I can still salvage it chapter 46

Destiny

Shen Changhe and Su Ying watched Shen Mian’s tear-streaked face and felt their hearts being twisted.

They had always been excessively doting on their child. When Shen Mian was young and slightly weak, they held him in their arms like a little kitten. When he was sick, they stayed up all night, and each cry from Shen Mian felt like a knife cutting into their hearts.

Fortunately, as Shen Mian grew up, he became lively and healthy. Although his grades were a bit poor, they didn’t think it was a big deal. As long as Shen Mian could live happily and contentedly, that was enough.

That’s what they always believed. They just wanted their child to be happy.

Su Ying’s eyes turned red. She no longer cared about documents or the law firm. Her body swayed, her high heels on the floor, losing the usual air of authority, instead appearing fragile and pale.

Where did they go wrong? She wondered.

Her two adorable children, why did they have to cause her such embarrassment?

She didn’t want to lose control like Shen Changhe, and she didn’t even want to say harsh words to Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian.

She wiped away the tears from her eyes, walked over, and looked at those two boys who were now taller than her. She asked almost imploringly, “Tell Mom, was it just a momentary foolishness or are you truly unwilling to separate?” It felt like she was sitting at a negotiation table, except the ones across from her were her own children. “If you admit your mistake, we can pretend this never happened.”

In that moment, she couldn’t help but pray in her heart, praying that Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian would obediently admit their mistake and let her know that they were sorry, not steadfastly going down the wrong path.

But no one admitted their mistake.

She heard Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian almost speaking at the same time.

Shen Mian said, “Mom, I really like Pei Zhiyi.”

And Pei Zhiyi said, “Aunt Su, I can’t be without Mian Mian.”

That statement infuriated Shen Changhe once again, causing another pang in his heart, and he gasped for breath.

Su Ying’s eyelashes trembled.

With red eyes, she looked at those two children for a long time before finally squeezing out a sentence from her throat, “You two are so stupid.”

Could it have been avoided?

She had watched Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian grow up, thinking that they would be lifelong good brothers, but those two children were secretly lovers.

Now that it had been accidentally exposed, their expressions made them appear as if they were villains.

The Shen family was usually full of light, with laughter echoing through the house. The family would chat and the atmosphere was warm.

But that day, the Shen family was silent. The lights in the courtyard were off, and the shadows of the trees swayed, evoking a sense of desolation.

The living room was bright, but the atmosphere was tense, as cold as an icy winter. Shen Changhe and Su Ying sat on the sofa, while Pei Zhiyi and Shen Mian stood in front of the French windows, not speaking, not holding hands, but also not separating.

It wasn’t until Yu Lian received a phone call and rushed back that the suffocating atmosphere in the living room slightly eased.

She hugged Su Ying, didn’t say anything, and just apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Su Ying sighed. She had heard “I’m sorry” enough that day.

“What is there to apologize for?” she whispered. “No one owes me an apology. They owe it to themselves.”

Yu Lian patted Su Ying’s shoulder, exchanged a few more words, and then stood up to take Pei Zhiyi away.

Pei Zhiyi knew in his heart that right then, it was best not to defy the parents’ wishes. But when he glanced at Shen Mian, his feet couldn’t move.

The two of them had spent the whole afternoon under the watchful eyes of Su Ying and Shen Changhe. He couldn’t console Shen Mian or assure him that he would find a solution.

And now, as he was about to leave, Shen Mian could only look at him in despair, his eyes red and pitifully worn out. He clearly didn’t want to let go, but he couldn’t say a word. He could only steal a few more glances.

Pei Zhiyi had never hated himself more for not having matured enough. He shouldn’t have been exposed at that time; he hadn’t had the chance to protect Shen Mian. Now they were like two small boats in the sea, one big wave could shatter them to pieces.

Unable to resist, he gently touched Shen Mian’s face whose cheeks were particularly cold due to the tears.

Then he glanced at Yu Lian, not immediately following her but instead walked to the living room and bowed to Su Ying and Shen Changhe.

He remembered when he used to watch soap operas with Su Ying as a child, the male lead would kneel to propose to the female lead. But when faced with this day himself, he realized that even kneeling to beg for understanding was biased. Because he wasn’t a stranger from the streets; he was the child who had been protected by the Shen family since he was young. Once he knelt down, he would continue stabbing Su Ying and Shen Changhe in the heart.

“Aunt Su, Uncle Shen, I know you definitely hope that Mian Mian and I will separate. Maybe you’ll transfer him to another school or maybe you’ll want me to go abroad. You will think that as long as we don’t see each other, over time we won’t be able to endure it and eventually break up. But Aunt and Uncle, even if you temporarily separate us, I will always find him.”

Pei Zhiyi felt that he was shameless. He clearly saw the sadness in Su Ying’s and Shen Changhe’s eyes.

“I fell in love with him when I was fifteen. Every day since then, I’ve been fantasizing about being with him. When I was sixteen, seventeen, and now eighteen, I was thinking about how to get him. I thought about going to the same university as him in the future. Wherever Shen Mian goes to study, I’ll go with him. When we reach university, I’ll buy a house for both of us. He likes cats, so I’ll let him raise cats. After class, I’ll cook for him, accompany him to watch new anime, and travel to the sea in the summer. And in a few more years, I’ll marry him abroad, and we won’t ever be separated again. I will be his support, his wings. He won’t have to grow up his whole life because I’ll always be by his side.”

That could be said to be his lifelong dream.

Other people’s dreams might be work, academia, or traveling the world.

But his dream and desire, from beginning to end, was always Shen Mian.

So in the end, he couldn’t hold back. He knelt on one knee in front of Su Ying and looked at her with honesty and sincerity. He was slightly shorter than Su Ying, resembling a child once again, looking up at her.

He saw Su Ying cry, and he couldn’t help but feel his eyes moisten as well. He had lost his former maturity and composure.

“Aunt Su, I will treat Mian Mian better than anyone else.” He looked at Su Ying openly and earnestly. “I really love him.”

He was still too despicable, using any means necessary to take advantage of the softness in the hearts of the adults.

And upon seeing that, Shen Mian finally couldn’t hold back anymore and ran over to kneel beside Pei Zhiyi.

He didn’t know what to say; he could only helplessly look at his own parents.

Su Ying covered her eyes with one hand and finally couldn’t resist anymore, bursting into uncontrollable sobs.

Shen Changhe embraced her shoulder, unsure of what to do, and turned his face away, refusing to look at those two heartbroken children.

Su Ying choked up and asked Shen Mian, “But you are two boys, right? Mian Mian, should I not have raised you as a boy…?”

She couldn’t blame anyone else; in the end, she could only blame herself.

Shen Mian cried even more miserably than her and kept apologizing while holding her.

It was supposed to be a joyful and peaceful New Year, with the outside filled with celebration. But the Shen family had become a mess.

.

In the end, Pei Zhiyi went home with Yu Lian.

Shen Changhe and Su Ying were also tired, and they knew that issue couldn’t be resolved overnight.

Su Ying said to Pei Zhiyi, “You and Mian Mian should separate for a while. This is the condition I have.”

Pei Zhiyi had no choice. He glanced at Shen Mian for a while, and Shen Mian looked at him pleadingly.

He had to agree, “Alright, we’ll separate for a while.”

But he didn’t say how long they would be apart, and neither did Shen Changhe and Su Ying. It seemed like an untouchable topic.

.

Yu Lian remained silent throughout the evening. She hadn’t expressed any opinions, whether it be scolding or demands. She quietly led her son into the car.

It was a busy time during the New Year, with many people on the road. Everyone seemed lively and cheerful, parents taking their children out to play, and the children holding balloons in their hands. Everywhere was filled with festive red.

Only the inside of the car was cold and desolate.

After a while, Yu Lian heard Pei Zhiyi ask, “Do you also think we are unforgivable?”

His voice was flat and calm, without any fluctuations, as if he was speaking absentmindedly.

But tears streamed down Yu Lian’s face.

Unforgivable, what a severe word.

She almost thought that Pei Zhiyi deliberately chose such a word to make her feel guilty. But when she looked at Pei Zhiyi, she knew he was sincerely asking.

But that made her even more upset.

After a long time, she gently shook her head.

“No, I don’t think so, but parents need time.”….

For several consecutive days, Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi didn’t see each other. They didn’t dare to provoke their parents, especially Su Ying and Shen Changhe, during that critical period.

Shen Mian’s phone was confiscated, so he didn’t know that Pei An rushed back from out of town after receiving the news, and the conflict between the father and son was far more intense than at his home.

Although Pei Zhiyi didn’t get along with his father, he didn’t fight back when his father got angry and hit him. In the end, it was his mother who bandaged him.

But he clearly wasn’t someone who would obediently listen.

With bandages on his face, he looked up at Pei An and said, “You haven’t taken care of me since I was a child, and now that it’s too late you want to control me. I swore to be with Shen Mian for the rest of my life. Unless you kill me, I will go to him no matter where it is, whether it’s in the north or south.”

Pei An’s veins bulged, and he wished he could really kill that wicked child. But when he saw Pei Zhiyi’s indifferent face, he felt exhausted and deflated.

In the end, Yu Lian put an end to the war between father and son.

Although she had divorced Pei An , their divorce wasn’t particularly ugly, so they still maintained some friendship over the years.

She was also exhausted those past few days. After closing the door on Pei Zhiyi, she said to Pei An, “Enough, stop causing trouble. Don’t you know your son? Even if you break his legs, he will still go to find Shen Mian someday.”

Pei An tried to stay calm, staring at the closed door and asking, “So what are you planning? Are you really going to let them be together?”

Yu Lian didn’t know either.

In fact, there was a moment when she truly wanted to let it go.

Pei Zhiyi liked Shen Mian, and Shen Mian liked Pei Zhiyi. It didn’t harm anyone, so who was it really bothering?

But in the end, she just wearily shook her head.