Chapter 29 - The Hot Pot Restaurant Doesn’t Have a Successor
Fu Tingxin pointed at him unceremoniously. “Still pretending?”
He did not control the volume of his voice. The movement was a little exaggerated and Sun Zinan immediately looked back at them. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing,” Fu Tingxin said immediately. “I’m talking to your partner, it’s fine.”
Sun Zinan was doubtful. “Third Aunt, don’t bully people.”
Fu Tingxin tutted. “You’re not even married. Are your elbows turned inside out? If I really wanted to bully him I wouldn’t let you hear...I would’ve brought him to the bathroom already.”
Tang Kai couldn’t hold back and almost laughed out loud. He saw Fu Tingxin wink at him and quickly said, “Fu...ke, Uncle Fu and I are getting along well.”
When Sun Zinan finally turned back, Fu Tingxin repressed his voice and said, “Look, Little Nan is so concerned about you but you still hide from him. Do you have a conscience?”
“I didn’t hide it from him, I only think there isn’t any need to display it. He’ll know when he meets my parents.” Tang Kai sighed. “My father, my grandfather, and my uncle and aunt’s careers are a result of their own hard work. It has nothing to do with me. I’m a teacher who does research and I don’t walk the same path as them.”
He glanced at Fu Tingxin and said quietly, “Besides, aren’t you the same? You can be with Third Uncle, why give me a double standard?”
Fu Tingxin raised his hand threateningly. “Can you even compare with me! I grew up with Sun Luo and know him extremely well. You’ve only known Little Nan a few days!”
“He said he wasn’t going to bully him.” On the other side, Sun Zinan quietly complained to Sun Luo, “Can’t you see that his hands are raised so high. Tang Kai’s body is so small, my Uncle Fu will slap him flying.”
Sun Luo stared at him for a long time and did not understand what kind of filter he was wearing. Tang Kai, with his broad shoulders and hidden solidness under his seemingly slender body, was actually ‘small’ in his eyes?
“He won’t, rest assured. I think he’s afraid Tang Kai won’t be good to you, so he has to educate him first.” Sun Luo did not spend that much effort coaxing him and changed the topic. “Right, how’s the situation on your side? How’s your third brother?”
“Still on a seesaw.” Sun Zinan said, ” I found another one to help raise the price. When I go back and stretch him out a bit, I’ll let go.”
“En.” Sun Luo nodded and said, “Time it well. Also pay attention to your safety. Be careful of the mad dog jumping over a wall to bite you.”
Sun Zinan said, “I understand. You can rest assured.”
”Tell us if anything difficult happens.” Like many stupid fathers in the world, Sun Luo couldn’t avoid skimming over the important things. When he had finished talking about business, he immediately asked, “Are you lacking money? If you don’t have enough Third Uncle will give you your New Year’s money now.”
Sun Zinan began laughing. “How could I, save it to give to me during the New Year.”
”This time you must have done something really big. Your father definitely won’t bear it.” Sun Luo was still uneasy and sighed. “I think your small company will be affected. Try to find yourself a good way out.”
Sun Zinan turned his cup around and took a sip of tea, not sure where to begin. “I&#k2026;”
Sun Luo raised his hand to stop his words. “Third Uncle is not forcing you to make a choice now. I’m just reminding you. What choice you make is something you have to experience yourself in order to not regret it in the future.”
Sun Zinan nodded gratefully.
“Third Uncle only has the same thing to say as always. Whatever you want to do, if you can’t clean it up, we’ll do it for you.” Sun Luo touched their cups together and chuckled, “I’m not joking with you. Your Uncle Fu’s hot pot restaurant is so popular we’re looking for a successor.” freewebnove(l)
“Then I might take some bigger strides.” Sun Zinan accepted his good intentions and downed his cup of tea in one gulp. He said sincerely, “Thank you Third Uncle.”
Sun Luo waved his hand. “We’re all family. Thanking me is too much.”
The two chatted with a harmonious atmosphere. On the other side, Fu Tingxin and Tang Kai finally reached a short-lived peace.
Fu Tingxin patted him on the shoulder so hard he almost pressed Tang Kai under the table. “Then it’s a deal. You go back and confess to Little Nan. No matter what, it’s wrong to keep it from him.”
“En,” Tang Kai said, “But I will tell him myself. Don’t rush to expose me.”
Fu Tingxin sneered. “Look at what you’re saying. What do you take your uncle for? Little Nan likes you, can I still tear the two of you apart?”
Tang Kai looked at him with suspicion.
“Wu, you son of a bitch.” Fu Tingxin quickly glanced at Sun Zinan. When he saw that he hadn’t noticed, he whispered, “He’s been afraid that the Sun family will drag you down, which has been the current dilemma between the two of you. You should at least reassure him.”
Tang Kai could understand his intentions and adopted the correct attitude this time as he obediently said, “I know. Don’t worry, I won’t let him be wronged again.”
“Live well together.”
Fu Tingxin raised a glass and motioned to drink together. Tang Kai smiled with his eyes, clinked their glasses together, and raised his head to drink the leftover beer in his glass.
They went back to the hotel in the afternoon. The two of them were covered in the smell of hot pot, so the first thing they did after going back to the room was to take a shower and change their clothes. When Sun Zinan finished drying his hair and came out of the bathroom, he saw Tang Kai, who had washed first, sitting by the bed with a laptop, iPad, and TV remote control in front of him.
Sun Zinan asked, “What’s going on, are you too scared of making choices and don’t know which one to use?”
“Nan Nan.” Tang Kai reached out to him. “Come here.”
Sun Zinan’s scalp went numb at this endearing address. He quickly said, “Don’t be cheesy, isn’t that nauseating?”
“But Third Uncle and Uncle Fu call you Little Nan. I need to have my own nickname for you.” Tang Kai had drunk some alcohol during lunch and his head was now spinning around. “If you don’t let me call you Nan Nan, then should I call you Baby? Dear? Sweetheart Fruit?”
Sun Zinan smiled and sat down directly. “I think it’s good if you just call me husband.”
Tang Kai pretended he didn’t hear clearly. “Ah? What?”
Sun Zinan didn’t understand him for a moment. “Husband.”
Tang Kai, “Ai, I’m here.”
“...” Sun Zinan slapped his arm. “Get out!”
“Nan Nan, husband...” Tang Kai beckoned him over, hugging him as Sun Zinan sat on his lap, his chin resting on his shoulder. “I have something to tell you.”
His breath made the bare skin under the bathrobe neckline itchy and Sun Zinan shrunk back. “Say it. Does it have to do with what my Uncle Fu was talking about with you today?”
”You’re so smart.” Tang Kai tightened his arm around his waist as he struggled with himself for a moment, hesitating a little. “Sorry. In fact, Uncle Fu and I have known each other...since I was a child.”
“En?” Sun Zinan could not quite understand this reasoning. “What are you sorry for?”
”My grandfather used to live in the same neighborhood as Uncle Fu.” Tang Kai rarely mentioned his family history to people and was even a little shy about it. He was always others who found out would brush away his own accomplishments, so his words were very euphemistic. “We lived in B City at the foot of Longshan area.”
Fu Tingxin was born into a military family and he himself was a retired Special Forces.
Even if Sun Zinan was not a local, he knew that the Longshan area in B City was the residence neighborhood for members of the national military and political dignitaries.
He finally found the central idea within the curved road of Tang Kai’s logic and understood what he was talking about. He let out a long “Oh” before continuing, “So all in all, to put it bluntly, your family is like Uncle Fu’s family. You’re all high-profile military families, right?”
Tang Kai seemed quite insecure. “En.”
Sun Zinan could feel Tang Kai’s rapid heartbeat against his chest.
It did surprise him a little at first, but after being surprised, there was no other feeling. Having heard of Tang Kai’s parents’ positions before, Sun Zinan had already almost speculated about his family’s situation. The truth was only a little higher than his expectations and within acceptable limits. He just didn’t understand why Tang Kai was so nervous, as if he was worried Sun Zinan would turn on him.
“Why didn’t you mention it before?” Sun Zinan turned his body around and played with Tang Kai’s earlobes. “Confessing because you were afraid you’d be exposed after seeing Uncle Fu, en?”
He didn’t look angry. Tang Kai became a little bolder and titled his head to peck at the inside of his wrist. “I didn’t hide it from you deliberately. I just...don’t talk about it out of habit.”
“Why?”
“My family didn’t really help me very much during childhood, but when I went to school, I got good grades, honors, and scholarships. Because of that, some people said I got them because the school and teachers were trying to suck up to my family.” Tang Kai sighed softly. “I obviously didn’t do anything wrong, but was forced to take the blame. This made me really unhappy. Afterwards, I went far away from home for high school, then college, then abroad, so people would stop saying I was using my connections.”
Sun Zinan touched his face in pity, softly comforting, “You were very accomplished to begin with.”
“Before when I was younger, I wanted to get rid of my connections to prove to everyone that I could live well without my family.” Tang Kai hugged him affectionately, his movements tender. “But when I got older I realized I was just competing against myself. What others think doesn’t matter. As long as you know what you want to pursue, just go for it.”
“But it was my fault that I didn’t tell you about it earlier,“ Tang Kai said earnestly. “I was wrong.”
“What kind of big thing is this to make you apologize so solemnly?” Sun Zinan completely did not take this to heart and said, “Don’t listen to Uncle Fu, he’s just trying to scare you. It’s not like I hate officers. Darling, don’t be afraid.”
Sun Zinan suddenly remembered how Li Ning had mentioned her father worked in the education department last time. He said to Tang Kai jokingly, “Look at what you’ve done to that girl. She thought you were a useless pretty boy who needed saving. Who knows how she’s cursing me right now.”
“She was too self-indulgent and I don’t even remember her face.” Tang Kai frowned. “Besides, what did she see in me? Is it not obvious that I’m bent?”
Sun Zinan patted his lips. “She saw this face. After all, everyone pays attention to visuals.”
As he spoke, he accidentally kicked the remote control on the bed. Sun Zinan looked down and asked in confusion, “Why did you put these things out?”
“This, ah...” Tang Kai turned his face away in embarrassment. “I just thought, if you were angry, I could kneel with your favorite out of these three.”
Sun Zinan had never met such a strong player before in his life, and froze for a second.
“Turn your face around! Now you know what shame is!” He sat on Tang Kai’s lap, gabbing his chin, not sure whether to cry or laugh as he scolded, “Even if I was really angry how could I let you kneel? Your head is full of some feudal society fantasy, or maybe you...wu!”
Before he could even finish, he was swallowed into a deep, breathless kiss.
For a long time after their kiss, Tang Kai continued landing light pecks at the corner of his lips. He said softly, “Darling, I don’t have any misunderstandings towards you—”
“Just improper thoughts.”
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