Mr. Yuan is Always Unhappy - Chap 50
CH50 – COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET
Edited by Yummers
Zheng Qiuyang didn’t want to tell his mom about the design tournament, so his silence agreed to her lovesick statement. He went back into the bedroom with the doll still in his arms to put it away, then came back out, saying, “Why didn’t you call me before coming? I could’ve picked you up after work.”
Mom Zheng answered, “I was doing a facial nearby, I just happened to drop by.”
Zheng Qiuyang observed her face, then complimented with a thumbs up, “Beautiful, there are absolutely no wrinkles. People would believe you even if you claimed to be eighteen.”
Mom Zheng was naturally joyed by the praises, yet she replied disdainfully, “All you know what to do is sweet talk.”
She bought groceries on her way over, wanting to make some food for her son. She walked into the kitchen, then asked, “Did you not use the stove at all recently?”
Zheng Qiuyang rummaged through the bag, taking a look at the groceries she bought. He replied loudly, “You think your son knows how to cook? All he can do is cook instant noodles.”
Mom Zheng put on an apron, then said, “Look at you, finding yourself a celebrity partner who’s busy as heck, how can he even take care of you?”
“Even if I wasn’t dating a celebrity, I can’t just sit and wait for them to take care of me. Mom, I’m a grown adult, I won’t starve to death.”
As Mom Zheng dug around for spices in the kitchen, she realized that both the cabinets and stovetop had been well-cleaned and all the items were organized nicely.
But she didn’t want to compliment that little vixen, so she made no comment after examining the cabinets.
After the meal, Zheng Qiuyang sent her home. They just so happened to meet his dad when they arrived.
His dad said, “I saw the lights out from your window so I thought you were out playing mahjong again. Why did you even go out in such cold weather?”
Mom Zheng was very happy to see him. She replied, “You didn’t say you were coming today either.”
The relationship between the two wasn’t half bad. When they stood next to each other, they at least looked like a married couple.
The Sparkling Friends was broadcasting its last episode that night; Zheng Qiuyang couldn’t wait to go home and watch it, so he cut in, “I won’t go in then, I’ll be going now.”
Just as he was getting back in his car, his dad solemnly stopped him, “What are you hurrying off for? I haven’t seen you in months and you’re ready to take off right after seeing me.”
Mom Zheng pulled onto him as well. “Right, come in and sit. You can have a little chat with your dad.”
She pinched Zheng Qiuyang’s arm discreetly, trying to tell him to take the chance to get closer with his dad.
Zheng Qiuyang understood her intention. He quickly found a time to message Yuan Rui that he was at his mom’s place, so he’ll be calling him at a later time.
Yuan Rui didn’t reply, he was probably still filming.
Once they went upstairs, Mom Zheng asked, “Have you eaten yet? Want me to cook up something tasty for you?”
Dad Zheng replied, “I’ve eaten. Though my throat’s been a bit sore recently, make me some honey and pear soup.”
Mom Zheng went to do just that with a smile.
Zheng Qiuyang simply sat on the side, not making a sound.
When he was a kid, whenever his dad came to visit, he would always do so in a sneaky manner. He would come like a thief in the middle of the night, then sneak away in the early morning again. As a young child, he thought his sneaky dad was in the same line as James Bond. Every ten days or so, an aunt would always show up at their house out of nowhere. She and his mom would start to tear each other up like madmen. Later on, the aunt would bring along a little boy who was a bit older than him as well. The two kids didn’t know better, so they would also grab each other and get in a fight as they saw the two adults going at each other.
As Zheng Qiuyang grew up and learned a bit or two from his classmates and neighbors’ gossiping, he gradually realized that his dad was nothing like James Bond. He was someone else’s husband, someone else’s dad. His mom was a mistress, and he was the son of a mistress.
He was only nine when he realized. He cried to his mother, begging her to take him away, to escape the life of being looked down upon constantly. However, his mom cried with even more pain, telling him that there was no way back anymore.
He’s thought of running away from home before. When he graduated from elementary school, he took a few hundred dollars from his mom’s wallet and bought a train ticket to Shenzhen. Inside the green train, he listened to the radio broadcast singing, “We tell the spring story of reform and opening up, continuing until the opening of the leader leads us to enter the new era,” the entire way. The train clanked and clanked for over thirteen hours. By the time he got off, he didn’t know where to go. He stood in the Shenzhen train station, looking around, completely lost.
During that time, the crime rate for child trafficking was high, so the police were highly alert in many areas. Before he even had the chance to stand on Shenzhen ground for three hours, he was sent back to Beijing by the train station officers.
His mom almost went mad looking for him. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Upon seeing him, she immediately gave him over a dozen slaps across his face, then hugged him as she cried. Zheng Qiuayng couldn’t even remember how he reacted back then, he couldn’t even remember if he cried or not. All he retained was that within the crowd of people that surrounded him that day, none of them was his dad.
Then, as he went through middle school, high school, university, and up to him studying overseas, he’d always tell others that he had no dad if asked. After all, he wasn’t legally registered as his dad anyway.
The reason why his mom cared so much about reputation was that she had been looked down upon her entire life. Not only did outsiders look down on her, but even her blood-related siblings also did. Zheng Qiuyang had an uncle and an aunt who never interacted with them. Even when his grandma died, no one informed his mom. By the time his mom found out, it was already half a month after the event. He was in high school then, and his mom took him with her. They were in funeral apparel as they burned paper in an empty cemetery. That day, his mom cried out her heart, almost passing out. At the same time, her cries scared off the jackdaws who resided in the trees.
He couldn’t make decisions for his mom, nor was he successful in persuading her. Slowly, he stopped trying to change her mind. Everyone looked down on her, but only he, who was her son, couldn’t. She loved his dad and she was willing to live such a life for love; he could only go along with her choice.
Dad Zheng asked, “Has work been fine lately?”
Zheng Qiuyang replied, “It’s pretty good.”
“Your big brother just became a dad, so a lot is going on in his family. Help him out at the company whenever you can, after all, you guys are brothers. It’s better than reaching out to outsiders.”
Zheng Qiuyang replied with a simple “mn”.
“He’s only a year older than you but he’s already a dad, you should hurry up too.”
“…”
His dad smiled as he said, “A friend of mine asked me about you not long ago, he wanted to introduce someone to you.”
“Dad, there’s no need…”
His dad spoke understandingly, “You are young after all, it’s normal that you like to play around and not need to listen to someone all the time. But once you reach a certain age, you must get married. Once a person forms a family, their heart will settle down as well.”
Zheng Qiuyang thought, You sure formed a family early on in your life, but why didn’t your heart settle down as well?
“Dad, I already have a partner,” he said out loud.
His dad was surprised. “Your mom never told me anything about that. What’s her occupation?”
“Celebrity,” Zheng Qiuyang replied.
His dad was discontent. “Your brother’s wife isn’t very good, to begin with, since she comes from a working family and just works for the government. At least she’s upright, so that is at least acceptable. However, these actors, celebrities, and whatnot, of course, it’s fine to date them for a little while and such. But how can you marry one?”
Zheng Qiuyang never liked to have to hear this argument of his dad’s. He retorted, “Then you tell me, what kind of person should I marry?”
His mom was cooking the pear soup on low heat as she stuck to the kitchen doorway, listening in on their conversation. She felt a subtle unease and quickly came out, saying with a smile, “What are you two talking about?”
Dad Zheng wasn’t too happy at the moment since his son just talked back to him. But he didn’t want to say anything too nasty in front of his mom either, so he just said, “Nothing. Shaoyang has a daughter now so I was asking him when he will also give us a grandchild.”
Mom Zheng replied, “This isn’t something to be rushed, he will meet someone suitable when the time comes.”
She said as she picked up the TV controller, trying to change the topic. “Ah, I almost forgot about my drama show. I’d have to watch it online tomorrow if I miss it today. Nowadays, the internet’s got even more ads than the TV.”
Then once she turned on the TV, it just happened to be on the channel for The Sparkling Friends.
Mom Zheng was caught off guard for a moment before quickly attempting to change the channel. Yet, Dad Zheng stopped her, saying, “Don’t change it, drama shows are nothing good. Let’s watch this. It’s pretty good, I’ve been watching a few episodes myself.”
Mom Zheng didn’t know what to say.
Zheng Qiuyang couldn’t help but smile as he said, “I also like this show.”
Mom Zheng gave him a glare.
On the TV screen, Yuan Rui was in his taxi driver uniform. He drove the taxi in high spirits as he spoke to himself. “Di-di-di, come and ride my taxi! ‘Di-di’ the door goes, come and ride my taxi!”
Both Zheng Qiuyang and his dad laughed out loud while his mom tried her hardest to keep it in.
Yuan Rui changed up the radio channel and found a channel for novel reviews. He listened for a few minutes, then stated with a bitter face, “Sigh, I can’t understand a word.”
He proceeded to change the channel again, an advertisement was playing and he somehow got really into it. The editors added a caption on the screen: “Under the radio’s entertainment, he has forgotten his mission yet again…”
Then, the screen changed to another guest.
Dad Zheng commented, “That long leg one is pretty interesting.”
Zheng Qiuyang nodded in agreement.
“I attended a charity dinner hosted by a fashion magazine line a while ago. I saw him there once. The hosts had a raffle and he was the most excited, squeezing his tall figure up to the front to see the drawing. Though it seems like he didn’t get anything in the end, hahaha!”
Zheng Qiuyang couldn’t help but laugh out loud again, but his mom’s glare made him stop.
Mom Zheng added, “He’s just a big blockhead.”
Dad Zheng smiled. “He doesn’t look too bright, however, that’s hard to judge. You can’t take these celebrities as they are on the surface. All looking so glamorous while hiding a bunch of dirt from the public.”
It was obvious that those words were directed at Zheng Qiuyang, hinting at him to break things off with his celebrity “girlfriend”.
Zheng Qiuyang endured and said nothing.
Mom Zheng came out with the honey pear soup. She ladled a small bowl of it for Dad Zheng, then got a second bowl as she turned to Zheng Qiuyang. “Qiuyang, have some too, it’s good for your body.”
Zheng Qiuyang received the bowl. Disregarding the hotness, he finished the whole thing with a few gulps. He put down the bowl, and announced, “It’s getting late, I’ll leave now.”
Dad Zheng asked, “Where do you live right now?”
Mom Zheng answered for him, “Near Ciqi Kou.”
Dad Zheng continued, “That’s not too far then. Stay a little longer, I still need to talk to you.”
Zheng Qiuyang looked at his mom, the look in her eyes motioned for him to go along with his dad. Zheng Qiuyang took in a breath, sitting there like a statue.
His dad went on with his lecture. “Let me continue on the top of marriage. I have a friend who I’ve known for years from Hong Kong. He works as a real estate agent and has a daughter who’s twenty-three now. But she just won’t listen to her family and wants to get married to this working dirt-poor guy. So he sent his precious daughter to Beijing to study and wanted me to look after her a bit. Someone my age wouldn’t be able to connect with such a young girl anyway, she’d probably be annoyed with me instead. I was thinking that since you two are both close in age you should hang out with her.”
Once he finished, even Mom Zheng was stunned.
Zheng Qiuyang clearly didn’t want to. “I’m not doing it. I just said I’m dating someone.”
His dad replied with a stern expression, “I also said no. Hurry up and break up with that celebrity, use some money and everything can be cut clean. My friend’s daughter is prettier than all those celebrities. Adding on the fact that she’s from an upright high-end family, she’d be a proper candidate for you. Your brother was too stubborn in insisting on staying with that woman so I couldn’t do anything about it. You can’t be doing the same thing again and let others see me as a joke.”
Zheng Qiuyang glanced at him, replying, “Isn’t having a son like me a joke, to begin with?”
His dad was slightly angered. “What did you say?!”
Mom Zheng quickly cut in, “What nonsense are you saying? How can you still be so rebellious at this age?”
His dad kept going. “Don’t you see I’m doing this for your own good? You said you wanted to be a designer so I let you. It’s been years now and what have you even accomplished? Even the Wonderland Series from last year was only produced because I let it. Do you think I’m oblivious to what you do all day? Getting drunk at the bar and playing around with women. Have you done anything proper? Now that I’m asking you to go please this girl, shouldn’t that be your specialty? If you guys get married, then once Yun Chang opens a branch store in Hong Kong, you can be the one managing it. Don’t you see how your life can be set just like this?”
Zheng Qiuyang’s face turned stone-cold. “Right, I haven’t done any proper business. Someone like me isn’t worthy of being in charge of your jewelry business, just hand it over to whoever you want.”
His dad furrowed his brows. “What is this attitude you’re giving me?”
Zheng Qiuyang looked at his mom. She shook her head violently with an anxious expression, telling him to not make his dad mad.
At that moment, Zheng Qiuyang felt how ridiculous his life had been. Out of nowhere, he spat out, “Dad, I’ve never planned on marrying a woman.”
Mom Zheng’s eyes widened, she was panicking now.
Suddenly, Dad Zheng heard a familiar voice from the TV as he turned to it with a suspicious look.
On the screen, Yuan Rui had been exposed by his customer and was covering his face as he frantically said, “I’m not, I’m not!”
The pregnant woman in the backseat wanted to laugh but couldn’t. Her face showed the great pain she felt.
All three people watching froze, they couldn’t think about arguing anymore as the TV took all their attention.
The TV screen showed a flash of chaos up to the point where the pregnant woman finally got sent to the hospital. The camera didn’t stop rolling at all, the editing made the situation nerve-wracking as well.
Yuan Rui and the other staff sat on the long bench outside. Each of their foreheads was covered in sweat.
Dad Zheng was dumbfounded, “This happened?!”
Mom Zheng said nothing.
Dad Zheng continued his comment, “Fortunately nothing bad happened, or else it’d be very troublesome. It’s all thanks to that model.”
Zheng Qiuyang quietly added, “He’s the one I’m dating.”
