MMLDU Chapter 51

As soon as Pei Lang entered the door, he gave Aunt Lin a big hug and personally helped her put on the gift. The two of them chatted and laughed like mother and son, completely forgetting about the owner of the house sitting beside them.

Pei Lang heard some grumbling sounds of dissatisfaction and turned around to see Yan Han in a wheelchair with a cold face, furrowing his brows. He looked at Yan Han’s shoulder and saw the little chibi sulking and stewing in a vinegar jar, its whole body giving off a sour aura.

“Long time no see,” Pei Lang really wanted to poke the little chibi with the vinegar jar, so he walked over to greet Yan Han.

“How long are you staying?” Yan Han asked.

“Three days.”

“That short?”

Pei Lang was speechless. Big shot, if it weren’t for your connections, would the director have given me special leave? You don’t know how hard it was for Zhong Yixiao to get a day off for an ad shoot; after finishing, he rushed back that very day without a break.

“Let’s eat first,” Yan Han said, heading for the dining table. Pei Lang closely followed.

Pei Lang couldn’t figure out what was going on with Yan Han this time. He noticed that since coming back, Yan Han seemed a little off.

The meal was already prepared, waiting for Pei Lang to arrive. Aunt Lin set the table, and after they sat down, she glanced at Yan Han cautiously. Then, she opened her mouth and said something completely baffling. “Xiao Lang, you’re the first man the sir brought back.”

With that, Aunt Lin quickly fled under Pei Lang’s confused gaze.

What a shame, really, what a shame.

Before Pei Lang came back, Yan Han had specifically instructed Aunt Lin to say this, though she didn’t know why. She didn’t dare ask or speak about the master’s matters—she was just following orders.

Yan Han seemed quite satisfied with Aunt Lin’s performance. The corners of his mouth finally lifted into a slight smile, and his icy eyes carried a trace of amusement as he looked at Pei Lang.

“…” After racking his brain, Pei Lang still couldn’t make sense of what that sentence meant, so he could only smile and play along. “So, I’m the first man you brought home?”

“Mm, others don’t deserve it.” Yan Han said in a pretend serious manner. Today, his appetite was exceptionally good. He elegantly took a big bite of beef.

 

In the book Qi Shaoheng gave him, there was a line that went something like this: it’s either the chef, the butler, or the assistant saying it. This is the first step in expressing love. The CEO’s love affair follows this pattern.

One step closer to success.

Yan Han quickly recalled the content of the book in his mind, while Pei Lang saw the little chibi holding a random CEO novel, looking very serious. Whenever he came across something special, he would take notes in a small notebook.

This is bad. I can see his inner thoughts, but I still don’t understand him. Is he too complicated, or am I too stupid? The answer is right in front of me, yet I can’t figure it out.

Pei Lang fell into deep self-doubt, repeatedly contemplating the previous sentence, only to feel that it was full of holes. “Wait, am I really the first man you brought home? What about Su Jia? He’s been with you for so many years. Has he never been in this house before I came?”

But Su Jia is his personal assistant, right? When I first came, I saw how familiar he was with the place. It definitely wasn’t his first time here.

Yan Han’s expression, which had been somewhat pleasant, grew cold again. “It’s different.”

Pei Lang nodded as if he understood, but he didn’t quite get it. “Oh~ I see.”

Nothing gets through to him, truly nothing. Yan Han really wanted to knock on his head to see what kind of protective shield was inside. He had hinted so many times, but Pei Lang hadn’t picked up on a single thing.

After being defeated, Yan Han finally quieted down. Once dinner was finished, Aunt Lin came out to clear the dishes. Pei Lang went back to his room to compose a song. Having not released a new song for a long time, his inbox was flooded with private messages when it finally went online. The network lagged for a while before it recovered.

Most of the messages were concerned words, with a subtle hint to update more often.

Pei Lang posted an original song. However, due to time constraints, it was only a short clip.

Even just one segment was enough to make people loop it repeatedly. Within two hours, it had climbed to the trending topics.

 

Every time he released a song, it would inevitably trend. The click-through rate and play count surpassed even the hottest popular singers, which naturally made some people envious, and they began stirring up trouble. Under the song’s playback, some people questioned: Is this really the kind of voice a man of his age should have?

There are plenty of people in the world with youthful voices, but this one was too youthful. Using software that estimates age based on voice, it showed the voice was in its twenties. Even accounting for errors in the test, this still seemed like too big of a gap.

Soon, marketing accounts joined in, creating a buzz. They tested the voices of other singers from different age groups and found that the ages were all relatively close. Whether it was a young singer’s deep voice or a middle-aged singer’s bright voice, none of them could fool the detection software. The power of science, it turns out, is trustworthy.

So, is the person singing behind the scenes really an older man?

 

If yes, what caused such a large error in the detection software? If not, why deceive the audience? Is it for hype, or is there another reason?

This evidence drove netizens crazy.

The anger from being deceived is mixed with a greater curiosity about who this person really is. As a result, the alternate account registered by Pei Lang was attacked by netizens. Pei Lang won’t respond to such trivial matters. Admitting it now would only harm the website. Perhaps when netizens mention him again, it will no longer be out of disdain or anger. At that time, he might admit it voluntarily, or perhaps he will continue to hide it.

The trending topic stayed active for hours before eventually fading.

Pei Lang thought of someone.

He went upstairs to find Yan Han and saw him listening to the newly released song. “Did you help with the trending topic?”

“Who else would help you, if not me?” Yan Han sat up straight and slowly turned off the computer. The little chibi on his shoulder tilted its head, proudly waiting for a compliment.

Pei Lang’s gaze softened with warmth, wishing he could rush up and pinch its little face. But the impulse was instantly extinguished when he saw Yan Han’s cold, expressionless face. The contrast made Yan Han a bit cute in an odd way. “As expected of my husband. Once you make a move, there’s nothing you can’t solve.”

The exaggerated praise might have been a little fake, but it was still very effective. Yan Han was visibly happy.

“Just thinking about how you’ll only be my husband for four more years and a few months makes me feel a little reluctant.”

If he hadn’t said that last part, Yan Han would have been even happier.

They were contract husband and husband. Pei Lang always kept this in mind. Yan Han was willing to help him because they had a cooperative relationship, though, he had nothing to offer in return. All he could do was pay Yan Han back with the money he earned. After the contract ends, he will not cause any trouble and will quickly leave.

The two of them fell into an awkward silence. Pei Lang saw that Yan Han wasn’t happy. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

The silence was broken by a phone call from Yan Han’s mobile. It was a call from Su Jia, who had found out who was behind stirring up the controversy. Strangely, it turned out to be the well-known singer Di Xie, whose voice always adds a sense of storytelling to TV dramas. That’s why many popular drama theme songs are sung by him.

It seems that the drama Pei Lang is participating in also hired him.

The more famous someone becomes, the more they fear being overtaken, especially by an anonymous online singer. So, Di Xie hired a marketing account to create a buzz, hoping to use public opinion to crush Pei Lang or force him to show up.

However, he didn’t expect that behind this online singer, there was Yan Han supporting him, an existence he couldn’t touch.

“Today’s trending topic was set up by Di Xie,” Yan Han said, hanging up the phone and opening his computer to work on something with rapid clicks.

“Di Xie…” Pei Lang quickly caught onto the name. Just a few days ago, he had visited the set. Many of the staff and young female fans had asked him for autographs, as they heard he composed the theme song and came to the set to find inspiration.

Pei Lang wasn’t the type to join the crowd. He kept his distance. Di Xie was surrounded by people, so he only knew he was there but never saw him clearly. There are too many unreasonable things in this industry. Though Pei Lang had grown used to it, he still didn’t understand why Di Xie would do such a thing.

Pei Lang opened Baidu to search for information on Di Xie—his representative works, variety shows he participated in, the awards he’d won, including photos and his signed company. “My cover might not hold much longer.”

Both Yan Han and Su Jia could tell that, the longer Pei Lang interacted with people, the more likely he was to be exposed. During the live broadcast, he didn’t use a fake voice, so it was just a matter of time before he was recognized.

“It won’t happen. I’ll keep it covered for you,” Yan Han said firmly. “If you don’t want to be recognized, I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”

“Really?” Pei Lang’s eyes sparkled. Yan Han had helped him so much; he didn’t know how to express his gratitude.

“Of course.” Yan Han nodded. “We’re family.” He emphasized it, but Pei Lang didn’t take it seriously, only smiling. Then, Yan Han made a phone call to Su Jia, speaking in vague terms that Pei Lang couldn’t understand. It wasn’t until the call ended that Pei Lang, curious, asked.

“What are you planning to do?”

Yan Han simply stared deeply into the distance. After a long pause, he said, “The weather’s getting colder. Huasheng is about to go bankrupt.”

“…” Huasheng was the company Di Xie had signed with.

Pei Lang turned to look at the fiery red sunset outside the window, then took out his phone to check the temperature, still 28°C even as the sun set. He carefully pondered Yan Han’s somewhat dramatic words, finding it hard to explain.

He seemed to have understood something. He headed out and went downstairs.

Yan Han thought that Pei Lang had been intimidated by his power. As he was mulling over whether the line he’d quoted from a book was actually appropriate, the door to the study opened again. Pei Lang came in with a blanket and covered Yan Han’s legs with it. “I didn’t know you were so sensitive to the cold. Does this help?”

When he draped the blanket, he accidentally brushed against Yan Han’s hand, which was indeed cold, a clear sign of his body’s sensitivity to the cold.

Yan Han was both annoyed and pleased, his lips twitching. In the end, he didn’t say anything.

Su Jia moved quickly. Soon, a lot of dirt on Di Xie was exposed, and even Huasheng was implicated. Since Di Xie and Huasheng existed together, if one was in trouble, the other couldn’t escape blame.

Yan Han had always kept quiet about many immoral things done in secret. As long as they didn’t affect his own interests, he didn’t act. Once he decided to intervene, he struck decisively, putting Di Xie down into the mud and unable to rise again. If anyone was to blame, it was Di Xie for messing with the wrong people.

Feeling a bit hungry, Pei Lang went downstairs to see what Aunt Lin was making but found the kitchen empty. Aunt Lin was nowhere to be seen. Yan Han, who had come downstairs with him, explained that his father missed him, so tonight he would be going to the old house to have dinner with him. Pei Lang was also invited to join.

It was a last-minute notice. Pei Lang hadn’t prepared anything. The first time he went, it was for a wedding banquet, so he didn’t bring a gift. To go empty-handed again this time would be rude.

As Pei Lang was getting ready to prepare a gift, Yan Han stopped him, saying it was enough to just show up, as he had already prepared the gift.

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Moonlit: Cheer up, Yan Han!! HAHAHAHHAHHA