Don’t Be a Kept Man

les.
It was almost certain that his family background was not one of high standing.

Being provoked at the implication of Lu Qi enduring his personality, Huo Ming Chen silently turned to look at Huo Ming Cheng.

“Is it because even you believe that my temper is so bad that I’m destined to be liked by no one?”

Huo Ming Cheng did not speak up.

Huo Ming Chen continued to talk to himself, 

“If he was after my money, then I’d be pretty happy.
Happy that I finally have something in me that can make him stay.”

These words sounded too self deprecating to Huo Ming Cheng’s ear, but he held on to his patience to continue listening.

“His family background is not good, and he loves money.
But ever since he has been with me, he has not asked for a single penny.
I have nothing to give him–  What can I even give him……”

The corners of Huo Ming Chen’s mouth seemed to tug up, as if he wanted to smile, but he couldn’t smile at all,

“When he was in his first year of university, he had worked several part time jobs everyday.
Studying and earning money at the same time.
In his second year, he followed someone else to create a startup company, continuing to work and study at the same time…… Brother, did you know, that kind of life is something that I have never thought about before or could have even considered……”

Since birth, Huo Ming Chen has lived a carefree life, being born into a life of gold and jade.
Everyday his only problem was to think about where to go to play, where to go and find happiness.
He lived in a daze in his adolescence, never really experiencing what it meant to live in society, as a human suffering under the system and way of life out there.

“Maybe he has times where he’s troubled, but he has never said a word to me.
He is more serious than anyone I know, has always worked through his own hard effort to improve the lives of his family…… Of course, what I’m saying now is not to prove something to you,”

Huo Ming Chen lifted his head to look at Huo Ming Cheng. 

“I like him.
No matter what reason he has for being with me, I’d like him if he’s good, I’d like him if he’s bad.”

Because I like him, not what kind of him.

“I see that you are so caught up in your own feelings that your heart has become cold and insensitive to your own family!”

With a bang, Huo Ming Cheng stood up and didn’t want to dwell on this topic with him anymore.
He went straight towards the door.
As if Huo Ming Chen could see straight through him, he said, 

“You don’t have to try to find a weak point from him.  There’s no point in using your authority to try to pressure him.
The only possible thing you can do is to kill him.
And the moment he dies, I’ll follow him right after.”

And then honestly said with no embellishments,

“Without him I cannot live.
If he was to break up with me for no reason or cause, I will drag him to death with me!”

“Pa!”

This time around, Huo Ming Cheng could not hold in his urge to turn around and slap him.
Huo Ming Chen did not hide nor did he avoid it.
He withstood the hit with a straightened back, and his face immediately reddened, with a clear imprint of a palm on his face.
He pursed his lips looking at Huo Ming Cheng, silently and stubbornly.

“Did our father and mother let you come into this world to let you die this way?! If we had known earlier, I should have strangled you to death the moment you were born!” 

Huo Ming Chen kept his silence for he believed in every word he said.
But he could only say it like this, because otherwise, the consequences would have fallen onto the lone Lu Qi, the one who had no family background or power.

The sounds of the two brothers fighting could be faintly heard, as not even the sound absorbing doors could block their noise, which naturally meant that it was not blocked off to Lu Yuan who was standing outside.
Too bad she couldn’t hear the exact details, Lu Yuan thought as she sighed, lamenting that wealthy families were too melodramatic.
She shook her head and went into the room next door.

Lu Qi had a small fever and was just getting IV treatment.
He was lying on the bed, face white and pale, a little dazed in his expression.
Seeing Lu Yuan come in, he tried to wake himself up, asking,

“How is he?”

“Don’t worry, doing pretty well.
Just fighting with his brother, so you can definitely tell that his pair of lungs are working just fine.”

Lu Yuan ripped open the box of takeout food that she bought from downstairs.
Her long hair was loosely and casually tied up, with an expression on her face that held some residual feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.
She pursed her lips, and only after the takeout boxes were all opened, she suddenly said, 

“You shouldn’t be so close to that Huo Er-Shao.
This time you were dragged into a kidnapping, who knows what the next time will bring? When I got the phone call from the police, it almost scared me to death.”

Hearing this, Lu Qi, who was picking up a pair of chopsticks, paused.
His focus switched from the fighting between Huo Ming Chen and his brother to what Lu Yuan was talking about,

 “The kidnapping was not related to him.
And some things that will happen cannot be stopped.
It could only be said it was fated to happen in our lives.”

“If your fate was to be beaten up in this life, why didn’t it beat you until you become dumb!”

Lu Yuan was so angry that she could not eat any of the food.
She wanted to rub her face to try to lessen the headache but then remembered that she had makeup on, and so her hand was raised halfway up to her face before being put down again,

 “Good thing that the police did not call mom.
Otherwise I will watch how you can get out of this.”

Lu Qi said,

“Don’t worry, her tolerance is stronger than yours.”

“No matter how strong she is, she’s getting old.
You certainly can achieve something in life.
You don’t have the money of a millionaire, but you have a millionaire’s life.
Every year the country only has a few kidnapping cases and you can even stumble into one.”

Lu Qi was holding his bowl of congee but had no appetite to eat it and did not bother acknowledging her nonsense babbling.
He looked like he suddenly remembered something and asked, 

“What was Huo Ming Chen fighting with his brother about?”

“Not sure.
It seemed pretty big and nasty.
I couldn’t hear them clearly from outside, but this whole thing has been blown out of the water.
Last night, there were a whole bunch of police officers that came huffing into the company and took away a whole bunch of people, which included our vice chairman.
It’s all just reporters camping outside the company now.”

Lu Yuan said as she vented,

“I already knew from the face of the vice chairman that he could not be a good man.
And that Chen Lian Dong beside him, I heard from colleagues that not only did they hire people to kill someone, they were also siphoning company funds to discreetly buy stocks.
Which caused that Huang Yi Yin Xiang collapse as they then didn’t have enough funds and could only use cheap materials.
Really representing that phrase of knowing the face and the person, but you don’t know their heart in reality.”

Originally Huo Ming Cheng had planned to catch them all in the board member’s meeting tomorrow.
But then this kidnapping happened, which turned all of their plans into a mess and forcing a lot of them to have to be enacted earlier.
But that didn’t make a difference in the end as the conclusion would have been the same.
The bad guys were destined to never have a good ending.

Hearing Lu Yuan’s summary of events, Lu Qi could then guess what their neighbours were fighting about.
He lightly placed down his bowl of congee and straightened his body,

“Ah-Yuan,”

“Hmm?”

“If Brother…  found a sister-in-law for you, is that good?”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan smiled widely and tilted her head in surprise, looking at him with consideration,

“Wow, there’s actually a woman who could reel you in.
My future sister-in-law is pretty amazing.
Who is it?”