Chapter 10: Targeted by a Powerful Tycoon 10

They rang the doorbell and waited a while before the door finally opened.

Su Chenyu stood there with a pale little face, wearing a plain light-yellow apron. He looked like a perfect, domestic little shou!

Yuan Feixing took the slippers and introduced them with a smile. “Big Brother, this is my good friend, Chenyu.”

“Chenyu, this is my big brother, He Yao. Just call him Big Brother like I do.”

Su Chenyu smiled and nodded. “Hello, Big Brother He.”

He Yao inclined his head, looking down at his younger brother’s friend. The elegant smile at the corner of his lips never quite reached his eyes.

His impeccably tailored charcoal-gray suit made the tall man look even more handsome and imposing, but he seemed completely out of place beside their casual clothes and the cozy decor.

Then he saw his younger brother slinging an arm affectionately over his friend’s shoulders, the two youthful faces bent together as they laughed. Everything in sight dragged his already dark mood a little lower.

Su Chenyu asked Yuan Feixing with an easy familiarity, “Are you two biological brothers?”

“Yeah. I took my mother’s surname.” Yuan Feixing sniffed. “That chili smells amazing!” He made an exaggerated show of swallowing.

Su Chenyu smiled. “The food’s ready. I started the rice a little late, so it’ll be a few more minutes.”

Yuan Feixing brightened and rubbed his stomach. “If the food’s ready, let’s get started~ We can wait while we eat. That smell’s got me too excited to sit around!”

With a table full of Sichuan dishes that looked and smelled delicious, Yuan Feixing immediately went down the line, trying a bite of each. He gave Su Chenyu a thumbs-up and declared that he wanted to invest in a private restaurant for him.

Even with all that delicious food in front of him, Yuan Feixing didn’t forget his mission. He threw himself into promoting Su Chenyu’s cooking. “Big Brother, this poached pork is incredible. You like spicy food too, right? Try some.”

“Wow, Chenyu, you’re a treasure! This bobo chicken tastes so authentic!”

Knowing He Yao didn’t like offal or processed food, Yuan Feixing picked out a few vegetable skewers, slid them off the sticks, and placed them in his brother’s bowl. He beamed as if presenting a gift. “Big Brother, try these. They’re really good.”

He Yao ate everything Yuan Feixing had served him. Yuan Feixing blinked up at him with shining eyes. “Well? Good, right?”

He Yao pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yeah. It’s good.”

Yuan Feixing’s smile widened. He’d figured that one of the reasons He Yao had valued Su Chenyu so much in his previous life was that, once you got past his tough exterior, Su Chenyu made it easy for people to feel at home.

His unhappy upbringing had forced his caring, domestic side to the max. He knew how to look after people and make them feel cared for. He and He Yao had both grown up starved of parental affection, and their unhappy childhoods had shaped their personalities in similar ways. Two imperfect people had come together and, by chance, filled in each other’s gaps.

Heh heh heh. I nailed it this time. The romance plot’s been getting more and more off track for days, but finally, it’s back from the dead! He couldn’t resist bragging to the System. [A surprise comeback! Tongtong, tell me loud and clear! Am I the most awesome host ever?]

The System was perfunctory as usual. [Wow~ You’re amazing~] Looking forward to watching you crash and burn.

He Yao didn’t eat much, but Yuan Feixing ate until he was stuffed. Even after getting into the car, he kept telling He Yao how capable Su Chenyu was. How could anyone not want to marry a treasure like that and cherish him with all their heart?

Seeing that He Yao wasn’t in much of a mood—and looked even more grave after taking a phone call—Yuan Feixing wondered if he’d picked the wrong moment to make his pitch. He switched into meek mode and asked softly, “Big Brother, is something wrong at the company?”

He Yao glanced at him from the corner of his narrow eyes and gave a quiet “Mm.”

Yuan Feixing sat up straight. “Oh. Then I won’t bother you.”

Amid great anticipation, the first stage of Wings of the Stars finally arrived.

Su Chenyu’s performance was scheduled before Yuan Feixing’s. In the half hour before he went on, Yuan Feixing watched him make three trips to the bathroom. He teased Su Chenyu about having weak kidneys and tried to help him loosen up.

Su Chenyu was a bundle of nerves backstage, but the moment he stepped onto the stage, it was as if he’d become another person. His performance was every bit as good as they’d expected. His high notes had a striking, almost shattering intensity that rocked the entire venue, and his stage presence was explosive. Yuan Feixing couldn’t help thinking that some people were simply born for the stage. They belonged beneath the lights, where they could shine.

Su Chenyu’s performance went off without a hitch. Yuan Feixing, on the other hand, went tumbling onto the stage.

The second half of his performance had him playing the violin on a “bridge” formed by two dancers. After the song, he was supposed to make a graceful final flourish with his bow, then leap down neatly. The lighting effects and the fireworks the production crew had prepared for him were meant to make the whole thing spectacular.

In practice, Yuan Feixing turned the spectacle into a disaster. The fireworks went off with a much bigger bang than they had during rehearsal. The dancers flinched, then quickly steadied themselves, but Yuan Feixing had been shaky up there to begin with. His foot slipped out of place, and he “neatly” fell right off the dancers.

He avoided the stage props and instinctively shielded the expensive violin in his arms. When he hit the ground, a wave of pain shot through him, and tears sprang to his eyes.

It had all happened so suddenly that by the time the System reacted and activated Sensory Shielding, Yuan Feixing was already sobbing and sniffling uncontrollably.

[Yuan Feixing: Waaaah, I’m filing a complaint! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!]

The System knew it was in the wrong and tentatively offered, [What if I doubled your Compensation Funds?]

Yuan Feixing sniffled. [It hurts so much! I feel like I’m dying!!!]

[…But…how many times are you going to multiply the Compensation Funds by?]

The System: This greedy little miser never lets me down. [I’ll make sure you’re satisfied. But if you hadn’t protected the violin, you probably wouldn’t be this badly hurt, right?]

[Yuan Feixing: Don’t make excuses. Do you know how much this violin cost? If I get kicked out of the He family, I’m counting on selling it to keep myself fed!]

Yuan Feixing’s pain had been suppressed, so the tear-streaked misery on his face required no acting. He lay motionless and waited for the staff to take him to the hospital. He hadn’t expected the first person to rush over to be Su Chenyu.

Still in rather dramatic stage makeup, Su Chenyu hurried over in a panic. “Little Jia! Where did you hurt yourself?!”

As soon as he learned Yuan Feixing had injured his right arm, Su Chenyu carefully lifted him from the left side. With help from the staff, he soon got Yuan Feixing into the medical vehicle provided by the production crew.

The accident had happened so suddenly that He Yao was still in a meeting when Special Assistant Chen got the call. Chen hesitated. The meeting was halfway through, right at its most important point, but he also knew how much He Yao cared about his younger brother.

The assistant leaned in and murmured a few words into He Yao’s ear. The smile at the corner of He Yao’s lips instantly turned cold. He handed the meeting over to the vice president, then strode out with his assistant, leaving the company executives staring at one another and wondering what could have happened.

As soon as He Yao left the conference room, he told his assistant to contact the staff and arrange a transfer to another hospital. Special Assistant Chen acknowledged the order. When they got into the car, he asked if they were going straight to the private hospital that would be receiving Yuan Feixing.

“Go pick up Little Jia,” He Yao replied without hesitation.

By the time He Yao arrived at the hospital, Yuan Feixing had already had his X-rays taken. After hearing that he was being transferred, the doctor had only given him a basic splint.

The production crew took good care of him. Several staff members had stayed by his side, including the assistant director, who often checked on him. They were all waiting to move Yuan Feixing when a tall man strode toward them.

He wore a sharply tailored charcoal-gray suit. His handsome face was strikingly angular, and his expression was so grim it seemed to freeze the air around him.

To make the examination easier, the System had adjusted Sensory Shielding to thirty percent. That let Yuan Feixing communicate the extent of his injury to the doctor without leaving him in too much pain.

Yuan Jia, the Prince of Peas, had tear ducts that seemed to work overtime. His eyes had been red from the pain, and he’d looked like he was doing everything he could to bear it without making a sound. But the moment he saw his big brother’s dark expression, tears flooded his eyes.

Careful not to bump his injured arm, Yuan Feixing turned and leaned into He Yao’s embrace. He pressed his face to the man’s chest and dissolved into a little crybaby. “Waaah… It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”

He Yao usually put on a smiling, genial front and rarely let anyone see such a sharp look in his eyes. His gaze swept over the room, and everyone felt the temperature drop to freezing. Please spare us, Your Majesty! Yuan Jia’s injury was an accident onstage! We didn’t push him!

Only after He Yao had taken Yuan Feixing away did the others come to their senses and start whispering.

“Who the hell was that? I nearly broke out in a cold sweat!”

The assistant director, Xu Lai, knew more than most. He gave them a knowing look and pointed upward. “Who else? Him.”

Everyone stared at him in shock. “Holy crap! Was that the eldest He or the second young master?”

Xu Lai held up one finger. Everyone around him sucked in a breath.

“Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! So the rumors really are true! Yuan Jia is with He Yao…”

“Wait, I thought it was the second young master!”

“What? I heard both brothers were involved!”

One of them was clearly hearing this for the first time. It took him a moment to figure out what they meant, and then he let out a shrill, roosterlike, “What?!”

Xu Lai smacked him lightly. “All right, stop spreading rumors. We can’t afford to offend any of them. Let’s get back.”

Everyone mimed zipping their lips. “We won’t say a word. We’ll just tell people Yuan Jia was picked up by his family.”