Chapter 12: Staging a Collision

Ling Wu left Lower City District D.

He had just caught his breath, preparing to hail a car back to the Jin Family Old Residence, when the system broadcast sounded in his ears again.

【Ding! Male lead Yu Shixue detected nearby.】

【Novice Task Two: Please complete this plot point, stage a 'collision' with Yu Shixue, and have him drive you home (0/1).】

Plot point?

Plot progression relies on him, a Cannon Fodder male supporting character?

Ling Wu understood; he was just a brick, to be moved wherever needed.

Not long after, a black Cayenne drove at a steady speed along a road lined with two rows of London plane trees. Ling Wu emerged from the green belt; he first heard the sound of a horn, then was blinded by the headlights, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

The front of the car stopped half a meter away from him. Ling Wu raised a hand to shield his eyes, so frightened he collapsed onto the ground.

Ling Wu had never done this kind of 'collision' before. He first roughly calculated the Cayenne's speed and braking performance to ensure he wouldn't be killed, then found the right moment to emerge from beside the green belt.

Staging a 'collision' so fresh and refined.

Inside the car.

The driver held the steering wheel and said to Yu Shixue in the back seat, "Young Master, it seems we've hit someone."

In the back seat of the Cayenne, Yu Shixue wore gold-rimmed glasses. He closed the financial report in his hands, lifted his cold, phoenix-shaped eyes, and crossed his hands; his knuckles were cold and white as jade. His pupils reflected in the car window, the light and shadow flickering, appearing chillingly oppressive.

Yu Shixue's lips curved into a cruel arc: "Life or death aside, drive over him."

"Yes."

The car moved forward two steps, but the driver stopped again after seeing Ling Wu's face: "Young Master, it's that Eldest Young Master of the Jin Family who was found."

"Oh?"

Yu Shixue then suddenly remembered the pitiful appearance of the youth coming out of the piano room at Jingwan that day. His skin was very white, and his beautiful eyes were like beads carved from glass, clear and translucent, looking so wonderful that one wanted to destroy and tear them apart...

He said in a low voice: "So it's him."

"Interesting."

Ling Wu's face didn't flush and his heart didn't race; he brushed the dust off his body, staging the 'collision' with a rather light and breezy air.

Then the car door opened, and a pair of superior long legs stepped out.

Yu Shixue's voice, however, carried a hint of winter's chill, sounding very cold through the thin lenses: "Has the Jin Family fallen to the point where the Eldest Young Master has to come out and stage 'collisions' himself?"

【Scared me to death, can this driver be more careful?】

【The front of the car was less than half a meter from the supporting character. Even if he is Cannon Fodder, you can't joke with someone's life.】

【It even scared my supporting character baby.】

【Although I know this is a dog-blood Mary Sue old-school comic, seeing these male leads treat human life like grass still makes me feel like I can't catch my breath...】

Ling Wu looked at the hand extended toward him. He wasn't pretentious and used Yu Shixue's strength to stand up, but unexpectedly, the other party pulled with his forearm, and he was dragged directly into his arms.

His face was buried against his chest.

Yu Shixue raised an eyebrow: "Throwing yourself at me?"

A moment later, Ling Wu retreated from his arms as if nothing had happened, looking up with his porcelain-white face. He seemed not to hear the thorns in his words and instead explained earnestly: "Sorry, I was scared and didn't stand steady."

He let go of his hand.

Yu Shixue asked casually: "This is very far from Sike Academy. What are you doing here?"

"Clearing my head." Ling Wu added: "Father asked me to return to the old residence."

Yu Shixue naturally didn't believe him—clearing his head all the way to the vicinity of Lower City District D? But he didn't intend to press further.

"You don't have a driver?"

Ling Wu smiled bleakly: "They don't like me... besides, didn't you just say I came out to stage a 'collision'?"

【The supporting character is so pitiful.】

【Pitiful my foot. When he burned Qi Yu with a cigarette butt, why didn't anyone say he was pitiful? Besides, the Jin Family is so rich, what is there for him to worry about?】

【Stop arguing! Baby, don't be sad, I'll be your personal driver!】

【The Jin Family takes him back but ignores him, doesn't give him status or real power, and he gets bullied by his own younger brother. Did that supporting character's dad just beautifully disappear?】

Yu Shixue heard the subtext in his words. Looking at the youth's cold and fair face, he felt a rare trace of apology in his heart; after all, it was he who had almost hit Ling Wu.

He turned and pulled open the car door: "Let's go, I'll take you back to the Jin Family."

Ling Wu followed him into the car.

The youth sat obediently with his hands on his knees, the light of the neon signs reflecting in his eyes. He was innocent and pure, his temperament uniquely distinct from the common masses.

The space inside the car was cramped. The tip of Yu Shixue's nose caught the scent of his shampoo—a fresh and elegant fragrance.

His gaze shifted: "Ling Wu, what brand of shampoo do you use?"

"Huh?" Ling Wu had been immersed in his own world. Suddenly called by his name, he blinked, appearing somewhat lost: "It's just a bottle of shampoo I bought casually in the Lower City District."

"It's actually quite good."

Bought in the Lower City District?

Yu Shixue pressed his tongue against his cheek. That kind of cheap stuff from the slums... can it really be used?

He had originally thought that Ling Wu, as the nominal Eldest Young Master of the Jin Family, at least lived a comfortable life. Only today did he learn that he didn't even have a dedicated driver and used cheap shampoo costing a few dozen dollars.

Yet Ling Wu was accustomed to it and didn't feel it was demeaning. Those dark eyes were startlingly bright, burning Yu Shixue's gaze until it wandered.

It was hard to imagine what kind of life he had lived in the Lower City District before being found by the Jin Family.

And he was born so beautiful...

Yu Shixue narrowed his eyes. That old fox Jin Liangjin had killed several brothers with live ammunition before taking power; he had long since grown cold to family affection. He had illegitimate children everywhere, yet he specifically brought back the son who had been lost for ten years.

What did that mean?

Although Ling Wu's performance was like a clean sheet of white paper, water that is too clear has no fish. Did the Jin Family deliberately send Ling Wu to approach him, wanting to form a marriage alliance?

Or were they eyeing the arms trade channels?

However, having said that, this not-so-legitimate Eldest Young Master certainly has the capital for a marriage alliance in terms of his appearance.

But he does not think much of such clumsy methods.

【Ding! Novice Quest Two: Please Host, complete this plot point, stage a collision with Yu Shixue, and have him take you home (1/1)】

【Quest Complete√】

It takes another half an hour from Lower City District D to the Jin Family; Ling Wu is not a talkative person, and he is not familiar with Yu Shixue, so he could only reluctantly chat a few sentences because of the system quest, but now that the quest is complete, he truly has no heart to pay attention to the other party.

He simply closed his eyes and began to sleep.

Because Ling Wu had his eyes closed, Yu Shixue could see his curled, thick eyelashes just by turning his head, his lips slightly parted, his white-and-pink cheeks looking like a crystal-clear peach waiting to be plucked.

"Ling Wu?"

No one responded; there was only the sound of even, rhythmic breathing by his ear.

Yu Shixue felt the financial documents in his hand were dull and tasteless; he propped his head up to look at the youth leaning against the window, and for some reason, looking at the small face slightly lowered before him and the peaceful sleeping profile, his heart felt a little itchy.

Truly someone far removed from the struggles of the chaebols.

He really has no guard up.

Yu Shixue pushed up his spectacle frames; he is certainly not a good person who hands out kindness indiscriminately.

To take, one must first give.