The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 17

Zhao Qing relied on his memories of his past life to quickly find the blind spots in the Song residence’s surveillance and climbed over the wall with Song Lili.

The young girl was a bit afraid of heights and didn’t dare jump when they reached the top of the wall, so Zhao Qing had to carefully catch and support her from below. Soon, he brought her to the neighborhood where Zhen Xue lived.

With every step they took into the narrow alley, Song Lili’s eyes grew redder. By the time they reached the door, her round, grape-like eyes were filled with tears. It was only after seeing these simple and dilapidated living conditions that she realized how much her mother, who once had a bright future, had sacrificed just to find her.

Zhao Qing silently squeezed her hand in comfort. He knocked on the door, sent Song Lili inside, and told her they had a maximum of four hours together; he would return to pick her up by 11:00 PM at the latest.

Having completed this task, Zhao Qing returned to the Song residence alone. His sudden disappearance would likely be used against him by anyone looking for trouble, so he had to provide a proper cover for Song Lili.

Once back inside the estate, the weight on Zhao Qing’s heart finally lifted. However, perhaps due to the adrenaline of the recent “mission,” a cool breeze made him suddenly feel a wave of exhaustion.

The lawns and trees of the Song estate were clearly meticulously maintained. In the garden, a fountain carved with angels flowed day and night; a winding stream was dappled with starlight, and the bushes were arranged in a picturesque manner. The only flaw was that there wasn’t a single flower in the garden. The reason was simple: the Song family’s darling, Song Yuening, was physically weak, and too much pollen risked triggering a relapse of his chronic illness.

Thinking about this mess made Zhao Qing feel even more weary. Walking along the path and breathing in the long-awaited fresh air, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the pavilion. Then, he thought he heard a faint sobbing.

Zhao Qing paused. He found it strange,  everyone should be in the banquet hall at this time, so why was someone sitting alone in the pavilion crying? Driven by curiosity, he went to investigate.

Inside the pavilion, a soaking wet Fang Yang sat dejectedly on a stone stool, silently trying to wipe the water off his clothes. But he had just been pushed into the water; he was drenched to the bone, so how could he possibly wipe himself dry? He felt that appearing back at the banquet looking like a drowned rat would only invite more ridicule, so he could only sit there waiting for the water to air-dry.

“What kind of crappy garden is this, not a single flower…” Fang Yang muttered under his breath, trying to distract himself by looking around.

The evening breeze was far from warm. The longer he sat, the colder he got. Finally unable to bear it, he prepared to stand up and move around to generate some warmth, only to run headfirst into a very handsome youth. That youth was looking at him with a complex gaze he couldn’t quite decipher.

“Do you… need help?” Seeing his predicament, the youth immediately took off his clean jacket and draped it over him. Fang Yang instinctively stepped back, afraid of dirtying the jacket, but the youth pressed his hand onto Fang Yang’s shoulder, and the jacket, carrying the youth’s lingering warmth, settled over him.

Seeing Fang Yang’s wary and embarrassed expression, Zhao Qing immediately introduced himself: “Hello, I’m Song Zhaoqing, the Song family’s adopted son. I think… perhaps you’ve heard my name these past few days.”

Fang Yang froze for a moment upon hearing the name. Then, as if realizing something, his gaze toward Zhao Qing filled with a bit of pity and a sense of shared fate.

The name “Song Zhaoqing” was indeed the focus of the social circles recently. Even an unfavored illegitimate son like Fang Yang knew that the Song family didn’t like Song Zhaoqing, and had even given him the status of an “adopted son” to avoid losing face. Even though he was the biological child of the Song family, he had been replaced in plain sight.

Before, Fang Yang thought his own background was pitiful enough, but he hadn’t expected a “bad luck ghost” even more miserable than himself to appear. Recalling the contemptuous tone and looks people gave when mentioning Song Zhaoqing, Fang Yang’s face couldn’t help but show some sympathy.

He looked up at Zhao Qing, only to find the boy still had a frank smile on his face, as if he hadn’t been affected by the gossip and rumors at all. Fang Yang suddenly felt a surge of goodwill toward him. He’s surprisingly strong, Fang Yang thought.

He wiped his slightly swollen fox-like eyes, resumed his usual nonchalant demeanor, and stood up to shake Zhao Qing’s hand. “Hello, I’m Fang Yang.”

Zhao Qing shook his hand and invited him to his room to change out of his wet clothes with a smile.

“That… might not be a good idea,” Fang Yang hesitated. He clearly wasn’t willing; he knew that if Fang Haoyang found out about this, he’d definitely cause trouble behind the scenes. It didn’t matter how Fang Haoyang humiliated him, he was used to it  but it wasn’t right to involve someone else.

Seeing his polite refusal, Zhao Qing didn’t push him, but let him keep wearing the jacket to avoid catching a cold. Fang Yang felt a bit awkward since Zhao Qing didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. Just as he was about to say something, Zhao Qing spoke again:

“Was it Fang Haoyang who forced you to jump into the water?”

He spoke directly. Fang Yang was momentarily stunned, then felt a flash of shameful anger. His tone grew sharp: “Were you peeking?!”

He almost sounded like he was interrogating him. At the thought that his humiliation  being forced to pick things up in the water by Fang Haoyang  might have been seen by this beautiful youth, Fang Yang wanted nothing more than to find a hole to crawl into.

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t see anything just now. I’ve just heard that you and Fang Haoyang don’t get along. Since you are, after all, the Eldest Young Master of the Fang family, no one else would dare treat you like this in the Song residence. That’s why I guessed,” Zhao Qing said bluntly.

Fang Yang grew even angrier, feeling as if his last shred of dignity had been torn away. He turned to leave, tossing back an angry remark: “It’s none of your business! This is my own affair!”

Unexpectedly, Zhao Qing blocked his path again: “Actually, I know much more than that. I also know that you’ve been secretly preparing a project behind the Fang family’s back.”

“You’ve put a lot of heart and soul into this project just so you can escape the Fang family. Am I right?”

Having his deepest secret exposed by a stranger, Fang Yang was shaken to his core. Even trying to maintain a facade of composure was futile. He was just an innocent youth at this stage; how could he hide from Zhao Qing’s eyes, who had lived two lives?

Zhao Qing felt a pang of pity seeing him like this, but he couldn’t think of a better way to gain Fang Yang’s trust quickly. He knew if he didn’t act now, Mrs. Fang and Fang Haoyang would soon move in to snatch the project away. After all, every move in the Fang family couldn’t escape Mrs. Fang’s eyes.

“How on earth did you know? What do you want? Are you threatening me?” Fang Yang’s face went completely cold.

Zhao Qing looked at him calmly. “You’ve misunderstood. I don’t want to threaten you. I know you’re currently short of three million [yuan], so I want to strike a deal with you.”

“I’ll invest in your project and make up that three million for you. What do you think? As for the dividends, we can discuss those further.”

Time was short; Zhao Qing could only use a straight hook to “fish” for him.