Yan Hui stayed in his room until five o’clock in the afternoon before getting up to open the door.
As soon as he pulled the door open, two figures, one large and one small, came into his view in the opposite room.
The smaller one was naturally Yan Sheng, who sat up straight, holding his English textbook with both hands, reading the lesson aloud in a very terrible accent.
Yu Xiang sat right beside him, supporting his forehead with both hands. His tall and upright posture thus appeared somewhat hunched over, and looking at his back alone could only be described with four words:
Lifeless and devoid of hope.
Thinking of Yu Xiang’s study-abroad background, and then listening to Yan Sheng’s wachiresh accent, Yan Hui remained expressionless and turned his head toward the dining room.
Serves you right! It is about time your young self got a taste of the misery of teaching a child!
Opening the refrigerator, Yan Hui estimated the number of people eating and took out the ingredients. Halfway through getting them, he paused for a second and put some back.
Why should he include Yu Xiang? Let him deal with the Yu family first!
After a flurry of busyness, a two-dish, one-soup meal full of color, aroma, and flavor was served on the table. Yan Hui took off his apron and shouted toward the second bedroom:
“Shengshang, time to eat!”
“Coming!” Yan Sheng replied, and before long, he appeared beside the dining table.
The little foodie, always the most enthusiastic when it came to meals!
Yu Xiang followed behind Yan Sheng, looking at the exact two sets of bowls and chopsticks on the dining table, a trace of a bitter smile appearing on his face.
“Then I will head out first, tomorrow.”
“Wipe your hands.” Yan Hui pulled out a disinfected wet wipe and handed it to Yan Sheng. “Did you finish your homework?”
Yan Sheng glanced at the ignored Yu Xiang, wiped his hands, and obediently answered, “Finished.”
Failing to get a response and not daring to press further, Yu Xiang quietly packed up his computer. Just as he opened the front door, he heard Yan Hui’s voice.
“Tomorrow morning at seven-thirty, do not be late.”
Yu Xiang’s eyes lit up. He walked in a few strides to the front of the dining room, looked at Yan Hui, and answered solemnly, “Alright!”
Hearing the door close, Yan Sheng looked at the expressionless Yan Hui and asked with full curiosity, “Dad, Uncle Yu said he used to bully you. What is that all about?”
Yan Hui raised his eyelids: “Adults’ business, kids stay out of it.”
“Oh.”
Seeing Yan Sheng lower his head gloomily, Yan Hui pursed his lips and picked up a piece of celery and shredded beef for him.
“It does not count as bullying, just some misunderstandings.”
After entering Yu Xiang’s social circle back then, he was not mistreated.
There was indeed verbal suppression, but because Yu Xiang and Chu Zizhen treated him very well, the others could at most run their mouths and did not dare to truly bully him.
And although Yu Xiang often showed impatience, no matter what he did or where he went, he would always let him know. He did not force him to go, but if he wanted to go, he would not stop him.
Thinking back now, wasn’t this just reporting his itinerary? And down to every single detail, at that!
Yan Hui could not help massaging his forehead and sighing.
He could only blame the fact that back then, both of them were too young and green, taking things that should not have been valued too seriously while completely ignoring the details they should have paid attention to.
When it came to matters of the heart, one of them was timid and cowardly while the other was stubborn and tight-lipped. Put two together, and you get a pair of clueless hotheads and absolute idiots.
Yu Xiang was an absolute idiot.
Mentally slapping the idiot label back onto Yu Xiang, Yan Hui looked up and said:
“Shengshang, adults’ affairs are very complicated. Sometimes they cannot be judged simply by who is right and who is wrong. Your Uncle Yu is an idiot, but Dad is also at fault.”
If he had been braver back then and told Yu Xiang everything instead of hiding things out of habit, perhaps they would have been together back in college.
“Adults are so troublesome,” Yan Sheng pouted. “Dad, will I become like this in the future?”
“Huh? Well, that depends on how you choose,” Yan Hui reined in his stray thoughts and smiled at his son. “You can keep silent, but you must not lie. Just like what Dad told you, you cannot tell Uncle Yu about Mom, but you cannot lie to him either. Just say you do not know, understand?”
“But isn’t saying I do not know also lying?” Yan Sheng blinked innocently.
Yan Hui: “Then whose side are you on? Dad’s side or Uncle Yu’s side?”
“Of course Dad’s side!”
“Good, the two of us are partners, so are you going to help Dad?”
“Help!” Yan Sheng nodded firmly.
“Good boy!” Yan Hui reached out and ruffled his son’s hair, quietly letting out a sigh of relief.
The older he gets, the harder he is to fool.
At seven o’clock the next morning, the doorbell of Yan Hui’s home rang right on schedule.
Yan Sheng poked his head out of the kitchen, glanced at the wall clock in the living room, and walked to the entryway to open the door.
“Uncle Yu, you came half an hour early.”
Looking at Yan Sheng’s serious little posture, Yu Xiang smiled, raised his hand, and motioned: “Shengshang, Uncle brought you egg cakes, want to eat some?”
“Want to!” Yan Sheng instantly beamed with joy as he took the bag. “Thank you, Uncle!”
The two entered the door, and Yan Sheng placed the egg cakes on the dining table. He then brought out a clay pot from the kitchen and called out to Yu Xiang:
“Uncle Yu, have you eaten breakfast? Dad made me vegetable and lean pork porridge last night, simmered for the whole night, it is so delicious! There are also small milk-skin steamed buns!”
Yu Xiang had simply wanted to eat breakfast together to close the distance, which was why he specifically went to buy egg cakes on his way over. Hearing this, he immediately nodded.
“Alright.”
Scooping porridge into a bowl, Yu Xiang and Yan Sheng sat facing each other, picking up their spoons to scoop a mouthful of porridge at almost the exact same time, raising their hands to their mouths in mirror-like fashion.
The fragrant, smooth, savory, and warm porridge melted instantly in the mouth, sliding down the throat into a stomach chilled by the cold wind, instantly driving away the chill. Yu Xiang could not help praising:
“Your dad is such a great cook.”
“Right,” Yan Sheng lifted his chin proudly. “My dad is super amazing! He can even bake bread and small cakes! But the apartment here is too small and cannot fit an oven, so Dad rarely bakes now.”
Yu Xiang nodded, picked up a small milk-skin steamed bun, and said with feigned casualness: “Indeed amazing. Your dad could not cook at all in high school. He either ate takeout or hired chefs to cook at home. I never expected his culinary skills to be this good now.”
Yan Sheng widened his eyes in absolute disbelief: “Dad could not cook before? But ever since I was very little, Dad has been cooking!”
“That must have been something he learned before you were born,” Yu Xiang suppressed the sour ache in his heart and forced a smile, “specially learned to take care of your mom.”
Yan Sheng let out an “ah” and came to a sudden realization: “Oh, right! Dad said Mom could not…”
Halfway through his sentence, Yan Sheng suddenly stopped. He threw a panicked look at Yu Xiang, then lowered his head to drink his porridge, pretending nothing had happened.
This reaction was practically a confession of guilt. Doubts instantly sprouted in Yu Xiang’s heart. After a brief silence, he simply decided to throw a direct fastball to probe.
“Shengshang, you mentioned before that your mom knows how to ride a motorcycle. Did your dad ever tell you what brand of motorcycle she rides or what it looks like?”
Of course! A BMW R1250GS Adventure!
Yan Sheng opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally shook his head guiltily.
Seeing this reaction, Yu Xiang frowned and pressed further: “Did he never mention it, or do you not know?”
Yan Sheng lowered his head to bite into his egg cake without speaking.
With things coming to this, what was there for Yu Xiang not to understand? He said helplessly, “Your dad forbade you from talking about your mom anymore, right?”
Yan Sheng widened his eyes: “How did you know?!”
Yu Xiang swallowed the urge to sigh: “I guessed it.”
A child’s thoughts are simple and straightforward. Even if they stand 1.7 meters tall, and their height and clothing lean toward adulthood, their shallow life experience is not enough to support them in disguising their expressions.
Whatever they are thinking can be guessed seven or eight parts just by looking at their face.
Only, why would Yan Hui issue a gag order regarding Yan Sheng?
Just by hearing how well-versed Yan Sheng was in matters concerning his mother, one could tell that Yan Hui must talk about her with Yan Sheng frequently and had never stopped the child from mentioning her outside.
For a gag order to be suddenly issued, it could only be targeted at him.
Yu Xiang stirred the porridge in his bowl with his spoon, watching the vegetables and lean pork rise and sink with it, and said nothing more.
It wasn’t until they were in the taxi heading to school that he asked, “Shengshang, does your dad know about me dropping you off at school before?”
Yan Sheng glanced at him and whispered guiltily, “No.”
Seeing his guilty eyes darting everywhere, Yu Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and raised a hand to pat his head.
“Then Uncle will not tell your dad either. Let this become our little secret, alright?”
Yan Sheng’s eyes lit up. He nodded heavily and raised his pinky: “Alright! Then let us pinky swear, whoever breaks it is a puppy!”
Yu Xiang reached out and hooked Yan Sheng’s pinky. The two seemingly adult males engaged in a childish pinky-promise inside the taxi, their faces breaking into satisfying smiles with a very high degree of similarity.
Not long after the pinky promise, they arrived at the school. Yu Xiang watched Yan Sheng walk through the school gates, turned around, got back in the car, and left.
Looking at the morning light gradually awakening outside the window, he tapped his fingers lightly against his knee, his gaze dark and deep.
Next up, it was time to check the answers.