Zhu Tong took a deep breath, feeling it wasn’t quite right to pry into others’ privacy like this, so he didn’t pursue it further and instead asked about something else.
<Zhu>: How’s the thing I asked you to check last time?
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: About your crush?
<Zhu>: …
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: There’s some progress, those rumors are probably not groundless.
Zhu Tong’s heart tightened instantly.
<Zhu>: Who is it?
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: Can’t confirm yet, but it’s likely that the person spreading the rumors and the group’s CEO mentioned in the rumors are the same person.
<Zhu>：So, you’re saying the person spreading rumors might be Shao Ming’s biological father? Why would he do that?
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: Because of you.
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: According to my guess, right after you were acknowledged as Liu Jianbai’s godson, rumors started spreading in A City about you being with an illegitimate child. Why emphasize the illegitimate child? Someone who wants to get close to you, even if they don’t know whose illegitimate child that boy is, wouldn’t disregard a high schooler with no background. Spreading this rumor is just a setup. If my guess is correct, his biological father should have already contacted him.
“…”
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: Although I’ve only met him once and don’t know much about him, I can tell that he’s not an easy target and has resilience. He probably doesn’t want to acknowledge his biological father at all. In that case, spreading rumors serves another purpose: to pressure him to go back. By making him the target of public criticism with rumors, his biological father doesn’t need to do anything. Your admirers will make him retreat, forcing him to recognize his humble status. If he wants to continue being with you, what do you think he will choose?
“……”
Shocked by the two messages that barely fit on the screen, Zhu Tong felt like his world was turned upside down.
Shao Ming’s biological father had already found him?
Why didn’t he know anything about it?
And now he wanted to force Shao Ming to go back?
For over ten years, he had neglected Shao Ming and his mother, and now he wanted to claim him back? What right did he have? Was he even worthy?
And they were spreading rumors to make others criticize Shao Ming for being a bastard!
Was this also the reason for Kong Lu’s presence?
And how many more like her would insult and mock him behind his back when he wasn’t around?
How was this any different from Xia Yang’s actions leading to Shao Ming’s suffering?
“Fuck!”
The word slipped out, and everyone at the counter was startled, even Lu Zheyu couldn’t help but look at him with a hint of surprise on his face.
Luo Suo’s eyes widened.
Did he just… hear Zhu Tong swearing?
“What… What’s wrong with you?”
Zhu Tong snapped back to reality, meeting the gaze of three pairs of eyes, along with the curious looks of the customers at the counter.
“…”
Zhu Tong angrily said, “A cake1this is an untranslatable wordplay. “Fuck” is often censored using “艹” aka “grass”. Zhu Tong responded by saying that he was just speaking of a plant out loud. So, I opted to “localize” it by making him say it as if he’s saying “fudge” (aka cake-related) as an attempt to deflect it by making a joke..”
“…”
No one responded to his attempt at humor. His face gradually turned red, and eventually, he gave up, saying, “You guys carry on, don’t mind me.”
Then he shifted on the chair, facing away from the counter, isolating himself from all the glances.
Shao Ming’s gaze fell on the exposed nape of his neck, his expression thoughtful.
Zhu Tong had already picked up his phone again, replying to his cousin’s message.
<Zhu>: You’re the one who’s not a good guy, and you’re the one with a humble background.
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: …
Is he trying to twist the narrative now?
Cheng Chen sighed.
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: I have another guess, do you want to hear it?
<Zhu>: What?
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: The person spreading rumors responded very quickly. If he just wanted to acknowledge his son because of you, his first step shouldn’t be coercion but persuasion. After all, being labeled as an illegitimate child is easy to be criticized. To maximize his own interests, the best way is to privately acknowledge his son, remove the stigma of being an illegitimate child, and then spread the news about his relationship with you. By choosing to escalate the situation directly, it’s highly likely that he had already contacted the kid before knowing about your relationship and was rejected.
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: What circumstances would a businessman who only cares about profit contact a bastard he abandoned over a decade ago?
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: Do you remember what Jiang Wan said at the banquet? I had someone look into the projects the Jiang family has been involved in recent years. In the past few years, they were diversified, but in the past six months, they’ve become targeted, especially towards the Xia Group, all that’s left is putting up a banner outside Xia Weiyi’s office saying they’re going against him.
At the banquet, Jiang Wan explicitly mentioned that she secured a project from Xia Weiyi, with Shao Ming’s help.
Shao Ming didn’t refute it at the time.
Cheng Chen couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.
This person his cousin was interested in, he’s not simple.
Zhu Tong was petrified.
<Zhu>: Are you saying Shao Ming’s biological father is Xia Weiyi?
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: I didn’t say that, it’s just a guess. It could be someone high up in the Xia Group too.
Zhu Tong: …
Yeah, maybe his cousin got it wrong, or it could just be someone high up in the Xia Group.
How could Xia Weiyi be Shao Ming’s father?!
Who is Xia Weiyi? The heartthrob shou’s real dad!
Who is Shao Ming? The heartthrob shou’s white moonlight!
How could Shao Ming be Xia Weiyi’s son?! That’s too absurd!
Zhu Tong silently repeated a hundred impossibilities in his mind.
But as soon as he thought of Xia Weiyi’s attitude towards Shao Ming at the banquet, he felt unsure again.
Shao Ming’s behavior towards Xia Weiyi was also strange at the time.
He had assumed it was because of Xia Yang, but if it was just because of Xia Yang, Xia Weiyi shouldn’t have made things difficult for a junior at someone else’s banquet.
If it was because of the project… When Shao Ming collaborated with Jiang Wan, they didn’t disclose any personal information. How did Xia Weiyi know it was Shao Ming who helped the Jiang family deal with him?
Does Xia Weiyi have a relationship with Shao Ming after all?
Suddenly, his phone buzzed again.
<Young Master Cheng’s Love of Crime 2>: By the way, I want to remind you that due to the recent rumors in A City… our grandfather 100% already knows your relationship with your boyfriend.
Zhu Tong: …
This was quite unexpected.
Because it was New Year’s Day, and there were no new part-time staff coming in on the first day, when the milk tea shop closed, it was already 10 PM.
Liu Zheyu had already left early.
After helping with cleaning, Luo Suo also left. Before leaving, he looked at the two of them hesitantly for half a day, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.
Shao Ming stayed behind to lock the door.
Zhu Tong waited for the others while staring blankly at the brightly lit square.
The winter weather was dry and cold. After nightfall, the temperature plummeted. Breathing in the cold air could chill one’s throat directly.
Suddenly, a warm scarf was wrapped around his neck, covering his mouth as well.
Zhu Tong glanced at the person next to him who was wrapping the scarf around him. “When did you…”
He remembered that Shao Ming didn’t have a scarf on when he arrived.
Shao Ming said, “I left it on the shop before. Don’t worry, it’s clean. Put it on. It will be cold when you ride the bike later.”
Zhu Tong knew it must be clean; he could even smell the laundry detergent.
He then looked at Shao Ming’s neck. “What about you?”
Shao Ming smiled gently. “My inner heat has been on the high side lately. It’s nice to feel the cool breeze.”
‘Inner heat? What does he mean by that?’
Zhu Tong was surprised and asked, “Were you being hot-tempered before?”
Would blowing cold wind help if he had a hot temper?
Shao Ming wrapped the scarf around him. “My boyfriend is immersed in studying every day. A beauty is in front of me, but I can only look and not eat it. Wouldn’t that just make me all hot and bothered?”2So, uh, basically. Shao Ming is feeling “heaty” lately and wanted to cool off. “Heaty” here does not refer to actually feeling hot, but more… inflamed I guess???? Then, ZT followed it by thinking that SM was just bottling up anger so he felt “hot and stuffy” or something like that. Finally, SM clarified that he’s feeling “heaty” because he was just horny. …this is the best sequence of translation I can muster to translate this joke o)-( spare me….
“…”
Zhu Tong was stunned.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to wrap the scarf around him, Shao Ming leaned over and tapped his ear.
After standing outside for a while, Zhu Tong’s ears were already a bit cold.
Seeing him stunned, Shao Ming smiled again. “Just kidding. Let’s go.”
“……”
Zhu Tong’s face flushed red, a little belatedly.
According to his study plan, there were corresponding study tasks every evening at school recently, so there wasn’t much time spent together.
But saying this now seemed a bit inappropriate.
Zhu Tong glanced at Shao Ming, feeling hesitant.
“Why the daze? What are you thinking about?” Shao Ming couldn’t help but tease, lightly swiping his face.
Zhu Tong shook his head.
He couldn’t quite understand Shao Ming. He didn’t know if Shao Ming’s current calmness was genuine or if he was hiding his emotions.
Regarding the illegitimate child matter, he seemed to have no intention of explaining.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Tong decided to speak truthfully. “I was thinking about Kong Lu coming to the shop.”
Shao Ming paused for a moment, then smiled. “Are you reminding me that I still have a jar of vinegar I haven’t drunk yet?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
“That’s not it.” Zhu Tong instinctively retorted, then quickly realized.
What did that have to do with jealousy?
Kong Lu didn’t come because she liked him.
“I mean…” Suddenly, a cold wind blew, making Zhu Tong shiver and his words falter.
He glanced at the cold square, then at Shao Ming’s bare neck, as if inviting the cold wind in. Zhu Tong reached out and grabbed his hand. “Let’s talk about it when we get back.”
“……”
Shao Ming’s dark eyes revealed nothing. He lowered his head to look at the hand held by Zhu Tong, lips pressed together slightly, and gripped Zhu Tong’s hand tightly. “Okay.”
The two of them walked out of the milk tea shop.
Shao Ming rarely rode his bike after the weather turned cold. Today, Zhu Tong had asked specifically before leaving in the morning, thinking the weather was still fine, so he rode it for the first time in a long while.
Seeing the scarf around Zhu Tong’s neck, Shao Ming adjusted it for him.
As Zhu Tong sat on the back of the bike, he suddenly remembered something. He hugged Shao Ming’s waist and said, “By the way, I just talked to my cousin in the shop about Liu Zheyu. The entertainment company Liu Zheyu used to be in was Chengzhou Entertainment3乘舟; to navigate (a boat); to ride a boat.”
Shao Ming nodded. “Yeah, I figured.”
“……”
Well, Shao Ming was so clever that he probably guessed when Zhu Tong’s cousin greeted Liu Zheyu.
Feeling a bit deflated, Zhu Tong sat properly on the back seat, burying his head behind Shao Ming’s back.
Then he heard the person in front say, “The day you fainted, someone messaged Lao Er to tell him you were admitted to the hospital.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
What?
