Chapter 12 - Smash Everything to Your Heart's Content
When Lin Quan woke up, he was met with a bucketload of Zhou Qiran's utmost disdain. Utterly baffled by those judgmental looks and clueless as to what had happened, Lin Quan promptly called on the system for help.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, did I somehow offend Zhou Qiran again while I was asleep?
System: It’s not that you offended him, but something else. I doubt you'll want to see a replay of what happened.
When Lin Quan learned what had gone down, he buried his face in his hands. He'd made a complete fool of himself in front of Qian Gu.
He'd thought he was dreaming about Qian Gu, but who could've known Qian Gu actually showed up? The image of him hugging and nuzzling Qian Gu with a silly grin was too cringey to revisit. The only saving grace was that he hadn't spilled the beans about the system; otherwise, Lin Quan felt he might as well have died right there.
Lin Quan wailed at the system—how could it not wake him up at such a critical moment! To this, the system could only sigh helplessly. It had called Lin Quan hundreds of times but couldn't rouse Lin Quan from his stupor—the system was equally helpless.
Just the thought of how stupid he must have looked made Lin Quan's face burn. Even Zhou Qiran, who had been witness to it all, did not want to be associated with him and simply wished he didn't know Lin Quan. As for Lin Quan, he didn't dare ask Qian Gu how he'd felt during that whole ordeal.
Lin Quan felt like crying tears of blood. "That's it. I'm done for. The Qian family's definitely going to call off the engagement."
However, Zhou Qiran's assessment was different: "Qian Gu must've caught your stupidity, I'm surprised he wasn't put off by your behaviour."
Not only had Qian Gu not distanced himself, but before leaving, he had even asked Zhou Qiran to take care of Lin Quan for him. The Qian family had too much on their plate recently and Qian Gu really couldn't spare the time, so Lin Quan had to continue staying at Zhou Qiran's place.
Zhou Qiran casually pointed at the clothes and shoes in the room. "He left those for you. You've got yourself a fiancé now, so settle down and stop messing around all day long."
Then, he paused for a bit before adding with a scowl, "Take it or leave it. Even if you end up screwing yourself over, it’s got nothing to do with me."
Lin Quan scooted over to Zhou Qiran with a smile. "Still angry? I've given it a lot of thought, and I think what you said before was right. Fu Yunteng isn't the right person for me. I won't be a fool and waste my time on him anymore."
Zhou Qiran rolled his eyes at Lin Quan. It took this many years for him to get it? How many times must Lin Quan's head have been caught in a door for him to take this long to figure out such a simple truth? Still, it was better late than never. At least, he'd finally come to his senses.
Zhou Qiran's tone softened slightly. "Qian Gu is leagues better than Fu Yunteng. You've absolutely hit the jackpot with this engagement to him, cherish it.
"Oh right, your eldest brother is crying his eyes out searching high and low for you. Are you really not going to contact him?" Zhou Qiran asked. "Qian Gu doesn't seem to have told anyone else you're here."
That "anyone else" included Lin Quan's eldest brother, Lin Tianye.
Whenever Lin Quan's foolish older brother is mentioned, he would feel a headache coming up. When it came to whether or not he should contact his elder brother, the system’s response was a resounding "great misfortune". With this divination result, it was clear as day, Lin Quan should not contact Lin Tianye.
Sometimes, Lin Quan can't help but wonder if Lin Tianye was the key to this current misfortune he was undergoing. With Qian Gu's help, he could fend off crises on all sides. Hiding out in Qian Gu's house was enough to keep most people at bay, except his brother, Lin Tianye.
Whether Lin Tianye's influence on Lin Quan's fate was direct or indirect remained a mystery—the system wouldn't say, and Lin Quan couldn't figure it out.
"Oi, I'm talking to you. Why aren't you answering?" Zhou Qiran said as he gave Lin Quan a casual slap on the shoulder. "You're always a beat too slow to react. Do you need to go to the hospital for a detailed check-up?"
Lin Quan chuckled helplessly. "I'm not slow; I was just thinking, Just a while more, I'll contact my brother when I'm feeling better. No point making him worry unnecessarily."
Zhou Qiran eyed Lin Quan up and down before saying with a raised brow, "Being all mysterious, telling only half the story. What? Did you think I would ask you what happened, if you've had a falling out with your brother? Please, none of this concerns me, alright? I couldn't care less."
Lin Quan's head was immediately covered in black lines. Zhou Qiran had already asked his questions clearly and bluntly, yet he was still acting like he wouldn't ask further questions. The guy was so direct, it was almost comforting.
After some careful thought, Lin Quan chose his words: "Tianye[1] is very good to me, but there are some things I can't tell him right now."
And with that, they dropped the subject of Lin Tianye. In the days that followed, Lin Quan found himself with more things to do, such as chatting with Qian Gu.
Lin Quan rarely contacted Qian Gu during the day, not wanting to disturb his work. Instead, he'd send voice messages at night, rambling on about the mundane events of his day. His day-to-day life was particularly uneventful: watching TV, surfing the net, and listening to Zhou Qiran gossip about what was happening outside.
Lin Quan took a picture of the grey dog plushie and sent it to Qian Gu, shamelessly fishing for compliments as he described how difficult it had been to protect the little grey dog during the massive fire.
Even though the puppy's tail had been singed a little by the fire, Lin Quan firmly believed that the plushie he had prepared for Qian Gu was the best-looking one out there. A heartfelt gift was the best gift, after all.
Unfortunately, his photo received no response. Qian Gu neither commented if it was good or bad. Lin Quan even began to doubt if he'd sent it to the wrong person.
So, he tried again—this time with a video of himself and the puppy plushie. He sent it to Qian Gu again, hoping for some praise. But just like before, he didn't receive any response. Lin Quan couldn't help but check the number over and over again to confirm that it was indeed Qian Gu on the other end, not someone else.
One day, Zhou Qiran stumbled back home looking utterly exhausted, and collapsed onto the sofa like a lifeless corpse.
Lin Quan leaned in curiously and asked, "What wrong? Did some big drama happen today? Come on, spill!"
"Big drama, my foot. It's all the emotional mess you've racked up." Zhou Qiran grimaced, grumbling, "I met Ji Shang today. He wouldn't stop going on about you, telling me how wonderful you are and asking me not to resent or blame you. You weren't there to hear it, his voice was so creepily tender, it nearly drove me mad."
Lin Quan belatedly recalled the mess surrounding him. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well, he can say what he wants and you can just tune him out. It's not like he's going to poison you."
"Poison me? If he's poisoning anyone, it’ll be you. He's been asking around about you non-stop. The way he was looking for you is frankly terrifying. If you end up in his hands, you'll probably spend the rest of your life locked away, never to see the light of day again. I never realised Ji Shang could be so scary when he’s unhinged." Zhou Qiran clicked his tongue and sighed.
Lin Quan's lips twitched at Zhou Qiran's words.
Has Childhood Friend No. 6 gone down a path of no return towards complete madness? Dangerous, way too dangerous; best to stay as far away as possible.
Lin Quan asked, "You haven't told him I'm at your place, have you?"
"With everyone going crazy, I'd happily sell you off to Ji Shang," Zhou Qiran quipped before shifting the topic, "But then Fu Yunteng showed up, and I ended up watching Ji Shang and Fu Yunteng duke it out. It was absolutely brilliant. What a sight to behold! I completely forgot about selling you."
Lin Quan scoffed inwardly. Classic Zhou Qiran, he was always one to enjoy a good show.
Soon, Lin Quan found himself faced with a difficult dilemma. Lin Tianye, worried sick about Lin Quan's safety, had fallen ill. Lin Quan couldn't decide whether to contact his older brother or not.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, does my fortune still say "great misfortune"?
System: Yes.
Lin Quan: Does the misfortune still point to Tianye? My bad luck will continue, if I can't resolve the issue with my brother? But he's been pretty good to me, I don't think he'd do anything to hurt me.
But why? Why couldn't Lin Quan get past this plot point? Last time, he'd avoided trouble by refusing to sign the documents and approve the transfer of land ownership. But this time, this state of bad luck had persisted for so long, it was making him uneasy.
Noticing his gloomy state, Zhou Qiran couldn't help but say, "What’s with the long face? Tell me, who owes you money and doesn't want to pay?"
"Qiran, what do you think of my brother? Does he treat me well?" Lin Quan asked.
"Shouldn't you know better than anyone whether or not your own brother's good to you?" Zhou Qiran stretched lazily. "What's this now? Are you blaming him for not saving you when you were trapped in the sanatorium?"
Lin Quan sighed, "He was tricked back then. He doesn't know how bad things were for me."
Zhou Qiran shot Lin Quan a sideways glance. "So what are you worried about now? That he's still being deceived, that he still can't see your predicament?"
Lin Quan lowered his gaze and fell silent.
Two days later, Lin Quan unexpectedly received a video from Qian Gu. Qian Gu wrote: "It's not good news. Think carefully about whether you want to watch it."
Lin Quan didn't open the video immediately. For some reason, an inexplicable sense of dread gripped his heart. But he knew that what was meant to come would always come—some things could not be avoided.
Lin Quan took a deep breath and clicked on the video. His expression went from shocked and confused to disbelief, and finally to a searing anger. These emotions were not his own but an overwhelming fury stirred up by the original owner's residual consciousness.
The protagonist of the video was Lin Quan's older brother, Lin Tianye, talking to someone. He seemed anxious, like he was trying to explain something. Then, Lin Tianye leaned in, attempting to kiss the other person. But the man turned away coldly, rejecting his intimate advance.
The person standing opposite Lin Tianye was young, handsome, and exuded a cold aura. He was like a high, unattainable flower. Except this flower was poisonous.
That man was Fu Yunteng. Childhood Friend No. 7, that Fu Yunteng.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, my heart hurts so much. Is this the original owner's emotions affecting me? I want to cry out loud, to scream, to completely lose it.
System: Deep breaths, host. Calm down.
System: If you're swayed by the original owner's lingering emotions, you might lose yourself.
Lin Quan: Everytime we talk about my brother and this current "great misfortune" plot point, you always skirt around the details. Is it because my brother's pursuit of Childhood Friend No. 7 will trigger these negative emotions in me?
Lin Quan: He's kind to his brother but he's also kind to No. 7. But whether family comes before love, or love before family, has he considered it? Or is he just greedy and wants both?
Lin Quan: Don't worry, Little Temtem. I won't confuse who I am. I just feel sorry for the little young master of the Lin family. After all, that's the brother he trusted, the brother who's doted on him his whole life.
Grabbing his phone, Lin Quan made his way to Zhou Qiran. "Do you have a soundproof room I can borrow for a bit?"
Zhou Qiran noticed something was off in Lin Quan's expression. "Weren't you enjoying a sweet phone call? Why do you look so ghastly? Did Qian Gu dump you for being too stupid?"
Lin Quan handed his phone to Zhou Qiran, gesturing for him to see for himself. Zhou Qiran opened the video and his eyes instantly widened. Waving Lin Quan along, he said, "Let's go, the music room has good soundproofing."
Leading the way, Zhou Qiran opened the door to the music room but didn't follow Lin Quan inside. He said to Lin Quan, "You can let loose and go crazy in there."
After Lin Quan stepped inside, Zhou Qiran quietly shut the door but didn't leave immediately.
Leaning against the wall, he tilted his head back slightly, his long phoenix eyes narrowing with a frosty glint. Then his fist slammed into the wall beside him as he muttered through clenched teeth, "Fu Yunteng, you heartless bastard!"
Inside the music room, Lin Quan was instantly engulfed by the little Young Master Lin's emotions. This was the first time Lin Quan experienced such overwhelming emotional turmoil—so intense it was unbearable. He let out his grief in a chaotic frenzy, smashing everything in sight and screaming his heart out, venting the pain in his heart.
When he was finally too exhausted to move, Lin Quan collapsed onto the floor, surrounded by the wreckage, staring at the ceiling light. Perhaps he was saying to himself or maybe it was to the other Lin Quan, he muttered softly, "It's okay to cry it out if you're sad, but pick yourself up after the tears. Life has to keep moving forward. Don't let people who aren't worth it stop you in your tracks."
1. Lowkey feel like I've made this footnote before XD As Lin Quan has another brother (second in line), I will refer to them by their names at my discretion rather than translating them as First Brother and Second Brother.↩
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