The Real Young Master is Entangled by the Paranoid Fake Young Master - Chapter 43

“Where is Song Yuening?” Zhaoqing asked casually as he returned with the meat, seeing only Xiao Heng playing in the courtyard.

“Brother Zhaoqing! You’re back!” Xiao Heng happily took the meat and said, “We’re having stir-fried pork with chili today.”

Zhaoqing nodded. Xiao Heng set the meat down and pointed toward a locked door. “He’s in the room with my grandfather. The medicine was just brewed; I’m about to take it in.”

“Studying pharmacology with the old master again?” Zhaoqing looked at the closed door with a hint of suspicion.

“Yeah, I think it’s strange too,” Xiao Heng scratched his head. “Grandfather never taught me that much” Xiao Heng sounded a bit jealous.

About forty minutes later, the door opened. Zhaoqing entered the room to find Song Yuening sitting on a stool, looking quite pleased. Zhaoqing exchanged a few pleasantries with the grandfather, and once the old man left, he asked, “Have you suddenly become obsessed with medical knowledge?”

“I’ve been frail and sickly since childhood,” Yuening replied. “Since we can’t leave the island, I might as well calm my mind and learn from the old master. It passes the time. Besides, if my eyes never recover, I might be discarded by the Song family. I’ve already made a pact with the master to become his apprentice if that happens. I have to study hard, or no one will take me in.”

He’s playing the pity card again. That was Zhaoqing’s first reaction, yet what Yuening said was undeniably true. If the ships couldn’t reach them soon, his blindness might become permanent. How long would the Songs keep him then? A year? Six months?

Zhaoqing couldn’t say for sure, but he felt Yuening was hiding something. He stared at Yuening’s face, trying to read his expression. Although Yuening couldn’t see, he could feel the weight of the gaze.

He offered a warm, bright smile. “What is it, Zhao-zhao? Why are you staring? Do you want to kiss me?”

“Who wants to kiss you!” Zhaoqing snapped back, his face flushing with irritation and embarrassment.

“Oh, no kiss then? I just heard that if someone stares at another person for more than eight seconds, they’ll fall in love. You’ve been staring at me for so long; you couldn’t have fallen for me, could you?”

Yuening shamelessly spouted his distorted logic, adding with a magnanimous air, “It’s okay. If you really have fallen for me, I’ll let you kiss me. Just don’t come sneaking in to do it in the middle of the night.”

“You motherf—” Zhaoqing realized he had met a true master of shamelessness.

Two nights ago, Zhaoqing had gone to the kitchen for water in the middle of the night. Seeing Yuening’s door blown open by the wind and his blanket slipping, Zhaoqing had out of the goodness of his heart gone in to tuck him in. He ended up having his hand seized by Yuening, who asked sleepily if Zhaoqing was trying to “assault” him. Yuening had added that if he was, he could just do it openly, he’d have his full consent but that sneaking around at night made him “quite shy.”

Zhaoqing couldn’t decide if the man was incredibly alert or just had a bizarre mind. He simply wanted to give Yuening a specific international hand gesture and tell him: I should have just let you freeze.

The Intrusion

As Yuening was shamelessly teasing Zhaoqing, a commotion erupted outside the courtyard.

“Who are you people! How dare you barge into our village!” “How dare you push people! You’re shameless! Do you think our village is empty?!”

Zhaoqing’s brow furrowed with an ominous premonition. The smile on Yuening’s face vanished instantly.

“Don’t move. I’ll go look,” Zhaoqing said, rising. Yuening tried to catch him but missed.

Stepping outside, Zhaoqing was met with a group of men in black suits acting like thugs, charging through the village. They had reached the front of Xiao Heng’s small yard. Leading them was none other than Fu Lansheng! Behind him followed the “loyal” Song family assistant, Lin Qi.

Fu Lansheng, he was the first to find this place. In an instant, Zhaoqing’s mask was back in place. Every ounce of relaxation he had found on the island evaporated.

Fu Lansheng and Lin Qi spotted Zhaoqing immediately. Lin Qi’s face shifted from utter shock to joy before he hurried forward to open the gate for Lansheng.

“Master Zhaoqing! You really are here!” Lin Qi exclaimed as the group flooded the courtyard. “You have no idea how hard we searched. The storms in the West Sea have been relentless; we’ve been waiting for days to set sail. Mr. Song and the Old Matron are worried sick, You”

Lansheng impatiently cut him off. “Song Zhaoqing, where is Yuening?”

The man who usually acted like a “smiling tiger” now looked cold enough to freeze blood. He wasn’t asking; it was a blatant threat. It was clear that if Zhaoqing told him Yuening wasn’t there or was dead, Zhaoqing wouldn’t be leaving the island alive.

Xiao Heng, who had been cooking in the kitchen, ran out with his apron still on. Seeing the intruders, he shouted, “Who are you! This is private property! You weren’t invited! Get out now!”

Xiao Heng grabbed a broom from the wall to swing at Lansheng, but he was easily blocked by a burly bodyguard.

“Hello, I am Lin Qi, the special assistant to the Song family from S City,” Lin Qi said, his voice smooth and professional. “Our two young masters fell into the sea days ago. We have searched without success until the ships could finally sail. We came here hoping some kind fishermen had saved them. We didn’t mean to offend; we just want to see if the other master is here.”

He pulled out a card. “The Song family will not let your care go unrewarded. This is a token of our gratitude. Please, let us look inside. If the other master isn’t here, we won’t trouble you further.”

Lin Qi was a master of diplomacy. His words were humble and polite, and if one hadn’t seen them acting like bandit’s moments ago, one might actually believe they were decent people. But Xiao Heng wasn’t buying it. He didn’t care who they were or how much money was on the card; he brought the broom down hard on Lin Qi.

Dust marks immediately appeared on Lin Qi’s pristine suit. “You!” Lin Qi’s face darkened as his patience thinned.

During the argument, Lansheng kept his eyes on Zhaoqing, who was blocking the door. He looked as if he wanted to kill him with a glance. Zhaoqing tilted his chin and glared back, refusing to flinch.

Lansheng gave a cold smirk and gestured. The bodyguards lunged forward. Two grabbed the small Xiao Heng, while the others surrounded Zhaoqing, ready to use force.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from inside: “Fu Lansheng, you dare touch him!”

The Confrontation

Lansheng froze at the sound of Yuening’s voice, his expression instantly shifting to panic. “Yuening! You’re really here! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Song Yuening stepped out of the room, leaning on a crutch he had already mastered using. Lin Qi and Lansheng were stunned. Yuening’s eyes were still bandaged, and he was noticeably thinner, though he appeared to be in good spirits.

Lansheng’s face filled with pity. He reached out to support Yuening, but as soon as his hand touched Yuening’s arm, it was brushed away with visible disgust.

Yuening ignored him, calling out urgently for “Zhao-zhao,” clearly fearing the guards had harmed him. Lansheng stood frozen, watching the interaction in disbelief.

Zhaoqing pushed the bodyguards’ hands aside and went to support Yuening. Yuening leaned his head against Zhaoqing’s shoulder, murmuring with a cloyingly sweet concern, “Did they hurt you, Zhao-zhao?”

Even Lin Qi’s eyes widened in shock as he watched Yuening lean into Zhaoqing so openly. “Master Yuening, it’s Lin Qi. Are you alright? Did you, hit your head?”

Yuening turned his cold, indifferent tone on him. “Lin Qi, you have a lot of nerve. You stood by and watched while people insulted Master Zhaoqing? Does the Song family pay your salary, or does someone else?”

Hearing that icy voice, Lin Qi immediately remembered the fate of those who had crossed Yuening in the past. He didn’t dare question Yuening’s sanity again. “Master, it was my mistake. Please punish me.”

Yuening ignored him, refusing to let go of Zhaoqing’s hand.

Fu Lansheng, having recovered from the sight of their intimacy, struggled to suppress his rage. His nails dug into his palms as he forced a steady tone. “Yuening, what’s wrong with your eyes? Are you in pain? Let’s leave this place immediately. This backwater is no place for you; you might get an infection. We’re going home to the best hospitals. Don’t be afraid; I’ll be by your side.”

It was a statement steeped in self-delusion. Yuening was silent for a long moment until Zhaoqing gave his sleeve a tug.

“The old master and Xiao Heng saved us,” Yuening said coldly. “If I leave, I must say goodbye first. And this is not a ‘backwater.’ Do not say such things again.”

Yuening pulled Zhaoqing toward the back of the house to find the grandfather. Fu Lansheng was left behind, his eyes burning with resentment and jealousy, while Lin Qi stood in utter shock.

Was that really Song Yuening? Lin Qi wondered. The cold-blooded, ruthless second master? He sounded like a saint concerned with the common folk. He never cared about “lowly” people before. Had Song Zhaoqing cast some kind of spell on him? Lin Qi couldn’t wrap his head around the change.