Chapter 29: Someone’s Going to Die

That woman Su Yaya did this out of hatred. She could abandon even her own biological son, so he didn’t expect her to feel any guilt toward Jian Huaifeng.

As long as Jian Huaifeng didn’t ask, he wouldn’t tell him about his biological parents. And as for those so-called distant relatives in Yao County, Wei Nanting would never allow them to take Jian Huaifeng away.

Jian Huaifeng understood the part he left unsaid. The Wu Feng family knew they had a biological nephew being raised elsewhere.

But they had no attachment even to Su Lin, whom they’d raised for over ten years, let alone a nephew they’d never met. Naturally they had no interest in taking him back.

He knew Wei Nanting was being careful with his feelings. “Since my birth mother abandoned me the moment I was born, why should I bother looking for her? Uncle, I only asked you to help me find the Jian family’s biological child. Forget the rest.”

Wei Nanting watched him finish the milk with lowered lashes. For a moment he couldn’t tell whether the kid truly didn’t care or had already given up hope. “Whether Su Lin comes back or not doesn’t matter. But someone spread the news. A lot of people already know the Jian family took home the wrong child. In this circle, people switch sides with the wind and trample on those below them. It’s routine. I’m worried someone will make trouble for you.”

Jian Huaifeng thought again of Zhao Jun squatting by the door that afternoon. At the time, he’d only thought those rich second-generation brats were up to no good, trying to probe for something.

Now it seemed they already knew the truth. They were just playing him, the only one kept in the dark.

But all that was secondary. Jian Huaifeng suddenly remembered what Daidai had said. In his past life, Su Lin had caught Wei Nanting’s eye because of his talent and potential. Before returning to the Jian family, Wei Nanting had funded and trained him through a charity fund. Later he’d supported this biological nephew with all his strength. He was Su Lin’s greatest backer in the future.

At this thought, Jian Huaifeng’s eyes showed a trace of disappointment. He stole a glance at Wei Nanting, hesitated, and after a while asked, “Uncle… what do you think of Su Lin?”

Because Su Lin had returned earlier, he didn’t know if this time Su Lin would still be funded by Wei Nanting’s charity fund like in his previous life. But since Wei Nanting had arranged things behind the scenes, he must have met Su Lin.

In his previous life, Su Lin seemed perfect in everyone’s eyes. Good-looking, polite, sensible, understanding, top grades, overflowing with talent. Everyone liked him. Uncle liked him too.

Wei Nanting saw he was refusing to call him again and smiled helplessly. “What? Do I only acknowledge someone if they have the Jian family’s blood?”

Jian Huaifeng lowered his head and thought, That might not be true later. But he said nothing.

Even so, he had still shown his disappointment. Looking at the empty cup with a little milk foam left, he suddenly wished it had been filled with alcohol.

A warm hand suddenly covered his head and rubbed it like petting a puppy. Wei Nanting’s steady voice came from above. “I don’t know what Su Lin is like. I only know he can’t carve Sudhana. And if he put on that phoenix coronet and bridal robe, he definitely wouldn’t look as good as you.”

“…”

Jian Huaifeng had thought the photo matter had been quietly turned over without anyone noticing. Now it came back out of nowhere and made him blush again.

“I’m never wearing it again!” Jian Huaifeng buried his face in the cushion.

Wei Nanting couldn’t help laughing. Seeing the kid’s brow smooth out, he said, “You asked me to help find someone. I brought him back. What do you plan to do now?”

Jian Huaifeng immediately bounced up from the sofa. Those words reminded him. To leave the Jian family sooner, he had found a way to make Wei Nanting help change the timing of Su Lin’s return. Now that Su Lin was back, he had to plan his own departure.

He pulled out his phone from where it was stuck in the sofa cushion. His face was lit by the glow of the screen. His hands kept swiping and tapping on the keyboard, busy with something unknown.

Wei Nanting saw his attention had been pulled away so quickly. He found it amusing and pressed his palm to Jian Huaifeng’s forehead to lift his face. “What are you doing?”

What else could he be doing? He was about to be kicked out with nothing to his name. He needed to start figuring out how to make money fast. Otherwise he could only buy a nicer-looking bowl and beg for food by the bridge.

Jian Huaifeng ignored him, so Wei Nanting leaned over to see. He found Jian Huaifeng sending his resume on several job-hunting apps and social platforms. It wasn’t really a resume, just a paragraph introducing his basic situation. At the end he added a line that looked very sincere.

“Good features, healthy teeth, hardworking, eager to learn, low pay requested, over eighteen.”

“…”

Wei Nanting’s temple twitched. “Are you planning to put yourself up for sale? What’s your price? Let’s see if I can afford you.”

“…No, I just want to find a part-time job and earn some money.” And complete the small tasks under “Taste Bud Controller” while he was at it.

After sending the last message, he put away his phone and sat up. “Su Lin is back now. I don’t know how much longer I can stay with the Jian family, so I need to prepare early and work while studying. Otherwise I won’t have a high school to attend, or I’ll starve outside and become a joke.”

Seeing his serious expression and earnest tone, Wei Nanting was so amused he couldn’t even be angry. “If you really get kicked out of the Jian family, the happiest person would probably be Old Master Qin. He wishes you were his own grandson. Besides, do you think I…”

Before he finished, Jian Huaifeng suddenly looked up. He remembered something important, and his eyes lit up. “Right, at that piano competition I had an original piece, didn’t I? Second Sister said she’d send me the master tape, but she forgot. If I ask the production team for it and find a reliable company to sell the song, couldn’t I get some royalties?”

Wei Nanting: “…”

After that competition, topics about Wind had repeatedly occupied high spots on the trending lists. The song was controversial, but it still became popular in the circle. Yet without Wei Nanting’s instruction, the full version had never been released.

Although only the recorded version from the broadcast existed, someone still took a chance and assumed it was just a piano piece that hadn’t gone mainstream. They stole it, added lyrics, and released a song. Thanks to that song, the thief’s fame shot up. When Wei Nanting found out, he sued them directly.

Jian Huaifeng paid no attention to the world outside. None of this reached his ears. It had already been cleanly resolved.

Now, besides the production team’s master tape, only Wei Nanting had a vinyl record he’d specially ordered. The best thing about vinyl was its live feel. Every time he listened, he could remember the youth performing that piece on stage, as if the whole world contained only him.

Wei Nanting coughed and shifted position. “How about this? After all, I helped you find Su Lin. As a reward, shouldn’t I have first refusal to buy it?”

On this matter, his thoughts were a little contradictory. He wanted more people to see Jian Huaifeng’s work, but he didn’t want everyone to be able to probe the state of mind behind the piece. Why couldn’t he buy it out himself and be the only one in the world with the sole copy?

Jian Huaifeng wasn’t falling for it. He blinked and called him out. “How is that a reward? I don’t owe you a favor for finding Su Lin. That was my prize for winning the competition!”

Wei Nanting smiled slyly. “I could simply refuse to honor it. The special prize wasn’t part of the competition’s original plan, after all.”

“…”

Jian Huaifeng had now seen what a shady businessman looked like.

But he remembered something else. “But didn’t you already have it made into a record? I saw it last time I went to your house!”

Wei Nanting: “…”

Why did he feel a little embarrassed?

****

The night was deep and quiet.

In the end, by some unspoken agreement, neither of them brought up the vinyl record again.

Back to the point. Jian Huaifeng really was considering releasing that piece. Wei Nanting said, “If you want a reliable record company, why not ask me?”

Jian Huaifeng didn’t really know what industries Wei Nanting’s group was involved in. He had a sister in the entertainment industry, so his first thought was to ask Jian Junya to help him make connections and recommendations.

But since the man had volunteered himself, Jian Huaifeng couldn’t help being curious. “You have that kind of business?”

Even if he said yes, Jian Huaifeng wouldn’t be surprised. There were even more unrelated things. For example, the garden he was staying in now was Wei Nanting’s private property.

Wei Nanting gave a slight nod. “I dabble a little.”

Jian Huaifeng didn’t know when his blind trust in Wei Nanting had taken root. When Wei Nanting said “I dabble a little,” he already felt it was reliable. After nodding in approval, they didn’t discuss the details of release or contract signing.

He only needed to know that having Wei Nanting handle it was the best choice and would bring the best result.

At dawn the next day, Jian Huaifeng put on the clothes he had sworn last night he would never wear again. Tan Tian dragged him around the garden.

Eventually Tan Tian was no longer satisfied with still photos. Eagerly, he asked if he could shoot some video as material.

Jian Huaifeng was easy to persuade. Qin Jianqing only had to mention that exams were just a few days away, and Jian Huaifeng already felt guilty. Tan Tian had both merit and hard work, and had sacrificed review time to accompany him for photos. What was wrong with letting him shoot a few videos?

Tan Tian said excitedly, “After exams, I’ll make this shoot into its own video. That means we need to film more garden footage.”

Jian Huaifeng calculated. Qin Jianqing had said Tan Tian was a famous uploader on a certain site with a lot of fans. If so, he could wait for Tan Tian to post the video and then post his own photos, borrowing some of Tan Tian’s popularity.

A collaborative production, not his own deliberate promotion. It shouldn’t violate any rules.

Daidai said, “The exact details will be judged by the system after the goal is achieved.”

Jian Huaifeng said, “Take the gamble. A bicycle can turn into a motorcycle.”

The garden was closed for three days of chaos. This narcissistic photo shoot task was finally completed. Wei Nanting had said he was inviting Jian Huaifeng to escape the summer heat, but in fact he only appeared at the garden that one afternoon and left early the next day for business.

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