editor: Storm
On the first day of work, Lin Dongyang got up at 5 o’clock in the morning, casually dealt with breakfast, then hurriedly took a bus and transferred to the subway. During rush hour, the road was blocked. Usually it was only a one minute walk from the intersection, but now it could be blocked for five or six minutes.
It was a good thing he had enough time to spare, otherwise he wouldn’t have made it to the office by 9am.
According to the route that Wang Zitong took him on yesterday, he found his way to the office area.
A cleaning aunt saw him coming to work so early and thought he was a white-collar worker in the office area, greeting him with a smile. “Coming to work so early, no one else is here yet.”
Lin Dongyang replied to her, “Auntie, I’m here to clean.”
The cleaning aunt didn’t believe him, “You’re fooling me. You look like a graduate with a higher education, why are you doing this kind of job?”
Lin Dongyang smiled awkwardly, then asked her where the cleaning tools were and whether there was a process or anything like that, before he began the day’s work in front of the disbelieving eyes of the cleaning aunt.
He carefully cleaned Qiao Yongfeng’s office. The documents on the desk were neatly arranged, so he didn’t dare to touch them too much, in case he messed them up and caused trouble.
Before 9am, Lin Dongyang went down two floors and arrived at the warehouse.
When Qiao Yongfeng arrived, he saw a slight change in the clean and tidy office environment, and he was undeniably satisfied.
But on the first day, Qiao Yongfeng deliberately wanted to make things difficult for Lin Dongyang so as to make him give up voluntarily. He made people go to the warehouse and tell Lin Dongyang to come up. He accused him of not doing a good job here and there with a stern face, and made him clean again.
Lin Dongyang silently listened to all of his complaints. Then he followed the process to clean again and again, until Qiao Yongfeng was unable to find a single flaw, and let him go back to work.
Back at the warehouse, Lin Dongyang collapsed on the cold floor in exhaustion. Qiao Yongfeng really made him feel like a mountain was pressing down on him. He had to breathe in with all his strength in order to catch his breath in front of him.
“Lin Dongyang, you have to hold on, you’re now not only pursuing Qiao Yichen, you’re also pursuing money at the same time.” He kept reminding himself as he sat on the ground.
“Tired ah?” A tan, middle-aged man walked up to him, pulled out a pack of cheap cigarettes from the pocket of his dirty overalls, wiped the ash on his hands onto his chest, and pulled out a cigarette before handing it to Lin Dongyang, “Have one? It’s refreshing.”
Lin Dongyang thought for a moment and then gladly took it. The two of them went to the smoking area and leaned against the wall to smoke.
“Are you new here?” The man lit a cigarette and then tossed the cheap lighter to Lin Dongyang.
“First day.” Lin Dongyang took it, blocking the wind and lighting the fire, as he leaned forward with a cigarette in his mouth, and then took a puff. Under the management of Qiao Yichen, he hadn’t touched this thing for a long time, so when he tasted it, the strong smell of cheap tobacco made his throat tickle, and he couldn’t help but cough twice.
The man smoked his cigarette and said with a smile, “Have you never smoked before? This thing is good stuff. I feel uncomfortable if I don’t smoke for a day.
“I haven’t smoked in a long time.”
“It’s better not to smoke, saves money.” The tanned man exhaled a mouthful of white smoke, with a look of great enjoyment, “Little brother, how old are you?”
“23.”
“You’re so young. It’s normal for a young man like yourself to be unaccustomed to this kind of tiring and dirty work. Look at how fair and pale you are. Why do you want to do this?”
“I want to join this company.” Lin Dongyang took another puff of the cigarette, feeling the choking scent lingering in his nostrils before he exhaled. This process wasn’t very enjoyable for him.
“Although this company is quite big, there are also many rules. Those with high salaries are all white-collar workers upstairs who reach out to type on their computers. If we haven’t had higher education, we can only do manual labor.” The man smoked quickly, and it didn’t take him long to finish his cigarette. He touched his pocket, and then reluctantly withdrew his hand, “Doing this, there is no future.”
Lin Dongyang smiled, as he listened to this kind of advice before asking him, “How long have you been doing this?”
“Three years. I’m not like you, my family of five are waiting for my support. My wife gave birth to another baby this year, and it’s waiting to drink powdered milk. I’m a little bit tired but it’s okay.” He let out a long exhale, patted Lin Dongyang’s slightly thin shoulder, and gave him some of his own life advice.
He said, “When there is hope in my heart, my whole body becomes full of energy!”
Hope. Lin Dongyang was in a daze as he looked at the flickering cigarette in his hand, which was being blown by the breeze, and he didn’t move for a long time.
“One of the best things about this company is that it never fails to pay its workers. I used to work in another small factory where it was useless to make a fuss even when they deducted ten thousand yuan from my salary and refused to pay.” When the cigarettes were finished and it was time to go back, the man said enthusiastically, “Come on, let’s get back to work!”
Lin Dongyang smiled, snuffed out the fire that had burned to the butt of his cigarette and replied, “Okay.”
He also had hope here.
For several days in a row, he was always delayed because he had to run between the school and the company. Lin Dongyang wanted to find a cheap rental house near the company. He didn’t require much, just a room to live in.
However, the company was located in the most prosperous business district, so how could there be cheap rental rooms? As a result, the problem of renting was giving Lin Dongyang a headache.
He saw online that the average price for renting an apartment was two to three thousand a month. When he thought about his inferior salary, which didn’t include food and drink, he then realized that he would have to spend at least another two thousand on rent, so he had no choice but to give up.
On the rare occasion that he had a day off, Lin Dongyang decided to drag his aching joints on a field trip and started looking for a suitable apartment early in the morning. Heaven does not disappoint those who persevere. He finally found a suitable place regardless of the price or location.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
He found an old-fashioned small building, with only two floors, and the surrounding area was full of high-rise residential buildings. Only this small piece of land that seemed to be neglected had a few very old houses that had been seriously damaged by wind and rain. They seemed out of place.
Ktf ijcvibgv kjr j ugjcvwbatfg ktb jigfjvs tjv bcf obba lc atf mboolc. Coafg ilrafclcu ab tfg agfwyilcu kbgvr atja kfgf rqbxfc lc j ibmji vljifma, Olc Gbcusjcu obecv bea atja atf qijmf kjr jybea ab yf vfwbilrtfv, jcv atja tf mbeivc’a ilnf tfgf obg j ibcu alwf. Lf kbeiv tjnf ab wbnf jkjs ktfc la kjr ublcu ab yf vfwbilrtfv, qier atf tberf kjr vjwjufv, jcv cb bcf vjgfv ab ilnf atfgf.
Although the house was old, with the paint peeling off the walls, exposing the red bricks underneath, both the price, and the fact that it was about half an hour or so away from the company, made Lin Dongyang’s heart move.
At this point, what choice did a poor person like him have? In the end he rented it for two hundred a month.
In the afternoon, he went back to school to pack up his bedding and move over. Then he hurriedly cleaned the rental house.
That night, Lin Dongyang also realized another reason why this house was so cheap. The hidden reason was…
In the evening it started to drizzle, and Lin Dongyang, who had just been busy cleaning up, was now covered in dust and sitting on the only low-legged bench in the house to rest.
He kneaded his shoulders. He had never done any hard physical labor before, and now he was moving things and handling goods everyday in the company. He was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and his muscles were screaming with soreness and discomfort.
The drizzle outside gradually got heavier.
‘Patter’, Lin Dongyang looked at the ground as a raindrop crashed down, followed by another ‘patter’ sound. As the rain got heavier and heavier, the raindrops fell quicker and quicker.
Lin Dongyang: “…” No wonder the musty smell in this house was so strong. Once it was raining, it washed the room ah.
It was dark outside, it was already past 8pm. He put a bucket in the spot where it was leaking and then no longer had the energy to care about it. He boiled some water, and prepared to deal with dinner by making instant noodles.
After he had only taken two bites, his mobile phone rang. It was Tang Jing calling to ask him if he lacked living expenses or anything. In short, she had been thinking about her son since the last incident, and called him from time to time to check up on him.
“Mom, I’ve got a job. En, it’s okay, very good. I get paid.” Lin Dongyang drank a mouthful of the noodle soup. After running around the whole day, he was so hungry to the point that his chest was sticking to his back. At this moment, every mouthful of noodle soup was delicious.
“Are you suffering? Son, come back when you’re tired.” Tang Jing said as her voice choked again.
Which child wasn’t their parents’ treasure? Tang Jing’s words were like a thorn poking Lin Dongyang’s heart. His eyes were misty and he forced himself to smile, “I’m not suffering.”
A burst of light flashed outside the small glass window, and the muffled sound of thunder was heard by Lin Dongyang, and also reached Tang Jing’s ears through the mobile phone.
“Mom, it’s raining, I’ll hang up first. I forgot to put away my clothes.” Lin Dongyang lied and hung up the phone.
The noodles in front of him were still steaming hot, but he couldn’t eat them. It felt like his chest was being crushed by a boulder. He raised his head and looked through the dirty glass window, looking at the lightning in the sky and listening to the lingering rolling thunder.
Was he suffering? Either way, the road was under his feet, and he had to move forward whether it was winding or flat.
“It’s thundering ah. This rainy day, I don’t have you to cover my ears.”
I used to wake up crying just from dreaming about you leaving, and now you’re really gone. I have no way to contact you, it’s as if you were never here at all, but my heart was ruthlessly crushed.
He withdrew his gaze from the sky and fished out a palm-sized notepad from the books he had been organizing this afternoon. He wrote on a page that was densely packed with numbers, writing — 43.
What ‘Till death do us apart, till the seas dry up, and the rocks decay’? Lin Dongyang didn’t think he had that kind of strong energy. All he wanted was to live a simple life with Qiao Yichen, just like in the apartment, where they played around, you cook the meal and I wash the dishes.
Three years passed in a flash—
At the exit of the airport, a tall young man approached a luxury car, and the driver of the luxury car saluted him, before opening the car door. For people who didn’t know, they might think he was some young celebrity.
Qiao Yongfeng was sitting in the back seat and said to Jiang Xiaoyong, “Go to the company.”
Jiang Xiaoyong: “Won’t you be sending the young master back first?”
Qiao Yichen replied lightly, “No need.”
Jiang Xiaoyong then drove away from the airport and went straight to the company.
Qiao Yichen sat in the back seat with Qiao Yongfeng, and he turned his head to look at the scenery passing by outside the window. It had been three years, and this place now looked both familiar and unfamiliar.
Qiao Yichen had changed, he was calmer now. Qiao Yongfeng thought that after he got off the plane, the first thing he would do was yell and make a fuss about finding Lin Dongyang, but what really happened was unexpected. He wasn’t impatient, from the moment he got in the car, he hadn’t mentioned that name.
It was silent inside the car. The relationship between father and son hadn’t been very good before, and now, coupled with him forcibly sending him abroad, Qiao Yongfeng knew that Qiao Yichen would definitely blame him. In order to break the silence, he found a topic, “How was it abroad?”
“Very good.”
“Do you still miss him?”
Qiao Yichen turned his head to look at him, pausing for a couple of seconds before continuing to watch the boring scenery outside.
Qiao Yongfeng didn’t know whether he should be happy or worried. When they arrived at the company, the two entered the elevator, and Qiao Yongfeng said, “I’ll take you to meet someone who is very capable and will be your personal assistant in the future.”
Passing through the office, they finally stopped in front of a door with a sign that read — General Manager’s Office.
‘Dong dong dong’ Qiao Yongfeng knocked on the door a few times and a voice came from inside, “Please come in.”
Qiao Yongfeng pushed open the door and entered. Behind the dark brown solid wooden desk sat a young man in a suit and glasses who was looking down at some documents.
“Mr. Lin, you’re busy ah.”
As soon as Lin Dongyang heard the voice, he raised his head sharply and smiled apologetically, “Chairman Qiao, why are you…” The rest of his words were all swallowed back into his stomach in shock after he saw the person beside Qiao Yongfeng.
Qiao Yongfeng seemed to be in a good mood as he pointed at Qiao Yichen and introduced him, “This is my son, Qiao Yichen. From now on, I’ll be handing him over to you, so do your best ah.”
Lin Dongyang let out an ‘Ah’ after a long time. He regained his lost manners, and stood in a cautious manner.
They had been reunited again after a long time. When their eyes met, there were a thousand words they wanted to say but they didn’t know how to spit them out.
“Yichen ah, you’ll be helping Manager Lin out for now while you learn more.”
Qiao Yichen hummed and stood in place, stiff and motionless.
Qiao Yongfeng looked at Lin Dongyang and then at Qiao Yichen, feeling that there was an unusual atmosphere flowing in the air. The two young people were probably hindered by the presence of this elder and couldn’t express their heartfelt feelings. So he immediately knew to leave the room and said to Lin Dongyan as he left, “You can get off work early today, follow Yichen home and have a meal.”
“Chairman Qiao…”
“It’s settled. You guys have a good talk, I won’t disturb you any longer.” Qiao Yongfeng thoughtfully closed the door for the two people in the office, but he still felt like it wasn’t safe, so he found a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign to hang on the door handle, and only then did he leave feeling relaxed and satisfied.
Qiao Yichen looked at Lin Dongyang, who had changed a lot. He now wore glasses, his fluffy and slightly long strands of hair were tidied up very seriously, and he had taken off his favorite sportswear and changed into a suit. He, who liked the liveliness, could now sit quietly in the office. Qiao Yichen couldn’t tell how he was feeling right now, it was painful as if his whole body was soaking in a vat of acid.
If a person wanted to change themselves completely, they would have to go through the process of peeling off their skin.
“I’m back.” Qiao Yichen said.
Lin Dongyang chuckled softly and gently, “Three years and twenty-five days, you’ve been gone for one thousand one hundred and twenty days. I finally waited until you came back.”
“Why are you so silly? Don’t speak.” Lin Dongyang approached Qiao Yichen with slow steps. The sound of his leather shoes landing on the carpet made a very heavy sound, and it was like they were stepping directly on Qiao Yichen’s heart.
He stood in front of Qiao Yichen and opened his arms. “Don’t you want to hug me? Long-lost lover.”
Qiao Yichen wrapped his arms around him, tightening them as if he was trying to embed Lin Dongyang into his body, and his emotions instantly collapsed, “I’m so happy that the person my dad brought me to meet is actually you! I thought that you wouldn’t be in this city anymore, and that it would take me many days to find you.”
Lin Dongyang’s arms encircled him, the scent lingering at the tip of his nose was still so familiar and refreshingly addictive. “I was afraid you’d be too stupid to find me, so I just stood still and waited for you to come back. Thank you for letting me wait three hundred and forty days and nights less.”
“I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too. I counted the days till your return one by one.”
“You’ve changed so much I almost didn’t recognise you.” Qiao Yichen took off his glasses and held his face longingly with both hands, “Are you short-sighted?”
“Only slightly, because I always look at the computer at night. I can actually go without them.” Lin Dongyang leaned over and pecked Qiao Yichen’s lips, “You’re still the same, you haven’t changed at all.”
Qiao Yichen deepened the kiss, accidentally dropping the glasses on the carpet but there was no time to care about that. His free hands slid inside and along the hem of Lin Dongyang’s shirt, squeezing into the gap between the buttons, and touching the warm skin.
“Don’t, you’ll make the clothes wrinkled.”
Any words that he wanted to say right now weren’t as good as really touching the person in front of him.
The ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the handle outside the door stood guard conscientiously. A female employee was about to knock on the door with some documents in her hand, when she saw the sign and was confused, so she just scratched her head and left.
In the evening, with Qiao Yichen’s constant harassment, Lin Dongyang was unmotivated to work and left early, as expected. He tossed the car keys to Qiao Yichen and sat in the passenger seat as they drove to Rongjing Bay.
Qiao Yongfeng and Ye Lin were already waiting for them in the brightly lit hall, and when they saw them arrive, they ordered Auntie Chen to start serving the food. The table was full of the usual home-cooked food and the meal was full of a family atmosphere.
Qiao Yongfeng took out his treasured red wine and personally poured a glass for Lin Dongyang, who was flattered as he said, “I can do it myself, Chairman Qiao.”
Qiao Yongfeng interrupted him, “We are at home, don’t call me Chairman Qiao, Chairman Qiao, you’re of the same generation as Yichen, I’ll just call you Dongyang. Today is Yichen’s first day back home, so I asked you to come over because I wanted to say something.”
“You can say it.”
Qiao Yongfeng swirled the red wine in his glass and sighed, “Have you hated me these past few years?”
Lin Dongyang paused, then smiled in relief and said sincerely, “I don’t hate you, you’re Qiao Yichen’s father. You’re in a different position, and you did nothing wrong.”
“I did something wrong, and you’ve made me realize over the past few years that I was really wrong.” Qiao Yongfeng said, “I used to think that young people’s feelings were like duckweed without roots, give them a little pressure and they will flow away with the waves. But you surprised me.”
Lin Dongyang didn’t expect that Qiao Yongfeng would say something from the heart, especially at this kind of family dinner. In the past three years, if he had to say the amount of grievances he had suffered, they couldn’t even be counted with ten fingers.
He was so embarrassingly poor that he had to eat steamed buns and after the house was demolished, he had to carry his bedding and live on the streets. His tired arms were so sore that he couldn’t even raise them, and he didn’t dare to take a leave of absence even when he was sick, so he had to shoulder it all by himself…
There was no ‘seizing the opportunity’. In the end he could climb to this position, only because— he persisted. He gritted his teeth and fulfilled his original promise, to prove himself.
“Chairman Qiao, it was me who had to prove myself in the first place, and if you hadn’t even given me the chance to prove myself, things might have turned out differently, and I would not be sitting across from you at dinner with Qiao Yichen.”
Faced with Lin Dongyang’s explanation, Qiao Yongfeng and Ye Lin looked at each other and smiled, “Don’t call me Chairman Qiao, at home just follow Yichen and call me dad.”
Lin Dongyang couldn’t react to this sudden change for a while, and looked at Qiao Yichen blankly. Qiao Yichen just pursed his lips and served him some food, the corner of his mouth raised in an arc of uncontainable joy. Qiao Yongfeng and Ye Lin had not even moved their chopsticks yet, while the food in Lin Dongyang’s bowl was already piled up into a hill.
Seeing that Qiao Yichen wasn’t going to help him, Lin Dongyang could only brace himself and call out. “…Dad.”
“Hey—” Qiao Yongfeng was beaming with joy, his old stern and rigid image was swept away by this smile.
Ye Lin sat gracefully on the sidelines, “What should you call me ah?”
“…Mom.”
“We picked up such a promising son. You manage the company well, but don’t get too tired, you’re always working overtime. The work isn’t urgent, come back more often and eat together.”
Qiao Weiwei still had the same childish look, she was forever a little princess, and her smile was sweeter than sugar. “I’ll have two brothers to spoil me from now on!”
Qiao Yongfeng started to eat, and the scene was harmonious.
They ate and drank to their heart’s content. When Auntie Chen started to clear away the dishes, Lin Dongyang wanted to say goodbye, but he was unexpectedly stopped by Qiao Yongfeng, “It’s already so late, don’t go back, Yichen’s room has a big bed, you can sleep there.”
Ye Lin followed suit and said very seriously, “Your place is far away from here, it’s not safe to go back alone, just stay. If you have to go back, then let Chenchen send you, I’ll close the gate.”
Was this… still the two strict and meticulous board members?! Their implications were so obvious!
In the end, Lin Dongyang didn’t brush off the two elders’ ‘thoughtful advice’ and entered Qiao Yichen’s bedroom with three fiery gazes on his back.
Once the door was closed, it became a private space for the two of them. Qiao Yichen hugged Lin Dongyang while he lay on his side on the large two meter wide bed, “The whole family is different when you’re here. My parents have always been strict, I didn’t expect them to be a little cute today.”
“*Mwah!*” Qiao Yichen pecked Lin Dongyang’s mouth and said proudly, “You’re amazing!”
Lin Dongyang was amused by his childish behavior, following his praise and saying arrogantly, “Still not moving your desperate hand? Let go first, I want to take off my clothes.”
Qiao Yichen let go of him, and Lin Dongyang sat up. His car keys slid to the edge of his pocket and fell out with the movement.
“You’ve made a lot of money ah.” said Qiao Yichen as he looked at the car logo on the key.
Lin Dongyang just unfastened a cufflink. “Everything I earn is your family’s.”
Qiao Yichen joked as he played with the key, “Then, isn’t it considered paying me back the money you owed me earlier?”
Lin Dongyang glanced at him and said imposingly, “Call me ge, and 500,000 will be transferred to you as pocket money.”
Qiao Yichen leaned forward and grabbed the collar of his suit. “Didn’t I say that you have to pay for it with your body?”
Lin Dongyang still slowly unfastened his other cufflink, and the words he said made people unable to concentrate on anything else, “I am already in your bed, can I still leave? I will pay you back tonight, with interest.”
Qiao Yichen couldn’t stand his hypocritically modest teasing. He used the strength of his hand to directly rip off one of the buttons on Lin Dongyang’s clothes as he bit his slightly parted red lips. He had just drank some wine, and the last remaining sweetness in his mouth was all given to the other party. “Don’t take a bath, just do it. I have endured all afternoon at the company, I can’t wait anymore.”
The suit was torn open by the beast Qiao Yichen, and the buttons popped off and scattered everywhere, so Lin Dongyang pretended to be angry, “The buttons have all been pulled off, this is an expensive suit.”
“I’ll buy it for you again.”
The belt was undone and tugged down slightly, and the striking word ‘Chen’ jumped into Qiao Yichen’s line of sight. He stretched out his hand to stroke it. There were no bumps, but it was pierced into the skin.
“What is this? A tattoo? My name?”
“I was impulsive, so I got it tattooed.”
Qiao Yichen looked at the word deeply, his fingers kept rubbing it back and forth. “Nice placement, it will dangle right in front of my eyes when we do it.”
“… I never thought about this problem,” Lin Dongyang, hooked by his words, imagined the scene, and his face suddenly flushed red as he scolded, “Why have you become so lustful after I haven’t seen you for three years?”
“Being abstinent for too long and holding it in.” Qiao Yichen replied calmly, “I’ll take the ring off so it doesn’t scratch you.”
“You—, *hiss*—”
You really want my life.
I’m crying for LD.😭😭 He’s so amazing… I want to have that dedication. He even lived on the streets… My baby!!😡 But the reunion is here!!!!!!!🥰
a tattoo hehe. Nah im still not satisfied liek why did ldy had to prove himself? how did qyf that ruthlessly beat his son turn into this amiable guy? whaaaat?? truth be told rather than a montage id love it if they actually showed the whole process of ldy persevering and gaining qyf’s respect but wtvr the ending is still nice hehe got that family approval so now the two of them only have to worry about ldy’s side.
Thanks for the chapter<33333
+1 i also wanted to see how he gets on qyf’s respect
+2
+3
+4
FINALLYYY 🥺
LD perseverance paid off.. Congratulations. LIN DONGYANG, You made it.. Now I’m waiting for LD parents view
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
That was zoomed through… Thanks for the chapter 🤣❤️
First of all I’m really happy to see them together because they certainly deserve it but…
(Rant below)
.
.
.
.
.
Qiao father was ruthless and abusive, didn’t even care that his only son had a big scar on him, how did he become an amiable father? Where’s his redemption arc because he had done not a single thing to compensate for all the trauma he gave both young people and for the years they lost together. I don’t quite believe Qiao Yichen just forgived all easily. Being able to forgive toxic parents is NOT a sign of maturity.
Exactly!
I totally agree with you !
Thanks for the chqpter 🙂
No! Get back! I expect blood for what Dongyang had to go through!
Ahhh after bitter experience final LD got his happy runion 😭😔. Thanks for the chapter ❤️❤️
This novel made me cry a total of.. what? 7 times? In less than 10 chapters? It’s really too cruel ㅠoㅠ
Wow the family sure did a 180. What did Lin do, drug them? Not really believable as it seems like the dad wanted to ground him into dust.
In my view it would have been better if they just broke family for their own life, i was waiting for their great comeback but got to see white Lotus love even though it’s HE, it’s just not for me
Toxicity at peak
Rolled my eyes so hard they got stuck in the head. One was living in luxury abroad and the other on the streets because he had to prove himself 🙄