PBMM CH43

“What exactly do you want to do?” Downstairs, Mo Chuyu glared fiercely at the young man, her eyes full of vigilance and wariness.

The refined young man smiled gently. “Chuyu, what do you mean by that? Naturally, I want to be with A-Qing.”

Mo Chuyu sneered, her beautiful face full of disdain. “Lu Linguan, don’t play pretend with me here. We grew up together. A-Qing is innocent and can’t see it, but I see it with crystal clarity. You harbor ulterior motives entirely. Since we were little, you’ve deliberately made A-Qing like you, putting on a gentle face to string him along. And now, the moment Uncle Lu had an accident, you step forward. If you’re not a weasel paying respects to a chicken, only a ghost would believe you!”

The girl in front of him was flushed red with anger, yet Lu Linguan still smiled gently, his voice unhurried. “Then go tell A-Qing.”

The expression on Mo Chuyu’s face froze.

The young man smiled refinedly, his smile brimming with the certainty of victory. “You know that compared to you, the person A-Qing trusts more is me. If you go tell him, it will only make him distance himself from you, won’t it?”

“Chuyu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first. A-Qing is still waiting for me.”

Mo Chuyu stared stiffly as the refined young man turned and walked back with steady steps. Suddenly, she shouted, “You know A-Qing trusts you. If you do something to betray him, you know how heartbroken he’ll be!”

Lu Linguan’s footsteps only paused for a second before he continued walking upstairs. A gentle smile lingered on his lips. As he made his way upstairs and saw the slightly anxious youth waiting at the top of the stairs, he opened his arms and hugged him tightly.

“A-Qing…” The elegant, magnetic voice murmured softly by the youth’s ear, “You will always like me, right?”

“Mhm!” The youth answered without a second thought. “I will always like Linguan!”

“Good, I will always like A-Qing too…” Lu Linguan slightly raised an eyebrow at the girl who was walking upstairs behind He Qing. Seeing her ugly expression, he curled his lips into a faint smile.

——

Zheng Chenke returned home exhausted, only to find the room lit with dim lights. The youth, whose figure was much more petite than the average boy’s, was curled up lying on the sofa, half-covered by a blanket. The soft sofa sank, enveloping his entire person within it, as if he were inside an eggshell.

The man was taken aback, finding it somewhat strange why he didn’t go upstairs to sleep. He walked over carefully. Only when he got closer did he realize that the youth’s slender, fragile ankles were exposed. Those feet, which hadn’t done a single day of hard work since birth, were without socks, just bare outside the blanket. Thinking of the youth’s constitution that was afraid of the cold, Zheng Chenke frowned, reached out, and carefully pulled the blanket over those fair and tender bare feet.

“Mhm…” Even though he had been careful enough, the youth on the sofa murmured something uneasily. The man’s hand involuntarily froze mid-air, only carefully withdrawing it after seeing him fall back into a peaceful sleep.

The butler came out just then carrying clothes. Seeing Zheng Chenke standing by the sofa, he bowed slightly. “Young Master Zheng, you’re back…”

Before Zheng Chenke even had time to tell him to keep his voice down, the old man’s respectful voice rang out clearly. Almost immediately, the youth lying on the sofa slowly opened his eyes, looking somewhat blearily at the man standing beside him.

His eyes were very large, his eyelashes curled, and his pupils were like a child’s—pitch-black and bright. It reminded Zheng Chenke of a Persian cat he had kept when he was young, which also had such large eyes, round and very lovable. But later, after his parents’ accident, he moved into the He family, and He Qing had a severe allergy to cat hair. The cat was given away, and he had been sad about it for several days.

Perhaps it was because He Qing had been too obedient these past few days, or perhaps it was because he remembered the cat he used to keep. Zheng Chenke’s gaze softened slightly. He looked down at the youth and naturally patted his somewhat messy hair. “Why aren’t you sleeping in your room?”

The youth stared at him with wide eyes, having just woken up and being somewhat dazed. It took him a long time to process what the man was asking. He blinked, answering a beat late: “I wanted to wait for you to come back.”

Zheng Chenke froze, a hint of warmth rising in his heart. “Alright, I’m back. Go upstairs and sleep now.”

“Zheng Chenke!” Seeing him about to leave, the youth, still sunk in the sofa, suddenly reached out and grabbed his sleeve. Seeing the man turn back with slight confusion, He Qing uneasily bit his lip, his voice almost inaudible. “Dad’s shares… when can they be transferred to me?”

With the utterance of this question, the atmosphere that had just softened instantly froze.

Feeling the icy gaze fall upon him, the youth trembled entirely, not even daring to raise his head. Yet, in the eerie silence, he spoke with a trembling voice: “Those shares were supposed to be given to me anyway. You… you should return them to me…”

The man’s gaze was icy as he asked coldly: “Who taught you to say these things!”

He was already a living Yama-like figure. Before, He Qing could rely on his father’s presence and not be afraid of him, but now, having lost his backing, the youth himself chickened out. But thinking of Linguan, he stubbornly refused to tell the truth. Like a dead duck with a hard beak, he raised his head. Even though he was terrified and trembling, he still argued back: “No one taught me! It’s just the truth! You were supposed to give me those shares anyway!”

“Before Uncle He had his accident, he signed an agreement. If anything happened to him, before your nineteenth birthday, the shares would be managed by me as a proxy, but the generated profits would still be yours. Do you understand?” Zheng Chenke wanted to explain nicely, but for some reason, the words that came out were stiff and cold, as if he were threatening something. The moment he spoke, he knew it was bad. Looking at He Qing, sure enough, the little young master’s eyes were already rimmed with red.

Seeing the youth in front of him with red eyes, looking at him pitifully, on the verge of crying, Zheng Chenke coughed, trying to make himself speak less stiffly. “Uncle is just temporarily in a coma, he will wake up. I am only managing these shares temporarily. Once you turn nineteen, they will still be given to you, understand?”

His comfort only made the youth, who already felt wronged, feel even more aggrieved. Earlier, his eyes had merely been red, but now, tears started falling pitter-patter like they cost nothing. Pouting his rosy lips, he sobbed softly, full of grievance: “Why… do I have to wait until I’m nineteen…”

Linguan already told him that he was fully capable of handling the shares independently now!

“And, and Dad…” Speaking of his doting father, the little young master He Qing cried even more unstoppably. Tears flowed down continuously like broken beads. He cried so hard his entire body was convulsing. “Don’t lie to me. I know Dad can’t wake up anymore. I heard what the doctor said to you. He said Dad is already brain-dead. Unless there’s a miracle, otherwise… otherwise he will absolutely never wake up!”

“Dad just had an accident, and you’re already lying to me, coaxing me… In the future, you’ll kick me out and let me die on the streets…”

“What nonsense are you saying!” The man, who had been listening to the youth’s tearful complaints with helpless resignation, changed his expression at the last sentence. He glared at him with a dark face. “Who exactly taught you these things!”

The youth, who was already full of pent-up anger, raised his head in a huff and fiercely smashed the teacup on the table onto the floor. The teacup shattered into pieces. He proudly raised his head and loudly declared, “I’m not a little kid! Why do you assume everything I say is taught by someone else! You… hic!”

His aggressive declaration was interrupted by a crying hiccup. Even He Qing, who was in the middle of throwing his young master tantrum, was stunned himself. His long eyelashes, wet from crying, curled up innocently at this moment. It was clearly a naive face, yet it inexplicably gave off a sense of temptation. Before Zheng Chenke could even feel astounded by his own thoughts, he saw the youth, who had been stunned for a few seconds, extend his slender finger, intending to wrench the situation back to the correct tone. He pointed hatefully at Zheng Chenke: “You… hic!”

Another crying hiccup.

Faced with the dumbfounded little young master, Zheng Chenke laughed out loud very unkindly. Hearing his laughter, He Qing’s face quickly turned red. Holding his breath, he glared at him in shame and anger, but this time, he didn’t dare to speak again, terrified of another hiccup.

“Alright, stop letting your imagination run wild. Hurry upstairs and sleep.”

Staring at him with puffed cheeks for a long time, the youth unwillingly squeezed out a dry: “Oh.”

He got off the sofa, but the moment his foot touched the floor, he hissed and reflexively pulled his foot back in fright. The spot he had just stepped on was exactly where the fragments of the teacup he had just smashed lay. The man looked over, and beside the fair, tender sole of his foot was a glaring crimson. Zheng Chenke’s pupils shrank sharply. Before his mind could even process anything, his body acted first. Half-kneeling on the floor, he carefully held the youth’s ankle. “You cut yourself.”

“It hurts so much…” The tears the little young master had just stopped began to fall pitter-patter again. Looking at the crimson on his foot, the pain also made him feel dizzy. He was incredibly aggrieved. “I faint at the sight of blood… don’t let me look!”

Zheng Chenke froze, then hurriedly reached out his broad, slender hand to cover the youth’s eyes, but the youth dodged in disgust. “You touched my foot! Dirty!”

Didn’t I touch your foot? How is that dirty?

The man came back to his senses, reaching out to block the still-bleeding cut on the foot. He looked at the feet that he could firmly enclose with just one hand. The toes were round, the pink nails revealing a healthy color. The soles, which rarely even walked, were incredibly smooth and tender. Only then did Zheng Chenke suddenly realize that He Qing had grown up pampered and spoiled since childhood; every inch of him had been carefully cherished.

He began to feel somewhat distressed. During the time Uncle He was absent, would he truly be able to take good care of this little young master?

[Ding! Zheng Chenke favorability: 50]

[So easy to increase…] The youth huddled deep in the sofa, his eyes tightly closed. [So, why exactly did this body end up with not even his bones remaining in the original world?]

[Does the Host require the reminder service? The system will remind the Host at any time, just give me points.]

[The focus is still on Lu Linguan. Lu Linguan… what kind of person does he like…]

[One thousand points, and I will tell the Host.]

[But this body… hiss! The threshold for enduring pain is terrifyingly low… How exactly was he raised, to be able to raise a body so delicate that it shatters at the slightest touch…]

[For only 999, pain immunity, valid for one world. You deserve to have it. Would the Host like a bottle?]

He Qing kept his eyes closed, his fragile ankle held in the man’s hand. He tightly hugged a throw pillow, biting his lip and refusing to make a sound. But every time Zheng Chenke dabbed medicine onto the wound, the entire body sunk in the sofa trembled. His foot uncontrollably wanted to withdraw, but due to the man’s firm grip, he could only endure the pain.

[No! I want to save up points! I won’t give them to you!]

After applying the medicine, both Zheng Chenke, who had applied it, and the youth let out a huge sigh of relief. Looking at the youth with wet eyes and a face full of fragility, the man sighed. With an unprecedented gentleness, he wrapped the gauze around the foot for him. By the time it was finally done, the youth had sneezed several times from the cold, his eyes even more teary.

“Zheng Chenke, I’m cold. I want to go upstairs and sleep.”

Nodding, the man stood up and reached out to help him. “Let’s go, I’ll help you.”

“No! My foot hurts, I can’t walk.” The little young master, who had just been treated so carefully, began to act up again. It was just that because his eyes were wet from pain, he looked incredibly pitiful. Huddled in the sofa, he whispered his demand: “Carry me up on your back.”

The man silently met the youth’s eyes for a moment. Finally, he turned his back. “Get on.”

He Qing carefully supported his body up. After pressing his hands against the man’s broad, thick back a few times, he frowned. “Forget it, piggybacking looks too ugly. You should just carry me in your arms.”

Zheng Chenke turned back to look at him. “Are you getting on or not? If not, I’m leaving.”

Ultimately, the little young master He Qing pouted and climbed onto the man’s back with a face full of reluctance. As he was carried upstairs, during the quiet ascent, Zheng Chenke felt the hot breath by his ear as a delicate voice whispered softly, “I realize you aren’t that annoying after all.”

The man really wanted to ask when he had ever been annoying, but the thick drowsiness in the youth’s tone made him remain silent in the end. He carried this little young master in silence all the way to his room, placing him securely on the bed.

The youth slept soundly on the bed, his thick, long eyelashes casting shadows under the light. Only then did Zheng Chenke realize that he was very good-looking. When his eyes were open, he was arrogant and bad-tempered, throwing unreasonable tantrums. But when he closed his eyes and slept peacefully, he was so obedient he looked like a doll in a display window, making one’s heart ache with fondness.

Gently tapping the part of the youth’s cheek where his dimples were, the man carefully tucked him in, then prepared to leave. However, the soundly sleeping youth suddenly called out in his sleep, “Zheng Chenke!”

Zheng Chenke’s footsteps paused, and he turned to look at him, only to see the youth with his eyes closed, mumbling vaguely, “My shares…”

A trace of disappointment that he himself couldn’t understand flashed through the man’s eyes. He turned off the light and walked out of the room.

The little young master caught a cold the very next day.

The youth, whose nose was stuffed and could only breathe through his mouth, sat on the bed holding tissue paper, righteously laying blame: “It’s all your fault!”

“If it weren’t to wait for you to get off work, I wouldn’t have caught a cold!”

This reason was truly too absurd to even retort. Zheng Chenke ignored it. With a dark face, he merely touched the top of the youth’s feverish head, then looked at his still-bandaged foot, his gaze darkening.

“Butler, have you called the doctor?”

“He has already been called and will arrive shortly. Please go to the company, sir. Leave the young master to my care.”

The youth, who had been huffing angrily, immediately turned his head nervously upon hearing this. He looked at the man, wanting to ask him to stay, but the words that came out were: “You’re not allowed to go! You’re the one who made me catch a cold. You’re not allowed to go to work, hear me!”

The man, who had originally planned to stay, frowned imperceptibly and looked at the butler. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

“Zheng Chenke!”

Watching helplessly as the man in the suit walked away, the previously arrogant youth’s eyes gradually reddened. He looked aggrievedly in the direction Zheng Chenke had disappeared. The desire to get closer to him, sparked by last night’s events, sank down once again.

“What’s the big deal, isn’t it just going to work at the company! Acting so arrogant every day. Wait until the future, I will also…”

Halfway through his sentence, the youth suddenly stopped. How could he have forgotten! His shares!

The butler had watched He Qing grow up and deeply understood his nature of having a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Just as he was about to say a few words, a knock came from the door. “Young Master, Young Master Lu is here to see you.”

————

“A-Qing…” Lu Linguan looked with heartache at the pale-faced youth lying on the bed. “What happened to you? Weren’t you perfectly fine yesterday?”

The youth, who had been crying out in pain earlier, broke into a smile upon seeing the person he liked, no matter how much it hurt. He gleefully hugged the young man’s arm. “It’s nothing, I accidentally stepped on a teacup.”

Feeling the youth’s dependence, Lu Linguan’s heart sank. “Did Zheng Chenke do something to you? Otherwise, how could you suddenly step on a teacup when you were perfectly fine!”

“He didn’t!”

He Qing waved his hand, looking entirely carefree. “I was just careless.” As he spoke, he remembered something else. “Linguan, I think Zheng Chenke treats me alright. Those things you said before might have been overthinking.”

“Even though he’s cold and boring, my dad treated him so well. It’s impossible for him to harm me, don’t you think?”

He had finally managed to persuade the youth, yet in just one night, he had changed his mind. The smile on Lu Linguan’s face remained unchanged, still gentle. “I also hope that’s the case. But A-Qing, I recently heard a rumor…”

He built up the suspense fully, and under the youth’s vibrant and curious gaze, slowly said: “Zheng Chenke’s parents… it seems they had an accident because of you.”

The youth’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

“Because… me?”