PBMM CH55

Hearing these words, the young man, who had just been immersed in sweet affection, stiffened. The blood in his entire body turned ice-cold. He opened his mouth to explain, but it felt as if a massive boulder was blocking his throat, leaving him speechless.

“A-Qing…”

He wanted to say that things weren’t what he thought, wanted to easily gloss over it and deceive him like before. But looking at the hatred in the youth’s eyes, Lu Linguan couldn’t say a single word.

In an instant, heaven had turned into hell.

“When I was five, you were the one who said you wanted to take me to play a game, and tricked me into getting into that car…”

He Qing’s memory was somewhat chaotic, yet those forgotten fragments reappeared with crystal clarity in his mind. “You told me it was because of my sudden appearance that the car lost control, but in my memory, it clearly wasn’t like that!”

When he was little, he was very scared and timid. He hated going to crowded places, but his father insisted on taking him. The small boy kept his head down as he was led by the hand into the noisy Zheng household.

“A-Qing, the Zheng family’s Chenke-ge will be back soon. You stay in the room and watch TV first, be a good boy.”

The small He Qing opened his large eyes wide, watching his father busily plunge back into the crowd. He obediently sat still. Even though he didn’t understand what was so interesting about these cartoons, he still watched them like a good boy.

The room door was gently pushed open. The boy remained motionless, watching the cartoon he didn’t like at all, until a voice said, “A-Qing, let’s go play!”

The boy turned his head in pleasant surprise, cute little dimples appearing with his smile. “Linguan!”

——

The car drove at a steady speed on the way to pick up Zheng Chenke. Madam Zheng sat in the backseat. Suddenly, she heard a soft sobbing sound coming from behind the trunk. Startled, she turned to look, meeting a pair of misty, large eyes full of panic and fear.

“A-Qing? What are you doing here!” The beautiful and elegant Madam Zheng was first confused, then carefully brought the boy, who had curled into a ball from fear, out. Gently wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, she said, “There, there, stop crying. You won’t look pretty with your face all messy from crying.”

She didn’t overthink it, merely assuming the child didn’t know better and had sneaked into the car. She said to her husband in front, who had let out a confused “Hmm?”, “It’s A-Qing. I don’t know how he ended up hiding here.”

Madam Zheng was a very gentle woman. Her son, Chenke, had been relatively independent since he was young and had never acted spoiled with her. Now, looking at the cute boy stiffly curled up in her embrace, crying softly non-stop, her maternal love—which rarely had a chance to be expressed—surged. “There, there, stop crying, stop crying. Auntie will help you call your dad, and then we can go pick up your older brother together, okay?”

The soft, maternal embrace allowed the little He Qing, who usually rejected strangers, to relax slightly. He sobbed and looked up at the scenery flashing by outside the window. “Linguan said to wait for him to come find me…”

—But he had already woken up from his nap, and Linguan still hadn’t come.

Merely assuming it was a game between children, Madam Zheng didn’t take it seriously. She used a handkerchief to wipe away the tears that welled up from grievance, coaxing softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Stop crying. Will you go pick up your older brother with Auntie?”

“…Older brother?” Looked at by the boy’s large eyes, which were even darker and brighter from crying, the expression on Madam Zheng’s face became even gentler. Bringing up her excellent son, her eyes were full of joy. “Chenke-ge is just ahead at the airport. He just returned to the country, and we are going to pick him up. Today is his birthday. When A-Qing sees him, can you say ‘Happy Birthday’?”

The boy hated talking to strangers. But curled up in Madam Zheng’s gentle embrace, the maternal love he had never felt before made him somewhat reluctantly nod slightly. Alright, then I’ll just say it once.

“Hurry up and give Changying a call, he’s probably getting anxious,” the man driving in front said with a smile. “If it weren’t for the fact that he came to support me today, see if I wouldn’t scare him a bit.”

“Scare him indeed!” Madam Zheng rolled her eyes at her husband, her tone full of intimacy. “With Changying’s personality of treating work like treasure, he’s definitely busy talking to some CEO Zhang or CEO Li right now. Where would he have the time to look after A-Qing!”

“Otherwise, how did A-Qing end up on our car? Oh my, how is our little A-Qing so cute!” As she spoke, she lowered her head and gently rubbed the boy’s chubby little cheeks, her eyes full of fondness. “After we pick up Chenke-ge and go back, Auntie will tell your dad to let you stay at Auntie’s house for a few days, okay?”

The boy had always hated adults rubbing his cheeks, but now, having his cheeks rubbed by this smiling Auntie whose eyes were full of fondness for him, he pursed his lips. His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible. “Okay…”

“Hmm? Can A-Qing speak a little louder?” Madam Zheng didn’t hear clearly and leaned down, bringing her ear closer.

“I said…” The boy gathered his courage. Before he could finish, the man in front—who had been smilingly listening to them talk the whole time—suddenly changed his expression while looking at the red light ahead.

“The car has been tampered with!”

“What?”

The boy heard Madam Zheng’s confused, gentle voice by his ear. He was held tightly in her embrace. Then came the piercing screech of brakes, the woman’s scream, and finally, a violent impact!

— “Tick-tock… tick-tock…”

The boy blearily opened his eyes slightly. The ticking sound was especially clear. He saw bright red blood dripping onto the ground, pooling together. He shifted his body. Beneath him was a pair of hands—fair, beautiful, wearing a gorgeous diamond ring. Above his body was something soft. He tried hard to look up, realizing he was held in an embrace. Madam Zheng’s hands protected him tightly; her elegant and beautiful face was covered in blood.

“Auntie…”

The boy called out in fear. Only when he spoke did he realize his voice was so weak he couldn’t even hear it himself. Naturally, there was no response.

Held tightly by Madam Zheng, he couldn’t move, so he could only use his eyes to look around. The man in the driver’s seat was slumped over the seat, his hanging hand bearing a diamond ring identical to Madam Zheng’s. The family photo that had been placed nicely on the dashboard had fallen to the floor. Under the shattered glass was a handsome teenager slightly pursing his lips into a small smile. On his left was a steady father, and on his right was a gentle mother, both wearing happy smiles.

His gaze landed on the smile the teenager was pursing. In his ears was the ticking sound like life slipping away. The boy gradually fell into darkness.

“It wasn’t me who killed Zheng Chenke’s parents… It was his parents who saved me…”

The youth stood there, his eyes full of pain. “Linguan, back then, you didn’t think I would survive, did you.”

“When you tricked me into the car, you thought I would die, didn’t you?”

“Looking at someone you almost killed say they like you, don’t you feel terrible?”

As the youth made his accusations, the stiff young man’s brain worked at high speed, and his body slowly relaxed. Just like usual, he revealed a gentle smile, his voice soft. “A-Qing, I truly do like you…”

“Tricking you into that car when we were kids is the thing I regret the most. I almost lost you.” He acted as if he hadn’t seen the youth looking at him like he was a madman, continuing slowly. “A-Qing, come with me. Let’s go abroad together, get married, and spend our whole lives together.”

“A-Qing doesn’t like kids, right? I don’t like them either. Then we won’t adopt children, just the two of us.”

Lu Linguan spoke on his own, looking at the youth and smiling. “Does A-Qing know why I was caught and brought here?”

Under the youth’s pale gaze, he said slowly, “The runaway game, remember?”

“My father is an idiot. The method he thought of to save my life was actually just to send me abroad to hide. With someone like Zheng Chenke, once he sets his sights on you, even fleeing to the ends of the earth is useless. So, rather than being found by him sooner or later or running for the rest of my life, it’s better to strike first. Don’t you agree?”

The young man’s gentle and refined smile was no less than a devil’s in He Qing’s eyes at this moment. He stepped back in disbelief. “What did you do!”

“Nothing much…” Lu Linguan looked up at the He family’s main residence, his eyes full of madness, yet his voice was incredibly soft. “Zheng Chenke is right inside, isn’t he? And that arrogant butler.”

He smiled and shook his watch, saying gently, “As long as I press this, they will go ‘boom’ and disappear!”

“You’re lying!” He Qing, face pale, looked at the perfectly normal-looking watch. “Zheng Chenke would never let you bring those kinds of things back!”

“But you were sick. Zheng Chenke was so anxious for me to come and comfort you, how could he possibly remember to check for these messy things? I really have to thank you, A-Qing. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to plant it inside so smoothly, nor would I have easily made it to a safe place. What do you say, how about I press it right now?”

“Once I press it, they’ll all be blown to ashes, and I’ll take you away, okay?”

A happy smile was on Lu Linguan’s face. He reached out a finger, moving to press the watch on his left wrist—

“Don’t!!”

The youth lunged forward in a panic to stop him, but was easily dodged. A dark glint flashed through Lu Linguan’s eyes. “It seems A-Qing… doesn’t want them to die…”

“Then there’s only one last way left.”

————

“Little Young Master, how could you be so foolish!” The butler looked with deep sorrow at the pale-faced youth, his eyes full of anger at his failure to meet expectations. “Lu Linguan cannot be relied on!”

He Qing’s face was pale. With his hand held by the smiling young man, his body stiffened as he looked at Zheng Chenke, who was staring at him with a pitch-black face. “I want to go with him.”

The hand Zheng Chenke rested on the side of the sofa clenched so hard the veins popped. He almost gritted his teeth as he asked, “He treated you like this, and you still like him?”

Seeing the youth’s expression freeze, Lu Linguan smiled and stroked his watch. “This is no concern of yours, CEO Zheng. A-Qing and I are a couple. Whether we sleep together or not is none of your business.”

“Right, A-Qing.”

The youth turned his head in a daze, watching the young man’s hand threateningly slide over the watch. Before his eyes was the image of Madam Zheng’s hand wearing the diamond ring.

I absolutely cannot let anything happen to Zheng Chenke!

His lips were pale, yet he tilted his head up arrogantly just like usual. Under the disappointed gazes of the butler and Zheng Chenke, he said with a trembling voice, “I like Linguan, I just want to be with him.”

“Good boy.”

The young man beside him smiled and pulled the person into his embrace, deliberately kissing the youth’s fair cheek right in front of the two.

Zheng Chenke’s entire body trembled with anger. He stared dead at the youth. “He Qing, think clearly! You are the little young master of the He family. Why willingly degrade yourself!”

Willingly degrade myself…

The youth’s body swayed slightly, almost losing his balance. Lu Linguan stealthily supported him from behind, a victorious smile curling the corners of his mouth. “Who asked A-Qing to like me? CEO Zheng, are you going to let us leave or not.”

“I’ll let your ancestors leave!!” Supporting his aged body, the butler grabbed a plate and smashed it toward them. Lu Linguan’s pupils shrank sharply. He shielded the youth in his embrace, taking the hit with his own back.

“Don’t even think about walking out of the He family today, Lu Linguan…”

“Butler!” Zheng Chenke shouted sternly. Under his disbelieving expression, he said with a hoarse voice, “Let them go.”

He stood up, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. “He Qing, if you stay, you are still the little young master of the He family. I will return everything Uncle He left behind to you, untouched.”

“If you leave, never return to the He family again!”

The clear disappointment in the man’s eyes made the youth’s heart ache, but ultimately, he kept his head down and said, “Linguan, let’s go.”

Lu Linguan wrapped an arm around his shoulder in satisfaction, cast a disdainful glance at the stunned man, and swaggered out of the He residence.

[Ding! Lu Linguan favorability: 98]

“Young Master Zheng, how could you just let the Little Young Master leave like that!” The butler was so anxious he wished he could rush forward and snatch the person back, feeling dissatisfied even with Zheng Chenke for letting He Qing go.

He turned to say a few more words, only to find the man clutching his chest, dark red blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Shocked pale, he asked, “Young Master Zheng, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine!” Zheng Chenke wiped away the blood, his gaze dark, looking incredibly gloomy and terrifying.

“I want to see just how well Lu Linguan can keep his composure once he loses everything!”