Ch.78 – One-way Passage

Yin Zejing was evidently even more thick-skinned, completely unconcerned about what everyone else at the dining table was thinking as he asked Ming Qin in a soft voice, “Why are you suddenly telling me this? Isn’t this how I’ve always been?”

Ming Qin didn’t appear enraged; rather, his demeanour was calm as he asked, “Been like how? Living off of men?”

When Yin Zejing heard what Ming Qin said, he wasn’t angry at all; instead, he pressed close to Ming Qin and whispered in his ear.

Xia Wennan couldn’t hear what he said, but by the looks of Yin Zejing’s expression, it was probably a joke that wasn’t suitable for children.

This time, Ming Qin sneered. “If you don’t want to, then get out. The doors are wide open, no one’s going to stop you. Or do you still want to live off of me?”

Yin Zejing straightened up in his cheat. His cheeky grin was finally wiped from his face as he gazed at Ming Qin wordlessly.

Right then, Xia Wennan suddenly thought, Yin Zejing’s acting skills kind of sucked—this isn’t how a college student with a sugar daddy should act. If he were in Yin Zejing’s shoes, he’d definitely act thirty percent aloof, thirty percent mortified, and forty percent struggling internally with reluctance. The spirit of ‘leading a whore’s life while wanting to preserve a badge of chastity’ must be well in place.

Xia Wennan watched Yin Zejing with keen eyes. Inwardly, he couldn’t resist substituting himself in Yin Zejing’s place. It was only when Ming Luchuan touched his arm did Xia Wennan reluctantly move his gaze away from Yin Zejing’s face and tilt his head towards Ming Luchuan. “What is it?”

“Tone it down,” Ming Luchuan muttered.

Xia Wennan had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”

Ming Luchuan prodded at Xia Wennan’s cheek with his forefinger and nudged his face until he faced the front.

After coming to a realisation, Xia Wennan bowed his head and pretended to swallow a couple of mouthfuls of food.

Ming Qin simply picked up his chopsticks and continued eating peacefully, despite Yin Zejing’s constant gaze.

“Qin ge,” Yin Zejing took on a serious tone, “what’s up with you today?”

Ming Qin didn’t speak.

Yin Zejing turned to Ming Siyan. “What’s gotten Qin ge so upset today?”

Ming Siyan did a bad job of pretending he hadn’t heard, so all he could do was raise his head and say, “Dad went to the company today. You’re probably aware of what’s going on with Mo Ze.”

Yin Zejing turned back to Ming Qin. “Are you taking out your anger over the company’s affairs on me?”

“That’s right,” Ming Qin stated flatly. “I’ll take my anger out on whoever I want.”

Without warning, Yin Zejing jumped to his feet. His motions were abrupt, and as the chair beneath him scraped against the floor, it made a loud noise.

Xia Wennan was taken aback. He looked at Yin Zejing, worried that he’d spill the contents of his bowl onto Ming Qin’s face then loudly declare that he was Mo Ze’s second young master, that he was spying for them, and now that he’d succeeded, it was time to say bye-bye to Ming Qin. Xia Wennan didn’t feel sorry for Ming Qin; he was just worried that if it ever came down to such an awkward situation, he wouldn’t know if he should prevent Yin Zejing from fleeing and call the police.

In the end, however, Yin Zejing did not throw his rice in Ming Qin’s face or say anything further before whirling on his heels and exiting the dining room.

Immediately after, Xia Wennan heard a bang from the entrance door—Yin Zejing had probably flung the doors open on his way out.

Ming Qin continued dining serenely.

Xia Wennan held himself back for a moment, but ultimately, he couldn’t help but ask, “Are we just letting him leave?”He was a little hesitant to let Yin Zejing off so easily. Furthermore, the question of whether he had been drugged on the day of his car accident remained unanswered.

Everyone in the dining room turned to look at him.

“Just asking,” said Xia Wennan.

Ming Luchuan reached out to pat his shoulder. “Eat first.”

Ming Qin didn’t go upstairs to rest or go for a walk after the meal; instead, he sat in the living room and drank tea while watching TV.

Xia Wennan, Ming Luchuan, as well as Ming Siyan had no choice but to accompany him in the living room.

Ming Qin remained silent. He leaned against the back of the sofa, lit a cigarette, and started smoking, ignoring the cup of tea on the coffee table in front of him.

Xia Wennan didn’t want to drink tea either. Ever since Ming Luchuan told him that he had insomnia, he’d been very concerned, and he was worried that if he drank some tea now, he’d have difficulties falling asleep later on. He also wondered why he’d think that way, given he’d never experienced sleeplessness since losing his memories.

At the moment, the wide-screen TV in front of them was broadcasting entertainment news and gossip.

Clearly, no one was interested in this type of celebrity gossip show, yet everyone stared at the TV as if engrossed.

After news about an omega making her relationship public, the video suddenly changed, and a name was mentioned: Li Xin. It was a shaky paparazzi video shot in an underground parking lot, where Li Xin, wearing a cap and sunglasses, got into the same car as a tall alpha in similar garb.

There was no trace of intimacy in their behaviour, but the ambiguous narration by the video’s voice-over suggested that the two men’s relationship wasn’t simple. Furthermore, the brief video was replayed over and over, the faraway shot repeatedly zooming in on the alpha’s face. Beneath his sunglasses, you could barely make out his facial features, and later on it was mentioned that the man was Lu Wenxing.

As if fearing that the public had already forgotten who Lu Wenxing was, the program specially displayed snippets of Lu Wenxing’s works and his past award speeches. It concluded with a shot of Lu Wenxing attending a press conference for his guest appearance in Li Xin’s film, which was mystifyingly captioned: It appears that the renowned senior is truly supportive of newcomers, how considerate.

After watching the entire segment in a daze, he turned absent-mindedly to Ming Luchuan and was greeted by the sight of an expressionless face. When he returned his gaze to Ming Qin, he discovered that the man was still smoking. No one said anything, as if they hadn’t seen Lu Wenxing before, and only Xia Wennan seemed to notice.

Xia Wennan had no choice but to act as if he didn’t know anything; he reached for his cup of tea and brought it to his lips, putting it back down after inhaling the rich tea smell and very slightly moistening his lips.

That evening, Ming Qin told Ming Luchuan and Xia Wennan to stay the night. Neither of them said no.

After settling in with Ming Luchuan on his sizable bed, Xia Wennan’s eyes remained open as he pondered the fact that he would actually suffer from insomnia. He didn’t feel sleepy in the least.

Ming Luchuan was seemingly exhausted; his breathing was deep and slow as he laid motionless.

Xia Wennan suddenly said, “I can’t sleep.”

Ming Luchuan’s breathing was cut off, as if he’d been startled awake, but it took him a while before he said, dissatisfied, “It’s been a long time since you’ve had trouble sleeping.”

Xia Wennan sounded at a loss. “I know, but I’m wide awake right now. It’s as if I got worried after someone told me I was an insomniac, and now I really can’t sleep.”

Ming Luchuan didn’t say anything.

“How can you sleep when so much has happened today?” Xia Wennan was curious.

“It’s because I’m sleepy.”

“Lu Wenxing and Li Xin’s relationship…”

“… is irrelevant nonsense.”

“Fine. What about Mo Ze?

Ming Luchuan turned over and faced Xia Wennan. “We’re waiting for more information. As I’ve told you, we don’t need to overreact. There’s such a huge vacancy in the pheromone perfume market, not just anyone can fill it. Even if they do get in, whether or not they’ll be able to do well depends entirely on their skills.”

“And Yin Zejing?”

“What’s he got to do with me? It’s not like I’m his boyfriend.”

“Well what about the fact that he’s supposedly a corporate spy?”

Ming Luchuan sneered. “Ming Qin wasn’t thrilled when he originally wanted to intern at Ming Yan, and later on he urged me to keep him away from the company’s core business.”

“Ha…”

“What are you sighing about?”

“Nothing, I just think that Ming Qin is a heartless man.”

Ming Luchuan said nothing.

Xia Wennan then said, “But he smoked all night.”

“And?”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him smoke. Deep down, he’s probably hurt, right? Do you think Yin Zejing will come back? And then what, we’ll move on just like that?”

All of a sudden, Ming Luchuan drew near and kissed Xia Wennan’s lips.

“Why’d you kiss me out of nowhere?!” Xia Wennan exclaimed somewhat embarrassedly when Ming Luchuan moved away.

“Don’t you have insomnia?” said Ming Luchuan.

“How does that have anything to do with insomnia?” Xia Wennan asked.

“I’m helping you fall asleep,” said Ming Luchuan, his palm already on Xia Wennan’s waist.

Xia Wennan reacted at once. “Will it work?” he whispered.

Ming Luchuan said, “Let’s test it out,” before leaning in and kissing Xia Wennan’s lips once more.