TRMLCM Chapter 79

Chapter 79: Like That

The moment these words were spoken, the air instantly fell silent.

Father Cheng’s face was grim, his gaze dark and unfriendly.

Cheng Yi looked directly into his father’s eyes, his dark pupils showing no fear of the imposing pressure, and he remained calm and unafraid.

Cheng Hua stood behind, his brow furrowed, his well-defined fingers tightening their grip on the briefcase handle. At Cheng Yi’s unheeding behavior, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

Today was New Year’s Day. Perhaps to conform to convention, even though this family never celebrated any holidays, the villa was still decorated festively, with a strong holiday atmosphere.

From the kitchen came the continuous clanging of cooking utensils, as preparations were made for tonight’s family dinner.

The tempting aroma of food had already permeated the air, suggesting a grand feast.

It was a pity that the four people in the living room had no heart to anticipate it.

Seeing that the two of them were not speaking, Cheng Hua paused and stepped forward on his own accord, his tall figure blocking Father Cheng. His face was steady and stern.

Meeting Cheng Yi’s gaze, he said sternly, “Cheng Yi, you’re being too outrageous. Now go back to your room and reflect on your behavior.”

Cheng Yi averted his gaze, lowering his eyes slightly. He stood his ground, remaining motionless, to show his attitude.

He knew that his older brother was trying to smooth things over. As long as he went back to his room now, Father Cheng would probably pretend he hadn’t heard or seen anything when he came down for dinner later, and they would spend the holiday happily.

But he didn’t want to admit defeat.

He had already planned to come back and confess everything, and he had made ample mental preparations.

Now it was just an unexpected turn of events, the timing brought forward a bit. Although it was sudden, Cheng Yi would not let this opportunity pass.

Father Cheng was a businessman who had been exposed to countless deceptions, intrigues, and schemes. He had fought his way through a crowd of “smart people,” emerging victorious and standing at the top. His abilities were undoubtedly great. In City S’s social circles, he had long become an unshakable leader.

Cheng Yi had not fought and struggled in the business world, nor did he have such great abilities, but he understood Father Cheng!

He knew that Father Cheng was a callous and suspicious businessman who valued profit above all else. He understood the evils of human nature and was most adept at manipulating people’s hearts.

The reason he hadn’t stated his position just now was because he knew Cheng Hua would step forward. If he applied pressure and Cheng Yi was cowardly, that would be best. If Cheng Yi didn’t give up, he didn’t need to put his attitude on the table right now.

Once Cheng Yi compromised and took a step back today, he would have countless ways to make Cheng Yi take countless steps back in the future.

…

Cheng Hua looked at this stubborn mule and just felt a headache coming on.

Clicking his tongue lightly, he was too lazy to bother with the conflict between these two. He took his briefcase, turned around, and walked straight upstairs.

Anyway, Cheng Yi wouldn’t suffer any losses.

He only pitied himself for working diligently and conscientiously at the company all day. He hadn’t even had a sip of hot water when he got home, and this accident happened.

At the thought that Father Cheng still had to deal with Cheng Yi’s affairs downstairs and couldn’t come up to share the workload, Cheng Hua’s head ached even more.

What a mess…

He only hoped that Father Cheng’s head, dazed with anger, could still remember those urgent documents he had brought back, waiting to be favored.

…

In the living room, the atmosphere was very heavy.

The exquisite wall clock ticked softly, reminding them of the passage of time.

Cheng Yi and Father Cheng didn’t speak, just standing there glaring at each other, as if whoever looked away first would lose.

Qin Yun had long left the battlefield. She sat on the soft sofa, casually took out a bag of cucumber-flavored potato chips from the small drawer under the coffee table, tore open the packaging, and slowly ate them, crunching loudly.

She watched the drama with relish.

After enduring it again and again, Father Cheng finally couldn’t hold back and spoke first.

“Let’s eat first.”

His rough voice sounded a little deep, as if he lacked confidence.

Uh… he just wanted a truce.

After all, he was old and his bones and legs couldn’t stand it, not as good as Cheng Yi, this young and vigorous brat.

With a belly full of raging fire but unable to find an outlet, he glared and huffed, feeling annoyed at everything he saw.

He ignored Cheng Yi and turned to look at Qin Yun, who was sitting leisurely on the sofa. A hint of resentment flashed in his sharp, bright eyes.

He had finally figured it out. He was the only outsider in this family.

Seeing that Qin Yun didn’t seem surprised at all, he immediately guessed that she had known about this in advance, and perhaps she was the military advisor of the enemy camp, teaching that brat to deal with his father.

Not to mention Cheng Hua, Father Cheng had already known that he was also aware of the situation from the long period of silence after he entered the house.

Pretending to act in front of him, Father Cheng thought to himself, it seemed that his eldest son had been too idle lately.

He walked to Qin Yun’s side and snatched the half-eaten bag of potato chips. His slightly somber face stiffened for a moment when he saw that her expression wasn’t quite right. He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, earnestly explaining to Qin Yun:

“Wife, look, it’s almost dinner time, and you’re eating this stuff. You won’t be able to finish your meal later. Didn’t the doctor say to eat fewer snacks before meals? We have to listen to the doctor.”

Seizing the initiative, he took the moral high ground first.

Anyway, he had just lost his temper in a fit of anger.

Where was his place in this family…

Hearing this, Qin Yun’s somewhat indifferent face finally cleared up. She stood up, glanced faintly at the bag of potato chips in Father Cheng’s hand, and then cast a sidelong glance at him before walking towards the dining table.

When she passed Cheng Yi, she said softly, “Let’s eat first.”

After speaking, she walked forward.

Father Cheng sealed the potato chips with a clip and followed her, not looking sideways.

After seeing the two of them walk away, Cheng Yi moved his body slightly. As soon as he moved, a tingling sensation shot from the soles of his feet straight to his brain, as if a million needles had pricked him.

He had been standing for too long, and his feet were numb.

Cheng Yi frowned and leaned against the sofa for a while before the sensation slowly subsided.

When Cheng Hua and Aunt Feng came down together, they couldn’t help but raise their eyebrows when they saw him standing there alone.

He walked to Cheng Yi’s side, looked him up and down, and then withdrew his gaze after seeing that Cheng Yi was fine.

He moved a little closer, leaned over, and asked in a low voice, “How did it go?”

A hint of playful amusement flashed in those dark eyes, which were nearly identical to Cheng Yi’s but seemed even deeper and more somber.

Cheng Yi wasn’t angry at his desire to watch a good show. Sister Qin had already sat next to him and watched, so what did his brother’s bit of fun matter?

He turned and walked towards the dining room, saying in a somewhat lazy tone, “Just… like that.”

Like that meant what?

That was like saying nothing at all.

Cheng Hua blinked, withdrew his playful thoughts, straightened his back, his expression slightly cold, and he returned to his usual mature and steady appearance.

His younger brother was really no fun when he grew up. He was cuter when he was little.

A soft, chubby little dumpling, he would fall over with a single poke. He couldn’t stand up on his own and would cry. It was so cute.

Looking at Cheng Yi now, not to mention crying and begging him for something, he rarely even acted spoiled with him anymore.

Big brother was sad, but big brother couldn’t do anything about it.