A Spoiled Sweetheart's Survival Guide to the Love Battlefield - Chapter 3

Shi Song slowly and groggily woke up.

His vision was somewhat blurry at first. He squinted for a while before realizing that he had already returned to the courtyard of the Wei family villa.

Even though he hadn’t been back in a very long time, nothing here had changed at all, giving him an uncanny sense of a past life.

The Wei family courtyard was exceptionally vast, featuring a quiet, elegant, and secluded environment. Lush vegetation and rockeries surrounded the area, and the faint, gurgling sound of flowing water could be heard. The main house was an imposing three-story Chinese-style building; simply walking close to it made one feel a bit breathless.

“Awake?”

Wei Huaichen casually spun the car key he had just pulled out around his fingertip, his voice carrying a hint of a smile.

Realizing that he had actually fallen asleep in the car, Shi Song instantly felt embarrassed. “Sorry, I…”

“It’s fine.”

Wei Huaichen opened the car door.

One of his long legs had already stepped out of the vehicle. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned his head back to Shi Song and said, “In front of me, you can be a bit more casual.”

Shi Song froze for a moment, unexpectedly feeling a bit dazed by that smile.

Wei Huaichen was more handsome than anyone he had ever met.

The sunlight swept across his profile, outlining skin so pale it looked as though it hadn’t seen the sun in ages. With his deep-set eyes and high brow, he looked as if he carried his own soft-focus filter.

Shi Song felt his heart skip a beat. Coming to his senses, he hurriedly nodded. “Ah, okay.”

The moment he walked through the door, Shi Song saw Wei Shuyun sitting on the sofa.

She turned her head naturally. “Huaichen, you’re back…Shi Song?”

Seeing the person following behind Wei Huaichen, Wei Shuyun’s expression grew tense. She instantly sat up from the sofa. “Why did you come back with Huaichen?”

Not having seen her for several years, a few fine lines had been added to her face, making her look noticeably older.

Even five years ago, Shi Song rarely saw her. In his memory, Madam Wei was always that vigorous and resolute CEO, someone who could maintain her propriety and elegance no matter the occasion. This obvious aging indicated that her life over these past few years had not been easy.

The word “Mom” that Shi Song was about to call out got stuck in his throat because of her question.

He had actually rehearsed the scene of meeting Madam Wei again countless times in his mind, but he had never imagined it would turn out like this.

Her expression carried an indescribable panic. Her eyes darted between the two of them, looking as if she was afraid that his proximity would corrupt Wei Huaichen.

Shi Song sighed in his heart, thinking to himself that it shouldn’t be to this extent, yet a sudden pang of sharp pain still flashed through his chest.

Just as he was deliberating on what to say to smooth over this awkwardness, Wei Huaichen, who was beside him, spoke up.

“I came back together with my younger brother,” he said, casually hanging his coat on the rack. “You missed him a lot when you were abroad. Aren’t you happy to see him now?”

Wei Shuyun froze for a moment, then let out a somewhat awkward smile. “What are you talking about? Of course I’m happy that Songsong is back.”

Despite her words, she didn’t give Shi Song so much as a glance; her gaze remained fixed entirely on Wei Huaichen.

Shi Song secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stole a glance at Wei Huaichen.

In any case, he was quite grateful to Wei Huaichen for bailing him out.

Right at that moment, Cheng Gao also walked down from upstairs. Seeing Shi Song, he revealed a surprised expression. “Little Song is back too?”

Seeing him, the expression on Shi Song’s face relaxed slightly. He obediently called out, “Dad.”

“It’s good that you’re back. If you’re tired, go back to your room and rest for a bit. Don’t just stand there.”

After showing his concern for Shi Song, Cheng Gao cheerfully turned around to instruct the auntie to prepare a few more dishes for dinner.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Shi Song went back to his room first.

Presumably because the auntie had just tidied it up a day or two ago, when Shi Song pushed open the door, he saw that his room was neat and clean, not much different from how it was when he left.

No one would be able to tell that no one had stepped foot in here for five years.

The room was still decorated with certificates and awards of various sizes. Shi Song touched them with a sense of nostalgia, and his mind couldn’t help but recall his grueling high school life.

In the beginning, his parents had hoped he would take the academic route. In order not to disappoint them, Shi Song had studied like his life depended on it. Later on, he did manage to get the grades, but his parents then started planning to send him abroad with them.

However, Shi Song refused that time. He thought to himself that since they were going abroad for Wei Huaichen anyway, why should he go along and cause unnecessary trouble?

He finally had the freedom to choose his beloved art major, and the price he paid was that his mother hadn’t spoken a single word to him in five years.

In reality, Shi Song knew that Wei Shuyun wasn’t angry; she simply felt there was no need to waste time on such trivial details.

Shi Song pulled out the desk chair and sat down, resting his head lazily on his arms.

A strand of slightly long hair fell across his face, tickling him a bit. Shi Song exhaled a breath to blow the hair aside, his eyes bright.

Actually, he had intentionally or unintentionally paid attention to Wei Shuyun and Wei Huaichen just now. The mother and son seemed to have a very good relationship; after all, Shi Song had never seen Wei Shuyun care so much about anyone before.

This was also what he wanted to confirm by coming home.

Shi Song remembered clearly that when the person in his dream spoke of Wei Huaichen, they used the phrase “he seized the Wei Corporation.”

At that time, it was clearly nowhere near Wei Shuyun’s normal retirement age. Shi Song knew very well how much she cared about the Wei Corporation; if it weren’t through some coercive means, she would absolutely never let anyone take control of it, not even her biological son.

If the mother and son had a good relationship, how could such a thing possibly happen?

So, the dream must be fake.

Shi Song let out a hum and rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache coming on.

He took his phone out of his pocket.

The moment he lit up the screen, numerous messages popped up.

Shi Song opened the messages from his boyfriend, Lin Yiming, first.

“Baby, did you arrive home safely?”

Another half hour later, probably seeing that Shi Song hadn’t replied, Lin Yiming sent another message:

“Remember to let me know once you’re home safe.”

It was followed by a cute little emoji of a puppy blowing a kiss, which looked rather endearing.

He seemed to have neglected Lin Yiming a bit today. Should he explain things to him?

After thinking it over, Shi Song dialed Lin Yiming’s number.

Reasonably speaking, he should have returned to campus by this afternoon and have nothing much to do…

But now, after the phone rang five times, it was abruptly hung up by the other side.

Shi Song frowned slightly.

The frequency with which he called Lin Yiming wasn’t high, so this was the first time his call had been hung up directly.

However, since they were both adults, Shi Song didn’t dwell on it too much.

After pondering for a moment, he replied on WeChat: “I’m home, everything is fine.”

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Two hours ago.

Lin Yiming watched the retreating figures of Shi Song and Wei Huaichen with a sense of loss. His hand crumpled the two theater tickets inside his pocket, yet he never pulled them out.

He left Xianyun Kee with a troubled mind, intending to ask one of his bros if they wanted to go see the play. Just then, his phone received a message.

“Brother Lin, are you busy this afternoon?” “I want to head out for a stroll, come keep me company.”

Tsk, wasn’t this perfect timing?

Lin Yiming grinned. “Coincidentally, I have two tickets for a play right here. Want to come?”

As he spoke, he snapped a picture of the tickets and sent it over.

The person on the other side was named Su Tang, a childhood friend of his. Currently, the universities they attended were located on opposite ends of the city one in the east and one in the west. Their relationship should have drifted apart naturally, but Su Tang was a chatterbox who loved to share everything that happened to him with Lin Yiming.

Su Tang had high emotional intelligence, making it extremely comfortable to be around him. Thus, when Lin Yiming was bored, he also liked chatting with him and would consult his opinion whenever he encountered difficulties.

“Oh my god, Brother Lin, you’re awesome! How did you even manage to get tickets for this?” “Where are you right now? I’ll come find you.”

The message sent from the other side caused Lin Yiming to curl his lips into a smile, finally feeling a sense of pride welling up in his chest.

He waited for Su Tang near the theater. Before long, Su Tang came running over, panting heavily, his face flushed with a rosy tint.

He was also good-looking. Distinct from Shi Song’s beautiful and delicate appearance, his facial features were very refined. Although he couldn’t quite compare to Shi Song, he was still outstanding enough to stand out in a crowd.

Su Tang usually managed a social media account with over a million followers online where he shared his daily life. Once the beauty filters were turned on, his fans all called him a “divine-tier streamer.”

“Why are you in such a rush?”

Seeing his state, Lin Yiming quickly handed him the fruit tea he had bought. “Moisten your throat.”

Su Tang’s heart stirred slightly.

He took it, glanced at it, and said with a giggle, “So attentive, Brother Lin. You actually remembered that my favorite is the grapefruit probiotic tea?”

“Cut the disgust.”

Lin Yiming spared him a glance. “I only remember what my baby likes. I just happened to grab yours along the way.”

“Tsk,” Su Tang felt a bit awkward. He feigned an attitude and nudged him with his elbow. “Who asked you to remember anyway? By the way, guess why my old man told me to come back this weekend?”

The capital city was vast, and making a round trip took at least three to four hours. Therefore, Su Tang usually only returned to the eastern district during vacations.

Lin Yiming scratched his head. “Why?”

“Do you know that Wei Huaichen has returned to the country? The son of that top-tier Wei family, their eldest son the one who donated over a billion to charitable organizations a while back.”

“Oh, I know about that,” Lin Yiming tsked. “That guy is indeed formidable. His team consists entirely of elites. In a few more years, even Wei Shuyun might have to rely on him.”

“Exactly, so my parents wanted me to get to know him. They called me all the way back from school just for this matter. I’m thoroughly exasperated.”

Su Tang handed the tickets over to the ticket inspector. “But guess what happened? That Wei Huaichen wouldn’t even meet with us. My dad only knows how to order me around, but after being rejected by them, he didn’t dare to utter a single squeak. It pissed me off to death.”

Lin Yiming let out a loud laugh and comforted him, “It’s normal. A while back, my grandfather wanted to invite the Wei family out for a meal, and they didn’t show up either. Maybe he just doesn’t like socializing.”

“For an elite household like theirs, it’s only natural to be a bit arrogant.”

The two of them quickly made their way inside the theater.

During the interval while waiting for the show to start, Lin Yiming told Su Tang to wait in place while he went to the restroom.

But probably because the restroom was quite crowded, Lin Yiming didn’t return for a long time.

Su Tang bit his straw, resting his chin on his hand as he stared fixedly at the seat beside him, lost in thought.

Right at that moment, a small patch on the floor beside him suddenly lit up. Su Tang sharpened his focus and realized that Lin Yiming had dropped his phone.

“What the heck, he actually forgot this.”

Su Tang complained with a laugh while picking it up from the ground for him.

The phone was vibrating. Seeing that the caller ID displayed on it was actually “Baby,” the smile on Su Tang’s face gradually faded, and his brows furrowed.

As if possessed by a ghost, he reached out his hand…

By the time he snapped out of it, the call had already been hung up.

“Su Tang?”

Hearing Lin Yiming’s voice, he withdrew his hand as if he had received an electric shock, turning his head to look at Lin Yiming. “What’s wrong?”

“What are you doing? Move aside a bit.”

Lin Yiming bent his knee and lightly nudged Su Tang’s knee. Su Tang only felt his heart skip a beat.

Right at that moment, the lights inside the theater abruptly turned off, and the crowd fell silent.

In the darkness, Su Tang could only hear his own breathing.

He turned his body slightly to let Lin Yiming in, his heart beating rapidly. “N-Nothing.”

“Your phone rang just now. I picked it up to mute it for you, but I accidentally touched something…” Su Tang turned his head and whispered softly.

“Oh.”

Lin Yiming sat down. He held quite a few positions at school, so there were plenty of random matters looking for him.

Turning on a phone inside a dark theater was quite conspicuous, so Lin Yiming didn’t pay it much mind. Without even looking at it, he shoved the phone back into his pocket.

“It’s fine. Don’t let insignificant people interrupt us, let’s watch the performance.”

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