Wei Xicheng fiercely kicked the table beside him, and it fell to the ground with a loud “bang.”
The plot was clear: if not for Qi Yiming, the child of destiny wouldn’t have targeted Zhu Xingyuan, trying every possible way to eliminate him. Zhu Xingyuan’s father wouldn’t have sacrificed the Zhu family to save him, handing it over to another child of destiny, Sheng Huasen.
Qi Yiming’s face didn’t look good either as he coldly stared at Wei Xicheng.
“Lost your voice?” Wei Xicheng lifted one foot and stepped on the fallen table, chin raised, half-lidded eyes looking at Qi Yiming across from him, giving off a roguish, but handsome vibe.
Wei Xicheng had trained in performance for the camera, so he naturally presented himself in the most visually appealing way. Now, without the barrier of a camera, his beauty was even more obvious to the people around him.
At this moment, the young master of the Zhu family resembled a graceful little leopard, leisurely licking his paws while his eyes challenged his opponent, as if ready to pounce on his prey at any moment.
Zhu Xingyuan wasn’t bad-looking. His eyes, when open, were as brilliant as stars, and when half-closed, they had a lazy, dreamy charm. His lips looked a bit thin and unfaithful, and combined with his sharp chin, his appearance was stunning.
Standing in the center of attention, even while confronting someone, he overshadowed the other lead, making it impossible for people to take their eyes off him.
Qi Yiming, facing him directly, felt the impact more than anyone else. In the moment Zhu Xingyuan’s eyes met his, Qi Yiming even felt that the person in front of him wasn’t Zhu Xingyuan.
This dazed feeling passed quickly, and Qi Yiming’s expression turned cold again. He said to Wei Xicheng, “A curse race at Twelve Streets the day after tomorrow—dare to join?”
“Heh.” Wei Xicheng chuckled, retracting his long leg and standing upright.
Twelve Streets wasn’t just a street, but a massive racecourse. All the hot-blooded rich kids liked to go there for speed and thrills. “Curse” was the name of one of the most dangerous tracks, with complex, narrow, winding terrain, where one could easily get hurt or even die.
Wei Xicheng stood lazily, arms crossed, head tilted, nodding toward the people behind Qi Yiming, his tone slightly mocking. “You brought such a big group just to say that?”
Meng Tao, standing beside Wei Xicheng, burst out laughing. “Bro, don’t you know how he is? Always such a coward. Life’s tough, don’t rub it in.”
“You!” Qi Yiming, hot-tempered and petty, took a half-step forward, throwing a punch straight at Meng Tao’s face.
But Meng Tao wasn’t one to be easily beaten. He dodged, and with a quick counterpunch aimed at Qi Yiming’s ribs, thought, “No way I’m letting this jerk hit me. That’d make me the year’s laughingstock.”
A chubby guy behind Meng Tao reached out to pull him back but failed. Seeing that the fight had already started, he cursed under his breath, “Damn!” Realizing peaceful negotiations were out of the question, he jumped in too.
Where was the elegance of a noble family’s sons? This was a full-on street brawl.
Wei Xicheng was a bit stunned, but his actions didn’t falter. He’d trained in self-defense in his original world, and after honing his skills across a thousand worlds, his reflexes were sharp. His body wasn’t weak either, and when he threw a punch, it packed a solid punch.
Even in a fight, maintaining grace and aesthetics was part of an actor’s professional training. So, in the midst of the chaos, one figure stood out.
There were gasps from the onlookers, along with girls shouting, “Hit him! So cool! Ah!”
Qi Yiming glanced towards the commotion and saw that Zhu Xingyuan’s movements were smooth and efficient, his actions agile, face serious yet with a hint of ruthlessness. It looked like a drama scene, with no one even managing to touch the hem of his clothes.
Damn. Distracted, Qi Yiming caught a punch to the mouth, feeling even more frustrated, and started fighting more recklessly.
The once lively hall was now a complete mess. It wasn’t until Qi Yiming and his group left that things calmed down. Only then did the bar manager, accompanied by security, arrive late.
“Zhu…” The manager started to speak, but Wei Xicheng waved him off. “Put it all on my tab.”
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. The manager seemed to understand the situation well, nodded, apologized to the onlookers, and quickly left, leaving the security guards to clean up the mess.
The crowd, seeing there was no more excitement, gradually dispersed. A few girls lingered, reluctant to leave, but were politely escorted out by the guards, all the while casting longing glances back at Wei Xicheng.
Feeling the stares, Wei Xicheng instinctively slipped into performance mode. He curled his lips into a smirk, wiped the sweat from his forehead in a dramatic, seductive way, and successfully incited another wave of squeals.
“Not bad!” Meng Tao, with a bit of a bruised face, glanced at the girls at the door, then walked over and punched Wei Xicheng on the shoulder. “You’ve really improved! Teach me sometime?”
Wei Xicheng, face still perfectly intact, casually said, “This was nothing.”
“Wow, giving me bragging rights here!” Meng Tao whistled. “My family’s calling. I’m out. Call me if you need anything.”
Wei Xicheng laughed and lightly punched him back. “Get lost.”
“Go easy! That hurts!” Meng Tao exaggerated, clutching his arm. “Not everyone’s as tough as you. I’m out, I’m out.”
With no familiar faces left, Wei Xicheng sighed in relief, found a quiet corner, and winced as he pressed on his arm.
Damn, that really hurt. He reminded himself to adjust his body’s settings next time.
Standing on the floor above, Sheng Huasen had observed the entire scene, including Wei Xicheng’s scrunched-up face. His eyes betrayed a faint smile.
“Boss, the video conference starts in ten minutes.”
Sheng Huasen took one last look at the kid downstairs, then retracted his gaze. His eyes regained their usual cold clarity as he turned to his assistant. “Let’s go. I’ll take the meeting in the car.”
The assistant followed behind, assuming that the boss had simply indulged in watching a childish brawl.
Wei Xicheng shook his stiff arm and prepared to go home. Just as he stepped out the door, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a profile that made him pause.
Sheng Huasen.
Wei Xicheng hadn’t expected to see Sheng Huasen here, the man who would soon dominate the business world like a great white shark.
Later, Qi Yiming had borrowed this man’s power to trample over the Zhu family and achieve great success.
Now that Sheng Huasen had returned to the country, did that mean Qi Yiming had known him all along, or had they met later?
Wei Xicheng rubbed his chin, deep in thought. The “script” hadn’t gone into such detail. If Sheng Huasen’s return wasn’t related to Qi Yiming, things might be easier to handle.
Qi Yiming’s “rise” required many sacrifices from those around him, but Sheng Huasen’s life was like an epic motivational novel.
Lost in thought, Wei Xicheng watched as Sheng Huasen’s car disappeared. He silently headed to the garage, wondering how Zhu Xingyuan would handle things if he knew the future.
Pulling out his car keys, Wei Xicheng heard the familiar “beep beep” of his beloved car. Suddenly, he had an epiphany. A rebellious life only needed fun and excitement. Maybe he should find a way to leak some information about Sheng Huasen to his cheap old man and let the adults worry about it.
Wei Xicheng wasn’t a particularly kind person. Even though he knew the original Zhu Xingyuan had suffered greatly at Qi Yiming’s hands, he had never planned to avenge him. All he wanted was to live comfortably in this world. After thousands of exhausting task-filled worlds, the last thing he wanted was to waste energy fighting with a mere passerby.
Yes, to Wei Xicheng, everyone he encountered in these worlds was just a passerby.
After enduring a thousand mission worlds, none of them had fully drawn him in. He had intersected with the people in these worlds, but he would never stop for anyone or let anything disturb his calm. His heart had long been as still as an ancient well, with only acting giving him any real passion.
Once he finished living one life, there would be another, and if he wanted, he could traverse worlds endlessly, performing and experiencing vastly different lives. Everyone else had a time limit, but he was eternal.
It seemed like a stroke of luck, but wasn’t it also a kind of loneliness?
But it was precisely because of this that he didn’t get lost in these illusory worlds. He was always clear-headed, knowing what he should and shouldn’t do.
For instance, he knew that if he wanted to live comfortably in this world, he had to first deal with Qi Yiming and his brother without breaking character.
Wei Xicheng narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within them. Since he couldn’t avoid them from the start, he might as well take the original host’s revenge and personally deal with them.
The engine roared to life, and his sleek sports car shot out of the garage like an arrow, executing a perfect drift.
The Zhu family mansion sat in a relatively remote suburban area, still brightly lit.
As the sound of a car engine neared, Aunt Zhang came out to greet their young master.
“Xiao Yuan, you’re back. Madam is still waiting for you,” Aunt Zhang said, taking his coat and handing him slippers.
“My mom’s still up?”
“Yes, go on in,” Aunt Zhang smiled.
“Okay.”
Wei Xicheng agreed, walking into the living room to find his mother watching a soap opera while sipping on water.
“Mom, you needed me for something?” Wei Xicheng asked, sitting down beside her and naturally wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He had no family of his own, so he cherished moments of closeness whenever he encountered good family members in these parallel worlds. He would do his best to make sure they didn’t feel the loss of their beloved son.
“You,” Madam Zhu smiled and playfully poked Wei Xicheng’s forehead. “Always causing trouble outside. Your father told me to talk some sense into you.”
Wei Xicheng gently caught her finger and shook it lightly, “But you can’t bring yourself to really scold me, right?”
Madam Zhu laughed and handed him a plate of peeled fruit. “When will you grow up? You’re already nineteen, yet you still act like a little child causing mischief.”
“In front of you, I’ll never grow up.” Wei Xicheng, all smiles, cheekily responded, stuffing several slices of tangerine into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out like a hamster.
“You need to focus on your studies, you know?” Her voice was gentle, like a spring breeze over the mountains, warm and calming, making people naturally want to agree with her.
“Okay.” Wei Xicheng suddenly remembered that the original Zhu Xingyuan was still a university student, apparently in his second year of finance at Jingdu University. However, since he rarely showed up on campus, neither his classmates nor his professors knew him well.
Maybe it was the sweetness of the tangerine, or perhaps his good mood in this first world without tasks, but as Wei Xicheng looked at Madam Zhu’s smiling face, he decided to make a few symbolic appearances at school, just to make her happy. It wouldn’t hurt to act like a proper son.
Besides, there was something important waiting for him tomorrow.
