The Delicate and Frail One Everyone Hates - Chapter 2

The fever lasted for two or three days. It came and went, leaving him in a constant daze. He spent almost all his time sleeping. In the middle of the night, his coughs made his lungs ache. As someone who used to have a very strong body, experiencing this level of weakness was a first.

However, the time gave him a chance to analyze his situation. He had indeed traveled into the world of a book after that car accident, taking over someone else’s life.

It was a pity; he had already received a graduate school offer from Yale. His older sister would probably be devastated. With him gone, she would be forced to return home and take over the family business.

For now, he needed to make a new plan. His main goal was simple: survive.

That meant he had to change the future of the big boss, Bei-huai Lu, before he turned evil. He had to guide him, return his status as the “true young master,” and convince him to give up his revenge. Helping Lu reach the peak of success was the best way to avoid a miserable ending.

…

In the afternoon, he woke up covered in sweat again. He felt relieved to find that Lu was not in the bedroom.

Over the past few nights, Lu had been taking care of him. It was almost ridiculous how patient and professional he was. To carry out his revenge, he acted just like a bodyguard. Even though he was a high school student who had to wake up early for school, he stayed up at midnight to check the fever or rub the boy’s back.

Of course, Lu also pinched and squeezed him quite a bit.

Being so sick and dazed, the boy was truly afraid he might be strangled to death in the middle of the night without even knowing it.

After all, he knew this was the only way Lu could vent his anger on “Qie Song” by bullying him slightly while he slept.

He sat up slowly. To be honest, he finally felt a bit better today. He put on his slippers and walked to the bathroom. Standing before the sink, he finally got a clear look at “Qie Song.”

The mirror reflected a teenager with skin as white as porcelain. His hair was bleached gold with pink highlights. He had a small, delicate face. Usually, when people rebel, they look like tough guys, but this “rebellious” look on Song had no bite at all.

He went silent, feeling a wave of embarrassment. Was this pink hair actually supposed to look good?

He looked exactly like his younger self in high school. As his sister used to say, he looked like he hadn’t “grown up” yet. When he looked like this, even when he got angry, he just looked like Hello Kitty.

He looked at the body in the mirror again. Thin arms, thin legs—he wasn’t even as sturdy as he had been in his own high school days. His stomach was soft. He clearly couldn’t handle a fight.

He was a “weak little dog.”

Song couldn’t understand it. How could someone like this ever bully Lu?

That kid looked like he could take on ten people like “Qie Song” at once.

Just how much did Lu hate him to endure all this? He hated him so much he only dared to pinch and poke him while he was asleep.

He touched his cheek gloomily. He had a plan, and he had to accept his new reality, but could he really save a big boss who was destined to turn evil?

Well, let’s do our best.

He walked out of the bathroom and finally had the energy to look around the bedroom. It was a massive room—practically a five-room suite with a study, a walk-in closet, a bathroom, a bedroom, and a gaming room.

Materially, the “fake” young master Song lived a very good life. It was no wonder the “true” young master Lu hated him so much. Honestly, all of this should have belonged to Lu.

But in the end, it wasn’t Song’s fault. The blame lay with Lu’s father—who was actually Song’s biological father. He caused all of this because of a selfish thought years ago; he wanted his own son to have a better life, so he secretly swapped the two babies born on the same day.

Just as he reached the door to open it, he heard voices from outside.

It was a strict middle-aged woman’s voice.

“Bei-huai, how could you let him act so wildly this time? I’m cutting your salary in half this month. I hope you learn from this. Next time he is this stubborn, if you can’t stop him, call me immediately. I’ll freeze his credit cards.”

“Auntie, it’s fine to cut my pay, but please don’t freeze the Young Master’s cards. I’m worried he’ll lose his temper and feel sick again.”

“The fact that you think of him that way shows he hasn’t treated you poorly. I’m grateful you’ve stayed by his side. That’s why I’ve let you look after him since you were kids.”

“I will take good care of the Young Master. Thank you, Auntie.”

Song pressed his ear against the door. What? Lu gets a salary? How much??

No, now wasn’t the time for that. This was a great chance to earn some “favor points” with Lu!

He put his hand on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and gathered his courage.

He opened the door just a crack.

“Um…”

Outside, Wen Xu heard the sound and looked over. Seeing her son peeking through the crack with just one eye, she assumed he was afraid of being scolded. She sneered, “Qie Song, don’t think that hiding your face will stop me from lecturing you. I’m not done with you yet, but first, I’m settling things with Bei-huai Lu.”

“…Oh.” Song took another deep breath and opened the door a bit wider, poking his head out.

Looking at the middle-aged woman in the professional suit, he guessed she must be Song’s mother. She had been the one scolding Lu just now.

Meeting the eyes of both Xu and Lu, he felt a sudden urge to pull his head back. But he remembered his mission: he had to change the boss, make him let go of his hate, and stay alive.

He gathered his courage, pushed the door open, and stood up. “Don’t scold Bei-huai. Scold me.”

Since his fever had just broken, the boy’s cheeks were flushed and he was lightly sweating. His voice sounded cold and rebellious, but his pretty “puppy eyes” were bright and clear.

Lu looked at him but said nothing.

Seeing her son like this, Xu laughed. “Qie Song, don’t try to protect him. Do you think I won’t scold you? I’m taking you one by one. Your father and I have already put you on the blacklist for every extreme sports club in the country.”

“Thank you,” Song replied instinctively. Realizing what he had said, his face went blank.

It wasn’t that he was trying to be rude; he just got nervous around strangers and reacted that way!

Xu thought her son was intentionally defying her. Her chest heaved with anger. “You brat, you’re trying to kill your father and me with stress! Fine, your credit cards are frozen for the semester. Go ahead and hang out with those ‘friends’ of yours—let them pay for you! Bei-huai, keep an eye on him.”

With that, she turned and walked down the hallway in her high heels, leaving a cold atmosphere behind her.

Song: “…” She’s a real ‘career woman’ mom. So scary.

“Young Master.”

Song looked at Lu and saw that the guy was smiling. It was a very gentle smile. “…?”

“Were you protecting me just now?” Lu walked up to Song and placed his palm on his forehead. Seeing the fever was gone but the boy was sweating, he wiped the sweat away with the back of his hand.

Song instinctively flinched away, and then he saw a look of “hurt” immediately appear on Lu’s face.

I can’t underestimate this future big boss. He’s a great actor. Is he actually moved?

He’s too good at faking it.

In his heart, Lu probably wanted to strangle him, and Song’s face still felt a bit sore from the earlier pinches.

But Song couldn’t act like the old “Qie Song” anymore. Regardless of whether Lu accepted it or not, his goal was to be kind. If “guiding” someone was easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge.

He lowered his head and leaned his forehead back into Lu’s palm, giving him another look.

His soft, damp bangs brushed against Lu’s palm, feeling a bit itchy. The movement looked a lot like acting spoiled, especially with that friendly gaze.

Lu looked into those round, clear eyes. He thought it might be an accident, but now it seemed intentional. What kind of trick is he playing now?

First he refuses to be touched, then he leans in on purpose.

“The fever is gone, Young Master. You seem more energetic. Does anything feel uncomfortable? You were coughing very hard last night.”

Song endured the intimacy. Was it always like this between them? Do city people call this kind of ‘touchy-feely’ relationship being ‘enemies’?

This was more intense than just being roommates.

“No, I feel fine.” He endured it. Staying alive was more important.

“Your parents said you can’t go out this weekend. Do you want to do homework together? Or do you want to sneak out to play with your friends? I can take you out.”

Song thought to himself: Listen to that. This is the ‘sugar-coated’ strategy to make Song spoiled and arrogant. One second the mom says he can’t go out, and the next second Lu acts “considerate” by offering to help him sneak out.

The old “Qie Song” definitely would have gone out.

He shook his head. “Let’s do homework.”

Lu: “?”

Seeing Lu’s obvious surprise, Song added, “You said homework, so we’ll do homework. I’ll listen to you.”

Being well-behaved would definitely help change the boss. Whether Lu believed him now or not didn’t matter; he would find out eventually.

Lu: “…” This person said he’ll listen to me?

In the study.

Two wide, white-lacquered desks were side-by-side. One desk was piled high with books, test papers, notes, and scratch paper. It was clearly the seat of a top student.

The other desk only had a liquid crystal computer for gaming. The surface was covered in headphones, keyboards, and other electronics, all glowing with colorful RGB lights. It was blinding.

Song: “…”

How could these two different lifestyles sit together without clashing? Did the old Song keep these flashing lights and loud clicking keyboards on while Lu was trying to study?

Could anyone actually learn in here?

He looked at Lu suspiciously. If Lu could become a top student in this environment, he truly was a god of revenge. He was basically “sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall.” If Lu didn’t become successful, nobody would.

“Young Master, do you want to play games?” Seeing Song staring at the computer, Lu assumed he wouldn’t actually study. In the last two years of high school, he had never seen Song pick up a pen. Every exam, Song went in with an empty head and felt no shame about getting a few points.

Song couldn’t help himself. He stepped forward and unplugged the glowing keyboard and computer. Once the lights stopped flashing, he said, “Homework.”

The lights were seriously blinding.

A moment later, the two sat side-by-side and began their work.

It was a Calculus BC paper, part of the AP curriculum for international students. It seemed they attended a private international school and were being prepared to study abroad.

Song glanced at the paper. This is child’s play, he thought. He could see the answers just by looking at the problems.

He intentionally slowed down his pace. He wrote his name first, then peeked at Lu beside him.

Lu’s pace was quite fast. He finished the multiple-choice questions in a few minutes. However…

Song leaned over, stretched out his arm, and pointed at the fifth question on the paper. “You got this one wrong. It should be ‘B’.”

See? Those colorful lights and clicking sounds really do affect your learning.

The tip of Lu’s pen paused. He turned his head to look at Song, his expression complicated.

Seeing Lu staring without saying anything, Song looked confused. “You really did get it wrong.”

Lu was silent for two seconds. “Young Master, are you teaching me?”