After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Are You Disgusting?

A Yun was afraid that Song Yuceng would continue to make things difficult for Tao Ning, so he mustered up the courage and said, “S-second young master, the eldest young master and madam are still waiting downstairs. W-why don’t you…”

Song Yuceng withdrew his gaze from Tao Ning’s snow-white ankle, turned his head, and looked at him with an impatient look, which scared A Yun into silence. He trembled internally and thought: The second young master’s temper is really bad. The poor innocent guest is being implicated.

“Hurry up and go down.”

Song Yuceng frowned and said four words, then put his hands in his pockets and went downstairs without waiting for Tao Ning, who was still standing there. He didn’t even look back.

As soon as he left, A Yun rushed forward to check if the boy was hurt. After confirming he was okay, he breathed a sigh of relief, found his shoe, and squatted down to put it on for him.

Looking at the top of A Yun’s head, Tao Ning was a little dazed, as if he saw the person from before putting on his shoes for him. He quickly came back to his senses and said softly, “You don’t have to…” He pulled back his little legs, which were whiter than snow, and put on his shoe himself.

A Yun took another route to lead him downstairs and told Tao Ning to remember it. The latter nodded. Wearing his black-rimmed glasses, he looked extremely well-behaved and clueless.

As soon as they went down the stairs, they saw Song Heng sitting at the head of a five or six-meter-long crystal dining table. Next to him was a woman about thirty years old, who was speaking to Song Yuceng in Cantonese in a strained voice. Her tone was strict, but her voice sounded like a lady from a wealthy family in Hong Kong from the last century.

Song Yuceng, who was just glaring at the boy, was now leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, his impatience even more pronounced than before.

A Yun whispered in Tao Ning’s ear, “Sir, this is the young masters’ mother, Madam Song.”

Madam Song looked very similar to Song Yuceng. Although she was wearing a gentle green cheongsam, the look in her sharp eyes was the same. Hearing the movement at the top of the stairs, her beautiful eyes swept over, but she didn’t show any welcome to Tao Ning and A Yun. Instead, she said gently to Song Heng, “Heng Zai, introduce him to Mama.”

Song Heng raised an eyebrow, put down the knife and fork in his hand, leaned closer, and said something with a low laugh. Madam Song covered her mouth and chuckled. After a moment, she beckoned to Tao Ning, who was still standing.

Tao Ning walked over in small steps. Madam Song pulled his wrist without question. Unlike Tao Yuan’s somewhat rough and calloused hands, her hands were very well-maintained, very delicate and extremely cold. They coiled around the boy’s wrist like a snake. She said in a not-so-fluent Mandarin with surprise, “Heng Zai, his hands are so white and smooth.”

Tao Ning lowered his eyelashes and didn’t speak. Song Yuceng on the side snorted coldly: “Sissy.” “Sissy” is “nà xíng” in Cantonese. Even though Tao Ning didn’t understand, the man’s mockery was clearly audible. He knew it wasn’t a good word, so he lowered his eyes even more.

Madam Song’s gentle expression changed, and she started to scold Song Yuceng in Cantonese, which Tao Ning couldn’t understand, until Song Heng said, “Alright, Mother, don’t let our guest see a show.”

Madam Song then closed her mouth. Finally, as if teasing a pet, she took off the gold bangle on her hand and put it on Tao Ning’s hand. “It’s for you.”

Tao Ning, of course, wouldn’t accept a gold bangle just after meeting them, but Song Heng said with a light smile, “Take it. It’s not anything important.”

“…Thank you.”

The gold bangle was very expensive. Tao Ning thought about taking it back and selling it to buy a new one for Tao Yuan. He carefully put it in his pants pocket, but this one action made Madam Song cover her mouth and laugh. In the woman’s eyes, which were very similar to Song Yuceng’s, there was no mockery or contempt, but the kind of playful laughter one has after teasing a pet.

The boy was a little embarrassed. He looked even more honest and flustered. He didn’t know what he had done wrong, like a slow-moving snail that had just come into contact with the outside world and was hit by wind and rain, so it only wanted to retreat into its shell.

A Yun was heartbroken watching from the side. Fortunately, Song Heng said a few words, telling Tao Ning to sit down, and the atmosphere was no longer awkward.

After he sat down, the servants started serving. It was a typical Western dinner, with a few cold dishes as appetizers first. Tao Ning didn’t know which hand to use the fork with and which to use the knife with, but he secretly observed the other three people at the table and eventually learned to eat in the same way.

Tao Ning was actually sitting opposite Song Yuceng. Song Heng was at the head of the table, and next to him was Madam Song.

Father Song never appeared at this “welcome” dinner for Tao Ning. At the dining table, only the voices of Madam Song and Song Heng could be heard. Occasionally, the woman would chuckle, covering her mouth, and speak about other things in English.

Tao Ning couldn’t understand Cantonese, but he could understand English. They were talking about trivial things, like which madam went to buy what and how much she lost at mahjong. Throughout the dinner, the servants served everything from appetizers to main courses and finally to desserts. Only he and Song Yuceng opposite him didn’t say a word.

Finally, Song Yuceng casually threw down his fork and said expressionlessly, “I’m full.” He stood up to leave. At this time, Madam Song’s face changed again, and she started scolding him, switching between Cantonese and English.

Tao Ning looked at the family of three, a little stunned. Not only was he slow and clumsy like a snail, but his perception was also a little slow, but he could still sense that Madam Song seemed to dislike her second son, Song Yuceng, very much.

Why was that? Tao Ning wanted to learn more about the target for his notes, but it was obviously not the right time. He could only watch Madam Song scold him quietly. Song Yuceng’s expression didn’t change at all. He just stood with his arms crossed, watching her finish.

In the end, it was Song Heng who came to mediate, and Madam Song finally shut up. Then, Song Heng looked at the boy who was observing them. “Tao Ning, you and Yuceng will go to the school to register in a few days. I’ll have the servants give you the school information, but for now, you can only enter as a transfer student. My sponsorship contract states that you must rank in the top three in your grade within one semester to become an official student of Oksen University.”

Song Heng pondered for a moment, and his gaze deepened. “If you can’t do it, then I’m afraid I’ll have to withdraw the sponsorship.”

The sponsorship contract was in Tao Ning’s bag. He had read it over and over again. The requirements were very strict: not only did he have to get into the top three of his grade at the elite school, but he also had to win the International Mathematical Olympiad gold medal next year.

For a normally smart student from the mountains, this would be an impossible task.

But for Tao Ning, who had won the first prize in the provincial math Olympiad for three consecutive years, it seemed achievable. He first showed his talent that year, attracting the attention of countless schools and entrepreneurs. They were amazed that a poor student from a backward mountain village, who had traveled thousands of miles in a rustic van to the provincial capital, could so simply win the first prize.

It was incredible! It was also a slap in the face for those who believed in elite education. Later, several schools and famous entrepreneurs fought over sponsoring Tao Ning, and the Song family finally won the sponsorship by offering a generous “two million yuan donation after the contract conditions are met.”

So Tao Ning once again traveled thousands of miles to get here. He nodded. His clear eyes were full of determination and confidence. At this moment, the rustic glasses on him also became an ornament, looking extremely beautiful. “Mr. Song, I will do my best to complete it.”

Song Heng looked at him, showing a somewhat subtle smile and nodding. He glanced at the cold-faced Song Yuceng and suddenly said indifferently, “Yuceng’s grades in the international class are very poor. His math score is only 20 points. I’ll have to trouble you to tutor him in the future…”

These words were like a lit fuse on dynamite. The atmosphere in the living room instantly dropped to a freezing point. Song Yuceng’s words were thorny. He looked at him coldly: “Who do you think you are, Song Heng? You’re not satisfied with just managing the family company and those people in the prosecutor’s office. Now you want to manage me, too? How disgusting are you? Stop pretending in front of me.”

“Song Yuceng!” Madam Song stood up with a “bang,” her chest rising and falling with anger. She pointed at his nose and started to scold him, but Tao Ning couldn’t understand.

Song Yuceng didn’t refute her. He just stood with his arms crossed, a nonchalant look on his face. In the end, it was still Song Heng who stepped in to calm Madam Song’s anger. Then, Song Heng looked at Tao Ning. “Let’s take a photo.”

A servant brought over a professional camera. Song Heng stood in the middle, and Tao Ning and Madam Song stood on either side of him. Song Yuceng had already left.

“Click.”

The camera’s blinding flash went off. This photo would be published in tomorrow’s morning paper. At this time, Tao Ning still didn’t know how big a storm this photo would stir up in the future.

He was taken back to his room by A Yun, who said “good night” to him and then left. He looked a little anxious, as if he had a lot of chores to do.

Seeing him like this, Tao Ning felt bad asking him to stay and ask about Song Yuceng’s affairs.

The system came back from the sunflower seed-eating contest and asked him: [Little dummy, how was your time with Song Yuceng today?]

Tao Ning thought of that face that seemed to be on the verge of rage at all times and shook his head: [Not good.] He should say that Song Yuceng looked down on him and disliked him.

Then what should you do next?

I don’t know.

…That’s right, I can’t count on you, little dummy.] The system had a flash of inspiration. Okay, little dummy, I’ll go find some methods for you in the secret manual.

However, at this moment, a mechanical voice suddenly appeared in Tao Ning’s mind: [Ding dong! The first mission of the single-player route to getting Song Yuceng to fall for you has been triggered—stay in his room for more than half an hour.

“…”

Tao Ning was stunned. This seemed like an impossible mission because Song Yuceng disliked him very much and was very resistant to him getting close. What can I do… to stay in his room for more than half an hour?

The sound of pages flipping echoed in his mind. Finally, the system “looked” in the direction of the bathroom. Tao Ning felt something and looked over.

Ten minutes later.

The system exclaimed: Little dummy, you’re amazing! You were actually able to take apart the water control system in his bathroom.

The reason the system came up with for him was that the bathroom was broken and he wanted to borrow the bathroom, but to make it look real, the quality of every piece of furniture in the Song family was very good. Tao Ning could only find a way to take apart the water control mechanism in the bathroom.

This was a very simple thing for him.

The boy patted the corner of his clothes, feeling a little shy about the system’s praise. His snow-white cheeks flushed pink with shyness, but his happiness didn’t last long. The next second, the entire room went completely dark, so dark that only the light from outside the window remained—it seemed he had accidentally broken the power control mechanism in the bedroom as well.

Tao Ning: “…”

System: “…”

Support