In the office, Ling Qiang and Qiao Mudong sat face-to-face. After a brief silence, Qiao Mudong asked, “So what?”
This is not the first time that Qiao Mudong asked Ling Qiang, “So what?” but this time, Ling Qiang’s reaction was obviously much stronger. He almost sneered twice: “So what? Qiao Mudong, what are you planning to do? The last time I asked you, you told me you were just playing for fun, so what’s happening now? You really plan to live with a man for the rest of your life?! That man has a criminal record and has been in jail!”
Qiao Mudong looked at Ling Qiang with a calm expression. “I’ve been in jail too.”
Ling Qiang slapped the table and stood up. “Do you know what’s your identity now? You are Ling Qiang’s son, Lingyun’s deputy general manager! As for him, what kind of person is he? He’s the man who embezzled our company’s public funds and is still just an errand boy delivering food in a small restaurant! You dare compare yourself with him?! Not only do I think that you have gone crazy—you’re simply out of your mind!”
Qiao Mudong also stood up and placed his hands on the table. He felt agitated because of Ling Qiang’s insulting words, but he still tried his best to calm down and said in a deep voice, “It’s none of your business.”
Ling Qiang and Qiao Mudong looked at each other. He sneered, “Have you forgotten what you promised me when you asked me to help you get out of prison?”
Qiao Mudong said, “I will definitely do what I promised! But I didn’t ask for your help in the first place. It was you who proposed to make a deal with me. You said you wanted me to recognize you as my father, and I did it. You said that you wanted me to do things for you, so I went to Lingyun to work, and I did as you told. As for the rest, what qualifications do you have to meddle in my own business?”
“Don’t you recognize me as your father?” Ling Qiang asked, “Is this how you recognize me as your father? Have you ever called me baba? Have you accomplished anything that I asked you to do for my sake? You have to recognize me as your father seriously. In this case, you have to break up with that man immediately! Tomorrow, I will arrange a girl for you to meet!”
Qiao Mudong snorted and clasped his hands in front of his chest. “How you treat me as your son is how I will treat you as my father as well. Why, you used to be indifferent for more than 20 years, but now that you are old and have no son to send you off, you suddenly remembered me? I already told you before, I helplessly watched my ma commit suicide by jumping off a building, and you think I’d let you play benevolent father, filial son with me? What a joke!”
After Qiao Mudong finished speaking, he slammed the door and left without looking back, leaving Ling Qiang holding his chest and panting. It took a long time to calm down his anger. He sat on the chair, raised his head, and closed his eyes.
When Qiao Mudong returned to the office, Huang Haisheng stood up quickly and said, “Mr. Qiao.”
“Huang Haisheng,” Qiao Mudong knocked on his table. “From now on, if you tell Ling Qiang about my personal affairs, just pack up your things and go to his side. I don’t need you here.”
Huang Haisheng was immediately frightened and turned pale. “Mr. Qiao… I didn’t say anything…”
Qiao Mudong said, “Don’t let me hear you say anything.”
He opened the door and entered his office, then closed the door heavily and loosened the tie around his neck as he walked to the window.
He felt a little depressed. He felt this way every time he saw Ling Qiang. Even as long as he stayed in Lingyun, he felt depressed. Placing his palms against the cold glass, Qiao Mudong felt a little better, but his chest was still heavy, and he wanted to find a way to release it.
The mobile phone left on the table suddenly rang.
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.
Qiao Mudong reached out to pick it up and heard He Yu’s voice coming from the other side: “Qiao Mudong?”
Qiao Mudong replied, “What do you want?”
He Yu could tell that Qiao Mudong was still in a low mood and thought he was still angry with him, so he asked, “Are you still upset?”
Qiao Mudong said, “Yes, ah, are you calling to fight and curse me?”
He Yu sat on the stool, resting his elbow on the table, brushing his hair with his other hand, and said, “Don’t be angry anymore; can I just apologize to you?”
Qiao Mudong was silent for a moment. “What did you do wrong? Why do you have to apologize to me?”
He Yu lowered his head and said softly, “I shouldn’t have hidden my relationship with Fu Chenshan from you.” After he paused, he couldn’t help but add, “Actually, it really doesn’t matter. What’s the comparison between me and him? He’s clean and pure.”
Qiao Mudong said, “Nn?” and then asked, “Have you never done that thing with him?”
He Yu smiled self-deprecatingly. “What do you mean? Don’t you remember how miserable it was the first time you fucked me?”
Qiao Mudong raised his arm and pressed it against the window glass, curling his fingers into a fist and pressing it against his forehead. “Was that your first time?”
He Yu said, “No, of course not. I have known and spent time with many men outside.”
Qiao Mudong obviously didn’t believe it. He couldn’t help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly and ask, “Let me ask you again; is it just me?”
This question was a bit confusing, but He Yu understood it instantly. He twirled his fingers around his hair. He originally wanted to say, of course not, but at that moment, he heard Qiao Mudong’s breathing, which was a little heavy and nervous. He Yu’s heart suddenly softened, and he said a very soft “hmm.”
When Qiao Mudong heard this, the smile on his face widened. He didn’t know what to say for a while, so he just listened to each other’s breathing through the phone.
After a full minute, Qiao Mudong probably felt a little stupid and said, “I’m hanging up.”
“Wait a minute,” He Yu quickly stopped him, almost forgetting that he actually called for a different matter, “Brother Li wants to see you.”
“Li Tang?”
He Yu responded: “Nn, it’s about Hong Minhang. He saw the news report.”
Qiao Mudong hesitated. “I’ll go over for lunch and then talk to him about it in detail.”
“You’ll come over for lunch?” He Yu was startled when he heard this. “What do you want to eat?”
“Whatever, it’s up to you,” Qiao Mudong said, hanging up the phone.
He Yu told Li Tang that Qiao Mudong said he would come over for lunch and talk in detail.
Li Tang nodded and asked He Yu, “What does Mr. Qiao like to eat?”
He Yu said hesitantly, “Anything; he’s not very picky about food.” The longest time the two of them got together was in prison, and everyone liked meat. He Yu really didn’t pay attention to what food Qiao Mudong particularly liked.
Li Tang was naturally much more polite and courteous now that he had something to ask from Qiang Mudong. Even though Qiao Mudong’s original intention was to stop by for lunch, Li Tang still ordered the kitchen to prepare a few dishes as if he were receiving a guest.
It was inconvenient to talk with people coming and going downstairs, so Li Tang asked He Yu to tidy up the room on the second floor and set up a small square table with three chairs. Because He Yu had to keep them company, he wasn’t assigned to deliver food. He waited downstairs to greet Qiao Mudong at noon.
He Yu said, “Brother Li, there is no need to be so polite to him.”
Li Tang shook his head. “I’m troubling him by asking for his help; I did what I was supposed to do.”
In fact, Qiao Mudong really just planned to come over for a meal and chat with Li Tang. Li Tang was too polite, and he felt uncomfortable with it.
Li Tang invited him to sit down on the second floor. He Yu acted as a small worker, served the fried dishes, and then asked, “Would you like to drink?”
Qiao Mudong said, “I don’t want a drink; come over and sit down.”
He Yu reached out and closed the door, walked over, and sat down.
There was no wine, so Li Tang clinked the tea cup with him, put down the cup, and said, “Many thanks, Young Master Qiao, for giving this one's face.”
Qiao Mudong said quickly, “Brother Li, you are too polite. Please don’t say that.”
He Yu said, “Brother Li, just tell him what you have to say.”
Li Tang looked at He Yu and then at Qiao Mudong. “Young Master Qiao, I just want to ask: how much do you know about Hong Minhang?”
Qiao Mudong pondered for a moment. “Honestly, I may not know him more than you do. The night before yesterday, He Yu accompanied me to get stitches at Chengya Hospital, and we met by chance. He should have been sent there the moment something happened. The Hong family’s response was very quick, and within ten minutes at most, his two uncles followed.”
Li Tang nodded. “Young Master Qiao, I know that you already left the north of the city as of now; however, you still have your resources there. You have many brothers and friends who are snakes and dragons. Is there really no other person who certainly knows more about him than you?”
Qiao Mudong raised his eyes and looked at Li Tang. “Brother Li, you had no fewer brothers than me in the north of the city, right?”
Li Tang smiled bitterly and reached out to light a cigarette.
Seeing this, He Yu advised, “Brother Li, you smoked a lot today.”
Li Tang shook his head, lit the cigarette, threw the lighter away, and said, “The people around me are all from the Hong family. After I left the Hong family, they had no reason to follow me anymore.” He held the cigarette between his fingers, slowly blowing out the smoke ring, “Young Master Qiao, I know that this matter is probably a household matter of the Hong family. It’s really embarrassing for you to step in and help me. I, Li Tang, don’t have any other abilities. You know the reputation of people in the north of the city. As long as Young Master Qiao is willing to help me with this favor, even if I owe you a favor, I, Li Tang, will definitely pay it back to you in the future when you’re in a mountain of swords and a sea of flames.”
Qiao Mudong said quickly, “Brother Li, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to sell you a favor. You have been taking care of He Yu for so long, so I should help you with this small favor. But I just want to persuade you. You also said that you are not from the Hong family, so why do you have to take care of the Hong family’s household matters?”
Li Tang said in a deep voice, “Hong Minhang is my didi.”
When Qiao Mudong heard this, he couldn’t help but look at Li Tang carefully. How old is he this year? Not even forty yet, right? But if you look closely, you can see that there are a few white hairs on his temples. It was evident that life hasn’t been easy for Li Tang these past few years.
Qiao Mudong nodded. “Okay, don’t worry, I’ll ask them for you first. It may not be as bad as we expected.”
There was some sparkle of relief in Li Tang’s eyes. “Thank you, Young Master Qiao.”
—
The author has something to say:
Thank you, Xiao Li and nightale, for the mines. Every time I see readers and girls who repeatedly throw mines at me and leave comments, I feel very grateful. I will ask He Yu to give you guys a kiss.
He Yu: =3=
Qiao Mudong: Get out of the way; I’ll do it!
Young Master Qiao is in a good mood today…
This Liang guy isn’t qualified to be a father at well. I really hope Qiao Mudong takes over his company and kicks him out.
Thank you for the chapter!
Ling*. He’s so insufferable that I don’t even want to bother remembering his name.
You’re welcome, Sasha XD
Thank you Keighty for another chapter! You’ve made my day. 🤍
I’m really curious about Li Tang and his past. As for the Ling father he is as significant as the security guard in Lingyun, I’d rather pay respect to the guard than him.
Aww, I’m glad I made your day ≧∇≦ You’re welcome!
“Nn” is indeed very cute haha