Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Yuan Ting spent the entire seven-day holiday of the eleventh month in Cheng Nanyi's rental house. Cheng Nanyi, unusually free this holiday, spent his days with Yuan Ting doing nothing much apart from eating, sleeping, and playing games. Duan Wenzhe tried several times to invite Yuan Ting out, but to no avail.

Yuan Ting thoroughly enjoyed these days. Cheng Nanyi was at his every beck and call. Yuan Ting even felt that if he wished for the stars in the sky, Cheng Nanyi might unhesitatingly fetch them for him.

Cheng Nanyi had always been like this towards him, but back then, he hadn’t openly told Yuan Ting that he was trying to please him or that he had an ulterior motive.

And now, that motive was becoming quite apparent.

Yuan Ting was both excited and fearful.

The excitement stemmed from the deep admiration in his heart, while the fear came from the guilt that could never be completely erased.

After the holiday, Yuan Ting began his true college life.

The freshman year schedule was tight, including morning and evening self-study sessions. Yuan Ting, never one to love studying, started complaining again.

Cheng Nanyi was always around the school, coming to have lunch with Yuan Ting every day. Initially, Yuan Ting didn’t think much of it, but then he wondered why Cheng Nanyi was always on campus: “Shouldn’t you be doing an internship?”

“I’m preparing for postgraduate studies,” Cheng Nanyi replied.

“Really?” Yuan Ting’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re going to take the postgrad entrance exam? At our university?”

“Where else would I apply?” Cheng Nanyi retorted.

Yuan Ting's eyes curved into a smile: “If you pass the exam, we’ll be at the same university again, my senior.”

Cheng Nanyi watched Yuan Ting's happy expression and ruffled his hair.

Yuan Ting ducked away from his hand, protesting, “I just managed to do my hair nicely, don’t mess it up… But it’s good I got admitted, otherwise, I would’ve missed out, heh heh heh…”

Yuan Ting turned and patted Cheng Nanyi’s shoulder seriously: "Cheng Nanyi, fellow student, I’ll be keeping an eye on your studies. If you don’t pass, you know the consequences."

Yuanting spent the entire seven-day holiday of the eleventh month in Cheng Nanyi's rental house. With Cheng Nanyi unusually free this holiday, the two spent their days simply eating, sleeping, and playing games, ignoring Duan Wenzhe’s multiple attempts to lure Yuanting out.

Yuanting thoroughly enjoyed these days, with Cheng Nanyi fulfilling his every request. Yuanting even felt that if he wanted the stars in the sky, Cheng Nanyi would not hesitate to pluck them for him.

Cheng Nanyi had always treated him this way, but back then, Cheng Nanyi hadn’t explicitly told Yuanting that he was trying to please him or had any ulterior motives.

But now, that intent was crystal clear.

Yuanting was both expectant and afraid.

His anticipation stemmed from a deep-seated admiration in his heart, while his fear was rooted in an ever-persistent guilt.

After the holiday, Yuanting began his true university life.

The first-year curriculum was quite packed, including morning and evening self-study sessions, causing Yuanting to grumble and whine – after all, who loves studying?

Cheng Nanyi was always at the university, coming to have lunch with Yuanting every day. Initially, Yuanting thought nothing of it, but later, noticing Cheng Nanyi's constant presence, he asked in confusion, “Shouldn’t you be doing an internship?”

“I’m preparing for my postgraduate studies,” Cheng Nanyi said.

“Really?” Yuanting’s eyes widened in surprise, “You’re going to apply for postgrad? At our university?”

“Where else if not here?” Cheng Nanyi countered.

Yuanting’s eyes curved in delight, “If you get into postgrad, we’ll be at the same university again, senior.”

Watching Yuanting’s happy demeanor, Cheng Nanyi ruffled his hair affectionately.

Yuanting dodged his hand, complaining, “I just fixed my hair, don’t mess it up... But luckily I got admitted, otherwi

Cheng Nanyi reached out to take something, but Yuan Ting dodged away. Still, the large "Whitening" characters on the box didn’t escape Cheng Nanyi’s notice.

Cheng Nanyi immediately averted his gaze and continued eating. Yuan Ting huffed in annoyance, finally tucking the box carefully into his backpack, muttering under his breath, "I'll try it out when I get back. If it doesn't work, I'll go find her."

"Don’t randomly accept things from girls. It’s impolite to return gifts. You should also give her something in return and clarify things, so there's no misunderstanding," Cheng Nanyi advised.

"Got it."

"We’re having dinner with Mo Yikai tonight," Cheng Nanyi added.

"Why’s he coming?" Yuan Ting asked, a mix of envy and resentment. "He’s living the good life now, doesn’t even have to go to school."

"Wang Dabao is coming to discuss business with me. Mo Yikai heard about it and hitched a ride with him."

"Wang Dabao?"

"I’m planning to set up a research institute in Jiang City, with Wang Dabao in charge."

"A research institute? In what field?"

"Cosmetics."

Yuan Ting pondered for a moment. The Cheng family's business spanned various fields, including cosmetics, but they hadn’t ventured into their own R&D.

"Going smoothly?" Yuan Ting inquired.

"It’s going well," Cheng Nanyi replied. "We’ve already hired a few experts in the field."

Yuan Ting immediately gave him a thumbs-up: "My brother is always the best."

Cheng Nanyi raised an eyebrow, sensing flattery was a prelude to mischief.

Sure enough, the next second Yuan Ting leaned in: "Brother, I think my skin isn't great. Could you have your experts develop a special whitening cream for me, one that makes me glow as soon as I apply it?"

Cheng Nanyi glanced at him and said flatly, "Yuan Ting, you’re a college student. Don’t be so fanciful."

Yuan Ting: "..." So your cosmetics can't achieve that level, and yet you expect to sell them?

"If that goal is too much, maybe a sunscreen then? The kind that keeps you from ever getting darker once applied. Is that possible?"

Cheng Nanyi gave him a look.

"..." Yuan Ting shrugged, feeling defeated. These experts weren’t reliable at all, failing to develop such simple products. They had just lost a potential customer in him.

……

In addition to bringing Mo Yikai, Wang Dabao also brought two graduate students specializing in chemistry. They all went to a bar, discussing work with Cheng Nanyi, while Mo Yikai and Yuan Ting sat across from each other, staring blankly.

Mo Yikai, serious-faced, said, "Kid, report your college life to your big brother. If you need any guidance, I’m here to share all I know."

Yuan Ting just stared at him, saying nothing.

Mo Yikai: "Kid, it’s only been a little over a month. Why so distant?"

Yuan Ting remained silent.

Mo Yikai patted his shoulder, "What’s the matter? Too excited to speak upon seeing your brother?"

Yuan Ting brushed off his hand, squinting at him, deliberately: "Why didn’t you, mock, my face?" This wasn’t like Mo Yikai at all.

Mo Yikai furrowed his brows: "Why would I mock your face? How could you think so lowly of your brother?"

Yuan Ting's chest heaved with emotion: "You’re breaking character, do you realize that?" This was definitely not the reaction Mo Yikai should have had.

Mo Yikai held his forehead and sighed, then drained the glass of alcohol on the table, and…

Burst into uproarious laughter, pounding the table and stomping his feet, "Hahaha... Kid, you brought this up yourself, hahaha! Haven't seen you in over a month, and how did you turn into a piece of charcoal...?"

"Cheng Nanyi specifically messaged me not to mention your face, and I didn’t – you brought it up yourself, hahaha... Man, I could laugh about this for a year. That face of yours!"

"Little Charcoal Kid? Little Black Kid? Black Little Kid? Hahaha..." Mo Yikai was almost rolling on the floor laughing.

“……”

Yuan Ting inhaled deeply, then stood up and lunged at him: "Shut up..."

Yuan Ting pinned Mo Yikai to the sofa, and the two scuffled.

The two graduate students thought they were fighting and instinctively stood up to intervene, especially given Yuan Ting's fierce expression. Even Wang Dabao was startled, thinking something serious had happened. Only Cheng Nanyi gestured dismissively, "Carry on, don't mind them." Mo Yikai, the troublemaker, couldn’t hold back at all, and now Yuan Ting would surely seek him out for this.

After punching Mo Yikai several times, Yuan Ting angrily sat back down on the sofa, refusing to speak to him.

Still laughing, Mo Yikai coaxed, "Kid, come on, have a drink with your big brother."

Cheng Nanyi turned to him with a warning look: "Alright, that’s enough. You’ve provoked him enough, are you going to make it up to him?"

Mo Yikai rubbed his face, trying to suppress his laughter, and stood up: "I'm going to take a leak. I'll come back and apologize to our little Black Kid."

Mo Yikai swaggered off towards the restroom.

Cheng Nanyi looked at Yuan Ting, who glared back fiercely.

Cheng Nanyi sighed in resignation, realizing he shouldn’t have messaged Mo Yikai; it had backfired on him.

After a few seconds of thought, Cheng Nanyi decided that trying to appease Yuan Ting now would only add fuel to the fire. Better to let him cool off first.

The older a child grows, the heavier the burden of their idol persona becomes. Once happily blowing bubbles with saliva as a kid, now they spend every day in front of the mirror making little knots in their hair, quite concerned with their looks.

"To young CEO Cheng, a toast."

Cheng Nanyi then turned to clink glasses with the person.

Yuan Ting narrowed his eyes, whispering something to the bartender, who responded with an OK gesture. Moments later, a colorless drink was placed beside Yuan Ting.

Yuan Ting took the drink back to his seat, then stealthily placed it on the table in front of Mo Yikai's seat.

Mo Yikai was a lightweight drinker. Drinking this would surely make him go wild, perhaps even lead to a striptease or something. Yuan Ting planned to capture it on video and then blackmail him for life.

Leaning against the wall, Mo Yikai watched all of Yuan Ting's sneaky actions.

After more than a decade of being tricked by this kid, he knew him too well. Was this little brat ever at a disadvantage?

Of course not.

See, the little rascal was up to his usual stealthy tricks again.

Author's note:

Thank you to the angels who supported me with King's tickets and nutrient solutions from 2023-09-28 23:05:51 to 2023-10-02 23:27:22~

Thank you to the angels who threw shallow water bombs: shenyami 1;

Thank you to the angels who threw landmines: Little Deer 1;

Special thanks to the little angels who nourished with their gifts: Mr. Dog 100 bottles; Dandelion, Not Saying Goodbye 20 bottles; Deep Blue Eternity 11 bottles; Sweet Melon, Qianqian, Little Dong, Happy Today 10 bottles; Not Autumn, Blub Blub, Meow Meow Super Hook Fairy, Drunken Autumn Wind 5 bottles; Lin Wuyu, did you eat well today? 3 bottles; Hey Hei, Don't Look, She's My Wife, Bai Ming 2 bottles; Bitter Bro Sweet, Su Fourteen, 554401001, Sweet Pear, A Mango Fruit, Pingxuan, 404 Big Ghosts, Manmi 1 bottle.

Thank you very much for everyone's support. I will continue to work hard!