T/N: Soooo, this story is finished and I’ll be uploading the rest of the chapters as soon as I edit them. And I’ve also picked up another rather niche horror story, which you can look forward to soon! There are just so many great novels out there waiting to be translated that I can’t help myself!

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When I returned home from the Wei family, my father was furious.

He slapped my mother in the face and blamed her for not educating me well. He also called Mingyi and refused to let her return home that night.

Then he dragged me to the office on the first floor and slammed the door.

It was the Lantern Festival, and there was no ban on fireworks at that time. Firecrackers sounded outside, and when the fireworks bloomed, the gorgeous lights fell generously onto my home.

He hadn’t won the fight against me long ago, and today he was put on the spot with the Wei family. Naturally, he was extremely angry and frustrated.

When he beat me with a deer sinew whip, I saw that his eyes were bloodshot and the veins in his forehead and neck were pulsing. The dignity and tranquility that he had always maintained had vanished.

I let him beat me for a while. When he grew tired, I raised my hand and grasped the whip he was using. Wiping the blood from the corners of my lips with the back of my thumb, I smiled at him: “Dad, go to bed early if you’re tired.”

He gave me a dark look and said: “I regret not strangling you to death when you were a child.”

“It’s a pity that there is no medicine for regret in this world.” I stepped forward. At that time, we were about the same height. He and I were eye-level. “Dad, you have put in so much hard work that you shouldn’t have, right? Someone in this family should benefit from it, shouldn’t they?”

“I made Uncle Wei angry. Please try your best to persuade him. If he blows up, I also hope you won’t complain about it. After all, there are so many strange people and things in our family that shouldn’t be heard about by others. Besides, I think what you said is wrong…..”

“Whether they believe me or not is one thing. Whether they’ve heard it or not and what they feel after hearing it is another.”

I took the whip from his hand and tossed it away. Looking at his face brimming with fury, I unexpectedly discovered that he no longer possessed the handsomeness of his youth. A closer look revealed wrinkles, cloudy eyes, and difficulty controlling his emotions.

This suddenly reminded me of two idioms: dancing and singing from morning till night, as if drunk and entranced. 

When he was young, he was a brilliant and promising person who could make good plans and decisions. Later, he spent half his life enjoying himself in a world of drunkenness, wealth, and sex. In middle age, he was obsessed with dirty emotions and desires.

Preoccupied, he became conceited and foolish, so much so that he fell into trouble with his son, who had just grown up.

I walked past him and patted his shoulder. “Thanks for your hard work, Dad. Say goodbye to your son.”

. . . . . .

He was still useful as far as showing his old face and pleading on my behalf. When the vacation was about to end, I could meet with A-Zhen openly.

I had missed him practically day and night, but when I actually saw him, I was not as happy as I imagined.

He had lost a lot of weight and was visibly thinner. The plump flesh on his face had disappeared, his lips were lighter and paler, and his chin was thin and pointed. It was very cold that day, and his body was covered in a large down jacket, making him look very thin and fragile.

When he saw me, his eyes curved as he smiled at me. He had obviously missed me a lot, and when he smiled, his eyes sparkled. “Mingcheng.”

But I couldn’t smile.

My heart seemed to be squeezed, crushed, and torn to pieces. I also discovered for the first time that it was difficult to fake a smile if your heart hurt.

The reason why I was so good at pretending before was that back then, I didn’t have a heart.

A person without a heart would not feel pain. I rarely felt pain, and of course I would not feel sad after being beaten and scolded by my father.

But he should not.

His family was happy and harmonious, and his parents loved him very much. He should go home and enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival with his family. Eating food cooked by his mother should occupy his mouth every day, his cheeks plump, happy and healthy.

And he shouldn’t spend the holidays in a tense family atmosphere like mine. He shouldn’t be so thin and pale.

Why was this happening?

Why had he become like this?

This wasn’t right.

I seemed to have done something wrong…..

That day, I took him to visit many of his favorite places in the city and to eat his favorite foods. He always had a smile on his face. As before, he would take a few bites of the snacks that he liked, and would secretly touch something else he was interested in.

When he was eating, I paid special attention to his appetite. Perhaps because he had just had snacks, he didn’t eat much, but his appetite seemed to be good and he finished everything I gave him.

At that time, I only felt that the feeling of sadness was the most painful thing in the world, so I was afraid that he would be sad and wanted to make him happy. 

He could eat, drink, and be happy, and I could finally relax some of my worries.

It was in the evening that I realized something was wrong with him.

While waiting for drinks at a coffee shop, we encountered two people, one of whom recognized us and came to say hello.

“Eh? Wei Zizhen? Are you Wei Zizhen?” 

His words drew my attention to him, and I quickly remembered who he was. In high school, this was the classmate who always begged to copy A-Zhen’s homework, and one of the few I didn’t give the time of day.

A-Zhen looked at him for a moment and recognized who he was. “Is it you, Zhan Yan? Long time no see. Where are you studying at university now?”

Zhan Yan walked toward us with a cup of steaming coffee and a smile on his face, but as soon as he took a step, he was yanked by his companion.

It seemed that he had used too much force, and the coffee in his hand was almost spilled.

I saw him turn back in confusion as his companion said to us: “Sorry for the disturbance, he’s studying abroad and I’m in the north. We still have some things to do, so we’ll talk again when there’s time.”

Having said this, he took the other person away.

I recognized the speaker. He was indeed in the same university as us. However, due to business problems some time ago, his family business was suppressed by the Wen family and was forced to withdraw from Yuhua. I couldn’t remember very much.

After they left, our coffee was ready. I went to pick up the food and left with A-Zhen.

On the way back, he kept sipping the cup of hot coffee with his eyes lowered. The steaming heat condensed into small water droplets on his eyelashes. I was afraid he would be burned, and went to blow on his drink to cool it down.

But I had just taken the cup and blown on it a few times when his face, which was still smiling, suddenly changed. After a few steps, he ran to the roadside and vomited while holding onto a tree.

Since he hadn’t eaten yet, he could only spit up the half cup of coffee he drank.

I quickly helped him up and went to buy drinking water for him to rinse his mouth.

He rested on a roadside seat for a long time. I was worried that he had eaten something bad and wanted to take him to the hospital, but he put his arms around me and refused to call a taxi.

“A-Zhen.” I put my chin on his head, stroked his back with my hands, and asked him if he felt uncomfortable.

No matter what I asked, he said no. I noticed his depressed mood, so I took off my outer layer and covered him up, staying with him quietly for a while.

It was getting dark. The street lights came on, and he suddenly said calmly: “Mingcheng, I want to drop out of school.”

I was stunned. “What?”

Beihua University of fine arts was the top in the country, and it was A-Zhen’s dream in high school. He had ultimately gotten into it.

I wanted to see his face, but it was buried in my chest as he held me tightly without letting go.

His voice was muffled, but his tone was very relaxed, as if talking about something insignificant. “It’s just…..I think this is also good. I want to go outside to look around, and I think it would be good to study abroad like Zhan Yan. Russia, for example. Russian oil paintings have always been very amazing…..”

“You will miss home.” I interrupted him with a frown. He had never left home before going to university. It was not like I hadn’t seen all of his discomfort during the first few days of his freshman year. “Let’s go back and think about it, okay? If you like Russian teachers, I can help you find a few. We can also go and play during the holidays, and won’t Auntie and Uncle agree? Your older brother is already involved in the company’s affairs and isn’t at home often. They won’t begrudge you…..”

“They approved,” he said abruptly.

I stroked my hand over his back.

“I told them and they said it’s up to me.”

He spoke in his usual tone, but there was warmth on my chest.

Realizing something, I forcibly lifted his face.

The moment I touched his face, I felt coolness and moisture.

I looked at my hand in shock for a few seconds.

I felt the tears covering his face.

He was crying.

. . . . . . .

He and I dropped out of school together and began our seven years of studying abroad.

So much happened in those seven years.

In the first year of studying abroad, Uncle Wei passed away.

He died unexpectedly. At a cultural exchange meeting, he had an altercation with a new-school calligrapher and suffered a heart attack, dying in anger.

Not long after his death, the eldest brother of the Wei family was injured and great changes occurred within the family.

Uncle Wei’s death truly caught people off guard. At that time, I traveled the most frequently home and abroad, and the person I had the most contact with was my uncle. In order to obtain part of the company’s shares, I went to Norway, and I happened to not be with A-Zhen.

I only found out about this once I returned to China. After that, I found out that the person who had sent someone to injure the eldest brother of the Wei family was a relative who was in decline. That relative was sent to prison, but it was difficult to save the damage suffered by the Wei family and the withering of Wei Shu.

A-Zhen burned all of his father’s works with his bare hands.

A person’s talent will arouse the envy of others. After Uncle Wei’s death, no one could protect them. My father wasn’t trustworthy, and I was only nineteen years old, lacking the power to protect the entire Wei family, so I could completely understand him.

But he didn’t go home to celebrate the New Year for several years after that, nor did he visit his father’s grave. I knew that he was guilty and in pain.

And after Uncle Wei’s funeral, Aunt Wei came to our house and hoped that my parents would agree to our engagement as soon as possible.

It seemed difficult for her to speak at that time, and I saw her embarrassment and reluctance.

I knew why she was so anxious for us to get engaged. Because the Wei family was in danger, and her eldest son was injured, so she had to do this.

Not only could she protect her youngest son, but she could also protect her home.

Before leaving, she held my hand with the intention of saying something to me, but after a long while, she said nothing.

She still liked to wear cheongsams, and when she came to my house to discuss marriage, she dressed up nicely. But when she left, I saw that the diamond earring in her right ear was backwards.

I understood more and more the importance of wealth and power.

In the following years, with the help of my uncle and the company’s shareholders, I obtained 32% of the company’s shares. When I was twenty-four years old, I became the new chairman during a shareholders meeting. The process did not need to be discussed in detail.

Our remaining years studying abroad were very smooth years for us.

By removing and appointing new company executives, as well as reforming some of the issues left behind by my father, I eliminated most of the old guard while acquiring nearly half of the company’s shares.

The eldest brother of the Wei family married after recovering from his injury, and the family property was well-organized under the care of that couple. A-Zhen showed amazing talent at oil painting. After graduating with a master’s degree, he returned to Beihua again, this time as a teacher.

He had made great achievements in oil painting and was well-known in the circle. After one year of employment, he was promoted to associate professor.

When he was twenty-six years old, A-Zhen said that he no longer wanted me to be his boyfriend. He wanted to marry me.

That day, I had bought a few bouquets from the flower shop on my way back from work, intending to put them in his studio as decorations. But when I got home, he snatched away my flowers and said to me: “Let’s get married, Mingcheng. I think we should call each other something else. I wanted to wait for you to say it to me, but you are too patient.”

This took me entirely by surprise. For a moment, it seemed like all the beauty in the world was blooming before my eyes.

That day, I was so impatient that I traveled to several cities overnight. At dawn, I proposed to him with a diamond ring I had bought with difficulty.

He laughed at the size of the diamond being too big and looking nouveau riche, and told me to find a good-looking pair when we married. But despite saying that, he let me put it on him.

His hands were beautiful, his fingers as pale and slender as the whites of onions. There was a bit of sky blue oil paint on his little finger, and the diamond on his finger sparkled, as beautiful as the oil paintings he created.

I could feel his warm flesh and well-proportioned bones at the joints as I held them in my hands.

I couldn’t help but kiss the back of his hand.

After the two families sat together to discuss marriage, our nearly ten-year love affair came to a resolution. 

I was happy for a long time. In those days, I told everyone I met that I was getting married and hoped they could come to my wedding.

When they received my invitations, they all expressed their sincere blessings and spoke some words about wishing me and my lover a happy marriage and that we would grow old together. There were some eloquent people who spoke even more pleasantly.

I knew they flattered me because they wanted something from me, but I loved to hear it.

I had heard those blessings hundreds of times at other peoples’ weddings, and found them particularly pleasant to my ears.

So everything went according to plan, and everything seemed to be developing for the better.

A-Zhen and I bought a house together. We decorated our wedding room together, prepared various things needed for the wedding, tasted various wedding candies, and wrote wedding invitations together.

We had a premarital physical examination together.

This physical examination was conducted at the Wen family hospital. I didn’t care too much, because we had physicals at the beginning of each year and I had a pretty good idea of both of our physical conditions. My health was very good, and so was A-Zhen’s, but he couldn’t help eating casually. He had gastrointestinal discomfort after eating too much cold food some time ago, but after I got him to eat regularly and take medicine on time, he could now eat and drink completely fine.

As expected, the doctor inspected him and asked about A-Zhen’s stomach problems, then handed me the forms: “There are no problems. I wish you both a happy wedding.”

On the way back, A-Zhen wanted to buy tiramisu from a Russian dessert shop in the city. We parked the car in front of the store, and he raised his fair eyebrows and smiled at me: “This store is actually a bit rough, but this rough feeling is truly Russian. Remember that tiramisu in the canteen?”

Of course I remembered. The person who made that dessert was a middle-aged woman. She was tall, with a bold personality, and had short, wild blond hair. She never rounded out her tiramisu.

I couldn’t help but smile when I thought of her. “Let’s go back to school and see her after we get married.”

A-Zhen said: “Okay, ah, we still have a log house in St. Petersburg…..”

He was wearing light-colored clothes and trousers, beaming with joy. There was a circle of light green around the collar of his top, his whole person like a ring of flowers blooming in spring, all of him filled with light and abundant vitality.

As soon as he entered the store, I received a call.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Chairman. It’s me, Doctor Wang. Is your lover still by your side?” His title immediately informed me that he was the doctor who had just examined us.

The sun was very bright that day, but this sentence alone instantly made my heart sink. An ominous premonition came to mind, and my eyelids fluttered uncontrollably.

I pinched the corners of my eyes, glanced at the person selecting snacks inside the store, and took a few steps away with the phone in my hand. “Speak…..”

“It’s not a stomach disease at all, ah, it’s pancreatic cancer!”

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Chapter 32 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 34