Chapter 126: Heartbreak and guilt
“Fei Ge, this is the practice room Big Brother and Second Brother renovated for me.” An QingYan was video chatting with Gu Fei, and after speaking, he turned the camera to show the practice room.
The boy’s tone was excited and buoyant, like a child eager to show off a toy his parents bought him.
“There’s a piano, and lots of instruments.”
He sat on the chair in front of the grand piano, turning the camera toward himself, saying to the man on the screen, “How is it? Does it look nice?”
In the Gu family villa’s study, Gu Fei watched the boy on the screen, smiling with curved eyebrows, nodding cooperatively, “It looks very nice.”
The huge villa felt strangely empty, missing just one person. A feeling of loneliness swept over him. He’d lived alone for so long, never experiencing this, but now it was profound.
Just half a day apart, Gu Fei missed his YanYan. Even seeing him through the screen couldn’t alleviate this feeling; the cold screen was too distorted.
He was already planning to renovate a larger and more beautiful practice room here.
“Fei Ge, are you working?” An QingYan saw the man’s back in the study; Gu Fei usually worked there. He said considerately, “Then I won’t bother you…”
“Don’t bother, don’t hang up.” Gu Fei interrupted him softly.
“Oh…” An QingYan secretly pursed his lips, a faint, pleased smile appearing. Gu Fei caught his mood, the corners of his lips slightly curling up, “What are you happy about, YanYan?”
An QingYan answered indirectly, “Fei Ge, I miss you a little.”
“I miss you too.” The man’s handsome features softened. His voice was his usual low, magnetic tone, not the cold aloofness he showed others, but a tenderness that could drown someone. “Baby.”
An QingYan’s ears burned; he still wasn’t used to it. Since that night, Gu Fei had liked calling him baby.
The memory of that night was a bit hazy. He vaguely remembered the man kissing the tears on his face, chuckling and asking if he liked being called baby.
He didn’t remember how he’d answered. Probably that he liked it, otherwise Gu Fei wouldn’t call him that.
He did… like it very much.
“Can you play a piano piece for Fei Ge?”
Gu Fei suddenly asked.
An QingYan was a little distracted, but immediately nodded after realizing, “Yes, of course.”
The boy placed his phone on its side, the camera capturing his upper body. After searching his mind for a moment, he decided to play the classic “Canon.”
Gu Fei intently watched the person on the screen. The boy wore a simple white sweater. Bright lights illuminated his face. His eyes were downcast, his side profile delicate and gentle, yet clean and slightly cool.
The boy’s hands rested on the black and white keys. His long, slender fingers moved skillfully. The gentle and pleasant piano music traveled through the phone’s current into Gu Fei’s ears.
Gu Fei didn’t really listen to the music; his attention was on the person playing.
When the boy did something he loved and excelled at, he shone like a star, captivating the eye.
Seeing him like this, Gu Fei felt a strong feeling: his YanYan was a star born for the stage, an excellent being whom others looked up to.
And he didn’t need to look up, because he could firmly hold this star in his hand.
The piece ended.
An QingYan touched his nose, then picked up his phone, smiling sheepishly, “I haven’t played in a while, it’s a bit rusty.”
Gu Fei: “You played very well.”
He hadn’t really been listening.
“When did YanYan learn to play the piano?”
Gu Fei first heard An QingYan play the piano at Tomorrow’s Star’s initial stage performance. He’d been puzzled then, but later events had made him forget.
Hearing this question, An QingYan’s heart skipped a beat. This wasn’t really plausible for him. He was nervous, but it wasn’t apparent.
He calmly answered, “I used to work part-time at a music store, and I learned there. But it was just a little bit, I only know a few pieces.”
In his previous life, he’d been at Baijin Entertainment for five years. Although it was a ruthless company, he’d learned a lot there: singing, dancing, and various instruments. The piano was his favorite and he was best at it.
He anxiously waited for Gu Fei’s reaction.
The man seemed to believe him and didn’t ask further, “If you’re interested, I can hire a professional teacher for you.”
“No, no, I…” At that moment, a call from an unknown number interrupted An QingYan. He paused, “Fei Ge, I suddenly have a call…”
“It’s fine, answer it.”
After ending the video call, An QingYan breathed a sigh of relief.
He really didn’t know how to explain all this.
Rebirth was too unbelievable; even he couldn’t believe it. Everything that happened in his previous life felt like a very, very long dream.
He answered the phone, “Hello?”
“Yes, I am… Okay, I understand, thank you… thank you, goodbye.”
Even after hanging up, the excited and thrilled expression remained on An QingYan’s face. His lips couldn’t stop curving upward, his hands slightly trembling. He made a video call to Gu Fei.
As soon as the other side connected, he excitedly said, “Fei Ge, the Jiu Zhou Chuan staff just called. I passed the audition! I passed the audition!!”
“Mm… I knew it.” The man’s gaze was gentle and ardent, his lips moving slightly, “YanYan is amazing.”
——
In contrast to the excitement on one side, the atmosphere among the other four at the An family was somber. The four were silent; Song Shuman silently cried.
Except for An Jing, they had just learned about An QingYan’s lack of pain receptors.
“How could this be… Why has YanYan suffered such a hard life? He’s already been through so much.” Song Shuman choked, “Why is fate so unfair to him?”
“Maybe there will be a cure in the future.” An Lingkang comforted his wife, and himself, “With technological advancements, there will be a way, there has to be…”
“No pain receptors… isn’t that very dangerous?” An Yu frowned worriedly, sighing deeply, wanting to say something but couldn’t, only sighing again.
He could only say that his brother’s safe and healthy survival until now was fortunate. Sigh… why did this happen? It’s so annoying! How could there be such an unbelievable disease? It’s unbelievable!!
“What if something happens to YanYan in the future… He can’t even tell if he’s sick, what do we do? What do we do?”
Song Shuman was already sobbing uncontrollably.
Her YanYan was so obedient and sensible; he hid this to avoid worrying his family. If Gu Fei hadn’t told An Jing, they wouldn’t know…
An QingYan had just ended his video call with Gu Fei when hurried, chaotic footsteps sounded outside. He had just stood up when the door burst open.
He looked blankly at the tear-streaked Song Shuman and the three behind her. Their expressions were wrong, especially Song Shuman, who was weeping.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Shuman rushed forward and hugged her youngest son, “YanYan, I’m so sorry, I let you suffer for so many years, I’m so sorry…”
“This…” He looked at the others questioningly.
“YanYan, we know about you not feeling pain.” An Lingkang’s eyes were also red, “There will be a way to cure it, Dad won’t let anything happen to you.”
An Yu sniffled, also hugging his bewildered brother, squeezing out a few genuine tears, “Wuwuwu, little brother, you’re really too pitiful…”
An QingYan: “…”
He was stunned for a moment, then quickly comforted everyone.
It was different from comforting Gu Fei; at least they didn’t drag him to the hospital for a check-up like Gu Fei had yesterday. Besides checking his arm, Gu Fei had also given him a checkup.
Everything was fine.
“Gu Fei told me, he wasn’t worried about you.” An Jing stayed behind to talk to An QingYan alone. He affectionately put his arm around his brother’s shoulder, looking at the boy’s profile, which resembled his own.
“YanYan, we are the most inseparable, blood-related family in this world. Big Brother hopes that no matter what happens, you’ll tell us, good or bad.”
Not that Gu Fei had known all along, and they didn’t!
“Mm, I know.” An QingYan smiled, gazing at the soft, hazy night sky, softly saying, “Actually, I’m really happy and content now. Seeing everyone care about me so much is something I never dared to dream of before.”
“When I was little, I knew I was different from other children. When others bumped or scraped themselves, they would cry and shout in pain, but I wouldn’t. I tried asking my… adoptive mother, but she just thought I was talking nonsense and didn’t take it to heart.”
“When I was young, I got injured often. Because I didn’t feel pain, and no one told me to protect myself. Later, as I grew older, I realized I didn’t feel pain.”
“But I gave up explaining to my adoptive parents, because they didn’t care. I knew not feeling pain was dangerous, so I had to be careful to protect myself and avoid getting hurt. Perhaps it was God’s grace; I’ve lived healthily until now.”
“Big Brother, you don’t need to worry, God will continue to bless me.”