PBMM CH42

Zheng Chenke turned around, his expression cold and his voice lacking the slightest fluctuation: “Do you really think I would believe that?”

“I’m telling the truth!” Lu Ren had never expected this kind of reaction from him. “Back then, He Changying orchestrated the car accident that killed your father to get his shares. Weren’t his shares all divided up afterwards?!”

“Correct.” Zheng Chenke sneered. “If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Wasn’t it because of you, Uncle Lu, that my father’s shares were divided up by the board of shareholders? If Uncle He hadn’t helped me, I wouldn’t have even been able to keep this last ten percent.”

“Do you have anything else? If not, I’ll be leaving first. With He Qing around your son, I truly feel a bit uneasy.”

“Chenke! Chenke!!”

No matter how the middle-aged, plump man called after him, Zheng Chenke didn’t turn back. Lu Ren’s face darkened with hatred. He looked back at the operating room door, his gaze turning venomous.

Since he couldn’t get through to Zheng Chenke, he could only focus his efforts on He Qing.

——

“A-Qing…” Gently wiping the youth’s eyes, Lu Linguan half-squatted, asking in a soft voice, “Have you thought about what to do now that Uncle He has had an accident?”

The youth, his eyes red and swollen from crying, looked up somewhat blankly. “What?”

“With Uncle He incapacitated, and you having never learned how to manage the company, have you thought about what to do in the future?”

Lu Linguan’s voice remained gentle, as if he was genuinely trying hard to help He Qing plan for his future. “A-Qing is still in school, so who will take care of the company’s affairs? Zheng Chenke?”

The youth, still immersed in sorrow, couldn’t wrap his head around it. He nodded as a matter of course, still letting out small sobs. “Of course it’s him. Dad also said that the company would be handed over to him in the future.”

He never expected the youth, who used to constantly talk about kicking the guy out of the company, to have this kind of attitude. The expression on Lu Linguan’s face froze slightly before quickly returning to normal. Lowering his voice slightly, he asked, “Does A-Qing mean that even though you are the one who should be managing the company, Uncle He is letting Zheng Chenke do it instead?”

“I…” He Qing paused, his mind slightly muddled by his words.

“A-Qing,” seeing him swayed, Lu Linguan gently stroked his soft hair, softening his voice. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course!” The youth, the corners of his eyes red, nodded directly without a second thought. His eyes were swollen, but because of the tears, they were much brighter than before. The gaze he leveled at him was full of absolute trust. Looking at those sparkling, trust-filled eyes, the words Lu Linguan was about to say caught in his throat, but he quickly recovered.

The handsome and refined young man asked gently, “A-Qing, you are still young and don’t understand how sinister people’s hearts can be. Your relationship with Zheng Chenke has always been bad. It was fine when Uncle was around, but now that Uncle has had an accident, he has no scruples. If the company truly falls into his hands, and he turns his back on you, what will you do?”

The youth’s gaze was naive and bewildered. “But…”

“I’m not teaching you to guard against Zheng Chenke, but remember this: if he asks you for your shares, absolutely do not give them to him, understand?” Lu Linguan gently stroked the youth, who had been frightened into unease by his words, and coaxed softly, “Rest assured, A-Qing. If Zheng Chenke truly harbors no ill intentions, he won’t ask you for your shares.” The implication was, if he asked for the shares, he naturally harbored ill intentions.

He Qing’s slender fingers, red from the cold, shrank uneasily into his sleeves. He nodded obediently, his voice choked with sobs as he agreed, “I remember. If Zheng Chenke asks me for my shares, I won’t give them to him.”

His eyes were full of fear and panic towards the future. Seeing this, Lu Linguan sighed softly and pulled the person gently into his embrace. “Rest assured, A-Qing. No matter what happens, I am standing on your side.”

Lu Linguan slightly lowered his eyes. Feeling the youth hug him back tightly, as if clinging to salvation, a trace of joy flashed through his eyes.

[Ding! Lu Linguan favorability: 30]

What Zheng Chenke saw when he came over was the youth nestling tightly in the young man’s embrace, an image of infinite dependence. His brows sank slightly, and he said coldly, “He Qing, come here.”

He Qing slowly raised his head. A hint of hesitation appeared in the eyes looking at the man, his feet delaying in moving. Satisfied in his heart, Lu Linguan coaxed him softly, “A-Qing, Chenke-ge is calling you; go on.”

The young man’s gentle words and soft tone formed a stark contrast with the man’s cold attitude. Moreover, in this sensitive period right after his father’s accident, the pampered youth’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. He kept his head firmly lowered, walking over slowly, but seemingly throwing a silent tantrum at someone, refusing to make a sound.

Zheng Chenke didn’t notice anything wrong with him. Seeing that he was only wearing a thin sweater and no coat, his frown deepened severely. Although his relationship with He Qing was average, having lived in the He family for so many years, he knew perfectly well just how afraid of the cold this pampered little young master was.

The man reached out, not noticing the youth’s momentary stiffness, and grasped his soft hand. Sure enough, it felt ice-cold to the touch, like a block of ice. Frowning, he took off his own coat and draped it directly over He Qing. Seeing his teary eyes look over in surprise, his voice remained cold: “Let’s go, we’ll wait for Uncle He to come out.”

“Mhm…” Wrapped in the coat that still carried the man’s residual body heat, the youth pursed his lips, nodding and sobbing even more aggrievedly than before. The hand gripped by Zheng Chenke carefully held his hand back. His slightly stiff body also relaxed, and he obediently followed him.

Watching He Qing follow the man away without looking back, the refined, handsome young man’s gaze turned icy. He pushed up his glasses and followed.

——

He Changying had become a vegetative patient; this news spread throughout the entire city overnight.

When the pale-faced youth pushed the door open, the previously noisy classroom instantly fell silent. After all, He Qing had always acted high-profile, and his identity was no secret in the school. Right now, many people were waiting to see if this arrogant and pampered little young master would turn into a fallen phoenix.

Under gazes of either sympathy or schadenfreude, He Qing, with an ugly expression, brushed past the crowd and walked toward the very back row.

Once he reached the back row, He Qing finally understood why so many people were looking at him like they were watching a good show. His usual seat was currently occupied by someone else. Seeing him look over, that person sneered, leaned back diagonally in the chair, and provoked in an incredibly punchable manner, “Yo, isn’t this our Young Master He? Hurry up and sit down, class is about to start.”

When had He Qing ever been disrespected like this before? With a dark face, he stared fiercely at the person in front of him. “Wang Yuecheng, I’ll give you three seconds. Get out of my seat immediately!”

“You’re joking, right! Our seats have always been unassigned. Since when did they become private? Even if your dad built a teaching building for the school, you can’t blatantly ignore the school’s rules like this. Or how about you ask your rich dad to build another building for the school…” The sturdily built Wang Yuecheng grinned despicably. “Oh, wait, I forgot. Your dad is a vegetable now… Holy shit! He Qing, you dare hit me!”

With red eyes, the youth swung his fists fiercely like a madman. Every punch landed accurately on his face. Caught off guard, Wang Yuecheng was wedged between the desk and chair, actually unable to get up for a moment. He never expected the person who usually looked delicate and soft, not even daring to kill a chicken, to attack directly without a single word of nonsense. In no time, he was beaten until his nose was bruised and his face swollen.

The key point was, he wanted to get up, but the chair clamped him tightly in place, forcing him to aggrievedly endure He Qing’s beating.

The students watching the commotion nearby were instantly stunned. They never expected this kind of development. They hurried forward one after another to pull them apart, but were all crazily shaken off by the bloodshot-eyed youth, who stubbornly charged forward to continue hitting. Feeling his fists weren’t hitting hard enough, he glanced around, locked his eyes on a mop nearby, grabbed it, and charged in Wang Yuecheng’s direction.

“Holy shit!!”

Beaten dizzy and still wedged in the chair, Wang Yuecheng was terrified. He forcefully squeezed out from behind the chair, crawling out from under the desk in a scramble. Once out, he didn’t even dare to look back, his legs jelly as he fled the classroom using both hands and feet.

Just as he rushed out the classroom door, he bumped into the refined young man holding a book. Seeing it was Lu Linguan, his eyes lit up. Terrified by the suddenly crazed youth, his voice trembled as he spoke, “Lu-ge, He Qing… He Qing has gone crazy! Look how badly he beat me…”

Lu Linguan abruptly smashed his book hard into his stomach. Seeing Wang Yuecheng let out a muffled groan, unable to speak from the pain, he looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he coldly scolded, “Enough, get out of here quickly.”

“Yes, yes.” Only then did Wang Yuecheng realize this wasn’t the place to talk. Clutching his bruised face, he mumbled a few words of agreement and limped away.

After he left, Lu Linguan entered the classroom. Watching the youth still holding the mop being calmed down by the crowd, he frowned slightly. According to his understanding of He Qing, things shouldn’t have developed this way.

They grew up together; no one understood him better than he did. The little young master He Qing—all his arrogance, happiness, and high-and-mighty attitude were built upon having someone to rely on. Once his backer fell, this seemingly indestructible, proud leopard would turn into a paper tiger. Just a light poke and there would be a hole, instead of being like he was now—

Lu Linguan watched from afar, watching the youth raise his sharp quills to ward off everyone’s approach. Even though his planned scene was ruined, it wasn’t too late to make an appearance now. The handsome man quickly stepped forward, pushed through the crowd, and pulled He Qing into his embrace.

Feeling him tremble all over, Lu Linguan hugged him tightly. “It’s okay, A-Qing, it’s okay…”

Mo Chuyu practically sprinted all the way over. As soon as she arrived, she saw the scene of the two embracing. Her footsteps paused, her expression dimming, but she quickly reverted to her usual self, stepping forward to shoo people away. “Alright, alright, everyone go back to your seats, nothing to see here, nothing to see!”

Just as she finished shooing people away, she heard the gentle voice of Lu Linguan, who was still holding the youth. “A-Qing, I like you. Let me take care of you, okay?”

Mo Chuyu’s expression froze. She practically didn’t even need to think to know what the youth’s answer would be. Seeing the youth look up blankly, she stepped forward, grabbed Lu Linguan’s clothes, and forcefully separated the two. “You, come out with me for a second!”