KEIGHTY: Big thanks to Flowersky for the ko-fi donations! <3 (Extra Chapter 2/4)
He Yu’s anger subsided after he came out of Qiao Mudong’s place. Perhaps it was Qiao Mudong’s last words that shocked him, and he kept replaying them in his head.
He regretted the hurtful words he said to Qiao Mudong. He had to admit that he didn’t want to hear Qiao Mudong say that about Fu Chenshan. Even if he thought so from the bottom of his heart, he didn’t want to hear others say it. It seemed that denying Fu Chenshan was denying his own contribution as well, giving up on those past years that—in the blink of an eye—became meaningless.
But this is no excuse to be angry with Qiao Mudong.
He Yu sighed softly, put his hands in his pockets, and walked forward aimlessly. He didn’t even bring his luggage. He was also asking himself if he was truly convinced that Qiao Mudong would not let him go just like that. Even though he said to never look for him again, he was still waiting for Qiao Mudong to pick him up.
After eating something casually outside at noon, He Yu was thinking about where to go in the afternoon when his cell phone rang. This time it was neither Fu Chenshan nor Qiao Mudong. To his surprise, the caller was Ma Tian.
“Ma-shixiong?” He Yu couldn’t hide his surprise when he answered the phone.
But Ma Tian was very enthusiastic. “He Yu, how are you doing now?”
He Yu smiled and said, “So and so.” It was no different from the last time he saw Ma Tian.
Ma Tian asked, “Are you free tonight? Is it convenient for us to hang out and have a meal together?”
He Yu replied, “Tonight? Sure.”
Ma Tian said, “Okay, I’ll call you when I get off work, then I’ll pick you up and go to dinner with you.”
He Yu quickly said, “It’s good; thank you, Shixiong.”
Ma Tian smiled and said, “What are you being so polite for?”
After hanging up the phone, He Yu stood on the street in a daze. He was stunned for a while before continuing to walk aimlessly down the street.
He wandered around for half the afternoon. When he finally got tired, he found a cafe to sit and rest. He hadn’t had coffee for a long time. He used to drink it a lot when he was at school and when he was working—almost a cup every day. Later… After he was released from prison, he almost forgot about this simple hobby of his.
At 5:30 in the afternoon, Ma Tian called him. He then reported the address.
The small commercial street where the cafe is located is not too far from Lingyun. In addition to the traffic jam, Ma Tian arrived at around six o’clock.
They didn’t go so far. They found a Chinese restaurant on the small commercial street, and then the two of them sat down.
Ma Tian handed him the menu. “Just order whatever you want; there is no need to be polite to your shixiong.”
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 Yu knew that he had good intentions. Considering that he was present today despite not being well-off, he smiled and said, “You should pick first as you please, Shixiong.“
Ma Tian thought he was being polite, so he opened the menu and ordered six or seven dishes at once, almost all of which were big fish and meat. He Yu quickly stopped him. “That’s enough, that’s enough. How can we finish it all?”
Ma Tian smiled heartily and said, “Don’t be afraid. If you can’t finish eating it all, I’ll pack it back for your sister-in-law.”
Before, when He Yu had just started working, what impressed him most was that Ma Tian, an unattractive shixiong, married a gentle and virtuous wife. He and Fu Chenshan were both poor boys at that time, and they had several meals at Ma Tian’s house.
Thinking of this, He Yu asked, “Is my sister-in-law okay?”
Ma Tian smiled and said, “She’s doing fine. You may not know this, but my wife gave birth to my daughter last year.”
He Yu smiled when he heard this. “Congratulations, shixiong.”
Ma Tian smiled, “Hehe.”
He Yu said, “My little niece must be very cute.”
Ma Tian’s eyes were filled with a soft smile. “She looks exactly like her mom. Next time, come with me for dinner and give your niece a hug.”
He Yu responded, “Definitely.”
Soon, all the dishes Ma Tian ordered were served. Ma Tian raised his tea cup and said with some regret: “It’s a pity that we still have to drive home today, so we, brothers, can’t have a drink. Next time you go to my house, we’ll open some and drink up. If you can’t leave from drinking too much, just stay at my house!”
He Yu raised his teacup and clinked it with him, smiled, and said, “Okay.”
Putting down his teacup and eating his food, Ma Tian suddenly asked, “Do you still have contact with Fu Chenshan?”
He Yu hesitated and said, “I met with him after I came out. What’s wrong?”
Ma Tian sneered, “It’s nothing. He’s the emperor's son-in-law and the family's master now; we’re unworthy of being associated with him anymore.”
He Yu was silent and then said after a moment, “Shixiong, is there any misunderstanding? Chenshan should not be this kind of person.”
Ma Tian smiled and shook his head. He refused to say anything else.
He Yu could only guess whether Fu Chenshan acted badly toward Ma Tian at work. He was not a party involved, so he didn’t know if there was a misunderstanding and naturally had no right to speak.
Ma Tian patted him on the shoulder with some emotion. “As such, you’re truly my xiongdi, ah. It’s a pity.”
He Yu smiled lightly and took a sip of tea without saying anything.
Ma Tian added, “I’ll treat you to dinner today. Also, there’s something else I want to discuss with you.”
He Yu was a little surprised and asked, “What?”
Ma Tian stretched out his chopsticks to pick up the food for He Yu. “Don’t just talk; eat first.” Then he paused and said, “I have a friend who just came out of the company and wants to produce something of his own.”
He Yu only ate in silence.
Ma Tian continued: “He took a few engineers from his previous company with him and started a small electronic technology company. Everything was started from scratch. He contacted me a few days ago and asked me if I was interested in following him. But, you know, I have a family now. My child is still young, and at this time, it’s not right for me to do difficult work anymore. I still need to find stability in this period of time. But I recommended you to him.”
He Yu paused, raised his head, and looked at Ma Tian. “Shixiong, you know my situation.”
Ma Tian said, “It’s because I know you so well that I did that. He Yu, tell me the truth. The funds from the few clients you collected when the accident happened were all Fu Chenshan’s clients, right?”
He Yu suddenly panicked. His fingers clenched the chopsticks involuntarily, and he said, “I collected them all for him.”
Ma Tian: “Anyway, you know how it is. I’m very close with my friend, and he is also from our school. You can consider him as your shixiong as well. I have roughly told him about your situation. He said that he trusts my judgment of your character. As long as it was me who recommended you, he wouldn’t have any problem.”
He Yu nodded slowly.
Ma Tian continued: “You know that this line of work is tiring, especially if you want to start your own business. It needs a lot of hard work. My friend said that at the beginning, the salary may not be stable for a while, but as long as the company makes money, everyone can share the dividends. What he needs is not only employees, but also friends who will work hard together with him. You should think about it carefully.”
He Yu looked at the dishes on the table and seemed to be in a daze.
Ma Tian picked up another dish for him. “Eat quickly. Originally, he said he wanted to come together for this meal, but something happened and he was delayed. If you’re interested, I can make an appointment for us to meet next time.”
He Yu quickly thanked him, “Shixiong, you're too polite.”
As soon as he said this, Ma Tian’s phone rang. After he answered the phone, he smiled and said to He Yu, “He’s finished with his work. He said he would go sing with us in the evening. How about it?”
He Yu hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said, “Okay.”
After dinner, Ma Tian drove He Yu to the KTV. On the way, Ma Tian gave him a brief introduction to his friend and said, “His surname is Ou, and his full name is Ou Yunjia. You can call him Ou-ge or Ou-shixiong.”
The KTV is not far from Lingyun, and it takes less than twenty minutes to drive over there.
Ma Tian parked the car and took He Yu inside while making a phone call.
The waiter came up to them and asked, “Are you two with someone? What’s the private room number?”
Ma Tian replied, “221.”
The waiter smiled and stretched out a hand. “Please follow me.”
Ma Tian and He Yu followed him to the second floor. He Yu was walking at the back. He had just come out of the elevator when he saw a familiar figure flashing past the corner of the corridor in front of him.
He paused for a moment, but he heard Ma Tian calling him, so he quickly followed him instead.
There were already three people waiting for them in the private room.
Ou Yunjia is thirty-five years old. He wears glasses and casual clothes that look like sportswear. He looks very smart, and he always speaks with a warm smile, bursting full of energy. The two people who came with him were his friends and colleagues who ran the company with him.
Everyone was very friendly toward He Yu. They didn’t mention work first, but sat down and poured beers while asking him to pick songs.
The atmosphere was friendly and warm. No one mentioned that He Yu had been in prison, and no one looked at him with caution and scrutiny. When he was a little nervous at first, Ou Yunjia stood up and sang a cheerful song. After that, He Yu relaxed.
He Yu suddenly remembered the time when he went out to drink and sang with his dormitory brothers in college. It was probably like this: friendly and warm, where everyone was relaxed and happy.
After Ou Yunjia sang two songs in a row, he sat down next to He Yu, helped him fill up the wine, and said, “Your situation had already been explained to me by Ma Tian.”
He Yu nodded humbly. “Ou-ge.”
Ou Yunjia patted him on the shoulder. “They say that heroes disregard where a person comes from. We won’t talk about the past. I watched Xiao Tian’er grow up, and I can trust the people he trusts. About what he told you, what do you think about it?”
He Yu clenched his glass and said, “Ou-ge, to be honest, it doesn’t matter how much the salary is. I’m not afraid of the hard work needed for this, either. It’s just that I’ve been out of touch with society for so many years. Electronic information is changing day by day. I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up.”
Ou Yunjia handed him a cigarette. “I have thought about the situation you mentioned, but you still know the basics. I heard that you won an award in some ‘school software competition’ when you were studying, and you are just as big in Lingyun. From the perspective of company sales experience, you have an advantage in job competition. As for what is lacking in technology, we can slowly make up for it. We’re not in a hurry.”
He Yu nodded silently.
Ou Yunjia patted his back and said, “Think it over again; there’s no need for you to hurry about it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, He Yu’s cell phone rang. “Excuse me.” He stood up and walked towards the door of the private room. He didn’t answer the phone until he closed the door to block out the music.
“Hello!” Qiao Mudong’s somewhat irritable voice came from the other side of the phone.
He Yu leaned against the wall. He couldn’t help but smile before he said, “Hi.”
Qiao Mudong asked coldly, “Where are you?”
He Yu chuckled and said, “Didn’t you tell me to get out? I told you I’d leave and never come back.”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Qiao Mudong shouted. “If I ask you where you are, then just tell me where you are!”
He Yu said, “What, do I have to be where you are?”
Qiao Mudong spat angrily, “He Yu, are you trying to make trouble with me?”
He Yu replied, “What’s making you troubled? Who is making trouble with whom, ah? Wherever I am, what does it have to do with you?”
Qiao Mudong almost smashed his phone. “Where are you? I’ll pick you up, okay?!” He almost said this with gritted teeth.
He Yu was then satisfied and said, “I’m here in Huining, singing in Sheng-se Yunying. You come over, ba.”
Qiao Mudong cursed first before he angrily hung up the phone.
He Yu put the phone back in his pocket and was about to go back to the private room when he suddenly saw the door of the private room next door being knocked open. A man stumbled towards the bathroom, and two people chased after him, shouting, “Manager Fu!”
This time, He Yu was sure that he had seen him correctly. That person was Fu Chenshan.
I’m so grateful for Ma tian. I hust hope He Yu’s life will go back on track 🤍
Everyone who knows them as people knows He Yu wasn’t the criminal one. I might be too drastic but I can’t wait to see Fu Chenshan’s downfall. I hope such one exists.