Chapter 934: Childhood Sweethearts 28

At noon on Sunday, Song Xu went to the appointment.

He had no impression of this uncle of his, referring to when he was a child and briefly stayed in Jing Shi, occasionally hearing his father mention him a couple of times.

This uncle is a member of the Song family, but he is not Father's biological older brother.

So, up to now, in his mind, the role of this uncle has always been mysterious.

Walking into the private room, the air conditioning was blasting, and Song Xu's gaze met that of the man looking over from the main table.

Serene, a pair of eyes devoid of desire.

Song Xu had never seen such an expression before; last night his grandmother's words took concrete form at this moment.

This uncle also has hereditary heart disease and has been cultivating in temples year-round.

"Little Xu, long time no see."

Song Chong raised his hand to signal him to sit opposite, his smile modest: "In the blink of an eye you're all grown up—time really flies."

"I suppose the last time I saw you was back in kindergarten."

Although he is five years older than Song Xu's father, the nearly fifty-year-old Song Chong shows no signs of age, his eyes even more clear and lustrous than a youth's.

Song Xu also returned a polite smile: "Uncle, why did you come to see me today? Is there something?"

"Alright… then I'll make it short."

Song Chong perhaps noticed that this little nephew didn't want to make small talk, so he got straight to the point.

"I've only just returned to Jing Shi, and being an idle person with nothing to do, your father asked me to come persuade you."

"Your father thinks that your health is improving, your heart disease attacks are less frequent than before, and he's asking whether you'd like to transfer back to Jing Shi now."

Song Xu straightened up abruptly, his expression startled: "Didn't he promise me we'd discuss this later?"

Song Chong took a sip of tea and explained: "Recently, several heirs of Jing Shi's aristocratic families have returned from overseas studies; your father may be getting anxious as well."

"He has only you as his heir, but so far you have no experience or knowledge of managing the group."

Seeing Song Xu silent, Song Chong sighed: "Uncle also knows your predicament—you grew up in Ming Cheng, and it's natural to be reluctant, but among your peers, kids your age have already completed several projects."

Song Xu remained silent.

He knew the uncle's words were true—not to mention the heirs of Jing Shi, even his older brother has recently been gradually taking over Uncle Jin's company's projects.

But he truly doesn't like these things.

Song Xu pinched his fingers, uncertainly proposing: "Uncle, do you think there's a chance my father could have another son or daughter?"

Song Chong: "……"

Song Xu continued: "Judging by age, they should still be able to."

Thinking about the Song family's hereditary heart condition, Father was lucky to avoid it, but a future brother or sister might not be.

Song Xu is very far-sighted, even saying: "If raised from childhood, it would be better to adopt one from the Fuliyuan; that would also guarantee health."

Song Chong: "……Stop."

He gave a light cough, cutting off this nephew's wild imagination.

"Your suggestion… I'll pass it on to your father."

Song Xu's eyes lit up slightly, he pursed his lips in delight: "Thank you, Uncle."

"Don't rush to thank me; if you're willing to wait until later, I'll do my best to mediate with your father, and the rest is up to you to work hard."

Song Chong signaled the waiter to serve the dishes, and while waiting for the food, he took out a few bottles of medicine from his pocket to take.

Song Xu used to take medicine himself while being watched by others; now seeing his uncle take medicine feels truly strange.

He remembered his father saying that his uncle's heart disease was the worst, having had several times in youth when he was half a foot into the Hall of Yama.

"Uncle, why don't you have surgery?" Song Xu asked. "Isn't it said that after adulthood, as long as there's a suitable heart donor, surgery can be done?"

No wonder Song Chong has gone decades without finding a suitable heart donor.

"The surgery risk is high; better to just keep living."

Song Chong waved his hand: "I'm just a coward who clings to life and fears death."

"Alright, there's one more thing I want to ask you."

He drank a few more sips of water to suppress the medicine taste before continuing.

"You've met that boy Henian, right? How's your relationship with him?"

"Ah…?"

Song Xu hadn't expected to hear the name Mu Henian from his uncle's mouth: "Uncle, why are you asking this?"

His reaction was so confused that Song Chong was also surprised: "You don't know him?"

"Then you don't know your relationship with Henian either?"

Song Xu suddenly gripped the cup tightly, a bad guess forming in his heart: "What kind of relationship."

If it were just ordinary cooperation between the two families, the uncle wouldn't have asked specially.

Song Chong: "Our families are old friends; you two were betrothed since childhood, but Henian said he wanted to cultivate feelings, so he came early to Ming Cheng to attend university."

Song Xu's breathing hitched, his body stiffened abruptly, unable to believe what he'd heard.

"I… and Mu Henian, we have an engagement?"

Seeing his state, Song Chong said: "You don't know about this… this, your father has made me play the villain again."

"Don't rush either; the engagement is still far off—if you want to play for a few years first, that's fine too."

This is absolutely not the answer Song Xu wanted to hear.

He shook his head, straightened his body: "Uncle, why does the family want to give me an engagement?"

"The Song family… does it really need a marriage alliance?"

"Eh… Uncle doesn't know either," Song Chong also expressed his incomprehension: "Which of Jing Shi's aristocratic families doesn't do marriage alliances? But it's all just ordinary."

Song Xu tugged at his lips, unsure how to react.

Fortunately, the waiter brought the remaining dishes over at that moment, barely breaking the stiff atmosphere.

However, the two of them eating this meal were not really satisfied.

While eating, Song Xu sent a message to Jin Chen, asking him to come pick him up.

Song Chong sighed, shook his head, stood up, and took out a box of medicine. "Alright, today I, this bad person, will stop here; if I keep talking, you'll end up hating this uncle of mine."

"This medicine is something I used to take often; it's quite effective. Consider it a gift for your upcoming coming-of-age birthday."

"Thank you, uncle."

Song Xu watched him leave, his despondent expression no longer able to be hidden.

Outside the restaurant, as Jin Chen was led inside by the waiter, he happened to run into Song Chong coming out.

Jin Chen was surprised—how did this old geezer come to Ming Cheng!

But at this point he surely had never met Song Chong, so he pretended not to know him, just glanced and hurried inside.

This old geezer isn't as important as his family's treasure; no wonder Xiao Yu'er's message seemed off when he sent it—maybe this old geezer said something he shouldn't have said now.

Song Chong also left straight away, the smile on his face growing ever more profound.

"Xiao Yu'er!"

Jin Chen pushed open the private room door and saw his Xiao Yu'er curled up in the chair, face pale, still holding the medicine bottle, feeling unwell after just having taken the medicine.

He quickly walked over, pulled the person into his arms and lifted him up.

"Brother…"