Winning the male lead

Three years ago, Shen Lixing briefly lost Shen Le Tian. At that time, Shen Le Tian had insisted on independence, moving out to live on his own, refusing to attend university, and nearly cutting off all contact with the Shen family.

Shen Lixing couldn’t be bothered. The Shen family’s wealth was more than enough to support a nephew he didn’t like, so he thought, let him be. He believed that selfish, ignorant, and willful children weren’t worth his attention.

Then, one rainy night, Shen Le Tian returned after living away from home. He wasn’t holding an umbrella, his frail figure soaked through, and he stood in front of Shen Lixing’s car, blocking it.

The harsh headlights illuminated his pale face, and he looked like a lost lamb in the storm. Weak and pitiful, he called out softly, “Uncle.”

From that moment on, he seemed to change. Every word, action, and even the smallest expression brought joy to Shen Lixing, and only then did he realize how charming his nephew truly was.

This child, the only one connected by blood to him, was the one bright spot the world had left for him.

Just after the servant had finished speaking on the phone, Shen Lixing rushed out like the wind. His secretary in high heels couldn’t keep up, and the lawyers in the room were dumbfounded.

As he entered the elevator, his hands shook uncontrollably, his mind filled with the image of Shen Le Tian standing soaked in the rain, blocking his car. A wave of intense fear suddenly overwhelmed him.

“Faster, faster,” he rasped.

Like a shadow, the car sped through the city, running red lights along the way. Even then, it took him half an hour to make it back to the Shen family estate.

As soon as he entered the house, the servant handed him the suicide note.

He took a quick glance, and everything went dark. He could barely stay on his feet, and the servants quickly supported him.

He forced himself to calm down. “Where is the young master?”

The servant replied, “He left this morning.”

The security had already arrived and showed him the surveillance footage. The video showed Le Tian in a thin nightgown and fluffy slippers, walking slowly with visible exhaustion. His slender legs dragged behind, making him look abandoned and almost destitute.

“Check that car,” Shen Lixing said, his voice trembling. “Hurry!”

In the restaurant, Le Tian ordered a bottle of Romanée-Conti wine. The last time he was caught by Shen Lixing, he hadn’t really had a chance to savor the wine.

The deep red wine poured into the glass, and he raised his glass, clinking it with Xu Tao’s as a thank you for today’s meal.

“Meal ticket” smiled. “I heard you’re getting engaged soon, congratulations! Make sure to invite me to the engagement party.”

Le Tian didn’t like hearing that. He was still worrying about how to maintain his “financial relationship” with Yu Miao if his identity was exposed.

The system, which had been silent for a while, spoke up: “Don’t you still have money?”

Le Tian sighed. “It’s not the same.”

When he was Master Shen, money was unlimited. He could spend however he liked. But now, his money was a non-renewable resource—once it was gone, it was gone.

System: “Hehehe.”

Le Tian: “You did that on purpose.”

System: “No, I didn’t.”

Le Tian: “Lying doesn’t even have a backside.”

System: “…” It honestly didn’t know whether to say it did or didn’t.

Xu Tao, oblivious to the truth about Shen Le Tian, drank several glasses of wine with him. Le Tian, partly due to the reason of “this wine is so expensive, don’t waste it,” kept drinking, and before long, more than half a bottle of wine was gone.

Xu Tao had a low tolerance for alcohol, and feeling tipsy, he slurred, “Tell… tell your… wife… to come out… and drink!”

Le Tian’s face turned red from the alcohol, but his mind was still clear. His body seemed resistant to drunkenness. Seeing Xu Tao drunk, he quickly stopped him from pouring more. “Don’t drink anymore, you’re drunk.”

“No… I’m fine!” Xu Tao pushed his hand away and shakily poured himself more wine, spilling most of it, and stumbling before falling onto the plush carpet in the private room.

Le Tian looked worriedly at him. “I’m a little concerned about him.”

The system, surprised by his rare display of concern, comforted him. “It’s fine, he’s just drunk.”

Le Tian: “Will he still remember his bank card password later?”

System: “…”

Le Tian: “Forget it, if not, I’ll just put it on credit, hehe.” Although his face no longer worked, Xu Tao’s still did.

He stood up and stretched. He’d drunk quite a bit, and now he needed to use the restroom.

Just as he was about to unzip his pants, the system suddenly said, “Shen Lixing is here.”

He jumped, almost catching himself in a very unfortunate situation. He grumbled, “What? I came out on my own to drink, didn’t spend his money, and now he’s here to catch me?”

System: “He thinks you ran away to commit suicide.”

Le Tian was shocked.

The system explained the situation, telling him how the servant had found the suicide note and called Shen Lixing.

Le Tian stood there dumbfounded. “Huh? A suicide note?” He had completely forgotten about it.

Now that the situation had changed and he had abandoned his suicide plan, if Shen Lixing showed up here and found him alive, he might just make him wish he had died.

He panicked. “I already reserved my yacht to sell to Xu Tao!”

In this situation, he was still thinking about selling the yacht. The system coldly responded: “Heh, just die, Shen Lixing will arrive in three minutes.”

Le Tian spun around in place a few times before turning on the faucet to fill the sink with water.

The system asked, “What are you doing?”

Le Tian: “I’m filling the water to pretend I’m drowning myself.”

System: “… Do you think Shen Lixing is an idiot?”

He was certainly no fool.

Le Tian ignored the system, took off his glasses, and immersed his face in the sink. He tilted his head back, allowing the water to drip down his smooth short hair. Quickly, he scooped the water in his hands and splashed it on himself. As the system’s countdown reached ten seconds, he broke his glasses, holding the thin lenses to his wrist.

He closed his eyes and pressed down hard.

The moment Shen Lixing pushed open the door, his heart seemed to stop for a second. “Le Tian!” His movements were quicker than his thoughts, and in the blink of an eye, his hand had already grabbed Le Tian’s.

Le Tian, flushed and trapped in his arms, breathed heavily, his water-soaked lashes fluttering with effort. His pale wrist had a glaring red mark from the broken glasses, and his gaze was unfocused, weakly saying, “Uncle…”

Shen Lixing felt like he was back in that rainy night three years ago. His hands trembled, and his voice was hoarse with emotion. “You’re crazy!”

Le Tian, his face drenched, spoke with a choked voice, “You don’t want me anymore.”

That accusation shattered all of Shen Lixing’s anger. He trembled as he wiped the water and tears from Le Tian’s face, the cool touch sinking deep into his heart. He couldn’t bear to imagine what would have happened if he had arrived any later.

Outside, the manager, driver, and bodyguards were standing in a circle, watching as he carried the unconscious Le Tian out. The restaurant manager trembled: wasn’t it agreed that they no longer needed to take care of the young master?

Pretending to be unconscious, Le Tian smirked inwardly: “Oops, he can’t bear to let me go.”

Shen Lixing wasn’t a fool, but he was human. And as a human, he had feelings, especially for Le Tian, the one person he had truly cared for.

The system commented: “Even after raising a dog for twenty years, you’d form a bond.” It hadn’t expected Shen Lixing to care for Le Tian so much; after all, this was a small incident, and yet he was so panicked. Technically, no blood had been spilled, and there wasn’t even a need for a Band-Aid.

Le Tian suddenly yelled at the system, “Ah!”

System: “?”

Le Tian: “Xu Tao!”

He had forgotten about him. The system replied, “It’s fine, the restaurant staff will handle it.”

He continued, “He bought me so many new clothes, and I haven’t even picked them up yet. Wuwuwu…”

System: …What kind of breed is this elephant to give birth to someone like him? How did I ever think he was concerned about others?

After Shen Lixing gently carried him into the car, he cheered up again. “It’s okay, I can still be Master Shen now. Shen Lixing will definitely buy me a lot of new clothes.”

The system had become numb to this person’s shamelessness.

Once Shen Lixing calmed down, he started to feel something was off, but since Le Tian’s drenched face was resting on his shoulder, his breathing heavy and his expression weak, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh.

He had raised this child for three years, loved him, cared for him. He could punish him, but he still couldn’t bear to lose him, at least not for now.

He instructed the driver, “Take him to the hospital.”

Upon hearing this, Le Tian immediately grabbed his sleeve and pouted, “I don’t want to go to the hospital, I want to go home.”

Shen Lixing, patient, said, “First, the hospital.”

Le Tian insisted, “No, I only want to go home.” He clung tightly to Shen Lixing’s sleeve, and Shen Lixing could feel how desperately he was holding on. He thought, maybe he really is afraid that he doesn’t want him anymore.

With a sigh, he compromised, “Fine, let’s go home first.”

Le Tian: Yeah! I knew he was all tough on the outside, but soft on the inside. He can’t resist his cute little nephew.

System: Just this morning, you were calling him a scumbag, and now you’re acting like this?

After Le Tian’s little “suicide” stunt, Shen Lixing had no mind for going back to work.

Le Tian pretended to be unconscious again, and Shen Lixing couldn’t rest easy. Fearing that he might wake up and feel even more hopeless, he stayed by his bedside.

Le Tian groaned with his eyes closed. Shen Lixing, could you change my clothes and dry my hair?

Being drenched felt horrible.

Shen Lixing was still shaken by Le Tian’s “suicide” attempt. He could even feel a slight shiver in his back while sitting. His gaze remained focused on Le Tian’s flushed face, determination and concentration in his eyes.

Le Tian, uncomfortable from the wetness, couldn’t help but groan.

Shen Lixing asked, “Where do you feel uncomfortable?”

Le Tian: “… Are you blind, bro?”

He “struggled” to open his eyes, slowly raising his left hand to touch his forehead. Weakly, he said, “Uncle, my head hurts so much.”

“If you couldn’t drink, why did you drink so much? Serves you right,” Shen Lixing scolded harshly.

Le Tian thought: “Bro, who can’t drink?”

Though Shen Lixing’s words were harsh, he still got up to retrieve a large towel from the bathroom and gently dried his hair.

The intercom phone in the bedroom rang, and he let go of Le Tian to answer it. “What is it?”

Something was said on the other end of the line, and Shen Lixing’s expression visibly darkened.

Le Tian: “What’s going on? Why does he suddenly look so bad? Did our stock prices crash?”

System: “No, Xu Tao sobered up and is coming to bring you your new clothes.”

Le Tian: “…”

Shen Lixing spoke coldly to the servant on the phone, enunciating each word, “Tell him to get lost.”