TWSITAOCP Chapter 64

Yu Zhen choked.

She turned her face away and coughed for a long time. After learning about this, a mix of emotions, initially suppressed by calm, gradually surged up, and Yu Zhen suddenly didn’t know what to say.

After a long while, she finally said, “Hmm.”

In the past, the elders often joked about Yu Sui and Yan Ying. They had watched the two children grow up; they were always bickering and had a good relationship. The elders thought they were childhood sweethearts, innocent and pure, and that this gentle, steady relationship would one day become a beautiful story, continuing the bond between the two families.

Only the younger generation could see that the two had completely different personalities and traits and wouldn’t get along.

Yu Zhen had guessed that Yu Sui might not marry a lively girl like Yan Ying, but might marry a girl from a modest family.

She never imagined it would be like this.

Homosexuality would be a popular topic for many years to come. And even with her knowledge, she wouldn’t have connected it to her family.

She knew this was a normal phenomenon. No one was truly at fault.

Then she thought of Yan Xiu, that child who seemed exceptionally rational.

The Yan family was small, so they didn’t have many rules. Yan Xiu wasn’t following the path their generations usually took. If it weren’t for the foreign brands that year squeezing out the market from the Yu and Yan families, forcing them to move closer together, Yan Xiu wouldn’t have come into their lives, and perhaps he wouldn’t have met Yu Sui.

“Jie,” Yu Sui handed her a tissue, stretching out his arm and tugging at his sleeve, revealing a corner of the longevity lock on his wrist.

But usually, boys only wore watches on their wrists. Today, he wore a string of red beans, clearly not something to be worn casually.

Yu Zhen glanced at it and took the tissue.

Before growing into the lazy young master, Yu Sui was a big-eyed little dumpling, like a lucky baby in a New Year’s painting. His grandparents loved children like him, tying longevity locks to his wrists, wishing him a lifetime of joy and health.

When Yu Sui first started elementary school, he got into a fight at school, and his longevity lock was gone when he came home. That day, Yu Zhen happened to be waiting for him after coming down from the upper grades. They walked around two blocks and bought Yu Sui a new one.

“What did you say to them?” Yu Zhen asked.

Yu Sui said, “I made a phone call and said I have someone I really like, but he’s a boy, and then I hung up.”

Yu Zhen: “……”

That’s true. With so many family members, it takes constant courage to call each one individually.

Perhaps realizing that her own stance didn’t really matter, Yu Zhen objectively stated, “Dad won’t agree.”

Yu Sui lowered his eyes and whispered, “But what can he do about it?”

The two of them left the study that day in a strange manner. Aunt Sun was worried, muttering, “They’re both in their twenties. Why are they still arguing?” 

That evening, she made a big bone soup.

Yu Sui, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief, like he’d finally escaped a disaster.

He realized Yu Zhen had discovered something, but didn’t know she had directly accessed Yan Ying’s WeChat Moments and even decoded his profile.

Yu Sui belatedly wondered if he should try to get Yan Xiu to stay at school a little longer.

That evening, Aunt Sun finished making the bone soup. Yu Zhen, who never ate after 9 PM, unusually came downstairs, brought two bowls of soup, and personally delivered them to Yu Sui’s door.

Yu Sui didn’t like drinking soup at night either. He stood at the door, finished his soup, and handed the bowl to Yu Zhen: “Why do you look like you’ve come to deliver a death row inmate?”

Yu Zhen said calmly, “You brought this death sentence upon yourself. Didn’t you already think of it?”

The young master feigned ignorance, and Yu Zhen just ignored him. Taking her bowl, she left the room, silently wondering if she could even have a proper New Year this year.

The family returned earlier than Yu Sui had expected. Yu Liao and Yu Si abandoned their work, were ordered to stop by their angry father, who was hundreds of miles away, and rushed back to their house.

Yu Jingyuan’s exact words were: “Keep an eye on that bastard. Don’t let him get away!”

But when Yu Liao and Yu Si arrived at their house, the said bastard was still in bed, completely oblivious to the impending storm.

After waking up, the scoundrel was still holding his phone, trying to figure out how to persuade Yan Xiu to stay at school for a couple more days.

But before he could come up with anything, his phone was confiscated.

The Yu family was in an uproar that day. Yu Liao and Yu Si returned in the morning. Yu Si, his eyes swollen with little sleep, stood at his door shouting, “Yu Sui, I thought you were joking!”

Yu Sui locked the door that night. As soon as the door opened, Yu Liao punched him in the face. Yu Si, unusually defying Yu Liao, wanted to punch Yu Sui too.

Neither of them encountered Yu Sui because of this. They had a huge generation gap and couldn’t communicate effectively now.

“Did you already know?” Yu Liao looked at Yu Si, who had suddenly burst in. He remembered the two of them always causing trouble together when they were kids.

Yu Si laughed angrily, “Isn’t it always you who favors the younger one?”

Yu Liao was thoroughly annoyed: “Can you please stop causing trouble?”

Yu Si rolled up his sleeves: “I’ll fight him! Just pretend you’re some innocent young master from the Yu family!”

Then Yu Zhen smashed a wine glass at the door; “If you want to argue, go outside!”

The maids, confused, were dismissed that afternoon, leaving the four Yu siblings.

With the other three present, Yu Sui couldn’t possibly send anything to Yan Xiu in front of them. Yu Liao and Yu Si didn’t even know who that person was, and their words grew increasingly harsh.

They seemed to assume that everything was irreversible after Yu Jingyuan’s return, so they were determined to make Yu Sui lose sight of that shameful boy he liked at this moment.

“How much?” Yu Liao even asked, “How much money does he want?”

“Are you crazy? Do you think this is a TV drama?” Yu Si retorted without a hint of sarcasm. “Is the other side some young girl after money? A young girl is fine, at least she won’t cause gossip! Xiao Sui, you’re really something, going all in without a word.”

After saying that, he added, “Aren’t you just over twenty? What are you talking about dating?”

Then his thoughts were drawn to Yu Liao: “You’re so young, have you been scammed?”

Yu Zhen sat on the single sofa, holding a glass of wine. She didn’t leave, just sitting there, without saying a word.

Yu Sui, who hadn’t wanted to sit with them, smirked upon hearing this: “You’re not young anymore. You chased after a girl for three years and still lost her.”

Yu Si’s face darkened instantly.

Near evening, Yu Jingyuan and Yuan Yu returned in a flurry. No one expected that Yu Jingyuan would happen to pass by Yu family ancestral home and bring back the ancestral tablets.

At first, he wasn’t so emotional. In fact, he hadn’t even figured out why his son had called so inexplicably, and it took him a long time to react until Yuan Yu asked, “What did Xiao Sui say just now? I think I heard someone he likes?”

Only then did Yu Jingyuan feel the tightness in his chest.

“What’s with your reaction?” Yuan Yu asked, still confused. “You’re not young anymore, isn’t it normal to like someone? Just don’t end up like Xiao Si, going around in circles without finding anyone serious.”

“Bullshit,” Yu Jingyuan said. “Normal my foot!”

It wasn’t exactly a tense standoff, but the atmosphere was definitely taut.

Yu Jingyuan stepped into the pre-arranged barrier, but the maids were not there, and the room was extremely quiet. Apart from the calls of “Dad” and “Mom”, no one dared to speak.

There were no outsiders. This was a family trial.

For so many years, Yu Jingyuan had rarely seen his four children standing together except during holidays. For a moment, he almost forgot why he had dropped everything and rushed back.

He looked at the four of them, finally settling on Yu Sui.

The jumbled thoughts he had accumulated along the way finally found their answer in his youngest son’s eyes.

He wasn’t joking. He didn’t even say who that person was.

He simply told them that he liked boys, and that he was in a relationship.

Yu Jingyuan didn’t make a sound. He threw down his luggage and keys and frantically searched the house for a suitable tool.

The Yu family home was large. There were tools everywhere, but he seemed unable to find them, or rather, he didn’t know what he was looking for. Yuan Yu chased after him, calling, “Jingyuan! Calm down!”

Before he could even touch the feather duster, Yu Jingyuan fainted.

The Yu family was thrown into chaos.

The family doctor came and said that Yu Jingyuan’s problem stemmed from overworking. Frankly, it was due to his age, coupled with the reckless, youthful approach to life. The doctor said he needed to rest and couldn’t work as usual.

This time, Yu Jingyuan actually agreed, as if he had finally accepted his age.

Yu Sui was placed under curfew, forbidden from leaving the house, and confined to his room and small study.

The outside was noisy because of Yu Jingyuan’s sudden illness. But apart from the doctor and maids, none of Yu Jingyuan’s old friends were allowed to visit.

Yu Sui went to see Yu Jingyuan.

Yu Jingyuan kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see Yu Sui’s face.

This was an outcome Yu Sui hadn’t anticipated.

He had prepared for this for a long time, calculating almost every member of the family.

Often, the Yu family was reasonable, which meant that while they might be unhappy, they couldn’t really do anything about it.

They could lock him up. They might scold him, but that was all they would do. They would simply wait it out until the end of the year.

Yu Sui leaned against the door, feeling a pang of sadness, savoring the bitter taste of the past many years once again.

Then he couldn’t help but think that he hadn’t had a chance to tell Yan Xiu yet. Yan Xiu must have realized something was wrong.

Just then, Yuan Yu’s soft voice called from outside the door, “Xiao Sui, Daddy’s awake.”

Yuan Yu’s eyes were red. Yu Sui opened the door, took a few steps, and asked in a hoarse voice, “Mommy, is it really that hard to accept?”

Yuan Yu seemed stunned for a moment, then shook her head after a long pause. “You know your dad.”

Yu Sui fell silent.

Something that would be difficult for most parents to accept seemed perfectly reasonable to Yu Jingyuan, a traditional parent.

He was pressuring Yu Jingyuan.

Yu Jingyuan was also pressuring him.

Yu Sui entered the room and saw Yu Jingyuan still lying there.

“Stop pretending,” Yu Sui said. “I know you’re not asleep.”

Yu Jingyuan didn’t move.

Yu Sui looked at the bed: “Uncle said your lumbar spine is a chronic problem. Since you’re back for the New Year, why don’t you wait until after the holiday to get it checked out? It won’t take up much time, and they’ll be able to function perfectly well for at least half a year without you.”

He gave an example: “I have a classmate’s grandfather who didn’t actively get checked out. The problem was discovered too late, and he lost both his legs in an instant. It was just a minor problem; if it had been detected and removed earlier, it would have been fine.”

“…” This ominous person.

Yu Jingyuan shifted slightly, angered again.

Yu Sui didn’t sit down either. He found a wall to lean against. And after a moment of silence, said, “Dad, I didn’t do this out of rebellion.”

Yu Jingyuan rolled over.

Yu Sui glanced at him, a sharp glint of teeth flashing across his lips. He paused, “I don’t necessarily need you to admit or accept anything. If you really can’t accept it, I won’t get in your way.”

“I can move out.”

Yu Jingyuan rolled back over, furious: “Move out?”

Yu Sui responded, adding, “I’ll come back to see you.”

Yu Jingyuan’s face turned extremely ugly.

He actually didn’t want to argue with Yu Sui.

Children’s memories were fragmented as they grew up. While adults, looking back, pick and choose, remembering many things.

For example, their youngest son was very lovable. Until the third year of junior high, he was the one the family loved to take out the most.

Many years ago, a distant relative’s family suffered a major setback, one that severely impacted the Yu family. Yu Jingyuan struggled to extricate himself from the situation, let alone attend to Yu Sui’s feelings. Later, Yu Sui stopped talking to him, and he saw nothing but harshness in him.

Finally, Yu Sui came of age, and as if overnight, he matured, no longer relentlessly pursuing the same issue. However, he returned home less and less frequently.

Approaching fifty, he began to worry about the future. Now that his children were all grown up, they didn’t like coming home and were not even close to their father. Yu Jingyuan, always concerned with saving face, didn’t show it, but he grew increasingly lonely, aging prematurely.

“Get out,” Yu Jingyuan finally said.

Yu Sui left, and Yu Zhen came in.

Yu Zhen simply placed a stack of documents on the table and said, “Xiao Sui can support himself well even if he moves out.”

Yu Jingyuan knew even without her saying it.

Only when Yuan Yu brought it up did Yu Jingyuan notice that the card used to give Yu Sui pocket money had been fully withdrawn for a while, then returned, and the money in the card hadn’t been touched since.

Yu Sui’s studio was just a small-scale operation in their eyes, and no one took it seriously.

However, after being reminded, the source of the large investment Yu Sui made in the studio became something to ponder.

Yu Sui was nothing like he was when he was younger, completely clueless. On the contrary, if he were interested in joining the company, he would be a rising star, second to none.

Not to mention, Yu Sui has now carved out a place for himself in his field, a field that even the Yu family can’t get involved in.

The Yu family has a rule. As long as their children and grandchildren are capable and not mediocre, everything else is secondary.

Yu Jingyuan frowned and said, “He doesn’t even think about how he achieved all this.”

“Dad,” Yu Zhen interrupted him, “There’s something I’ve been holding back from saying. Can you please stop throwing money around in his activities? It’s like wasting good money, and it’s just asking for trouble.”

Yu Jingyuan gripped the edge of the bed, coughing even harder.

 

Just as Yu Sui thought, the family wouldn’t keep him locked up forever.

The family couldn’t possibly send him away at this time; it wouldn’t make sense. After all, he was a fully capable adult. Unless he gave up on his own, causing trouble would make things difficult for everyone.

So, in a way, the Yu family was quite logical. Since neither of the two paths worked, they had to try something else.

But Yu Jingyuan still didn’t give him a friendly look.

He decided to talk to Yu Sui. Even if it was a boy, it couldn’t be just any boy.

Yu Sui had just received his phone. He sat down properly on the sofa, his thoughts divided in two: one half listening to others talking, and the other half thinking about Yan Xiu.

Sure enough, there were quite a few missed calls and messages on the screen, but this only lasted a day. Yan Xiu remained silent for the next few days.

Yu Sui’s heart sank.

He glanced at Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen looked away.

“Who is it?” Yu Jingyuan asked, his face grim.

Yu Sui wasn’t stupid. Yu Jingyuan hadn’t mentioned the move-out plan he mentioned, which meant he wasn’t going to let him leave.

His father’s current demeanor was like that of a nouveau riche in a TV drama: “Here’s five million, leave my son.”

“His family isn’t short of money,” Yu Sui said evasively.

The expressions on everyone’s faces twitched.

Yu Si hadn’t initially considered this possibility, but now he couldn’t help himself: “Really not short of money? Everyone knows you’re loaded when you go out dressed like that. Maybe you’ve just been fooled, little brother?”

Yu Sui’s lips twitched: “I’m not like you.”

Yu Jingyuan’s thoughts also drifted: “Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can enter our Yu family.”

Yu Sui: “…”

No one expected the Yan family to visit at this time.

Without a word of greeting, and not even during the traditional Chinese New Year visiting season, no one reacted when the security guard called. But since they were already at the door, there was no reason to send them back.

Yu Sui lowered his eyes and tapped a few times on his phone amidst the chaos.

He sent Yan Xiu a string of kneeling emojis, then texted: [Yan-ge, where are you?]

Yan Xiu replied instantly: [Don’t know, probably at Yu-ge’s door.]

The Yan family had come in their finest attire, bringing gifts. Tang Ying was arm in arm with Lao Yan and Yan Xiu.

He wore a dark overcoat, the wind of Yandu blowing in, and wore glasses without lenses on his high-bridged nose. He had clearly lost much of his youthful naiveté, but still retained a genuine boyish charm, handsome and upright.

Any Tom, Dick, or Harry was respectfully invited in.

 

Author’s Note: To be completed in the next few days.