Chapter 10: Cornered by the Little Blind Man

"Have you all heard about the Chi Family scandal?"

"Yes, who would have thought Chi Jue isn't actually a biological child of the Chi Family? This is going to be interesting."

"With Chi Yan around, what drama could there possibly be?"

"You don't understand. I've seen plenty of people like Chi Ye Man," a voice said disdainfully. "They struggle their way up from the bottom, desperately trying to attach themselves to the powerful and wealthy. To fight for family inheritance, such people would do anything—they're both stupid and malicious."

"The Chi Family isn't a bunch of idiots. Chi Jue is definitely more valued in the family. The true heir won't be able to accept this calmly; there's bound to be some trouble," another person chimed in. "Just now, when I passed by, I heard Chi Jue and Chi Ye Man arguing about something..."

"Speaking of which, although the situation is a bit different, it reminds me of that person from the Xu Family. I heard that when he was first recognized by the Xu Family, the other young masters of the Xu Family constantly bullied him. They made him look for an earphone in the snow in the middle of winter, locked him up in a room with a Tibetan Mastiff, and almost..."

The voices gradually faded away.

Just some idle chatter not worth paying attention to.

Normally, Secretary Chen would have dismissed it after hearing the first two words, but today, because of the subject matter, he listened a bit more and unexpectedly picked up some interesting information.

But it was just something to hear and forget.

The Chi Family's affairs had nothing to do with them, and as for the rest, Xu Huaiting wouldn't care, and Secretary Chen certainly wouldn't either.

"Sir, they said Chairman Zhou and his group have arrived."

...

Whether it was squeezing next to Chi Jue's parents to socialize or spilling wine on himself to frame Chi Jue, Ye Man couldn't do any of it.

Chi Yan noticed Ye Man's pale face, and if it weren't for Ye Man insisting he was fine, he would have been escorted home by a personal physician by now.

Even the system kept urging him not to mess with the wine glass.

The system's voice was trembling: "Ye, Ye Man, there's the champagne tower next to you... Move two steps to the left, stay away from it."

Ye Man silently pulled his hand back.

In the private room, Ye Man was taking advantage of the empty room to bully Chi Jue.

"Brother Chi Jue, I want to eat that cake."

When the cake was brought, Ye Man was supposed to purposely drop it in front of Chi Jue. Chi Jue would be furious but would endure it and continue to tolerate his behavior.

In the early stages of the plot, the protagonist, out of guilt, tolerated Ye Man's subtle provocations and bad temper, until Ye Man drugged himself and climbed into Meng Yao's bed, which truly shattered his trust.

However, when Chi Jue actually brought the cake to Ye Man, Ye Man stared at the delicious little cake and swallowed hard, reluctant.

The waiter had specifically introduced it when bringing it in, saying it was a new creation by the head chef, made with imported cocoa beans freshly ground, and a bunch of other ingredients Ye Man didn't understand. Such a sweet little cake—was it really going to be thrown on the floor?

The system noticed Ye Man's shaking hand as he took the cake.

It asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"

Ye Man replied shakily, "I'm trying to control myself. I'm afraid when it falls, I might not be able to resist catching it with my mouth."

The system: "...What a shame!"

Ye Man: "Wah..."

No matter what, our dignity as villainous side characters can't be ruined by a small cake, right!

Ye Man clenched his teeth, stomped his foot, and lifted his chin defiantly, "Chi Jue, I tell you—"

Suddenly, a spoonful of chocolate mousse with candied raspberries was shoved into his open mouth.

His tongue instinctively curled around the spoon, licking off the cream, and Ye Man licked his lips, not leaving a single drop.

Chi Jue said calmly, "Call me brother."

Ye Man's raised hand stopped mid-air and pulled back, obediently calling out, "Brother Chi Jue."

Taking the plate handed to him by Chi Jue, Ye Man felt a twinge of guilt.

"Anyway, the goal is to bully Chi Jue. Don't be so uptight, Brother Tong. Even if I don't drop this small cake, I can still bully Chi Jue," someone assured confidently, with a trustworthy look. "Trust me, Brother Tong."

The system sneered, "Oh? Then go ahead and show me."

Ye Man vengefully scooped a large piece of cake, demanded, "Brother Chi Jue, I want the one next to it too."

He was determined to hog all the cakes here! Not leaving a single one for Chi Jue!

The system sent a smiley face in his mind.

The spirited Ye Man suddenly deflated, holding his head, "I'm sorry, it's all because I grew up poor, and I never saw good things. I'm also blind, not knowing how long I have left..."

"Let me remind you, you're blind, not dying," the system couldn't stand it anymore. "Just shut up and eat your cake!"

Having lived for so long, I've seen a villainous side character who goes to such lengths to scheme and act pitiful over a piece of cake.

Ye Man, timid and pitiful, scooped another large piece of cake.

Hehe, so good!

The young man's mouth was smeared with cream, his cute face lifted. Because Chi Jue had fed him the small cake, his usually blank eyes slowly lit up under the dim light, even more stunning than the million-dollar gem in Chi Jue's hand.

His round, droopy puppy eyes eagerly looked at him, dragging a soft tone as he called out, "Brother Chi Jue," asking him to get him more cake...

Chi Jue quietly brought him another piece.

As the younger brother of the Chi Family, Chi Jue's understanding of younger siblings came entirely from himself.

But Ye Man was completely different from him.

He would get scared when alone, clingily asking for his brother to stay with him.

His temper wasn't great either. Earlier, he insisted on seeing the gem brooch Meng Yao had given him. Chi Jue tried to explain that he didn't want to keep it and planned to return it later, so he couldn't let Ye Man play with it. Ye Man then threw a tantrum, accusing him of not liking him.

Chi Jue was almost amused by him. What was this all about?

Chi Jue had been wondering if Ye Man was deliberately picking on him, his gaze turning colder, his tone lowering.

Although Chi Jue felt he owed Ye Man, the education he had received over the years wouldn't let him just endure like the protagonist in a melodrama.

He could tolerate Ye Man's other provocations, but matters involving Meng Yao also concerned the Chi Family's stance and status, involving family and principles. He wouldn't just keep backing down.

He was prepared for a bigger conflict and argument, but after one bite of cake, Ye Man calmed down.

The gem brooch was forgotten. The young boy sat obediently, clinging closely to him, tilting his fluffy head up, waiting for more feeding.

Chi Jue stood still for a moment. Unable to see, he didn’t know Chi Jue was watching him. He tugged anxiously at Chi Jue’s sleeve and urged, "Brother, I want another flavor of cake, the pistachio one he mentioned earlier."

Chi Jue’s fingers itched for no apparent reason.

Just as he was about to lift his hand, his phone buzzed, pulling his attention away.

Chi Jue looked down, his expression shifting slightly.

"Xiao Man, I need to take care of something. Stay here and don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back soon."

The system said, "Meng Yao messaged him, asking to meet up. After they had a fight, Chi Jue went to the restroom to splash water on his face and cool off. That’s your cue to step in. This is the key moment in the plot. Tail him when he goes."

Ye Man gave a nod.

This time, he wasn’t going to fail.

...

After finally slipping past Chi Yan’s watch, he stood in the deserted hallway, gripping his cane.

Ye Man turned his head, shivering as he pressed against the wall.

His voice trembled with a sob: "Brother Tong, I’ve lost track of Chi Jue."

"Which bathroom did he head to?"

"I didn’t mean to, but he was too quick, and I lost sight of him..."

Ye Man, trying to stay unnoticed, couldn’t tap his cane or keep up with Chi Jue.

Even though he knew this little con artist was always playing the victim, the system couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy at Ye Man’s panicked, helpless expression: "Don’t cry now. We’ll track him down eventually. I’ll help you look, but for a thorough search in the restroom, I’ll need to file a request because of privacy laws. It’ll take a bit. Hang tight."

The system’s voice disappeared.

Ye Man hummed in reply, though the system had already gone and didn’t catch it.

He rubbed his eyes hard, got to his feet, and groped his way along the wall.

He wasn’t the type to just wait. No matter what, he had to try.

As he walked, a somewhat familiar color block appeared in his blurry vision.

He squinted hard and quietly followed.

...

Xu Huaiting stood by the sink, washing his hands.

A very soft click sounded behind him, followed by stealthy footsteps approaching from behind.

Without even lifting his eyelids, a smirk of three parts coldness and seven parts indifference played on his lips. He waited for the assailant to get closer, then turned around, grabbed the person by the hair, and pressed their head into the sink.

He had been civilized for too long, and some people had forgotten the pain.

They still dared to send someone...

"Ouch!"

The person let out a suppressed cry.

……

……?

Ye Man stubbed his toe on a trash can.

The pain instantly reddened his eyes and nose.

If he weren’t used to enduring pain, he would have jumped and screamed by now.

It hurt, really hurt. The pain was laced with a sour ache, shooting up to the top of his head, making tears stream down his face.

But as a villainous side character, how could he cry while trying to do something bad?

After stubbing his toe three times and bumping into the wall twice, Ye Man finally arrived in front of Xu Huaiting with a mix of determination and grievance.

With a loud thud, he slammed the man against the sink.

He was half a head shorter than Xu Huaiting, so to appear domineering, he tilted his head back.

Thus, Xu Huaiting could clearly see the faint bite marks on his rosy lips from biting back the pain. His eyes were red, his nose was red from hitting the wall, and there was a small bruise on the side of his cheek.

He leaned in, sniffing him like a curious puppy.

Catching the familiar scent of cream, Ye Man relaxed.

"Xu Huaiting, I’m telling you, you’d better hand over that brooch Meng Yao gave you," he raised his chin even higher, "It’s just you and me here. No matter what I do to you, no one will come to save you."

Recalling the hardships he’d faced, Ye Man’s eyes moistened a little.

He just wanted to do something bad, why was it so hard?

He sniffled, his voice trembling slightly, "I’m telling you, I’m… I’m really powerful. If you cross me, you’ll regret it in the Chi Family…"

Xu Huaiting lowered his eyes, looking at the boy who was standing on tiptoe to get closer. His muscles slowly relaxed, and he fell into a strange silence.