“I don’t know, Uncle. I only found out about it today as well. Before she died, my mother only ever warned me about one thing, she told me not to dream about searching for relatives. She said that otherwise I might end up dying without even a place to be buried.”
Qin Shun answered almost immediately, without even blinking.
In truth, I don’t know how to teach a child.
Not even a little.
Lin Yansheng thought.
Even though Qin Shun was standing right in front of him, he somehow felt as though he could not sense his presence at all.
Everything seemed to be reversed.
Distant from him, blurred and far away.
Qin Shun kept talking, speaking endlessly in a soft and meticulous manner as he laid out the advantages and disadvantages one by one. Then he asked, “Uncle, you don’t believe me? Are you planning to go consult Luo Yaoshan again? You should remember that we are the ones who are truly family. Our interests are bound together.”
“Is that so?”
Only after the words slipped out did Lin Yansheng realize that it was he himself who had spoken. He had been holding it in for a long time. Deep within his chest, emotions churned like boiling magma, erupting suddenly and without warning, surging upward with a scorching sense of defiance.
Did he really look that foolish and easy to deceive?
“I’ve been wondering whether I’m nothing more than your last resort when you had nowhere else to turn. You’re so clever, Qin Shun. Everyone says you have limitless potential and I’m the one who got the advantage. You’re always telling me you’ll listen to me, listen to me but when have you ever truly listened? Your mind is always full of your own plans!”
“Do you really think I’m an idiot?”
“And the injury on your back, how exactly did it happen? I asked your teachers and your classmates. None of them know. What have you been secretly doing? And in the past half year, why is it that every time I try to have a private talk with you, you avoid me? You won’t even discuss with me what major you want to apply for in university.”
The more Lin Yansheng spoke, the angrier he became, until he finally stood up.
“You say you treat me as family but right now, I truly can’t feel it anymore. The way you treat me, sometimes distant, sometimes condescending. I don’t know whether you mean it intentionally or not but all I know is that you look down on me.”
“Uncle, you’ve misunderstood,” Qin Shun’s expression stiffened for a brief moment before softening again. He leaned forward slightly.
“I just didn’t want to trouble you. Haven’t you been busy rushing your manuscript? As for university, there are only a handful of majors to choose from anyway. When reporters asked me before, I hadn’t really thought about it either, I just gave a random answer. Now I can discuss it with you, alright? Whatever you want me to study, I’ll study.”
He spoke as though patiently coaxing a small animal.
Look at that.
Every single time, it was the same trick, evading the important points and focusing on the trivial.
An old routine.
Lin Yansheng let out a cold laugh.
“Why bother wasting time? You wouldn’t listen to me anyway. It’s always like this. You’ve grown up, your wings have hardened and I’m nothing more than an incompetent elder. My opinions are completely irrelevant.”
Qin Shun had never imagined that one day his uncle would look at him with such an expression.
The pain was so intense it felt as though his chest had been torn open.
Where had he gone wrong?
His mind had never once faltered even during exams yet now he was flustered and speaking without thinking.
“Uncle, I don’t have even the slightest intention of looking down on you. Look, precisely because I’m young, sometimes I don’t measure my words properly. With so much money involved, even I’ve been a little overwhelmed…”
Lin Yansheng looked at him and interrupted.
“So how exactly did your back get injured?”
Qin Shun:
His throat tightened.
He couldn’t answer.
By the time Lin Yansheng came back to his senses, he was already standing alone beneath the old city block.
The place that had once been filled with countless lights from thousands of homes was now utterly silent.
He had heard that before long, the building where he had grown up would be demolished.
The walls were covered everywhere with painted demolition marks.
Sometimes, when he woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, he still felt as though he were back in his hometown.
Like a wandering ghost, he drifted around the area until dawn.
Until a patrolling police officer stopped him.
The officer said, “From a distance I thought you were a kid. Uh… apparently not. Are you mentally stable? Why don’t you come down to the station for a drug test. Are your family members looking for you?”
Were they looking for Qin Shun?
No. No.
If that happened, the little dignity he still had left as an elder would completely disappear.
After much persuasion and explanation, he finally managed to leave.
Lin Yansheng gradually calmed down as well.
What was he doing?
He wasn’t a child who didn’t understand anything anymore.
It was all his fault for being too narrow minded.
The grown up Qin Shun was an overly forceful adult man. Every single moment spent beside him seemed to scrape harshly against Lin Yansheng’s nerves, grating and rasping without pause.
Just then, an early morning tour bus passed by, unloading a group of foreign tourists. They stepped down in high spirits, excitedly wandering about to tour the ruins.
Lin Yansheng passed through the lively crowd. He strolled slowly along the street, making his way back.
His mind was a mess.
Perhaps, he thought, it would be better to wait until he returned home and then talk things through calmly with A’Shun.
Qin Shun was exceptionally talented. Anyone in his position would feel proud. Having only a little bit of youthful arrogance was already a form of restraint.
…Was it possible that he himself was simply being too sensitive?
With these thoughts turning over in his mind, Lin Yansheng returned home.
The house was completely empty.
Panic rose within him. He hurriedly called Luo Yaoshan for help.
It was a young man who answered the phone. His voice was heavy with sleepiness and he yawned as he asked, “Who is this?”
No matter how many times one encountered such situations, they were still awkward. Lin Yansheng forced himself to explain the situation.
Not long after, Luo Yaoshan took the phone.
“Don’t worry. Wait there a moment, I’ll come pick you up.”
“I’ll come over,” Lin Yansheng said hurriedly.
“What happened? Weren’t the two of you all affectionate like father and son just yesterday?”
“…”
“What did you argue about?”
“Let’s find the person first before we talk about anything else.”
Lin Yansheng didn’t bother trying to save money this time. He called a car and headed straight to Luo Yaoshan’s residence.
Luo Yaoshan had purchased an entire building in the bustling downtown district and lived on one of its floors.
The security guards recognized Lin Yansheng, so he passed through without any trouble.
He walked quickly and as soon as he took the elevator upstairs, he faintly heard the sound of people arguing.
The voices were indistinct, drifting vaguely through the air so that it was impossible to make out what exactly was being said yet Lin Yansheng’s ears twitched slightly and he recognized Qin Shun’s voice among them.
After searching everywhere without success, here he was.
Lin Yansheng stepped closer.
Luo Yaoshan’s residence had originally been a hotel and the thick carpet swallowed every trace of footsteps.
The sky outside was still dim with the lingering darkness of early dawn.
A beam of light spilled out through a half closed door, glaringly bright in the gloom.
He was only one step away from entering.
His steps came to an abrupt halt.
“Qin Shun, he regards you as his child but what about you?”
“I have never regarded Lin Yansheng as my father.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
One coffee for the translator. One less excuse for them to disappear. 😌
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · UncleChapter 2 · Ran AwayChapter 3 · TimidChapter 4 · DeceasedChapter 5 · Grow upChapter 6 · CharmChapter 7 · EndureChapter 8 · Biological FatherChapter 9 · ContestChapter 10 · MisunderstoodChapter 11 · BreakChapter 12 · ReunionChapter 13 · MeetChapter 14 · To clearChapter 15 · InstructionsChapter 16 · RegretChapter 17 · SecretChapter 18 · Subtle SophistryChapter 19 · GuestChapter 20 · KissingChapter 21 · Extra 1Chapter 22 · Extra 2Chapter 23 · Extra 3Chapter 24 · Extra 4Chapter 25 · Extra 5Chapter 26 · Extra 6Chapter 27 · Extra 7Chapter 28 · Extra 8