TSIBAMS Chapter 41

Chapter 41

For the next few days, Qi Guang’s expression was terrible. Even the female classmates who wanted to ask him questions were deterred by his appearance. Ye Xing vaguely felt that the phone call was not simple. After all, it wasn’t easy for the “aloof alien” Qi Guang to be so bothered for so long.

In a flash, it was almost the weekend again. There was no need for evening self-study on Friday. As soon as school was over in the afternoon, everyone rushed out like they had just been released from prison.

Ye Xing slowly packed his things and then slowly went to the bathroom. Only when everyone had left did he leave with Zhou Tian.

“Ye Xing, you’re not a good friend, you didn’t even tell me it’s your birthday tomorrow,” Zhou Tian said.

“Ah?” Ye Xing hadn’t planned to celebrate his birthday anyway. After all, with such a big thing happening at home and having to act with Fang Rong, he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. “How did you know?”

“WeChat has a reminder!” Zhou Tian’s voice suddenly became louder. “Luckily, I clicked on it to take a look, or else I would’ve been clueless tomorrow, and you would definitely use it against me in the future!”

Ye Xing smiled, “I’m not a little girl! And I didn’t plan on celebrating my birthday, didn’t tell anyone.”

The school gate was empty, not even a pedicab to be seen. Weekends were the best time for their business. Many boarding students had big bags and small packages to go to the bus station, so usually the pedicabs were in high demand. They would usually return immediately after one trip to pick up more people.

The stranded boarding students looked longingly at the intersection. Ye Xing couldn’t bear to compete with them for a ride and decided to walk home.

Zhou Tian beside him kept on and on about the birthday.

“Don’t! This is your first birthday since we met, and it happens to be on a weekend. Not celebrating would be a waste of God’s clever arrangement!” Zhou Tian looked at him seriously. “Tomorrow I’ll book a private room at the KTV, invite some people we know, it’s settled!”

At that moment, Ye Xing suddenly pulled him to the side of the green belt. Before he could ask what was going on, he saw Ye Xing put a “shush” gesture with his finger to his lips.

Ye Xing’s gaze was fixed on a black car not far away.

Beside the car stood a teenager and a middle-aged man. The teenager had his back to him, tall and slender, wearing a long-sleeved spring school uniform, carrying a bag in his right hand. Ye Xing immediately recognized him as Qi Guang.

And the other person, and this car, without using much brainpower, you could guess that it was Qi Guang’s father.

But what was unusual was that they didn’t seem to be at odds like they were in the surveillance footage, but they weren’t particularly harmonious either. What they were saying was also inaudible.

Then, Qi Guang calmly opened the door and got into the car.

Ye Xing frowned, watching the car drive away. Although he didn’t want to meddle, his intuition told him that Qi Guang was no match for this man.

Moreover, Qi Guang’s behavior today was unusually obedient.

Damn it, Qi Guang wouldn’t have agreed to go back with him, would he???

“It was agreed beforehand that you would take me to the cemetery and then leave, I’ll come back on my own,” Qi Guang said, expressionless, looking at the scenery rushing past the window.

“Okay,” Qi Jing Sheng agreed readily. “In the future, whenever you want to see her, I will come pick you up.”

“You might as well just issue me a pass,” Qi Guang said.

The air in the car suddenly became quiet, even the driver slowed his breathing on purpose, only the sound of the wind outside the window whistling.

The cemetery where Qi Guang’s mother was buried was neither close nor far from Chen Town. It was a two or three hour drive. However, the cemetery was strictly managed, and no one was allowed to pass without a pass. Since leaving home, Qi Guang had not had the opportunity to go there, even on the anniversary of her death.

And this time, on the anniversary, Qi Jing Sheng took the initiative to bring him there.

This looked very much like a trap, but if Qi Jing Sheng still had a shred of humanity, he wouldn’t use this to play games with him. Qi Guang’s desire to see his mother overcame his hesitation, so he trusted him this once.

He had the navigation on the whole way to make sure the route was indeed to the cemetery, then he felt a little relieved.

The cemetery was built on a hillside in the suburbs. When they arrived, the sun was about to set. There were already few people, but now it looked even more desolate. There was a flower shop at the entrance, with a dim light, which made its business seem very casual.

Qi Guang picked out a bouquet of flowers and followed Qi Jing Sheng’s pass inside.

But Qi Jing Sheng didn’t follow.

This was indeed a difficult proposition. He didn’t want Qi Jing Sheng to go up with him, but if Qi Jing Sheng didn’t go, he couldn’t forgive him either.

But when he walked to the tombstone and saw the fresh fruit and bright flowers placed in front of it, he was slightly relieved. Although he looked down on many of Qi Jing Sheng’s actions and believed he was a heartless person, he had to admit that this man’s methods and emotional intelligence were something that he himself could not match at this moment.

Qi Jing Sheng did not travel a short distance from home to get here, and it was not convenient to detour to Chen Town. Yet, he went to the trouble of coming over first before picking up Qi Guang. He knew very well that Qi Guang would refuse to go up with him, but if he didn’t come to take a look at all on the anniversary of her death, it would be too inhumane.

Considering all this, he probably put a lot of effort into hiding it when he cheated on her.

Thinking of this, Qi Guang sneered in disdain.

Before long, the sky was completely dark. The evening wind on the mountain was unbearable. Qi Guang couldn’t stand it any longer and left.

According to his plan, he would take a taxi to the train station and then take the train home. He could be home before midnight.

But when he saw Qi Jing Sheng’s car still parked at the entrance of the cemetery, he felt a bad feeling. Qi Jing Sheng got out of the car and opened the door for him, “Get in, I’ll take you home.”

“No need, I’ll take a taxi,” Qi Guang refused coldly.

“You can’t get a taxi on this hillside. And it’s not a holiday today, besides me and the staff, have you seen anyone else here?” Qi Jing Sheng said unhurriedly.

What he said was indeed the truth. The cemetery was built on a hillside and was far from the city. There were no buses to get there. There was a large parking lot for holidays and special people were sent to guard it. No one was allowed in without a pass because it was more private than an ordinary cemetery. In other words, families need to have certain financial conditions to purchase a plot here.

Besides driving himself, there was no other way to get there.

Qi Guang opened the taxi app on his phone, and was a bit frustrated to see that there were no taxis for miles.

Qi Jing Sheng clearly knew this, but he played hard to get by agreeing to leave first, and now extended a helping hand to lure him into a trap.

Heh, Ye Xing said his whole family were actors, and he was right, only Qi Jing Sheng was acting the entire play alone.

“This place is not within the range of taxi service. Get in,” Qi Jing Sheng said.

Other than getting in his car, was there any other way?

Qi Guang quickly searched for solutions in his mind, but there were no other options to choose from.

“You can just take me to the train station, that way everyone can go their own way. It won’t waste your time,” Qi Guang said, sitting in the back seat, facing the passenger seat.

Qi Jing Sheng didn’t answer him immediately. After the car started, he said leisurely, “Have you thought about it?”

“Thought about what?”

“You should know, me picking you up today isn’t just to bring you to the cemetery.”

“Sorry, I don’t have the energy to guess what you mean.” Before getting in the car, Qi Guang had suspected that this might be a trap, but still harbored a glimmer of hope – maybe he was just fulfilling his fatherly duty.

But now, the situation seemed a bit bad.

Qi Jing Sheng closed the window, his voice showing an unquestionable firmness: “I know it’s not easy for you to live alone here. How much money can you make working? And it’s affecting your studies. Look at your previous grades, and look at them now! Qi Guang, you shouldn’t waste yourself like this. You should have a bright future. I think you should have seen the deposit book on the coffee table. This is my sincerity. I’ve been waiting for you to contact me these past few days. As long as you contact me, I can tell you the password immediately. But you never came to find me. I know, students your age are rebellious. I don’t mind giving you a way out, and personally came here to pick you up…”

The car was driving neither fast nor slow, the outside was pitch black, not even a street light, let alone scenery.

They were a fish on the chopping block and he was the one holding the knife.

Qi Guang understood what Qi Jing Sheng meant. He didn’t follow his direction. “I think you’re mistaken. The only reason I was willing to see you is because you called me that day and said you would take me to see her. Although I don’t know where you got my number, please delete it. There’s no need to contact me in the future.”

“Your mother wouldn’t want to see you like this either if she were alive,” Qi Jing Sheng said.

Sure enough, when his emotional card was not enough, he brought up his mother.

But Qi Guang hated that person mentioning her. He yelled at Qi Jing Sheng, “You have no right to mention her! And I can’t go back with you, give it up.”

Qi Jing Sheng was not at all surprised by Qi Guang’s attitude. But now that he was in his car, he didn’t feel like he was at a disadvantage at all. He calmly said, “Qi Guang, you are my son. Whether legally or morally, you should be raised by me.”

“Why bother playing a good father now? And you don’t seem to be doing it well. You may not know, but I’m already an adult,” Qi Guang said, finding it a bit ridiculous.

Although the driver was focused on driving and had no expression, Qi Jing Sheng felt somewhat embarrassed. Whether it was because of the heat or the stuffiness, he opened a third of the window, and the wind immediately blew in, whistling.

At this time, emboldened by the wind, he suddenly raised his voice, “Then you should think like an adult, instead of just standing from your own perspective, thinking that the whole world owes you!”

It was like talking to a summer insect about ice.

Qi Jing Sheng was not only good at designing traps, but he was also good at changing the subject. Even in front of the irrelevant driver, he would go to great lengths to label Qi Guang as a rebellious teenager, so that he could stand on the moral high ground and put pressure on him, making himself look like a parent who had failed to teach his child, and making all of Qi Guang’s reasoning instantly untenable.

Qi Guang wasn’t going to fall for his line of thought. He sat in the middle and stretched his neck, and said clearly in Qi Jing Sheng’s ear, “You’re wrong, I’ve never felt like the whole world owes me anything. The only people I’ve ever hated are you and Liu Yu Lin!”

After speaking, he leaned back and waited for Qi Jing Sheng to explode.

Sure enough, Qi Jing Sheng’s voice was even louder than before, and he even couldn’t help but pat the outside of the airbag.

“You have no manners! Even if you don’t acknowledge your stepmother, I will allow you to call her Auntie, but you cannot address an elder by their full name.”

Qi Guang curled his lips. “Addressing her by her full name is already respectful enough. Does a homewrecker even have any face?”

“Qi Guang! I originally wanted to give you enough face, and have us communicate on an equal footing, give you enough time and space to consider, and then come home with me.” Qi Jing Sheng was anxious, his voice somewhat annoyed, not as confident as before. “Now it seems like there’s no need. There’s no reasoning with you at all. You have to come home with me today, no matter what.”

Qi Guang’s eyes widened. Although he knew that Qi Jing Sheng had been trying to manipulate him, he didn’t expect him to be so lacking in grace as to resort to force.

He hurriedly opened the navigation on his phone, only to find that the route had long deviated from the way to the train station, nor was it the way back to Chen Town.

Bastard!

From the beginning, he had no intention of taking him home.

It was all a goddamn trap.

Qi Guang grabbed the back of the passenger seat and yelled, “Qi Jing Sheng!”

“Don’t be anxious, we’ll settle the accounts later!” The window of the passenger seat slowly closed.