Translator: Helliot
Editor: P’Raikantopeni
–
Sometimes, it takes more than patience from just one person for something to work. He conceded, he compromised, and even when he had lowered himself as far as possible, he learned that Xiao Yi could never go to the lengths he did.
“I wanna go out, let me out! I wanna see Big Brother Ye Yan.” At some point in time, Meng Yi had run over to the door, making noise about going outside, but was stopped by a group of maids.
“Let me go! I wanna go out and play! I don’t wanna be here anymore…”
Meng Fu quickly went over to Meng Yi’s side and grabbed his arm, coaxing in a gentle voice, “Behave, Xiao Yi. Big brother will take you out in a few days.”
However, Meng Yi suddenly shook his hand off. “Meng-Meng, you’re lying to me, you’re lying! You just wanna stay here, but I don’t wanna!”
His body was weak to begin with, not to mention what Gu Ze did just two days ago. So, the sudden push caused him to fall to the ground in a harsh landing.
But Meng Yi was oblivious to it. His mind was completely set on getting out. There was a struggle as Meng Yi was held back by the maids, and in the chaos, someone had accidentally stepped on Meng Fu’s injured wrist.
“Ah!” he yelped in pain, his brows furrowed.
“Meng-Meng…” Meng Yi stopped and turned back to look at him with a troubled expression. “Meng-Meng, why did you fall down? What happened?”
He was in so much pain that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, but for Meng Yi’s sake, he squeezed out a smile. “It’s nothing, I just slipped, that’s all.”
He pushed himself up with his one good hand as one of the maids hurried over to help him. Eyes widening, she gasped, “Mr. Meng, your…your hand!”
The bandage on his wrist was dyed red with his blood, spreading out onto the white gauze like a crimson flower.
He feared pain, but he endured it.
Moving his injured hands behind him, he pretended not to care and continued cajoling Meng Yi with a smile on his face. “Behave, all right? Once we get home, big brother will buy you ice cream.”
“Really? When are we going home? Meng-Meng is not lying to me this time, are you?”
After a few twists and turns, they were back on this topic again. When were they going to go home? Even he himself did not have the answer. More than that, he had no idea why Gu Ze had even brought him to his house to begin with.
“…Big Brother isn’t lying. Soon. We’ll go home soon.” With the wound now open and his wrist bleeding profusely, his face had become as pale as cold snow.
The childlike Meng Yi finally beamed and hopped around the foyer in joy.” Yay, we’re finally going home! I wanna eat ice cream! I wanna eat chocolate! I wanna see Big Brother Ye Yan!”
“Mr. Meng, your hand…?” the maid asked tentatively.
Looking down, he shook his head. “I’m fine.”
It was fine. He grabbed new bandages, applied some ointment, and wrapped it back up again. It was just fine.
However, he hardly made it two steps before he fainted in front of everyone.
Meng Yi’s excitement instantly turned into fear as he fell to the ground, shaking Meng Fu. “Meng-Meng, why are you sleeping on the floor again? Meng-Meng, wake up! We’re going home soon…”
One of the maids pulled Aunt Zhang aside and asked, “What should we do now? Should we inform Mr. Gu?”
Aunt Zhang responded, “We should get Mr. Meng to a bed first.”
The floor was cold during the wintertime, but Meng Fu felt none of it.
–
Gu Ze was entirely unsurprised to receive Ye Yan at his office. He could hear his secretary trying to stop the man outside, so he picked up the intercom. “Let him in.”
Ye Yan looked furious as he stomped inside, questioning Gu Ze. “When did Meng Fu get discharged, and where did you take the two of them?”
Gu Ze leaned back in his chair and pressed a hand to his forehead, looking at him with eyes of mockery. “How many days do you think it has been, and only now you ask me this, Mr. Ye? Heh, you really do care about them a great deal, don’t you?”
“…I had matters to attend to.”
Ye Ting was getting married, and Meng Yu was so busy that she had already tossed what she promised to the back of her mind, nevermind the money for Meng Fu. He, on the other hand, was also caught up in a circle of Ye Ting’s troubles. Even his ex-boyfriend had shown up to annoy him, which gave him a lot of work to do over the past period.
When he went to see Meng Yu that day, he had even lost his phone.
“You had matters to attend to, you say? Then why don’t I ask you this? I’m sure you’ve already verified with your mother that she has in fact taken Meng Fu’s house and money from him. What are you planning to do about that?”
Uncrossing his legs, he stared at Ye Yan, the look in his eyes no less mocking than before. He was sure that he had not been able to get even a cent out of his mother.
She had the audacity to take away everything Meng Fu had when he went to prison, so how could she possibly give it back now?
“I’ll give the house back to Meng Fu, and the money, too.”
“Where’s the money, then? Where’s the deed?” Since he said he was going to give it back, then he should hand it over.
Ye Yan frowned. “I will give it back to him personally, Mr. Gu. You don’t have to worry about that. The most important thing now that I have to know is where you’re hiding him.”
His fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, seemingly in thought. Gu Ze looked up at him. “That’s none of your business, Ye Yan. I’ll bring the two of them out to see you once you’ve gotten what you owe them from your mother’s hands.”
Recalling something else, he asked, “Your mother wasn’t the one behind the news, was she?”
“No, it’s not her.” He had investigated the matter when it broke out. No matter how big of a megalomaniac his mother was, she would never stoop so low. What was more, there were no benefits to be gained for her if Meng Fu’s attempted suicide was blasted across the news.
“Hmph.” Gu Ze grunted. “You better make sure of everything before you see me again, Ye Yan. Otherwise, you’ll never see the two of them again.”
Ye Yan suddenly slammed his hands on his table and shouted, “Gu Ze, don’t think I have no idea what you’re trying to pull here. You hate Meng Fu, you’re trying to torment him. You…” You hurt him. He had known that this was the man who hurt Meng Fu when he saw Gu Ze running into the ward that day. “You disgust me, Gu Ze. How could you do this to him? And why are you so nervous about him dying? You’re worried that you’re no longer able to torment him if he’s dead, then you wouldn’t be able to satisfy your sick fantasies on him anymore, isn’t that right?”
“Shut your mouth!” His face cooled to freezing in just an instant, but there was boiling rage simmering in his eyes like a wound had been ripped open inside of him. His secrets had been brutally exposed, and it was as if he wanted to rebut him, it wasn’t all tormenting, but on second thought, what else could it be? Wasn’t that what he wanted from the beginning?
Ye Yan sneered at him. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
Turning his gaze away from Ye Yan’s smirk, he grabbed the lighter on the table and lit a cigarette. He took a quick drag to hide his anger deeper inside of him. The cold look on his face morphed into amusement as he exhaled a puff of smoke. “You really care about Meng Fu a lot, don’t you, Ye Yan?”
Looking at the man, he continued, “Since he went into prison, you’ve never visited him a single time, have you? You don’t care about him, the only thing you care about is your own conscience. You feel guilty towards him. You’ve never cared about him, so why start now? Why does it matter to you how I choose to treat him?”
I hate him, I tormented him, I slept with him, I fell in love with him. None of this has anything to do with anyone else but him and me.
Light dimming in his eyes, Ye Yan grit his teeth. He stood there stiffly for a while before finally mustering, “I’ll get Meng Fu his money and his house back.”
Then we’ll see how else you’re still going to hide him away and torment him.
“Very well, I’ll be waiting.” Flicking the ashes off the tip of his cigarette, the embers reflected in his eyes burned up and died away again.
By the time he was on his third cigarette, Ye Yan was already long gone. At this time, Secretary Wang knocked on the door and let himself in. Caught by the dense smoke in the room, he coughed.
“Chief Gu.”
“What is it?”
“Aunt Zhang called. Meng Fu fainted.”