Translated by Eve

Song Xuanhe felt exhausted and he had a raging headache.

He was about to roll over and rub his temples when he realized that there was an arm slung over his waist, trapping him in place. When the owner of that arm felt his movement, the arm tightened, pulling him back. A second later, he b.u.mped into someone's chest.

Song Xuanhe's mind was still a mess. He raised his head, feeling muddleheaded. When he saw that familiar face, he blinked. As the memories came back to him, the confusion gradually dissipated and his pupils began to constrict.

Last night, Xiao Yuanmu had taken advantage of his drunken state to kiss him.

Song Xuanhe's expression changed again and again. What happened last night replayed in his mind, from Xiao Yuanmu's unreadable expression to that sudden kiss. Thousands of thoughts flashed through his head. He could tell that something was wrong, but figuring it out was as hard as trying to catch a shooting star—the thought would disappear in a blink of an eye. He couldn't grab onto it no matter how much he tried.

Prior to this, he had felt like his relations.h.i.+p with Xiao Yuanmu had dropped below freezing point, just as he had wanted. But based on Xiao Yuanmu's actions last night, this was clearly not the case.

Moreover, the Xiao Yuanmu from last night had felt dangerous. He hadn't realized it while drunk, but thinking back on it now, all he could think about was: the further he could get from Xiao Yuanmu, the better it would be.

Song Xuanhe pulled Xiao Yuanmu's arm off him without any gentleness. He then sat up and examined the perfect sleeping face on the bed.

He didn't know why, but it felt like he had missed something. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out what it was.

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Under Song Xuanhe's scrutiny, Xiao Yuanmu slowly opened his eyes. When he saw that Song Xuanhe was already awake, a sliver of surprise emerged on his face. The other's furrowed brows quickly smoothed out and a clear smile appeared in his eyes. Having just woken up, his voice was a bit hoa.r.s.e. “Morning.”

It was like….

Song Xuanhe widened his eyes. He was like the Xiao Yuanmu from before the car accident!

Because they had been together all this time, he hadn't realized that Xiao Yuanmu had changed. Aside from the fact that Xiao Yuanmu's expression seemed a bit better than before and the fact that he had been speaking less, he hadn't been all that different after the accident. Therefore, Song Xuanhe hadn't realized that something had been off.

But the Xiao Yuanmu from last night had been different from the Xiao Yuanmu as of late. The difference was very subtle. The only difference had been the expression he used to look at others.

The Xiao Yuanmu before the accident would always have a cold expression even when angry. However, there was still some warmth in his eyes when he looked at people. That time, when Song Jiani had purposely provoked Xiao Yuanmu in Song Xuanhe's office, Song Xuanhe remembered that, although Xiao Yuanmu had controlled his temper very well, he had still been able to see coldness and unhappiness in the other's eyes.

But the current Xiao Yuanmu…even though his expression wasn't cold, there was no warmth in his eyes when he looked at others. Song Xuanhe thought back to Sun Jinren from last night. He recalled the expression on Xiao Yuanmu's face from when he had incidentally glanced at him. The other's gaze on Sun Jinren had been weird.

It had been like Xiao Yuanmu hadn't been looking at another human, but rather, some insignificant creature. Or to put it another way, it had been like he had been looking at an insect he could crush at any time. Even when faced with Sun Jinren's nauseating words and blatant lewd expressions, there had been no anger or, frankly, any ripples of emotions at all in his eyes. It had been like he hadn't taken the other seriously at all.

Song Xuanhe's expression changed slightly. He couldn't conceal the conflicted feelings in his eyes when he looked at Xiao Yuanmu. Therefore, he turned onto his side and got up to go choose something random to wear. He didn't acknowledge Xiao Yuanmu's 'morning' and simply left the room after was.h.i.+ng up, trying to act as normal as possible.

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As soon as the door closed, Xiao Yuanmu pushed himself up with one hand, the corner of his lips curling into a slight, easy smile.

Last night had been the best he had ever slept in his twenty something years alive. As soon as he had closed his eyes, he had fallen into a deep, uninterrupted sleep that had lasted the entire night. When he had woken up, he had felt cozy and his mood had been pretty good for once.

He had never expected that Song Xuanhe would have such a function.

When Xiao Yuanmu recalled the conflicted, panicked expression on Song Xuanhe's face just now, his smile widened.

He could tell that the other had been doing everything he could to conceal it. If it were the him prior to rebirth, he might not have seen through it. However, practically no one could hide their emotions from the current him.

Moreover, Xiao Yuanmu thought that Song Xuanhe's attempt at feigning calmness while fleeing was really cute.

Now that he had come to terms with these feelings and had opened the doors to his pre-rebirth self's memories, he finally understood why the past him had fallen in love with Song Xuanhe.

It was because Song Xuanhe was intelligent and frank, but also clumsy and awkward. Song Xuanhe lived life as he wanted and was very authentic. He had a wilfulness that neither the Xiao Yuanmu before nor after his rebirth could obtain. Regardless of his status or ident.i.ty, the other was able to remain free-spirited no matter where he found himself.

It was like that saying he once heard before.

Rather than a restricting love, I'd rather love a free spirit.

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The Song Xuanhe in this life was a free-spirit.

Although his feelings for Song Xuanhe were not as pure as his pre-rebirth self's—it was likely that he would never be able to genuinely love him—he would never let go of someone who could set his heart at ease and make him happy like this.

Song Xuanhe had bolted out of his room and gone to the buffet on the fourth floor. He casually grabbed a few pieces of bread and a gla.s.s of juice before finding a place to sit down.

When he finished his gla.s.s of iced orange juice, the hair on his body that had stood up because of the conjecture he had just come up with, finally fell back down. Song Xuanhe sucked in a deep breath and stared out at the rippling sea water through the round window. Gradually, he calmed down.

No opportunities for rebirth had been presented yet. It was still too early. Furthermore, even if Xiao Yuanmu had been reborn, Song Xuanhe hadn't done anything to offend him yet. When he thought of this, Song Xuanhe thought that maybe this was a good thing.

【System.】

【What's wrong?】The System's reply was very serious. It had already recognized the pattern. Whenever Song Xuanhe called it 'Er Gou', it wouldn't be anything major. However, if he called it 'System', it meant that there was a big problem.

【Don't you think that recently, Xiao….】

“Hi, sorry for bothering you. Can we sit with you?”

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His thought was interrupted halfway. Song Xuanhe glanced up, a look of blatant irritation on his face from having been interrupted.

The two people obviously noticed Song Xuanhe's expression. However, they thought that the other was irritated at having his alone time interrupted. Therefore, the person who had just spoken continued, “Are you the person who won McPhail's cufflinks yesterday?”

Song Xuanhe's eyebrows furrowed tightly. He didn't reply and simply looked at that person with indifference.

The young man was unhappy, being gazed at like this so frankly. However, he said, “It's like this, I want to negotiate something with you. Can I sit here to discuss it in more detail?”

“Sorry, I want to eat on my own right now.” Song Xuanhe said in an insipid tone, the refusal in his voice very obvious.

The young man paused. He looked helpless. The blonde man next to him frowned. With fluent Chinese, he rudely said, “Mister, we came here to negotiate with good faith. I hope that you can at least speak to us with the most basic of respect.”

Song Xuanhe's head, which had felt uncomfortable since waking up, throbbed faintly. Furthermore, his mood had already been ruined because of what had happened last night, and because of his conjecture this morning. Now, these two people had just so happened to appear in front of him. Except for when it came to Xiao Yuanmu, who would eventually hold his life in his hands, Song

Xiao Shaoye

would never let himself be wronged.

Therefore, he didn't plan on being polite to these two people at all.

“Neither of you seem any more respectful than I am, considering how you're interrupting someone else's breakfast and insisting on sitting here even though there's so many empty tables in this huge buffet room.”

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Song Xuanhe raised his chin slightly, looking at them askance. Even though he was sitting down, he had a n.o.ble, lofty air to him. His aura did not lose against the two people, despite the fact that they had the advantage while standing. On the contrary, it felt like his aura was actually suppressing theirs.

“Don't push it!” The blond man spoke like a native and was even able to

use idioms easily.

He said, “We came here with sincerity. Deyi had also been very polite towards you. You were the one who had treated us rudely first. And yet you say we're not being respectful?”

Song Xuanhe laughed and raised a brow. “May I ask the

proud Mr. Deyi

a question. You should be Chinese. May I ask how my words just now were rude? What, is it rude to refuse to let strangers sit at my table when there's plenty of empty seats in the dining room?”

Jiang Deyi was furious over the same-sounding adjective Song Xuanhe had used before his name. However, he knew that everyone on this cruise was rich and thus people he could not rashly provoke. Therefore, even though he was angry, he suppressed his rage and tried his best to make his voice gentle. “It's my friend who needs to brush up on his Chinese idioms. Let me apologize. We mean no ill intent by our request to sit with you. We really do have something to discuss with you. It has to do with the cufflinks you won yesterday.”

Song Xuanhe didn't hide the derision in his eyes. The corner of his lips rose and his tone softened, “Since he's a foreigner, I can forgive him for not understanding our language and for using idioms incorrectly. As for what happened earlier, I should also apologize. My refusal also had no malice behind it. I just don't like being disturbed at breakfast. I hope that you can show me some respect and let me finish my breakfast in peace first. Okay?”

As soon as he spoke, laughter arose around them, the spectators not even bothering to hide their chortles. It made the expressions of Jiang Deyi and his companion turn ugly.

Over and over again, he had been embarra.s.sed in public. Jiang Deyi's face heated up, the anger in his eyes intensifying. Despite that, he only pursed his lips and said to the man next to him. “Hayden, let's go.”

The blond man named Hayden wasn't as easy to deal with. He placed a hand on the table and leaned down, staring at Song Xuanhe at a close angle. “My name is Hayden Schroder. I hope that you can speak to us nicely.”

Song Xuanhe smiled, not scared of him in the least as he met his eyes. “I'm Song Xuanhe. I hope that you can learn Chinese before you speak to me again.”

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Hayden Schroder didn't expect Song Xuanhe to neither fear him nor give him respect upon hearing his last name. The other even dared to provoke him. He stood up, expression hard-to-read. “That pair of cufflinks is extremely important to my friend. I'm willing to pay you double of what you bought those cufflinks for. I hope that you, sir, will choose to part with it.”

They weren't making all that big a commotion but the dining room was too empty and quiet. Therefore, all the gazes of those nearby still zoned in towards this area. Some people had been watching this from the beginning. Therefore, although they thought that Hayden Schroder was acting quite arrogant, they also thought that he was being quite sincere.

Those cufflinks were only worth two hundred yuan. The original selling price of five hundred plus yuan already exceeded its worth. Right now, Song Xuanhe would profit by selling it to Hayden Schroder. Although the profit was small, the Schroder Family was a subsidiary of the Hoffman Family, one of the major eight families. It would be quite worth it to do him this favour.

It was impossible for someone not to know who the Schroder Family was. Therefore, they thought that this young asian man would definitely agree to this condition.

However, Song Xuanhe was precisely someone who had no idea who the Schroder Family was. The book only talked about the eight major families and the original host didn't know anything more. There really had been no mentions of any subsidiaries. But even if he had known of them, when Song Xuanhe got angry, not even G.o.d himself would be able to change his mind.

“Those cufflinks also hold extraordinary meaning to me,” Song Xuanhe said blandly, “If there's nothing else, I hope that the two of you won't continue to disrupt my breakfast.”

“I'm very sorry for what happened earlier,” Jiang Deyi said, “I know that Mr. Song does not lack money. But I hope that you will listen to the reason why I want the cufflinks. The cufflinks are really important to me. They concern my life.”

Jiang Deyi looked very sincere and his tone was very earnest. In the beginning, everyone thought that he had been a very rude person for disrupting Song Xuanhe and asking to sit with him. When they heard him say this, their minds changed and they thought that it was a forgivable action.

If it was important to the point of affecting his life, then it would be hard for anyone to remain calm.

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But…it was just that…how could McPhail's cufflinks have an effect on anyone's life?

Most people who were watching the show had the same question. Therefore, the gazes shot towards their direction only multiplied.

Seeing that Song Xuanhe remained silent, Jiang Deyi sighed in relief and felt inwardly happy. He decided to strike while the iron was hot and continued. “Actually, I'm a fas.h.i.+on designer. I just graduated from Malano University. I have had the pleasure of attending one of McPhail's lectures before. From then on, I had admired him greatly. I had also drawn inspiration from McPhail's work. McPhail had said that he was looking to cooperate with new designers or labels. He also said that he doesn't look at one's experience or history when choosing which designers or labels to cooperate with while doing shows. He only cares about the designs. Therefore, I wanted to try and see if he'd work with me. This pair of cufflinks hold great meaning to McPhail. I was hoping to use these cufflinks to help obtain a chance to work with him. I hope that you will sell it to me.”

Jiang Deyi said all this in one breath before inhaling a short breath of air. He looked at Song Xuanhe in antic.i.p.ation.

Contrary to expectations, Song Xuanhe hadn't even looked up during his speech. When Jiang Deyi had finished speaking, a few seconds pa.s.sed before Song Xuanhe finally raised his head. It looked as if he had been lost in his thoughts and had just come back to himself. He then let out an indifferent, “Oh.”

That was it.

Jiang Deyi almost couldn't maintain his expression. He didn't expect that after saying all that, the other would only say 'oh.' Moreover, he suspected that Song Xuanhe hadn't listened to him at all!

“Mr. Song,” Jiang Deyi forced a smile. “Will you sell it to me?”

Song Xuanhe tilted his head and suddenly asked, “If the cufflinks are so important to you, why didn't you buy it yesterday? I remember that everyone received the same pamphlet last night. It couldn't be that I was able to find these cufflinks but you, to whom these cufflinks mean a lot, didn't notice them, ah.”

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Jiang Deyi's expression froze. He glanced at Hayden, who was standing next to him with a guilty look on his face. But when Hayden thought about how he had gotten to eat his fill last night, the corner of his lips rose. He said, “We had something else to do last night. That was why we didn't attend the auction. You just have to give us the cufflinks and we'll compensate you with double of what you paid. Why are you talking so much?”

“On this cruise, what could possibly be more important than something that concerns his life?” Song Xuanhe glanced at the marks on Jiang Deyi's exposed neck with a fake smile. “Seems like Mr. Deyi's got a lot more 'extremely important things' than an average person does.”

The nearby guests who could see the hickeys on Jiang Deyi's body also chuckled quietly. The quiet noises alerted the guests who were too far away to see Jiang Deyi. In an instant, they all understood what he meant.

The people who had been invited to this s.h.i.+p knew most of the other guests. Even if they weren't familiar, they'd be able to recognize the others by face. They knew Song Xuanhe and Hayden, but they had never seen Jiang Deyi, who Hayden had brought, before. When they saw the hickeys on his body and the expression that all men would understand on Hayden's face upon saying that they had 'other things' going on, how could they not understand what had been going on?

Last night, they had missed the auction because Hayden had been busy with his little lover. Today, he was doing this in order to curry favour with his little lover.

Jiang Deyi's expression had frozen over. The laughter echoed in his ears. He felt ashamed as he felt the people around sizing him up, both openly and in secret. He looked at the calm, wilful Song Xuanhe and hatred seeped into his existing anger.

“Mr. Song,” Jiang Deyi suppressed his voice, “It's fine if you don't want to sell. There is no need to humiliate me with malicious words.”

Song Xuanhe blinked, looking extremely innocent. “What did I say that was malicious? Tell me, I'll change it.”

Hayden didn't care that people knew what he and Jiang Deyi had done. He didn't think it needed to be hidden at all. However, he felt provoked by Song Xuanhe's refusal to cooperate. He said, “Mr. Song, between your family and the cufflinks, which are more important? Weigh your decision carefully. Which one means more to you?”

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When he heard Hayden's threat, Song Xuanhe laughed. He said, “I really like those cufflinks. Although I can't say that they are extremely important, I don't plan on giving it to other people. As for my family, it obviously can't compare to what Mr. Deyi considers 'extremely important.'”

“Mr. Song!” Jiang Deyi felt like everything Song Xuanhe said was subtly hinting that he had bent over for Hayden. It felt like everyone was looking at him in derision, mocking him for not having decorum. It made him feel extremely embarra.s.sed. Moreover, Song Xuanhe wasn't letting him off. It made him feel unbearably ashamed and indignant.

“I already told you, those cufflinks are extremely important to me. Furthermore, I also explained why. I hope that you will not misinterpret my meaning. I came to find you because I thought that these cufflinks were nothing but an accessory to you. Meanwhile, they have great influence over my career. That was why I had acted so rash. Since you're unwilling, then there is no need to continue this conversation.”

Jiang Deyi was so angry his eyes turned red. Stirred up and unwilling to accept this humiliation, he added, “I know that my life and the fact that it's extremely important to me is nothing compared to a moment of happiness for you. But I don't believe I'm beneath you. I hope that you will apologize for your rude remarks just now.”

“Why should he apologize?” A clear, melodious voice interrupted. “You're the one who was insistent on sharing a table without thinking about the other person's feelings. You then told the story about the extraordinary significance the cufflinks have for you without thinking about whether the other party wanted to listen. You're even slandering the other party, saying that he had said malicious words. Now, you're forcing the other to apologize. He doesn't look like he looks down on you to me. You're the one acting overbearing.”

Guan Zhi and Zhou Nan walked out from the back and sat down at Song Xuanhe's table. Guan Zhi then continued, “I think that you're the one who should apologize.”

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Hayden looked at Guan Zhi in shock. He naturally knew that this was the only successor of the Guan Family. He had never heard of the Guan Family having any relations.h.i.+ps with China's Song Family before. Or rather, China's Song Family had nothing to do with the eight major families. He hadn't expected for Guan Zhi to speak out for the other.

The moment he saw Guan Zhi sit down, Hayden made a strategic decision. He turned to Jiang Deyi and said, “Apologize.”

Jiang Deyi didn't recognize Guan Zhi. Even so, when he saw Hayden's expression, he knew that he could not provoke him. When they had decided to come looking for Song Xuanhe, it had been because they had thought that they could use Hayden's family background to pressure him. But now, someone with a more impressive background had come. He naturally didn't dare to refuse to apologize. After all, Hayden was his ticket to success he had grabbed onto after much difficulty. He couldn't anger him.

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“I apologize profusely.” Jiang Deyi lowered his head, looking extremely embarra.s.sed. “Those cufflinks are just too important to me. That's why I had forgotten my manners in my eagerness. I hope that you will forgive me.”

Song Xuanhe's gaze fell on Guan Zhi, who had stolen his bread. His gaze then s.h.i.+fted to Jiang Deyi. The expression on his face didn't change. He said in an insipid tone, “I know that they're very important to you and your life, but this has nothing to do with me. You don't have to apologize for disrupting my breakfast. Just leave. Get out of my sight.”

Guan Zhi laughed while taking a bite of the bread. He used to think that Song Xuanhe's att.i.tude towards him specifically had been bad. He hadn't expected that the other would be like this to others too. It seemed like it hadn't been that the other didn't like him. He was this way with everyone.

Only, from what he had seen last night, it seemed like that the Xiao Yuanmu he met last night was different. This was what Guan Zhi had thought about while chewing on his bread.

“Don't push it.” Hayden frowned. He had made Jiang Deyi apologize to Song Xuanhe because he had been wary of Guan Zhi. However, this didn't mean that he would feel wary towards Song Xuanhe. The Song Family wasn't even worth mentioning to him.

“Hayden.”

Jiang Deyi pulled on Hayden's sleeve. He wanted to persuade the other to stop talking. However, just as he was about to speak, he saw an extremely handsome man with an incredible aura walk over. This man made him forget what he wanted to say. He felt his heart race and he couldn't look away.

It felt like his muse had arrived.

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Song Xuanhe also noticed Xiao Yuanmu, who was wearing a s.h.i.+rt and slacks. The other walked towards him slowly, completely unruffled. His eyes were on Song Xuanhe, his gaze like a giant net that would calmly trap prey inside. But after Song Xuanhe blinked, this weird feeling suddenly disappeared.

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Xiao Yuanmu's cold gaze had thawed a lot since landing on Song Xuanhe. His eyes were currently exactly like they had been prior to the car accident, like they were encased with a thin layer of frost that could be easily shattered. Although they were cold, his eyes did not seem unfeeling at all.

At this moment, Song Xuanhe suddenly thought about the conjecture he had been meaning to test. But looking at Xiao Yuanmu now, he slowly pressed that conjecture back down into the deep recesses of his mind.

Song Xuanhe pursed his lips slightly. He had probably been confused from all that alcohol last night. He had probably over-thought matters with how foggy his brain had been.

Eve: I was actually so furious during JDY and Hayden's scenes like, I resented my fingers for not typing fast enough. adhsfjsdjha. UGH.