Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Song Yuqiao called Xu Yu.

Xu Yu was surprised, his gaze falling on his younger son, Song Yuxuan. He immediately misinterpreted the situation, raising his phone and saying, "Xuan Xuan, look, your eldest brother still cares about you. He's so busy but didn't forget to call and check on you."

After speaking, he answered the call and deliberately put it on speaker: "Hello, Yuqiao, what's up?"

Song Yuxuan listened eagerly.

If his eldest brother truly cared, he would reluctantly forgive him for ignoring him at the hospital and instead worrying about Zhang Jianan feeling wronged.

Song Yuqiao leaned back in his chair, in a foul mood, his tone icy: "Father, when did you decide on Song Jianan's fate?"

Xu Yu hesitated. The tone on the other end of the line wasn't good; it seemed Song Yuqiao also didn't want Song Jianan to stay.

After pondering for a while, he said, "Xuan Xuan said his parents are very good. Your father and I saw no issues, so we've already transferred Xuan Xuan and his legal residency, given his family one million yuan, and sent him back."

The line went dead.

Xu Yu frowned, his face showing dissatisfaction.

Beside him, Song Yuxuan lowered his eyelids slightly, concealing the jealousy, resentment, and discontent rising in his eyes.

He was Song Yuqiao's biological brother. Why did Song Yuqiao care about that imposter? Why didn't he care about how he had been living all these years, whether he had suffered or not?

On the other end, Song Yuqiao hung up the phone, his face darkly grim. He made another call, asking the person on the other end to check Song Jianan's bank information.

The response was that all the bank cards and other assets Song Jianan held while in the Song family had been transferred to Song Yuxuan's name.

Just as he thought.

Song Yuqiao's grip on the phone was so tight it almost shattered.

Before entering the lounge, he had asked Lin Shu to check Song Jianan's identity information. As he suspected, Song Jianan had changed his name to Zhang Jianan, and his household registration had been moved to the Zhang couple's household.

He had always known that his father and dad didn't like Song Jianan, but he never imagined they would dare to drive him away behind his back, without even letting him take anything with him. The mere one million yuan was actually transferred to the Zhang couple.

No wonder Zhang Jianan was crying and begging to get into his bed.

Although Zhang Jianan wasn't the Song family's biological son, he had grown up in the Song household. Leaving the Song family meant being abandoned by his family—not only abandoned but also left penniless. How could he accept that?

It was understandable that he might act desperately in such a situation.

A fleeting sense of guilt for exploiting his vulnerability actually surfaced in Song Yuqiao's heart, though it was faint and lasted only a moment.

The person on the other end of the line, hearing his silence, waited for a while before asking if there were any other instructions.

Song Yuqiao pinched the bridge of his nose and casually gave an order before hanging up. He then sent a message to Lin Shu, instructing him to remove Zhang Jianan's household registration and set it up as a separate household, revert his name, and deal with Zhang Jianan's parents to ensure they wouldn't bother him.

He opened Zhang Jianan's chat window, stared at the page with only a few messages for a moment, and sent a message.

*

Zhang Jianan looked at the message that popped up on his phone.

Song Yuqiao told him there was a spare card for him at home and told Zhang Jianan to use it.

Zhang Jianan immediately replied: Okay, thank you, brother.

Song Yuqiao was very generous with his lovers and didn’t seem to mind that he had said he didn’t want his money. It seemed his choice wasn’t wrong.

Zhang Jianan held his phone, his bright eyes, a faint smile curling on his lips.

The discomfort of being slept with by Song Yuqiao and having to endure his harsh words, as well as the slight resentment he felt earlier in the bathroom, faded significantly.

Given his status, he shouldn’t have excessive expectations of Song Yuqiao. As long as Song Yuqiao kept his promises, he was already a very good benefactor.

He found the spare card and put it away.

He was penniless now and urgently needed money; there was no reason to refuse.

With this card, he could immediately apply to live on campus, and during holidays, he could rent a place outside instead of staying at Song Yuqiao’s house.

Staying at someone else’s place all the time wasn’t ideal, especially given his relationship with Song Yuqiao. If Song Yuqiao’s family suddenly showed up at Xihe Yuan and saw him, he didn’t even dare to imagine the scene.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jianan opened his counselor’s chat window and inquired about the process of applying for on-campus housing. He quickly received a reply: the counselor told him to come to school tomorrow to fill out the forms, and the specific results would be known in a few days.

For these few days, he could only stay at Xihe Yuan. Fortunately, Song Yuqiao wasn’t home, so neither of them would feel awkward.

Zhang Jianan squatted by the laundry room door, waiting for his clothes to dry while playing on his phone. He thought about how he needed to buy two sets of clothes to change into tomorrow. If he could live on campus, he would also need to buy bedding and daily essentials.

Everything required money, but thankfully there was Song Yuqiao’s spare card. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t know what to do.

However, relying on a benefactor for money wasn’t a long-term solution. What if the benefactor got unhappy one day and froze the card?

So, he still needed to find a part-time job. Only by working hard and saving money would he have the ability to handle emergencies when changes occurred.

For now, he had no immediate financial difficulties, so he could take his time looking for a job—something relaxed with good pay, so he wouldn’t have to work too hard.

His clothes were dry, so he changed into them.

Just then, dinner was ready, so he went downstairs to eat.

On one side of the large, long gray dining table was a vase with a few beautifully colored roses, very pretty.

The other half of the table was filled with dishes. At a glance, it was an extremely lavish spread, visually appealing, aromatic, and tasty—all dishes Zhang Jianan used to love.

He was slightly stunned. Having left the Song family for two years, he had almost forgotten what he liked to eat.

He wasn’t foolish beyond redemption, of course. He knew Butler Xue couldn’t have accurately prepared a table full of dishes to his taste unless Song Yuqiao had told her in advance.

Why did Song Yuqiao remember his preferences?

Zhang Jianan thought for a moment and could only come up with one answer: Alphas have strong memories, far superior to Betas.

He pulled out a chair and sat down.

Butler Xue said, "Young Master, please try and see if it suits your taste."

Zhang Jianan tasted the familiar flavors and smiled. "Thank you, Sister Xue."

From Butler Xue to Sister Xue, Butler Xue merely gave a polite smile, said "You’re welcome," and without interrupting his meal, turned and went into the kitchen.

Dinner was lavish, and Zhang Jianan ate to his heart’s content. The only regret was that he couldn’t finish all the food. The rules at Song Yuqiao’s place were similar to those at the Song family’s old residence: leftovers weren't kept. Uneaten food was simply discarded.

He ate until he couldn’t take another bite and could only watch regretfully as plate after plate was taken away and discarded. He instinctively wanted to ask Sister Xue to prepare less food next time, but he opened his mouth and ultimately said nothing.

He wasn’t the master here, nor would he be staying long. Why change the rules?

After dinner, he rubbed his full stomach while searching his memory to find the entrance to his class schedule. He opened it, saw the densely packed courses, and gently furrowed his fine brows.

He had forgotten that his junior year had a heavy course load, leaving little time, making it difficult to find a part-time job.

He sighed softly, noted down his available times, and began scrolling through part-time job listings on his phone.

Even if it was hard to find, he had to try. Once he left Song Yuqiao, without money, he would be unable to get by.

After a while, he clutched his stomach and curled up. The discomfort from overeating hadn’t subsided; instead, it had started to hurt.

The pain gradually intensified, as if a pair of hands were churning in his stomach. It hurt so much that he curled up on the floor, pressing his stomach, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, his eyes tightly shut, his face contorted in pain.

Most people, when in pain, can’t help but entertain extreme thoughts, turning good things bad and making not-so-bad situations seem utterly hopeless. Song Jianan was no exception. He thought he might be the first person in history to die of overeating after reincarnating.

But he didn’t want to die. He had just overcome his biggest hurdle, and there was still a tomorrow to look forward to.

He deeply regretted it. The food going to waste would’ve been fine—Song Yuqiao certainly wasn’t short on money—so why had he ended up hurting himself like this?

Butler Xue came out with some cut fruit, first wondering, Where is the Young Master?

When she got closer, she was startled. She quickly put down the fruit plate, called the family doctor, and asked worriedly, "Young Master, where are you feeling unwell?"

Song Jianan lifted his sweat-drenched face, looking pained, and struggled to squeeze out a sentence: "My stomach… hurts…"

Butler Xue immediately understood, thinking of the large dinner he had eaten. She had assumed the Young Master was just thin but had a big appetite. Oh no, she should have stopped him in time and urged him to eat less.

She explained the situation to the family doctor and, following the doctor’s instructions, first gave Song Jianan some indigestion tablets. She waited anxiously by his side for the doctor to arrive.

During this time, she also called Song Yuqiao.

Song Jianan didn’t even have time to stop her. How could he bother Song Yuqiao over such an embarrassing matter?

The call connected, and it was Song Yuqiao’s secretary on the other end.

Even in his pain, Song Jianan felt a flicker of relief. If the secretary passed along the message, Song Yuqiao probably wouldn’t personally follow up. As long as Song Yuqiao didn’t get involved, he could pretend it never happened and spare himself the shame.

Half an hour later, the doctor finally arrived. After asking for details and observing Song Jianan’s condition, he confirmed that it was indeed due to overeating.

The doctor prescribed some medication and repeatedly reminded him before leaving, "Eat in moderation. Overeating is harmful to your health."

After taking the indigestion tablets, Song Jianan felt less pain. He lay on the sofa, nodded, embarrassed.

Sister Xue hovered around him for a long time, fetched him water, watched him take his medicine, and only relaxed after sending a message to Mr. Song, finally going about her own tasks.

To Song Jianan’s surprise, half an hour later, Song Yuqiao actually called him on video.

Song Yuqiao’s sharp gaze first swept over his face.

He looked okay.

His stern expression eased slightly as he asked, "Does it still hurt?"

The way he said it, though meant as concern, came off like a cross-examination.

Song Jianan had mostly recovered, but he still felt a slight discomfort and was somewhat out of sorts. Song Yuqiao’s stern tone and his face, dark enough to scare a child, didn’t help.

He pressed his lips together, quietly minimized the video window so he couldn’t see clearly anymore, then relaxed his lips and replied softly, "I took medicine. It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Song Yuqiao’s tone was full of lecturing: "Jia Jia, from now on, eat on time when you’re hungry. Don’t overeat like today again. Don’t let it happen again, understood?"

Remembering that this was his benefactor, Song Jianan nodded and obediently said, "Understood."

Song Yuqiao added a few more reminders before hurriedly hanging up, saying he was about to catch a flight.

Song Jianan held his phone, his brows slightly furrowed, feeling both confused and troubled. Do all benefactors like Song Yuqiao meddle in such small things?