Let Me Meet You chapter 32
The Other Child
Unconsciously, Sheng Min took a step back. Almost simultaneously, Li Mingge’s hand firmly pressed down on his shoulder blade, his sharp gaze like a bucket of ice water. Sheng Min snapped out of his shock.
He clenched his palm, bit his lip, and looked back at the woman in front of him. She was about the same age as Li Mingge, well-maintained, with delicate features that hinted at her youthful beauty. On the surface, she was an elegant woman—except for her eyes, which gleamed with near-manic intensity. They reminded Sheng Min of the fan who had once broken into his apartment at night wielding a knife.
He couldn’t recall much about that fan’s appearance, only the pale, frail arm adorned with a device resembling an ordinary Bluetooth bracelet—a specialized tracker for psychiatric patients. And now, standing before him, this woman wore an identical device on her dry, bloodless wrist.
“Son, son?”
Noticing Sheng Min’s hesitation, the woman’s nerves suddenly tightened, and she called out to him repeatedly.
“I…” Sheng Min opened his mouth, his throat dry. The smile on the woman’s face vanished in an instant as she grabbed his hand. The bag Sheng Min’ was holding fell to the ground.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking? Tell Mom, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“He’s fine.” Her sudden outburst seemed to be a familiar occurrence for Li Mingge. He stepped forward quickly, soothing her, “Shu Xin, look at me. The child is fine. Don’t overthink it.”
“What’s wrong? What’s going on with you? Are you having another episode… Is your father hiding it from me?”
Shu Xin completely ignored Li Mingge’s words. She held onto Sheng Min’s hand tightly, her nails digging into his flesh. The sharp pain immediately reminded Sheng Min of the scattered scars on Li Xuan’s body.
“I’m fine, really.” Sheng Min composed himself and forced a smile. Shu Xin, who was still visibly agitated despite Li Mingge’s repeated reassurances, miraculously calmed down upon hearing Sheng Min speak.
“Really fine?” She looked at Sheng Min, dazed.
“Yes,” Sheng Min met her gaze and said firmly, “Really fine.”
“Ah, fine… fine…” Shu Xin repeated the words over and over.
“See? I told you, the child is fine.” Li Mingge gently placed his arm around her shoulders. “He didn’t come back on Monday because he was revising his thesis at school… He missed you, so he even brought you a gift…”
Sheng Min picked up the bag that had fallen to the ground and handed it over. One corner of the ribbon had been soiled by a small patch of mud.
“A gift from my son!” Shu Xin beamed with joy and showed the bag to Li Mingge.
“That’s right,” Li Mingge said with a smile. “Our son has always been close to you. On the way back, he was just saying how much he wanted to eat your pork stomach chicken soup. Is it ready?”
“Pork stomach chicken soup…” Shu Xin paused, then shouted loudly, “Zhang Jie!”
“Yes, yes,” a short-haired woman, who had somehow appeared at the door, answered immediately.
“Is the food ready?”
“It’s ready. We can start eating soon,” she replied quickly but glanced nervously at Li Mingge.
“It’s ready. Come, let’s go inside and eat. You must be hungry, right? You must be starving. Let’s go. It’s so hot outside; you’re sweating. You can’t be too hot or cold, you know.”
Shu Xin clutched Sheng Min’s sleeve, dragging him across the courtyard and into the house. She was so eager that they stumbled along the way. Li Mingge and the housekeeper followed behind. The housekeeper murmured softly, “I wasn’t paying attention while cooking, and Madam just ran out…”
“We’ll talk later,” Li Mingge replied calmly, though he stepped forward swiftly to steady Shu Xin by her other arm. “Walk slowly. Don’t trip the child.”
Though Shu Xin looked frail, her grip was surprisingly strong. Sheng Min was dragged into the villa, his wrist bruised from her hold. The marks on his hand, turning blue and purple, were almost terrifying.
“Should we open the gift first? See what it is?” Sheng Min suggested, trying to free his hand.
Shu Xin was indeed distracted by the suggestion. She nodded but looked at him helplessly. “I can’t remember where the scissors are.”
“I’ll help you find them. Come, let the child rest for a while.” Li Mingge gently took her hand, successfully leading her away this time.
The housekeeper went to the kitchen, leaving Sheng Min alone in the spacious living room. He exhaled softly, taking a moment to observe his surroundings.
The Li family’s home featured a classic Chinese-style interior, with huanghuali wood furniture and calligraphy paintings on the walls. Though the standalone villa should have ample lighting, the perpetually drawn curtains left the house feeling gloomy. Perhaps it was the low temperature of the central air conditioning, but Sheng Min couldn’t shake off the chill. He gently rubbed his bruised wrist when a sudden sound of quarreling and a door slamming upstairs broke the brief silence.
“Li Xuan.” Sheng Min frowned and looked up. Li Mingge’s face suddenly appeared by the second-floor railing. “Come upstairs,” he said.
The second floor had four rooms. Li Mingge stood at the door of the second room from the left. Seeing Sheng Min approach, he knocked on the door. “Shu Xin, the child is here. Could you open the door?”
As he spoke, he stepped back, signaling for Sheng Min to step forward. The door opened just a crack, and Shu Xin’s face lit up with joy when she saw him.
“Come in, son,” she said, grabbing Sheng Min’s hand again. “Quickly, come in.”
Having learned from his earlier experience, Sheng Min did not show any hesitation and obediently entered the room. Shu Xin quickly shut the door behind him, effectively blocking Li Mingge outside.
“Here, help me put this up. I don’t want your father’s help; he doesn’t understand,” Shu Xin said, pressing a finely crafted, translucent spherical object into his hands. Nearby, a familiar gift bag lay discarded. It was likely the gift Li Mingge had asked him to bring back.
“Put it up, will you?” Shu Xin urged impatiently when Sheng Min didn’t move.
The room was a storage space but unlike a typical one. Besides a table and two chairs in the center, there was nothing else inside. However, the walls were entirely inlaid with blocks of oak wood, irregularly arranged at varying heights. Most of the blocks were adorned with items, while a few remained empty.
Directly in front of Sheng Min, the wall displayed an array of translucent spheres in different colors and sizes. The arrangement seemed familiar. After thinking for a moment, Sheng Min recalled a diagram in Li Xuan’s physics book—this was the solar system’s eight planets.
The entire wall consisted of planetary models arranged according to their positions in the solar system. Each group contained nine spheres, with most groups already complete. Only the topmost set had just the sun and the third planet in place.
“Son?” Shu Xin’s voice grew uneasy.
“Alright, I’ll do it,” Sheng Min said with a smile, reassuring her. He approached the wall with the model in hand.
These models appeared to be from different collections, with varying craftsmanship and designs. Sheng Min couldn’t tell what the one in his hand represented or where it belonged.
Given Shu Xin’s fragile mental state, Sheng Min didn’t want to provoke her further by making a mistake. The model felt heavier in his hand as he carefully examined her expression while pretending to chat casually.
The fifth or sixth spot, Sheng Min guessed.
He was too close to determine anything further, and as Shu Xin grew anxious because he had not placed the model in the correct position, Sheng Min made up his mind and placed it on one of the slots further back.
It seemed to be correct. Shu Xin didn’t say anything. She stared at the wall full of models with a dazed smile.
Sheng Min pressed his temples and quietly stepped back two steps. Confirming that her attention was no longer on him, he intended to open the door and let Li Mingge in. However, before he could reach the door, his gaze was drawn to a row of photos displayed on another wall.
They were family portraits, roughly over twenty in total, arranged chronologically. The parents aged from youthful to mature, and the child grew from an infant in swaddling clothes to a tall, handsome young man. Even in the dimly lit room, these could be considered warm memories—if not for the fact that, starting from a certain point, the child in the photos abruptly changed to someone else.
“Son.”
Sheng Min’s heart skipped a beat. Unnoticed, Shu Xin had silently approached him from behind.
“What are you looking at?” She still wore that enigmatic smile, her dry arms wrapping around his shoulders like seaweed around a submerged corpse. “Look at you when you were little, so cute and chubby.”
She reached out affectionately, brushing her fingers over one of the photo frames. The picture showed a completely unfamiliar boy, around 15 or 16 years old. From the facial features, it was clear that he was the child in the earlier photos, but after that point, he was suddenly replaced by Li Xuan.
Although both were tall and thin, Li Xuan looked nothing like the original boy. Placed side by side, the difference was striking. The first boy had a round, cheerful face, his features glowing with a smile, but his pale complexion still appeared somewhat unnaturally white even in the not-so-clear images.
In contrast, Li Xuan’s first appearance showed him looking younger and shorter, already bearing the sharp features he had now. He frowned in apparent annoyance at the camera.
As Shu Xin’s gaze followed Sheng Min’s, her eyes landed on the pictures. She seemed entirely unaware of the two children’s differences. “But my son has always been handsome…”
Her hand slid across the frames until it nearly touched Li Xuan’s picture. Instinctively, Sheng Min stopped her.
“Son?” Shu Xin looked at him with a hint of alarm.
Sheng Min couldn’t explain why, but he didn’t want her to touch Li Xuan or even his photo.
“I’m hungry,” he said, setting aside his chaotic thoughts for now and flashing a sincere smile. Luckily, acting was his forte. “Shall we eat first? Please?”