Chapter 30
Facing Tao Youmin, Sang Nian wore a smug smile, seemingly showing off, but inwardly he was extremely uneasy. He knew that saying this would definitely annoy Wen Yan, but he couldn't care less; he disliked Tao Youmin utterly. Sang Nian always felt an inexplicable hostility towards her.
It's probably because Tao Youmin is Tao Wanru's niece.
After Sang Nian finished speaking, he glanced anxiously at Wen Yan. Strangely, Wen Yan didn't seem to disagree with what he said; he simply put Sang Nian down slowly. The moment Sang Nian landed, he took Wen Yan's hand and leaned against him, looking up at Wen Yan with the most genuine smile on his face.
He said, "Thank you, Brother Wenyan."
Wen Yan frowned slightly, about to ask Sang Nian what tricks she was playing this time, but was interrupted by Xu Muze who stepped forward.
"Ayan, what's going on?" His gaze swept past Wen Yan and landed squarely on Sang Nian, his eyes blazing with gossip. Wen Yan ignored him, pulled Sang Nian's hand off his, and walked unhurriedly toward the manor's main hall. When he passed Tao Youmin and Tao Zeqian, he merely nodded indifferently, without stopping, and continued walking forward without looking to the side.
Tao Youmin wanted to greet Wen Yan, but seeing his cold demeanor, her raised hand froze in mid-air before slowly falling. She watched Wen Yan's retreating figure, a glint of cunning flashing in her eyes. She quickly composed herself, turning to face Sang Nian with her usual smile, tinged with worry. She asked Sang Nian, "You're injured, shouldn't you go to the hospital?"
Sang Nian didn't look at her coldly, but said to Ye Shu, "I'm fine. It was just that Brother Wen Yan insisted on carrying me down." He really was fine; he had only fallen, it wasn't serious, and it didn't hurt anymore. Ye Shu didn't dare to be careless. Although she disliked Tao Youmin, she felt that what she said made sense, so she asked again, "Niannian, should we still go to the hospital to get it checked out?"
Xu Muze stood beside them, his eyes darting around. Finally, he clapped his hands and said to Sang Nian, "I think you need to go to the hospital."
Ye Shu nodded.
Sang Nian was a bit worried. He took a breath and said, "I'm really fine. I just need to sleep. Besides, the snow is falling heavily now, it's so dark, and it's far from the city. It's not safe to drive there."
He spoke with such sincerity that Ye Shu was instantly moved. So she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it's not safe. Let's go back and get some rest tonight. I'll take you to the hospital tomorrow." With that, she pulled Sang Nian back.
Upon seeing this, Xu Muze anxiously followed behind them, shouting "Ah ah!"
"Wait a minute, Ye Shu, have you forgotten something?"
Ye Shu turned around: "What?"
Xu Muze pointed to the Tao siblings beside him, and Ye Shu couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I've already said, Tao Youmin can share a room with me, but don't even think about Sang Nian," Ye Shu whispered in his ear. Sang Nian noticed their little exchange and turned to ask Ye Shu if something had happened.
Ye Shu shook her head, "Nothing important, Niannian, you go back to your room first." As they spoke, they walked to the door of the guest room. Ye Shu had Sang Nian open the door and pushed Sang Nian inside, "Niannian, you wash up first, I'll come find you later." Then she closed the door again, leaned against the doorway, and looked at Xu Muze with a half-smile.
"Why don't you go and ask Wen Yan? Maybe he'll agree to let him stay for one night because of Tao Zeqian and Sang Ning's relationship."
He booked a large suite with two beds. It wouldn't be a problem for the three of them to sleep together, and besides, that way he could sleep with Tao Zeqian. Xu Muze was somewhat tempted, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Ye Shu, seeing this, thought to herself that this guy was hopeless. She had originally hoped that the three of them could clear things up this time, but if they slept together like this for one night, who knows what might happen.
Ye Shu regretted her earlier suggestion. Although she didn't like Tao Zeqian, Xu Muze was her friend, and she couldn't bear to watch him sink deeper into this mess. But she had no other choice; the only way... Just as Ye Shu was agonizing over this, the door behind her opened.
Sang Nian, his face pure and innocent, peered through the crack in the door, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Don't Tao Zeqian and Tao Youmin have a room to stay in?" He had been eavesdropping behind the door for a while, and recalling the Tao siblings' sudden appearance here, Sang Nian had his answer. He looked at Xu Muze and suddenly asked, "You want Tao Zeqian to sleep in my room for the night?"
Xu Muze was still lost in his own beautiful fantasy and didn't react for a moment when Sang Nian asked him that question. Ye Shu saw that his eyes were gleaming with a smile and couldn't help but punch him.
"What are you grinning about? You look like an idiot." Ye Shu rolled her eyes at him, then said to Sang Nian, "Ignore him, let's go back to our room." She pushed open the door and went inside. At this moment, Xu Muze finally snapped out of his daze. Recalling Sang Nian's words, he asked blankly, "You agree?"
Sang Nian opened the door wide, revealing the room—in the very center, there was only a large bed. Sang Nian shrugged. “As you can see, there’s only one bed.”
It's indeed not very convenient.
Xu Muze clicked his tongue.
Ye Shu circled the bed once, then stroked her chin, feigning deep thought, and said, "I have an idea." Her and Xu Muze's room had a double bed, while Sang Nian had a single bed, making a total of six people—four men and two women. It might be inconvenient for two men to share a bed, so she would have to make do. "Tao Youmin and I will stay in Nian Nian's room, Nian Nian and you will stay in my room, and Tao Zeqian and Wen Yan will stay in..." She clapped her hands and looked at Sang Nian and Xu Muze.
Sang Nian didn't speak, but Xu Muze frowned.
"Why am I sharing a room with Sang Nian?" It wasn't that he disagreed, but this arrangement was strange. Ye Shu completely ignored Xu Muze's question and instead asked Sang Nian, "Nian Nian, do you think this is okay?" Sang Nian had opened the door to ask them, so he must have thought it through carefully beforehand and definitely agreed. It's just that the person he'd be sharing a room with definitely couldn't be Tao Zeqian. She did want to arrange for Wen Yan and Sang Nian to share a room; Sang Nian would definitely agree wholeheartedly. But Wen Yan… never mind, she'd better not bother him.
Sang Nian glanced at the dejected Xu Muze, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. Admittedly, this was the best arrangement, but he wanted to try again. He wanted to push his luck a little further, given Wen Yan's slightly more lenient attitude towards him. So he shook his head. "He probably wants to share a room with Tao Zeqian, and I want to share a room with Wen Yan."
This time, it was Ye Shu's turn to be stunned. Her meticulous plan was intended to avoid conflict between Wen Yan and Sang Nian, and also to prevent Xu Muze from getting into trouble. What a perfect arrangement, yet neither of them was willing to accept it. Ye Shu was exhausted and didn't want to bother anymore, so she patted Sang Nian's shoulder and said listlessly, "Whatever, I don't care anymore. I'm going back to my room to pack my things and also to inform Tao Youmin."
After she left, the room fell silent. Sang Nian and Xu Muze exchanged a glance, then Sang Nian said, "Why don't you go and tell Wen Yan?"
Xu Muze took a half step back and laughed twice. "How about we leave it like this?" It wasn't that he was afraid, but Wen Yan had become somewhat unpredictable. Ever since Sang Ning died, Wen Yan seemed like a different person. He had originally intended to bring him here to cheer him up, but if he added to his troubles, he was afraid he would lose his childhood friend in the future.
Seeing Xu Muze back down, Sang Nian snorted, "Coward." No one had ever dared to speak to Xu Muze like that before. And Sang Nian not only said it, but also rolled her eyes at him contemptuously. Xu Muze, unable to withstand the provocation, immediately said, "Fine, you wait, I'll go talk to Wen Yan right now."
After he finished speaking, he left the room without looking back. When he returned to his own room, he stammered and tried to explain the situation to Wen Yan, but all he received in return were four cold words from Wen Yan.
Don't even think about it.
It was winter, a snowy winter, with ice three feet deep outside, but the heating was on inside. Yet Xu Muze still felt a chill run through his body. He tried to reason with him, even bringing up his brotherhood with Wen Yan for over twenty years, but in the end, he only managed to get Wen Yan to relent a little—to agree to let Tao Zeqian stay there for one night.
Even so, it took him more than half an hour of talking. By the time he returned to Sang Nian's room, his mouth dry, Ye Shu had already packed up and moved in.
Seeing his expression, Ye Shu knew the plan hadn't worked out. She wanted to comfort Sang Nian, but Sang Nian acted as if nothing was wrong, packing her luggage while asking Xu Muze, "I have some neurasthenia, and I can't stand even the slightest noise at night. But I'll wear earplugs, you don't snore, right?"
Xu Muze shook his head, then stood there stunned. Ye Shu couldn't stand it anymore and kicked him again. "What, aren't you going to clean up?" Xu Muze then snapped out of his daze, rubbed his sore calf, and left, rubbing his chest.
This trip was originally for soaking in hot springs, but so many things happened unexpectedly. After all the commotion, it was already past midnight. So, Ye Shu decided to scroll through her phone for a while before going to sleep, since soaking in the hot springs was out of the question. Tao Youmin, after taking a shower, said she needed to talk to Tao Zeqian about something, but she hadn't returned for a long time.
Ye Shu ignored her. But as her eyelids trembled, Tao Youmin still hadn't returned. She glanced at the time; it was almost one in the morning. So, forcing herself to stay awake, she sent a message to Sang Nian.
"I really want to sleep, but Tao Youmin hasn't come back yet. I'm afraid if I sleep now, she'll wake me up when she gets back." It was just a complaint; she didn't expect Sang Nian to reply, since he should be asleep by now given his schedule. But to her surprise, as soon as she sent the message, the chat window displayed "Typing..."
Sang Nian didn't sleep at all.
A short while later, Sang Nian's reply came through.
"Xu Muze didn't come back either."
"?" Ye Shu slowly typed a question mark on the screen. No way, Xu Muze doesn't like Tao Zeqian, so what's his relationship with Tao Youmin?
She couldn't understand it, she just couldn't understand it at all. All Ye Shu wanted to do right now was sleep.
He said he was going out for a smoke and asked me to wait for him. It's okay, I'll get you some earplugs and you can go to sleep first.
Five minutes after receiving the message, Sang Nian knocked on Ye Shu's door. He handed her a brand new pair of earplugs, saying, "Go to sleep, or you'll have dark circles under your eyes tomorrow."
Ye Shu let out an "Ah," thanked Sang Nian, and went back to her room to sleep. Sang Nian, however, didn't go back immediately; he wanted to find Xu Muze. He suffered from neurasthenia and couldn't tolerate any noise while sleeping; even earplugs weren't entirely effective. Therefore, he needed to fall asleep at the same time as Xu Muze. After searching for a while, he finally found the villa's indoor smoking room. Only a few lights were on inside, and Sang Nian saw two figures through the glass.
It was Xu Muze and Tao Zeqian.
The hand placed on her chest suddenly clenched into a fist. If Xu Muze and Tao Zeqian were together now, then where had Tao Youmin, who hadn't returned to her room, gone?
Upon realizing an unbelievable possibility, Sang Nian immediately ran towards Wen Yan's room.
Wen Yan's room was on the same floor as his, at the very back. Sang Nian was panting heavily, afraid of being late. With Wen Yan's room in sight, Sang Nian suddenly quickened his pace. But just as he passed his own room, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from inside and dragged him inside, slamming him against the door. He tried to scream, but his mouth was covered. Then he heard the door lock behind him, and the next second, his thin pajamas were ripped open.
"Hmm..."
Sang Nian struggled, but the force binding him remained unmoved. He heard heavy, hot, rapid breathing beside him. In the darkness, Sang Nian couldn't see the man's face, but felt as if the places where the man's hand slid were about to burn. The hand slowly slid down, and it seemed his long-hidden secret was about to be discovered. In desperation, Sang Nian opened his mouth and bit the hand covering his mouth, instantly filling his mouth with the taste of blood.
The man, in pain, released some of his strength, giving Sang Nian a chance to catch his breath. He had barely uttered the word "save..." when he was cut off again.
This time, however, it wasn't with hands, but with the mouth.
"Ugh..." A wave of nausea rose in his throat. Sang Nian tried to push away the person on top of him, but the person was completely unaffected. While Sang Nian was still stunned, the person thrust their tongue deeper inside, their tongues entwining and their breaths mingling. Sang Nian's mouth was open, a trickle of saliva dribbling from the corner of his lips, but he couldn't care less; he was struggling to breathe.
Just as he was about to faint from lack of oxygen, the man suddenly let him go. His breathing became more rapid, and he turned his head to the side.
"Sang Nian, I am Wen Yan."
He heard a familiar voice in the darkness, and his heart, which had almost stopped, started beating again, even faster and faster. He felt his breathing become rapid, and goosebumps rose all over his arms and back.
Trembling with fear, he was carried to the bed by Wen Yan, who then pressed him down.
Realizing what he was about to do, Sang Nian slowly closed her eyes...
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