Route of RetreatChapter 27

KEIGHTY: Special thanks to Gofa for the ko-fi donations~ (Extra Chapter 3/3)

He Yu felt that the fish-flavored eggplant made by Li Tang had a familiar taste, like home. In fact, it’s not too similar to his mother’s cooking. The fish-flavored eggplant made by his mother is sweeter, while Li Tang’s is full of onions, ginger, and garlic and has a strong fish flavor. But He Yu just felt nostalgic and couldn’t help but eat two more bowls of rice. j7SDEI

After lunch, He Yu went to wash the dishes. Li Tang leaned against the door and smoked, saying, “I’ll go up and take a nap later. You can figure out for yourself what to do in the afternoon.”

He Yu picked up the plate from the sink and responded, “Okay.”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Li Tang said again, “When you have time, think about your future. Do you still plan to stay in such a small, shabby restaurant for the rest of your life?”

He Yu’s expression suddenly became a little sad. n3Xt5H

Li Tang didn’t want him to misunderstand that he wanted to drive him away, so he added, “Take your time; there will always be a way.” After saying that, he turned and walked upstairs. Halfway through, he said to He Yu, “Just close the door when you go out.” There are no thieves in broad daylight, though.

He Yu washed the dishes and took out his mobile phone, only to find that it was out of power and completely turned off. The charger was still at Fu Chenshan’s house. He Yu hesitated for a moment and decided to go back first.

Sitting on the bus, He Yu was thinking about the way out that Li Tang told him. He majored in electronic information engineering, and at that time it was a good way out for him to enter Lingyun, a large information and communications company that was the country’s leading company. Starting with the step-by-step process of customer sales, he has always believed that one day he could get ahead.

But now, not to mention that five years have passed, although he could still find a job as an undergraduate in this major, he has been in prison and has a criminal record, which is a hurdle that he cannot overcome easily. Unless, like Li Tang, he could find someone to accept him through connections and in that case, he would still have to rely on the help of Fu Chenshan or Qiao Mudong. What’s the use of him wanting to live independently if he does this?

He Yu buried his face in his hands and couldn’t help but sigh.

It was around two o’clock in the afternoon, and Fu Chenshan would naturally not be at home at this time. He Yu felt relaxed instead. For some reason, he was becoming more and more afraid of facing Chenshan.

He returned to his room and opened the drawer at the bedside. There was a file bag inside, which he had taken from He Ting. It contained some of He Yu’s documents and certificates, as well as the three thousand yuan passbook that He Yu left untouched.

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.

None of the other things in the room belonged to him. The clothes were bought for him by Fu Chenshan, including the underwear and socks, which Fu Chenshan had prepared for him. CNbzq

Should he leave?

He hadn’t received his wages from Li Tang yet. He went fishing for three days and dried the nets for two, so he was too embarrassed to ask for an advance. He only had three thousand yuan to rent a small apartment, according to his idea. With the deposit money, he could only afford one month’s rent. He was afraid that the landlord would not be willing to rent it to him.

He Yu took the things back, telling himself to endure and bear—and endure and bear once again. Now that Fu Chenshan owed him this, why shouldn’t he feel at ease and justified in accepting and coming over to this place?

He Yu lay on the bed and plugged in his phone to charge, but he didn’t rush to turn it on. He spent too much energy yesterday and got up early this morning. As soon as he lay down, he felt extremely tired and planned to take a nap first. BhSEOi

Qiao Mudong called He Yu twice, but the other party didn’t turn on his phone. He threw the phone on the table with some annoyance. When he picked up the intercom and planned to let Huang Haisheng in, his own phone suddenly rang.

Qiao Mudong glanced at the call. It was actually a call from Ling Qiang. He frowned and picked up, “Hello.”

“Mudong.” Ling Qiang’s voice was low and calm, with no emotion audible. “Go home for dinner tonight.”

Qiao Mudong asked, “Which home should I go back to? Your home or mine?” jfK0uM

Ling Qiang’s tone did not fluctuate at all as he responded, “Dad’s home is also your home. Your sister and Chenshan are coming as well. Don’t forget it. Dinner is served at six o’clock. Remember to come back on time.”

After Ling Qiang finished speaking, he hung up the phone directly.

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Qiao Mudong cursed lowly, put the phone away, patted the armrest, and leaned back on the chair hard.

Before leaving to get off work, Qiao Mudong asked Huang Haisheng to help him find He Yu. 0dBxoG

Huang Haisheng stood up from his seat, wondering, “What should we do after we find him?”

Qiao Mudong actually didn’t think about it himself. He stood there and thought about it for a while before saying, “You accompany him to dinner, and then send him to my place.”

Huang Haisheng was even more embarrassed. “Mr. Qiao, if Mr. He doesn’t want to do this, I can’t force him.”

After hearing this, Qiao Mudong said in surprise, “Why are you afraid of him? Just say it was my order. I don’t know if he wants it or not. If he doesn’t want to, just grab him and get him in the car.” d2uHYF

Huang Haisheng was about to cry, thinking that even if he went to the house in person, he might not listen to him, let alone ask him to take him with him. But he didn’t dare to say these words to Qiao Mudong. After holding it in for a long time, his face turned red and he said, “I’ll try my best.”

Qiao Mudong nodded and walked out of the office towards the elevator. Since Ling Qiang had called him personally, he still had to go there.

Ling Qiang’s family lives in the south of the city. The west and south of the city are now areas where high-end residential buildings are densely populated in Chongfeng City. The villa area where Ling Qiang lives was built in the early 1990s. At that time, it was located outside the Second Ring Road and was still somewhat remote, but now it can be considered a city center area. Although the villa area does not seem too open and the exterior walls are a bit old and mottled, the surrounding environment has always been quiet, so Ling Qiang has no plans to move out of the city.

Ling Zhilu lived with her parents. If Ling Qiang’s wishes were followed, Qiao Mudong should’ve moved in with them and found an opportunity to officially change his surname to Ling. But there is still the mistress in the Ling family who is capable of allowing Ling Qiang to recognize Qiao Mudong as his official son. Ling Qiang should have her permission as well before Qiao Mudong enters Lingyun. This is probably the bottom line for that lady. 3Nslt6

Although the villa area where the Ling family is located is old, it was a well-known wealthy area in the city at the time. Each family had a large lawn and back garden, and the space was relatively independent.

Qiao Mudong parked the car on the stone roadside in the middle of the lawn. Before he even got out of the car, he saw the BMW parked in front. Fu Chenshan and Ling Zhilu had already arrived.

Qiao Mudong didn’t like Ling Zhilu, but he had a good impression of Chenshan. The two of them didn’t usually interact much, but they were polite to each other when they met.

Qiao Mudong got out of the car and walked towards the house. ZhNvO0

The Ling family did not hire many servants, just an old couple, Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu, who also had a son who is Ling Qiang’s driver. As for the cleaners and gardeners, they are all hired from outside. They come here once or twice a week and are paid based on their time.

When Qiao Mudong arrived, Aunt Xu was sitting in front of the gate, basking in the sun, and picking vegetables. She raised her eyes to look at Qiao Mudong and called out, “Mr. Qiao.”

Her tone was very cold, but Qiao Mudong was used to it. He nodded and walked directly inside.

After entering the door, in the living room on the first floor, Mrs. Ling, Zhou Xuelan, was holding her daughter in her arms while talking. Ling Zhilu was close to her mother’s ear, whispering and laughing, making Zhou Xuelan laugh from time to time. Fu Chenshan was also beside her, listening to her and to her mother as the two women chatted. xJl9wy

As soon as Qiao Mudong came in, Fu Chenshan was the first to notice him. He stood up and greeted him, “You’re back.”

Qiao Mudong nodded politely. Ling Zhilu didn’t look at him at all, but Zhou Xuelan stood up and said with a smile, “You’re here. Your father is upstairs in the study. He asked you to go see him as soon as you come back.”

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Qiao Mudong replied, “Thank you.” He then turned around and walked towards the stairs.

Zhou Xuelan is a good example of an eldest daughter coming from a rich family. Compared with Ling Zhilu’s arrogant character who doesn't know the heights of the world, she is more like a well-educated lady in the old society. He wasn’t sure how Ling Qiang persuaded Zhou Xuelan to let Qiao Mudong come back. Zhou Xuelan had always had a cold but polite attitude towards Qiao Mudong, without showing any of her original emotions. 9GaE1H

Qiao Mudong went upstairs, walked on the carpet to the door of the study, stretched out his hand to knock on the door, and heard Ling Qiang say from inside, “Come in.”

Qiao Mudong pushed the door open and saw Ling Qiang sitting behind the desk, wearing glasses, and reading a document. When Qiao Mudong came in, he put down the document with one hand, took off his glasses with the other, and said to him, “Come sit here.”

Qiao Mudong sat face-to-face with him.

Ling Qiang asked, “How is your work lately?” Iqda0w

Qiao Mudong answered, “It’s okay.”

Lingqiang inquired, “Elaborate yourself. I said that all the documents you signed must be shown to me. Why didn’t you come?”

Qiao Mudong suppressed his impatience and explained, “I asked Huang Haisheng to deliver it to you.”

“I’m not asking someone to send it to me,” Ling Qiang said with a serious face. “I’m asking you to come and see me. The purpose of my personal visit is not just to check your work but more to teach you how to do your work.” 35xIaX

Qiao Mudong lifted his hand, held his face, and said nothing.

Ling Qiang said, “You are already thirty this year, and you have been living in a muddleheaded way before. Do you plan to live in such a muddle in the future?”

Qiao Mudong said calmly, “Since you were not involved in the first thirty years of my life, who are you to blame me on how to live my life in the future?”

There was silence between father and son. Zf97tE

After a while, Ling Qiang said, “Do you know why I called you back?”

Qiao Mudong asked, “Why?”

Ling Qiang put his hands on the table, moved his body closer, and said, “Your sister said she saw you fooling around with a man in the office.”

As soon as he said this, Qiao Mudong’s cell phone rang. He picked it up and heard Huang Haisheng saying over the line, “Mr. He wasn’t in Shiyouwei; I can’t find him.” 0Rf5Bw

Qiao Mudong said, “If you can’t find him, then forget it.” After hanging up the phone, he saw Ling Qiang looking at him seriously, so he replied, “Yes, so what?”

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