FLBOTCP Chapter 74.2
Full Level Bigshot Only Takes the Career Path Chapter 74.2
Zhao Yao didn’t expect this reason, but he could understand Pei Mingzhan’s unspoken explanation behind it. After all, their childhood friendship had faded into the distance. If it weren’t for someone else bringing it up, he would have forgotten about it. It was quite a surprise that Pei Mingzhan remembered this. Zhao Yao asked, “So why do you like me?”
When Pei Mingzhan heard Zhao Yao asking about how they met, he had actually expected Zhao Yao to bring up this topic. Their childhood relationship was just a bit of friendship. It couldn’t really be considered as him having romantic feelings. At that time, he truly treated Zhao Yao like a younger brother, playing with him and taking him around.
Later, Zhao Yao didn’t return to H City due to family matters. During his vacation, he waited at the gate of his grandfather’s courtyard for that familiar car to arrive on the small road. He waited several times but didn’t see anyone. Finally, his mother asked about it and found out that Zhao Yao might not be coming back during this break.
For Pei Mingzhan, this was quite regrettable. He didn’t have Zhao Yao’s contact information and felt awkward asking Zhao Yao’s grandfather. He had assumed Zhao Yao would return, but it turned out that he missed two years of breaks. Later, his family moved to a different place, and he started living his own life, gradually losing contact with the Zheng family.
A turning point occurred in high school when there was an inter-school exchange event. He represented the high school department and brought some junior high students from the school to participate in a competition at another school, where he met Zhao Yao again.
Zhao Yao stood below the podium in the college uniform in the auditorium, introducing himself seriously. He delivered a fluent and confident speech in a foreign language, quite different from the shy and adorable kid from his childhood. As he was standing on the stage smiling, Pei Mingzhan felt he seemed to be glowing.
…
“It’s because I fell in love,” Pei Mingzan smiled. “Mr. Zhao, following your confession method, didn’t you consider whether I liked you when you proposed?”
Zhao Yao hesitated for a moment and replied, “I thought you’d reject me if you didn’t like me.”
Pei Mingzhan replied, “Well, I wouldn’t refuse you. So, is that why you’re asking me this now?”
“Pei Mingzhan,” Zhao Yao lowered his gaze slightly and then spoke in a soft tone, “When I came here today, I saw my childhood photos and there was a kid who looked a bit like you. He was called Peipei, was that your nickname?”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, and then Zhao Yao heard Pei Mingzhan’s voice, slightly lower and with a hint of amusement, “En.”
Zhao Yao paused for a moment and asked, “En?”
Pei Mingzhan laughed, “Is that answer not good enough, Mr. Zhao?”
Zhao Yao hesitated and asked, “Did you like me when you were a child?”
Pei Mingzhan responded, “Many people liked you when you were a child.”
Zhao Yao had many questions he wanted to ask Pei Mingzhan, but upon hearing his playful tone, those strange thoughts in his mind dissipated. He burst into laughter, “I’m seriously talking to you.”
Pei Mingzhan replied, “I’m also answering you seriously.”
Zhao Yao listened to the voice on the phone. He didn’t have many vivid memories of their childhood. But the sound of Pei Mingzhan’s voice made him strongly want to see him. He wished he could hold his hand and kiss him several times. “You didn’t want to tell me.”
“Because it’s not that important. People feel differently at each stage of their lives, and their perspectives and attitudes towards the world gradually change,” Pei Mingzhan suddenly felt quite cheerful. He looked at the moon in the distance. “We can’t remember all the details from when we were kids. Zhao Yao, I’m a man, and I happen to like only you, and you happen to like me too.”
Zhao Yao looked at the photos of the two of them in the album. In fact, Pei Mingzhan was right. Whatever they did as kids, those were just childhood memories.
“I miss you a bit,” Zhao Yao suddenly said, “Even though we just saw each other at the airport this afternoon.”
-*-
Pei Mingzhan’s mother knew that Pei Mingzhan was secretly making a call on the balcony, but it wasn’t easy to figure out what the young man was talking about. So, she gave a signal to Pei Mingzhan’s older brother to find out what was happening. Pei Mingzhan’s older brother remained indifferent to the situation and said, “If you want to know about Peipei, just ask him. After all, he has been on the phone for a while. it might be work-related.”
Mother Pei said, “I asked him if he was talking to Xiao Yao, and he nodded.”
She finished her sentence and added, “I won’t go over there in person. I’ll just make a phone call.”
Father Pei was reading the news on his tablet when he heard this. Just as he was about to say something he saw Pei Mingzhan, who had been on the balcony, coming downstairs. He had changed from his pajamas into regular clothes. It seemed like he was planning to go out.
Pei Mingzhan adjusted his coat and said to his brother, “Brother, can I borrow your car?”
His older brother nodded and asked, “Where are you going at this hour?”
“I have some things to do. I might come back late in the evening,” Pei Mingzhan replied and hurriedly headed out, leaving the three family members looking at each other.
Pei Mingzhan’s father had already forgotten what he wanted to say earlier and said, “Why is he going out at this time? Did someone call him just now?”
Pei Mingzhan’s mother turned to his brother and asked, “Laoda1), do you know where your younger brother is going at this hour?”
“…” Elder Brother Pei rubbed his temples with a slight headache and said, “How should I know?'”
Inside the Zheng family’s residence, Uncle was just finishing up some work when he turned to Aunt to inquire about Zhao Yao’s situation. Upon learning that Zhao Yao had fallen into a brief silence after looking through the photo album, Uncle expressed his concerns. “When I heard before that he left the Zhao family group, I thought about asking him if he wanted to come over to our side. You know, my brother-in-law isn’t exactly a good person. Over the years, the Zhao family group has become increasingly chaotic, and my brother-in-law seems to have gone abroad for some rehabilitation. Xiao Yao seems mature in mind, but at the end of the day, he’s just a young man who graduated from college not too long ago. I worry that he might face some difficulties.”
“This kid might not be very close to us, but it looks like he’s got a mind of his own,” Aunt acknowledged that her husband’s current feelings were quite complicated. When Zhao Yao was younger, they had made requests to the Zhao family, only to be rejected by her brother-in-law. Over the years, Zhao Yao’s contact with them had become less, to the point where he wouldn’t even return a call sometimes.
If it were anyone else, they would have long stopped worrying about tZhao Yao. But she and her husband still couldn’t completely let go. Over the years, Old Zheng, who managed Zhao Yao’s mother’s assets, had taken care of Zhao Yao. She said, “If you want to keep him here for a while, you should take the initiative to propose it. This child rarely mentions our side, so perhaps deep down he still wants to be close to us.”
“In that case, I’ll talk to him tomorrow.” After saying this, Uncle Zheng asked again, “Is he still comfortable living in that room? If not, there are a few other vacant rooms.”
…
Zheng Leqi stepped out of his brother’s room. They had a late-night discussion about their cousin, who had arrived today. He had heard about his cousin’s family situation and knew that life hadn’t been particularly easy for their cousin on their side of the family. But with this cousin, the two brothers didn’t share the same close connection as their parents did. It might be because they hadn’t met much in their childhood, and in their later years, they had only heard about him through their parents.
It wasn’t until tonight when he saw this cousin that he realized this cousin was somewhat different from his impression of adults of this age. At home, there were times when his cousin was mentioned as being incredibly talented – excelling in studies when discussing academics and excelling at work when talking about his job. As they listened to their parents’ descriptions of this seemingly all-capable cousin, they began to grow curious.
During dinner, their cousin had a smiling face and answered their dad’s questions with great patience.
Zheng Leqi observed closely and noticed that his cousin took a sip of wine but didn’t drink much whenever their dad offered a toast. He asked his brother, “Does our cousin don’t like drinking?”
His brother replied, “I’m not sure. How about we ask Mom tomorrow?”
Zheng Leqi also found it strange because even though their cousin seemed to be smiling, he didn’t appear to fully blend in with the family. He had a somewhat unfamiliar feeling, that he is not part of the family.
The people in the house were getting ready to rest. After stepping out of his brother’s room, Zheng Leqi planned to head back to his own room. Unexpectedly, he noticed the door to his cousin’s room on the other side of the corridor swing open. He hesitated for a moment, considering whether to greet him. But then he witnessed his cousin descending the stairs and talking with the servants downstairs.
Zheng Leqi felt a twinge of curiosity. He watched as his cousin, after asking a few questions, followed the servant’s guidance and headed towards the exit, appearing as if he was about to leave.
“Why would he be going out at this hour?” Zheng Leqi wondered. He considered whether he should inform his parents but thought it might be an overreaction. Instead, he made his way to the second-floor balcony to better observe the situation.
The Zheng family estate was located in an affluent villa area, and except for the patrolling security personnel, it was usually quiet at night. As Zheng Leqi reached the balcony, he could clearly see a car parked outside the garden area with a figure standing nearby. The person was faintly visible near the car.
The car wasn’t parked in front of their house, but by the side of the road outside. Cars entering the villa area at night usually headed to the underground parking, but this car had its lights off and was parked by the roadside. The person standing by the car was clearly waiting for someone. After seeing his cousin exchange greetings with the guards at the entrance, Zheng Leqi saw him walk out of the house and headed straight towards the location of the car.
The next moment, he witnessed the person standing by the car move forward and hugged his cousin.
Zheng Leqi: …?
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- 老大 lǎodà: Boss. Mother Pei is literally calling Elder Brother Pei Boss (๑˃́ꇴ˂̀๑ [↩]