Translator:/strong> Helliot
Editor: P’Raikantopeni
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After a month, Meng Fu has gradually regained strength in his injured wrist. He sat on the sofa, waiting for Gu Ze’s return. As soon as Gu Ze appeared at the door, he went straight over.
“Mr. Gu.”
Having approached him before he could shut the door, a breeze blew in from the outside that caused Meng Fu’s thin body to shiver, and he instinctively rubbed his arms to warm himself.
Gu Ze turned around and shut the door behind him.
“What are you standing here for?”
Meng Fu said, “I have something to speak with you about, Mr. Gu.”
“What is it?” Gu Ze walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and watched as Meng Fu stood meekly to the side. “Sit down and tell me.”
Moving one seat away from Gu Ze, Meng Fu sat down.
“I’d like to get a job.” Gu Ze sulked, but he let Meng Fu continue. “Xiao Yi is now living with Ye Yan. I owe him a lot after making him take care of Xiao Yi for so long. I do not want to live here for free either.” He no longer brought up going home because he believed that the reason why Gu Ze did not allow him to go home was because he wanted to keep him here under his watch, so he could torment him more.
His hands gripped onto the edge of the sofa. He could tell what Gu Ze’s answer was just with his silence alone. Standing up, he went into the kitchen to pour Gu Ze a glass of water.
This was the same as when Gu Ze visited his rented apartment.
When he was putting the glass down on the coffee table, Gu Ze responded. “Wait two more months. Just two months and you can go out and work.”
Two months. That should be enough time for all the news and rumors about Meng Fu to die down among the public. Humans are attracted to novelty, so when something newer comes along, their old interests will gradually be forgotten.
Two months should be long enough.
“Two months…” was a bit long. Xiao Yi could not trouble Ye Yan for so long, and there was no way that Xiao Yi could endure being stuck here for two months. “Can I…”
Before he could speak, Gu Ze interrupted him. “Two months, Meng Fu. There’s no room for negotiation.”
“Understood.”
Fine.
Since Gu Ze had told him to wait two months, he began counting down the days from then on, which vaguely built up a sense of anticipation in him. In two months, he would be able to breathe the air outside and reach out to the yellow wintersweets he saw outside of the window.
By the time two months have passed, winter would have been over. Most likely, the flowers would be gone.
When someone knocked on the door, Aunt Zhang went to see who it was and went up the stairs to the study. “Mr. Meng, Xiao Yi has returned.”
Meng Fu was surprised to hear that Meng Yi had returned, but that surprise lasted for only a moment. After all, Ye Yan was not obligated to take care of his brother.
He had already troubled him far too much.
The moment Meng Yi saw Meng Fu, who had run down the stairs in a hurry, he ran over to him and put his arms around his shoulders. “Meng-Meng, I haven’t seen you for so long, I miss you so much!”
With a smile on his face, Meng Fu stroked Xiao Yi’s hair. Walking over to the door, he said to Ye Yan, “Brother Ye Yan, I’ve really bothered you this time.”
“It’s no bother at all, Xiao Yi is also my family. Taking care of him is part of my duty too.” Then, Ye Yan took out a debit card from his bag and handed it to Meng Fu. “Here, it’s not much, but…”
Meng Fu did not take it. “Brother Ye Yan, what are you doing this for? I’m the one who owes you, so how could I accept your money?”
“No, you don’t owe me anything. My mother and I are the ones who owe you.” Ye Yan pushed the card to Meng Fu insistently.
Meng Fu stepped back. “Brother Ye Yan, Auntie has taken care of Xiao Yi for seven years, so it’s just fair compensation. When it comes down to it, I’m still the one who owes you.”
He was even hoping to give Ye Yan however much he could earn once he could finally work again.
The card was left awkwardly between the two of them. Ye Yan had no choice but to turn to Meng Yi instead. “Xiao Yi, take this card and keep it.”
Meng Yi smiled and reached out to take it, but Meng Fu shouted, “Xiao Yi!”
Meng Yi timidly retracted his hand. “Meng-Meng…”
“Xiao Yi, we can’t take it, understand?” Then, he turned back to Ye Yan. “Brother Ye Yan, I’m the one who owes you, now are you trying to make me owe even more?”
“Meng Fu…” Ye Yan felt helpless. He was about to step forward and forcefully shove the card into Meng Fu’s hand, but Meng Fu stepped back again.
“Brother Ye Yan, this is Mr. Gu’s home, so I’m sorry but I can’t invite you in.” So, there’s no need to say anything more. Take your card with you and leave.
“Meng Fu, that man was Gu Ze, isn’t it?” Ye Yan asked hesitantly. Maybe… Maybe his guess was wrong. Maybe it was different.
But Meng Fu suddenly went stiff and red rushed to his pale cheeks, an expression of extreme embarrassment. He lowered his gaze, a silent and awkward acquiescence.
“I… I owe him two lives.” He muttered softly.
“Meng Fu, you don’t owe him anything. It was just an accident.”
“If I would have gotten out of the car then, then Mr. Gu’s wife wouldn’t have died.” The blood from back then began to seep into his vision again. “I was at fault, Brother Ye Yan. You don’t have to concern yourself about it. I deserve this punishment.”
“Even so, this isn’t the right way to do it. You’ve already gone to prison for seven years. The debt should have been cleared already.”
Meng Fu looked up. “I’m not dead yet, so the debt remains, and what Mr. Gu wants in return is my pain.”
“So that’s the reason you took your own life…?” Ye Yan finally understood the reason behind his attempted suicide. The moment Gu Ze appeared in the hospital, the truth gradually began bubbling up to the surface.
Meng Fu smiled weakly, an expression filled with a hint of sadness. “I’m still alive.”
Since he was alive, Gu Ze’s revenge still had to continue.
“Meng Fu…”
“Brother Ye Yan, it’s getting late. You should go back. Thank you for taking care of Xiao Yi for so long.”
Reluctantly, Ye Yan put the card back into his pocket. He mulled over a few things before saying, “Meng Fu, my mom will return the house to you soon, so you don’t have to stay here anymore. You don’t owe anyone anything. That’s just bullshit.”
Then, he added, “Meng Fu, leave here with Xiao Yi. I will find you a place to live.”
In truth, Ye Yan had never had a close relationship with either Meng Fu or Meng Yi. He had been studying abroad all this while, and ever since Meng Fu’s parents went to jail for corruption, Meng Yu also broke off contact with them.
Where Meng Fu lived or what he would do in the future were never his concern to begin with, but after spending so much time with Meng Yi, he could no longer remain indifferent toward them.
He was about to go in and pull Meng Fu out, but Meng Fu stepped back again.
“Thank you, Brother Ye Yan,” he raised his eyes to look at him, “but what is owed must eventually be repaid. I won’t leave. I will wait for the day when Mr. Gu can forgive me.”
But he knew, he knew that his aunt would never allow Ye Yan to spend any money to find them a place to stay, and he had no hopes of getting his house back either. He was already grateful that Xiao Yi had been able to live a stable life for seven years.
On the other hand… Gu Ze may never forgive him even until the day he dies.
Sighing, Ye Yan left.
Meng Yi shouted to Ye Yan as he watched him leave. “Big Brother Ye Yan, I’ll come and play with you again in two days! Bye-bye, Big Brother Ye Yan!”
Suddenly, he left Meng Fu’s side again, ran to Ye Yan and craned his neck over, kissing Ye Yan on the lips. “Bye-bye, Big Brother Ye Yan! I’ll miss you.”
Later, during the countless days he spent without Meng Yi, Ye Yan would touch his lips and think that to Meng Yi’s words of “I’ll miss you”, but then, he would also remember how happy he looked when he said “Meng-Meng, I missed you” to Meng Fu.
He burst out in laughter. Perhaps the longing a fool felt when he “missed” someone was all the same.