Chapter 31#

Chapter 31: Extra €€ Six

On a summer evening, cicadas chirped in the trees. Mo Xi walked out of the library, looked up at the starry night sky, felt the cool breeze brushing past his ears, and was in an exceptionally good mood.

This was his last day working at the library. Last week, he found a permanent internship at a game company. The pay was good; although it would be tiring, if he lived frugally, he could cover his future tuition fees.

Not long ago, Da Bai called again offering to lend him money, but he refused.

Honestly, sometimes he suspected Da Bai was lying to him. Although Da Bai always said his boyfriend was this good and that good, he had never posted even a single photo of his boyfriend on his Moments.

However, Mo Xi had asked people around Da Bai, and his life seemed normal, and he did indeed go on dates often. Thinking about it carefully, Da Bai had no reason to lie to him; otherwise, where could he get so much money?

Mo Xi thought that once he got his first paycheck, he would definitely buy a gift package for Da Bai and mail it back.

Returning home at night, Mo Xi opened his phone and found his Moments flooded with Fu Yan’s wedding. He had deleted Pei Hao’s WeChat, but he still had Pei Hao’s friends on WeChat.

Accidentally, his finger slipped and opened a photo. Fu Yan and the bride stood in the middle, beaming with joy. To the left stood several groomsmen led by Pei Hao, and to the right were the bride’s bridesmaids. The bride was the beauty Mo Xi had met at the breakfast shop last time; in her wedding dress, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

She was indeed the person Fu Yan liked. And the handsome and dashing Fu Yan next to the bride was indeed the person Pei Hao liked.

In the next photo, it was a group photo of the three groomsmen. Pei Hao stood in the middle wearing a sharp dark blue suit, his hair combed back, making his facial features appear even more chiseled. He truly looked like a proper gentleman.

After looking at a few photos, everyone was smiling broadly, except for Pei Hao, who had an expressionless face from start to finish.

That made sense. That person was usually unsmiling, and with Fu Yan’s big wedding, he probably couldn’t smile even if he wanted to.

Mo Xi casually liked Dan Ge’s Moments post, then turned off his phone and didn’t think about it anymore.

He never imagined that this would be the most dashing and spirited Pei Hao would look in the next few years.

At Fu Yan’s wedding, at the banquet. The bride had changed into a dark fishtail evening gown, revealing her lovely figure. The theme of the banquet was “Starry Night,” and many twinkling small lights were strung above the banquet tables, looking like a brilliant starry sky.

The band nearby was playing piano music, and everyone was waiting for the food at their seats. Dan Ge sat next to Pei Hao, constantly playing with his phone. Bored, Pei Hao leaned over to take a look and vaguely saw the WeChat avatar Mo Xi had always used.

“Did Xiao Xi like your post?” Pei Hao felt envious, staring at the screen with blinking eyes.

Dan Ge glanced at him indifferently and didn’t reply, but in a moment of inattention, he found his phone snatched away. Pei Hao grabbed the phone and held onto it tightly as if he had snatched some treasure.

“That’s enough of you, your grin is almost reaching your temples,” Dan Ge looked at the guy smiling like a fool at the phone and said disdainfully, “He liked my post, not yours.”

Since breaking up with Mo Xi, Dan Ge noticed that Pei Hao had become increasingly reticent. Only when topics related to Mo Xi were mentioned might he give a smile.

Dan Ge was also helpless. Thinking back, he had often chided Pei Hao, advising him to cherish what he had, but Pei Hao wouldn’t listen. What was the use of regretting it now?

Moreover, they had been broken up for two years. Mo Xi had long since started a new life, while Pei Hao was still stuck in memories, unable to extricate himself.

They had also tried introducing partners to Pei Hao, but he ignored them completely. Previously, a guy interested in Pei Hao chased him to his home, only to be cursed out by him.

He used to be somewhat of a sunny, handsome young man, but now he made himself look bitter and deep in hatred all day long. Dan Ge got angry just thinking about it and couldn’t help but tease him: “I find you really are stubborn. When you were with Xiao Xi before, you insisted on liking Fu Yan. Now you’re fixated on Mo Xi.”

Pei Hao’s smile froze on his lips after hearing this. When he looked up again, he was shrouded in sadness. He looked at the air and muttered to himself, “Maybe this is retribution.”

Dan Ge realized he had misspoken and put away his sharp tongue. But seeing Pei Hao’s dejected look, he still wanted to advise him one more time: “Xiao Xi is living well in the US now. Can you stop bothering him?”

“He’s not living well,” Pei Hao shook his head, lowering his eyelids, his eyes full of loss. “He works while going to school, exhausted to death every day.”

He had seen all this in Mo Xi’s posts. After arriving in the US, Mo Xi occasionally posted updates about his current situation. In the latest update, he wrote:

“Sometimes I wonder why I went abroad, because working while studying is really tiring! I almost fall asleep as soon as I get home every day, and I’m always worried about not being able to pay next semester’s tuition.”

So before coming to Fu Yan’s wedding, Pei Hao asked Da Bai for help again, but this time Mo Xi refused to accept Da Bai’s money no matter what. Pei Hao had been upset about this for the past few days.

He hesitated whether to tell Xiao Xi’s sister, but he also understood that Xiao Xi would only hate him more. But thinking of Xiao Xi working from dawn to dusk every day, physically and mentally exhausted for tuition, he felt restless.

When he felt helpless, for a few seconds, he actually wished Xiao Xi had gotten together with that white guy back then. After all, if two people were together, they could look after each other somewhat, and maybe that person could help Xiao Xi relieve some financial pressure.

But on second thought, what if that white guy was even scummier than he was back then? Wouldn’t Xiao Xi be even more pitiful? Besides, that guy didn’t deserve Mo Xi no matter how you looked at it.

After thinking it over, Pei Hao felt the best way was to win Xiao Xi back and make him accept his help with peace of mind.

The flight back to China was flying at a constant speed at an altitude of 10,000 meters. Pei Hao was groggy and about to fall asleep. The screen in front of his seat was playing a movie, and the narrator was a woman with an emotionless voice: Once you feel your ideals are full, you should be careful, because reality is often too skinny.

After getting off the plane, Pei Hao found that all his bank cards were locked. Let alone going to the US, he didn’t even have money to take a taxi.

Pei Yixin had called a few people to wait for him at the airport. Those people only said they were taking him home and revealed nothing else. Pei Hao knew something must have happened.

The cause of the matter was that a girl had taken a fancy to Pei Hao before. The girl’s name was Zhao Yixuan, the daughter of Pei Yixin’s friend. Her father was quite successful in business, her mother’s family had been high-level intellectuals for three generations, and she herself was outstanding. In terms of various conditions, she was quite a match for Pei Hao.

Zhao Yixuan had seen Pei Hao when she was a child and had always had a good impression of this handsome brother. After returning from studying abroad, the two families officially arranged a match, and she also put aside a girl’s reserve to take the initiative. Unexpectedly, Pei Hao always ignored her and almost never looked her in the eye.

Zhao Yixuan had lived a smooth life. In the past, she was the one rejecting others who pursued her; she had never lost face like this. In a fit of anger, she hired someone to investigate Pei Hao’s love life. It would have been fine if she hadn’t investigated, but this investigation revealed that Pei Hao had actually had a boyfriend before.

So he was gay; no wonder he had no interest in women.

Zhao Yixuan smilingly sent these photos to Pei Hao’s parents, saying sorry, Uncle and Auntie, your son doesn’t like me because he likes men.

It was said that when Pei Yixin saw those photos, he smashed the antique vase beside him to pieces on the spot, while Song Wanqin was so heartbroken that she went straight to the hospital.

As soon as Pei Hao entered the house, Pei Yixin sternly ordered him to kneel. Pei Hao didn’t know why. Pei Yixin picked up a stack of photos and threw them hard at his face.

They were all photos of him and Mo Xi looking at each other, hugging, and kissing. Pei Hao remembered he had put them in a hidden folder on his laptop, but his laptop was stolen not long ago.

It must have been done intentionally by someone with ulterior motives.

Pei Hao knew he would have to come out sooner or later. At first, he wanted to wait until he was financially independent outside before coming out. But Mo Xi returned to City X, so he had to follow him back and join his dad’s company. He figured he would wait a few more years until he had enough say in the company, and by then the old man wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

But man proposes, God disposes. Now he had nothing and was outed passively. All his plans were in disarray again.

But whatever, at worst he would be kicked out of the house and start over.

His only hope now was that this matter wouldn’t affect Xiao Xi.

Pei Hao looked at the photos, curled his lips, and pretended not to care, saying, “These are photos from years ago. We broke up long ago.”

Pei Yixin raised his hand and slapped him, making his head spin. His dad came from the military, and this was him controlling his strength.

“Then why do you fly to the US every day?” Pei Yixin roared at him indignantly. “Do you think I can’t find out what rotten things you’ve done?”

Hearing this, Pei Hao knew the old man had investigated Mo Xi. Pei Yixin’s style was decisive and ruthless; he would never be soft on anyone who threatened him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to thrive in the business world for so many years.

If he wanted to mess with Mo Xi, then Mo Xi was finished.

Pei Hao only felt a throbbing pain in his temples. He knelt down with a “thud,” pursed his lips, and pleaded, “Dad, don’t touch him. It was me unilaterally harassing him. He went to the US just to hide from me.”

“How could I give birth to such a bastard like you?!” Hearing his son being so shameless, Pei Yixin’s chest heaved with anger. He backhandedly threw the ashtray next to him. Pei Hao was smashed dizzy in an instant.

Pei Yixin thought he would dodge, but unexpectedly, he knelt there motionless and took the hit, letting blood stream down his forehead.

“I’m the cheap one, it has nothing to do with him.” Pei Hao lowered his head dejectedly. Blood ran down the side of his face, and he tasted a hint of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Pei Yixin’s anger had subsided a bit after throwing the ashtray, but hearing Pei Hao say this made him even angrier. He grabbed a stick in the house and beat him again.

By the time Pei Yixin had vented his anger, he realized Pei Hao’s lips were pale and he was about to faint. Only then did he hurriedly call someone to send Pei Hao to the hospital.

This was the first time Pei Hao had been beaten into the hospital by his dad. In the past, no matter what mistake he made, the old man knew how to measure his strikes, and his mom was there to stop him. But this time, Pei Yixin seemed possessed, hitting him with almost all his strength, as if wishing he could beat him to death.

If this could make the old man feel better, then let him hit. After all, as a gay man, he probably wouldn’t live up to their expectations in this life.

If he just left like this, maybe it would be a good thing. The old man wouldn’t be disappointed anymore, Mo Xi wouldn’t be pestered by him anymore, and he wouldn’t have to worry about unrequited love every day.

It would be a relief for everyone.

But he still woke up groggily and saw Song Wanqin guarding anxiously by the hospital bed.

Pei Hao’s first words were, “Mom, I’m sorry.”

In this life, he was most sorry to three people: Xiao Xi, the old man, and his mom. Coincidentally, they were the people who loved him the most.

Hearing this, Song Wanqin turned her face away, her eyes brimming with tears.

“I am unfilial.” Pei Hao slowly propped himself up from the bed, aching all over, and sat withered at the head of the bed.

Song Wanqin slowly turned her head back, wiped away her tears, and said, “Don’t think like that. It can be changed.”

“It can’t be changed. It’s innate.”

Song Wanqin covered her eyes, and a string of tears flowed down silently again.

When the nurse came in, she saw both mother and son with red eyes, and the silence in the ward was very eerie.

“Auntie, don’t be sad,” the nurse comforted. “Your son’s injuries aren’t fatal. He’ll be fine after resting in the hospital.”

Song Wanqin nodded with a bitter smile.

“Come, patient, let’s take your temperature.”

After the nurse left, Song Wanqin calmed down and took out the bone soup she had made for her son.

Pei Hao wanted to drink it himself, but as soon as he raised his hand, the pain made the corner of his mouth twitch.

Song Wanqin’s face instantly darkened, and she blamed resentfully, “He hit too hard!”

She had just woken up in the hospital that day when she heard that Pei Hao had been beaten into the hospital by his father. The examination report came out showing injuries all over his body. Her son had already passed out on the hospital bed, with blood stains on half of his face and purple lips.

Who beats their son like this? It’s not like beating an enemy!

She threw a tantrum that day and had a fight with Pei Yixin. Even when Pei Yixin took the initiative to make peace today, she ignored him.

“Mom,” Pei Hao was still concerned about Mo Xi, and probed, “Will Dad do anything to the boy in the photo?”

“You’re actually still thinking about him? His name is Mo Xi, right?” Song Wanqin looked thoughtful, narrowed her eyes, and asked him, “Did he pursue you actively before?”

“No, I pursued him actively. I flirted with him first.” Pei Hao’s heart skipped a beat. If they knew Mo Xi made the first move, that would be disastrous.

Then in their eyes, Mo Xi would be the culprit of everything.

“When did you… discover that you like… men…” Song Wanqin wanted to ask when he discovered he liked boys, but she stammered and couldn’t say it. In the end, she still couldn’t accept the fact that her son was homosexual.

“Junior high.”

Song Wanqin frowned and closed her eyes as if suddenly stabbed by something.

After a brief silence, she spoke: “Your dad said what he does depends on your performance.”

The meaning was very obvious: he would use Mo Xi to threaten and restrict his actions. In other words, if he didn’t obey, Mo Xi would suffer.

Although his dad couldn’t control everything under heaven, causing some small stumbling blocks for Mo Xi to make his life harder was completely no problem.

“As long as Dad doesn’t touch him, I’ll do anything, except getting married.” Pei Hao lowered his head and sighed heavily.

He knew he had no right to choose now. Without the company, he had no money and no status, just like a useless person. The old man was angry now. As long as he didn’t touch Mo Xi, he could slowly find opportunities for other things later.

This was a delaying tactic.

“Rest well and recover from your injuries. I’ll talk to your dad.” Song Wanqin blew on the soup in the spoon and gently fed it to Pei Hao’s mouth.

Seeing Pei Hao swallow it, Song Wanqin added, “Also, you are not allowed to go to the US this year.”

“Okay.”