After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: “Hug Me”

A Dassault Falcon 2000LXS private jet flies over the Solomon Islands. On a recessed calfskin seat, a man leans back, his weary, somber eyes marked by exhaustion. He pinches the bridge of his nose; the tray table in front of him is piled high with various documents.

On top of the pile is a mobile phone.

The phone is connected to an external device, and an Indian man is operating a machine. The screen is covered in dense lines of code. Zhao Jingqun opens his eyes. “Have you found it?”

Two weeks ago, he noticed that someone had tampered with Tao Ning’s phone, so he hired an Indian expert to find the cell tower location that sent the message. But this person was very cautious and skilled at counter-surveillance. The Indian expert has been in a constant “negotiation” with them.

At the time, Zhao Jingqun was in a terrible mood and his temper was unpredictable. When did his “Darling” get a friend like this? He thought sourly. Tao Ning was no longer his alone. At the same time, he was even more anxious, desperate to know Tao Ning’s whereabouts.

Suspiciously, aside from the limited information he could get from the phone, he knew nothing else. Moreover, the Zhao family had an overwhelming amount of business to deal with. He not only had to handle the family’s external affairs but also had to keep a close eye on his restless relatives.

A few days ago, Zhao Jingqun had just finished handling matters in northern Myanmar, and now he was flying to Australia to catch a traitor and check on a project. He was getting less than two hours of sleep every day.

Later, the phone sent another suspicious location. Zhao Jingqun was skeptical, but he couldn’t take the chance, so he immediately had someone investigate the school. The investigation revealed that there was a crematorium and a funeral home near the school, but they found nothing else.

He realized he had been played, but he wouldn’t let go of any possibility and continued to send messages to Tao Ning.

“Mr. Zhao, we have news,” the Indian man’s clumsy Chinese interrupts his thoughts. Zhao Jingqun looks up, and the man hands him the phone. On the tracking screen, a location in Haizhou is marked in red.

“Your loved one is within this range.”

Zhao Jingqun is thoughtful. He had, in fact, searched Haizhou before, as Zhao Jingsui had told him. But Haizhou is too big, and finding someone is like searching for a needle in a haystack. He himself wasn’t in Haizhou, and various people were watching his every move, making it impossible for him to search openly. So far, there had been no news.

Besides Sun Laoli and Zhao Jingsui, no one else knew he was looking for Tao Ning.

Now that the specific area is marked, Zhao Jingqun’s eyebrows furrow. “Tell Sun Laoli to take people there.”

Suddenly, his phone vibrates. Zhao Jingqun quickly picks it up, his gaze fixed on a message from the pinned contact. He raises an eyebrow. “…Baiyunhe Lake Villa?”

The bed in the bedroom is as soft as swan feathers. Tao Ning is in a deep sleep until he is awakened by a rustling sound. He opens his eyes and meets a pair of round, big eyes.

A girl of seven or eight in a floral dress has one hand reaching under the blanket. When she sees he’s awake, she pulls her hands back and covers her mouth, blinking her eyes and asking in a crisp voice, “Pretty big brother, did I wake you up?”

Tao Ning is stunned for a moment. When she calls him “pretty big brother,” he shakes his head, his cheeks slightly flushed. With a gentle smile, he says, “No.”

The little girl smiles and quickly puts her little hand back under the blanket. Tao Ning feels something warm on his stomach, it must be the hot water bottle. But he remembers that Song Yucong was there before he fell asleep.

The little girl says in a sweet voice, “Pretty big brother, my name is Nuan Nuan. Little Grass big brother told me to come and warm your tummy for you.”

Little Grass big brother? Tao Ning is momentarily confused, then belatedly realizes she might be talking about Song Yucong. He lifts the blanket, takes the hot water bottle from Nuan Nuan’s hand, and seeing her, he is reminded of Xiao Meng, whom he hasn’t seen in a long time. He naturally picks her up.

Nuan Nuan shouts happily, “We’re flying!”

Tao Ning’s eyes curve in a smile. He loves children. He strokes her soft hair and says, “You don’t need to warm my tummy. Where is Little Grass big brother?”

Nuan Nuan blinks her eyes. “Little Grass big brother said I can’t tell you.”

“…”

Nuan Nuan looks down shyly. She really likes this pretty big brother, he’s the best-looking one she’s ever seen. So she tugs at her hair in Tao Ning’s arms and says, “If pretty big brother kisses me, I’ll tell pretty big brother!”

Tao Ning can’t help but chuckle. He gives Nuan Nuan a kiss on both her chubby cheeks.

“Can you tell me now?”

Nuan Nuan smiles brightly. She gets out of Tao Ning’s arms, grabs his thumb with her plump little hand, and leads him out. “Pretty big brother, come with me. We’re going to find Little Grass big brother…”

But as Tao Ning and Nuan Nuan open the bedroom door, two iron-like hands stop them. A bodyguard says awkwardly, “Young Master Tao, the Second Young Master gave an order that you can’t leave this room.”

Nuan Nuan is a little timid around strangers and hides behind Tao Ning’s legs.

Tao Ning shields her.

“Oh.”

Since he can’t go out, Tao Ning doesn’t insist. He politely asks, “Can I go to my room to get a few books?” When he went to school, he didn’t take all his books. He left some of the workbooks that he wasn’t so interested in.

The two bodyguards exchange glances. One of them goes to get the books for Tao Ning. Soon after, a cart is wheeled into the bedroom, full of pastries, various video games, and the medicine that Tao Ning recognizes. The bodyguard respectfully places the books on the desk and closes the bedroom door.

Nuan Nuan hugs Tao Ning’s leg and coos, “Pretty big brother, can I eat these pretty candies?” She doesn’t have many words as a child and calls all the delicate pastries “candies.”

Tao Ning gives her two pieces of milk cake. “Don’t eat too much.”

Nuan Nuan holds the pastries and says happily, “Thank you, pretty big brother!” She chews on the milk cake, her words muffled. “Little Grass big brother said we can’t go out, but I know where he went.”

Tao Ning unwraps the medicine and looks at the bottle. There are fewer pills, and there is a small smudge of blood on the lid. He can’t help but touch it. Xu Jun knew he was here.

…Are his injuries very serious?

A wave of worry washes over him. Tao Ning slightly frowns, so much so that he doesn’t quite hear what Nuan Nuan says, until she tugs on his sleeve and says pitifully, “Pretty big brother, you’re not listening to Nuan Nuan.”

Tao Ning puts down the medicine, kneels down, and strokes her head. “I’m sorry… I’ll listen carefully this time.”

Nuan Nuan gives a firm “Mhm” and says in a clear voice, “Just now, Nuan Nuan was talking about how Master Song came back…” She lowers her voice as if sharing a secret, “Pretty big brother, Master Song is a bad guy. Every time he comes back, Little Grass big brother gets hurt. He’s very bad.”

Children’s logic isn’t very sound, but Tao Ning generally understands. Master Song is Song Yucong’s father. Why does Song Yucong get hurt every time he comes back? Tao Ning asks.

But Nuan Nuan doesn’t know either. She just says, a little nonsensically, “He’s… he’s a bad guy! When he comes back, Little Grass big brother cries!”

Cries? Tao Ning thinks of Song Yucong’s perpetually fierce face and finds it hard to imagine him crying. He figures it’s just something the child made up. He strokes Nuan Nuan’s head, but she can tell Tao Ning doesn’t believe her and is about to cry. “Big brother… he’s a bad guy!”

Tao Ning is at a loss when anyone, child or adult, cries. He quickly wipes away her tears and gently coaxes her, “Yes, he’s a bad guy. I believe you.”

Nuan Nuan quietly wipes her tears. Tao Ning simply picks her up and lifts her up and down as he had before, but his arms aren’t very strong, so he puts her down after a while. But Nuan Nuan is successfully cheered up. Her round little face breaks into a smile, but she’s quickly exhausted and falls asleep on Tao Ning’s shoulder.

Tao Ning quietly lets out a breath of relief. He takes off Nuan Nuan’s shoes and puts her on the bed to rest.

He also feels a bit low on energy. He takes his medicine with some warm water. But Nuan Nuan’s words still echo in his ears. Why does Song Yucong get hurt after Master Song returns? Is it true?

Tao Ning has no way of knowing. He decides to stay and watch over Nuan Nuan and read. Song Yucong won’t let him go back to school for classes, so he has to study on his own. The contents of these books are what mathematics graduate students study, but he has been learning for half a year already.

He plans to apply for a major in mathematical computation and applications and go directly to work at a research institute after graduation. Then he will bring Tao Yuan and Xiao Meng to the city and live a stable life. With his current academic performance, it’s a bit difficult to become the provincial top scorer, but getting into his dream school is no problem.

The sound of him turning pages is accompanied by the sound of leaves falling outside the window. This time, Tao Ning is not wearing his glasses, as he isn’t nearsighted anyway; it was just a habit.

He didn’t find his glasses, so he didn’t wear them. He’ll ask Song Yucong where they are later.

Tao Ning quietly reads, his head bowed, revealing the fair, slender back of his neck. The gentle natural light bathes his face, making him seem surrounded by a sprinkling of starlight. His thick, curved eyelashes flutter like two butterflies, about to fly away from the world.

Song Yucong opens the door and sees this scene. His heart skips a beat, and his voice is very hoarse. “…Bumpkin, what are you doing?”

Tao Ning looks up, his hand stopping mid-page. Except for their confrontation at the club, he has never seen Song Yucong look so… pathetic.

The man stands at the door, the two bodyguards behind him are gone. He is wearing black long-sleeved clothes and pants. His face is not impatient or grim. It is just a deathly white, without a trace of color, like a walking corpse drained of life.

Putting down the book, Tao Ning stands up and asks blankly, “What’s wrong?”

Unusually, Song Yucong doesn’t mock him as he normally would. He just repeats the question he just asked, his voice hoarse: “What are you doing?”

“…I’m reading.”

Nuan Nuan is awakened by their voices. She rubs her eyes. When she sees Song Yucong, she says excitedly, “Little Grass big brother! Are you back? I took good care of pretty big brother.”

She patters off the bed, planning to hug Song Yucong’s leg, but she timidly pulls her hand back when she sees his awful expression.

“Little Grass big brother, what’s wrong? Did they bully you again?”

They? Tao Ning keenly catches these two words.

Song Yucong doesn’t answer. He pinches her cheek. “Go out and play.”

“Mhm!” Nuan Nuan nods heavily. She is a very obedient and sensible child. Knowing that the two “big brothers” have something to talk about, she doesn’t cling to them. But when she gets to the door, she grabs the door frame, pokes her round head out, and says mysteriously, “Little Grass big brother, I saw you secretly kiss pretty big brother today!”

After that, she makes a little face and scurries away.

Tao Ning is silent. Since he was sleeping, he naturally has no idea that someone secretly kissed him. He looks at Song Yucong, who is standing still. He frowns, but Song Yucong doesn’t deny it. The room is quiet without Nuan Nuan’s chattering. They stare at each other, and for a moment, the silence is so profound that they can hear each other’s breathing.

Just as Tao Ning thinks Song Yucong won’t explain or say anything, he hears him say, “Hey… bumpkin.”

Tao Ning doesn’t respond. He watches as Song Yucong, with a look of impatience on his face, takes small steps toward him. His figure is tall enough to cast a shadow.

“I’m talking to you, bumpkin.”

“Mhm.”

Tao Ning responds this time. Then he hears Song Yucong’s voice, awkward but with a faint hint of… a plea.

“Bumpkin?”

“Mhm.”

“I command you… to hug me.”

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