GLIHBN Chapter 34
by VolareChen Jingtian was very adept at maneuvering situations, so he assigned Su Shi to pick up his younger brother from school.
Chen Jingtian always liked to create an atmosphere of family harmony and brotherly love, thinking that this would gloss over any problems. Su Shi had always complied, showering Chen Cheng with affection and indulgence, acting as a flawless older brother.
Little did anyone know, it was all a facade.
The moment Chen Jingtian betrayed Su Zhi, Su Shi’s father-son relationship with him was over.
Chen Jingtian had been subservient for many years, and now that he had gained power, he seized all of the Su family’s assets. Su Shi followed his mother’s surname, Su, not Chen, and Chen Jingtian probably only considered Chen Cheng as his biological son in his heart.
Chen Jingtian used Su Shi’s lack of business acumen as an excuse to prevent Su Shi from entering the company, all so that the company could be completely renamed Chen.
Su Shi knew all of this, but now was not the time to turn hostile. Su Qing was still young and unable to stand on her own.
Su Shi knew that he did not have the ability to inherit the family business, so he cultivated Su Qing and sent Su Qing abroad for further studies. When Su Qing returned from her studies, it would be the time for them to take back the Su family’s assets.
Su Shi drove to the school to pick up Chen Cheng, who was very excited to see Su Shi. “Brother, I miss you so much. You haven’t come to see me in so long.”
Su Shi drove while perfunctorily saying, “Yeah, work is busy.”
Chen Cheng said coquettishly, “Even if you’re busy, you still have to come and see your only younger brother.”
Su Shi tried his best to squeeze out a seemingly doting smile, “What do you want to eat?”
Chen Cheng named a restaurant.
“Okay, let’s go there.”
Chen Cheng smiled innocently, tilted his head, and wanted to lean on Su Shi’s shoulder, but he couldn’t reach because he was wearing a seat belt. In the end, he couldn’t lean on him. “Thank you, brother. I knew you were the best to me.”
Chen Cheng wanted to eat at a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant. As soon as Su Shi came in, he saw Xu Chongming and another man sitting by the window, talking and laughing.
Su Shi and Xu Chongming hadn’t met in the past few days. Su Shi heard Xu Chongming say that he had gone to his own company to report and was following Jiang Hui to learn how to manage the company.
Xu Chongming had told Su Shi last night about having dinner with a friend today, so Su Shi was not surprised to see Xu Chongming here.
Su Shi took a closer look at the man sitting opposite him and realized that he knew him. It was Xu Chongming’s close friend, Shen Lin.
However, Su Shi didn’t have a good impression of him. Not only that, but the two of them had also had a past conflict.
It was before Su Shi and Xu Chongming were together. Su Shi happened to encounter Shen Lin bullying a classmate, so he stepped forward to stop him and reported him to the school without hesitation.
Shen Lin’s family was rich and powerful, so he used money to suppress the matter and even found someone to block Su Shi.
However, Su Shi was not someone who was afraid of trouble and was prepared, so he didn’t let Shen Lin get any advantages. The two of them completely settled their grudges and had been at odds ever since.
After Su Shi and Xu Chongming were together, Xu Chongming said that he had made a new friend who was very close and had a strong sense of integrity. He wanted to introduce him to Su Shi.
And that person was Shen Lin.
So, in front of Xu Chongming, the two had to bury the hatchet.
Su Shi had once advised Xu Chongming not to be friends with such a person, but Xu Chongming said that there was a misunderstanding. It was that person who had stolen Shen Lin’s girlfriend and deliberately provoked him, so Shen Lin had found someone to teach him a lesson.
In order not to embarrass Xu Chongming, Su Shi didn’t mention it again. He thought that Xu Chongming was Xu Chongming, and Shen Lin was Shen Lin. He would just turn a blind eye.
Xu Chongming was sitting with his back to the door, so Shen Lin saw Su Shi first and said to Xu Chongming, “Look, isn’t that your boyfriend?”
Xu Chongming turned his head instantly and called out with a smile, “Su Shi.”
Su Shi led Chen Cheng to their table. “What a coincidence. I brought my younger brother to eat.”
Xu Chongming stood up. “This is your younger brother?”
“Yes, his name is Chen Cheng.” Su Shi made the introduction.
Shen Lin said slowly, “Why doesn’t your younger brother have the surname Su?”
From childhood to adulthood, Chen Cheng had explained the matter of not having the same surname as Su Shi dozens of times and was already familiar with it. “I have my father’s surname, and my brother has my mother’s surname.”
Shen Lin pretended to say “Oh.”
Xu Chongming reached out to Chen Cheng. “Hello, I’m your brother’s friend, Xu Chongming.”
At this moment, Shen Lin said in a sarcastic tone, “Why don’t you just say you’re his brother’s boyfriend?”
Chen Cheng was stunned for a moment and looked at Su Shi with questioning eyes.
As expected, an annoying person would always be annoying. Su Shi glanced at Shen Lin and didn’t directly address Chen Cheng’s question.
Xu Chongming invited, “Sit down and eat together. We just started. I’ll order some more dishes.”
“Isn’t it inconvenient?” Su Shi declined. He didn’t really want to sit with Shen Lin to eat.
“What’s inconvenient?”
Chen Cheng thought to himself that Su Shi had not directly denied it, so that meant it was true. This person was really his boyfriend. Chen Jingtian had once let it slip when he was drunk, saying that he couldn’t expect Su Shi to carry on the Chen family line. Chen Cheng had pressed him at the time as to why, and Chen Jingtian said, “Your brother is gay.”
In order to take a closer look at what kind of person Su Shi’s boyfriend was, Chen Cheng decided to stay. “Okay, brother, let’s eat together. It’s more lively with more people.”
Xu Chongming echoed, “Yes, it’s more lively with more people.”
If it were in the past, Chen Cheng would definitely have made a fuss about not wanting to be disturbed by others. Today, he had changed his usual behavior, which made Su Shi take a closer look at him.
“Okay.”
Xu Chongming behaved very warmly, calling the waiter to add more dishes and constantly chatting with Chen Cheng, asking him what he liked to eat, completely unaware of Su Shi’s unnatural expression.
Fortunately, Xu Chongming’s phone, which was placed on the table, rang. Su Shi saw the words “Chi Ye” on the screen and picked up his phone. “Chi Ye’s calling.”
Xu Chongming was studying the menu with Chen Cheng, so he asked Su Shi to answer it for him.
“Hello, Chi Ye.”
Chi Ye paused for a moment before saying, “Brother Su Shi, are you with Brother Chongming?”
“Yes, at the Hong Kong-style tea restaurant on Guomao Road.”
Chi Ye said something else on the other end. After Su Shi listened, he said into the phone, “Then come quickly. Let’s eat together.”
Xu Chongming raised his head. “Chi Ye is coming too?”
“Yes, didn’t you say it’s more lively with more people? This table is big enough to sit at. Order a few more dishes.”
When Chen Cheng heard that Chi Ye was coming, he pouted and said unhappily, “Why let him come too?”
Xu Chongming smiled. “What’s wrong? Little Cheng doesn’t like Chi Ye?”
Su Shi reminded Chen Cheng, “Chi Ye is his cousin.”
Shen Lin added at this time, “A distant cousin who’s practically unrelated.”
Shen Lin’s sarcastic tone made Su Shi uncomfortable. He thought that Shen Lin must remember the hatred from back then, just like him, but was just refraining from showing it because of his relationship with Xu Chongming.
Hearing this, Chen Cheng had no choice but to swallow all the bad things he wanted to say about Chi Ye. However, it explained why Su Shi had been so kind to Chi Ye before. It turned out that it was all for Xu Chongming’s sake.
A few minutes later, Chi Ye came in and greeted everyone one by one. “Brother, Brother Su Shi, Brother Shen.”
He was the only one who didn’t greet Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng immediately started bickering with Chi Ye. “Are you blind or are you doing it on purpose?”
Chi Ye: “Oh, so you’re here too.”
Xu Chongming rarely saw Chi Ye being so childish. “Alright, Little Cheng is still young. You’re not allowed to bully him.”
Chen Cheng seemed to have found a backer and glared at Chi Ye fiercely. “Did you hear that?”
Chi Ye ignored him.