Chapter 54
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In recent years, Sister Ling had become more law-abiding and had ceased her underground fight club in the basement of the bar. The illegal activities she was involved in were strictly prohibited in the country, and now she was almost forty. She wanted a more relaxed life and some flexibility for the latter half of her life.
“Your dad was just too stubborn back then. He should have quit early on. After cleaning up his act, he could have done legitimate business, and he wouldn’t have died so early.” In the top-floor office of the new building, Sister Ling was still wearing a red strapless dress with a sleek black suit draped over her shoulders. Time had left no trace on her face, making her appear still in her early thirties. If she tied her hair into a ponytail, she could easily pass for a twenty-year-old girl.
Gu Yaoyang leaned against his desk, arms crossed, holding the latest business newspaper.
Actually, the news had already been reported yesterday, with headlines about the “Lin Corporation facing bankruptcy due to poor management.”
The headline was slightly exaggerated. Indeed, the Lin family’s hotel business had been poorly managed in recent years, with several major safety and hygiene incidents. Although this had negatively impacted their business, it wasn’t severe enough to push them to the brink of bankruptcy. The family’s wealth, primarily held by Lin Zhiyuan, was still considerable, and they could survive for a while longer. However, the future was uncertain, and if the situation continued to deteriorate, the outcome might not be so favorable.
Sister Ling also saw the news and asked curiously, “Has your baby’s strict father really not reached out to him in these years?”
Gu Yaoyang put the newspaper aside and said, “No.”
“What about his mother?”
“Also no,” he thought for a moment and added, “She sent a bouquet of flowers when he graduated.”
Sister Ling blinked her eyes and asked, “Just like that?”
Gu Yaoyang confirmed, “Just like that.”
“Nothing else?”
“Nothing.”
Sister Ling sighed, “That’s… quite cold. Even though I don’t like marriage or kids, if I ever have one, I would take responsibility. It’s too indifferent to leave your own son to live on his own for so many years without caring.”
She glanced at the news again and said, “But it seems that Mr. Lin has already formed a new family. It’s good that he’s not reaching out to your baby, to avoid any more family disputes.”
Gu Yaoyang responded with a casual acknowledgment and picked up his car keys, saying, “I’ll be leaving.”
Sister Ling hadn’t seen him treat a guest like this before and stood up, “Isn’t your baby driving to work on his own? Why are you going to pick him up?”
Gu Yaoyang replied with a glance, “Do I need to check if my wife has driven the car to pick him up?”
“Isn’t it just picking him up if you want to?”
She spoke without getting angry and waved her hand at Gu Yaoyang, signaling him to disappear.
Lin Yuyan’s art studio was located near the Wenchang district, not far from the square. He had rented a two-story building along the street, decorated with many potted plants and a signboard that displayed the daily class schedule and corresponding teachers.
Today, Lin Yuyan didn’t have any classes, so he was sitting in the lounge area with Hu Dongdong, a student who had come to visit after school. They were organizing students’ artworks to be framed and hung on the wall. Hu Dongdong was sixteen years old, with a short buzz cut, tall and slender, a far cry from his childhood appearance. Lin Yuyan thought that his name was too childish, so he asked Lin Yuyan to call him Hu Dong instead, which sounded more concise and handsome.
Lin Yuyan nodded seriously and said, “Alright, Hu Dong Dong.”
Hu Dongdong felt uncomfortable immediately, thinking that his Brother Yuyan had learned something bad.
After working for a while and hanging up the framed artwork, they were about to go upstairs to take a break. They heard the wind chimes hanging at the entrance jingle. Lin Yuyan turned to look and saw the boy who had been involved in yesterday’s incident at the square, the one who was being pulled around by his father.
The boy was still in his school uniform, but his face wasn’t as dirty as yesterday.
Lin Yuyan asked Hu Dongdong to go upstairs first, and walked over to the boy, who stared at him but didn’t say anything.
Lin Yuyan asked, “Do you have something you want to talk to me about?”
The boy’s voice was a bit hoarse, as if he was going through puberty, and after a moment of hesitation, he introduced himself, “I’m Wang Qi.”
Lin Yuyan said, “I know.”
The boy was surprised, “How do you know?”
Lin Yuyan explained, “You filled out personal information when the studio first opened, I remember.”
The boy responded with an “Oh” and clutched the strap of his backpack as he asked, “Can I come in and take a look?”
Lin Yuyan said, “Sure, you can look around.”
Wang Qi said thank you and walked over to the artworks that had just been hung up.
At this moment, the wind chimes at the entrance jingled again, and Gu Yaoyang walked in with his car keys in hand. When Lin Yuyan saw him, he waited for Gu Yaoyang to reach him and, with a sly expression, quickly gave him a discreet kiss on the face. They didn’t kiss loudly, as they were in a public place and had to be mindful of their surroundings.
Gu Yaoyang asked why he was standing there.
Lin Yuyan raised his hand and pointed to the nearby boy.
Gu Yaoyang turned around, and Lin Yuyan naturally snuggled onto his shoulder.
“He deceived me,” Lin Yuyan sounded somewhat wronged.
“Deceived you?” Gu Yaoyang asked, “How did he deceive you?”
Lin Yuyan whispered his complaint, “Yesterday, Teacher Xu and I were on the square for student recruitment, and he and his father performed in front of us. Perhaps they wanted to gain sympathy and have us teach him to paint.”
Gu Yaoyang raised an eyebrow, “How did you know?”
Lin Yuyan said, “They appeared separately several times. Not just at the studio door but also wandering around the square. Xu Ze and I had noticed him for a while, and we had already planned how to handle it. We thought if he was brave enough to talk about his difficulties, we would tell him about the surprise, considering how much he loved painting.”
“But I didn’t expect him to conspire with his father to deceive me.”
Listening to Lin Yuyan’s muffled voice and seeing him still gazing at the boy’s figure, it seemed he appeared somewhat envious.
Even though the boy and his father’s actions were wrong, Lin Yuyan knew that they were close at heart, and they might genuinely be facing financial difficulties. They thought for a long time and came up with this foolish, obnoxious, and unappealing method.
But Lin Yuyan was still envious.
At the very least, his rough, seemingly uneducated father supported his son’s hobby and strived together with him, even if the direction of their efforts was incorrect. In matters of affection, they stood together on the same side.
“Husband…”
“Hmm?”
“My back is hurting…”
“It still hurts?”
“Mm, can you carry me upstairs on your back?”
Lin Yuyan leaned on Gu Yaoyang’s shoulder, then snuggled into his neck and gave him a light nudge. Gu Yaoyang, with the car keys dangling from his finger, swayed slightly and, in an unusual gentle tone, said, “Is my baby getting smarter?”
Lin Yuyan, who had been nuzzling against his shoulder, perked up at his words.
Gu Yaoyang continued, “I didn’t notice they were acting yesterday.”
Lin Yuyan exclaimed, “You were there yesterday too?”
Gu Yaoyang made up an excuse, “Just happened to pass by after work.”
“You’re lying. Your company is so far away, how could you just happen to pass by?” Lin Yuyan playfully shook his head, then proudly said, “But even Teacher Xu didn’t notice, and he thought it was real.”
“So, you’re the one who’s getting smarter.”
“Where, where.” Lin Yuyan humbly pretended, “It’s all because I live with a sly fox, and every day I have to outwit him, which has made me grow a little.”
Gu Yaoyang smiled and asked, knowing the answer, “Who is the ‘big fox’?”
Lin Yuyan snuggled back onto his shoulder, and his low mood vanished instantly. His eyes curved as he said, “It’s you.”
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