Qiao Song’s funeral arrangements were very simple. There was no mourning hall or farewell ceremony. He directly arranged the time and sent him to be cremated. Qiao Mudong and He Yu simply drove to the crematorium to pick up his ashes.
The public cemetery was the most common type of cemetery. One could just put the urn inside, let the workers seal the tomb lid with cement, and forget about it. There wasn’t even a photo on the tombstone.
Even Qiao Mudong, the grandson, didn’t feel very sad, let alone He Yu, an outsider. But watching a person pass away, he couldn’t help but feel sad. He Yu stood there and looked at Qiao Song’s name on the tombstone, trying to find the glorious years when he was still the king of the world, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything.
Qiao Mudong bought a bunch of fireworks. At the place where they were set off, he took apart the fireworks and threw them on the ground. He grabbed one of the fuses and lit them, then ran away in just a few steps. The crackling formation shook the ground slightly. Qiao Mudong clapped his hands as if he had finally completed his task and said to He Yu, “Let’s go.”
He Yu only took half a day off and had to go to work in the afternoon. Qiao Mudong then took care of other subsequent matters by himself.
Qiao Mudong drove He Yu to the company. There was a traffic jam on the way back. He turned on the radio in the car and heard the news that Hong Minhang was discharged from the hospital.
Qiao Mudong was surprised and quickly dialed Li Tang’s phone number.
Li Tang affirmed, “Yes, the news is true.”
Qiao Mudong asked, “His uncles compromised?”
Li Tang said, “They can’t delay it any longer. Maybe they have reached some agreement with Minhang privately. Once Hong Minhang comes back, he probably won’t touch his two uncles for the time being.”
Qiao Mudong asked, “What about you?”
“Me?” Li Tang said. “Hong Minhang is back, so I will naturally retire after succeeding in this. Boss Qiao, I’m still waiting for you to take me in.”
When Qiao Mudong heard this, he couldn’t help but smile, but he still said with a little bit of emotion, “Hong Xiaomao is pulling down the bridge after crossing the river, ah.”
Li Tang smiled and said, “I can’t stay in the Hong family anymore, so that’s okay. As for how he will deal with his two uncles in the future, I won’t care.”
Qiao Mudong said, “Okay, they will probably make big moves soon. I will contact you then.”
Li Tang said, “I will always wait for Master Qiao’s call.”
Tengxiang recently took on a big order, and the whole company worked overtime for two weeks to get the job done. He Yu couldn’t finish anything every day and continued to work overtime until he got home.
Qiao Mudong didn’t have time to feel sorry for him. He was also busy outside every day. He would come home from eleven in the evening up to two o’clock in the early morning. He Yu gradually felt that Qiao Mudong might be busy with more than just Lingyun’s work. If this was the case, He Yu thought it was a good thing. If he was attached to Lingyun, he would always be at the mercy of Ling Qiang. If he could find something else to do, even if the income was not high, he would not be at the mercy of Ling Qiang anymore. He didn’t think it mattered if the two of them took their time from each other.
But every time He Yu asked, Qiao Mudong’s answers were vague. He Yu couldn’t help but worry whether Qiao Mudong and his brothers were doing some dirty business. He Yu was very afraid of this. He knew that Qiao Mudong had an impatient personality and was afraid that something would happen to him in the future.
Qiao Mudong only said, “It’s a legitimate business. You just think too much.”
He Yu was sitting in front of the computer and was working overtime. He turned to look at him and said, “Don’t get yourself into some dirty business. I will definitely say goodbye to you once you get in.”
“Pei!” Qiao Mudong spat. “Stop talking nonsense. Don’t curse at me!”
Two weeks later, everyone’s hard work came to fruition. Ou Yunjia stepped on the chair excitedly and said, “Thank you for your hard work. This year’s year-end bonus will not be unfair to everyone!”
The whole big office was filled with joy.
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 held his head with one hand and smiled happily. Then he heard everyone cheering for Ou Yunjia to treat them: “Dinner party! Dinner party! Dinner party!…”
Ye Tecplj kjnfv tlr jgw. “Rb qgbyifw! Ofa’r fja jcv rlcu abcluta. Tbeg ojwlis wfwyfgr jgf jii kfimbwf!”
Snfgsbcf mtffgfv.
Yo mbegrf, Lf Te mbeivc’a ajxf tlr ojwlis wfwyfgr klat tlw. Snfc lo tf kjcafv ab ajxf tlr ojwlis klat tlw, Hljb Zevbcu qgbyjyis kbeivc’a yf jnjlijyif.
In the evening, they had hotpot. Because there were so many people and the atmosphere was lively, everyone who could drink was given a few drinks. Especially for a young guy like He Yu, who didn’t have to drive yet, there was no way he could escape from them.
Coafg vglcxlcu, tf ijs bc atf ajyif jcv qgfafcvfv ab yf jriffq yfobgf tlvlcu jujlc.
After coming out of the hotpot restaurant, Ou Yunjia said that he had booked a private room at the KTV next door. So they went there immediately.
Those who were slightly older or had children at home could no longer be mentioned. Most of the others were young people, and the big boss, Ou Yunjia, was currently waiting to pay the bill.
He Yu came out of the hotpot restaurant. He felt his stomach churn as soon as he was hit by the cool breeze outside.
Ou Yunjia came over, wanting to grab He Yu’s shoulders. But He Yu quickly pushed him away, turned to a small alley next to the hotpot restaurant, and vomited almost all of the food he had eaten tonight.
Someone handed him a bottle of mineral water. He took it and rinsed his mouth with it.
Ou Yunjia asked him, “Are you okay?”
He Yu shook his head and said, “Boss, I’m not going to sing anymore.”
Ou Yunjia said quickly, “No, you must go.”
He Yu repeated, “I can’t sing anymore. I’m very dizzy.”
Ou Yunjia said, “You have to go even if you just lie down and sleep there.”
He Yu really had no way to refuse. Others were still waiting for him, so he had no choice but to follow him to the KTV.
In the end, Ou Yunjia was right. He Yu simply went to lie down and sleep. He occupied half of the sofa by himself. He raised his arms to block his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
At around ten o’clock, before everyone had any intention of leaving, the phone in He Yu’s coat pocket rang, but he didn’t even hear it.
Ou Yunjia helped him take out his cell phone. When he saw the name “Qiao Mudong” on the caller ID, he quickly shook He Yu awake.
“Hello?” He Yu answered the phone in a daze.
Qiao Mudong asked, “Where are you? Why haven’t you gone home yet?”
He Yu rubbed his forehead and said, “I was singing with my colleagues. I drank so much that I ended up falling asleep.”
Qiao Mudong said, “Where are you? I’ll come to pick you up.”
When Qiao Mudong arrived, everyone was not ready to leave yet. He Yu stood up and said goodbye to them first. This time, Ou Yunjia did not try to persuade him to stay.
Walking downstairs, he saw Qiao Mudong’s car parked in front of the KTV gate. He Yu smiled, walked over with a somewhat shallow step, leaned against the car window, and asked him, “Driver, can you send me to Xiaxing Road, ah?”
Xiaxing Road was the road where the community where they live now was located.
Qiao Mudong said, “I’ll send you there. Get in the car quickly.”
He Yu opened the car door and got in. While fastening his seat belt, he said, “But I don’t have cash with me right now. What should I do?”
Qiao Mudong started the car and said, “Then sleep with me as a payment for the fare.”
He Yu was silent for a moment and then said, “I’ll think about it.”
Qiao Mudong suddenly turned to look at him with a hint of suspicion. “Do you know who I am?”
He Yu smiled and said, “Taxi driver ma!”
Qiao Mudong was about to reach out and pull his hair to let him see him clearly when he suddenly heard him add, “Master Qiao.”
Qiao Mudong cursed him in one breath: “Fuck! You only drank wine, and you’re already acting coquettishly in front of me!”
The entire street was filled with all kinds of restaurants, like hotpot restaurants. Furthermore, there were KTVs, foot saunas, and clubs. The road was not wide, and there were many cars parked on both sides of the road. Thus, Qiao Mudong’s driving speed was a bit slow.
He Yu had closed his eyes again. Qiao Mudong wanted to help him press up the car window on the other side. But suddenly, he saw a man rushing over from the side of the road, banging on his car door and shouting, “Mr. Qiao, help me. There are some people chasing me!”
He Yu was awakened by this and immediately asked, “What’s going on?”
Qiao Mudong frowned. He knew the person who knocked on his car door. He was the young man who had been arranged by Wen Guanghua to accompany him to survey the land to the west of the city. His name was Lu Jincong.
Qiao Mudong glanced behind him and saw that there were indeed three or four men chasing after him, so he unlocked the car door and allowed him to get in first.
Lu Jincong quickly opened the door at the back and sat inside.
Qiao Mudong sped up and left the place.
He Yu hadn’t recovered yet, so he turned to look at Lu Jincong, feeling that he was vaguely familiar.
Lu Jincong was still breathing heavily. He leaned forward, placed his hands on the back of Qiao Mudong’s seat, and said, “Thank you, Mr. Qiao.”
He had been a frequenter in this area for years, where there was also a gay bar nearby. Ever since Wen Guanghua arranged for him to meet Qiao Mudong, he himself was actually quite interested in Qiao Mudong. Unfortunately, there were too few opportunities, and Wen Guanghua was obviously not too interested in giving him some. After the last time they both met, he went to Lingyun a few times, but he still couldn’t see Qiao Mudong around.
Tonight, it could be counted as either a chance or not. Lu Jincong first saw Qiao Mudong’s car parked nearby, and then he started to think of a way to get close to Qiao Mudong.
As for what to do when he got close, he hadn’t decided yet.
Qiao Mudong didn’t ask him what happened. He drove directly to the intersection and dropped him off.
Lu Jincong had no choice but to keep thanking Qiao Mudong as he got out of the car. Before leaving the car, he looked at He Yu carefully.
He Yu looked at Lu Jincong standing on the roadside through the rearview mirror and asked Qiao Mudong, “What’s the meaning of this?”
“What’s the meaning of this?” Qiao Mudong asked in repeat. “He wanted a ride, so I just gave him a ride.”
He Yu said, “He looks familiar.”
Qiao Mudong said, “He’s Lingyun’s employee.”
When He Yu heard this, he laughed and said, “He doesn’t really look like one.”
Qiao Mudong turned to look at him. “Are you awake from a drunken sleep, ah?”
He Yu shrank down and leaned on the back of the chair. “I’m not drunk at all.”
Qiao Mudong also smiled and said, “You also don’t look like one, ba? I don’t look like one either.”
He Yu said, “What if he sends me some photos next time? How am I supposed to respond?”
Qiao Mudong was a little helpless. “You still remember the photos? I thought you had already forgotten them.”
He Yu raised his hand and pressed it against his forehead. “I can’t forget it, even if I want to.”
Qiao Mudong slowed down the car and put his hand on He Yu’s shoulder. “How about we leave?”
He Yu looked at him inexplicably. “Leave? Where to?”
Qiao Mudong said, “We’ll leave the Ling family and stay far away from everyone in the Ling family.”
“You mean, right now?” He Yu’s eyes widened. He had proposed this idea to Qiao Mudong before, but Qiao Mudong didn’t take it seriously. He Yu thought that Qiao Mudong disagreed with his ideas. After all, Qiao Mudong was Ling Qiang’s biological son. Regardless of any disputes between them, from his own point of view, it was not appropriate to persuade Qiao Mudong to leave such a huge fortune like Lingyun. He Yu didn’t want Qiao Mudong to give up the opportunity to inherit Lingyun just because of him. He was afraid that one day, Qiao Mudong would regret it, which would eventually affect their relationship. So all this time, He Yu would rather immerse himself in confusion and uneasiness than let Qiao Mudong leave with him.
Sometimes, He Yu felt that his personality was quite bad. Once he liked someone, he would always devote himself wholeheartedly to them. Even if there was no reward, he still wanted to see them do well in life.
But it was Qiao Mudong who brought it up today. Because of Lu Jincong’s sudden appearance, it unexpectedly led to such a strange opportunity like this. Maybe he was irritable and tired, or maybe he didn’t want He Yu to live in such uneasiness anymore. Anyway, Qiao Mudong suddenly brought up such a topic, leaving He Yu shocked for a moment and not knowing how to answer.
He Yu asked, “Wouldn’t it be inappropriate?” After all, it was Qiao Mudong’s own choice to return to Lingyun in order to let Ling Qiang help him get out of prison. Ling Qiang did what he promised him, but Qiao Mudong backed out on his promise this time, which seemed like his standpoint was not enough.
Qiao Mudong said, “Actually, I think it would be most appropriate to let him drive me away.”
As for Ling Qiang, Qiao Mudong had done quite a lot of bad things, and it was not easy for him to endure it until now. Qiao Mudong really wanted to be scolded by him so that it would not be impossible for Ling Qiang to drive him away, but…
He Yu asked, “Are you willing to let Lingyun fall into the hands of others?”
He Yu didn’t say this clearly, but Qiao Mudong knew that he was referring to Fu Chenshan.
Qiao Mudong smiled. “Fu Chenshan may not even be able to handle Ling Zhilu as of now, but isn’t it already settled that he will be counted on to handle Lingyun?”
He Yu really couldn’t laugh. The reason why Fu Chenshan and Ling Zhilu ended up like this was in order to save him. Although he was unwilling to accept Fu Chenshan’s kindness, he felt somewhat sorry.
Qiao Mudong patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, take your time. I will think of a way to deal with this. You can go to your work with peace of mind.”
Thank you for the chapter!
You two deserve each other so I’m glad qiao mudong is seriously planning to leave Lingyun and his ‘so-called’ family behind for he yu