Marrying the Rich Man's Ex-Brother - Chapter 1
His gaze was lingering and tender, “Take my…” During the lunch break.
The top floor of the Tiandi Building was in chaos inside the vice president’s office.
“I really didn’t sleep with him! Why… why won’t you believe me!?”
A beautiful young man stood before the desk, crying his heart out.
Golden sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a soft, gentle glow over the young man’s lovely face.
His long, curled eyelashes were dotted with countless glistening teardrops, giving him a pitiful, heart-wrenching appearance.
Seated in the vice president’s chair was a tall, strikingly handsome mixed-race man.
With deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and a cool-toned complexion comparable to that of a Caucasian, his black curly hair accentuated a marble-sculpture-like European beauty.
Vice President Wu Yu lowered his light golden, curled eyelashes, unmoved as he focused on the semi-annual financial report in his hands. Impatiently, he picked up a red pen and circled a few questionable figures.
After finishing that page, Wu Yu turned to the next, fully engrossed in his work.
Having only recently taken full control of the group’s affairs, he had no shortage of matters to attend to.
His father and eldest brother had high expectations of him, and Wu Yu had no intention of disappointing them.
After a long while, the young man’s mournful sobs only grew louder.
His chest heaved violently, and he clung to the edge of the desk to keep himself upright.
Large teardrops welled up from his reddened eyes, falling one by one onto the rosewood desk.
Disturbed by the noise, Wu Yu set down his pen, looked up, and fixed his gaze on the person before him.
The young man’s frail, slender frame only served to irritate Wu Yu further.
Endless crying and carrying on!
What a hysterical madman!
Wu Yu averted his eyes in disgust, unwilling to spare the young man another glance.
Truly a worthless good-for-nothing! All he knew how to do was cry all day long and cause trouble everywhere.
He had just finished making a scene about killing himself, spent a week in the hospital, and still couldn’t settle down. The moment he was discharged, he rushed straight to the company to cause more chaos.
Aside from his appearance, which was somewhat pleasing, everything else about him was nothing but a nuisance.
But no matter how much he resembled that person, at his core, he was nothing more than an unworthy plaything and actor.
Seeing that Wu Yu had finally finished his work, the young man took a few steps forward and obediently knelt at Wu Yu’s knees, tears streaming down his face.
“Please believe me, won’t you? Don’t break up with me… I really didn’t sleep with him. I’ll find a way to clear my name…”
Wu Yu’s impeccably tailored suit pants were soon soaked with tears.
They were crumpled into a messy heap.
“Believe you?”
Wu Yu’s voice dripped with mockery and scorn.
“This matter has blown up all over the internet. Are you trying to let the whole world know that someone of mine would sleep with someone else just for a spot on a hit variety show? Where does that leave my dignity!?”
Hearing this, the young man choked back a sob as if someone had seized him by the throat.
The strands of hair at his temples were damp with tears, clinging wetly to his long eyelashes, making him look like a beautiful doll caught in the rain.
“How could I ever be with someone else… Don’t you know how I feel about you…!?”
The chief assistant and secretary standing silently in the corner of the room couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy at the sight.
As trusted aides by Mr. Yu’s side, they were well aware of how deeply this young lover felt for him.
Yet, Mr. Yu himself seemed oblivious to this obvious truth.
Wu Yu coldly shifted his gaze away from the young man and glanced at the sparkling diamond watch on his wrist.
He had a board meeting with his elder brother in five minutes—there was no time to waste here.
After checking the time, Wu Yu impatiently pushed the young man, but failed to shove him away as intended. The incessant sobbing made Wu Yu’s head throb. He pressed an emergency button on his desk.
Two bodyguards waiting outside immediately entered the room and roughly, rudely pulled Bai Chi off Wu Yu.
Frowning, Wu Yu then glanced at his trousers, dampened by tears, and decided to change and discard them later.
“Believe you? I want to believe you, but tell me—how can I trust you after watching a video like this?”
As he spoke, Wu Yu dragged the mouse to play a video on his computer.
This video currently dominated the top spot on Weibo’s hot search, marked with a deep red “boiling” tag.
A blurry video began playing on the LCD projection screen.
In the video.
The back of a beautiful young man was shown, almost completely unclothed, his exquisite butterfly bones like flawless jade carvings.
His body appeared soft and boneless, intimately pressed against a middle-aged man with a large, round head and ears. The young man’s slender, pale hands moved urgently and hastily over the man’s protruding belly, presenting a lustful, wanton image of actively seeking pleasure.
The middle-aged man in the video clearly showed a reluctant, resisting expression but was unable to push the young man away.
Though the video lasted only ten seconds, it was enough to ruin the beautiful young man featured in it.
Tears streaming down his face, Bai Chi stood in the center of the office, firmly restrained by two tall, burly bodyguards who held his arms behind his back.
Like a swan with its wings cruelly broken, he stared blankly with tear-filled eyes, desperately watching the large screen that was publicly executing him.”
The entire internet was now discussing the video—why would a fading minor celebrity, already kept by a powerful patron, shamelessly climb into the bed of a well-known producer in the industry just to gain resources.
At the center of the public opinion storm was this pitiful, tearful figure in the office, on the verge of crying himself into a faint.
For anyone else, this would be a situation so desperate they might wish for death.
The overwhelming flood of vicious insults and mocking ridicule online was enough to completely bury this minor celebrity’s future, permanently nail him to the pillar of shame in the entertainment industry.
With such ironclad video evidence, even if he were truly innocent, it would be nearly impossible to clear his name.
But Bai Chi was not the person in the video; he was a transmigrated who had unexpectedly found himself in this body. Bai Chi was originally the youngest grand slam film emperor in domestic entertainment.
From his debut at seventeen to twenty-seven, though he appeared to lead a playful, carefree life, over those ten years he had won seven golden awards, becoming the youngest grand slam film emperor in domestic entertainment.
He would drink and dance the night away in bars until the early hours, yet still show up on set before dawn to rehearse his lines. Fans who adored him were utterly devoted, and even industry peers who disliked him had to acknowledge Bai Chi’s dedication and professionalism, for all his efforts were truly worthy of his achievements.
Half a month ago, Bai Chi attended the Qixi Awards ceremony for the Golden Moon Prize.
At the event, he was honored with the Golden Moon Laurel Cup, an award given only once every seven years, making him a true grand slam winner among actors.
However, as he descended the stage under the spotlight, holding the gleaming crystal trophy amid thunderous applause, the makeshift steps beneath him suddenly collapsed. He stumbled and fell from the over two-meter-high stage.
Bai Chi died from that fall and was reborn into the body of a minor celebrity named Bai Xi, who had succumbed to despair and overdosed on medication due to unbearable pressure and grievances.
Upon opening his eyes, the dazzling national treasure of an actor found himself transformed into a scandal-ridden, obscure figure. Bai Chi felt no turmoil; in fact, he adapted quite well. It was just that all the assets he had painstakingly accumulated over the years were reset to zero, and he now bore the former owner’s 200 million yuan in breach of contract debts.
Though he had gone from a law-abiding individual with 2.08 million to a penniless proletarian with not a cent to his name,
Bai Chi believed that as long as he was alive and breathing, he could defy fate and turn his life around. Having inherited the original host’s memories, Bai Chi knew the person was innocent and was determined to clear his name. This was not only to repay the second chance at life he had been given but also for the sake of justice and truth.
Bai Chi hoped the original host could rest in peace in the afterlife, while he would live on fully in his stead.
He would ensure that those who had harmed the original host paid the price. The first-person Bai Chi sought to settle accounts with was the original host’s patron—Wu Yu. His refusal to trust and his cold indifference were the final straw that broke the original host.
The original host had loved Wu Yu deeply, but this patron had only been interested in his looks, using him as a substitute for his own unattainable love. Wu Yu had no idea how much suffering and malice his beloved had endured, simply viewing him as a troublesome, useless plaything who had embarrassed him.
He even feared it might affect his corporation’s reputation and stock prices, seeing him as nothing but a jinx causing trouble!
If not for the fact that, after his accidental death, Bai Chi’s entire estate had been donated to the national Antarctic research team, he wouldn’t be here enduring such disrespect now.
But currently, to find a way to pay off the 200 million yuan in breach penalties incurred after the original host was blacklisted, Bai Chi had no choice but to steel himself and play the part of someone deeply in love, striving to keep up the act.
–
After the video finished playing, Wu Yu’s patience had completely run out. Narrowing his light gray eyes, he coldly stared at Bai Chi.
“Should I believe you, or should I believe this video? Don’t test my patience and limits any further—I’ve already shown you more than enough mercy—” Holding a check, Wu Yu rose from his desk, walked over to Bai Chi, and scrutinized his young lover closely.
A pair of pitiful, deer-like eyes shimmered with scattered starlight, brimming with watery tears.
The pale skin resembled a thin sheet of rice paper, so delicate it seemed it might tear at the slightest touch.
It was an unhealthy pallor, not the radiant glow of vitality. There was a frail, sickly air about it, as if from chronic malnutrition. It always stirred a cruel desire within Wu Yu, an urge to torment the other relentlessly.
He couldn’t help but want to bully them fiercely. The originally soft, fine hair had become somewhat disheveled from crying. This reminded Wu Yu of the days and nights they had spent intimately embracing. Though they had never truly crossed that line, Wu Yu still cherished this face.
After all, this beautiful visage was almost an exact replica of the one he dreamed of day and night.
But now, as he looked at this once enchanting lover, all he felt was irritation, weariness, and boredom. A substitute was, after all, just a substitute—an inferior imitation that could never compare to the real one. The vivid flush at the corners of Bai Chi’s eyes starkly contrasted with his pale, moon-white complexion, creating a breathtakingly fragile beauty.
Even at this moment of farewell, Wu Yu had to admit that this little temptress’s captivating appearance was indeed strikingly similar to that person, hitting right at the core of his desires. What a pity for such a fine appearance, but Wu Yu truly disliked things that had been tainted by others.
His rough fingertips slowly traced the tender lips, prying open the tightly sealed mouth. Wu Yu gently slipped a thin check between Bai Chi’s slightly parted lips. His eyes were filled with lingering tenderness, yet his tone was utterly cruel.
“Take my money and get out of my sight.”