Chapter 32#

Chapter 32: Extra €€ Seven

It took a week of lying in the hospital before Pei Hao could use his hands to eat normally. During this period, Pei Yixin only visited him once, and that was because Song Wanqin forced him to go.

When Song Wanqin went out to find the doctor, the father and son sat in the ward staring at each other, the scene awkward for a moment. Later, when the doctor came in to check the leg injury, Song Wanqin deliberately asked Pei Yixin to lend a hand, and only then did he reluctantly touch Pei Hao.

Pei Hao knew the old man’s stubborn temper too well. If he didn’t proactively give him a way out, the old man would absolutely never bow his head first. So, while the old man was helping to lift his leg, Pei Hao whispered a thank you.

The old man immediately let go of Pei Hao’s plaster-cast leg and snorted with a hint of disdain, but the expression on his face softened a bit.

After that, hearing that something happened at the company, Pei Yixin was busy flying back and forth to meet clients and didn’t appear at the hospital for a long time.

However, others who heard that Pei Hao was hospitalized came to visit. Pei Hao turned away those he wasn’t familiar with, only telling the hospital address to friends like Dan Ge.

On the day Fu Yan came, it was drizzling outside. Pei Hao looked through the window at the gloomy sky. Raindrops flowed down the eaves in fine, dense streams, weaving a gray net that shrouded the hospital. At this time, the hospital’s main avenue was empty. Closing his eyes, one could hear the ticking sound of rain hitting the window glass, like percussion music, a bit dull. Just as Pei Hao was getting sleepy, he saw Fu Yan knock and enter, wearing simple casual clothes and holding a bouquet of flowers.

Fu Yan had always been good-looking. Unlike Pei Hao’s sharp and unruly demeanor, he always carried an aura of a modest gentleman, standing tall like a jade tree. No matter how jealous people were of him, once they saw his smiling eyes, they had to admit that this person was so gentle that you couldn’t hate him.

In middle school, Pei Hao was a bit of a troublemaker, disobeying teachers and not liking to interact with people. Coupled with a face that attracted girls, many people found him disagreeable. Fu Yan was the peacemaker who appeared during his rebellious phase, taking him to play with classmates and covering for him when trouble arose.

Pei Hao was very lazy; he couldn’t be bothered to care about others’ opinions or worry about others’ affairs, but he was willing to do many things for Fu Yan. Undoubtedly, Fu Yan was once very special in his heart.

But he didn’t know when Mo Xi gradually appeared in his field of vision€€a boy acting silly€€who couldn’t play basketball but insisted on joining the basketball team, didn’t like Japanese but insisted on signing up for Japanese classes, and often stared straight at Pei Hao for a long time, making no secret of the affection in his heart.

His nature of being fearless when liking someone, charging forward recklessly, and appearing in front of you every few days really made it impossible for Pei Hao not to notice.

On the day he confessed, Pei Hao had an important basketball game. There were hundreds of spectators that day, but he spotted Mo Xi in the crowd at a glance€€wearing their team’s jersey and a white headband with “Winner” written on it, a standard “chunibyo” teenager. Every time Pei Hao scored a basket, he danced with excitement, happier than if he had won himself. After the game ended and they won by two points, teammates called Pei Hao to celebrate with a meal. He looked up at Mo Xi, who hadn’t managed to squeeze in to talk to him, and said, “I need to find someone, you guys go ahead.”

When Mo Xi confessed, Pei Hao was actually blooming with joy inside. If he had to trace back when he started to have feelings for Mo Xi, it was probably then. That day was very hot, and a thin layer of sweat seeped out on Mo Xi’s skin. The sunlight reflected white light on the soft fuzz on his face, and his eyelashes fluttered. Pei Hao involuntarily pulled the person into his arms, and that person suddenly blushed shyly.

Later, a guy named Xu was interested in Mo Xi. Pei Hao accidentally saw his hand on Mo Xi and suddenly felt a burst of anger. Every pore on his body screamed jealousy, wishing he could break that person’s hand.

He had long been attracted to Mo Xi, but his brain might have been run over by a car at the time.

During the few years they were together, Mo Xi was too good to him, so good that he thought no matter how willful he was, Mo Xi wouldn’t leave. So he often had no scruples and acted recklessly.

But hearts are made of flesh. Someone offered a sincere heart, but he trampled it into the dust. When he hit rock bottom and bounced back, he finally came to his senses and understood how to feel heartache and regret for that person, but that person had long disappeared without a trace.

The rain outside the window gradually stopped, and the sky cleared up. Pei Hao withdrew his blank gaze, turned his head, and simply greeted Fu Yan standing at the door: “You came?”

If it were a few years ago, knowing that Fu Yan was coming specifically to visit him, Pei Hao would have been excited for hours in advance. But today, he had forgotten that Fu Yan was coming to see him. Just like half a month ago, when he put the matter of Fu Yan’s wedding to the back of his mind.

“Are you okay?” Fu Yan glanced at Pei Hao, who was standing by the window looking sad, put the flowers on the hospital table, and found a chair to sit down.

“I’m alright.” Pei Hao struggled to sit up from the bed, letting out a hiss because he pulled on the wound on his leg.

Seeing this, Fu Yan quickly stepped forward to support Pei Hao and asked carefully, “Why did Uncle hit so hard?”

“I came out, forced to.” Pei Hao shrugged casually, his eyes full of disdain. “Thanks to Miss Zhao.”

“Came out? The Zhao family?” Fu Yan was startled. He only heard that Pei Hao was beaten into the hospital by his dad, but he knew nothing about the ins and outs of the matter. Now hearing it was related to the Zhao family, he felt even more confused.

Pei Hao rubbed his temples and said in a deep voice, “I’ll explain later, I have a headache now.”

“Shall I call the doctor for you?”

“No need, I just don’t want to talk about this person for the time being.” Pei Hao waved his hand. If it weren’t for Zhao Yixuan, these things wouldn’t have happened. Now mentioning this person’s name still made him feel irritable. If the other party were a man, he could beat him up after he recovered, but the other party happened to be a woman.

This was the first time in his life Pei Hao had a grudge against a woman, and he hadn’t figured out how to deal with it yet.

Fu Yan knew Pei Yixin and had known since childhood that this uncle was not easy to deal with. Pei Hao was actually forced to come out, so his life in the future would definitely be difficult. He looked worried: “Then what do you plan to do later?”

“What to do? Just deal with it.” Pei Hao sneered self-mockingly, paused, and then his voice gradually became clear: “First stabilize the old man so he doesn’t disturb Xiao Xi. Then, I’ll think of a way to leave the company or even leave City X myself.” He thought for a moment, a strange glint flashing in his eyes, and affirmed, “No matter what, I must get rid of the old man’s control.”

“Is this matter related to Xiao Xi?” Fu Yan was stunned. If he remembered correctly, the two of them had been broken up for almost two years.

“Yeah. It’s mainly me, often shamelessly flying to the US to peek at him, and my dad found out.”

Fu Yan was slightly stunned and couldn’t speak for a moment. He knew Pei Hao liked Mo Xi before, but the fact that he still often flew to peek at him two years after breaking up exceeded his understanding of Pei Hao.

Pei Hao had always been cold and didn’t consider others’ thoughts when doing things. To put it nicely, he had his own ideas; to put it harshly, he was very self-centered. In high school, Pei Hao jokingly confessed to him once and was rejected, and then that person never mentioned it again or showed anything. He really couldn’t imagine that someone like Pei Hao, who was proud, unruly, and didn’t care about anything, would one day truly keep someone in his heart for so many years.

“Does this not seem like me?” Pei Hao sat at the head of the bed and smiled lonely, and as he smiled, a layer of mist seemed to rise in his eyes: “I guess I won’t be able to forget him in this life.”

Fu Yan sat in the chair not knowing how to reply. No wonder Dan Ge always shouted before that Pei Hao was hopeless. Today he understood that this person had really fallen for Mo Xi.

However, as an outsider, he couldn’t do anything but comfort Pei Hao appropriately. As for whether Pei Hao and Mo Xi could have a future, it all depended on fate.

The two chatted for a while, and Fu Yan’s wife called, saying there was a gathering in the evening. Seeing it was getting late, Fu Yan said goodbye to Pei Hao.

As soon as he went out into the corridor, he saw Song Wanqin sitting on a chair waiting for him with a smile, waving at him:

“Xiao Yan, come here, Auntie wants to ask you a few things.”

When he and Pei Hao were in school, the two families were neighbors. Because he and Pei Hao had a good relationship, Song Wanqin had always taken extra care of him.

Fu Yan figured that what Song Wanqin wanted to ask was mostly related to Pei Hao coming out. He didn’t know how much Pei Hao had confessed, so he didn’t really want to talk to Song Wanqin about this. Moreover, maybe he was the first person Pei Hao confessed to; how could he talk about that?

“Auntie!” Although reluctant in his heart, Fu Yan bit the bullet and walked to Song Wanqin’s side, saying, “Ask away.”

Song Wanqin pulled him to sit next to her. This time she didn’t engage in small talk but went straight to the point: “Pei Hao has grown so big, and his dad and I have been busy with this and that and haven’t managed him properly. Sigh, look, you’re married, but he has never brought a girlfriend home. We are very anxious.”

Fu Yan nodded while listening, expressing understanding.

“Actually, his dad and I might not understand Pei Hao as well as you do. Many times we don’t know what he’s thinking, and we blame ourselves for not spending time on him before.”

“Don’t say that, he’s living quite well.”

You never let him worry about money, sent him to the best schools and hospitals, and supported whatever he wanted to do as best you could. Moreover, sexual orientation is something you can’t change no matter how hard you try.

Fu Yan thought this in his heart but dared not say it out loud.

“You grew up together. Do you know what kind of girls Pei Hao likes?” Song Wanqin still wouldn’t give up; she didn’t believe her son never liked girls.

Their generation had a set of values held for decades. How easy could it be for them to suddenly accept that their child was homosexual?

Fu Yan sighed in his heart but pretended to think on the surface: “I’m not sure about the specifics. He seems never to have had a girlfriend.”

Song Wanqin lowered her head gloomily after hearing this. Fu Yan couldn’t see what was in her eyes.

“Then… was Pei Hao very close to a boy named Mo Xi in college? What is this person like?”

Actually, this was Song Wanqin’s purpose for finding him today. She was just very curious about what kind of person made her son like him for so many years as if possessed, and even after breaking up, still shamelessly flew to the US to see him often.

And Fu Yan was someone she watched grow up, so his words were naturally more reliable than those outsiders.

“Mo Xi,” Fu Yan hesitated slightly awkwardly and said, “Although we didn’t interact much, from what I saw, he’s just a very simple boy, without schemes, and very considerate of others.”

Song Wanqin listened very carefully with her ear turned. After Fu Yan finished speaking, she sat and thought for a while, then looked up and asked: “Did Pei Hao provoke…” She suddenly realized something halfway through, stopped, looked at Fu Yan, and said, “I mean, how did they meet?”

“I’m not clear about this.” Fu Yan pretended to be confused, touched the back of his head, and shook his head.

“Oh, is that so.” Song Wanqin patted Fu Yan’s shoulder, finally with a smile at the corner of her mouth, and asked about Fu Yan’s daily life: “Just got married, are you used to it?”

“Pretty good, just visiting various relatives in the first week,” Fu Yan raised his hand to look at his watch, “I have to go to her uncle’s house later.”

“Oh, then don’t delay.” Song Wanqin hurriedly stood up and pointed to the hospital exit, “Go quickly, go quickly!”

“Okay, Auntie. I’ll leave first then.” Fu Yan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, bowed slightly to Song Wanqin, and strode away.

Walking and sighing: Pei Hao, this is as much as I can help you.