Yu Wanlai: … Still not a good thing to hear!

So Yu Wanlai fell silent again, looking out the window. By the time he got home, it was already close to midnight. Normally, everyone at home would be asleep by this time. He opened the door, changed into slippers in the hallway, and noticed that the two cats and dogs had grown a lot, now curled up in their little beds by the couch, sleeping. Yu Wanlai glanced upstairs, took a few deep breaths, and then walked upstairs.

He reached the door of Yu Qingyue’s room, gently knocked a few times, but as expected, no one responded. Yu Qingyue thought it was his mother coming to talk to him again, so he pretended to be asleep and didn’t reply.

… Yu Wanlai hadn’t been coming home recently. Yu Cheng and Qin Shuang couldn’t get in touch with him, so they asked Yu Qingyue. He said he was traveling and would be back in a few days, also telling them not to disturb him. This didn’t sound right, but since the person wasn’t missing, they couldn’t report it to the authorities. They could only accept the explanation and wait for him to come back.

Yu Qingyue, on the other hand, came home late every day and seemed downcast. Other than eating, he mostly stayed in his room. At first, Qin Shuang thought they had probably fought, and when she was brushed off, she didn’t ask any more questions. She trusted that her son could handle these small matters.

It wasn’t until later when Yu Qingyue suddenly said he was going to get engaged to Bai Jian, claiming he liked him, but there wasn’t a hint of happiness in his eyes. Especially that night when she went downstairs to get some water, and by coincidence, she saw Yu Qingyue secretly hugging a kitten, tears falling. He didn’t even react when the dog, who usually scared him, licked him.

Yu Qingyue sat on his bed, looking at the picture of Yu Wanlai on his phone. Tears fell onto the screen, quickly blurring Yu Wanlai’s face. Hearing the knock on the door, Yu Qingyue hurriedly wiped his tears and got up to open the door.

When he saw it wasn’t Yu Wanlai, the light in his eyes immediately dimmed. He rested his hand on the door, “Oh, it’s you, Mom. What is it? If there’s nothing, I’d like to sleep…”

Qin Shuang saw that Yu Qingyue had indeed been crying. His previously calm expression now showed some concern. She raised her hand to wipe his tears and handed him the honey pomelo tea she had been holding. “You’re not letting Mom in?”

Yu Qingyue pursed his lips, took the cup, moved aside to let her sit on the small couch, and then spoke, “Mom, do you have…”

Qin Shuang glanced at him, raised her hand to pat the seat next to her, and interrupted, “Yueyue, it’s not Mom who has something to say. It’s you. Why don’t you talk to me about it?”

Yu Qingyue stood still, shaking his head. “Mom, I’m fine.”

Qin Shuang sighed and spoke earnestly, “Look at you, does it seem like you’re fine? Is it about Yu Wanlai? Did he bully you?”

Yu Qingyue lowered his head and remained silent. Every time Yu Wanlai’s name came up, it felt like something was blocking his throat.

Qin Shuang stood up and walked toward the door. “Fine, then I’ll send someone to find him. We’ll find a way to locate him. I need to ask him what he did to make my son like this.”

Yu Qingyue, who had been close to losing his sanity recently, got irritated by Qin Shuang’s questions. Frustrated, he simply gave up. He grabbed her arm. “Mom, no… it’s not him bullying me… it’s… it’s me bullying him.”

Tears fell to the floor as Yu Qingyue spoke intermittently.

Qin Shuang furrowed her brows, looking at him in surprise, listening quietly. “You bullied him? How did you bully him?”

Yu Qingyue took a deep breath, suddenly looked up, and met her gaze with determination. “Mom, I like Yu Wanlai. It’s not the kind of liking between brothers, it’s the kind of love you and Dad have. It’s the love between lovers.”

Hope appeared in his eyes. “But he ran away. Mom, you said you could find him, right? Then… could you help me… help me…”

Qin Shuang became increasingly shocked as she listened. Suddenly, she raised her hand and slapped Yu Qingyue across the face so hard that his head jerked to the side, stopping him from speaking further. “Shut up! You’re being utterly disrespectful! Are you out of your mind?!”

“You’re still young. You don’t understand what love is!” Qin Shuang’s hands trembled as she clasped them together, and her body softened. She sank back into the couch. “He won’t come back… if he doesn’t come back, then it’s for the best… as long as he doesn’t come back, what’s his, I won’t lose it.”

Yu Qingyue bent his knees and knelt beside Qin Shuang. He held her hand in a submissive tone. “Mom, I really like him. I like him so much. Please, help me, okay? Help me bring him back…”

Qin Shuang pushed him away, disbelief in her eyes. “Stop talking! You can like anyone, but not him! He’s your brother! And he’s a man!”

Yu Qingyue immediately lifted his head and glared at Qin Shuang, refuting, “He’s not my brother! What do you mean by brother? Are we even related by blood? Why do you insist he’s my brother? He always calls me his little brother, and it annoys me!”

“Don’t ever call me his brother again! I never want to hear those two words again.”

Yu Qingyue was so angry that the veins in his neck throbbed, but then he realized he shouldn’t speak harshly to his mother. He softened his tone and shook his head. “Fine, if you won’t help me find him, that’s fine. I believe he’ll come back before my engagement. He will come back, he won’t just watch me marry someone I don’t like.”

It was then that Qin Shuang remembered her son had already arranged an engagement with the Bai family. The thought of it made her feel dizzy. So he planned to use that girl… things were out of control.

She couldn’t convince Yu Qingyue, so in a panic, she stood up. “I’ll go get your father, he’ll talk to you. You don’t listen to me, but you’ll listen to him, right? He’s your real father!”

When Qin Shuang returned to her room, she saw Yu Cheng lying quietly on the bed, seemingly asleep. She immediately walked over and yanked the covers off. “Sleep, sleep, that’s all you do, the house is falling apart, and you’re still sleeping. One of them doesn’t come back, the other doesn’t speak, and you’re still able to sleep.”

Yu Cheng woke up, confused. He rubbed her shoulder and comforted her. “Xiao Shuang, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly so angry?”

Qin Shuang slapped his hand away. “It’s all your fault! You insisted on bringing him back, now you’re happy! The house is a mess!”

Yu Cheng was completely confused. “Don’t rush. Tell me what’s going on first. Who did I bring back?”

Qin Shuang gasped for breath. “Who? Who do you think? Who else but Yu Wanlai? He’s planning to get together with my son! Do you know?”

Yu Cheng immediately slapped the bed in shock and stood up, heading for the second floor. “What? That kid is back? He dares to come back?”

Then he frowned, turned back to look at Qin Shuang. “What do you mean, get together?”

Qin Shuang was both angry and anxious. The sight of Yu Cheng made her even more furious. “He hasn’t come back! It’s Yu Qingyue! He likes men, and insists on being with Yu Wanlai!”

Yu Cheng finally understood what was happening, his blood rushing to his head. His heart was racing, and his body staggered as if he had heard terrible news.

He kicked open the door to Yu Qingyue’s room with a loud “bang,” startling Yu Qingyue, who had been huddled on the floor, still in the position he had been in when Qin Shuang left. Yu Cheng grabbed him by the collar. “Apologize to your mom right now and tell her it was all a lie!”

Yu Qingyue was thrown onto the couch like a ragdoll, his head spinning. He didn’t say anything because it wasn’t a lie! He was a little scared of Yu Cheng, but it was too late to back down now. Yu Wanlai had already run off. He wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.

These days, he had been on the verge of losing his mind, and maybe he already had!

Yu Cheng grabbed Yu Qingyue’s collar and glared at him angrily, panting. “Tell me now, are you going to say it was a lie? If you don’t, you’ll get a beating today. If Yu Wanlai comes back, he’ll get a beating too. Let’s see if he dares to face you.”

Seeing the expression on Yu Cheng’s face, Yu Qingyue’s eyes flinched, but then he quickly regained composure. He stared directly at Yu Cheng, fearless. “Go ahead and hit me! I don’t care! Even if I die, I will still like him! I want to be with him! All my life, I’ve done what you and Mom said, but not this time! I can’t decide who I like?!”

Yu Cheng exhaled heavily. “He’s your brother!”

At the mention of “brother,” Yu Qingyue exploded. He struggled to his feet. “He’s not my brother, he’s not! How many times do I have to say it?! Why does everyone insist he’s my brother?”

“We might look a little alike, but don’t forget, he’s your son, I’m not! We have no blood relation!”

Yu Cheng was furious, his mouth opened as he breathed heavily. Then, with a sudden kick, he struck Yu Qingyue in the stomach.

“You’re out of line! I raised you, and you’re not my son?! Say it again! I must have spoiled you too much!”

Yu Qingyue was kicked onto the couch, his head banging against the wall, making him momentarily lose his vision. But his stomach hurt even more. He covered his belly with one hand and curled up on the couch, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.

When Qin Shuang saw that Yu Qingyue was leaving, she had no intention of going downstairs. She didn’t want to see him anymore today. For so many years, he had been obedient, and she never expected him to drop this bombshell on her. But after sitting in her room for a while, unable to calm herself, she decided to go downstairs.

Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw Yu Cheng panting. Her heart nearly stopped.

Qin Shuang instantly regretted it. She should have followed him downstairs. She had forgotten how bad Yu Cheng’s temper was.

Seeing that Yu Cheng was about to kick Yu Qingyue again, Qin Shuang immediately rushed over and hugged Yu Qingyue, looking up at Yu Cheng. “I called you to talk some sense into him, not to beat him! Why aren’t you hitting Yu Wanlai?”

Yu Cheng: … Right! There’s also that one!

He patted his chest and let out a long breath. Taking out his phone, he called Yu Wanlai, but as expected, the call didn’t go through.

Furious, he kicked the wall and was about to call his assistant. “I’m going to find someone to bring him back!” Qin Shuang immediately stopped him, “No, you can’t call him back. If he doesn’t want to come back, let him be!”

Yu Cheng ignored her. “No, that’s not going to happen. He caused such a big mess. He won’t get off so easily. When he comes back, you’ll see how I deal with him.”

Qin Shuang gritted her teeth and said bluntly, “Are you out of your mind? Yu Qingyue was the one who kept asking for him, and now you want to bring him back? Do you still want this son? Do you have to wait for him to go down the wrong path first?”

Yu Cheng had no choice but to put his phone away. “He dares! If he dares to cause trouble again, I’ll beat him to death.”

Yu Qingyue coughed lightly, anxiously saying, “This isn’t his fault! It’s because I like him! He’s avoiding me and won’t come back. Why are you trying to beat him again? If you’re angry, you can take it out on me!”

Yu Cheng immediately raised his hand and pointed at him, shouting angrily, “Fine, fine, then I’ll…!”

Seeing Yu Qingyue’s pale face, Qin Shuang immediately grabbed him, her eyes red. “Stop, stop! What if you hurt him…?” She forced herself to calm down, “…Let’s leave it for today. Give him some time to think about it.”

At this point, Qin Shuang had more or less figured it out. Yu Qingyue must have done something to offend Yu Wanlai, which was why Yu Wanlai was avoiding him. So, nothing was going to come of it. “Anyway, he hasn’t come back yet. Even if he’s all fired up, nothing’s going to happen.”

Yu Cheng thought for a moment and agreed. He turned around and slammed the door shut with a loud “bang,” leaving with the words, “Think this through!”

The room fell silent. Yu Qingyue curled up on the sofa, clutching his stomach. Tears quickly soaked his face, though it was unclear whether it was from pain or sadness. At this moment, he almost felt relieved that Yu Wanlai wasn’t around. Otherwise, the two of them would have been beaten together, which would have been even worse.

Yu Qingyue closed his eyes weakly. He didn’t want to keep angering his parents, but no matter what, whether in the past or now, he really missed Yu Wanlai—he missed him terribly. When Yu Wanlai was by his side, he was happy doing anything. Now that Yu Wanlai was gone, he was about to lose his mind! That day, when Yu Wanlai passed out from saving him, Yu Qingyue almost had a heart attack. He couldn’t bear losing him. There was no turning back now.