The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 30

Inside the cold Song residence, the flowers and trees were withered, leaves were scattered, and even the furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust.

(Zhaoqing) walked through the empty mansion, but there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

“Is anyone there?” “Xiao Yue?” “Li Li?”

What was going on? Why was there no one here? It was terrifying, like a realm of ghosts.

The further Zhaoqing walked, the more unnerved he felt, but his feet moved forward as if controlled by an external force until he pushed open the door to his room on the second floor.

There was no bed in the room. Instead, there was a crystal coffin, and a figure stood before it.

The person sat beneath the crystal coffin with their back to Zhaoqing. Just as Zhaoqing was about to ask who it was, the figure slowly turned around.

“Zhao-zhao,” (Song Yuening) called out to him.

Zhaoqing scrambled back several steps as if he were seeing a phantom. He couldn’t be blamed for such a reaction; the Song Yuening before him wasn’t a teenager, but a full-grown man.

It was the Song Yuening past thirty years of age.

Zhaoqing’s nightmare.

But why did he look so erratic and pathetic? He was nothing like the handsome, spirited, and dashing man in Zhaoqing’s memory.

“Don’t come any closer! Song Yuening!”

Seeing Song Yuening approach with an obsessed, crazed look, Zhaoqing grabbed a nearby ornament and hurled it at him.

This act only provoked Song Yuening further. He lunged at Zhaoqing, pinning him down with a mad strength and kissing his neck, greedily inhaling the scent of his skin.

The action triggered a flood of dark memories for Zhaoqing. He tried to shove the man off, but the strength of the adult Song Yuening was not something he could shake. Even though this version of him was gaunt and clearly mentally unstable, Zhaoqing was no match for him.

Under Song Yuening’s expert suppression, Zhaoqing finally gave up the struggle. He heard Song Yuening whispering in his ear with a sob:

“Why did you wait until now to come back for me?” “Do you remember that story?” “The demon waited for a hundred years, three hundred years, five hundred years. When the fisherman finally saved him, what did he say?” “He said he would repay kindness with a grudge.” “We will be entangled for the rest of our lives.” “Even if you want to run, you can’t escape.”

In an instant, Song Yuening picked up a shard of the broken ornament from the floor and slashed his own throat without hesitation. His roar and his curse still echoed in Zhaoqing’s ears.

A massive spray of blood turned Zhaoqing’s vision red.

And in that final moment, Zhaoqing finally saw what was inside the crystal coffin.

There was a body inside.

That person was himself!

“No! No! Song Yuening! Song Yuening…” Zhaoqing sat up in bed, terrified. He wiped his forehead, finding no blood, only a cold sweat.

The sky was just beginning to break. It was just a dream likely caused by that eerie story Song Yuening had told him in the clinic yesterday.

Zhaoqing looked at the morning light, feeling the tangible reality of being sixteen again.

Since the day Song Yuening was injured, Zhaoqing had shouldered the responsibility of taking him to and from school, getting his meals, and carrying his backpack.

In short, he had become a personal servant.

Soon, a rumor spread through High School A: Song Zhaoqing from Class 3 was chasing the “God of Academics” Song Yuening, showing him such devotion that he practically wanted to carry him on his back and write his notes for him.

Whenever Zhaoqing faced these rumors and felt like quitting in a fit of rage, he would see the red wounds on Song Yuening’s perfectly proportioned, fair legs and those tearful eyes, and he would end up toiling away like a beast of burden once more.

Time passed day by day.

Zhaoqing and his team successfully fought their way through the school-level selections and advanced to the district-level finals. At the finals, the High School A basketball team won second place. Meanwhile, Mingsi High’s team didn’t even make it to the semi-finals to meet them, so they had no chance to stand on the podium.

This was a first in the history of Mingsi High. The key players namely (Ren Wei) and his group who had clashed with Zhaoqing had all suffered mysterious injuries within a few days. Some had sprained ankles, others had broken arms, but Ren Wei was the most pathetic; he had fallen down a staircase and had only just been transferred from the ICU to a regular ward a few days ago.

During the awards ceremony, amidst the applause, Zhaoqing looked at Song Yuening in the audience. He wanted to read the man; he suspected these “accidents” might be linked to him.

But looking at the clear, innocent gaze in Song Yuening’s eyes, Zhaoqing suddenly wasn’t so sure. Maybe it really was an accident this time…

After winning the district silver medal, Zhaoqing and his friends became the stars of the school for a while. His nickname changed from “Song Yuening’s Biggest Simp” to… “The Simp Who Is Incredible at Basketball.”

All in all,  it was an improvement.

Another half-month passed. The wounds on Song Yuening’s legs had scarred over, and he could walk without trouble.

Zhaoqing, desperate to escape his “simp” reputation, fled from him as quickly as possible. However, he hadn’t enjoyed his freedom for more than a few days before Song Yuening started showing up at his classroom door to intercept him.

“Ah! What a ‘chasing wife crematorium’ moment! Do you think if I chase my crush and then ignore him for a few days, he’ll turn around and simp for me too?”

Zhaoqing had just finished class and was rushing out of the school gates when he heard a group of students whispering in envious tones.

If the black lines on Zhaoqing’s forehead were physical, they would have formed a storm cloud by now.

The group on the stairs clearly saw the fleeing Zhaoqing. One boy from the basketball team who was fairly close to him shouted:

“Zhaoqing, where are you going in such a rush? Aren’t you going to wait for Song Yuening to ~ go ~ home ~ with ~ you ~?”

Zhaoqing gave him a less-than-sincere smile and kept sprinting, terrified he’d be caught by Song Yuening before he could leave the grounds. He was truly afraid of the guy; he was like a ghost, always able to predict exactly when Zhaoqing would leave. Three out of five days, he was successfully caught.

However, this time, perhaps because Zhaoqing had skipped the last half of self-study, Song Yuening failed to catch him.

Heh, the downside of being a ‘good student,’ Zhaoqing thought smugly.

He circled around to the alleyway behind the school, intending to take a shortcut to the station. Just as he was about to exit the alley, a cool, all-black Road Glide motorcycle blocked his path.

“What are you doing here? Looking for Song Yuening?”

Zhaoqing didn’t expect (Xie Chengxuan) to appear. He frowned instinctively. Xie Chengxuan just stared at him.

What are you looking at? Haven’t seen someone this handsome before? Zhaoqing didn’t care to imagine the man’s internal monologue, so he tried to squeeze past him against the wall.

“I’m not here for him.” “I’m here for you.”

Just as Zhaoqing was about to bypass him and his precious bike, Xie Chengxuan firmly gripped his wrist and pulled him back.

“For me?” Zhaoqing was surprised. He thought they wouldn’t have any contact after their last conflict.

“Actually… I wanted to ask…” Xie Chengxuan seemed embarrassed. His eyes were bright, and his expression was unexpectedly shy.

What a “pure-hearted” youth.

Trapped there, Zhaoqing could only listen with a deadpan face.

“I wanted to ask, if you’re chasing someone, how do you get them to accept you?” After a long time, Xie Chengxuan finally managed to spit the question out.

Unfortunately, Zhaoqing wasn’t interested in being his love coach. He threw back a sentence: “Treat him well, give him things he likes, put some heart into it, and when necessary, throw your pride out the window.” He then turned to walk toward the other end of the alley.

Bad luck. I took the shortcut to avoid Song Yuening and ended up meeting this psycho, Zhaoqing grumbled to himself.

“Hey, hey, hey! What’s the rush? Song Zhaoqing!” Xie Chengxuan blocked him again. “That’s exactly the problem! I have no idea what Yuening likes!”

“If you like him, just chase him.” Zhaoqing’s casual remark from the other day had completely woken Xie Chengxuan up.

For some reason, he could feel that this Song Zhaoqing looked down on him. It was as if the boy was certain he was a coward who would never dare confess to Song Yuening.

Xie Chengxuan didn’t consider himself a coward. Not wanting Song Zhaoqing to belittle him, he had impulsively made his first move on Song Yuening in a heat of passion.

He had tried before coming to find Zhaoqing. But whether he messaged Song Yuening or invited him out in his family’s name, the response was always cold. Xie Chengxuan couldn’t even find an opportunity to see him, let alone learn about his hobbies.

He had been discouraged, telling himself he should have known Song Yuening wouldn’t pay him any mind. He had known Song Yuening for twelve years, yet for those twelve years, they were mere acquaintances. He suspected that Song Yuening, surrounded by admirers, didn’t even know there was someone pining for him from afar.

Xie Chengxuan realized with horror that his understanding of Song Yuening was stuck at their first meeting.

That day was Song Yuening’s fifth birthday party. Everyone had gone to the Song residence to celebrate, and the Xie family was no exception. In that beautiful, luxurious, and pristine mansion, his uncle Xie Tao and his cousin Xie Qianze were busy socializing in their tailored suits.

But Xie Chengxuan’s mood that day had been terrible. His father had died in a shipwreck the previous year. His father’s relationship with his mother had been awful; it was a business marriage. His father didn’t love her; he had his own beloved girl, but his mother was obsessed with the handsome and dashing second son of the Xie family.

Xie Chengxuan had heard his mother curse the “other woman” many times calling her a “lowly brat,” a “filthy vendor’s daughter,” and a “vixen” who had seduced her husband while working as a secretary at his company.

That girl had reportedly committed suicide by jumping into the sea the year his father married. She was pregnant when she died. Xie Chengxuan didn’t know if that child would have been an older brother or sister. No one could tell him.

His father hadn’t even found out that his beloved girl had taken their child to meet God until Xie Chengxuan was two years old. Before that, Xie Tao and the elder Mr. Xie had lied and told him she had taken a sum of money to study abroad.

The day his father learned the truth, he broke ties with the clan completely. After that, he and his mother fought daily, then he stopped coming home at night, and finally, he stopped returning to the Xie family for years at a time.

He bought a small island in Europe. His mother would frostily ramble about how that “vixen” loved that specific patch of sea; she said his father hoped her soul would find him there one day. A pipe dream!

His uncle, grandfather, and grandmother sighed every day. Little Xie Chengxuan missed his father terribly. Even though his mother forbade him from showing affection for his father, he still missed him in secret.

Xie Chengxuan remembered early; even at a few years old, he remembered his father carrying him on his shoulders, taking him to the amusement park, and kissing his forehead gently on his birthdays. Father loved me, Xie Chengxuan knew. Even if the marriage was a mistake in his heart, he still loved his son.

In the years he was in Europe, he sent many gifts and photos, and even snuck back to see him once during his kindergarten enrollment. But then he died in a shipwreck. Looking back now, he was probably relieved; he hadn’t been braved enough in the first half of his life, but in the end, he returned to the sea to be with his lover.

His father’s entire estate went to his mother, but when she saw the word “compensation” in the will, she went completely insane. Her mental state was already poor. Although young and confused, Xie Chengxuan learned to treat his mother with extreme caution.

Even so, her condition worsened daily. Once, she snuck from her locked room into his, knocked the nanny unconscious with a vase, shoved a handful of sleeping pills into his mouth, and then swallowed many herself. Luckily, his grandmother found them in time, and Xie Chengxuan barely survived.

Just a few days before Song Yuening’s fifth birthday, his mother had attempted suicide by charcoal burning again. She hadn’t been revived. He had overheard the nanny talking about a “critical condition notice.” He didn’t understand the words, but the pity in the nanny’s eyes made him realize something was wrong.

In his short five years, his fear of his mother had outweighed his love. Yet he didn’t want to lose her. In his distant memories, there were moments of being held in her fragrant, warm embrace while listening to nursery rhymes. But those moments were replaced by screaming and fighting.

So, when he sat alone behind the rockery at the Song residence crying for his mother, he met a long-haired “little elf” so exquisite he was beyond description. The elf reached out a tiny hand to pull him up and asked softly:

“Is someone bullying you? Don’t be afraid. I am Song Yuening. If someone bullies you, you can come to me. I will help you.”

What a lovely little angel. Xie Chengxuan almost forgot to cry. After a long moment, he stammered:

“I, I want to buy medicine to save my mama. Can you help me? She seems very sick.”

At that time, he couldn’t distinguish between illness, death, and suicide; he only knew they were all terrifying. But the “angel” Song Yuening, who was clearly more mature, quickly thought of a solution.

“Don’t be afraid. Your mama will be fine.” He seemed confident. “I’m not healthy either, and I’m always sick. I have a lot of medicine in my room. One is really effective, called West-something anyway, it’s very useful! Whenever I can’t breathe, I take that medicine and I’m fine! I’ll get it for you!”

But in the end, Xie Chengxuan never used those pills. The moment they got home, they received a call from the hospital; his mother had died. The pills in Xie Chengxuan’s hand clattered to the floor, and his childhood ended in a near-shattering fashion.

Afterward, he was taken by his grandmother to live in T-City for three or four years. When he saw Song Yuening again, the boy had many new friends and had completely forgotten him.

Could a single moment’s memory last all these years?

He didn’t even know what Song Yuening liked, hated, or what his habits were. Zhaoqing’s words from the other day had forced him to look at the parts of himself he had subconsciously ignored. He didn’t want to live only on memories anymore; he wanted to try and get closer.

But Song Yuening had no intention of noticing him. With no other choice, he thought of Zhaoqing. He felt a strange dependency on this Song Zhaoqing perhaps because he was the only one close to Song Yuening. Or perhaps because he was the first to pry into his secret.

He admitted he was being a bit of a scoundrel.

But so, what?

Song Zhaoqing, since you encouraged me to try and chase him, shouldn’t you help me out a little?