ADTCP Ch73

Tao Zhen was angry—probably because he had waited too long for Zhu Wensheng outside. If this had happened between ordinary brothers, it might have led to a fierce argument, since Tao Zhen’s behavior seemed like he was being unreasonable.

But Zhu Wensheng would never get angry at Tao Zhen for throwing a little tantrum. Instead, he genuinely began to regret chatting with others for too long and not noticing Tao Zhen right away. If it weren’t for his own guilty conscience, he would have probably held Tao Zhen in his arms and coaxed him affectionately.

Under this relentless wave of tenderness, Tao Zhen’s expression gradually softened.

He lowered his head and kicked a small stone by the road. The restless irritation in his chest had already dissipated by half. A mischievous thought crossed his mind: So what if they weren’t blood-related? He was the little brother Zhu Wensheng had personally brought home. He would always be the closest person to Zhu Wensheng—that was something they had long agreed upon.

Zhu Wensheng had promised to love him most in this world, so he couldn’t like anyone else. Forget about finding him a sister-in-law.

If any girl liked Zhu Wensheng, he would sneak up to her and badmouth Zhu Wensheng, saying he was a violent man who spanked people. He would use every trick in the book, like Queen Mother of the West, to tear them apart.

In the end, Zhu Wensheng wouldn’t want anyone else. He would realize that love was unreliable, and the only one who truly loved him was his little brother!

Once he figured this out, Tao Zhen cheered himself up, mercifully forgave Zhu Wensheng, and happily took his hand to go home together.

Zhu Wensheng had already arranged a lively celebration banquet with Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao. The living room was filled with gifts, the dining table was laden with a grand feast, and several bottles of wine were opened—all to celebrate his upcoming transition into adulthood.

Tao Zhen’s eyes lit up. He excitedly unwrapped the gifts prepared for him by the three of them, kissing each of their cheeks in turn. When he got thirsty from all the praise, he picked up a wine cup and gulped it down.

Zhu Wensheng instinctively tried to stop him, but Tao Dajun intervened, “Hey, Ah-Sheng, let Xiao Zhen drink. You two are all grown up now. Besides, he inherited my tolerance—he can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk! Hahaha…”

Lin Manyao, unable to bear it, tapped Tao Dajun’s head with her chopsticks. “How can you brag about that? Is drinking a lot something to be proud of? Do you want to ruin your liver? I only allowed you to drink to celebrate, but don’t overdo it!”

“Okay, okay…” Tao Dajun was a classic henpecked husband. Instead of feeling embarrassed by Lin Manyao’s scolding, he happily held the hand she had just tapped and pleaded with a grin, “My wife’s words are always right. Drinking too much is bad for the liver! Xiao Zhen, no more drinking!”

Tao Zhen obediently put down the wine cup and wiped his mouth, unable to resist teasing him with a smirk, “I know, Dad. I was just having a sip. What about you? Didn’t you throw up after drinking too much at a social event? And then Mom made you kneel on the washboard when you got home?”

Tao Dajun had indeed experienced such an embarrassing moment. He didn’t mind kneeling at the time, but being teased so directly by his own son made his old face turn red. He widened his eyes, “Tao Zhen! You’ve grown up, huh? You dare expose your old man’s secrets? Be careful, or I’ll pass this washboard on to my daughter-in-law!”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh. Lin Manyao also helplessly reached out and tapped Tao Dajun’s forehead, “You! Where’s your ambition?”

“Not to mention daughter-in-law…” She suddenly looked up, curiously glancing at Tao Zhen and Zhu Wensheng, “Our two kids are all grown up. Do you have anyone you like at school? If you’re dating, you must bring them home to meet us.”

The sudden change of topic was so fast it caught everyone off guard. Tao Zen couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He had nothing to hide—he had just been praying that nothing would come between him and Zhu Wensheng. So he casually shook his head, “I don’t. I’ve been too busy studying at school!”

After saying that, he quickly turned his gaze to Zhu Wensheng beside him, his eyes probing, “Gege, what about you?”

Zhu Wensheng had been listening to everyone’s conversation with a faint smile, but he stiffened for a moment when he heard Tao Zhen say he didn’t like anyone.

As expected, Tao Zhen was a little guy who didn’t understand the concept of “love.” He felt a secret, wicked joy that Tao Zhen wouldn’t be taken away by anyone else, but in the next moment, it all melted into an indescribable bitterness.

Zhu Wensheng pressed his lips together and didn’t say anything.

Tao Zhen’s heart skipped a beat. A bad premonition surged up, and he couldn’t help but ask again.

This time, Zhu Wensheng finally moved. He lowered his head, his dark eyes firmly fixed on Tao Zhen. His thin lips parted slightly, “…There is. It’s just… one-sided. I like them.”

Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao showed interested expressions and asked him for details about the person. Tao Zhen sat to the side, but it was as if a heavy blow had struck his head. His mind went blank, and he sat frozen in place.

Zhu Wensheng really had someone he liked. Was it the girl he had seen at the entrance of Nancheng University that afternoon?

Tao Zhen felt a sudden panic. He wished he could rush to that girl and tell her never to get close to Zhu Wensheng again. But the next second, he remembered Zhu Wensheng’s additional words, “It’s just one-sided.” He deflated like a punctured balloon.

Even if Zhu Wensheng only had a one-sided crush, it was useless for him to go find that girl. Even if Zhu Wensheng and that girl really fell in love with each other, what could he do? Could he really use ruthless means to break them up? What was he? Queen Mother of the West could draw the Milky Way with her hairpin to keep the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl apart, but she couldn’t control their loving hearts or stop their story from being passed down through the ages.

Tao Zhen suddenly felt incredibly sad. He couldn’t even hold his chopsticks. He had no appetite at all and only forced himself to eat a few bites. He exchanged a few words with Tao Dajun and Lin Manyao, then quickly made an excuse and rushed back to his room.

He buried his face in the blanket.

His mind was in chaos, but he knew it was already late. He guessed Zhu Wensheng wouldn’t leave and would probably stay to sleep with him. He planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with his brother when they were alone and pour out his feelings.

But he waited and waited. Zhu Wensheng finally opened his door, but thinking he was asleep, he only looked in for a moment before quietly retreating.

Zhu Wensheng didn’t stay.

Realizing this, Tao Zhen felt inexplicably wronged, and tears instantly filled his face.

He hadn’t even started dating, and Zhu Wensheng already didn’t want to sleep with him. What about later? Would Zhu Wensheng stop being close to him and find him annoying?

Would he… no longer be the one Zhu Wensheng loved most?

Tao Zhen cried on and off all night until he was exhausted and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already noon the next day. There was lunch prepared by Zhu Wensheng in the dining room, and his phone was filled with messages and missed calls from Zhu Wensheng.

He felt happy after seeing them, but the thought that he might soon lose this special treatment from Zhu Wensheng made him feel a pang of sadness. He rubbed his eyes, which were almost swollen like walnuts, and buried his face in the crook of his arm, crying tears of self-pity.

He didn’t know how long he had been like that when his phone suddenly rang. It was Zhao Zhao, a mutual friend of his and Zhu Wensheng.

Tao Zhen wasn’t in the mood to answer. He let the call end on its own. He thought Zhao Zhao would give up, but soon after, he heard the door being knocked loudly.

Zhao Zhao’s voice came from outside the door, “Zhu Wensheng? Tao Zhen?”

“Are you in? Open the door for me~”

Tao Zhen, though unhappy, couldn’t bring himself to leave a friend outside and pretend he wasn’t home. He forced himself to wipe his face and put on a calm facade before opening the door for Zhao Zhao, “…Here. What’s up, Zhao-Ge?”

“What do you mean, what’s up? Did you forget? I invested in a bar that’s opening today! You two, as my best buddies, should come and show some support! Hurry up and pack your things. I…”

Zhao Zhao walked into the Tao family home with a grin, but when he saw Tao Zhen’s face, he was shocked. “Damn! Who bullied you? Why are you crying like this? Where’s your Gege? Is he not here?”

He immediately reacted, looking around anxiously, “He didn’t go find that guy to fight, did he? Tell him to calm down. Murder is illegal these days…”

It wasn’t surprising that Zhao Zhao thought this way. After all, Zhu Wensheng had a record: When they were kids, a group of particularly naughty boys at school, who enjoyed bullying others, had casually picked on Tao Zhen and made him cry. That very night, Zhu Wensheng had dealt with each of them one by one, forcing them to apologize to Tao Zhen.

If that was the case back then, Zhu Wensheng’s “condition” had only worsened over the years. He would never allow Tao Zhen to be hurt.

Zhao Zhao had intended to tease Tao Zhen and cheer him up, but he didn’t expect that after he said this, Tao Zhen, who had barely maintained his composure, would suddenly lose control. Tears streamed down his face.

Now he was really panicking, afraid that when Zhu Wensheng came back and saw this scene, he would think he had done something to Tao Zhen and hack him to pieces with a knife. He begged and coaxed, calling Tao Zhen “little ancestor, Can you tell Zhao-Ge what happened? Who bullied you? I’ll beat them up for you, okay?”

Tao Zhen couldn’t help but sob, choking out, “It’s Gege who bullied me…”

“He… he has someone he likes. Now he doesn’t even want to sleep with me anymore. In the future, he’ll definitely find me more and more annoying… He won’t be nice to me anymore. He won’t love me the most anymore…”

The boy cried bitterly, his fair little face flushed from tears, and teardrops rolled down his sharp chin, landing with a “plop” on the floor.

Zhao Zhao’s comforting words came to an abrupt halt. He looked utterly confused and instinctively retorted, “…Your Gege? He has someone he likes?? How can that be—”

“He said it himself at the dinner table yesterday!” Tao Zhen raised his voice, heartbroken. “I… I saw him talking to a girl with my own eyes…”

Zhao Zhao was completely stunned, his entire being plunged into confusion and chaos.

To be honest, Zhao Zhao couldn’t believe it. Ever since he was seven, Zhu Wensheng had devoted his entire heart to Tao Zhen—keeping ten meters away from the opposite sex and five meters from the same sex. With his “lone star” demeanor, how could he suddenly be in a relationship with a girl?

If you had to say who he liked, it could only be Tao Zhen!

But before Zhao Zhao could properly analyze the situation for Tao Zhen, Tao Zhen was already breathing rapidly, as if he were about to suffer from respiratory alkalosis. Zhao Zhao nearly lost his soul and quickly grabbed a plastic bag to put over Tao Zhen’s head.

After a moment, Tao Zhen finally calmed down, forcibly suppressing the knot of emotions in his chest. He even stood up as if nothing had happened, saying he wanted to go support Zhao Zhao’s bar, displaying the numbness that comes after an emotional breakdown.

Zhao Zhao didn’t dare take this “little ancestor” to the bar in such a state, but he couldn’t ignore his words either. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he ultimately chose the latter.

After all, it was still afternoon. The bar only had some staff preparing for the opening, so it should be… safe, right?

After settling Tao Zhen, Zhao Zhao hurriedly ran to the convenience store on the street to buy milk for him.

Tao Zhen, wearing sunglasses that covered his red-rimmed eyes, sat listlessly at the bar counter, staring blankly at a decorative painting in the distance.

He didn’t know how long he had been sitting there when he was suddenly pulled out of his daze by a loud commotion.

He turned his head in confusion and saw several burly, rough-looking men had somehow barged into the not-yet-open bar. They had surrounded a petite female staff member, pointing at her nose and shouting aggressively.

The other staff members didn’t know her well and didn’t dare intervene. The manager hurried forward with a forced smile, only to be pushed away by the leader of the men. “Don’t get in the way! I just want to talk to her!”

“You say this bar doesn’t open until tonight, so we can’t come in now? You’re just a stinking employee. Do you dare look down on us?” The man stepped forward, sneering at the girl. Whether he was genuinely angry or just picking a fight was unclear. “What’s your name? Should I praise you to your boss?”

The girl trembled all over, her face pale. She had only said what was within her duties because the smell of cigarettes on these men was too strong, so she had frowned slightly in discomfort. She never expected to be misunderstood as looking down on them.

“I didn’t mean—”

“Dare to talk back?! Let me tell you, I—”

The man suddenly stepped forward, seemingly intending to teach the girl a lesson, raising his hand high. But he didn’t expect that in the next moment, his wrist would be grabbed by a slender hand. “Isn’t that enough?”

Everyone was stunned. The girl, with tears of confusion in her eyes, looked up. The men, burning with anger, turned their faces.

The speaker was an extremely handsome young man. His high, straight nose was adorned with a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses. The small part of his face that was visible was fair and delicate, his lips tinged with a faint red. His clothes were from a brand so expensive it was jaw-dropping, custom-made and understated, yet exuding an untouchable luxury from head to toe. It was Tao Zhen.

The men were clearly bullies who feared the strong. Seeing Tao Zhen’s attire, they hesitated, but to save face, they put on a fierce expression and loudly questioned Tao Zhen’s meddling in their business.

Tao Zhen glanced at the trembling girl, feeling she looked somewhat familiar but unable to recall where he had seen her. To keep things simple, he said concisely, “It’s my friend’s business. I’ll manage it if I want to. What’s your opinion?”

“Thanks for reminding me. I did forget to ask the boss to praise her. I’ll send her double the bonus later!”

The men were furious. They no longer cared about the value of Tao Zhen’s clothes and, in a fit of rage, wanted to rush over and tear him apart.

But Tao Zhen wasn’t afraid. With a wave of his hand, his bodyguards and security team immediately restrained the men.

The scene was chaotic for a moment. Zhao Zhao, carrying a bag of milk and food, arrived late. He rubbed his right eyelid, which was jumping uncontrollably, and cursed under his breath. He should have known better than to set a flag like “nothing will happen.”

***

Zhao Zhao, after sending Tao Zhen away, deliberately had the manager slip the girl a generous bonus.

This amount of money, though insignificant to the young master Tao, was substantial—enough to cover several months’ wages for those who had stood by and done nothing.

Their eyes turned red with envy. They didn’t know the manager had also received a consolation bonus. Their gazes fixed on the girl, and they began to make wild guesses.

These petty actions were done in secret, and Zhao Zhao, as the boss, was completely unaware.

He only felt that he had discovered something quite significant. As soon as the bar’s opening activities were over, he called Zhu Wensheng urgently, summoning him under the pretense of an emergency.

Zhu Wensheng had been extremely busy these past few days. Yesterday, at the school gate, he had been discussing a project with his sister, but his mind had been preoccupied with his relationship with Tao Zhen. If it weren’t for his many years of friendship with Zhao Zhao, he might not have granted him this favor. He arrived in a hurry, his handsome face tense.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s about your brother, Tao Zhen,” Zhao Zhao had always known how to handle Zhu Wensheng. He let out a cold chuckle, “Important enough?”

Zhu Wensheng immediately furrowed his brows, “What’s wrong with my baby?”

Sure enough, Zhu Wensheng, usually cold and detached, changed completely when it came to Tao Zhen. It had been like this for over a decade.

Zhao Zhao became even more certain of a guess in his mind. He squinted at Zhu Wensheng, “Answer me one question first. Who do you like?”

The bar was filled with lingering dry ice, the air misty, and the light from the ball lamps dyed the scene in a complex, psychedelic hue.

Zhu Wensheng pressed his lips together, momentarily speechless.

“Damn, I really guessed right,” Zhao Zhao muttered, his emotions more astonished than shocked, as if he had expected this all along. “I said it before—apart from him, you wouldn’t like anyone else in this lifetime…”

“He doesn’t know, right? You haven’t told him?”

Before Zhu Wensheng could answer, Zhao Zhao, relying on their years of tacit understanding, guessed the answer almost perfectly, “Right, you’re such a coward. You definitely don’t know how to bring it up with him.”

Zhu Wensheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, “Enough. What’s the matter?”

Zhao Zhao snapped out of his thoughts, inexplicably wanting to laugh. He slowly exhaled, looking at Zhu Wensheng tentatively, “Actually, Tao Zhen came by my place this afternoon…”

Before he could finish, a manager rushed over from the side, “Boss Zhao! There’s trouble over here. Come quick!”

Suddenly interrupted, Zhao Zhao was annoyed, “Hey, can’t you see I’m talking to someone here?”

The manager looked troubled, “I see, but this matter…”

Zhu Wensheng frowned slightly and nodded toward the manager, “Go and come back quickly.”

Zhao Zhao clicked his tongue, turned to look at the flustered manager, and finally sighed, “Fine, I’ll tell you when I get back!”

Zhu Wensheng nodded.

He watched Zhao Zhao leave, his mind still on Tao Zhen’s strange expression from last night. He couldn’t help but lower his eyes slightly.

A moment later, he heard two employees whispering behind him.

“…So why did Qin Yue suddenly get so much money? It was her own fault for causing trouble. Why does she get compensation while we don’t? It’s not fair!”

“…You don’t know, do you? That’s not compensation. Didn’t you see how close she is to that… that friend of Boss Zhao?”

“Boss Zhao’s friend?”

“Yeah, that really handsome guy wearing sunglasses—the one called… Tao Zhen? Qin Yue added him on WeChat. The way she was beaming, I… I can’t even describe it. I heard them say she might be—”

“…Oh my God! Is she being kept by him?”