PTS Chapter 16

TL: Hua

Chapter 16

In truth, the moment Shen Qianci stepped into the villa’s living room, he noticed a well-maintained, middle-aged woman sitting right in the center of the sofa.

The second Qin Guanyu appeared, this person used the highly skilled technique of “rolling her eyes” to perfectly illustrate her identity, Qin Guanyu’s stepmother, Bai Qingqing.

But unfortunately, even though she threw a heavy combo using the triple-threat of [eye-roll + head-snap + sneer], she was ultimately no match for a naturally gifted talent like Qin Guanyu.

Little President Qin’s resounding “This is my son” echoed with absolute certainty, instantly capturing the attention of everyone present.

Qin Kang, a middle-aged overbearing CEO, couldn’t hold it in anymore despite needing a favor from his son. With one hand on his hip and the other pointing aggressively, he barked, “Qin Guanyu, you…”

“Uncle!”

Shen Qianci stepped in front of Qin Guanyu, spouting nonsense with a perfectly straight face. “On the way here, Guanyu kept saying how much younger you’ve been looking lately. He said you’re in such great shape you look like a young lad. Just now, his brain simply failed to make the turn, which is why his tongue slipped.”

The words were a bit absurd, but the original intent was to praise the old man for looking radiant and still being at the top of his game. How was that not the act of a deeply filial son?

Right?

Right.

Thanks to Teacher Shen’s masterclass in creative spin, the father choked on his words. He wouldn’t believe for a second that Qin Guanyu would praise him like that in front of others, but since Shen Qianci was a guest after all, it wasn’t appropriate for him to lose his temper.

Qin Kang shot a glare at the so-called “real son” beside him and said angrily, “What are you standing for? Sit down. Don’t you dare treat me like a son and expect me to thank you?”

Seeing that Qin Guanyu still wasn’t moving, Shen Qianci nudged him gently with his shoulder.

“…” Qin Guanyu clutched his chest, looking at him in utter shock, thinking to himself: Why is he acting cute all of a sudden? This is way too stimulating.

—

Noticing the gifts Qin Guanyu had brought, Qin Kang felt a bit of a fatherly comfort in his heart. Although he didn’t care about getting material things from his child, having this sentiment meant the boy had truly grown up!

Qin Kang smiled and delivered a classic line hardwired into the DNA of every Chinese parent:

“You child. Just coming over is enough; why bother bringing gifts?”

Who would have thought that Qin Guanyu wouldn’t play by the rules at all? Completely skipping the polite pleasantries, he picked up a tangerine and started peeling it.

“Teacher Shen said it’s his first time here and insisted on buying gifts, so I just picked up a few things along with him. Figure we can consider it payment for tonight’s dinner.”

Qin Guanyu placed the peeled tangerine into Shen Qianci’s hand and flashed a grin at his own father. “Lest Auntie Bai can’t sleep in the middle of the night, worrying that I’m eyeing your family’s rice supply.”

Qin Kang’s old face stiffened.

Bai Qingqing slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly. “You…!”

However, before Bai Qingqing could unleash her fury, Qin Guanyu had Uncle Li bring over a box of deer antler velvet.

“This box of deer antler velvet is for Qin Yuan. My stepbrother is 20 this year, right? Only a sophomore in college, but I hear he’s incredibly active socially and makes friends far and wide?”

Bai Qingqing instantly lifted her chin proudly. “Of course.”

“Right?” Qin Guanyu said amusedly. “I heard he went through six female companions in a single week. Here, this box of deer antler velvet is a gift to help replenish his kidney energy.”

Bai Qingqing’s face flushed hot and cold alternatingly. “Qin Guanyu!”

“You shut up!” Qin Kang was so furious his hair was practically standing on end. “Just keep spoiling those two bastards! If this kind of messy gossip gets out, who knows what the tabloids will say about our family!”

Qin Guanyu comforted him, “Dad, you’re overthinking this. Xi Chen Group is already old news. Tabloids only care about driving traffic. Reporting on Xi Chen nowadays won’t catch many eyes.”

Qin Kang took a massive deep breath. This attempt at comfort caused the fire in his chest to burn straight to the top of his head.

But since he had called Qin Guanyu over today because he needed a favor, he couldn’t afford to completely infuriate his son.

He glanced at Shen Qianci, who was quietly eating the tangerine, and said to the other two to smooth things over, “Alright, alright, let’s stop talking about these frustrating household matters. We are making a fool of ourselves in front of Teacher Shen.”

Shen Qianci offered a polite smile, but before he could speak, he was pulled close into Qin Guanyu’s embrace.

“It’s fine; Teacher Shen is my boyfriend. He’s not an outsider.”

Little President Qin casually used the moment to come out of the closet, leaving Qin Kang completely speechless from the shock.

On the contrary, Bai Qingqing’s mood suddenly turned excellent. She sneered and said, “Young people really know how to live it up nowadays. You’re cutting off your lineage directly.”

Qin Guanyu smiled back. “That’s certainly true compared to Qin Yuan. Six this year, six next year, and another six the year after that. Who knows how many people will show up at your doorstep in the future with bloated bellies or holding babies, asking you to recognize their ancestors.”

Bai Qingqing’s hand trembled, as if she had only just realized the severity of the issue.

Qin Kang was thoroughly fed up. He turned to Bai Qingqing and demanded, “Tomorrow, drag both of those rebellious sons, Qin Yuan and Qin Wei, back to me!”

Feeling guilty, Bai Qingqing muttered, “Understood.”

Just then, Uncle Li came over to announce that dinner was served, asking everyone to move to the dining room.

When Qin Guanyu started walking, he reflexively reached out his hand toward Shen Qianci, and Teacher Shen naturally took hold of it immediately.

This gesture gave Qin Guanyu an inexplicable sense of satisfaction in both body and mind, making his steps noticeably lighter.

However, that small ounce of joy vanished entirely the moment he saw the dishes on the dining table.

He said with a forced smile, “Oh, Dad, when we spoke on the phone yesterday, I said ‘don’t prepare spicy food.’ You couldn’t have misheard that as ‘prepare only spicy food,’ right?”

Qin Kang felt his blood pressure surging. He grumbled under his breath to Bai Qingqing: “Didn’t I tell you?! No spicy food, no spicy food! It would have been fine if you prepared one or two dishes, but why is the entire table spicy?!”

Bai Qingqing turned her head away in annoyance and muttered softly, “I just like eating spicy food. In my own home, why should an outsider dictate what I want to eat?”

Qin Kang snapped back angrily, “Can’t you read the room for once?!”

Qin Guanyu couldn’t be bothered to listen to the couple bicker. He turned his head to ask Shen Qianci, “Are you hungry?”

Shen Qianci nodded honestly. “Hungry. Thinking back, my last meal was all the way back at noon.”

Qin Guanyu chuckled at that and said to the butler, “Uncle Li, is there any fish or shrimp left? If there is, please have the kitchen whip up a steamed fish and some poached shrimp.”

Uncle Li hurriedly replied, “Yes, we do. I’ll have the kitchen get right on it.”

“No way!” Bai Qingqing crossed her arms and took her seat at the head of the table. “Is a whole table of food not enough for you to eat? Did you specifically come to my house to waste food?”

The butler lowered his head in exasperation.

Qin Guanyu put his arm around Shen Qianci and said helplessly, “Well, there’s nothing we can do then, Teacher Shen. Let’s hold off on eating for now. This table of food was probably bought with the money my stepbrother earned selling his body. We shouldn’t order more dishes and make people work overtime.”

Bai Qingqing furrowed her brows and cursed, “Who are you saying is selling their body?!”

“Enough!” Qin Kang said irritably. “If you don’t want your son to be talked about like that, drag him back tomorrow so I can give him a proper education!”

But Bai Qingqing suddenly felt wronged. She pointed at Qin Kang, her voice breaking into a tearful whimper. “The way I see it, you’re just biased toward the kids your ex-wife had! You’re all gentle words and smiles with Qin Guanyu and Qin Miaotian, but all you do is constantly criticize and lecture my two sons!”

Qin Kang glanced at Shen Qianci again, seemingly afraid of “airing dirty laundry in public.”

However, Qin Guanyu had no intention of leaving just yet, and Shen Qianci was more than happy to enjoy the drama. The two sat side-by-side at the dining table, watching the show with great relish.

“Don’t just open your mouth and claim I’m biased,” Qin Kang countered. “If Qin Yuan and Qin Wei were even half as worry-free as Guanyu and Miaotian, would I need to lecture them day in and day out?! If they weren’t my sons, I wouldn’t even waste my breath on them!”

Shen Qianci asked Qin Guanyu in a low voice, “Is Qin Miaotian your older sister who does cutting-edge tech research?”

Qin Guanyu nodded. Coincidentally, taking advantage of the chaos, the butler brought out the poached shrimp. Qin Guanyu wiped his hands with a hot towel and immediately began peeling them.

And so, just as Bai Qingqing delivered the line, “We raised the children together; don’t go blaming everything on me,” Shen Qianci remarked thoughtfully, “Perhaps you should check if there’s a problem with the ancestral grave.”

All arguing ceased instantly. The entire dining room fell into dead silence.

“Pfft—” Qin Guanyu’s shoulders shook with laughter. “It’s actually highly possible. Anyway, the ancestral graves on my mom’s side have always been giving off auspicious green smoke. Dad, you and Auntie Bai might really need to find some time to go back and check on your respective ancestral plots.”

In the end, Qin Kang and Bai Qingqing could do nothing but sit back down in their seats with expressions like they had just swallowed flies.

At the dinner table, Qin Kang finally got down to business. “Guanyu, Xi Chen already passed the collaborative marketing proposal over to Sun Guanqing’s side before, but Qing Nong hasn’t been pushing it forward. Look…”

“Dad, to be honest, the brand identities of our two companies just don’t align. Xi Chen isn’t like those IPs that naturally come with their own built-in fanbases; it would create a lot of difficulties in marketing.”

Qin Guanyu placed a small bowl of peeled shrimp in front of Shen Qianci and continued, “While the Xi Chen brand does have its own loyal users, what they pursue is camera performance. Everything they need can be obtained directly from Xi Chen’s products themselves. As a result, a collaboration would be entirely redundant, serving no real purpose for either Xi Chen or Qing Nong.”

Bai Qingqing clicked her tongue and grumbled in dissatisfaction. “He’s your father. Now that your biological dad’s company is launching a new product, it’s only natural for you as a son to help out. What’s the meaning of all this dodging and weaving?”

“Auntie Bai, how can business matters and family matters be lumped together?”

Shen Qianci spoke in a gentle, measured tone. “If a collaboration happens, succeeding is obviously ideal. But if it fails, the losses won’t just be borne by Guanyu and Uncle Qin personally. Whether it’s Qing Nong or Xi Chen, don’t the people in every department work just to make a living? If the collaboration doesn’t achieve the desired results, the employees will feel that their own interests were compromised because the boss engaged in a nepotistic transaction.”

“In this day and age, with smartphones everywhere, Xi Chen already has it hard enough. Why do you and Uncle Qin insist on making things even more difficult for yourselves?”

Qin Guanyu let out a low chuckle. “Exactly, Dad. This isn’t playing house. Besides, I’m honestly terrified. If I don’t help, I’m scared of being labeled unfilial. But if I do help, I’m afraid someone will think I’m eyeing Xi Chen and the inheritance rights to this family.”

Qin Kang wanted to say something more, but Shen Qianci quickly and smoothly intervened, “An issue of this magnitude definitely requires layers of deliberation. It’s impossible to make a final decision right here at the dinner table, so please don’t feel that ‘Qing Nong’ is deliberately turning you down, Uncle Qin.”

“Furthermore, Guanyu isn’t someone who disregards family ties. If you ever come over to our place to visit us, we definitely won’t dodge or weave. We will absolutely open the door immediately, prepare the dishes you love, and give you a warm welcome.”

The corners of Qin Guanyu’s mouth curved up, blossoming into a thoroughly comforted smile.

“…” Qin Kang truly lacked the face to pursue the conversation any further now.

Bai Qingqing nudged him, dropping frantic hints with her eyes. Thoroughly annoyed, Qin Kang told the butler to look after Qin Guanyu and Shen Qianci before angrily dragging Bai Qingqing off toward the study.

“Don’t pull me!” Bai Qingqing’s annoyed voice echoed from the hallway.

Qin Kang lowered his voice to complain, “If you hadn’t thrown a tantrum today, the conversation wouldn’t have ended up like this!”

“I just can’t stand the sight of him anyway,” Bai Qingqing retorted. “Besides, why do you keep pinning your hopes on Qin Guanyu? Qin Yuan is 20 now too. Whatever Qin Guanyu can do, my son can do as well!”

The heavy door of the study snapped shut, cutting off all remaining sound.

The drama was over, and a plate of poached shrimp happened to be completely finished as well.

Qin Guanyu wiped his hands and stood up, feeling refreshed and invigorated for the very first time inside this villa.

“Let’s go, Teacher Shen. I’ll take you out for a late-night snack.” His voice brimmed with sheer delight.

Shen Qianci didn’t hesitate to boss his sugar daddy around. “To the area near the old street. I want to try that pork stomach and chicken soup place.”

Qin Guanyu was in such an excellent mood that if Shen Qianci told him to buy out the entire pork stomach and chicken restaurant right then, he would probably say “sure.”

As they headed down to the underground garage, Uncle Li, who still cared deeply for the main household after all, quietly asked Qin Guanyu, “Second Young Master, have you really decided to reject the collaboration with Xi Chen?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t even get full from dinner, so my brain doesn’t have the energy to function.”

Qin Guanyu stretched his arms. “Tell Old President Qin to go back and wait for a notification.”

“…” Left speechless, Uncle Li could only watch as Qin Guanyu put his arm around Teacher Shen, smiling like a smug groom as he swaggered away.