Chapter 6#

In the hospital corridor, Man Yu tugged at the leaves of a garden plant and called his mother, asking how much money was left from their aunt’s house sale.

Xu Lan was probably playing mahjong on the other end, very busy and impatient: “How much could a country house be worth?”

“Yes, the money from your aunt’s house sale is with us. These years, it was long ago all spent on her hospitalization. Your dad and I are under so much pressure, and we still have to pay for her to stay in a sanatorium. We’ve already been very considerate. Xiao Yu, I know you’re closer to your aunt than to your mother, but no one asks me for money to support their aunt like you do, right? If you hadn’t married into the Sheng family, and your parents didn’t want others to gossip behind your back, we would have sent Man Hong back to the countryside long ago. All right, don’t be insatiable. How much wasted money have we spent for you?”

Man Yu stammered an explanation, saying that wasn’t what he meant, but Xu Lan had already hung up.

He didn’t dare call back to ask whether his aunt’s and grandfather’s savings had also been completely spent.

Man Hong woke up. Man Yu fed her dinner bite by bite. Man Hong thought it tasted good and happily stroked his hair.

Seeing others happy made Man Yu happy, and he didn’t care whether his hair, rubbed into a mess, looked a bit bad.

Man Hong didn’t recognize people well. After rubbing his hair for a while, she called him: “Xiao Jin.”

“Xiao Jin is here. Xiao Jin doesn’t eat scallions. Auntie will make braised pork, no—won’t put scallions……”

“Auntie, I—I’m Xiao Yu.” Man Yu corrected softly.

“Xiao Yu?” Man Hong tilted her head and thought for a while. A strand of graying hair fell. Man Yu raised his hand to tidy it for her. Man Hong suddenly shouted angrily, “Xiao Yu! Your parents haven’t sent living expenses for another half a year! How can they be like this!”

Man Yu lowered his head in shame.

Man Hong clapped her hands, still puffed with anger: “But you did well on your exams, so Auntie still stewed ribs for you. Don’t learn from your parents’ lack of conscience. Come eat ribs, eat ribs……”

Man Yu couldn’t hold back the surging tears. He leaned over Man Hong’s knees and sobbed, crying like a child.

Man Hong gently patted his head: “Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu, don’t cry. Your parents don’t want you, Auntie wants you, Auntie wants you. You’re a big eight-year-old child now, don’t cry, don’t cry……”

After Grandpa’s funeral ended, Man Yu chased the car carrying Man Jiang and Xu Lan as it drove away, running far and far, running past a mountain, running until the soles of his feet were worn raw, but he still couldn’t catch up with them, nor could he make them take him along.

That night, Man Hong held the weeping Man Yu and sat quietly with him all night.

Auntie was always fierce, but she was a very, very good person.

Not long after, Man Hong failed to recognize people again. She took Man Yu for a dog thief, made a fuss for a while, and then, lacking strength, fell asleep again.

Man Yu quietly stayed with her for a while before leaving.

On the way back, he leaned quietly against the subway handrail, a faint weariness over his whole body. His finger slid around the phone screen and downloaded a green app.

It was an audiobook app called Lu Chuan.

In college, he had registered an account to read books aloud in order to practice his Mandarin.

Later, for some inexplicable reason, he got several dozen followers. He was quite happy and updated almost daily. After he started working, inspections were strict and teachers were not allowed to take outside part-time jobs. He was scared and anxious, and after thinking it over again and again, he still gave up the account.

There should still be a few hundred yuan of earnings in it, which he had never withdrawn and had saved up before.

Man Yu logged into the account, and red unread messages popped up all over his screen.

【Mommy’s voice is so gentle, when will you come back and continue updating?】

【I have to listen to the books Mommy reads every day before I can fall asleep, wuwuwu, gospel for insomnia～】

【Mommy, I finished the college entrance exam today!】

【Mommy, when are you coming back? I miss you so much】

……

He didn’t know when his follower count had gone from several dozen to several hundred.

Man Yu felt ashamed and guilty, even powerless. He could no longer read for them the way he used to, and he wasn’t so worthy of their liking.

Everyone on the internet was separated by a veil. They had beautified him too much. He was just an ordinary character so inconspicuous that he would disappear in a crowd.

He was too embarrassed to withdraw the money from the account, so he converted it into red packets and sent it back to them, and carefully replied to each private message one by one.

But he still had to think of a way—how could he earn some money?

——

Sheng Lin’s mention of divorce somehow reached Chen Yanning’s ears. Chen Yanning froze his cards, sealed off his other residences, and told him to calm down.

Sheng Lin was used to spending lavishly. Once he became short of money, it was simply unbearable. He wasn’t used to food outside either, and the pleasure-seeking life was even less worth thinking about. The number of times he stayed at home clearly increased. Although he no longer mentioned divorce, the way he looked at Man Yu made it seem he wished he could swallow him alive, and he tormented him in every way he could think of.

The washing machine had more than thirty wash-and-dry modes, yet every single piece of his clothing had to be hand-washed by Man Yu in cold water. It couldn’t be wrung dry; it could only be laid flat and hung up, then dried with a handheld hair dryer. The water-soaked clothes dripped and dripped. Every time, Man Yu washed them until he was drenched all over and panting for breath.

Besides Sheng Lin’s spitefulness, there were also more and more text messages on his phone. Some inexplicable people added him while cursing him, sent his ID documents, and sent some obscene photos—photos of them being intimate with his husband. They were all his husband’s affairs outside.

【Whore, bitch, don’t think I don’t know what dirty tricks you used to marry A Lin. You’d better be careful. If I catch you, I’ll find someone to fuck you to death!】

【Seducing someone else’s husband—are you happy? Look at your pig face in the mirror. Do you even deserve to compete with me for A Lin? Get lost from A Lin’s side, you lowly Beta!】

……

This was already considered relatively mild in language. Man Yu’s eyes hurt reading them, and his heart jumped with fright. He deleted them one by one. He didn’t go out much to begin with, and after seeing these threats, he dared even less. These people were capable of anything.

They thought he had monopolized Sheng Lin. Man Yu couldn’t say that the reasons Sheng Lin didn’t go looking for them were, first, that his cards had been suspended and he had no money, and second, that his white moonlight had returned to the country and he wanted to keep himself pure for him. If Sheng Lin lost face, he would punish Man Yu.

Sheng Lin hadn’t fooled around outside these past few months. Speaking of which, Man Yu even had to thank Lu Yinbing.

Those people became more and more excessive. The more extreme ones called him in the middle of the night and played ghost-movie recordings. The milder ones called him to cry and complain. Man Yu couldn’t bear it and even had to comfort them, hoping they wouldn’t be sad.

Man Yu was a person with little temper. As long as his husband no longer cheated, didn’t lay hands on him, and stayed at home at ease, he gradually saw hope in life too. As for the deliberate making-things-difficult and the intimidation, they would pass sooner or later.

He made breakfast in different ways every meal, put tea-break snacks in Sheng Lin’s car in advance, and went to deliver soup and food to him at noon.

These past few days, Lu Yinbing occasionally invited Sheng Lin to gatherings at the equestrian grounds or on yachts. Man Yu thought Sheng Lin would be happy to see the person he liked, but it was exactly the opposite. Before going, Sheng Lin was unbearably irritable, and after coming back, he also looked thoroughly tormented.

Perhaps everything had two sides. Sheng Lin liked Lu Yinbing’s flamboyance, but conversely, he also had to endure his personality.

It wasn’t that Man Yu hadn’t thought of going to pick Sheng Lin up. Last time he went to the company to deliver food and stayed a little longer. When Sheng Lin found out, he punished him to stand outside the front door all night. Even though Man Yu knew the door code, he didn’t dare go in, afraid Sheng Lin would get angry. It wasn’t until nearly noon, when Sheng Lin saw the table was empty, that he remembered Man Yu was still locked outside by him.

Man Yu’s lips were dry and cracked. He staggered inside and cooked without a word.

After that day, he no longer dared disobey Sheng Lin. Fortunately, Chen Yanning had recently been busy with his illegitimate children and had no time to assign him tasks.

Sheng Lin’s temper grew bigger and bigger. Sometimes in the middle of the night, Man Yu could hear the tapping of his restless pacing back and forth in the living room. Man Yu guessed there were probably many reasons for his vexation—the divorce he couldn’t get, the suddenly appearing younger brothers and sisters, the white moonlight he couldn’t pursue, and his suspended cards.

Sheng Lin couldn’t sleep, and listening to the sounds outside, Man Yu couldn’t sleep either. He wanted to comfort Sheng Lin but didn’t know how, so he could only learn to make a few more delicious snacks.

Apart from Sheng Lin still loathing him, they were increasingly like an ordinary married couple. Man Yu felt as if everything was changing for the better.

Friday evening—

Man Yu drew a check mark on the calendar to cross off another day.

Sheng Lin’s susceptible period should be within the next few days. He had been taking medicine for a week already and didn’t know whether it was effective.

This time, Sheng Lin should be at home during his susceptible period.

Thinking of what might happen, a faint blush rose on Man Yu’s pale cheeks.

He was a little afraid, yet couldn’t help looking forward to it. Unconsciously, he touched his lower abdomen.

Man Yu made dinner as usual and quietly waited for Sheng Lin to come home.

It wasn’t until eight o’clock at night that he still hadn’t waited for anyone to come home. He couldn’t help sending a message to Sheng Lin’s assistant, asking whether their work still hadn’t been finished.

He asked again: 【Have you eaten dinner? Do you want me to bring some over?】

The other side showed “typing…”. After a short while, Assistant Xiao Sun replied concisely: 【Young Master Sheng’s susceptible period has arrived. He is not at the company.】

Man Yu looked at the message and sat there blankly for a while before he remembered to reply to Xiao Sun with a thank you.

Xiao Sun did not reply to him again.

Man Yu raised his hand and rubbed his eyes.

Sheng Lin probably wouldn’t come back for the next few days either. He had thought…… had thought he would have a chance……

He lowered his head and downed the steaming herbal medicine in one gulp. He couldn’t help thinking: if only his differentiation hadn’t failed back then. If he had been a little braver and told the teacher that he felt unwell and had a fever, perhaps his differentiation wouldn’t have failed. If he weren’t so cowardly, would Sheng Lin not hate him so much—so much that he wouldn’t even be willing to come home during his susceptible period?

The decoction should have been sour and bitter, but Man Yu tasted a salty, astringent flavor.

A small lamp was left on in the bedroom, and the room was dim. Man Yu sat on the bay window, hugging his lower legs, his cheek resting on his knees, watching the heavy traffic outside the window.

He raised a finger and gently traced on the window. His fingerprint left a blurry smiley face on the glass.

The glass window reflected Man Yu’s face. He returned a faint smile to this comical smiley face.

He didn’t know what he himself was thinking, still less what he should be thinking.

Maybe people were just never quite satisfied. It didn’t matter—Sheng Lin was already much better than before; it was only that he wasn’t home during his susceptible period. Man Yu comforted himself.

A wife like Man Yu—weak, devoted, and honest—would absolutely never divorce her husband no matter what.

Even if, an hour later, he received racy photos sent from his husband’s phone by his husband’s lover—two bodies entangled on the bed, a glamorous Omega covered in kiss marks looking provocatively at the camera—Man Yu would only endure the bitterness and type back: 【Thank you for taking care of him.】

……

Lu Yinbing confidently thought he would receive a friend request within three days, but he did not.

Perhaps the other person was too shy. He gave them another two days, and still nothing.

He even created opportunities several times and invited Sheng Lin, but this time he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the person.

Was it playing hard to get?

Was the person deliberately stringing him along, or had they found a better candidate? Or were they caught up by something and had no time to get away? It was said that Sheng Lin’s mother was cracking down hard on several illegitimate children. Had the person been beaten and was afraid to go out?

Then he might as well go straight to the door and ask for the person. But going himself seemed too much like lowering his status. He dialed his secretary’s number, roughly described the person’s appearance, and told him to bring the person back.

There was no name. Secretary Zhou only heard adjectives such as “cute,” “pretty,” “fair and clean,” and “shy and honest.” In other words, he had to use these abstract words to precisely pick out the person his boss wanted from among the Sheng family’s illegitimate children.

A secretary with extraordinary professional quality could perfectly complete any task assigned by his boss. He merely responded calmly: “Yes.”

Lu Yinbing twirled the fountain pen in his hand and aimed the mirror on the desk at himself. Today’s image was also very perfect. He would wait for a poor canary to throw itself into his embrace.

Lu Xingyun knocked on the study door, crept in, and placed a stack of materials on Lu Yinbing’s desk.

“Brother, the information on that person you wanted has been collected.”

He had done it quite meticulously; the pages were separated with sticky notes, so one could see at a glance whatever one wanted to look at.

Only then did Lu Yinbing remember that he did seem to have ordered this, but he had long since thrown it to the back of his mind.

Lu Yinbing opened the folder while his other hand toyed with the pen: “Your mother gave birth to you when I was three. You can’t even find a person without taking a week. If your mother had been as efficient as you back then, she wouldn’t even have made it as a mistress in time.”

Lu Xingyun smiled awkwardly.

The first page of the file was Man Yu’s headshot and educational history, from elementary school to the present, all retrieved by Lu Xingyun from the public security system.

Man Yu—the more he looked, the more pleasing to the eye he became. His nose and eyes were quite nicely shaped, and his name was as nice to hear as his face was good-looking.

His mother’s surname was Man? What a special surname.

Lu Yinbing’s finger stopped on Man Yu’s face for quite a while. Then he went straight to the contact information page and dialed the number.

Man Yu’s weak, somewhat reserved voice came from the other end of the phone: “Hello, h-hello, who is this? Sheng Lin, Sheng Lin isn’t here, not at home……”

So he knew who he was and was waiting for his call? And even knew to use Sheng Lin as a cover.

“This is Lu Yinbing. Someone will bring you to my place in a little while.”

Man Yu held the phone and stared wide-eyed. Lu Yinbing was looking for him—what did Lu Yinbing want with him?

Not only Man Yu, Lu Xingyun also opened his eyes wide. What was his brother doing, bringing someone else’s wife over right off the bat?

It took Man Yu a long while to sort out what he wanted to say: “Mr. Lu—M-Mr. Lu, we—we don’t seem—n-no, not very—very familiar……”

Lu Yinbing kept a smile on his lips, twirling the pen in his hand, listening patiently as he spoke, until Man Yu continued: “M-my husband, if—if he knows, he’ll—he’ll be unhap—unhappy……”

“My husband will be unhappy if he knows……”

“My husband will be unhappy if he knows……”

“My husband would know……”

“My husband……”

“Husband……”