Chapter 28: Hello, Uncle. I’m Tang Qu

The air instantly fell silent.

Jiang Ge had already noticed Tang Qu, but for some reason, he didn’t know how to face him at the moment. To mask his awkwardness, he picked up the water glass on the table.

Yu Ting also suddenly realized something was off. How could he have forgotten the widely discussed matter online? He had been so focused on his uncle’s injury that he completely overlooked the awkward relationship between Tang Qu and his uncle.

But since he had already brought Tang Qu here, he couldn’t just not introduce him.

“This is Tang Qu, my friend,” Yu Ting walked over to Tang Qu and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Guan Yan’s eyes darkened slightly as he glanced at Yu Ting’s hand.

Yu Ting then turned to Tang Qu and said, “Um… this is my uncle, Guan Yan.” In the past, Yu Ting would have introduced Guan Yan with grand praises, but today he felt too embarrassed to do so. It felt like he was stabbing someone in the heart!

Tang Qu was momentarily stunned. He was just thinking about how he should address Guan Yan. Based on age or the hierarchy in their circle, he could call him “Brother,” but now he was here as Yu Ting’s friend. If he called him “Brother,” wouldn’t that mess up the generational order? He couldn’t follow Yu Ting and call him “Uncle” either.

His mind was tangled like a twisted rope.

Finally, Tang Qu steeled himself and said, “Hello, Uncle. I’m Tang Qu.”

Calling him “Uncle” aligned with Yu Ting’s generational standing.

Hearing this, Guan Yan was momentarily taken aback. Although he wasn’t old, his seniority was high, and many people usually called him “Uncle.” But for some reason, when others called him that, it didn’t sound as sweet as when this young man in front of him did.

After Tang Qu called him “Uncle,” Yu Ting suddenly remembered that Tang Qu was still a recently turned adult student. He didn’t want his uncle to scare him, so he tightened his arm around Tang Qu’s shoulder.

“Uncle, Xiao Qu is still a student. Don’t keep staring at him like that. Your intimidating aura might frighten him.”

“Am I that scary?” Guan Yan’s tone rose slightly.

“Not at all. Xiao Qu is just shy and timid. I practically dragged him here today, and I still owe him a meal.”

“Hmm.”

Seeing that Guan Yan was no longer focusing on Tang Qu, Yu Ting quickly changed the subject. “Brother Jiang, can you tell me what exactly happened?” His uncle was such a formidable person. How could he have gotten so seriously injured?

Yu Ting sat down on one side of the sofa, and Tang Qu followed, sitting beside him, his eyes fixed on his fingers.

“One of Brother Yan’s assistants recently went on maternity leave, so we temporarily transferred an assistant from the company. It turned out she was a sasaeng fan. We had investigated her before, and everything seemed fine. This morning, it was her turn to assist, and she entered Brother Yan’s bedroom, which is off-limits to others. We never expected her to bring a knife. Without any precautions, things ended up like this.”

“What happened to her?”

“She’s been detained and taken away.”

Yu Ting was usually carefree, but when it came to Guan Yan, he was more concerned than anyone else. “And you just let her off that easily? How did she even get into the company? Why was such a dangerous element allowed near my uncle? Have you all investigated this thoroughly?”

Jiang Ge listened patiently as Yu Ting vented. The young master was in a rage, and it wasn’t wise to argue with him, especially since he had a point.

Once Yu Ting had calmed down a bit, Jiang Ge asked, “Young Master Yu, have you had lunch yet?”

Yu Ting originally wanted to say, “What lunch?” but then he remembered that Xiao Qu hadn’t eaten yet.

“Uncle, is your private kitchen going to deliver food soon?” One moment he was indignant, the next he turned into a sweet talker.

“Yes.”

“Then make sure there’s plenty. It’s fine if I go hungry, but Xiao Qu is a guest. We can’t let him starve.”

“Don’t worry, Young Master Yu. I’ve already told them to prepare extra.”

However, Tang Qu wasn’t very keen on staying for lunch. He wasn’t afraid mentally, but his physiological reactions were hard to suppress. He was worried he might not even be able to hold his chopsticks steady later!

“Brother Yu, I have a scene in the afternoon. I don’t have time for lunch. Brother Yong is already urging me.”

Yu Ting frowned, “If you have a scene in the afternoon, you need to eat even more. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Director Chen and have him adjust the schedule.”

“Xiao Ting, stop fooling around.” Guan Yan’s words were directed at Yu Ting, but Tang Qu could feel his gaze lingering on him.

“Work is important. Jiang Ge, go arrange to send… Tang Qu back first.”

“But, Uncle…” Yu Ting wanted to say more, but thinking of his uncle’s strict attitude towards work, he held his tongue.

“No, no need. My assistant is already downstairs. I’ll head down myself.” Tang Qu stood up from the sofa, “I’ll take my leave then, Brother Yu. See you on set.”

After saying his goodbyes, Tang Qu hurried off.

Guan Yan watched Tang Qu’s almost jogging figure, his brows tightly knit. This kid was good in every way, just too shy. Every time he saw him, his fingers would tremble with nervousness.

“Uncle, stop staring. You’ve scared him off. Even if you admire him, you can’t just stare at him like that. Xiao Qu is still a kid.” Yu Ting said, lounging with his legs crossed.

He knew his uncle had a habit of particularly admiring those with good acting skills. And from what he heard from Brother Jiang, his uncle had been looking for a good candidate recently, wanting to personally mentor someone. Last time on set, he noticed his uncle’s different attitude towards Tang Qu. It seemed his uncle had intentions of taking Tang Qu under his wing.

But clearly, Tang Qu wasn’t interested in his uncle.

“Uncle, considering I’m your own nephew, tell me, are you planning to mentor Tang Qu? I heard that Tang Qu’s current teacher is Old Zhang, and you have a good relationship with him.”

“Young Master Yu, where did you hear that? Brother Yan is concerned about Tang Qu because of some past misunderstandings that hurt him. He wants to make amends. Besides, Tang Qu is still a student. What acting skills could he possibly have? If Brother Yan wants to mentor someone, he might as well pick one from the company’s kids.” Jiang Ge said with a smile.

“Ah? Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings? Did you have any interactions before? How come I didn’t know?” Young Master Yu was quick to catch the key points.

Jiang Ge coughed, feeling a bit embarrassed to speak. It was his work mistake, but in the end, Guan Yan had to bear the consequences.

“Come on, don’t beat around the bush. Spit it out.”

“Xiao Ting, have you been very free lately?”

“No, I’m not free. I have an advertisement to shoot later!” Although Yu Ting didn’t know why his uncle didn’t want him to ask, he instinctively sensed danger and thought it best to leave first. “Uncle, since you’re fine, I’ll head out now. Oh, by the way, my mom mentioned this morning that she wants you to come over for a meal when you have time. But given your current situation, you should probably let her know, or she’ll flood the house with her nagging again.”

“Young Master Yu is quite lively.”

“Jiang Ge.”

“Huh? Brother Yan, what’s the matter?”

“You’re out of the loop for next quarter’s new products.”

With that, Guan Yan closed his eyes to rest, leaving Jiang Ge bewildered. What had he said wrong this time?!