Chapter 45: Yan Yan’s Sad Tears
“Ge Fei?”
“Uncle Shen said you went home?”
Even though his emotions had calmed down, even when he first learned the truth, he had held back his tears. But hearing the man’s familiar low and cold voice, Lin Qingyan couldn’t help but feel his nose sour.
His throat choked up, feeling suffocated. He remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. Gu Fei asked him what was wrong, and Lin Qingyan forced himself to speak in a calm voice.
“Nothing. My mom fell and hurt her leg. I came home to see her. I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s really late. Ge Fei, your trip is so tiring, you should rest early.”
The young man’s meaning was clear—he didn’t want to continue. Gu Fei was silent for two seconds before saying, “You should also go to bed early. Good luck tomorrow.”
“Okay, Ge Fei, goodnight.” After hearing Gu Fei say goodnight, Lin Qingyan quickly hung up. He looked up at the ceiling, forcibly holding back his tears.
Gu Fei was still out of town, and Lin Qingyan didn’t want him to know about this, didn’t want to worry him.
Hearing no sound from the room, Zhou Yue Lan anxiously stood guard at the door. She paced back and forth, tentatively saying, “Xiao Yan, it’s late. Go to sleep. Mom will let you out when you wake up.”
No one answered. Her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and went into the bathroom, closing the door, and answering the call in a low voice, afraid the person in the room would hear.
“Mm… I did everything you said. He can’t get out of the room. Don’t worry.”
“If you’re free, can you meet Mom? Mom wants to see you.”
The voice on the other end was a young man’s, slightly impatient and perfunctory. “I’m very busy recently. We’ll talk later. I’ll hang up if there’s nothing else.”
——
The next day, as the sky began to lighten, Lin Qingyan, who had only slept a few hours, got up. After a quick wash, he went onto the balcony.
He had a way out. His brother’s room had a small balcony with a large tree very close to it. This was the second floor; the distance to the ground wasn’t too high. He could climb down the tree.
He had climbed trees as a child.
It had been a long time, though, and he felt a little rusty.
In the early morning, the nearby residents were still asleep. The leaves of the trees swayed gently, their sounds exceptionally clear in the quiet morning. The slender young man hugged the thick branches, carefully climbing down.
Thin beads of sweat appeared on his fair forehead, his pale lips were pressed tightly, and the veins on his hands bulged slightly, very noticeable against his fair skin.
Almost there… almost…
About a meter from the ground, Lin Qingyan silently muttered, “Come on,” and his foot slipped. Before he could even scream, he fell to the ground.
“…”
He was rusty, after all.
The fall didn’t hurt, it was just dirty.
Lin Qingyan brushed the dirt off his white t-shirt, but the dirt was wet, making it even dirtier. He sighed helplessly, walking towards the street, his face covered in dirt.
After receiving Zhou Yue Lan’s call last night, he rushed over without even having dinner. He hadn’t expected this outcome. Now, his stomach was empty and he was so hungry he could barely walk. Disappointment, anger, and resentment welled up within him.
At this time, there were few cars and pedestrians on the street. A breakfast shop on the side of the road was open, the steam rising from the food. Lin Qingyan swallowed involuntarily.
He wanted to eat, but he had no cash. His phone had run out of battery and shut down last night. He couldn’t find a charger in his brother’s room, so he couldn’t use mobile payment.
Lin Qingyan stood at the entrance of the breakfast shop, wondering whether to ask the owner to borrow a charger. He stared intently at the steaming, freshly made, plump white buns, failing to notice a car that had stopped on the road beside him.
A black Maybach.
The rear window was half-open, and the man inside revealed half of his handsome face. His long, deep eyes locked onto the young man not far away. The young man stood at the entrance of the breakfast shop, looking longingly and expectantly at the freshly baked buns.
His clothes were somewhat dirty, his black hair slightly messy, like a stray cat.
Gu Fei remembered the night he met Lin Qingyan on the street half a month ago. It was similar to now, except he had two steamed buns then; now he didn’t even have that.
He opened the car door and silently walked behind the young man. “What are you looking at?”
Lin Qingyan couldn’t believe his eyes. How could Gu Fei suddenly appear here? He stepped back in surprise, stammering, “Mr… Mr. Gu, how did you get here? Weren’t you on a business trip?”
He had personally seen him off yesterday.
Getting closer, Gu Fei saw the young man’s appearance more clearly. He glanced at him—the boy’s fair face was covered in dust, sweat beaded on his forehead, dark circles were slightly visible under his eyes, and there was more dirt on his t-shirt and pants.
Gu Fei frowned slightly. How could this kid get himself into such a mess after just one day?
Lin Qingyan noticed his reaction. His appearance must look terrible, so he quickly smoothed his wrinkled t-shirt. He hadn’t showered last night, and naturally, he hadn’t changed his clothes.
He nervously lowered his head and sniffed his own smell. Wasn’t he stinky? Was he? He was… a little stinky…
Gu Fei saw the young man’s incredibly conflicted expression and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t smell yourself, you don’t stink.” He put his hand on the boy’s tender face, gently wiping the dust off his cheek, and asked, “Hungry?”
Lin Qingyan nodded shyly, looking back at the buns behind him. He softly said, his voice gentle, “Ge Fei, my phone’s dead. Can you buy me two buns?”
Gu Fei suppressed the urge to buy the entire bun shop.
He said, “Wait,” and went into the shop. When he came out, he wasn’t holding two buns, but two large bags of buns and two cups of soy milk.
Lin Qingyan: “…Why did you buy so many?”
Gu Fei said calmly, “I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought two of each.”
“…” Alright. With questions and apprehension, Lin Qingyan followed Gu Fei into the car. He was about to speak when Gu Fei handed him a bag of buns. “Eat first.”
Lin Qingyan swallowed his words. He was indeed very hungry and didn’t care about his appearance. He took a steaming custard bun and ate it voraciously.
Gu Fei inserted a straw and handed him the warm soy milk.
“It’s a bit hot, eat slowly.”
The young man paused, hummed, and lowered his head, silently finishing the bun and drinking some soy milk. His stomach was finally full and warm.
His heart, hurt and disappointed, had felt like it was in the dead of winter, but now it had signs of spring. The man beside him was a stranger, yet he had rushed here from out of town for him.
His closest family, however, had used such ridiculous and hypocritical excuses to hurt him again and again.
Lin Qingyan had been suppressing his emotions since last night. Now, in the quiet morning, in the cramped car, beside Gu Fei, he finally broke down.
When the young man cried, it wasn’t a heart-wrenching sob. He just lowered his head slightly, large, hot tears silently rolling down his cheeks, only making soft whimpering and choking sounds.
Even his crying was restrained, as if afraid to disturb others. But this made him seem even more pitiful and wronged, causing the onlooker’s heart to ache.
Gu Fei didn’t know what had happened to the child to make him cry so sadly and helplessly. It was the first time he felt at a loss.
The boy’s cheeks were streaked with tears, his eyes red from crying, his long, thick eyelashes wet with tears, his mouth trembling, and his thin shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Almost instinctively, he hugged Lin Qingyan, silently stroking the boy’s head and gently patting his back.
Warm tears soaked the fabric of his shirt.
Lin Qingyan hadn’t felt a sense of belonging when he entered his home, but now, nestled in the man’s arms, that feeling instantly filled his heart, like a small boat sailing on the vast ocean finally returning to its harbor, a bird returning to its forest.
He buried his face in the man’s chest, instinctively wrapping his arms around the man’s strong waist. After crying for a while, he stopped, feeling ashamed, not daring to raise his head. He mumbled, “I’m sorry, I’ve caused you trouble…”
He had been reborn, yet he was crying like a child.
Lin Qingyan, you’re becoming more and more useless.
Gu Fei lowered his gaze, and the young man’s reddened ears caught his attention. He called out, “Yan Yan,” cupping the boy’s face, lifting his head to look at those eyes, misty with tears, red and swollen. “Do you remember what I told you?”
Gu Fei said, “If someone bullies you, you must tell me, okay?”
His words seemed to have some magic. Lin Qingyan’s mind went blank for a moment, then he blurted everything out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t tell you the truth last night… My mom lied about falling, tricking me back home…”
After hearing the whole story, the man’s calm eyes gradually darkened, an unnamed fire burning within him. He said in a low voice, “So, how did you get out?”
Lin Qingyan: “…I climbed down the tree outside the balcony.”
Hearing this, Gu Fei’s temples twitched.
He looked up and down at the young man again. Upon closer inspection, he noticed fresh blood on the boy’s left ankle, trickling down his calf.
_____________________________________