Chapter 28 - Eating Hot Pot
When the forum started, Li Ning sat in front of Sun Zinan. This was the real experience of ‘sitting on needles.’ She did not dare move in fear that any little movement would make Sun Zinan turn into a psychopath and strangle her on the spot.
She wholeheartedly put in the effort to protect Sun Zinan, but all of Sun Zinan’s attention was focused on Tang Kai. He had not seen such a Professor Tang in a long time. He was a bit like when they first met; his idol-like, lofty image making him difficult to approach. Within the row of experts and scholars on the podium, Tang Kai’s beauty was the most evident; whether it was his eyes or his side profile, his handsome, eye-catching visage had no dead angles. From time to time he would casually cast his gaze across the audience, showing a hint of a cold-hearted sharpness.
Every time he looked up, Sun Zinan could hear the several volunteers standing by the wall covering their mouths and whispering to each other.
Among all the people present, probably only Sun Zinan could see through such a strict face and think of his unguarded, peaceful sleeping face, his smug smile when he was being coquettish, and his eyebrows when he looked at him temptingly.
While he thought of this, Tang Kai suddenly looked in his direction, and their gazes met. Although they were separated by the crowd, Sun Zinan still had the illusion that his heart had been hit.
He could not help but quirk the corner of his lips, then saw Tang Kai quickly turn his head to throw a wink at him.
Sun Zinan, “…”
A sense of shame from sneaking about like a thief in public arose in his heart but he couldn’t suppress the curve of his lips. He wanted to laugh and felt his heart going soft at the same time. Tang Kai’s shining face and actions were displayed towards the world, but he left his most authentic self for Sun Zinan. This wordless intimacy was sweeter to the heart than swearing loyalty to a person.
Happiness for some inevitably meant sorrow for others. Li Ning, who had witnessed everything, was about to cry from being bullied by this sight.
Although Sun Zinan’s company worked in the biotechnology sector, this forum was relatively academic in nature and focused on professional topics. It was still a little too obscure for his non-professional origins. He barely survived the first half by looking at Tang Kai’s face, but was too sleepy during the second half. It wasn’t good to exit early so he sneakily took out his phone and opened up Fight the Landlord.
Sun Zinan only put his phone away a few minutes before the end of the forum. He sat well and pretended he had been listening well all morning, following the other audience members into an enthusiastic applause.
Tang Kai and the participating scholars finished their presentation and he came down from the stage, declining the others’ invitation for lunch. He went over to Sun Zinan and confidently placed his arm around his shoulders. “You were secretly playing on your phone, I’ve caught you.”
Sun Zinan was pushed along by him and snorted at his words. “So, is Teacher Tang going to punish me?”
“I’m a reasonable person.” Tang Kai lowered his head and teased him. “I have to find the reason first. Was the lecture too boring, or was the teacher not attractive enough?”
Sun Zinan remembered his wink and suppressed his smile as he said, “The teacher was very handsome, but it was too difficult to understand what you guys were talking about.”
“It doesn’t matter, when we go back to the room, the teacher can give you a one-on-one make-up class,” Tang Kai said.
No matter how Sun Zinan heard it, it didn’t seem quite right. “Make-up what?”
Tang Kai lowered his head slightly and said in a very low voice against his ear, “Why don’t we start from the anatomy of the human body? If you can’t learn properly this time, the teacher will have to use corporal punishment.”
To outsiders, the two were doing nothing except leaning closer to each other. It was too noisy in the lobby; if one didn’t lean closer one wouldn’t be able to hear what the other person was saying.
Who would have thought that although Professor Tang looked like an upright, good young man, he was actually relying on the fact that Sun Zinan could not beat him to make lewd utterances in public?
Sun Zinan reached across his shirt and suit to pinch his waist, gritting his teeth as he said, “I think you’re tired of living.”
He looked menacing, but Tang Kai did not feel any pain. It was like a cat pawing at him with his claws sheathed.
He knew that Sun Zinan wouldn’t bear hitting him heavily, so his laugh became more and more sincere. He was simply happy to the point of blooming flowers. “There’s nothing to do in the afternoon, we can go out and play. Do you have anywhere you want to go?”
Sun Zinan, “Are you very familiar with B City?”
”This is my hometown. I went to school here from elementary to high school.” Tang Kai said, “Although it’s changed a lot over the years, I still know it generally.”
Sun Zinan’s phone rang. He didn’t shy away from Tang Kai and directly opened to see that someone sent him a notice on WeChat to come directly.
He put his phone back in his pocket and said to Tang Kai, “Let’s go, I’ll take you out for lunch.”
“Do you have an appointment?” Tang Kai raised the file in his hand and said, “Then give me a second, I’ll go back and put my things away first.”
Sun Zinan patted his waist gently. “Go ahead. There are two elder relatives I’m bringing you to meet.”
Tang Kai was a little puzzled as he walked off.
In Sun Zinan’s family situation, he had no relatives on his mother’s side. His relation with his other relatives did not seem very good. Elder relatives who were willing to meet his boyfriend definitely had a better-than-average relationship with him…who could it be?
The two of them went out to call a taxi. Sun Zinan gave the taxi driver the name of a hot pot restaurant. Tang Kai heard the address and realized it was in the district’s largest business district. He couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What hot pot restaurant is this? Is it famous?”
“It’s my…uncle’s restaurant.” Sun Zinan paused over the form of address. “The main thing is that the restaurant is across the street from Taihe Group. It’s easier for my other uncle to come over.”
Tang Kai remembered that Sun Zinan’s family was the side branch of B City’s Taihe Sun family. If they were relatives from this side of the family, then it made sense.
“But I heard rumors that your grandfather cut ties with this side and ran away to S City to start over from scratch.” Tang Kai asked, “Is your family now back together with this side?”
“No,” Sun Zinan replied, “When I was studying abroad, I coincidentally met these two uncles. When I asked their names I realized they were my relatives. The two of them have been taking good care of me and have been in touch all these years.”
Tang Kai clutched his hand heavily and said in horror, “You didn’t tell me earlier we were meeting your parents!”
”Come on, stop being so dramatic.” Sun Zinan said, “You have already met my father, what are you still fussing about? Can you pull yourself together, Professor Tang?”
The taxi driver started laughing.
Tang Kai thought about it and admitted he was right but still said reluctantly, “When are you going to meet my parents?”
“Go ahead and arrange it.” Sun Zinan promised very readily. “I’ll go greet mother and father-in-law before the New Year.”
Tang Kai was very content but felt like something was wrong. He thought about it for a long time, only to realize that Sun Zinan’s tone was like he was ordering an assistant around. He thus gave him a sidelong glance. “You seem very confident ah, not afraid my family will make it hard for you?”
Sun Zinan said expressionlessly, “I’m afraid, ah, I’m afraid to death. There are so many girls who like you, spanning from S City all the way to B City. In case…”
He didn’t finish before Tang Kai covered his mouth. “No in case. Although a lot of people like me, I only like you. Don’t worry, my dad will never try to break us up. You won’t have to back down.”
Sun Zinan laughed and secretly kissed his palm.
They were going to the hot pot restaurant called ‘Northwest Pass Hot Pot.’ The name was rather rough, giving the feel of the grasslands surrounding the Gobi Desert. But the business was very good; the two of them arrived at the store after 1 P.M. but the store was still full of customers and there were about twenty customers lined up outside.
Sun Zinan was familiar with the road and let the waiter take them to a reserved private room. The sound of the door being pushed open alerted the guests in the room. They entered through the door and met gazes with two men.
Tang Kai saw the people in the room and almost blurted out a ‘Fuck.’
The man sitting on the opposite side clearly recognized him, and surprise flashed through his eyes.
“Third Uncle, Uncle Fu.” Sun Zinan greeted them one by one and introduced Tang Kai to them. “This is Tang Kai. I mentioned him earlier. My boyfriend.” He then turned to Tang Kai. “This is my Third Uncle, this is my Third Uncle’s lover. He doesn’t let me call him Third Aunt, so call him Uncle Fu with me.”
Tang Kai faced the scrutiny of four eyes and stiffly stood straight, smiling as he said, “Hello Third Uncle, hello Uncle Fu.”
That ‘Uncle Fu’ gave him a grin full of unknown meaning before looking away from Tang Kai and saying, “Don’t just stand there, let’s sit down and talk.”
Tang Kai was now regretting until his intestines were bruised. Why did he spend the entire way saying nonsense instead of asking Sun Zinan what his relatives’ names were?
He was done for now. He had a hunch he was about to perform a show—he was going to get rolled over by a car in real-time.
The two elder relatives were both almost fifty. The one Sun Zinan called ‘Third Uncle’ was the vice chairman of Taihe Group, Sun Luo. He was very well dressed, with glasses. Although he looked a little harsh, he treated people gently and elegantly. The ‘Third Aunt’ surnamed Fu’s full name was Fu Tingxin. He was the owner of a hot pot restaurant chain. According to Sun Zinan, he was a veteran who had been injured during a mission. He retired and started a business with a few friends.
Although Fu Tingxin wasn’t young anymore, he was still gracefully handsome and chic. The years seemed to age well on this person, but his temper had also gotten much better.
Once when Sun Zinan was studying abroad, he was out relaxing when he accidentally picked up Fu Tingxin’s wallet at the subway station. At that time an old injury of Fu Tingxin had relapsed. Sun Luo had put his work down to take him abroad to recuperate. The two of them were living in a small villa on the shore of a lake.
After Sun Zinan returned the wallet to its original owner through the local police station, in order to thank him, Fu Tingxin invited him to his house for a meal. The result was that he found out they were family after exchanging names with Sun Luo. So in the few years Fu Tingxin recuperated abroad, he often invited Sun Zinan for dinner. Sun Luo idled about with nothing to do and even registered a company for Sun Zinan to practice with. If it wasn’t for the fact that they knew Sun Ying would never agree, the two of them had almost wanted to adopt Sun Zinan into their family.
Later, they returned home. Sun Zinan flew to B City almost every year to visit the two of them. This friendship had continued to this day.
Tang Kai could tell from listening to the two sides talk and their behavior that Sun Zinan was closer to the two of them than his own father. The Sun Luo couple also treated him like their actual son.
After three rounds of wine, Fu Tingxin took advantage of Sun Luo and Sun Zinan’s conversation to touch cups with Tang Kai. He smiled and said, “I haven’t seen you for many years, Little Tang has grown up. Taking my nephew away without a word, en?”
Tang Kai hurriedly lowered his cup. “I don’t dare, really don’t dare. We’re happy together. I’m definitely not trying to steal him away.”
“Lies.” Fu Tingxin lowered his voice. “He thinks you’re a poor professor. You still lie to me so blatantly!”
“Uncle, you are going to kill me.” Tang Kai also whispered in reply, “”I really am just a professor!”
t/n: fun fact!! fu tingxin and sun luo are a side cp in one of the author’s other novels, golden stage. there’s an entire au extra about them (be wary of spoilers) you can read here. so theoretically, fight the landlord, fall in love is a novel that’s just an au of golden stage alternatively, if you haven’t read golden stage, it’s time to read it because it’s one of my favorite books!