DLRAS Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Subconsciously, he showed a look of fear.

“Want one?” Li Hongqiong turned the open end of the cigarette case toward him.

“…No.” Qi Tongzhou refused, his expression stubborn and unyielding.

“You think this was Huo Niansheng’s idea,” Li Hongqiong said, asking in return. “What’s the basis for your suspicion?”

“…” Qi Tongzhou froze, unable to answer for a moment.

“Look, your intuition tells you it’s related to him because someone just targeted Xiao Chen,” Li Hongqiong said lightly. “But why would he take revenge on this friend of yours? You didn’t think about it carefully—he was the one behind that previous post.”

“I don’t believe it. What reason would he have to do that?” Qi Tongzhou’s back began to sweat slightly; he didn’t dare follow that train of thought.

“Oh.” Li Hongqiong gave a half-smile, still leaning against the desk. “Then what are you coming to ask me for?”

“No, I can’t stand it.” Qi Tongzhou finally couldn’t hold back. “Just tell me directly.”

“I get it, the friend you bared your heart to has a completely different face in private. He’s a despicable person. It’s not easy to accept,” she said. “And the one he targeted happens to be someone you used to like. It’s that simple. There are two sides, and you have to choose one to stand on.”

Not used to like, it’s still not past tense, Qi Tongzhou denied in his heart. But on the other matter, his conviction had already wavered.

He wanted more evidence, so Li Hongqiong showed him. “What you saw online is only a fraction. You haven’t even seen how he slandered people in the past. Of course, I won’t deny it—getting your phone repaired and coincidentally having your passwords stolen? How could it be such a coincidence? But if you walk in the dark long enough, you’re bound to run into ghosts. When you mess with others, you should be prepared to get messed with yourself. That’s just how the world works.”

After looking it over, Qi Tongzhou fell silent, his face shifting through a kaleidoscope of complex emotions.

He was dazed. The forum user screaming about posting photos at a thousand comments, the one who argued with him until his blood pressure nearly spiked, and Mu Qing—the person he sincerely treated as a friend, helped, and thought of as pure as mountain snow—he simply couldn’t twist these two images into the same person.

For two seconds, he even wondered if Li Hongqiong was lying to him.

Then he repented in his heart. She had no reason to lie to him.

Li Hongqiong was one of his own; he should believe she wouldn’t shoot arrows without a target.

Qi Tongzhou made one last struggle: “Even if he really did something wrong, I still don’t really approve of using such unscrupulous methods against him.”

He was convinced Huo Niansheng did it. Li Hongqiong, cigarette between her fingers, smiled and didn’t answer directly. “Then you also have to accept that different people use different methods. You do things your way, others do things theirs. Old Huo and I have a very stable partnership, and I hope to maintain that stability. So sometimes, it’s necessary to show a little sincerity.”

Qi Tongzhou’s eyes widened in shocked suspicion.

Li Hongqiong casually stubbed out her cigarette.

“Alright, these are adult matters. You’re a kid, don’t ask too many questions about the rest.”

Actually, there was another reason she didn’t mention. That guy surnamed Mu thought her god-brother was gullible and wanted to reap benefits from him without giving anything in return. He had the skill to coax Qi Tongzhou into orbiting him every day, but unfortunately, that was exactly what Miss Li couldn’t stand.

Do you think you’re so amazing? Who do you think you are?

After finishing his tea in Li Hongqiong’s office, Qi Tongzhou was still a bit out of sorts when he walked out.

He tried calling Mu Qing again, but the phone was still off.

But he didn’t even know what else he wanted to verify.

However, Qi Tongzhou wasn’t the only one sighing over “how could so-and-so be this kind of person.”

Right now, many students on campus were also discussing this trending topic.

Zheng Bingyi had the original post deleted, but the storm kicked up by this data theft hadn’t completely stopped brewing. It didn’t occur to him to police what a bunch of students were saying behind his back. And the students were much more interested in what was happening right next to them—

The person involved was a popular figure on campus, good-looking and somewhat famous, someone who nearly won the Campus Star championship.

Who could have imagined that such a glamorous student had been framing the people around him all this time?

Hackers had cracked the burner accounts Mu Qing purchased. The students either didn’t pay attention to where these hacks came from, or if they did, they couldn’t trace the source. In any case, the leaks kept pouring out. The further back they dug into his past comments, the juicier the drama became.

Someone compiled a timeline and relationship chart, which spread like wildfire through the group chats of every grade and class.

However, because of this, Chen Wengang inevitably became a focal point as well.

Li Hongqiong was right when she said that different people have different ways of doing things. In the end, she wasn’t Huo Niansheng.

She was extremely protective of her own, so it was human nature that she only extended her protection as far as her god-brother.

Chen Wengang could understand, but he had already received quite a few probing private messages on his phone. It was ultimately affecting his normal life.

Among them, he only replied to You Ying: “I won’t be going to campus for a while. Call me if anything comes up.”

Then Chen Wengang called Li Hongqiong. There was a pause on the other end, followed by a seemingly puzzled chuckle.

She asked back, “What, don’t you feel a sense of vindication?”

Chen Wengang thought about it. Bringing up Huo Niansheng wouldn’t mean much, so he just pointed out, “It’s alright, but I wouldn’t call it that. Gossip is a fearful thing. Even if you’re the one being sympathized with, being pointed at and talked about isn’t exactly easy.”

Li Hongqiong said, “Understood. My apologies.”

Fortunately, there was no urgent matter at school that required his presence. Chen Wengang spent his time packing and moving his things.

But these past few days, the atmosphere inside and outside the Zheng residence was also inevitably delicate.

From the butler down to the kitchen staff, everyone carefully avoided related words. Zheng Bingyi, however, looked as usual, not breathing a word about what had happened. It was Huo Meijie who was constantly sighing. As his aunt, she seemed to feel her good intentions had been treated like dirt. The more she thought about it, the more indignant she felt.

As the lady of the house, even if she couldn’t balance every bowl of water perfectly, she believed she had fulfilled her duty in caring for the children. Did she ever let anyone go without? How could she have ever imagined that her husband’s nephew would be secretly stabbing her in the back?

At the dinner table every day, Zheng Maoxun and Zheng Baoqiu didn’t know what to say to their mother’s complaints; they just ate as fast as they could and left.

Mu Qing, on the other hand, was not at home. After being called in for a talk by Zheng Bingyi in the early hours that day, he left the house before dawn and hadn’t returned.

Uncle Lin seemed to still be in contact with him, privately telling Chen Wengang that Mu Qing was staying at a nearby hotel to lay low.

It was nearly a week later when Mu Qing suddenly and silently returned to the Zheng residence.

He didn’t alert anyone—Uncle Lin had likely opened the door for him. Around nine o’clock in the evening, he knocked on Chen Wengang’s bedroom door.

The moment Chen Wengang opened the door, he saw the other man’s cold expression. He said, “I’m moving out too.”

Chen Wengang paused, setting the clear packing tape aside. “Have you already told Godfather?”

“Of course I told him.” Mu Qing gave him a cold smile. “Do you think I can still stomach living in this house?”

They looked at each other in silence for a moment before Chen Wengang heard his phone ping.

He picked it up. This time, it wasn’t an acquaintance fishing for gossip; it was Elder Meng’s daughter from before. She apologized, explaining that she had been busy recently and the production time for the ring he custom-ordered would have to be delayed.

Chen Wengang forgivingly replied, “It’s fine,” then looked up. Mu Qing was still lingering at the door.

He just couldn’t figure it out. “There’s one thing that really confuses me. Is there truly such a thing as fate? Otherwise, why are you so lucky? It’s like you’ve never hit rock bottom. No matter the situation, someone always steps up to protect you. Whenever you run into trouble, there’s always someone there to fix it for you. So I really hate you. I don’t deny that. But have I ever actually caused you any real harm? No. Because everyone is protecting you. See, now someone has ruined me so miserably just for your sake.”

Chen Wengang found it a bit laughable. “Gossip is a fearful thing. You can’t say it caused no harm. Have you found a place to live?”

Speaking of this, Mu Qing stared at him. “Uncle gave you a house, and you accepted it with total peace of mind.”

Chen Wengang didn’t answer him, but this wasn’t a secret anyway.

Upon his leaving home, Zheng Bingyi had promised him a place to live, which was considered fulfilling his duty of benevolence. Everyone in the family knew this. However, it was originally supposed to be an ordinary apartment. When Lawyer Cao came to handle the transfer procedures a couple of days ago, it had suddenly been upgraded to a townhouse in a villa district.

It seemed that just as the chairman was disappointed in his adopted son, this whole scandal suddenly reminded him of Chen Wengang’s enduring patience, maturity, and understanding of the bigger picture.

Mu Qing said, “It’s this exact look of yours. You’ve clearly taken all the advantages, yet you act like you’re the most aloof and noble person in the world.”

Chen Wengang actually laughed. “You’re wrong. I don’t think I’m noble.”

He closed the door to see his guest out. “Be kind to others, and you’ll be kind to yourself. You’d be better off just being a good person; the world might treat you a little better.”

There was nothing left to say after that.

The next morning, Mu Qing finally appeared at the dining table.

Huo Meijie’s resentment hadn’t faded. Seeing the culprit in person, she couldn’t help but make pointed, sarcastic remarks.

He simply kept his head down, maintaining his former quiet, unassuming demeanor as if nothing had happened.

Mrs. Zheng grew even angrier at the sight of this, but she was stopped by Zheng Bingyi, whose face remained stern. Once he finished eating, he set down his bowl and chopsticks and returned to his study.

After breakfast, both the eldest and second young masters headed to the company.

Uncle Lin brought several more packing boxes into the house.

Chen Wengang walked slowly to the door of Mu Qing’s room and heard the loud riiiip of clear packing tape coming from inside.

Zheng Baoqiu followed behind him, her heart heavy, and whispered, “I really never thought things would develop this way.”

“What kind of development?” Chen Wengang also lowered his voice.

“That both of you are actually moving out. Of course, I mean, you wanted to leave on your own, whereas he’s getting kicked out. It’s a world of difference.”

“Don’t misuse idioms,” Chen Wengang said. “He won’t be completely kicked to the curb, otherwise where would your father put his face?”

“Before, when I badmouthed him, you told me not to speak nonsense. But compared to him, I’m just a drop in the bucket. And you’re still not letting me speak my mind? Then I have nothing left to say.”

Zheng Baoqiu made a petulant face. Chen Wengang smiled and patted her shoulder.

She asked again, “With all the gossip at school, do you think he’ll still have the nerve to go back to class?”

Chen Wengang replied, “Of course he will. He can’t just give up his diploma over this.”

In their past lives, the situation had been reversed. He was the one condemned by everyone, facing rumors and slander wherever he went, and hadn’t he endured it all the same?

After ten days or a half-month, the gossip slowly died down a bit.

Qi Tongzhou had accepted the fact that he was a poor judge of character.

Once he realized what had happened, Mu Qing’s actions naturally made him feel deceived and used. But the more Qi Tongzhou thought about the whole affair, the guiltier he felt, especially toward Chen Wengang. However, Chen Wengang hadn’t been to school for a long time. Qi Tongzhou kept meaning to find him and say something, but he could never bring himself to speak up.

Director Li called and asked if he had time to help organize some books at the orphanage. Qi Tongzhou agreed.

When he arrived and changed his shoes at the door, he unexpectedly ran into Chen Wengang, who was leading a group of kids in a craft activity using a picture book as a guide.

They were turning empty milk cartons into little houses, their aprons smeared with paint. Surprisingly, Huo Niansheng was also there, sitting leisurely on a chair nearby. The chair was low, so he had his knees propped up with his arms resting on them, wearing a similarly paint-splattered apron.

Qi Tongzhou stood at the door, staring in sheer disbelief for a long time.

The little kids gathered around the table in a group. A crisp voice asked, “Why does Teacher Chen smell like smoke?”

Huo Niansheng smiled. “That’s not smoke. That’s the smell of moxibustion.”

Was this really the look of a veteran of the extravagant, gold-drenched nightlife?

The child’s eyes widened. “What’s moxibustion?”

Chen Wengang patted her head, looked up, met Qi Tongzhou’s gaze, and smiled at him.

Qi Tongzhou put away his jaw-dropping expression and returned a friendly smile.

Before they knew it, they were busy until noon. After eating lunch, it was nap time, and Qi Tongzhou prepared to head back.

But before leaving, he wanted to find Chen Wengang and speak to him alone for a moment. Untying his apron, he walked outside. The two of them were in the courtyard, chatting and laughing.

From far away, Qi Tongzhou saw them. Chen Wengang was leaning against the wall, and Huo Niansheng was talking to him.

The afternoon light illuminated both of their faces. The colorful, paint-splattered aprons they wore seemed painted in the hues of tranquil, peaceful days.

Chen Wengang’s eyes curved into a smile. Suddenly, Huo Niansheng pulled out a box, opened it, and flashed it right in front of his eyes.

Chen Wengang froze, looking up at him.

Huo Niansheng’s expression couldn’t be seen clearly, but he leaned in close and murmured a few words from a very short distance.

Chen Wengang pressed his back firmly against the wall, tilting his head up to face him, his face equally unreadable. He stared at Huo Niansheng, his body jerking backward slightly as he subconsciously revealed a flinching, fearful look in his eyes.

Support me on Ko-fi