Chapter 85 - The Last to Know
Lin YaZhi started smoking again.
Because his son didn’t like it, he had quit smoking half a year ago.
But now, Lin YaZhi was indifferent as he smoked in front of Lin Qian.
He wanted his son to know that his father was also rebellious.
The only problem was, there weren’t any cigarettes in the house because he had quit. So after he beat up Zheng PingQing, Lin YaZhi had to go downstairs and buy a pack of cigarettes.
Lin YaZhi was so angry he resorted to acting petty.
Fortunately, Lin Qian still hated his smoking habit. When Lin Qian saw Lin YaZhi come back home with a box of cigarettes, he had no choice other than to try and persuade his father: “Dad, smoking isn’t good for your health.”
Seeing that his son still cared about him, Lin YaZhi felt a little better. But he needed to make a statement, so Lin YaZhi, took out a lighter and lit a cigarette. He coldly snorted: “Smoking a stick feels much better than being furious at you.”
Lin Qian stopped and quietly watched him.
Lin YaZhi: “…..” I suddenly feel a great amount of pressure.
Hardening his heart, Lin YaZhi inhaled a puff of smoke right in front of his son. “You have no control over my smoking habits. After all, I wasn’t important enough for you to reveal your gay relationship first.”
Zheng PingQing, who was lying on the couch, whined: “Father, we already told you, ah. We didn’t purposely exclude you; we were just so busy with the college entrance exams. Didn’t we tell you straight away after?”
Poor Zheng PingQing was covered in bruises. While there was no bleeding, his multicolored skin still looked quite frightening.
Without a doubt, the experienced Lin YaZhi chose the most conspicuous places to hit him.
“Cough-” Lin YaZhi inhaled a bit too fast and choked. Getting angry once more, he said: “I don’t care! Lin Qian is my son! I should be the first to know, ah!”
Lin Qian’s mouth flattened into a straight line.
They survived coming out of the closet, but now they’re stumbling over the timeframe of their coming out.
Compared to his son’s h.o.m.os.e.xuality, Lin YaZhi was angrier at the fact that he wasn’t the first one to know that his son was gay.
The compet.i.tive gene of the Lin family had really imbued itself into all aspects of their lives, ah.
Lin Qian sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll let you smoke a cigarette just for today.”
Lin YaZhi huffed. “You have no right to say how many cigarettes I can smoke!”
Lin Qian stared at him and lightly replied: “Oh.”
Lin YaZhi: “….” Why do I feel empty all of a sudden?
Lin Qian asked: “So you no longer want me to care about you?”
Lin YaZhi: “….” Of course not! What’ll happen if his son ignored him in the future?
Lin YaZhi took the cigarette out of his mouth and bitterly replied: “…just for today.”
Zheng PingQing had been complaining and grunting on the sofa, trying to arouse sympathy while still stealthily observing the situation. When he heard Lin YaZhi’s reply though, Zheng PingQing forgot to cry out.
Zheng PingQing: “….” Father-in-law, have a little more ambition, ah.
Lin Qian nodded. “Alright. How many cigarettes are you smoking today?”
Lin YaZhi pouted and said: “Up to you!”
Lin Qian repeated: “How many cigarettes?”
Lin YaZhi’s lip trembled and he stiffly replied: “One pack.”
At Lin Qian’s pointed look, Lin YaZhi strove to show he had a backbone. He said: “I won’t budge on this.”
Zheng PingQing could no longer pretend to be k2018;wounded’. He couldn’t help but let out a k2018;pfft-k2018;
Lin Qian and Lin YaZhi both looked at him.
Zheng PingQing quickly hugged his legs and began to roll around the sofa. “Hurts, hurts, hurts, it hurts so much…”
After looking at the bruised Zheng PingQing, Lin YaZhi felt much better. He walked towards the balcony and said: “I’m going to smoke a whole pack. You can’t tell me what to do, ah.”
Zheng PingQing looked at Lin Qian and said: “I’ll happily let you manage my life.”
Lin YaZhi: “…..” Argh! I really want to hit him again!
But he was already walking towards the balcony. It would be too much of a disgrace to go back.
Lin YaZhi pressed at his chest. He dragged a rattan chair with him, fast down, then began to light several cigarettes in the pack, stubbornly intending to smoke them all.
Lin Qian saw his father finally calm down a bit, so he went to help Zheng PingQing. Although he knew that Zheng PingQing only had superficial injuries, he was still very distressed when he saw his tragic situation. Lin Qian grabbed the family’s medicine box and said: “Let’s go to the bedroom; I’ll put medicine on you.”
Zheng PingQing turned his (pretend) watery expression towards Lin Qian and replied: “Alright.”
When they entered the room, Zheng PingQing headed straight to the bed. He laid down and began to sell pity as he said: “Honey, I think I’m dying.”
Lin Qian took out the medicinal oil from the small medicine box and said: “I know, I know. Where are you dying? I’ll put medicine on it for you.”
Zheng PingQing groaned and pointed to several parts of his body: “Here, here, here, here….”
He pointed at his chest, his abdomen, his thigh. The shameless Zheng PingQing even pointed towards his d.i.c.k.
Lin Qian shook his head and sadly said: “My father is too much. He even beat up this place, wanting to prevent me from attaining happiness for the rest of my life.”
Zheng PingQing nodded hard. “Yes, he’s too much. But now you can rescue it, ah. Quickly, please put some medicinal oil on it.”
Lin Qian thought for a moment, then grabbed a bottle of expired medicinal oil from the chest. “Then try this.”
Zheng PingQing: “…..”
Zheng PingQing covered his vital organ and said: “Amazing, ah. Maybe it’s because it felt the warmth of your everlasting love, but it seems that it automatically healed already.”
Lin Qian calmly put the bottle back into the chest and replied: “That’s great.”
Lin Qian grabbed a newer bottle of medicinal oil and then went to undress Zheng PingQing.
Feeling a little shy, Zheng PingQing said: “Your dad is still out there, ah. Isn’t this a little dangerous?”
Lin Qian ignored him. He peeled off Zheng PingQing’s shirt off his body, then pressed it directly against a bruise on Zheng PingQing’s shoulder that was turning purple.
This time, Zheng PingQing’s cries were real. “Ow-”
Lin Qian: “Is your yellow wasteland of a brain clean yet?”
Zheng PingQing tearfully replied: “Clean, it’s clean. You can put the medicine now.”
While Lin Qian carefully rubbed the medicinal oil onto Zheng PingQing’s injuries, he confirmed that Lin YaZhi really was an experienced fighter. After confirming that Zheng PingQing wasn’t really hurt, Lin Qian changed his tone and gave Zheng PingQing a kiss. He caressed Zheng PingQing’s bruised skin and softly said: “Take good care of yourself while you recuperate. Don’t make me worry…”
Zheng PingQing put a hand on the back of Lin Qian’s head and kissed him back. Zheng PingQing brooded, then said: “You’ve hit me much harder in the past, but you weren’t this worried.”
Lin Qian paused, then told him the truth: “Actually…I was worried back then too.”
“Really?” Zheng PingQing was suddenly excited. “Then, back when you told me you didn’t like me, was that just a lie?”
Lin Qian hit him with a pillow, his eyes curved into crescents as he said: “What can I do? From high school to adulthood, I had given you all my free time. Since I had no opportunity to meet other people, you were the only one I could have felt something for, ah.”
Zheng PingQing looked at Lin Qian, then suddenly pressed him down onto the bed. He buried his head onto Lin Qian’s neck and said: “Then why didn’t you acknowledge your feelings sooner, ah! You made me hesitate for so long!”
Lin Qian chuckled. “I didn’t think you were being serious at first.”
Zheng PingQing huffed. “By now, I’ve liked you for two lifetimes. How can I not be serious about you?”
“Nn.” Lin Qian stroked the back of Zheng PingQing’s head and bit his ear. “It’s just that back then, I used to worry about personal losses and gains.”
……
Lin YaZhi was in the balcony, smoking.
The more you smoke, the stuffier you get.
Whenever Lin YaZhi remembered the fact that he was the last one to know about his son’s relationship with Zheng PingQing, he got mad.
At this moment, his son’s h.o.m.os.e.xuality wasn’t as noteworthy.
Instead, he was doubting his importance in the family.
It was getting dark. Lin YaZhi didn’t know how long he had been on the balcony, but suddenly, his phone rang.
Lin YaZhi looked at the caller ID- it was Zheng BuLu.
Lin YaZhi presumed that Zheng BuLu knew about their sons’ love affair for quite some time now. After all, he was the patriarch of the Zheng family; a very important person.
He was the only one who didn’t know anything.
When this thought flashed in his mind, Lin YaZhi threw some cigarettes onto the ground and stomped on it. Then, he picked up the call, and in a rude tone, asked: “What?”
Zheng BuLu was shocked by Lin YaZhi’s suddenly tough tone. After all, had always thought of Lin YaZhi as a gentle and elegant man.
Because of this, Zheng BuLu swallowed back down his friendly greetings. He could only stiffly laugh and say: “Brother Lin, my a.s.sistant called and said you didn’t go to the restaurant for dinner? I just wanted to ask if anything happened.”
Lin YaZhi coldly snorted and said: “Don’t you already know what happened?”
Zheng BuLu was confused. “Why would you think that?”
Lin YaZhi let out a sarcastic laugh and said: “You don’t have to pretend anymore. Your son already told me this afternoon; I know already.”
Zheng BuLu became even more puzzled. “What did he say? I don’t quite understand.”
Lin YaZhi started cursing Zheng BuLu in his mind. How despicable, ah! He’s still pretending to be ignorant!
Lin YaZhi put on an indifferent tone and said: “I already know that your son and my son are in love.”
As soon as Lin YaZhi finished speaking, an earth-shattering yell sounded from the other end of the phone: “What did you just say-”
Lin YaZhi frowned when he heard Zheng BuLu’s voice break. He asked: “What? You didn’t know?”
Zheng BuLu sounded crazy as he replied: “Why would I know, ah? What’s going on? You aren’t kidding me, are you? How could PingQing and Ah Qian…”
Zheng BuLu’s mind was in chaos and he could talk properly. He asked: “Brother Lin, please tell me- What happened exactly?”
When Lin YaZhi replied, there was joy in his tone. “What? You really didn’t know?”
This joy was subtle, but Zheng BuLu was keen enough to notice it. He was baffled. Zheng BuLu didn’t know what Lin YaZhi was happy about, but nonetheless, he answered: “I really didn’t know. If I had known such a big thing, I wouldn’t have been able to keep it a secret, ah.”
At the other end of the call, the corners of Lin YaZhi’s mouth began to rise.
It turned out that he wasn’t the last one to know.
Lin YaZhi thought that everyone knew.
Shao SiJia was a more important existence, so he could accept her knowing first.
Chen ShiYi was also a more important existence, so it was also acceptable.
However, he couldn’t accept Zheng BuLu knowing before him. But surprisingly, Zheng BuLu didn’t know before him!
Lin YaZhi, who had been depressed for most of the day, suddenly received a twisted sense of equilibrium.
At least in the two families, he was more important that Zheng BuLu.
Zheng BuLu waited for a long time but didn’t get a response from Lin YaZhi. So, he hurriedly called out: “h.e.l.lo? Brother Lin? Tell me more about this, ah. What’s going on???”
Lin YaZhi was in a much better mood, and even felt a strange sense of satisfaction from the situation. He began to lord over Zheng BuLu: “Brother Zheng, why are you so excited? They’re just gay. It’s not like they’re breaking the law.”
Zheng BuLu: “…..”
Zheng BuLu was shocked. If he remembers correctly, Lin YaZhi was in a bad mood at the start of this call. How could he suddenly be so happy after just two minutes?
Zheng BuLu, the city’s richest and most successful businessman, stuttered: “No, no, Brother Lin, we’re talking about my son and your son. How can we look at the situation so simply?”
Lin YaZhi imitated Chen ShiYi’s tone as he said: “I think it’s great that they’re together. Just look how well they get along.”
Anyway, Lin YaZhi could already tell that there was no way he could break up his son and that little b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He might as well pretend that his consent wasn’t forced out of him. Thinking of the panicked expression on Zheng BuLu’s face right now, Lin YaZhi felt much better.
As expected, Zheng BuLu was bewildered by his seemingly easy acceptance. “Brother Lin, are you kidding me? You think I’ll just quickly get over this?”
Inwardly, Lin YaZhi ridiculed him for being out of date with the current situation while outwardly, he gently replied: “Yes, that’s what I think.”
Zheng BuLu was frazzled. He said: “No, no, no. I’m going back. Right now. I have to talk to them face to face!”
Meanwhile, Lin YaZhi’s psychological state had been completely distorted. Wanting for others to suffer the same emotional turmoil he suffered, Lin YaZhi immediately replied: “Good, come back quickly.”
After Lin YaZhi hung up the phone, he threw his remaining cigarettes into the garbage can. He briskly walked back into the house and happily shouted: “I’m getting some takeout! What do you two want to eat, ah?”
There was no reply.
Lin YaZhi frowned. He felt something was off and went to Lin Qian’s bedroom door. Lin YaZhi tried to go inside, but found that the door was locked.
Lin YaZhi: !!!!
Lin YaZhi widely banged on the door. “Why is the door locked? Come out, don’t hide in there, ah! Come out, come out!”
“Get out right this instant, or I’ll break the door open!”
After a short while, Lin Qian’s door suddenly opened.
A sleepy Lin Qian looked at him and said: “Zheng PingQing let you beat him up for so long that he got tired. We were sleeping, ah.”
Lin YaZhi: “….”
Alas, he could no longer be a carefree middle-aged man.
The author has something to say:
Zheng BuLu: ??????
Lin YaZhi: Genuinely smoking.