Chapter 35: CH 35

He doesn't want children

Chen Zhiyu hooked his lips into a smile that saw through everything and replied, “I don’t want one.”

“Don’t want …..?”

That was good.

Xia Qing Shu breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling a sense of relief. He knew about Zhiyu’s family situation, and all of China knew how much Chen’s mother wanted to have a big, fat grandson. Zhiyu was his benefactor after saving him, and he had found it a bit difficult to deal with the possibility that Chen Zhiyu wanted a child very much.

Since the other side didn’t want a child either, he wasn’t going to tell them.

A sigh of relief.

Xia Qing Shu suddenly came back to his senses and stood by the bed, asking dully, “Why?”

Chen Zhiyu had been watching Xia Qingshu, and seeing that he was dazed again, he was afraid that he was too slow to understand what he was saying, so he added, “My mother can’t influence my decision.”

After his mother gave birth to him, she never conceived again, and his father, for the sake of the family’s legacy, had been fooled by other’s into looking for a young girl in her fertile years. Although it didn’t work out, his mother had a big fight with him when she found out and almost became depressed. His father later came to his senses, admitted his mistake, accepted that he was the only son and put the burden on him to carry on the family tradition.

From the time he could understand, his parents loved and cherished him. They would get very worried when he stumbled a little. At first, he thought this was normal parental love. As he grew up, when he fell, he proudly showed his wounds, “I’m a man, I’m not afraid.”

But his parents were still unusually worried.

He later learnt that he was the only child in the Chen family and that he would have to inherit the family business and pass on the family name when he grew up, and that he could not afford to have any physical problems.

He had excelled from an early age, topping the exams every year, and when his parents took his report card, instead of praising him for his good studies, they said with some regret, “It would have been nice if Zhiyu had a son who came first.”

His mother teased him, “Zhiyu, are there any girls in your class who like you?”

At the time, he had just turned thirteen and was developing through puberty; boys and girls in his class began to secretly hold hands, little notes of candy chocolates would often appear in his desk, and he was beginning to have a naive curiosity about the opposite sex.

However, instead of caring about the physical and psychological changes in his pubertal development, his mother and father instilled in him the life plan that he must have a son.

Not only did his parents often express in front of him their envy of early marriages in ancient times, but they also taught him the techniques of having sons as first borns.

“Girls with brothers in the family are best, carrying the gene for having sons.”

It suddenly dawned on him that his parents’ love for him seemed to be conditional – as long as he could have a son, nothing else mattered. He had barely reached adulthood when he began to face his parents’ deranged rush to have children.

Early one morning, while he was drifting off to sleep, he had a dream that his mother was whispering in his ear “have a son”, “have a son”, “have a son”, he woke up and found his mother squatting by the bed, trying to mentally brainwash him. He was so shocked that he almost punched his mother in the face.

If relationships equated to having a son and fulfilling the Chen family’s KPIs, then he’d rather not.

His dad was unusually concerned about his love life when he first came of age in his second year of high school. Other kids who received love letters or early love were hiding them for fear of being discovered by their parents and teachers.

His family was different. His parents can’t wait for him to fall in love. Every day, they secretly went through his school bag to see if there were any love letters written by girls. If there was one, his parents would be happy all night long.

In high school, the desk-mate was all of the same sex, and his mother even ran to the school and asked for a pretty girl to be assigned to him as a desk mate. There was not the slightest concern that it would affect his studies, and his parents even bellyached in private because he was so studious.

His dad said that in a family like theirs, one didn’t need to study well, they just needed to have sons.

There was a boy next door to them who often skipped classes, had many different girlfriends, failed to get into university and spent money on “further studies” abroad, where he spent a lot of time, got married and had children before he graduated. The boy’s real father hated his son to death, but his father was so envious that he told him to study with the dude next door who had the lowest grades and no education.

Learn what? Learn to lose money?

The family legacy was a joke in his eyes.

At eighteen, when everyone else was worrying about filling out their college entrance exams, he was already being forced to go on blind dates. After working, he became even more disgusted by the unsuspecting approaches. He worked hard in the hope that he could get rid of his parents’ urging to have children, take control of the financial power and have a say at home.

Having been annoyed for so many years, he had long since lost interest in exploring the opposite sex, compared to the more pure love between people of the same sex.

Chen Zhiyu inclined his head, whispering firmly, “No children.”

~

Xia Jing and Chen Qixi waited for Xia Qingshu at home, and when they learnt that he was looking after Chen Zhiyu at a private hospital, Xia Jing simply went to the hospital to wait.  Xia Yubin thought he could use the chance to reach out to Chen Zhiyu and followed along to the hospital.

Xia Jing bought a bouquet of lilies and carried a gift box in his hand. After Xia Jing introduced them and exchanged pleasantries, Xia Yubin smiled self-consciously and said, “I’ve met Mr Chen twice before.”

Chen Zhiyu was cold in front of outsiders, and his stance was adequate. After exchanging polite pleasantries, he kept his mouth shut and did not initiate any conversation. Xia Qing Shu, on the other hand, was secretly observing the reactions between Xia Yubin and Chen Zhiyu.

His caution was picked up by Chen Zhiyu’s keen sense.

Chen Zhiyu did not show it on the surface, but smiled in his heart.

This little guy, with a small heart, was particularly jealous.

What made him wonder was that for no reason, how could the little guy be so jealous of Xia Yubin?

Chen Zhiyu raised his eyes to take a look – Xia Yubin was freshly dressed, about the same age as Xia Qing Shu, clean looking and spoke in a fine voice.

After entering the door, Xia Yubin had been following behind Xia Jing, not looking around, let alone staring at him like he did the last two times, looking polite and giving off a comfortable feeling.

On closer inspection, Xia Yubin and Xia Qing Shu both had very similar temperaments, both were very quiet young boys, and their features were also two points similar, except that Xia Yubin was not as pretty as Xia Qing Shu.

He seems to be a poor quality copy of Xia Qing Shu.

In addition to his deliberate approach twice before, Chen Zhiyu had no good feeling towards Xia Yubin at all, and could be said to be somewhat disgusted.

Xia Qing Shu had said before that Xia Yubin’s eye spacing was too wide and he looked like a fly. Xia Yubin’s eyes are only generally wide apart, the eyes are large and bulging, and he had large double eyelids, which is actually not bad. However, once he accepted the “fly” character, there was no going back. The more he looked at him, the more he realised that Xia Yubin did look a bit like a fly.

With his dark green T-shirt and black trousers, he looked more and more like a large-headed fly, or rather, a green-headed one. Xia Yubin’s slender arms were exposed, just like the hands that flies love to rub.

If he hadn’t been so determined, Chen Zhiyu almost failed to hold back his laughter.

Xia Yubin saw Chen Zhiyu looking at him from time to time, pursing his lips and not knowing what he was holding back.

He ducked his head shyly and secretly clenched his fists.

“Qing Shu, you’ve been here all day, are you tired, do you want to take a rest.” Xia Yubin stood up and walked over to Xia Qing Shu.

He wore a pair of close-fitting sweatpants today, and the T-shirt size on him was on the small side, outlining his thin waist and making his hips look perky.

Chen Zhiyu’s gaze kept failing on his body if anything. Xia Yubin’s originally apprehensive heart finally fell into place.

Although the first two times had not gone too well, today he would not fail to live up to the elaborate dressing.

“Qing Shu, is there anything you need help with?” He knew that Chen Zhiyu was not easy to approach and was defensive, and that he had been too eager the first two times. So instead of asking Chen Zhiyu directly, he turned to Xia Qingshu.

Xia Qingshu did not say anything, sitting aside like a dumb goose, not knowing what he was thinking.

Chen Zhiyu sneered in his heart, this little friend, when he was jealous, he loves to have wild thoughts, and when he thinks of nonsense, he remains in a daze.

It was silly.

He opened his mouth to refuse, “Don’t bother.”

“No trouble,” Xia Yubin then turned to Chen Zhiyu head-on, “Qing Shu is my brother, thanks to Mr. Chen for saving his life, this is a small thing is what we should do.”

For some reason, in this life Xia Qingshu had actually gotten together with Chen Zhiyu without his knowledge, he wasn’t sure how far the two had progressed, but he had full confidence in snatching Chen Zhiyu back. He was afraid that Xia Qingshu would dominate Chen Zhiyu and refuse to give up his position.

Having been out of the game twice before, and according to his knowledge of Chen Zhiyu, it was likely that Chen Zhiyu had some degree of defense against him, and today was off to a good start, so he couldn’t be too hasty.

Xia Yubin was smiling, and although he was conversing with Chen Zhiyu, he did not approach, but kept a comfortable distance, and his eyes only glanced at him before immediately moving away, looking very decent and understanding.

After speaking, he turned to face Xia Qing Shu with a faint hint of worry on his face, looking genuinely heartbroken for this younger brother.

“Brother Yu Bin, being a caretaker is very tiring, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do it.” Xia Qingshu said innocently.

“Qing Shu, brother is not afraid of being tired.”

The question and answer seemed to be a true brotherly love.

“Since you’re so sincere, I’ll let you do it.”

When the other party expressed sincerity and was riding a tiger, Xia Qingshu then hooked his toes and pointed to a night pot under the guest bed, saying softly, “Please take that out and wash it, okay?”

He had been so sleepy last night that he had woken up in the middle of the night with urine and had taken the jug out once.

Today, he had been busy all day and forgot to pour it out, so it was just as well that someone who was motivated to work came along, and he couldn’t let others sit around dry, could he?

Xia Yubin didn’t know what it was, and following Xia Qing Shu’s guidance, he bent down and leaned under the guest bed and saw a white jug filled with a yellowish liquid.

The smile froze instantly.

“This …… Aoki, what’s this?”

“It’s something Brother Zhiyu needs to clean up.” Xia Qingshu was deliberately vague and confusing, alluding to the fact that it was Chen Zhiyu’s.

Chen Zhiyu gave him a look and did not reveal it.

When Xia Qingshu finished, a moving smile hung at the corner of his mouth and his eyebrows were raised like a proud little peacock. The look in his eyes seemed to say, “If you can’t even do this job, you’d better pack up and go home.

Xia Jing looked on and said, “A gentleman can’t go back on his word, he has to do what he says he will do. If you can’t do it, then go home.”

Xia Yubin gritted his teeth, “I’ll wash.”

Xia Qing Shu felt that there was something generous and sad about him as he went to his death.

Xia Yubin held his breath, got under the bed and took out the night pot and went to the bathroom to wash.

Only then did Chen Zhiyu whisper to him, “I just took a closer look at him, and he does look a bit like a fly.”

Xia Qing Shu nodded and whispered to him, “A famous model among flies.”

The clothes and trousers Xia Yubin wore today were very flattering, making him to have a big head and long legs and a thin waist, indeed he was the well-built figure of the flies.

Chen Zhiyu looked down and hooked the corners of his lips.

Xia Qing Shu spoke in a whisper, whispering with Chen Zhi Yu, the two of them close to each other, the two heads almost coming together, indescribably ambiguous.

The interaction between the two was watched by Xia Jing, who frowned and inadvertently skirted the subject, separating the two. He used to be strict about his sons’ upbringing when he was younger, and he felt guilty about his youngest son, whom he had just found, making up for it as best he could and wanting to give him the best. If Xia Qing Shu wanted to find a partner of the same sex and he was supportive. However, Chen Zhiyu is not a good match.

First of all, Chen Zhiyu is strong and Xia Qingshu is soft, so when they are together, Chen Zhiyu is bound to be the dominant partner.

Secondly, when two people are together, it is not just about two people, but also two families. He knows Chen Rao to a certain extent. Chen Rao has a strong personality and is not a good candidate for a mother-in-law, and the Chen family is meant to have a son to inherit the family business. Those who are slightly familiar with the family know that many people try to send their daughters to Chen Zhiyu.

Chen Zhiyu is handsome and successful, and is the first choice of major families to choose a son-in-law, yet he knows that his opponent has a hidden illness. If Qing Shu were to stay with him, she would definitely suffer greatly.

Xia Jing is genuinely worried about Xia Qingshu, and he is prepared to ask him in detail what he thinks when they return later.

Xia Yubin endured humiliation and carried the chamber pot into the bathroom. The bathroom door was open and he watched Xia Qingshu and Chen Zhiyu whisper intimately, and angrily threw the chamber pot into the sink. The lid had not been tightened and when it clattered down, the yellow liquid splashed out everywhere, not to mention a few drops on his clothes.

Xia Yubin’s face turned green. He buried his head in his clothes for a moment and almost died from the smell.

Xia Qing Shu heard the noise, stood up and walked to the bathroom door, “Brother Yu Bin, what’s wrong, did you spill the night pot? Did you spill it on your clothes?!”

Xia Yubin pulled out a smile and pretended to be relaxed, “I didn’t spill it, I washed it right away, I just accidentally touched the water basin.”

“Ohh, then come out when you’re done.”

“Got it.” After Xia Yubin replied with a smile, he turned on the tap with a black face. He pinched his nose and washed the night pot clean, cleaned up the soiled clothes briefly and washed his hands several times with hand sanitizer before coming out of the bathroom.

Just as he came out, he heard Xia Qing Shu praising him outside, “Brother Yu Bin can bear hardships.”

Xia Yubin suppressed his anger, “This is a small thing, it’s nothing.”

“Brother Yu Bin, sit down and take a rest.” Xia Qing Shu picked up the fruit basket on the bedside table, “Brother Zhiyu, do you want to eat loquat, I’ll go wash some.”

Chen Zhiyu nodded, “Uncle Xia, Yubin, you guys try some too.”

These were the loquats sent by Chen family relatives, borne on their own fruit trees, not medicated, and because they were a gift, they were all large in size, sweet with a fruity sour taste, unlike the loquats sold in fruit shops, which tasted very bland.

Xia Yubin thanked them and then smiled, “This kind of earthy loquat looks just delicious, except that the skin is a bit difficult to peel, and after painstakingly peeling one, the flesh is only a little bit, and it will also stain your fingers black and cannot be washed clean.”

Xia Qing Shu intended to peel the skin for Zhi Yu. Peeling the loquat for Zhiyu, meaning to peel it for Xia Jing as well, and peeling for himself too, which was so troublesome. He didn’t know much about peeling loquats, so he looked down at his small, white and tender hands and tentatively asked, “Brother Zhiyu, why don’t you eat an apple?”

Apples are convenient, wash them and you can eat them.

Xia Yubin took the initiative to come over, “Qing Shu, I’ll wash it, I have the know-how to peel loquats.”

Instead of handing over the fruit basket, Xia Qing Shu held it tightly and then kept looking at his hands.

Xia Yubin’s hands were still wet, having just washed the night jug and now having to wash the fruit, not very polite.

Chen Zhiyu also frowned inscrutably and said flatly, “I’m not eating, you guys eat.”

After saying that, his eyes also looked askance at his hands.

He didn’t show his dislike, but Xia Yubin knew him well enough to know that he didn’t show it on the surface, but in fact he was disgusted to death. He had only washed a night jug, but the crowd looked at him as if he had just gone to the village entrance to take out a turd.

Xia Yubin clenched his teeth.

Xia Qingshu was definitely doing this on purpose! Although angry, he still had to keep smiling.

Xia Qing Shu was still playing dumb on the side, “Brother Yu Bin, you love doing housework so much, you’re very suitable to be a domestic helper in the future.”

“I just love doing housework, I won’t be in the housekeeping industry.”

Xia Yubin laughed, “By the way, Qing Shu, what do you want to do in the future? I heard that you submitted an application to quit school.”

Last time on the phone, he heard that Xia Qing Shu was going to quit school and go to the “super society”. He looked up the meaning of “super society” on the Internet, which means to be a socially promiscuous person, specialising in illegal and disorderly activities.

Xia Jing was a decent person and could not allow Xia Qing Shu to do anything wrong. Xia Qing Shu did not look like a bad person, but he had a kind of lazy attitude. Such a character will be rejected by Xia Jing sooner or later.

Hearing this question, Xia Jing’s eyes lit up.

Xia Qing Shu’s “super society” comment was also taken seriously by Xia Jing. After meeting Xia Lao Er and Li Xiao, he felt that his adoptive parents were not bad people, so he just thought that Xia Qing Shu’s “super” comments were just the result of Xia Qing Shu’s momentary inability to accept the fact that he had been brought up in the wrong family. As his biological father, he had a responsibility to guide his values positively.

Xia Jing said, “Yu Bin has just signed a contract with a company. Qing Shu, what do you want to do in the future? It’s okay if you don’t have a goal, what are your hobbies? Or you can try out various aspects, tell dad what you like and he will arrange it.”

There were so many questions from Xia Jing that Xia Qing Shu didn’t know where to start, so he simply asked, “What company has Brother Yubin signed?”

Xia Yubin smiled modestly, “I’ve signed to a record company, and the company wants me to develop as a singer-songwriter.”

Xia Qing Shu was surprised, “You can write songs?”

The original book only focused on the confusing male-male relationship and barely touched on Xia Yubin’s career line.

He thought for a while that Xia Yubin did not work, after all, he had to deal with several men at the same time every day, so he would not have time to work.

Xia Yubin said modestly, “I wrote a few songs in my spare time and made demos to submit to the company, originally I just wanted to earn a little bit of money, but I didn’t expect the head of the company to find my home. Thinking I had a good image and temperament, he insisted that I make my debut. I politely refused several times, but finally they found mother, who talked to their company president for a long time and thought it was a good opportunity, so I agreed to give it a try. You know, I studied law and music was just a hobby since I was a child.”

He said it as if he had been rewarded by a big company for casually playing music. This seemingly effortless achievement gave people a feeling of “I can do it if you can”.

Xia Qing Shu didn’t expect the other party to be a creative genius, and to be personally interviewed by the record company boss, so he must have some level.

“Then can you sing a few lines of the song you wrote, so I can listen to it.”

Xia Yubin said hesitantly, “I signed a confidentiality agreement, I can’t sing it.”

Xia Qing Shu: “You can just hum a couple of verses, we’re all family, I’m not going to sing it everywhere.”

Xia Yubin smiled and politely refused: “I just made a demo, it still needs to be perfected.”

Xia Qingshu stared at him and begged in a small voice, “A demo is fine, I just want to hear it.”

Xia Yubin said, “Qing Shu, why are you so persistent?”

“Because I want to go to the entertainment industry too.” Xia Qingshu said with an arrogant face.

Xia Yubin laughed, “Do you want to be a singer too?”

The most important thing in the entertainment industry is beautiful skin, the more beautiful you look, the more temptations you get. Those like Xia Qing Shu are most likely to go astray.

“No.” Xia Qing Shu justifiably hummed, “I want to be an investor, I heard that investors are the most powerful people in the entertainment industry, so, it’s okay to be a gold producer, you sing, I have a good eye, I can tell whether you can become a hit in an instant.”

Xia Yubin: “……”

“You’re so awkward and not generous at all, how will you sing in front of an audience in the future?” Xia Qing Shu tilted his head, puzzled, “I think you might not have the fate of being a big hit.”

Xia Yubin: “……”

The face gradually twisted.

“I’m sure I can become a hit…”

Xia Qing Shu was puzzled, “How do you know, can you predict the future?”

Xia Yubin choked for a moment, ” The record company boss said so ……”

Xia Qing Shu was not impressed, “That’s a lie, if it was accurate, he would have been lying down and getting rich, why start a company?”

Xia Jing could not see the barbs between the two sons, but when he heard that Xia Qing Shu has changed his ambition and is not going to a “super society”, he was a bit happy.

“Yubin, you sing two stanzas to Qingshu, let him listen to it. He’s giving you face.” Xia Jing sounded as if Xia Qing Shu was already a gold medal producer.

“That’s right, if it’s a mule or a horse, you have to pull it out for a walk.” Xia Qingshu stood behind Xia Jing, like a fox pretending to be a mighty tiger.

Xia Yubin’s head was full of black lines, he seriously doubted that Xia Qing Shu even knew a thing about music.

“Dad, there’s a confidentiality agreement.”

It wasn’t that Xia Yubin didn’t want to sing, in front of Chen Zhiyu, he could show his talent without mincing words.

But this song, he had waited for the opportunity to bring it out. He had studied piano since he was a child, with average talent, and had not continued his education after passing grade 10. He knew all the basic music theory, and the two songs sent to the record company were his adaptations, not his originals.

In his previous life, there was an anonymous genius songwriter who committed suicide due to depression. After his death, a friend sorted through his belongings and found that he had composed hundreds of songs before he died. The friend put a few of the songs he composed on the internet in his memory, and to his surprise, they became an instant hit and became a generation classic, remaining hits for years.

Sadly, the friend mismanaged the remaining music manuscripts and they were destroyed by fire. he particularly liked two of the songs and it was these two that he handed over to the record company.

The identity of the genius songwriter was never made public and he learned of the friend by chance. Doing the math, the songwriter’s death was just around the corner, and by then he could be the hottest singer in the country if he got his hands on the relics early.

After being reborn, he didn’t think of saving the other party, in his opinion, people are all going to die, maybe if he saved the other party once, the other party would die too before long. He would get the manuscripts in advance and let hundreds of classic tracks come out, that was the most correct way to live up to the classics.

Seeing the other party’s insistence on not singing, Xia Qing Shu said, “You’re not cheating, are you? I’ve heard that many singer-songwriters are actually looking for gunmen to write their songs. Those singers are so busy and have so many notices every day, how do they still have time to write songs?”

“…… Oh, I’ll focus on the music.” Xia Yubin’s face almost twisted, he lowered his head, his voice leaking out through his teeth, “Qing Shu, when are you coming to the entertainment industry, I hope to be a colleague by then.”

He would definitely become popular, and when he did, he would then trample Xia Qingshu under his feet.

Xia Qingshu smiled, “I’m not your colleague, I’m an investor and your boss.”

Xia Yubin looked at Xia Jing, his eyes full of grievances. Being thrown on cold water, questioned and oppressed like this, everyone has emotions.

Xia Jing patted his hand and whispered in relief, “You are so understanding, you shouldn’t be bothered with your brother, right?”

Xia Yubin nodded silently. He had been wronged, and whether it was affectionately or monetarily, Xia Jing would compensate him.

What’s not to like about putting up with a mouthful of anger and getting benefits.

He “understands”, he knows the general situation and is not as “knowledgable” as his brother. He looked to Xia Jing, hoping that Xia Jing would make a statement of compensation, but Xia Jing was looking at Xia Qing Shu seriously.

Xia Yubin was ready for anything, but no one was paying attention to him.

In Xia Jing’s eyes, Xia Yubin was a hero, the one who had brought Xia Qing Shu back from his “super society” ideals, and a verbal praise would do.

Now the focus should be on stabilizing Xia Qing Shu, “Dad will ask the boss of Huaxin Records for you to invest a little money so that you can become a gold producer.”

Xia Yubin: “……”

The little bit of money Xia Jing had in his mouth would definitely not be little.

Xia Qing Shu grinned up, “Thank you dad.”

Chen Zhiyu also nodded at Xia Qing Shu, “The investment prospects in the entertainment industry are still good.”

Xia Jing sighed in admiration from the bottom of his heart, “Our Qing Shu has such a good eye!”

Xia Yubin: “……”

This is what you call good eyesight ?They’re all out of their minds, aren’t they?