“What do you think he actually means?”
Standing in the kitchen with his headphones on, stirring egg liquid, Yan Hui’s eyebrows were knit into almost a tight knot.
Through the headphones, a gentle male voice pondered, “If it were anyone else, I would say he still has lingering feelings and wants to get back together, but since it is your ex-boyfriend.”
“Ha, ha,” Yan Hui gave two awkward laughs to interrupt him. “What kind of ex-boyfriend is he? The two of us never confirmed a romantic relationship from start to finish. At most, we were one-night stand fuckbuddies.”
“Fine,” said Bai Shaoyu, Yan Hui’s university roommate and Yan Sheng’s second dad, accommodatingly changing his tune. “If it is Shengshang’s biological father, I would say it is hard to tell. Maybe it stems from guilt, maybe he wants to get back together, or maybe he is simply expressing concern after many years of not seeing an old friend. It is hard to say.”
Hearing this, Yan Hui pursed his lips, flipped his wrist, and poured the egg liquid into the frying pan, producing a burst of sizzling sounds.
When the noise subsided, Bai Shaoyu asked, “Why do you not just ask him directly?”
Bringing this up made Yan Hui angry. He picked up the spatula and fiercely jabbed at the egg liquid: “I did ask! He said sorry!”
Bai Shaoyu paused for a moment and suggested in a soft voice:
“Or you could try a more direct way of asking? Like asking him if he likes you, because that at least would give a clearer result than beating around the bush.”
Hearing this, Yan Hui’s wrist jerked, and the spatula dropped into the pan with a clatter.
After a brief moment of daze, he turned around, picked up the chopped tomatoes, and dumped them into the pan: “Forget it. What if I get rejected? Then we really will not even be able to remain friends.”
“When you chose to go home back then and pretended not to hear what Yu Xiang said, did you think the same way?”
Yan Hui picked up the spatula, stir-frying the tomatoes and eggs, and let out an “mm”: “Yeah.”
“Are you not angry? Hearing them talk about you like that?” Bai Shaoyu’s voice leaned slightly thin and soft. Because he worked in education, his speech always had a persuasive, guiding tone.
“I was a little bit at first, but it passed quickly. Their attitude toward me has always been like that; I got used to it a long time ago,” Yan Hui said as he scooped up the stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, walked over to the dining room, and placed the plate on the hot dish mat.
“What about toward Yu Xiang?”
“Angry, but more than that, it is just helplessness,” returning to the kitchen, Yan Hui put the frying pan into the sink. “Who made me like him?”
Watching the water pour down and gradually fill the cast-iron pot, Yan Hui muttered to himself like he was talking in his sleep: “Emotions are the kind of thing where a one-way street is the norm.”
The person you love might not necessarily love you. Unrequited giving and demanding are truly the most genuine states of human emotion.
Yan Hui had understood this principle very early on.
“Since you figured it out back then and harbored no resentment or hatred toward Yu Xiang,” Bai Shaoyu’s tone grew even gentler, “then why did you drug Yu Xiang and just run away?”
Yan Hui’s pot-scouring motion paused. The steam rising from the hot water went against the flow, gradually blurring his vision.
Amidst the swirling mist of steam, he seemed to see himself from ten years ago, sitting on the sofa with tears streaming down his face, trembling as he took the opposite man’s phone and used all his strength to ask:
“Why? Why treat me like this? What on earth did I do wrong?”
The despair of that moment washed over him again. Yan Hui took a trembling breath, suppressed the surging emotions in his chest, and finished scrubbing the pot in a few quick motions.
“You should be eating too, right? Let us talk about this today.”
“Yan Hui,” Bai Shaoyu gently interrupted him. “If you do not face the real reason why you fled Yunjing, you will never be able to walk out of that day, nor will you be able to start a new relationship. Yan Sheng can keep you company now, but what about ten years from now?”
Yan Hui pursed his lips without answering, opening the rice cooker on his own to scoop out rice.
Bai Shaoyu waited for a while, but only heard Yan Hui calling Yan Sheng over to eat.
He let out a long sigh: “Fine. How about this: tomorrow when you meet Yu Xiang, you can try revealing a few things about Yan Sheng. Clear up the misunderstanding first and see how he reacts.”
“Mm, I know. Thanks.” Yan Hui let out a sigh of relief, took off his headphones, and laid them aside.
Yan Sheng glanced at the headphones and asked curiously, “Dad, who were you on the phone with?”
“No talking while eating,” Yan Hui glared at him. “Your second dad.”
“Second dad!” Yan Sheng’s eyes lit up. “Is he back? When did he come back?”
“Not yet, he will not be back until the Spring Festival.”
“Oh, that is still so long.”
“Not that long. Once your final exams are over, just about ten more days.” Yan Hui stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening slightly.
That is right! The Chinese New Year was right around the corner, so why has Yu Xiang not returned to Yunjing yet?
Zhengxin was such a massive company; year-end should be its busiest period. Besides, for factory construction projects, there are countless steps between site selection and breaking ground. What use could a general manager like him possibly serve staying in Jindou? He is not a construction foreman!
And there is another very strange thing.
Absent-mindedly taking a bite of rice, Yan Hui stared blankly at the dishes.
As the most important and core industry of the Zhengsheng Group, Zhengxin served as a whetstone for the group’s successor before taking over. Back then, Yu Xiang’s eldest uncle served as the general manager of Zhengxin for over a decade before being promoted to the group’s executive president.
It was not strange for Yu Xiang to enter the family business, but what was strange was why he became the general manager of Zhengxin! The heir the Yu family focused heavily on cultivating had always been Yu Xiang’s cousin, Yu Hao!
Thinking of this, Yan Hui put down his bowl, picked up his phone, and wanted to look up Yu Hao. Seeing this, Yan Sheng hurriedly swallowed his food and shouted loudly:
“Dad! We agreed, no phones or tablets while eating!”
Yan Hui did not even raise his head: “Right, kids are not allowed to play, but adults can.”
Despicable adult!
Resentfully, Yan Sheng shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth while Yan Hui frowned at the search results.
There was no relevant news. Everything that popped up was either a novel character or an ordinary person with the same name, and there was zero news regarding the Zhengsheng Group or the Yunjing Yu family.
How could this be?
Yu Hao was half a year older than Yu Xiang. Even if he was marginalized for some reason, it should not mean there is not a single shred of news about him!
Pondering deeply, Yan Hui locked his screen and looked up at Yan Sheng. Seeing his heavy, sword-like brows knitted into little caterpillars, he hurriedly and flatteringly picked out food for him.
“All right, it is Dad’s fault. I will not do it again.”
Humphing, Yan Sheng ate the food, which counted as forgiving him.
Watching him, the smile on Yan Hui’s lips gradually faded.
Yan Sheng looked a lot like him, especially his brows and eyes, which looked as though they were carved from the same mold.
But upon closer observation, one would notice that his nose and face shape both inherited traits from Yu Xiang.
Especially the high nasal bridge seamlessly connected to his brow bone, which was straight and tall, exactly like the Yu family members.
Regardless of why the Yu family gave up on Yu Hao and turned to cultivating Yu Xiang, tremendous pressure must have been applied during the process. Otherwise, how could Yu Xiang, who had been left to roam free until high school graduation, transform like that in just a few short years?
The image of Yu Xiang sitting by the restaurant window flashed in his mind. Yan Hui lowered his gaze, poking at the rice in his bowl without tasting a thing.
The family business’s training for an heir goes beyond imagination. Starting from four or five years old, they are required to abandon their nature and focus solely on studies. Beneath that glamorous exterior lies overwhelming, crushing pressure.
And the Yu family was a typical feudal patriarchal system. Old Master Yu’s word was above everything else, and even now, he firmly controlled the board of directors, pressing down on Yu Xiang’s eldest uncle like a high-end corporate wage slave.
If Old Master Yu found out that Yan Sheng was his great-grandson.
Yan Hui shivered.
No! The Yu family must never find out about Yan Sheng’s existence!
The next afternoon, Yan Hui drove to the meeting place he and Yu Xiang had agreed upon.
It was a large comprehensive shopping mall, and that handmade ice cream shop was located right on the first floor.
Taking the elevator upstairs from the underground parking garage, Yan Hui glanced at the promotional poster in the elevator and noticed the mall was hosting weekend events with very generous shopping discounts.
Buying new clothes for Yan Sheng right now would purely be tossing money into the water, but the Spring Festival was right around the corner. He could not possibly let his son wear his old clothes, could he?
Silently deciding on his weekend itinerary, Yan Hui walked into the ice cream shop, met Yu Xiang’s gaze, and sat down opposite him without even greeting him.
Yu Xiang did not mind, smiling as he handed over his phone: “I did not know what kind of ice cream you liked, so I only ordered tea and coffee. Lemon tea, right?”
Yan Hui lifted his eyelids to look at him, muttered an “mm,” took the phone, casually tapped a classic double-flavor combo, and then leaned back in his chair, turning his head to look out the window with an expression that screamed he had zero desire to communicate.
Seeing this, Yu Xiang said helplessly, “Still mad? It was my fault yesterday; I should not have said your boyfriend was short. I am sorry.”
Yan Hui did not speak. He waited until the waiter served the ice cream, lemon tea, and coffee before letting out a light snort.
“How rare. Someone who used to rather die than admit a mistake can now apologize to people so smoothly.”
Yu Xiang smiled: “Are you not the same? Someone who used to never get angry even when things were shoved right in your face now has such a big temper.”
Yan Hui picked up his spoon and scooped a spoonful of ice cream: “That is because I did not care about the things you guys said. But Shengshang is different; he is the root of my life.”
As soon as these words dropped, the silent person switched to Yu Xiang. He lowered his gaze to look at the ice cream ball that was missing a piece and was no longer perfect. Only after a good while did he say in a hoarse voice, “Is he good to you?”
Yan Hui nodded: “Very good, very thoughtful.” Aside from randomly driving one of his dads to death while doing homework, he was usually Dad’s good, big son.
“Is he a local from Jindou?”
Yan Hui scooped some ice cream: “No.” Come to think of it, should he transfer his household registration over? They have lived here for so many years.
“Not a local?” Yu Xiang frowned. “Then where is he from?”
Yan Hui glanced at him: “Are you conducting a census?”
Yu Xiang twitched the corners of his mouth: “Does this count as a census? I have not even asked what his name is or what his parents do for a living.”
Yan Hui put down his spoon and sat up straight: “Why do you care about him so much?”
“I do not care about him, I care about you.”
Yan Hui stared intently at Yu Xiang, wanting to tell himself not to care, but in the end, he could not hold it in.
“Why? It has been ten years.”
“Yan Hui,” Yu Xiang sighed softly, “no matter how much time has passed or what happened, we are at least friends, right? Is there anything wrong with caring about a friend?”
Yan Hui laughed.
“Nothing wrong. Don’t worry, I love him very much, and he loves me very much too. When he graduates, we will go abroad to get married. Do not forget to pack a big red envelope when that time comes.”
Yu Xiang’s face instantly darkened. He clenched his back molars and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fire rising in his chest.
“Then congratulations in advance. Where does he study? When does he graduate?”
“That will not require your concern,” Yan Hui picked up his lemon tea, took a big gulp, and slammed it down onto the table with a clack.
“Just get your big red envelope ready.”
With that, he stood up and walked away once again, leaving even the ice cream unfinished.
Yu Xiang looked at the leftover ice cream on the plate, leaned over, picked up Yan Hui’s spoon, scooped up a massive mouthful, and shoved it into his mouth.
Spoon after spoon, he wiped out the ice cream completely, then grabbed Yan Hui’s remaining lemon tea and drank it down in one gulp, before pulling out his phone to call Yang Kexin.
“Kexin, help me look up a few people.”