Chapter 38: Past Events Revealed

The two of them ate to their hearts’ content.

They drank quite a bit as well.

Su Yu felt a little dizzy.

He shook his head, his gaze unfocused, and asked in confusion, “Huh? Why are there two Qin Shous?”

Qin Shou helped the drunken cat lying on him to sit up.

He felt secretly guilty and regretful.

This time, he had miscalculated.

He hadn’t expected Su Yu to have such a low alcohol tolerance—just one glass and he was drunk.

Now that he’d gotten him drunk, not only had he failed to get anything done, but he had to clean up the aftermath all by himself.

He picked up the drunken cat in his arms, carried him to the bathroom, and gave him a thorough wash.

He placed the naked Su Yu on the bed, covered him with the blanket.

Su Yu, dizzy and dazed, shivered hard the moment he touched the cold sheets.

Unhappy, he rolled around and whined, “So cold, I want you to sleep with me.”

Qin Shou’s eyes darkened.

He had to force himself to hold back.

The wolf-fox fled out of the bedroom and went to the living room to clean up the mess.

Su Yu had drunk too much.

Wrapped in the thick blanket, it didn’t take long before he felt unbearably hot.

Annoyed, he kicked his legs and roughly flung the blanket off himself.

The room had the heat on.

Even without a blanket, it wasn’t cold.

Finally, he wasn’t hot anymore.

Su Yu let out a comfortable moan, lying naked on the bed, basking his “eggs” in the air.

When Qin Shou came back, the first thing he saw was a scene of pure temptation.

The fair-skinned youth lay nude on the dark sheets.

The stark contrast of black and white made Qin Shou almost instantly react.

His heart was both sweet and helpless.

He was delighted to feast his eyes, but suffered because he could only look and not touch.

Although even if he did something to him now, Su Yu wouldn’t be angry when he woke up, Qin Shou still hoped the two of them could have a beautiful first time.

At the very least, not when Su Yu was in this drunken state.

Taking off his pyjamas, Qin Shou gave a bitter smile and got into bed, pulling the restless Su Yu into his arms.

He covered them both with the blanket, and the two of them fell soundly asleep, holding each other.

***

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

The weather was still cold, but school had already started.

Su Yu’s paperwork had been completed long ago, and after the new semester began, he settled into a routine of attending classes.

The school was just the same as before—regular classes, students playing on their phones out of boredom, whispering, listening attentively…

All of it made Su Yu feel as if it was a lifetime ago.

His classmates in the class had grown much closer to him.

After all, Su Yu’s car accident had made the news, and he’d taken nearly half a year off.

Some classmates were curious, others sympathetic, and came to ask after him.

But even so, there wasn’t much more closeness.

After two years in university, everyone had their own little circle.

Su Yu didn’t live on campus, and apart from classes, he didn’t interact much with his classmates.

This kind of distance was just right.

The bell rang for the end of class.

The once-quiet classroom instantly became noisy.

Su Yu slowly packed up his notebook, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked toward the school gate.

Qin Shou was already waiting at the school gate.

Recently, Qin Shou had been picking Su Yu up from school every day.

If it was the last class of the afternoon, he could rightfully take him home.

Although nothing had been said explicitly, the Luo Family had already acknowledged their relationship.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have tacitly agreed to Qin Shou picking Su Yu up every day.

Qin Shou tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, pondering the idea of formally proposing marriage.

It was lunchtime, the busiest time for students.

Su Yu walked slowly forward, mixed in with the noisy crowd.

When he saw the familiar car, his eyes lit up and he quickened his pace.

Qin Shou also spotted Su Yu among the crowd and rolled down the window, waving at him.

Su Yu hurried over and got into the car.

He tossed his backpack onto the back seat and sprawled lazily in the passenger seat.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home. I still have some business to handle at the company this afternoon.”

Su Yu pursed his lips, a little unhappy.

Leaning over, Qin Shou kissed the sulking Su Yu on the forehead.

“I’ll finish up today, and take you to the hot springs this weekend.”

Su Yu turned away, “Who wants to go to the hot springs with you.”

Though he said that, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up.

It wasn’t the hot springs he cared about—it was the person he’d be going with.

After making sure Su Yu got home safely, Qin Shou turned the car around and headed for the hospital.

He did have something to do, but it wasn’t company business.

Qin Grand Elder finally couldn’t hold on anymore—the hospital had issued a critical condition notice.

Perhaps it was a final burst of energy, but the old man, upon waking, was in unusually high spirits and specifically asked to see Qin Shou.

Qin Feng couldn’t refuse him and had no choice but to call Qin Shou.

Qin Shou didn’t really care.

Qin Rui had already been taken in, and the Qin Corporation was firmly in his grasp.

Meeting a dying man didn’t seem to matter.

At the hospital,

Qin Grand Elder’s face was flushed, his eyes bright, his energy unnaturally high.

“He hasn’t arrived yet?”

“He’s already on his way.”

When Qin Shou arrived, only Qin Feng was in the room, tending to the old man.

Ignoring the look on Qin Feng’s face that seemed like he wanted to say something, Qin Shou kept a calm expression.

“You wanted to see me. What is it?”

Qin Grand Elder coughed excitedly, and Qin Feng hurried forward to pat his back.

Waving his hand, Qin Grand Elder signaled for Qin Feng to leave.

Qin Feng looked at the two people in the room, then left with a defeated look on his face.

“Can we talk now?”

Qin Grand Elder patted his chest and slowly began, “About your mother… it was your uncle’s fault.”

“He’s been punished for it now.

Let him go.

I’ll give you all my shares in the Qin Corporation as compensation for you and your mother.”

Qin Shou looked at Qin Grand Elder with an expression of disbelief.

At a time like this, he still thought he would let Qin Feng go?

“You think the Qin Corporation’s shares are worth Qin Rui’s life?”

“What do you want? As long as you let your uncle go…”

Qin Shou let out a cold laugh, gazing with pity at the dying old man on the bed.

“You don’t know, do you? 40% of the Qin Corporation’s shares are already in my hands.”

“And soon… the Qin Corporation’s shares will just be a pile of worthless paper.”

Qin Shou smiled.

“Tell me, what would I want with a pile of waste paper?”

Qin Grand Elder’s eyes widened, his swollen eyelids bulging, veins standing out on his forehead.

“What are you trying to do?!”

“What am I trying to do? I want the Qin Family to be buried with my mother.”

Qin Grand Elder’s trembling finger pointed at him, gasping for breath, “You’ll get your retribution!”

Qin Shou snorted, “None of you were afraid of retribution—why should I be?”

Unable to speak from anger, the old man clutched his chest, panting heavily, his face ashen, as if he might collapse at any moment.

It took a long while before he could catch his breath.

Seeing Qin Shou’s indifferent face, the old man had no choice but to humble himself and beg.

“I don’t have long left.

Can’t you let your uncle go, for my sake?”

“Back then, why didn’t you let my mother go?”

Qin Grand Elder was stunned.

He opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

He fell back on the bed, not looking at Qin Shou again.

The wrinkles on his aged face deepened, leaving only the air of someone near death.

“Retribution… it’s all retribution…”

***

The day after Qin Shou returned from the hospital, he heard that the old man had passed away.

Qin Rui was still in custody, so the funeral was left to Qin Feng alone.

The Qin Family was now beset on all sides; most of their business partners avoided them like the plague.

The funeral was grand, but very few people came.

The spacious hall was cold and empty, with only the mournful funeral music echoing endlessly.

Qin Feng sat in front of the memorial tablet, dazed.

Tear stains still marked his face, yet he broke into a foolish smile.

After so many years of weakness, the person who had oppressed him was finally gone.

He didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad.

“Retribution.”

He threw the memorial tablet to the ground and laughed maniacally, “You all deserve it, you deserve it!”

“It’s all retribution…”

In the empty hall, no one responded.

Only the echo of his words reverberated again and again.

Qin Shou did not attend the funeral.

He and the Qin Family had long since torn off all pretence.

Now that the last shred of decency was gone, it hardly mattered.

Su Yu, however, came running over to comfort him when he heard the news, worried that he’d be upset.

Naturally, Qin Shou didn’t refuse the affectionate comfort Su Yu offered.

The two of them stuck together for most of the day, and only then did Qin Shou casually say, “Tomorrow, come with me to visit my mother.”

Su Yu was stunned for a moment, then broke into a smile and gripped Qin Shou’s hand tightly, “Okay.”

They had already been to the cemetery once before—Su Yu’s father’s ashes were buried there.

He hadn’t expected that Qin Shou’s mother would also rest there.

Su Yu straightened his collar, holding a bouquet of pure white lilies in his arms, a little nervous as he followed behind Qin Shou.

Sensing his unease, Qin Shou smiled reassuringly, “My mother… was a very gentle person.”

“She’ll like you.”

Su Yu nodded seriously and gave Qin Shou a smile.

The half-height tombstone stood quietly.

Su Yu gently placed the flowers in front of the grave, and, careful not to be noticed, glanced at Qin Shou from the corner of his eye.