After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Xu Jun’s Inferiority

The light inside the dorm is dim. Sometimes, when your vision is blurry, your hearing can also become blurry without you realizing it. Hearing Xu Jun’s words, Tao Ning is a little stunned, although he doesn’t quite understand what they mean.

And in his eighteen years of life, Tao Ning doesn’t feel like many people have liked him. Instead, he has been subjected to many pranks and embarrassing rumors.

Since he can remember, there have been people who wanted to pull down his pants. Those people said he had delicate skin, was he a little girl? There were even rumors that he wasn’t a boy at all, that he was so good-looking at such a young age that he would probably become Tao Chai’s second wife in the future!

Tao Chai is his adoptive father.

Those sticky, wet gazes and hands roamed on his face. Now that he thinks about it, if Tao Yuan hadn’t always protected him, Tao Ning might not have been able to get out of the malice in the mountains.

It’s just that Tao Ning back then was even less able to perceive the good and evil of others than he is now.

He stood there like a real piece of wood, without emotions and without knowing how to resist. He stared expressionlessly at those foul-smelling hands. Those people were so creeped out by his stare that they became angry and wanted to strip him. Tao Yuan came with a knife and chased them away.

At school, some classmates tried to befriend him in a mischievous way. When Tao Ning refused, they called him a sissy and asked who he was putting on a pure act for. Then they would put dead mice and insects in his desk. But they didn’t expect Tao Ning to not be afraid of them. Instead, he would bury them in the dirt, hoping they would rest in peace.

Coming back to his senses, Tao Ning says, “Not many people like me.”

But he hides one thing. Someone loves him, but he can’t say it out loud.

Xu Jun looks at him for a long time, and finally forces a faint smile. He closes his eyes and doesn’t say the rest of the words. Instead, he helps him carry all three bags into the dorm.

The dorm is still the same as when Tao Ning left. Even Tao Ning’s quilt is folded into a tofu block shape. The things on his desk are neat and tidy, spotless. There is a faint smell of disinfectant in the air. Tao Ning hesitates and asks, “How’s your injury…?”

When he mentions this, Tao Ning feels very worried and guilty. Since he left the club last time, Xu Jun was held down on the ground. He was covered in blood, but the look he gave him as he resisted is something Tao Ning can never forget.

Tao Ning sees Xu Jun as both a target and a very good friend. It should be said that even without this mission, he would still very much want to be friends with Xu Jun. Because only Xu Jun understands the abstruse mathematical formulas he talks about, and only Xu Jun supports all of his ideas.

A soulmate in life is hard to come by. Tao Ning cherishes their friendship very much.

But… Xu Jun is also one of his targets, as are the other two people.

After not getting a response for a long time, Tao Ning realizes that Xu Jun’s gaze has been on the watch he’s wearing on his left wrist.

“…What’s wrong?”

After a moment, Xu Jun takes his gaze back and says faintly, “It’s nothing.”

Leaving Tao Ning, he turns and goes into the bathroom alone. With a light thud, he leans against the wall. His back, which was usually straight, suddenly bends. He raises his hand. There are four crimson marks on his palm that are almost carved into his flesh. He made them by clenching his fists hard to restrain his emotions.

He once saw a rich businessman wearing that Patek Philippe. It’s a global limited edition with a number not exceeding twenty. The public market price is over four million. Over four million. At that time, Xu Jun was younger and more arrogant than he is now. He thought that four million was nothing. In ten years, he would definitely become a new business tycoon with a net worth of over one hundred million. So at that time, he would never feel inferior because of a four-million-dollar brand-name watch.

But now, a deep sense of powerlessness and humble self-loathing envelops Xu Jun.

The person he has a crush on is liked by so many people, and he is the most ordinary and powerless one among them.

Tao Ning should be held up high with countless gold and silver jewelry, and be raised with all the love in a luxurious villa—he was born to be loved. He shouldn’t have to live in a small house with him for ten years, a house so small that it doesn’t even have a bathtub.

His little Ningning shouldn’t have to sleep on rough bedsheets.

But no matter if it’s a gold bracelet or an expensive watch… all Xu Jun can do now is work hard to save up money for Tao Ning’s future surgery. He can’t give him anything else. Maybe Tao Ning doesn’t even need his money at all, because countless people will be scrambling to pay for everything for Tao Ning.

And he, Xu Jun, has nothing.

Leaning against the smooth wall, letting his clean clothes get dirty with dust, Xu Jun slowly squats down. He has never felt so inferior.

Once upon a time, he was high-spirited and didn’t know the sorrows of a young man.

Because he grew up being praised as a “genius” and “someone else’s child,” and he truly was. He was number one in his grade for eleven years. Occident had already predicted that he would be the top scorer in the province. He taught himself and studied finance and criminal psychology. He was the youngest person to win first prize in the Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry Olympiad. He was also a talented writer, knowledgeable in ancient and modern times, and had deep attainments in calligraphy.

Xu Jun didn’t even take a single cent of the prize money from his childhood. He donated it all to poverty-stricken areas.

He was admitted to Tsinghua University’s youth class at the age of thirteen, but because his mother wanted him to experience everything a normal student would and become part of the ordinary people before college, and not become an arrogant and cold-blooded person, Xu Jun refused to enroll and didn’t skip grades. Instead, he read through eleven years of books step by step. Otherwise, he would have already graduated with a Ph.D. from HBS.

For more than a decade, Xu Jun never liked or loved anyone because the success and acquisition of many things came too easily to him. He didn’t need to like or love anyone. His bones were already piled high with pride and indifference.

Until he met Tao Ning. The young man’s smile was clean and beautiful. He had a pure heart. The way he lowered his head to read a book was so quiet and beautiful that he was like a painting. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to praise him with the most beautiful poems in the world.

Xu Jun’s heart silently beat wildly for everything about Tao Ning. He suddenly realized that the feeling of liking and loving someone was so wonderful. It’s just that his little Ningning is so呆, he can’t see how many people are coveting him. Those dark gazes only want to possess him, including Xu Jun.

Xu Jun was once so proud that he thought he was bound to get him. But now he realizes that compared to those rich and powerful competitors, he has nothing. He can’t give his little Ningning anything. As a result, a deep sense of inferiority and unwillingness almost crushes him.

At the same time, the vile hatred for Tao Ning grows crazily like a vine growing out of a venomous snake’s flesh.

Xu Jun hates Tao Ning for being unaware of his love. He hates that one person after another likes him. He hates his wooden personality and, even more, hates that his casualness and frivolity are not for himself!

Doesn’t he know that his lips are swollen? A light touch can make him produce water. Doesn’t he know how much he hates the crying that came from the phone that day?!

Xu Jun expressionlessly puts his hand down. Ten minutes later, as if he is a masochist, he ends all the viciousness.

The cold water washes away the turbid liquid from his hands. Xu Jun looks at the person in the mirror. His face, which is usually expressionless, is now a little distorted because of jealousy and inferiority. The cold arrogance in his eyes is now completely replaced by lust wrapped in hatred, making them incredibly bloodshot.

Bang!

Xu Jun is panting. He shatters the mirror with a punch. The bathroom door is instantly opened. Tao Ning sees his blood-stained hand and anxiously grabs his arm. “What happened, Xu Jun? …Does it hurt?”

Xu Jun remains silent.

The veins on his strong arm bulge. When Tao Ning gently touches him, Xu Jun lets him anxiously grab his arm and subconsciously follows Tao Ning away from this place of broken mirrors.

Tao Ning tells Xu Jun to sit in front of his desk, then rummages through his belongings to find bandages and ointment for scrapes. He carefully treats his wound with a cotton swab. All five of his long finger bones are scraped. Fortunately, the wound is not large. Tao Ning carefully applies the ointment and finally ties it with a bandage.

Tao Ning lets out a sigh of relief, looks up, but his gaze collides with his unfathomable eyes. Since he entered the dorm, Xu Jun seems to have been more silent than ever before. He is a little flustered by such a calm gaze.

Why?

After a long time, Xu Jun finally breaks the silence. He slowly, as if in slow motion, pulls his injured hand from Tao Ning’s embrace and asks faintly, “My dad asked if you would come back with me this weekend?”

Tao Ning is stunned for a moment. He doesn’t have to go back this weekend, so he nods.

“Mhm… right now?”

“…Huh?”

When he gets out of the subway station with Xu Jun, Tao Ning is still a little dazed and hasn’t fully recovered. But this time, Xu Jun doesn’t hold his hand. Instead, he carries his medicine.

“Let’s go.” His expression is cold.

Tao Ning doesn’t understand, so he has no choice but to continue following him up the residential building.

But neither of them notices that a Honda has been following them. The person in the car finally can’t help but light a cigarette. He watches them disappear into the stairwell with cold eyes. The red dot on the screen also stops and blinks in one place.

He originally wanted to say hello to Xu Jun’s parents and ask about Xu Jun’s recent situation. But after Tao Ning enters the door, he doesn’t see Xu Jun’s parents. Xu Jun says, “They went on vacation.”

So, it’s just the two of them this weekend? Tao Ning nods blankly.

After settling Tao Ning in the room, Xu Jun goes to the kitchen to cook. The sounds of chopping vegetables and cooking fill the not-so-big house. Silence spreads between them without a sound. Tao Ning is not a talkative person. He actually wants to say something to Xu Jun, but after seeing his eyes, he can’t say anything.

Xu Jun makes a table full of dishes. The flavors are all on the lighter side. Tao Ning takes a bite and inexplicably remembers the food Zhao Jingqun made. The man has many ways of cooking, and they are all different, but the food Xu Jun makes is more home-style. You can tell what ingredients were used just by looking at it.

“What are you thinking… Tao Ning?”

Tao Ning suddenly comes back to his senses, and the vegetable he was holding with his chopsticks suddenly falls. Xu Jun looks at him, as if he can see through everything. But the eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses are as calm as ever, yet Tao Ning feels a hint of sadness from them.

He suddenly realizes that what he was just thinking was too cruel to Xu Jun.

After a moment of silence, Xu Jun says, “Do you still remember the letter I gave you on Valentine’s Day? You can open it when we go back today.”

On Valentine’s Day, Tao Ning wanted to open the kraft paper envelope with the white magnolia stamp on the spot, but Xu Jun stopped him. He said, “Open it the next time you come home with me.” Since then, Tao Ning had even forgotten about it until Xu Jun mentioned it today. He finally remembers.

A little sourness rises from the back of his tongue. Tao Ning “Mhm”s with sincerity.

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