Today’s Pei Lang is very unusual. He’s actually at home during the day, and most importantly, he’s wearing a shirt and suit pants, not those bright and unrefined clothes.
The entire person is completely different. He got a haircut. The stylist designed the hairstyle based on his face shape and temperament. It looks amazing, fully exposing his face. His short hair is refreshing. The white shirt and suit pants are tailored perfectly, showing off his slim waist, long legs, and beautifully rounded, perky backside. His wrists and ankles exude a deadly allure, and his fingers are slender and distinct, like white jade—smooth and translucent.
His eyebrows and eyes are slightly smiling. After the haircut, the red mole at the corner of his eye is revealed, adding a hint of charm to his smile. Yet, his overall aura remains so lazy and pure, a perfect contradiction.
How to describe it? It’s like a fox that has just completed its transformation in the mountains and entered the human world, with the innocence of someone unfamiliar with the world, yet also the allure inherent in a fox. Having entered the world, it accidentally got stained with dirt, but now, after washing away the filth, its true appearance is revealed.
The assistant silently evaluated in his mind, suddenly remembering Pei Lang’s previous actions. He shook his head in frustration, telling himself not to be fooled by the sight in front of him. A dog can’t change its nature.
Yan Han stopped moving his chopsticks, watching as Pei Lang treated the villa like his own home, directing a group of people to help him carry various things upstairs. He then watched as another group of people carried items back downstairs to be loaded into a truck for removal.
“Boss, have you noticed that he’s a bit different?” The assistant asked, looking at Pei Lang as he personally went downstairs to see off those who helped him with the moving.
Yan Han’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
After seeing off the people, Pei Lang turned around and went back upstairs.
He had bought a lot of daily necessities, new clothes, and shoes. He honestly couldn’t appreciate the original owner’s fashion sense, so he replaced the strangely colored furniture as well and had the old, unwanted items taken away.
The new things need to be arranged by him personally. He had no choice—he was new here, alone. With so many servants downstairs, he didn’t think anyone would help him.
Pei Lang threw himself into the pile of goods and started organizing, not paying attention to anything else.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Yan Han silently took the elevator to the second floor. His wheelchair stopped at the door that Pei Lang had left open. And, as if it were only natural, he watched the busy person inside.
Pei Lang was changing the bed sheets, barefoot on the bed, kneeling to arrange things. His hips were sticking out and his waist was slightly slouched. His toes gently touched the bed, his ankle incredibly sensual, making one want to grab and massage it.
His movements suddenly paused as Pei Lang became puzzled.
“Why do I hear a humming and grunting sound?”
Hmm…
He had been too focused earlier, but now he noticed the person at the door. He got off the bed, turned around, and tilted his head lightly, staring in awe at the little person on Yan Han’s shoulder. The little figure was apparently having some sort of fit, punching and kicking at a wall that had appeared out of nowhere, making annoyed sounds as it did so. Then, the wall cracked.
What the hell? My golden finger is watching anime for free?
This… doesn’t even look good.
“Do you need something?” Pei Lang asked politely. The moment he spoke, the little figure immediately stopped its movements and stood at attention, its big eyes fixed on Pei Lang with a look of wariness. Being stared at by both pairs of eyes, one big and one small, Pei Lang felt embarrassed.
“What are you scheming again?” Yan Han’s voice was like a straight line, flat with no inflection, yet carrying a powerful force that made it impossible to ignore. It had an intimidating undertone, one that made people feel fear.
“What?” Pei Lang was confused.
“Yan Xiuyuan is going to get engaged to your brother. Stop dreaming. The Yan family still cares about its reputation,” Yan Han said coldly, his words as sharp as ice shards.
But that did make Pei Lang understand. So, he suddenly changed his ways and was misunderstood as scheming something. Feeling mischievous, Pei Lang smirked and slowly approached Yan Han. “Yan Xiuyuan, huh? He’s quite handsome and well-proportioned. The most special thing about him is those eyes. Not too many, not too few—just two. Isn’t that amazing? But, you know, after staring at them for a while, they’re just… boring.”
Pei Lang watched as the little figure on Yan Han’s shoulder nervously waved its tiny fists in the air, trying to drive him away, while Yan Han himself looked cold and domineering like he was in full control. The more Pei Lang watched, the more wicked his smile became.
Could this little figure represent his inner thoughts?
Pei Lang boldly speculated. To test his theory, he took a big step forward, standing right in front of Yan Han. Leaning down to make eye contact, he mischievously grabbed the man’s tie and yanked it hard. Yan Han didn’t move, but Pei Lang’s face came a little closer. The distance between their eyes was now only about 20 centimeters. Ignoring the murderous glare from Yan Han, Pei Lang teased, “I think I found someone more interesting. This person looks cold on the outside, but on the inside, he’s as lively as a child. Don’t you think so, Mr. Yan?”
Pei Lang glanced sideways at the little figure, and sure enough, it was fuming. Its angry little face was so cute that Pei Lang wanted to poke it. It was extremely mad at him, but it couldn’t speak. After holding it in for a moment, two words popped out of its head. “Bad person”. Seeing that, Pei Lang couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The laugh was full of provocation, and it made Yan Han furious.
“You’re asking for it.” Provoked, Yan Han’s eyes narrowed and he reached out to grab Pei Lang’s wrist. His grip was so strong that he completely controlled it with one hand. The force was immense, enough to crush the bones. Pei Lang winced in pain, his voice softening a little in fear.
“Mr. Yan, I was just joking. If you hold me so tightly, I might think you like me.” Pei Lang didn’t change; he was still the shameless person he had always been. Yan Han’s eyes flashed with disdain as he flung Pei Lang aside, pulling out an expensive silk scarf to wipe his palm.
“Ugh, that really hurts.”
Pei Lang rubbed his wrist, feeling a bit regretful for provoking the man. He had really gone all in to confirm his suspicions. However, he was sure now that the little figure represented Yan Han’s inner thoughts. Remembering the system’s final reminder, he realized that any physical contact he had was with Yan Han. That’s why the golden finger had been bound to him—allowing him to see the man’s inner workings. But… what good did it do?
He couldn’t see anyone else’s thoughts. This golden finger wasn’t impressive at all.
While complaining, Pei Lang continued to watch the little figure, which suddenly held a doll in its hands and angrily threw it on the floor, stomping on it with a pout.
Got it. This man really hates me right now. He probably wants to throw me to the ground and rub me into it.
Although he hated him, he didn’t actually take action. Maybe he was afraid of dirtying his hands.
Knowing that Pei Lang hadn’t changed, there was no reason for Yan Han to stay. He turned and left. Pei Lang continued to organize the room. Two hours later, he finally finished. He admired the newly renovated, minimalist, blue-toned room with satisfaction before pulling out the contract he had found while tidying up and reading it carefully.
There wasn’t much of importance in it—just clauses outlining mutual non-interference in each other’s lives, occasional acting for the old man, and a divorce when the contract expired. Afterward, Yan Han would give Pei Lang a financial settlement as compensation. Finally, he came to the key point: during the term of the contract, Yan Han could agree to help Pei Lang with things outside the contract, within his capabilities.
It seemed like this was the only useful item, but he didn’t know if this permission had been used yet.
He would deal with that matter later. What Pei Lang was thinking about now was how to proceed in the future.
In fact, the conditions in Yan Han’s contract were very good. Why did the original owner only want to take something from someone who wouldn’t give him a chance? Without Yan Xiuyuan, Pei Lang could still live a comfortable life with Yan Han’s benefits. Even if worse came to worst, though Yan Han had a lame leg, as long as Pei Lang clung to him, he would still enjoy his share of benefits. Why go so far as to become someone everyone despises?
If this were still a novel, Pei Lang would have thought it was just to push the main plot forward, written that way by the author. But now that he had become the character himself—this was a real person with flesh and blood—there must be reasons and triggers for certain things to happen.
Half the day had passed and his phone hadn’t rung once. He didn’t expect any calls from friends or colleagues, as the original owner likely didn’t have many good relationships. But what about family? Surely, there should have been a call. Being sent to detention was something everyone knew about and there were paparazzi reports today after he got out—his parents couldn’t possibly not know.
There was only one possibility: the original owner’s parents didn’t care about him either.
This was troublesome. He was completely isolated.
The original novel was filled with melodrama, with detailed and drawn-out descriptions of the protagonist’s love entanglements and breakups. The background of the cannon fodder was barely touched upon. All that was known was that Pei Lang and Pei Ziqing weren’t biological brothers, they didn’t get along, and the original owner liked to steal from his brother and was jealous and selfish.
But now, it was different. Pei Lang needed to know everything about them. Otherwise, what would happen if his true identity was exposed? He couldn’t just pretend to have amnesia—that would be too clichéd.
After thinking for a while, Pei Lang looked at the few tens of thousands of yuan in his phone account and made a decision: to anonymously hire a private investigator to look into his background and family history. The more detailed the better.
As for the two main characters, since they were blood relatives, it was impossible for them to never meet each other. He decided to let things happen naturally and keep his distance as much as possible. After all, they had the halo of protagonists, so they could do whatever they wanted, as long as they didn’t interfere with his development. As for Yan Han… damn it, why did the system bind to him? It would have been better if it had bound to someone useful.
After thinking for a while, Pei Lang realized that no one was really suitable for this ability. He couldn’t bind it to the male lead, Yan Xiuyuan, right? He didn’t have any interest in watching the main couple fall in love.
Clearly, he had forgotten about how, during his late-night reading sessions, he’d gotten upset and frustrated over the love story of the two main characters.
“Damn system, this golden finger is absolutely useless,” he finally concluded. No wonder the system had run off so quickly without explaining what the golden finger actually was—it was clearly just trying to avoid a scene if he found out. Although it was useless, there was nothing he could do. The system was gone, and life continued. He had to accept it. “Well, binding with Yan Han isn’t so bad. At least… his inner thoughts are kind of cute if you ignore that frozen expression on his face, which makes him look like everyone owes him money.”
As for Yan Han, Pei Lang figured it was good enough if they could remain respectful to each other. But he’d just made the mistake of offending him earlier. He had flirted with him to the point of danger. Now, Pei Lang was feeling a bit of regret. His wrist still hurt from the forceful grip.
After hiring the detective, Pei Lang zoned out for a while, but then he got hungry. He had eaten a little when he went out earlier, but several hours had passed, and he’d been working hard, so he was quickly running low on energy.
He opened the door and went downstairs. The evening sky was filled with vibrant sunset hues. There were no servants in sight, making the villa seem quiet and peaceful. He didn’t have time to appreciate the beautiful scenery before heading into the kitchen. When he opened the fridge, he was delighted to see it packed with ingredients. He immediately started preparing the meal.
He used to cook for himself when he had free time, and his cooking was actually quite good. He didn’t think anyone here would give him free meals, so he decided to do it himself. Cooking for one was quick. Within half an hour, he had two dishes ready. As he was finishing up, he saw Yan Han returning from outside. He had offended him earlier, so now he wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.
“Um, I saw that my activities in the contract include the kitchen, so I went ahead and made myself some food. That’s not a breach of contract, is it?”
