A Single Father’s Troubles - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Refusal

Lin Tingwan’s choice of a Cantonese restaurant had been carefully considered. The food is served quickly, the dining experience is efficient, and since it’s a chain, there’s no need to wait for a table. A meal could be wrapped up in about an hour.

The imagination was beautiful, but reality was skeletal.

Once the dishes were served, not only did Kuang Ye eat at a snail’s pace, but he also insisted on picking up food for him from time to time.

Kuang Ye steadily picked up a crystal-clear shrimp dumpling and placed it into Lin Tingwan’s small plate.

Lin Tingwan quite liked shrimp dumplings. He first blew on it gently, then took a bite. The shrimp meat was a bit hot, but it was fresh and delicious; the taste was good.

“Try it, the flavor is alright.”

The shrimp dumplings at this place weren’t large. Kuang Ye picked one up and tossed it into his mouth. The shrimp meat burst in his mouth, and the scorching temperature was so hot that Kuang Ye’s expression changed instantly.

“Sss!”

Lin Tingwan hurriedly handed him the plate. “Spit it out here!”

Kuang Ye didn’t spit it out, though. He gritted his teeth and swallowed the shrimp dumpling that felt like it was melting his esophagus.

“Don’t eat so fast.” Lin Tingwan saw that his face was flushed from the heat and poured a cup of tea for him. “Are you okay?”

Kuang Ye took the tea, had a sip, and waved his hand. He poked his tongue out slightly to lick his lips; it didn’t hurt, but he had licked off a thin layer of skin.

When the next dishes were served, Lin Tingwan placed the freshly arrived, mouth-scalding steamers further away.

Kuang Ye silently watched his every move, suddenly struck by melancholy: “…I’ve almost forgotten the last time we sat together like this for a meal.”

Lin Tingwan was speechless for a moment, his head lowered, his fine bangs shielding his eyes. His emotions were unreadable.

“In all these years, have you ever regretted breaking up?” Kuang Ye looked into Lin Tingwan’s eyes with absolute seriousness, his hands resting on his knees unconsciously clenching into fists.

Lin Tingwan’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Lin Tingwan swallowed the words that were at the tip of his tongue. Avoiding Kuang Ye’s gaze, he turned his head to look out the window. The neon lights fell across his face, casting a small, lonely shadow.

After a long silence, Lin Tingwan answered him in a small voice: “…I don’t know.”

Lin Tingwan felt very guilty.

He had always thought that with Guagua, he had nothing else to ask for in this life. But hearing Kuang Ye’s question, he actually found himself seriously considering whether he regretted it or not.

He thought that Kuang Ye must still hold some weight in his heart, even if they used to have that kind of relationship.

But to Kuang Ye’s ears, those words meant something entirely different.

Don’t know? What is there to not know?

He didn’t even need Kuang Ye to ask him. Every minute and second of these past years, Kuang Ye had been in regret—regretting why he hadn’t locked Lin Tingwan up back then, why he let him run away!

The scorching, beating heart in his chest gradually cooled down. Kuang Ye sneered inwardly.

However, after all these years, he had learned to act more like a human. Even though he was angry to the point of madness, he remained restrained and smiled gently: “What kind of person is your wife?”

Lin Tingwan’s expression shifted, his smile forced. “Why are you asking that?”

“Oh, I’m just curious what kind of woman could make you like her so much.” Kuang Ye was smiling slightly.

Lin Tingwan felt faint under his smile: “She’s just an ordinary person, nothing special.”

“I don’t believe it. She must be very beautiful to have outshone even me.” To spite Lin Tingwan, Kuang Ye didn’t even hesitate to belittle himself. “Do you have a photo? Let me see.”

“No, no photos.”

Lin Tingwan couldn’t stop feeling guilty while facing Kuang Ye’s eyes. He was terrified that the next sentence would be another question about his “nephew” or “wife.” Having finally finished the meal, Lin Tingwan refused Kuang Ye’s offer to drive him home and summoned his courage to say, “Kuang Ye, let’s not meet anymore in the future!”

Kuang Ye had been smiling, but upon hearing this, the smile on his face faded bit by bit.

The warm winter sun shone on his body, yet Kuang Ye felt a chill all over.

Kuang Ye took two deep breaths to suppress the fire in his heart. He looked at Lin Tingwan with a half-smile and spoke slowly, “What’s the meaning of this?”

That smile made Lin Tingwan even more uneasy, and the little color left in his face drained away completely. He hung his head and looked down at his hands, looking quite pitiable.

“It… it means what it means.”

Kuang Ye let out another “Ha” of a laugh.

Lin Tingwan shrank his neck and continued with gathered courage: “That… that relationship of ours is in the past. It’s over. Meeting in the future would be very…”

Lin Tingwan felt the air around him getting colder and colder; he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to say the word “awkward.”

Sensing Kuang Ye’s cold gaze, Lin Tingwan shrank his body even smaller. If he could dig a hole, he would truly want to crawl into it immediately.

Kuang Ye’s voice was devoid of any ripples: “We can’t even be friends?”

Lin Tingwan quickly looked up at him. He saw the frost on Kuang Ye’s face, and his heart felt a prickling pain like needles. His nails dug deep into his palms; the sharp sting helped him maintain his resolve.

He couldn’t meet Kuang Ye anymore; he couldn’t let Kuang Ye intervene in his life. Every time they met, the risk of Guagua being exposed increased. Besides, Kuang Ye had a girlfriend. They should have become strangers long ago.

So he hardened his heart, closed his eyes, and said, “I’m already married. I have a wife and a child. We are living very happily now. I don’t want her to know about these things.”

Some words take a long time to brew when they go unsaid, but once they are out, they aren’t that difficult.

His eyes were red as he struggled to squeeze out a smile, but the muscles in his face felt frozen by the cold air, refusing to cooperate.

So he had no choice but to turn his face away, avoiding Kuang Ye’s instantly distorted features. He bit his lower lip hard, his voice sounding as if it were squeezed out of his throat: “Let’s leave it at this. Goodbye.”

Even though he knew this fellow was lying to him, hearing these things still made Kuang Ye feel as if his chest had been struck by a massive blow, instantly shattering into blood-drenched pieces.

He endured the tearing pain and forced himself to take two deep breaths before his body aching as if his internal organs had been displaced felt a little better.

He raised his hand, and Lin Tingwan instinctively shrank back.

“What… what are you doing?”

Although Kuang Ye had never shown his violent temper in front of him, Lin Tingwan had seen him boxing with others. That gaze was so fierce, as if he wanted to devour the person; it made him feel terrified every time.

Kuang Ye reached out to straighten his clothes, meticulously standing up the collar of his sweater and pulling the zipper tight. He then took Lin Tingwan’s ice-cold hand and rubbed it. Only after sensing a hint of warmth did he tuck the hand into the pocket, advising him, “The weather is cold, wear more clothes, understood?”

Lin Tingwan took a step back, the emotions in his eyes very complex, there was surprise, and there was confusion.

Kuang Ye curled the corners of his mouth and smiled handsomely into his gaze: “What are you afraid of? No matter how unhappy I am, I can’t exactly beat you up on the street, can I?”

The more he acted like this, the more uneasy Lin Tingwan felt. By the end, his voice was trembling, looking like he was about to cry: “Kuang Ye, don’t be like this… why don’t you just hit me once? You’re making me scared like this.”

“Pfft.” Kuang Ye couldn’t help but laugh. That smile was incredibly handsome, as if spring flowers were blooming.

“You…” He patted his shoulder kindly, acting just like a good older brother or a thoughtful friend: “I won’t scare you anymore. Since you won’t let me drive you, I won’t.”

“But when you say we shouldn’t meet in the future, I can’t do that.” Kuang Ye looked at his slightly widened eyes and reminded him, “Won’t we run into each other at work?”

Lin Tingwan had completely forgotten about that. Biting his lip, he asked with immense struggle, “…Can you apply for a different project?”

Hearing him so desperate to distance himself and cut off all ties, Kuang Ye’s blood surged and his heart was filled with bitterness. He had never felt so miserable, yet not a trace of emotion showed on his face. He smiled bitterly: “I’m just a subordinate too. When the leader gives me work, how can I refuse?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll just be friends from now on. Your wife will absolutely never find out about us, I promise.”

“You… you’re really not lying to me?” Lin Tingwan was very skeptical.

Precisely because he had seen the nasty, unreasonable, and domineering Kuang Ye, this gentle and polite man before him felt very strange. One had to remember that not long ago, he had arrogantly barged into his home; how could he believe him?

“Yes, I’m not lying to you. I can swear it to your face: if your wife ever finds out about our past, I will immediately disappear from your life and never appear again.”

Kuang Ye knew what he wanted to hear. After saying this, Lin Tingwan indeed became half-convinced.

“Do you need me to swear?” he asked again.

Seeing his expression so certain and his tone so sincere, Lin Tingwan felt that continuing to demand more would be making a mountain out of a molehill. However, he emphasized once more, “We’ll interact as colleagues from now on, you promised me.”

“I’ll listen to whatever you say.” Kuang Ye looked at him tenderly, his tone as intimate as if he were coaxing a lover. He jiggled his car keys and said with a smile, “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?”

“No need, I’ll go back myself. You should also go back and rest early.”

“I’ll watch you get in the car. Message me when you get home to let me know you’re safe.”

Lin Tingwan didn’t say anything. He got into the car without even saying goodbye.

Kuang Ye watched with a smile as his car gradually moved away until it vanished. Then he sat back in his own car.

The moment he got in, the smile on Kuang Ye’s face collapsed immediately. It was a good thing Lin Tingwan had left and didn’t see Kuang Ye’s bulging veins and murderous glare in his fury.

Kuang Ye was so angry his lungs felt like they were bursting.

That little liar.

That little liar!

Just he wait!

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