AMTWPICL Chapter 30

The atmosphere was extremely tense.

When Tan Yue spoke, there was no emotional tone in his voice, but it still gave people an immense feeling of pressure. Tan Mingqing and Tuantuan’s bodies trembled slightly.

Song Linchu’s scalp also felt a little numb.

With the sharpness of a cold blade, Tan Yue’s eyes swept over them and from his angle, it looked as though Tan Mingqing was half embracing Song Linchu.

Tan Yue’s hands at the side clenched and he said in a cold voice, “Come here.”

It was clear who he was addressing. Song Linchu hesitated for a moment, then walked around Tuantuan and Tan Mingqing, and went over to Tan Yue.

When he arrived in front of Tan Yue, Song Linchu was a little nervous and lowered his eyes, quietly calling out, “Gege.”

Tan Yue didn’t respond to him, he simply reached out his hand and Song Linchu felt a warm touch on his neck.

Then, he felt the sensation of cloth rubbing against his skin on his neck, and only then did he realize that his shirt collar had somehow become crooked.

Tan Yue helped him straighten his collar and smooth out the creases, neither hurried nor slow. His movements were like those of a couple in love, affectionate and natural, yet possessive, as if to declare his ownership to onlookers through this gesture.

Onlooker Tan Mingqing’s face turned pale.

The other onlooker was angry, and his wife had been taken advantage of!

Song Linchu was not surprised. After all, what’s wrong with showing affection? Older men are experienced in such matters.

Tan Yue withdrew his hand, and his gaze fell on Tan Mingqing once again.

“You were chatting so excitedly. I’d like to hear it too.”

Tan Mingqing hesitated, “I, we…”

He had just vowed to help Song Linchu bear the brunt of the situation, but when he really faced Tan Yue, he realized he wasn’t that brave.

Tuantuan knew that he had already stacked enough death buffs in the heart of his uncle, and his life was in danger at any moment. Now was a good opportunity to redeem himself and get rid of a love rival.

So Tuantuan immediately said, “This bad guy kept pestering Big Brother and insisted that Big Brother liked him. He refused to leave!”

Tan Mingqing: “…”

Every word this little brat said was true, but together they sounded so wrong.

Seeing his uncle’s face darken, Tan Mingqing didn’t dare let Tuantuan continue speaking. He hurriedly said, “Uncle, the thing is…Song Linchu and I were in a relationship for a while, I don’t know if you know.”

Tan Yue remained silent.

Tan Mingqing could only continue, “It’s been less than half a year since we broke up, and he married you. I’m afraid he still has feelings for me and sees you as my stand in. I thought that if he explained it to you with me, you would blame me too. After all, I am also responsible for this matter.”

Finally, Tan Yue responded, “Responsible for what?”

Was this the main point?

Tan Mingqing suppressed the urge to wipe his cold sweat and continued to speak with a stiff upper lip, “It’s just that… When I was dating him, I fell in love with another person, which broke his heart. Little uncle, please don’t blame him. He did what he did because he was too heartbroken. Actually, he is a very good and outstanding person. It’s all my fault.”

Tan Mingqing felt relieved after saying this.

See, he has a sense of responsibility. He dares to admit and face his mistakes.

Song Linchu was already too lazy to roll his eyes.

Having such an ex-boyfriend is really a bad karma from a previous life.

“With such a rich love life,” Tan Yue’s voice lacked emotion, “it seems like you have a lot of free time.”

Tan Mingqing had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Tan Yue continued, “Starting from next semester, your family will not give you a penny of living expenses. Looks like you’ll have plenty of time to be self-sufficient.”

Tan Mingqing’s face turned green upon hearing this.

Ever since Tan Yue told his uncle that he only gave him 1,000 yuan a month, his life has been difficult. Fortunately, his parents can still give him 10,000 yuan a month, so things weren’t too bad.

But if even his parents stop giving him money, what will he eat?

Should he go find a job?

Then his friends would laugh at him.

Tan Mingqing became anxious, “Uncle, I…”

Tan Yue waved his hand, interrupting his words, “I’m not discussing this with you.”

“…”

Tan Mingqing’s face turned pale and green in turns. It was clear that he wanted to ask his uncle for a favor, but he was forced to swallow his words when he saw Tan Yue’s indifferent face.

Song Linchu felt a sense of satisfaction when he saw Tan Mingqing suffer.

He thought Tan Yue was spoiling Tan Mingqing, but now it seems that he is just like that.

Seeing how scared Tan Mingqing was of him, Tan Yue probably treats him no differently than his other nephews and nieces.

Thinking of this, the little demon in Song Linchu’s heart became rampant, whispering to Tan Yue, “Gege, he still gets red envelopes during the Chinese New Year.”

Earlier this year, he heard Tan Mingqing bragging that he could receive more than 100,000 yuan in red envelopes.

Tan Yue said coldly, “Not anymore this year.”

Tan Mingqing: “…”

Tan Mingqing’s face changed several times, but he couldn’t muster the courage to challenge Tan Yue.

In the end, he said dejectedly, “I understand, Uncle.”

Tan Yue grunted in response, gesturing for him to leave.

Su Zhan, who came to find Tan Mingqing, saw everything clearly. He wasn’t angry at Tan Mingqing’s words, or rather, he was too preoccupied to care as he was staring at Tan Yue.

What a handsome man.

If only…

Su Zhan’s heart raced. If he could snatch Tan Yue and become the husband of the head of the first noble family in Haikou, he would be worshipped wherever he went. That would be true marriage into a wealthy family!

At that time, not only Tan Mingqing, but even his uncle would come and kowtow to him.

…

After Tan Mingqing left, Tuantuan also tried to move out of Tan Yue’s line of sight by sticking to the wall.

“Where are you going?” Tan Yue didn’t even look up, as if he had eyes on the back of his head.

Tuantuan stiffened.

Then he hung his head and slouched over, “Uncle…”

Song Linchu found him so amusing in this state that he couldn’t help but rub his head with his hand.

Tuantuan’s furry head rubbed against his palm, like a well-behaved little puppy.

Tan Yue’s face grew even darker.

“Aren’t you idle too?” Tan Yue asked coldly.

Tuantuan was afraid that this lunatic would force him to be self-reliant, and he shook his head like a tambourine, “No, Uncle, I’m very busy. Besides going to school, I also practice the piano, draw, and do handicrafts!”

Song Linchu covered his face, feeling like a certain child was done for.

Sure enough, Tan Yue said, “Then you don’t have enough homework. From now on, practice the piano for an extra hour every day.”

Tuantuan: ???

Are you a devil?

As if struck by lightning, Tuantuan cried, “You’re bullying children, woo woo.”

Tan Yue: “Two hours.”

Tuantuan: “…”

Tuantuan was about to die of anger. He was afraid that his demonic uncle would make him practice the piano for an additional two hours, so he could only steal glances at Song Linchu and hope to get his help. Who knew that Tan Yue would stand directly between them, cutting off his line of sight.

“…”

Malicious, shameless, and perverted!

Tuantuan clenched his small fists and cursed his uncle in his heart. But when he caught his uncle’s cold look, his body trembled and he ran away crying again.

Looking at Tuantuan’s retreating figure, Song Linchu worriedly said, “Isn’t it bad to make such a young child practice so much?”

Tan Yue sneered, “If I don’t make him practice, his parents will.”

“Ah,” Song Linchu said with understanding, feeling sorry for Tuantuan.

Just then, Cheng Bin walked over.

He whispered, “Sir, Madam Tan is here and wants to see Mr. Song.”

Madam Tan’s husband and Grandpa Tan were biological brothers. Due to the successive deaths of that generation, Madam Tan had the oldest qualifications in the Tan family.

Everyone in the Tan family feared Tan Yue, but she dared to confront him because of her seniority and status.

For example, everyone arrived on time and did not dare to be late, but she deliberately came in halfway through the event to announce her special status.

Tan Yue was not fooled by her tricks and he said indifferently, “Let her wait.”

“Okay, sir,” Cheng Bin was not surprised and said, “The lounge is ready. Would you like to go there with Mr. Song now?”

Tan Yue responded with a sound of approval.

Song Linchu did not understand what they were saying, so he followed Tan Yue to another lounge. This one was much more luxurious than the previous one, with waiters pushing food carts in and out, and the tables were filled with various delicacies.

Although there was plenty of food prepared for the party, as soon as they arrived, they were surrounded by people and had no chance to eat anything.

Song Linchu had not felt hungry before, but now that he saw the steam rising from the table full of food, his stomach grumbled.

When they entered the lounge, a waiter pulled out two chairs for them to sit.

“Please sit,” Tan Yue said.

Song Linchu sat down on one of the chairs and carefully placed the gift Tuantuan gave him on the side. The waiter politely asked if he wanted to store it, and Song Linchu said he would take it back to the event later.

He didn’t know what Tuantuan had given him, so he reminded the waiter, “Don’t break it.”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter carefully picked up the gift, “I will keep it safe for you.”

Tan Yue looked at the small bag with an unkind expression and said, “It’s a gift from Tuantuan.”

It was not an inquiry, but a statement.

Although Tuantuan regarded Song Linchu as his secret lover, Song Linchu, did not think anything was wrong with that because the other was just a child. He smiled and said, “Yes, I don’t even know what he gave me. I’m looking forward to it.”

Tan Yue grunted and did not say anything, picking up his chopsticks and beginning to eat.

The food at this ultra-five-star hotel was delicious, and Song Linchu was very hungry. He ate a lot, but when he turned his head, he noticed that Tan Yue had not touched his chopsticks much.

“Gege, aren’t you hungry?” Song Linchu asked.

Could this person be so picky that he wouldn’t eat even this?

Song Linchu had only recently discovered that Tan Yue was a picky eater who wouldn’t eat many things, and he refused to eat many dishes unless they were prepared in a certain way. He wouldn’t eat dishes with melon in them, and he preferred onion, ginger, and garlic to be used as as seasoning. If he made a dish with minced garlic, minced ginger, and minced scallions mixed in, he would not eat it.

Tan Yue put down his chopsticks and looked at him. “Stand in?”

“Ahem, ahem, ahem!” Song Linchu nearly choked on his own saliva.

It wasn’t surprising that Tan Yue would be concerned about this matter. After all, he had shown a strong interest in him and flirted with him wildly even though they had never met. The comment about the stand in made sense.

Tan Yue was such a proud person that even if he didn’t like him and marrying him was only a contractual agreement, he would not want to be regarded as a stand in, especially not his own nephew. That would be too embarrassing.

Song Linchu coughed several times before recovering his breath and quickly explained, “How is that possible? I didn’t like him from the moment I found out he was cheating on me.”

Tan Yue looked at him.

“I swear!” Song Linchu nearly raised his hand to the sky. “We only dated for two or three months, and during that time, I was preparing for a competition and was very busy. I hardly had time to be with him, so he hooked up with my roommate instead.”

“You so skilled at flirting, didn’t you use it on him before?” Tan Yue asked.

“No! I never used it on him. I was very cold with him. When he didn’t contact me on WeChat, I didn’t contact him either. I rarely chatted with him on WeChat. He even got mad at me several times because he felt like we weren’t really in a relationship.”

Tan Yue’s lips curled up.

“I learned to flirt when it came to you!” Song Linchu said, lowering his eyes and saying sadly, “I’m just afraid that if I’m not more enthusiastic, you’ll run away too.”

Tan Yue paused, his gaze falling lightly on Song Linchu’s hair.

Song Linchu’s hair, which had been neatly styled, was a little messy now, and Tan Yue reached out and smoothed it down. The hair gel had loosened, and the youth’s hair was a little soft, making it difficult to smooth back.

He withdrew his hand and said lightly, “Cheating is not a family trait.”

Song Linchu’s eyes flashed a triumphant look, but he still sounded aggrieved as he said, “You never know. If I’m not that enthusiastic in the future, won’t you get seduced by some little green tea or little white lotus?”

“If I were that fickle, would I be here with you today?”

“…” It seemed like there was nothing wrong with that.

Straight steel men are blind, and to him, the seductive techniques that Su Zhan used to lure Tan Mingqing were probably summed up in one word: boring.

Song Linchu immediately revived, leaning over to hug Tan Yue’s arm and saying, “Gege is the best. I only like gege.”

You only like me, yet you still accept gifts from other men(Tuantuan)?

Tan Yue tightened his arm around Song Linchu and said, “Go fix your hair, we’ll go back to the venue later.”

Song Linchu smiled and said, “Okay.”

The attendant took Song Linchu to the dressing room, and Tan Yue also left the lounge, instructing Cheng Bin in a low voice, “In the future, there’s no need to notify the branch that belongs to Tan Yuming for any activities.”

Tan Yuming was the name of Tan Mingqing’s uncle. They were already a more distant branch of the Tan family. After Tan Yuming was diagnosed with a terminal illness, their family inevitably suffered a setback and they slowly became marginalized.

Now, Tan Yue’s decision was tantamount to excluding them from the sphere of power. Although they were still members of the Tan family, they would no longer enjoy the benefits and protection that the other members did.

For Tan Yue, this was just a sentence, but for them, it was like worsening the situation.

“Okay, sir,” Cheng Bin replied.

Cheng Bin wasn’t surprised by Tan Yue’s decision. Tan Yue himself didn’t like Tan Yuming’s immoral behavior that harmed others and benefited himself in his early years when making his fortune, but Tan Yuming was simply not important enough to Tan Yue to consider.

Now that he and Song Linchu had obtained their marriage certificate, this day was bound to come sooner or later.

After all, a husband should protect his partner.

Although the partner in question was unaware of it.

Tan Yue was about to return to the venue when someone suddenly appeared next to him.

Su Zhan had been lurking here for a while, watching as Tan Yue buttoned up his suit and spoke to his secretary while striding toward the venue. He knew this was his only chance.

He regretted not wearing women’s clothing today, as that was his trump card.

But he couldn’t change here. He was wearing such a handsome high end outfit today and even had his makeup done. He shouldn’t be much worse off than Song Linchu in terms of appearance.

Moreover, his rise to the top was not based on his looks, but on his methods.

Su Zhan pretended to be a bit drunk and stumbled around, looking for a good angle, and then stumbled straight towards Tan Yue.

Seeing that he was about to fall into his arms, Tan Yue coldly stepped aside, causing Su Zhan to lose his balance and fall heavily to the ground.

Even the thick carpet on the ground could be heard making a “thud” sound, indicating that he fell hard.

Su Zhan almost coughed up blood.

He squeezed out some tears and looked pitifully at Tan Yue, “Mr. Tan, I’m sorry. I drank too much and couldn’t stand steady. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

Tan Yue frowned and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Su Zhan, also a guest at tonight’s banquet,” Su Zhan replied, attempting to stand up but failing. He looked at Tan Yue with pleading eyes and said, “Mr. Tan, it seems like I sprained my foot. Can you lend me a hand?”

He rubbed his foot and let out a soft “hiss”: “It hurts so much.”

Although Tan Yue did not recognize Su Zhan’s face, as soon as he heard the name, he knew who he was.

He asked Cheng Bin in a deep voice, “Did you invite him?”

“No,” Cheng Bin hurriedly said, “He should have come with Young Master Tan.”

Tan Yue continued walking past Su Zhan and coldly spat out a few words, “This is a family banquet.”

Cheng Bin immediately understood his meaning. This was a family banquet, so what business did Su Zhan, a nobody with an unknown background, have being here?

Su Zhan tried to grab Tan Yue’s sleeve, but he was held back by several security guards who rushed over.

“You let go… mmph.”

The guards unceremoniously covered his mouth and ignored his protests, escorting him out of the hotel.

Outside the hotel was a fountain square where many people were watching the fountain show, some even filming it with their phones. When they saw Su Zhan being escorted out by several guards, they all aimed their phones at him.

Who knows who gave the order, but one guard even said, “Don’t be a third party in your next life.”

As soon as he spoke, more phones were pointed at Su Zhan.

His high-end clothes were already wrinkled, his hair disheveled from the struggle, looking very much like a mistress being kicked out. People pointed and talked about him, and he was both angry and ashamed, almost running away in embarrassment.

By the time the banquet ended, it was already late.

When Song Linchu and Tan Yue left the venue, it was already past nine in the evening.

The weather had turned cold these days. In the well-heated venue, it was fine, but as soon as they stepped outside, the cold wind made Song Linchu shiver.

The waiter hurriedly brought their coats over, along with the gift that Tuantuan gave to Song Linchu.

Today, all the guests brought gifts, but they were all given to the receptionist at the door and would be delivered later. After Song Linchu had checked them, he kept what he wanted and left the rest. The only gift that Song Linchu took was from Tuantuan.

After getting into the car, Song Linchu couldn’t wait to open the bag and see what this little guy had sent. Tan Yue also looked over.

Song Linchu did not think that this child would give him any extraordinary gift, so he opened the bag in front of Tan Yue. Inside the bag was a gift box with a butterfly knot tied around it. Song Linchu untied the knot and opened the box.

Inside the box lay a handmade paper ring. It was not very delicate, but one could see a diamond larger than the ring on the ring band. On it was written “love” with a red pen, and there was a small red heart. A pink note was pressed underneath it, and there was a line of words written in pinyin and Chinese, crookedly and slantingly:

“Wife, I will save pocket money to buy a real one for you, kiss kiss.”

Signed: “Your secret lover, Tuantuan.”

Song Linchu: “…”

Tan Yue: “…”

**Of course the note was written with spelling mistakes but I corrected them 😃)