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Chapter 34 - The Romance Drama Has Come Back and Won’t Leave Again

Sun Zinan drove out of the villa garden and along the empty road at night before entering the Fourth Ring road.

He hadn’t even driven ten meters along the road when a car followed up behind him, honking. At first, Sun Zinan thought someone was trying to overtake him, but when the other party pulled down their window, he saw that the person sitting inside was Tang Kai.

He gestured to call him on his phone, then slowed down. Sun Zinan put on a Bluetooth headset and picked up Tang Kai’s call.

“When did you come?”

“I came after work.” Tang Kai’s tone was slightly complaining as he said, “I waited outside for you a long time and you didn’t see me.”

Sun Zinan, “I didn’t expect you to come over here.”

“You just unmasked something. Your father definitely didn’t call you over for something good.” Tang Kai asked uneasily, “They didn’t bully you, right?”

Sun Zinan smiled. “They didn’t. I remember there’s a parking lot after going down the intersection in front. I’ll go park the car, you wait for me.”

Ten minutes later, Sun Zinan opened the door empty-handed and sat in the passenger seat.

Tang Kai leaned over to fasten his seat belt and patted him on the face. “Your place or back to my apartment?”

“Your apartment.” Sun Zinan lowered his seat a little and sighed a little tiredly. “I’m not going back to my place for a few days.”

“Why?”

“I spoke some harsh words to them this evening. They definitely won’t stop. They’ll probably come find me, but I don’t want to bother with them.” Sun Zinan looked back, then closed his eyes. “I’ll tell you the details when we get back. You should focus on driving first.”

The street lamps at night became a bright river of lights. Occasionally, one or two beams of headlights from cars going the opposite direction would shine into the dim window, leaving shadows falling onto Sun Zinan’s face. Within the shadows, a tired and deep-rooted sense of loss was illuminated.

It was a sadness he had opened up by himself.

Although Tang Kai rarely cooked at home, he did hide a few bottles of quality red wine. It was suitable to pour out in the sorrow of tonight.

Normally, Tang Kai would have stopped him, but after hearing that Sun Zinan had left his family, he knew he needed to vent. He simply poured him a cup of red wine, sat on the sofa, and listened to his memories of the past. This also served to clarify his long-standing doubts.

“My father doesn’t really think like normal people.” Sun Zinan said faintly, “He developed and grew Hongsen, and saving this family business was not easy. He often feels like this is a throne that needs a perfect heir, worthy of his life’s efforts.”

“My eldest brother and second brother were born with another woman when he was young. He brought his sons back to raise and sent the mother away with some money. He wouldn’t let mother and sons meet; he had to personally train the children. It sounds like the ancient times, when a mentally ill emperor would specifically look for an heir. My dad never married a wife; the only time he was tempted was probably with Sun Ziyan and Sun Ziyi’s mother. But the woman committed suicide shortly after giving birth, and we don’t know why.”

“Perhaps because of that, he particularly spoils my third brother and fourth sister. That’s why they’re useless. But in the line of the Sun family, doing something strange isn’t a big deal. As long as it’s not out of line, a family of five can live very well. But the old man had to toss me into it without clarifying anything. Since then, the family hasn’t lived in peace.”

“It’s not your choice, they shouldn’t blame you.”

Tang Kai gently stroked his shoulder a few times and comforted him. “But why did he have another child?”

“The reason is quite ridiculous. It’s absurd to say it.” Sun Zinan shook his glass of wine around and asked him, “Have you ever heard of the ’catfish effect’?”

It was said that when Norwegian fishermen caught sardines, they worried that sardines would suffocate from a lack of oxygen. Because of that, they usually put a catfish into the pack of sardines.

Catfish fed on other fish. After entering the container, they would begin to swim around to find their prey. The sardines would begin to move around due to the shock and avoidance of the catfish; this would solve the problem of sardines not getting enough oxygen from not moving. This so-called ‘catfish effect’ was often used in enterprise management. The general practice was to exert a sense of crisis in order to stimulate employees to start working.

Tang Kai, “You mean...”

Sun Zinan said, “The old man follows this principle. I heard when he was forty-five years old, he was diagnosed with a serious illness. The condition was very dangerous. My brothers thought he would not make it, so they collectively proposed to have him make a will. They were trying to seize the inheritance while he was still alive. My dad might have been stimulated by this and it didn’t take long for him to miraculously recover. He’s probably been aware of this crisis since then. All his children chase after the property, and no one really treats him as a father.”

“But you know what type of person my father is. It’s not too much to say that as long as he’s still alive for another day, he’ll never relinquish power. In order to suppress his four adult children, he went abroad to find a surrogate and asked for a fifth child—I am the ‘catfish’ in his plan.”

“My eldest brother doesn’t recognize the consequences, my second brother is too slick. Sun Ziyan and Sun Ziyi can’t even be mentioned; they’re just a pile of waste bags. He flattered me and reused me so that others could keep themselves driven by a sense of crisis. But Sun Ziyan really had to cross me, so I crossed the old man in order to deal with him. That’s why my dad is so angry.”

Not only did Sun Ying want him to be a catfish, he wanted him to be a catfish who could not disobey its orders.

He used Sun Zinan to counterbalance his other children, but did not allow Sun Zinan to break away from his control and counterattack without authorization. Tonight he had severely scolded Sun Zinan. But the catfish had rebelled and the sardines had also been torn into pieces. His chessboard had been directly overturned by Sun Zinan. It was unclear how Sun Ying was feeling at the current moment.

Tang Kai’s jaw dropped as he listened.

“But you are also his own son,” he asked carefully. “Why would he do this to you?”

Sun Zinan smiled wordlessly.

“Because I’m a ‘catfish,’” he said. “In his eyes, I’m just an employee, not his child.”

No matter how outstanding he was, for Sun Ying, Sun Zinan had never been among his heirs.

Because there was no upbringing to produce any feelings. Just like the quarrel that had occurred tonight, family was just an excuse to push blame onto others. In fact, everyone’s heart was clear that Sun Zinan was just an outsider. Only insiders could receive the inheritance.

“So when I was a child, he was actually very good to me. He gave me the best to eat and wear, gave me the best education. I once thought he really loved me, but then I learned that it wasn’t ‘fatherly love,’ it was employee motivation.” Sun Zinan downed his glass of wine and said tipsily, “I was really dumb before. I even became upset for a long time because of this.”

Even though he was already tipsy, his words were still restrained.

In fact, it was more than being upset. His depression while abroad was because of this.

The summer of the year before Sun Zinan went abroad, Sun Ying transferred five percent of his shares to his name. The decision caused an uproar at home. Sun Zinan did not want to be targeted by his brothers, so he hid all day in the small backyard garden to read books. He hid too well. One day, he accidentally overheard a conversation between Sun Ying and his former secretary.

The other side had seemed puzzled by this decision and couldn’t help but ask, “Chairman, by doing this, the little master’s shares are far more than the young master’s. Is this not...wrong?”

Sun Ying had walked slowly in front of him on crutches before suddenly stopping to ask “Do you know what the ‘catfish effect’ is?”

Along with the summer breeze that brought those words to him, the ten plus years of his life had shattered to pieces.

He had been neglected, but still stubbornly believed that he was loved. Suddenly one day, he was forced to face the cruel world. After knowing that he had long ago been abandoned, his life felt like a joke. Other than living in this body like a wandering soul, what else could he do?

If a person lost his foothold from birth, lost his sense of self, what was the meaning of life?

Tang Kai did not say a word as he reached out and embraced him in his arms.

The glass in Sun Zinan’s hand shook a bit and he hurriedly steadied it. “Ai, be careful, don’t spill it on your clothes.”

“I’ll be good to you,” Tang Kai murmured. “If they don’t care about you, I’ll care about you....You have to remember the good things about this world. You can’t just float away without telling me.”

“Float what, I’m not floating.” Sun Zinan buried his head in Tang Kai’s shoulder, hiding his entire face. His tears were absorbed into his clothes.

He said hoarsely, “You’re here. Where else would I go?”

He had not cried in many years; even the feeling of involuntary tears had become strange.

“Don’t cry...be good, we don’t have to be sad over scum like this, dear.”

Although Tang Kai could not see it, he could feel the wet marks forming on his shoulder. His heart immediately was set on fire with rage towards Sun Ying’s entire family. He kissed Sun Zinan’s hair as he hugged him with open arms and said solemnly, “You know, catfish are freshwater fish, sardines are saltwater fish. If you put a catfish into a tank with sardines, it will die.”

Sun Zinan, “...”

“The ‘catfish effect’ theory is simply not in line with the laws of nature. It’s just some pseudoscience.” Tang Kai said, ” Your father was very half-assed when doing this. I am a professional. In the future, please follow Teacher Tang so you won’t get lost.”

“Besides, how can you be a catfish?” He added very bluntly, “Catfish are so ugly.”

This way of comforting people was too unconventional. Sun Zinan’s tears were choked back.

He sometimes actually admired Tang Kai’s brain circuits. He approached things at a unique angle and went straight to the point. Although he wasn’t too susceptible to emotional factors, which made him seem a little impersonal, and his words were usually some sand sculpture expressions, the moment he stopped talking nonsense, it was like the clouds had parted to show the sun.

To be honest, he already felt like it was a lot more bearable because there was someone to accompany him at this time.

“That’s enough, I’m okay now.” Sun Zinan got up from Tang Kai’s arms. The corners of his eyes were still slightly red, but the tears had disappeared. “The confession has finished. Thank you Professor Tang for flying with me.”

Tang Kai leaned up and gently kissed the corner of his eyes, then said, “I’ve suddenly realized that you look very nice when you cry.”

Sun Zinan, “...”

He really wanted to split open this old uncle’s head and see what nonsense was brewing inside his brain.

”I’m not going to bully you.” Tang Kai saw his speechless expression and laughed. “But in the future, please give me a chance to practice, okay?”

“...” Sun Zinan was expressionless. “No thanks. Get up, I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.”

“Taking a shower as soon as you’re done drinking? You can’t, it’s too easy to faint.” Tang Kai grabbed at his waist, not letting him go “Either you sit here and sober up, or I will accompany you to wash. You choose one.”

Sun Zinan raised an eyebrow. “No way, Professor Tang, do you get drunk from just the bottom of a cup of wine? You really can’t handle...your alcohol, ah?”

After saying that, he quipped, “Oh right, I can’t tell men that they can’t handle it.”

“...”

Professor Tang took advantage to turn Sun Zinan around and throw him against the sofa. He firmly pressed him under his body, one hand clamping his wrists above his head while the other hand slid dishonestly down along his waist. He gritted his teeth and said, “You don’t recognize me? Then today I’ll have to make you cry as you say ‘can’t handle it.’”