After a Real Person Plays the Protagonist of an Anguish Novel [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 37.2

Chapter 37.2: Canary 04

Song Shuyi walked to the gambling table, and someone immediately pulled out a chair for him. He sat down and said, “You only said to bring the person; you didn’t say anything else.”

“Playing word games with me, I see,” Tu Nanxue sneered. He rose to his feet and began walking toward Tang Yiqing step by step. “But President Song’s canary is a rare sight. Now that you’ve all seen him, you should thank me.”

Several people around them immediately chimed in with agreement. By then, Tu Nanxue had come to a halt directly in front of Tang Yiqing. Looking at the man steadily closing in, Tang Yiqing couldn’t help but lean back.

Tu Nanxue leaned closer, his narrow peach-blossom eyes staring intently at Tang Yiqing’s eyes behind the veil, causing Tang Yiqing’s eyelashes to tremble slightly.

Being covered so tightly only made people want to pry further. Tu Nanxue caught a whiff of a unique fragrance; his gaze drifted downward, taking in Tang Yiqing’s slender build and the snow-white skin visible through the mesh.

Tu Nanxue moved even closer, noticing that Tang Yiqing’s eyes were slightly red and covered with a thin layer of watery mist. They were beautiful eyes; he imagined they would look even more stunning while shedding tears.

Tu Nanxue turned back to look at the somber Song Shuyi. “What’s wrong, President Song? I haven’t even laid a hand on him yet, and your face is already this dark.”

Song Shuyi stared at him coldly without speaking. Tu Nanxue continued, “I thought that something President Song hid away like a treasure would be some kind of rare rarity… Sigh, he’s actually quite average.”

“Average?” Zhao Yiran, who had been watching from the side, repeated the word. Zhou Zhihe had offered the same evaluation earlier.

However, as they looked over, even without seeing his face, his aura alone felt anything but “average.”

Tu Nanxue returned to his seat. Tang Yiqing was completely at a loss, being sized up like an object. He looked toward Song Shuyi.

Song Shuyi pulled his hand over and rubbed it soothingly. “It’s fine.”

But Tang Yiqing pulled his hand back. He had once been a young master, after all; even after three years as a canary, he still possessed some backbone. Being stared at by the crowd made him feel like a monkey being teased for entertainment. Having Song Shuyi pull his hand over to stroke it after causing this unease made him feel like a pet being displayed for show.

Since Song Shuyi was the cause of everything, his “soothing” gesture felt incredibly ironic.

“Can I leave now?” Tang Yiqing asked softly. He understood the nature of the bet between them; since he had already made an appearance, he should be allowed to go, right?

Song Shuyi’s expression soured. He said in a low voice, “Since you’ve already come, you’ll leave with me.”

Tu Nanxue mocked him, “Why such a hurry to go home? You haven’t even accompanied your benefactor properly.”

Tang Yiqing fell silent. Right then, Zhou Zhihe walked over. “He has a very regular routine. Shuyi, let him go back.”

Song Shuyi’s face remained cold. “Find a seat and sit down.”

Tang Yiqing knew he couldn’t leave. He scanned the room, walked toward a chair against the wall, sat down, and became quiet.

The people around would occasionally glance his way. Compared to the rest of the people in the room, his quiet presence naturally drew everyone’s eyes toward him.

With a hint of a smile on his lips, Zhou Zhihe walked toward the center. Naturally, there was a seat for him at this gambling table.

The game began. The dealer started dealing the cards. After a few rounds, Song Shuyi’s luck was quite good, winning more than he lost.

Halfway through, another person entered. This person was exquisitely dressed and beautiful. Several people looked at the newcomer.

Following their gaze, Song Shuyi looked back and was momentarily stunned. He subconsciously looked toward Tang Yiqing’s position, only to find that the other looked like he was about to fall asleep. A surge of nameless anger rose within him, though he didn’t show it on his face.

By now, Su Xiaobai had reached them and called out in a sweet voice, “Shuyi-ge.”

Song Shuyi looked at Zhou Zhihe. “You told him to come?”

Zhou Zhihe exchanged a look with Su Xiaobai and then shrugged. “How was I supposed to know you’d bring a companion tonight?” He paused and then said, “Xiaobai, didn’t you see the message I sent you later? I said you didn’t need to come.”

Su Xiaobai looked suspicious for a second, then quickly apologized, “I’m sorry. My phone ran out of battery and died on the way here. I didn’t see it.”

He looked at Song Shuyi again, his eyes watery. “I’m sorry, Shuyi-ge. Did I cause trouble for you? I’ll leave right now…”

As he made a move to go, Song Shuyi grabbed his wrist. His gaze, however, was fixed on Tang Yiqing, who had fallen asleep against the wall. “Stay and accompany me.”

“Arrange a chair for him next to me.”

Tu Nanxue began to clap. “If anyone knows how to play, it’s President Song. I thought this canary was President Song’s precious darling. Who would have thought he has more than one precious darling? I actually believed the rumors that President Song was a devoted man who remained chaste for his lover. It turns out those were just false rumors.”

Song Shuyi’s jaw tightened. “My lifestyle is none of your business, Young Master Tu. After all, you’re the one who switches partners most frequently.”

Tu Nanxue laughed. “Of course. I just love a fresh taste.”

With that, he looked at the man beside him. “Don’t you have a twin brother? Call him out sometime so we can play together. I need to learn a thing or two from President Song.”

Su Xiaobai sat upright, feeling the very low pressure coming from Song Shuyi beside him. He picked up a piece of fruit from the platter. “Shuyi-ge.”

Song Shuyi ate the fruit offered to him, his teeth biting down somewhat viciously. He beckoned to a staff member behind him. “Go wake him up. Let him deal the cards.”

Tang Yiqing was truly sleepy. During these three years under Song Shuyi’s strict control—with no electronic devices and no one to talk to—he always went to bed very early, usually around nine. It was now almost eleven, and he could hardly keep going.

He was a bit dazed when he was woken up. He looked at the waiter in front of him. “What is it?”

“Hello, sir. Mr. Song wants you to deal the cards,” the waiter said.

Tang Yiqing froze, then looked at Song Shuyi, noticing that someone else had appeared beside him at some point.

He stood up blankly and was led to the card shoe by the waiter. The original dealer stepped aside.

Tang Yiqing’s slender figure became the center of attention. His muscles were tense. Under the dealer’s guidance, he began dealing the cards one by one into the hands of the three players.

He looked at Song Shuyi with red eyes. He quickly guessed who the man next to him was; this must be Su Xiaobai…

A sense of humiliation almost moved him to tears. Su Xiaobai fed Song Shuyi fruit, helped him with his cards, and the two exchanged looks over the quality of the hand. Their intimate behavior made him, standing there dealing cards, look like a joke.

Tu Nanxue was getting a bit tired. He propped his hand on the table and watched Tang Yiqing deal. He looked like he was about to cry… those beautiful eyes were rimmed with red.

He grew increasingly curious. What was this man—dressed so provocatively yet exuding an aura of innocence—really like?

Zhou Zhihe tossed over hundreds of thousands in chips, grandly announcing, “A tip.”

Tang Yiqing gave him a faint glance. Zhou Zhihe and Song Shuyi had known each other since they were very young. Their close relationship meant that Zhou Zhihe couldn’t stand him, believing him to be useless and responsible for changing Song Shuyi completely—yet he always made Song Shuyi angry.

Tang Yiqing had overheard this once; otherwise, he wouldn’t have known so much.

Now he was giving him such a large tip; he didn’t know what the intention was. Zhou Zhihe seemed to sense his gaze and looked back at him, giving a wink.

Tang Yiqing immediately retracted his gaze. He didn’t know what this “smiling tiger” was up to. He looked at the high-value chips; even if he took the tip, the money wouldn’t end up in his pocket. Song Shuyi wouldn’t let him have any money.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhihe picked up a playing card and brought it to his nose, sniffing the residual fragrance on it. The corners of his mouth curled up. Not bad.

Tu Nanxue lost quite a bit this time, but his face didn’t show any negative emotion from losing. He simply stood up and left.

A smile appeared on Song Shuyi’s face. He grabbed a handful of chips and placed them in front of Su Xiaobai. “Take this for pocket money.”

Tang Yiqing watched from the side with stinging eyes. Zhou Zhihe spoke up, “Xiaobai must have brought luck with him. Shuyi has been winning ever since you arrived.”

Tang Yiqing turned his head and realized that Zhou Zhihe had walked over to his side at some point. From the other side came Su Xiaobai’s heartfelt, joyful laughter, which made Tang Yiqing’s heart ache.

Zhou Zhihe faced Tang Yiqing, leaning sideways against the gambling table. He stacked a pile of high-value chips in front of him. “What are you envious for? Don’t you have some too?”

Tang Yiqing looked down at the chips; he felt there must be several million there. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia—if his family hadn’t gone bankrupt, he wouldn’t have spared these a glance. But now, this amount of money was a very, very large sum to him.

He reluctantly looked away from the chips. “I can’t take them with me…”

Hearing this, Zhou Zhihe was surprised for a moment, then said with a smile, “Shuyi really is stingy with you.”

Tang Yiqing hadn’t expected him to say that; he found the man increasingly difficult to read.

“Then how about I keep these for you?” Zhou Zhihe asked.

Tang Yiqing frowned, feeling that such abnormal behavior must hide some trickery. He looked into Zhou Zhihe’s smiling, narrowed eyes and said casually, “Whatever.”

“You really are ungrateful…”

Before Zhou Zhihe could finish, Song Shuyi’s dark voice rang out, “Tang Yiqing, why don’t you usually have so much to say to me?”

Tang Yiqing froze, his fingers nervously twisting together. He looked at Song Shuyi; they had been speaking very softly, so he shouldn’t have heard, right?

Zhou Zhihe turned back and said, “You’re even jealous of me?”

“Don’t bring him out next time; he even made mistakes while dealing,” Zhou Zhihe said. “Sitting on the side and falling asleep—what a nuisance.”

Tang Yiqing secretly clenched his fists. See, look at that—this was his true colors.

Support