Fu Chenshan drove away, but He Yu’s newly bought clothes were all inside the car. It was convenient for him to be empty-handed, though.
Instead of following Fu Chenshan’s instructions to grab a taxi, He Yu slowly walked towards the bus stop. When his sister first got married, she moved out to his brother-in-law’s old house outside the Third Ring Road.
At that time, He Yu had to take a bus twice to get there. However, when He Ting was pregnant, something happened at the leather shoe factory where her husband worked. He had to run back and forth every day and could not take care of his wife at all. That year, He Yu often went to live with his sister. Every day, his mother prepared meals at home and packed them in thermos buckets, and He Yu brought them to He Ting. He Yu still remembers those memories very clearly.
Before catching the bus, He Yu went to the supermarket next to the station to apply for a bus card and opened the money Fu Chenshan gave him.
Then he checked in front of the bus stop sign for a moment, found a bus with a familiar direction, and got on it.
He still has to transfer to another bus later.
Both buses were packed with people, and He Yu never got a seat. He stood at the back door, holding on to the railing tightly and looking out the window. Many of the scenes are still familiar, but some have changed quietly.
Fu Chenshan said that after He Yu was imprisoned, He Ting’s family moved back to live with his mother. They did not move back to the original house until it was demolished.
In any case, during the last days of his mother’s life, it was his sister who was taking care of her, but he, her son, was trapped in a cocoon, in a cell that never saw the light of day, waiting hard for even a little bit of news about his mother.
The house owned by He Yu’s brother-in-law is an old house from the early 1990s. It is only five stories high. From the outside, the gray exterior walls have peeled off and become mottled.
There is no property management in the community. There is only an old man guarding the gate, sitting on a wicker chair, listening to the radio, and taking a nap.
Before going upstairs, He Yu bought a box of milk at the small supermarket at the entrance of the community and then walked towards the dark and low corridor.
He walked along the stairs to the fourth floor, stood in front of the security door on the left, and reached out to ring the doorbell. The doorbell didn’t ring, probably because it had been broken for a long time, so He Yu raised his hand and knocked on the door instead.
After knocking on the door, when he put down his hand, he heard footsteps inside, and at the same time, a woman’s voice sounded, “Who is it?”
He Yu recognized it. That was his sister’s voice.
He Yu took a deep breath and answered, “It’s me.”
The person behind the door was quiet for a while, and just when He Yu wanted to speak again, the door suddenly opened from the inside. He Ting stood inside, looking at him in surprise.
In the past two years, He Ting’s figure has gained a lot of weight. She was wearing a plain sweater; her hair was messy and tied up; her face was sallow; and clear wrinkles could be seen under her eyes. Based on the appearance of this woman, one could say she did not live a happy life.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“When did you come out?” He Ting asked him in a panic.
Lf Te’r fsfr mbeivc’a tfiq yea ibbx j ilaaif rjv. Lf tjv kglaafc j ifaafg ab tlr ojwlis jcv cbalolfv Lf Klcu bo atf vjaf bo tlr gfifjrf ogbw qglrbc, yea la kjr bynlber atja Lf Klcu tjv cba gfjv atf ifaafg ja jii.
Pa rffwr atja rtf cb ibcufg kjcar atlr ygbatfg.
He Yu lowered his head, smiled bitterly, and said, “I came out yesterday.”
He Ting grabbed the edge of the security door with one hand and asked him, “What are you doing here?”
He Yu raised the milk in his hand higher and replied, “To see you.”
He Ting was stunned for a moment before she refused, “No, you can go.”
He Yu obviously didn’t expect He Ting to shoo him away directly. He raised his head in surprise and looked directly at the other party, calling, “Sister?”
He Ting was a little flustered, “I, I’m very busy right now, and I can’t greet you. You, you go…”
“Sister.” He Yu stretched out his hand to hold the door. “The building at home was demolished?”
He Ting’s eyes widened. “I knew you were here to ask for a house. Am I right?”
“I don’t—”
Before He Yu could finish his words, He Ting interrupted, “Why do you want the house at home? Where were you when our mother passed away? You have been studying for so many years since you were a child, and it was our mother who worked hard to support you. Yes, I gave you pocket money when I was working! What about you? Mom took out decades of savings to assist you in repaying the majority of the money you misappropriated from the company! Where were you when mom was lying in the hospital bed? Have you ever paid a penny? Why do you still come to ask for the family house?”
As He Ting spoke, her eyes were filled with tears. Every word she spoke was an accusation against He Yu.
He Yu felt as if his heart was being torn out all at once. Those regretful, sad, and negative emotions came swarming in, clogging his chest as if they would squeeze out blood. His eyes quickly became moist, and he couldn’t bear it. He shouted, “No! I didn’t come to ask for the house! I just came to see you, sister. You are my only sister!”
He Ting’s mood finally calmed down a little. She choked and asked, “Why are you coming to see me? Don’t come to see me anymore. Just leave. You made our mother mad. Do you want to make me mad as well?”
He Yu couldn’t hold it back anymore, and big tears fell down.
He Ting looked at He Yu’s designer clothes again and said, “Aren’t you living a good life now? My life is hard, your brother-in-law is not in good health, and my child is still young. I kept the compensation money from the demolition to save my life. Leave. If you want to rob me, can you just think of it as paying me and mom’s money back?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” He Yu’s voice was hoarse.
He Ting finally couldn’t help it and raised her hand to touch the top of He Yu’s head. “Xiao Yu, now that you are out, find a job and be a good person in the future. Stop messing around.”
He Yu put the back of his hand against his lips and nodded repeatedly.
When He Ting was about to close the door, she suddenly said, “Wait a moment.” She closed the door ajar and walked inside.
He Yu was patiently waiting outside the door. After a while, He Ting brought out a document bag and handed it to him. “This was cleaned out of your room when we were moving. You can see for yourself which ones you want and which ones you don’t.”
He Yu opened the document bag and saw that it contained some of his previous documents. This included his university graduation degree certificates, as well as some certificates for English CET-4, CET-6, and computer examinations. There was also a bankbook. He Yu remembered that this was his only savings after working. It contained 3,000 yuan, which his mother and sister had left untouched.
He Ting also looked at his bankbook and said, “I never dared to let your brother-in-law see it, so I just waited for you to come out and left some funds for you.”
What can you do with three thousand yuan now?
He Yu sniffed and raised his hand to wipe away his tears. “Thank you, sister.”
He Ting shook her head.
He Yu concealed himself, picked up the milk on the ground, and handed it to He Ting.
He Ting hesitated, then took it and reminded him, “Your brother-in-law is very unhappy with you. You should come less often in the future. If he knows, we will have to quarrel again.”
He Yu suppressed his sadness and nodded reluctantly. “I understand. Thank you for your hard work, sister.”
He Ting sighed and said nothing.
He Yu wiped his face carelessly with his sleeve and said to He Ting, “Then I’ll leave first.”
He Ting nodded, and when He Yu turned to leave, she couldn’t help calling him again and murmured, “That house…”
He Yu replied, “I didn’t plan to get the house in the first place. Don’t worry, I’ll do whatever you want.”
He Ting finally breathed a sigh of relief and gently closed the door while He Yu stepped down the stairs.
He Yu no longer had the strength to look back. He came down from the fourth floor unsteadily and walked toward the station in a daze. Several buses passed by in succession, but He Yu never came to his senses.
So many emotions were suppressed at the same time, but he mercilessly tore open his scarred wounds. At this moment, he was in so much pain that he almost went into shock.
Another bus passed by. Dust rose, and a gust of wind blew into his face.
He Yu came to his senses briefly. He walked to the side of the road, stopped a taxi with his hand, and reported the address of Fu Chenshan’s home.
Fu Chenshan was still tied up with work and couldn’t come back. He Yu didn’t have a mobile phone, and he couldn’t get in touch with him. He originally planned to book a better restaurant to have dinner together.
He Yu returned home and locked himself on the balcony. He sat down against the wall and started smoking cigarettes one by one, tears falling down.
Those things, every time he thinks about them, are a slap in the face to him. They are so uncomfortable, but he has to endure them as long as he is alive.
Perhaps it should be said that it was fortunate that Fu Chenshan was not here at the moment. Otherwise, He Yu wouldn’t even have a place to lick his wounds alone and would have to swallow all his emotions and show a hypocritical appearance in front of him.
He Yu sat for a long time, until he felt that he had vented all his emotions and that the tears had dried on his face and could no longer flow out. He finally let out a long breath.
He covered his face with his hands before releasing them again as he stood up to leave.
He Yu returned to the room and walked to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror, looked into his red eyes, and then turned on the hot water.
The hot water quickly flowed. He held the water in his hands and poured it on his face over and over again, trying to wash away all the traces on his face.
Suddenly, a pair of arms stretched out from behind He Yu and hugged He Yu’s waist. Then a soft body pressed against He Yu’s back. A woman’s soft voice sounded in his ears, “Chenshan!”
He Yu was abruptly startled; thus, he stood straight and waved away the person behind him.
The woman with long hair, wearing a white suit and seven-centimeter high heels, was pushed against the door by him. Before she could scream in pain, she exclaimed, “Ah! Who are you?”
The woman opened the door with a key and came in. The sound of water just now covered up the sound of her deliberately lowered footsteps. She originally thought that there would be no other men in this house except Fu Chenshan; therefore, she was so frightened that she almost called the police.
He Yu finally reacted before her and asked, “What’s your relationship with Fu Chenshan?”
The woman was twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a beautiful appearance and exquisite makeup. She looked at He Yu and answered, “I am his girlfriend. Who are you? Why are you in his house?”
He Yu reached for the towel on the shelf, wiped the water on his face, and then said, “I am his friend, and I will live here temporarily.”
So… Misappropriating company’s money? I’m guessing he yu took the fall for a certain someone. Chenshan is such a huge scumbag. And he even got himself a little gf. Scum.
I remembered it wrong lol they are not married. I’m really sad for He Yu but I’m somehow getting a lot of life lessons from this novel.
Fu Chenshan’ın borçları ödemeye yardım etmesi gerekmiyor mu?
he took the fall for embezzlement? oh damn he really was young to take the fall for that for young love 🙁 that guy is living a rich life and assuaging his guilt by giving him bare minimum meanwhile he’ll be lucky to be hired since no employer would find him trustworthy especially in that kind of business culture that values loyalty smh