What Bad Intentions Could a Spoiled Little Brat Possibly have? - Chapter 41

He lied to Cheng Huai.

The evening part-time job Cheng Huai had originally planned, after all, failed to happen on schedule.

As the specialized afternoon classes drew to a close, the sunlight outside the window had shed its scorching heat, becoming lukewarm and lingering, casting rhombic spots of light onto the desks through the glass.

Cheng Huai was absentmindedly twirling his pen when the phone screen resting on the table suddenly lit up. He glanced at it; it was a message from Chang Shu more than one, in fact.

Clicking the screen, the first thing that jumped into view was a photo of an airport jet bridge with the Kyoto International Airport logo in the background, followed immediately by a line of text:

“Baby, we’ve landed in Kyoto. Your grandfather came along this time too.”

Grandfather?

Cheng Huai’s fingers paused slightly.

His memories of his grandfather weren’t very deep; he only remembered that his grandfather was tall and unsmiling.

His grandmother had passed away early, so his grandfather had single-handedly propped up the massive family business, making it flourish, yet he was also so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

During Cheng Huai’s childhood, he saw him only a handful of times, and every instance was accompanied by a nameless pressure. Whenever that majestic gaze swept over him, he would unconsciously straighten his small back.

The messages continued to pop up: “Grandfather is getting older. This time he’s determined to gradually move the center of the business to Kyoto. From now on, your father and I will also be stationed here permanently. Our family can finally be together often.”

As Cheng Huai looked at Chang Shu’s messages, fragments of memories involving heart-wrenching struggles and crying fits flashed through his mind.

Ever since he decided to come to Peking University, the war between him and his parents had never ceased. Since arriving at school, he hadn’t once taken the initiative to contact them. Looking at Chang Shu’s messages now, Cheng Huai rubbed his temples as a belated sense of guilt bubbled up.

“Okay, Mom,” Cheng Huai replied.

Chang Shu’s reply followed quickly: “Are you keeping up with your schoolwork? Come home for dinner tonight; Mom made soup.”

Immediately after, a link to an address popped up in the chat box.

Cheng Huai clicked the link to check the location. It was a villa district near Fu Zheng’s company—not far at all. He didn’t know if it was just a coincidence.

Cheng Huai replied: “Okay, I’ll head over after class.”

When he came out of the teaching building, Cheng Huai looked around and, sure enough, saw that familiar sedan parked under the shade of a tree not far away.

He could have pretended not to see it and walked straight to the school gate to call a taxi, but his footsteps hesitated for a moment. He eventually changed direction and walked toward the shade.

Walking to the driver’s side, he bent his fingers and knocked on the dark glass of the car window.

The window lowered silently.

Fu Zheng was wearing a Bluetooth headset, engaged in a call. The lines of his profile appeared somewhat cold and hard under the faint glow of the dashboard.

Hearing the knock, he turned his face. Seeing Cheng Huai, he froze for an imperceptible second. Then, a soft click came from the central lock. He signaled with his eyes for Cheng Huai to get in first.

Cheng Huai had already changed back into normal clothes. He stood in place without moving, neither getting in nor leaving immediately.

Fu Zheng’s brow furrowed slightly. He spoke quickly into the headset, “You make the full decision,” and ended the call. He took off the headset, turned to Cheng Huai, and spoke with a voice cooler than the evening breeze: “Why aren’t you getting in?”

He had been prepared to spend some effort to get the little guy into the car, but he hadn’t expected the other party to deliver himself to the door.

“Mom and Dad are in Kyoto. They want me to go over for dinner tonight,” Cheng Huai said, pursing his lips and speaking with a touch of arrogance. “I just came to let you know so you wouldn’t wait here the whole time.”

Hearing Cheng Huai’s account, Fu Zheng’s fingers on the steering wheel moved slightly. He looked at Cheng Huai in silence for two seconds before speaking: “Get in. I’ll drop you off.”

Seeing Fu Zheng’s completely unsurprised expression, Cheng Huai asked, “You already knew?”

He didn’t argue with Fu Zheng this time and obediently got into the car. Before he even buckled his seatbelt, he started questioning him.

“I heard some rumors, but I didn’t expect it to be this fast,” Fu Zheng did not deny it. While starting the car to let the engine warm up, he explained, “Your grandfather’s industrial volume is massive. Any major transfer of assets or business focus even if I didn’t go out of my way to ask the news on the financial pages would have informed me.”

“Oh.” Cheng Huai lowered his head gloomily. “But he used to be your grandfather too.”

“What did you say?” Fu Zheng didn’t hear clearly. He leaned over, his arm crossing in front of Cheng Huai to pull the seatbelt from the passenger side.

This movement instantly closed the distance between them. Fu Zheng’s crisp scent, mixed with the faint perfume of the car interior, wrapped Cheng Huai tightly.

Cheng Huai’s breath hitched. His body instinctively leaned back slightly as he stammered, “Wh-what is it?”

“The address.” Fu Zheng snapped the seatbelt into the buckle with agility and pulled back, sitting upright again. His gaze lazily swept over Cheng Huai’s slightly reddening cheeks as he reminded him in a flat tone, “Send me the location.”

“Oh… okay.” Cheng Huai’s earlobes felt hot. He hurriedly fished his phone out of his pocket. His fingers were a bit clumsy due to a slight fluster, and it took a few taps before he forwarded the location Chang Shu had sent him that afternoon.

The car drove smoothly out of the campus and merged into the evening traffic.

The flickering neon lights and flowing shadows outside the window played across Cheng Huai’s face.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly turned his head to look at the focused Fu Zheng. His voice was softer than before, tinged with a tentative tone as he called out obediently, “Brother.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to come and have dinner with me?” Cheng Huai’s eyes were bright. “You probably haven’t seen Mom and Dad in a long time either, right?”

Fu Zheng smiled faintly and said, “If I go, I’m afraid no one will be able to eat that meal in peace.” Not only would they be unable to eat in peace, but it would also turn into a chaotic scene.

The grievances between him and the Cheng couple had not been fully resolved yet. He didn’t want to involve Cheng Huai.

“Why?” Cheng Huai keenly sensed some details he had previously overlooked. He questioned, “Brother, when you left without saying goodbye back then, was it because Mom and Dad forced you?”

“No,” Fu Zheng denied categorically. “Don’t overthink it. My leaving had nothing to do with them.”

As if thinking that wasn’t enough, Fu Zheng added another sentence: “Cheng Huai, remember, they are your biological parents. No matter what they have done or what they do in the future, their starting point will never be to harm you.”

“But the person who raised me was you!” Cheng Huai’s emotions were like an ignited fuse, suddenly exploding.

“From childhood to now, the person who looked after me, accompanied me to class, and stayed with me through every illness and moment of sadness was you! What right do they have? What right do they have to be absent when I needed them most, only to expect me to play the role of a filial son now that I’m grown? Brother, the logic you taught me and the knowledge I learned at school—not a single bit of it is like this! This is wrong; this is fundamentally wrong!”

Sensing the violent fluctuation in Cheng Huai’s emotions, Fu Zheng decisively pulled the car over to the side of the road, stopping steadily in a zone where temporary parking was permitted.

The engine was cut, and the car suddenly fell into silence.

Fu Zheng unbuckled his own seatbelt, turned sideways, and reached out to grasp Cheng Huai’s hand resting on his lap.

The youth’s hand was a bit cold; inside his warm palm, it was trembling uncontrollably.

Perhaps even Cheng Huai himself hadn’t realized that since mentioning his parents, his body had been in a stress-induced defensive state his neck and shoulders were stiff, and his breathing was shallow and hurried.

Fu Zheng’s heart sank along with that slight trembling. He frowned, his deep gaze locking onto Cheng Huai’s face: “Cheng Huai, tell Brother, what are you afraid of?”

“They won’t let me come find you. They never have. They’re coming to take me back, and I’ll never see you again.” Cheng Huai’s mouth was pulled into a straight line, his grievance beyond words. His eyes were hidden with deep fear, as if tears would burst out in the next moment.

Fu Zheng remained silent for a while before saying, “Don’t be afraid. Brother will drop you off, and I’ll pick you up after you’ve finished dinner, okay?” His palm patted Cheng Huai’s back as if he were smoothing down ruffled fur.

Cheng Huai nodded impatiently, trying his best to grip Fu Zheng’s hand back.

Once Cheng Huai’s emotions had gradually calmed, Fu Zheng restarted the car and drove toward the destination.

As the vehicle was about to arrive at that quiet villa district, the screen of Fu Zheng’s phone on the center console suddenly lit up. The name “Lin Yarou” jumped out on the screen, appearing exceptionally piercing in the dim cabin. It happened to catch the corner of Cheng Huai’s eye in the passenger seat.

Cheng Huai turned his face away coolly, pretending not to see.

Fu Zheng answered the phone. It was unclear what the other side said, but he was as concise as ever, only occasionally saying “Mhm” to indicate a response. However, this call lasted quite a while.

Only after the call was finally hung up did Cheng Huai question coldly, “What did she want with you?”

Fu Zheng knew he was emotionally sensitive right now and explained patiently, “It’s about a batch of flight control core components destined for Europe. They encountered some procedural questions during customs clearance and have been temporarily detained.”

“Is it serious?”

“Not particularly. There are no issues with technical compliance. The company has already sent a person in charge who is familiar with international business and local laws to coordinate and handle it.”

Fu Zheng paused, then added, “After you finish your meal, I’ll head over to look into the specific situation.”

The car slowly slid into a temporary parking space outside the villa district. The engine died and it came to a halt. Fu Zheng did not unbuckle his seatbelt, nor did he have any intention of getting out.

“I’ll wait for you right here. Call me anytime if anything happens. After dinner, whether you want to go back to the school dormitory or to the Huige Academy is fine.”

“Are you really not going up with me?” Cheng Huai confirmed one last time.

Fu Zheng reached out, his palm rubbing the soft hair on the top of the boy’s head, and said softly, “Be good. Go on, eat a good meal.”

Only after Cheng Huai’s figure had completely disappeared behind the heavy carved door deep in the villa courtyard did Fu Zheng slowly withdraw his gaze.

He opened the storage box in front of the passenger seat and accurately fished out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Pushing the car door open, the chilly autumn night air instantly wrapped around him.

Fu Zheng walked around to the front of the car, leaning his back against the cold hood. He raised a hand to loosen his collar and unfastened the double-breasted buttons of his suit jacket one by one, letting the lapels hang loosely at his sides.

The lighter clicked, a ghostly blue flame flickering to life, illuminating his deep eyes and tightly pressed lips.

He tilted his head slightly, bringing the cigarette close to light it. He took a deep drag, the pungent tobacco smoke rushing into his lungs, then turning into a thin gray mist that dissipated under the dim lights of the parking lot.

He just stood there in silence, his figure stretched long and lonely by the streetlamp. The single point of crimson at his fingertips flickered in and out, much like his dark and uncertain mood at this moment.

He had lied to Cheng Huai just now.

A moment later, Fu Zheng dialed Yu Chuan’s number.

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