Happy Reading~

 

Song Yuzhang was locked away deep in the inner chambers, and realized he was truly trapped.

 

Nie Yinbing was from Haizhou. He hadn’t known that when he ran straight into the lion’s den. Judging by the bearing of elder brother Nie and the way the Song family treated them, the Nie family was clearly another deeply rooted, powerful household. Nie Yinbing spent lavishly, not because he was a fool, but because money meant nothing to him—it was less than a drop in the ocean.

 

That day at the hotel, Song Yuzhang had coaxed Nie Yinbing with sweet words, claiming he was going to take a bath, then took the chance to jump out of the bathroom window. He never liked living in high-rises—he feared exactly this kind of situation, being trapped with no way to escape. Fortunately, he was on the ground floor and narrowly avoided Nie Yinbing’s ‘gun.’

 

At the time, he was desperate and completely broke. He’d found someone generous and figured he could coast along for a while. But Nie Yinbing turned out to be surprisingly easy to deceive—a golden, glittering, fat sheep. He simply couldn’t bear to let him go, and so, half muddled and half willing, he ended up staying with Nie Yinbing.

 

But the more time passed, the deeper in he got—until things went south.

 

Nie Yinbing was a military academy graduate. That school was said to produce nothing but battlefield elites. Song Yuzhang didn’t know how Nie Yinbing was in combat, but he was definitely vicious. Like a dog chasing a rat, he scoured all of Jiangzhou looking for him. Rumor had it he didn’t care if Song Yuzhang was dead or alive—just catching him was enough. Song Yuzhang was terrified and ran. But he ran right into someone else’s home turf.

 

And that wasn’t even the worst of it. The worst was—there was a second Nie Yinbing here.

 

It was bizarre. Nie Yinbing, at least, didn’t look like some soft pretty boy—he had bad luck, sure. But Meng Tingjing? No matter how you looked at him, he was absolutely a little pretty boy. How could he also be this ambitious, this different?

 

Goddamn it, this place Haizhou was just cursed—nothing but freaks and freaky stories.

 

Song Yuzhang lay on the bed and gave his own butt a pat.

 

He’d never paid much attention to his own body—he wasn’t especially narcissistic. He’d been beautiful since childhood, to the point he didn’t even care anymore.

 

His butt was rather round and full, firm to the touch, with a satisfying feel. Honestly speaking, if this fine ass were on someone else, he’d be very happy to cop a feel himself.

 

Song Yuzhang grumpily pulled his hand back.

 

They were all reasonable men, right? Meng Tingjing wouldn’t go so far as to point a gun at his head and force him to take off his pants like Nie Yinbing had, would he?

 

Sigh. Was it really impossible to stay in Haizhou?

 

Song Yuzhang, to avoid trouble, didn’t dare leave the house. Ever since Song Mingzhao got a ‘reminder’ from Song Qiyuan, he’d gone out of his way to ignore Song Yuzhang, probably to show he wasn’t stupid or bought off. The Song residence was vast like a palace, but it was cold and lonely inside.

 

Stuck at home for so long, the only person Song Yuzhang had for company was Meng Tingjing’s sister—Meng Sushan, wife of Song Jincheng.

 

Song Yuzhang had once called her a ‘good woman’—just a casual comment based on appearance. She seemed gentle, graceful, and composed—like a textbook version of a proper lady.

 

But only after spending time with her did Song Yuzhang realize: she truly was a good woman, through and through.

 

“Now that the weather’s getting hotter, are you still comfortable, Fifth Brother?” Meng Sushan asked with a smile. “The summers in England must be different from here in Haizhou, right?”

 

Song replied, “Not much difference. Both are hot and humid.”

 

Meng Sushan gently fanned herself, her smile pleasant and calm. Her gaze drifted over the lush green lawn. “Oh? Tingjing told me London summers aren’t as hot as ours.”

 

“Is that so? Maybe everyone’s body feels things differently. I still think it’s hot.”

 

“Fifth Brother, tell me—what’s England really like?” she asked curiously.

 

Song Yuzhang smiled brightly. “If you want to know, Sister-in-law, you should go see it for yourself. They say seeing is believing. No matter how I describe it—good or bad—it might spoil your mood when you see it for yourself. I wouldn’t want to ruin it with my clumsy words.”

 

Meng Sushan covered her lips with her fan as she laughed. She laughed without making a sound, just squinting her eyes into crescent moons. “Nonsense. Fifth Brother, I’ve never met anyone more eloquent than you.”

 

Song Yuzhang said, “If Sister-in-law says that, then I must scold my brother.”

 

“Scold him? What for?”

 

“For not letting you go out and see the world. Always hiding you away at home. You’ve met so few people, you mistake pebbles for pearls.”

 

Meng Sushan laughed and tilted her head back, then turned to the maid Wan Lan. “Wan Lan, did you hear that? What kind of talk is that—he’s even insulting himself, calling himself a pebble.”

 

Wan Lan, cheeks flushed, laughed and said, “Fifth Young Master isn’t a pebble, nor a pearl—he’s a diamond.”

 

“Oh? Why a diamond?” Meng Sushan asked.

 

Wan Lan looked at Song Yuzhang and giggled. “Because diamonds shine so bright, they blind you.”

 

Meng Sushan laughed again, louder this time. She grabbed Wan Lan’s hand and playfully smacked her arm with her fan. “You wicked little girl, your mouth’s just as glib.”

 

Song Yuzhang chuckled, covering his face, and beckoned to Wan Lan. Wan Lan glanced at Meng Sushan, who gave her a nudge with the fan. Wan Lan skipped over, bent down when Song Yuzhang motioned, and he whispered something into her ear. Wan Lan let out a shocked laugh and straightened up. “Fifth Young Master, you’re awful!”

 

Meng Sushan quickly asked, “What did he say? I want to hear it too!”

 

But Wan Lan just kept laughing and shook her head, lips tightly sealed.

 

Meng Sushan turned her hopeful eyes on Song Yuzhang, but he only laughed and shook his head as well.

 

Meng Sushan said, “Well! That’s just great. This girl has followed me for over ten years, and in just a few days, my Fifth Brother has already turned her against me.”

 

Song Yuzhang said, “No such thing. I just joked with her. Sister-in-law, you’re a proper lady—you wouldn’t want to hear it.”

 

“Oh?” Wan Lan teased, laughing. “So Fifth Young Master’s saying I’m not a proper maid?”

 

“How could you be a proper maid? You’re a proper Lady Wan Lan, through and through.”

 

Meng Sushan listened to the two of them bickering, a touch of tender affection in her gaze like an elder watching over the younger generation. She was in her thirties and had never conceived a child, and with no children in the Song family at all, such scenes struck her as both endearing and quietly sorrowful.

 

Song Yuzhang was quick to read faces and moods. Noticing the gloom on Meng Sushan’s face, he said to Wan Lan, “Miss Lan, would you kindly fetch us two bottles of orange soda?”

 

Meng Sushan came back to herself and said, “I don’t want any.”

 

“It’s fine, Sister-in-law, the weather’s hot—have a little,” Song Yuzhang replied.

 

“I’m afraid it’ll interfere with the medicine,” she said.

 

“It won’t,” Song Yuzhang waved it off. Though Wan Lan often joked around with him and behaved without much propriety, when he turned serious, she instinctively obeyed. “Bring it cold.”

 

Wan Lan went inside.

 

Meng Sushan set down her fan and, smiling gently, asked, “Why haven’t I seen you going out with Tingjing lately? Just a while ago, you two seemed inseparable…”

 

“Oh…” Song Yuzhang smiled, “He’s probably busy at the docks these days.”

 

“Is that so?” Meng Sushan asked.

 

“He’s an important man, I’m just idle. It’s always me trying to keep up with him, but when he’s busy, I can’t very well be a bother,” Song Yuzhang said.

 

Meng Sushan’s lashes drooped as she sighed quietly. She smoothed her qipao with her palm and said softly, “Yuzhang, Tingjing has a difficult temperament.” She looked up at him, testing the waters. “Be honest with me—did you two have a fight?”

 

A fight? It was nearly a full-blown brawl.

 

Song Yuzhang said calmly, “Nothing like that.”

 

Meng Sushan said, “As his sister, I wouldn’t claim to know him through and through, and I’m not about to take sides. That’s not something I’d do. But I do think that no matter whose fault it is, friendship is a rare and precious thing. To break it over a trivial matter would be such a shame. Jincheng says you’ll eventually return to England. Once you’re that far apart, even the smallest ties can fade away. By the time you regret it, it’ll be too late.”

 

Listening to her gentle tone, her voice filled with genuine warmth, and seeing the emotional glimmer in her soft, glass-like eyes, Song Yuzhang thought to himself—if only Meng Tingjing had inherited even half of Meng Sushan’s kindness, he wouldn’t now be hiding away, worried for the safety of his own backside.

 

“I understand,” Song Yuzhang said warmly. “Don’t worry, Sister-in-law.”

 

Each of the Song brothers had their own brand of cunning, but this sister-in-law truly seemed like a good person. Song Yuzhang felt that she bore a certain resemblance to Xiao Yingtao, a resemblance that could be summed up in one word: motherly.

 

Wan Lan returned with the chilled soda. Meng Sushan ultimately didn’t drink any, and Song Yuzhang didn’t push her. He told Wan Lan to drink it for her mistress instead. Wan Lan happily took the straw and sipped away. The three of them played in the garden for a while longer until a servant came out to ask if they wanted to start dinner. Meng Sushan agreed and told Wan Lan to help her lie down for a bit before coming down to eat—she’d taken medicine that morning and had felt sleepy all day.

 

Song Yuzhang remained alone in the garden, sipping soda and wandering down to the lake to watch the waterbirds. The birds floated calmly and elegantly on the water, not sparing so much as a glance at the handsome man with the soda.

 

Before long, a servant came rushing over in a panic. “Fifth Young Master!”

 

Straw in his mouth, Song Yuzhang turned. “Dinner time?”

 

The servant was flushed and flustered, looking completely unsettled. “No, someone’s here—there’s trouble!”

 

Outside the Song estate, a black car was parked at the base of the slope. In front of the car stood a woman in a cream-colored long dress, with a feathered hat tilted stylishly on her head, the feather gently fluttering in the humid breeze. 

 

Following the servant out, Song Yuzhang instantly recognized the woman—it was Le Yao’er.

 

At the sound of the iron gate opening, Le Yao’er swiftly turned her head, the feather on her hat flipping with the motion. Upon seeing that it was Song Yuzhang, her face betrayed a flash of visible disappointment.

 

Song Yuzhang said to the nervous servant behind him, “Let her come in.”

 

The servant shuffled forward, saying, “Miss Le, that’s our Fifth Young Master. If you have something to say, please speak to him.”

 

Le Yao’er clutched a delicate purse in her hand and replied coldly, “I’m here to see your eldest young madam.”

 

“She’s not available right now.”

 

“Then I’ll wait here until she returns.”

 

“Miss, please don’t be so stubborn…”

 

From a distance, Song Yuzhang saw that the servant wasn’t handling it well. He glanced around and, seeing no other vehicles, walked over and said to the servant, “Go back inside.” He turned to Le Yao’er, who was wearing heavy makeup—rouged cheeks and crimson lips. Though beautiful, there was a fragile air about her. Song Yuzhang said, “Miss Le, do you remember me? A while back, at your film’s premiere, I came with a friend to support you. We met briefly—Mr. Zheng Kexian was there too.”

 

Le Yao’er’s eyes flickered at the mention of Zheng Kexian. “I remember.”

 

“Shall we talk in the car?”

 

“I have nothing to say to you,” she said as she walked forward. “I want to see Meng Sushan…”

 

Song Yuzhang extended an arm to block her path. Smiling, he said, “Miss Le, I’ll be honest with you—yes, my sister-in-law is home. But even if you do see her, it won’t help your case. In fact, it’ll only backfire. Don’t act on impulse—think about the child you’re carrying.”

 

Le Yao’er’s face went pale. “You… you…”

 

No one but Zheng Kexian and the hospital doctor knew about her pregnancy. How could this man possibly know?

 

Shaken to her core, Le Yao’er allowed herself to be led into the car by Song Yuzhang.

 

There was no driver—she had likely driven herself.

 

Once inside, Song Yuzhang got straight to the point: “You came to see my sister-in-law— what do you want? Money to take care of the child? A proper title? Or do you just want to get rid of Song Jincheng?”

 

Le Yao’er was too stunned to speak. Her wide eyes stared at him as if he weren’t a handsome man, but a ghost—a ghost who knew all her secrets.

 

She came to cause trouble.

 

To stir up chaos in the Song household, to force Song Jincheng to give her up...

 

She didn’t dare tell Song Jincheng about the child. She feared he would misunderstand, feared he would discover the child’s true origins. In short, if she came clean to Song Jincheng, there would be no good outcome.

 

What should she do?

 

She had heard that Song Jincheng’s wife came from a powerful family. If she made a scene—just maybe—that Madam. Song would pressure Song Jincheng to cut ties with her.

 

“I…” Le Yao’er was only just twenty. Pregnant and already exhausted in both body and mind, coming here with impure motives left her completely flustered, on the verge of vomiting. But instead of throwing up, she burst into tears. “I… you…”

 

Song Yuzhang waited silently for her to calm down. After a while, Le Yao’er finally composed herself and looked at him through tear-filled eyes. Her first question was, “How did you know I was pregnant?”

 

Song Yuzhang replied, “That day at the cinema, I overheard you talking to Zheng Kexian as I was passing by.”

 

Le Yao’er nearly fainted on the spot.

 

He even knew that?!

 

Now fully panicked, she stammered, “I-I wasn’t trying to blackmail anyone. I-I just… just don’t want… don’t want to be entangled with him anymore. I-I just want to live quietly on my own… with my… my child…”

 

“Take your time,” Song Yuzhang said softly. “Don’t worry. I mean no harm. I know things haven’t been easy for you, and that there are a lot of things you don’t have control over.”

 

At his words, Le Yao’er’s tears flowed even harder.

 

Song Yuzhang let out a soft sigh, then gently pulled her into his arms, patting her trembling shoulders. He smelled clean, with a faint scent of orange soda. Le Yao’er quickly quieted down. She sat up, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and said in shame, “Thank you, Mr. Song.”

 

“No need,” Song Yuzhang said. “You want to leave Song Jincheng, is that it?”

 

Le Yao’er nodded while dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief.

 

“And what about Zheng Kexian? Do you plan to run away with him?”

 

Le Yao’er lowered her hand, gave a desolate smile, and said, “He’s a coward without a spine. I don’t count on him.”

 

After thinking for a moment, Song Yuzhang said, “My sister-in-law is a gentle person. If you told her you were pregnant, I think she wouldn’t make a fuss with my eldest brother. In fact, she might even agree to let you marry into the family as a concubine. That’s why you can’t go to her.”

 

Le Yao’er’s face went pale with fright. She nodded shakily, helplessly asking, “Then who should I go to?”

 

When the servant had come to report that Le Yao’er was here, a clever, two-birds-one-stone idea had already begun to take shape in Song Yuzhang’s mind.

 

“I’ll take you to see my second brother tomorrow. He should be willing to help you,” he said gently.

 

Le Yao’er left, and Song Yuzhang returned to the house. A servant followed behind, wiping away sweat. “Don’t tell my sister-in-law about today,” Song Yuzhang said.

 

“Of course, of course. I won’t,” the servant agreed immediately.

 

“And don’t tell my eldest brother either.”

 

The servant hesitated noticeably.

 

Song Yuzhang stopped walking and looked back at him. “A harmonious family brings prosperity.”

 

Only then did the servant realize that this frighteningly handsome Fifth Young Master actually looked quite serious. After a moment’s hesitation, thinking it wasn’t exactly good news anyway, he nodded in agreement.