Chapter 12: What a Shit Dad

She first met Shen Haoyang on Liuli Street.

She was strolling around, and he, pretending to be an expert, was playing with a small, oval-shaped jade of a light green color, about half the size of a fist.

He was showing it off, and she rolled her eyes, unwilling to look at him any longer.

With the slight revival of the antique market, many pretenders and easily scammed fools appeared every day.  Shen Haoyang was the biggest fool of them all, holding a cursed nine-hole jade, tricked, yet feeling self-satisfied.

She hadn’t wanted to interfere, but this fool was kind; he pulled her back when a car was approaching. If he hadn’t, she would have been hit or broken a bone.

“Throw away that thing, it’s unlucky, it’s cursed.”

She immediately warned him.

But this fool not only refused to throw it away but also looked at her warily, “Are you trying to get a bargain? I just saved your life, and you’re already trying to take advantage of me!”

Lin Moran’s head buzzed. She thought it was right not to interfere earlier; he wouldn’t have listened anyway.

But for his help, she had to educate him, “Do you know that humans have nine orifices?”

Shen Haoyang looked at her questioningly.

“The human body has nine orifices: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and a mouth; and the front and back orifices. After a person dies, the body releases impurities. To maintain their dignity after death, the ancients would use this jade to block these orifices, so this jade is also called the nine-hole jade. Still don’t understand? Let me put it more bluntly, it’s something used to plug a dead person’s orifices.”

“The person who sold you this thing was just playing a trick on you. No insider would collect this; seeing it is considered unlucky. Do you understand now?”

Shen Haoyang’s face turned pale, then green, then red, then black… He immediately threw the thing into the trash can and washed his hands repeatedly with soap.

Then the whole Liuli Street had a new story: a young fool playing with a nine-hole jade, tricked, yet unaware.

Shen Haoyang beat up the person who sold him the jade, and the words “nine-hole jade” became taboo for him.

Xu Jingya deliberately brought up this matter, clearly to humiliate him.

Since they wanted to attack his weak point, let’s see who had the stronger attack!

Shen Haoyang was deeply moved.  Lin Moran had warned him about the cursed jade the first time he played with it, preventing him from continuing his folly.

Now, seeing him humiliated by Xu Jingya, Lin Moran had saved his face again.

“Moran, you’re truly insightful! I was too blind to see her true nature. You pointed it out, and I saw it clearly.”

Now it was Xu Jingya’s turn to jump, her face flushed red, “You two are bullying me!”

She turned to Gu Jingyao, sniffing, her eyes red with grievance, “Jingyao, they called me a dirty thing. How could they humiliate me like this?”

Gu Jingyao’s brows furrowed again. He looked up at Shen Haoyang, “Haoyang, be polite to Jingya.”

Shen Haoyang sneered, looking directly into Gu Jingyao’s eyes, his tone calm, “Gu Jingyao, a friend’s wife is off-limits. Whether the friend is alive or dead, that’s morality.”

Gu Jingyao’s dark eyes were deep and unreadable.

“You’re not my cousin, I’m not afraid of you!”

Shen Haoyang’s eyes were full of mockery.

He struck at his weak point!

He and his cousin Song Zesheng were good brothers in school and close comrades in the army.

Gu Jingyao abandoning his wife and children to be with Xu Jingya was unacceptable, whether from his cousin Song Zesheng’s perspective, Lin Moran’s perspective, or his own.

“Haoyang, Jingyao and I were classmates, and our relationship is innocent. Can you not be so venomous? Jingyao, I can handle it myself, you don’t need to accompany me.  To avoid certain people being sarcastic.”

Xu Jingya cried as she spoke, then, limping, she walked towards the emergency room.

“Keep acting!”

Shen Haoyang sneered unceremoniously.

Gu Jingyao exuded coldness, glanced at Shen Haoyang, then caught up with Xu Jingya, “Jingya, it’s crowded, slow down!”

Shen Haoyang cursed under his breath.

Lin Moran watched Gu Jingyao abandon her and her child again to chase after Xu Jingya, her eyes sore and her heart heavy.

The white moonlight’s attraction was indeed powerful. Even with his child’s life hanging in the balance, he could ignore it all, his eyes only on her.

Gu Quanzhe’s eyes were filled with tears, his small lips pursed tightly, trying not to cry.

What a lousy father!

Even though he was sick and needed injections, he didn’t care at all.

Lin Moran’s heart ached again.  She could remain calm about Gu Jingyao’s actions, but she couldn’t ignore her child’s emotions.

Especially when her child was sick.

“Zhezhe, the nurses all know you, the injection won’t hurt.”

Lin Moran forced a smile, finding a way to comfort Gu Quanzhe.

Gu Quanzhe couldn’t hold back anymore, tears streaming down his face, he mumbled sadly, “But Mom, I’m still scared. Injections really hurt, Quanbao is scared just thinking about it.”

“Zhezhe isn’t afraid, Mom is with you.”

Lin Moran gently patted Gu Quanzhe’s shoulder. Gu Quanzhe buried his head in her neck, his small body trembling with sobs.

Emergency Room.

Xu Jingya sat in front of the doctor, who examined her.

“There are abrasions on your arm, nothing serious, just apply some medicine.”

“Your ankle is sprained, but luckily, it’s not fractured, you don’t need a cast. I’ll prescribe some ointment. Apply some ice packs when you get home, don’t exercise for a few days, and try not to put weight on it, so it heals faster.”

After the examination, the doctor gave her instructions and a prescription.

Xu Jingya looked at the doctor insistently, “Doctor, my foot really hurts, are you sure there’s nothing wrong?  And this wound on my hand is large, don’t I need an injection for inflammation?”

The doctor paused, glanced at Gu Jingyao behind her, instantly understanding her thoughts. Then he looked up, “If you insist on an injection, I’ll give you a tetanus shot.”

Xu Jingya thanked him repeatedly.

The injection was quickly administered.

Gu Jingyao paid the bill and got the ointment.

Then he took her home.

“Jingyao, my foot still hurts, can you help me inside? I live alone.”

“I live alone now.”

As soon as they reached Xu Jingya’s door, Gu Jingyao stopped, not going any further.

Xu Jingya turned around, smiling at him, “It’s still early, are you afraid I’ll eat you?”

“I’m limping now, I don’t have that kind of ability.”

Gu Jingyao helped her inside.

“I’m not young, and I’m not married.  My parents keep urging me to marry. My sister-in-law also feels embarrassed that I’m still unmarried.  There aren’t many rooms in the house, and my nephews and nieces need rooms as they grow up, so I moved out.”

“They’re more relaxed, and I’m more peaceful.”

Xu Jingya hopped on one leg, pouring water for Gu Jingyao as she explained.

This house was actually bought by her. The Song family was very kind. After Song Zesheng’s death, they gave most of his pension to his fiancée. With that money, she immediately bought a house.

As someone who had experienced a rebirth, she knew better than anyone that house prices in Beijing would skyrocket in the future, unimaginably so. A house costing 1000 yuan per square meter now would be worth several times more in ten years.

“Living alone is good.”

Gu Jingyao looked around Xu Jingya’s house indifferently.

She had many celebrity photos on her walls, including photos of actors from the popular TV series “Lucky Star” and stills from the earlier “Love in Lushan.” The walls were very colorful.

Looking at her room, he thought of Lin Moran and her son’s room. In comparison, Lin Moran’s room was much more simple, with a portrait of Chairman Mao on one wall and a few copper coins on another. There were no flashy things, just ordinary bottles and jars, making the room simple and homely.

“Jingyao, have some tea.” Xu Jingya offered Gu Jingyao tea.

“Okay.” Gu Jingyao nodded, sitting upright on the stool.

His serious and aloof expression made Xu Jingya feel helpless.

She had specifically bought this house, not only to avoid being nagged by her family, but also to have a quiet and private place to be with Gu Jingyao.

But the atmosphere between them was cold.

After a long silence, Xu Jingya found a topic, speaking again, “Shen Haoyang has always been outspoken and lacks emotional intelligence. He speaks sarcastically, saying whatever comes to mind. Don’t take his words to heart.”

“Zesheng always cared about you.” Gu Jingyao spoke, his voice low and heavy, “He went on a mission before me. Before leaving, he gave me the letters he wrote to you, asking me to send them. But the next day, I also went on a mission. Those letters were never sent. When I returned to the army, the letters were gone.”

Recalling the past, Gu Jingyao felt immense sorrow.

He and Song Zesheng finally met on the battlefield; the mission was extremely dangerous.

Song Zesheng, to protect him, blocked a bullet.

Song Zesheng fell into his arms. Before he died, he told him, “If you can go back, take care of Jingya. I can’t go back, let Jingya look to the future, find her own happiness.”

Xu Jingya stared at him blankly, tears streaming down her face, sobbing, “But, Zesheng will never come back.”

Gu Jingyao’s heart felt as if it were being crushed, shattering into pieces. If he could, he would rather have been the one to die.