Chapter 34 - Differential Treatment
Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing went to school together as usual. An aggrieved Xu Yao was following behind. Although it had been established that he was still Lin Qian’s best friend, at this very moment, Xu Yao didn’t feel like he had been promoted to this coveted position. On the contrary, he felt like he was a shining, dazzling, light bulb.
“Here, milk.” Zheng PingQing handed Lin Qian a box of milk. Ever since Lin YaZhi had been ordered not to cook, Zheng PingQing became responsible for Lin Qian’s breakfast.
Lin Qian accepted the box and put in the straw. He was about to drink when Zheng PingQing put a hand on top of the milk carton. “Wait, don’t drink on an empty stomach. Eat a muffin first.”
Lin Qian took a muffin from Zheng PingQing. It had delicate workmanship and had an attractive fragrance. Lin Qian wrinkled his nose a bit. “It’s too greasy to eat sweets in the morning.”
Zheng PingQing tried to coax him. “Pad your stomach first. I’ll go to the wonton shop nearby and buy you a bowl of wontons.”
And so Lin Qian took a bite of the muffin. “I want dry wontons.”
Zheng PingQing had long acquired the skills to deal with this situation. “I know, I know. So dry wontons with green onions instead of coriander and a small spoonful of chili oil for the sauce, right? I’ll mix it in with the wontons so they don’t stick together.”
Lin Qian nodded contentedly. “Mm-hm.”
Xu Yao, who was being treated like air: “...”
In fact, Zheng PingQing had been bringing Lin Qian breakfast every day. And if Lin Qian had physical education that day, Zheng PingQing would prepare snacks in addition to the breakfast.
However, Xu Yao, who was ignorant and simple, had always thought it was just a way Zheng PingQing had devised to steal his friend. Like a treacherous concubine, Xu Yao had occasionally reminded Lin Qian not to be bribed by Zheng PingQing’s small favors.
And now that he knew the truth, Xu Yao fervently wishes that he remained the ignorant fool.
At least back then, he could watch this scene idly. But now, he had the constant impulse to poke himself blind.
For the very first time, Xu Yao had understood that sometimes, one can be the happiest when they know nothing.
And he didn’t know if he was imagining things, but Xu Yao felt that ever since he came out of the closet, Zheng PingQing had become more unrestrained. Although he hadn’t been overly excessive, Zheng PingQing still exercised some sort of self-discipline back when Xu Yao didn’t know the truth. But now, Zheng PingQing looks like he wanted to feed Lin Qian by hand right then and there.
Meanwhile, Zheng PingQing was still fussing over Lin Qian. “By the way, what do you want for your soup? The soup they give with the wontons isn’t very nutritious. I’ll buy some stew, chicken or ribs?”
Hearing the constant chatter of food from Zheng PingQing, mixed with the sweet aroma from the muffin, Xu Yao couldn’t help but gulp.
‘growl..’
Zheng PingQing: “....”
Lin Qian, who had been thinking of what soup he should get, also turned towards Xu Yao. “Didn’t you have breakfast already?”
Xu Yao’s situation was different from Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing. His family’s cooking was normal. Xu Yao would usually meet up with Lin Qian after eating breakfast, so the other two would only arrange food for themselves. Over time, they would end up ignoring Xu Yao while they ate their breakfast...
Xu Yao internally scolded himself: This dishonorable belly of his!
“Oh, my mom’s on a business trip, so she just gave me money to buy some food.” That is to say, he hasn’t eaten yet.
Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing looked at each other. After thinking about it for a bit, Zheng PingQing took another carton of milk from his bag and handed it to Xu Yao. “Here you are, brother-in-law.”
Xu Yao instantly shattered. “What did you just call me!”
Zheng PingQing, who looked like what he just said was a matter of course, said: “You’re my boyfriend’s brother, so of course you’d be my brother-in-law. What’s wrong with that?”
Xu Yao couldn’t help but complain to Lin Qian: “Ah Qian, he’s barking nonsense!”
Lin Qian took a moment to seriously think about it, then turned towards Zheng PingQing. “He’s right, it’s not quite right.”
At this, Xu Yao suddenly straightened and looked at Zheng PingQing with his chin raised. “Hear that? You’re wrong.” He knew that it was only Lin Qian that could handle Zheng PingQing.
As long as Lin Qian spoke, Zheng PingQing wouldn’t dare talk rubbish.
Then, Lin Qian continued, correcting him. “Xu Yao is a little older than me. Strictly speaking, you should be calling him ‘older brother’ instead. It wouldn’t be nice to disregard his seniority.”
Xu Yao: “...”
“I was wrong.” Zheng PingQing once again offered Xu Yao the carton of milk. “Older brother, take it, we’re family after all. You’re welcome.”
Xu Yao stretched out a trembling hand and accepted the milk. After choking for a long time, Xu Yao felt something was wrong and immediately looked at Lin Qian to complain: “Why older brother? Shouldn’t it be uncle?!”
Lin Qian’s lips twitched. “Don’t you feel that being called uncle is a bit wrong?”
Xu Yao thought about it for a bit. But in the end, being called older brother came with too many wrong implications, ah!
Zheng PingQing added to the chaos: “Then, should I call you sister-in-law?”
Xu Yao choked again. He ground his teeth for quite a while. His top student brain helpfully gave him many different ways one could murder someone without drawing blood. He turned to Zheng PingQing and said: “If we’re going to be a family now, I can’t call you ‘Classmate Zheng’ anymore. How about I start calling you ‘sister-in-law‘!”
After saying this, Xu Yao couldn’t help but show a sinister smile. He waited for Zheng PingQing to get annoyed at him, so he could take the opportunity to make Lin Qian understand the importance of address.
But Zheng PingQing acted completely different from what Xu Yao had been expecting. Instead, Zheng PingQing’s eyes lit up when he heard Xu Yao’s words. Ecstatic, he said: “Yes, of course we’re family! I’m delighted to get older brother’s stamp of approval!”
Xu Yao: “...” Was it because he was too fussy, or was it just Zheng PingQing being too shameless? He was obviously a high school student, but Xu Yao suddenly felt that he was much too young to understand the minds of these loving dogs.
The sad Xu Yao felt drained of energy, so he began ripping the packaging of his straw. After giving the milk carton a good look, his face darkened again. “Why did you get a calcium drink specifically for children?”
“Oh.” Zheng PingQing replied: “It’s because I wanted pure milk.”
In the end, Lin Qian was Xu Yao’s best friend. Lin Qian thought that he shouldn’t let Xu Yao drink on an empty stomach. He asked: “Do you want some of my muffin? I’ll give you half?”
Zheng PingQing hurriedly said: “No, no, there’s no need for you to do that, I have more.” He opened his knapsack and took out a bag of bread, then handed it to Xu Yao.
Xu Yao looked at the muffins Zheng PingQing had offered him. Whether it was the packaging or the muffins themselves, the delicacies looked very different from the muffin Lin Qian had in his hand. Zheng PingQing explained: “While I was buying some muffins, I saw that those ones were selling at a discount, so I thought I’d get them. I was planning to feed them to Dong MingEn and the others. They’ve been studying hard recently.”
With a complicated expression in his face, Xu Yao said: “Do you know why these are discounted?”
When Zheng PingQing shook his head, an expressionless Xu Yao showed him the shelf-life sticker on the back of the bag. “It’s because it’s expired.”
“I see.” Zheng PingQing clapped his hands. “Then, you better eat quickly.”
Then Zheng PingQing turned to Lin Qian and said: “Don’t worry about him and eat slowly. Don’t choke. That muffin was baked just this morning; it was still hot when I bought it.”
Xu Yao: “...” I want to sink to the ground and cover my scars.
Xu Yao obviously hasn’t eaten anything yet, but why did he feel so stretched out?
The three eventually arrived at the intersection near the school gate. Zheng PingQing turned to Lin Qian and said: “You go on ahead and do some self-study. I’ll go buy those wontons.”
“Oh, buy some for Xu Yao too.” Lin Qian told him, before turning towards Xu Yao. He asked him: “What do you want?”
Although Xu Yao felt stretched thin, he couldn’t help but start ordering: “I also want dry wontons. No onions, no coriander, no chili. Oh, and some chestnut chicken soup too.”
Zheng PingQing listened to his order and concluded: “You have too many requirements for your wonton. Having extra soup also means it’ll have to be packed in a separate box so it’ll be too cumbersome. It’ll be the same if you get wonton soup, so just get that.”
Perhaps it was because he saw the speechless expression in his older brother’s face. Zheng PingQing, the new sister-in-law, decided to correct his attitude and hurriedly added: “It’s my treat, older brother. You’re welcome.”
The young Xu Yao suddenly understood that when rich people willingly spent their money on you, while sounding perfunctory, it was probably how they showed affection.
Zheng PingQing was just about to leave, but when he turned around, he saw with a group of sloppily dressed boys, eyeing him.
The group of students immediately blocked Zheng PingQing’s way, and the group’s leader stepped forward with his chin raised. “Good morning Mr. Zheng.”
Lin Qian, who was about to walk away, stopped in his tracks. Lin Qian could vaguely recognize this group of students. He knew that they should be students in the same grade as them, but he couldn’t quite remember who they were.
But Xu Yao, the only normal person in the trio who was living in this one timeline, recognized the group immediately. He scolded: “It’s the gang from Class 7! What do they want?”
The classes in No.12 High School were arranged according to their grades. The worse a person’s grades were, the higher their class number was. The last class in the senior grade was, of course, Class 8. As the big boss of Class 8, Zheng PingQing and his little brothers were naturally the worst gangsters in their entire grade.
But that didn’t mean they didn’t have competition. For example, a small group had emerged in Class 7 that were also giving teachers big headaches. It was this group currently in front of Zheng PingQing. Their leader was a guy named Guo DangLi, and he was famous for having two great big demerits.
Guo DangLi smiled as his gaze swept through Zheng PingQing’s body. He then turned his gaze towards Lin Qian. With an exaggerated look of surprise, he said to Zheng PingQing: “Yesterday, when I saw the photo of the contract between Boss Zheng and the top students about doing some remedial lessons, I thought it was made by someone trying to destroy your reputation! I thought, ‘how could Boss Zheng sign such a thing.’ I didn’t expect...seeing you two together. Are you really planning on following Lin Qian now?”
Guo DangLi’s expression was so pompous, and his tone sounded even more sinister. Several of his brothers behind him also followed his lead and snickered. This group all stared at Zheng PingQing, waiting for him to angrily explode.
The lazy Zheng PingQing couldn’t be bothered with this group of people. Zheng PingQing took a step back, and with a disgusted scoff, said: “Yes, I’m already Lin Qian’s man. Did you want to give me a gift to congratulate me?”
Xu Yao: !!!!
Xu Yao’s eyes widened in disbelief. He was seriously doubting whether he heard Zheng PingQing correctly. Did Zheng PingQing really say those words in broad daylight and amongst a large crowd? To his former competitors?!
What is this ‘I’m Lin Qian’s man’!!!
Does he understand what he’s saying?
Even while he was shocked to death, Xu Yao still didn’t forget to check what Lin Qian’s reaction would be. But when Xu Yao glanced at Lin Qian, he saw that Lin Qian was as indifferent as he usually was. Xu Yao was at a loss. Did he really hear it wrong?
Fortunately, judging by Guo DangLi’s expression, Xu Yao could prove that his hearing wasn’t bad. It was Zheng PingQing’s stupid face that was the problem!
Guo DangLi had never expected Zheng PingQing to answer this way. The subsequent taunts that he had prepared beforehand could no longer be used. Moreover, because Guo DangLi was too surprised, his expression was a little foolish.
Fortunately, Guo DangLi had his younger brothers for backup. Li Gao, the second-in-command of their group, stepped forward. With a sneer, he said to Zheng PingQing: “If that’s true, then I don’t think the moniker ‘Boss Zheng’ fits you anymore. Why don’t you pass the position of ‘Boss’ to our eldest brother?”
Xu Yao, who hated iron for not becoming steel, looked at Li Gao as if he were seeing his innocent past self. He really wanted to shout on the top of his lungs: Zheng PingQing just declared his love! Are you blind? How can this be the time to focus on who should be the boss?
Meanwhile, after Li Gao mentioned the main reason for them confronting Zheng PingQing, Guo DangLi finally recovered. Guo DangLi nodded and said: “That’s right. Since Boss Zheng...no, since Student Zheng is now following the top students and diligently studying, we might as well follow the usual ranking of No.12. There’s only one person who can be considered the next ‘Boss.’”
Zheng PingQing finally raised his gaze and slowly looked around him. “Ah, for the title ‘Boss of No.12’ of course there’s only one person who could be considered.”
Guo DangLi wore a satisfied smile and was about to say something when he sees Zheng PingQing walk towards Lin Qian and put a hand on Lin Qian’s shoulder. Zheng PingQing raised his chin towards Guo DangLi and with a smile, told him: “Lin Qian is the only possible Boss for No.12. Ah, since you’re here, might as well start paying your respects.”
Lin Qian smiled and with an expression full of affection for his children, said: “This Boss will treat you well in the future.”
Zheng PingQing wrinkled his nose and said: “You don’t need to treat them too good.”
Lin Qian: “Alright.”
Xu Yao: “....”
Ahh, why did he go into the kitchen back then!
The different ‘older brothers’ and ‘uncles’ and whatnot were pretty funny once I got past the initial confusion, haha. Also, I swear Lin Qian was in Class 3. But they were supposed to be the top class? I’m gonna need to go back to previous chapters, I probably just imagined the whole thing... ha ha....ha.....
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