Thank you Villain disorder for the well-wishes and donation! I’ll update the bonus chapter later this day~
After Zhu Xin’s interruption, Zhu Tong calmed down a little.
He looked at his clasped hands, still joined with Shao Ming’s. He looked up and asked, “…how did you come here?”
Shao Ming’s movement of playing with Zhu Tong’s fingers paused for a while, his eyes darkened. “I came here to make trouble.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘What kind of trouble is he trying to make?’
Shao Ming then asked back, “Why don’t you reply to my chat all day and night?”
Zhu Tong subconsciously replied, “I have something else so I forgot…”
“Have something else, hm?”
“…”
When did Shao Ming become so inquisitive?
Zhu Tong was a little surprised and a little panicked.
After a moment of hesitation, his phone rang again.
Zhu Tong now feels that his mobile phone was his savior. Both calls came so timely. This time, he glanced at the caller ID and couldn’t help himself but to automatically answer it. “Hello, Uncle Liu.”
“Young Master, where are you? You fainted the day before yesterday and were just discharged from the hospital last night. There are so many people at the banquet today, why are you running around again?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Shao Ming: “…”
Zhu Tong cut off the call with a snap.
He retracted his previous statement – Uncle Liu is a pig teammate1a teammate that drags you down..
Shao Ming said in a dark voice, “Fainted?”
Hearing Shao Ming’s question, Zhu Tong felt like Shao Ming asked that with gritted teeth.
He defended himself, “No… I just think… I’m all right now, there’s no need to…”
“There’s no need to?”
Zhu Tong remedied his previous reply: “I don’t want you to worry.”
Shao Ming said, “You don’t want me to worry?”
“…”
Zhu Tong couldn’t bear it anymore, looked up at him and said, “Can you only repeat after me or what?”
Shao Ming: “…”
Since Shao Ming stopped asking, Zhu Tong suddenly felt confident. He looked directly at the taller youth and asked back, “Aren’t you the one who has something to hide from me? Why didn’t you tell me when you came to A City to participate in the math competition?”
If he hadn’t contacted Luo Suo, wouldn’t he still be in the dark about Shao Ming coming to A City?
Shao Ming was stunned for a moment. “I just wanted to give you a surprise.”
Surprise? This is more frightening to him!
He was so frightened that he went into cardiac arrest!
The more Zhu Tong thought about it, the more rational he felt about his train of thoughts, so he said confidently, “You came to A City without saying a word, and you came to participate in the competition. Haven’t you ever thought that if I went back on time, I would miss…”
He trailed off, then came into a stop.
What will he miss? Feeling lost? Feeling disappointed?
Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem quite right.
Isn’t he… admitting in disguise that he likes Shao Ming?
Zhu Tong’s face burned red. He subconsciously raised his head, his gaze crashed into a pair of eyes that were brighter than the stars.
The distance between the two youths was very close, so close that he could clearly hear Shao Ming’s erratic heartbeat.
Zhu Tong was ashamed and wanted to run away. Just as he was about to push the taller youth away, Shao Ming suddenly said, “I was wrong.”
“…”
Shao Ming couldn’t restrain the rising corner of his mouth, and continued, “I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark about me coming to A City, I apologize.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Why is he so calm when admitting his mistake? It makes him look petty as hell, ah.
No, it doesn’t matter now.
How is he going to explain what he just said?
He didn’t want to lead Shao Ming on, but he also couldn’t rashly agree when he knew there was a risk involved.
At this time, someone suddenly walked past the rockery pass, stopped for a while, and turned around to find two youths “entangled” in the middle of the rockery.
Zhu Tong’s body stiffened. “This… We will talk about this later, let’s go out first, there are other things today, I…”
“Then give me a hug first.”
“…”
Without waiting for Zhu Tong to nod, Shao Ming had already pulled him away from the rockery wall, and then hugged him tightly into his arms.
Zhu Tong froze for a moment, then relaxed quickly, hesitantly put his hand on Shao Ming’s back as a sign of reciprocity.
Shao Ming felt it. His hug got tighter.
Setting aside that night after their altercation with Qiu Shaoping, it was the first time that they had embraced face to face like this.
Shao Ming felt like he had completely messed up.
Before meeting, he had thought that when he saw Zhu Tong again, he must keep a cold face and properly vent his grievances, and hold him accountable for his “crimes”.
However, after seeing Zhu Tong, just a little response, even if he didn’t say a word, was enough to dispel all his grievances. He couldn’t bear to blame him anymore.
As long as he held the youth in his arms like this, as long as he could still feel his warm body temperature, he was satisfied.
Shao Ming’s shoulders were very broad, giving Zhu Tong a full sense of security and warmth.
Zhu Tong was silent for a while, and said in his ear, “I will think about what you just said.”
“…”
Shao Ming took a deep breath, resisted the urge to kiss him, and said dumbly, “Okay.”
He tilted his head and kissed Zhu Tong’s temple, released him and said, “Let’s go.”
The two came out from behind the rockery. Zhu Tong was not used to the strong light outside, so he raised his hand to cover his sight.
The light seemed to illuminate his somewhat confused mind, which had been stirred up by Shao Ming. His thoughts gradually cleared, and he turned to ask, “By the way, how did you get in here?”
There were many people guarding outside the manor, and you couldn’t enter without an invitation letter.
Shao Ming frankly replied, “I have a friend who I helped a couple of times before. I asked that friend to bring me here.”
“Friend?”
Shao Ming nodded.
Zhu Tong assumed it should be a friend he had met during the competition and didn’t pay much attention.
After the brief “entanglement” behind the rockery, there were already many people in the square. Zhu Tong didn’t like such occasions, but now with Shao Ming by his side, it seemed like all his troubles and worries had disappeared.
He turned his head suddenly: “You…”
It happened that Shao Ming also turned his head at the same time, causing them to see eye-to-eye. Both of them were stunned for a moment.
Shao Ming smiled and said, “I’ll take you to find Uncle Liu…”
Zhu Tong anxiously said, “I’m not looking for Uncle Liu, shall I come with you?”
Shao Ming: “…”
He paused and said, “If I guessed correctly, Uncle Liu is hosting this banquet today for you, right?”
Zhu Tong nodded.
It was to disconnect him from the Zhu family in front of others.
Shao Ming’s gaze became complicated.
In just a few days since he arrived in A City, during the process of receiving the invitation letter, Shao Ming also understood how extraordinary Uncle Liu’s identity was. Even the person who gave him the invitation letter showed reverence when talking about Uncle Liu. Such a renowned figure, once others knew about the connection between Shao Ming and Uncle Liu, Zhu Tong would become a sought-after commodity in others’ eyes. Even being able to stand by his side would be profitable.
But Zhu Tong did not shy away from proposing to be by his side on such an occasion. Isn’t he afraid that he will be used by Shao Ming?
‘You trust me so much, but refuse to admit that you like me?’
“Tongtong, it’s been a long time.”
A person suddenly walked by, giving him a cordial greeting.
When Shao Ming heard this voice, his eyes sank.
Zhu Tong tilted his head to look over, and his expression immediately sank. But he still nodded politely and greeted him back. “Uncle Xia.”
The person who came was the head of the Xia Group, Xia Weiyi.
Zhu Tong knew this person after the system told him the identity of Xia Yang, the novel’s heartthrob protagonist.
He was indeed Xia Yang’s father. Even their “greeting routines” were exactly the same.
They had only met a handful of times, and yet, the father-son pair always pretended to be very familiar to Zhu Tong.
It’s likely that the incident that happened at the racecourse that day reached Xia Weiyi’s ears, prompting him to approach Zhu Tong in an attempt to strengthen his relationship with Uncle Liu.
When Xia Weiyi saw his answer, he smiled more enthusiastically, “It’s been so long, Tongtong looks more energetic now.”
Zhu Tong felt a bit nauseous from being called “Tongtong” repeatedly. He maintained a neutral expression and replied, “Once the body is well, the spirit naturally follows. Thank you, Uncle Xia, for your concern.”
Xia Weiyi also had a big name in A City. So when he suddenly came over to talk to a child, even people who didn’t know Zhu Tong were secretly paying attention.
Today, many of the invitees to the banquet were unaware of its purpose and had only heard of Zhu Tong without having met him. When they saw Xia Weiyi warmly greeting him while receiving lukewarm responses in return, they couldn’t help but start discussing the matter.
Xia Weiyi didn’t care about Zhu Tong’s attitude. He looked at Zhu Tong for a while, then turned to look at the person next to him, “I don’t know who this is…”
He suddenly turned his gaze towards Shao Ming, and Zhu Tong couldn’t even keep up appearances. He furrowed his brows lightly and said, “He’s my friend.”
“Friend?” Xia Weiyi said, “I wonder whose child he is?”
“…”
Zhu Tong frowned even tighter.
Xia Yang pursued Shao Ming frantically, to the point of him not hesitating to go against his father’s wishes and going to school in Gongshui County.
Xia Weiyi was so opposed to Xia Yang transferring for a boy – wouldn’t he be curious to find out who Xia Yang likes?
He clearly knew who Shao Ming was. And yet, he now asked about Shao Ming’s parentage on such an occasion… Shouldn’t he have a malicious motive?
Zhu Tong said in a low, serious voice, “Does Uncle Xia need to inquire about someone’s background before deciding whether to make friends?”
Xia Weiyi: “…”
Although he did indeed do this, it was not very pleasant to hear it be said out loud.
At this moment, someone in the crowd chuckled, and Xia Weiyi’s expression changed slightly. However, he quickly smiled and said, “What are you saying? Uncle is just curious. Your father mentioned that you always keep yourself locked up at home, refusing to attend banquets or socialize with kids your age. It’s rare to see you make a friend, so Uncle is happy for you.”
Zhu Tong said indifferently, “Thank you, Uncle Xia.”
“…”
He clearly wasn’t getting through, and usually, if someone were tactful, they wouldn’t press further. However, Xia Weiyi seemed to be keen on pushing buttons with Shao Ming again, continuing, “Come to think of it, just now at the entrance of the estate, I think I saw your friend there. He seemed to… get off the Jiang family’s car. What’s the story? Is he also Young Lady Jiang’s friend?”
Zhu Tong was slightly startled.
Did Shao Ming come with Jiang Wan?
Does he know that he almost married Jiang Wan?
—And why on earth did he suddenly feel guilty?
Zhu Tong tilted his head to look at Shao Ming, and found that Shao Ming was actually looking at him.
Xia Weiyi suddenly mentioned that Shao Ming got out of Jiang Wan’s car for what?
With Jiang Wan’s reputation, a young and handsome boy got out of Jiang Wan’s car… wouldn’t this have a massive implication?
Is Xia Weiyi targeting Shao Ming?
Is he sick in the head?
Zhu Tong, without stopping to ponder why Shao Ming had come with Jiang Wan, stepped forward to block Shao Ming’s path and said, “So it turns out Uncle Xia is so interested in who I make friends with. Do I need to write down every detail for you to scrutinize, ah?”
The unabashed behavior of protecting his friend was almost tantamount to saying that Xia Weiyi was a nosy meddler, not minding his own business.
The onlookers were suddenly quieter.
Xia Weiyi did not expect that Zhu Tong would stand up so strongly to speak for his “friend”. He looked at the two with a little more scrutiny.
At this time, Shao Ming suddenly stepped forward, naturally put his hand on Zhu Tong’s shoulder, and said with a smile: “It’s too troublesome to write it down, why don’t I describe it again and tell this… Uncle Xia?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
The words spoken by Shao Ming sounded like it implied something fishy.
Could it be that Xia Weiyi went to trouble Shao Ming because of Xia Yang?
He was about to speak when two people walked over behind him. One of them said, “Xia-zong arrived at the venue ten minutes earlier than me. It’s quite surprising that you paid so much attention to me. I am really flattered.”
Jiang Wan, dressed in a long wine-red dress, walked over gracefully.
Seeing the person next to her, Zhu Tong was surprised, and he swallowed the “cousin” when he reached his mouth.
The two nodded in greeting.
Jiang Wan directly found Xia Weiyi in front of him.
She glanced at Shao Ming and smiled faintly, “Xia-zong, since you’re so curious about this young man’s identity, why don’t I introduce him to you? It’s quite a coincidence. I’ve known him for over half a year, and it’s only today that I’ve met him in person. I didn’t expect him to be a friend of Young Master Zhu.”
The moment Jiang Wan appeared, Xia Weiyi’s face sank.
The Xia family and the Jiang family are notorious for not getting along in A City. The Xia family has suffered significant losses in business dealings with the Jiang family several times in the past six months. As a result, when the two people meet, there is not even the slightest courtesy on the surface.
Jiang Wan didn’t care whether Xia Weiyi’s expression was good or bad. She directly said, “Xia-zong, you shouldn’t underestimate this young friend of mine. Not long ago, I snatched a project worth tens of millions from you. It was all thanks to the help of this young friend.”
