Ch.27 – Apology

Shen Yu felt that Tang Li’s mood is not right. Especially when he left, the shadows that filled Tang Li’s eyes made Shen Yu more and more worried.

He was really angry with Tang Li on Lei Yumeng’s behalf. If it really was the case that Tang Li intentionally vented all his resentment on Lei Yumeng…

Then the implications are unimaginable.

The more Shen Yu thought about it, the more apprehensive he felt. If it was before, he would have unreservedly believed that Tang Li would not have done anything to Lei Yumeng. But now, his trust in Tang Li has been shaken.

It’s like a broken bucket…

No matter how hard he tried to fill it with water, there was still water leaking out.

“Bring him back first.” Shen Yu ordered, “The rest will wait till tomorrow.”

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Uncle Zhang said, “Understood.”

Shen Yu warned again, “Don’t let him do anything to Lei Yumeng.”

Uncle Zhang hesitated for a moment and carefully explained, “I think young master Tang Li wanted to apologize to the little girl.”

“Really…” Shen Yu suddenly paused. When faced with Uncle Zhang’s immediate defense of Tang Li, he suddenly felt at a loss and a sense of indescribable embarrassment.

Even Uncle Zhang chose to look on the bright side.

While he still looks at Tang Li with tinted glasses.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Yu still couldn’t sleep. Eventually, he got out of bed and sat in front of the window and waited.

Looking down from this angle, he could see a lush forest shrouded in the night and the faint lights circling along the path in the forest.

In the distance, there is a quiet lake.

Weak streetlights circled around the lake, and the reflection of the lights fell into the water like stars in the night sky.

Winter nights often bring about depression, and tonight, this feeling is particularly strong for Shen Yu.

It was suffocating.

He closed his eyes and recalled all the things that happened in the afternoon. Suddenly, he was confused. Although Tang Li indirectly was the cause of Lei Yumeng’s bullying, in the end, Tang Li himself was not the person who was bullying Lei Yumeng.

Was his own reaction too harsh?

Thinking of this, the memory of Tang Li’s grieving expression as he stood covered in cake gradually emerged.

The tears flashing in the eyes of the little villain, his little eyes red as he stubbornly tried to pull back his emotions. The little villain trying to explain the truth to him in a seemingly calm but still trembling voice. Shen Yu remembered it all.

After more than three months, he was already regarded as Shen Yu’s own son.

Even though Shen Yu was so angry a few hours ago that he wanted to directly drive Tang Li out of the Shen house, now that he had calmed down, he felt regret.

Maybe he shouldn’t have been so angry.

He should have communicated calmly with Tang Li.

Shen Yu stroked his forehead to sooth his headache and sat there stoically for nearly two hours. Yet, he still did not hear Uncle Zhang and Tang Li returning. He eventually took his wheelchair to the stairway to watch.

In the large quiet living room, there was only a dim floor lamp.

Aunt Chen sat sleepily beside the sofa; her head propped on hand.

After hearing the sound of a wheelchair rolling on the floor, Aunt Chen woke up immediately and quickly looked up. When she found that it was Shen Yu, she was relieved. “Sir, why did you come all the way out here?”

“Uncle Zhang hasn’t come back yet?”

“No.” Aunt Chen shook her head. “I called housekeeper Zhang and he said he would be back later.”

Shen Yu spoke quietly, “Go back first and rest.”

Aunt Chen was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open. After being told that, she got up and went back to her room to wash and sleep.

Shen Yu stayed in place for a moment, looking down at the quiet living room shrouded in the dim light. After a long silence, he sighed and steered the wheelchair back to the bedroom.

When he came to the window again, Shen Yu saw that there seemed to be something fine and dense floating down in the night sky.

He turned on the flashlight of his cell phone, pointed it at the window, and found that it was snowflakes.

Aunt Chen was right. It was snowing tonight.

No one knew when Uncle Zhang and Tang Li would come back.

After a long time without contact, Shen Yu became worried and dialed Uncle Zhang’s phone.

This time, Uncle Zhang answered immediately. Before Shen Yu could speak out, Uncle Zhang had taken the lead in saying, “Sir, you can go to bed first. Young master Tang Li and I will come back later.”

Shen Yu said, “It’s snowing.”

“Yes.” Uncle Zhang sighed in a low voice, “The first snow really came at an inconvenient time.”

Shen Yu felt that Uncle Zhang was only avoiding the topic and simply said, “Don’t stay outside. Come back as soon as possible. If Chestnut is still angry with me, please try to persuade him.”

“Sir…” Uncle Zhang said in embarrassment, “I persuaded him for a long time, but young master Tang Li refused to go back. He said that he knew he was wrong, and he wanted to ask the little girl for forgiveness.”

Shen Yu laughed, helpless and distressed, the fire that nested in the cavity of his heart wanted to disperse completely.

“He can apologize later, you tell him, that if he really wants to apologize to Lei Yumeng, I can take him to meet Lei Yumeng’s family directly.”

Hearing this, Uncle Zhang was silent for a few seconds before he said, “Why don’t I give my phone to young master Tang Li? You can say to him that to him directly.”

“Please do,” said Shen Yu.

Soon, Uncle Zhang’s voice changed from clear to blurred, and he seemed to be talking to Tang Li.

Instantly, Shen Yu felt a little nervous. He could not help gripping his cell phone. When he racked his brain to think about how to start the conversation, he suddenly found that the opposite side was too quiet.

There was no sound at all.

Shen Yu noticed something in an instant and looked at his phone.

The call had been hung up.

Shen Yu: “…”

What the fuck!

Usually he can’t see it, but the little villain’s temper is actually pretty big.

Shen Yu’s face was full of astonishment. He looked at his phone and held it in mid-air for a full minute before slowly putting it down.

For a moment, he felt angry and bewildered.

Forget it.

Tang Li has shown such obvious resistance to him, why would he change now? Besides, Tang Li should be punished if he had done something wrong.

Moreover, there should be nothing wrong so long as Uncle Zhang accompanying him.

Shen Yu thought about it and sent a message to Uncle Zhang, asking him to take the blanket in his car and put it on Tang Li. He could not end up with a cold without apologizing first.

After Uncle Zhang’s reply came, Shen Yu restrained his mind and went back to bed.

———————

Unfortunately, this evening, Shen Yu’s mind was in a mess and he could not fall asleep. He could only stare at the ceiling until dawn.

At seven o’clock in the morning, Shen Yu got up and dressed.

When he finally got to the dining room after washing, Aunt Chen had just cooked the yam porridge. She was shocked to see two dark circles under Shen Yu’s eyes.

“Are you all right, sir?”

“I’m all right.” Shen Yu sat in the wheelchair and came to the fixed position at the dining table. After expending some effort, he fixed a smile to his face and reluctantly laughing, “It’s just that I didn’t sleep well last night.”

Aunt Chen put the porridge, fried buns and other foods on the table. Then she said worriedly, “How about after breakfast, you will go back to rest?”

Shen Yu waved his hand: “No, there’s still work to be done.”

Also, Uncle Zhang and Tang Li did not return last night. How could he sleep?

Aunt Chen listened to Shen Yu’s words, knowing that she couldn’t convince him any further.

After breakfast, Shen Yu passed the living room in a wheelchair and went to the study. He saw that the scene outside the window had been covered with a blanket of snow. The lush scene in the courtyard had disappeared completely. Three servants in overcoats were sweeping the snow from the sidewalks.

A servant passed by and saw Shen Yu staring out of the window. He couldn’t help exclaiming, “It snowed all night and didn’t stop until five o’clock in the morning. I don’t think it will be long before it starts to fall again.”

After that, the servant cautioned Shen Yu carefully: “The temperature has dropped dramatically recently, Sir should pay attention to keeping warm.”

Shen Yu’s thoughts were pulled back by the servant’s voice. His eyes gradually focused. He looked up at the servant and smiled. “Thank you.”

After arriving at the study, Shen Yu picked up his cell phone and dialed Uncle Zhang’s phone.

It’s still off.

When Shen Yu woke up this morning, Uncle Zhang’s cell phone had been turned off, but Tang Li’s cell phone was on. However, he refused to answer Shen Yu’s phone call.

Shen Yu had no choice but to wait.

He waited until he had finished the mountain of work in his study, until he called Kang Lin and some assistants to have a brief meeting, until he did his rehabilitation exercise for about half an hour with the help of a doctor, until more than six o’clock in the evening…

Uncle Zhang finally came back.

But he came back alone.

Shen Yu, who rushed out of the study, looked around behind Uncle Zhang. The smile on his face soon stiffened. He asked, “What about Chestnut?”

“Still there.” Uncle Zhang had snowflakes on his hair and clothes, and snowflakes all over his body. He grinned helplessly. “Young master Tang Li is too stubborn. The little girl doesn’t want to see him, so he waited downstairs. No matter what I said, he won’t leave.”

It sounds like he sincerely wants to apologize to Lei Yumeng.

But Shen Yu couldn’t be happy, and there was an indescribable rage in his chest, rushing straight up his throat and burning his cheeks red.

What does Tang Li mean by doing this?

Is the little villain snapping his teeth against him?

He had softened his attitude and extended an olive branch of peace. However, Tang Li not only refused to accept it, but was also determined to spend his time in the cold snow.

Shen Yu’s lips turned downwards, his eyes were dim, his face, black and blue, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look very desolate.

After a while, Shen Yu squeezed out a sentence from between his teeth: “Does he really not want to come back?”

Uncle Zhang bowed his head and said, “That, I cannot say.”

“Well, since he’s so reluctant, then don’t come back.” Shen Yu was so angry that his voice was trembling. He clicked his fingertips on the wheelchair armrest many times before steering the wheelchair away.

He has always been calm and self-restrained. When he came to this world, he could count the number of times he lost his temper with one hand.

This time, he was frustrated by Tang Li.

Even though he was very naive, he would not care about Tang Li anymore. Even if Tang Li came back, he would pick a fight with Tang Li for a whole month just to make Tang Li realize the seriousness of this matter.

However, when Shen Yu saw the snowflakes falling outside the window, those childish ideas disappeared in a flash.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and nobody could tell when it will stop.

It seems that the whole world is buried in heavy snow.

Meanwhile, Shen Yu regretted it.

He later realized that Tang Li was only a child who had just turned eleven years old and had been abused by the Tang family for more than a year. Naturally, his way of thinking and acting was different from that of ordinary children.

He’s not an adult, he’s a traumatized 11-year-old…

Shen Yu’s anger at the first discovery of Lei Yumeng’s suicide attempt, his heartache after learning that Tang Li apologized, his embarrassment that Tang Li had ignored him, and finally, his guilt. In less than a day, he had experienced many emotional ups and downs, as if he had been riding a roller coaster all day long, and the sharp sense of the upcoming drop tormented him into madness.

But the only thing he can be sure of is——

Even if Tang Li was wrong, Shen Yu had raised this child for more than three months. People’s hearts were fleshy [1]. He could not keep his eyes open only to watch Tang Li starve and freeze outside.

After thinking about this, Shen Yu felt relaxed. He called Uncle Zhang and said, “It’s getting late. We’ll pick up Chestnut and come back.”

—————

After careful calculation, Tang Li waited for one night and one day in front of Lei Yumeng’s house.

When it started snowing, and the cold snowflakes fell on his hair and clothes. Gradually, they turned into ice water, soaking his hair and clothes, even his bone marrow felt soaked in ice water.

Tang Li was so cold that his teeth are chattering.

He was still wearing his school uniform. His slightly thin woolen overcoat could not withstand the cold wind. In the snowy winter, it seemed that even the air was freezing.

Although Tang Li had been restraining himself from trembling, his pale face seemed to blend with the snow-white background, and he looked miserable and pitiful.

Housekeeper Zhang[2] accompanied Tang Li overnight and during the day, and strongly advised him to come home.

Unfortunately, Tang Li did not listen to a word, and stubbornly refused to go back with housekeeper Zhang. He opened his already frozen blue lips and said with a numb expression, “Uncle Zhang, brother Shen Yu is right. I made a mistake and should bear the consequences. You don’t have to sympathize with me.”

The housekeeper sighed and then advised, “It’s Mr. Shen who wants you to come home. He’s waiting for you.”

“I’m not going back.” Tang Li drooped his eyes, stared at his feet, and breathed out a white mist. “I will not leave until Lei Yumeng comes out to see me.”

Housekeeper Zhang looked at Tang Li’s stubborn expression and decided to stop talking. Finally, he drove away. His cell phone had no power left, so he needed to report to Shen Yu personally.

After housekeeper Zhang left, there was only the lonely and miserable looking Tang Li left.

Lei Yumeng’s family lived in a high-end residential area with strict security and very few pedestrians. Tang Li relied on housekeeper Zhang to get in. During the time they waited, they seldom saw other passers-by.

It was snowing heavily with no sense of stopping.

Tang Li stood motionless in the snow, like a soulless sculpture.

As if a whole century had passed, from the quiet and snowy air, suddenly came the squeak of shoes treading on the snow. Gradually, the sound grew nearer to the frozen boy.

Tang Li’s consciousness quickly returned, and he looked up.

Lei Yumeng was wearing a long black down jacket from head to ankle, showing only a pair of big eyes. Even if she wrapped herself tightly, she could still feel her weight during this period. Like a bamboo pole with a down jacket coming, it had none of its previously healthy appearance.

After reaching Tang Li, Lei Yumeng slowly stopped.

A month ago, Lei Yumeng was still looking down at Tang Li. Now, a month later, she has to raise her chin slightly to get a better look at Tang Li.

Two people stared, one so big and one so small, about half a minute later, Tang Li broke the silence with a loud voice: “I’m sorry.”

Whether it was Tang Li’s manner or tone, both were sincere. After saying this, he took out from his pocket a vintage-red, square box containing the bracelet he had purchased last night.

“Here’s the bracelet you’ve always wanted, for you.”

Lei Yumeng looked down. Her cold eyes fell on the delicate box. She hesitated for a moment. Then she slowly reached over and took it.

“I know you came last night, but I don’t want to see you.” Lei Yumeng closed her five fingers, clutched the box tightly and looked straight at Tang Li with eyes full of hatred. “If my mother hadn’t seen you just now, even if you stood here and froze to death, I wouldn’t care about you.”

Tang Li crooked his mouth and said, “Please thank aunt for me.”

The phrase of no significant importance ignited the anger in Lei Yumeng’s heart.

“Don’t think you can make me forgive you if you do these things. I’ve come down to see you to relive my mother’s worry. I’ll accept your things for my mother’s sake, but I will never forgive you, never!”

Lei Yumeng breathed slightly with a venomous look in her eyes, like a snake ready to strike. It seemed as if she would like to rush over and bite Tang Li to pieces.

When Tang Li heard her words, he not only felt no annoyance, but also raised his lips to show a faint smile. He said in a still sincere tone, “I just came to apologize to you, and I don’t need your forgiveness.”

Lei Yumeng was stunned: “What do you mean?”

Tang Li said with a laugh, “Literally speaking.”

Lei Yumeng was momentary confused, but she was still smart, and soon understood what Tang Li was talking about. Suddenly, her eyes were full of anger and flames were coming out of her head.

She threw the small box on the ground, pointing at Tang Li with half indignation and half embarrassment. “I knew you didn’t come to apologize to me at all. You were clearly putting on a show. You’re selling it to Shen Yu so that Shen Yu would continue to support you!”

Tang Li looked at the emotional Lei Yumeng with no expression and said nothing.

“How can you do that? You still act this way towards to me!” Lei Yumeng yelled with tears pouring out of her eyes. She wiped the corner of her eyes, cried, and suddenly laughed. “What a pity, only eleven years old? This is all just a way to ensure your life.”

[1] The heart is fleshy, it basically means that we’re human, and part of that is feeling emotions that can’t be controlled and that aren’t necessarily rational.

[2] During this part, the text very distinctly refers to Uncle Zhang as “housekeeper Zhang”, but uses “Uncle Zhang” in the dialogue. I’m not sure if this is an indication of Tang Li’s mental perspective or if I’m overthinking.