Chapter 38.2:  No one with the surname Qian is a good person!

A few days later, Cheng Yao heard from Bao Rui about the latest developments. Old Master Dong had caused trouble at Chen Qingmei’s place several more times. Chen Qingmei, who was already struggling with postpartum recovery, ended up with a high fever.

Meanwhile, distant relatives around Old Master Dong had started giving him advice. Now that Dong Min had decided to take her mother’s surname, this child—though born with cerebral palsy—was technically the last remaining bloodline of the Dong family. Perhaps fearing that Chen Qingmei might secretly harm the child for the sake of the inheritance, Old Master Dong, encouraged by these distant relatives, sent a swarm of nosy aunts and meddlesome relatives to keep an eye on her. These distant relatives, having been paid handsomely, were more than willing to do the job.

As a result, not only did Chen Qingmei have to deal with the stress of caring for a newborn with cerebral palsy, but she also had to fend off a group of scheming, impoverished distant relatives.

“Of course, those relatives won’t let Chen Qingmei have the chance to let the child ‘accidentally’ suffer some ‘unfortunate mishap,’” Bao Rui scoffed. “After all, if the kid dies, how else are they going to find an excuse to keep squeezing Old Master Dong for money? Right now, they’ve got a perfectly legitimate reason—taking care of his grandson—and they’re raking in cash for it.”

A group of people, each with their own selfish motives, had somehow managed to reach a precarious balance.

For Chen Qingmei, ensuring that her child successfully inherited the fortune meant she had achieved her goal. But whether this life was a blessing or a curse was another question. Raising a child with cerebral palsy, even with money, would never be easy. As the child’s guardian, she had essentially tied her entire future to securing this inheritance.

As for Xie Ming—whether he would take responsibility for this child’s future was an open question. If the baby had been healthy, perhaps he could have endured… But a child with cerebral palsy? Even a biological father might choose to walk away. There were too many things in life that could make love grow cold.

Everyone must bear the consequences of their own actions.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Kkydt Eldmkw bye clld ycpszwvlzu aktbv.

Nkql kp dsv y prakdv cwv y xyayvbsd. Mbspl obs pvyav sqq qllzkdt vakwxrbydv kd vbl zlye xyu dsv dlnlppyakzu byhl y pxssvb asye yblye.

***

Ls xyvvla bso ckvvlapollv kv qlzv, vbl Psdt Fbyd kdblakvydnl nypl oyp qkdyzzu nzsple, yde Ubldt Zys alnlkhle y blqvu pbyal sq vbl plvvzlxldv.

Mbyv lhldkdt, kd bla assx, pbl nswzed’v alpkpv nyzzkdt bla ryaldvp vs pbyal vbl tsse dlop.

Jwv vbl Ubldtp bye ds kdvlalpv kd bla osaj. Mblu sdzu nyale ycswv bla rlapsdyz zkql.

“R blyae qasx uswa xsx vbyv usw’hl tsv y csuqaklde alnldvzu?”

“Bb…”

“That kid Qian, right?” Father Cheng sounded exasperated. “I heard his family isn’t well-off, and he’s not exactly ambitious either. Aside from having a decent face…”

Cheng Yao was just about to go with the flow and say she had already broken up when her father abruptly changed the topic himself. “Oh, by the way, your mom and I will be in A City in two weeks for a high school reunion. We’ll drop by to see you—anything you want us to bring?”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Cheng Yao immediately forgot about Qian Heng. “I want Mom’s spicy beef sauce, braised pork trotters, soy-braised duck, spicy rabbit legs… Oh, and charcoal-grilled lamb ribs!”

Father Cheng laughed and scolded her, saying he’d do his best. But just as they were about to hang up, he suddenly remembered Qian Heng again and got irritated. “You know, the difference between people is really something. You’ve heard about my old classmate with the surname Qian, right?”

Here we go again…

The moment she heard “that Qian guy,” Cheng Yao knew things were about to go south.

She had lost count of how many times she had heard her father rant about “that Qian guy” over the years. He hated the man so much that, to show his disdain, he refused to say his full name, always referring to him simply as “that Qian guy.”

Sure enough, Father Cheng exploded, “That Qian guy was my deskmate back in the day. A grown man, but he insisted on drawing a boundary line on the desk and making me sign a contract! If I crossed even a little, I had to pay him compensation! Sure, he had good grades, but he was an absolute bastard. One time, before the final exams, I practically served him like a king for a whole month, begging him to let me peek at his answers—hell, I was this close to calling him ‘Dad’—and what did he do? That ungrateful little snake wiped his mouth clean and acted like nothing happened! Didn’t even let me glance at a single multiple-choice question! And because of him, I failed! I was just three points short! Your grandpa was so mad he nearly beat me into needing a disabled parking permit!”

…

Father Cheng grumbled on for a while before finally getting to his concluding remarks. “And you know what? This weirdo is living the high life now—he even has a private jet! Good thing he’s not coming to the reunion! I really don’t want to see him!” He let out a frustrated sigh. “Honestly, this world is just unfair. I won’t lie—I used to be superstitious. I thought maybe he got rich just because his last name was Qian. Like, it was fate that he’d never lack money. But now, I don’t believe that nonsense anymore.”

Then he sighed again. “But look at this—same surname, yet my old classmate is filthy rich while this kid Qian Heng is struggling. Does that seem fair to you?”

“…”

Dad, honestly… people named Qian really do tend to have money.

Cheng Yao listened as her father rambled on about how the world was going downhill, criticizing society until he finally got so caught up in his rant that he completely forgot about Qian Heng. Only then did he reluctantly hang up.

As luck would have it, just moments after the call ended, Qian Heng returned from working late at the law firm.

Wasting no time, Cheng Yao rushed out of her room with a big fawning smile, snatching his bag like a professional assistant. “Boss, let me carry that for you!”

Just as Qian Heng took off his coat, Cheng Yao quickly grabbed it too. “Let me hang it up for you! I’ll hang it up!” Clutching his coat in her hands, she showered him with compliments. “Boss, you’ve got an unmatched presence. No one else can compare! Just look—this trench coat on you? Absolute class, absolute style! Truly unique!”

Qian Heng glanced at her. “Unique?” He snorted, his voice dripping with dissatisfaction. “Cheng Yao, are you blind?” He scoffed. “Burberry trench coat knockoffs are everywhere. Nine out of ten men on the street are wearing one. I literally just got into the elevator and ran into someone wearing the same coat—and he was bald. Terrible omen. Don’t bother hanging it up—just throw it out.”

“…”

That flattery backfired spectacularly…

But was Cheng Yao the type to be stumped by this?

Absolutely not!

Thinking on her feet, she quickly said, “Boss, that’s exactly why you shouldn’t throw it away!”

Qian Heng raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “And why is that?”

“This coat might be common, but that’s precisely what highlights your uniqueness! It shows what it means to be imitated but never surpassed!”

“…”

Under Qian Heng’s amused gaze, Cheng Yao pressed on, “Let me steam it for you later. Have some hot tea first—it’s cold outside…” As she spoke, she poured him a cup of hot tea.

Qian Heng didn’t take it. Instead, he looked at her and said calmly, “Alright, spill it. What do you want from me?”

Cheng Yao quickly waved her hands. “No, no, nothing at all! I was just thinking, now that the Dong Shan case is over and you’re planning to move out, my chances to be enlightened by your advanced thinking and professional wisdom are getting fewer and fewer. I just wanted to express my appreciation!”

Qian Heng leaned back with a leisurely expression. “So?”

Cheng Yao braced herself. “I just wanted to ask when you’re moving out. I can help you pack! You’ve been here for a while now—must have a lot of stuff. I can handle organizing and cleaning up.”

Qian Heng let out a cold chuckle. “Cheng Yao, so basically, you’re trying to kick me out?”

“No, no, no! I wouldn’t dare!” Cheng Yao rubbed her hands together and explained, “It’s just that my parents are visiting in two weeks. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I figured I’d just tell them we already broke up. And to make it convincing, I thought, why not help you move out while we still have time?”

To reinforce her point, she added, “Honestly, I’ll miss our time as roommates. Boss, if you really leave, I’ll… I’ll miss you! Even though we only lived together for a month or so, you already feel like family to me. I’m truly reluctant to see you go! But I can’t be selfish and make you give up your luxurious villa just to stay in this… um… modest place without any class!”

Qian Heng sat on the sofa, hands clasped over his knee, watching Cheng Yao without a word.

Cheng Yao swallowed nervously and pushed on. “But you know what they say—home is where the heart is! Boss, even if you move out, you’re always welcome here! Just think of this as your second home!”

Qian Heng smiled slightly. “So, deep down, you actually want me to stay?”

“Of course!” Cheng Yao instinctively flattered. “It’s an honor to share a place with you, Boss!”

“Then I suppose I’ll reluctantly stay.”

Cheng Yao: ???

Wait. This… wasn’t how the script was supposed to go?!

Was Qian Heng seriously giving up his lavish villa to keep living in this mid-range (low-end, in his eyes) apartment? What was going on? Was he sick or something?!

As Qian Heng leisurely observed the rapid changes in expression on Cheng Yao’s face, he suddenly took out his phone and held it up to her. “Now, care to explain this rental listing?”

Cheng Yao felt a chill run down her spine.

To make things extra clear for her, Qian Heng had very helpfully enlarged the text—

On the screen, in big, bold letters, was an unmistakable listing.

“Great apartment for rent! Only requirement: Must be able to fix pipes! No weirdos!”

“…”

Qian Heng smirked. “Do you need me to scroll down and show you the photos from this post to prove it’s yours?”

Cheng Yao tried to argue. “Boss, apartments with this layout and decor are pretty common in furnished rentals. It’s really not mine!”

She wasn’t bragging, but when she posted the listing on the A City forum, she had been very careful. She had deliberately avoided taking pictures of any distinctive details in the apartment. The post had been up for three days, and there had already been plenty of inquiries from potential renters. She had been eagerly waiting for Qian Heng to move out so she could bring in a new tenant—not only to split the rent but also to share the household chores. It was the perfect plan!

Qian Heng didn’t bother arguing with her. He simply scrolled to one of the listing photos, zoomed in on a specific corner, and held it up for her to see.

Cheng Yao squinted at it for a while before she finally noticed the problem.

The zoomed-in area showed the leg of the dining table, where tiny, almost unnoticeable words were carved—

“Dora, I love you.”

Cheng Yao stiffly turned to look at the same table leg in front of her. Sure enough, the exact same words were there…

At that moment, she had only one thought—Screw you, Dora!

Where was the common decency?! Who goes around carving random love confessions into table legs?! Hope your love is as short-lived as your sense of responsibility!

But in this battlefield with no gunpowder, faced with such undeniable evidence, Cheng Yao had only one realization—I lost…

Looking utterly defeated, she admitted, “Boss, let me explain. I’m just a poor little lawyer. If you move out, I really can’t afford this rent on my own. I was just trying to find someone to take over in advance…”

Qian Heng was in a surprisingly good mood today. He didn’t even question her bizarre rental requirements. Instead, he said calmly, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep paying the rent. You don’t have to pack everything up either.”

“Huh?”

“Just leave my room as it is.” Qian Heng smiled. “This place is pretty close to Junheng Law Firm. If I work late and have an early morning meeting the next day, it’s convenient to stay here. Besides, didn’t you tell me to ‘come home often’?”

“…”

That was just a polite phrase!!!

And somehow, a boss who occasionally drops by to stay over sounded way scarier than a boss who permanently lives here. It was like having a teacher who did random surprise inspections—so much worse than one who checked regularly at scheduled times!