EM Chapter 8. Movie King

Wang Yizhong had dealt with Song Feng more than a few times and had a good grasp of that ancestor’s style. He knew the report probably needed to be taken with a grain of salt, but the general course of events was likely accurate. He looked at Xiao Mingxuan, hoping the man would say something. Only by understanding what had really happened could they make the right decision.

The office fell into a strange silence. Xiao Mingxuan took a breath and quickly composed himself.

“The situation actually went like this…”

Wang Yizhong listened patiently. As he heard the story, the corner of his mouth twitched. He had been wondering how Xiao Mingxuan could have had the presence of mind to get intimate under those circumstances. So this was why.

Ancestor, you really dared to write that out.

Xiao Mingxuan gave a brief explanation and concluded, “Fu Shanming has mental problems. His behavior can’t be predicted with common sense. I’m not sure whether he’ll still be interested the next time we meet, but ever since he made a name for himself, he’s never failed to get what he wants. From that angle, maybe he’ll agree to see me. But I can’t guarantee the outcome.”

Wang Yizhong nodded. He understood perfectly well that Fu Shanming might torment Xiao Mingxuan for what happened last time, or he might still be excited and come looking for fun. Either way, it was a coin toss. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “When you get to Malaysia, don’t approach him right away. Move around a bit. Fu Shanming has his own information network. He’ll know you’re there. See how he reacts, then decide what to do next. We’ll send a team to pose as mercenaries to protect you. One or two agents will be embedded to assist.”

He thought it over again and added a few more reminders, doing everything he could to improve Xiao Mingxuan’s odds of survival.

Xiao Mingxuan listened carefully, occasionally responding with a quiet acknowledgment. Although he wasn’t satisfied with his current life and had thought about heading to the front lines, he had never imagined he’d get entangled with a lunatic. Still, he understood that being chosen for this role meant the higher-ups had already signed off.

Guoan’s previous agents had already stirred things up. Sending in fresh faces now would only raise alarms. He was playing the role of a drug dealer. His last shipment had been seized, so it made perfect sense for him to seek a new supplier. Fu Shanming had plenty of connections. Reaching out to him was completely logical.

He was a soldier. No matter how much he disliked the mission, he had to follow orders.

“That’s the general plan,” Wang Yizhong said, watching him. “Any questions?”

Xiao Mingxuan thought for a moment. “Yes. The person who wrote this report… are they coming along?”

Wang Yizhong’s heart skipped a beat, though his expression didn’t change. “No. This time it’s all special forces. Why?”

“Just asking,” Xiao Mingxuan said blandly. He relaxed a little. That person had shot Fu Shanming once. If the lunatic decided to hold a grudge, it would be a problem.

Wang Yizhong studied him, and when he saw that Xiao Mingxuan didn’t intend to bring that ancestor along, he finally let out a quiet breath. “Then go get ready.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded and got up to leave. He thought to himself, walking into the lion’s den like this, either he was going to end up on the lunatic, or the lunatic was going to end up on him. The first option made his skin crawl. The second, he would resolve by pulling a gun and blowing the man’s head off. If only the lunatic were a submissive zero with a masochist streak, then a few lashes would be enough to make him come…

The image flashed through his mind and made him stiffen. He froze, disgusted all over again, rubbed his forehead, and decided to find a way to stall. However long he could delay, he would.

—

After days of pretending to be a loyal lover, Song Feng was on the verge of losing it. The endless tragic romance scenes were driving him mad. That day, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and he was dragged out by his boss to sit in the garden and drink tea. Several times, he had the urge to smash the teacup into the man’s face, but in the end, he could only sit there stiffly, refusing to touch the cup.

Shao Xiujie looked up at him. “What are you thinking about?”

“It’s really not easy to make a living these days…”

“As long as you understand that.”

Song Feng grumbled, “Boss, I have a question.”

“Mm. Ask.”

“Look, we’re lovers. Now you’re getting engaged. So logically, I should either cut ties clean and walk away, or get into a big fight with you demanding you choose. That would make sense, right?” Song Feng counted off on his fingers. “But no matter how you spin it, I shouldn’t be here helping the two of you plan your engagement party.”

“No,” Shao Xiujie said calmly. “There’s another possibility. That you love me very, very much. So much that even if I get married, you still can’t bring yourself to leave.”

“…” That’s just pathetic.

Shao Xiujie took an elegant sip of tea and gave an order. “If anyone asks you about it from now on, that’s what you’ll say.”

Song Feng whimpered. “…Alright.”

Satisfied, Shao Xiujie patted his head. Though they hadn’t spent much time together, this was already more interesting than anything else he’d experienced in the past twenty-plus years. After a moment of thought, he asked, “Are you planning to go back to the company?”

Song Feng raised an eyebrow. “What, you want to keep me?” With a criminal syndicate like the Shao family, it was normal for those at the top to maintain private security teams made up of skilled mercenaries.

Shao Xiujie nodded. “What would you say to that?”

Song Feng smiled. “I’m not the type to stick around. I’m not used to staying in one place for too long.”

Shao Xiujie didn’t push him. “Then if you ever change your mind, remember you’re welcome anytime.”

Song Feng gave a casual response, then looked toward someone approaching in the distance and sighed. “Boss, your cousin’s here again.”

Shao Xiujie glanced over. “You really don’t want her to give you a shoulder massage?”

“No. If it were your fiancée, I might consider it. But her? Forget it. She’s not good-looking, and she’s brain-dead.”

These past few days, the old master had argued with Shao Xiujie more than once. Everyone in the Shao family was hoping this romantic idiot would finally piss the old man to death. So they each added fuel to the fire in their own way, always ready to sabotage things, hoping it would push the romantic fool to his breaking point so he’d grab Song Feng and run off with him.

Before the girl could reach them, Song Feng said lazily, “I finally figured out why the old master chose you to inherit the family business.”

Shao Xiujie gave a quiet response. “If my second uncle or cousin had been remotely reliable, Grandpa wouldn’t have chosen me. After all, in a certain sense, it was his fault my parents died.”

Song Feng raised an eyebrow. “Did you ever hate him for it?”

“No. My parents made their choices. I make mine. And besides, he’s the one who raised me.” Shao Xiujie looked up as the person finally reached them. His expression turned cold. “What are you doing here again?”

“To see Xiaofeng,” the girl said, sitting down without waiting for permission. She reached out to take Song Feng’s hand, but someone intercepted her just in time. Shao Xiujie pulled Song Feng into his arms and gave her a warning look.

“Don’t touch him.”

“Cousin, don’t you think you’re being greedy?” she said, looking at Song Feng. “You already have a beautiful fiancée, and you’re still clinging to Xiaofeng. Xiaofeng, believe me. He won’t go against Grandpa. He’ll have to get married eventually.”

Shao Xiujie’s grip around Song Feng’s hand tightened slightly. Song Feng was quiet for a moment, his lashes lowering.

“That doesn’t matter.”

“You…”

“I love him,” Song Feng said softly. “So even if he gets married, I still…”

“Xiaofeng,” the romantic fool quickly cut in, “I’ll talk to Grandpa. Trust me.”

Song Feng gave a gentle hum in response, though inside he was going insane. He was getting completely fed up with these badly acted soap opera scenes. The romantic fool, as usual, was determined to defend his sacred love, even if it meant going to war with the old master.

Song Feng resigned himself to the performance, then suddenly shifted his eyes and interrupted, “Don’t say that. Master Shao isn’t in good health. He’s your grandfather, after all. Calm down.”

Shao Xiujie froze, then reluctantly shut his mouth.

Song Feng gazed at him with deep emotion, pulling out every move in the book for reeling in a beauty. “Xiujie, don’t say things like that again. I love you so much, of course I’ll always believe you.” His expression was serious, and his beautiful eyes were full of tenderness. For a brief moment, Shao Xiujie almost believed he meant it.

“I love you so much, Xiujie. I really do.”

Come on, you romantic fool. Give me something. At the very least, show a little deep feeling. If we’re going to play this game, let’s go all in.

Shao Xiujie patted his head and said calmly, “I know.”

“…”

Shao Xiujie didn’t know what this man was up to, but his gut told him it couldn’t be anything good. He quickly pulled Song Feng to his feet.

“The tea’s gone cold. Let’s go.”

Song Feng didn’t move, continuing to look at him.

“Xiujie, there’s actually something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“Say it inside.”

“No. The air is nice here. I want to say it here.”

“All right.” Shao Xiujie nodded and gave his hand a hard squeeze, a warning to think twice before speaking.

Song Feng looked at him expectantly. “Xiujie, I was thinking… could you maybe try being on top one day? Just once. Could you fuck me?”

Shao Xiujie froze on the spot, completely unsure how to respond. His cousin looked utterly shocked. And Song Feng suddenly threw himself into Shao Xiujie’s arms. To anyone watching, it looked like he had been yanked over forcefully.

He leaned in, lips near Shao Xiujie’s ear, then lifted his head and said, “Oh? You said you prefer being underneath? All right then. I won’t push.”

Shao Xiujie: “…”

His cousin: “…”

Song Feng tugged on his arm. “Come on, Xiujie. Let’s go back and get some rest.”

Shao Xiujie didn’t say a word, but he squeezed his hand hard, as if trying to crush it. Song Feng had gotten the upper hand for once and was in a great mood. He didn’t care how much Shao Xiujie squeezed. But the good mood didn’t last long. News of the exchange spread quickly throughout the house.

That evening, at dinner, everyone sat around the table looking at Shao Xiujie with strange expressions. It killed his appetite, and before long, he stood up, using an excuse to pull Song Feng away.

“Hungry?”

Song Feng curled up on the bed with a pitiful look. “Yeah.”

“Serves you right.”

Song Feng rolled around on the bed.

Shao Xiujie tried to sleep, but Song Feng kept disturbing him, waking him up again and again. At last, he got up helplessly.

“Wait here.”

He went downstairs and cooked two bowls of noodles, then brought them back up to eat with him. Song Feng was instantly moved, eyes glistening with tears.

“Boss, I was wrong. You’re actually a good person.”

Shao Xiujie gave a noncommittal reply. “The next time you try pulling that kind of stunt, you’ll see just how ‘not good’ I am.”

Song Feng lowered his head and quietly ate his noodles, doing his best to make himself invisible.

Shao Xiujie looked at him. “Has it really been that hard the past few days?”

“Yeah. You have no idea how miserable I’ve been. Why didn’t you get an actor? They’d at least be better than me.”

“No. An actor’s not as useful as you.”

Song Feng grumbled and focused on eating. It wasn’t until a few days later that he truly understood what that line meant.

The wedding rings that the boss and his fiancée had custom-ordered from a designer were finally ready. That day, he accompanied Shao Xiujie to pick them up. When the car reached an intersection, another vehicle suddenly turned in from a side lane during a red light and slammed into them. The crash wasn’t serious, but the car was definitely out of commission.

Song Feng got out and looked at the wreck. Shao Xiujie stood beside him.

“What do you think?”

“I think…” Song Feng started, but then something in his peripheral vision made him freeze. He suddenly grabbed Shao Xiujie and pulled him behind a roadside billboard. A loud bang followed immediately as the glass window beside them shattered. Several more gunshots rang out. Screams erupted from the crowd.

This was a busy district, and the sound of gunfire caused chaos. The intersection jammed instantly. No one could move forward or back. Accidents broke out everywhere.

In another car nearby, Xiao Mingxuan frowned slightly. “What’s going on?”

“There were gunshots. Really close. The police should be on the way, but this won’t be over quickly. The cars behind us are going to try and leave one by one. I’ll see if I can turn around.”

Xiao Mingxuan gave a short response. As the car began to angle into a turn, he glanced out the window and immediately sat up straight.

“Wait!”