CH 21

In the original novel, the character of Wang Furui only appeared in five chapters.

From the time he harassed Zhu Luo at the charity dinner to Huo Annong getting jealous later, and finally, his downfall being described briefly, the total appearance time was no more than two hundred words.

From then on, this cannon fodder lived on purely in the mouth of his son.

That’s right, nine years after Wang Furui went bankrupt, his son made a comeback and became Huo Annong’s biggest opponent and the main villain in this world, but that is already much further into the story.

At this moment, Yu Le was feeling pure irritation.

Huo Annong did not fall in love with Zhu Luo at first sight like in the original book, but Wang Furui’s greasy personality was exactly the same as described. Sure enough, he had been attracted to Zhu Luo and swarmed him like a fly whenever given the chance.

Huo Annong, who was standing to the side, was indifferent, which made Yu Le all the more displeased with Wang Furui and his inability to stop him.

Yu Le knew that he was venting.

He was just agitated and on edge from things not going as planned.

But his future really did depend on this. This time, he couldn’t let nature take its course. He glared at Huo Annong and took the initiative to intervene in the conversation between Zhu Luo and Wang Furui.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wang, Mr. Huo seems to have something to say to you.” He secretly pointed in the direction of Huo Annong, skillfully pulling Zhu Luo with him as he walked away to the other side of the room.

“Mr. Huo?” The fat man repeated in doubt and looked at Zhu Luo unwillingly before walking in the direction Yu Le had indicated.

Yu Le took the opportunity to lean over and whisper in Zhu Luo’s ear once he was gone, “Zhu Luo, this Mr. Wang is not a good guy. Be careful that he doesn’t take advantage of you.”

As the other man’s breath brushed over his skin, Zhu Luo tensed up, “Ah…I’m sorry A Yu, I didn’t hear you, could you repeat yourself?”

Acquiescing, Yu Le repeated himself, but Zhu Luo felt even more embarrassed and looked away a bit erratically, “Not everyone likes me…”

Yu Le was dumbfounded. Was Zhu Luo still stuck on the idea that the original had liked him?

Seeing Yu Le’s reaction, Zhu Luo hurriedly clarified, “Don’t worry, I won’t let myself suffer. Thank you for worrying about me A Yu.”

Zhu Luo looked a little shy.

Under such a gaze, Yu Le felt goosebumps appear all over his body.

Tao Feng was still chatting with Huo Annong as Wang Furui walked over.

Seeing him approach, Tao Feng turned his body away, and the remaining two stood in place; the atmosphere seemed tense.

Naturally, Yu Le’s lie was quickly exposed, but Wang Furui did not come back to strike up a conversation because the stumbling block called Yu Le was still in place.

Instead, he began to talk somewhat emotionally to the two men he was standing with, looking back to Yu Le from time to time with unkind eyes.

After a while, even Huo Annong was glancing over at him.

The tall, handsome man raised the corner of his lips as he cast a contemptuous look at Yu Le. The silent sarcasm was passed on naturally, but before Yu Le could react, the man turned his head nonchalantly the next second and continued to deal with the talkative people in front of him.

What kind of eyes did Huo Annong make?

He was a domineering president in the novel. But in reality, he just looked a little more handsome than everyone else, earned a little bit more than everyone else, and had a little bit of a better background than everyone else. What gives him the right to judge people from above?

Yu Le gritted his teeth.

Of course, he was just thinking about it and was not irrational enough to go over to settle accounts with Huo Annong just because of a look.

Standing beside him, Zhu Luo blinked, “A Yu?”

With a breath, he moved his eyes away, and when he turned his head to Zhu Luo once more, there was a gentle smile on his face again, “What’s wrong?”

“My performance is about to start…A Yu, can you stay by yourself for a bit?”

“Ah! Of course! You go quickly!”

As he was leaving, Zhu Luo was very embarrassed, “A Yu, you can find a place to sit and eat something, I’ll come meet you as soon as I finish.”

Yu Le nodded obediently, “Okay.”

After Zhu Luo left, Yu Le did just that and wandered over to the banquet tables to eat.

He had been sitting in the auction hall for so long he hadn’t noticed his hunger earlier as most of his energy was directed towards being angry with Huo Annong, but now that he was free, it came back in droves.

There was a large selection of food to pick from.

Under the light, the fruits, vegetables, desserts, and wines were neatly arranged on exquisite platters with bright colours and simple designs. Walking around, it was free for guests to pick and choose as they liked.

This was the first time Yu Le had participated in this kind of upper-class banquet.

Everything looked fresh.

While eating, he watched the men and women pass by in front of him, raising their glasses and smiling sweetly as they talked with others. But quickly, the interest on his face dulled.

It was a vanity fair.

At the banquet, everyone was busy getting to know each other and forming connections as they behaved elegantly. He was the only one focused on eating, the only one out of place.

He was bored.

Even working at the convenience store and playing on his phone was more interesting than this kind of party.

Just then, the lights on the stage at the front of the hall lit up.

This movement caused the guests to temporarily stop talking as they looked towards the stage.

The fundraising was beginning.

In the first round of the auction, there were only twelve lots, and the remaining hundred guests got nothing, so there was a fundraising session in the middle of the banquet for them to participate.

Before it officially started, though, the host specially held a recognition ceremony for the heroes who took the lead in donating towards the ticket revenue.

Champagne towers, cake cutting, bouquets of flowers, and blessings came from people everywhere you looked. After the procedures were done, there was a live violin performance by Zhu Luo.

Limited by the venue conditions, this short performance was not as soul-stirring as the concert before, but as soon as he stood on the stage, Zhu Luo commanded everyone’s attention.

He was a verified genius.

Together with the sound of the music, all the people present were immersed into a wonderful dream. It wasn’t until he bowed and set down his violin that they came back to their senses.

The applause sounded sparsely at first, pulling the guests lingering in the aftertaste out of their daze, and finally rolled like a raging wave as it thundered through the room.

Off the stage, Wang Furui had the most enthusiastic applause by far, even yelling a few times, which attracted a couple strange eyes.

Even Huo Annong subconsciously applauded.

Seeing this scene, Yu Le took a step back.

It was truly right then that he realised that Zhu Luo was the protagonist of this world.

Immediately after he finished, Zhu Luo changed clothes and went to go find Yu Le.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Every step of the way, people were stopping to talk to him, congratulate him, and it seemed to hold him up as best they could.

“You play the violin really well!”

“I just listened to your performance and I really want to get to know you! May I ask about your daily routine…?”

“I’d heard about you before, but the piece you played tonight really opened my eyes, you are truly a genius on the violin!”

Zhu Luo was trapped in place, surrounded by these strangers who liked him only for his talents.

As he was troubled by this, Huo Annong, in the distance, suddenly raised a champagne glass to greet him.

Zhu Luo frowned; he didn’t like this man very much.

But Yu Le seemed to care about him.

He felt uncomfortable thinking of Yu Le’s intimate attitude towards Huo Annong when they first met.

Still, he took the chance to escape and returned the greeting politely, taking the initiative to chat with him.

“I’m very lucky,” Huo Annong smiled politely, “your skill on the violin is indeed praiseworthy.”

“Thank you…” He wanted to ask about the relationship between Huo Annong and Yu Le. Still, no matter how he tried to phrase it, nothing sounded right.

Huo Annong felt his perfunctory attitude but didn’t care, “The sound just now was very pure, I could hear it from the audience. You must love what you do very much.”

Hearing this, Zhu Luo was taken aback. Taking another look at him, there was a trace more sincerity this time, “Thank you.”

Laughing, Huo Annong asked, “May I take the liberty to ask, what made you start learning the violin?”

“You seem to be the first to ask me that,” Zhu Luo’s expression relaxed as he remembered something and smiled, “Actually, it was a long time ago, probably in kindergarten. I saw a down and out man playing “Little Star” on the violin by the side of the road and thought it sounded good.”

“Just because of that?”

“Well…not just because of this. I still remember the look on his face though, as he played that song. He was the happiest person I had ever seen.”

“Then, are you happy now?” Huo Annong seemed to enjoy cutting straight to the harder questions.

“I’m very happy!” This question made Zhu Luo laugh brightly, his brows and eyes were curved like a spring breeze as the natural cold in them melted, “One day, I will also become someone’s memory, just like that down and out man!”

“Well, I was lucky to hear you today.” Huo Annong raised the glass in his hand, “Cheers to your dream!”

“Thank you!”

Nearing the end of their conversation, Huo Annong’s expression showed more sincerity than he realised. It was clear that Zhu Luo really loved the violin, something he hadn’t expected.

This was a very clear person.

Ultimately, he could only sigh as he said, “I never thought Yu Le would have a friend like you.”

This sentence revealed a slight dislike for Yu Le, but he understood boundaries and didn’t say more in front of Zhu Luo.

This made Zhu Luo more uncomfortable than  he was, however.

He frowned and was about to ask more when he was called away by someone, “I’m sorry, Mr. Huo, it seems I have to go.”

Huo Annong nodded, and Zhu Luo followed the girl who had asked for him.

While the two of them had been chatting, Yu Le was hiding in the corner staring at them.

In fact, Yu Le saw Zhu Luo just after he stepped down from the stage.

He had wanted to go over and meet him, but in the blink of an eye, he saw Huo Annong meet him and retreated to the shadows.

He was dying of curiosity.

He could watch the two in secret, but he was too far away to hear anything. Still, he could tell from the expressions on their faces that they seemed to be getting along well.

Great, the plot is finally starting to show its power!

A heavy stone in his heart fell to the ground, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just at this moment, his eyes fell on a piece of steak on the dining table, and he swallowed.

His stomach grumbled.

The steak tasted very good, although a bit cold, and Yu Le was satisfied.

When he picked up a glass of fruit wine and looked up, he found that the two of them had disappeared.

Where had they gone?

Could it be that they developed so fast that they had already headed off to a secret corner to have an affair?

No, no. Although Huo Annong was a bad man, Zhu Luo was still an untouchable main character. He couldn’t be tarnished so easily.

Shaking his head, Yu Le quickly filtered out these yellow thoughts.

Looking around aimlessly, he wasn’t sure where to go.

He buried his head and muttered to himself, “Where did they go?” Turning around, he slammed into a strong, muscular chest, “Oh, I’m sorry! I…Mr. Huo?”

Huo Annong’s face was dark, “We meet again.”

Yu Le’s heart rose in his chest, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump you.”

The other party looked at him with frank disbelief, “Why are you following me?”

“Umm…Actually, I’m looking for Zhu Luo right now.” Feeling a little embarrassed, he held up the fruit wine he had just grabbed, “Mr. Huo, do you want a drink?”

The full black eyes narrowed slightly as he warned, “Don’t follow me secretly again.” His eyes flitted to the glass, “And don’t try to play such little tricks in front of me again either.”

Yu Le blinked, what trick was he playing?

Seeing Huo Annong staring at the fruit wine, he realised, it could be…

Huo Annong thought he had drugged the wine!