Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 32
Foolish For A Happier Life
Since turning sixty, Shan He had been waking up at around six in the morning like clockwork. On days when it wasn’t raining, he would take a stroll in the garden.
Xie Huaizhou’s grandmother had loved tinkering with flowers and plants. She used to fill the garden with flowers and colorful birds. Now that she was gone, Shan He had grown accustomed to the garden’s constant beauty: flowers blooming in all seasons, birds chirping melodiously, and the gentle sound of flowing water.
But today, as he walked into the garden, he found someone already seated under the pavilion.
The early summer dawn was still bright, with the sun not yet fully risen. The air was moist, and the person sitting there wore pure white pajamas with a bamboo-green robe draped over them, looking particularly thin in the breeze.
Shan He stared for a moment before recognizing him as Gu Jinyi.
“Why are you up so early, Xiao Gu?” he chuckled as he entered the pavilion. His tone was much gentler compared to when he spoke to Xie Huaizhou. “I’m old and can’t sleep, but you’re still young. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Gu Jinyi raised his head slowly upon hearing the voice, revealing a pale face and dry lips.
He hadn’t woken up early; he hadn’t slept at all.
After returning to his room last night, he couldn’t close his eyes. His mind was empty, and in the darkness, all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat.
When the sky began to lighten, he put on some clothes and came out.
But there was nothing to say about it. He slowly smiled at Shang He, “I woke up from a nightmare, couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a walk. Before I knew it, I ended up here.”
Shang He, observing his expression, first poured him a cup of hot tea and then asked the kitchen to bring two servings of breakfast.
“Did you have a bad dream?” He handed the teacup to Gu Jinyi, showing concern. Facing this young man who was always good-natured, he thought of his deceased wife and softened his tone unconsciously, “Sometimes, Huaizhou’s grandmother also had nightmares. After waking up, she couldn’t sleep and always ended up getting mad at me.”
From a young age until later, she seemed like a delicate lady, but she had quite a temper.
But he endured it all.
Looking at the pink and blue flowers in the yard, Shan He said to Gu Jinyi, “If Yajie were still here, she would be very happy to know that that brat Huaizhou has finally been taken care of.”
Gu Jinyi held the hot tea, took a few sips, and then set it down.
He could tell that Shan He had a deep emotional connection with Xie Huaizhou’s grandmother. Even though she was no longer here, Shan He still remembered her fondly.
He hadn’t had much experience with elders in his life, so he hadn’t seen this kind of lifelong love before. His mother and biological father’s relationship could only be considered a negative example.
He traced the pattern on the cup and asked Shan He, “Grandpa, have you ever quarreled with grandma?”
Shan He smiled, “Of course, we’ve quarreled. Which couple hasn’t?”
“Then how did you make up?”
“It wasn’t anything major, just a little argument. We just made up afterward.”
As he spoke, Shan He’s eyes became a bit melancholy. Even if he wanted to argue with Yajie again, he no longer had the chance now.
But then he thought, “why are you asking about this? Did you have a fight with Huaizhou?”
Gu Jinyi shook his head, “No.”
Seeing Shang He still looking suspicious, he added, “I just had some bad dreams. When I woke up, Huaizhou was still asleep, so I came out.”
Shang He was still somewhat doubtful but didn’t pry further.
He wasn’t much of a talker, but thinking of Xie Huaizhou, his troublesome grandson, he couldn’t help but say, “Jinyi, you’ll probably understand this when you reach my age, but quarrels or conflicts, there’s nothing insurmountable. Only life and death matter. If that person is gone, whether it’s to apologize or to say ‘I love you,’ you won’t have the chance anymore.”
Just like when he last stayed by Xie Huaizhou’s grandmother’s bedside, no matter how much he spoke to Yajie, he wouldn’t get a response.
“The first year after Xie Huaizhou’s grandmother passed away, I still bought roses on Valentine’s Day. But what’s the use? Where should I have sent them?”
Shang He said this calmly.
But Gu Jinyi heard the underlying sadness.
And he understood that kind of sadness.
Because he was someone who had experienced life and death. When he lay on the operating table, with only a 50% chance of waking up, his only wish was for the person he loved to hold his hand.
Thinking of this, he felt a sharper pain in his chest.
He didn’t know how to comfort Shang He, so he could only gently pat his shoulder, “Grandma will know.”
Shang He smiled and didn’t say anything more. Instead, he stood up and went to water the flowers in the garden.
More than ten minutes later, the kitchen was quick to deliver breakfast, with various dishes.
Gu Jinyi wasn’t hungry, but he couldn’t resist Shang He’s persuasion and ate a little.
The two of them were like an ordinary pair of grandfather and grandson. Although they had only known each other for a short time, chatting made time pass quickly.
After finishing breakfast, Shang He urged him to go back to his room to rest.
“Go and freshen up. You don’t look well at all,” Shang He patted him, “You need the energy. I’ll call you for lunch later.”
Gu Jinyi couldn’t refuse him and could only obediently stand up.
But as he was about to leave the pavilion, Shang He called out to him again.
He turned around, and Shang He looked at him with gentle eyes.
“Jinyi, if Huaizhou has upset you, tell me, and I’ll beat him up for you. I know my own grandson, he has a bad temper and doesn’t know how to soothe people.”
Gu Jinyi stood there for a moment. The sun had risen, and the bright sunlight made his complexion less pale.
But he smiled at Shang He and softly said, “Actually, Huaizhou is quite good at soothing people.”
Shang He looked incredulous.
Gu Jinyi didn’t say anything more, but instead asked Shang He, “Grandpa, is it sometimes better to be a bit foolish and not overthink things? Would that make us happier?”
Shang He didn’t understand the meaning behind Gu Jinyi’s words and just instinctively replied, “Probably.”
Gu Jinyi laughed.
He bid farewell to Shang He and turned to walk up the steps.
When he returned to his room, he happened to meet Xie Huaizhou, who had already gotten up and was going out to look for him.
His gaze swept across Xie Huaizhou’s face and found that Xie Huaizhou seemed a bit restless.
He took the initiative to say, “I woke up early and went to sit in the garden for a while. I met Grandpa and just had breakfast with him.”
Xie Huaizhou’s brows were still slightly furrowed, quietly observing Gu Jinyi’s expression, but couldn’t detect any obvious anomaly.
Gu Jinyi was indeed a bit tired.
“I think I’ll go back to sleep for a while,” he said to Xie Huaizhou, “wake me up for lunch later.”
Xie Huaizhou touched Gu Jinyi’s face, feeling a coldness.
He remained silent for a moment before saying, “Okay.”
Gu Jinyi then bypassed him and returned to the room, closing the door in front of him.
Xie Huaizhou stood in the corridor for a while. The hydrangeas under the eaves were blooming perfectly, pink and blue, particularly beautiful in the sunlight.
He leaned against the pillar for a while, his expression showing no signs of dejection, but in fact, he hadn’t slept all night.
He had been awake for as long as Gu Jinyi had been.
He opened his Ipad under the bright sunlight and sent a message to his secretary.
“Help me take out the things from Vault 7.”
…..
Gu Jinyi returned to bed but didn’t fall asleep quickly.
The scent of Xie Huaizhou’s pheromones filled the quilt, like an endless ocean, pressing down layer by layer.
He opened the Ipad in his hand again, and the last page was still paused on the training video of Xie Huaizhou at eighteen.
He spent the whole night watching Xie Huaizhou’s combat videos, contrasting them with the image of Fu Chen fighting in his memory.
But perhaps he had watched too much, and in the end, he couldn’t even distinguish between the two, even beginning to doubt his own memory.
Six years had passed.
Chu Xiaonian was already four years old.
Memories were the most fragile things.
When he looked at Xie Huaizhou’s sleeping face in the morning, he wondered why he was so fixated on comparing the images of these two people.
In the end, who could provide him with evidence?
The speculation itself was absurd enough.
Fu Chen from an unnamed planet, with pheromones so faint that only he could smell them, and Xie Huaizhou, born into a prominent family, a prodigy from childhood.
The gap between the two was as vast as the entire Milky Way.
Gu Jinyi’s fingers paused on the Ipad screen for a moment before he deleted the video.
Just like he had just asked Huaizhou’s grandfather, sometimes it was better to be a little foolish, then one might be happier.