How To Trick a Fool Into a Relationship? - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

His father said something else, but Xu Yanghe didn’t hear it clearly.

The dull ache finally surged up. Xu Yanghe pressed a hand against his bleeding forehead; half of his vision was a blur of crimson.

Xu Jin and Tang Xiuxiu sat stiffly in the corner of the sofa, staring blankly at their tea, showing the practiced awareness of “innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.”

From the moment Xu Yanghe stepped through the door, Xu Qian finally looked him in the eye. “Apologize to A-Jin.”

“Brother, I’m sorry,” Xu Yanghe said.

Xu Jin looked like he very much wished his name hadn’t been brought up.

Xu Qian had no intention of taking his anger out on his eldest son for the moment, immediately countering Xu Yanghe: “Is a simple ‘sorry’ enough?”

“…” Xu Yanghe knew it would be like this. It was exhausting. “What else do you want from me?”

Xu Qian pointed at the floor. “Come here. Kneel and apologize.”

“Dad…” Xu Jin spoke up, a look of pity on his face.

Xu Yanghe, however, walked over quite briskly and knelt. He shot Xu Jin a look—it wasn’t the first time.

“I was wrong.”

“What were you wrong about?” Xu Qian asked.

The old man really loved this interrogation game. Xu Yanghe succumbed. “I shouldn’t have gone racing.”

Xu Qian let out a scoff.

Xu Yanghe understood; this was likely a reproach for his overestimation of his own abilities. Xu Qian didn’t actually care what he did.

“I only got back to Haicheng this afternoon. Before the sun even set, someone delivered this to my desk!”

Xu Qian threw a stack of photos. Xu Yanghe picked them up; it was surveillance footage from that night at Little Youshan.

In his heart, Xu Yanghe wasn’t afraid of the Sun family’s threats. After all, if even a few continuous clips were released, anyone could see who was responsible for the accident. But the public’s judgment usually follows the first headline, and Xu Yanghe’s background naturally attracted the gaze of conspirators. Xu Qian hated nothing more than family affairs affecting company interests.

Who told Xu Qian and Xu Jin to be so easily manipulated? Xu Yanghe blamed them in his head.

“This matter also involves A-Jin’s negligence,” Xu Qian said.

Xu Jin pulled out a contract.

It turned out the “landmine” of Little Youshan had been planted long ago.

Back then, the Sun family had traded half of the Youshan Hotel’s shares with Xu Jin. They had left a loophole in the contract: the Sun family had the right to breach the contract and return Little Youshan—the failing project they gave Xu Jin—at which point the trade would be voided. Xu Jin would not only lose his shares in the hotel but would also be forced to take back the money-losing Little Youshan project, all while being unable to recover his investments in the hotel construction.

Sun Bin’s setup of Xu Yanghe at Little Youshan was a play to force Xu Jin to swallow the construction costs for free.

Originally, Xu Jin had signed the contract out of trust in the Sun family patriarch’s business reputation. Who knew that less than two months after the hotel broke ground, the Sun patriarch would suffer a paralyzing stroke? His sons were now busy fighting for power, and it was unclear which of them was trying to trip them up.

Because of Xu Yanghe’s reckless behavior at Little Youshan, Xu Jin was now on the defensive.

“Since you caused this mess, you will bear the consequences. I am freezing all your cards until A-Jin’s losses on the hotel project are repaid,” Xu Qian said. “If you’re not satisfied, solve the problem yourself.”

“Dad! You’re doing this on purp—” Xu Jin stood up abruptly, his fists clenched, utterly baffled by Xu Qian’s decision. He was cut off by a warning glare from his father.

At the very least, Xu Yanghe had never seen his brother lose his composure like this.

Xu Yanghe said irritably in a low voice, “I’ve never done business. How am I supposed to solve it?”

“If you really want to be a useless waste like your mother for the rest of your life,” Xu Qian said contemptuously, “then you deserve to starve. When you leave your suicide note, don’t mention you’re my son. I find it embarrassing.”

He mentioned his late wife so flippantly that both Xu Jin and Tang Xiuxiu felt awkward.

Tang Xiuxiu had always been terrified of the fact that such a woman had once lived in this house. After moving in, she had repeatedly begged Xu Qian to move the master bedroom away from the fourth floor. Hearing him mention her now made her tremble.

To Xu Yanghe, the scene was even more ironic. He was shocked by Xu Qian’s cold-bloodedness. What did this man think of his mother?

“Actually, I don’t particularly want to be your son either.” Xu Yanghe braced himself against the floor. Standing up was difficult; due to the blood loss, he felt a sudden chill on his head and his vision went black for a long time. “You think my mom was a waste, but what kind of thing are you? What right do you have to make me kneel?”

Xu Qian resumed his calm posture. “What did I even say to you? Do you need to be this emotional?”

“A-Yang,” Xu Jin went to support him, whispering, “Don’t be impulsive.”

Xu Yanghe kicked the coffee table over!

Priceless porcelain, foreign tea—everything was upended on the floor!

Tang Xiuxiu covered her ears, closed her eyes, and screamed.

Xu Qian merely shielded his head to avoid the flying shards.

An uncontrollable rage crashed violently within him, searching for an outlet. Xu Yanghe looked around, ripped down a curtain, and wiped the blood off his face. “I’ll solve the problem. But it’s for my brother, it has nothing to do with you.”

Throwing the blood-stained curtain onto the ground, Xu Yanghe left with one final harsh word: “You said you don’t want to claim me—you’d better not claim me for the rest of your life!”

Xu Qian’s expression remained that of someone watching a stranger—a ridiculous, throwing-a-tantrum madman.

Xu Yanghe slammed the door and left the house as fast as he could.

…

K-University

Zhou Lan’s final exam was over.

One of their four roommates was from out of town and went home the day exams ended. Mu Heng was busy playing all over Haicheng. Consequently, only Xie Chun and Zhou Lan had been in the dorm these past few days.

Xie Chun had worked the night shift yesterday, returning at 4:00 AM. He slept until 8:00 AM and had to go back to work again.

Zhou Lan lay on his bed, bored out of his mind, watching Xie Chun go in and out to wash up and change clothes.

Xie Chun walked out to the balcony with a towel on his head before noticing someone was still in the room. “Good morning.”

Zhou Lan looked at Xie Chun’s neatly pressed shirt. “Are you still going to the rice noodle shop?”

Xie Chun shook his head. “No. The shop is on break. I found another job stocking shelves at a convenience store, and I have a tutoring gig.”

“I see.” Zhou Lan scrolled through his phone, pensive.

A message popped up.

[Xu Yanghe: Do you have any connections in the media?]

Zhou Lan replied: [No.]

[What happened now? My sister came to interrogate me this morning about whether I’ve seen you,] Zhou Lan asked.

[Xu Yanghe: It’s that Little Youshan thing. The old man gave me a real beating and said he’s freezing my cards.]

[Xu Yanghe: Where are you?]

[Zhou Lan: At school, in the dorm.]

And so Xu Yanghe knew that Xie Chun was also still on campus.

Zhou Lan leaned his head out to ask Xie Chun, “Are you leaving right now?”

Xie Chun shook his head again, holding up two fingers seriously. “No. In two hours.”

“Then help me get another cake,” Zhou Lan smiled. “The usual.”

He pulled out a stack of cash. Xie Chun’s eyes instantly lit up.

…

Xu Yanghe had no memory of how he went to the hospital to get patched up, nor how he returned home through the early morning frost.

The mess of the argument with Xu Qian in the mansion was something he could sleep off.

But the missing money was very much gone.

Xu Yanghe took all his cards to a nearby bank to check them one by one.

The old man really was a man of his word—he had frozen everything!

Only one card remained with two million in it—the money from when Xu Jin sold his racing car last time.

Xu Yanghe had a headache. No matter how he looked back on last night, he couldn’t figure out how things had devolved into such a mess.

As he walked out of the bank, Xu Jin called.

Xu Yanghe checked the time: 10:15 AM. It was likely a break after Xu Jin’s first meeting of the day.

Xu Jin sighed first, then asked, “Do you still have money to use?”

“Yes.” Two million, after all.

“That’s good,” Xu Jin said. “Just stay quiet for a few days. Don’t cause trouble. Apologize to Dad during the New Year, and this will blow over, okay? Don’t do anything extra.”

“Is that his idea?” Xu Yanghe had completely forgotten his earlier self-reflection. He sneered, “So now I don’t have to cry and kneel, and I don’t have to repay the losses?”

“No…” Xu Jin’s head also hurt. “Then what do you want to do?”

Xu Yanghe asked, “All you care about is the hotel shares, right?”

Xu Jin didn’t answer.

“As long as the hotel shares remain unchanged, it’s fine, right?” Xu Yanghe rephrased.

“Yes,” Xu Jin said. “As long as we hold on until the Youshan Hotel officially opens, the Sun family has no way to push us out for any other reason.”

“What about Little Youshan? I heard a company under Sun Bin’s name is in charge now,” Xu Yanghe asked.

Xu Jin said, “That’s not important. It doesn’t matter whose hands it’s in.”

“I get it,” Xu Yanghe said.

Hanging up, Xu Yanghe found himself near K-University.

The wind at the East Gate Plaza was exceptionally strong, especially in late winter and early spring; most people avoided walking here.

Therefore, Xu Yanghe easily noticed the only pedestrian across the plaza.

Xie Chun was wearing a baseball cap and a very thin shirt that billowed in the wind.

Xu Yanghe’s hand in his pocket brushed against something.

He pulled it out—it was the burn ointment he bought yesterday. His heart tightened for no reason.

Xie Chun had already entered a very low-key shop. From a distance, it wasn’t clear what they did.

As Xu Yanghe drew closer, he saw it was a bakery. Not a famous chain, but a small brand with a few branches in Haicheng.

Soon, Xie Chun walked out carrying an exquisitely packaged cake.

Xu Yanghe felt a subtle wave of dissatisfaction. Is Zhou Lan a pig? How much can he eat?

And didn’t they say Xie Chun was poor?

Xu Yanghe stood by the door, one foot already half a step back.

Xie Chun walked out, a vision of pure white. While Xu Yanghe was dazed, he stepped forward as if possessed.

With that sudden movement, his shoulder collided with Xie Chun’s. Unprepared, Xie Chun was knocked off balance, stumbling back two steps to steady himself. The cake in his hand hit the ground the moment they collided.

Xu Yanghe swore in his heart he didn’t mean it.

The cake box on the ground was still intact, but both of them heard the sound of the cake shattering inside.

Xie Chun was grieving for a cake.

Or perhaps Xu Yanghe just felt like he was grieving.

He looked up at the culprit’s face. Xu Yanghe didn’t know what he was waiting for.

One second, two seconds. Xu Yanghe didn’t know what to say.

By the third second, Xu Yanghe saw an accusation in Xie Chun’s eyes.

Fourth second. Say something, Xu Yanghe…

Xie Chun’s eyes narrowed slightly, which somehow made it even harder for Xu Yanghe to speak.

Fifth second. If they kept staring like this, it would get… weird.

Xie Chun silently picked up the cake box and walked toward a large trash can across the plaza.

The wind blew toward Xu Yanghe’s face. He caught a brief scent of fresh detergent from Xie Chun’s clothes. He stared at that pure white shirt—it was clearly the same one from the day of the exam. There was no trace of the ink spots on the back.

A sense of admiration welled up.

Xie Chun is quite the character.

Xie Chun tossed the entire cake box into the trash, then pulled out some cash and started counting. Zhou Lan was rich; he had been asking Xie Chun to run errands since freshman year, and the “delivery fee” he gave was almost equal to the price of the items. Zhou Lan was a good person, so Xie Chun didn’t mind using that delivery fee to buy another one.

Xu Yanghe saw this from afar and thought, This is bad. He’s going to buy another one.

Without a second thought, he turned around and walked back into the shop, pointing at the display items in the counter. “How many of these cakes do you have left? I’m buying them all.”