[BL] Transmigrating into the Reborn Male Lead's Ex-Boyfriend

Ch90 - Looking for a Friend

Xiao Shenglin also spoke up, "Xuanhe, did you really break up with Mr. Xiao?"

"Yes." Song Xuanhe ruffled his hair, agitated. He then added, "Well, I think we broke up. He doesn't agree."

"What the heck?" Zhou Nan raised a brow. "Shouldn't you two have reached an agreement?"

"It's not like we were married. Isn't it a break up once one person has decided they want to break up?" Song Xuanhe rolled his eyes. "What, should we have signed an agreement?"

"Honestly, yeah," Zhou Nan said, "Even if you were to say now that you two have already broken up, who'd believe you? Forget about other people, do you think Old Mr. Song and Song Guochao will believe it?"

Xiao Shenglin nodded. "Zhou Nan's right. That magazine's interview has bound you and Xiao Yuanmu together. No matter what you say now, no one is going to believe you."

"But then again, it doesn't matter whether other people believe you or not." Zhou Nan laughed, "In any case, no one dares to offend you now."

"Tsk, what kind of fate is this?" Zhou Nan looked at Xiao Shenglin. "Lin zi is related to Xiao Yuanmu. I hadn't expected that no one would realize that the two of you were actually long-lost relatives despite seeing each other so frequently."

Xiao Shenglin had on a faint smile. Something seemed to flash through his eyes, but he didn't say anything in the end.

Zhou Nan also knew that the other was still worried about Xiao Ranyun and her father, who had been summoned back to the Xiao Family's main residence. Comforting the other, he said, "Xiao Ranyun is so smart. Besides, Xiao Yuanmu is also there now. Nothing will happen to her. Don't worry."

Xiao Shenglin shook his head and quietly said, "The Xiao Family is much more complicated than you think."

"No large and influential family is simple," Zhou Nan said, "Even if the Xiao Family's complicated, it's not like it's some war zone. Besides, it's not like Xiao Yuanmu doesn't know Xiao Ranyun. Even if he doesn't see her as a sister, he'll protect her because of Song Er."

"I don't know if Xiao Yuanmu will be able to get a stable footing within the Xiao Family." There was a hint of deprecation and lamentation in Xiao Shenglin's voice. "The Xiao Family is both the most traditional and the most innovative family I've ever seen in my life. They don't just abide by Chinese customs. The Xiao Family immigrated many years ago. Not only do they still have the ancient Eastern superior-subordinate system in place, but they also possess the West's free thinking. However, to the servants who have served the Xiao Family for many generations, freedom is only something their masters can possess. Furthermore, there is a difference in ranking between their masters' main branch and branch families. There's a lot of complicated issues with their values and ideas. All I can say is that Xiao Yuanmu entering the Xiao Family is more-or-less equivalent to entering a war zone."

Song Xuanhe recalled Xiao Baicong, who Xiao Ranyun had mentioned in the past. He frowned imperceptibly and asked, "Does it have to do with Xiao Baicong?"

Xiao Shenglin was shocked by Song Xuanhe's sharpness. He nodded. "As I've just said, the Xiao Family abides by the old rules. Therefore, every child born into the Xiao Family will have servants—I guess it's more appropriate to call them subordinates now— assigned to them at birth. The number and quality of subordinates are different depending on the person they're for. From this, you can see that there's not much difference between the Xiao Family and ancient influential families from the past in some respects."

Zhou Nan coughed. "I recall that Xiao Ranyun usually has a personal assistant, a tutor, and two bodyguards with her....Xiao Ranyun is a member of a branch family. That means that Xiao Baicong must have many more people around him."

"At least thirty," Xiao Shenglin said in a flat voice, "Maybe more than fifty."

Zhou Nan widened his eyes in astonishment. Even Song Xuanhe found this hard to believe.

Xiao Shenglin knew what they were thinking just by looking at their expressions. He said, "Xiao Baicong was the only child of the main branch until now. According to the rules, after his birth, twelve people would have been chosen to begin training to be his trusted aides so that they could assist him in any and all possible ways in the future. Depending on the direction he decides to take later on, as he grows up, the number of his subordinates will expand as well. There should have been another draft when he had been six and sixteen. I remember that when he was sixteen, they had chosen for him two personal assistants and two classmates to attend school with him. The subordinates who had been drafted to support him and help expand their business in different industries had already numbered twenty-eight at that time as well. Fifteen of them had already entered companies under the Xiao Group. Although they had started at the bottom, after so many years of experience, their capabilities now are nothing to look down on. What's most important is that the people by Xiao Baicong's side are steadfastly loyal to him. Furthermore, they share a common interest. Xiao Yuanmu's appearance is a threat to these people."

"Therefore, Xiao Yuanmu isn't only facing against Xiao Baicong but his thirty plus subordinates as well. There are also the branch family members who support Xiao Baicong as the successor of the Xiao Family. What do you think? Isn't this the same as walking into a war zone?"

Zhou Nan was silent for a long time before he said, "F*ck."

"Is this really something happening in the modern age?" Zhou Nan mulled over Xiao Shenglin's words. It still felt unreal. "Would America, which values humanitarianism, freedom, and equality, really tolerate the Xiao Family's enforced social ranking like this?"

"There's a difference in social class everywhere in the world," Xiao Shenglin said, "Besides, the eight major financial groups are tempting even to you. Do you think that those people who have relied on the Xiao Family since ancient times to get to where they are now would be willing to let go of such a big tree like the Xiao Family? They're not just Xiao Baicong's subordinates—they also share common interests. If Xiao Baicong takes over the Xiao Family, his subordinates would be split up to take over the executive levels of the Xiao Group's various companies. No one would think of them as the Xiao Family's servants. They would only know that they are the leaders of all sorts of industries. Aside from those from the eight major families, those 'servants' would actually be above everyone else, us included."

After digesting Xiao Shenglin's words, Song Xuanhe recalled the myriad of difficulties and hostility that Xiao Yuanmu had experienced in the Xiao Family in the book. The author's written description of the Xiao Family had been less comprehensive than Xiao Shenglin's speech had been just now. Or rather, the author had simply glossed over the complicated details of the Xiao Family's relationships. Instead, the author had focused on writing about Xiao Yuanmu's battles in the business world.

Back when he had read the book, he had thought that the people in the Xiao Group's companies fighting against Xiao Yuanmu had been taking things too far. After all, who the Xiao Family head was didn't seem to affect their positions. Furthermore, it had been obvious that Xiao Yuanmu was much more capable than Xiao Baicong. He had felt like their blind support of Xiao Baicong, who hadn't seemed particularly ambitious, was too abnormal.

But now, he realized that those people had probably been Xiao Baicong's people. If that was the case, then had Xiao Baicong, who had been the first Xiao Family member Xiao Yuanmu had been willing to open up his heart to, really been as innocent and void of ambition as he had seemed?

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Eve: RIP SXH. No one's going to believe you now. Mumu is a schemerrrrrr. While I'm sure some selfish motives probably did drive his decision, I guess it also benefits SXH. Especially because Mumu is worried about the coerced drug usage incident.