Chapter 101: The Old Man is Crazy

Chapter 101 The Old Fool Has Lost His Mind

It was almost unexpected for everyone that Song Yuqing switched his university major to pheromone medicine and clinical diagnostics.

—Was this him destroying the achievements he’d built over the years? In fact, if Song Yuqing hadn't chosen this field, he could’ve continued to enjoy his success in robotics with dignity.

—Sorry to break it to you, but what you call "years of work" actually took Song Yuqing less than a year.

—I’m a devoted fan of Song Yuqing, but I don’t want my beautiful husband to choose this field. After all, it’s truly full of top talent, but… even an alpha like Gu Jingtang, once considered a genius, failed in this area.

Public opinion was mostly skeptical of Song Yuqing’s new research direction.

Shen Shu happened to be in Song Yuqing’s lab and raised her hand to take a photo.

Behind the glass, the young man in a white lab coat held a test tube with his slender, well-defined fingers. His dark eyelashes cast a faint shadow on his pale, thin skin, making him appear even more cool and detached.

Shen Shu immediately edited the photo and posted it to the fan forum she had created for Song Yuqing.

—Pant, pant, I’m simping! Who says my husband isn’t suited for this? Where exactly isn’t he suited? My husband is perfect for holding big things—I mean big test tubes, of course.

—A cool, elegant beauty—I want to be Qingqing’s test-tube baby…

—Could you take a moment to realize what nonsense you’re spewing? If you said you were a test tube and wanted to be held by Qingqing, I might get it, but what’s with the test-tube baby?

—He wants Qingqing to give birth to him!

—I want to be a test tube too +1

—I want to be a test tube too +1

Shen Shu: "..."

Weren’t they just talking about wanting to be Song Yuqing’s robot not long ago? These damn alphas, damn betas, damn Omegas—their attitudes change faster than the weather.

Almost instantly, those who had been skeptical about Song Yuqing’s new project began to feel that it might actually succeed.

Shen Shu thought to herself, this must be what they call sex appeal.

As long as Song Yuqing’s face remains, his influence remains. Even if Song Yuqing wanted to stand on the heads of those old fools in the parliament, his devoted fans would immediately storm parliament.

Shen Shu quietly admired the scene a while longer.

When Song Yuqing came out, Shen Shu’s gaze was still somewhat dazed, like a fish that had been dead for three days.

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing waved his fingers in front of Shen Shu’s eyes. "Snap out of it, Shen Shu."

Shen Shu could hardly suppress the smile at the corner of her lips. So handsome, such a nice voice, such skilled hands…

It was hard to imagine how thrilling it would be if the chairman, with his cool and detached face, used his own fingers for… *expansion*.

Write! I’ll find someone to write about it as soon as I get back!

Once it’s written, I’ll use it to rally support for Song Yuqing.

Shen Shu applauded herself inwardly for getting this assignment that allowed her to see Song Yuqing often and for her own cleverness.

Song Yuqing: "..."

What are you grinning about? Has she gone mad from being pressured by those parliament lunatics?

Song Yuqing: "Shen Shu, if you can’t handle the current workload, take some time off now and go back to rest."

Shen Shu snapped back to attention. "I won’t go back to rest, Chairman. Please don’t send me away."

Song Yuqing: "..."

Song Yuqing: "Did you take the photos?"

Shen Shu felt a bit guilty but nodded vigorously. "I took them."

Shen Shu’s visit this time was a task assigned by Zong He.

Because Song Yuqing had high visibility and public opinion was against him, Zong He, who worked closely with Song Yuqing, felt it was his duty to help manage some of the public discourse.

At the very least, they had to maintain appearances so that no one could criticize them.

So Zong He directly assigned Shen Shu to the task.

Shen Shu had no connections or resources within the parliament. Her biggest backing was Song Yuqing himself. Even if she demonstrated Song Yuqing’s seriousness about the matter, she wouldn’t be able to effectively promote him or restore his reputation.

Using Song Yuqing’s own people to make things harder for Song Yuqing—Zong He thought he was a genius.

Song Yuqing: "If you’re done, head back now. Clock out early."

Shen Shu wanted to say more, but under Song Yuqing’s sharp, penetrating gaze, she obediently clutched her bag and agreed. "Then I’ll go back now."

As she watched Shen Shu leave, Song Yuqing’s calm, even tone reached her ears.

"If Zong He gives you trouble, don’t confront him directly. I’ll deal with him when I have time."

Shen Shu couldn’t help but turn back. Under the bright lights, the beauty looked more like a time-aged ink wash painting—distant and majestic.

Just a hint of concern from his fingertips would make people live and die for him.

Shen Shu nodded. "Okay."

Moreover, Song Yuqing was truly protective of his own. When Shen Shu asked him for an opportunity, she never expected Song Yuqing to take such good care of her.

In short, whether as Song Yuqing’s subordinate or someone close to him, it felt really satisfying. Song Yuqing genuinely provided power, care, and backing.

Shen Shu pushed aside all her thoughts and secretly resolved to help Song Yuqing handle the public discourse properly.

Whether it’s black or white, turn it all yellow—then everyone will shut up and start fawning.

System 88: "...Are you going to beat up Zong He again?"

Song Yuqing poured himself a glass of water, took a few sips, and then spoke slowly, his eyelashes lifting slightly, his tone cold. "He deserves it."

It had only been half a year since Zong He and Song Yuqing first met, but in those six months, Zong He had been beaten into the intensive care unit three times and hospitalized eight times by Song Yuqing.

Out of the eleven incidents, every single one was because Zong He verbally harassed Song Yuqing while he was conducting business in the parliament.

One could say he is quick to forget past hardships.

In Xinzhou, the Tan family is also paying attention to Song Yuqing's research. They have almost monopolized medications in this industry that alleviate the mental energy turbulence caused by Alpha pheromone disorders.

Due to the Tan family's monopolistic position, both the Parliament and the military district have to give them face.

Since Song Yuqing is not on their side and cannot be used by them, they do not want Song Yuqing to make any breakthroughs in this industry.

However, Song Yuqing is now the 19th Parliament member. Even if excluded from the center of power, he is still part of the Parliament.

Fortunately, there isn’t much time left for Song Yuqing—only six months.

They can continue to wait and see.

The attitudes toward Song Yuqing from all sides are quite delicate. Those who harbor ill intentions toward him and are waiting for him to fall from the clouds are closely monitoring his every move.

An anonymous message was sent to Song Yuqing's inbox.

"Do you want me to come back and help you?"

He knew Song Yuqing's situation wasn’t that great.

T-T: "No need."

T-T: "Worry about yourself."

T-T: "Remember to check the shipping status."

"Did you send me something?"

Song Yuqing did not reply to the Alpha again and returned to the workstation to continue his analysis.

Song Yuqing and Tan Shu only reconnected this year. Tan Shu is doing alright, but he hasn’t reached the point where he can fully control the Tan family.

Tan Shu returning now would be of no use to him.

He has no use for a half-finished product.

What Tan Shu received was a mechanical eye.

The Alpha ran fingers over the smooth spherical surface, his fingertips brushing against the almost imperceptible seams and micro-interfaces along the edges.

The craftsmanship was truly peak, perfectly replicating every detail of his left eye; even the faint gray ring around the pupil was rendered exactly like his original.

Tan Shu cleaned the eye Song Yuqing had sent him, hurriedly removed the prosthetic from his right eye socket, and the blood-covered eyeball clattered into the tray.

Before his eye socket could adjust to the emptiness and stinging pain, he grasped the precision metal orb and aligned it with the still-seeping socket.

"Song Yuqing..."

He remembered his eye, and he had sent him a gift.

The Alpha pressed the cold, hard sphere firmly into the warm, vacant space with his fingertips.

*Click.*

An extremely faint yet distinct mechanical locking sound echoed in his head, as if a precise latch had fully engaged.

The next second,

Countless blinding spots of light exploded abruptly in his vision.

He... could see again?

The mechanical eye had linked with his mental energy, integrating all his senses, including his mental perceptions, into a visible image.

He didn’t even need to consciously control it to pass as a natural eye.

Song Yuqing.

Why be so good to him?

Was he willing to accept him?

After leaving Xinzhou, he had never missed any news about Song Yuqing. He also knew that now, even scum like Pei Huai, Xiao Jinshi, and Ye Siling had secured a position by Song Yuqing's side.

He couldn’t help but sigh—he departed just as spring blossomed.

He was the only one struggling and facing dangers in West Continent, yet he couldn’t even receive a word of comfort from Song Yuqing.

"Are you..." Tan Shu typed four words and sent them directly to Song Yuqing.

T-T: "No, you fool."

T-T: "Put your new eye to good use."

Tan Shu stared at the two lines of text, searching through his memories of Song Yuqing, and finally smirked.

Song Yuqing seemed different from before—now he would curse directly, whereas in the past, he would only do so in his heart.

But still, he remained unforgettable.

Song Yuqing fell silent. What kind of extreme love-addled fools were these? Shouldn’t he be happy that he could see again, instead of asking if Song Yuqing liked him?

He should be falling over himself with gratitude, swearing to serve him for life.

Indeed, time does not cure love addiction—it only makes it worse.

Xiao Jinshi returned to the Xiao Family and immediately spotted his father in the main hall.

Xiao Jinshi couldn’t be bothered to look at the old man and was about to head upstairs when his father called out to him.

Elder Xiao looked at Xiao Jinshi with a loving gaze.

Xiao Jinshi frowned in confusion, "...Are you on the wrong medication?"

Elder Xiao: "..."

"I’ve been waiting for you for a long time," Elder Xiao continued, maintaining his fatherly demeanor. "Jinshi, I might really be dying soon. When you have time, bring Qingqing back. I want to see the two of you living well together."

Xiao Jinshi: "..."

The old man has lost his mind.

Xiao Jinshi: "What are you looking at? What kind of life am I living? Is he even my wife? How could we live together? You think too highly of me."

"Don’t you know what your son is doing out there?"

"Do you think being the other man is exciting for me? Do you need to remind me? You’re ridiculous." Xiao Jinshi spoke with unmistakable sarcasm.

Xiao's father: "..."

He lit a firecracker.

Wasn't it Xiao Jinshi himself who chose to be the other man? Why the act now?

Xiao's father spoke even more earnestly: "I just want to check for you. I’ve never done much for you in my life, and before I die, I want to see you happy with my own eyes."

Xiao Jinshi gave him a cold glance, let out a disdainful snort, and turned to go upstairs.

Truth be told, Xiao Jinshi wasn’t in a good mood.

Did he hate him? He hated him to the core, wishing he could be the one to send the old man to his grave.

But over the past six months, the old man had been constantly showing concern for him, trying to offer him a kind of love he no longer needed.

Xiao Jinshi glanced at the time—3 a.m. In another two hours, Song Yuqing would wake up.

In the dark room, Xiao Jinshi sat by himself until 5 a.m., then called Song Yuqing.

Since starting university, to save time, Song Yuqing rarely returned to the Qi family home, instead staying in an apartment near the lab.

At 5 a.m., the sky still dark, Song Yuqing woke up but was still somewhat groggy. Every morning, he remained in this dazed state for about five minutes.

Hearing the noise, Song Yuqing hooked his finger around the phone. "What’s wrong?"

His voice was calm and cool, slightly hoarse, with a light, clipped tone.

Hearing Song Yuqing’s voice, Xiao Jinshi’s pent-up emotions briefly spiraled out of control. His voice came out strained: "I miss you, gege."

Song Yuqing was already up.

Putting the call with Xiao Jinshi on speaker, Song Yuqing fastened his shirt buttons with a cold, strikingly handsome face, a hint of seductive drowsiness still lingering at the corners of his eyes.

He replied casually, "Then come find me."

Author's note:

Xiao Jinshi: The old man’s got some use after all.

Song Qingqing: That’s how it is.