Chapter 97 Tea-Scented Words

Chapter 97: Honeyed Words

At half past seven in the evening, Shang Shaohao also returned home. As soon as he arrived, the chef brought out the prepared dishes.

Cheng Feng, thinking that the Eldest Young Master didn't want him to serve, was about to return to his room when Shang Xu unexpectedly invited him to join them at the dinner table.

He used to eat at the table with them for a period before, but ever since the Eldest Young Master went abroad for leg treatment, he hadn't dined at the Shang family table since.

Cheng Feng's hand was extremely stiff; he couldn't even hold chopsticks steadily. A maid nearby noticed and quickly got him a spoon.

After handing it over, the maid realized she hadn't asked the Eldest Young Master for permission first—she had acted on her own initiative.

She expected the Eldest Young Master to scold her, but Shang Xu just ate quietly without saying a word.

Cheng Feng struggled terribly with his meal, managing only a bite or two after a long while.

Shang Xu glanced at the maid beside Cheng Feng, his tone cool and detached. "Bring a spoon."

"Yes, Eldest Young Master."

A moment later, the maid placed the spoon by Cheng Feng's hand. Cheng Feng looked up at Shang Xu. "Thank you, Eldest Young Master."

Shang Xu's gaze fell on his hand. "Try using the spoon. See if your hand feels uncomfortable."

"Oh, okay." Cheng Feng started scooping rice easily enough, but then, whether on purpose or not, his hand suddenly began to tremble noticeably, shaking a few grains of rice off the edge of the spoon.

Shang Shaohao sneered. "Weren't you just released from the hospital? Your hand is still shaking like this. You don't look like someone who should be out of the hospital. Maybe you should just go back."

Cheng Feng stole a glance at Shang Xu, his words catching in his throat. "I..."

Shang Xu suddenly motioned with his chin toward him. "Bring your bowl over here."

Cheng Feng, feeling eager, quickly picked up his bowl and walked over, obediently sitting down beside him.

Shang Xu took the bowl and spoon from his hand, scooped up half a spoonful of food, and held it right up to Cheng Feng's lips.

Cheng Feng froze, too stunned to react, and didn't open his mouth.

Shang Xu: "Don't want to eat?"

Looking at the spoon in front of him, Cheng Feng's heart suddenly began to race wildly. Subconsciously, he opened his mouth and swallowed the warm mouthful of food.

Beside them, Shang Shaohao's eyes widened as he watched the two. "What are you guys doing? Brother, you've never fed me before!"

Shang Xu shot him a sidelong glance. "I fed you every meal until you were five."

Shang Shaohao pouted resentfully, feeling a pang of jealousy. His brother was being way too good to Cheng Feng. Was *he* the adopted one, and Cheng Feng was Shang Xu's real brother?

"He's an adult! Why are you feeding him? Let him eat by himself! You're the Eldest Young Master of the Shang family, the future heir of the Shang Group. Feeding a servant—what will people think? Why are you so good to him?"

Cheng Feng lowered his eyes, secretly observing Shang Xu's expression. The food in his mouth tasted a hundred times better than usual, sweetness even spreading to the root of his tongue.

Shang Xu looked at his sulking younger brother. "Come here. I'll feed you."

Shang Shaohao's face instantly flushed bright red. He waved his hands repeatedly. "I'm not a kid anymore! Who wants you to feed me? I definitely don't!"

"His hand is injured."

Shang Shaohao naturally knew that. He was just worried that others might gossip if they saw his brother and Cheng Feng like this.

"Couldn't a maid feed him instead?"

Cheng Feng's lips pressed together slightly. Suddenly, a layer of moisture welled up in his eyes, with a deeply wronged expression. "Young Master, do you... do you really hate me that much? Weren't we the closest of brothers before?"

Shang Shaohao was left speechless, stammering, "I... it's not that I hate you. It's just... my brother is the Eldest Young Master of the Shang family. He's the one who gets served. There's no logic in him serving others, you understand?"

How could Cheng Feng not understand the rules of the Shang family? The Shang family members were the heavens; everyone else was a servant. Even with high salaries, there was absolutely no principle of equality. For a servant to receive so many privileges within the Shang Group and still want to be treated as an equal—wouldn't that be turning the world upside down?

But he just wanted Shang Xu to feed him. He secretly sniffled, his eyes reddening, his voice choked with sobs.

"I'm sorry, Young Master. It's my fault. I shouldn't have injured my hand. I've delayed the Eldest Young Master's meal."

Shang Shaohao: "..."

Having no comeback, he simply buried his head in his own food and said no more.

Shang Xu's gaze fell on Cheng Feng, whose eyes were red. "Why are you such a crybaby?"

Cheng Feng felt even more wronged, pursing his lips as he reached for the bowl. "Eldest Young Master, I know I'm not worthy of you feeding me. I'll do it myself."

Seeing his pitiful appearance—so much like Shang Shaohao when he was little, always acting spoiled—Shang Xu couldn't help but let out a low chuckle. "Around me, you don't need to follow those rules."

Catching sight of his smile, Cheng Feng wanted to smile too but didn't dare show it. He still had to play pitiful.

He pinched his own thigh, puffed out his cheeks, and fixed his narrow, moist eyes on Shang Xu, as if trying to be seductive.

"Mhm, thank you, Eldest Young Master. I want more."

Shang Xu met his shimmering, watery gaze and fell silent for a moment. "Open your mouth."

"It's delicious. You're so good, Eldest Young Master." Cheng Feng grinned foolishly.

The servants standing nearby watched, their eyes wide with envy. They were all servants, so why was Cheng Feng's fate so good? How could he receive such preferential treatment from the Eldest Young Master?

Gu Ming'en glanced at Cheng Feng and also thought he was lucky. He could even eat at the main table, while they could only eat at the kitchen table.

...

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. Cheng Feng was on holiday but didn't follow Shang Shaohao back to the main Shang family estate. He remained at Shang Xu's villa.

At half past six in the evening, large, thick snowflakes suddenly began to fall outside the window, like goose feathers, quickly covering the windowsill in white.

The sound of the living room door opening reached him. Cheng Feng put down the book in his hand and hurried out of his room, but his steps faltered when he saw the people in the living room.

Standing beside Shang Xu was a pretty, petite girl—Ye Ximo.

Gu Ming'en stepped forward to help Shang Xu change into his home clothes.

Cheng Feng stood at his bedroom doorway, not approaching. He knew Ye Ximo didn't like him. During her previous visits to the villa, the look in her eyes toward him had been full of hostility.

Shang Xu seemed to have noticed this early on. Whenever Ye Ximo visited, he would always tell Cheng Feng to rest in his room and not come out to serve.

Silently, Cheng Feng retreated to his room, closed the door, sat down at his desk, and opened his live-streaming software.

He had been live-streaming games for over four months now. These days, he consistently earned over ten thousand yuan a day. He was quite lucky, having several particularly generous wealthy female fans supporting him.

Ye Qingyu, in particular, never missed his streams. Every time she came, she would gift a significant amount, always asking to team up with him to play games. She gifted generously on a whim, ranging from a thousand to tens of thousands, depending entirely on her mood.

Over these four months, Cheng Feng had saved up a considerable sum—over 1.5 million yuan in total.

By now, he had saved up nearly ten million. Compared to the average person, he could be considered pretty wealthy. Staying with the Shang family really paid off.

That day during his live stream, he lost a viewer battle (PK), and the punishment was to show his face.

The live chat instantly exploded, with comments flooding the screen:

"Silver Tongue": Crap! Don't show your face! What if you don't look like I pictured? I swear I'll unfollow!

"Xi Bala": +1! I'm begging you, don't show your face!

"Fluorescent Green": It's all because the sugar mamas aren't here today, otherwise Brother Feng wouldn't have lost!

"Mama's Boy": Ah! Don't show your face, don't show your face! Your voice is so hot, I'm scared the face won't live up to it!

"DiDi Don't Run": Is he actually ugly? With that voice, maybe he's a greasy uncle, and a fat one at that!

"Busy Bee": Isn't this like opening a blind box? What if he's really handsome?

"Go to Hell": Handsome my ass! If he were really good-looking, he would've shown his face long ago after almost half a year of streaming!

"Hajik": I think there's a high chance he's handsome! He's shown his hands before—they were slender with defined knuckles, definitely a sign of a handsome guy!

The chat was going wild, with most people waiting for a trainwreck. After all, many faceless streamers had their reputations ruined after revealing their faces. No one really believed Cheng Feng's looks would hold up.

Cheng Feng was a good sport and flipped on his camera.

As his face came into view, the noisy live chat suddenly fell silent. The chat was completely empty. After a moment of dead silence, it went absolutely nuts.

The male streamer on the other end of the PK, who was somewhat good-looking thanks to beauty filters, widened his eyes and covered his mouth to stifle a gasp: "Holy shit, you're way too handsome!"

"Mama's Boy": Wow! What divine looks! You should've shown your face earlier! I have plenty of money! I'll shower you with gifts. I actually worried you might be ugly—I was thinking too small!

"Busy Bee": My jaw dropped for a solid few seconds! Is this without beauty filters? Can't even see pores, and those features are perfect! Absolutely stunning!

"DiDi Don't Run": No way! Is it really him? No mistake? Could it be a friend stepping in to save face?

The flood of praise left Cheng Feng completely cold. In real life, countless people had already complimented his looks, and he had become immune to it.

He responded coolly to the skeptical comment:

"It's really me."

"Damn It": It really is him! The voice matches! Streamer, what were you thinking? Hiding such a handsome face!

"Fluorescent Green": Exactly! It's a crime against nature not to show a face like this!

"Auntie": With looks like this, he could debut as a celebrity, right? And he's just a gaming streamer? No one has scouted him for acting or modeling?

"Pretentious": Maybe he's not tall enough?

"Joke": So what! Many male celebrities are only around 1.7 meters tall. As long as the face is good, they can avoid full-body shots in films. If needed, there are always stand-ins!

"Zen Mode": Does anyone else think he looks familiar? Like that college guy from the piano competition two months ago! I thought he was super handsome back then. Does anyone know his TikTok?

"Sunshine": Really similar! Is it the same person or just a lookalike?

Questions kept pouring in, and Cheng Feng felt overwhelmed, unable to reply to each one.

The male streamer on the other end was still frozen in front of the camera, his face turning green. His top three supporters had all rushed to Cheng Feng's live chat to shower him with gifts. This wasn't punishing Cheng Feng—it was punishing him!

He was kicking himself, wishing he had never suggested the face-reveal punishment.

At this moment, even without playing games, gifts kept flooding Cheng Feng's live chat. Many wealthy ladies also sent private messages in droves, asking for his personal contact information and inviting him to meals.

Cheng Feng sighed. He knew he was about to encounter a bunch of creeps making sexual comments.

He simply announced on the live chat's public screen: no adding WeChat, no adding any personal contacts, only game companionship.

Many wealthy ladies were only interested in his looks, hoping for some flirting or even a hookup, wanting to sleep with him. Seeing Cheng Feng's firm stance, a few became angry and left, cursing as they went.

Those who stayed genuinely enjoyed gaming with him. He provided ample emotional support, was patient and humorous while accompanying them, and they had a great time, naturally willing to shower him with gifts willingly.

Gifts kept pouring in, and the live chat's popularity skyrocketed. Many marketing accounts caught wind of it, editing clips of his face reveal and promoting them extensively.

Cheng Feng knew nothing about this. He had only shown his face as a result of losing a bet, never expecting that after this night, he would become an overnight sensation, a major internet celebrity, with his fan count skyrocketing at an astonishing rate.

By 9:30 PM, Cheng Feng was hungry. He closed the software and left his room.

The living room was quiet, with only a maid cleaning softly. Gu Ming'en was eating dinner at a small table nearby. Shang Xu and Shang Shaohao were nowhere to be seen.

He walked over and asked Gu Ming'en where the young masters had gone.

Without looking up, Gu Ming'en replied that Shang Xu had gone out for a walk with Ye Ximo, while Shang Shaohao had taken his sports car out to have fun. He didn't know the specifics.

Cheng Feng went to the kitchen and brought out some warm dishes, sitting next to Gu Ming'en to eat together.

After finishing his meal, he walked to the door and looked outside. The snow was falling heavier now, accompanied by a downpour. The wind and snow intertwined, making it look bitterly cold.

He frowned. Shang Xu and Ye Ximo had gone for a walk and probably hadn't brought an umbrella. He took out his phone and sent Shang Xu a few messages, asking if he had an umbrella or something similar.

The messages were sent but received no response.

Cheng Feng stared at his phone screen and sighed. Shang Xu and Ye Ximo must be having such a good time chatting that they forgot to check their phones and reply. He had heard that Shang Xu and Ye Ximo were getting married soon, probably next year.

But just as this thought crossed his mind, Shang Xu pushed the door open, covered in snow and carrying a chill.

Cheng Feng noticed that Ye Ximo wasn't with him and felt an inexplicable sense of relief, even a hint of joy. Moving much faster than Gu Ming'en, he quickly stepped forward to help Shang Xu take off his snow-dusted coat and replace it with a warm home-style one.

"Young Master, you're back."

Shang Xu saw his happy expression, like a little fox, and smiled.

"Yes, I'm back."

Cheng Feng said, "I'll go prepare your bathing supplies. I'm heading upstairs."

"Okay."

Cheng Feng hurried upstairs, faster than Gu Ming'en, and prepared the bathing supplies in advance.

Shang Xu walked into the bathroom and saw him busy with his head down. Suddenly, he spoke:

"Cheng Feng, I was driving Ye Ximo back just now and didn't check my phone."

Cheng Feng was taken aback. Was the young master specifically explaining why he hadn't replied to the messages?

He lowered his eyes and spoke in a subtly manipulative tone: "Mm, it's fine. You're the young master. It's only natural that you don't reply to a little servant like me. I'm not sad at all."

Every time he spoke to Shang Xu, he couldn't help but feel aggrieved, and his words carried a hint of sarcasm. Yet, Shang Xu never scolded him for it. Over time, he became even more unrestrained, openly expressing all his dissatisfaction.

Shang Xu: "You mad?"

Cheng Feng pouted: "Me? I wouldn't dare be angry with the young master. Besides, what business do I have being angry?"

"Sorry, I'll get back to you right away next time."

Cheng Feng turned away, then couldn't help asking: "When you went out with that girl from the Ye family tonight, was it just a walk?"

"Yes, just a walk."

"Wow, you two sure can walk. Didn't your legs get tired?"

Shang Xu said seriously: "There's nothing between her and me."

Cheng Feng felt a slight pang in his chest: "Why are you telling *me* this? It's none of my business anyway. Even if there were something between you two, I wouldn't mind. After all, you two are getting married eventually."

Shang Xu said nothing.

Seeing his silence, Cheng Feng immediately asked, "Are you angry?"

"No."

Cheng Feng stole glances at him for a while, then whispered tentatively: "Shang Xu, do you want me to help you bathe?"

"No need, I'll bathe myself."

Cheng Feng sighed inwardly. Ever since he bathed Shang Xu last time, it hadn't happened again. Downhearted, he went downstairs and returned to his room.

As soon as he sat down, Liang Wenfan called.

"Cheng Feng, what are you up to?"

Liang Wenfan had been contacting him frequently lately, probably out of guilt, or perhaps hoping he would forgive his sister. Not only did he teach him to play the guitar, but he also often chatted with him.

Cheng Feng wasn't in the mood and didn't really feel like talking: "Getting ready to sleep."

"Well... goodnight then."

"Goodnight."