BPTCMW : Chapter 13

The sea rolled with waves, kissing the shore and greeting the morning light.

Xia Yang had someone bring over a beach chair, followed by two small wooden tables. The tables were laden with black truffle sandwiches and caviar, with a conspicuous bottle of 1982 Château Lafite standing prominently.

He sat in the large beach chair, arms spread out and legs crossed, striking a very “boss-like” pose.

He also enlisted a few house servants for a friendly cameo, having them stand behind him.

“Mr. Han, could you please help me out?” he handed his phone to Han Yi to record a video. “If you feel any discomfort, like nausea, please bear with it for a while.”

This wasn’t a routine act of showing off but a tactical display.

The goal was to make those clowns waiting to see him fall from grace as envious as possible.

“Oh, right, make sure to include the big house in the shot, and when the yacht docks, give me a close-up.”

Han Yi held the phone, frowning slightly, “Don’t you find this childish?”

“Well, that’s why they say men are boys until they die,” Xia Yang explained reasonably. “Besides, don’t you want to see how well I can play you?”

Not really. Han Yi pressed his lips together.

He even felt that helping Xia Yang record this was absurd and pointless, wasting his time.

In the past, he certainly wouldn’t have agreed.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he still raised the phone and switched to HD wide-angle mode.

“I’ll help you just this once.”

“Yay! Thank you!” Xia Yang beamed with joy, “Alright, I’ll count to three, then you just say action.”

He ran a hand through his bangs, making the final touches to his appearance, and began counting, “Three—two—oh, wait a second.”

Han Yi: “…”

Xia Yang ran over from the beach chair to Han Yi.

He stood still, his gaze fixed on Han Yi’s left wristwatch and right-hand bracelet.

The wristwatch was a Patek Philippe, worth over ten million dollars, too valuable for Xia Yang to touch.

After a moment’s hesitation, he pointed to Han Yi’s right hand, “Could I borrow your bracelet, Mr. Han?”

Details make or break an act, and the right props are essential.

Han Yi glanced at his wrist and said, “It’s obsidian, not a bracelet.”

“Whatever it is, if it’s on you, it must be something only the wealthy can own.” Xia Yang spoke with the wisdom of experience.

Han Yi looked into those bright eyes, and after a moment of silence, he took off the bracelet, “Wear it on your right hand, don’t lose it.”

“Got it!” Xia Yang blew him a kiss from afar, “Mwah~”

The video recording started, capturing the refined boy reclining on the beach chair, gazing at the sea and enjoying the breeze. His wrist sparkled with the obsidian bracelet as he sipped wine, a content and lazy smile on his lips.

He looked every bit the part of a young aristocrat.

Behind him was a grand, European-style mansion, with glimpses of a garden, courtyard, and stables flashing by.

After a moment, he stood up from the beach chair, straightened his clothes, and walked leisurely toward the camera…

“Hello, everyone. Today’s weather is sunny and warm. I spent a relaxing morning at our private beach. Soon, the yacht will dock, and I’ll go sailing with my childhood friend…”

Filming Han Yi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the salty sea air.

This guy does have some acting skills.

A couple of minutes later, the Han family’s yacht docked right on time. Fang Ming, who was playing the childhood friend, waved from the deck.

Xia Yang struck a pose, gave a sweet smile, and called out, “Darling, wait for me!”

Fang Ming broke into a cold sweat, “What? This wasn’t in the script! There weren’t supposed to be any flirty lines!”

What would the boss filming below think of him!

In the video, Xia Yang turned back from the yacht, took off his sunglasses and hung them casually on his shirt, his smile bright and uninhibited.

“I’ve seen the company’s announcement. Please don’t worry about me. I’m not secretly crying or hitting my head against the wall, and I certainly won’t become a stray dog. If I had to describe my current state in one phrase, it would be: long live wealth.

“Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. It’s proven that being an idol isn’t the only path to happiness. The joy of being a rich slacker is something most people can’t fathom.

“In conclusion, I’m lying down. Do as you please…

“And lastly, to my former boss Tong Wei, please transfer my wages and breach fees to my account as soon as possible, or my personal lawyer may pay you a visit. That’s it, no salute. Love whoever.”

His arrogant demeanor made Han Yi’s eyes twitch, but fortunately, he stopped there, leaving Han Yi a glimmer of hope.

“Thanks, Mr. Han, we can wrap up now~” Xia Yang made a pause gesture and ran over to him with light steps.

Han Yi pressed the stop button, rubbing his temples.

“You weren’t acting as me…”

“But as loneliness~” Xia Yang cut in smoothly, singing to the rhythm, “Invincibility is so—so lonely. Invincibility is so—so empty. Alone at the top with the cold wind blowing, my loneliness, who can understand?”

Han Yi: “…”

**

In the afternoon, Xia Yang lightly edited the video and sent it to the company’s artist group.

No filters, no beautification, everything was raw. Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, fifteen minutes passed… Half an hour went by…

The group chat, which had been buzzing with activity, fell silent the moment the video was shared. Not even a single emoji was posted.

Xia Yang stared at the screen, a faint smile on his lips.

Where did everyone go? Why isn’t anyone talking now!

Was his showing-off video so effective that it silenced them all in an instant?

After waiting patiently for a while longer, the artist group remained quiet, but more and more “new friend” requests appeared among his WeChat contacts.

All were friend requests from the group chat, courteous and respectful. For the first time, Xia Yang felt the friendliness and warmth of the team.

Out of a sense of civility, Xia Yang accepted all the friend requests. Soon, private messages started pouring in, as if they had coordinated.

–Brother Yang, the hidden tycoon, can we be friends?

–Boss, boss, do you need a cleaner for your yacht and mansion?

–Brother, you’re so low-key. With a yacht and mansion, why bother being an artist!

–Brother, your move was slick. Is this the beginning of a male protagonist’s story? Tong Wei’s company was never the right place for you. Over the years, he hasn’t made anyone famous but has groomed a few boy toys! (I know someone with your quality wouldn’t report this to the old boss, right?)

–Keep in touch, Yang Yang. When can we meet your childhood friend~~~

–Just so you know, Boss Tong saw the video you posted in the group and was so furious that he had diarrhea in the bathroom. He forbade anyone from discussing it and banned any sharing of your video…

–Brother Yang, you went wild this time, do you know? Those envious chickens are bleeding with envy. Several are crying and hitting their heads against the ground, hahaha…

Xia Yang read through each private message, maintaining his composure, smiling without replying to anyone.

His goal was simple.

Adding friends was just to hear feedback and feel satisfied. It didn’t mean he could truly play nice with those fence-sitters.

Exiting WeChat, he put down his phone, stretched, and headed downstairs for afternoon tea.

Upon reaching the living room, he saw Fang Ming holding a few books. Curious, he peeked over to see that they were about leg muscle rehabilitation and body conditioning, with the bottom book showing a corner titled “Sunny Mindset.”

“Brother Ming, are these books for Mr. Han?” he asked, flipping through them.

“Yes,” Fang Ming nodded, “Mr. Han asks me to buy books for him every few days.”

“Oh, then go ahead.” Xia Yang waved, indicating he could go upstairs.

Surprisingly, books like “Sunny Mindset” were on Han Yi’s reading list, suggesting that the wheelchair-bound boss’s mentality wasn’t stable.

He needed spiritual nourishment.

It made sense. Han Yi was wealthy and likely had a high-end medical team. But mental health was another matter. Many wheelchair-bound tycoons turned into gloomy villains or even psychopaths if not careful.

As someone with a good professional reputation, Xia Yang felt it was his duty to help Han Yi dispel the darkness.

And the most basic way to adjust one’s mentality was to bring happiness and cheer.

With this in mind, he took out his phone and called Grandma Tang. She knew Han Yi best and might provide valuable insights.

The call connected after two rings. Grandma Tang seemed to be outside; the background noise made her voice hard to hear.

“Yang Yang, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Xiao Yi?” she asked.

“No, no, Yi-ge is fine,” Xia Yang quickly explained. “It’s just, Grandma, I wanted to ask if there’s anything Xiao Yi especially likes? Or something that makes him happy?”

Grandma Tang paused, “Doesn’t he especially like you?”

“Um…” Xia Yang felt a bit guilty, “He… uh, he does like me. But aside from me?”

After all, he couldn’t use

 himself to cheer Han Yi up.

There was a brief silence on the other end before Grandma Tang answered, “Now, Xiao Yi rarely shows his emotions. It seems nothing makes him very happy anymore. But I remember when he was little, his brother once gave him a fisherman’s hat, and he was very happy, cherishing it for a long time.”

“Huh?” Xia Yang’s focus shifted, “His brother? Do you mean Jin Yang?”

“No, his biological brother,” Grandma Tang’s tone became somber.

Oh, Xia Yang understood. Han Yi had a brother he hadn’t heard of before. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. He didn’t ask further.

“Okay, got it. Thank you, Grandma. Bye.”

After hanging up, Xia Yang opened a shopping app.

Things liked in childhood often have a healing effect. Buying and gifting it to Han Yi might make him happy.

However, his mind got a bit sidetracked by the mention of “brother,” and he briefly forgot what Grandma Tang had called that thing.

It was called… a fish head hat, right?

Mumbling “fish head hat,” Xia Yang typed into the search bar and quickly found many stores selling fish head hats.

One look, and he nearly threw his phone away.

Damn! What an outrageously ugly thing!

The fish head was all green, with bulging eyes and thick lips. You couldn’t find anything uglier even in the classic “Shan Hai Jing.”

Could Han Yi’s aesthetics have been so twisted in his youth?

Despite the doubts, he chose to trust Grandma Tang. If she said fish head hat, then fish head hat it was.

Adding to his cart, placing the order, and selecting same-day delivery, the fish head hat arrived within two hours.

Xia Yang quickly unboxed it, held it up, and couldn’t appreciate it no matter how hard he tried.

But it didn’t matter. Han Yi liked it.

Sentiment often stays ingrained in a person, lasting a lifetime.

Clutching the green fish head hat, Xia Yang ran up to the second floor, arriving at the study door.

The door was ajar, and he knocked lightly.

“Come in,” Han Yi, seated at the computer, didn’t even glance up.

Xia Yang entered, “Mr. Han, you helped me show off this morning. Now, I want to give you a little gift.”

With some effort, he put the fish head hat on his head, cheerfully wobbling as he approached Han Yi.

“So, what do you think? How do you feel seeing this?”

Han Yi looked up, his face stiffened, “I feel…”

“What feeling? Tell me!”

“How long have you had these symptoms?”

Author’s Note:

Fisherman hat, fish head hat, Xia Yang, you need to get your hearing checked~

The first time I saw those green fish head hats, I laughed out loud. They looked like something out of “Journey to the West,” adorably ugly (#^.^#)

“Invincibility is so—so lonely. Invincibility is so—so empty. Alone at the top with the cold wind blowing, my loneliness, who can understand?” is from the song “Invincible”

Rain : The schedule for this one will be every Tuesday and Wednesday ★~(◡‿◡✿)