The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 49

“Young Master Song! Young Master Song! This way, please. Mind the step, mind the step! Hey, you teachers in front, don’t block the way!”

Principal Li felt his shirt soaking through with sweat, his face flushed with heat. Beside him, several deans stood with equally reverent postures. Song Yuening stepped slowly onto the stage, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings. Immediately, a wave of fervent whispering erupted from the student body below.

“Heavens! I told you he was a big shot!”

“Wow! He’s so handsome. I swear I’ve seen that face in a magazine, is he a celebrity?”

“Superficial! How could a mere star make all these people bow and scrape? Don’t you know? I heard this gentleman is one of our school’s biggest sponsors!”

T-High was a private institution, and while students were used to sponsors visiting for awards or galas, the sheer scale of this man’s retinue and the principal’s subservience was unprecedented. As the Vice Principal called for silence, the principal began an endless eulogy of Song Yuening’s generosity.

“Silence, please. This is Mr. Song Yuening, a representative of the renowned Song Group. Mr. Song has donated a new teaching building to our school, with construction set to begin shortly. The facility will house multimedia rooms, physics and chemistry labs, digital classrooms.”

While the principal droned on, Chen Lian felt a ringing in his ears.

Song Yuening.

He had known it from the first glance. This was the man who had stolen Chen Zhaoqing’s life as the “Eldest Young Master” for over a decade. Biologically, this was his own brother. Yet, Chen Lian felt no affection only a deep, gnawing terror.

When Yuening spared him a fleeting, indifferent glance, Chen Lian’s face flushed a deep red. He was certain: Yuening had come to T-High specifically to find him. As he looked up, their eyes met. That face, so beautiful it seemed surreal, exerted a crushing pressure. It was as if within those misty, glass-like eyes, every one of Chen Lian’s conspiracies and selfish desires was laid bare.

What does he want? Is he a friend or a foe?

Chen Lian’s mind raced. He finally settled on a reason: Yuening must feel threatened by Chen Zhaoqing’s return to the Song family. A “fake” master with no blood relation couldn’t possibly feel secure against the “real” one. Yuening must hate Zhaoqing.

Excitement flickered in Chen Lian’s chest. Perhaps the fake master wanted to bribe him to do something against Zhaoqing. If so, he was more than happy to help for the right price. He was already running low on cash.

Just as Chen Lian was imagining himself as a master strategist, his name boomed through the speakers.

“Chen Lian! Student Chen Lian from Class 3, please come to the stage!”

Chen Lian felt a sharp slap on his back, snapping him out of his reverie. He spun around to glare at the lackey who had touched him, but instead saw his usually subservient classmates looking at him with expressions that were hard to describe.

“What are you all looking at?!” Chen Lian demanded.

“Pfft… Hahahaha!”

Before anyone could answer, a burst of mocking laughter erupted from Yu Le and his clique.

“Oh, ‘Grand Young Master’ Chen, are you deaf? Didn’t you hear them call your name?”

“Congratulations, ‘Master’ Chen! I heard this Young Master Song’s father is your personal benefactor. You’re supposed to go up there, take a commemorative photo with your sponsor, and settle your next phase of charity funding right now. Such a ‘blessing’ why are you just standing there?”

“Chen Lian, you really are a piece of work. We almost believed your ‘rich heir’ act. The real deal is standing right there on stage! You two don’t even belong in the same universe.”

“Exactly! Why does a charity student act like a millionaire every day?”

“Look at those sneakers at least twenty thousand yuan. His bag, his shirts, all luxury brands. How shameless do you have to be to spend your donation money on high-end fashion just to show off?”

“Chen Lian! Chen Lian! Why haven’t you come up yet?” The principal called out again, exasperated.

Every eye in the school was now locked onto him. Chen Lian felt as if thousands of insects were gnawing at his nerves. One moment, he was greedy for a windfall; the next, he was drowning in the misery of his secrets being exposed.

He realized he had only guessed half the truth. Song Yuening had come to give him money, but not in the way he wanted. This was a public execution disguised as a grand gesture.

He walked to the stage like a man heading to the gallows. He didn’t need to look back to know that every gaze behind him was filled with mockery. It’s over. Everything is over.

Yuening stood there, backlit by the sun, his face a blur. “Hello, Chen Lian. I am Song Yuening, your benefactor. I heard your grades are excellent and that you’re a prominent figure on campus, so I came to see you. Is everything going well for you here?”

It was fine until you showed up, Chen Lian thought, his fists trembling.

Yuening continued, his voice dripping with a terrifyingly gentle concern. “Oh, that’s right. Assistant Lin mentioned your father is a gambler, so your childhood wasn’t very happy. I hope he hasn’t been harassing you? Don’t worry, the security at the property Assistant Lin arranged for you is top-notch. But if he bothers you, call the Song family. We will help.”

“Also… I heard your mother was a dancer at the Golden Swallow Club, and she even stole someone else’s child before running away after you were born… How tragic. But don’t worry, I’ve told Assistant Lin to help you find your biological mother. After all, living on charity isn’t a long-term solution. Once you have your mother back, you won’t need strangers to support you, right?”

Yuening’s words were sharp as glass, shredding Chen Lian’s dignity and broadcasting his shameful background the gambler father, the criminal mother to the entire school.

The playground exploded. “What? His dad is a gambler and his mom was a club dancer who stole a baby?”

“Who does he think he is, acting so high and mighty?”

The students whispered about Wang Qi, another impoverished student whose father was a convict. Wang Qi never hid his identity and worked hard. Once, when Wang Qi accidentally spilled soup on Chen Lian’s uniform, Chen Lian had called him “trash” and “the son of a murderer,” forcing him to pay hundreds of yuan in compensation money that was Wang Qi’s food budget for half a semester.

Chen Lian’s “melancholy” was nothing more than a classic case of looking down on those below while craving equality with those above.

“Why are your eyes red, Student Chen? No need to be so moved. Here, take this year’s living expenses. Let’s take a photo together, shall we?” Yuening teased.

Chen Lian realized his entire future was in the Song family’s hands. Like a marionette, he was pushed into a photo. But as he stood next to Yuening, the latter stepped back with a cold sneer.

“Not with me. Take it with Assistant Lin. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to be in a photo with me, would it?”

Yuening knew that if Chen Lian had a photo with him, the boy would use it to scam small companies into thinking he had “connections” with the Song family. Despite sharing the same blood, Yuening looked at Chen Lian with the same disgust one might feel for a fly. He thought of his Zhaozhao, who had worked multiple jobs to support this ungrateful “white-eyed wolf” while Chen Lian lived a life of leisure.

In a fit of rage and humiliation, Chen Lian raised his hand to slap Yuening. The crowd gasped, but Yuening didn’t even flinch. Before the blow could land, a bodyguard seized Chen Lian and slammed him into the ground, knocking him unconscious with a swift strike to the neck.

Chen Lian woke up in his dorm to a nightmare. His reputation was ruined. He tried to leave, but was intercepted by Yu Le and his gang.

“Oh, look who it is. Our ‘Grand Master’ Chen.”

“What do you want?!” Chen Lian barked.

“What do we want? Do you even have the right to ask?” One of the boys pushed Chen Lian down the stairs. As he groaned in pain, another stepped on his hand.

“That’s enough! Don’t you know you should show mercy?!” Chen Lian cried out.

“Mercy? Hahaha!” They laughed. “Did you show mercy when you were acting like a king?”

The boy stepping on his hand pressed harder. He hated Chen Lian because his childhood sweetheart had left him to join the flock of “social butterflies” surrounding the fake-rich Chen Lian. The sounds of a beating filled the stairwell. Other students heard the cries, but no one opened a door to help. Chen Lian was finally carried away on a stretcher.

The Restaurant

Zhaoqing was waiting in a private box. The first to arrive was Fang Yang.

“Are you okay? I heard about the Song family,” Fang Yang said, pulling Zhaoqing into an inspection. “The Old Madame is bedridden with some new ailment, and Song Zhiyuan hasn’t been to work in ages. It’s weird—he used to be so power-hungry. Rumor is he’s just ‘slacking off’ now.”

Zhaoqing explained the situation briefly. Fang Yang slammed the table when he heard about Lili. “Are they even human? Selling their own daughter to a ‘fiancé’ like a child bride? Shameless!”

Zhaoqing changed the subject, handing over a canister. “It’s milk from the Song farm. It helps with sleep. You’ve been working hard on the company; you need your rest.”

“Zhaozhao, you’re the best!” Fang Yang tried to hug him, but Zhaoqing stuffed a pastry in his mouth to stop him.

“Anyway,” Fang Yang continued, “you were right about the Fu family. They took a huge hit on their last project and now they’re eyeing the Old District land. But it’s not the Fu family itself it’s Fu Lansheng. He’s the one pushing his father to build a commercial complex there.”

Zhaoqing nodded. Fu Lansheng needed a major project to prove himself to the Fu elders before his father passed. He was a dangerous opponent.

Suddenly, Lawyer Wu arrived. Zhaoqing handed them both a document. “I need you to look at this project plan. I got it from… Song Yuening.”

“What?” Fang Yang gasped. “The Song family is bidding too? But this plan isn’t under the Song Group, it’s under an obscure subsidiary.”

Lawyer Wu polished his glasses. “The actual controller of this subsidiary must be Song Yuening. He knows the Song Group’s internal bid price. He’s planning to compete against his own family to take the land for himself.”

“He’s going to start his own business and fight the Songs?” Fang Yang was stunned. “If he wins, he’ll have a clean break from them. But the Songs have the Jiang family’s backing now. If Song Shicheng focuses his fire on Yuening, Yuening might not win.”

“I suspect Yuening has another card,” Lawyer Wu added. “Fu Lansheng is moving massive amounts of capital roughly the amount needed to bid for the Old District. It seems Yuening and Fu Lansheng are collaborating to kick the Song family out and take the project for themselves.”

Zhaoqing finally spoke. “I don’t want either side to win. If they take the land, the residents of the Old District will suffer just as much as if Shicheng had won. I’m entering the bid.”

“But Zhaozhao, we don’t know the bid floor, and we don’t have the capital,” Fang Yang argued. “Miss Sun’s inheritance won’t be fully available until you’re eighteen.”

Zhaoqing dipped his finger in tea and wrote a sequence of numbers on the table. “The bid floor won’t exceed this range.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

Zhaoqing couldn’t say he was reborn. He simply smiled. “I have my ways. And as for a partner… if Yuening can find one, so can I.”

He wrote two more words: [Xie Family].

Just then, a knock sounded. The final guest arrived. Fang Yang jumped up to block Zhaoqing. “What are you doing here, Xie Chengxuan?!”

Xie Chengxuan ignored him, looking at Zhaoqing with a tender gaze. “Zhaozhao invited me. Right, Zhaozhao?”

Fang Yang gagged. “Stop acting like a ‘green tea’ drama queen, it’s disgusting!”

Zhaoqing sighed. “Yes, I called him. We can’t do this without the Xie family’s involvement.”

On the way back, Zhaoqing stared out the car window. Xie Chengxuan tried several times to talk to him.

“Zhaozhao, it wasn’t my fault I didn’t come see you! Song Yuening tricked me into going to Yunxi Lake and then had his guards block me from the Song house!”

“Do you have proof?” Zhaoqing asked.

“The note he left used disappearing ink, but it smelled of his perfume. Abîme des Lettres (Deep Sea Correspondence). It’s a scent he’s used for a long time.”

Zhaoqing scoffed internally. I know. I know everything about him because of how much you obsessed over him in our last life.

“Anyway,” Xie continued, “Yuening is cold and vicious. Don’t trust him. I’m just happy I can help you now. Zhaozhao… I really like you. Can you let me take care of you?”

“No.”

Zhaoqing’s rejection was instant and cold.

“Why?! I’ll be so good to you!”

“Because,” Zhaoqing said calmly, “there are some mistakes I refuse to make twice.”

Xie Chengxuan looked baffled and hurt. “I don’t understand…”

Before he could argue further, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and panicked.

“Who is it? Answer it,” Zhaoqing said, noticing the name.

“It’s just… a new friend,” Xie stammered, wanting to appear honest. He answered the call.

“Hello? Ah-Xuan?” a melodic, feminine voice came from the speaker. “Where are you? I called the Xie house and your father said you were out. I just wanted to remind you; my welcome party is next Saturday. You have to come!”

The voice belonged to Han Yizhu.

Xie Chengxuan looked at Zhaoqing in a panic, but Zhaoqing only offered a small, mocking smile. Destiny was a funny thing even without Zhaoqing’s involvement this time, Xie Chengxuan had still met Han Yizhu and was already being wrapped around his finger.

But this time, Song Zhaoqing would never be a part of their “play” again.