After Failing to Win Him Over, I Babied the Brooding CEO into Submission - Chapter 2

Well, then.

Let me take my time tormenting…I mean, winning you over!

That evening, once the housekeeper had finished cooking, the servants looked at one another. None of them dared go to Tan Xun’s room to call him down.

I volunteered. “I’ll go!”

As soon as I opened the door, I saw that he’d tried and failed to transfer himself from his bed to his wheelchair.

His long arms braced against the floor as he tried to get up.

Long lashes like raven feathers cast faint shadows over skin as pale as jade.

His narrow, beautiful eyes were full of self-mockery and defeat.

His damaged legs, long deprived of sunlight, hung uselessly beneath him, their muscles wasted.

He was looking at the window, nailed shut with boards.

He looked as though, if it had been open, he would have jumped without a second thought.

Yes!

That sickly frailty. Delicious!

That self-destructive air. Delicious!

My mama-fan urges went into overdrive.

I walked over and swept him up in my arms. Taken by surprise, Tan Xun grabbed my neck.

He glared and pushed at me, his face dark.

“How do you have the nerve to still be here? Who let you in? Get out!”

I gave him a little bounce in my arms.

“Try relying on me a little more, you pretty, fragile little thing.”

He froze as though struck by lightning. His expression slowly twisted.

“Wen You!”

I chuckled. “I’m here. Is my baby asking for attention?”

Even a pretentious bastard like Tan Xun, all polished manners and no decency, couldn’t help swearing.

“Attention, my ass!”

I smiled fondly. “I’ve finally raised my little sweetheart to have a temper.”

Ignoring his rage, I carried him downstairs to the dining table in front of everyone.

The servants bowed their heads in terror. No one dared look up.

I calmly put food in Tan Xun’s bowl.

“You’re too thin, little one. Eat more meat.”

Eyes bloodshot, he bit the web between my thumb and forefinger.

Without so much as a flinch, I dropped the food into his bowl, then gently kissed the teeth marks on my hand.

“Is my kitten marking me? I love it.”

Tan Xun’s composure shattered completely.

After dinner, I went back to my room to sleep, feeling wonderfully refreshed.

Even the System gave me a thumbs-up.

[Host, you’re incredible!]

I waved it off. “Oh, nothing special.”

“Can you email them and ask when exactly I get to go back? I’m honestly afraid that if this keeps up, Tan Xun will snap one day and chop me up for shark food.”

[I can’t reach the main system at all. Just keep trying. Maybe this is exactly what he likes. Fail, and you’ll get electrocuted.]

The thought made me shudder.

I couldn’t help wondering: Did Tan Xun actually like this?

The next morning, a commotion downstairs woke me up.

Yawning, I went down.

The place was a wreck, littered with shattered porcelain and glass.

Tan Xun sat in his wheelchair, staring coldly at the people before him.

His parents and younger brother stood nearby, looking furious.

“You’re weak right now. We’re only worried about you and don’t want you wearing yourself out. That’s why we want your brother to take over the Tan Group for a while.”

“And you throw our kindness back in our faces. An ungrateful wretch, no matter how much we do for you!”

I quietly poked the System. “What’s going on?”

[Tan Xun’s parents have always favored his brother. Tan Xun was more sensible and capable; when the Tan Group nearly went bankrupt, he even saved it single-handedly. But Tan Yuan is the only son they care about. They didn’t return from abroad to see Tan Xun until a month after his car accident.]

[Now that he can’t get out of his wheelchair, they want to snatch back control of the company.]

I looked at Tan Yuan, sheltered behind his parents, eyes red and brimming with tears like a little white rabbit.

“Sure enough, the child who cries gets the candy.”

Tan Xun smiled scornfully.

“Have you ever treated me as your son, even for a single day? Get out!”

Sweat beaded on his face from the pain. Already pale, he looked even whiter.

Yet he refused to let another trace of weakness show.

Such perfect mama-fan material!

His father rushed forward in fury to hit him.

Tan Xun closed his eyes, resigned.

But the slap never landed.

He opened his eyes in bewilderment and found me standing in front of him, holding his father’s wrist in a firm grip.

I smiled at the family.

“Why can’t you love him a little more?”

Mr. Tan tried to wrench his wrist free, but I held him fast. He couldn’t move.

Humiliated, he glared at me. “Who are you?”

“Just some passerby. Look at him. Skin so pale you can see the veins, thin red lips bitten white, sweat on that straight nose because he’s fighting the pain, a heart so fragile and hurting beneath that mask. Can you really bring yourself to hit him?”

Mr. Tan faltered.

Mrs. Tan’s gaze finally settled on her son’s chalk-white face and the legs trembling faintly with pain.

Guilt flooded her.

“I’m sorry, Xun. You…”

Tan Xun lowered his head, his fingers clenching.

“Get out.”

“Xun, I…”

“Get out. Don’t make me say it again.”

They left.

Tan Xun remained motionless.

I stroked his head gently.

“It’s all right. They don’t care about you, but you’re my precious pearl. I understand the fragility beneath your mask, the longing beneath your indifference. I understand your softness and your sharp edges. I’ll care for you, cherish you, treasure you like my own heart. Love you, booboo—sorry, baby.”

His fingers trembled. He still didn’t raise his head.

Only after a long while did he speak, his voice hoarse.

“What are you really after?”

Smiling, I crouched down and cupped his face, looking up at him.

“Me? I want everyone to love you.”

A proper mama fan had to love him wholeheartedly.

Wholeheartedly want the entire world to love him.

Wholeheartedly want everyone in the world to f* him.

I gently brushed away the bead of sweat trembling on the tip of his nose.

My fingers disappeared into his black hair.

Something dark flickered in my gaze.

His breath caught. He abruptly turned his head away.

“…Why me? Wouldn’t any normal person prefer Tan Yuan?”

“Compared with a delicate flower like your brother, a beautiful, powerful, tragic man like you is much more fun to mama-fan over…ahem. Much more my type.”