Fatty had clearly been having a blast in Zhang Haike's room these past few days. When Wu Tianzhen arrived, he momentarily thought he had walked into a bar.
Piles of messy liquor bottles were stacked to the ceiling, inexplicably colored lights worked day and night overhead, and in the center of it all, a fatty holding a bottle bottom like a microphone looked exceptionally detached from the mundane.
At the very edge of this chaos, Zhang Haike sat by the table, propping his face with a look of utter despair. The enormous dark circles under his pale eyes were particularly striking.
At first glance, it was impossible to tell who the master of this house was.
This made Wu Tianzhen, who had always been wary of Zhang Haike, feel a pang of guilt. He held back the still tipsy fatty, hesitated at the doorway, and finally spoke:
"We're planning to explore the Forbidden Land together, and Little Brother will be coming too. You—"
Before he could finish, with a "crash," Zhang Haike, who had been half-dead moments before, burst through a pile of bottles and sat bolt upright!
"What? Where are you taking the clan leader!? No, wherever the clan leader goes, I—"
"Don't even think about it!" Wu Tianzhen interrupted Zhang Haike ruthlessly. "And don't even think about stuffing those Zhang family members into the group. You know Little Brother's capabilities. If he finds out, he might just sell you to Song Shuning!"
Thinking of this, Wu Tianzhen felt his heart stir.
"I'd go... that's hundreds of thousands..."
Zhang Haike: ...
He twitched the corner of his mouth, feeling the pain of not sleeping for days due to Fatty resurface.
Zhang Haike felt like a victim of a great tragedy. He slowly slumped back onto the table and waved dismissively at Wu Tianzhen.
"Go on, I don't want to see your faces for a while."
Actually, even if Wu Tianzhen hadn't said anything, Zhang Haike wouldn't have stuffed anyone into the group.
Not all members of the Zhang family from overseas were united in their support of Zhang Qiling; there were quite a few with ulterior motives. Although Zhang Haike was the leader of the younger generation, he was not an elder and could only stay behind to slowly infiltrate and strategize.
He gnashed his teeth quietly. Having lost the opportunity to explore with the clan leader, he now felt an intense aversion towards those inexplicable troublemakers.
...Well, these people also cared a lot about the clan leader.
...Perhaps the clan leader would be happier with these people than in the Zhang family.
—
Xie Yuchen was decisive. When he said they would explore the Forbidden Land, he immediately mobilized the entire Xie family to prepare all the necessary equipment.
Fatty, in order to keep Zhang Haike occupied, hadn't slept for several days. As soon as he returned to the Xie family, he collapsed onto the bed and slept soundly, only waking up after a full day and night.
As he stretched and exclaimed "What a relief!" while walking out of the courtyard, he saw a towering Zhang Qiling, hood pulled low, looking at him with deep eyes. The chilling aura was as if Little Zhang was about to stab him.
Fatty's outstretched hand froze, afraid to move. His loud voice choked in his throat, and after a long pause, he slowly lowered his arm.
"Li-Little Brother, you're up so early?" he said, trying to break the ice, his mind racing, wondering how he had offended Little Zhang to warrant such an early morning interrogation.
Did he discover that he had secretly put cilantro in the food before? Or that he had stuck little yellow chicken stickers inside the clothes prepared for Little Zhang...
But then again, it shouldn't be like this. Little Brother had lost his memory, hadn't he? Even if there were any issues, they should have been resolved by now?!
Zhang Qiling didn't reply. He pursed his lips and slowly took out his new favorite optical computer.
With fingers like swords, he used a dazzling finger technique to tap furiously at the screen. This peculiar operation was incredibly fast, and soon Fatty heard his own familiar voice emanating from the optical computer.
"...Little Brother is shining brightly at White Horse Club... Little Brother is shining brightly at White Horse Club... Little Brother is shining brightly at White Horse Club..."
This sentence, which Fatty had already trashed, was now playing on a loop. A thin layer of sweat broke out on Fatty's forehead.
But soon—
"I'll fuck your ancestor, Song Shuning!!!" Fatty leaped three feet into the air, his face flushed red as if overcome by rage. In the blink of an eye, he rushed past Zhang Qiling, who was holding the optical computer, seemingly ready to fight Song Shuning for three hundred rounds.
Zhang Qiling stood there blankly for a moment. The optical computer in his hand was still diligently shouting "White Horse Club." Then Zhang Qiling suddenly realized—
Fatty seemed to have escaped.
Zhang Qiling: ...Ah.
He froze in place, his hood falling to cover his eyes, looking a bit dejected.
Wu Tianzhen, who had come out to find Zhang Qiling for a meal, witnessed the entire sequence of events. While trying to stifle his laughter, he also felt a bit sorry for this version of Little Zhang.
So, while feigning selflessness, his mind brimming with mischief, he approached.
"Little Brother, this won't do. You have to give him a taste of his own medicine!"
Wu Tianzhen took the optical computer, turned off the loop mode, and dragged the progress bar forward.
On it, Wu Tianzhen's voice immediately rang out—
"You have to see this. It's a perfect depiction of 'Fatty wetting the bed at seven years old'!"
Zhang Qiling: ...
Zhang Qiling: !!!
The two of them arrived at the Xie family's dining hall together. A sumptuous breakfast was already laid out. Upon a glance, the fatty, who had been so aggressive moments ago and looked like he was about to rush out, was already seated at the table, his mouth stuffed with a large fried dough stick.
Seeing them, Fatty showed no awareness of the impending danger. He even cheerfully beckoned Wu Tianzhen and Zhang Qiling to join him for the meal, acting as if nothing had happened.
Wu Tianzhen sat down with a grin.
"Fatty, you have no idea, Little Brother has prepared a show for us!" he whispered mysteriously into Fatty's ear.
Fatty was indeed hooked. In fact, ever since Zhang Qiling lost his memory, he couldn't help but look at Little Zhang with a strange, doting affection.
However, he waited expectantly for a long time, but Zhang Qiling showed no signs of performing.
Instead, Little Zhang stood in place, carefully surveying the surroundings as if confirming their safety.
But the dining hall was empty except for the three of them. Xie Yuchen was busy with work and hadn't arrived yet. Fatty couldn't figure out what Little Zhang was looking for.
But soon, he understood Zhang Qiling's well-intentioned efforts.
His stomach tightened as Wu Tianzhen suddenly grabbed him from behind, and at the same time, Zhang Qiling opposite him took out that cursed optical computer again!
The video sound played once more, but this time, the looped sentence had changed—
"Fatty wet the bed at seven years old... Fatty wet the bed at seven years old... Fatty wet the bed at seven years old..."
Fatty: ...Holy shit!!!!!