The silence in the hospital room made his aunt and uncle feel a bit awkward. His aunt quickly pushed Liu Wu.
Liu Wu immediately understood and took a step forward, pulling on Shan Yu’s arm to create a diversion. “Bro, sit down and rest for a bit.”
“I’ve been sitting the whole way,” Shan Yu said.
“…Oh, right,” Liu Wu fell silent for half a second. To perfectly execute his mission, he quickly continued the diversion, “Then… sit for a little longer.”
Shan Yu glanced at him, almost making him laugh. “Why don’t you sit for me for a while?”
Liu Wu had no choice but to shut up and sit down on the sofa nearby.
“You were so seriously injured,” his mom spoke up, “and you didn’t tell us either, did you? I asked you directly, and didn’t you still say you were all better?”
Although Shan Yu’s way of speaking made his aunt and uncle a bit uncomfortable, his own parents were used to it. Even after not seeing each other for so many years, they quickly picked up where they left off.
“That’s different,” Shan Yu said.
“How is it different?” his dad looked at him.
Shan Yu didn’t speak.
“Why don’t we…” his uncle couldn’t take it anymore and broke the silence. “Let’s go get something to eat first? Xiao Yu hasn’t eaten, right? Join us?”
“No need, I’ll just stay here and keep her company,” Shan Yu said.
“Old Shan and I haven’t eaten either,” his mom said.
“Aren’t you guys ordering takeout?” his uncle said.
“See?” his mom looked at Shan Yu. “It’s no big deal. My own brother won’t even take care of my meals, just tells me to eat takeout.”
Shan Yu smiled.
“Then… let’s do that. Xiao Yu can eat takeout with you guys. We’ll go eat first. You guys chat, it’s been so long since you’ve seen each other,” his uncle came over and patted Shan Yu’s shoulder. “Have a good chat.”
As Liu Wu was being pulled out by his mom, he turned his head back. “Bro, I’ll order the takeout. My treat this time…”
“You’ve worked a total of three and a half days and were late once. You should be paying the boss back,” his mom said. “Where do you get the money to treat someone?”
“Order roast goose for the main dish. You can decide on the rest,” Shan Yu said at the same time as her. His mom loved roast goose. Although they hadn’t seen each other for years, this preference probably hadn’t changed.
“You got it,” Liu Wu said as he left.
After the hospital room door closed, the atmosphere in the room eased somewhat, but it was still frozen by the several years of blank space.
Even in the past, the family of three didn’t spend much time at home together. Shan Yu was already a man of few words back then. Now, in this state of neither eating together nor watching TV together, the three of them were all a bit stiff.
Shan Yu walked over to the sofa and sat down.
“Is your leg fully healed?” his dad came over and sat on the end of the bed, facing him.
“Mm,” Shan Yu nodded and looked at his mom. “Are the check-ups done for today?”
“Just one more lung scan tomorrow and it’s all done,” his mom said. “Did you just go to the doctor’s office?”
In some things, his mom still knew him very well.
“Mm,” Shan Yu replied. “I was afraid you wouldn’t tell me the truth.”
“It’s really not a big problem. I already went back to work at the company last month,” his mom said. “I was a little short of breath right after the surgery, but I’ve basically recovered now.”
“Workaholic,” Shan Yu said, looking down at the medication plan Dr. He had sent him on his phone. “Besides the medicine the doctor prescribed, are you taking any other medicine?”
“Just some vitamins and things,” his dad said. “The workaholic had some stomach discomfort before and took some traditional Chinese medicine for a while, but it’s normal now. In the morning, we both get up and go to the square to exercise a bit.”
“More disciplined than me,” Shan Yu said. “I can’t even get up in the morning.”
“It doesn’t have to be in the morning,” his dad said. “Just move around whenever you have time.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu replied.
“Your sleep now…” his dad started.
“Let’s not,” Shan Yu said.
“Is it any better?” his dad said.
Shan Yu looked at him and smiled. “It’s alright.”
The hospital room door was knocked on twice and then pushed open. A girl walked in, carrying a large bag. “CEO Liu, there are two more places in this proposal that need your confirmation…”
It must be his mom’s assistant. Seeing how practiced she was at entering and exiting the hospital room, she must have accompanied his mom to the hospital quite a bit before.
When she saw Shan Yu, she was stunned. “I’m sorry, you have a guest.”
“My son,” his mom said, turning her head to smile at Shan Yu. “My assistant, Xiao Ye.”
Shan Yu nodded at her.
“Hello!” Xiao Ye was a bit embarrassed and pointed at the door. “Then I’ll…”
“Go ahead,” his mom said.
“It’s like this, for the meeting tonight, Mr. Luo’s people want us to confirm these few points with them before the meeting, to get a general intention…” Xiao Ye walked to his mom’s bedside and took out a folder from her bag.
“Why?” his mom didn’t take the folder.
“They think it will be more targeted for discussion during the meeting,” Xiao Ye said.
“Targeted?” his mom clicked her tongue. “If they can’t even find the key points, what’s the point of having a meeting? They want us to confirm the things to be discussed in the meeting beforehand. What are we going to do during the meeting then, sign the contract directly according to their conditions?”
When his mom entered work mode, the whole room was filled with an oppressive atmosphere. Shan Yu felt a bit restless, stood up, and said to his dad in a low voice, “I’m going out to make a call.”
“Mm,” his dad nodded.
“They think it will be faster to discuss subsequent issues based on the confirmation of these few points,” Xiao Ye said.
“The fastest way is for them to just confirm everything with us and then follow our requirements,” his mom said. “They’re not the only company Yuxing can cooperate with. It’s faster for us to switch partners.”
The corridor outside the hospital room led to a small garden. Shan Yu walked slowly through the corridor, watching the patients who passed by from time to time. In comparison, his mom’s condition was indeed not bad.
He walked to the small garden and sat down on a bench, letting out a soft sigh.
The sun had already set by now. There was no one in the garden, and he could only hear the occasional cough coming from the windows of the nearby hospital rooms.
Shan Yu took out his phone and checked the time. By now, the people at Dayin should have already arranged for someone to buy takeout. But whether they had eaten would depend on the situation. If they weren’t busy, they would have eaten. If they were busy, it would be later.
Usually, the manager was the last one to eat.
He dialed Chen Jian’s number.
Before the first dial tone had even finished, the call was picked up.
“Hello?” When Chen Jian’s voice came through, Shan Yu leaned back on the bench, feeling his whole body relax.
“Take out the trash behind the bar first,” Chen Jian said to Lao Wu as he walked into the courtyard. “Panpan and Nana are eating.”
“Okay,” Lao Wu replied. “The new shipment in the warehouse this afternoon hasn’t been sorted yet.”
“I’ll take care of it in a bit,” Chen Jian said. “Go eat after you take out the trash.”
He quickly walked through the corridor into the courtyard. Mushroom, who was chasing a glowing ball, immediately ran over. Chen Jian bent down and scratched his head, then threw the ball for him.
“How do you have time to call at this hour?” he asked Shan Yu. “Where are you? Have you eaten?”
Shan Yu smiled. “So many questions.”
“I thought you wouldn’t call me until the evening,” Chen Jian said, sitting down on the steps and reaching out to play with Mushroom. “How are things on your end?”
“I’m at the hospital,” Shan Yu said.
“What?” Chen Jian was stunned, his voice rising at once. “Why are you at the hospital? Are you hurt? Or…”
“My mom,” Shan Yu paused. “She already had surgery for lung cancer. She happened to be back at the hospital for a check-up when I came back today.”
Chen Jian felt the hands that had been warmed up inside instantly turn cold. The phone in his hand felt as icy as a piece of iron. “Is her condition okay now?”
“It’s okay. It was discovered early, and the surgery was quite successful. She’s already back at work,” Shan Yu said. “She’s recovering well.”
“That’s good, then,” Chen Jian breathed a slight sigh of relief. “If it’s discovered early, there are usually no major problems. Don’t worry… Are you okay?”
Chen Jian could sense that Shan Yu’s mood was a bit low. Although he usually sounded lazy when he spoke, it was different from his current state.
“I’m fine, it’s just…” Shan Yu sighed softly. “They didn’t plan on telling me about this. If I hadn’t happened to come back today… even if it were tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t have known…”
“They were afraid you’d worry,” Chen Jian said. “Didn’t you also not let them know when you were injured?”
“No,” Shan Yu said.
“What do you mean, no?” Chen Jian asked.
“I wasn’t afraid they would worry,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian was silent for a short while, then asked softly, “…Then why?”
“I didn’t want them to find out I had gotten into trouble again,” Shan Yu said. “One trouble, then another…”
“Wasn’t that Fang Xu, that bastard’s fault!” Chen Jian said. “What does it have to do with you! He was the one who caused trouble! It wasn’t you who got into trouble!”
Shan Yu smiled. “Manager, calm your anger.”
“It’s burning fiercely, I can’t calm it,” Chen Jian said, feeling annoyed just thinking about it.
“Actually, in the past, I wasn’t afraid of trouble. I would constantly get into trouble, all kinds of trouble,” Shan Yu said.
He could see that.
“Only in that way could I attribute many things to external factors,” Shan Yu said.
What?
He didn’t understand.
Chen Jian frowned. At this critical moment when Shan Yu needed his comfort, he actually didn’t understand what he was saying.
But he could only ask, “What do you mean?”
“I hoped that in other people’s eyes, I wasn’t really that bad,” Shan Yu said. “I just didn’t walk the right path… And, only when I got into trouble would my parents immediately appear…”
Chen Jian was silent.
He didn’t know how to respond to the second half, but the first part…
He remembered the things Shan Yu had told him about his childhood on the mountain.
Shan Yu had always felt that he was very bad, that he was no good compared to his other siblings.
“But that’s not the truth,” Chen Jian said. “I don’t know what it was like before, but you are a very outstanding person. You know it yourself, but you don’t believe in yourself.”
There was no sound from Shan Yu’s side. After a long time, he said softly, “That’s why I’m afraid to let them know again that I still have trouble, that I’m still the same Shan Yu as before.”
“Then Fang Xu is the final period,” Chen Jian said. “He’s gone. You’re no longer the same Shan Yu as before.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu lowered his head, his fingertips pressing on the corners of his eyes, but he still couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down.
Chen Jian’s comfort was direct and simple, without any grand principles, not even much persuasion. He even just followed his line of thought, but the answers he gave always made his heart soften.
Although many things couldn’t be solved with just a few words, those fears, those negations, those doubts about himself, climbed all over his past like vines. He could see them just by looking back.
But Chen Jian’s words would always lift his low spirits, even if only for a short while.
“Then why do you think they didn’t tell you about the illness? My dad didn’t tell me when he was injured either,” Chen Jian said. “If you hadn’t told me to go check on him that day, I wouldn’t have known he was injured. He was just afraid I’d worry…”
“You are his support,” Shan Yu said. “He didn’t tell you because you already have a heavy burden. He didn’t want to give you any more pressure. But I… am not.”
“You can’t be sure either, right? And even if it’s true, it’s been so many years. Why don’t you…” Chen Jian’s tone was tinged with careful probing. “Ask?”
“Huh?” Shan Yu was stunned.
“It’s just… if it were me, I definitely couldn’t do it,” Chen Jian said in a low voice. “But you, maybe I’m speaking from a place of privilege, but I feel like you’re the type… who can ask.”
“On what grounds,” Shan Yu said.
“On the grounds of that mouth of yours that usually spares no one,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu paused for a few seconds, then started laughing, and it took a while for him to stop.
“Really, you’re not the same Shan Yu as before,” Chen Jian said. “You can’t have come back for nothing, right?”
“Mm,” Shan Yu replied.
Chen Jian didn’t speak on his end, but he could hear Sanbing’s voice. “What call is taking so long? Are you on a date? The food’s going to get cold.”
“Go eat,” Shan Yu said.
“No rush,” Chen Jian said. “Have you eaten?”
“Not yet, waiting for takeout,” Shan Yu said.
“Takeout?” Chen Jian was stunned.
“I’m at the hospital,” Shan Yu said. “They were planning on ordering takeout anyway.”
“That’s good too,” Chen Jian thought for a moment. “It’s not too grand, otherwise you’d be uncomfortable again, right?”
“Mm,” Shan Yu smiled and looked back towards the hospital room. He happened to see Xiao Ye walking out of the corridor. “Then I’ll head back to the room first.”
“Okay, I’m going to eat,” Chen Jian said.
“Chen Jian,” Shan Yu called him.
“Hm?” Chen Jian replied.
“Do you miss me?” Shan Yu asked.
From Chen Jian’s end, you could already hear that he was walking back. When he heard this question, he stopped. “I do.”
“How much?” Shan Yu asked again.
“Just… a lot,” Chen Jian’s voice softened.
“How much is ‘a lot’?” Shan Yu continued to ask.
“How am I supposed to say that,” Chen Jian thought for a moment. “Just… I even got distracted and made a mistake when I was checking someone in today.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu smiled.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Jian asked.
“Nothing,” Shan Yu said. “I just wanted to know.”
“Do you even need to ask?” Chen Jian said.
“I do,” Shan Yu said.
“What about you?” Chen Jian also asked. “Do you… miss me?”
Shan Yu started laughing. He could just imagine the expression on Chen Jian’s face as he asked that question.
“A lot,” he said.
When Xiao Ye came over, Shan Yu put his phone in his pocket and greeted her. “Leaving?”
“Mm,” Xiao Ye nodded and said with a smile, “I have a meeting tonight.”
“This whole time, thank you for your hard work,” Shan Yu said.
“It’s fine, it’s no trouble,” Xiao Ye said. “CEO Liu hired a caregiver when she was hospitalized before. I usually don’t have to do much, just keep her company and run some errands sometimes.”
Shan Yu smiled. “Thank you.”
“You can go in,” Xiao Ye said. “The takeout just arrived as I was coming out.”
“Okay,” Shan Yu nodded.
When he returned to the hospital room, his mom was sitting cross-legged on the bed, and his dad had already set up the bed table and was about to put the food on it.
“Let me,” Shan Yu walked over.
“Liu Wu really dotes on his brother, ordering so much,” his mom said.
“He ordered according to his own appetite,” Shan Yu smiled.
“He can really eat,” his mom said. “When he was at your inn, did that group of people eat your kitchen’s supply chain dry?”
“It was fine. Our suppliers are very robust,” Shan Yu said.
“The inn…” his dad hesitated for a moment. “I heard from Xiao Wu that it’s doing quite well?”
“It was average before, but it’s been okay during the snow season,” Shan Yu said, opening all the food containers and placing them on the table.
“You sit on the bed,” his dad said, taking a chair from the side and sitting down.
“Mm,” Shan Yu took the rice box and lowered his head to take a bite of rice.
It really wasn’t as fragrant as the food at Dayin.
Manager Chen’s exclamation-point-filled roar was quite well-founded.
The only “no talking while eating” state was activated. Shan Yu ate his meal in silence.
His mom and dad would say a word or two from time to time, mostly about the arrangements for the next few days. His mom wouldn’t be going to the company for the next few days, but his dad didn’t have much to do, as he was already on vacation.
Why don’t you… ask?
Chen Jian’s words were still ringing in his ears.
Chen Jian probably couldn’t quite understand how he felt. CEO Liu and Old Shan were both very independent people. They had been married for so many years and had always maintained a close yet detached relationship.
They admired each other, were attracted to each other.
But neither of them couldn’t live without the other, and neither of them needed to rely on the other.
Are you guys really afraid I’ll worry, afraid I’ll think you’re tying me back, or do you think this is something you can handle on your own, without relying on your son?
More than whether he could bring himself to ask.
He was actually more afraid of the uncertain answer.
