PBMM CH44

“How is that possible…” He Qing murmured, “When Zheng Chenke’s parents had their accident, I was so little…”

“A-Qing.” Lu Linguan patted the back of his hand soothingly and whispered, “Do you remember why you are so afraid of the cold?”

The youth looked bewildered. “Haven’t I always been afraid of the cold?”

“No, you’ve forgotten. When you were little, you weren’t afraid of the cold.”

The refined young man pushed up his glasses, his voice still gentle, but the words he spoke plunged straight into the youth’s heart like a knife. “When you were six years old, on the day of Zheng Chenke’s birthday, we all went to the Zheng family’s house. Uncle Zheng drove out to pick up Zheng Chenke, and you somehow managed to climb into the car… In the end, the car overturned on the highway. It was snowing that day, and you were freezing in the ice and snow for a long time before you were found. You were eventually saved, but Uncle and Aunt Zheng died in that car crash.”

The youth’s small face turned deathly pale. He shrank back helplessly, asking in sheer panic, “Why are you saying I killed them?”

“I was still young at the time, so I don’t remember clearly. I just overheard some things when Uncle He was talking with my father. Uncle He explicitly said that he only brought Zheng Chenke into his home out of guilt and has treated him as his own son for so long. It might have been your sudden appearance that caused him to lose control of the steering wheel, or it might have been that you broke something in the car, causing it to lose control. A-Qing, you’ve always treated Zheng Chenke poorly. If he finds out the cause of his parents’ death, and now that Uncle He is unconscious, no one can predict what he might do!”

Lu Linguan’s face was full of concern, as if he genuinely worried about the youth’s safety. “Have you never noticed what Zheng Chenke is like at the company? He is someone who seeks revenge for the smallest grievance, known outside as the ‘Living Yama’. If he finds out you are the one who killed his parents, in the future…”

If Mo Chuyu heard his set of arguments, she would definitely give him a sneer and a massive eye roll. But falling upon He Qing…

The youth had always trusted Lu Linguan implicitly, combined with the fact that he was an extremely competent blockhead. Now, hearing the refined young man speak with such concern, he completely believed that he was the one who killed Zheng Chenke’s parents, and panic instantly seized his heart.

“But… but that was when I was a kid… Zheng Chenke wouldn’t do anything to me, would he…” Just looking at He Qing’s fear-reddened eyes, one could tell that even he himself didn’t believe Zheng Chenke would let him off. Putting himself in Zheng Chenke’s shoes: if a child had killed his parents, even knowing that the child was innocent, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from hating him…

Moreover, he had treated Zheng Chenke poorly since they were young. If he found out about this now…

“A-Qing, right now Zheng Chenke is a ticking time bomb. I am truly worried about you. Come stay at my house and let me take care of you, okay?”

——

Zheng Chenke was distracted the entire day. The image of He Qing hugging his pillow, pitifully holding back tears while enduring the pain, kept popping into his mind. He put down his pen and stood up under his secretary’s strange gaze. “Send everything that needs to be handled today to me. I’ll take care of it at home.”

Forget it. Uncle He only had this one son, and He Qing had been raised so delicately. During this time, he should focus a little more attention on him.

Zheng Chenke hurried all the way home, only to find the youth timidly hiding behind Lu Linguan, carefully proposing his request to leave.

The man’s face instantly darkened. But seeing He Qing looking terrified by him, desperately shrinking behind Lu Linguan in panic, he slowly let out a breath. “Why? Is it not good living at home?”

“I… I just want to go to Linguan’s house…” The youth was pale, his fingers gripping Lu Linguan’s clothes so tightly his knuckles turned white. Looking at the dark-faced Zheng Chenke, for some reason, a wave of grievance surged in his heart, and his eyes instantly reddened. He raised his red eyes, still arrogant, “I’m just going to stay for a few days! Why are you making that face!”

Zheng Chenke was almost driven to laughter by his sheer audacity.

Currently, Lu Ren was fighting him for control in the company, trying to snatch the resources Uncle He left for He Qing. And He Qing was actually saying he wanted to go live at his house?

He really wanted to get angry, but seeing the youth’s eyes, red without him even realizing it, his heart unconsciously softened. Forget it, he doesn’t know anything. Even just out of respect for Uncle He, he had to take good care of him.

“If you want to go out and play, I can let you go. But you have to tell me why you insist on going to the Lu family’s house.” Zheng Chenke’s icy gaze swept over the refined young man supporting the youth. Lu Linguan felt the gaze land on him; his hand resting on He Qing’s shoulder twitched, and he avoided meeting the man’s eyes.

“I… I…” The youth stammered, unable to speak. Could he really say that he was scared of Zheng Chenke’s revenge and wanted to hide?

Seeing him struggling to get a few words out, Lu Linguan gently patted his shoulder to comfort him, his voice gentle. “A-Qing and I are together now, so he wants to go to my house and live with me.”

Zheng Chenke’s pupils abruptly shrank for a second. His gaze shot like a sharp sword toward the youth, whose face had instantly flushed red. “You two are together?”

“What’s wrong? Does Young Master Zheng even have to manage A-Qing’s love life? A-Qing and I like each other. Once we graduate, we’ll get married.” Lu Linguan whispered gently by the youth’s blushing ear, “Right, A-Qing…”

Get married after graduation…

The youth looked up at the refined young man in disbelief, feeling both shocked and overjoyed. They hadn’t discussed the topic of marriage before. He looked at Lu Linguan with bright, sparkling eyes, nodding without a second thought, his eyes full of adoration.

It was clearly a lie to him, but seeing He Qing’s beautiful, large eyes full of trust and love, Lu Linguan actually felt a tiny bit of guilt. Of course, only a tiny bit.

[Ding! Lu Linguan favorability: 45]

Zheng Chenke looked at the pair of “lovers” gazing at each other. His eyes were dark and heavy, devoid of any emotion. He turned his head and gave the butler a glance. The butler nodded slightly, stepped forward, and respectfully yet firmly separated the youth and Lu Linguan’s clasped hands. “Young Master Lu, please leave.”

“Linguan?” He Qing, looking bewildered, was blocked behind the butler’s arm. The man behind him stepped forward, spreading his arms to trap him. Under the youth’s alarmed and angry gaze, he issued an eviction order to Lu Linguan: “You can leave now.”

“What are you doing!” The bewildered youth desperately tried to rush towards Lu Linguan but was easily blocked by the man, who was a full head taller. He was furious. “Zheng Chenke! What right do you have to stop me! Just because you don’t date, you won’t let others date either? Zheng Chenke!!”

“Hey! Hey! What are you doing!”

“Linguan! Linguan!”

Blocked by the butler, Lu Linguan didn’t struggle. He merely looked up, watching as the youth was hoisted over the man’s shoulder and carried upstairs. The youth, with his back to him, kept shouting his name. The refined young man nodded slightly to the butler. “Then, I’ll visit again next time.”

The butler’s expression was not much better. He watched as the young man left unhurriedly, listening to He Qing’s angry shouts upstairs, and couldn’t help but sigh. When would this little young master ever grow up?

“Zheng Chenke! Put me down! Did you hear me! Are you crazy!”

Ignoring the kicking and punching of the youth on his shoulder, the dark-faced man carried him all the way to his room with a gloomy expression. A second before tossing him onto the bed, he hesitated for a moment, ultimately setting the person down gently.

“What are you doing!” As soon as he landed on the bed, He Qing scrambled to the corner, hugging the blanket and watching the man vigilantly. He felt incredibly aggrieved. “Yesterday you said you wouldn’t bully me, and today you treat me like this…”

Zheng Chenke took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to get angry, and asked him stiffly, “Do you know what the consequences will be if you marry Lu Linguan?”

What consequences could there be? He Qing truly couldn’t think of any. He was just marrying the person he liked, what consequences could there be?

Seeing that he still didn’t understand, Zheng Chenke had no choice but to explain coldly, “Right now, Uncle He is in a coma, and only you can inherit his shares. If you marry Lu Linguan, isn’t that equivalent to handing your shares over to him on a silver platter? Can you really not see through such an obvious scam? He Qing, if you’re not smart enough, don’t drag me down at a time like this. I am busy enough right now. Just be a good boy and go to school, okay?”

Not smart enough…

Drag me down…

He Qing exploded.

“You’re the one who’s not smart enough! You’re the one dragging people down! Linguan is not like what you say! He likes me, that’s why he’s marrying me. He wouldn’t deceive me…” Shouting and yelling, before Zheng Chenke even had a chance to get angry, he himself started crying—a mess of snot and tears, looking quite ugly.

Before Zheng Chenke’s anger could even brew, he saw the pampered youth crying miserably. His heart felt as if it had been rubbed by something. He remained stiff amidst the aggrieved crying for a long while before taking a step with his long legs, reaching out, and tapping the youth’s messy hair. “Alright, stop crying. If you really want to marry Lu Linguan, it’s not impossible.”

The youth, who was just crying miserably, stopped almost instantly, looking at him with red eyes. “Really?”

How is he just like a child asking for candy, stopping crying the moment he gets it? Zheng Chenke rubbed his temples with a headache. “As long as Lu Linguan signs a prenuptial agreement, keeping his hands off your shares, you can marry him however you want.”

“Linguan will definitely sign it!” The youth hugged the blanket, wiping away the tears on his face, his voice still choked with sobs. “He likes me, that’s why he wants to be with me. I know it all.”

Looking at the youth whose eyes were full of longing, Zheng Chenke paused, not intending to shatter his beautiful dream. Having lived together for so many years and experienced He Qing’s arrogance and domineering behavior so many times, how had he never realized that this was just an idiot?

Being this stupid, who would truly fall in love with him.

He had originally set aside the company’s affairs to come home early. Now that He Qing had finally been calmed down, the man rubbed his temples, casually patting the youth’s head again. “Alright, hurry up and wash your face, then come down to eat.”

“Okay!” The youth scrambled out of the corner again, his hands hugging the man’s arm, looking up at him.

In his hands was a soft sensation. The man looked down. The youth, his eyes still holding tears, looked at him sparklingly and gave a grateful smile. “Zheng Chenke, thank you.”

The youth’s facial features were exquisite. There were small dimples at the corners of his mouth, faintly visible. His eyes, which resembled the Persian cat he kept when he was young, were large and round, brimming with his own reflection. Zheng Chenke stared blankly, feeling as if something had struck his heart.

His body reacted faster than his thoughts, commanding him to retract his hand abruptly. Zheng Chenke’s well-defined fingers clenched slightly, his voice remaining cold. “Causing less trouble is how you thank me.”

[Ding! Zheng Chenke favorability: 65. Reached preliminary liking. Please keep up the good work, Host!]