Chapter 25: The Spoiled Villain in a Period Novel 25
Giving clothes as a birthday present was not uncommon.
But giving clothes with a tail was not a matter of whether it was uncommon or not. The guests at this birthday party were all leaders in various industries. Shu He had heard his parents mention that the presents they gave would definitely be flawless, expensive things like cars, yachts, and good tea.
Anything less expensive would be embarrassing. Although the host family wouldn’t mind, as guests, they couldn’t be careless.
So, the probability that this piece of clothing was a gift from one of the guests was not high. The tail was too frivolous. If it wasn’t someone who knew Shu He well, they would never have thought of giving such a gift.
Shu He hesitantly unfolded the clothes.
He held it up to himself and was surprised to find that the size was a perfect fit!
On the hood were two pairs of small, fluffy ears, so small they could be covered by one hand. Shu He hadn’t noticed them at first. Now that he had, his almond eyes sparkled, and his fondness for the clothes soared.
He believed that if he wore it, he would be a qualified little monster! As long as he didn’t show his face and turned his back to his parents, his parents would definitely not be able to recognize him as a human.
Shu He wrapped the tail around his arm and swayed it a couple of times, his eyes starry as he said to the system, “Bro, after I put it on, help me take a few more pictures.”
System: 【…】
The system’s mechanical voice sounded stiff and, for some reason, said, 【You don’t even know who sent it.】
“It doesn’t matter.” Shu He took off his clothes. A mosaic immediately appeared in front of the system. It endured it for a moment before continuing, 【Xu Nongqing sent it, didn’t he?】
Shu He shook his head.
He smoothed the ends of his hair, which were slightly long enough to be tied into a small ponytail, slipped into the clothes, and turned around to pull at the zipper. He couldn’t get it up even after his face turned red.
He knelt on the bed in frustration and mumbled, “I don’t know.”
He thought it was Xu Nongqing.
But Xu Nongqing had no reason to give him a birthday present anymore.
The handwriting on the two sheets of paper was also not similar.
Besides Xu Nongqing, there were only his parents. But his parents had already given him a birthday present, two mansions.
After eliminating everyone, there was no one else who knew about Shu He’s unique little quirk.
The system waited for five minutes. The mosaic blocking its view finally ended, and it could see Shu He’s current appearance.
The fur of this piece of clothing was pure white.
At first glance, it was no different from real animal fur. It felt textured and quite soft. When Shu He wore it, it really made him look like a young monster.
The clothes were loose, and his slender figure was hidden inside. He wore the hood, and the two small ears would bend slightly with the arc of his movements, nimble and cute.
Shu He continued to struggle with the zipper.
This time, there was no one to help. His arm was sore from reaching, and he only managed to pull the zipper up with difficulty. In the end, he accidentally scratched the pale skin on his back, and the pain made Shu He let out a small gasp, his eyes watery.
He twisted a couple of times, his face a little red as he moved into the bed, hiding his face, and mumbled, “Are you done taking pictures?”
System: 【Mm.】
It had taken many pictures.
“That’s good.” Shu He took a few minutes to recover before walking to the full-length mirror, holding his little tail and admiring it.
In the mirror, the boy’s face was beautiful, his eyes moist and sparkling. He leaned closer to the mirror, puffed out his cheeks, and imitated the monster calls of his parents from memory, letting out a couple of “awoos,” amusing himself with a small dimple.
He really looked like a little monster!
After a while, Shu He was satisfied and took off the clothes. He changed into his regular clothes and went downstairs to find the staff member who had given him the present.
The birthday party was still going on. Besides having to greet people at the beginning, Shu He, the protagonist, could do his own thing for the rest of the time.
He wandered around and finally found the man who was guarding the gate of the estate. Shu He didn’t delay and immediately ran up to him, getting straight to the point. “What did the person who asked you to give me the present look like?”
The man looked at him in a daze for a moment before reacting. “That gentleman was wearing a suit. He looked about my age, I think? He was very handsome. He just asked me to give you the present and didn’t say anything else.”
Actually, he had said something.
To ask someone to do something, you definitely had to give them money as a reward. The man had taken some money to help, but of course, he wouldn’t tell Shu He such a meaningless thing.
Hearing this, Shu He said “Oh,” still unable to confirm if it was Xu Nongqing, and had to give up.
He turned to walk back and happened to see Qiao Zelan walking towards him with the German Shepherd. The German Shepherd hadn’t seen its master for half an hour. Smelling the familiar scent, it immediately excitedly broke free from the leash, its fur rustling in the wind as it ran to Shu He.
“Woof!”
The German Shepherd wagged its tail furiously, its head bumping hard against Shu He’s chest.
Shu He was very tickled and tried hard to dodge the big dog’s enthusiasm. He quickly picked up the leash from the ground, protecting his soft stomach as he lectured, “Kaixin, don’t always break free from the leash. Other people will be scared.”
Qiao Zelan walked over and glanced at the German Shepherd.
“That’s right.”
The German Shepherd barked as if it understood, but would do it again next time. It affectionately pressed against Shu He’s leg, its nose rubbing against him as it sniffed, its tongue out as it panted.
Suddenly, its sniffing paused. It closed its mouth and turned to look outside the estate.
Shu He didn’t notice and pulled it towards Qiao Zelan.
“There’s a concert next month.” Qiao Zelan followed beside Shu He, talking about the schedule. “After the concert, you can rest for a long time.”
Shu He didn’t know why Kaixin kept walking in the opposite direction.
He pulled hard, so hard that his face turned a little red, and said with exhaustion, “Teacher Qiao, you seem to have become my manager.”
Originally, Qiao Zelan himself had many international schedules to run.
But ever since he became Shu He’s teacher, he no longer accepted invitations to perform and was almost using his connections and experience to pave the way for Shu He.
Qiao Zelan was noncommittal.
“Woof…”
Seeing that Shu He wouldn’t let go, the German Shepherd had to give up its goal of going outside the estate. It half-crouched and let out a couple of low, threatening growls in that direction.
Little Fu was eagerly watching, anxiously pressed against the iron fence, then turned back to look at Xu Nongqing.
Go in!
The little master is right there!
In its round doggy eyes, the tall, slender man stood without blinking. He lowered his dark eyes, held the leash, and pulled Little Fu down from the fence.
Xu Nongqing’s voice was as cold as rain. “Don’t bark.”
It didn’t bark!
Little Fu anxiously bit Xu Nongqing’s sleeve.
Xu Nongqing let it bite, his tall figure still standing there, motionless. He looked down at the dog, as if examining it, and also as if examining himself through it.
“Woof.” Little Fu couldn’t help but let out a low bark.
Xu Nongqing turned his head away and said to himself, “Don’t be anxious.”
Little Fu spun in circles.
“You’ll see him in the future.” His eyes were dark as he stared at a certain spot.
Little Fu lay on the ground in frustration.
The master had another dog. How could it not be anxious?
*
After the music festival, Shu He’s fame grew a lot, and he even appeared on TV.
After that, he received his first invitation for a joint tour with a famous foreign musician and stayed abroad for nearly a year before returning.
In this era, information was scarce, and the main channels for getting news were newspapers and television. Shu He couldn’t take care of his mission while he was abroad and was quite anxious. As soon as he returned to the country, he got a newspaper and inquired about Xu Nongqing’s recent news.
However, there were no relevant reports in the local newspaper of Shuian City.
Shu He was about to think that Xu Nongqing had given up and was wondering if the “I don’t think you can succeed in your career” he had said during the breakup was too harsh, and Xu Nongqing had simply given up on himself.
That wouldn’t do.
Shu He was so anxious that he hugged the German Shepherd and rubbed against it, even wanting to go to Shuian to see, to act out a scene of running into his first love and kicking him while he was down, looking down on him. Fortunately, at this time, someone got him news that Xu Nongqing was currently studying and was trying to start his own business, doing some small business.
Studying?
Shu He didn’t understand why Xu Nongqing still had the mood to study.
Did that mean he was no longer working with his mother?
Xu’s mother was also troubled.
She thought that if Xu Nongqing was going to school, it meant he was going to focus on his studies. Who knew that it wasn’t just that? Xu Nongqing was actually doing some small business while studying.
Still related to tea.
He was familiar with it and had relevant experience.
Xu’s mother even felt that the year Xu Nongqing had worked with her was not for the sake of earning a little money.
He was just frantically absorbing business operation experience.
Now that he had experience and had saved some money, he had gone off to do it himself.
It was enough to see that Xu Nongqing’s ambition was far more than this—
*
At the same time, Shu He had to go abroad every once in a while.
Fortunately, although the protagonist’s mission progress had reset to zero, it was still steadily rising. Shu He asked the system to help him pay attention to his situation, while he continued to focus on the violin.
Another two years passed, and Shu He learned that Xu Nongqing’s career had made a new breakthrough.
He had created a tea drink with tea as the selling point, which sold very well. It even had commercials on television and had completely entered the formal track. His company had also been established.
The mission must be almost complete!
Shu He thought happily, swinging his legs, his almond eyes sparkling as he asked the system, “How many more years do you think it will take for the protagonist to succeed in his career?”
The system paused for a moment. 【Two years.】
According to the original plot, the protagonist would have completely established himself in the Capital in five or six years and become the most promising new upstart.
It had already been three years.
However, it had originally hoped that the mission could be completed as soon as possible.
But now it hoped that the protagonist’s progress could be a little slower.
It would be best if it took ten or twenty years, so that Shu He would completely forget about him.
Shu He counted the days and also used dice to roll numbers. A large number meant Xu Nongqing would get revenge on him, and a small number meant Xu Nongqing would let him go for the sake of his parents.
He rolled six times, five of which were large.
Shu He instantly stuffed the dice under his pillow to cover it up and said with a puffed-out face, “Feudal superstition, it doesn’t count!”
*
After the first tea drink was launched, there was a second and a third. They all sold well because of their unique flavor innovation.
However, at this time, Xu Nongqing no longer delved into the tea drink industry. Instead, he set his sights on the more promising real estate.
He became busier, so busy that he had no time to go home to see Little Fu, no time to spy on the person he wanted to see.
He could only rely on the newspaper, on the few words on it, to catch a glimpse of Shu He’s recent fleeting beauty.
Shu He was already a regular in the newspapers.
He was the youngest and most famous violinist of the day. He was good-looking, and his smile was like a marshmallow. Everyone loved him.
The newspaper mentioned the tour Shu He had held abroad last week. A famous foreign pianist had played a duet with him at this concert. After the duet, when they met the media, the pianist directly confessed his love for Shu He in front of everyone, saying a lot of cheesy but deeply affectionate words.
There were no photos in the newspaper.
It only described Shu He’s polite refusal.
He said he already had a partner, their relationship was very good, and he was sorry.