Chapter 17

Song JinXing had agreed to the private settlement, but Song Lecheng was still being detained for assaulting a police officer.

When Song Lecheng left the police station, Song Jingwu's lawyer, the second uncle of the Song family, hurried in holding his briefcase. Song JinXing only glanced at him briefly before looking away. What would happen afterwards was none of his concern.

The executives had arranged for a car to take them back to the mall and waived all of Song JinXing's purchases today at the mall as compensation. They also gifted him with half-price discounts on all purchases in the mall for the next six months. He received a refund message halfway through the trip, and was quite satisfied with the efficiency.

However, judging from Song Lecheng's behavior today, this was clearly not the first time he had done something like this. With the status of being the second young master of the Song family, even if the mall had rules in place, the staff could only acquiesce to his antics.

Using his newly registered phone number, Song JinXing sent Fu Ling a message briefly explaining what had happened with Song Lecheng wreaking havoc in the mall today. He then instructed Fu Ling to issue a notice to all major malls, ordering them to rectify this and prevent similar incidents from happening again, or their partnerships would be terminated immediately.

Inside the Song Corporation office building, Fu Ling had just received the report about today's debacle from the management department and looked towards the tightly shut curtains of the CEO's office in shock.

How did the boss find out about this when he hadn't even reported it yet?!

The boss who seemed omnipotent in the company must have spies!

As expected of the man who rose to power in just half a year! This made him even more eager to work hard for the boss! He must not let that unseen spy steal the boss's trust in him!

Fu Ling hurried off to issue the notice.

After this commotion, Song JinXing had lost his appetite for shopping. Upon arriving at the mall, he took Zhong You straight home. The mall staff followed them and delivered piles of exquisite packages to their doorstep. Seeing the small mountain of elegant wrappings at the doorstep made the socially awkward Zhong's father even more silent.

This was also Song JinXing's first time giving gifts to his family, and he hesitated over how to take out the presents for Zhong's parents. Zhong's father, who had been hiding to the side, suddenly asked, "What happened to your neck?"

The marks left by Song Lecheng's choking were still visible. Before Song JinXing could reply, Zhong You immediately started tattling, "Dad, we met bad people today, and they even hit big sister!"

The usually taciturn and honest Zhong's father changed his expression. The peaceful man who had never been in a conflict in his life turned ashen with anger, his voice low and oppressive, "Who was it? Did you call the police?"

That feeling was like a great tree extending its branches to shelter the sapling, willing to fight tooth and nail even if it meant being uprooted. Song JinXing was used to dealing with everything himself all these years, but this sudden fatherly love wrapped around him, stirring up uncontrollable emotions in his heart.

When Song JinXing didn't respond, Zhong's father's face tensed as he reached to grab his wrist.

Song JinXing still wasn't used to physical contact and dodged it in time, murmuring in a low voice, "I called the police." Zhong's father said, "Go get checked out at the hospital."

"I'm fine," he moved his throat again as he uttered in an almost inaudible voice, "Dad, I'm fine."

But in the end, he couldn't escape the stubborn Zhong's father, who dragged him to the community hospital for an examination and got some medication for reducing swelling before they returned home. The two didn't talk much throughout the trip. As they entered the elevator after getting home, Zhong's father suddenly called out, "Star."

Song JinXing looked back and saw Zhong's father's hesitant and worried expression. He heard him ask, "Have you run into any troubles lately?"

Song JinXing was startled. "No."

Zhong's father looked deeply at him, "You've been very quiet lately. Are you too tired?"

So he had noticed it all along. Of course, as parents, how could they not sense abnormalities in their child's behavior? But in the end, they would never think of something as preposterous as a soul transmigration.

Song JinXing avoided his gaze and looked at the elevator ads, "There's some pressure. I'm about to audition for a very important role soon."

Zhong's father sighed heavily. That low sigh sounded especially gloomy and sorrowful in the elevator, "If acting isn't fun anymore, you don't have to keep at it." He paused, then said in a very soft yet firm tone, "Dad can provide for you."

Song JinXing didn't respond. Such rare and unfamiliar care—he had once possessed it, but lost it a long time ago.

To have it again now left him at a loss.

Not until the elevator dinged open did he quietly murmur, "I know."

When they entered the home, little Zhong You stood mushrooming at the door, holding a sunflower up with both hands and being cute at him, "Sis, did you buy my ice cream?"

Song JinXing unconsciously smiled and handed her the strawberry ice cream, "Give the gifts to dad and mom first before you eat."

Zhong You beamed like a sunflower, "Aye aye, captain!"

In the afternoon, as Song JinXing was flipping through acting books in the bedroom, he received a WeChat message from Zhong Ruanxing:

- [Image] What do you think of this sofa?

It was a plain, ordinary black leather sofa. Song JinXing stared at the enlarged photo for a long time but couldn't find anything special about it.

- Looks good.

She was extremely delighted to get his approval. Even with just simple text exchanges, he could feel her excitement:

- I replaced your office

sofa with this one, it's so comfy to lounge on!

Not bad, at least she had the sense to leave him some dignity in public instead of changing it to a pink one. Song JinXing leaned back against the chair back, a comfortable and relaxing posture: - As long as you like it.

Zhong Ruanxing sent over a bunch more pictures:

- Which of these potted plants do you prefer? The office is too empty, I want to add some greens to liven it up.

Song JinXing clicked open each picture carefully and looked them over. Green large-leafed trees, all quite nice. He hadn't noticed before, but it made sense to have some plants in the office, could also purify the air.

- Get them all.

- Huh? Wouldn't that be too much?

- Buy whatever you like.

- Yay!

Zhong You also liked to say "yay!" She must have picked it up from her.

Zhong Ruanxing went on to update him about things happening at the company today that he would never have noticed on his own. Like how the head of the PR department was chasing after his secretary Tong Ling, but Tong Ling seemed to have rejected him many times and was very vexed by the harassment lately.

Zhong Ruanxing triumphantly:

- I already had Fu Ling warn him not to disturb Tong Ling anymore!

While reading his book and chatting with her, a news notification suddenly popped up on Song JinXing's phone: [Song Family Second Young Master Seen with Mysterious Female Companion, Suspected New Romance Exposed].

Despite his poor character, Song Lecheng was still quite popular online.

With the prestigious Song family background, he was destined for fame since birth, drawing the eyes of the public. Others were fine, tabloid paparazzi didn't dare offend the Songs and never actively exposed them. But Song Lecheng loved the limelight and also ran an entertainment company, frequently appearing online and largely satisfying the masses' curiosity about elite families.

The internet could conceal so much of the truth, only amplifying the side people were interested in, allowing someone like Song Lecheng to also have fans who respectfully addressed him as Young Master Song.

Song Lecheng seemed to relish such adulation, quite satisfied with the Young Master Song title, and often spent lavishly online to give fans a treat.

Song JinXing clicked into the article and saw people gleefully gossiping about who could finally marry into the prestigious family.

Until a marketing account with no followers caught his attention.

That post also tagged Song Lecheng, but the photo was a candid shot of Zhong Ruanxing taken from a bystander's perspective. The sensationalized headline read:

[Sexy Goddess Zhong Ruanxing Brawls with Young Master Song, Suspected Lovers' Tiff]

Song JinXing expressionlessly tapped into the marketing account's homepage.