Ch 33: How To Be A Good Lackey

As a seasoned steward who had served at Pei Fangyan’s side for many years, he was tactful enough not to ask further questions and immediately went upstairs to find a light, breathable blanket for him.

Shao Ye took a shower, rummaged through the cabinet for a bathrobe, and put it on. After coming out, he searched around the room for a while before asking, “Seventh Uncle, where are my clothes?”

“They got dirty yesterday. I had someone take them to be washed,” Pei Fangyan replied. “But I asked Steward Liu to bring you another set. It’s in the cabinet—take a look.”

What exactly had he done yesterday? Full of questions, Shao Ye opened the wardrobe and indeed found a neatly folded set of clothes inside.

He didn’t treat his Seventh Uncle as an outsider at all. Seeing that Pei Fangyan had no intention of leaving, he didn’t ask anything further. He simply turned his back, untied the sash of his bathrobe, and let it slip off. The dark blue silk fabric slid smoothly over his skin. Pei Fangyan’s gaze followed the line of his back downward, stopping at his lower body.

Shao Ye bent down to put on his pants.

Steward Liu really was getting old—just fetching a blanket was taking this long.

Pei Fangyan removed his jacket and draped it over his lap. By then, Shao Ye had already finished dressing in a few quick motions. Walking over, he noticed the jacket and asked, “Seventh Uncle, why did you take off your coat? Let me hang it up for you.”

Pei Fangyan’s voice was slightly hoarse. “No need. Go eat.”

At that, Shao Ye’s hunger became even more apparent. The chef had already prepared the meal under Pei Fangyan’s instructions. It wasn’t extravagant—just a few home-style dishes: cumin lamb, oysters with scallion and ginger, and a clear stewed pigeon soup.

What was this supposed to be? It was a bit too nourishing. Sitting at the table, Shao Ye sneaked a glance at Pei Fangyan. Was Seventh Uncle covering himself like that for… recovery?

His small movements didn’t escape Pei Fangyan’s notice. He could even guess what Shao Ye was thinking. “Why are you looking at me?” he asked directly.

Shao Ye lowered his voice. “Are these for you to eat?”

“I’ve already had breakfast,” Pei Fangyan said. “These are for you.”

In front of him was only a cup of freshly brewed tea. He lifted it and took a small sip.

“Oh,” Shao Ye responded, picking up his chopsticks. His stomach had been growling for a while, but before eating, he couldn’t help calling out, “Seventh Uncle…”

“What is it?” Pei Fangyan looked up.

“Do you know what I did yesterday?” Shao Ye asked.

“You don’t know what you did?” Pei Fangyan countered, setting down his teacup.

Shao Ye shook his head. “I don’t remember. It feels like I just slept, and then it was morning.”

“Do you remember what you were doing before you slept?”

“I think… I was giving you a massage,” Shao Ye said uncertainly, scratching his head.

Pei Fangyan hummed lightly, then, without the slightest burden, fabricated calmly, “Halfway through, you suddenly grabbed my leg and started crying.”

“Huh?” Shao Ye froze, chopsticks in hand. Why would he do that? Was he possessed or something?

Pei Fangyan continued, “You said you were going to cling to me, that you wouldn’t leave me for the rest of your life, that you wanted to stay by my side forever.”

Shao Ye’s eyes widened. He actually said that?

Even though he did think that deep down, saying it out loud in front of Seventh Uncle was… embarrassing.

He quickly explained, “I’m not trying to cling to you—I genuinely want to work for you.”

Pei Fangyan hadn’t expected such a reaction from a casual lie. He chuckled softly. Translated on Hololo novels. He really wanted to ask Pei Tiancheng how exactly he had raised this son—how could he be this endearing?

“Eat,” he said.

“And then what did I do?” Shao Ye pressed on. His body’s reactions this morning told him that yesterday had definitely not been as simple as crying.

“Then you fell asleep,” Pei Fangyan said.

Shao Ye wanted to ask more, but Pei Fangyan cut him off with, “The food’s getting cold.”

As he drank the pigeon soup, Shao Ye comforted himself inwardly—at least he could confirm he hadn’t been abducted by aliens.

After finishing the meal, Pei Fangyan said, “If you’re tired, go back and sleep a bit more.”

Shao Ye really was tired. After eating, he felt even sleepier. Dragging his heavy body back to his room, he collapsed onto the bed. In his sleep, he had a dream—someone seemed to be gripping him, forcing him to beg for mercy before letting him go.

In the dream, Shao Ye displayed remarkable willpower. Then he woke up, stifled and uncomfortable. After taking care of himself, he leaned over the sink, splashing cold water on his face repeatedly. What kind of nonsense dream was that?

Fortunately, his mind finally felt clear again—not the muddled state from the morning. Checking the time, he figured he could still make it in time to massage his Seventh Uncle.

Pei Fangyan hadn’t expected him to come today. Seeing him arrive, he felt a hint of surprise.

Shao Ye wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his firm forearms. Standing by the bed, his expression was serious and focused. He knew Pei Fangyan’s legs had no sensation, yet his movements were anything but perfunctory—he didn’t hold back any strength.

Pei Fangyan watched him silently for a while, then casually pressed a few buttons on the AC remote.

Before long, Shao Ye felt increasingly hot. Sweat formed at the tip of his nose. He looked up and asked, “Seventh Uncle, does it feel a bit hot in here?”

“Hot? It’s fine,” Pei Fangyan replied. He looked no different than usual.

Shao Ye began to doubt himself. Maybe it was because he had eaten too much nourishing food that morning, making his body feel overheated.

Stay calm. A calm mind brings coolness.

“My health isn’t great. The temperature in here can’t be lowered any further,” Pei Fangyan said after a pause, then added helpfully, “Xiao Ye, maybe you’re wearing too much. Why not take off your shirt?”

His shirt was long-sleeved—it really was a bit hot. Massaging required effort; he couldn’t slack off. Shao Ye felt his back was already soaked with sweat, but he still hesitated. “That’s not appropriate…”

Steward Liu had told him that a steward should be neatly dressed. He had never seen a shirtless steward before. “If Steward Liu sees this, he’ll scold me.”

“It’s fine,” Pei Fangyan reassured him. “It’s just me here.”

“But you told me to learn from Steward Liu.”

Pei Fangyan smiled. “You’ve already learned very well.”

“Then can I do Steward Liu’s job now?” Shao Ye asked eagerly.

“Let’s forget about Steward Liu’s job,” Pei Fangyan said. Seeing Shao Ye’s expression instantly fall, he added, “There will be more important work for you in the future.”

More important than a steward? What could that be? Shao Ye couldn’t figure it out, but he was full of anticipation. He resolved to perform even better by his Seventh Uncle’s side. Without hesitation, he took off his shirt, drew a deep breath, and worked even harder at the massage.

Beads of sweat slid down his chest. Pei Fangyan’s gaze followed that droplet as it fell; the document in his hand became impossible to focus on.

Something this good—why hadn’t it been shown to him earlier? Still young, inexperienced in the ways of the world. As an elder, he should properly teach him.

Steward Liu arrived right on time—so precisely on time that when he entered, Shao Ye was in the middle of buttoning up his shirt. Steward Liu paused, dazed, stepped back out, and checked the pattern on the door to make sure he hadn’t gone to the wrong room.

Maybe his eyesight was failing. He wiped his glasses and walked back in.

“Steward Liu, what are you doing?” Shao Ye turned around, fastening the last button on his shirt.

Standing in the doorway, Steward Liu didn’t know what to say. He had thought that question should be his to ask.

Maybe he was getting old, unable to keep up with young people anymore—but he still really wanted to ask: had that just been a proper massage?

And why was the room so hot? The master was even covering his lower abdomen with a blanket.

Struggling to maintain his professional composure, Steward Liu asked, “Sir, are you feeling cold? Should I raise the temperature?”

“No need,” Pei Fangyan said. After Shao Ye left, he picked up the remote and lowered the temperature.

Steward Liu found him even more unfathomable.

Shao Ye quickly forgot about the strange memory loss from that afternoon. Pei Fangyan never brought it up again either, as if nothing had happened. As usual, he had Shao Ye come every afternoon for massages and even set aside two empty rooms for him to turn into a gym.

Shao Ye happily filled his new gym with equipment. His cousins finally let out a sigh of relief—apparently nothing had happened that afternoon. Translated on Hololo novels. They wouldn’t need to start shopping for burial plots just yet.

Still, it didn’t make sense. Could it be that the drug they bought had expired and didn’t work at all? After thinking it over, that was the only conclusion they could reach. One of them promptly left a one-star review for the seller.

A few days later, one of them had a proposal recognized by higher management and was directly promoted from a low-level position to supervisor. Even He Jiahui, who had been widely favored, hadn’t received such treatment. The others were so jealous their eyes practically bled.

Yet this person had no sense of restraint. He already felt like the future head of the Pei family. He walked around with his nose in the air and offended several cousins within just a couple of days.

Returning to the residence and seeing Shao Ye walking the dogs, he casually said, “Go pour me a glass of water.”

Shao Ye froze for a moment before realizing the man was talking to him. “Are you sick?” he snapped.

The cousin sneered. “Aren’t you trying to be a steward? What’s wrong with pouring water?”

“I’m Seventh Uncle’s steward, not yours. Who do you think you are?” Shao Ye confirmed—this guy really was out of his mind.

“Can’t you tell? The Pei family will be mine soon! What’s wrong with asking you to pour water? It’s giving you face! In the future, there’ll be people lining up to pour water for me, and I won’t even bother!” the cousin said smugly, puffing on a fine cigar.

Shao Ye’s fists clenched with a crack. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Don’t make me set the dogs on you.”

The three Rottweilers bared their sharp teeth in unison. The cousin wasn’t afraid of much, but he was a little afraid of dogs. Snorting, he threw out a threat and turned to leave.

After sending his three “little brothers” back to the kennel, Shao Ye immediately ran to complain to Pei Fangyan.

This was outrageous. He, the closest nephew, hadn’t even started throwing his weight around yet, and some nobody dared to act arrogant in front of him!

After hearing the whole story, Pei Fangyan’s reaction was calm. “I understand.”

“Seventh Uncle, aren’t you going to do something about him?” Shao Ye protested.

“What would you have me do?” Pei Fangyan asked.

“Kick him out of the residence! Cut off his share!” Shao Ye said immediately.

Preferably give that share to himself—just to infuriate the guy.

Clearly, he had already planned his revenge on the way here. Pei Fangyan found it amusing. He gave a soft “mm,” but didn’t agree right away. “Let’s wait.”

Wait for what? Wasn’t this just a matter of a single word from Seventh Uncle?

Shao Ye looked at him resentfully. Did he really rank lower in Seventh Uncle’s heart than some cousin whose name he couldn’t even remember?

Meeting his gaze, Pei Fangyan felt a faint itch in his chest—but still didn’t relent.

Unable to get what he wanted, Shao Ye left in disappointment. He decided to go back, carefully prepare his arguments, and return the next day to persuade his Seventh Uncle emotionally and logically—determined to deal with that troublemaker once and for all.

But the next day, Pei Fangyan had already left for a business trip to another city. Shao Ye only learned about it from Steward Liu.

In that instant, it felt like the sky had collapsed. Forget not being taken along—he hadn’t even been told in advance. He thought he had already become Seventh Uncle’s trusted confidant. Was he not? Then what exactly was that “important work” Seventh Uncle had promised him?

Shao Ye looked at Steward Liu with undisguised jealousy. Liu hadn’t felt anything was wrong at first, but under that gaze, he suddenly felt inexplicably guilty, so he made up an excuse and hurried away.

Shao Ye lowered his head and returned sadly to his gym, throwing his limited life into endless training.

In the face of absolute strength, all evil forces are nothing but paper tigers. Sooner or later, he would knock down all those cousins of his and make sure Seventh Uncle could only see him.

While Shao Ye was training like crazy, that “good cousin” he had been thinking of driving out of the Pei family got into an accident. As he was getting into the car after leaving a bar, the car suddenly exploded. He wasn’t seriously injured and still had all his limbs, but he would have to stay in the hospital for a while. He might even need psychological counseling afterward. In any case, he wouldn’t be able to return to work anytime soon.

Pei Fangyan came back three days later. On the way, after hearing about the incident from his subordinate, he sighed, “What a pity.”

“But when heaven is about to place a great responsibility on someone, it must first temper their body and will. If he can’t even overcome such a small setback, he won’t become a qualified heir. Don’t give him his share this year. Let’s motivate him a bit,” he said.

His subordinate thought this might not raise motivation so much as blood pressure, but wisely chose to remain silent.

After arranging matters at the company, Pei Fangyan returned to the old residence. However, he didn’t see Shao Ye running toward him as usual. Feeling a bit puzzled, he asked Steward Liu, “Where’s Xiao Ye?”

Steward Liu explained, “Sir, last night your elder brother said he was ill and had Shao Ye go back to take care of him.”

Pei Fangyan nodded, then asked, “Ill? What illness? Is it serious?”

“I’m not sure,” Steward Liu said. “But I also heard that your elder brother seems to have been arranging blind dates for Shao Ye recently.”

Pei Fangyan’s wheelchair came to a stop. He turned to look at Steward Liu, clearly not expecting such an answer. After a long moment, he slowly smiled and said, “It seems he really is sick.”

---

Author’s Note:

【The bomber is back. Is this the distortion of human nature, or the collapse of morality?】

: Whoa.

: The sixth piece of evidence that Seventh Uncle is the president has appeared, he knows how to use bombs too! What are the Uncle-nephew CP sisters waiting for, charge—

: He fans above, stop losing it.

: The bomb has nothing to do with Seventh Uncle, okay? He wasn’t even in the city at the time.

: Wow, what a coincidence. The Qingming sisters also never admit that the president was behind the bomb.

: Seventh Uncle fans, what are you even insisting on? Wouldn’t it be better for you if he and the president were the same person? Translated on Hololo novels. Then Uncle-nephew and Qingming fans could both vote for you. With your numbers, you could practically elect council members!

: Impossible. They are absolutely not the same person! I won’t step into the same river twice!

: Oh? The person above is a Qingming fan, huh.

: Qingming fans and Seventh Uncle fans are the same people. Who would still dare say the president and Seventh Uncle aren’t the same person!

: How interesting. Seventh Uncle fans still have the nerve to look down on our president and No. 6 being gay. We haven’t even mocked your Seventh Uncle for being “incapable” yet. He can’t even manage it.

: Seventh Uncle can!

: Can what? All we saw was the koi. Who knows if it’s real or not, unless you let me see for myself.

: Seventh Uncle: “Those who slander me in the court shall have their entire clan executed!”

: He’s probably quite capable. Otherwise, with that temperature, No. 6 was already that overheated, yet Seventh Uncle still added a blanket for himself.

: What if Seventh Uncle gets heat rash from covering up? Poor thing. No. 6 really has no awareness, doesn’t he know to help cool him down?

: Haha, No. 6 would probably just make it hotter.

: Pei Tiancheng is constantly pushing his kids hard in other streams from morning to night, but with No. 6 he’s suddenly well-behaved.

: Not just well-behaved, he’s even arranging blind dates for No. 6.

: What do you think that smile meant when Seventh Uncle heard about the blind date?

: He must have been thinking about how big of a wedding gift to give when No. 6 gets married! (upright smile)

: Or maybe he was thinking that in the future, he won’t need a blanket in hot weather anymore.

: Not needing a blanket… is it because there’s a better, warmer place now?

: Why did that black text suddenly turn yellow?

: I’ve said it many times, no matter how cold a man is, ___ is always warm.

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