Lian Que pushed open the door to the utility room, and a wave of decay mixed with the scent of dust rushed out to meet them.
Dust motes danced up and down in the sunlight. Right in the center sat a tiny cot no larger than the palm of a hand, and several crumpled award certificates hung on the wall, serving as practically the only decorations in the room.
Lian Que’s expression stiffened upon seeing the award certificates pasted on the wall. He rushed forward in a flurry and tore the certificates down, crushing them into a ball within his palm.
He had brought these things with him from his hometown. Back then, before he had even met Lian Qingfu, he had thought that when Lian Qingfu saw the award certificates, he would be as happy as any other parent.
He was still young back then and hadn’t brought any luggage when he came from his hometown, but he had brought those few award certificates with him, standing on his tiptoes all by himself to paste them in the most prominent spot.
Yet in the end, Lian Qingfu had never once come to this utility room to see him; he had been forgotten in the house alongside this utility room as if he were an invisible person.
“Good child?”
Chen Xingjian followed Lian Que into the room, sweeping his gaze across everything inside in one quick glance.
The crumpled, yellowish-yellow award certificates on the wall naturally didn’t escape his notice. Moreover, the words “Good Child” on the certificates were rendered in an especially large, bold font, making it hard to ignore even if he wanted to.
Lian Que never would have imagined that the first person to see these crumpled certificates and actually praise him would be Chen Xingjian.
He squeezed the crumpled ball of certificates a little tighter, looking embarrassed. “Sir, stop teasing me.”
“Who’s teasing you? It’s pretty good. I certainly never got this award certificate back in kindergarten, I was the one always getting my parents called in.” Chen Xingjian was speaking quite honestly.
He practically lacked for nothing; his parents had a harmonious relationship, his mom and dad stood ready to prop up the sky if it fell, and even if his father occasionally chewed him out, he had elders further up to dote on him.
He had been a lawless character since childhood, leading the charge to climb trees in kindergarten, jumping right into the flour basin while making dumplings, and even throwing firecrackers toward the office during Chinese New Year.
Guesstimating, Lian Que had probably been far more obedient than him as a child.
Lian Que nudged Chen Xingjian to step back outside, then began tidying up his things.
Tidying up, though, didn’t even require packing a single box; there was practically nothing worth taking away.
A small, fuzzy plush ball that had long since yellowed and shed its fur, a notebook he had used up a little more than half of when inspiration struck him long ago, and the key to his old room back home.
Lian Que turned around, signaling with his eyes for Chen Xingjian to head out.
With his arms folded across his chest, Chen Xingjian stood right where he was without budging an inch.
“Why aren’t you leaving? Want to take another tour?” Lian Que turned back around and double-checked.
Chen Xingjian raised an eyebrow toward the little corner. “Good child, bring the award certificate with you.”
Perhaps because the distance between them was simply too close, that phrase good child made Lian Que’s ears burn with heat.
Though he knew in his mind that the “good child” referred to the award certificate, once it actually brushed against his ear, a deceptive illusion arose in his heart that the words were meant for him.
Seeing that award certificate, Lian Que was reminded of the pathetic sight of his younger self waiting day in and day out for Lian Qingfu to spare him a glance, and he didn’t feel very keen on bringing it along.
“It’s just a little award certificate. Bringing it is such a hassle…”
“What’s so troublesome about it? It’s just a matter of convenience.”
Lian Que ultimately compromised.
Fine, whoever holds the money holds the say.
When the two returned downstairs, the dishes had just finished being plated.
Lian Qingfu pulled out a chair for Chen Xingjian. “President Chen, please take the seat of honor.”
After offering a few words of routine politeness, Chen Xingjian sat directly in the primary seat, pulling Lian Que down to sit right beside him.
“Well, we didn’t know what kind of flavors President Chen usually preferred, so we just had the kitchen whip up a few simple dishes,” Lian Qingfu said, rubbing his hands together.
“What do you mean, ‘whip up a few simple dishes’? Wasn’t this chef someone you specially invited over from a restaurant?”
Lian Cheng came downstairs. He was meticulously dressed and groomed, wearing a dark blue suit set.
Pulling out a chair, he sat down directly at the table, shifting his gaze straight onto Chen Xingjian’s face. “President Chen, I’m so glad you could come to our home as a guest.”
Chen Xingjian replied, “I’m just tagging along to accompany Lian Que on a trip.”
Just tagging along to accompany him.
Lian Cheng understood instantly, turning his head to shoot Lian Que a look akin to a provocation.
It looked like this younger brother of his wasn’t quite as capable of sinking his hooks into Chen Xingjian after all. He must have been offering a warm face to someone else’s cold shoulder, and Chen Xingjian had only agreed to loosen his lips and marry him because he couldn’t find a way to refuse.
How utterly shameless.
Lian Cheng attentively placed a shrimp into Chen Xingjian’s bowl, speaking in a melodious voice, “President Chen, try this shrimp. I’ve had it before; the chef’s way of making shrimp is truly peerless.”
Lian Qingfu’s face darkened as he kicked Lian Cheng’s shin hard under the dining table. Lian Que’s expression stiffened, choosing to act as though he knew nothing of it.
Lian Qingfu didn’t just have one son, after all. No matter what, Lian Que was his biological son, so Lian Qingfu inevitably had to factor him into his considerations.
If Lian Qingfu was factoring Lian Que into his considerations, then who was going to factor him into theirs?
Enduring the pain in his shin, Lian Cheng began easing into the main topic: “President Chen, I heard that Yuanhe recently has an audition competition with a prize pool of a full million yuan. The prize money aside, my main hope is to get an opportunity to train and better myself. Do you think it would be convenient for you to put in a good word with the people below?”
Lian Que’s hand holding his chopsticks paused. Out of the corner of his eye, he secretly peeked at Chen Xingjian, vowing inwardly.
Chen Xingjian better have some situational awareness; he’d better reject Lian Cheng’s proposal.
He had already signed a marriage agreement with Chen Xingjian, and Chen Xingjian hadn’t even offered to open the back door for him what right did Lian Cheng have?
As Lian Que stared stubbornly at Chen Xingjian, his gaze collided head-on with Lian Cheng’s sweeping glance.
“Xiaojue, you won’t be angry, right?” Lian Cheng offered a soft, gentle smile. “Since you’ve married President Chen, shouldn’t you be a bit more generous?”
“Besides, President Chen is merely helping me out with such a trivial matter. If you’re going to get mad over something like this, it’s really quite unreasonable.”
Lian Que’s knuckles turned white, and the sauce from his bowl splattered onto his hand.
What a prime specimen of a white lotus.
“My apologies. I don’t have the fetish of acting as someone else’s father.” Reaching out, Chen Xingjian pulled a tissue from the box and shoved it into Lian Que’s lap.
The smile froze on Lian Cheng’s face. “What… what do you mean by that?”
“To open the back door for you and play along with such a clumsy game of yours aside from your biological father, I truly can’t imagine anyone else agreeing to your request.”
Lian Que couldn’t hold it in and suddenly burst out laughing.
This was a thinly veiled implication that Lian Cheng lacked all sense of boundaries, treating Chen Xingjian as if he were his own dad.
Besides, Lian Qingfu’s three formal invitations surely weren’t just for sipping tea and chatting with Chen Xingjian; he must have intended to bring up proper corporate business.
Yet before Lian Qingfu could even open his mouth at the dinner table, Lian Cheng had gone ahead and dug up this audition nonsense, grandly pitching it to Chen Xingjian. The way he handled things was just far too petty and small-minded.
With a heavy frown, Lian Qingfu stood up to smooth things over: “You unfilial wretch! Bothering President Chen with every little thing get upstairs right now and reflect on your actions!”
Having been raised in the palm of everyone’s hand with pampering and doting at home, Lian Cheng had naturally never suffered such humiliation before, especially not in front of Lian Que, whom he looked down upon the most.
Losing his emotional equilibrium and failing to consider the consequences, Lian Cheng actually slammed his chopsticks down directly, scattering the dishes and bowls across the table as they crashed to the floor.
“Lian Qingfu! Isn’t Lian Que just an illegitimate son?! Once he grabs onto a high branch, you’re just going to grovel and fawn over him like this?!”