SMWOM 33

Meng Yang was busy not only studying, but also practicing for the overseas competition. He also had to finish his final aromatherapy licensing examination. Sometimes his brain was really worn out, so he rode his horse around Longling Mountain to relax his mind.

At the invitation of Luo Xiu’s younger brother, Luo Qi, Bradley got off the car outside the gate of the mansion. He saw a noble and elegant light gold horse run by, and when he recognized the person on the horse, he was immediately stunned. It was as if he was seeing an illusion; in the bright sunlight, the exquisite and beautiful elven prince was astride a horse, and was riding towards him. How he hoped that the enchanting prince would leap down from the horse and dive into his arms.

Meng Yang was thinking about other things and didn’t see Bradley as he rode away. Bradley followed Meng Yang with his eyes and didn’t come back to his senses until Meng Yang receded from view.

“Mr. Bradley, please come in.” Luo Qi saw that he wasn’t paying attention to him, and raised his voice to call, “Mr. Bradley?”

Bradley snapped out of it and turned to look at Luo Qi. 

“Come in, please.” Luo Qi gestured with a hand.

“Mr. Luo, that was…” As he walked inside, he tentatively inquired. He pretended not to know Meng Yang so he could inquire about things he wanted to know.

“That’s my elder brother’s husband. They just recently got married,” Luo Qi replied. 

“Is that so? He looks very young.”

“He really is very young, the same age as my elder brother’s son.”

“Oh?” Bradley asked, feigning surprise. “How did they meet and come to get married?”

“I don’t know. My eldest brother just suddenly said he was getting married, and not only that, it was to his son’s ex-lover.”

“His son’s ex-lover, how could that be?” Bradley truly was surprised this time.

“Come, come, come, we’ll go inside and talk.”

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The day to depart for the competition abroad soon arrived. Luo Xiu had promised Meng Yang that he’d go abroad with him, but even if he tried his best to spare some time, he couldn’t go until two days after Meng Yang would leave. However, Meng Yang and his team wouldn’t immediately compete after going overseas, so it was fine for Luo Xiu to be two days late.

“You have to come to me as soon as you finish your work. You can’t miss me competing, okay?” Meng Yang looked up at Luo Xiu and hugged him around the waist.

“Don’t worry, I won’t miss you competing,” Luo Xiu replied.

Once Meng Yang and the others went abroad, there was still four or five days before the competition, so Luo Xiu had time.

Meng Yang wrapped an arm around Luo Xiu’s neck as he stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips. Luo Xiu put an arm around his waist and held his chin to kiss him back. 

Luo Xiu sent Meng Yang to the airport. Meng Yang reluctantly said bye to him and went to meet his senior brothers. 

They went abroad to compete, representing both themselves as individuals and their school, and were accompanied by several masters. Another advantage to being a master was that even if you didn’t qualify to participate in an international competition, you could still be funded by the school to go along with the students and teach as well as learn.

They arrived a few days before the competition because they wanted to visit different perfume gardens and plantations to buy some ingredients.

Once they got off the plane, no one thought that Bradley would be the one to receive them.

“Welcome, everyone.” Bradley shook hands with the masters and said with a smile, “I’m in charge of reception this time. These elderly gentlemen, please come this way.”

The students were all quite surprised. No matter what, a person of Bradley’s status shouldn’t be required to do reception work.

After watching the masters board the bus and leave, Bradley turned to the students and said, “Everyone, please get on the cars.”

With the masters gone, the students couldn’t suppress the excitement in their hearts. They were delighted to see the perfume icon and asked to take a picture with him. 

“In the next few days, we’ll meet everyday and have many opportunities for group photos. We shouldn’t worry about it for now. Let’s go to the hotel and rest first,” Bradley said gently.

Most of the students were captivated by Bradley’s gentle and polite demeanor, and in this world where same-sex marriage was okay, both males and females were fascinated by this person’s charm.

Over a dozen black cars were waiting. Just as the students were about to board the cars one after another, Bradley approached Meng Yang and asked, “Would you like to take my car?”

Meng Yang looked at him and said, “No need, I’ll stay with my senior brothers.”

Everyone looked over at them and wondered why Bradley only invited Meng Yang.

Bradley smiled at Meng Yang and nodded, and turned to get into his car.

When the students arrived at the hotel, all the students were two to a room, and Bradley’s assistant handed out the room cards to everyone.

Since the number of people was odd, Meng Yang was alone in a room. Meng Yang wasn’t used to sharing a room with others, so he felt that he was lucky to have a room to himself.

When they arrived at the floor of their rooms, Meng Yang opened the door with his room card and was stunned when he entered. He looked down in thought for a moment, and turned to leave his room and went to Wu Feng and Qin Hong’s room. 

Meng Yang looked around Wu Feng and Qin Hong’s room and said to Wu Feng, “Senior brother, I don’t want to sleep in a room alone. Can I share a room with you?”

“Okay.” Wu Feng didn’t ask why and immediately agreed, and then said to Qin Hong, “You go to Meng Yang’s room to sleep.”

Because Wu Feng didn’t hesitate to drive him away, Qin Hong looked at Wu Feng with a wronged look. (1)

“What are you doing? Go on,” Wu Feng urged Qin Hong, and to Meng Yang, he said, “Meng Yang, give him the room card.”

“Sorry, senior brother Qin,” Meng Yang apologized as he gave the room card to Qin Hong.

“It’s fine.” Qin Hong then left with the room key. 

After putting his things away, Meng Yang said to Wu Feng, “Senior brother, I’m going to make a phone call.”

“Okay.” Wu Feng nodded.

Meng Yang took his cellphone into the bathroom to call Luo Xiu. Once he got through to him, Meng Yang told him that he’d arrived at the hotel and that he’d rather Luo Xiu come later than have him stay up too late, and so on. They were really like a couple in love now. Even when talking about unimportant things, they could talk for a long time and were reluctant to hang up the phone. As long as they could hear each other’s voice, they’d feel happy. 

Though Meng Yang didn’t want to hang up, he agreed to contact Luo Xiu in the evening and hung up to avoid disrupting Luo Xiu’s work.

“Calling your husband?” Wu Feng asked Meng Yang as he came out of the bathroom.

“En.” Meng Yang smiled and nodded as he sat down on the sofa. 

“It seems that you really like President Luo,” Wu Feng said as he looked at Meng Yang’s face. “It’s just a phone call and you have such a happy and sweet expression.”

Meng Yang just smiled and didn’t respond. He and Mr. Luo could be said to really be in love now. Though Mr. Luo hadn’t outwardly loved him, Meng Yang was able to feel the affection in his responses recently.

Qin Hong came in and said, “It’s time to eat.”

Meng Yang and Wu Feng both got up. When they were about to leave, Qin Hong glanced at Meng Yang and said, “Just now, Bradley knocked on the door and announced that it was time to go down for dinner. He was obviously very surprised to see that the one who opened the door was me. Moreover, the room you got was a luxury suite.”

“What’s going on?” Wu Feng looked doubtfully at Meng Yang.

“Do you need help?” Qin Hong asked and also looked at Meng Yang.

Meng Yang thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know what his purpose is. I’m guessing he wants me to help him guess prices and bid for ingredients. I don’t want to accept his special treatment, so I randomly gave the room to senior brother Qin.”

“Why do I feel like that’s not the case? He’s not interested in you, is he?” Wu Feng said.

Meng Yang was shocked for a moment, then said, “It’s not clear what his purpose is, but I’ll find a chance to ask him. Before I know what he wants, if he does anything inappropriate, senior brothers can help me block it according to the situation.”

“I understand. Let’s go then, we still have to eat,” Wu Feng said.

They headed down to the hotel’s restaurant to have dinner, and Bradley ended up not coming because of an unexpected incident. 

On the morning of the second day, the masters went to participate in the international conference. According to the original plan, the students were to go to a plantation to see the growth process of various plants used to make perfume. Bradley came to pick them up and told them he’d take them to his private island to visit his perfume garden.

After hearing this, all the students felt this was an unexpected blessing, and were excited and full of anticipation. 

Meng Yang bowed his head in thought. He didn’t want to be dramatic and say that Bradley did these things because he liked him, but it was certain that Bradley would never do these things without a reason. No matter his purpose, he had to be on guard in order to not fall into Bradley’s trap.

They set out to the port from the hotel, and then boarded the ship to head over to Bradley’s private island. While on the ship, Meng Yang was with Wu Feng and Qin Hong. He’d seen Bradley glancing at him several times, and even when he’d been caught, he had continued to look directly at Meng Yang rather than avoiding his sight.

After arriving at Bradley’s private island, the students excitedly got off the ship as they couldn’t wait to explore the island.

“Please, don’t worry students. I’ll have someone take you to rest and eat something, and then I’ll take you around for a tour,” Bradley smiled. “In fact, the main reason for inviting you all here today was because I wanted to ask Meng Yang for some help. If I invited him to come here alone, he certainly wouldn’t want to come, so I changed the original itinerary. I hope you all don’t mind.”

All the students looked at Meng Yang and thought that it was Meng Yang’s good fortune that brought them to Bradley’s private island. Even so, they were very happy. 

Wen Yuan’s face immediately changed. If he had known that it was because of Meng Yang that they could visit Bradley’s island, he wouldn’t have come here. Yu Junchen slightly lowered his head, with no expression on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking.

“I’d like to briefly introduce this island to you. This island is called Siris (2). Translated, this means lover, as this island is very charming and fascinating. Once you’ve explored it, you’ll understand what I mean.” Bradley looked at Meng Yang and said, “I’ve been studying your Eastern aromatherapy for the past two years. Meng Yang, I hope you can help me confirm the quality of several ingredients with your sensitive sense of smell. As a thank you, I can take you to see my private studio and collection room.”

Most of the students looked at Meng Yang enviously. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Bradley. I’m still a student and can’t help people judge the quality of ingredients well. It’s better for Mr. Bradley to ask a more professional person to assess them.” Meng Yang had already seen that the reason Bradley gave was just an excuse. 

“You’re too modest. I believe your strength has reached a professional level,” Bradley said while looking deeply at Meng Yang. 

If Meng Yang didn’t understand the meaning in his eyes, then he really was stupid. Even Yu Junchen could see that Bradley liked Meng Yang. 

Bradley didn’t say anything else. He asked the students to get into the cars that would take them to the old castle in the middle of the island.

Bradley personally opened the door of Meng Yang’s car and waited for him to board. Meng Yang was about to get in, then looked at his actions and stopped. 

“Thank you, Mr. Bradley.” Wu Feng went ahead of Meng Yang and got in the car.

“Thank you.” Qin Hong also nodded to Bradley and got in.

Meng Yang got in the car last.

Facing this situation, Bradley just smiled and helped them close the door.

The students looked out the windows to admire the beautiful scenery that looked like an oil painting. They could help but appreciate it as they chatted and talked about Meng Yang.

“I didn’t expect that we were able to come here because of Meng Yang.”

“It’s not that surprising, is it? Before we came here, the teacher said that Meng Yang should be able to place very well this time. Isn’t it normal that a genius like Meng Yang would be valued by other international masters?”

“Yes, there are many benefits to his talent. We admire him too.”

“Among Master Xu and Master Lin’s students, I thought Yu Junchen would be the one that attracted the most attention. Meng Yang suddenly emerged though, and now even Yu Junchen is no match for him.”

“It’s obvious now that Meng Yang is better than Yu Junchen, but no one can say for sure about what will happen later on. Maybe Yu Junchen will break through and surpass Meng Yang again.”

Wen Yuan sat in the car and said coldly, “If we’d known that Bradley was only inviting us to come here for Meng Yang, we shouldn’t have come. It seems like we’re receiving benefits from his light. Who cares about his light?”

“Everyone else wanted to come, so it would be useless for us to oppose it. We can’t act alone,” Zhao Zhi said.

Wen Yuan was very happy when they were on the ship. He thought they were lucky to be invited to visit Bradley’s private island, but now that he knew the reason behind this good fortune, he wasn’t happy. 

Yu Junchen was looking out of the window while lost in thought, recalling the look in Bradley’s eyes as he looked at Meng Yang. He was sure that Bradley liked Meng Yang. However, with the lesson from last time, he didn’t dare act rashly this time. He felt that he’d really made a mistake. If he hadn’t rashly told Luo Sheng that someone had entered Meng Yang’s room as opposed to thinking of a way to use the information so that it could be used against him, maybe things would be totally different now.

After eating and drinking in the castle and resting for a while, they began to tour the island. As Bradley said, the island had great charm. The more they saw of the island, the more fascinated they became. 

Though Meng Yang refused to help Bradley check the quality of his ingredients, Bradley still invited Meng Yang to visit his studio alone, and Meng Yang refused again. 

That evening, Bradley went to Meng Yang’s room and said he wanted to talk to him. After thinking it over for a while, Meng Yang thought that it would be better to talk to him. He asked Wu Feng to go to Qin Hong’s room for a while and come back in ten minutes. (3) 

“What do you want to say?” Meng Yang asked Bradley.

“You should understand my feelings for you, so you’ve been avoiding me, right?” Bradley said very frankly. 

“I want to remind you, Mr. Bradley, that I’m married,” Meng Yang said seriously and solemnly. “Keeping a proper distance from me is respectful to both me and to yourself.”

“You really don’t need to be so guarded against me. I won’t do anything to you until you get divorced. For now, I just want to be friends with you, but I hope you can give me the chance to pursue you after you divorce your present husband.”

“What makes you think I’m going to divorce my husband?” Meng Yang said unhappily. 

“After you broke up with your ex-boyfriend, you very quickly married his father. Before that, you and your husband didn’t know each other, so you couldn’t have married for love. Though I’ve never been able to figure out what benefits getting married to him brings you, I can guess that it’s very likely just a transaction; a marriage only in name.”

“I’m not obligated to respond to your guesses, as what you think is your business, not mine. All you need to know is that I love my husband and we’ll be together forever. There’s absolutely no chance of divorce, so even if you want a chance, it’s impossible,” Meng Yang said firmly.

“You love your husband, but he doesn’t necessarily love you. You haven’t even joined together as a married couple. How long can your marriage last just with your wishful thinking?” Bradley asked.

“Mr. Bradley!” Meng Yang said sharply. “Your words have crossed the line, what qualifications do you have to comment on and judge my marriage with my husband?! I don’t think I have anything else to say to you, so please leave!”

Bradley suddenly laughed and said happily, “If you don’t deny it right away, then it proves that my guess is right. You and your husband really haven’t consummated your marriage yet.” 

Meng Yang was really angry now. He took out his mobile phone and dialed Luo Xiu’s number, wanting to ask Luo Xiu to send someone to pick him up.

“Hello, Mr. Luo, I’m on the island Siris right now, can you have someone…” Meng Yang’s words weren’t yet finished when his mobile phone was taken away by Bradley. 

“Give it back to me!” Meng Yang demanded angrily.

“Meng Yang?” Luo Xiu’s voice could be heard from the phone. 

Bradley held Meng Yang’s cellphone and looked at him seriously, saying, “Since you and your husband are married in name only, is it not better to divorce as soon as possible?”

Meng Yang suddenly stood up and grabbed for his cellphone. 

Previous Chapter | | TOC | |

This is part of a batch-upload from chapter 28-33. Make sure you’re not reading out of order!

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Translator Notes: I know this is so not the main point of this chapter, but…castle? Really? I think the author may have overestimated how many ancient castles there are in Europe, especially those available for private use on islands…

(Edit) I stand corrected! My lovely editor Red Yak made a note for me on castles that was really interesting, so I asked if I could add it! Here’s a bit of education for everyone:

Red Yak: Actually… not really. Not all castles are like Nuremberg Castle so you’d be surprised at how many castles are just scattered across Europe. Everyone who had money and land back in the day in feudal society built a castle on their territory and they weren’t particularly large. The only problem nowadays is that their maintenance is quite expensive and it’s quite costly to install plumbing and electricity so a lot of people who inherited the land and castles end up selling them to real estate agencies who make them tourist hot spots or bed and breakfasts or rich people buy them and turn them into vacation homes. This particular castle probably isn’t even that big with only 2 floors, 3-5 bedrooms, a large hall, a kitchen, and other facilities. It’s very similar to a modern mansion. So castles aren’t really anything special in Europe, unless you want to talk about the big royal residences, a lot of them have actually been abandoned and fallen into ruin. Bradley, as a man with money, can probably afford to revamp an old castle. Perfume surprisingly makes a lot of money.

Translator: (I’m sorry to leave you guys on a cliffhanger, maybe I’ll try to get the next chapter out sometime just to resolve things. Stay safe everyone!)

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1. Just in case we don’t remember because it was only mentioned once, Qin Hong is Wu Feng’s boyfriend. Wu Feng just drove his boyfriend out after one sentence from Meng Yang…bros before hoes?

2. I hate anglicizing things. The original island name is “西里斯”which is apparently usually anglicized into Siris, Sirius, Sylas, Silis, Cyrus, etc. Not one of these have any connections with lovers that I could find, so who knows. 

3. A little confused here, because since they’re on the island now, there shouldn’t be a reason for Wu Feng and Meng Yang to still be rooming together while Qin Hong is by himself. I don’t know, maybe the exact same situation with rooms happened, or maybe the author forgot about this? Honestly, I just feel bad for Qin Hong.

SMWOM 32

Luo Sheng took a deep breath and said to his friends, “Today’s party was specially arranged to celebrate my little dad winning first place in his competition. All of the people who came here today will be friends in the future, so I hope you can get along well and not argue with each other anymore.”

Nearly all of them were astonished by the turn of events. They looked at each other, thinking that they were either hearing things or dreaming. Otherwise, how could such things come from Luo Sheng’s mouth?

Meng Yang smiled, then looked at the wine on the table next to him, motioning for Luo Sheng to get him a glass of wine.

Luo Sheng went over and poured a glass of red wine for Meng Yang.

Meng Yang looked at the wine in his hand and said, “White wine.”

Before everyone’s shocked eyes, Luo Sheng immediately turned to change it. Secretly taking a deep breath, he put down the red wine and poured a glass of white wine for Meng Yang.

Once he took the glass, Meng Yang said to the crowd, “Thank you for coming to celebrate with me today. As you can see, Luo Sheng and I have made up. Luo Sheng is willing to respect my status as his elder, and my heart is very happy, so I’ll let go of things he did in the past. The present and future are the most important things. I’d like to have a good time today, and I hope you all have a good time and enjoy yourselves. I want to propose a toast to all of you to show my gratitude.”

Meng Yang took up his glass and sipped it lightly, then gave it to Luo Sheng. He said to everyone with a smile, “Don’t just stand here; it’s rare to have such good weather. Go and have fun.”

Though the other people still didn’t understand, after Meng Yang left, they walked out in twos and threes and whispered about what was happening.

“What’s wrong with Luo Sheng? Did he really acknowledge Meng Yang as his stepfather? That’s impossible, isn’t it?!”

“When Luo Sheng talked about Meng Yang before, he was gnashing his teeth and wanting to tear him up. Now this sudden change is too unbelievable.”

“Isn’t it because of the news from before?”

“But wasn’t that just news without any followup? Luo Sheng’s father didn’t admit that the news were true.”

“I need to find a chance to ask Luo Sheng what’s going on.”

While enjoying the scenery, Meng Yang walked into the pavilion and said to Luo Sheng, who was following him, “It’s said that the mountain spring water of Bishui villa is very good. You have people make me a pot of tea with mountain spring water for me to taste.”

“Yes.” Luo Sheng immediately turned back and asked people to make tea for Meng Yang. 

Meng Yang went into the pavilion and sat down, and Luo Sheng soon brought the tea in person.

Meng Yang opened the lid of the teapot and took a look, then said, “I don’t drink green tea. It hurts my stomach. Make me a cup of black tea.”

“Yes.” Luo Sheng didn’t say anything else, just immediately turned around and asked people to make a new pot of black tea.

Luo Sheng’s actions shocked and appalled all the guests, not to mention Yu Junchen. Now he finally understood what Luo Sheng had said, but seeing Luo Sheng treat Meng Yang with respect and such a servile attitude made him feel extremely distressed and uncomfortable.

After the tea was made and delivered, Meng Yang took a sip from the cup and placed it on the stone table beside him. He said to Luo Sheng, “I hope everything you do today comes from the heart and can be maintained in the future. Then we’ll be able to live in harmony without fighting. Go and talk to your friends, as they must be waiting for an explanation. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

“Okay,” Luo Sheng nodded, then turned to his friends. 

Xiao Ke went up to Meng Yang and asked in a low voice, “Have you really reconciled with Luo Sheng?”

Though Xiao Ke thought it was impossible, he was still worried.

“It’s true on the surface, but not true in my heart…” Meng Yang said with a smile, “True or false, I can go back on my word at any time. Now I just want to see how much tolerance he has.”

Xiao Ke immediately understood what he meant and nodded slightly, “Would you like me to test his patience for you?”

“Alright.” Meng Yang agreed.

“This is just the beginning, and it’s better not to go farther than is appropriate, otherwise you won’t be able to play any longer,” Lu Yunjing whispered. 

“I know, I know the score,” Xiao Ke said, “It’d be a shame if you just play with it once and don’t get to play with it anymore.”

((((I know the score is an idiom for I get the situation, does that need to be clarified? Or just replaced?)))) Just make a note to clarify.

Wu Feng came up to Meng Yang and said, “What’s going on? Didn’t you come to have fun today?”

“Senior brother, you just have to play as much as you want. You should enjoy yourself and eat; you don’t need to pay attention to other things,” Meng Yang said.

“Then we’ll go and look around. The scenery here is really nice. If there’s anything you need, you can call us.” Wu Feng said.

“Okay, go ahead.” Meng Yang nodded.

After drinking his tea, Meng Yang also walked around with Xiao Ke and Lu Yunjing.

Xiao Ke suddenly pointed to the watery surface of the pond and said, “Those fish are nice, with gold stripes over the red and beautiful shapes. You can see that they’re expensive. Why don’t you try out your son’s filial piety with these fish?”

“This is the Cheng family’s villa. Luo Sheng is just the grandson of the Cheng family and might not be able to act as the master and give things away here, right?” Lu Yunjing said. 

“Though Luo Sheng is just his daughter’s son, Old Master Cheng’s expectations of him are even higher than those of the grandson in his own family (1), and his investment in Luo Sheng is more as well,” Meng Yang said, “We can also take this opportunity to see to what extent Old Master Cheng is willing to compromise for his grandson, Luo Sheng.”

“Shall I call him over then?” Xiao Ke asked.

Meng Yang nodded.

Xiao Ke turned and walked for a few paces, then called out, “Luo Sheng, come here for a moment.”

Not only did Luo Sheng hear the call, but the others around also heard it. Seeing Luo Sheng walk by, people couldn’t help but gather around, wanting to see what they wanted Luo Sheng to do.

“Luo Sheng, your little dad said that these fish in the pond are enjoyable to watch. If he likes them, he might as well take them back to enjoy them. What do you think?” Xiao Ke asked, looking at Luo Sheng.

Luo Sheng was stunned as he looked at the fish in the pond. The price of the fish was secondary, but they were difficult to buy with money. The most important thing was that his grandfather liked these fish very much and had to see them every time he came here.

“It seems impossible.” Xiao Ke turned to Meng Yang and said, “I really thought that your son would be filial to you from now on.”

“Meng Yang…” Yu Junchen wanted to say something, but was stopped by Luo Sheng.

“A few fish aren’t worth anything. Since my little dad likes them, I’ll have people grab stuff to get them. Little dad can take them home and play with them.” Luo Sheng turned and pulled Yu Junchen away.

Yu Junchen looked at him, eyes wide with surprise. Those fish were his grandfather’s favorite, and he didn’t even get his grandfather’s permission and would just send them away?

Luo Sheng wouldn’t give the fish to Meng Yang without his grandfather’s consent, because without his grandfather’s consent, the villa’s manager wouldn’t let people catch them. As such, once he’d called his grandfather, he took people to fish in the pond. 

After putting the fish into a white porcelain fish tank that had to be lifted by two people, they specially carried it over to Meng Yang to show him.

Meng Yang nodded in satisfaction and said, “Yes, they’re even more beautiful up close. Send them to the main house on Longling Mountain, and have the housekeeper put it in my lounge.”

The fish tank was carried away, and Meng Yang said that he was hungry. Luo Sheng immediately sent people to inform the kitchen, and then took them to the dining room.

Entering the classic and elegant room, Meng Yang sat at the main seat of the table, and the others divided and sat on both sides of him.

Meng Yang turned his head to look at the incense burner that was emitting smoke outside. He got up and slowly walked over, looking at it carefully. The bronze censer was just the right size, and the patterns decorating it were very beautiful. Meng Yang could clearly see that this was a very valuable antique.

Before Meng Yang spoke, Luo Sheng said, “If little dad likes it, you can take it back with you.”

“Then I won’t be polite with you,” Meng Yang said with a smile, then walked back to sit down on the couch.

Yu Junchen’s head lowered as he clenched his fists tightly. Before, he’d told Luo Sheng that he liked the censer very much. Luo Sheng told him it was a pity that his grandfather also enjoyed it very much, otherwise he’d give it to him. Meng Yang only looked at it now and Luo Sheng directly sent it to him. Although he knew Luo Sheng had his reasons, his heart was still angry.

The waiter arrived with a serving tray.

“This is boiled fish in spring water. The fish meat is soft and tender, and the fish soup is sweet and delicious. It’s our signature dish here at Bishui Villa. Please have some soup to warm your stomach, then try the fish,” the service personnel said to Meng Yang.

Meng Yang took a mouthful of the fish soup, nodded in contentment, then asked, “Does this fish have bones?”

“There are no pin bones (2), only a few little bones and spines. I’ll help the guest pick them out.”

“You don’t need to.” Meng Yang put the soup bowl down and looked at Luo Sheng.

“I’ll do it,” Luo Sheng said.

The service personnel looked at Luo Sheng, surprised, but still got up and stood aside. 

Luo Sheng helped Meng Yang pick out the fish bones and spines, then put the fish meat in front of Meng Yang. 

Taking a small bite with his chopsticks, Meng Yang said, “Yes, this is indeed a signature dish.”

After that, Luo Sheng helped Meng Yang set up all the dishes. 

Yu Junchen had no appetite. Watching Luo Sheng serving Meng Yang, he felt heartbroken and sad. Luo Sheng had told him not to say a word though, otherwise all his patience would have been in vain.

Luo Sheng’s friends, looking between Luo Sheng and all the food in front of them, couldn’t eat. They were very angry for Luo Sheng. Lu Yunjing and Wu Feng ate very happily, as the dishes were very tasty despite all.

“Meng Yang!” Luo Sheng’s friend couldn’t stand it, slamming a hand on the table and suddenly standing. He yelled at Meng Yang, “Don’t go too far!”

Meng Yang slowly raised his head and coldly looked at him.

Meng Yang had deliberately asked Luo Sheng to serve him, and Luo Sheng restrained himself and earnestly served him as a filial son. However, Luo Sheng’s friend couldn’t help but be angry, hitting the table and scolding Meng Yang for doing too much. In fact, Meng Yang thought this wasn’t much for what Luo Sheng had done to him in his previous life. If he didn’t put Luo Sheng’s face on the ground and step on it, it was already him being kind. It wasn’t too much to ask him to serve a few dishes. 

He simply looked coldly at the man and didn’t speak. At this moment, he didn’t need to say anything.

“Isn’t it just a natural matter to be a filial son to one’s father?” Xiao Ke looked at the man and said, “It’s a family matter anyways. Luo Sheng didn’t say anything, so why are you shouting here? You’re rather nosy aren’t you?”

“Luo Sheng, you’re your father’s own son, why should he be served by you? If you still have any guts, slap his face and drive him out of here!”

“Shut up!” Luo Sheng roared, standing up, “My business has nothing to do with you! If you don’t like it, get out of here!”

“You…” Du Ming looked at Luo Sheng in disbelief and said, “I’ve known you since I was only a couple years old and have been your friend for more than ten years; how many of these friends are really sincere to you like this? Don’t you know this in your heart?! Even real elders should respect others, but he’s just deliberately torturing you! Do you think that the things you’re doing will really make him let go of the past and get along with you?! Wake up!”

“I told you to mind your own business. What I do is my own concern. From today on, I don’t have someone like you as a friend, get out of here!” Luo Sheng roared at him with an ugly face. 

“Fine, I’ll just feed my kind intentions to a dog!” Du Ming turned away in anger.

Meng Yang took a sip of fish soup and sneered. He thought to himself that this man really saw Luo Sheng as a friend, but not only was his brain a bit dull, he was also too emotional.

“I’m sorry everyone. He has such a self-righteous and hot-tempered character; please don’t take it seriously.” Luo Sheng said to everyone, “Don’t be angry, little dad, I’ll take the opportunity to teach him a lesson.”

Luo Sheng’s friends looked at each other, all feeling that Luo Sheng’s servile posturing was too much. Not having any dignity or face, was it really worth it?

Yu Junchen’s friends had been unable to figure out the situation since Meng Yang appeared. Now they were even more unsure, and therefore, were in no position to interrupt. However, they also began to worry. Even Luo Sheng had given into Meng Yang. They’d stood by Yu Junchen before because of the relationship between Yu Junchen and Luo Sheng, but now it seemed that their efforts to try and please Yu Junchen were in vain.

After dinner, Lu Yunjing, Meng Yang, and his senior brothers strolled around the villa before leaving.

Luo Sheng helped Meng Yang open the door of his car and said, “I’ve sent people to the main house with the things my little dad liked.”

Once he was in the car, Meng Yang said, “I was very satisfied with your performance today, and I hope you can continue to maintain it in the future.”

“Thank you, little dad.” Luo Sheng closed the door and watched the car leave, hands trembling.

Meng Yang believed that Luo Sheng’s patience was for the sake of the property of the Luo family. He knew though that Luo Sheng wasn’t Luo Xiu’s biological son and the Luo family’s property had nothing to do with him, and that Luo Sheng couldn’t obtain anything no matter how hard he strived for it. What kind of expression would he have in the future when he recalled everything happening now? Meng Yang was very happy as he imagined it and couldn’t help but laugh. In this life, he wouldn’t be a purely good or purely bad person. Instead, he’d be better to the good people and worse to the bad people. 

Luo Sheng returned to his own room in the villa and smashed everything that could be smashed. However, the anger in his heart could not be cleared. Eyes red and veins bulging, he wanted to grab a knife and hack Meng Yang into a thousand pieces. But now he must endure this. He trembled with anger at the thought that this was only the beginning.

Yu Junchen had been standing in the corner, watching Luo Sheng destroy things and tremble in fury. He closed his eyes in pain, then walked over to hold and console Luo Sheng, “It’s okay, your patience now will be worth it. You should be proud of yourself, because all sinners in life must have a period of time experiencing things that ordinary people could not bear. After you succeed, everything happening now will be proof of your perseverance.”

Luo Sheng tightly hugged Yu Junchen and slowly calmed down as he listened to his words. 

Previous Chapter | | TOC | | Next Chapter

This is part of a batch-upload from chapter 28-33. Make sure you’re not reading out of order!

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1. Again with the very specific words for familial relationships in Chinese. When Luo Sheng is referred to, the grandson means daughter’s son. The Cheng family’s grandson, who we don’t meet, is Old Master Cheng’s son’s son, and as such is still surnamed Cheng, so he’d usually be more valued.

2. Pin bones are like the tiny white bones that you see people remove with pliers. I’m not actually sure they’re referring to pin bones since they just said small spines (刺 ), but I’m guessing that’s what they mean? 

SMWOM 31

On the second day after returning to Anluo, Meng Yang told Luo Xiu that he hoped Luo Xiu could send someone to help him take over his company. After careful consideration, Luo Xiu gave him several different plans for him to choose from. Meng Yang didn’t understand these things very well, so he asked Luo Xiu to help him make a decision. 

Half a month later, Sun Fengei, the president of the Meng Fragrance Company, came to see Meng Yang with many documents. 

“Aunt Sun, long time no see.” Meng Yang entered the small living room and looked at Sun Fengfei. 

“Meng Yang, I haven’t seen you for a while. I heard that your college is famous for it’s strictness. Have you been busy studying?” Sun Fengfei asked with a smile.

“Studying is okay; I can handle it. I’ve been busy preparing for the competition,” Meng Yang said as he sat down.

Sun Fengfei nodded and said, “It’s necessary to compete if you want to be successful in fragrance.”

“Aunt Sun, you’ve worked hard all these years,” Meng Yang said sincerely and gratefully as he looked at Sun Fengfei. 

“I…I’m quite ashamed that not only did I not develop the company into something better, I made the company’s situation even worse year by year. My ability can’t compare with your mother’s. I wanted to make the company bigger and better, but it was really too difficult for me.” As Sun Fengfei recalled many memories from over the years, her heart filled with emotion. 

Meng Yang’s mother and Sun Fengfei were close friends. When Meng Yang’s mother learned that she had a terminal illness, she gave the company to Sun Fengfei, who was still Vice President at the time. Over the years, she was never two-faced as she helped Meng Yang manage the company, so Meng Yang was very grateful to her. 

Meng Yang really wasn’t good at operations and management nor was he interested in these things. What he could do was rely on Luo Xiu so that this company wouldn’t be eliminated by the passing time, but instead be completely transformed into a new existence. 

The Meng family’s company would be connected to the Luo Group in the future, and Luo Xiu would send someone over to take care of the company. From the brand name to the company’s internal management system, all of it would undergo major rectifications. If one wanted to have a new life, one had to endure the pain and abandon the old. 

Although Sun Fengfei would no longer participate in the management of the company, in order to thank her, Meng Yang would still give her the annual salary that she deserved and let her receive her pension in advance. 

Once Meng Yang had signed all the documents, he left with Sun Fengfei to get lunch. They talked about many things from the past and reminisced about the time when Meng Yang’s mother was still around. It wasn’t until the afternoon that Meng Yang sent Sun Fengfei away, and not long after Sun Fengfei left, Luo Xiu returned. 

After he returned from Rong City, Meng Yang began to help Luo Xiu treat his headaches, so he asked Luo Xiu to return home on time.

In addition to smelling the incense, there was also fumigation (1), soaking, and massaging the acupoints and meridians with essential oil blends. Meng Yang had asked the housekeeper to build an aromatherapy room next to the bedroom, and it was both beautiful and comfortable. He also asked people to send in hot spring water every day as it could enhance the efficacy of aromatherapy. 

Meng Yang poured the mixture with a medicinal fragrance into the hot spring water and swirled it around with one hand. He used his other hand to open the wooden board cover on the wall and set the temperature of the water. 

Luo Xiu finished washing his body and walked out of the bathroom with a bath towel on. Turning his head to look at his figure, Meng Yang couldn’t help swallowing as he said, “The water temperature has been adjusted. It’ll be a half hour soak for today.

Luo Xiu entered the wooden tub with the bath towel on and sat down in the water with his back to Meng Yang, and Meng Yang wiped his back with a towel.

Luo Xiu’s back muscles were very strong. His back alone gave off a solid and reliable feeling. This was the result of him continually working out in the office gym every day despite being busy.

Meng Yang unfurled the towel and rubbed it over Luo Xiu’s shoulders and back using his hands, then slowly hugged him from behind. “Mr. Luo…”

Luo Xiu closed his eyes and tried to restrain himself.

Meng Yang rubbed his face on Luo Xiu’s back. Luo Xiu’s breathing became heavier and heavier as Meng Yang’s breathing became faster and faster.

Luo Xiu suddenly turned around, grabbed Meng Yang, and kissed him deeply. Meng Yang was stunned for a moment before he circled his arms around Luo Xiu’s neck and responded to him. Both of them were already deeply in love. The more they kissed, the more their hearts grew emotional, and the more they were moved. It was as if all the love in their hearts was expressed to each other through this kiss. 

Luo Xiu loosened his grasp on Meng Yang and cradled his face. He looked Meng Yang in the eyes and said, “I want to keep you around and always take care of you. No matter three years or however many years later, I won’t let you go. I’ll have someone cancel the prenup agreement tomorrow; do you agree?”

Meng Yang was kissed until he was dizzy and his eyes were hazy, but once he heard Luo Xiu’s words clearly, he nodded. “I do.”

Luo Xiu kissed Meng Yang’s lips again and then said, “Soon, you’re going to take part in an important competition. You can’t be distracted. When you finish the competition, we’ll have a better and in-depth conversation about the future, okay?”

“Good,” Meng Yang nodded again.

The two kissed once more.

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Once Luo Xiu had soaked for half an hour, Meng Yang had him lie on the bed for incense therapy again. Covered in cloth, they fumigated the room for half an hour. Once this was over, Meng Yang asked him to turn over and lie on the aromatherapy bed. He then straddled his back to massage the acupoints and meridians with essential oils. 

After massaging Luo Xiu, Meng Yang was sweating. When Luo Xiu went into the shower room to wash up, he also went back to their room and took a shower in the bathroom.

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Meng Yang and his senior brothers took part in the Youth Competition in China. Over the course of three days, they had three rounds of competition. Meng Yang won first place in the competition, Yu Junchen took second, and Wu Feng performed superbly and unexpectedly came in third place. The top three students would be able to participate in the Western International Youth Competition. 

Though the fragrance school of St. James University was recognized as the number one fragrance school in China, there were several other schools with strong fragrance programs. It could be said that they closely followed behind St. James University’s fragrance school, and some of the students were very fierce. In order to reduce the pressure of competition and get more attention and resources, these students would specifically choose other schools. 

This time, all the spots to participate in the Western International Youth Competition were occupied by their school, so it could be said that they were very popular in their school. The school administration was very happy and gave them open praise and awards. 

After meeting for the praise and rewards, the students were to go to class, and those who didn’t have class could just get ready to go home. 

They would have a break in two days, and Meng Yang’s senior brothers and sisters said they’d help him and Wu Feng celebrate. As they headed out of the school, they discussed how to celebrate. 

Luo Sheng was standing outside the fragrance school, waiting for Meng Yang. 

After Luo Sheng left the inn last time, he hurried to the Cheng house to discuss countermeasures with his grandfather. Under the guidance of his grandfather, he made up his mind to return to the Luo house and work in the Luo family’s company as soon as possible, and try to get Luo Xiu’s approval as well. But when he tried several times to go back to the main house on Longling Mountain, the guards at the foot of the mountain didn’t allow him to even go up the mountain, let alone go back to the main house. As such, he could only wait outside the entrance to the fragrance school and stop Meng Yang to talk before he got in the car with his bodyguards. 

Meng Yang saw Luo Sheng from afar. He subconsciously thought that Luo Sheng had come for Yu Junchen, but when he saw Luo Sheng watching him, he figured that he must be looking for him because he couldn’t go back to the Luo main house. He must have wanted to find a way to get in through Meng Yang. 

“Meng Yang…” Luo Sheng walked towards Meng Yang. 

“What do you want to do this time?!” Wu Feng stepped in front of Meng Yang and glared fiercely at Luo Sheng. 

“I want to talk to you,” Luo Sheng said to Meng Yang. The disgustingly arrogant attitude he’d always had before with Meng Yang was now gone. 

“He has nothing to talk about with you. Get out of here!” Wu Feng said with clear disdain on his face. 

“Senior brother.” Meng Yang patted Wu Feng’s shoulder and said, “Go back first. I’ll hear what he has to say.”

Wu Feng wanted to convince Meng Yang to ignore Luo Sheng, but Meng Yang glanced at the bodyguard standing not too far away to signal that he didn’t have to worry. Wu Feng still told him to be careful and not trust this person before leaving with the others. 

“I don’t want to just stand here and listen to you. I’m going to the coffee shop outside the Luo Group’s building for some coffee, and if you want to say something, then come by yourself. I’ll only give you one cup of coffee’s time to speak,” Meng Yang said and then walked to the parked car. The bodyguard opened the door for him, and he got in the car and left. 

Luo Sheng followed them in his own car. 

Meng Yang entered a spacious and comfortable private room. Once he’d ordered coffee, Luo Sheng arrived. 

“What do you want to talk to me about?” Meng Yang glanced at him and asked.

“I want to apologize for what happened before,” Luo Sheng said with a sincere expression. 

“Which thing are you apologizing for?” Meng Yang asked after laughing for a moment. 

“Everything,” Luo Sheng replied. “I betrayed you by having a relationship with Junchen before I broke up with you. I brought people over to humiliate you and wanted to drive you out of the Luo family. I looked down on you and insulted you, and I apologize for all of it. I’m sorry. I was wrong before.”

“So? Does it mean anything whether or not I accept your apology?” Meng Yang looked at the seemingly sincere Luo Sheng and thought that he was putting on a really good act.

“It’s better for us to get along well with each other than to fight like this. I’m willing to accept the fact that you’ve married my father. After all, my father and I are still father and son, and this blood relationship can’t be broken.”

“But what good is it for me to forgive you?”

“My paternal grandmother, because of her relationship…because of a few things, she’s currently unable to come back, but it’s just a matter of time. If my father and I are legally separated because of your relationship, my grandmother won’t spare you when she comes back. I have a bad relationship with my father because I didn’t grow up with him, so he won’t give me face over you. But my father has always been very filial to my grandmother. Do you think that my father will side with my grandmother or with you?”

“You’re threatening me.” Meng Yang already understood Luo Sheng’s purpose. Luo Sheng and his grandfather had planned to not let Luo Xiu sever their relationship at least until Luo Xiu’s mother returned. This is why he came to apologize so humbly and said that he wanted to get along with him peacefully. In reality, he meant to threaten him with Luo Xiu’s mother.

Luo Xiu’s mother was abroad, accompanying her lover for ten years while he received treatment. Her lover was still very sick, so Luo Xiu’s mother wasn’t willing to take even one step away from him. Even when Meng Yang and Luo Xiu got married, his mother hadn’t come back. It could be seen how much Luo Xiu’s mother liked and valued this lover. 

“I’m not threatening you. I just don’t think it’s worthwhile for us to continue fighting like this, so I’d really like for us to peacefully get along.”

Meng Yang sneered in his heart, but pretended to think before saying, “Although what you’ve said is very reasonable, I’m not willing to accept your apology so easily.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I hope you can show me your sincerity.”

“You say it and I’ll do it.”

“First of all, I am married to your father, and it’s a fact that I’m your elder. I hope you’ll treat me as an elder when meeting me in the future. I’m going to celebrate with my fellow students the day after tomorrow. Call Yu Junchen and your friends together, and let me see if you’ve really made up your mind to accept me as your elder and get along well with me.”

“Good, I’ll pay everything for the party then,” Luo Sheng said.

“Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.” Meng Yang then got up and left. Since Luo Sheng had sent himself to Meng Yang’s door on his own initiative, he’d like to see how long he could endure.

It would take time for Luo Xiu and Luo Sheng to go through the procedure to legally terminate their father-son relationship. There were two ways to go through this procedure. First was to have the father and son go in person, because many things needed to be untangled. The second was if the father suddenly found out that the child wasn’t his own and needed to go through the process of breaking their legal parent-child relationship.

Meng Yang guessed that Luo Xiu would take the second choice. When the time came, he would put in for a DNA test, cut off the familial relationship, and throw it in the Cheng family’s face.

After entering Luo Xiu’s office, Meng Yang went over to Luo Xiu directly. Sitting down on his armrest, he put his arms around Luo Xiu’s neck and told him about Luo Sheng coming to find him.

“Does your mother really hate me?” Meng Yang asked him.

Luo Xiu’s hands paused in his typing as he said, “Even if she comes back, you don’t have to listen to her, no matter what she says.”

“But what if she bullies me? Will you go along with her, or will you protect me?” Meng Yang asked in a worried tone.

“Don’t worry. Even if she is my mother, I’ll protect you and won’t let anyone bully you,” Luo Xiu said. 

“With that, I’m relieved. Thank you, Mr. Luo.” Meng Yang kissed Luo Xiu’s face, then got up and sat down again on Luo Xiu’s leg. He looked at him and said, “I won first place in the China Youth Competition. Last time, we agreed that you’d grant me one request.”

“You say it,” Luo Xiu said.

“I want you to go abroad with me for the competition.”

Luo Xiu opened his schedule on the computer and looked at it, and then agreed, “Okay, I’ll do my best to fit it in the schedule.”

“Thank you, Mr. Luo,” Meng Yang said, kissing Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu answered Meng Yang’s pink lips and tongue, kissing him passionately.

The two enjoyed a vigorous kiss with the time passing quickly.

---

Meng Yang had assigned Luo Sheng to take him and his friends to party at the Bishui Villa of the Cheng family and to reserve this venue with no other guests allowed. Luo Sheng, with the consent of his grandfather, immediately sent people to prepare it.

On the day of the party, Luo Sheng took Yu Junchen and his friends to the Bishui Villa to wait for Meng Yang and the others. Yu Junchen thought it was just a normal party, so he invited all of his friends. 

Once Yu Junchen arrived at the Bishui mountain villa, he and his friends were planning to tour the villa. However, Luo Sheng asked them to wait in the reception hall. They didn’t know what they were waiting for, but they didn’t ask many questions. Such a large number of people could spend a long time just chatting after all.

Yu Junchen got up and went to the table next to the freshly sliced fruit and poured himself a fresh cup of juice. Just as he was about to drink it, Luo Sheng came over to him and whispered, “No matter what happens, you shouldn’t say anything. Just stay silent.”

“What will happen later on?” Yu Junchen asked confusedly.

“I have to temporarily reconcile with Meng Yang right now. For the sake of a long-term future plan, I must be able to endure this much. In order to be successful, one has to bear what an ordinary person cannot,” Luo Sheng said, his eyes firm.

“Meng Yang?” Yu Junchen asked in surprise. “Will Meng Yang be coming?”

“Believe me, everything is just temporary. Sooner or later, everything I do now will be doubled and returned to him! At that time, I’ll make his life worse than death!” Luo Sheng ground his teeth. He said this not so much to Yu Junchen, but to himself.

Luo Sheng didn’t expect Meng Yang to sincerely reconcile with him. He knew that Meng Yang wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity to torture him.

When Yu Junchen was about to continue asking about what was going on, Meng Yang brought Lu Yunjing, his senior brothers, and Xiao Ke and his friends in.

Luo Sheng and Yu Junchen’s friends immediately stood up once they saw them. They thought that Meng Yang had deliberately come and brought people along to make trouble.

On Meng Yang’s side, apart from Lu Yunjing, no one else knew why Luo Sheng was here. Neither side gave way as they began to glare at each other.

Previous Chapter | | TOC | | Next Chapter

This is part of a batch-upload from chapter 28-33. Make sure you’re not reading out of order!

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The author has something to say: 

Everyone is happy on June 1st (2), and I wish you all a youthful heart, so you can be happy like a child every day.

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!

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1. By this I believe the author means steaming some kind of fragrance, like a sauna maybe? I’m not sure the right way to phrase this.

2. June 1st is Children’s Day in China!

SMWOM 30

After breakfast, Meng Yang and the others directly set out for the city’s largest fragrance garden, where quarterly price-guessing auctions were held during every season. 

Lin Songtai and Xu Wangya, as well as the other masters of the school, had already arrived and were drinking tea and chatting. Yu Junchen and the others had arrived, but Xu Wangya’s expression wasn’t very good. The students’ heads were slightly lowered in silence. 

Meng Yang and his fellow students went over to salute the masters. 

“Sit down,” Lin Songtai said with a smile. “I heard that yesterday’s spice auction was completely dominated by Meng Yang?”

“Not completely,” Meng Yang replied. “There were several ingredients I didn’t think I really needed, so I didn’t bid on them. Later, I thought that even if I didn’t need them currently, it’s always useful to save them for later. As such, I took the entire last half.”

Lin Songtai and several other masters around him smiled, while Xu Wangya and the masters around him at another round table didn’t look very good. 

“Teacher, did I cause any trouble by doing this?” Although Meng Yang didn’t feel the need to hide his strength, it was still better to ask.

“You’re still a student, so it’s necessary to show off your talent as much as possible. When you’re more famous, remember to leave a bite for others,” Lin Songtai said. 

“Yes, this student will remember.” Meng Yang also believed this. For now, it was more important to establish a reputation to be able to participate in more exclusive auctions in the future. 

“Why don’t you come with me later and guess on some prices?” Lin Songtai asked.

“Thank you for the opportunity. If I guess the price correctly, can I buy it myself?” Meng Yang asked.

“Naturally,” Lin Songtai said.

“Thank you, teacher,” Meng Yang thanked him happily. 

With the sound of the gong, all the wooden folding doors separated from the inside and were pushed open. The qualified bidders stood up and walked in, while the others stayed outside to watch.

Everyone who had the qualifications to bid could bring along one person as a helper; most people would bring in people who were experts at price-guessing.

There were also people like Lin Songtai who took their students in to learn and experience the world. 

Yu Junchen was the most promising student of Xu Wangya at present, so Xu Wangya naturally took him along. No matter what, he had to train Yu Junchen to gain more achievements, and then he would have more say in the college and association. If Yu Junchen was competing with Meng Yang, Lin Songtai would certainly take advantage of this opportunity to suppress him.

The first round of the price-guessing auction began with two kinds of materials. Only one person from each group could go up to identify the quality of the spices per round.

The first round contained ingredients that Xu Wangya needed, so he went up by himself to identify the ingredients. 

Bradley was in front of Meng Yang, but suddenly turned around and said, “Please, go ahead.”

Meng Yang didn’t know what to make of this and didn’t want to speak any useless words, so he just nodded and went to the front to confirm the quality of these materials. 

Meng Yang just went to smell them and didn’t need to look at them, so he decided to return to his seat. After thinking for a while, he wrote down a price on the wooden plaque. 

“Confident?” Lin Songtai asked.

“Yes,” Meng Yang nodded.

Lin Songtai smiled and continued to drink his tea.

Soon after the wooden plaques were collected, the staff loudly announced, “Materials No. 1 and No. 2 obtained by guest No. 17.”

Lin Songtai smiled wider as Xu Wangya immediately turned around to look at Meng Yang, fists clenched. The No. 1 material was exactly what he’d needed. 

The next two rounds of materials were all obtained by Meng Yang, and the faces of the other participating guests were all quite sullen. Everyone watching outside was surprised and began talking. 

“Who in the world is that young man? That’s really amazing.”

“Didn’t you see him sitting with Master Lin Songtai? Most of those people have just been accepted by Master Lin Songtai, and to be accepted by such a world-class master, you must be extraordinary.”

“There are many masters and price-guessing experts among those bidding, yet he put on such a one-man show and beat them all?”

“Isn’t it just three rounds? It’s too early to say such things.”

The fourth and fifth rounds soon began. Xu Wangya had thought about letting Yu Junchen try it out after obtaining the ingredients he needed, as it would still be a learning experience even if the price was not accurate. Now though, he wouldn’t let Yu Junchen go up.

“Teacher, can I buy all of the materials?” Meng Yang returned to his seat and asked Lin Songtai. 

“Why not?” Lin Songtai smiled. 

Meng Yang nodded and continued to write prices on the wooden plaques. 

Ending with the sixth round, Meng Yang alone took all the spices from this spring’s price-guessing auction. Those who watched were completely shocked, their voices growing louder and louder as they discussed this marvel.

Yu Junchen looked cautiously at Xu Wangya’s face before lowering his head, trying to think about when Meng Yang got such a strong sense of smell.

Xu Wangya sighed in his heart for a long time. Even though he was quite unhappy, he had to admit that Meng Yang’s sense of smell was really too strong. Not only did he have a strong sense of smell, he’d also mastered all kinds of ingredients to the extent that he could guess the prices so accurately.

The staff placed all the materials into boxes and let Meng Yang have a look before packing them up.

Lin Songtai picked up one of the wooden boxes and smelled the ingredients inside, and was immediately shocked. He wasn’t able to judge the exact quality by the scent, yet Meng Yang was able to even guess an exact price. Now he could understand the mood of the other bidders. 

Once Meng Yang signed the receipt, Lin Songtai stood and escorted Meng Yang outside, surrounded by spectators.

“Mr. Lin really deserved to be a world-renowned master of incense, he’s a masterful teacher!”

“Congratulations to Mr. Lin, you have another genius student.”

“Thank you, thank you.” Lin Songtai thanked them with a smile on his face as he walked out with his students. He was very proud at receiving compliments from these people. 

“Master Lin, your student has such a strong sense of smell. Are you going to train him to be a fragrance appraiser (1) later on?”

“Yes, your student’s sense of smell is really amazing and admirable. With your teaching, he could become one of the country’s most famous fragrance appraisers in the future.”

“Future things will be known in the future. It’s not worth talking about if there’ll be no action, so please don’t flatter (2) him too much.” Lin Songtai’s words still held some reservations between the lines.

“Mr. Lin, can I borrow you to talk for a moment?” The manager of the fragrance market asked Lin Songtai, squeezing through the crowd with difficulty.

“Wait for me in the tea house opposite here,” Lin Songtai directed his students. He then went off to the side with the manager.

Bradley passed by Meng Yang and said with a smile, “Congratulations. It was a complete victory this time.”

“Thank you,” Meng Yang replied calmly. 

“You…” Bradley wanted to ask Meng Yang why he was so cold to him, but on second thought, he figured Meng Yang might just have that kind of character. He smiled and said, “I hope we can become friends the next time we meet. Until then.”

Meng Yang held this kind of attitude towards all unfamiliar people, even if the other side was an internationally famous perfumer, held the title of perfume idol, and was a master figure loved by countless fans. In Meng Yang’s heart, he wasn’t familiar with him and wouldn’t rush to make friends just because of Bradley’s status. 

Meng Yang and the others went to the tea house across the street while more and more people were still talking about how amazing Meng Yang was. This time, he really gave Lin Songtai a lot of face. In one day, he had made a name for himself in the fragrance market. In the future, people would be willing to pay him high prices just to identify the quality of various ingredients. This was just the beginning. 

The people of the spice market management association were going to entertain some rich businessmen and incense masters that night. They hoped that Lin Songtai would bring Meng Yang to the party tonight as he had taken the limelight today, as many rich businessmen wanted to meet him.

Lin Songtai wanted to give some face to the management of the fragrance market, so he not only took Meng Yang, but also his other students. 

Meng Yang returned to the inn with the others to wash up and change clothes before setting out for the party. Yu Junchen and his fellow students were taking their luggage to go on a sightseeing bus tour outside the city and then were then going to return to Anluo. 

As Yu Junchen was about to get on the tour bus, he saw Meng Yang come out dressed in formal clothes. He treated Yu Junchen and the others as if they were invisible, not even giving them a glance as he walked past them.

Meng Yang had sent a message to Luo Xiu and learned that he would also be at the party. He wasn’t very interested in the party, but he looked forward to going home with Luo Xiu afterwards. 

Entering the banquet hall, they were taken by Lin Songtai to greet the people of the Fragrance Market Administration Bureau. After getting familiar with these people, it’d be more convenient to come to the market without taking his reputable name card. 

Many rich businessmen came to talk with them and expressed their intentions to invest in Meng Yang. Once Lin Songtai informed them of Meng Yang’s identity, they immediately stopped talking about investment. They hadn’t known Meng Yang’s identity before and eagerly talked about investing in him, so they felt a bit embarrassed. 

Meng Yang managed to escape the crowd and looked for Luo Xiu. He saw him standing not too far away while talking to Bradley. 

Bradley turned his head slightly and saw Meng Yang walking towards them. He thought Meng Yang wanted to talk to him, so he kept his eyes on Meng Yang. 

When Meng Yang reached them, he grasped Luo Xiu’s hand (3). He nodded to Bradley and then turned to Luo Xiu to ask, “When did you arrive?”

“Only about three minutes ago,” Luo Xiu looked at Meng Yang and replied. 

“When can we leave? I’m a little tired,” Meng Yang asked.

Luo Xiu looked at the time and said, “I’ll go say hello to my friends, and we can leave in ten minutes.”

“Okay.” Meng Yang nodded. 

Bradley watched in shock as the two of them talked for a moment before he came back to himself and asked, “President Luo, this is?”

“This is my lover Meng Yang. We just got married,” Luo Xiu replied. 

“Marry…married already?” Bradley looked at Meng Yang and felt an indescribable sense of loss. 

“Then I’ll go and talk to the teachers and my senior brothers and sisters,” Meng Yang said to Luo Xiu. 

Luo Xiu nodded.

Meng Yang nodded to Bradley again and turned to walk away. 

Bradley’s eyes followed Meng Yang the whole time. Though he didn’t realize it, the sense of loss in his heart was fully expressed on his face. 

Luo Xiu saw his expression and turned to follow his gaze only to see Meng Yang’s back. He immediately understood what was happening and was a little unhappy in his heart.

“Mr. Bradley, I’m going to say hello to my friends. We’ll talk again next time,” Luo Xiu said, hiding his displeasure. 

“Okay,” Bradley hid the emotions on his face, but he still didn’t feel very good. In reality, he didn’t like Meng Yang yet, but he felt it wasn’t easy for him to meet someone interesting. He hadn’t taken action and confirmed his feelings yet, but he had already lost the opportunity, leaving him feeling very frustrated. 

During such parties, Luo Xiu usually would only come to show his face. After ten minutes, Luo Xiu found Meng Yang so they could leave.

Luo Xiu saw that Bradley was still looking at Meng Yang and raised his arm to hold Meng Yang as they left.

“What’s the matter?” Meng Yang felt that something was wrong with him.

“Nothing, aren’t you sleepy? Sleep in the car.” Luo Xiu bowed his head to whisper in Meng Yang’s ear, and then kissed his face. 

Though Meng Yang didn’t understand why he had lowered his head to tell him this, he nodded. 

In Bradley’s eyes, Luo Xiu hugged Meng Yang and from time to time would lower his head to kiss him on the cheek. They left together intimately. 

Once they got in the car, Meng Yang yawned and lay on his side in Luo Xiu’s arms, and let him cuddle him to sleep. 

Meng Yang soon fell asleep, while Luo Xiu watched his sleeping face in a complex mood.

He was very clear in his heart that people would be attracted to Meng Yang and would like him as this was a normal thing. In the future, there would only be more people. After all, he was not only talented and beautiful, but also very young. His whole body exuded an attractive and youthful aura. 

Bradley was ten years younger than him and more suitable for Meng Yang. He was also very excellent in all aspects. 

As soon as he thought about Bradley liking Meng Yang though, he became very angry. Even he didn’t know whether he was angry at Bradley or at the fact that he himself couldn’t be ten years younger, or perhaps even both.

Luo Xiu kissed Meng Yang’s forehead. He didn’t want to give him to anyone. Even if a more suitable person appeared, he didn’t want to let go. Only by keeping Meng Yang at his side could he be at ease. 

Previous Chapter | | TOC | | Next Chapter

This is part of a batch-upload from chapter 28-33. Make sure you’re not reading out of order!

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The author has something to say:

Please applaud and welcome, assistant gong Mr. Bradley.

Translator Notes: Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Bradley. <(_ _)> 

Your assistance will no longer be needed now that Luo Xiu has his head on straight though, especially because I mistyped your name as Bradely almost every time for some reason. 

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1. “香料鉴别”, could also be identifier or authenticator. I don’t know if this is a real job, as I wasn’t able to find much on it.

2. “捧杀”, meaning flattery that can put one at a disadvantage.

3. Okay, so the author had a typo here and wrote that Meng Yang approached and grabbed Luo Xiu’s head…I’m guessing she meant hand, but I can’t get over the image of Meng Yang walking over and greeting Luo Xiu with a bro-style headlock, maybe with a noogie hahahaha

SMWOM 29

Standing outside the door were Meng Yang and Yu Junchen’s brothers and sisters, as well as Yu Junchen himself and several part-time paparazzi. 

Luo Sheng knelt in front of Luo Xiu and Meng Yang in front of these people and called Meng Yang “Little Dad”. Even Meng Yang was surprised. Unexpectedly, a man with such a personality like Luo Sheng really knelt down for him. As expected, the draw of money was really powerful.

Yu Junchen stood outside the door, shocked and distressed. He looked at this big villain Meng Yang who was forcefully insulting Luo Sheng while Luo Sheng had to bear the humiliation. 

Meng Yang deliberately waited for a few moments before taking the cup, but he didn’t drink it. He wouldn’t drink this cup of tea.

Meng Yang looked at him and said, “You’re a little late on this cup of tea, so I don’t want to drink it now. But since you’ve called me Little Dad, I can’t lose my tolerance as an elder. Whether or not I’ll forgive you, I’ll consider it tonight and give you an answer tomorrow.”

Luo Sheng took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger. 

“You can go,” Meng Yang said. 

Luo Sheng got up, turned around, and walked out. When he got to the door, he pushed away the people who were blocking his way and quickly left.

“It’s not early, you should go back and sleep now.” Meng Yang went to the door and closed it. 

Luo Sheng had knelt down in front of so many people and served tea to Meng Yang, calling him Little Dad. Although Meng Yang’s heart was a little happy, such a small punishment wasn’t enough. Meng Yang wanted to see how much Luo Sheng could endure for the sake of money.

Meng Yang sat on the bed and looked at Luo Xiu, saying, “Mr. Luo, was what I did too much? I know that although you just said all that to him, he is still your son after all. You are father and son by blood, which is a bond that can’t be broken.”

“He’s not my son,” Luo Xiu said suddenly.

“Not your son? What do you mean by that?” Meng Yang asked, pretending to be puzzled.

“…” Luo Xiu thought for a moment and said, “I mean, I’ve never thought of him as my son, and my property will never be passed down to him. You can just think of him as if he was not my son at all. What’s more, this was his fault. You can teach him a lesson any way you want in order to help you vent.”

Meng Yang thought that Luo Xiu was going to tell him the truth, but it seemed that he wouldn’t say it for the time being. After all, Luo Xiu’s “setting” was such that he couldn’t easily tell others that Luo Sheng wasn’t really his own son. Such a “setting” facilitated Luo Sheng inheriting the Luo family business smoothly in his previous life. But in this life, it would never happen!

Meng Yang got close to Luo Xiu and hugged him around the waist, looking up at him and saying, “Mr. Luo, since you’ve never regarded Luo Sheng as your own child and you’re also not going to let him inherit the property of the Luo family, why don’t you let me give you a baby?”

“You’re still a child, it’s still too early to think about giving birth right now…” Luo Xiu had the words in his mouth, but suddenly, he couldn’t say it. He wanted to say that when Meng Yang met a person he loved, he’d regret saying those words. When he thought of Meng Yang leaving him in the future though, his heart felt restless. 

Meng Yang pushed Luo Xiu down and straddled him while looking down at him. “I want to give you a baby. Although we have a three-year agreement, if you don’t want me to leave after those three years, I won’t leave. Should we have a child together?”

Meng Yang kissed Luo Xiu’s forehead, nose, cheek, and chin. He placed his hand on his flat stomach and said, “Let me have your baby; teach me how to do it. You’re my legal husband, so you’re responsible for teaching me these things.”

While looking at each other, Luo Xiu could see the love in Meng Yang’s eyes. Meng Yang also saw that Luo Xiu wasn’t without feelings, he was just restraining himself.

Leaning over again, Meng Yang blew in Luo Xiu’s ear and asked, “Do you really hope that after three years, I’ll go to other people to learn this kind of thing? That I’ll give birth to someone else’s child?”

Luo Xiu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Meng Yang’s words hit him right in his heart. God knows how much willpower he used to keep himself calm.

Seeing him like this, Meng Yang’s heart was even more unwilling. He clearly didn’t do anything in his last life but was still able to get Luo Xiu’s love. In this life, he eagerly threw himself into Luo Xiu’s arms and even his words were straightforward. He didn’t believe that Luo Xiu was unmoved. Was he really not charming? This thought threw his heart into disorder. 

Meng Yang tore off Luo Xiu’s robe and began to touch him with his hands.

With that move, Luo Xiu’s last thread of sanity broke. He turned over, pressed Meng Yang under him, and kissed him hard. 

Meng Yang put his arms around his neck but didn’t know how to respond, so he let Luo Xiu take charge. 

Every time Meng Yang got drunk he would think that he was a fish, but he was unaware of the fact and had no memory of it after waking up. When he was kissed dizzy by Luo Xiu, he fell into the illusion of becoming a fish again. The feeling was very distinct, so when he woke up his memory would definitely be clear. 

A beautiful white fish was swimming freely in the warm ocean water, enjoying himself, when a sea monster much bigger than him suddenly appeared. He had to hide in a cave, but the sea monster tried to enter the cave and eat him, making him very scared. 

The sea monster bit the white fish. The little white fish struggled because of the pain, crying and begging for mercy, but the sea monster bit down hard and made him unable to break free. 

The little white fish thought that the sea monster was going to eat him, and he was afraid of the pain. But slowly, he found that although it hurt, it also felt a bit good, so he no longer struggled. 

Meng Yang thought that he was going to officially become husband and wife with Luo Xiu that night, but after all the early work he had to do was done, Luo Xiu couldn’t bear to do the last step. 

Luo Xiu stroked Meng Yang’s face; he looked so small. His whole person was like a fresh and delicious peach. Water would come out with a pinch, sweet and delicious. Because he was so tender (1) though, he couldn’t get a good taste. But even though he had only gotten a fleeting taste, it had given him a rich aftertaste, and he had really fallen in love with this flavor. 

Luo Xiu’s biggest worry now was that Meng Yang was still too young, and would likely regret it in the future one day. 

---

Luo Sheng and Yu Junchen didn’t sleep all night long. Yu Junchen kept apologizing to Luo Sheng because he had made a mistake. He only vaguely saw the figure, and thought that the man who had entered Meng Yang’s room was the one who had invited Meng Yang to dinner that day. Because of his misidentification, Luo Sheng had to apologize to Meng Yang and kneel down to offer Meng Yang tea, as well as acknowledge Meng Yang as Little Dad. 

Luo Sheng was completely sleepless from anger. Of course, he wasn’t angry at Yu Junchen, but at Meng Yang and was thinking about how to get revenge. 

After daybreak, Luo Sheng went to the bathroom to wash up. He didn’t want to stay there any longer and planned to leave immediately. As soon as he came out of the bathroom, he received a call from his grandfather. 

“What’s going on?! Why is the news saying that your father wants to publicly break off relations with you?!” Old Master Cheng said hurriedly.

“News?” Luo Sheng had a bad feeling in his heart. He immediately picked up Yu Junchen’s mobile phone and clicked on the news page. The headline on the top news article in Anluo City (2) was that the Chairman of the Luo Group was going through legal procedures to break off the relationship between him and his only son. However, the content of the article said that at present it was only a rumor and hadn’t been confirmed yet. 

Luo Sheng knew that it would be impossible for such news to appear without Luo Xiu’s approval. 

“What’s going on?!” Old Master Cheng asked again. 

Luo Sheng told Old Master Cheng what had happened last night, but he didn’t say that Yu Junchen had told him there were other men in Meng Yang’s room.

“You’re such a fool, you can’t even remember a single sentence that I’ve said to you?!” Old Master Cheng roared angrily. “I’ve told you so many times that you must be patient and not provoke Meng Yang for now. He can make your father marry him and drive you out of the Luo family, so he’s certainly not a simple person to deal with. How could he be caught by you so easily?!”

Luo Sheng listened to his grandfather’s scolding silently. He thought that his grandfather’s scolding was very reasonable. Though he truly despised Meng Yang, he had made a big mistake when he underestimated the enemy. 

“Listen to me, Luo Sheng!” Old Master Cheng said solemnly and gravely. “Since the news says that this matter hasn’t been confirmed, this means that your father has given you a chance. No matter what methods you use, you must not let your father go through the legal procedures to sever the father-son relationship with you. If you can’t do even this, you will have wasted all my years of painstaking efforts to shape you. If that happens, don’t come back to the Cheng house, and sever the relationship with me too.”

Old Master Cheng was worried that his words were too heavy, which would upset Luo Sheng and make him hate him. Before hanging up, he said, “This is a test for you. I hope you won’t let me down.”

Luo Xiu had other things to deal with, so he was going to leave immediately after getting up and showering. 

“Then will you pick me up this evening? Or shall I go to you?” Meng Yang asked while hugging him around the waist.

“I’ll pick you up,” Luo Xiu replied. 

“Alright, kiss me before you leave.” Meng Yang looked up and pouted a little.

Luo Xiu hesitated for a moment, but still held Meng Yang’s head and kissed him. 

Meng Yang also held Luo Xiu’s head and deliberately licked his lips before letting him go. 

After Luo Xiu left, Meng Yang changed his clothes and prepared to go out. 

Once Meng Yang had changed his clothes, he heard Luo Sheng making noise outside.

“Let him in,” Meng Yang said.

When the bodyguard heard Meng Yang’s order, he opened the door to let Luo Sheng in and stayed in the room to guard Meng Yang. 

Luo Sheng saw that Luo Xiu wasn’t there and could only look at Meng Yang and say angrily, “What’s with the news headlines in Anluo City?! I knelt for you yesterday, so why is there such news?!”

“Kneeling is voluntary. I didn’t make people press your head down and force you to kneel.” Meng Yang sat down on the sofa and looked at him. 

“What do you want?!” Luo Sheng asked. 

Meng Yang watched him in silence for a moment and said, “Your father never thought of relying on the Luo family to succeed. He was forced by your parents to marry your mother under the guise of paying back the support of your grandparents. He was originally going to leave the Luo family and start a career using his own abilities, but because your paternal grandfather suddenly died of a serious illness and your uncles were only teenagers then, he had to take over the Luo family business.”

Whenever Meng Yang thought of Luo Xiu’s suffering, he couldn’t breathe easily. He looked icily at Luo Sheng and said, “When he took over the Luo family industry, the Luo family’s company was already in danger. Because your grandfather and uncle threw stones at someone who fell down a well, he had to struggle with great difficulty to support the Luo family business. Everything that the Luo Family has now was earned by him. If he’s willing to give it to you, then you can have it. However, he’s not willing to give it to you, but you foolishly take it for granted that it should belong to you.”

“If it’s not given to me, don’t tell me you want it?!” Luo Sheng glared at Meng Yang. 

Luo Sheng’s words made Meng Yang look down on him completely. He smiled, “Sooner or later, your father and I will have children, and there will be more than one. Then he’ll give everything to whoever he wants. Even if he exchanged everything for cash and threw it all into the sea, what can you do about it?”

Luo Sheng’s face became even more distorted. He had no way to refute Meng Yang and could only turn to leave quickly. He wanted to go back home and discuss this matter with his grandfather. As long as he could obtain the property of the Luo family, he would do anything!

Meng Yang smiled in contempt again. Luo Xiu had never had any hope for Luo Sheng. Even though Luo Sheng didn’t know that Luo Xiu wasn’t his real father, he would hate, blame, and deny this father that didn’t care about him, but would still recognize Luo Xiu as his father for the sake of property. If Luo Xiu was an ordinary office worker, Luo Sheng would certainly have the backbone to ignore this father that didn’t care about him. 

When Meng Yang was ready, he went out. He’d thought he was late, but he unexpectedly came out earlier than the others. As such, he stood in the garden of the inn, looking at the flowers and waiting for his senior brothers and sisters. 

“Good morning.”

Meng Yang turned to look, and then nodded, “Morning.”

“Are you waiting for your friends?” Bradley asked Meng Yang. 

“Yes,” Meng Yang replied. 

“Then I’ll go first,” Bradley said with a smile, leaving with his assistant and bodyguard. 

“Okay.” Meng Yang nodded, then looked at Bradley’s back as he walked away. Suddenly, he was hit with a revelation. He had an inkling why Luo Sheng thought there was another man in his room; the back of this man looked quite similar to Luo Xiu’s, and their height was almost the same. 

Yesterday, Meng Yang had called Luo Xiu once he had returned to his room. He knew that Luo Xiu was going to visit the branch in Rong City, so he acted a little coquettishly and asked him to come see him, so Luo Xiu came over. Meng Yang had no idea that Luo Sheng would make such a move, but it had given him a chance to teach Lou Sheng a lesson. Since he’d offered up his head, Meng Yang wouldn’t hesitate to step on it. 

Previous Chapter | | TOC | | Next Chapter

This is part of a batch-upload from chapter 28-33. Make sure you’re not reading out of order!

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The author has something to say: 

The weather is really fickle, so remember not to catch a cold. Drink warm water.

Translator Notes: Author accidentally wrote Luo Xiu instead of Luo Sheng twice. I think someone had Luo Xiu on their mind…

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1. Tender as in the peach, but could also be young/inexperienced, as in Meng Yang.

2. Different character for Luo than the Luo family’s. Sidenote, I think that’s the first time the name of the city has been mentioned?

SMWOM 28

The man could tell from Meng Yang’s expression that Meng Yang recognized him. He looked gently at Meng and asked, “Are you going to eat? Can I invite you to go with me?”

Wu Feng and the others looked at each other and thought that this person was handsome, but they didn’t know each other. What was the meaning behind inviting them to dinner out of the blue?

“No, we’re going shopping before we eat and I’ve already reserved a table,” Meng Yang calmly refused. 

Bradley (1) was very surprised by Meng Yang’s refusal. He’d thought Meng Yang had recognized him just then, but if he’d recognized him, how could he have refused his invitation?

“Goodbye.” Meng Yang nodded to him and turned away.

Bradley was still surprised by Meng Yang’s refusal, and Meng Yang and his friends were already slowly moving away. 

When Yu Junchen passed by Bradley, he couldn’t help looking at him more. He also felt that this man seemed a bit familiar. 

“Wait a minute, I remember!” Wu Feng suddenly cried. “He’s not that one guy, what’s his name?”

“He’s Bradley, the Vice President of the internationally famous perfume company Persevere (2). He’s also known as a performer and famous model all over the world.” Qin Hong also knew who he was at a glance. 

“Yes, yes, that’s him! I said that he looked familiar, I’ve seen his perfume ad before. He’s amazing!” Wu Feng said excitedly. “Did he really invite us to dinner just now?! Did we just miss something big?!”

Everyone else realized this and began to talk about it. 

“Was that really him? I thought it was just a lookalike, but he’s the perfume icon!”

“Should we go back to find him now?!”

“Yeah, we’re really lucky to get to meet Bradley, and he wanted to invite us to dinner?! I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Wait a minute, you’re wrong. It seems that he wasn’t inviting us to dinner, but just Meng Yang.”

“Meng Yang, did you not recognize him just now? Is that why you said no?” Wu Feng asked Meng Yang.

“I recognized him,” Meng Yang said. “But we’re not familiar with him. There’s no reason for him to invite us to dinner.”

“A meal has to be cooked to be eaten, right?” Wu Feng said. “He must’ve seen that you’re talented and wanted to get to know you. If you can become friends with him, then you’ll have many advantages during future overseas competitions. Buying rare materials would also be easier if you were friends with him.”

Hearing Wu Feng’s words, Meng Yang just smiled and said, “I booked a private room in Wangcheng Tower; you don’t want to go?”

“Of course I want to go, but…” Wu Feng still wanted to persuade Meng Yang, but he was interrupted by Qin Hong. 

“Meng Yang’s right. We’re not familiar with each other, so why should we agree to go to dinner with him?” Qin Hong said. 

As soon as Wu Feng heard Qin Hong’s tone of voice, he knew that he was jealous. He hit Qin Hong with his elbow and said, “You be less sour, I’m saying this for Meng Yang’s sake. If Meng Yang can be friends with Bradley, it’ll open many golden roads. If Meng Yang wants to go abroad to compete, it’ll be a big help.”

Yu Junchen had been deliberately slowing down behind them to listen in on Meng Yang. Hearing their conversation, he was surprised to find that the man just now was Bradley himself, and Bradley had even invited Meng Yang to dinner. Why was Meng Yang so lucky?”

Meng Yang and his friends wandered around the city for a while, buying many common but high-quality materials before they went to Wangcheng Tower for dinner. 

After eating, they went back to the inn. Compared to the hotels outside the city, the inns in the city weren’t very big. Meng Yang’s inn was the best and largest one in the city.

“What a coincidence, are you staying here too?” Bradley asked, looking kindly at Meng Yang. 

“Excuse me, are you Mr. Bradley?” Wu Feng asked him.

“Yes.” Bradley looked at Wu Feng and nodded, and then looked back at Meng Yang and asked, “Can I chat with you alone?”

“No, just tell me which materials you want.” Meng Yang had seen that this man was waiting for them specifically, and the reason why he’d wait specifically for them was because he’d likely bought the ingredient Bradley wanted.

Bradley smiled and thought that No. 28 was really smart. He liked to deal with smart people. “I want the jasper honey branch and the jade jasmine balls.”

“No.” Meng Yang didn’t consider it and immediately refused. “I’m going to use these two materials right away and can’t give them to you.”

“I’ll pay five times the original price,” Bradley said. 

“Do you think I’m short of money?” Meng Yang asked. 

“…” Bradley thought about it and said, “How about I trade with you other spices of equal value? I’ll owe you a favor for this time.”

“I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t want to sell the materials to you, it’s just that the two materials you want are indispensable to me. It’s impossible for me to give them to you. Although these two kinds of materials are rare, they aren’t as rare as some of the others I bought. Maybe some of the other shops still have them. If you really need these two materials, you’d better hurry and ask around,” Meng Yang said before going straight inside. These two materials were two essential herbs with medicinal properties for Luo Xiu’s headache treatment. As such, it was impossible to sell them to Bradley. 

“Meng Yang…” Wu Feng glanced at Bradley before quickly following Meng Yang. 

Bradley turned to look at Meng Yang’s back and sighed in his heart. Although he liked to deal with smart people, he didn’t like to deal with stubborn people. 

“Boss (3), does that young man want to deliberately raise the price? Or maybe he wants you to agree to bigger demands,” Bradley’s assistant said. “I heard that there’s an old saying in this country, in order to capture something, one must first let it loose.” (4)

“He really didn’t want to give it to me.” Bradley watched Meng Yang’s back and smiled. “He’s quite interesting though.”

Wu Feng wanted to convince Meng Yang, after all, it would be a good thing for Bradley to owe him a favor. Judging from Meng Yang’s expression though, it was impossible to sway him, so he didn’t continue talking. 

Everyone went back to their own rooms. The others shared rooms with two or three people, but Meng Yang occupied the largest room alone. He slept lightly and still wasn’t used to sleeping in the same room as others. 

Yu Junchen had a room with Luo Sheng. When Luo Sheng entered the bathroom to wash up, Yu Junchen stayed sitting on the sofa for a while before he got up and left the room.

Yu Junchen originally wanted to go to Meng Yang’s room and talk to him, but as soon as he came around the corner, he was shocked and immediately backed away. He saw a tall man’s back and watched as he entered Meng Yang’s room.

Thinking that the figure looked very familiar, Yu Junchen looked at the height and body shape. It was very similar to that of Bradley that he’d met during the day. He quietly poked his head out and found that Meng Yang’s door had been closed. 

After a little hesitation, Yu Junchen hurried back to his and Luo Sheng’s room.

Luo Sheng, who was taking a bath, heard a rapid knock on the door and immediately opened the bathroom door. He looked at Yu Junchen and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I just, I saw…” Yu Junchen looked like he wanted to talk, but paused. With an obviously strange look on his face, he said, “I was going to talk to Meng Yang just now, but I saw that man who wanted to invite him to dinner today. He went into his room, and after the man went in, Meng Yang closed the room door.”

Luo Sheng looked at Yu Junchen in confusion, not understanding why this matter was making him so flustered. He also heard a bit of their conversation from today, and it seemed like the man had something to ask Meng Yang.

Yu Junchen saw Luo Sheng’s puzzled appearance and said, “It’s so late, and everyone must have already washed up and are preparing to go to bed. Meng Yang, no matter the circumstances, is a married man. During this time, he let other men into his room. If people knew about this, ugly rumors would definitely spread…”

Luo Sheng was stupefied for a moment. His mind raced, and he quickly said, “Go and call all the others out. It’s our chance to get back at Meng Yang for letting people see us last time.”

“You, do you really want to do this? Forget it, tomorrow I’ll just remind Meng Yang to pay more attention in the future.” Yu Junchen persuaded him. 

“When he had so many people come watch us before, he didn’t think about our face at all! We can’t miss this opportunity!”

“But they didn’t necessarily do anything, maybe they’re just talking in the room. The man seemed to want to buy materials from Meng Yang.”

“It doesn’t matter if they don’t do anything, as long as others think they did,” Luo Sheng said. “Forget it, you can’t do such things. Don’t dirty your hands because of him. I can do it by myself.”

Luo Sheng picked up his mobile phone and made two calls, and then got dressed and waited. 

More than ten minutes later, the person that Luo Sheng called arrived. Luo Sheng had called over Yu Junchen’s senior brothers and even Meng Yang’s senior brothers. Everyone then gathered around Meng Yang’s room without knowing why and watched as Luo Sheng knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Meng Yang called out.

Luo Sheng didn’t answer and simply continued knocking. 

Meng Yang walked to the door with some confusion and slightly opened the door. Seeing so many people standing outside, he was quite shocked. 

Luo Sheng wanted to push the door open, but Meng Yang held the door firmly and coldly looked at him and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t you know what I’m doing?” Luo Sheng sneered and pushed the door harder. “Open the door!”

“This is my room, should I open it when you say so?” Meng Yang understood what he was here to do. He shot a look at the bodyguards who’d appeared behind the crowd, and signaled them not to do anything for now.

“Hey! I swear, what’s wrong with you? Calling us all to stand out here, what do you want to do?!” Wu Feng and the others were all sleepy, and had been woken up suddenly without understanding the situation. Luo Sheng had asked them to stand in the hallway and began to knock on Meng Yang’s door, so they’d thought something was wrong with Meng Yang. 

“Yeah, what are you trying to do!?”

“If you want to make trouble and bully Meng Yang, a lot of us are here and we aren’t afraid of you!”

“Who are those people?” Meng Yang looked at the men with cameras in their hands and asked, “Reporters? What, did you bring people to catch an adulterous person? Just like the last time when I brought people to catch you and Yu Junchen cheating?”

“That’s right, I’m here to catch a cheater,” Luo Sheng said loudly. “You’re married to my father, but you’re hiding other men in your room so late at night! Are you really giving my Luo family so little face?!”

“What if there are no other men in my room? How will you apologize to me?” Meng Yang said with a chilly expression. 

“There’s no way, just open the door and let us look, do you think you can hide it?” Luo Sheng had stayed in the hallway since finishing his calls, so he was very sure that no one had left and the man must still be in the room.

“I’ll let you see, but first, what are you going to do if there are no men in my room?” Meng Yang asked again.

“Cut the crap and get out of my way!” Luo Sheng pushed the door open. 

Once the door was opened, Luo Sheng was ready to take people and rush inside. At that very moment, the bathroom door opened and a man in a bathrobe came out. Luo Sheng was very excited, but just as he was about to have the reporter take a picture, the man lowered the towel that he was using to wipe his hair. Luo Sheng saw his face clearly and stiffened.

“What is this?” Luo Xiu saw a large group of people standing outside with Luo Sheng standing at the front and instantly frowned. 

“Mr. Luo, Luo Sheng said that there were other men in my room, so he brought people to catch me supposedly cheating on you.” Meng Yang approached Luo Xiu and held his arm, his face full of grievances as he said, “I think he just wanted to purposefully humiliate me. This isn’t the first time either…”

“Father…” Luo Sheng swallowed nervously and explained, “I didn’t know that you were here, I thought that he…”

“What did you think?” Luo Xiu looked at the people with cameras behind Luo Sheng and said, “Are those reporters? Since you’ve called all these reporters here, fine, I’ll make things clear and give them something to report on. The Luo family will have nothing to do with you in the future, and not a penny of my property will be inherited by you. Tomorrow I’ll have people go through the legal procedures to sever our parent-child relationship, so you can give up on ever inheriting the Luo family business. In the future, the affairs of myself, the Luo family, and Meng Yang won’t require you, an outsider, to meddle with them.”

The law wasn’t a trifling matter and couldn’t be treated as such. If Luo Xiu and Luo Sheng went through the legal procedures of severing their father-son relationship, then their legal father-son relationship couldn’t be restored for at least a decade. Luo Xiu wanted to completely cut off Luo Sheng’s ideas of inheriting the Luo family’s industry in advance to save him from continuously making trouble. If it weren’t for Luo Sheng’s ignorance, he wouldn’t have made a move like this. 

“Father…” Luo Sheng’s face dramatically changed. He saw from Luo Xiu’s eyes that he was really determined to sever the parent-child relationship between them this time. 

“Don’t call me Father, I’m not fortunate enough to be able to afford a son like you! If these people don’t publicly report it, then I’ll have other media do it. From now on, you’d better not dream of inheriting any of my property!” After thinking about it, Luo Xiu felt that he should mention it again. “If you can’t stand on your own two feet, then you won’t become stronger. Only what you can get with your own ability will belong to you and nothing else.”

“I’m sorry.” Luo Sheng clenched his fists. He couldn’t hear Luo Xiu’s words at all, only thinking that he had to endure for the sake of the Luo family’s property. He lowered his head and said, “I’m willing to apologize to Meng Yang. I’ll do anything to apologize.”

“You should apologize, but it’s Meng Yang’s right to not forgive you,” Luo Xiu said.

Luo Sheng took two steps forward and bowed ninety degrees to Meng Yang, saying, “I’m sorry, everything that happened before is my fault, please forgive me.”

“If you think that what you’ve done can be completely erased with a word of apology, then I can only say that you’re too naive.” Meng Yang looked at him and smiled, “But since you want to apologize, you should at least show some sincerity.”

“…What do you want me to do?” Luo Sheng asked, clenching his teeth.

“According to the traditional etiquette of our country, the day after I married Mr. Luo, you should have served me tea and called me little dad (5). Mr. Luo and I have been married for a while though and you haven’t followed this etiquette so far,” Meng Yang said, glancing at the bodyguard standing outside. 

The bodyguard came in, poured a cup of tea, and brought it to Luo Sheng. 

Meng Yang brought Luo Xiu over to sit on the couch and looked at Luo Sheng. Meng Yang didn’t force him to kneel down. If Luo Sheng really had a backbone, then he would turn around and leave.

There were many people standing outside the room watching this scene. They were also very curious if Luo Sheng would turn around and walk away, or if he’d really serve Meng Yang tea and call him “little dad”. 

Luo Sheng tightly clenched his hands together. According to his character and temper, he should have already turned around and left, but his grandfather’s words had been circling in his mind. If he wanted to be successful, he had to endure what ordinary people couldn’t. In his heart, Luo Sheng told himself that if his father could bear it, then he could also bear it now. When he took control of the Luo family, he would surely make Meng Yang pay a thousand times over for today!

Taking the teacup from the bodyguard’s hands, he walked over to Luo Xiu and Meng Yang and knelt down, raised the teacup, and said, “Please have this tea, little dad.”

Previous Chapter | | TOC | | Next Chapter

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Translator Notes: I know it’s been forever, I’m sorry! I would love to say I’ll be better, but with everything that’s going on for me, I can’t pretend I have the time/motivation to regularly update anymore. That’s why I’m announcing a (possibly semi) permanent hiatus. I’m batch-uploading the stockpiled chapters I have right now, and after that I likely won’t be uploading again. If I manage to get things together in the future and either novel hasn’t been picked up yet, I may start translating again. With that said, people are free to pick up either this or my other novel, and if you want any help/advice on getting the raws from jjwxc, please shoot me an email.

Thank you so much to both my editors and the the people who’ve been reading this and supporting me. Love you guys!

Editor has something to say: Savage 0.0

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1. His name is 布莱雷, or Bu Lai Lei in pinyin. I’ve seen it anglicized to Blair too but I think Bradley sounds better! Try saying the pinyin fast a few times, it kinda sounds like Bradley…

2. Ahhhh I agonized over this for like an hour. It’s “伊思妃尔” for the company name. I just went with an anglicized version of it which could also be Isabel, since it’s an intl. company but I am honestly unsure. If anyone has any better suggestions please let me know!

3. This was in English, presumably to highlight the fact that he’s foreign. 

4. “欲擒故纵” AKA loosening the reins to grasp them better AKA playing hard to get. 

5. Literally “xiao baba”. Looking on baidu, the most common answer was that people called their (youngest) uncle little dad, though some people mentioned some girls affectionately calling their boyfriends little dad, kinda like papi I’m guessing? I wasn’t able to find anything on it being used for stepfathers, but ehh.

SMWOM 27

As Meng Yang took first place in his grade, his senior brothers and sisters said they wanted to help him celebrate. Lu Yunjing also wanted to help him celebrate, so Meng Yang simply booked a small banquet hall with a garden and a swimming pool in a hotel for everyone to get together, and also invited Xiao Ke and his friends. After the last bar fight, Meng Yang had reason to publicly be friends with Xiao Ke. 

Meng Yang talked with his senior brothers and sisters for a while before Xiao Ke came. Xiao Ke brought some good bottles of wine from his own collection to celebrate Meng Yang’s first place. Wanting to talk to him alone, Meng Yang took him to one side and sat down with him.

Meng Yang opened the red wine that Xiao Ke brought and thought it was quite good after he tasted it. He chatted with Xiao Ke and couldn’t stop drinking one glass after another. 

“How’s Su Di?” Meng Yang asked. 

“How else could he be? Still sleeping well.” A flash of sorrow passed through Xiao Ke’s eyes when he heard Su Di’s name. He smiled bitterly and said, “Maybe he was in too much pain before, because now he just sleeps and doesn’t want to wake up.”

“Maybe he really is tired and just wants to have a good rest, so don’t worry too much. Once he has enough sleep, he’ll definitely wake up,” Meng Yang comforted. The Su Di of his previous life didn’t wake up, but there were methods to wake up comatose people in the aromatherapy books handed down by the Meng ancestors. However, he couldn’t tell Xiao Ke until he learned them.

Having talked with Xiao Ke for a while, Meng Yang went back to talk with his senior brothers and sisters. He kept drinking, and Lu Yunjing wanted to send him back home after seeing that he was on the verge of being drunk. 

Meng Yang waved him away and took out his cell phone, and called Luo Xiu and asked him to pick him up.

Luo Xiu frowned as he listened to Meng Yang’s slurred words. He knew that Meng Yang must be drunk as soon as he heard them, and though he knew there were bodyguards following him, he was still uneasy. Worried that something was wrong with him, he immediately got up to pick him up.

In the conference room of a certain branch of the Luo Group, the employees who were having a video conference looked at each other and didn’t know what to do. For the second time, their BOSS (1) who’d previously never been absent from a conference before had suddenly left the meeting. 

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The door to the banquet hall was suddenly opened, and everyone turned to look. Once they saw the man who’d appeared at the door, the originally talking and chatting voices immediately grew quiet. Their eyes were all focused on this tall and handsome man, and no one dared to continue talking. 

Luo Xiu looked around for a moment before going inside. His aura was so powerful that no one dared stop him, and no one went up to ask who he was looking for. Those who recognized him were even more afraid to speak to each other. Even Lu Yunjing silently stepped back after seeing Luo Xiu. 

Luo Xiu spotted Meng Yang lying on the sofa and quickly strode towards him. Looking at Meng Yang’s state, he found that he was completely drunk and seemed to be pretending that he was a fish as he kept spitting bubbles. 

After picking up Meng Yang, Luo Xiu directly carried him away until they both were out the door. Everyone seemed to come back to their senses, with some people even thinking that they’d drunk too much and were hallucinating.

“Was he Luo Sheng’s father?” Xiao Ke asked Lu Yunjing in a low voice. 

“Haven’t you met President Luo?” Lu Yunjing looked at him with some doubt. Xiao Ke was a young master of the Xiao family, there was no way he’d not seen Luo Xiu before.

“I’ve seen him before, but that was the first time I’ve seen him so closely. He seems more handsome now.” Xiao Ke touched his face and said, “And he’s got too much presence. Is it because of his face and body?”

“The reason behind his imposing manner is mainly his strength,” Lu Yunjing said. 

Luo Xiu carried Meng Yang back to his car, with Meng Yang constantly mumbling something incomprehensible. 

“Mr. Luo, don’t shake…” Meng Yang grabbed Luo Xiu’s face in his hands, thinking that Luo Xiu had been shaking him to make him dizzy. In reality, he was drunk and Luo Xiu hadn’t moved at all. 

Meng Yang’s lips kept falling on Luo Xiu’s face. Not only could he not find Luo Xiu’s lips, he also covered Luo Xiu’s face with saliva. 

Luo Xiu felt the soft, wine-scented lips and thought this little guy was really a lot to worry about. Even with a bodyguard following him, he would still worry that he would be bullied outside, that he’d be injured accidentally, that he was too young and didn’t have the self-awareness to avoid being cheated, that he was too beautiful and someone would take advantage of him, that he’d be approached by someone with ulterior motives or that he’d be harmed because of their marriage.

Stroking Meng Yang’s hair, Luo Xiu sighed helplessly. He didn’t know when his mind had begun to change. Although the child worried him a lot, it wasn’t a burden that annoyed him, but a burden that gave him a sense of happiness. 

True happiness? Luo Xiu thought, he believed, that he was the insulator between those two words. (2)

Meng Yang’s mouth was sour; he still couldn’t find Luo Xiu’s mouth to kiss and he felt tired, so he buried his face in Luo Xiu’s neck to rest. Still thinking he was a fish, he puffed and puffed. 

Luo Xiu returned to his room with Meng Yang in his arms. Meng Yang was so drunk that he couldn’t bathe himself, so Luo Xiu fed him some sobering tea and took a warm towel from the maid to wipe his face, neck, and body.

Mr. Yuan stood aside and watched. He was very surprised, as he’d been Luo Xiu’s steward for many years and had never seen Luo Xiu personally take care of people before. Mr. Yuan thought to himself, it seemed that Young Master Meng Yang was really a special case for the master. He could not only have him marry him, but make him willingly take care of him. It was just as well. After all these years, the master finally had a companion who could enter his heart. 

After having the servants leave, Luo Xiu changed Meng Yang into pajamas and covered him with a quilt, and left him to sleep. He then went into the bathroom to wash up. 

When Luo Xiu came back out of the bathroom, he saw that Meng Yang had no clothes on. He writhed around on the bed, looking extremely uncomfortable. 

Luo Xiu went to cover him with the quilt, but Meng Yang groaned and pushed the quilt away. He really felt too hot. 

Meng Yang felt like his body was on fire, making him extremely uncomfortable. Breathing hard, he opened his eyes and through his blurred vision, he saw Luo Xiu’s face that appeared like a miracle. He sat up abruptly and clung to Luo Xiu’s neck.

“Mr. Luo… Mr. Luo, I waited for you for so long, why didn’t you come to get me?” Meng Yang asked in tears. “How could you not come to get me?”

“I brought you back, you’re home now. Just sleep well now,” Luo Xiu said as he patted Meng Yang’s back. 

“I really wanted to give up countless times, but I couldn’t give up…” Meng Yang continued to cry. “I was always waiting, always waiting, I didn’t wait for you…”

Luo Xiu originally thought that Meng Yang was originally talking about waiting for him to pick him up while he was drunk, but he couldn’t comprehend what was said later. However, drunk people had no logic to their words, so he could only continue holding him and comforted him saying, “You waited, but I’m here now.”

“You liar, you didn’t…you didn’t come get me.” Meng Yang’s heart ached and his body was still hot as he twisted around in Luo Xiu’s arms. 

Because Meng Yang’s skin was so smooth and tender, Luo Xiu felt like he was holding a tender and slippery white fish, and he also began to sweat as Meng Yang moved in his embrace. 

Luo Xiu’s robe was also torn off by Meng Yang. As a man with normal physical and mental health, Luo Xiu felt a sense of guilt from the sensations produced in his body. His self-control had always been strong, and he didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t found someone to vent with for a while, but he felt those sensations easily these days. 

In order to let Meng Yang sleep well, Luo Xiu hugged him tightly in his arms and covered them both with the quilt. Meng Yang’s feet were suppressed by Luo Xiu and his body could no longer move around. Finally, he fell asleep in his exhausted state. 

Meng Yang slept, but Luo Xiu still couldn’t sleep. Since Meng Yang was drunk, the fragrance on his body seemed to be stronger. Luo Xiu was hot and sweaty, and ended up taking eight showers in that one night. 

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The next morning when Meng Yang woke up, he sat dazed in bed, unable to remember how he got back home. Just as he was about to give up on retrieving his memory of last night and get out of bed to wash up, he opened his quilt and found that he was naked, making his eyes widen in shock. 

“Awake?” Luo Xiu came out of the bathroom.

Meng Yang hurriedly covered himself with the quilt and stammered, “Luo, Mr. Luo, I, last night, I…”

“You were drunk last night, so I picked you up,” Luo Xiu said.

“Then, why am I not wearing anything, even underwear…” Meng Yang whispered. 

“You took it off by yourself. You might’ve felt hot after drinking too much, so you took everything off.”

“Then, did you, did you…”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything to you, I just held you to get you to sleep.” Luo Xiu sat on the bed, looked at him, and asked, “Do you think I’d take advantage of you and do something excessive?”

“I didn’t mean that.” Meng Yang hugged his legs and lowered his head. “I want to ask, Mr. Luo, did you, did you feel anything after I stripped last night?”

Luo Xiu’s eyes avoided looking at him for a moment before he said, “Don’t worry. In my heart, you’re still a child, so I won’t have any ideas even after seeing your body.”

Meng Yang gripped his hair and thought ruefully, you’ve given me ideas, though! I completely stripped for you to see, do you really want to hurt people like this?!

“What do you want for a gift?” Luo Xiu asked.

“What? What gift?” Meng Yang looked at him doubtfully. 

“You’re the first in your grade, so you should be rewarded,” Luo Xiu said. 

“It’s just a monthly exam, there’s no need for a reward.” Meng Yang thought for a moment and said, “How about this, I’m going to take part in a very important competition soon. If I can get first place in that, you’ll agree to one of my requests. How does that sound?”

“Good, just not something that will embarrass me.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t ask for too much,” Meng Yang immediately said. 

Luo Xiu went to the other room to dress, and Meng Yang put on his pajamas and got out of bed, and quickly walked into the bathroom. 

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Meng Yang and his fellow students usually needed many kinds of incense making materials in order to study and practice, which were usually easy to obtain. However, obtaining some high-quality materials depended on financial resources, recognition ability, and luck. 

In the neighboring Rong City, there lay the largest spice and incense market in China, so the school gave them leave to go to the price-guessing auction in the spice market with the masters. Meng Yang went there first, and the masters would arrive on the next day. In addition to Meng Yang and the others, Yu Junchen and his senior brothers naturally came along, and Luo Sheng also came with them. 

The reason why Luo Sheng followed Yu Junchen was of course because he knew Wen Yuan liked Yu Junchen, and he’d already argued twice with Yu Junchen about it. Although he believed that Yu Junchen had no special feelings for Wen Yuan, he didn’t want to give Wen Yuan any chances, so he went with them.

Meng Yang had wanted to go to the spice market for a long time. In addition to buying many ingredients to practice with, he also needed to buy incense-making herbs for Luo Xiu’s headaches. This time, he was leaving for two days and one night, so Luo Xiu specially arranged for someone to go with him.

The fragrance market of Rong City was in an ancient part of the town, and all buildings and streets maintained a classic style. Entering it was just like traveling to ancient times, and a large number of tourists and merchants would travel from all over the world to see it. 

Everywhere in the city was fragrant, and almost every shop was lit with its own signature fragrance to attract customers. Meng Yang walked into a shop that looked like a private home and handed over the famous name card of Lin Songtai at the front desk. Wen Yuan also handed over the famous name card of Xu Wangya. 

After receiving the cards, the front desk staff immediately led them to the garden where important customers were received. 

The garden wasn’t big, but it was quiet and elegant. Meng Yang first registered and collected a multitude of wooden plaques with numbers on them, and then found a table to sit and drink tea while he waited for the bidding to start. 

When the time came, the wooden gate of the garden closed, and five service personnel in ancient-style clothes came out of the house with pallets. They put the pallets on a separate platform to display the materials, and all the guests took turns to look at them.

These raw materials were relatively rare, so they were also very expensive. They could only be seen and smelled, but not be touched. Some people even brought magnifying instruments to examine them. 

There were five kinds of raw materials in the first round of bidding. Those who’d finished their observations went back to their seats and began to seriously think. They then wrote down the prices they believed the materials were on the wooden plaques. 

Meng Yang only needed two of the five raw materials, so he wrote down the number of the materials and the prices he thought they were on two wooden plaques, and then handed them to the staff. 

When the time was up, the service staff would no longer accept any more bidding wooden plaques, but would announce the closest price. 

“Materials No. 1 and No. 3, obtained by guest No. 28.”

“Material No. 2, obtained by guest No. 30.”

“Materials No. 4 and No. 5, obtained by guest No. 35.”

The staff turned over the wooden plaques with the prices on them and put the wooden plaque with the closest price bid next to it. 

Meng Yang was No. 28. His bids were almost the same as the real prices, and even Wu Feng was shocked. 

“You’re too good at guessing, there’s almost no difference from the original price,” Wu Feng exclaimed. 

“The price of these materials isn’t hard to guess, so I can be fairly accurate,” Meng Yang said after a sip of tea.

“I guessed for No.1 too, but it was too far away,” Wu Feng said, holding up his chin with his hand. 

All the spices used for bidding had strict pricing standards. In addition to distinguishing the quality of the materials, people needed to understand the current market environment in order to guess the closest price. If everyone guessed a price lower than the actual price, then no one could buy it. Only those who guessed higher and closest to the actual price could buy it. 

The materials for the second group were brought out, and Meng Yang went to observe them again. After smelling them, he went back to his seat and began to think. He wanted all five spices from the second group. Although they were currently available, these materials couldn’t always be easily bought. Since he’d encountered them, it wasn’t a bad idea to buy all of them and store them.

“Materials No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, and No.5, all obtained by guest No. 28.” Once the staff said this, they’d turn over the price boards one by one and then put Meng Yang’s wooden plaques up. 

Then all the ingredients in the third, fourth, and fifth groups were again all bought by Meng Yang. Everyone couldn’t help but look at Meng Yang each time, with their eyes opening wider and wider. Meng Yang was young and was obviously still a student at a glance. Most of the other people who could enter this place were very talented in the field of fragrance, and there were even two masters present. It was really shocking that they all couldn’t outguess a student.

If Meng Yang hadn’t married Luo Xiu, he would’ve been more low-key until he had found a suitable backer. But seeing as he had Luo Xiu to back him up, there wasn’t any need to keep a low profile. 

When Yu Junchen saw that all the materials he wanted were taken by Meng Yang, he became anxious. Luo Sheng saw his anxiety and patted his hand to comfort him. 

Wen Yuan was worried because Meng Yang had bought almost all of the materials, and seeing Luo Sheng’s movements, he was even more upset. But what could he do, so he just kept drinking tea to calm his anger.

After that, five more rounds of spices were brought out one after another. Meng Yang casually succeeded in guessing the price of everything he liked. Even the boss of the auction house was shocked. He quickly asked people to check the register, and after seeing that Meng Yang had come under the name card of the famous Lin Songtai, he sunk into thought.

These materials weren’t cheap. Meng Yang bought so many materials all at once and directly paid without blinking an eye, and led others to think that his identity was not ordinary.

When everyone got up to leave, those who’d come there for nothing began to talk.

“Who is that? He looks so young yet he can be so domineering. I’ve never seen him before.”

“Yes, obviously a student. Where did he come from?”

“It seems that another genius has appeared.”

“No, even if he’s a genius, he didn’t suddenly become a genius. He should’ve at least participated in a competition before, but I don’t have any impression of that young man from just now.”

“It’s really strange, let’s go find out if anyone else knows his origins.”

Yu Junchen, Wen Yuan, and Yu Junchen’s other senior brothers were very uncomfortable hearing people praise Meng Yang. They thought they’d be able to successfully bid for at least one or two kinds of materials so as not to lose face for their teacher. They didn’t expect that they wouldn’t get anything and that they would let Meng Yang get almost everything. If their teacher knew this, he’d be very angry. 

Luo Sheng was also very unhappy. Any time he saw Meng Yang spending money, he felt that Meng Yang was spending his money. 

When they were about to go back to the street, someone suddenly stopped Meng Yang.

“Student no. 28, please wait a moment.”

Meng Yang and the others looked back together. A tall, handsome man approached them with a gentle smile.

“Is something wrong?” Meng Yang asked him.

Meng Yang looked at this mixed-race man and thought he seemed familiar. After some serious thought, he remembered who he was. 

Previous Chapter | | TOC || Next Chapter

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Translator Notes: Sorry this is so late everyone! Work got crazy and my mental state just went straight into the garbage. I’ll try to keep up with this though!

Thank you to Red Yak for editing!

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1. “BOSS” was in English all caps, like the way you might write it for a video game boss, novel villain, or something equally dramatic lmao.

2. Yeah, I’m a little lost on this sentence: “幸福吗？骆脩心想，他还以为，他对这两个字是绝缘体呢。” I know that the “缘” character in insulator could translate into something about fate, but I’m not sure how to structure the sentence if that was the intended meaning. I also know the phrase love insulator is a thing in Chinese, but I don’t know if that’s connected at all. Anyone with any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

SMWOM 26

Meng Yang was only lightly injured, but Luo Xiu had him rest at home for two days before returning to school. 

The freshman period was soon coming to an end, and the monthly test would immediately be carried out. After each monthly test, the classes would be re-divided and seats would be arranged according to the results. The class courses would be different, so the class division was very important for every student. The end of the month was the most tense time for the students. 

Meng Yang and his senior brothers and sisters were preparing to pack up and leave after noting down the lessons assigned by Master Lin Songtai.

“Are all of you confident for this exam?” Lin Songtai asked. 

“Teacher, we’re confident in every exam,” Wu Feng said with a deliberately serious face. “But confidence isn’t something one can rely on.”

“I think it’s you that can’t rely on yourself.” Lin Songtai shot Wu Feng a look and said, “Although I usually tell you that results aren’t the most important thing, if you can all get good results and put a damper on that old man Xu Wangya’s spirit, this teacher will be very happy, understood?”

“Teacher, we understand,” Meng Yang’s senior brothers and sisters nodded and replied, knowing this pair of teachers. Seeing their looks, Meng Yang thought it was rather funny. 

“Teacher, don’t worry. Meng Yang is here this time, so at least the top place in the first year is secure,” Wu Feng said. 

Other senior brothers and sisters also nodded their heads in agreement. During this period of time, they’d clearly felt how talented Meng Yang was and knew how solid his basic knowledge was. They all agreed that even if Meng Yang was performing badly, he could easily take first place in his age group. 

Lin Songtai angrily looked at the students and said, “Am I worried about Meng Yang? I’m worried about you all who don’t know how to grow! If you worked half as hard as Meng Yang then I would worry less. You should be at least a little stressed, or you’ll always be lazy until you realize how much time you’ve wasted. This time, if you fail to reach the top ten in your respective grades, you’ll be punished by copying volumes one to twenty on botany ten times and volumes one to twenty on pharmacology ten times. 

“Teacher…” There was an immediate wailing in the classroom.

“Howling for what? Unacceptable behavior!” Lin Songtai lectured, then got up and left.

Meng Yang’s senior brothers and sisters each packed up their things with a sad face. 

The group of people had just walked out of the courtyard and happened to meet Yu Junchen, who’d come from the opposite courtyard. The stone road between the two courtyards was quite wide, and the students on both sides were staring at each other in a bid for superiority. On Meng Yang’s side, Wu Feng’s eyes were opened the widest.

Meng Yang didn’t want to stare back at them. He thought it was boring and made his eyes hurt. If he wanted to compete, he would only use his strength to compete with the other side. 

Meng Yang said to Wu Feng, “Senior brother, let’s go. I’m hungry.”

“After ten thousand years of defeat, soldiers only have the ability to stare, If you have the time, you’re better off reading more books.” Wen Yuan sneered scornfully and said, “You people who are used to being defeated have no real ability. Even if you don’t hide when you see us, you still have the face to show off and glare at us. You all are really the most shameless people in the entire world.”

“Speaking of shamelessness, who can compare with you?” Wu Feng said sarcastically. “Master Xu Wangya said that he can’t stand people who cheat, but who in this college doesn’t know that he’s helped you cheat many times? Relying on cheating to act haughty, I’ll return the same words to you; you all are really the most shameless people in the whole world!”

“Don’t speak such nonsense to me!” Wen Yuan glared at Wu Feng and said, “Are you so ignorant that you don’t understand normal practice before a test? Is there a limit to your stupidity?”

Wu Feng sarcastically replied, “Yes, your normal practice, it really is normal! But our teacher taught us that even if we must give up our rank, we must ensure the authenticity of the assessment, otherwise the assessment will be meaningless. What your teacher taught you is that even if it’s shameless, you should use your own face to hit the ball on the sidelines (1) in order to get good grades and rankings, right?”

“Even if you slander us, we won’t lower ourselves to your level, but if you dare insult our teacher, don’t blame me for being rude to you!” Wen Yuan said fiercely. 

“Am I afraid? Bring it on!” Wu Feng rolled up his sleeves as if to fight. 

“Senior brother, forget it, don’t fight.” Yu Junchen grabbed Wen Yuan’s hand to calm him down. He then looked at Wu Feng and said, “Senior brother Wu, please don’t say such words. Everyone is in the same school. We’re not enemies, and there’s no need to fight like this every time we meet.”

“Who’s your senior brother?! You don’t have to put up an act in front of me. Other blind people can’t see your true colors, but your hypocrisy makes me sick!” Wu Feng really hated Yu Junchen. He felt even more disgusted seeing him pretend to be a good person and began to attack him. “I heard that you’re the most valued student of Master Xu Wangya, and the most talented of all of his students? I think your talent for stealing someone else’s boyfriend must be higher than your talent in incense and perfume. In the scent test before, you lost to Meng Yang terribly, isn’t that right?”

Yu Junchen lowered his head and Wen Yuan became even more furious. He wanted to go over there and teach Wu Feng a lesson, but after seeing Qin Hong standing behind Wu Feng, he kept a hold on his rationality. In his mind, there were many ways to teach someone a lesson, but the dumbest way was to hit someone. 

“Senior brother, put that face away. You look like a villain,” Meng Yang whispered. 

Wu Feng was stunned for a moment and rubbed his face with his hands, adjusting his facial expression. Seeing that Wen Yuan and the others were so angry they couldn’t speak, he proudly raised his chin and left with Meng Yang and the other students. 

---

The closer it was to the exam, the more nervous the students in the fragrance school were. Even students who were usually fond of chatting and laughing became silent, as if the air was filled with tension.

Yu Junchen’s nerves were no less than other people’s, maybe even more stressed. Meng Yang’s score in the entrance exam was higher than his, and he won the last scent test. If he couldn’t maintain first place in the grade, he’d lose not only his own face, but the face of his teacher. Over the years, the first place in the grade had always belonged to his senior brothers, so he couldn’t let himself be robbed of the top grade. Xu Wangya himself had admitted that he was the most talented among all his students after all.

The fragrance school’s tests were very strict, and it was impossible to cheat during the examination. Although Yu Junchen practiced in advance and had more advantages than other students, the contents of the exam were random and couldn’t be predicted.

On the day of the exam, there was naturally a more tense and serious atmosphere. Several masters were there to supervise the exam, and at the same time, they were there to oversee the results of the students, particularly their own students. The students below were even more nervous about the tests, because during the tests, the masters on the platform were also secretly competing. If their students performed well, they would show off their satisfaction with a smug look. 

As soon as the students arrived at the school on the second day after the tests were over, they stared at their tablets and waited for the results to be announced.

“Got them, got them!”

“No, my hands are shaking, I can’t open them.”

“Number one is…it’s Meng Yang!”

“Really?!”

“See for yourself!”

“It really is Meng Yang, he had a full score on the basic subjects given, and even the smell sensitivity test is a full score! Is he a monster?”

“His scent quotient score is also very high, my god! Is it really possible for a human to do this? He’s not a robot, is he?”

“Is this the arrogance of a genius?”

“Stop lamenting about other people’s achievements. No matter how high other’s scores are, they don’t have anything to do with us. Take a look at your own scores, and then we’ll divide into classes and rearrange our seats.”

Yu Junchen’s hand holding the tablet was constantly shaking. He not only lost first place, but the difference between him and Meng Yang wasn’t small at all.

Meng Yang had packed his things and was waiting for Yu Junchen to recover his composure and get up and give up his seat. Meng Yang didn’t press him. After all, the college had given students the instructions to change classes and seats. The longer Yu Junchen stayed in that position, the more he’d embarrass himself. 

A few minutes later, Yu Junchen’s expression was still ugly, but he tried to keep his calm as he stood up to exchange seats with Meng Yang. 

When he came to Meng Yang’s seat, Yu Junchen wanted to congratulate him, but he couldn’t say anything. He’d already done his best to be expressionless. 

Meng Yang glanced at him, then got up and went to the first seat to sit down, having seen Yu Junchen’s ugly expression. In the afternoon, their class would have the monthly incense theory class taught by the masters. He wanted to see what kind of face Xu Wangya would have. 

In the afternoon, Lin Songtai and Xu Wangya, along with several other masters, came into the classroom. They all looked very different sitting on the platforms. 

Lin Songtai looked at Meng Yang and exchanged looks with the other masters around him, all smiling in satisfaction.

Xu Wangya looked at Meng Yang and then at Yu Junchen. Though he pretended to be calm and uncaring about it, Meng Yang could see the anxiety in his heart even though other students might not be able to see it. In the past years, all the students sitting in the first position were his students. Now his most important and promising student was being compared to Meng Yang, of course he was worried. 

Because these master classes were only once a month, they didn’t waste too much of the students’ time and started the class directly. When class ended, Xu Wangya immediately got up to leave, but Lin Songtai stopped him. 

“Why is Old Xu leaving so urgently today?” Lin Songtai asked with a smile. “Don’t you always talk to your students before you leave?”

Xu Wangya stopped and turned to Lin Songtai, saying, “Don’t you think it’s a little too early for you to be proud?”

“I don’t think so,” Lin Songtai said matter-of-factly. “It’s said that fortunes rise and fall in time. You’ve been proud for so many years, and now that fortune has turned to me, so of course I’ll start to be proud early.”

Xu Wangya narrowed his eyes at Meng Yang and snorted scornfully, then looked at Lin Songtai and said, “What is a moment of pride? The future is long, so let’s wait and see who’ll be happier in the long run, and who’ll be able to laugh in the end.”

“What you said is very close to my heart; let’s look to the future,” Lin Songtai nodded. 

The two masters were arguing on the platform, and the students below were all afraid to move. Although they didn’t seem to be arguing as they communicated peacefully, even these students could feel the heavy pressure between them. 

Lin Songtai looked at Meng Yang and said, “You’ve done very well in this test and have worked hard. For the next two days you don’t have to come to my school; have a good rest.”

“Yes,” Meng Yang replied respectfully.

Once the masters left, the students relaxed and talked in low voices. 

Yu Junchen’s mood had calmed down a lot now. He knew that wasting too much time and emotion on an unchangeable fact was dangerous and wrong. What he wanted to do was not to regret the fact, but to do his best in the future. 

After adjusting his mind, Yu Junchen went to Meng Yang and said, “Congratulations, Meng Yang.”

“Thank you,” Meng Yang said without raising his head. 

“Meng Yang, in all honesty, I’m a little sad to lose first place, but I’m very happy because the first place is you. This kind of mood is quite contradictory, but you should be able to understand it, right? Maybe we’ll compete more in the future, but I sincerely hope that we can not only maintain a healthy competitive relationship and make progress together, but also care for each other without estrangement like we did before,” Yu Junchen said to Meng Yang with a very sincere expression and tone of voice. 

Meng Yang listened to his words and laughed coldly in his heart. He thought that Yu Junchen’s hypocrisy was really embedded deep into his bones. He only wanted to reconcile with him for the books left by Meng Yang’s ancestors, yet he spoke so grandly. 

Standing up and calmly looking at Yu Junchen, he said, “Whether or not you want to be my competitor depends on if you can keep up with me. Once you lose the qualifications to compete with me, I hope you can accept reality.”

Yu Junchen was an object of Meng Yang’s revenge, but he wasn’t a rival in his mind. In terms of fragrance studies and aromatherapy, Meng Yang had his own goals that were higher and farther away, so he wouldn’t stop until he reached a point that he couldn’t break through. How far he could go wasn’t clear to him, but he would never stop trying. 

Yu Junchen took an involuntary step back. Looking at Meng Yang, he felt a sense of panic and fear in his heart that he couldn’t understand in the moment. 

Previous Chapter | | TOC | | Next Chapter

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Translator Notes: I love the comebacks this author has. “I think you’re more talented at stealing boyfriends than at fragrance”, damn.

Thank you Red Yak for the edits ^^

Red Yak has something to say: Smells like vinegar. And it’s not even the romantic kind.

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1. Idiom that means to skirt the line morally or legally. I translated very literally because I enjoy the image of them using their face to hit a ball. 

SMWOM 25

Luo Sheng was furious about what happened at the ranch, but Meng Yang felt this degree of anger wasn’t enough. 

So when Luo Sheng was invited by Xiao Ke to race again, he immediately agreed. He’d been thinking about racing with Xiao Ke again, and wanted to get back the face he’d lost to Xiao Ke last time.

Before the car race started, the racing track was very busy. The news that Xiao Ke had beaten Luo Sheng last time had spread and caused a lot of discussion. So this time, more people came to see their car race than last time. 

“I haven’t seen Xiao Ke race with others during this period of time. Did his driving skills really improve like you said?”

“If you’d seen the last time they raced, you wouldn’t even ask. Anyways, I’m going to bet on Xiao Ke this time.”

“But I didn’t see it with my own eyes, so I can’t believe it. After all, Xiao Ke lost to Luo Sheng so many times before. Maybe last time he only won because of good luck. Just to be on the safe side, I’ll bet on Luo Sheng to win.”

“It’s said that Xiao Ke hired a very talented coach. During this period of time, he didn’t compete with other people because he was hiding away and practicing hard. As long as he can drive normally like last time, I think there’ll be no problem.”

Luo Sheng’s car arrived first, then Xiao Ke’s did.

Xiao Ke pulled up to the front of the grandstand and opened the door to get out. 

“Young Master Luo.” Xiao Ke walked to Luo Sheng’s car and patted its hood. “The new car looks good. I want it.”

“You just won by chance last time, and you forgot the fact that you lost so many times before? Don’t be afraid to sprain your tongue when you talk so big,” Luo Sheng said with a cold face.

Xiao Ke smiled and said, “Talking big doesn’t mean anything. It’s really boring to use a car to bet on every time, really boring. How about we bet on something else this time?”

“What do you want to gamble?” Luo Sheng asked, looking at him.

“Whoever loses will invite everyone here to drink. If our team loses, I’ll give a toast to everyone who bet on you and won. I’ll say that I shouldn’t have challenged you as you’re someone beyond my level, as well as bow and apologize. If you lose, you should toast everyone that bet on my team and won, bowing and apologizing, saying that you shouldn’t be too arrogant. Okay?”

When people in the nearby stands heard what Xiao Ke said, they looked at each other, thinking that Xiao Ke’s gamble was too much. For rich second generations like them, money was a small thing, but face was something big. At least half of the people present would see him bow and apologize; what face would Luo Sheng have after that. 

Luo Sheng hesitated, even though he was confident and positive that he could win against Xiao Ke.

“What? Young Master Luo doesn’t dare to gamble?” Xiao Ke continued to provoke him. “I’ve lost so many times before and fulfilled all the conditions you’ve put forth, yet you’ve only lost to me once and you dare not to agree with my proposal. Is Young Master Luo so timid? Since it’s like this, in order to spare Young Master Luo’s small heart, we’ll not wager something so big. For whoever wins, we’ll pick one of the people who bet on the winner, and the loser will apologize three times like I said. Is that alright?”

Luo Sheng remained silent. 

“Still won’t gamble? It turns out that Young Master Luo’s courage is that small? Then this car race isn’t even necessary.” Xiao Ke said to the people in the stands, “Let’s go! Great Young Master Luo (1) is timid and afraid of losing. He can’t afford to lose, so he can’t compete!”

Everyone in the stands began to talk in low voices. 

Faced with Xiao Ke’s public provocation, Luo Sheng’s face became even more ugly, and his fury grew even more. If he didn’t vent his anger he’d be even more miserable, so he agreed to Xiao Ke’s wager. 

While both of them drove to the starting point, Meng Yang switched from hiding in the back to climbing into the front passenger seat. Once the car stopped, the two switched positions. 

The words that Xiao Ke just said were all what Meng Yang asked him to say. Didn’t Luo Sheng like to humiliate him in public? At this time, he should let him now feel ashamed in public. 

During this period of time, Xiao Ke was really practicing his driving skills. In order to not expose the fact that Meng Yang was replacing him in the race, he now practiced secretly. He’d agreed with Meng Yang that he wouldn’t race with others until he could beat Luo Sheng with his own skills. Meng Yang was also trying his best to teach him the skills he’d learned in his previous life. 

People watching the race were very excited just by watching the two cars chasing each other on the big screen.

“Xiao Ke’s really courageous; he dares to drive in such a dangerous way. If either of them doesn’t control their car well, he’ll be seriously injured.”

“It’s dangerous, but it works. Isn’t he widening the distance between them right now?”

“Just watching it is really thrilling. How confident would I have to be to drive like this?”

“Young Master Xiao’s driving skills are really improving. Even if he competes against a professional driver, he might win.”

“Yes, it’s a pity not to take part in bigger races with such skills.”

Meng Yang’s attention was all highly concentrated. In his brain at the moment, this car was his body, but it wasn’t an easy task to make his body flexible, agile, and fast. Now, every seemingly easy and simple skill was a testament to the countless times of practice and hardship in his previous life. 

Every time Meng Yang showed off his impressive car skills, the spectators couldn’t help but yell and cheer. Even those who’d bet on Luo Sheng started to cheer him on, simply from the admiration that racing enthusiasts had for such strength.

Meng Yang didn’t plan to make Luo Sheng crash this time, so the distance between the two was getting larger and larger. Luo Sheng couldn’t catch up to the car in front of him, and his concentration became even worse as his mentality collapsed, making him almost hit a boulder. After pulling the emergency brake, he hit the steering wheel to vent, his heart about to burst.

Meng Yang drove the car to the finish line and quickly exchanged positions with Xiao Ke again. 

“You really are great.” Xiao couldn’t help but sigh. “With an additional person’s weight, you can still pull so far away from Luo Sheng. You have such amazing driving skills, why don’t you want to let people know? See those people cheering? They’re all so excited because they admire your driving skills. Isn’t it a good thing to be admired and worshipped?”

Meng Yang was silent, not answering him. Perhaps one day in the future he’d show off his driving skills in public, but he wouldn’t do it now. There were too many people with old-fashioned ideas in the fragrance circle, and he couldn’t let his image cause controversies until he had some achievements. 

Xiao Ke got out of the car and waited for Luo Sheng to drive over. The crowd in the stands excitedly cheered for him, making him feel very happy. Although he couldn’t be proud because he didn’t beat Luo Sheng himself, as long as he could make Luo Sheng unhappy, it was the happiest thing for him. Besides, he’d win with his own skills sooner or later.

Luo Sheng tightly grasped the steering wheel with both hands, taking a deep breath to force down his anger and unwillingness, then he opened the door and walked towards Xiao Ke. If he lost, then he lost, and he had to face it.

“You remember that this time, it’s still our team that won.” Xiao Ke looked at Luo Sheng before turning to the people in the stands and saying loudly, “Today, Young Master Luo has invited everyone to have a drink, so everyone, make sure to drink happily!”

The people in the stands cheered again, with only Luo Sheng’s friends staying quiet. 

“Let’s go, Young Master Luo.” With that, Xiao Ke turned around to get in the car. 

Luo Sheng clenched his fist before turning to get into his car.

Cars followed behind Xiao Ke’s car for a while and drove to a bar in the city together. Most people instinctively wanted to enjoy the show. It was such a rare opportunity to see the young master of the Luo family make a fool of himself and lose face, how could they miss it?

When everyone got to the bar, Xiao Ke had people bring out a lot of wine, then loudly asked, “Who bet on our team to win just now? Those who want to be toasted by Luo Sheng can now stand up.”

 Dozens of people looked at each other, but no one stood up. No one who bet on Xiao Ke dared to stand up and publicly offend Luo Sheng. The main reason was that they had no injustice or hatred with Luo Sheng, and had no need to offend him. Also, Xiao Ke had told his friends before not to stand up. 

“I bet on Young Master Xiao Ke to win. Why don’t I accept Young Master Luo’s toast and apology?”

Everyone looked at the source of the voice, trying to see who dared to offend Luo Sheng. The crowd automatically gave way, and Meng Yang walked right through the middle from behind the crowd, with Lu Yunjing following him.

“Oh, isn’t this Young Master Luo’s former…oh no, it should be Young Master Luo’s little father.” Xiao Ke pretended he didn’t know that Meng Yang would come and said with a smile, “You want to accept Young Master Luo’s apology and toast?”

“I was at the racing track and bet on your team to win. According to the agreement between you two, I think I’m qualified to accept his toast and apology as a representative.” Meng Yang took out his phone and showed it to Xiao Ke and the others; he had bet on Xiao Ke’s team to win.

“It’s getting more and more interesting. Since other people don’t want it, then you’ll receive it.” Xiao Ke looked at Luo Sheng and said, “Young Master Luo is a person willing to gamble and lose, so I don’t think he’ll mind who the toast is to, right, Young Master Luo?”

From the moment Luo Sheng saw Meng Yang, his face became even more ugly. The two people he hated the most had united to humiliate him. Especially as they were in front of so many people, he couldn’t let them do what they wanted. 

“Come, I’ll pour Young Master Luo some wine,” Xiao Ke said loudly. After pouring Luo Sheng a full glass of wine, he handed it to him and said, “Please, Young Master Luo.”

Luo Sheng took the glass of wine from Xiao Ke’s hand and looked at Meng Yang with a vicious glare. 

Meng Yang also looked at Luo Sheng with a sneer. 

Luo Sheng’s anger erupted like a volcano. He smashed his glass onto the ground and walked towards Meng Yang.

“Young Master Luo,” Xiao Ke put his hand on Luo Sheng’s shoulder, asking him, “What are you doing? Can’t afford to lose? Remember, this is a bet you agreed to, and you’ll certainly be looked down on if you break your word. Who would be willing to compete with you in the future?”

Luo Sheng grabbed the front of Xiao Ke’s clothes and said, “Don’t worry, it’s your turn soon!

Luo Sheng planned to teach Meng Yang and Xiao Ke a lesson in order, from weakest to strongest. He pushed Xiao Ke away and walked towards Meng Yang, and raised a fist and punched Meng Yang in the face with all his might.

At the moment Luo Sheng’s fist swung towards Meng Yang, all the lights suddenly went out. Amidst the screams of girls, the breaking sound of wine bottles and glasses, and the commotion of shouting and pushing people, the bar fell into chaos.

After Meng Yang was hit by Luo Sheng, he firmly kicked Luo Sheng in the stomach. Luo Sheng knelt on the ground unguarded. In the dark, Meng Yang had a complete advantage, and he grabbed Luo Sheng’s hair and kicked him again.

Xiao Ke had his hands full with monitoring the electric circuits, so Meng Yang could first safely beat Luo Sheng up.

Luo Sheng cried out from the severe pain, then stood up and fought back with all of his strength. He couldn’t see at all in the dark, but he grabbed the person before him as quickly as he could and began to fight him. 

The bar’s security guards yelled to try and calm them down and sounded the alarm, but the crowd was still in chaos. Then the lights suddenly came back on.

When they could see again, the people who’d just panicked in the dark were reassured and calm again. Then they saw Luo Sheng and Xiao Ke fighting. Their friends immediately came to help, and they became a big group of people fighting. Just then, the tall security guards pushed into the crowd and separated all the people who were fighting. 

“Meng Yang, Meng Yang!” Lu Yunjing showed off his acting skills while crouching on the ground and hugging a dizzy-looking Meng Yang as he shouted.

“Are you okay?” One bodyguard squatted down to help Meng Yang up. Others began to notice that Meng Yang had fallen to the ground and didn’t respond, as if he’d fainted. 

---

Luo Xiu was in a video conference with someone from a foreign company in his office when the mobile phone on his desk suddenly rang. He took a look and answered it. 

“President Luo, I’ve just received a phone call from the manager of a bar saying that the eldest young master and Meng Yang were fighting in the bar. Meng Yang was knocked unconscious by the eldest young master, and has now been sent to the hospital!” 

Luo Xiu stood up abruptly and quickly walked out. 

In a high-end bar in the city, many rich kids had gathered to fight. The scene was chaotic and several people were injured, and even the police were dispatched to surround the scene. The injured people were sent to the hospital and media reporters rushed to see what was happening. However, there were too many rich kids involved in this matter, so it couldn’t be reported on. The matter would soon be suppressed. 

Luo Xiu got off the car outside the hospital and walked quickly into the building, taking the elevator to reach the right floor.

Yu Junchen had arrived first because he was close by. He stood at the door of Luo Sheng’s room, and when he was about to push the door, he subconsciously turned his head. He then saw Luo Xiu walking quickly with his entourage and said, “Mr. Luo, Luo Sheng is…”

Yu Junchen’s words hadn’t been finished when Luo Xiu led his people past him, not even sparing him a glance. Yu Junchen froze for a moment and saw Luo Xiu walking into Meng Yang’s ward while the others waited outside. 

Lu Yunjing saw Luo Xiu push the door open and immediately stood up and exclaimed, “President Luo.”

Luo Xiu looked at Meng Yang lying on the bed. He saw a large purple and blue bruise on the corner of his mouth and frowned, and looked at Lu Yunjing to say, “Go back first.”

“Yes.” Lu Yunjing was a little afraid of Luo Xiu. He gave Meng Yang a warm look and left quickly.

Meng Yang looked at Luo Xiu and whispered, “Mr. Luo.”

Luo Xiu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He went to the side of the bed and sat down, and asked Meng Yang, “Is there any other pain?”

Luo Xiu had seen Meng Yang’s test results and physical condition on his way over. He knew that Meng Yang had been trampled on by several people in addition to the injury on the corner of his mouth. Meng Yang had fainted on the ground during such a chaotic scene at the time though, so he still asked.

“I was trampled on by a few people. It hurt a little, but there was no serious injury.” Meng Yang being hit by Luo Sheng was deliberate, and he also avoided part of Luo Sheng’s strength. Luo Sheng’s injuries were much worse than his though, so if Meng Yang wasn’t hurt at all, it wouldn’t be justifiable.

“Does your head hurt?” This is what Luo Xiu was most worried about. 

“No head pain.” Meng Yang looked at Luo Xiu and asked, “Mr. Luo, are you angry?”

“Why did you fight with Luo Sheng?” Luo Xiu looked at Meng Yang and asked. 

“He tried to whip me and humiliate me. I was angry, so I deliberately went to trouble him and tried to shame him,” Meng Yang said, half true and half false.

“If you can beat him, it’s okay to fight him. But you know you can’t beat him, so why didn’t you take a bodyguard with you? Or you could have told me, and I would have found a way to help you out.”

“I, I will bring my bodyguard next time.” Meng Yang held Luo Xiu’s hand and looked at him with a coquettish glance, saying, “Don’t be angry, I promise I won’t do it again.”

Luo Xiu looked into Meng Yang’s eyes and felt helpless again. He really was angry at Meng Yang’s recklessness which caused him to get hurt, but looking at those eyes, he could only feel helpless that he wanted to be angry but couldn’t be. 

Luo Xiu called a doctor in and asked about Meng Yang again. Originally, he wanted Meng Yang to stay in the hospital for a night, but Meng Yang didn’t want to stay at the hospital and insisted on going back home to sleep. Luo Xiu could only take him back home.

Luo Xiu asked people to bring clean blankets, then wrapped Meng Yang up in the blankets to pick him up and carry him out of the hospital. 

Yu Junchen had seen Luo Sheng’s situation and talked to him. He knew that although he was seriously injured, they were mostly just flesh wounds, so he was a little relieved. He’d wanted to go see Meng Yang, but the people outside wouldn’t let him in. All he could do was stand outside and wait in the corridor. He thought that Luo Xiu would go to see Luo Sheng, and after Luo Xiu came out from Meng Yang’s room, he could go in and show his concern to Meng Yang. 

When Yu Junchen saw Luo Xiu come out, he was about to come forward and talk, but he saw Meng Yang being held by Luo Xiu. Meng Yang also noticed him. They looked at each other as Luo Xiu carried Meng Yang and walked away from Yu Junchen. It was like he didn’t even notice Yu Junchen’s existence. 

“Mr. Luo, Meng Yang!” Yu Junchen saw Luo Xiu passing by Luo Sheng’s room, and wanted to catch up with them to stop them from leaving, but was stopped by a bodyguard. Having been warned by the bodyguard’s eyes, he dared not shout again.

Until those bodyguards left, Yu Junchen stood still in the same place, unable to return to his senses for a long time. He thought that it was okay that Mr. Luo went to see Meng Yang first, but he didn’t even look at Luo Sheng, and instead left with Meng Yang in his arms. Was Luo Sheng, his own son, less important than Meng Yang in Luo Sheng’s father’s mind?

Luo Xiu carried Meng Yang into the car, and Meng Yang shrank into Luo Xiu’s arms. Luo Xiu thought that he was feeling uneasy and held him closer. 

Once they returned to the main house, Meng Yang went to take a bath by himself. When he came out of the bathroom, he untied his robe and lay on his side so Luo Xiu could help him apply medicine to the black and blue areas. 

Though the bruises weren’t very serious, they were particularly conspicuous because Meng Yang’s skin was tender and white. Luo Xiu frowned as he looked at the bruises. 

Meng Yang raised his hand to smooth his wrinkled brow, saying, “It doesn’t hurt, really.”

Meng Yang wanted to act pitiful and make Luo Xiu angrier with Luo Sheng, but seeing Luo Xiu’s frown, he couldn’t say anything pitiful anymore.

Luo Xiu looked at Meng Yang, their gazes meeting.

---

The next day, Luo Xiu met with Xiao Ke’s father and they talked for more than an hour. As for exactly what they discussed, only the two of them knew.  Fortunately, most of the injuries were flesh wounds and easily taken care of, so the matter was soon completely suppressed. People on both sides were no longer investigated. 

Luo Sheng’s injuries were more serious than anyone else’s. He had injuries on both his face and body, as Meng Yang had kicked him and Xiao Ke had punched him. Therefore, he stayed in the hospital for three days before leaving. 

Luo Sheng’s grandfather and his friends all went to visit him. Luo Sheng’s friends were indignant and said they must get revenge, while Luo Sheng’s grandfather advised him to endure it for a while. 

When Luo Sheng was discharged from the hospital, Luo Xiu asked people to pick him up and bring him to the main house on Longling Mountain. Luo Sheng figured that Luo Xiu would at least ask him how his injuries were. 

Luo Xiu sat on the sofa in the hall, and looked coldly at Luo Sheng standing before him. He then got up, walked over, and kicked Luo Sheng’s knee. Luo Sheng immediately knelt on the ground. 

Luo Sheng endured the pain and looked up angrily at Luo Xiu. 

“Go apologize to Meng Yang, and apologize until he’s willing to forgive you,” Luo Xiu said coldly. 

“Why should I apologize?” Luo Sheng roared. “I’m more hurt than they are, and they united to humiliate me. It’s good enough that I didn’t ask them to apologize to me!”

“You know how it feels to be humiliated?” Luo Xiu looked down at Luo Sheng and said, “What’s the relationship between the horse I bought for Meng Yang and you? What rights and qualifications do you have to humiliate him and hit him with a whip?”

“Who is Meng Yang?! He’s not worthy of the Luo family’s money!”

Luo Xiu kicked Luo Sheng to the ground with a strong kick. Luo Sheng felt a sharp pain in his chest as his sight almost immediately went dark.

Luo Xiu looked at Luo Sheng covering his chest and said, “Every cent of the Luo family is earned by me, and who I’m willing to spend it on is my own business. Do you think because you’re my son, I have to give you my property? This is the last time I warn you, if you dare to touch Meng Yang again, I’ll beat you half to death! Go apologize to Meng Yang immediately. If one day Meng Yang doesn’t forgive you, you won’t be allowed to return to the main house at that time!”

“I’m not returning, I’m not returning!” Luo Sheng rose from the ground and said with a glare, “Anyways, I didn’t grow up with you for all those years. Even if you ask me later, I won’t come back!”

Luo Sheng turned around angrily and left. 

Luo Xiu sneered in his heart, thinking that Luo Sheng spoke with a lot of backbone. Firstly, even if he could really do it and never come back to the Luo family house, and even if he did have the backbone, Old Master Cheng would never agree. The Cheng family had been aiming for the Luo family’s property for so long and had almost succeeded many years ago. 

Luo Xiu clenched his fists tightly. He would never let the Cheng family go; he must beat them into the ground, then make them suffer and regret it!

Sure enough, once Luo Sheng arrived at the Cheng family and told the Old Master Cheng that he would never return to the Luo house, he was immediately taught a lesson by Old Master Cheng. 

“You’re too ignorant, how could you say something like that? How stupid!” Old Master Cheng stood up with hands behind his back and paced anxiously, saying, “You’re giving up everything that should belong to you and making others happy, don’t you know that?”

“Should I live in that house without dignity and let them humiliate me? I can’t swallow it!” Luo Sheng said through gritted teeth. 

Old Master Cheng’s face sank. He wanted to continue scolding Luo Cheng to make him understand the reality of things. Seeing Luo Sheng’s face and expression though, he knew that he couldn’t continue to attack him now, as it’d only make his rebellious heart worse.

Old Master Cheng sat down and sighed, saying, “You’re too young to have experienced a lot of things personally. You don’t understand the difficulties of your father. Your father also endured many things that ordinary people couldn’t bear during those years, which is why he’s achieved so much today. If you really want to prove that you’re stronger than your father, then you have to tolerate more than he can. If you can’t bear even this little thing, you won’t be able to make it in the future!”

Even Old Master Cheng had to admit that in addition to his impressive abilities, Luo Xiu’s endurance that was beyond what others could handle was also a key to his success. 

Luo Sheng clenched his teeth hard. Though he understood what his grandfather was saying, he still felt unwilling to accept it. 

“During these days, you should calm down and think about it. We’ll talk about it again soon.” Old Master Cheng said. 

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Translator Notes: This was twice as long as the normal chapters! The author usually keeps it mostly consistent, so I was a bit surprised. Chapters do start getting a bit longer from now on though, since we’ve started on the v (pay to view on jjwxc) chapters.

Thank you to Red Yak for the edits!

Editor’s Notes: Meng Yang makes a pretty good white lotus.

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1. Normally, Xiao Ke calls Luo Sheng “Luo da shao”, while in this moment he calls him “Luo da shaoye”. The second usage is more of a direct translation to “young master” and is more respectful/formal, so I just added something to distinguish it. The second one is what Mr. Yuan (housekeeper) usually uses when referring to Luo Sheng.

SMWOM 24

The coach began to call the names of the students to come claim their horses. 

The students named walked quickly to their horses and happily stroked their necks. Since school had started, apart from the equestrian class, it was difficult to find much free time to see them.

“Fifth horse, Yu Junchen,” the coach called, looking at the roster on the computer.

Yu Junchen, who was suppressing his excitement and anticipation, suddenly froze, because the fifth horse was a white horse. Though the white horse was also very beautiful, his expectations fell through, making him unable to respond.

“Fifth horse, Yu Junchen.” The coach saw that Yu Junchen had frozen and thought he didn’t hear clearly, so he called again.

Just now, those who’d thought the pale gold horse was given to Yu Junchen by Luo Sheng were stunned, before becoming more confused and curious. 

Yu Junchen walked towards the white horse in a daze, but his eyes were always locked on the light gold horse beside him. He felt uncomfortable and unwilling, as if his things had been robbed. 

The horse stood in the middle of all of the horses, and was the most outstanding one in the crowd. In comparison, other horses that were normally very beautiful looked common. 

“Sixth horse, Meng Yang.”

Meng Yang walked to his horse with all the students’ eyes focused on him. The people beside Yu Junchen had been talking about Luo Sheng giving a horse to Yu Junchen, so no one remembered that Meng Yang was the one married to the chairman of the Luo Group. How could Luo Sheng be richer than his father?

Yu Junchen’s expression was quite ugly as he lowered his head. He felt as if he’d just lost face, and he was also a little angry that when those people were talking just now, why hadn’t Meng Yang said that it was his horse? Meng Yang had definitely intended to make him lose face.

Once all the students who owned a horse got on their horses, they would slowly ride them into the horse ranch under the guidance of the trainers to start practicing. There were more students without their own horses, so they couldn’t all huddle together. The horses provided by the ranch for practice had arrived, but everyone’s eyes were still focused on Meng Yang’s horse that was like a suspended picture.

Yu Junchen couldn’t ride a horse, so the horse trainer helped him lead the horse into the horse track. His eyes were on Meng Yang who was on his horse. He wasn’t really interested in equestrian lessons, but he wasn’t good at the other sports elective courses either. Taking equestrian lessons would allow him to be with Luo Sheng, so he chose them. But although he wasn’t interested in horses and riding them before, he had to admit that the horse Meng Yang was riding would greatly appeal to anyone. Just its appearance alone made people want to own it. 

All the students were ready with their horses, and the students with riding experience and those without experience would practice under the guidance of the trainer and the coach respectively. 

Students with riding experience had a free practice time period, while those like Yu Junchen, who had no experience at all, could only slowly trot at most.

The coach confirmed that Meng Yang was riding well, so he was allowed to run freely. 

Meng Yang felt like going for a run first, so he rode his horse into the distance while everyone watched after him.

“It’s so beautiful, just like a horse out of a fairy tale.”

“For the first time, I really saw elegance in a horse.”

“That horse is so expensive that it’s scary, he’s really worthy of being the chairman of the Luo Group.”

“Though it’s expensive and intimidating, we’ll never know the feeling of owning such a horse. I’ve always thought that our family was rich, but now I can’t help but sigh: the more money, the better.”

Yu Junchen sat on his horse and listened to their comments. He couldn’t say what kind of mood he had. The horse Luo Sheng gave him also looked very good and was from Luo Sheng’s heart. He’d always thought that the intention was more important than anything else, but he wasn’t sure why he didn’t feel very happy now.

The business school also began its free practice period, and Luo Sheng came over to Yu Junchen on his horse. Seeing Yu Junchen sitting on the horse in a daze, he called out, “Junchen?”

Yu Junchen just came back to his senses and looked up at him, “…Luo Sheng.”

“Do you like the horse I gave you?” Luo Sheng asked with a smile.

“Like…I like it.” Yu Junchen also smiled and said, “Thank you.”

“What’s the matter with you? Do you not feel well?” Luo Sheng looked at Yu Junchen. Though he had a smile on his lips, there was no smile in his eyes. 

“No, I’m just not used to riding since it’s my first time,” Yu Junchen quickly explained.

“It’s normal to be afraid of riding for the first time, let me teach you,” Luo Sheng said. 

“Okay,” Yu Junchen nodded.

Luo Sheng got down from his horse and got up on Yu Junchen’s horse and sat behind him. Luo Sheng’s friends also came over, and when they saw Luo Sheng sitting behind Yu Junchen, they all started teasing and laughing. 

At that moment, Meng Yang rode back to the pasture and once again attracted everyone’s gazes. Luo Sheng and his friends were all stunned when they saw him. 

Blue sky, white clouds, sunny weather, and on the endless green grass, a horse shining a soft gold underneath the sunshine ran gracefully and briskly towards them from afar.

All the students gazed at this beautiful picture that looked like the special effects in a movie. In this picture of a vast and clear blue sky and a green landscape, one person and one horse seemed to run straight from the clouds in the sky to the ground. It seemed too beautiful to be real. 

Arriving at the place where he’d started from, Meng Yang tightened the reins and let the horse slowly come to a stop. 

Lu Yunjing had just come from a nearby practice area on his horse. Seeing Meng Yang’s horse, he froze for a moment and then rode towards him.

“Is this your horse?” Lu Yunjing looked at Meng Yang’s horse, surprised. “Did President Luo buy it for you?”

“Yes,” Meng Yang nodded with a smile.

“This horse is worth many villas, and villas are real estate and can increase in value, at least. But when the horse gets older…”

“The Luo family doesn’t lack villas, and no matter how many there are, I don’t have time to live in them all,” Meng Yang said. “But I can ride this horse in the main house when I have time. When I don’t have time, I can let it bask on the lawn, so it’ll be good scenery. It’s good and pleasant to look at.”

“That’s also true. Anyways, President Luo has the money. As long as he spends it happily, it’s not a waste.”

“It’s interesting to ride a horse on Longling Mountain, as riding through the woods and crossing over streams is different from riding on grass. Next time, you can come too.”

“Alright, I’ll visit often when I have free time.” Lu  Yunjing looked at his horse and said, “But my horse isn’t good compared to your horse. I’m going to choose a more beautiful horse in a few days.”

Luo Sheng was looking at Meng Yang’s horse, and his friends said to him, “Luo Sheng, that horse must have been bought by your father. It can’t have been bought by Meng Yang himself.”

Luo Sheng had seen the horse before and knew its price. He really didn’t expect that Meng Yang would ride it. He also knew that Meng Yang didn’t have enough money to buy the horse, so his father must have bought it for him. 

“Luo Sheng, even though that guy married your father, you’re still your father’s only son. Your father’s thing should be yours.”

“That’s right. How can a marriage certificate be comparable to a father-son relationship? Since it’s your father’s horse, you’re more qualified to use it than Meng Yang.”

Luo Sheng listened to their words and felt even angrier, and his face became more ugly.

When Meng Yang saw Luo Sheng looking at him while they were talking, he’d already guessed what they were talking about. 

Meng Yang very clearly understood that although the Cheng family had a competitive relationship with the Luo Group, the master of the Cheng family has made long-term, stable plans for Luo Sheng to inherit the Luo family. Luo Xiu was in a coma for a while because of the accident, and after waking up, he was unable to manage the company for a year or two. Many things happened during this time. When Luo Xiu was finally able to regain control of the company, the situation had changed a lot.

There was nothing wrong with Luo Xiu in this life and Meng Yang would never let Luo Sheng and the Cheng family get Luo Xiu’s property again. What he had to do now was intensify the conflict between him and Luo Sheng. When that happened, the Cheng family would certainly not be indifferent. Once the Cheng family moved, Luo Xiu would move, so Luo Xiu would be more guarded against them and would speed up his revenge on the Cheng family.

Meng Yang rode his horse over to Luo Sheng and Yu Junchen, and looked at Luo Sheng and said, “Are you talking about this horse? This horse was a gift from your father, and it completely belongs to me. It looks like you have an opinion about it though?”

“It’s fun to spend our Luo family’s money, isn’t it? You really are shameless!” Luo Sheng sneered in anger.

“If you have anything to say, say it to your father, it’s no use saying it to me.” Meng Yang smiled wryly at him and said, “The more you want to humiliate me, the more you prove that you’re addicted to running your mouth. You can’t do anything about me at all. If you really have the ability, have your father divorce me, or have him ignore me, or at least, have him be less kind to me. Unfortunately, you can’t do any of this, because you don’t matter at all in your father’s heart.”

Luo Sheng became completely enraged by Meng Yang’s words. He raised the whip in his hand and swung it hard towards Meng Yang. Meng Yang responded quickly and immediately used the horse reins to avoid being hit, but failed to avoid it completely. Though the whip didn’t hit him, it did hit his horse, who neighed and ran forward a few steps. 

“Meng Yang!” Lu Yunjing cried out in panic.

The coach noticed something wrong and ran over, having the trainer separate the horses. He didn’t allow the students to cross the field again. He’d be in a lot of trouble if something happened, so before they got into any more trouble, he tried to stop them in every way possible. 

Luo Sheng got off his horse and glared fiercely at Meng Yang, saying, “Just you wait! I will never let you off!”

“Then you’d better talk about it less and just do it, we’ll see what you can do to me!” After Meng Yang finished talking, he stroked the place where his horse had been whipped and said sorry to it in his heart.

“Meng Yang, are you okay?” Lu Yunjing worriedly asked Meng Yang. 

Meng Yang shook his head.

“After all, he is President Luo’s real son. You and President Luo just got married, so you’d better keep your distance from him for the time being,” Lu Yunjing advised. 

Meng Yang thought that this level was far from enough; he must create even more conflict. 

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Translator Notes: Sometimes I wonder if Luo Xiu had actually raised Luo Sheng and given him kindness when he was a kid, would he have turned out to be such an asshole? Ah well, poor horse. Don’t whip people unless it’s consensual kids.

Editor’s Notes: Fair point, but I think this brand of asshattery could never completely be cured. That being said, this is the dark and petty version of a class at Ouran High School.