Slag Shou Cultivating Manual - Chapter 40

The appearance of He Lang shocked everyone. When they recognized him as the person they had been discussing, they all lowered their heads and fell silent.

Someone guessed his identity and tentatively called out, “Young Master.”

He Lang nodded in acknowledgment and naturally sat among them with a distressed expression. “My brother has been staying at the company and hasn’t come home these past few days. Do you know what he’s been busy with?”

The group exchanged glances, and the informed ones couldn’t help but share with him, urging him to bring their boss home quickly. The atmosphere at the company had been too tense lately.

He Lang successfully gathered the information he wanted, thanked them with a smile, and rushed back home to find Gua Tu.

The only reason for finding Gua Tu was to ask if the manual could assist him again.

However, this time Gua Tu clearly lacked the ability to help. Drooping its ears, it lazily said, “To prevent the host from using cheats and taking tasks lightly, the manual only provides assistance once per world, quack.”

“Alright, I understand. But can you stop adding ‘quack’ to everything you say?”

“Host, Gua Tu doesn’t want to change, quack.”

He Lang rubbed the rabbit’s head, roughly understanding its intention, and decided to give up seeking help from the manual.

Gua Tu looked at him and shook its head slightly. It knew its host wanted to help Jiang Jingda with the company issues, but since he had no direct involvement, he could only be anxious.

Surprisingly, in a short time, He Lang acquired the shares and hurriedly presented them to Jiang Jingda for signing.

Jiang Jingda was obviously shocked by the sudden situation and initially thought it was a joke.

But after carefully verifying the documents, he had to believe it.

“Lang Lang, where did you get this?” Jiang Jingda asked, incredulously, as he put down what he was holding and stood up to press his hand on He Lang’s head.

He Lang swatted his hand away and said confidently, “I bought them.”

“Where did you get the money?” Jiang Jingda was puzzled. Lang Lang’s pocket money had all gone towards antiques, and there shouldn’t be any surplus. Even if there was, it couldn’t possibly support such a large sum.

He Lang pondered for a while, brushed his now-longer hair, and finally whispered, “Antiques and paintings are valuable.”

The antiques he dealt with were worth at least hundreds of thousands, even millions. After returning from the UK, he had learned how to invest using his resources.

Moreover, every piece of his own calligraphy and paintings was also worth a considerable amount. With his appreciation and creation skills, he had long been able to earn substantial income.

He didn’t understand the unnecessary details, but he had used his strong financial power to forcibly acquire scattered shares at a high price. These few percent of shares, in Jiang Jingda’s hands, were just enough to help him obtain absolute control, calming down some restless board members.

Jiang Jingda, after understanding the explanation, was stunned for a long time. He had never imagined that his usually idle and most averse-to-company-affairs younger brother would go to such lengths to help him.

“I heard your liquid funds were tied up—but it’s alright, I—” He Lang was about to say something more.

Jiang Jingda, already overwhelmed with emotions, hugged him tightly, interrupting his unfinished sentence.

These matters should not have been his concern. He would naturally handle them himself, but he hadn’t expected that his younger brother would care about his situation and hold him in such high regard.

Accomplishing something so remarkable, his Lang Lang was indeed the best.

Jiang Jingda said nothing, just held him and repeatedly rubbed his cheek against He Lang’s head, expressing his reserved feelings.

“You’re so good to me,” He Lang said nonchalantly, afraid Jiang Jingda might overthink it and burden himself with unnecessary emotional weight.

Jiang Jingda paused, then held his shoulders and asked, “Do you know why I’m good to you?”

He Lang hesitated, looked at him, and Jiang Jingda, summoning his courage, looked back with a hint of hope. He Lang finally spoke, “Because we’re brothers.”

Jiang Jingda’s eyes instantly dimmed. It was hard to tell whether He Lang was being deliberately indifferent or truly didn’t understand. What should have been a warm statement sounded cold in his ears.

He Lang frowned, sensing a shift in the atmosphere, and quickly said he was hungry and needed to go home.

Seeing him about to slip away again, Jiang Jingda’s mind was overwhelmed with emotion. Impulsively, he reached out and grabbed He Lang’s arm. “Let me tell you the answer.”

His face was fully reflected in He Lang’s eyes, making him momentarily forget to pull away.

Then, Jiang Jingda’s voice became extraordinarily gentle, like narrating a story—plain, simple, yet moving.

“But I really like you, to the point of loving everything about you. I know what your rabbit likes to eat and drink. I know you like calligraphy and porcelain, and I’ve looked into them. I even like the things you like.”

Once words are spoken, they flow like a dam breaking—feelings and words surged like a flood.

He thought, from the first day when that little figure bumped into his arms, it had also directly entered his heart… It might sound a bit cheesy, but it was his genuine feelings.

He Lang licked his dry lips, unsure of what to say.

Gua Tu, overhearing the conversation about itself, quacked and secretly smiled, communicating telepathically to He Lang, “Look, your brother said he likes you, right? Don’t you think so? Do you like Gua Tu, quack?”

He Lang was disturbed by Gua Tu’s chatter and, unsure how to respond, appeared somewhat cold. He dismissed the situation, saying, “Isn’t there already enough to deal with at the company? Let’s focus on solving the current problems first.”

He didn’t want to sound so indifferent, but after his past experience with Zhen Puyang, where his affectionate demeanor led to unfavorable results, he decided not to get emotionally involved with the task objects this time.

Jiang Jingda’s enthusiasm was extinguished, and he quickly became clear-headed, feeling a mix of emotions.

Summoning the courage to confess his feelings had been quite challenging for him, and although it was relieving to have expressed it, Lang Lang’s clear rejection still left him disheartened.

Jiang Jingda looked down and comforted him, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”

He longed for the past when Lang Lang was still a child, obedient and gentle, melting under his gaze.

Now, Lang Lang was no longer a follower, but even with a cold glance, Jiang Jingda still wished to follow him.

He Lang thought Jiang Jingda was perceptive enough to understand what was important, so he didn’t worry further. He spent less time at home and more at school.

After returning to the country, he quickly made arrangements to attend the university he was supposed to go to domestically.

There, he coincidentally ran into Meng Lun, an old classmate.

It was a bit embarrassing that the watch Meng Lun had given him was lost by Jiang Jingda, and He Lang had never brought it up.

Meng Lun was thrilled to see He Lang again, examining him with excitement.

“I thought you’d definitely come here for university, so I enrolled here too. I just didn’t expect you’d suddenly go abroad.” Meng Lun pouted, his shoulders drooping, looking quite aggrieved.

He Lang apologized, feeling sorry as they had both agreed to attend the same university.

This reunion made Meng Lun smile widely, and he took He Lang out for a meal.

During the meal, Meng Lun suddenly remembered something and spoke up.

“Hey, I remembered that your brother has been doing business with our family lately.”

He Lang asked a few questions and nodded in satisfaction.

Meng Lun suddenly became disgruntled, leaning closer and saying, “You know, just for this one business deal, my sister is trying hard to seduce your brother. Ugh, that woman…”

Meng Lun’s tone was full of disdain, his expression showing clear hostility towards her.

“Hm?” He Lang was puzzled, wondering why Meng Lun had such an attitude towards his sister and what her relationship with Jiang Jingda was.

Meng Lun took a sip of his drink and disdainfully said, “Oh, my sister is not my biological sister; she’s a mistress’s child.”

As soon as Meng Lun mentioned his sister Meng Xinyue, he couldn’t stop talking about her, venting about her bad behavior, “She’s quite manipulative. When we were young, she tricked me into taking the blame for many things and even got me beaten by our parents.”

Meng Lun spat in disgust after speaking.

He Lang raised his eyebrows, clearly taken aback.

Meng Lun took another sip of his drink and said, “That’s how Meng Xinyue is. You’ve seen it for yourself, right?”

Meng Lun was eager to spend time with He Lang, insisting that he accompany him to a party that evening where his father and sister would be present. Reluctantly, He Lang agreed to go, partly to see what such events were like and partly due to Meng Lun’s persistent requests.

He Lang had never attended such gatherings due to his protected upbringing, so it was partly for exposure that he agreed.

He hadn’t mentioned this to Jiang Jingda beforehand, so when he appeared at the party that night, Jiang Jingda was surprised. He left his conversation and approached He Lang with a slightly disapproving look.

“Who brought you here?” Jiang Jingda asked directly.

He Lang pointed to Meng Lun.

“Hey, hey, hey—You’re just going to throw me under the bus like that?” Meng Lun complained, waving his hands innocently and scolding He Lang for his honesty.

Their playful bickering seemed to indicate a close relationship, and Jiang Jingda could only watch silently with dark eyes.

Perhaps because both Meng Lun and Jiang Jingda were present, a woman in an elegant gown arrived, gracefully approaching Jiang Jingda. Holding a glass of champagne, she naturally rested a hand on his shoulder, forming a pleasing gentleman-lady duo.

**Author’s Note:** Recently, the comments I’ve received have dropped significantly… Is it because Jinjiang is blocking your replies? I absolutely refuse to believe I’ve been abandoned [wipes tears].