WHV | Chapter 9

After the two of them left, Yu Wei let out a long, lazy sigh.

He had just soaked in the bath for half an hour. He had finally made up his mind to stay away from these paper-thin characters, find a small city, and pick up his old trade again by working as an accountant at some small company to keep himself alive. But after hearing Bai Sijia out, Yu Wei still could not help wavering.

He had been an orphan before, with no father and no mother. Maybe he had them, but he had never met them. In his previous life, he had never felt family affection, and in this one, he did not expect it either. But now Yu father and Yu mother treated him well. Even if Yu Wei did not have much feeling for the Yu family, he still could not stand by and do nothing knowing the miserable ending awaiting them.

Yu Wei was lost in thought when his phone on the bedside table vibrated twice. While he drank the milk the auntie had reheated, he swiped open the lock screen with one hand and checked his unread WeChat messages.

Lin Hao had messaged to ask him to have lunch together at noon tomorrow.

The next day at noon, Yu Wei kept the appointment on time. Lin Hao had chosen a private restaurant. A staff member led Yu Wei through a maze of turns to a private room and opened the door. The moment Yu Wei walked in and saw the two people seated inside, he paused, silently rolling his eyes.

He had thought Lin Hao had asked him to discuss cooperation, but since he had brought Lin Zerui, they were probably not talking about work.

“Xiao Wei is here.” Lin Hao greeted him warmly.

Yu Wei tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing up a thin smile as he walked into the private room. The staff behind him had already closed the door and left.

Lin Hao looked to his side and secretly flashed Lin Zerui a look, signaling him to pull out a chair for Yu Wei. But Lin Zerui’s gaze had been following Yu Wei the entire time, and he had no attention to spare for his own father. Seeing that he only stared and did nothing, Lin Hao reminded him aloud, “Stop just staring. Get up and pull a chair out for Xiao Wei.”

“No need.” Yu Wei picked the seat farthest from Lin Zerui and sat down.

Ever since Yu Wei came in, Lin Zerui had been lounging in his chair like he had no bones. His eyes stayed glued to Yu Wei without letting up. The gaze carried scrutiny and appraisal. At first, Yu Wei could still pretend he did not exist, but by the time lunch was nearing its end, Lin Zerui still had not moved his chopsticks and was continuing to stare, as if he wanted to bore two holes straight through Yu Wei’s face.

At that moment, Lin Hao let out a heavy sigh. “Yesterday, President Lin personally called to scold Zerui. Maybe Zerui felt bad about it and didn’t even eat lunch today.”

Yu Wei did not respond.

“And who knows how President Yu found out you two met yesterday. Could it be he really doesn’t trust you to manage the company and sent people to keep an eye on you.” Lin Hao seemed to realize what he had said and immediately covered his mouth. “I’m not saying he doesn’t treat you like his biological son. He probably only had people watching you because he was worried about your safety.”

He made it sound as if he was correcting a slip of the tongue, but every word was really saying that Yu Cheng simply did not treat you like his own son, and had sent people to monitor you.

Anyone with eyes could tell Lin Hao was sowing discord, but Yu Wei still listened.

Last night he had already seen that Yu father and Yu mother did not like Lin Zerui, and they had indirectly made it clear that Lin Zerui was no good. Today Lin Hao was blatantly driving a wedge between him and his family. Yesterday’s meeting with Lin Zerui had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, and he had not told the driver or anyone else.

Yu Wei was not interested in what these two sides thought, but if what Lin Hao said was true, if Yu Cheng really handed the company to him on the surface while secretly sending people to keep watch, then Yu Wei felt he would need to revise the decision he had made last night.

Seeing that he had listened, Lin Hao said nothing more. After the meal, Lin Zerui had not opened his mouth once, staying a background wall the entire time.

When they came out after eating, Lin Hao walked in front, leaving the two behind him alone together.

“Yu Wei, you’re ruthless enough.” It was also the first and last sentence Lin Zerui had said since they met today. After speaking, Lin Zerui strode ahead, leaving only Yu Wei standing there with a baffled look on his face.

“Crazy.”

…

That night, when Yu Wei got home, he did not go straight back to his bedroom. He had been thinking about Lin Hao’s words all day. Lin Zerui’s character was nothing to praise, so he felt Lin Hao was unreliable too. Lin Hao’s credibility was too low.

He still needed to ask Yu Cheng himself how he had known that he and Lin Zerui had met.

Yu Wei got off work late, but no matter how late he came home, Bai Sijia and Yu Cheng would wait for him to eat together. After he had come over, Yu Wei had always found all kinds of excuses to avoid eating together as much as possible. Even if he did not eat, they still waited for him to ask about it. Today, just like always, they called him to dinner. Yu Wei did not refuse, washed his hands, and sat down at the table.

The fact that he had come to eat made Bai Sijia visibly happy. Yu Cheng did not show much expression, but he was in a good mood and ate two extra bowls of rice, occasionally adding dishes to both Yu Wei and Bai Sijia’s bowls.

There were not many rules at the Yu family table. The three of them chatted while eating, and the atmosphere was warm and lively.

“Dad, how did you know yesterday that I met Lin Zerui?” Yu Wei asked casually.

“Who else but Lin Hao. He sent us a message in the afternoon saying you were out with Lin Zerui and might come home late at night.”

Bai Sijia immediately ordered Auntie to bring over the phone and fiddled with it for a while before handing it to Yu Wei.

Yu Wei: “…” So Yu Cheng wasn’t monitoring him at all. Clearly, Lin Hao had staged the whole thing himself. As expected, the apple never fell far from the tree. He had just asked casually and found out. How had Lin Hao been so certain he would not ask Yu Cheng and would believe what he said instead?

Besides, what benefit did it bring him to drive a wedge between Yu Wei and Yu Cheng? The only advantage Yu Wei could think of was something related to work.

After lunch, Yu Wei stood up and was about to leave when Bai Sijia called him back.

“It’s the 23rd today. Pay attention to yourself. If you feel any discomfort, find Uncle Wang immediately and then come home.”

Yu Wei did not understand what that was about, but he still nodded and said yes.

Back in his bedroom, Yu Wei sent Lin Hao a message. No matter what his purpose was, Yu Wei decided to play along.

“After all, I’m not his biological son, so it’s normal for President Yu to be uneasy about handing the company to me. But President Lin, don’t worry, it won’t affect our cooperation.”

The reply came very quickly from the other side. “No need to be so formal and call me President Lin. Just call me Uncle instead.”

Yu Wei chatted with him for a while before receiving a call from Yu Song midway.

The moment he picked up, Yu Song’s wailing came through the receiver. Yu Wei frowned and moved the phone away from his ear. “Keep it down, you’re going to make me deaf.”

Yu Song’s voice instantly vanished. Two seconds later, he cried even louder.

“What is it? Did someone bully you?” Yu Wei said, but in his heart he silently added that it was already not bad if the vicious cannon fodder had not bullied anyone else.

“Bro, the figurine you gave me for my eighteenth birthday got smashed by someone.”

Yu Wei was speechless. “If it’s broken, buy another one. Is it really worth crying over a figurine like this? You’re a rich young master, okay?”

Yu Song cried even more miserably. “It’s different. Yours is different.”

Yu Wei asked, “How much? I’ll buy you another one.”

“It’s a limited edition. Five hundred and thirty thousand.”

“How much?” Yu Wei instantly woke up, his voice nearly cracking from how loud it went. He rubbed at his ear. “What did you say?”

Yu Song repeated it again. After hearing it, Yu Wei nearly fainted.

A figurine worth 530,000 yuan had been smashed just like that. He ground his teeth. “He has to pay. Absolutely. Tell him to compensate you!”

Yu Song had originally called Yu Wei hoping for comfort, but in the end it became him comforting Yu Wei instead. He comforted him for half an hour and promised he would make the person who broke the figurine pay before hanging up.