Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

Eve: The author tends to repeat chapter t.i.tle names.

Thank you Melanthe for the kofi ??

The next morning, Song Xuanhe was woken up by his phone's ringtone.

He could practically feel the other party's rage blast him through the phone's sound waves: “Unworthy son! Don't you know that the company's routine meeting is happening today?! If you're not in the conference room for the executive meeting in half an hour, there's no need for you to show up ever again!”

Song Xuanhe brought the phone a bit further away from his ear. His dense, black, upper eyelashes slowly and calmly met with his lower ones. A few seconds later, he quickly opened his eyes again.

He rubbed his eyes. He touched the phone screen, which had turned off at some point, to wake it back up. He was still in a bit of a trance. When he could clearly make out the time, he rolled around the bed, struggling to get up. He spoke to himself in a slow and flat tone, “It's actually past ten o'clock.”

After saying that, he slowly let out a yawn.

It was probably because he had been in a state of nervousness all day long yesterday and had only relaxed just before going to bed. He had actually slept quite well. Not only did he have a dreamless night, but also his sleep quality had been very good.

Coming out of his trance, Song Xuanhe hopped out of bed in great spirits and washed up. He then picked out an outfit and changed into it before heading downstairs. When he didn't see Xiao Yuanmu, he wasn't surprised in the least.

He randomly grabbed something out of the fridge to fill his belly and then checked the entertainment section of the news on his cell phone. Only then did Song Xuanhe drive to the company. By the time he reached the company, it was already past eleven o'clock. However, his pace still remained neither hurried nor slow.

When he pushed the door to the conference room open, the people who were in the middle of the meeting all turned to look at him upon hearing the noise. Song Xuanhe smiled. With his car keys dangling from his index finger, he raised his hand and waved, "Morning!"

When Song Guochao thought about how he had called Song Xuanhe at half past nine, but he instead had only showed up at half past eleven, he was seething. He stood up and said, "You still have the face to enter! Get out!"

Song Xuanhe widened his eyes, pretending to be shocked. He glanced at the executive shareholders gathered in the meeting room. Then, he s.h.i.+fted his gaze to Song Guochao, tone humble, as if seeking advice, "When did Mr. Song become responsible for making the decisions of the Song Group?"

This one "Mr. Song" fueled the rage within Song Guochao even more. He suddenly pointed at Song Xuanhe and said, "Undisciplined and out of control! If I don't chide you today, you'll soon be treading on my head!"

Song Xuanhe's expression didn't change. He spoke with a beaming smile, "My understanding is that Mr. Song and I are of the same rank. At the company, Mr. Song does not have the right to chide me."

Song Guochao's expression grew rigid, and then, his face turned livid. He looked like he could not bear his anger any longer.

Song Xuanlin, thus, stood up to intervene. He reprimanded with a frown, "Alright. You're late, and yet, you still dare to talk back to Father. Quickly sit down."

Song Xuanhe shrugged his shoulders and went to take his seat. When he pa.s.sed Song Guochao, he still said with an extremely concerned voice, "Mr. Song, cool your temper. Anger will only cause harm to yourself."

Song Guochao's expression was of furious anger. He clenched his fists and sat back down. When the manager who had been reporting the company's financial state for this quarter saw that everyone had calmed down, he coughed and then continued to speak in a lowered voice. He was afraid that if he spoke too loudly, he would provoke someone's sensitive nerves and end up being the one who suffered.

Aside from the finance manager's voice, the conference room was extremely quiet. However, all of the executives and shareholders were exchanging glances all throughout.

The majority of the people sitting here knew about the Song Family's situation. Chairman Song was getting old and would not be able to stay in his position for much longer. Song Guochao's capabilities were just average, and his vision was short-sighted too. He was not at all boss-material. Moreover, just by looking at the fact that Song Guochao and his two sons were still of the same rank in the company, it was obvious that Chairman Song had no intentions of handing his position to him. Meanwhile, the two young masters of the Song Family, Song Xuanlin and Song Xuanhe, were both quite capable. However, Song Xuanlin was much steadier and slicker compared to Song Xuanhe. Therefore, everyone preferred Song Xuanlin.

As for Song Xuanhe, it looked like he didn't even want to fight for the position of head of the household. Besides, he and Song Xuanlin were brothers. Their relations.h.i.+p had always been quite good. He had even declared that he would support having his brother be the successor of the company.

This meeting came to a quiet end with everyone being preoccupied by their own thoughts.

When the meeting ended, it just so happened to be noon. It was time for the company's lunch break.

Song Xuanhe didn't even return to his office. He directly headed to the floor that Xiao Yuanmu was on. Although it was already time for their lunch break, there were still a few employees who had yet to head to the cafeteria. Song Xuanhe walked through a series of "Young Mr. Song" with an apathetic expression and headed towards Xiao Yuanmu's work area.

Xiao Yuanmu's major in university had been finance. As an outstanding person from the finance department of the Imperial University, the number one university in the country, he had originally been planning on doing investment banking upon graduation. However, the Song Group had just created an investment department two years ago. They planned on directly turning it into an independent-venture capital firm when the department had matured enough. Therefore, when they had been recruiting at the Imperial University, as the biggest privately-run company in the Capital, the Song Group was the first to receive information on the most outstanding graduates. By promising all sorts of benefits, they were able to recruit Xiao Yuanmu into the company.

The benefits the Song Group provided weren't bad. Moreover, as one of the top 100 businesses in the world, even if they were near the bottom of the list, they were still considered an existence that recent graduates would work extremely hard to get into.

However, Xiao Yuanmu didn't enter the Song Group because of the salary or the benefits. He had a clear plan with regards to his career. The Song Group was just a stepping stone for him.

Venture capital firms and investment banking firms were the best place to be for a graduate from the department of finance of the country's best university. However, even if he was an outstanding student in school, after entering any of those companies, he would first be a.s.signed with all sorts of odd jobs. What those companies lacked the least were interns with high levels of education. It would be extremely difficult to enter the core division without many years of experience.

Meanwhile, since the Song Group's venture capital department had only just been established, it was a firm springboard for graduates for those who wanted to enter this kind of company.

As the number one company of the several great families within the Capital, the Song Group had begun desiring to break away from what it had always done and try developing in other directions. Investment was one direction that the Song Group valued greatly. Moreover, the Song Group had vast connections within the Capital. Moreover, the madam's maiden family was the Li Family, an expert in stocks and bonds. It could be said that the future of this endeavour would be smooth sailing.

Xiao Yuanmu understood all of this, so he naturally accepted the Song Group's olive branch.

Only, there was an obstacle blocking him from executing his seamless plan: Song Xuanhe.

Song Xuanhe stood against the white wall, arms folded across his chest. He glared coldly at the flushed young girl standing by Xiao Yuanmu's side.

Actually, after Song Xuanhe had begun his undisguised, high-profile courting of Xiao Yuanmu, the majority of people, who had fancied Xiao Yuanmu because of his looks and capabilities, gave up. However, there would always be someone who would risk getting fired to give it a try for some other reason. For example, they may continue pursuing because he was so good-looking that even the G.o.ds would be resentful.

Actually, Xiao Yuanmu was already at the end of his patience as well. However, before he finished collecting information on the Song family and caused their collapse, he didn't want there to be any more mishaps. Therefore, he tactfully refused, "I don't usually eat what others make. Nor am I used to using other people's cutlery. Sorry."

The long-haired girl carrying a lunchbox looked rather wronged. However, she still placed the lunchbox down and said, "Then, let's have lunch together? The cafeteria on the twelfth floor just released a new Mexican dish. Their beef with black pepper and onion is pretty good. Let's go give it a try, ba."

When he heard this, Xiao Yuanmu felt even more at the end of his patience. An impatient expression appeared on his originally expressionless face. He refused, leaving no room for 'buts', "I don't eat beef."

The girl bit her lips. She took a step forward, wanting to grab hold of Xiao Yuanmu's sleeve. She looked up, appearing lovely and pitiful, with her curled hair falling down her shoulders. She gave off a delicate feeling that aroused people's tender affections. She carefully but blatantly expressed her intentions, "Then…we can eat something else. So long as I can eat with you, I'll be happy."

Xiao Yuanmu avoided her hold. The suppressed impatience and frost nearly overflowed out of his eyes. He had grown up in an orphanage. Amongst his peers, regardless of whether they were male or female, they all had quite a few tricks up their sleeves when compared to other people. Therefore, he would never lower his guard towards someone just because of  their gender, let alone did he have some kind of lofty sense of morality that made him incapable of dealing with women. Actually, he had a very solid understanding that at times, a woman's innate weakness was actually their greatest weapon.

Only, although he wasn't exactly kindhearted, he would not stab a girl, who had no malice towards him, in the back. It was just that her pestering made him extremely annoyed, and he loathed it greatly.

Since he wouldn't be able to find it in him to do anything to her but also didn't want this girl to continue pestering him, he could only make things clear with his words.

"I won't eat with you. Because, I don't like—"

Song Xuanhe came up and grabbed Xiao Yuanmu's hand. He didn't look at his expression and turned to look at the girl, saying, "He doesn't like to eat with anyone but me. Understand?"

The girl was startled. Her gaze s.h.i.+fted from Xiao Yuanmu's face to Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu's clasped hands. Immediately, her eyes reddened, "Yuanmu, y-you and young Mr. Song are together?"

Song Xuanhe raised his and Xiao Yuanmu's entwined hands together, waving it before her. With an impatient tone, he said, "If you're blind, go see an ophthalmologist. You need me to repeat myself?"

The tears in the girl's eyes instantly fell. She gave Xiao Yuanmu a profound look and choked, "I never thought that you would actually give in so easily…."

After saying this, she ran away, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Song Xuanhe: ….

【Why do I feel like I've seen this kind of tear-jerking scene in a weekend drama? Moreover, I don't know why, but I kind of feel like I'm a vicious mistress tearing apart a pair of lovers. 】

【You're indeed imagining things.】The System said:【Did you forget that you and the big shot are already boyfriends?】

F*ck, boyfriends, my a.s.s!

Song Xuanhe immediately let go of Xiao Yuanmu's hand. He then met with Xiao Yuanmu's cold gaze and followed the plot, "What's with that girl just now? Did you forget that you're mine?"

Xiao Yuanmu looked away, voice apathetic, "I have no relations.h.i.+p with that woman."

"Heh," Song Xuanhe smiled with callousness and contempt. He then said, "Don't forget about who you are. From now on, if I see you seducing others, I'll make you see the consequences."

Xiao Yuanmu's gaze grew chillier. Before he could say anything, however, he saw that his coworkers had come back from eating. They had obviously overheard their conversation. They collectively took a few awkward steps back. There were a few people who had yet to cover up the sympathy or disdain in their eyes.

Song Xuanhe saw that Xiao Yuanmu was looking behind him with a gaze that suddenly dropped in temperature. With that, he knew that the scene for today had been completed. He snorted, "Wait for me downstairs tonight."

After saying this, he didn't give Xiao Yuanmu another glance and left.

The author has something to say:

A really strange thing… I wrote this chapter twice and edited it twice,before reading it over once more. Every time I wrote about Xuan baby yawning, I would also yawn. This happened five times, every time. I was very in sync with him.

Highlight: This text, Reborn Male Lead, is a novel about transmigrating into a book. So there's no need to explain the settings of this story. Therefore, many things in this novel are fictional. This author has made everything up. Everyone, don't think too deeply about things. Just know that everything is for the sake of the plot, la!