CH 69

Shang Jin just hung up when his bike was brutally kicked by Ye Zhou.

Shang Jin: “???”

Ye Zhou ranted, “Did you ask me before you called me to see your mother?” To think that when Ye Zhou had agreed to bring Shang Jin to see his brother without consulting him, he’d agonized over it for a long time. but when it came to Shang Jin, the other looked like it was as it should be and didn’t consider his feelings at all.

“Don’t worry, she’s not important.”

“Even if she’s not important, she’s still your mother!” Although he could guess from Shang Jin’s attitude that the relationship between the two wasn’t very good, but in any case, the other side was still Shang Jin’s mother and Ye Zhou couldn’t help but be more cautious. “Go, let’s go buy some clothes.”

Shang Jin sneered, “What’s there to buy?”

“We must dress up well. After all, we’re meeting the elders.”

“Dress up well…” Shang Jin heard this and looked at Ye Zhou with a sudden smile, “We really should dress up well.”

Ye Zhou: “???”

The two people returned to their apartment to rest for a while, and then Shang Jin pulled Ye Zhou to the mall.

Ye Zhou’s mind couldn’t keep up with Shang Jin’s actions. He wondered, “Didn’t you just look like you were against this? Did you suddenly change your nature?”

“Actually, you reminded me.”

Looking at the elevator stopping at the fourth floor, Ye Zhou pulled at Shang Jin and said, “We still have save money now. What are you thinking looking at such expensive clothes?” This wasn’t because Ye Zhou was miserly. He’d never been a stingy person. Due to his fairly well-off family conditions and frequently getting scholarships, he was usually extravagant when spending money. But what a person could bear had its limits. When he bought clothes, he’d spend one or two thousand on clothes at most, but he wouldn’t choose these brand name clothes that would press down his entire body.

“Carefully choose well.” Shang Jin entered the shop and helped pick out some clothes for him and let him change in the fitting room.

After he came, Ye Zhou looked at the man in the mirror and his face filled with black lines. “Is this because you fear that people won’t know that this isn’t a famous brand? Why would you choose this kind with such a big logo and such a flashy style?” Ye Zhou had always used a simple and casual style. As a result, when Shang Jin brought him to a designer brand today, Ye Zhou felt a little unaccustomed.

“Very good.” Shang Jin directly said to the customer service personnel, “Wrap up this one.”

“Hey, hey! Listen to my opinion!”

Shang Jin told him to take a turn for him to see and evaluated, “It’s quite good-looking. Occasionally try out a different style.”

“But this is too expensive. 10,800 gone in just a few minutes.”

Shang Jin laughed mysteriously, “This is the effect we want.”

Ye Zhou wasn’t too clear now, but he understood once he met Liang Jingmin on the second day.

Arriving at the appointed restaurant private room, Liang Jingmin glanced at him and stared at his clothes.

Obviously, the other recognized these brand name clothes and was calculating the price in her mind.

Shang Jin looked at the place Liang Jingmin had chosen and he knew in his heart that he’d end up paying this time. After taking a seat, he asked the waiter for a menu.

Liang Jingmin originally wanted to take the menu, but was intercepted by Shang Jin on the way. He handed the menu to Ye Zhou and said, “See what you want to eat.”

Ye Zhou was a bit embarrassed. He said hesitantly, “That’s not so good. Why don’t we let Auntie choose first…”

“Don’t call her Auntie. Our relationship isn’t so close; just call her Ms. Liang.”

Liang Jingmin couldn’t bear anymore. She fiercely slammed the table and said, “Do you still have this mother in your eyes?”

The corner of Shang Jin’s mouth hooked up and he replied, “How would I dare not see you? Thanks to your blessing, my dad found out about Ye Zhou and me and has already driven me out of the house.”

“So you just went out like that?” Liang Jingmin didn’t expect Shang Qingping could be so callous. She clenched her fists and said, “Drive you out of the house? Based on what? You’re his own son. Even if he drove you out, he has to give you something, and it can’t be little. After we finish eating, we’ll make a trip to the Shang house. Want to drive out the eldest son to make room for the youngest son? Don’t think about it!”

Ye Zhou finished ordering and quietly watched Liang Jingmin. Although the other party didn’t seem easy to get along with, but these words could also be considered as thinking for Shang Jin. How could the relationship between the two be poor to that extent?

Liang Jingmin took a drink from her glass of water to soothe her anger. She once again turned her attention Ye Zhou. “You’re Ye Zhou?”

“Yes.”

Liang Jingmin glanced him up and down and suddenly smiled, “I just made you see a joke. Shang Jin’s dad neglects him too much and Shang Jin doesn’t do so well when it comes to etiquette.”

Ye Zhou’s brows wrinkled. Did she have to slander her own son so much?

However, thinking of his own parents, it was really better not to mention it. Shang Jin and him, in some respects, could really be considered fellow sufferers empathizing with each other.

“I think Shang Jin is very good like this. Being straightforward is always better than some who wears a hypocritical mask and is always extremely cordial towards everyone, but who knows when they’d stab someone in the back.” Ye Zhou, who’d never been fussy when dealing with people, didn’t want to deal with Liang Jingmin now. Her own son, Shang Jin didn’t like her, so there was even less of a need for him to tuck his tails in between his legs and behave in front of Liang Jingmin.

Shang Jin lowered his head and lightly coughed. He helped pour a glass of water for Ye Zhou and said, “Saying so much, you should be thirsty, right?”

Ye Zhou gave him a great deal of face and drank a big mouthful.

Liang Jingmin took a deep breath and said as gently as possible, “Ye Zhou, what are your parents’ high positions?”

“It can’t be called high positions. They’re just ordinary middle school teachers.”

Liang Jingmin obviously didn’t believe it. “Middle school teachers’ treatment is so good now that they can buy clothes over ten thousand at will?”

Ye Zhou froze for a moment. He didn’t expect that Liang Jingmin’s focus on his clothes was to determine his family background.

No wonder Shang Jin had taken him to buy such expensive clothes yesterday. If what he wore was too ordinary, he’s afraid that Liang Jingmin’s attitude towards him wouldn’t be good.

Ye Zhou pulled his cuffs and said, “This suit? Shang Jin bought it for me. My parents are middle school teachers and could only take home several thousands in hard-earned wages each month.”

Shang Jin looked at him in reproach.

In the next second, Liang Jingmin’s expression turned malevolent, as if the money spent was her own. Shang Jin had given clothes that cost ten thousand so easily to a totally unrelated stranger. With these thoughts in  mind, her eyes on Ye Zhou became as sharp as needles. Before, she’d thought that he was a rich second generation, but she didn’t expect that he was a poor student. She stared at Ye Zhou and said sarcastically, “I think your parents must not have educated you. Using your body to exchange for wealth is a despicable method.”

Ye Zhou sneered, “Not mentioning what my parents taught me for now, but Ms. Liang, you just gave me a vivid lesson in what it means to ‘favor the rich and disdain the poor’.”

Liang Jingmin restrained her anger and said, “Believe it or not, I’ll tell your parents about what you’ve done. I hope that at that time, you can still have such a glib tongue in front of them.”

Shang Jin’s face changed and he wanted to speak, but was held back by Ye Zhou. “You can go make a big proclamation. It’s best if you make it so that they severe their relationship with me. Then I can wrap around Shang Jin, spend his money and live in his house. After all, it was because of you, Shang Jin’s mother, that I fell to such a stage. Oh right. Shang Jin was already driven out by his father and he doesn’t have his own house. At that time, Shang Jin and I will come to your house to eat and drink. On the way, we can help you promote in the neighborhood that you have a gay son.”

Liang Jingmin kept gasping in anger, “Simply shameless.”

Ye Zhou took out his cell phone and said, “This is my parents’ number. You can call them now.”

Liang Jingmin fiercely glared at Ye Zhou, but didn’t take the phone.

Ye Zhou sneered and took the phone back. “If my family has money, you wouldn’t say anything further and agree to let me be together with Shang Jin. If my family has no money, you would oppose it to the end. Auntie, no, Ms. Liang, I’m really glad that Shang Jin didn’t follow you back then. Otherwise, based on Shang Jin’s appearance, he might have been sold by you to someone. Using your body to exchange for wealth is a despicable method. This phrase, why does it sound so familiar? Who said it?”

Liang Jingmin was jabbed at her sore point and stood up suddenly. She walked in front of Ye Zhou and raised her hand to hit him.

Shang Jin pulled Ye Zhou aside and grabbed Liang Jingmin’s arm with his other hand. “It doesn’t seem like we can eat at the same table peacefully. For the sake of everyone’s appetite, we won’t disturb your meal.”

Saying this, Shang Jin seized Ye Zhou’s shoulders and opened the door to the private room, just happening to run into the serving staff.

“The dishes I ordered, what a pity.” The spicy smell wafted to Ye Zhou’s nose and caused him to gulp involuntarily.

“We can come eat next time.” Shang Jin just left the hotel and Liang Jingmin called him. He didn’t even look and directly hung up.

Ye Zhou said resentfully, “What did she call for?”

Shang Jin shut off the phone and said, “What else could it be? Money for the meal.”

The just-quelled fury ignited again. Ye Zhou said indignantly, “She still has the nerve to call herself your mother? Has she taken on a mother’s responsibility? Opening or closing her mouth, it’s money, money, money. Eating a meal, she’d actually chase after her son to pay for it!”

Shang Jin rubbed Ye Zhou’s hair and said, “Why are you so angry? I don’t feel anything.”

Ye Zhou hatefully glared at him and said in annoyance, “I’m even angrier after seeing you like this!” Ye Zhou couldn’t imagine how many times Shang Jin was hurt by Liang Jingmin’s attitude before he became so indifferent. “I really don’t know how much effort it took for you to not go astray in this environment, but still be able to get first in every class.”

Shang Jin wasn’t to be outdone and countered, “You still have the nerve to talk about me? You’ve been working so hard for so many years but your family still ignores your achievements. You can still grow up to be a red-roots socialist successor.”

“I, that’s…” Ye Zhou said halfway and didn’t understand what he was arguing with Shang Jin about, “Are we comparing who’s more miserable?”

Shang Jin laughed. “Yeah, but this time, you won.”

“No way,” Ye Zhou said, “I didn’t expect that I’d lose to you when it comes to being more miserable.”

“No, you won.”

“It’s you who won.”

“You won.”

“You won!” Ye Zhou fiercely said, then laughed out loud. “What are we doing?”

Shang Jin pulled Ye Zhou’s hand and said, “Hungry? Let’s go eat.”

“OK!”