The silence in the hospital room suddenly made his uncle and aunt a bit uncomfortable. His aunt quickly nudged Liu Wu.
Understanding the assignment instantly, Liu Wu stepped forward, tugged on Shan Yu’s arm, and changed the subject: “Ge, sit down and rest for a bit.”
“I’ve been sitting the whole trip,” Shan Yu said.
“…Oh right,” Liu Wu paused for half a second. To execute his mission flawlessly, he quickly pivoted to another topic. “Then… stand for a bit longer.”
Shan Yu glanced at him, almost amused. “Why don’t you stand for me.”
Liu Wu had to shut his mouth and sit down on the nearby sofa.
“You suffered such a serious injury,” his mom spoke up, “and you didn’t tell us either, did you? Even when I asked you directly, didn’t you say it was already healed?”
Although his uncle and aunt weren’t quite used to Shan Yu’s way of speaking, his actual parents were well-adapted. Even after not seeing each other for years, they picked right back up.
“That’s different,” Shan Yu said.
“How is it different?” his dad looked at him.
Shan Yu didn’t speak.
“How about…” His uncle couldn’t handle the tension and broke the silence. “We go grab something to eat first? Xiao Yu hasn’t eaten yet, right? Come with us?”
“No need, I’ll just stay here,” Shan Yu said.
“Old Shan and I haven’t eaten either,” his mom said.
“Weren’t you going to order takeout?” his uncle asked.
“See that?” his mom looked at Shan Yu. “It’s nothing major. My own brother doesn’t even care about feeding me, just tells me to eat takeout.”
Shan Yu smiled.
“Then… let’s do this. Xiao Yu, you eat takeout with them. We’ll go get something to eat. You guys chat. It’s been so long since you’ve seen each other,” his uncle walked over and patted Shan Yu’s shoulder. “Have a good talk.”
As Liu Wu was pulled out the door by his mom, he turned back: “Ge, I’ll order the takeout. My treat…”
“You worked for a grand total of three and a half days and were late once. You’ll end up owing your boss money,” his mom said. “Where are you getting the money to treat them?”
“Order a roast goose for the main dish, whatever else is up to you,” Shan Yu and his mom said at the exact same time. His mom loved roast goose. Although they hadn’t seen each other in years, this preference hadn’t changed.
“You got it,” Liu Wu exited the room.
After the door closed, the atmosphere in the room softened somewhat, but the blank void of several years still hung frozen in the air.
Even in the past, the three of them weren’t home together very often. Back then, Shan Yu didn’t talk much. Now, in this situation where they weren’t eating together or watching TV together, the three of them were even more stiff.
Shan Yu walked over to the adjacent sofa and sat down.
“Is your leg completely healed?” His dad walked over, sat at the foot of the bed, and faced him.
“Mm,” Shan Yu nodded, looking at his mom. “Are today’s check-ups done?”
“Just need a lung X-ray tomorrow and we’re done,” his mom said. “Did you go to the doctor’s office earlier?”
His mom still knew him well when it came to certain things.
“Mm,” Shan Yu acknowledged. “Afraid you guys wouldn’t tell me the truth.”
“It’s really nothing major. I already went back to the office to work last month,” his mom said. “I was a bit short of breath right after the surgery, but I’m basically recovered now.”
“Workaholic,” Shan Yu looked down at his phone, reading the current medication plan Dr. He had sent him. “Besides the meds the doctor prescribed, are you taking anything else?”
“Just some vitamins and things like that,” his dad said. “The workaholic had some gastrointestinal discomfort before, took Chinese medicine for a while, and is back to normal now. When we get up in the mornings, we both go to the plaza to move around and exercise.”
“More disciplined than me,” Shan Yu said. “I can’t even get up in the mornings.”
“Doesn’t have to be the morning,” his dad said. “Just move around whenever you have time.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu responded.
“How’s your sleep now…” his dad started.
“Let’s not go there,” Shan Yu said.
“Is it any better?” his dad asked.
Shan Yu looked at him and smiled. “It’s alright.”
There were two knocks on the door before it was pushed open. A young woman walked in carrying a large bag: “President Liu, there are two points in this proposal that need your confirmation…”
It must be his mom’s assistant. Judging by her practiced entry into the room, she had accompanied his mom to the hospital quite often.
Seeing Shan Yu, she froze: “I apologize, you have a guest.”
“My son,” his mom said, turning to smile at Shan Yu. “My assistant, Xiao Ye.”
Shan Yu nodded at her.
“Hello!” Xiao Ye looked somewhat awkward, pointing toward the door. “Then I’ll…”
“Go ahead and speak,” his mom said.
“It’s about tonight’s meeting. President Luo’s side wants us to confirm these few points with them before the meeting, to establish a general consensus…” Xiao Ye walked to the side of the bed and pulled a folder out of her bag.
“Why?” His mom didn’t take the folder.
“They believe it will make the discussion during the meeting more targeted,” Xiao Ye said.
“Targeted?” His mom clicked her tongue. “If they can’t even find the focus, why have a meeting at all? If they want us to confirm the points meant for discussion before the meeting, then what are we doing during the meeting? Signing the contract based on their terms?”
When his mom entered work mode, the entire room filled with a heavy pressure. Unable to sit still, Shan Yu stood up and whispered to his dad, “I’m going to step out and make a phone call.”
“Mm,” his dad nodded.
“They feel that discussing subsequent issues based on the confirmation of these points will be faster,” Xiao Ye said.
“Having us confirm everything and proceeding entirely on our terms is the fastest,” his mom said. “They aren’t the only company Yuxing can partner with. Switching partners is even faster.”
The hallway outside the hospital room led to a small hospital garden. Shan Yu slowly walked down the corridor, looking at the patients passing by occasionally. By comparison, his mom’s condition truly was quite good.
He walked into the small garden, sat down on a bench, and exhaled softly.
The sun had already set. There was no one in the garden, only the occasional sound of coughing drifting from the windows of nearby hospital rooms.
Shan Yu pulled out his phone and checked the time. Dayin had probably already ordered takeout by now. But whether they were eating depended on the situation: if it wasn’t busy, they’d eat; if it was busy, it would be delayed.
Usually, the store manager was the last one to eat.
He dialed Chen Jian’s number.
Before the first ring could even finish, the call was connected.
“Hello?” When Chen Jian’s voice came through, Shan Yu leaned back against the bench, feeling his entire body relax.
“Empty the trash behind the bar first,” Chen Jian instructed Lao Wu as he walked into the courtyard. “Panpan and Nana are eating.”
“Okay,” Lao Wu responded. “The new stock that arrived at the storage room this afternoon hasn’t been sorted yet.”
“I’ll do it later,” Chen Jian said. “Go eat after you finish the trash.”
Walking briskly down the hallway into the courtyard, Mushroom, who had been chasing a glowing ball, immediately ran over. Chen Jian bent down, scratched his head, and threw the ball for him.
“How do you have time to call right now?” he asked Shan Yu. “Where are you? Have you eaten?”
Shan Yu smiled. “That’s a lot of questions.”
“I thought you wouldn’t call me until tonight,” Chen Jian sat down on the steps, reaching out to tease Mushroom. “How are things on your end?”
“I’m at the hospital,” Shan Yu said.
“What?” Chen Jian froze, his voice instantly rising. “Why are you at the hospital? Are you hurt? Or…”
“My mom,” Shan Yu paused. “She had lung cancer surgery. When I came back today, she happened to be at the hospital for a check-up.”
Chen Jian felt his hands, previously warmed indoors, instantly turn freezing cold. The phone in his hand felt like a block of ice. “How is her condition now?”
“It’s okay. They caught it early, and the surgery was very successful. She’s already gone back to work,” Shan Yu said. “Recovering well.”
“That’s good then,” Chen Jian let out a slight breath of relief. “If it’s caught early, it’s usually not a huge problem. Don’t worry… Are you okay?”
Chen Jian could sense that Shan Yu’s mood was low. Although he always sounded somewhat languid, it was different from his current state.
“I’m fine, it’s just…” Shan Yu sighed softly. “They never planned on telling me. If I hadn’t happened to come back today… even if I came tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t have known…”
“They were afraid you’d worry,” Chen Jian said. “Didn’t you keep your injury from them too?”
“That’s not it,” Shan Yu said.
“Not what?” Chen Jian asked.
“I wasn’t afraid they’d worry,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian was silent for a moment before asking softly, “…Then why?”
“I didn’t want them to find out I had caused trouble again,” Shan Yu said. “One mess after another…”
“Wasn’t that bastard Fang Xu’s fault?!” Chen Jian said. “What does it have to do with you! He’s the one who caused trouble! You didn’t!”
Shan Yu smiled. “Calm your anger, Store Manager.”
“It’s blazing, can’t be calmed.” Chen Jian got pissed off just thinking about it.
“Actually, in the past, I wasn’t afraid of trouble. I would constantly cause trouble, all kinds of trouble,” Shan Yu said.
That was pretty obvious.
“Only by doing that could I attribute many things to external factors,” Shan Yu said.
What?
I don’t understand.
Chen Jian frowned. In a critical moment when Shan Yu needed his comfort, he actually couldn’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 truly incompetent,” Shan Yu said. “I just hadn’t chosen the right path… Besides, only when I caused trouble would my parents show up immediately…”
Chen Jian fell silent.
He didn’t know how to respond to the second half, but as for the first half…
He remembered the childhood stories Shan Yu had told him on the mountain.
Shan Yu had always felt he was incompetent, that compared to his siblings and cousins, he couldn’t do anything right.
“But that’s not the truth,” Chen Jian said. “I don’t know how things were in the past, but you are an incredibly outstanding person. You know this yourself, but you don’t believe in yourself.”
There was silence on Shan Yu’s end. After a long time, he said softly, “That’s why I was afraid to let them know I was in trouble again, that I was still the same old Shan Yu.”
“Then Fang Xu is the final period,” Chen Jian said. “He’s gone, and you’re no longer that old Shan Yu.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu lowered his head, pressing his fingertips against the corners of his eyes, though it couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down.
Chen Jian’s comfort was blunt and simple. There were no grand philosophies, not even much persuasion. He merely followed Shan Yu’s line of thought, yet the answers he provided always made Shan Yu’s heart soften.
Although many things couldn’t be resolved with just a few sentences—the cowardice, the denial, the self-doubt, all of which crawled over his past like vines, visible the moment he looked back.
But Chen Jian’s words always managed to lift his sunken mood, even if only for a brief moment.
“So why do you think they didn’t tell you about the illness? My dad didn’t tell me when he got hurt either,” Chen Jian said. “If you hadn’t told me to go check on him that day, I never would have known. He was just afraid I’d worry…”
“You are his pillar of support,” Shan Yu said. “He didn’t tell you because you already carry a heavy burden. He didn’t want to add any more pressure on you. But I… am not.”
“You can’t be sure of that either. And even if it’s true, it’s been so many years. Why don’t you…” Chen Jian’s tone carried a cautious probe, “ask them?”
“Hm?” Shan Yu was momentarily stunned.
“I mean… if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to,” Chen Jian said softly. “But you… maybe it’s easy for me to say since I’m not in your shoes, but I think you’re the kind of person… who could ask.”
“Based on what?” Shan Yu said.
“Based on that mouth of yours that spares no one on a normal day,” Chen Jian said.
Shan Yu paused for a few seconds before starting to laugh, taking quite a while to stop.
“Really, you aren’t the old Shan Yu anymore,” Chen Jian said. “You can’t go back for nothing, right?”
“Mm,” Shan Yu responded.
Chen Jian didn’t say anything, but Sanbing’s voice could be heard in the background: “Who are you on the phone with for so long? Are you dating? The food is 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.
“Eating takeout?” Chen Jian was taken aback.
“We’re at the hospital,” Shan Yu said. “They were planning on ordering takeout anyway.”
“That’s pretty good too,” Chen Jian thought about it. “They didn’t make a huge fuss, otherwise you’d probably feel uncomfortable again.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu smiled, looking back toward the hospital room just in time to see Xiao Ye walking out of the hallway. “I’m heading back to the room then.”
“Alright, I’ll go eat,” Chen Jian said.
“Chen Jian,” Shan Yu called out to him.
“Hm?” Chen Jian replied.
“Do you miss me?” Shan Yu asked.
From the sound of it, Chen Jian had already started walking back, but upon hearing this question, he stopped. “I do.”
“How much do you miss me?” Shan Yu asked again.
“Just… quite a lot.” Chen Jian lowered his voice.
“How much is ‘quite a lot’?” Shan Yu pressed.
“How am I supposed to explain that,” Chen Jian thought for a moment. “Like… today, I spaced out and made a mistake while checking someone in.”
“Mm,” Shan Yu smiled.
“What is it?” Chen Jian asked.
“Nothing,” Shan Yu said. “Just wanted to know.”
“Did you even need to ask?” Chen Jian said.
“I had to ask,” Shan Yu said.
“What about you?” Chen Jian asked back. “Do you… miss me?”
Shan Yu laughed. He could picture the expression on Chen Jian’s face as he asked that question.
“Incredibly,” he said.
As Xiao Ye walked over, Shan Yu slipped his phone into his pocket and greeted her, “Leaving?”
“Mm,” Xiao Ye nodded, smiling. “Still have a meeting tonight.”
“Thanks for your hard work during this time,” Shan Yu said.
“It’s fine, it wasn’t hard work,” Xiao Ye said. “When President Liu was hospitalized, she hired a caretaker. She rarely asked me to do anything. I was mostly just keeping her company and occasionally running errands.”
Shan Yu smiled. “Thank you.”
“You should go in,” Xiao Ye said. “The takeout arrived right as I was coming out.”
“Okay,” Shan Yu nodded.
When he returned to the room, his mom was sitting cross-legged on the bed. His dad had already set up the overbed table and was preparing to arrange the food on it.
“I’ll do it,” Shan Yu walked over.
“Liu Wu truly loves his brother, ordering so much,” his mom said.
“He ordered based on his own appetite,” Shan Yu smiled.
“He really can eat,” his mom said. “When he went to your guesthouse, did he and his friends eat through your kitchen’s supply chain?”
“It was fine. Our suppliers are very robust,” Shan Yu said.
“The guesthouse…” his dad hesitated for a moment. “Xiao Wu said it’s doing quite well?”
“It was average before, but it’s doing okay during the snow season.” Shan Yu opened all the containers and arranged them on the table.
“You sit on the bed,” his dad grabbed a nearby chair and sat down.
“Mm.” Shan Yu took a takeout box, lowered his head, and took a bite of rice first.
It really isn’t as fragrant as Dayin’s rice.
Store Manager Chen’s roaring exclamation marks were well-founded.
Initiating his solo “no talking while eating” mode, Shan Yu ate in silence.
His mom and dad exchanged a few words here and there, mostly about their schedule for the next few days. His mom wouldn’t be going to the company for the next few days, and his dad didn’t have much to do since he was already on winter break.
Why don’t you… ask them?
Chen Jian’s words still echoed in his ears.
Chen Jian probably couldn’t fully comprehend his feelings. Both President Liu and Old Shan were incredibly independent people. Married for so many years, they had always maintained a relationship that was both intimate and detached.
They admired and were attracted to each other.
But neither was inseparable from the other, and neither needed to rely on the other.
Are you truly afraid I’d worry, afraid I’d think you were trying to guilt me into coming back… or do you just feel this is something you can handle yourselves, without needing to rely on your son?
Compared to whether he could bring himself to ask or not.
What he actually feared more was the uncertain answer.
