After The Honest Person Was Discovered For Simultaneously Pursuing Three People - Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Brought a Man Back Again

It wasn’t until he was sitting on the bus back home that Tao Ning realized that two months had already passed. The person beside him suddenly leaned closer, crossed his arms, and said with a look of disgust, “Tsk, country bumpkin, what is this white stuff? It’s disgusting. Didn’t the attendants clean up? Damn it, what on earth is this? So gross.”

Tao Ning followed Song Yucong’s gaze.

In fact, the long-distance buses traveling between the city and the countryside had improved a lot in the past two years. The old buses used to have plastic seats, and for people in remote areas, a trip to the city would take anywhere from one or two hours to four or five hours. Sitting on those hard benches all the way, the physical discomfort was imaginable.

Now, the seats on the city-to-country buses have mostly been replaced with soft cushions. While this significantly eased the physical pain, these cushions presented a bothersome problem: they were not dirt-resistant. The management of these buses was not strict enough in this regard, and once everyone got on, what kind of seat they got depended entirely on luck, aside from the speed with which they claimed a seat.

Unfortunately, they had neither speed nor luck. And the instigator was still chattering away.

The reason was that after Song Yucong learned about Tao Ning’s plan to return to his hometown after the exams, he insisted on following him after being discharged from the hospital. He even nervously declared that he would treat Tao Ning like a slave the entire journey and forbade anyone else from following them.

Tao Ning couldn’t argue with him, so he let him follow.

Tao Ning’s own luggage was minimal, but Song Yucong insisted on buying many electronic toys and some cosmetics, which totaled three large bags after being packed. Song Yucong said haughtily to him, “These are all yours to carry.”

“Oh.” Tao Ning tried to pick them up casually, but couldn’t move them.

After glaring at him fiercely, Song Yucong frowned and carried almost all the luggage himself, leaving only one or two light packages for Tao Ning.

So, Song Yucong carried the heavy bags and followed behind Tao Ning. Along the way, Tao Ning looked back at his ever-changing expression, from initial curiosity to shock upon seeing the green-skinned train, and finally to anger upon seeing the dilapidated city-to-country bus. Song Yucong stamped his feet in frustration: “I put up with that broken train. What is this dark, rusty-looking vehicle? I want to take a private car. Hurry up and call a taxi.”

Tao Ning lied to him: “I don’t have much money left, and a taxi can’t reach my home.”

Their journey was full of twists and turns. Song Yucong’s wallet was unfortunately lost on the way to the airport. By the time they discovered it, they had already reached Province X, and it was too late to retrieve it. So, the expenses for the second half of the trip relied entirely on Tao Ning.

Tao Ning was meticulous with money. Considering the cost of their return trip to Haizhou, money was tight. Of course, he wouldn’t agree to Song Yucong’s unreasonable request, as a metered taxi ride to his home would cost over a thousand dollars, and they only had about a thousand dollars left.

Although his life in the Song family was unhappy, Song Yucong was indeed a young master who had been born with a silver spoon for almost twenty years. Let alone taking a train, he had never even taken a taxi. Now, facing this kind of bus, whose tires and sheet metal were covered in a thick layer of mud, Song Yucong’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a wok.

It was only after the driver’s urging and Tao Ning’s gentle persuasion that Song Yucong reluctantly got on the bus. They had wasted a lot of time before getting on, and all the clean, good seats had already been taken.

Only two adjacent seats were left. Tao Ning specifically left the window seat for Song Yucong, whose expression then improved slightly.

But only slightly. When he saw the unidentified white substance stuck to the cushion in front of him, the fire in Song Yucong’s heart could no longer be suppressed. He started to complain disdainfully.

Tao Ning glanced at it and calmly said, “That’s chewing gum.”

“Ugh—”

When the two finally arrived at Huangmeng Village entrance, Song Yucong was too exhausted to be picky, and Tao Ning’s face was also pale. Despite taking medicine day after day, his physical condition was deteriorating, especially with the increasing number of unexplained bruises.

Fortunately, it was already winter, and he wore thick clothes, so Tao Ning kept it hidden.

As soon as they reached the village entrance, just as in his memory, a blinding bright light could be seen from afar, followed by Tao Yuan’s loud, joyful voice: “Ning Ning! Over here!”

And the child’s call: “Uncle! Uncle! I’m here!”

The two groups of people approached simultaneously. Tao Yuan saw Tao Ning’s pale face, and her eyes instantly reddened. Her calloused hands grabbed his arm and wouldn’t let go. She even choked up, saying, “You little stinker, why is your face so pale? Did you get sick on the road? Hurry, come back with me.”

The person next to her coughed softly, and Tao Yuan finally noticed Song Yucong beside Tao Ning. The tears she was about to cry out of distress were swallowed back, and she murmured, “Oh my goodness, where did this handsome fair-skinned boy come from? He looks like an actor.”

“Uncle! You brought a man back again!”

Because he hadn’t told Tao Yuan in advance that he was bringing someone back, when three pairs of eyes simultaneously swept over him, one of them, a pair of phoenix eyes, looked ready to shoot fire. Tao Ning sighed inwardly, as if seeing a future of endless arguments among the three. He could only step forward as a peacemaker: “Mhm, let’s go home first.”

Once they got home, Tao Yuan learned Song Yucong’s identity. Upon realizing he was the one who had funded Tao Ning, her originally vigilant attitude, due to past experience, immediately did a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn. She enthusiastically urged Song Yucong to eat, continuously serving him food while rambling:

“Little Song, these fiddleheads are not sold in your city, especially wealthy families like yours definitely don’t eat them. Try them, and this local chicken. Your old mother stewed it for an entire day; the bones are all soft! It’s definitely tastier than those frozen chickens you have with all sorts of messy coloring added. And this hot and sour fish, the chili peppers inside were freshly picked from our mountain… Hey, Ning Ning, eat, why are you serving me food?”

Whenever guests came to the house, unless they were unwelcome, Tao Yuan was always enthusiastic in her hospitality. Tao Ning knew that her actions and words were deeply influenced by the mountain people. Although others might find it awkward, she meant no harm and was just speaking the truth according to her own logic.

But the person being hosted was Song Yucong, who would lose his temper if things weren’t to his liking. Moreover, Tao Ning had observed that Song Yucong always ate on a segmented plate…

Fearing that Song Yucong would flare up on the spot and they wouldn’t be able to eat, Tao Ning quickly served Tao Yuan some food, interrupting her words. He glanced at Song Yucong and couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.

Although Song Yucong was slightly frowning, which Tao Ning knew was a prelude to his anger, the usually short-tempered Song Yucong surprisingly didn’t drop his chopsticks. Instead, he somewhat reservedly picked up a piece of chicken, slowly ate it, and finally, showed a very slight smile to Tao Yuan.

If it were someone who didn’t know Song Yucong’s terrible temper, they would be fooled by his refined and polite demeanor, mistakenly believing he was a noble young master raised by a genuinely wealthy family.

Sensing Tao Ning’s slightly odd and knowing gaze, Song Yucong immediately dropped his smile and glared at him coldly.

Tao Yuan asked in surprise, “Little Song, is your eye twitching? I have a bottle of medicated oil. Just rub a little on your eyelid, and your eye won’t twitch after one night. Don’t underestimate this folk remedy; it works every time.”

Song Yucong looked at Tao Ning’s barely suppressed smile and fiercely tore at the chicken leg. The gnashing of his teeth made it seem as if he wasn’t eating a chicken leg but biting into someone’s flesh.

After dinner, Song Yucong, though looking displeased, obediently took his clothes to the plastic-covered shed for a shower. Tao Yuan seized the opportunity and pulled Tao Ning aside, questioning him, “You little stinker, what is your relationship with this man?”

“…A friend, and also my benefactor who sponsored me.”

“Really?” Tao Yuan was half-skeptical.

“Mhm.”

Her face, which had prematurely wrinkled from too much hard work, was full of conflicted emotions. Time had been incredibly harsh on women like Tao Yuan in the mountains, who were also heavily influenced by the feudal ideas of the previous generation. But looking at Tao Ning’s lonely face, she couldn’t help but feel heartbroken.

After a long hesitation, Tao Yuan finally made up her mind and said, “Ning Ning, after you went to study in the city, Zhao Jingqun actually came looking for you… I didn’t tell him where you were studying. Are you going to blame me?”

Tao Ning lowered his head. He could no longer speak words against his heart, especially now that he missed Zhao Jingqun so much. He could only reply with silence. Suddenly, a soft warmth came from above his head. Tao Ning looked up and saw apology and love in Tao Yuan’s eyes.

Tao Yuan reached out and hugged her only younger brother. “Ning Ning, I’m sorry… Your sister actually felt very guilty. After you went to the city to study, Zhao Jingqun came to the village every day for a while. Rain or shine, he would stand at our door all day long. But back then, I was muddled and kept it a secret.”

“Ning Ning, your sister only figured it out later. He truly cared for you as a partner… When I broke you two up, it wasn’t just for your future, but I was also afraid you’d be fooled and hurt. When a man and a woman date, they can at least get married, which offers a bit of security. But there are also many couples who break up after marriage, let alone two men? If he took advantage of you and ran off, where would your sister go to find justice for you?”

Tao Ning said, “I know. I don’t blame you, Sister.”

Tao Yuan let him go, showing a bitter and helpless smile. She raised her hand and stroked his head again.

“No, your sister was wrong,” she said gently. “…Your sister only wants you to be happy now. If Ning Ning still wants to be with a man in the future, your sister… your sister will support you, but if that man dares to bully you, your sister will risk her life to chop off his manhood!”

Tao Ning was stunned for a moment, then laughed, and nodded heavily.

“Okay.”

Meanwhile, Song Yucong, who couldn’t stand the freezing cold and came out after showering for just a few minutes, stood in the shadow behind the wall. He hadn’t heard their conversation but only saw the warm scene between Tao Ning and Tao Yuan. He looked at Tao Ning’s slender back with a mixture of longing and attachment.

When it was time to sleep, Tao Ning and Song Yucong lay in the same bed under one quilt. Compared to the hustle and bustle of the town at night, the deep mountains were utterly silent. All they could hear was the cold wind howling outside the window and the rustling of tree branches.

Sleepiness gradually overcame him. Tao Ning vaguely closed his eyes. Just as he was about to drift off, the quilt beside him was suddenly lifted, and a gust of cold air rushed in, followed by a weight on his body.

In the darkness, Song Yucong pressed down on his shoulder. His phoenix eyes were frighteningly bright with anger. He asked through gritted teeth, “I just remembered, what did that little brat mean when he said you brought a man back again during the day?!”

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