Chapter 18: My Secret
Those words sent Jiang Shulu’s heart racing.
But when he asked again, Tang Yue refused to elaborate, repeating only, “It’s my secret,” until Jiang Shulu finished showering and brought him out, Tang Yue leaning against his shoulder.
What secret?
How did Tang Mian come to be?
Who is his mother?
Jiang Shulu got himself completely soaked while showering Tang Yue.
The production team mercilessly cut to the viewers seemingly blocked by the door, forcing the livestream audience to watch Yao Lixin with the child for over twenty minutes.
“Why isn’t it split-screen yet! The shower took so long.”
“I wanted to hear some sounds.”
“Oh oh oh, it’s split! Jiang Shulu… you should just shower too.”
“Didn’t fans post about his outfits this morning? His private clothes are ridiculously expensive… now…”
“How could Tang Yue get this drunk? It’s hilarious, the show just started!!”
“Does Jiang Shulu think he can’t hug Tang Yue because he’s wet?”
“Tang Yue is really as clingy as before. If he were sober, he definitely wouldn’t be this clingy to Jiang Shulu.”
“Hahaha, even stepping over the threshold is so difficult, so cute.”
Jiang Shulu went into the room, threw his coat aside, ignoring his wet pants, and tucked the almost-dry-haired Tang Yue into bed.
For the first time in his twenty-two years as a wealthy heir, Jiang Shulu realized how troublesome it was to shower someone, and even felt the illusion of having such a grown-up son.
At this moment, many questions swirled in his mind, his emotions mixed, almost making Jiang Shulu unsure how to face Tang Yue.
He had a wild guess, but didn’t know how to ask.
Should he wait until Tang Yue was sober or in a better state?
Ask about that night, that time, whether it was a dream, and if not, why did he avoid me?
How could he ask this? No matter how you look at it…
It’s incredibly rude.
If that scar on your stomach is really because of…
Jiang Shulu couldn’t imagine how Tang Yue had managed alone.
When Tang Yue joined the group, he was already small, the type who would thrive with a little sunshine and survive with a little food.
While amnesia didn’t affect his ability to take care of himself, many aspects of him seemed strange, like someone who had never seen the world. He was amazed watching someone make egg pancakes on the street, let alone seeing an Indian flying bread, almost clapping loudly.
Even Liu Xicháo had mentioned that Tang Yue was a strange person.
What was even stranger was that Tang Yue, besides showing a high degree of curiosity about animals, plants, and food, was someone with little desire for material things.
They worked in the entertainment industry, enjoying the feeling of being loved.
Enjoying high popularity, being adored, loving to perform, loving to be surrounded by people, loving the thrill of reaching the top again and again.
After the flowers and applause came the money and the things they wanted.
Material things supported their hobbies. They genuinely loved performing, had dreams, and would spend lavishly after receiving their pay.
Yao Lixin liked to buy cars, Liu Xicháo liked to buy jewelry.
They always said it was strange. “Captain, you’ve never lacked money since you were young, it’s normal that you’re not as excited as us, but wasn’t Tang Yue’s life very difficult before? He never seemed to want anything.”
Tang Yue hardly shopped online; he ate whatever the staff gave him and never asked for something tastier.
In the world of a young man who had experienced a sudden calamity, there seemed to be no “like” or “better.” Tang Yue was like a silent plant, calmly carrying out photosynthesis.
Jiang Shulu still had a rebellious history; in comparison, Tang Yue didn’t seem quite human.
Once, Yao Lixin said it straight, ruffling Tang Yue’s hair as he lay on the sofa reading a magazine, “You really don’t seem human.”
Liu Xicháo threw a pillow over, “Why are you insulting him?”
Tang Yue, drinking strawberry milk, looked at the magazine featuring Jiang Shulu’s interview, and hummed, “I’m an alien.”
He said it seriously, making Yao Lixin burst into laughter.
Liu Xicháo exclaimed, “So what are an alien’s dreams?”
Tang Yue: “My current life satisfies me.”
He was not only desireless but also easily satisfied.
When he accidentally sprained his ankle during training, Yao Lixin handing him an iced sparkling water was enough to make him happy for hours.
It was as if he had never drunk these drinks before.
Jiang Shulu rarely participated in these conversations because he found that his sudden voice would startle Tang Yue, making the hard-shelled Tang Yue retreat again.
Therefore, Jiang Shulu mostly observed him quietly.
Compared to training, Tang Yue preferred outdoor activities.
Compared to snacks from fans, Tang Yue preferred flowers, eagerly accepting them every time.
The only thing he disliked was coriander. He once received a bouquet of coriander and was stunned for a long time.
He said with a look of shock, “Can this be given as a bouquet?”, muttering that broccoli was better than coriander.
Did Tang Yue still like flowers now?
Jiang Shulu suddenly felt that he wasn’t so worthy of adoration. Apart from the Jiang family label, what was left of him?
Three years in the boy band had allowed Jiang Shulu to rediscover a part of himself and fulfill his childhood wish concerning his birth mother.
But five years of complete inheritance had peeled that part away again.
It was nine o’clock at night, and Tang Yue was already asleep in bed.
The early autumn night was a little cold. Jiang Shulu closed the window and pulled up a stool to sit by the bed watching Tang Yue.
The man seemed unconcerned about the many cameras in the room, or the fact that his sleep was being watched by millions.
He was so open that the onlookers felt a little embarrassed.
“I feel like I’m disturbing him.”
“Oh no, I have that feeling too.”
“Jiang Shulu, aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”
“Why do I suddenly feel like he loves him so much? It’s just the beginning! Someone pinch me awake.”
“Am I the only one looking forward to Tang Yue’s reaction tomorrow, hahaha”
“Being this old and still needing the captain to bathe him is really funny.”
Tang Yue didn’t sleep soundly; he was restless, pulling out the hand Jiang Shulu had tucked in, trying to pull it towards his chest.
Jiang Shulu was slightly flattered.
In the past, he wouldn’t have received such treatment.
He had many questions, but now wasn’t the right time.
Jiang Shulu was about to get up when he heard a voice from outside.
“Uncle Yao, I can shower myself; you don’t need to help me!”
Yao Lixin’s voice was nonchalant: “Really? Yao Xuan Yu still needs my help, otherwise, he’ll get everywhere, and it’ll be impossible to wipe it clean.”
Then came Yao Xuan Yu’s angry rebuttal: “I’m six years old! I don’t need your help. If I can’t clean myself, I’m a puppy!”
The audience could hear clearly and couldn’t help but glance at the sleeping Tang Yue, then at Tang Mian in the yard, demonstrating his excellent shoelace-tying skills to show his independence to Yao Lixin.
“Why is the kid more mature than his dad?”
“Hahahahaha, the son doesn’t need help showering!”
“Tang Yue’s not supposed to be a comedic character, but he’s really funny.”
After a while, Tang Mian came over. It was a bit difficult for the little boy to step over such a high threshold. He looked enviously at Jiang Shulu’s long legs as he walked over.
The little guy looked up at Jiang Shulu, then at Tang Yue inside. Noticing his father seemed to be asleep, he quietly asked Jiang Shulu, “Uncle, did my dad shower?”
Yao Lixin stood aside, enduring his nephew’s punches. The little guy was angry that Yao Lixin had slandered him about needing help showering.
But Yao Lixin perfectly embodied the phrase “watching the fun,” correcting Tang Mian’s address again: “Didn’t you say you should call him Dad Shulu?”
Before, Jiang Shulu thought Yao Lixin was joking, but seeing him emphasize it, he sensed something unusual.
He looked at Yao Lixin, who shrugged with a smile.
He was bright and cheerful, his hair tie and earrings were matching; Jiang Shulu increasingly felt that he was hiding something.
Jiang Shulu: “I don’t have a son as old as yours.”
Yao Lixin: …
“Jiang Shulu is quite humorous.”
“Why is Yao Lixin so insistent?!”
“I reasonably suspect he’s also shipping them.”
“I really want to know the secret of the top boy band, Yao Lixin, can you make an anonymous post to answer questions?”
But it wasn’t a good time to ask. Jiang Shulu lowered his head to answer Tang Mian’s question.
“He’s finished showering.”
Tang Mian noticed Jiang Shulu’s wet pants and apologized, “Sorry, Dad Shulu.”
Jiang Shulu: “If you call me that, your dad will be unhappy.”
He looked at Tang Yue inside and said, “Meimei, go check on your dad. I’ll go shower.”
Tang Mian hadn’t interacted with many people. Tang Yue, this father, was really different from the fathers in picture books.
He was more curious about the chickens, ducks, fish, and geese at the market than Tang Mian.
He could watch someone scale fish with great excitement, but when Tang Yue tried to learn from a video at home, he failed miserably and cried bitterly because of the bitter fish gall.
Tang Mian was curious how Tang Yue had raised himself.
It seemed like his birth was difficult for Tang Yue.
Tang Mian’s initial understanding of men was Tang Yue, his father by blood, and his hidden, unmentionable mother.
Even though Tang Yue occasionally noticed that his child seemed overly intelligent, he never suspected that Tang Mian knew his secret.
For example, the scar on his abdomen. When Tang Mian asked, Tang Yue said it was an old injury.
Tang Mian asked when he got hurt, if it hurt, and why it happened.
This small-dad spent a long time making up excuses, and the second time Tang Mian asked, Tang Yue gave a different reason.
It wasn’t surprising that Jiang Shulu thought Tang Yue was clumsy; in Tang Mian’s eyes, Tang Yue was the same.
Clumsy but sincere, making a five-year-old feel that his father had never been truly loved.
Yet he still painstakingly cared for a human cub.
Liang Yi came over many times a year, and she was also very worried about Tang Yue’s ability to take care of himself. At first, she even hired someone to look after Tang Yue.
But Tang Yue was really uncommunicative and didn’t like having an enthusiastic nanny at home.
Liang Yi sent many baby products and things children liked, discovering that Tang Yue could read picture books to his child and fall asleep while doing so.
The child ended up reading them by himself.
Thankfully, the child takes after his other dad.
If Jiang Shulu hadn’t followed the family path, he might have been a genius in academia.
Liang Yi was different from Tang Yue; he would tell Tang Mian many things about the outside world and then tell him about Tang Yue as he remembered him.
Giving the child a full understanding of his father.
The video showed the boy’s clear singing voice, the blue ocean of lights lit for Tang Yue at the concert for tens of thousands of people.
That was a world Tang Mian hadn’t experienced, another different, unique, charming dad.
He also recognized the central figure in one picture, handsome and noble, the long-haired Jiang Shulu who was so handsome that he made thousands scream.
He looked exactly like the person Tang Yue looked at photos with for a long time.
Now that Tang Mian had met Jiang Shulu in person, he liked him inexplicably, felt inexplicably close to him.
He was also happy to let him take care of Tang Yue.
The child shook his head, “Xiao Yue won’t be unhappy.”
Jiang Shulu always bent down to talk to him, either kneeling or picking Tang Mian up.
Tang Mian vaguely knew that this might also be his father.
But Xiao Yue didn’t want him to know.
Then it’s better not to know for now.
Let the adults handle adult matters.
Jiang Shulu smiled, “Why?”
Tang Mian’s voice was exceptionally clear, still with a child’s unique innocence—
“Because Dad likes you very much.”
“What the hell!! I know that’s not what he means! But I really…”
“Jiang Shulu, you should just do a paternity test.”
“Could it be that Jiang Shulu’s child was taken away by Tang Yue to raise?”
“That shouldn’t be right. There were rumors back then about Away members having secret meetings with women, but it ended without much explanation. It doesn’t seem like Jiang Shulu.”
“Wasn’t it speculated that it was Liu Xicháo?”
“Wow, you guys might as well say Liu Xicháo’s wealthy old man’s partner is a cross-dresser.”
Jiang Shulu touched Tang Mian’s head: “That’s impossible.”
He said confidently, “Your dad hates me the most.”
Tang Mian: “That’s impossible. I have so many pictures of Dad Shulu at home.”
He boldly revealed this while his real dad was drunk: “And the poster of Dad Shulu with pink hair, and the signature… he’s bigger than me.”
The child gestured several times.
“Isn’t that the poster of Jiang Shulu’s rare styling that I dream of!”
“Nationwide limited edition of five hundred copies!!!”
“Autographed ones are now worth a mansion, right?”
“Tang Yue, you… you, with your pretty eyebrows and eyes, actually secretly kept a special signature edition??”
Author’s Note:
“Scandal”
A black material pdf detailing Away’s scandals once circulated online.
Many people who downloaded it found it was completely nonsensical news.
《Tang Yue: On xx year, xx month, xx day, he choked on a fishbone and was taken to the hospital by someone on a bicycle.》
Yao Lixin (laughing): I can testify that it’s true.
Liu Xicháo (trying to hold back laughter): I remember that day we stayed up very late, and Tang Yue insisted on eating garlic-flavored grilled fish.
Yao Lixin: He secretly went with the manager and captain that day.
Liu Xicháo: Yes, that idiot Tang Yue even shared it on his WeChat Moments, without blocking the captain.
Tang Yue (desperate): I didn’t mean to.
Liu Xicháo: I told you to block him, not to let him see it!
Yao Lixin: It’s a good thing the captain came. That place was difficult to get a taxi, cars couldn’t drive in. Otherwise, Tang Yue would have been done for.
Jiang Shulu went back to the Jiang family and saw Tang Yue’s WeChat Moments, specifically directed at him.
Just as he was about to comment, he received a call from Yao Lixin.
Yao Lixin: Captain!! Tang Yue choked on a fishbone, what do we do, should we call 120?
Jiang Shulu: Do you want to be surrounded by paparazzi at the hospital?
That grilled fish restaurant was in a crooked alley in the suburbs. Jiang Shulu found a bike on the side of the road and put it in his car and drove there.
In the end, he rode his bike to carry Tang Yue out of the area.
Unfortunately, he was photographed by a resident.
The person didn’t think they were celebrities, thinking they were a couple on a late-night date.
Because Tang Yue’s pants that day were extremely wide-legged, they looked like a skirt at first glance, sitting sideways, with a long scarf covering his face, very desperate.
The hot search that day—
Jiang Shulu was spotted on a late-night bike ride with a beautiful woman in a shabby alley, suspected to be in love
Tang Yue’s feelings at that time: I want to die, what a beautiful woman!! Get lost—