For the entire month, Lin Yansheng had been so busy he could hardly catch his breath.
When the examination results were released, the four core subjects and three elective subjects Qin Shun had applied for all received Grade A. He was the only student in the past ten years to achieve a perfect 7A, the top scorer of his cohort.
Newspapers and television stations came one after another to conduct interviews.
Since ancient times, people had loved the narrative of a talented youth rising from humble beginnings.
What was more, this young man was strikingly handsome.
As a result, Lin Yansheng himself was swept into the camera flashes as well.
A reporter asked him what his educational secrets were.
He thought to himself: the swan does not bathe daily to keep its feathers white. He had done almost nothing at all.
Qin Shun was still the model of a filial son.
In an exclusive interview, he said that he planned to apply to medical school. In the future, he hoped to establish himself independently, open a clinic and eventually earn enough money to buy a fine house for his uncle to live in.
Thus everyone envied Lin Yansheng’s good fortune.
When he went to the publishing house to submit his manuscript, people stopped him to offer congratulations, gazing at him with admiration, as though he had planted a tree of gold that had finally borne fruit. From now on, he could rest easy, lying beneath the tree and waiting for gold to fall into his arms.
One person after another seemed to appear from nowhere to congratulate him.
Thin skinned as he was, Lin Yansheng revised the guest list for the birthday banquet again and again, until what had been planned as a single table expanded into six.
The school principal, knowing that their family circumstances were modest, introduced Lin Yansheng to a wealthy businessman.
“Mr. Qin Maolin read the newspaper and was moved by Qin Shun’s story. He would like to sponsor his education. He hopes to invite Qin Shun for a meal. Would the day after tomorrow at ten in the morning, at a private salon, be convenient?”
“Q…. Qin Maolin?!” Lin Yansheng was stunned, nearly biting his tongue.
There was no doubt that the Qin family, headed by Qin Maolin, was one of the great wealthy clans standing at the pinnacle of Rong City.
From clothing, food, housing and transport to entertainment and even the gray industries, the Qin family had influence everywhere. Not only that, they possessed vast assets overseas as well.
Why would such a person specifically request to meet Qin Shun?
Timid by nature, Lin Yansheng did not feel as though a pie had fallen from the sky. Instead, he felt uneasy.
Fortunately, he had Luo Yaoshan to consult.
After listening to him timidly recount the situation, Luo Yaoshan laughed and said casually, “They both share the surname Qin. Maybe Qin Shun is Qin Maolin’s illegitimate son.”
Lin Yansheng..
“Nonsense. Qin Maolin is an old man. He doesn’t look anything like my A’Shun!”
Luo Yaoshan waved his hand. “All right, all right, I’m not joking anymore. Don’t panic. Every time something involves that boy, you spin in circles. At least from what I’ve heard, he doesn’t have homosexual inclinations. He’s always only liked women.”
“Do you think I should agree?”
“You shouldn’t.”
Lin Yansheng grew anxious again. “Why! What if A’Shun misses a good opportunity?”
Luo Yaoshan gave him a knowing look. “See? You’ve already made up your mind.” He lit a cigarette but did not take a single puff. It burned down to ash and only then did he tap it lightly, the gray falling silently to the floor.
The meeting was scheduled for Qin Shun’s eighteenth birthday.
Originally, he had planned to tutor in the morning.
That had been arranged before the exams. The life of the poor was like a ledger; every cent had to be calculated. Missing a single day meant losing two hundred yuan.
Lin Yansheng only told him, “Clear your morning. I’ll take you to meet someone.”
Qin Shun did not ask who. He simply said all right.
Seeing how composed he was, Lin Yansheng felt a flicker of dissatisfaction. “Aren’t you going to ask who we’re meeting? What if I sell you off?”
Qin Shun nodded. “Then Uncle, remember to sell me for a good price.”
Lin Yansheng could neither laugh nor cry.
“So who is it?”
“More or less… someone who wants to sponsor your studies. He values your talent.”
At that time, Qin Shun was confident and assured. He did not doubt it.
He noticed his uncle lower his head slightly, a trace of loneliness in his posture. From above, the light fell along his cheek, giving him a delicate, pale refinement that was difficult to describe.
“…I’ve thought it over. If you study medicine, you’ll likely need to pursue further studies in Europe or America in the future. The expenses won’t be small. I… if it’s only me, I don’t know whether I can afford it.”
Lin Yansheng said.
His uncle truly had a baby face, so youthful and tender that he looked easy to bully.
That was what Qin Shun thought.
Recently, they had been accepting one interview after another yet his uncle still could not quite grow accustomed to it. He was completely unable to respond with ease. Every time an interview ended, he would be drenched in sweat, as though he had just escaped some ordeal.
Lin Yansheng could not be said to have grown up in a greenhouse.
And yet, he had his own small world, quiet, orderly, unassuming. So long as he stayed tucked within the cracks of the cement, surviving there was not difficult. If he did not step outside, he would remain safe and undisturbed.
It did not matter.
From now on, Qin Shun would handle things outwardly.
Only, he did not know why.
It was as if he were overhearing himself speak when he said, “If you ask someone else for help, aren’t you afraid Boss Luo might be unhappy?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt their sharpness. They sounded petty, even to his own ears.
“Hm?” Lin Yansheng looked puzzled and lifted his face. “I already discussed it with him.”
Qin Shun fell silent.
A sourness bubbled up inside his chest, fizzing uncontrollably.
Luo Yaoshan! Again Luo Yaoshan!
How had his uncle discussed it with him? What had they said to each other? Luo Yaoshan looked, at a glance, like someone whose intentions were not pure, certainly not a good man and yet his uncle, foolish as could be, walked so close beside him! What if one day he fell into some trap and could no longer free himself?
Lin Yansheng had long sensed that the two of them did not get along.
He spoke patiently, his voice gentle and unhurried. “A’Shun, don’t discriminate against homosexuals. I used to find it difficult to understand them too but after getting to know Yaoshan, I realized he’s no different from anyone else. There’s no such thing as a ‘homosexual virus.’ Talking to him won’t infect you and besides, if it hadn’t been for him back then, I might not have been able to bring you back safe and sound. You should be grateful to Uncle Luo.”
Grinding the words out from between his teeth, his expression shifting in subtle flashes, Qin Shun said, “I will repay him.”
Lin Yansheng shook his head. “That’s not necessary. You are my child. It was I who asked him for help.”
The scars hidden across his back flared again, as if someone had torn them open afresh.
His uncle would forever see him as a child.
A blaze rose in his chest. He wanted to protest, desperately yet he understood that the more fiercely he protested, the more childish he would appear. So he sealed his lips and fell into a cold silence.
If this had been before that blind date dinner, Lin Yansheng felt he would not have sensed anything unusual.
At that time, even though he knew Qin Shun had already grown up, in his heart A’Shun was still a little tiger cub, soft furred and bright eyed, who would hold up a pair of brand new shoes as a gift with an expression of utter disbelief, the tips of his ears flushed red.
Boys at this age hated to admit defeat.
He hesitated for a moment before, as if afraid of being bitten, he cautiously reached out to touch A’Shun’s hair.
His palm had barely brushed the edge of the table when Qin Shun immediately bowed his head obediently, as though offering himself up. His cool, slightly rough cheek lightly rubbed against Lin Yansheng’s fingertips.
It tickled, faint and fleeting.
Lin Yansheng walked in front of Qin Shun, tension flooding him from head to toe.
He took a deep breath in his heart.
Encouraging himself, You can do this, Lin Yansheng. You have to protect A’Shun!
Feigning composure, he explained their purpose to the security guard at the gate.
They were allowed through. It went smoothly.
The courtyard was as vast as a park. Endless stretches of lawn were trimmed into a green carpet that seemed to roll on forever. Snow white bungalows stood like something detached from the mortal world, encircled by neatly pruned evergreen hedges and a garden of roses.
A servant led the way, guiding them to the entrance of a glass conservatory.
The stained glass set into the walls shimmered with colored religious patterns, making the structure resemble a small chapel.
Inside, however, exotic flowers and plants from distant lands flourished in abundance. An artificial stream rippled with glints of light, its reflections cast upon the domed ceiling so that it looked like a slab of green ice swirling inside a crystal cup, dreamlike, as though it might melt beneath the fervent summer sun.
They followed a path paved with bronze colored tiles and walked forward.
At the far end, beneath a cluster of deep violet branches, a white haired man sat waiting in a wheelchair.
“Mr. Lin, thank you for bringing Qin Shun to meet me” Qin Maolin said.
“Mr. Lin, thank you for taking care of Qin Shun all these years. Please take this back with you and read it at your leisure.”
Lin Yansheng did not speak.
His heart pounded unevenly in his chest. With restless hands, he gave the document a hurried glance, skimming through the contents. The general meaning was clear enough. It required him to keep silent, to say nothing to the outside world.
Oh.
So it was hush money.
He continued reading.
When he reached the specific amount, the string of zeros made his vision blur.
He counted them once.
Then again.
And a third time.
One million.
An amount roughly equivalent to what a popular movie star might receive for a single film.
In this city, for the overwhelming majority of ordinary citizens, the troubles and anxieties of an entire lifetime could be resolved with that one figure.
Lin Yansheng felt dazed.
“Zhao Shizhen is Qin Shun’s biological mother, is she not?” Qin Maolin recited Qin Shun’s date of birth without a single mistake. “Nineteen years ago, I was involved with her for a period of time. Alas… there were certain unspeakable difficulties. Back then, I believed she had terminated the pregnancy and left for another place.”
At that moment, it was as though Lin Yansheng had swallowed fireflies, everything inside him lit up at once.
So that was how it was.
For a split second, he felt a strange sense of distance between himself and A’Shun, as though they stood at opposite ends of heaven and earth.
Why had this twist of fate not occurred sooner?
The thought drifted through his stunned mind.
If there had been this one million back then… Shizhen would not have died, would she?
Meanwhile, Qin Shun’s voice was astonishingly calm.
“Sir, as of today I am an adult. A legal guardian is no longer required by law, nor can one be transferred.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator has been bribed with exactly zero coffees so far. Fix this. 😭
☕ 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