Chapter 68 - Being a Villain is a Bad Idea
He Fei felt cold sweat drip down his back. Ever since they arrived at Rong City, Zheng BuLu had been scolding him non-stop.
Whenever he made a mistake in the company, Zheng BuLu would often turn a blind eye and only say a few words. But ever since they came in the city, Zheng BuLu had become some sort of evil tyrant, nitpicking and finding fault in his every move.
He Fei had no choice but to seek help from He YiJun. He was meant to go back to his hometown two days ago, but under Zheng BuLu’s heavy pressure, he didn’t dare leave. He had stayed nearby all this time.
He YiJun had later explained the reason for Zheng BuLu’s sudden irritation. He YiJun told her brother about her plans of pacifying Zheng BuLu, and after some thought, He Fei nodded along. After all, it wasn’t too big of a deal. According to his brother-in-law’s usual personality, He Fei figured that He YiJun would be able to pacify Zheng BuLu pretty quickly. But while Zheng BuLu didn’t pursue the matter, contrary to the siblings’ expectations, the man became more and more bad-tempered as time went on.
Starting two days ago, Zheng BuLu went looking for bones in eggs. He Fei got scolded for hours because ‘the new year’s gifts he had bought were bad.’ And things just escalated from there. He Fei thought it was bad enough that he had suddenly become the sole planner of their company’s new year arrangements. But this morning, Zheng BuLu unexpectedly marched up to him after he had gotten out of the toilet and actually said to him: ‘lazy people shit and pee too much.’
He Fei: ??????
He Fei felt seriously attacked.
“Big sister, I beg you. Please help me and talk to Brother Zheng! I’m dying.” He Fei’s face was haggard. He had spent the entire day in the bathroom, hiding from Zheng BuLu.
He YiJun’s expression was ugly. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help He Fei, she just couldn’t understand the situation.
She had been very confused these past few days. She really couldn’t tell if Zheng BuLu was actually unsatisfied with He Fei, or if he was angry at her and was taking it out on her brother.
Generally speaking, He Fei hadn’t done anything different than usual. Zheng BuLu had no reason to suddenly nitpick at her brother’s every move. So one could assume that this sudden resentment was because of her. But Zheng BuLu was acting normal towards her.
He YiJun rubbed her temple. “What do you want me to say? ‘Please stop abusing my brother?’”
He Fei mumbled: “...I wouldn’t dare ask that of you.”
He Fei thought for a moment, then said: “Big sister, why don’t I go home tomorrow? It’ll be New Year’s Eve in two days. I should really go back and help out.”
He YiJun glared at him. “Don’t you understand how serious the situation is? Are family matters more important, or is the Zheng family more important? Do you know how many people would kill to even have one conversation with Old Zheng? Why aren’t you making the most of this special chance I’ve given you?!”
“It’s not my fault! I’ve been trying my hardest, ah!” He Fei cried out.
He YiJun: “....”
He YiJun did her best not to roll her eyes. “If you want to go back, you go talk to him.”
He Fei shook his head. It would just be another reason for Zheng BuLu to abuse him some more.
After a brief silence, He Fei trained his gaze towards the wall as he carefully asked: “Big sister, don’t you have a lot of sway towards Brother Zheng? You can help me say a few flattering words...”
He YiJun sighed. “...I’ll try.”
She didn’t think it would help He Fei much, but she needed to stand firm. Her brother had many potential uses, and she didn’t want to lose a staunch supporter. He Fei and Zheng BuLu’s relationship couldn’t be allowed to just deteriorate like this.
He Fei’s face lightened at her answer. “Thank you, sister.”
He Fei stood up with slightly wobbly legs and hurriedly said: “Well, I’ll be going first. I need to go to the bathroom.” He had been holding it in for the longest time.
He YiJun: “......”
He YiJun stayed in her seat and continued to think. She had followed Zheng BuLu for many years, so she knew his personality very well. Even if she didn’t know his actual thoughts, there was one surefire way to coax him.
Zheng PingQing.
Thankfully, her relationship with Zheng PingQing was well established. Although an incident happened on the first day of their return, Zheng PingQing hadn’t expressed any dissatisfaction with her these days.
The only thing that gave her heartburn every time she saw the boy was the Apple phone he was always holding. Zheng BuLu was very unhappy with this, but Zheng PingQing was enjoying the phone.
He YiJun decided to do things more skillfully this time.
She thought of Lin Qian, the handsome and gentle student who seemed very close to Zheng PingQing. Even if their first encounter was turbulent, He YiJun had to admit that Lin Qian was the type of child that can make any parent feel good.
Especially after she found out that Lin Qian was the No. 1 student in their delinquent-infested high school. He YiJun felt great remorse that this god was surrounded by a bunch of pig brains.
Which parent would object to their child making such a good friend?
These past few days, Lin Qian had become Zheng BuLu’s favorite among his son’s friends; no one else could compare.
After a while, He YiJun finally had an idea.
......
“Brother Zheng, Sister, I’ll be leaving.” He Fei said his goodbyes to Zheng BuLu and He YiJun with tears in his eyes. Zheng BuLu’s attitude towards him was finally better today. After two days of hell, He Fei was finally able to go to the bathroom normally. However, the harrowing past few days caused him to get a slight physiological disorder. He Fei suspected that he’d have to go to the hospital and get his prostate checked out later.
But the good news was that Zheng BuLu was finally in a good mood. He Fei managed to muster up the courage to ask him for leave, and Zheng BuLu graciously gave his approval.
On the surface, He Fei was reluctant to go, but in his heart, he was cheering: He Fei is free!!!!
Zheng BuLu said a few noncommital words: “Be careful on your trip.”
Zheng BuLu had always been generous towards his subordinates, and this was his girlfriend’s brother. After Zheng BuLu told He Fei to use the Zheng family car to drive home, he let He Fei return to his room and pack.
Meanwhile, Zheng PingQing and his classmates finished up their last tutoring session for the year and politely said their goodbyes to Zheng BuLu.
The more Zheng BuLu saw these studious classmates of Zheng PingQing, the more he found them likable. “Students, remember to come over and play in the new year, ah.”
Zheng BuLu smiled. “Uncle will give you a big red packet.”
Dong MingEn couldn’t help but blurt out: “How big?”
He was immediately hit over the head by Lou XingGuang: “Shameless!”
But Zheng BuLu didn’t mind as he chuckled. “Very big.”
All the students looked at each other and then nodded. “Ok, thank you, uncle.”
Dong MingEn nudged Xu Yao with his elbow as he happily said: “I think I’ll be able to save enough money to get you another gift.”
Xu Yao shuddered: “....no need.” Please don’t!
He YiJun called out to Lin Qian: “Student Lin, please wait a bit. We have something to discuss with you.”
Lin Qian stopped and turned towards her with a smile. “Alright.”
He signaled Xu Yao to leave first, then walked back with Zheng PingQing. They all sat down in the living room.
Zheng BuLu lightly coughed and was about to open his mouth when he was interrupted by He YiJun: “I’ll tell him.”
This matter was a scheme of her own making; It would be more effective if she was the one who said it.
He YiJun smiled at Lin Qian and said: “I don’t know if PingQing already told you?”
Lin Qian replied with a smile: “You wanted to invite my family to spend the Spring Festival together?”
He YiJun nodded. “What do you think?”
“I have no problem with it.” Lin Qian answered.
He YiJun wasn’t surprised by his answer. With the Zheng family’s prestigious background and Lin Qian’s seemingly close friendship with Zheng PingQing, He YiJun hadn’t been worried that Lin Qian might refuse.
He YiJun chuckled and said: “Since that’s the case, I’ll arrange things. It’s hard for PingQing to make such a good friend, and Old Zheng can’t accompany him most of the time, so we’re very relieved that he has you now...”
That last sentence was said to subtly indicate to Zheng BuLu that Lin Qian and his family could help take care of Zheng PingQing when they weren’t in Rong City.
Last night, Zheng BuLu had readily agreed to He YiJun’s plans to invite the Lin family because of this. Not only did he agree, he even lightened up on He Fei and let him go home. As long as it was about his son, Zheng BuLu would agree to anything.
And after she mentioned it to Zheng PingQing, he also agreed.
He YiJun was relieved. It seems that betting on Lin Qian was the right decision.
This was also why He YiJun was rushing to personally talk to Lin Qian. Lin Qian’s importance to the Zheng father-son pair wasn’t to be underestimated. She should leave a good impression just in case.
But she hadn’t even said half of her prepared speech when Lin Qian waved his hand and interrupted her. “Although I don’t have a problem with it, it’s better if Uncle Zheng and my family talk about it.”
He YiJun was puzzled. She looked towards Zheng BuLu and smiled. “Of course. We just wanted to invite you personally. Our families don’t know each other, and I was afraid that we’d scare them with this sudden invitation...”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about it.” Lin Qian replied. “Uncle Zheng and my family should be familiar with each other.”
He YiJun became even more confused. For some reason, she had a bad premonition in her heart as she asked: “What do you mean?”
Zheng PingQing, who had been quietly watching all this time, finally opened his mouth and said: “Oh, it was awkward explaining things previously, so I didn’t mention it. Lin Qian’s father is married to Chen ShiYi.”
He YiJun felt like she had been struck by lightning. She stood up from her seat and, in an almost shrilly tone, said: “What did you say?!”
“I was afraid my dad would get angry, so I didn’t tell you guys about it.” Zheng PingQing innocently explained.
He YiJun felt cold sweat drip from her back. She immediately realized that her reaction had been too intense, so she sat back down. Lin Qian turned out to be Chen ShiYi’s stepson. Zheng PingQing’s amazing words made her feel like she was in the middle of an unprecedented crisis, ah.”
She turned and peeked at Zheng BuLu’s expression. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be too shocked at Zheng PingQing’s words. With a slight frown, she said: “So it turned out to be like this. But PingQing, you worry too much. Why would we get angry?”
As if relieved, Zheng PingQing huffed. “Oh, that’s good.”
Zheng BuLu looked at Lin Qian with eyes curved into crescents. “So you’re ShiYi’s stepson. No wonder! Your grades are top-notch, just like her.”
He YiJun: “????”
Zheng PingQing couldn’t help but give his father the side-eye. He wanted to ask: Do you remember which person was actually the one born from your ex-wife?
Lin Qian was also sweating at Zheng BuLu’s words. He managed to say: “...uh, yes. My dad is also the same.”
Zheng BuLu smiled, and without asking everyone else’s opinion, said: “Well, I’ll call ShiYi and let her decide if your family comes or not.”
He looked mighty confident as he added: “But I think she’ll agree to come.”
He YiJun dug her fingernails in her stomach, the pain managing to keep her calm. With a smile, she said: “But, ah, PingQing, why did you hide it...”
Zheng PingQing interrupted: “How am I hiding it when I’m explaining things right now?”
He YiJun immediately shut her mouth, lest that Zheng PingQing decides to pick a fight.
She gently elbowed Zheng BuLu and whispered: “Old Zheng, should we discuss this?”
Zheng BuLu looked at He YiJun in puzzlement. “Why should we? Isn’t this better? It’ll be good for Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing to spend the new years with their mother. Everyone’s usually busy with work, so this is also a rare opportunity to meet the Lin family. Isn’t this great?”
Zheng BuLu seemed very satisfied with the situation. “Since ShiYi is part of the Lin family, they’ll definitely take good care of Zheng PingQing after we leave.”
He YiJun couldn’t say a single word. She simply wanted to go lie down on the ground and rub her tired brain.
A powerless He YiJun stood up.
No, she needed to calm down and figure a way out of this horrible situation.
She unconsciously started to walk towards the door and happened to bump into He Fei.
He Fei was dragging his suitcase towards the front door. When he saw his sister, he breathed a happy sigh and said: “Big sister, I’ll be leaving first.”
But when He YiJun turned to look at him, He Fei saw that her expression was weird.
He Fei: “...” He had a bad feeling.
He YiJun opened her mouth and started scolding him crazily.
“Walk, walk, walk, all you do is walk away! You’re useless-”
The author has something to say:
Dobby is finally free......not.