Chapter 8: The Vicious Fake Rich Young Master · 8

Mission complete.

520 joyfully celebrated in his mind with giant bold headers, once again declaring his future was boundless.

Su Wenyu was currently lounging lazily on the sofa in his own room, staring out the window at the sunset. His mind, however, was replaying the look Zhou Xu had given him while completing the mission just now.

When Su Wenyu had sarcastically mocked him—going from poor household to rich man’s son must feel great inside—Zhou Xu probably hadn’t been angry. He had just looked at the clean, polished leather shoe resting on his knee, his gaze slightly darkening, thinking this younger brother had been completely spoiled rotten by the Su family.

It was only when Su Wenyu insulted his former family’s poor conditions that Zhou Xu felt genuinely mocked and humiliated.

That was when 520 had finally announced the mission was successful, and he had earned twenty Points.

At that moment, Zhou Xu’s eyes had gone incredibly dark. His black pupils seemed bottomless, making it impossible to see the depths. He had glared fiercely at Su Wenyu and said: “Anyone can insult my family… except you.”

Zhou Xu had grabbed his ankle. The force in his grip felt like he wanted to snap his bones, and the pain had instantly made Su Wenyu frown.

Then Zhou Xu had shoved him away, practically forcing him out the door.

Su Wenyu more or less understood Zhou Xu’s meaning. If not for the accidental baby swap all those years ago, the original host ‘Su Wenyu’ would have been the one living with that family.

Now, Su Wenyu, wearing the original host’s identity, saying something like that to Zhou Xu… he hadn’t just mocked Zhou Xu’s family, but his own biological parents as well.

Su Wenyu let out a small sigh. Inwardly, he apologized to those parents far away.

As for Zhou Xu… Su Wenyu decided he’d apologize to him in person.

Anyway, the mission was done. How he tried to patch things up afterward was Su Wenyu’s own choice. 520 wouldn’t interfere too much.

—

Around 6:30 PM, Shi Pei messaged them to come to the main house for dinner. Su Duanhong had gotten off work early today and was already home.

But having just angered Zhou Xu, the other man naturally hadn’t waited for him.

Su Wenyu didn’t mind. Not wanting to walk, he directly took the shuttle cart a servant drove over to pick him up.

The shuttle cart was much faster than walking. In no time, the cart caught up to Zhou Xu.

Su Wenyu had the cart slow down and roll alongside Zhou Xu. He asked him: “Want a ride?”

Zhou Xu acted as if he hadn’t heard, not sparing him a single glance.

Leaning out the shuttle cart window, Su Wenyu apologized: “I went back and did some self-reflection. I know what I said was wrong. I’m sorry. I apologize to you. Can you forgive me?”

Only then did Zhou Xu sparingly shoot him a glance. He asked: “Haven’t you apologized enough today?”

Su Wenyu blinked, thinking back. It really was quite a lot, wasn’t it?

It seemed that from the moment Zhou Xu arrived home and Su Wenyu had tumbled into his arms, he’d been constantly apologizing to him.

“So you won’t forgive me?” Su Wenyu looked at him with wide, innocent, water-bright eyes. The soft black hair was ruffled by a breeze, revealing a pale forehead. His delicate features were even more striking under the roadside lights.

Zhou Xu didn’t want to forgive him, but being stared at by Su Wenyu was driving him crazy. He simply told the driver directly: “Go faster.”

The driver was stuck between the two young masters, unsure whose order to follow for a moment.

Su Wenyu sighed regretfully at this. “Alright, fine. Another time, I’ll try to apologize a few more times and strive to win your forgiveness.”

Zhou Xu was about to refuse, but Su Wenyu had already murmured something to the driver. The shuttle cart stomped on the accelerator and sped right past him.

Both young masters had wanted the driver to speed up. Afraid of more conflict, the driver had hastily increased speed without further delay.

By the time Su Wenyu reached the main residence, it took Zhou Xu another five minutes to arrive.

He must have walked at a steady, unhurried pace, for his breathing was calm when he reached the main house. Shi Pei and Su Duanhong, spotting him, quickly called for him and Wenyu to go to the dining room for dinner.

The dining room they used in the evening was the Su family’s private dining room, different from the banquet hall at lunch.

The Su relatives from the branch families had all left in the afternoon. So tonight, only the four of them were in the dining room. The meal was accompanied only by the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks, plus Shi Pei occasionally adding food to her two sons’ plates.

Truthfully, Shi Pei and Su Duanhong had so much they wanted to talk about with Zhou Xu. But mindful of Wenyu still being there, afraid this sensitive child might overthink things, they swallowed the words at their lips and concentrated on eating with their sons.

After the meal, Su Wenyu tactfully left them their family-of-three space, claiming he was too tired and heading back to the small villa first.

520 popped up and asked: [Why did you apologize to Zhou Xu?]

It had been wanting to ask this for a while, just that it had detected Su Wenyu’s mood had been a bit low after the mission, so it had held back until now.

From 520’s perspective, not only refusing to apologize after doing bad things, but instead believing everything was the other’s fault—that was the mark of a true, perfect Villain.

It had not approved of Su Wenyu apologizing to Zhou Xu. Even if the Villain Value wouldn’t drop… wasn’t higher still better?!

“Because I was wrong.”

In the privacy of his own room, Su Wenyu didn’t converse mentally with 520. Instead, he poured himself a glass of warm water, took a sip, and said: “I did a villain mission, true, but that doesn’t mean I’m blameless. I did wrong, so I apologized. That’s all.”

At its core, the villain missions were to prolong his life. As long as Su Wenyu wanted to survive, the issued missions left him no choice. He had to do them.

Su Wenyu took the missions seriously not because he was truly bad.

It was simply because he felt that since he had to do it, there was no point in being half-hearted about it. But if he did it, he would own up to it.

The apology wasn’t out of guilt, just that he felt what he’d done was indeed wrong.

520, as a Villain System, couldn’t quite understand its Host’s mental circuits.

But as Su Wenyu’s dedicated companion System, 520 was willing to grant Su Wenyu sufficient respect.

At any rate, as long as he continued completing missions well, successfully leaving this world was just a matter of time. 520 believed in Su Wenyu’s talent, so it wasn’t worried.

[What if he never accepts your apology?] 520 asked.

Su Wenyu hadn’t thought that far: “Not accepting is his right too. There will be plenty more occasions to apologize in the future. Whatever.”

Su Wenyu’s point was too logical. 520 couldn’t even refute it.

[So from now on, besides the issued missions, you won’t bully him otherwise?] 520 felt it was a shame. [Villain Value can also be exchanged for quite a few Points. When you leave this Small World, that’s a huge bonus!]

Su Wenyu set down his water glass and said offhandedly: “We’ll see.”

There had been a couple of instances today where, even without deliberately bullying him, the Villain Value had spiked. Su Wenyu figured there was plenty of time ahead. Opportunities for Villain Value growth would always come.

—

At nine o’clock, Su Wenyu went to his walk-in closet, picked out a set of pajamas, and headed to the bathroom for a bath.

The original host’s bathroom had a very large jetted bathtub. Su Wenyu loved soaking in the bath. Humming a tuneless song cheerfully, he walked to the tub and, relying on the implanted memories, adjusted the water temperature and started the tub’s fill system.

Warm water flowed in through the specially designed fill ports along the tub’s basin, quickly covering the bottom.

While the tub was filling, Su Wenyu took off his clothes, tossed them into the laundry basket, and went to the nearby shower to rinse off his body first, also taking the chance to wash his hair.

Once the water in the tub had risen past his calves, he finally tested the temperature by dipping a toe over the edge.

It was only then that Su Wenyu noticed the angry red marks on his ankle. The shape looked exactly like the grip Zhou Xu had gotten him in earlier that afternoon. Against his fair skin, it was incredibly striking.

Su Wenyu rested his foot on the tub’s edge and rubbed the red marks with his hand. They showed no signs of fading.

Su Wenyu was the type to mark easily. Even bumping or hitting something lightly before would leave a bruise. Judging by this, the red marks squeezed out by Zhou Xu’s grip would take at least two or three days to disappear.

Thankfully, it was on his ankle. Once he had socks on, it wouldn’t be easy for others to see.

Su Wenyu examined it for a while. Confirming it was just red from the grip and didn’t actually hurt, he finally eased into the tub with peace of mind.

Zhou Xu’s strength was terrifying. Next time he did a mission, he’d better maintain a safe distance.

Leaning back against the edge of the tub, Su Wenyu let the warm water cover his body and let out a satisfied sigh.

His naturally pale skin, a result of his constitution, gained a touch more color upon contact with the hot water. His cheeks were flushed pink from the rising steam. Under the bathroom lights, his exquisite features suddenly seemed even more vibrant and lovely.

Su Wenyu relaxed his body, closed his eyes, and mentally reviewed the original host’s character and memories once more, ensuring he wouldn’t give himself away in front of people who knew him too well.

As for the kitchen staff… Su Wenyu wasn’t too concerned.

In those people’s eyes, ‘Su Wenyu’ had always been temperamental and volatile. They would just focus on their own jobs and not think too much into it.

The water level in the tub slowly rose as time passed. Before long, it automatically settled at the set level, and the bathtub’s massage jets activated.

The erupting massage jets gently pushed Su Wenyu from the edge toward the center of the tub. He couldn’t even be bothered to move, just letting the currents float his bare body across the water’s surface.

520 observed his face, flushed from the steam, and thoughtfully reminded: [Host, I suggest your bath time not exceed fifteen minutes.]

Though Su Wenyu’s body in this world was healthy, since the physical data was modeled from his real-world self, his constitution remained sickly and weak.

Soaking in the bath for too long could easily cause dizziness, nausea, or even fainting.

Su Wenyu gave an “Mm,” and said, “Remind me when the time’s up.”

520 diligently set a fifteen-minute timer.

When the fifteen minutes were up, Su Wenyu pushed himself up by the edge of the tub. He sat for a moment to recover, then grabbed a towel, stepped out of the tub, dried his body, and obediently went to blow-dry his hair.

Although it was currently summer break outside, still sweltering and hot, the air-conditioned room was too cold for Su Wenyu. If he didn’t dry his hair, he could easily catch a chill.

Once his hair was dry, he slipped into his clean pajamas and flopped onto the bed.

“520, goodnight.” It was ten PM, Su Wenyu’s biological clock activating and bringing on drowsiness.

520 returned a [Goodnight] and retreated to the backend.

Su Wenyu was quickly in a deep sleep, but it wasn’t a peaceful one.

Around one in the morning, Su Wenyu had a nightmare. He dreamed of a thick, sturdy venomous snake coiling around his ankle, leaving mark after red mark on his body.

Then the snake stared at him with its crimson eyes, its forked tongue flickering with a ‘hiss-hiss,’ and said to him—

“Su Wenyu… long time no see.”