“Uh… maybe she thinks I’m just too outstanding. Or maybe I’m too handsome.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. It’s definitely Sister Bai telling me you’re unreliable and that I should break up with you.”
This Gu Wan’er—she actually hit the nail on the head.
“Who’s unreliable? You’re the one who must’ve performed poorly last night and let Sister Bai see something.”
“I didn’t act like a girl at all yesterday, I swear.” Gu Wan’er felt she’d been perfectly average last night—no way she was taking the blame for that.
“Water under the bridge. You’re picking me up tomorrow, and we’ll head over together. Ye Shishi will be there too.”
“Little Second is going too? That should be interesting.” Gu Wan’er let out a teasing laugh—she’d already given Ye Shishi a nickname.
Yu Xiaoduo couldn’t help but shake his head with a wry smile. What a grudging woman. “Sister Bai said not to call her that when we’re there. But privately, we can, hehehe.”
“Yu Xiaoduo, you’re so twisted.”
“Gu Wan’er, you’re pretty twisted yourself.”
Both of them: “…”
After hanging up, Gu Wan’er let out a breath of relief. But something still bothered her. Yu Xiaoduo had somehow ended up in her body, and yet Sister Bai was being so good to him—lending him money, connecting him with people. Was Yu Xiaoduo really that good at winning women over?
No way. Look at how he treated her—he was practically trying to drive her crazy.
For tomorrow’s dinner, she’d just sit quietly on the side and listen. Say nothing, cause no trouble.
She glanced at the folder on the computer and opened it out of curiosity. So these were the so-called “files,” huh? They needed to be downloaded too. Forget it, she wouldn’t delete them. In fact, she’d even help him download them. You’re welcome, Yu Xiaoduo.
Yu Xiaoduo: Don’t pretend. Download them and enjoy them yourself.
Meanwhile, over two thousand kilometers away in the north, two young men were sweating it out on a tennis court. The sharp thwacks of the ball rang out relentlessly. But it was clear that one of them was playing effortlessly, while the other seemed a step behind, constantly being led around by the nose.
With a heavy smash, the game was won.
The man on the right had a slightly long face with a mole just above the right corner of his mouth. When he smiled, he looked a bit like a fox. His name was Tang Qing—Yu Xiaoduo’s cousin, who’d grown up entirely in Yu Xiaoduo’s shadow.
The man across from him was older. Though not as handsome as Yu Xiaoduo, his brow and eyes bore a resemblance—but his overall demeanor was the complete opposite: much fiercer.
His name was Tang Hong. He was one of the outstanding younger generation in the Tang family, but there were two even more exceptional above him—excluding Yu Xiaoduo, of course, since Yu Xiaoduo carried the Yu surname.
But back when Yu Xiaoduo was around, Tang Hong had never had a chance to shine, always overshadowed by Yu Xiaoduo’s brilliance. After Yu Xiaoduo left, however, Tang Hong finally began to make a name for himself.
“Hong-ge, your skills are getting scarily good. I’m no match for you at all.” Tang Qing shrugged and headed toward a bench nearby, grabbing a bottle of water.
Tang Hong didn’t respond. Even with his skills, he was still a notch below that bastard Yu Xiaoduo.
“I heard from Fourth Uncle that you recently got your hands on a plot of land—planning to build a tech park?” Tang Hong picked up a bottle of Nongfu Spring and sat down beside Tang Qing.
Tang Qing wiped the sweat off his face with a white towel and chuckled. “Just small potatoes. Can’t compare to you, Hong-ge.”
Tang Hong’s mouth twisted into a crooked grin. If Yu Xiaoduo had seen it, he would’ve definitely said, “Your mouth’s getting more crooked by the day. No wonder they call you Crooked Mouth King.”
“By the way, Hong-ge, did you see that video from Longhai yesterday?” Tang Qing asked casually. Truth be told, the two of them had come out to play tennis specifically to talk about this, but it felt awkward to bring it up directly.
As expected, Tang Hong perked up at the mention. “I saw it.”
“Yu-ge—no, that bastard Yu Xiaoduo—he’s been quiet for all these years. Why’s he suddenly stirring up trouble again?” Tang Qing mentally cursed himself. He’d almost called him “Yu-ge” again—how embarrassing. The guy was kicked out of the family, after all.
Tang Hong scoffed dismissively. “That bastard knows better than to get directly involved. He’s using a woman to do his dirty work.”
“Right? That Gu family heiress is just Yu Xiaoduo’s pawn. Look at her riding skills, her fighting techniques, her card tricks—if that’s not Yu Xiaoduo teaching her, I’ll eat my own shoe.” Tang Qing got more worked up as he spoke, practically itching to take Yu Xiaoduo down.
“Hmph. Ye Shishi never saw it coming—Gu Wan’er had Yu Xiaoduo backing her up. She didn’t lose unfairly. Even I’m not confident I could beat him.” With that, he slammed his water bottle to the ground, still nursing old grudges.
Tang Qing watched Tang Hong’s outburst and understood. “Hong-ge, don’t let it get to you. Auntie’s already been driven out. It’s harder for him to make a comeback than to reach the sky. All he can do now is scrape by in Longhai with the Gu family heiress. He’s nothing to worry about.”
“Words are easy, but that bastard Yu Xiaoduo has always been unpredictable. It took everything to get his family out of the picture. We can’t let him gain any momentum again.”
“Hong-ge, you mean…?” Tang Qing felt like he was catching on.
Tang Hong nodded. “I’ll go talk to the two of them. We can’t let Yu Xiaoduo thrive. If he picks up that machete again, he’ll come straight for us.”
“Hong-ge, we’re the Tang family—why should we be afraid of an outsider? He’s nothing. I could crush him with a flick of my finger now.”
“What do you know? Have you seen how Uncle treats Yu Xiaoduo? There are plenty of voices in the family that still favor him. If he claws his way to the top in Longhai and rallies those people, it won’t be good for us.”
“No way. Yu Xiaoduo said back then that he’d never come back to the game.” Tang Qing curled his lip.
Tang Hong laughed at that. “You actually believe Yu Xiaoduo’s words? How many times has that bastard fooled you? You were still counting his money for him.”
“I was young and naive back then.” Tang Qing felt that with his current self, he could definitely have some fun with Yu Xiaoduo.
Tang Hong shook his head, not wanting to argue further.
“Hong-ge, how does that bastard Yu Xiaoduo always get so lucky? Gu Wan’er is famous all over Jingzhou for her beauty—and he managed to get his hands on her.” Tang Qing was seething with jealousy. Even as kids, the girls had always flocked to Yu Xiaoduo. Now that he’d been kicked out, beautiful women were still chasing after him.
Tang Hong had to admit that fact, but he forced himself to feel better about it. “The Gu family heiress is indeed stunning, but she’s barely keeping her own head above water. Yu Xiaoduo trying to use her to turn his fortunes around—that’s next to impossible.”
“Exactly! I looked into it—if Gu Wan’er can’t make something happen in Longhai, she’s going back to marry that bastard Xiao Yu. Then she’ll put a nice green hat on Yu Xiaoduo. Hah, that’d be amazing.”
Tang Hong smirked at that too. Gu Wan’er marrying Xiao Yu—now that brought back memories. Back when they were kids, Xiao Yu’s father brought him over to play. A five-year-old Yu Xiaoduo had pinned him to the ground and beat him up. They probably didn’t remember, but Tang Hong had been eight at the time, and it stuck with him—after all, he was the one who tattled.
