My Brother's Arranged Marriage Partner Is My Boyfriend - Chapter 44

Friday arrived quickly.

The Gu family’s banquet was held as scheduled.

Mo Yichen sent his secretary to pick up Bai Nanxing, even calling ahead of time to confirm whether Bai Nanxing was wearing the formal suit he had sent over.

Bai Nanxing naturally wore it obediently. To put Mo Yichen’s mind at ease, he even specifically took a photo and sent it over.

However, Mo Yichen was either busy or intentionally avoiding a reply; the WeChat interface showed only Bai Nanxing’s messages, while the other person’s profile picture remained motionless.

This was quite consistent with Mo Yichen’s style.

Bai Nanxing stopped messaging. After scrolling for a while and seeing no response from Mo Yichen, he switched the interface to other apps.

He originally wanted to play a game, but as soon as he opened it, he received a chat invitation from Mo Leyang.

Bai Nanxing felt this pervert was doing it on purpose, so he blacklisted him immediately. He felt lucky that Mo Yichen hadn’t come to pick him up personally; if Mo Yichen were sitting next to him right now, he felt he’d have to commit suicide just to prove his innocence.

His desire to play games was instantly extinguished.

Bai Nanxing exited the game interface and rested his chin on his hand, looking out the window.

It was very quiet inside the car. The driver didn’t speak—likely on Mo Yichen’s orders—and Bai Nanxing didn’t dare to strike up a conversation.

The entire drive was long and boring.

But the boredom only lasted a short while before Bai Yi called him.

Bai Nanxing didn’t particularly want to answer, letting the phone ring continuously.

The driver was perhaps disturbed by the sound, as he looked in the rearview mirror and asked, “Young Master Nanxing, your phone is ringing. Aren’t you going to answer?”

Bai Nanxing had no desire to confide in anyone and rarely mentioned his personal affairs to others, but for some reason today, his mood was very low.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

It was just an unprovoked bad mood.

Perhaps it was the feeling of being forced to do things he didn’t like and attend banquets he didn’t enjoy.

In short, it was bad.

Bai Nanxing gave a self-deprecating smile. “Uncle Chen, do you think an illegitimate son like me should never have come into this world in the first place?”

The driver, Uncle Chen, was a trusted confidant of the Mo family and their professional driver. He usually drove Mo Yuncheng, but because of the Gu family banquet and Mo Yuncheng being busy elsewhere, Uncle Chen had been sent to help.

Hearing Bai Nanxing’s question, Uncle Chen didn’t know how to answer for a moment.

But Bai Nanxing hadn’t expected an answer, so he turned his gaze back out the window after asking.

The phone was still ringing. Bai Nanxing still had no intention of answering, but worried about disturbing Uncle Chen’s driving, he specifically set it to silent.

After calling for a while, Bai Yi probably realized he wouldn’t answer and finally hung up.

Bai Nanxing sneered. He thought Bai Yi would be more persistent, but he gave up after only a few minutes.

He had even less patience than expected.

Bai Nanxing stopped thinking about it. He opened the game interface again, wanting to relax his mood.

Just then, Uncle Chen unexpectedly spoke.

“There is no ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t.’ Don’t overthink it, Young Master Nanxing. Some things aren’t decided by oneself. Just as children come into this world, it isn’t necessarily because they wanted to.”

Bai Nanxing’s finger tapping the screen suddenly paused. He switched back to the home screen and lifted his eyes slightly. “Is Uncle Chen comforting me?”

Uncle Chen said, “Not really. I am just responding to the question you asked just now.”

So that was it.

Ultimately, the status of an illegitimate son was something everyone despised.

Bai Nanxing had long been used to it. It wasn’t a matter of a day or two; what on earth was he still expecting?

“Thank you,” he responded politely.

Seeing his disappointed expression in the rearview mirror, Uncle Chen felt a bit of pity. However, Bai Nanxing’s situation was complicated, and even Mo Yuncheng didn’t allow his biological sons to stir up trouble privately.

Better to avoid unnecessary trouble; besides, these matters weren’t for an outsider like him to discuss.

After thinking it over, he let it go.

“You don’t need to say thank you, Young Master Nanxing. I’m just telling the truth,” Uncle Chen said. “But you don’t need to blame yourself for your identity. Since it is an unchangeable fact, why not try to accept it?”

Accept it…

Heh.

Indeed, the whip doesn’t hurt unless it falls on your own body.

This sentence made Bai Nanxing find it laughable. How ridiculous was it for someone to advise another to accept something they themselves hadn’t accepted?

However, Bai Nanxing was used to this. Most of the time, he treated it as a joke, watching to see how hypocritical these people could be.

As it turned out, there was no limit to hypocrisy.

Bai Nanxing didn’t respond. He leaned against the car window and dozed for a bit.

The journey to the Gu family home wasn’t short; the fastest it would take was half an hour. He didn’t know how late the banquet would last, so he took the opportunity to rest while he could.

By the time he woke up, they had arrived at the Gu family residence.

A line of cars was parked outside, all of them famous brands or the latest limited editions—all incredibly expensive.

Uncle Chen thought he was still asleep and turned to call out, “Young Master Nanxing, we’ve arrived at the Gu house. Please get out. The Eldest Young Master and the others are waiting for you over there.”

Bai Nanxing looked out the window and saw Mo Yichen and Mo Leyang standing across the way from a distance. They were surrounded by several admirers, and the group was chatting and laughing.

It had to be said that the two brothers were very easy on the eyes. Although they were half-brothers, their looks and physiques were undeniable—both top-tier handsome men. This was clearly inherited from Mo Yuncheng.

Oh no, it wasn’t just their appearance inherited from Mo Yuncheng, but also their personalities. Truly, like father, like son.

Bai Nanxing took one look and opened the car door to step out.

Because of his status, he had no attendants following him, so he became the focus of everyone’s gaze as he walked over.

Of course, it wasn’t in a good way.

It was more of a look of disdain.

But because Mo Yichen and Mo Leyang were there, no one dared to say anything to his face, so they could only express their dissatisfaction with their eyes.

“This suit suits you very well,” Mo Yichen complimented after looking him over.

Bai Nanxing didn’t know if he was being sincere or just putting on an act in front of so many people. If it was the latter, Mo Yichen’s acting was good enough for him to be an actor.

“Thank you, Brother Chen.”

“As long as you like it.”

Mo Yichen didn’t say much more. He patted him on the shoulder and said, “The banquet will start soon. Just stay by Ah Yang’s side later. I might not be able to accompany you, but with Ah Yang there, at least you’ll have someone to talk to.”

Bai Nanxing wanted to say that he didn’t need anyone to accompany him and that he would stay put and not run around, but just as he opened his mouth, he heard the voice he least wanted to hear behind him.

Unsurprisingly, it was Bai Yi and Qiao Qian, with Bai Ruoning in tow.

“Eldest Young Master Mo, Third Young Master,” Bai Yi greeted them first.

Mo Yichen only gave a polite nod, his face expressionless, while Mo Leyang next to him chose to ignore them directly.

Bai Yi was cursing in his heart, but Mo Leyang had the capital to ignore him—capital that the Bai family could not afford to offend—so he could only awkwardly cover it up with a smile.

Qiao Qian didn’t catch the underlying tension and pushed Bai Ruoning forward, saying, “Ruoning, quickly greet the Eldest Young Master and the Third Young Master. Honestly, child, do I really need to teach you these things?”

Bai Ruoning could tell that Mo Leyang was in a very bad mood, but he couldn’t tell if Mo Yichen was, so he was more enthusiastic when greeting Mo Yichen.

“Hello, Brother Yichen. And hello, Brother Leyang.”

The flattery on his face was practically overflowing, his intentions so obvious they might as well have been written on his forehead.

But Mo Yichen clearly didn’t fall for it.

“You should call me Eldest Young Master, just like the others,” Mo Yichen said with displeasure in his voice.

Bai Ruoning turned to glare at Bai Nanxing, suddenly feeling very unbalanced. “But… but Brother Yichen, if I can’t call you that, then why can he—an illegitimate son—call you that?!”

Mo Yichen’s face darkened instantly, his eyes glaring intensely at Bai Ruoning.

His mood turned sour visibly to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Bai Yi quickly pulled Bai Ruoning behind him and apologized repeatedly: “Eldest Young Master, I’m sorry. Ruoning is still young and doesn’t understand these things. I apologize on his behalf.”

Qiao Qian also noticed Mo Yichen’s mood was off and added, “Yes, Eldest Young Master, Ruoning is still young. Please be the bigger person and don’t hold it against him.”

Mo Yichen was about to speak when Mo Leyang suddenly interjected: “He’s still young? Is he a giant infant? Has he not been weaned yet? Does he need this Young Master to tell Uncle Chen to buy him a few cans of milk powder?”

The atmosphere became awkward to the extreme.

Bai Yi had ten thousand horses galloping through his heart, but he still had to endure it. “Third Young Master, you misunderstand. Ruoning meant…”

Before he could finish, Mo Leyang interrupted him. “His meaning was just to ask why an illegitimate son like Bai Nanxing is allowed, wasn’t it? Am I wrong?”

The meaning was so obvious even a pig could hear it. Bai Yi could only admit defeat. “If the Eldest Young Master doesn’t like Ruoning calling him that, I will educate him when we get back. I hope the Eldest Young Master and the Third Young Master won’t be angry. After all… Nanxing will be marrying into the Mo family in the future. If…”

It would have been better if he hadn’t mentioned that. As soon as he did, Mo Yichen couldn’t hold back. “Chairman Bai, are you saying that because Nanxing will marry into the Mo family in the future, we have to call you ‘in-law’? So you feel that Ah Yang’s treatment of you is disrespectful to an ‘in-law’ and is out of line, is that right?”

Bai Yi finally realized his words were terribly wrong and apologized repeatedly: “Eldest Young Master Mo, that’s not what I meant. What I meant was…”

Mo Yichen had no intention of listening to his explanation. Instead, he grabbed Bai Nanxing’s hand and said without giving any face: “Chairman Bai, it seems you still didn’t understand my grandfather’s words at the old mansion. Then let me explain it to you again. My grandfather’s meaning was that the person involved in the marriage alliance is Nanxing—it has nothing to do with the rest of you. Even if you are his father, you should be called whatever you are usually called.”

“Also, this matter is not asking for your opinion, Chairman Bai. It is simply informing you. I hope you remember that clearly.”

Bai Yi: “…”