Chapter 18 You’ve Been Fooled Again

Chapter 18 You’ve Been Fooled Again

There was still some time before the pivotal moment the system mentioned, and although Ye Man was hurt and impaired, he wasn’t idle.

Previously, he had sworn up and down to Xu Huaiting that he would help him break up Meng Yao and Chi Jue. The eight-figure advance payment from his benefactor was still lying safely in his safe, alongside the watch Chi Jue had given him. Ye Man felt he had to put in some effort.

The system said that his eventual downfall was also partly due to Xu Huaiting's behind-the-scenes meddling.

He had now given him a heads-up, so even if he later took action against Meng Yao and Xu Huaiting was unhappy and wanted to come after him, he could say it was for the sake of their initial agreement. After all, he was doing it on behalf of Xu Huaiting, so he wouldn’t come after him for this, right?

"It’s fine if he comes after you, I’ll help you stage your death in the end."

Ye Man took out his phone and tapped a few times to find Xu Huaiting’s phone number: "Brother Tong, I’m staging my death, not really dying. I still have to live in this world, so it’s better not to offend such a big shot."

"Besides, I took his money. If I don’t do anything, it’s tough to justify."

Last birthday, the gift Meng Yao gave Chi Jue ended up being sent back, and these past few days, Meng Yao had been trying to find a chance to see Chi Jue.

Ye Man dialed Xu Huaiting’s number, but the other party was probably busy and didn’t answer, so it went to voicemail.

"Mr. Xu..."

He laid out his plans for the next few days to the voicemail.

Meng Yao wanted to see Chi Jue, but if Ye Man kept Chi Jue tied up with himself and the Chi Family business, Chi Jue naturally wouldn’t have time to deal with Meng Yao.

As for how to keep Chi Jue occupied and prevent him from seeing Meng Yao, it was simple.

Ye Man touched the hard cast.

He could play the victim, or if that didn’t work, he could turn to his parents or elder brother to plead. Even if Chi Jue was unwilling, he would have to stay and be a dutiful big brother to take care of him.

Ye Man keenly noticed that even though the Chi Family knew he didn’t actually like Chi Jue and often gave him grief in private, they still maintained a tolerant attitude towards him.

Perhaps they felt they owed him, or perhaps it was the result of his strategy of acting pitiful and helpless.

He just didn’t know how long this limitless patience would last.

Ye Man was well aware that if he continued like this, there would come a time when people’s patience would wear thin.

Rationally, he knew that the best thing to do now was to get along well with Chi Jue and not cause trouble, but emotionally, it was hard not to feel jealous and resentful towards Chi Jue.

If only there was a real villain in this twisted fate.

Sometimes Ye Man even hoped that someone had deliberately switched him and Chi Jue, so he could at least rightfully pin it on someone, instead of appearing like a petty, vindictive jerk who couldn’t let go of a mistake that might not even be anyone’s fault.

He touched his eyes.

He couldn’t see his reflection in the mirror, but he imagined he still looked as innocent and pitiable as before.

Who would have thought that such a person was actually filled with seething bitterness inside?

He knew he shouldn’t give him a hard time, and he knew it was bad and unlikable, but he just couldn’t help it.

If he didn’t do something to vent, he would go crazy.

The system fretted in his ear: "You must take care of your hand, a fracture is no small matter."

As it spoke, it began to feel exasperated: "Do you even know what it means to be malicious? I tell you to bully people, but every time, every time you..."

"What happens every time?" Ye Man asked with a smile.

The system stuttered, its host overheating, unable to get the words out.

Ye Man whispered, "Every time, I go easy and don’t really bully anyone?"

The system paused for a moment: "You knew?... It was all on purpose!"

Ye Man chuckled, dragging out his voice, cooing like a spoiled child, "Brother Tong, you’re so clueless."

Having been bullied countless times, how could he not know what real bullying feels like?

The system froze for a moment, then its voice, which had been soft and gentle towards Ye Man for days, snapped back to normal.

"Ye Man! You tricked me again!" That sneaky, deceitful liar!

The system was furious, slamming the ground in frustration.

It had been duped by Ye Man before and vowed never to trust him again, so why did it keep falling for his tricks!

It just proves that a villain like him couldn’t possibly be that innocent, naive sweetheart—it was all an act!

"You had Xu Huaiting rub your belly and Chi Jue peel shrimp for you—it was all an act—" Playing the harmless card! Acting all innocent! Full of tricks!

Ye Man turned his face away, hesitating, "Well, um..."

The system roared, "I’m cutting ties with you!"

"...Brother Tong?"

The system stormed off in a huff.

Ye Man lowered his eyes and answered the phone that had been ringing nonstop, which he’d ignored several times. He’d cut off the caller after hearing only the first four digits, but they kept calling back, and he kept hanging up.

Brother Tong was too furious to notice his subtle moves.

As soon as he answered, Ye Man’s expression turned icy.

"Ye Guowen."

"I told you not to come looking for me or show your face around the Chi Family again. Take the money from the Chi Family and disappear."

A moment later, a hoarse man’s voice came from the phone: "I want to see you."

"If you don’t want the Chi Family finding out what you did, meet me," the man sneered, "Xiao Man, if they find out about your childhood theft and that incident..."

"This weekend, at the braised pork place on Minghua Street. I’ll be waiting, my dear son."

Ye Man’s grip on the phone tightened instantly.

...

At the Xu Family’s old mansion, four generations—about twenty people—were gathered around the table.

The second uncle’s second wife smiled and picked up a dish with her chopsticks: "Huaiting, it’s rare to have you back, so I had the chef prepare your favorites. Here, have some more."

There was no sign of the cruelty from the past when Xu Huaiting was falsely accused of stealing, dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, had his room searched, and was punished to kneel in front of the ancestral tablets for three days.

"Huaiting, now that you’re back in the capital, you should consider marriage. I think the girl from the Liu family is quite nice. You’re still young, but after that serious injury, you nearly died. We don’t know how long your body will last. Make plans while you can..."

Third Uncle was halfway through his sentence when Xu Huaiting slightly lifted his eyelids, calmly gazing at him until the man awkwardly fell silent. Xu Huaiting then flashed a smile, exuding an air of arrogance and nonchalance, "Sorry, I won’t be dying anytime soon, wasting all your trouble, Uncle."

"What are you saying!" The man glanced at Elder Xu, his neck turning red as if he had been provoked, "Are you accusing me of scheming behind your back?"

As he spoke, he made a move forward, but those around him quickly stood up to intervene and mediate.

Xu Huaiting idly spun a chopstick in his hand, apparently unfazed. Seeing this, the man, feeling his pride wounded, lunged forward even more aggressively.

Just as he was about to reach Xu Huaiting, the chopstick twirled gracefully between his fingers and suddenly came to a halt.

The moment the chopstick stopped, the man froze in place, his face filled with fear.

The youngest son of Third Uncle, sitting beside Xu Huaiting, stiffened, his pupils dilating as he stared at the chopstick mere millimeters from his eye, gulping audibly.

Madman... lunatic...

Xu Huaiting glanced at Xu Weiming, his smile half-formed, "Uncle, getting so riled up over a meal? One should always keep it civil."

Xu Jiang screamed in his mind at the chopstick that was nearly piercing his eyeball, wondering who the uncivilized one really was.

No one dared to speak, everyone holding their breath in fear, afraid that even the slightest exhale might cause Xu Jiang to bleed profusely.

Xu Huaiting was capable of such a thing.

Finally, Elder Xu intervened, "Everyone, sit down. This is a family dinner, what’s with all this chaos?"

Everyone returned to their seats.

Xu Huaiting put down the chopstick, tired of their bickering and hidden agendas, and walked out to the balcony.

He lit a cigarette but didn’t take a puff, just held it between his fingers, watching the flame flicker.

Glancing down at his phone, he noticed a missed call and a voicemail.

He played it and held it to his ear. A soft, young voice spoke, as if whispering right into his ear, sending a tingle down his spine.

"Mr. Xu, Meng Yao is trying to see Chi Jue again, but don’t worry, I’m planning to fake an illness and make a scene, forcing Chi Jue to stay home and take care of me. They won’t be able to meet."

Whether it was intentional or habitual, his speech was slow, each word enunciated carefully, yet his voice was soft and gentle, trailing off at the end, sounding almost like he was cooing, giving the impression of someone subtly pleading.

He said he would force Chi Jue to stay home and take care of him?

Xu Huaiting chuckled at the thought.

Interesting choice of words. Haven’t heard that in a while.

He tapped out a reply.

"Approved."