shot a sidelong glance at his willful wife and moved to smooth things over. "All right, let's all head inside."

Everyone filed into the house, one after another.

Beside the small dining room was a sunken lounge area with sofas, and the Shang family patriarch was reclining in the seat of honor, a that day's financial newspaper in hand.

Even in an age of exploding digital information, he still kept to this old reading habit of his.

Shang Yun was the first to speak. "Father, we're here."

The Old Master didn't even look up— he gave a sound of acknowledgment, neither inviting everyone to sit nor directing them straight into the small dining room. He simply left them standing there.

The second branch family, having received no instruction, stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move.

Bai Xu, standing in the back row, took in the scene and gave the back of the wheelchair an unhurried pat.

Shang Queyan noticed the gesture and the unspoken question behind it, and silently mouthed 'don't say anything'.

"……"

Bai Xu's brow twitched. He looked around the main room's layout with idle curiosity.

The Old Master finished the last line of the newspaper and then tossed it into the wastepaper basket without ceremony.

He rose to his feet unhurriedly, and made a point of sweeping his gaze over the group still standing where they had stopped. Then, through a gap in the crowd, he caught sight of Bai Xu lurking in the back row—

Everyone else, even those standing in complete silence, wore an expression tinged with careful unease. Only Bai Xu, shielded by the people in front, looked perfectly at ease.

The Old Master called out. "Bai Xu, come here."

Bai Xu was entirely unprepared to be singled out and froze on the spot.

Seeing that Bai Xu hadn't moved, Uncle Lin quickly leaned in with a quiet reminder. "Young Master Bai?"

"……"

Wasn't this supposed to be a family dinner?

Why was there a sudden roll call?

Bai Xu steadied his breathing and, under everyone's gaze, made his way around to the front. "Good evening, Old Master."

The Old Master looked him over from head to toe, then suddenly asked, "I hear you've been causing quite a stir out there this past month?"

Whether it was the counterattack and composure he'd shown at the Sun family banquet, or Bai Xu joining the other graduates to file a report against Song Zhiqing— both matters had made quite a splash within their respective circles.

The second branch family heard this and felt a different kind of wariness rise in their chests—

To be noticed and kept in mind by the Old Master in this household, you were either doing badly enough to be waiting for a dressing-down, or doing well enough to have earned his regard.

Which was it for Bai Xu right now? He couldn't actually be making a name for the third branch, could he?

Bai Xu put on an air of awkwardness. "N-no, not at all."

The Old Master could tell there was some deliberate performance in it, but let it pass without calling him out. "How has Yanxiao been lately?"

With the second branch right there, Bai Xu naturally kept a good deal of things about Shang Yanxiao under wraps. "Dr. Zhang came by just yesterday, same as before."

The Old Master made no particular comment at that and simply shifted the conversation to Shang Queyan. "Queyan, it's time you pulled yourself together. Falling down and not being able to get back up, that's not the Shang family way."

Shang Queyan maneuvered his wheelchair forward. "Grandfather, I understand."

Uncle Lin added, "Old Master, the Fourth Young Master has already begun taking part in managing a subsidiary, and a professional team has been arranged for his rehabilitation."

Only at those words did some of the severity ease from the Old Master's brow. "That's more like it. At the very least, you have to hold things up in your brother's place."

"Mm."

"……"

Throughout all of this back-and-forth, the Old Master's words had been directed entirely at the third branch. The second branch had become completely invisible.

Fang Yuhua saw this and felt the anxiety gnaw at her, she was just about to say something to reclaim some presence when the elevator beside them chimed and its doors slid open—

The Old Madam stepped slowly out of the elevator, accompanied by a servant.

She took in the whole family gathered there and turned the sandalwood beads in her hand. "Everyone's here already? You must all be starving. I went and overslept— and now I've had you all waiting on me."

The Old Master stepped forward to meet her. "What does it matter if the younger generation waits a little? Is your head still hurting?"

"Much better."

The Old Madam gave her husband's hand a gentle pat. "Have them bring out the dishes and start the meal, let's not actually let the children go hungry."

The Old Master nodded and gestured to everyone. "Alright, no more standing around here, let's go into the small dining room."

...

Dinner proceeded in the same unbroken quiet as always.

Bai Xu went through the motions with a few perfunctory bites. However good the food was, it all turned somewhat tasteless under this kind of silence.

It wasn't until the Old Master set down his chopsticks and bowl that he took it upon himself to break the stiff atmosphere. "There is actually something I want to announce tonight."

Shang Yun immediately followed. "Father, whatever it is, go ahead."

The Old Master glanced at his wife beside him, and a rare trace of warmth crept into his expression. "June is almost here, and that means our wedding anniversary is coming up..."

The words landed, and everyone at the table went still for a moment.

"Oh, why bring that up?"

A faint flush of embarrassment crossed the Old Madam's gentle face, and she moved quickly to stop him. "We're an old married couple. Aren't you afraid the children will hear and laugh at us?"

The Old Master was quietly insistent. "Our family has been through quite a lot this year. I thought, with nothing pressing, it would be nice to have something to celebrate."

Fang Yuhua was quick to agree. "Exactly, we absolutely should celebrate! Father, how many years is it, sixty-something?"

The Old Master remembered it clearly. "Sixty-five years."

Fang Yuhua chimed in. "That's a fine number. It really ought to be celebrated."

The Old Madam still felt it wasn't necessary. "Oh, let it go. What's the point of all that fuss? I'd be embarrassed if word got out."

Bai Xu thought of the plot from the book and spoke up before he'd quite realized it. "Old Madam."

"In a person's lifetime, finding a partner to walk beside you through it all, to reach sixty-five years together is no small thing. Everyone can only envy what you and the Old Master have. No one would laugh."

The bond between the Old Master and Old Madam was the stuff of legend in the capital social circles.

If things continued as the book had written them, this would in fact be the last anniversary the two of them would share.

The Old Master gave an approving sound. "Bai Xu puts it well."

Fang Yuhua's mood soured the moment Bai Xu received the praise, and she promptly delivered a sharp kick to both her son and her husband under the table.

"Ow."

Shang Songming caught himself in time and put on an obliging smile. "Grandmother, just let Grandfather have his way this once. It's been a long time since our family held any kind of banquet. A little celebration would do everyone good."

Shang Yun followed suit. "That's right, don't you worry about a thing. Isn't that what we're here for?"

Fang Yuhua seized her moment. "Father, Eldest Sister and her husband are both overseas, and Queyan and the others are still young. They probably don't know the first thing about this kind of etiquette and protocol. Why not leave it to me to handle? Rest assured, I'll take care of everything properly!"

Bai Xu and Shang Queyan exchanged a glance, each knowing full well what the other was thinking—

The second branch was looking to use this banquet to show what they were made of and get into the old couple's good graces.

The Old Master saw through it perfectly, but didn't mind. "Fine, then we'll leave it to the second daughter-in-law. All expenses come from my account— don't hold back, just make sure it's done well. That's what matters."

"And one more thing, your mother's preferences come first in everything."

The Old Madam, knowing she couldn't argue with her husband once his mind was set, gave an amused sigh and went along with it. "All right, I'll leave it to you all then. You'll have your work cut out for you, dear."

Fang Yuhua beamed. "It's my pleasure."

The monthly family banquet came to an end in an unusually harmonious atmosphere.

Back home, Shang Queyan immediately rushed into the master bedroom and locked the door behind him. He poured out everything that had happened at the banquet to Shang Yanxiao in one breath, and couldn't resist a parting complaint:

"All she got was one banquet handed down from the Old Master's own lips— and look how pleased with herself our dear Second Aunt is!"

It was only in front of his closest brother that Shang Queyan let slip the traces of childishness he hadn't quite grown out of.

Bai Xu smiled to himself. "Let the second branch handle it. A large-scale banquet done properly takes real effort, it's no small thing."

Shang Queyan was still indignant. "Like that one in the second branch is the type to actually put in real effort. She'd obviously just throw money around and bark orders at people."

Back when Chi Li had still been alive, she and Fang Yuhua—sisters-in-law both—had together organized two Shang family banquets.

In those days, Fang Yuhua had a habit of pulling rank as the elder sister-in-law, pushing anything difficult onto Chi Li, and then turning around to take all the credit in front of everyone.

Perhaps because his thoughts had drifted to his late mother, Shang Queyan's mood dipped all at once.

Bai Xu caught the shift and found himself looking instinctively toward Shang Yanxiao.

Their eyes met briefly then pulled apart. Shang Yanxiao spoke. "Xiao Yan, stop letting your mind go to dark places. That car accident had nothing to do with you. Mom and Dad's deaths were never your fault, you were a victim too."

Bai Xu followed with quiet counsel. "Mm. The dead can't come back. Instead of sinking into old wounds and draining yourself over them, it's better to grit your teeth and keep looking forward."

"Given who you two are, neither of you can afford to stay stuck. If you do, there's only one way that ends."

Beneath that naturally soft voice lay a core that was steady and unflinching— the contrast was, somehow, arresting.

Shang Yanxiao heard this and the look in his eyes as he turned toward Bai Xu deepened further.

Shang Queyan bowed his head and drew in a slow breath, working to hold back the sting rising in his eyes. "I know. I just can't stand the way the second branch acts like they've won something. I- I hate losing."

He lifted his head to look at Shang Yanxiao again. "Brother, the third branch can't lose to them!"

Bai Xu answered in his place. "With your brother here, you won't."

Something in Shang Yanxiao's expression softened. He crouched down to meet his younger brother eye to eye. "Queyan, don't worry. Our family isn't going to wither away just like that. What you need to focus on right now is working with the medical team on your rehabilitation."

"You still have a long road ahead of you. You need to stand firm, understand?"

The words carried a double meaning.

Shang Queyan caught it. "Mm, I understand."

Shang Yanxiao let out a quiet breath. "Go get some rest. Don't you have to meet with the medical team tomorrow?"

"All right. You rest early too, Brother."

Shang Queyan agreed, then turned his wheelchair and looked back at Bai Xu. "You're not leaving?"

Bai Xu couldn't resist teasing him. "What am I to your brother? It's perfectly normal for me to stay, isn't it? Little brother-in-law~"

"……"

"……"

That one title left two people speechless.

Shang Yanxiao could only manage a helpless stifled cough.

Shang Queyan stared in disbelief when his brother didn't actually say a word in protest—his eyes swept back and forth between them—and then finally admitted defeat and wheeled himself swiftly out the door.

Bai Xu watched Shang Queyan's retreating figure as he fled in disarray and couldn't hold back a laugh.

Shang Yanxiao was resigned. "You seem to enjoy teasing Queyan quite a lot."

Bai Xu didn't deny it. "Just a bit of fun to pass the time."

He glanced at the full wall of bookshelves running along the main hall, and walked over with mild curiosity. "Shang Yanxiao, could I borrow a couple of books? For the nights when I can't sleep and need something to do."

Reading physical books was a habit Bai Xu had picked up from his grandfather.

Shang Yanxiao looked at his bookshelves, untouched for a long time now. "Go ahead."

Bai Xu scanned quickly along the rows, then his gaze came to a stop. "This one too?"

Shang Yanxiao stepped closer to look— it was an autobiography the Old Master had been invited to write some seven or eight years ago. At the time, everyone in the Shang household had been given a copy.

Shang Yanxiao had read through it carefully back then, and it had sat on the shelf ever since. Seeing the curiosity light up in Bai Xu's eyes, he was a little surprised. "You're interested in that one?"

"Mm."

Bai Xu gave the cover an appreciative pat, as though he'd found a treasure. "The Old Master is something of a legend in China business circles, whichever way you look at it. I'd like to read properly about how he built everything up from scratch when he was young."

Shang Yanxiao thought back to the contents and offered a word of warning. "Given the Old Master's character, the book is written pretty much as it is."

What he meant, unspoken, was that it was dry— not exactly a lively or engaging read. The number of people who had actually finished the autobiography was probably very few.

Bai Xu understood the artful understatement and laughed. "That works out perfectly then, either it passes the time, or it puts me to sleep before bed. I'll take it, then?"

"Mm."

Knock, knock.

A knock at the door cut through their exchange.

Xie Qi's voice came carefully from outside. "Young Master Bai, may I come in?"

"Yes, come in."

Bai Xu answered for him, then looked toward Shang Yanxiao. "Must be something for you. I'll head back to my room then."

Shang Yanxiao gave a nod. "Alright. Good night."

"Good night."

Bai Xu crossed paths with Xie Qi just as he was coming through the door on his way out.

Xie Qi called out a quick 'Young Master Bai' and headed straight into the main room, his usually calm face carrying a weight to it that hadn't been there before— something had clearly happened.

Bai Xu's steps slowed for a moment.

Xiao Deng, on night duty at the door, looked over. "Young Master Bai? Are you heading back to your room?"

"Mm."

Bai Xu came back to himself, pushed the question aside, and made his way to his room with the books in hand.

...

The sound of the bedroom door locking clicked into place once more.

Xie Qi crossed the room to Shang Yanxiao in quick, urgent strides, his voice unable to conceal the urgency beneath it. "Third Young Master."

Shang Yanxiao noticed his assistant's visible agitation and picked up his glass. "What is it?"

Xie Qi got straight to the point. "The car accident, there's a lead!"

Shang Yanxiao's hand stilled mid-sip, and the look in his eyes turned grave at once. "Talk."

Even with the official investigation results already in front of him, after waking from his injuries Shang Yanxiao had quietly spent a considerable sum hiring a private detective firm overseas to dig further.

In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed. Just when he had begun to think the whole thing was going nowhere—

A lead had actually turned up?

Xie Qi pulled out the tablet he always carried and handed it to Shang Yanxiao. "This man's name is Chelkin. He was formerly a cargo manager at HG Logistics."

Shang Yanxiao stared at the unfamiliar face on the screen, brow furrowed. "What connection does he have to Charlie?"

Charlie was the truck driver for that logistics company— the driver responsible for the collision with the third branch family's vehicle, who had also died at the scene despite emergency efforts.

It was precisely because of this that overseas authorities had ruled it a serious traffic accident.

"He was Charlie's work partner. One handled transport, the other handled warehouse management."

"In the two weeks before the incident, Chelkin took continuous sick leave for the entire period. Less than a week after the incident, he submitted his resignation using the same reason."

"But through discreet contacts at local hospitals, the detective firm found no medical records for Chelkin during that time whatsoever."

"……"

Shang Yanxiao wasn't ready to draw conclusions so easily.

Xie Qi continued relaying the findings. "Chelkin's background is ordinary— no significant expenditures in his normal life. But not long after resigning, he spent nearly ten thousand US dollars at a luxury goods store, and has been completely off the radar ever since."

"Most importantly, the transaction account he used for that purchase was with HS Bank."

HS Bank was the abbreviated name for Huashang Bank— one of the private banks in which the Shang Group held controlling stakes overseas, with the vast majority of its clientele being overseas Chinese merchants and businesspeople of Chinese descent.

The color in Shang Yanxiao's face gradually darkened.

Any one of these things in isolation might have been a coincidence. But this many coincidences stacked together was something else entirely.

The driver responsible for the accident. His partner who had abruptly resigned and come into money. And an HS transaction account that would rarely pass through foreign hands.

If all of this held up, then whoever was pulling the strings behind the scenes had to have ties to the Shang family.

"Keep looking. Tell them to keep digging!"

Shang Yanxiao drew a long, slow breath. The pain that had been building in his chest for so long was coming close to breaking through. "If the evidence holds up when it matters, contact the local authorities directly, we can cooperate with a formal report at any time on our end."

Xie Qi took back the tablet, his voice firm and resolute. "Understood."

...

The following morning.

When Bai Xu stepped out of his room, he happened to run into Xiao Deng and Chen Yufei changing shifts.

He gave a small yawn. "Morning."

"Morning."

"Morning, Young Master Bai."

The two responded one after the other. Xiao Deng noticed the rare drowsiness on Bai Xu's face. "Did you not sleep well last night?"

Bai Xu waved a hand vaguely and tilted his eyes toward the master bedroom. "Is he up?"

Xiao Deng nodded hastily. "Assistant Xie is in there, having breakfast."

Bai Xu raised an eyebrow with quiet understanding. "Oh? Let me go take a look."

Xiao Deng and Chen Yufei exchanged a glance. Neither dared to stop him.

The moment the door swung open, the warm scent of breakfast drifted out.

Shang Yanxiao was seated at the bedside, a tray of neatly arranged breakfast in front of him, barely touched.

Xie Qi looked over. "Young Master Bai."

Bai Xu smiled. "I had a feeling, the one 'having breakfast' was someone else entirely. Aren't you afraid someone might just walk in on you?"

Shang Yanxiao calmly took a sip of his iced Americano. "In this house, who besides you would dare barge in like this?"

Xie Qi offered an explanation. "Lately, very few people have been coming to call on the Third Young Master anymore."

"That's not quite the right way to look at it, better safe than sorry." Bai Xu walked closer, though his gaze had already landed on the breakfast tray. "Oh, tuna sandwich?"

Shang Yanxiao took the hint. "Have it."

Bai Xu pulled a nearby chair over and sat down, grinning. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Though going forward, all three meals a day, Xie Qi and I can both keep the Third Young Master company while he eats. Even if someone really does come barging in, it would look a lot more convincing."

Xie Qi smiled. "Should I go downstairs and get a bit more?"

Bai Xu was perfectly unabashed. "Could you have someone make me a warm oat milk? I need to wake myself up, thank you."

As he said it, his gaze drifted sideways to the coffee sitting in front of Shang Yanxiao, a faint flicker of disdain crossing his expression.

Shang Yanxiao caught every bit of his expressive little face and waited until Xie Qi had left before asking, "Wake yourself up? Did you sleep badly last night?"

Bai Xu spoke through a mouthful of sandwich, muffled. "Finished the Old Master's autobiography. Lost track of time and ended up staying up until three."

"......"

Shang Yanxiao was a little surprised. "You finished it?"

Bai Xu nodded. "Mm. Though just like you said, the writing is pretty stiff and by-the-book throughout, but there were moments here and there that were quite entertaining. You can tell the Old Master had a lively spirit when he was young."

Bai Xu paused to think. Shang Yanxiao was curious enough to test him. "Such as?"

"Well, for instance—"

Bai Xu thought carefully for a moment, then answered without hesitation. "Like when he was thirty and wanted to go to Yuncheng to get into the jade trade, but couldn't get a seat."

"The carriage was packed with people, so he stood the entire way, and by the time they arrived, his legs had gone completely numb."

"The jade merchant who came to meet him thought he was a disabled person with mobility difficulties, and actually had someone send over a walking stick. The Old Master was partly worried about embarrassing the merchant, and partly because his legs really were numb."

Shang Yanxiao remembered the passage and let out a quiet laugh. "So he went around with the walking stick for three days."

Bai Xu couldn't hold back a grin. "Right? I think the Old Master was actually quite a character when he was young, nothing like how people describe him, all unpredictable temperament and odd quirks."

"Grandfather went through so much in his life, all the ups and downs. A bit of a temper isn't strange at all."

Shang Yanxiao's respect and admiration for the Old Master came from somewhere deep. "He's actually a good person. Deep down, he cares a great deal about everyone in the family. My parents' deaths, he must be carrying that too."

The loss of the third branch couple had been a devastating blow for the two brothers— but for the Old Master and Old Madam, it was no less the grief of watching a child go before them.

Bai Xu nodded in agreement. "Which is why I think it's a good thing that the Old Master wants to mark sixty-five years with a proper celebration."

After all, the living had to keep looking ahead and moving forward.

Shang Yanxiao had no objection to the banquet either. "It really is. Though the matter of what gift to bring, that's probably going to drive a lot of people to rack their brains."

Whether it was members of the Shang family or the invited guests, who wouldn't want to use this occasion to earn the Old Master's favor? And who wouldn't want to lay a bit more groundwork for what might follow?

Bai Xu was curious. "What does the third branch plan to give?"

Shang Yanxiao shook his head, looking uncharacteristically at a loss. "I'm not in a position to show my face right now. I'll have to think on it more."

"……"

Bai Xu didn't reply, turning the same pressing question over in his own mind.

Then, all at once, something flashed through his thoughts. "Shang Yanxiao, I know what to give!"

–

TL: Muji

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