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Lin Hui last heard the name “He Jianchuan” at one of the annual company banquets a few years ago.
That year, the banquet had coincided with the anniversary of Wanzhu’s founding. The company had organized a special event for this purpose. The company invited both the employees and their family members to participate. It was at that banquet that Lin Hui met He Zhao’s current wife, Jiang Qing, and their son, He Jianchuan, for the first time.
At that time, He Jianchuan seemed to be in high school. His face still had the childish nature of a young boy. He seemed very uncomfortable standing among a crowd of well-dressed and besuited people. It was clear that he had been forced to come by his parents. That day, He Jianshan had been bogged down by a last minute errand. Thus, he arrived a bit late. As soon as he walked through the door, everyone turned to look at him. From where Lin Hui was standing, he could see He Jianchuan’s eyes light up. Lin Hui was quite surprised. He had never heard He Jianshan mention this half-brother of his. He’d thought that their relationship was just so-so, but He Jianchuan seemed to like He Jianshan quite a bit.
After that night, Lin Hui never saw He Jianchuan again. Now, on an ordinary night several years later, he was suddenly getting a call from He Jianchuan. And he was calling from the police station, no less.
Lin Hui silently sat in the car in order to calm himself down. His finger hovered above the name, He Jianshan. Lin Hui debated whether or not he should contact him. He Jianshan was probably on his way back right now. After mulling it over for quite a long time, he eventually decided against it. Instead, he tapped another name, Fang Minghuai, and made a call.
Qushui Police Station.
Lin Hui shook Fang Minghuai’s hand in the parking lot. He said with a smile on his face, “I really can’t thank you enough, Mr. Fang. I apologize for asking you to come all this way. It’s all thanks to you.”
Fang Minghuai quickly waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. I just happened to be eating nearby. It’s no big deal. You’re more than capable of handling stuff like this, so it didn’t really matter if I came or not.”
“Don’t joke around. I’ll definitely report this matter to President He. Next time, we’ll invite you out for a meal.”
“Sure, it was a piece of cake.” After he finished speaking, he turned his eyes towards He Jianchuan. He Jianchuan was standing next to Lin Hui with his head down. “In that case, Mr. Lin, Mr. He, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out first.”
Lin Hui gestured for him to go. “Get back safe, Mr. Fang.”
Once his car drove away, Lin Hui looked at He Jianchuan. Compared to the high school student in his memory, He Jianchuan was much taller now. He’d grown into both his body and his features. At first glance, he looked rather similar to He Jianshan. However, his character still seemed to be that of a child’s. It was obvious that he’d been sheltered since birth. Lin Hui looked at the dejected expression on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s go, Mr. He. I’ll take you home.”
He Jianchuan glanced at Lin Hui and responded, “Don’t call me Mr. He. Ge, my name is He Jianchuan. You can call me Xiao Chuan.”
Lin Hui smiled. This kid wasn’t shy around strangers at all. Not only did he call some random person to pick him up, he even started calling him ge.
He Jianchuan piped up once more, “Ge, can you not tell my dad and my brother what happened today?”
“I can keep it a secret from your father,” Lin Hui paused, “but I’m definitely going to tell President He.”
He Jianchuan instantly wilted. He glumly opened the passenger seat door and got in the car.
Lin Hui drove He Jianchuan back to Qiushan Gardens. As he was driving, he noticed that He Jianchuan was sulking. He comforted him, “It was just a little fight. It isn’t a big deal. Don’t worry. If I knew this was the case, I wouldn’t have called the lawyer. I’m sure the police station sees plenty of kids like you every day.” The Qushui Police Station was located in a very scenic location. It was right next to Qushui Street, which was a popular bar hopping destination. It was a very lively area.
He Jianchuan was indignant. “Ge, you have no idea! The place where that dumbass kicked me still hurts! Why did I even hold back? I should’ve just smashed his face in!”
Lin Hui: “
”
It turned out he was actually upset about not winning the fight.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He Jianchuan immediately started chatting away. “Ge, you have no idea. Their band copied our songs. They copied everything from the lyrics to the beat to the melody. Honestly! It’s so disgusting! Did they really think I wouldn’t be able to tell if they changed a few of the words? Ge, did you know? It’s actually kind of funny. The lyrics of this song were adapted from a poem, but that dumbass didn’t even know. He told everyone that he wrote it. After he was exposed, he started throwing a fit! What an idiot!”
He Jianchuan babbled away, cursing the guy in every way possible. Lin Hui finally understood what had happened. He Jianchuan had formed a band. Sometimes, they would hold performances. Another band ended up copying their songs. Today, they went to ask for an explanation. However, there was a disagreement, so the two groups got into a fight.
After hearing his story, Lin Hui couldn’t help but feel that He Jianchuan’s behavior wasn’t like that of your typical trust fund baby. He thought it over for a bit. Then, he said, “I think you should ask your parents for help. At the very least, they can find a professional to help you deal with copyright issues.”
He Jianchuan slumped down in his seat. “My dad doesn’t want me to start a band.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, he’s always been super against me doing this. It doesn’t matter if it’s singing or songwriting. He hates all of it. He said he would rather I spend all day playing video games than spend all day rehearsing.”
Lin Hui fell silent.
He suddenly remembered what An Ni had said about Yao Qianyi being a dancer. He Zhao was so vehemently opposed to He Jianchuan’s involvement in the arts. Did this have anything to do with Yao Qianyi?
Before Lin Hui could come to any sort of conclusion, He Jianchuan seemed to have suddenly thought of something. He mysteriously said, “Ge, did you know? You made a big splash at our house.”
“What do you mean?”
“When my brother came back for dinner last time, my dad got into a fight with him because of you.”
Lin Hui was very surprised. He couldn’t think of anything about himself that was worth arguing over. However, He Jianchuan reminded him of another thing. “I forgot to ask. How did you know my phone number? Why did you call me?”
“I got it from my mom. They brought you up at dinner, so I asked my mom about who you were. She said that you’re the company’s chief assistant and that you work for my brother. Then, I ran into a problem today. The police officers saw that I was a student and insisted that I call a parent or teacher to pick me up. I didn’t want them to come, so I thought of you.”
Lin Hui did in fact exchange phone numbers with Jiang Qing during the banquet that year. It was just a routine courtesy. He hadn’t expected it to one day be used for something like this. He could tell that He Jianchuan and He Jianshan were two completely different people. He Jianchuan was as shallow as He Jianshan was solemn. He was simply a thoughtless and simple-minded kid. Even when faced with Lin Hui, who was basically a stranger to him, he didn’t have any reservations about spilling everything about himself.
“Why didn’t you call your brother then?”
“No way.” He Jianchuan muttered.
Lin Hui was helpless. “I’m still going to be telling him.”
“Oh.”
After a while, they arrived at Qiushan Gardens. Lin Hui had originally planned to quietly send the kid to the door and then leave. However, as soon as the car stopped, He Zhao opened the door and walked up to them. Lin Hui had no choice but to get out of the car and greet He Zhao. He Zhao was surprised when he saw Lin Hui. Then, he looked around, only to see He Jianchuan getting out from the passenger seat.
Lin Hui smiled and said, “I just so happened to be having dinner with a friend. When I was leaving, I saw Mr. He trying to catch a taxi by the side of the road. It looked like it was going to take a while, so I offered to give him a ride.”
He Zhao glanced at He Jianchuan and frowned. He Jianchuan maintained a calm facade. “Thank you, ge. You should head back soon and get some rest.”
Lin Hui nodded and turned his attention back toward He Zhao. Suddenly, He Zhao said, “Lin Hui, come in and have a cup of tea.”
He Jianchuan’s eyes widened. Then, he quickly slipped away. Lin Hui was also a little surprised. He could tell that He Zhao seemed to have something to say, so he simply replied, “In that case, I’ll be troubling you, President He Zhao.”
The interior decorating of the villa wasn’t that extravagant. It was mainly warm beiges and ashy grays, making the entire villa seem cozy and inviting. Lin Hui caught a glimpse of some fresh flowers sitting atop a cabinet in the corner of the living room and some cute pillows on the sofa. He could tell that the owner had put a lot of thought into the home. He Zhao led Lin Hui into the study and poured him a cup of tea. Soon, the pleasant aroma wafted from the cup and permeated the air.
“How’s Xiao Shan been recently?” He Zhao was the first to break the silence.
“He’s doing well. Our latest project’s been progressing relatively smoothly.”
“I hope you can look after him for me. Make sure he eats his meals on time. His body is what’s most important. Don’t let him work too hard.”
Lin Hui was flattered by his favor. “Of course. It’s my responsibility, after all.”
“He’s already told me about the project, Zeroism, so just do as he says.”
“Okay, President He Zhao.”
“Isn’t Old Zhao’s daughter working at Wanzhu? He’s mentioned several times now that he wants to have a meal with Xiao Shan. Help me check his schedule and let me know when he’s free. Either way, he’s still going to end up having you arrange everything for him.”
Lin Hui felt a little awkward. “He’s just been very busy. I’ll pass the message on to him and let you know when we’ve set a date.”
He Zhao seemed a little tired. “Last time, I suggested having Xiao Chuan intern at Wanzhu after he graduates. He told me to talk to you about that as well.”
Lin Hui figured the so-called “fight” that He Jianchuan mentioned might have been because of this. A familial relationship that was no different from that between a superior and subordinate would inevitably cause some unhappiness. He thought it over for a while. Then, he replied, “President He doesn’t really handle small stuff like this. You can just contact me directly. When the time comes, I’ll find an experienced colleague to show him the ropes.”
He Zhao shook his head. “Xiao Chuan isn’t suited for this kind of thing. I know that. I was just thinking—”
In the end, he never actually said what he was thinking.
Lin Hui felt rather complicated.
He didn’t know about the details between He Zhao and He Jianshan, but this definitely wasn’t a normal, healthy familial relationship. What was supposed to be one of his closest relatives was now a stranger. Their interactions were prudent and rigid. They felt concern for each other yet couldn’t express it. They were always constantly feeling each other out.
It was truly exhausting.
After saying goodbye to He Zhao, Lin Hui called He Jianshan to tell him everything that had happened. He left out the part where He Zhao held him behind for some tea. He simply told him that his brother got into a fight because of his band and called him to pick him up.
He Jianshan was absolutely incredulous. “He called you?”
He knew that Lin Hui and He Jianchuan didn’t know each other personally. Reasonably speaking, it made more sense for He Jianchuan to call the family housekeeper than to call Lin Hui.
Lin Hui could already imagine He Jianshan’s frown. He held back his smile and replied, “Yes, President He. I think he called me because he knew that I work for you. It’s obvious that he trusts you a lot.”
It took quite a long time before He Jianshan said anything. “We aren’t that familiar with each other.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Isn’t it important? I thought that the basis of trust was understanding. He and I don’t know anything about each other.”
Lin Hui didn’t answer him. Rather, he turned to another topic. “If he joins the company, which department do you think he’s best suited for?”
“Instead of working as an employee, I think he would rather perform at the year-end banquet.”
Lin Hui laughed. “Don’t you understand quite well?”
He Jianshan paused. “This is just a reasonable guess.”
“Then why don’t you make a guess about me?”
He Jianshan stopped talking.
Sometimes, Lin Hui felt helpless against him.
Lin Hui didn’t know if He Jianshan was just too rational or what, but He Jianshan always treated everything like work. He would pursue the most logical line of reason and draw conclusions based on that logic, so, when Lin Hui said that He Jianchuan trusted him, he was doubtful, puzzled, and even a little evasive. How could there be trust without reason? He had forgotten that human emotions were complex. Whether it was familial love, platonic love, or romantic love, there was no pattern, no rules, no measure. The only thing that mattered—
Lin Hui said softly, “I trust you a lot as well, even before I came to understand you.”
—was the heart.
The Author Has Something To Say:
You two are such a good match.
Translator’s Note:
No scumbag family members here! They have some work to do, but they’re all good people!