The Third Year After The Breakup, He Knelt and Begged to Get Back Together - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Forget It, Don’t Run Around Anymore.

Qi Mingfeng walked away quickly and didn’t hear it, but He Xian did.

He turned back. His height of nearly 1.9 meters made the man pinned to the sofa look like a little chick. He Xian sneered: “Accompany you for drinks?”

Fan Zhenjiang was sharp-eyed, and since Qi Mingfeng had been calling him “President He” repeatedly, he actually recognized who He Xian was.

He had heard the legends of He Xian. He Xian had a brother ten years older; the He family had raised the eldest to be exceptionally excellent, the designated successor. Thus, when the younger son was born, they named him “Xian” (meaning “leisure”), wanting him to be a rich playboy who enjoyed flowers and birds. Instead, He Xian’s ambition was greater than the heavens; he forced his own brother abroad and took over the He Group himself. It was clear how ruthless this man’s methods were.

And the entertainment company Qi Mingfeng used to be with was under the He Group… He had touched He Xian’s person.

Sweat began to seep from Fan Zhenjiang as he hurriedly said: “A mistake, it’s all a misunderstanding. I am Teacher Qi’s fan. Today I just wanted to meet my idol and have a couple of drinks with him.”

“One hundred thousand, right?” He Xian pulled out a card and handed it to the bar’s Little Boss. “I’ll add a zero. For the three of them, based on the average price on the table, add another million worth of wine each. Xiao Meng…”

The assistant called upon: “President He.”

He Xian: “You stay here and watch them drink. Call the ambulance in advance. If they don’t finish drinking, you don’t need to come back either.”

Assistant: “Yes, President He.”

He Xian soon found Qi Mingfeng under the guidance of the staff.

Qi Mingfeng’s bangs were damp; he must have just washed his face.

Seeing that the man was actually there seriously writing, He Xian frowned: “You’re for real?”

“This is also to protect your rights,” Qi Mingfeng said, acting as if he were looking out for He Xian. “You want me to go back with you—what do I need to do?”

He Xian actually hadn’t thought about what he wanted Qi Mingfeng to do upon returning.

He had been busy to the point of his feet not touching the ground lately. He had been in meetings all day today and was planning to get dinner. As he exited the company lobby, he heard two employees talking over a phone.

“Look, look, doesn’t he look exactly like Qi Mingfeng?”

“Probably someone trying to get famous by riding his coattails. Qi Mingfeng went abroad; why would he be selling wine in a bar?”

The employees didn’t see him, but he instinctively glanced at the phone. The person on the screen was indeed Qi Mingfeng. Others might not recognize him, but could he fail to recognize him?

He Xian had Assistant Meng cancel his evening plans and drove directly to the bar in the video. He hadn’t even thought about why he was coming or what he would do once he arrived.

Now that Qi Mingfeng asked, he started to think.

But there wasn’t much to think about.

He liked the feeling of having Qi Mingfeng by his side.

Seeing that he remained silent, Qi Mingfeng asked: “Responsible for your three meals a day? Satisfying your sex life? However, the latter cannot be written into the contract. We are in a legal employment relationship; if it involves paid accompaniment, the contract will be invalid due to illegal criminal activity.”

He Xian felt that everything Qi Mingfeng said sounded sarcastic.

On second thought, he had indeed gone a bit too far back then. Qi Mingfeng was naturally temperamental. If he had started crying and saying he couldn’t live without him the moment they met, that would have been truly bizarre.

Given Qi Mingfeng’s temper, when he met someone he hated, he wished he could hide as far away as possible. Why would he be sitting here talking? Qi Mingfeng was venting his anger while simultaneously building a staircase to climb down.

Fine, a little temper is okay.

He Xian: “No matter how busy you are, you must come home to eat every day and spend two hours with me. The duration of the meal does not count.”

Qi Mingfeng blinked: “Anything else?”

He Xian: “I’ll say when I think of it.”

Qi Mingfeng scribbled on the paper. After he finished, he handed it over, and He Xian added a few more clauses. Between the back and forth, the contract was soon drafted.

Qi Mingfeng carefully put away the contract.

At least most of the time, He Xian was a man of his word and wouldn’t mistreat him regarding money.

Now Qi Huan’s medical fees were settled.

Thinking of Qi Huan, the smile on Qi Mingfeng’s face became a bit more genuine. He wrote another copy for He Xian to sign.

“According to the contract, please have the first three months’ remuneration transferred to the designated account. Tomorrow I will complete the handover of my work at the bar, and the day after tomorrow at eight in the morning, I will report to you.”

“No,” He Xian said decisively upon hearing this. “Who knows where you’ll run off to in the blink of an eye. Come with me now.”

Qi Mingfeng: “Doesn’t President He have an appointment with a friend? Leaving now?”

Now the person stuck was He Xian.

He couldn’t admit he had come specifically to find Qi Mingfeng.

But Qi Mingfeng was an employee of the bar; if he asked his colleagues, he would find out He Xian hadn’t made any appointments with friends.

Fortunately, He Xian had been in the business world for years and made up a story without changing his expression: “After running into this mess of yours, I’m in no mood for a drink. I told him to go back.”

He glanced at his watch: “Hurry up. I have a meeting tomorrow morning.”

Qi Mingfeng said helplessly: “President He, I need to hand over my work and pack my things. The day after tomorrow is the earliest.”

He Xian reluctantly agreed: “Fine. I’ll leave Meng Ying with you. He will bring you back to C City the day after tomorrow.”

Qi Mingfeng wanted to refuse, but seeing He Xian’s expression, he agreed and saw He Xian to the car.

Just before closing the door, He Xian suddenly remembered something and asked: “What is your phone number now?”

As Qi Mingfeng was about to recite the numbers, He Xian said: “Just call me. Who knows if you’ll give me the wrong number while reciting it.”

Qi Mingfeng picked up his phone: “What is your number now?”

He Xian: “Still the old one. You think everyone is like you, not nostalgic at all.”

A flash of confusion crossed Qi Mingfeng’s eyes.

After the breakup, he had called He Xian, but the prompt on the other end said the number was out of service.

But he quickly understood. Likely, He Xian had cancelled the number in a fit of rage and later, being “nostalgic,” found a way to buy the number back.

He Xian had been watching Qi Mingfeng and naturally didn’t miss the change in his eyes. A bit of happiness appeared on his face as he arched an eyebrow and said: “You called me before?”

Qi Mingfeng: “Yes.”

He Xian: “Why were you looking for me?”

Qi Mingfeng dialed the string of numbers he knew by heart. After the other side pressed to reject the call, he spoke in a low voice while adding the contact: “I don’t remember. Probably to give a New Year’s greeting?”

He Xian put his phone in his pocket, glanced to the side, then looked back at him, saying somewhat awkwardly: “I was angry then… You couldn’t get through, so you didn’t know to come to the company to find me?”

Qi Mingfeng: “I thought you were busy with official business and it wasn’t anything very important, so I didn’t go to disturb you.”

Obvious polite talk.

But He Xian didn’t expose it.

Qi Mingfeng had called him and found the number out of service; he probably felt He Xian was unwilling to talk to him and didn’t want to be rebuffed.

It was human nature.

A trace of smugness was hidden in He Xian’s eyes: “Back then you were crying and making a scene about going abroad, and now you’ve mixed yourself into this state. They say there aren’t many good people out there; in vain, I even looked for friends abroad…”

He stopped halfway through the sentence.

“Forget it, don’t run around anymore.”

Qi Mingfeng gave a low “Mhm.”

After seeing He Xian off, the breath Qi Mingfeng had been holding suddenly escaped, and the alcohol hit him again.

He hadn’t drunk much, but his tolerance was low, and he had mixed various types of alcohol. To have held on until now was already his limit. So he greeted the Little Boss, took a quick shower, and fell asleep in the bar’s staff dormitory.

His body and spirit were exhausted, but his mind couldn’t settle down, uncontrollably recalling past events.

He lived in an orphanage as a child and was adopted when he was slightly older. It turned out the adoptive father was not a good person. He and the adoptive father’s other son, Qi Huan, ran away. Fortunately, they were lucky and met their Teacher.

The Teacher valued his musical talent and sponsored him and Qi Huan’s studies.

He studied hard and entered the top music conservatory in the country. In his sophomore year, he met He Xian by chance.

Qi Huan’s depression relapsed; he had a heavy academic load and had to work to earn money.

He Xian helped him find a psychiatrist, introduced him to part-time jobs that weren’t as tiring but paid well, and even helped him find his biological parents.

He thought the ten or so years of wandering could finally come to an end, but his biological parents had searched for him without success and had another child—his younger brother.

The biological parents’ family was very wealthy. The younger brother grew up surrounded by a thousand favors, his personality spoiled and arrogant, never allowing anyone else to take his things.

The younger brother opposed him both openly and secretly. He was not good at socializing, and under the younger brother’s instigation, he was not on good terms with his biological parents.

When his expectations for a family were shattered, He Xian was the one by his side.

In those ten or so years, Qi Mingfeng was either studying or working; he couldn’t withstand He Xian’s “sugar-coated bullets” and fell in love.

At that time, he truly believed He Xian was the best person in the world and truly loved him.

So when He Xian said that to test him, the family gave him a faltering entertainment company that was severely short-staffed and hoped Qi Mingfeng would help, he agreed.

For He Xian, he rejected the Teacher’s proposal to go abroad for further studies and signed with He Xian’s company to strive together.

He had been singing online for a long time and had some fame. He Xian poured resources into him and truly made him a star.

He thought it was the two of them working together for their careers, but later he found out that the company was just the most insignificant industry under He Xian. He Xian had only played the victim to trick him into signing.

But he loved He Xian. Although it made him unhappy and troubled, it was a sign of He Xian caring about him, and they could communicate and work things out.

Until he heard that recording.

It must have been in some private booth; the background noise was chaotic.

“He Xian, getting angry doesn’t solve the problem.”

“If it weren’t for me backing him, could he have gone from a student who couldn’t even afford meat in the school cafeteria to an A-list singer? I provide him with the best food and drinks, and he still makes a scene with me all day.”

“Your focuses are different. Qi Mingfeng is angry with you because of his feelings. It’s been four years, and you haven’t even given him a ‘status’.”

“Status? With that rotten temper of his—he sings well but can’t say a single nice thing. Besides, who would marry a music player?”

“He Xian, that’s too harsh. He would definitely be sad if he heard that. If you look down on him, why are you with him?”

“Because He Hui took an interest in him.”

The recording stopped abruptly.

He Hui was He Xian’s brilliant older brother.

He Xian had not been valued since childhood; to get things, he had to fight and snatch, especially to snatch He Hui’s things—like the industries the parents wanted to give He Hui, or the people He Hui was interested in.

Qi Mingfeng always believed that when problems arose in a relationship, one should solve the problem, not the person. Even if He Xian had gone too far before, he thought about how to overcome it. It turned out even the feelings were fake.

He was just a trophy of He Xian’s competitiveness. For four years, He Xian had never looked at him as a human being.

After learning the truth, he proposed a breakup.

In a fit of rage, He Xian told him to get out and never come back.

Qi Mingfeng left without looking back, planning to take Qi Huan abroad.

He wanted to take the path the Teacher had suggested: go abroad for further studies, learn more knowledge, and see more of the world.

At the same time, he wanted to stay far away from He Xian. As much as he loved He Xian, he was just as heartbroken; he needed a change of environment to heal.

He didn’t expect that after two years of wandering, he would still have to return to He Xian’s side.

Qi Mingfeng was in a daze and didn’t know when he fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was broad daylight.

He tidied himself up and, according to the agreement with He Xian, went to the Little Boss to resign.

The two had similar temperaments and had helped each other. Although they had known each other for a short time, they had a very good relationship.

When he went to the Little Boss’s office, the Little Boss was also waiting for him inside, but his expression was very complicated: “Here to resign?”

Qi Mingfeng smiled bitterly.

The Little Boss poured a glass of water for Qi Mingfeng and lit a cigarette for himself: “Mingfeng, I treat you like a brother, so I’ll tell you what’s in my heart. You were blacklisted and have lived so miserably these past two years, yet that He fellow never gave you a hand. Calling you back now might not be a good thing.”

How could Qi Mingfeng not know? He rubbed the water glass with his fingers: “I know, but I have no other choice. Ah-Huan’s side…”

The Little Boss sighed: “Sigh, you’re more of a brother to him than a biological one.”

Qi Mingfeng: “If it weren’t for me, Ah-Huan wouldn’t have become like this.”

“Everything will get better; after the extreme bad comes the good.” The Little Boss knew Qi Mingfeng had already made up his mind and didn’t try to persuade him further, but instead asked: “What about him after you go to C City? Will he be transferred there?”

Qi Mingfeng: “Ah-Huan’s condition is not suitable for a transfer, and the doctors here understand his situation better. Now that I have money, I’ll pay the caregiver more to look after him.”

The Little Boss: “Fine, I’ll also help you keep an eye out and notify you immediately if anything happens.”

After thanking the Little Boss, Qi Mingfeng went to the hospital to see Qi Huan.

He said “see,” but it was actually just sitting by the bed for a while and muttering to himself—Qi Huan was still unconscious.

After seeing Qi Huan, he went home to pack his things.

There were no valuables at home; the most important things were Qi Huan’s medical records and his second-hand laptop.

He ended his lease with the landlord and paid a sum of money.

The good news was that after He Xian’s scene yesterday, he didn’t have to pay back the usury interest he owed Fan Zhenjiang’s friend.

The next morning, Qi Mingfeng and Meng Ying returned to C City.

According to the contract, he knocked on the door of He Xian’s house on time.