Without saying a word, Lan Xi stepped forward and placed a hand on Wen Yue’s forearm.
Through two thin layers of fabric, Lan Xi felt the muscles underneath pulled taut.
They were tense with anger.
Wen Yue lowered his eyes and stared coldly at him. “Did you break your brain?”
He grabbed Lan Xi’s cheek with one hand and squeezed hard enough to hurt.
Lan Xi sucked in a sharp hiss of pain, twisted his head, and promptly sank his teeth into the web between Wen Yue’s thumb and forefinger.
Wen Yue gave a mocking laugh. “So you’re not stupid after all. You still know to bite when something hurts.”
Once Lan Xi had bitten down, he refused to let go. Wen Yue’s brows gradually drew together as he crooked his fingers and tried to pry Lan Xi’s mouth open.
He actually couldn’t.
Great. Just great! So he had switched from throwing tantrums to suddenly biting people now!
Wen Yue’s expression grew darker. He was just about to force Lan Xi’s teeth apart with his knuckles when Lan Xi abruptly relaxed his bite, curled the tip of his tongue, and lightly brushed it across Wen Yue’s skin.
Wen Yue froze as if nailed in place.
At that moment, Wen Ming rushed over and easily hauled Lan Xi away.
Lan Xi smacked his lips, clearly finding the whole thing rather boring. At last, he finally spoke his first sentence.
“￥%#……%￥……%……”
Everyone stared at him in shock.
Was this really just a problem with incoherent language?
What fucking planet was that alien language from?
Lan Xi was taken upstairs to a bedroom. A maid turned on the television for him. Curious, he walked over and touched it first, then returned to the sofa and began watching.
Before long, the maid brought him a plate of sliced pineapple and mango.
Lan Xi happily started eating.
The Wen brothers sat in front of the surveillance monitor, watched everything Lan Xi did, and fell silent.
Now it really did seem like…
Something was wrong with him.
“Have a doctor come to the house,” Wen Yue said. “Keep it discreet.”
“All right.”
After giving the instruction, Wen Yue raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. He truly couldn’t bear to keep watching the surveillance footage.
Only then did he finally have time to remove his suit jacket and hand it to the maid beside him. He turned and walked out, reaching Wen Lan’s bedroom in just a few steps.
A xianxia drama was playing on television. Lan Xi was completely absorbed in the battle between gods and demons and couldn’t even be bothered to turn his head when he heard footsteps approaching.
Elio’s Notes: Xianxia is a Chinese fantasy genre centered on immortal cultivation, supernatural powers, sects, and beings such as immortals, demons, and spirits.
Still unwilling to give up, Wen Yue walked inside and tried talking to him again. “Look at me. What happened when you went to Yun Province?”
Lan Xi ignored him.
So Wen Yue stepped directly in front of him, naturally blocking the entire television screen.
Lan Xi was a little unhappy, but then he remembered that a seraph was not someone to provoke lightly. The man hadn’t locked him in a cage and purified him yet. He was even giving him delicious food and interesting things to watch.
Lan Xi decided he could put up with a little inconvenience.
Wen Yue, however, was very dissatisfied with his silence. He bent down and grabbed Lan Xi’s hand.
Lan Xi finally lost his patience. He yanked his hand back, pushed Wen Yue away, and said, “#%#@@￥#!”
The last shred of hope Wen Yue had been clinging to finally died.
Expressionless, he turned and walked out.
At eight that evening, the two brothers leaned against the terrace railing and smoked.
“I used to wish he’d just die somewhere outside. But now that he’s actually turned into this…” Wen Ming exhaled a stream of smoke, deep lines forming between his brows. “I feel like we’ve let Aunt Xu down.”
Wen Yue patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said coldly, “That’s his life. He chose it himself.”
“Go to bed early.”
Wen Yue stubbed out his cigarette and walked away.
He had barely taken two steps when he ran into Lan Xi.
Lan Xi was wearing a silver-gray silk robe, loosely drawn around his body. A small expanse of pale chest was clearly visible beneath it. There were still faint traces of his allergic reaction there, but against his skin they didn’t look ugly at all. Instead, they left a hazy flush of pink.
He stood with his back against the corridor wall, posture casual, as though he were waiting for someone.
For a split second, Wen Yue thought he looked nothing like Wen Lan.
But the thought lasted only an instant.
After all, the man had become an idiot. Of course he seemed different.
Wen Yue stopped. Even though he knew they couldn’t communicate, he still asked coldly, “Something you want to say?”
Actually, Lan Xi’s television show had just ended, and he had finally remembered that there was something he still hadn’t done.
He had fumbled his way through using the bathroom facilities to take a cold shower, put on a robe, and come outside to lie in wait.
Whoever I catch will do.
That was Lan Xi’s thinking.
And the person he caught happened to be Wen Yue.
Lan Xi tilted his face upward and slowly blinked. The corridor light spilled down over him, seeming to drape him in a hazy veil.
He was as beautiful as a figure in a medieval oil painting.
Wen Yue’s gaze unconsciously froze on him. “You…”
The next second, Lan Xi threw his arms around him.
His hands stroked lightly over Wen Yue’s back, then felt their way toward his shoulder blades. It looked as though he were searching for something—and at the same time, as though he were engaging in some subtle form of flirting.
The moment Wen Yue realized that, his mind froze solid.
A vein jumped at his neck. He planted one hand on Lan Xi’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”
Yet even that failed to push Lan Xi away.
He got stupid, so why did he get stronger too?
Lan Xi couldn’t understand a word of Wen Yue’s babbling anyway, so why would he care?
He’s unhappy?
Of course he is.
Angels never have a pleasant expression for demons from Hell.
Lan Xi casually hooked one leg around Wen Yue’s waist.
Wen Yue seemed to turn into an ice sculpture on the spot.
His voice was glacial as he ground out through clenched teeth, “Wen Lan, did becoming stupid also make you insane?”
Then he stopped trying to push Lan Xi away.
Instead, he flexed his arm, hoisted Lan Xi bodily over his shoulder, carried him straight back into the bedroom, and tied him to the headboard.
In the end, Wen Yue was still afraid the idiot might freeze to death, so before leaving, he even pulled a blanket over him.
Lan Xi: “…”
Seraphs really are troublesome.
The holy angels he had encountered in the mountains hadn’t required him to do anything special at all. As long as he looked at them, they practically fell over themselves to do whatever he wanted.
Oh well. Seraphs are exceptionally powerful. What else can I expect?
He was already lying on the bed anyway.
Lan Xi shifted his body.
So soft.
I like it.
He simply closed his eyes and slept straight through until morning.
The Wen brothers, on the other hand, both slept badly. When they got up the next day, faint bluish shadows lay beneath their eyes. After instructing the servants not to let Lan Xi wander around, they left for the company.
At ten in the morning, a servant carrying breakfast cautiously knocked on the bedroom door.
“Young Master, would you like breakfast?”
Wen Lan used to have a terrible temper. If someone accidentally disturbed his sleep, he would throw things at the servants’ heads. He had once even been beaten by the Eldest Young Master because of it.
But Second Young Master had given orders that morning. Young Master had spent so many days in the mountains that his stomach had been ruined, so from now on, he had to eat his meals on schedule.
Just as the servant was nervously waiting, the door suddenly opened.
Lan Xi’s gaze immediately locked onto the food in the male servant’s hands. He casually took the tray, sat down in front of the coffee table, and started eating.
Only then did the servant notice that the television was already on again.
So Young Master had gotten up long ago.
Who knew how many hours of television he had already watched?
Lan Xi was an extremely quick learner. He had watched someone turn on the television the day before, and today he simply copied what he had seen.
Sure enough, he got it right on the first try.
He watched the morning program with great interest while biting into a springy shrimp cake.
The servant breathed a sigh of relief. While Lan Xi was behaving himself, he hurried over to tidy the bed.
When he got closer, he noticed a torn length of necktie still hanging from the bedpost.
At that exact moment, Wen Yue called to ask for an update.
“Is Wen Lan awake?”
The servant said, “He’s awake.”
“Untie him and make sure he behaves himself and eats.”
The servant swallowed. “There’s no need.”
“?”
“The necktie on the bedpost… snapped.”
“…”
Wen Yue asked whether Lan Xi had said anything strange again or smashed anything.
The servant replied, “No. He got up and has just been sitting there watching television.”
“…”
Wen Yue had nothing else to ask.
He hung up, rubbed his thumb over the surface of the phone, and still couldn’t shake the feeling that something about all this was very strange.
Back in the bedroom, the servant put away his phone and thoroughly cleaned the bathroom. By the time he came back out, every bit of breakfast had been eaten.
Lan Xi was walking back and forth barefoot across the red carpet.
The servant hurried off to get socks.
“Young Master, you’ll catch a chill walking around barefoot.”
After saying that, he cautiously raised his eyes.
Young Master didn’t lose his temper. He only looked at him in confusion.
Oh, right.
The Eldest and Second Young Masters had said Young Master seemed to have become an idiot.
The servant had no choice but to crouch down and help him put on his socks and shoes.
Young Master remained as haughty and pampered as ever, lazily lifting one foot for him.
Yet for some reason, the servant didn’t feel humiliated by it today.
When his fingers accidentally brushed the skin on top of Young Master’s foot, he almost didn’t dare look directly at it. The skin was so white it seemed dazzling.
Ten minutes later, the servant walked out of the bedroom.
Only then did he realize that his heart was beating abnormally fast.
…
Lan Xi sat inside the doorway and glanced at the male servant’s retreating back.
He could hear the rapid thump-thump of the man’s heartbeat.
Ordinary angels like this are so easy to seduce…
Lan Xi licked his lips.
Precisely because he’s too easy, I’ll leave him alone for now.
Lan Xi turned his attention back to a new television program.
He had actually realized by now that there was a serious language barrier between himself and the angels.
It was strange.
During the war, he had clearly been able to understand them.
If he wanted to win over a seraph, he would have to overcome that problem first.
So he began trying to learn the angels’ language by following along with the television.
He watched all the way until four in the afternoon.
He even ate lunch at the coffee table.
“Where is Wen Lan?”
At exactly four o’clock, a middle-aged man entered downstairs with a dark expression.
As it happened, another television program had just ended.
Lan Xi, wearing soft slippers, slowly wandered outside and looked down from the second-floor railing.
A blue-green aura surrounded the middle-aged man.
He was a Power—only one rank above an ordinary angel.
After already seeing seraphs, Lan Xi gave a lazy yawn.
Boring.
The servants addressed the middle-aged man as “President Wen.”
He was the father of the three Wen brothers and rarely stayed at the old residence. His sudden return startled all the servants.
President Wen looked up and immediately spotted Lan Xi. Rage exploded across his face.
“Get the hell down here!”
Although Lan Xi had diligently spent most of the day learning this new language, he still couldn’t understand him.
So he turned around.
That only made Wen Zixiong even angrier. His face darkened as he ordered the bodyguards behind him, “Bring him down.”
Lan Xi was light enough to be carried away over someone’s shoulder with ease.
He couldn’t be bothered resisting.
The servants watched as Wen Zixiong took him away, then hurriedly called the two brothers.
“This is bad, Eldest Young Master…”
President Wen’s full name was Wen Zixiong.
After getting Lan Xi into the car, he immediately started berating him.
“So that’s why you disappeared again! You offended Mr. Fu!”
Lan Xi blinked.
I don’t understand.
“Are you fucking insane? I should’ve strangled you with a belt the day you were born!”
I don’t understand.
Lan Xi rested his head against the car door and tried to doze off.
“I’m telling you now—no matter what you have to do, you will get Mr. Fu’s forgiveness. Don’t drag me down with you!”
Still don’t understand.
Lan Xi began counting the tiny stars in the car’s starlight headliner.
Seeing him remain completely silent, Wen Zixiong assumed he was frightened.
When they reached their destination, he gave two cold snorts and ordered the bodyguards to haul Lan Xi out of the car.
It was a private estate, secluded behind layer upon layer of oak and yew trees.
So secluded that it gave the distinct impression that two people could die there without anyone ever finding out.
Wen Zixiong unconsciously quieted his breathing and walked first into the French-style mansion.
Inside, several people were playing bridge.
Even though it was merely a recreational card game, everyone taking part was extraordinarily quiet. They placed their cards lightly on the table one after another.
The entire building was nearly deathly silent.
Wen Zixiong’s slightly tense voice broke the stillness.
“Mr. Fu, I’ve brought my youngest son here to apologize to you.”
The “Mr. Fu” in question sat in the seat of honor.
He smiled pleasantly. “Not to me.”
“He needs to apologize to me!” A young man playing cards with them couldn’t help correcting him.
Wen Zixiong actually had no idea exactly how Wen Lan had offended anyone.
Only Wen Lan himself knew the whole story.
So Wen Zixiong simply gave his youngest son a shove.
“Well? Go on.”
Lan Xi narrowed his eyes.
So bright.
Golden light.
The aura surrounding the “angel” seated in the place of honor was far stronger and denser than that of the other two seraphs.
Everyone here seemed afraid of him…
Lan Xi reached a conclusion almost immediately.
He must be the strongest angel of them all!
Does he have six pairs of wings? Or even more?
Lan Xi’s curiosity rose to its peak, and even his breathing grew lighter.
Then he started walking toward the man.
Two expressionless bodyguards immediately stepped out from the corner.
Just as they were about to stop Lan Xi, the man raised a hand, allowing him to approach.
Lan Xi reached out and took his hand.
Everyone in the room seemed to have had a pause button pressed at the same time.
They froze stiffly in place.
What is he doing?
Lan Xi stroked the man’s hand again.
WHAT IS HE DOING?!
Everyone screamed silently.
Then Lan Xi actually turned the man’s hand over and carefully rubbed it a couple more times.
His forehead began to itch faintly.
His goat horns were almost impossible to suppress, threatening to emerge at any moment.
If he revealed his true form, he could bring a succubus’s allure to its absolute peak…
But at that moment, the man effortlessly pulled his hand away.
Then he took a soft handkerchief and wiped it with unmistakable distaste.
The cold indoor lighting traced the high bridge of his nose. His face was strikingly handsome, yet his eyes were so frigid that looking into them seemed enough to chill a person to the bone.
The man spoke casually.
“Drag him out.”
There was nothing amiable about him at all.
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