Chapter 114.1
Editor: Sahloknir
“Just kill me already.” Shi Qing deadpanned.
Tan Mingjin was already angry, but the young master’s fury surpa.s.sed even his. The youth who had just been begging in a soft voice also got up.
There seemed to be flames blazing inside his beautiful eyes.
If he had fur, it would be all puffed out by now.
“How can you be like this! How could you reject my innermost feelings?! Even if you didn’t want them, did you have to refuse this way?!!”
The little Shi Qing on his shoulder was babbling along with him, looking like steam would come out of his ears any second now.
Tan Mingjin was baffled by his accusations, but he soon remembered how his good, sweet, obedient and sensible Shi Qing was rebelling against him for a female scam artist more than ten years his senior.
The man’s gaze grew more and more heated.
Like a tyrant, he coldly said, “In any case, I won’t allow it. If you’re bent on having things your way, then…”
The tyrant was stuck at this point.
If Shi Qing was bent on having his own way, what could I do?
Tan Mingjin was once very good at threatening and intimidating Shi Qing. Whenever Shi Qing made a scene, he used to rein him in by threatening to cut him off.
For Shi Qing, who was a big spender that liked to show off to his friends, this was a super effective threat.
But if he did that now, this heartless little brat would definitely run to mooch off that woman.
He might even get taken advantage of in some way.
An image of Shi Qing selling himself for money immediately popped up in Tan Mingjin’s mind.
No way!
He couldn’t let that happen!
But what else could he do then?
Drive Shi Qing out of the Tan family?
He couldn’t. What if others found out about it and bullied Shi Qing?
And if he kicked out Shi Qing, wouldn’t he be letting that woman easily replace him as Shi Qing’s caretaker?
The tyrant was unable to think of a way to punish him off the top of his head. After a few seconds of pause, he continued, “I will make you regret it.”
“Why can’t I have feelings for someone? Uncle, don’t you always buy me everything I want? Don’t you like me? I clearly felt that you did, so why won’t you say yes?!”
Tan Mingjin almost scoffed at Shi Qing’s brazen demand for his acceptance. How could he willingly give up the child he had raised to someone else?
Yes, he liked Shi Qing.
It was because he liked him that Tan Mingjin would not put up with this.
Upon confirming his intentions, the man resolutely affirmed, “I can give you anything else, but this matter is not up for discussion.”
He could clearly see that tears were already welling up in the eyes of the youth in front of him. The tip of Shi Qing’s pretty little nose was red as he stared at Tan Mingjin with an aggrieved and stubborn look.
Little Shi Qing was in a similar mood. He was sobbing and wiping tears from the shoulder he was sitting on, his fair and lovely little face riddled with aggression.
Tan Mingjin didn’t expect to make him cry.
Guilt flooded every inch of his being.
Especially since he knew that he was not disagreeing just because that woman was a liar, but mostly because he did not want Shi Qing to leave him.
At this moment, Shi Qing’s tears seem to knock sense back into Tan Mingjin’s head.
What am I doing, ah?
Shi Qing is different from me.
Shi Qing is just an ordinary kid who liked girls.
At this age, isn’t it normal for him to fall for someone?
What right did Tan Mingjin have to act on his unseemly thoughts and keep Shi Qing prisoner by his side?
He hid his desire to monopolize Shi Qing behind a facade of doing it for his own good.
His relationship with this child just improved somewhat recently. Since he knew he couldn’t go any further, why stop this child from finding his own happiness?
The more Tan Mingjin thought about it, the more sour his heart became.
At this moment, he was like the infatuated second male lead in all those TV dramas. Despite wanting to keep the one he loved in his embrace forever, he could only slowly let them go and watch them run into someone else’s arms.
He was alone. Lonely and sad.
If this was an animation, you would see clouds circling the top of Tan Mingjin’s head. The dark clouds rumbled with thunder and flashed with lightning, drenching him in rain.
The man pursed his lips sadly, trying hard to forget the thoughts he shouldn’t have.
This was fine.
He would just hide them.
He would be Shi Qing’s good uncle for the rest of his life, always protecting him.
He would watch as Shi Qing lived a happy life with a loving wife and young children.
Tan Mingjin would be but a lonely spectator happily observing from afar.
The man who had completely cast himself into the role of the heartbroken second male lead sighed deeply.
“Uncle won’t stop you from pursuing happiness, but girls your own age are more appropriate. Why don’t you find someone from school? Uncle can also introduce you to someone from a good family that has similar interests.
His heart was breaking, but he forced himself to say these ‘caring’ things.
As he spoke, he realised that the young man in front of him was becoming more and more aggrieved.
Not only was he aggrieved, he was also saddened.
Tan Mingjin, who was also sad, understood how he felt. He knew how difficult it was to give up on someone.
But there was nothing that could be done.
The person he liked did not like him back, and the person that Shi Qing liked was a female scam artist.
Tan Mingjin: “I know you may not be able to accept right away, and that’s fine. Uncle will always be your uncle…”
But your girlfriend might not always be your girlfriend.
His sadness made him want to say more, but Shi Qing suddenly shoved his shoulder with great force.
Tan Mingjin didn’t react in time, but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground.
Although he was older than Shi Qing, he regularly got enough sleep and exercise.
As for Shi Qing, he liked to stay up all night and never worked out, so his body was just so-so in terms of fitness.
He was also not the strongest of people. To Tan Mingjin, this shove was equivalent to an unweaned kitten with soft claws scratching him.
It was not painful or itchy. Actually, it was a bit cute.
As Tan Mingjin thought those things, he noticed Shi Qing looking at him accusingly.
Oh…was he angry that his push didn’t do anything?
The man who wanted to present the whole world on a platter to Shi Qing thought for a second. Then he ‘stumbled’ a step back.
Shi Qing should be happy now, right?
But when he looked up again, he saw that the corners of the youth’s eyes were even redder. Tears were welling up in those beautiful eyes.
Finally, Shi Qing reached up and wiped away the tears with the back of his hand, He spoke indignantly, “You’re too much. Just say no if you don’t agree. It’s not like I’m forcing you to accept. Why must you humiliate me like this?!”
The youth roared like an angry evil dragon at the dumbfounded man who didn’t know how he had humiliated him.
“I hate you!!!”
Without a second’s delay, Shi Qing turned around and ran out of the restaurant in a huff.
Tan Mingjin, who was still standing there, couldn’t figure out how he had humiliated Shi Qing.
He was left bewildered, at a loss for words, and filled to the brim with jealousy.
***
“My uncle is really too much, he’s really too much! Did you hear me? I said he’s too much.”
Cheng Yunling, who had no idea how she had become a therapist for this young master, was expressionless. She said in a lifeless voice over the phone, “I heard you. I understand that President Tan can be too much sometimes, but Young Master Shi, can’t you say it in a different way? I’ve heard the same thing at least a hundred times tonight.”
“Oh.”
Young Master Shi paused, “Have you ever seen someone that excessive? You haven’t, right?”
Cheng Yunling: “…”
Yes, I have.
You.
Who else would call me at 3 am and force me to listen to them rant about everything?
Cheng Yunling helplessly laid down. “Young Master Shi, it’s really late, why don’t we both go to bed first? I’m so sleepy I can’t keep my eyes open, plus I have work tomorrow.”
SHi Qing scoffed, “Who are you trying to fool? I called you because you’re still playing games at 3am. I saw you come online. If you really had to go to work, would you be doing that?”
Cheng Yunling: “…”
This young master is usually silly, how come he’s so smart at times like this.
She broke and messed her hair up into a chicken’s nest. “But what are you telling me all this for!?”
Shi Qing was very matter-of-fact. “Aren’t we friends? Since I’m having relationship troubles, shouldn’t you help me?”
Cheng Yunling: …Who TF is your friend?
There were many things she lacked, but friends were not one of them.
Especially not a friend who would call in the middle of the night and rant for an hour about how ‘too much is too much’.
Perhaps Shi Qing sensed her inner thoughts, but the clear-voiced youth immediately spoke up, “Don’t forget, I was the one who made you confess to your boyfriend. If you didn’t do that, you would’ve never known that he liked you back. I’m the one who set you guys up, so you need to be grateful. How can you not help me now that I have relationship problems? ”
Cheng Yunling: “…”
That seemed to make some sense.
“But how am I supposed to help? I can’t approach President Tan directly because he’s so powerful. Besides, he’s right. Someone that much older than you won’t have a lot in common with you.”
Cheng Yunling proposed, “How about this, Young Master Shi? You should get a good night’s sleep first and give me some time to think of a solution. When I do, I’ll help you, okay?”
On the other end, Shi Qing thought about it and nodded in agreement, “Okay then, don’t take too long. Make good use of that head of yours.”
Hallelujah!
I finally got rid of this chatterbug.
Cheng Yunling was so moved that she could burst into tears. She hurriedly promised, “Don’t worry, don’t worry! I definitely have something soon! When I’ve thought about it, I’ll definitely solve this problem for you!”
She might as well get some sleep first anyway.
Although she was usually quite capable of staying up late playing games when she didn’t have work, the hour of verbal monotony she had been subjected to surprisingly made Cheng Yunling sleepy.
Shi Qing hung up.
Cheng Yunling heaved a sigh of relief.
And then she felt a little smug.
Sure enough, children are children. They’re easy to coax and easy to deceive. It seems that her IQ was still enough to deal with Shi Qing.
That little brat.
While she got ready for bed, her phone rang again. Cheng Yunling turned to see that it was Shi Qing. She answered it without thinking too much. “What’s wrong, Young Master Shi? Did you forget something?”
On the other end, Shi Qing urged her bossily, “It’s been sixty seconds, tell me what you’ve thought up already!”
Cheng Yunling: “…”
Someone please just kill me already!!!!
Why do I have to suffer when Shi Qing’s the one with a broken heart?!
I won’t, no, can’t put up with this anymore!!
“Young Master Shi, I…”
Shi Qing：”Think hard. Do you know about that something-something variety show about learning to cook together? I’ll send you there if you can come up with ideas.”
Isn’t that the number one hit variety show!?
The artists who go on it can all skyrocket in popularity, not to mention that their fan count could rise exponentially.
At this moment, there was no more thought about sleep or games in Cheng Yunling’s mind.
There was only the golden road in front of her.
“No problem, Young Master Shi. I’ve decided to help you out.”
Wasn’t it just pursuing someone?
Although the pursuer was male, and the one being pursued was male too…
Although the one being pursued was President Tan..
Although the pursuer was raised by the person he was pursuing…
Although…
Cheng Yunling: …This seems really difficult.
Was it too late to back out at this point?