Chapter 33: No Matter What, Do Not Leave Him
The next morning.
Liang Sheng woke up from a nightmare.
When he opened his eyes, they were filled with tears. It took a good while before he slowly regained his senses.
He had dreamed that Shen Xingyu abandoned him alone at the seaside. The surging seawater washed him into the ocean, and countless sharks swarmed toward him, relentlessly tearing and biting until he was covered in blood.
And his husband stood on the shore, embracing his lover and watching his death with cold eyes. He even shared a kiss with his lover, and they laughed so happily.
Even though it was a dream, Liang Sheng could still clearly feel that desperate pain, piercing deep into his heart.
“Sheng-sheng is awake?”
A warm, kind voice sounded in his ear.
Liang Sheng snapped out of it to see the Old Master pushing his wheelchair toward him, holding a bowl of white porridge in his hand.
He quickly sat up, feeling a bit surprised, and called out with a hoarse voice: “Grandpa…”
“How do you feel? Does your forehead still hurt?”
The Old Master gently placed the porridge on the table and looked at Liang Sheng with eyes full of concern and worry.
“My forehead?”
Liang Sheng was confused. He instinctively reached up to touch it, only then discovering a piece of gauze taped to his temple.
With a light press, it still throbbed with a dull pain.
“What… what happened to me…”
He was a bit lost, not knowing why he was injured. His memory stopped at the time he was giving Shen Xingyu artificial respiration. He couldn’t remember anything after that; it seemed his head had hit something.
“Silppy child, A-Yu said the car wasn’t driven steadily and you hit the window. To hit it that hard… he really is something.”
Old Master Shen showed a look of blame. He touched Liang Sheng’s head with heartache and couldn’t help but ask:
“So, what happened yesterday? When A-Yu carried you back, both of you were soaking wet, and you were unconscious. Everything was fine, how did it end up like this?”
Liang Sheng’s gaze flickered, not daring to look him in the eye. He could only lower his head, hiding his grievances, and said softly:
“I… I accidentally fell into the sea yesterday. A-Yu followed me… jumping into the ocean to save me…”
At the thought of his mother’s relics being thrown into the sea by the man, his heart ached uncontrollably. He clearly wanted to tell Grandpa Shen, the only person he could rely on, but the words reached his lips and he forced them back down.
He didn’t dare say it. If he did, Shen Xingyu would loathe him even more—loathe him for tattling to Grandpa.
He really didn’t want to be tortured anymore.
For the days he had left, he only wanted them to be a bit easier…
Hearing that his grandson had jumped into the sea, Old Master Shen’s expression changed. He grabbed Liang Sheng’s arm forcefully, his originally kind face instantly turning grim. His brows were knit tight, filled with anger:
“Isn’t A-Yu most afraid of water? How could he jump into the ocean?! That will cause great damage to his heart! Sheng-sheng, as his wife, you should be very clear on this. How could you let him jump into the water to save you? This is too reckless!”
The Old Master’s overt and covert blame made Liang Sheng freeze. He had never seen the other person speak to him in such a severe tone. The Old Master had always doted on him, but the way he was grabbing his arm now made him feel a great deal of pain.
But the greater pain was in his heart.
He felt aggrieved, his eyes filling with tears. He didn’t know why the Old Master would say things like how could he let Shen Xingyu jump into the sea to save him… Was his grandson’s life a life, while he deserved to drown?
If it weren’t because Shen Xingyu threw away his mother’s relics, he wouldn’t have rushed into the sea to search for them.
The Old Master was still in a fit of pique. Seeing that Liang Sheng hadn’t answered for a while, he continued to vent his inner anger and dissatisfaction:
“Did you notice if A-Yu felt unwell at the time? He has a sullen personality and won’t tell me anything. You are his wife; you should be clearer on his physical condition than I am!”
Although Old Master Shen was already aged, he was still full of spirit. When he lost his temper, he carried an air of natural authority. His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, stared fixedly at Liang Sheng as if wanting to pierce through him.
Liang Sheng felt a bit unnerved by the stare, his eyes lowered, not daring to meet the other’s sharp gaze.
His body trembled. When he looked up again, his eyes were brimming with tears as he choked out:
“I-I’m sorry, Grandpa. It’s my fault… I shouldn’t have let A-Yu jump down to save me…”
He hadn’t wanted to go to the seaside, and jumping into the sea hadn’t been voluntary. He wanted so much to tell Grandpa that none of this was his fault, but looking at the Grandpa who was usually gentle to him now flying into a rage upon hearing his grandson was in danger.
Liang Sheng instantly lacked the confidence to cry out his grievances.
He didn’t want to shed tears; he was usually used to and good at forcing them back. But he was too sad—nothing was more heartbreaking than the only person who doted on him suddenly losing his temper at him without distinguishing right from wrong.
Seeing him sobbing on the verge of tears, Old Master Shen couldn’t bear to continue his scolding. He released Liang Sheng’s reddened arm and explained his difficulties with a long sigh:
“Grandpa doesn’t mean to blame you. It’s just that I only have A-Yu as my grandson. In the future, the great legacy of the Shen family will fall on him alone. That worthless son of mine can’t be relied upon to carry the family forward. Moreover, A-Yu has a heart condition, so I was very anxious…”
“Mm, it’s fine, I know…”
Liang Sheng let out a forced smile, raising his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes. The Old Master’s explanation didn’t lessen his sadness; instead, he felt even more aggrieved.
Seeing Liang Sheng constantly wiping away tears, the Old Master also felt bad. He had initially seen that Liang Sheng was hardworking and capable, which was why he wanted the other to take care of his grandson. He hadn’t expected such a thing would happen.
He took Liang Sheng’s hand, his back hunched, the severity in his eyes vanishing, replaced only by deep apology:
“Sheng-sheng, I’m sorry. Grandpa shouldn’t have been so harsh just now. I was truly afraid that something would happen to A-Yu. His heart condition hasn’t flared up in a long time, and Grandpa has always had his heart in his throat. If anything happened to him, Grandpa wouldn’t be able to go on living…”
As he spoke, the Old Master actually began to choke up in person. Old tears streamed down, his face—deeply lined with wrinkles—filled with the vicissitudes of life and pain. This strong man who once called the shots in the business world now looked like a lonely, helpless child, weeping uncontrollably.
Liang Sheng had never seen the Old Master look so fragile. His heart instantly softened. He no longer cared about his own sadness, hurriedly pulling out tissues to wipe the tears from the Old Master’s face, his voice trembling as he comforted him:
“Grandpa, I don’t blame you! Please don’t cry. When you cry like this, Sheng-sheng feels very bad and blames himself… I understand how you feel. You only have A-Yu to rely on, and so do I… I will take good care of him and won’t let anything happen to him! Don’t worry!”
“Good child, with you by A-Yu’s side… Grandpa can rest easy. No matter what happens, do not leave him. He suffered too much hardship as a child, which is why he turned out this way today.”
The Old Master felt extreme heartache. Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, he felt very guilty about the events of the past.
He gently patted the back of Liang Sheng’s hand, let out a breath of turbid air, and continued:
“He looks cold on the surface, but he’s actually a person who is ‘hard of mouth but soft of heart.’ Please be more patient with him and take care of him for a lifetime. As long as you two live well together, Grandpa can die in peace.”
Liang Sheng looked at the Old Master’s sincere gaze, but he lowered his head and silently pulled his hand back.
Through these years, his husband had only ever shown him coldness and lack of affection. He couldn’t see even a shred of softness in Shen Xingyu.
Moreover, he already had middle-stage stomach cancer and had completely given up on treatment. How could he take care of that man for a lifetime?
Seeing Liang Sheng hesitating, the Old Master grew anxious, but he couldn’t use the matter of the debt to force Liang Sheng to agree. That would only drive a wedge between Liang Sheng and Shen Xingyu. What he wanted was Liang Sheng’s wholehearted love.
The Old Master had no choice. For the sake of his grandson, he could only lower his pride and plead with Liang Sheng through tears:
“Alright? Promise Grandpa. Grandpa is already in his eighties and doesn’t have much time left. Now that I’ve taken another fall, I’m afraid… I won’t see your happy days ahead.”
Liang Sheng was the most filial, and with the Old Master crying so piteously, he simply couldn’t bear to refuse. He hurriedly nodded: “I promise you! Grandpa, I will definitely take good care of A-Yu. You will also live a long life; don’t say such unlucky things! A-Yu only has you as his relative!”
“Good, good, Grandpa won’t say it.”
The Old Master finally felt at ease. With a smile on his face, he turned to pick up the bowl of porridge. He stirred it a few times, scooped up a spoonful, and held it before Liang Sheng, returning to his usual gentleness:
“Come, Sheng-sheng, this is seafood porridge Grandpa had someone simmer. I remember Sheng-sheng loves shrimp most; there are many shrimp inside that Grandpa peeled himself. They were just bought this morning, very fresh. Hurry and taste if it’s good.”
The Old Master’s sincerity made Liang Sheng’s previous doubts and grievances vanish into thin air. He hurriedly got off the bed to take the bowl from the Old Master’s hand. “Grandpa, I’ll do it myself!”
But the Old Master insisted on not giving it to him. “Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet; Grandpa will feed you.”
“How could I be so bold…”
Liang Sheng scratched the back of his head.
“What is there to be embarrassed about? You are my grandson-in-law, not an outsider.”
As the Old Master spoke, he brought a spoonful full of shrimp porridge to Liang Sheng’s lips. “Come, open your mouth.”
Liang Sheng felt a surge of emotion in his heart. Since his mother had become mentally unstable, he hadn’t eaten anything fed to him by a relative. The Old Master’s action made him dream of when he was young and often clamored for his mother to feed him.
“Sheng-sheng?”
The Old Master called out. Seeing Liang Sheng in a daze, he couldn’t help but worry: “Is your body feeling unwell?”
“No, no!”
Liang Sheng snapped out of it, obediently opened his mouth, and ate it bit by bit. The corners of his eyes were a bit red. “Thank you, Grandpa.”
“This child, getting all polite with Grandpa!”
The Old Master laughed happily, feeding him several more large shrimp. “You need to eat more nutritious things to supplement yourself. Look how thin you are.”
“I know!”
Liang Sheng finally regained a hint of liveliness, freely enjoying this hard-won moment of happiness.
“Is it good?”
Liang Sheng nodded forcefully: “It’s good!”
“If it’s good, Grandpa will have it made for you all the time from now on.”
Old Master Shen pulled out a tissue and doted on him by wiping away the water stain from the corner of his mouth.
“Okay~”
Liang Sheng’s appetite was wide open, and he finished the entire large bowl of shrimp porridge.
“Sheng-sheng is so good!”
The Old Master patted his little head with satisfaction.
Liang Sheng’s eyes involuntarily felt a bit sour.
It turned out that simply finishing a bowl of food was something to be praised for.
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