ARBRMW : Chapter 51

“Tomorrow is my grandfather’s birthday banquet. You’re going with Uncle Si, right?” Sun Weiang opened a can of Coke, the loud *pop* of the tab breaking the silence, followed by the fizz of bubbles slowly settling.

“Yes,” Chen Xu nodded.

“You’d better not go,” Sun Weiang said, not taking a sip of his drink. He held the can with both hands, looking up at Chen Xu.

“Why?” Chen Xu asked, puzzled. Was there some kind of danger waiting for him at the Sun family?

“My grandfather and the others might give you a hard time,” Sun Weiang explained. He wasn’t particularly kind-hearted, but he could tell that Si Ye doted on Chen Xu. Si Ye might tolerate others disrespecting him, but he would never stand for anyone mistreating Chen Xu.

Sun Weiang’s grandfather had been trying to introduce his third uncle’s daughter to Si Ye. Despite their hatred for the Si family, they still wanted to climb the social ladder by marrying into it. They planned to use Sun Keting’s death as leverage to pressure Si Ye into marrying a girl from the Sun family.

But before they could put their plan into action, Si Ye had quietly gotten married.

The Sun family couldn’t touch Si Ye, but Chen Xu was a different story. He came from a humble background, was still a student, and looked like a delicate, naive flower—easy to manipulate.

No matter how much Sun Weiang tried to dissuade them, they stubbornly refused to listen. Left with no other choice, Sun Weiang decided to approach Chen Xu instead.

Chen Xu lifted his half-lidded eyes and set his can of soda on the table. “Then you should be convincing *them* not to do something so foolish, not coming to me and telling me not to go.”

Sun Weiang frowned, his expression growing irritated, but he didn’t respond.

Chen Xu could read the answer on his face. “I see. The Sun family isn’t listening to you, so you came to me instead.”

Sun Weiang, caught off guard, nearly crushed the can in his hand. “Yeah, whether you go or not doesn’t make a difference. If you go, Si Yichen will just resent you even more. Why not let him have this opportunity?”

Hearing Sun Weiang mention Si Yichen, Chen Xu raised an eyebrow, a hint of defiance in his expression. “Are you saying I should be afraid of Si Yichen?”

Sun Weiang was starting to think Chen Xu was being unreasonable. “Aren’t you? He has Madam Tao backing him, and he’s Uncle Si’s adopted son. The Si family will eventually fall into his hands. What good does it do you to antagonize him? Sure, Uncle Si might be protecting you now, but how long can you guarantee he’ll keep favoring you?”

When Sun Weiang mentioned the Si family eventually going to Si Yichen, his face twisted with disgust.

Sun Weiang had never liked Si Yichen, but he was pragmatic and knew better than to provoke him.

Chen Xu took a casual sip of his drink and said, “Because it makes me happy.”

“Are you out of your mind?!” Sun Weiang was stunned. Chen Xu was going out of his way to antagonize Si Yichen just because it made him happy?

At that moment, four words flashed through Sun Weiang’s mind: *spoiled by favoritism.*

That described Chen Xu perfectly.

Chen Xu narrowed his eyes, his gaze cold as he stared at Sun Weiang. “If you don’t want to ruin your grandfather’s birthday banquet, you’d better go back and convince them to think twice. What’s the point of talking to me, an outsider? Aren’t you afraid I’ll just turn around and tell Uncle Si everything?”

Sun Weiang choked, his face twisting as if he’d just eaten something disgusting.

—

That evening, Si Ye came home early for dinner, a rare occurrence since he usually worked until nine or ten.

Although Chen Xu felt awkward, his legs moved faster than his brain. The moment he heard the car pull in, he ran downstairs. It had only been a week, but he was surprisingly eager to see Si Ye.

When Si Ye walked through the door, their eyes met, and Chen Xu suddenly remembered the unresolved tension between them. He froze in place.

But Si Ye acted as if nothing was wrong. He walked over and hugged Chen Xu. “It’s been a week. Let me see if you’ve lost weight.”

Before Chen Xu could react, he was suddenly lifted off the ground. Si Ye had picked him up in front of everyone.

Chen Xu, who hadn’t been carried like a child in years, turned bright red, curling up in Si Ye’s arms and burying his face in Si Ye’s shoulder.

Si Ye bounced him slightly, pretending to be serious. “Haven’t you been eating well at school? You’ve lost weight.”

Chen Xu clung to Si Ye’s neck and whispered, “I haven’t.”

Uncle Zhong watched with a smile as Si Ye carried Chen Xu up to the third floor. The bond between the master and young master was truly heartwarming.

“Why are you home so early today?” Chen Xu asked, looking up.

He remembered that Si Ye usually didn’t return until nine or ten.

“Why do you think?” Si Ye didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked down at Chen Xu with a meaningful gaze.

Chen Xu immediately shrank back into Si Ye’s chest, too embarrassed to respond.

—

While Si Ye was showering, Chen Xu tried to finish the painting he’d been working on, but the sound of running water from the bathroom kept distracting him.

It felt like the hot water wasn’t just washing over Si Ye but over him as well, turning the back of his neck and the tips of his ears a deep red.

His brush hovered over the paper, unmoving. The painting looked exactly the same as when Si Ye had entered the bathroom.

Chen Xu wondered if he was going through a second puberty. Why else would he feel so restless?

He sat with his back to Si Ye, who was drying his hair. The tip of his brush pressed heavily into the paper, leaving a dark blot.

Si Ye walked up behind him, the heat from his shower still radiating off him.

“Draw a portrait of me sometime,” Si Ye said, his voice slightly hoarse from the shower, sending a shiver down Chen Xu’s spine.

“Haven’t I drawn you before?” Chen Xu replied, keeping his head down.

Only Chen Xu knew how wildly his heart was beating, as if it might burst out of his chest at any moment.

“Not like that,” Si Ye said, his hand naturally resting on Chen Xu’s shoulder. Whether it was because Si Ye had just showered, or because his hand was naturally warm, or because Chen Xu’s senses were heightened, in that moment, Si Ye’s touch felt scorching, like a spark that ignited a fire that spread through Chen Xu’s entire body.

It left him burning with desire.

Si Ye bent down, pressing against Chen Xu’s slightly thin back, and whispered something in his ear like a seductive demon.

When Chen Xu understood what Si Ye was asking, even his usually calm demeanor couldn’t hide the blush that spread across his neck and face. His mind flashed back to the time he’d accidentally seen Si Ye without a shirt.

He gripped the hem of his shirt, his lips pressed into a tight line, unsure how to respond to Si Ye’s request.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly charged and Chen Xu’s face felt like it was on fire, Uncle Zhong knocked on the door to call them down for dinner.

Chen Xu, feeling like he’d been granted a reprieve, quickly stood up and pushed Si Ye away. “Uncle Si, let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

Si Ye shook his head helplessly, thinking to himself that he was hungry too—just not for food.

—

At the dinner table, Sun Weiang and Si Yichen were already seated. The table, which could seat five, now only had the two of them. Chen Xu, who had recently moved to sit at Si Ye’s table, could feel Si Yichen’s piercing gaze on him.

Once Si Ye took his seat, Sun Weiang and Si Yichen finally picked up their chopsticks.

Si Ye noticed that most of the dishes on the table were his favorites. A small smile tugged at his lips as he served Chen Xu some food. “Did you plan the menu?”

Caught off guard, Chen Xu’s ears turned red. “No, Uncle Zhong did. I just added a few dishes.”

But Uncle Zhong didn’t take credit. He smiled and said, “Young Master Chen chose everything. I asked him to pick some dishes he liked, but he ended up choosing all your favorites. He’s always thinking of you.”

Chen Xu’s face turned even redder, and he silently focused on his rice. Si Ye’s smile deepened as he continued to serve Chen Xu. “Don’t just eat rice. Have some vegetables.”

Si Yichen, sitting nearby, watched the scene with cold eyes, his resentment growing.

After dinner, Si Yichen was puzzled as to why Si Ye hadn’t asked him to accompany him to the Sun family’s banquet the next day. In previous years, since Si Ye never brought a female companion and Si Yichen had been adopted by Sun Keting and her husband, Si Ye had always taken him.

He approached Si Ye and asked, but Si Ye coldly replied, “Chen Xu will accompany me tomorrow. You can focus on your own affairs.”

Si Yichen felt like he’d been plunged into an icy abyss. His cards had been frozen, and he’d lost his internship opportunity. What “affairs” did he even have left?

“Father, I’ve always accompanied you in the past. Chen Xu isn’t familiar with the protocols. It would be more appropriate for me to go with you,” Si Yichen quickly followed Si Ye, trying to persuade him.

Si Ye’s dark eyes stared coldly at Si Yichen. “What protocols are needed for a banquet? Besides, he’s my legal spouse. Who could be more suitable than him?”

Si Yichen was thunderstruck, frozen in place. He had no rebuttal to Si Ye’s words.

“But… but…”

Si Ye had no patience for his protests and walked upstairs. Si Yichen didn’t dare follow him to the third floor and could only watch Si Ye’s retreating back with a sense of loss.

Furious, Si Yichen stormed back to his room and immediately called the private investigator he’d hired, demanding an update.

“It’s been too long. Most of the people who worked for the Chen family back then are long gone. I managed to contact a nanny who used to take care of Chen Xu. According to her, Chen Xu isn’t the biological child of Chen Yue and his wife. Sixteen years ago, Old Master Chen suddenly brought home a two-year-old child.”

“The child was sickly, often running fevers at night and crying nonstop. His cries were so weak, like a kitten’s, as if he might not make it through the night. Old Master Chen personally took care of him day and night for six months until the child’s health improved. Then he handed the child over to Chen Yue and his wife to raise, saying it was to give Chen Hao a playmate. But Chen Hao always resented him and often bullied him behind his parents’ backs. Chen Yue and his wife turned a blind eye, pretending not to notice.”

Si Yichen frowned. “Did you find out where Old Master Chen brought Chen Xu from?”

“I’m still looking into it. It’s strange. It’s like the child appeared out of thin air. There’s no trace of him before the age of two.”

“I see. Keep digging. You’ll be paid well,” Si Yichen said before hanging up. He sat in silence for about ten minutes, a terrifying suspicion forming in his mind.

Sixteen years ago, two years old, suddenly brought to the Chen family—these clues all pointed to a horrifying possibility.

No, he reassured himself. It couldn’t be that coincidental.

But what if it was?

This was something no one could ever find out.

R : Why ??

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