Chapter 144.1: Going Home for the New Year
Shen Xiu: “…Sorry.”
Shen Xiu had once practiced smiling in front of a mirror. He knew his smile was stiff and awkward—even he found it uncomfortable to look at. But what he didn’t know was that his smile could actually scare people.
Other than apologizing, Shen Xiu didn’t know what else he could say—after all… he genuinely didn’t know how to change!
Hearing Shen Xiu’s apology, Mu Zhenchu hurried to explain, “Captain Xiu, I didn’t mean your smile was bad. It’s not your fault, it’s my own issue.”
Song Chengwang shifted his gaze away from the background actors and picked up Mu Zhenchu’s words: “It’s probably because you don’t usually smile, Captain Xiu. So when everyone suddenly sees you smiling, it’s a bit… jarring.”
Jiang Yanxi: “……”
Song Chengwang really knew how to smooth things over.
Shen Xiu understood completely: “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”
As for smiling more often—he really couldn’t do it!
After giving instructions to the extras and getting their confirmation, Xuan Yushu returned to his seat. He picked up the megaphone and shouted, “Alright, let’s start from the scene where we left off earlier. Hopefully we can get it in one take this time—it’s cold outside, so everyone can head in sooner.”
Xuan Yushu knew Shen Xiu would be fine, but after addressing the extras, he still asked him, “Shen Xiu, starting from where we paused earlier—is that okay with you?”
Shen Xiu nodded. “No problem.”
The sooner they finished filming, the sooner everyone could forget that terrifying scene of him smiling.
—
“Action!”
Father Han’s froze for a moment after hearing Han Fei’s words. He turned his head, his gaze shifting from the swirling snowflakes to Han Fei: “What do you mean by that…”
The smile on Han Fei’s face vanished instantly, replaced by his usual expressionless look. He looked coldly at his father, interrupting him—but his words weren’t directed at Father Han. They were meant for Xie Yi, standing beside him.
“Xie Yi, please bring my dear little brother out.”
“Yes, Mr. Han,” Xie Yi replied cheerfully, walking toward the only car that hadn’t been opened yet.
He pulled open the car door. “Second Young Master, please step out.”
Han Zheng climbed out of the car nervously. No one held an umbrella for him, and snowflakes landed on him, making his already pale complexion look even more ghastly.
When Father Han saw Han Zheng, his face turned ashen. “Zheng’er, you…”
Han Zheng didn’t dare look at his father. His eyes instinctively turned to Han Fei, his expression timid and uneasy.
Father Han followed Han Zheng’s gaze and looked at Han Fei as well.
But Han Fei didn’t look at either of them. With his long legs striding through the snow, he walked straight ahead.
The guests trailing behind Father Han instinctively stepped aside to make way.
Xie Yi walked ahead of Han Fei. Yi Chen and Ba Ze followed behind Han Fei, and behind them was a group of imposing bodyguards in black.
The guests looked between Han Zheng and Father Han standing in the snow, then turned their eyes toward Han Fei and his entourage arrogantly entering the banquet hall.
“Dad…” After Han Fei left, Han Zheng fearfully walked up to Father Han, clutching his hand tightly.
“Don’t be afraid, Zheng’er. I’m here. Everything will be fine.”
Father Han patted Han Zheng’s shoulder reassuringly, then glanced at the guests who neither dared enter nor leave. Forcing a stiff smile, he said, “Sorry, Xiao Fei didn’t tell us he was coming today. Everyone, let’s head inside.”
“Chairman Han, you’re too kind, haha…”
“Haha, yes, of course…”
…
After a few polite exchanges with Father Han, the guests glanced at the bodyguards stationed on either side of the entrance and had no choice but to follow Father Han and Han Zheng inside.
Once indoors, Xie Yi helped Han Fei remove his overcoat and draped it over his arm.
The guests inside the banquet hall watched as Han Fei entered. Some of the more timid ones were so startled that they dropped their wine glasses, trembling where they stood, too frightened to even meet the gazes of Han Fei and his entourage.
Han Fei scanned the room and nodded slightly in satisfaction, murmuring to himself, “Not bad.”
Then, his eyes swept over the guests’ faces. Seeing the fear in their expressions, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. His voice was low and cold, laced with authority: “Why is everyone staring at me? Carry on.”
The guests exchanged uneasy glances. In front of Han Fei—whose moods shifted faster than a page turning in a book—they could only grit their teeth and resume what they had been doing before.
The piano began to play again. Dressed in luxurious gowns and expensive suits, the guests went back to chatting, drinking, and dancing, just like before—at least on the surface.
But if one looked closely, it was easy to notice that their faces were far paler than before.
Han Fei surveyed the room and chose the most prominent seat to settle into.
Once seated, his gaze fell on Han Zheng, who had entered with their father. The moment Han Zheng met Han Fei’s eyes, he flinched and shrank into their father’s arms.
“Heh.” Han Fei let out a soft chuckle. He tapped his index finger—adorned with a black ring—on his crossed knee. Yi Chen immediately stepped forward and handed him a glass of red wine.
Han Fei didn’t spare Yi Chen a glance. He lifted the wine glass, his eyes locked intently on Han Zheng, yet he raised his glass in a toast toward their father.
After fully savoring the fear in Han Zheng’s eyes, Han Fei, in excellent spirits, took a small sip of the wine.
Seeing Han Fei’s actions, Han Zheng nervously swallowed and looked up at his father. “Dad, I… I’m a bit cold. I’d like to drink something warm.”
Father Han wasn’t sure what Han Fei was up to with this grand entrance, but it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Though displeased, he didn’t take it too seriously. Smiling gently at his beloved son, he said, “Alright, go ahead. There’s mulled wine over there.”
Once Han Zheng left, Father Han called over the butler and quietly instructed, “Go find out where Madam has gone.”
With Han Zheng and Han Fei both present, yet not a single sign of his wife, Father Han felt uneasy.
The butler had barely stepped away when Han Zheng returned, holding two cups of mulled wine. “Dad, I brought you a cup too.”
“You must’ve been frightened.” Father Han gently patted Han Zheng’s head, his voice full of concern. He took the clear glass cup from Han Zheng’s hand and drank it all in one go.
The moment Father Han finished drinking, Han Zheng’s eyes immediately shifted to Han Fei, who was still seated on the sofa. He opened his mouth and softly said, “Brother…”
Cough cough cough—
Clang!
The wine glass in Father Han hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Han Zheng had only just called out “Brother” when the violent sound of coughing came from beside him. Blood sprayed onto the back of his pale hand.
Han Zheng froze for a moment, then looked down at his own hand.
“Ah—!”
“Chairman Han!!!”
“Someone call an ambulance, now!”
…
As fresh blood splattered across the back of his hand and dripped down, Han Zheng could hear panicked and shocked cries from the guests around him.
Only then did he turn around. What he saw made his blood run cold: his father’s eyes wide open, nose and mouth gushing with blood as he stared straight at Han Zheng.
Terrified by the gruesome sight, Han Zheng staggered back a few steps before tripping and falling flat onto the floor. Sitting on the ground, he clutched his hair and let out a shrill scream: “Ahhh!!”
Chairman Han had suddenly dropped dead in front of all the guests during his own banquet. The hall erupted into chaos.
Some guests tried to leave, only to find that the doors of the banquet hall had somehow been locked at some point. Black-suited bodyguards stood firmly at the exits, and no one dared to force their way through.
The guests huddled in small groups, panic written across their faces, all of them stealing anxious glances at Han Fei—who, from the very moment the incident began, had remained calmly seated on the sofa, relaxed and utterly composed.
When the guests saw that Han Fei had, at some point, removed the Buddhist prayer beads from his wrist and now had them draped over the fingers of his left hand—his index finger leading the set, with each slender joint slowly turning the beads one by one—the tension in the room tightened to the breaking point.
The guests: “……”
Madman.
The butler, holding up Father Han’s body, trembled as he moved his hand away from the blood pouring out of the man’s nostrils. In a shaky voice, he muttered, “N-No breath…”
Having seen enough, Han Fei gracefully slipped the prayer beads back onto his wrist, then stood up from the black armchair. His gaze swept over the panicked guests as he spoke:
“Everyone, please remain calm.”
With that, Han Fei’s eyes finally landed on Father Han’s body, lying on the ground with blood seeping from all seven orifices. A smirk tugged at his lips—cold and devoid of any warmth—as he said:
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my father’s funeral. As his eldest son, I, Han Fei, am deeply honored.”
The guests: “……”
Faced with a madman calmly and coldly losing his mind, none of them dared to speak a word in protest.
At that moment, Zhou Yanlin and his group returned from the restroom. As they turned the corner from the second-floor landing, they just happened to hear what Han Fei said.
Upon hearing it, their eyes shifted toward the corpse of Father Han lying lifeless on the floor.
Seeing the familiar figure, Zhou Yanlin’s expression changed drastically: “……”
“Damn, this guy is totally insa—mmph…” Zhong Cheng’an’s words were cut off as Zhou Yanlin quickly and firmly covered his mouth.
Hearing movement from the stairs, Han Fei turned slightly. His cold, aloof gaze lifted—and the moment it landed on Zhou Yanlin’s familiar face, his brows furrowed slightly, the eyes behind his glasses narrowing with scrutiny.
Yi Chen and Ba Ze, upon noticing Zhou Yanlin, first nervously glanced at Han Fei, then exchanged uneasy looks with each other.
Zhong Cheng’an, whose mouth was still covered, initially tried to struggle—but when he noticed Han Fei’s gaze fall on Zhou Yanlin, he immediately fell silent.
“Cut!”
With Xuan Yushu’s shout, the final shot froze on the silent standoff between Han Fei downstairs and Zhou Yanlin upstairs.
Hearing the director’s voice, Shen Xiu quietly let out a breath of relief.
Shen Xiu wasn’t nearsighted and hadn’t worn glasses before. He was never quite used to them—always found them uncomfortable. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to him, he quickly reached up and removed the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
He asked Jiang Yanxi, “Yanxi, where’s the glasses case?”
Worried about damaging the prop, Shen Xiu thought it safest to put it away properly.
“Huh? Oh…” Jiang Yanxi was still caught up in the scene, overwhelmed by Han Fei’s commanding performance. When the director called “cut,” he hadn’t fully snapped out of it. It took him two seconds to register Shen Xiu calling his name before he finally handed over the glasses case.
“Thanks.” Shen Xiu took the case, gently placed the glasses inside, and didn’t relax until the lid was securely closed.
Jiang Yanxi stared at Shen Xiu’s slow, graceful movements: “……”
That one soft “Yanxi” made it clear to Jiang Yanxi that Shen Xiu had instantly snapped out of character the moment the director yelled “cut.” And yet, even a simple action like putting away a pair of glasses was done with such elegance that just watching it was aesthetically pleasing—it made Jiang Yanxi feel like he was still immersed in the glamorous life of the high-society drama.
In short: disorienting and surreal.
After this thought, Jiang Yanxi glanced around at the others. Seeing that everyone seemed just as dazed as he was, he immediately felt reassured.
Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one having trouble stepping out of the role!
The makeup artists quickly stepped in to touch up the actors’ smudged makeup.
“Prepare the set for the next scene!”
Hmm