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Chapter 33 – Brother Songxian’s PTSD
“Don’t call me by that name again.”
Cheng Wanting’s chest tightened. He didn’t care whether he seemed calm or whether he’d give himself away.
“Why not?” Lin Keying, perceptive and playful, smiled and winked at the man. “I know you stopped using that name after coming to Hong Kong. No one knows it anymore, right? Everyone just calls you Young Master Cheng, President Cheng, or Wanting. But we’re different. We’ve known each other since we were young. I won’t call you Brother Songxian in front of others — it can be our little secret, okay? No one else needs to know. I’ll call you that quietly, just like when we were kids~”
A childhood fiancée deeply in love with her fiancé, of course, would cling to the nickname shared only between them! Lin Keying was very pleased with her performance.
Cheng Wanting’s throat tightened. His face grew stiff, and for a long while, he couldn’t speak.
In the general manager’s office, Lin Keying had just finished eavesdropping on some juicy gossip. She’d played the role of the affectionate childhood fiancée well and had spent quite some time praising her fiancé.
Meanwhile, in the deputy general manager’s office, Cheng Zhihao was accepting documents from an employee, waving him away afterward.
First document:
“Fifteen plots of land were auctioned. The plot in Central had the highest…”
Cheng Zhihao’s eyes almost popped out. He stumbled through the English passage, then crumpled the document and threw it on the floor.
“This is Hong Kong — speak Cantonese! What kind of bird language is this!”
Next document:
“The Hang Seng Index has broken through 1,400 points…”
Cheng Zhihao mumbled, his eyes swimming. Suddenly, a wave of sleepiness hit him — he was exhausted.
“Ugh!”
He shoved the stack of papers away, painfully grabbing his head.
“What the hell is all this? Might as well just kill me!”
That night, after a grueling day at work, Cheng Zhihao collapsed on the couch at home like a dead dog and couldn’t help but complain to his wife.
“You don’t know — this isn’t work for humans! I had to read a pile of documents and then attend meetings. In the meetings, they made me talk about my opinion on the recent fluctuations in Huanyu’s stock, and about the land auctions. What opinions could I possibly have?”
Zhou Keyi comforted her husband.
“Honey, this opportunity is something Mom worked so hard to get for you. You have to do your best!”
Cheng Zhihao looked utterly hopeless.
“Easy for you to say. You try reading all those documents about stocks, finance, and economics — page after page of tiny text. I take one look and want to fall asleep.”
Zhou Keyi could only keep encouraging him.
“You still have to hang in there. You’re the second son of the Cheng family! You’re not that much worse than your big brother! You need to wrestle something out of his hands.”
Cheng Zhihao raised a hand and felt her forehead — no fever.
“Forget it. I’d rather idle around every day than go to that damn job! What’s the point of fighting? Every time I talk to those schemers, I lose half my brain cells. Life was great before — I spent money as I pleased, played as I liked, and if the sky fell, big brother held it up.”
“Honey.” Zhou Keyi tugged on his sleeve, trying to cheer him up.
“You’re the best! Don’t lose heart! I’ll support you behind the scenes!”
“Yeah, you’d better.” Cheng Zhihao thought for a moment, then quickly instructed her.
“Tomorrow, make some tonic soup!”
Zhou Keyi was delighted — her husband still had ambition. She prepared to nourish him well so he could fight for the family fortune.
“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll make the soup myself and bring it to you. Let’s build you up properly.”
Cheng Zhihao waved her off.
“It’s not for me.”
“For who, then?”
“For big brother.” Cheng Zhihao looked worried.
“I only realized today how hard he works — he’s like a machine! If he collapses, won’t the sky fall on me?”
Zhou Keyi: “…”
“President Cheng, from my observations, Second Young Master Cheng doesn’t seem too bright.”
Lin Keying had been watching for two or three days. After complimenting her fiancé and noticing his darkened expression, she could only work even harder to comfort him every day. Eventually, she went all in and secretly observed Cheng Zhihao for several days.
The second son of the Cheng family did have a decent appearance — somewhat resembling his elder brother — and he carried himself well. But every time he spoke in meetings, it was always the same line:
“I think what the previous speakers said makes sense.”
Over time, Lin Keying started to feel something was off.
Cheng Wanting didn’t even lift his head.
“If he’s trying to fight for the family assets, playing dumb and hiding his abilities is the smartest move.”
Lin Keying was shocked.
“Your brother is that scheming?”
“Yeah.”
Cheng Wanting calmly brushed aside any consideration of Cheng Zhihao’s true abilities.
“He’s good at putting on an act, pretending to be foolish. Don’t be fooled by him.”
At that moment, in the middle of a meeting, Cheng Zhihao sneezed, suspicious that someone was badmouthing him!