Chapter Nine

Ji Suiyun never made promises lightly. The next day, Ji Suian came to the store looking for Song Bai, cradling a small sandalwood box in his hands. My brother asked me to bring you this Bai Qinan.

Song Bai was stunned for a moment. He had forgotten about it, but since Ji Suiyun hadn't shown up and he couldn't explain to the little girl, he decided to bring some candy and pastries to Ji Suian as a gift. Song Bai thought about checking what was in the box after everyone left, and if it was something valuable that he could recognize at a glance, he would definitely find a way to return it.

To Song Bai's surprise, there was only a small chunk of wood knot in the box, which emitted a pleasant fragrance from a distance. Song Bai did not fully understand what agarwood was, but he could tell that it was a good thing. However, he did not expect it to be so valuable.

He casually placed the box into his backpack, and when he returned home at night, he casually threw it onto the sofa.

Later in the evening, around ten o'clock, Lu Fucheng finally arrived home, while Song Bai was currently taking a shower in the bathroom.

Lu Fucheng has become thin and tired these days, and has suffered from frequent headaches. He had a bowl of instant noodles in the office in the afternoon, but he is not hungry now.

Song Bai left some soup for him in the pot, and Lu Fucheng heated it up himself, then ate a bowl of it cold.

While sitting on the sofa, Lu Fucheng didn't notice that he had accidentally pressed on Song Bai's bag and was bitten by something hard and box-like. Although in pain, Lu Fucheng was still afraid of damaging Song Bai's belongings.

Since childhood, Song Bai's school bag was always packed by Lu Fucheng. The two of them had no problem with flipping each other's bags. Lu Fucheng frowned and opened the small box, and was stunned for a few seconds upon seeing what was inside.

Two years ago, Lu Fucheng had dealt with a wealthy Vietnamese boss who had a refined taste and a fondness for incense. They had hit it off during their conversation, and the boss had shown Lu Fucheng his personal collection. Among the collection, the most memorable item for Lu Fucheng was half a piece of white qinan wood which the boss had shown him like a precious treasure.

Without being burned, a clear fragrance emanated from it, which even changed with the environment and temperature. What's more important is that it's priceless and difficult to obtain even a small piece.

Lufucheng couldn't believe it as he scrutinized the piece of white qinan for a long time. He didn't know where Song Bai had gotten it from.

Song Bai walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair and dragging his slippers. His little face was steamed to a pale pink from the hot steam. He ran towards Lu Fucheng with small steps and stretched out his arms to give him a hug.

Xiaobai, where did you come from? Lufucheng asked gently while holding him with one hand and holding a box with the other.

Song Bai blinked his eyes and said, '...It was a gift from someone else.' Since Lu Fucheng had advised him to keep a distance from Ji Suiyun, he instinctively didn't want to tell the truth at this moment, fearing it would make Lu Fucheng angry. 'It was given to me by a colleague, from Anhui. His family works with wood.'

Indeed, Song Bai does have such a colleague, and Lu Fucheng knows of this person. However, this person's family only deals in yellow rosewood and sourwood furniture, and how much can their entire family assets be worth compared to our baiqinan wood?

Lu Fucheng's mouth felt bitter, but looking at Song Baicheng's clear eyes, he softly said, 'Go back, Xiao Bai. Can we not...can we?'

The meaning behind his words was too profound, causing Song Bai to feel a bit dizzy and disoriented. He couldn't help but feel like Lu Fucheng was afraid of something and suspicious of something, yet not saying anything. So Song Bai could only agree with him and say, 'I will return it tomorrow.'

Lu Fucheng smiled at him, but there was a hint of bitterness in his smile.

Lufucheng recalled why, after so many years, he still vividly remembered the taste of Bai Chinan, the Vietnamese boss. It was because he had dealt with a man who also had a penchant for agarwood in the past few days. It was a customer surnamed Ji who always carried a faint scent of agarwood with him.

Song Bai was confused at first, but he could sense that Lu Fucheng was a bit absent-minded.

He always took the initiative to snuggle into Lu Fucheng's arms at night, and Lu Fucheng only held him and patted him gently, saying, 'Good boy, go to sleep. I have to go to work early tomorrow.'

Song Bai carried the white Qinan wood back to the store, but he waited several days without seeing Ji Suiyun again. When he saw the wooden box, he felt a sense of frustration, as though something was out of his control.

After a week, Ji Suiyun finally arrived. When Song Bai returned the box to him, Ji Suiyun simply smiled and asked, Doesn't your brother like it?

Song Bai believes that he is attentive to details. That day, he casually mentioned that he wanted to give the same spice as a gift to Lu Fucheng and Ji Suiyun, but Ji Suiyun ended up giving him a piece of it. However, when Lu Fucheng insisted on returning it, Song Bai definitely complied with his request.

My brother isn't very interested in fragrances, sorry Mr. Ji...

Ji Suiyun's smile had a profound meaning that was hard to express: 'You didn't mention it was a gift from me?'

Song Bai made a sound of agreement, feeling something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

宋白(Song Bai) is not someone who is too transparent or sensitive, he was protected too well by Lu Fu Cheng. In the past, when he threw a tantrum with his mother to attend a vocational school, she disagreed and felt that vocational schools were disorganized, and that her child studying in there would make the elders lose face. However, Song Bai was so stubborn that he went on a two-day hunger strike. In the end, his mother was angry and paid for his tuition, admitting that she did not want to see him and asking him to live on campus.

Note: The names used are just phonetic translations of the characters and may not be the actual English names used in the novel.

At the time, Lu Fucheng was a junior in college and was busy with his internship. After learning about it, without any hesitation, he decided to take a one-year break from school and used the money he earned from his part-time job to rent a house near the school for Song Bai.

That winter, Lu Fucheng set up a stall outside the school and waited for Song Bai to finish her classes. Then, he held their child's hand and they went home to drink steaming hot soup from the clay pot that had been simmering all day.

He loves Song Bai, but it was Song Bai who expressed her feelings first. Otherwise, Lu Fucheng may have remained a good brother forever.

His kindness towards Song Bai has never been mixed with any calculation or seduction. As a result, Song Bai cannot detect any ulterior motives or temptations now.

Ji Suiyun packed up the little box and said before leaving, 'If you ever need anything, feel free to come to me. If I can help, I'll definitely do my best.'

Song Bai had only brushed off these words as if they were nothing, but he didn't expect that in less than two days he would be forced to seriously reconsider them.

Something happened at Lu Fucheng's place. Feng Zhengqi's house was newly purchased for his parents, located next to a square and a shopping center, making everything convenient and lively. There weren't many requirements, just that it had to be safe and healthy.

Feng Zhengqi is generous with his money and insists on using authentic stone paint, even if it's expensive, because he values safety over cost.

Lufucheng naturally took great care in selecting and purchasing the materials. However, the goods were only left in the house for one night when Feng Zhengqi suddenly brought in an unfamiliar supervisor the next day. After opening a can of paint, the faces of everyone present changed. The smell was off.

Feng Zhengqi immediately looked for someone to examine the ingredients and found that the formaldehyde, benzene, and PVOC were all several times over the standard limit. He immediately concluded that the designer used the money for good materials to buy cheap toxic materials and called the law firm directly.

Connected by various incidents, Lu Fucheng realized that someone was trying to frame him, but he was unable to defend himself or take action. Even if he were to win the lawsuit and clear his name through legal means, his future career would be ruined. After all, this industry is small, and rumors spread quickly. No one wants to work with a designer who seems to have a tarnished reputation.

Lu Fucheng had originally planned to hide it from Song Bai, but he didn't expect that when the lawyer's letter was delivered to his house, Song Bai was at home cooking.