Strawberry Pop Pop Pop chapter 13

Watching Ji Mu’s car drive away, Han Yang clenched the paper bag in his hand.

He turned around, and Wang Sheng, at some point, was standing behind him, placing his left hand on his shoulder. Han Yang’s heart suddenly raced, and the paper bag in his hand fell to the ground.

His breathing began to slow down and numbness crept in. He heard Wang Sheng’s faint voice, “Is this the same car from last time?”

Han Yang took a small step forward, avoiding Wang Sheng, and bent down to pick up his things.

Wang Sheng had a cigarette in his mouth and looked down at him from a high vantage point, exhaling a swirling cloud of smoke. “I told you, making rich friends doesn’t hurt.”

Unusually, he didn’t resort to violence with Han Yang this time. He turned and walked away, humming a tune.

Han Yang stared at his retreating figure, but he didn’t follow. It was Wang Sheng who suddenly stopped and smiled strangely. “Why are you standing there? Go back, isn’t this a farewell for you? Han Yang, it’s a good thing.”

…

That evening, Ji Mu’s phone received numerous missed calls. It kept ringing endlessly, like a desperate cry for help.

However, Ji Mu didn’t answer the phone because he had received a call from Gu Yuanchen on his way home, causing him to make an abrupt U-turn and head to the hospital. After arriving at the hospital, he accidentally thrown his phone on the ground and lost it.

In the hospital corridor, Gu Yuanchen was sitting, waiting for something. Gu Nuan was nestled in his arms, his eyes wet from crying. Gu Yuanchen gently touched his forehead with his, checking for a fever, and softly reassured him, “Don’t worry, we won’t get a shot.”

“Really, Dad? We won’t get a shot?” Gu Nuan was still worried, sniffing and wiping his tears on Gu Yuanchen’s shirt.

“No shot. If father lies to you, he’s a bad puppy.”

“You said the same thing last time…”

Hearing this father-son conversation, Ji Mu’s tense heart eased a bit. He walked over. “Yuanchen, what did the doctor say? Did Nuan eat something bad, or is he feeling unwell?”

Gu Yuanchen raised his head, his temples still slightly sweaty, indicating that he had been frightened earlier. He looked at Ji Mu and breathed a sigh of relief. “He vomited quite a bit of the cake he had after dinner. The doctor said some medicine will make him feel better.”

Gu Nuan, used to being pampered from a young age and accustomed to eating high-quality food, had never experienced such low-quality cake from a roadside stall. Although Han Yang had also eaten it, Gu Nuan’s stomach was far more sensitive than his.

“Dad…” As soon as Gu Nuan saw Ji Mu, tears welled up in his eyes, and he had always been a bit of a spoiled child. “Dad, I don’t feel well.”

Ji Mu’s hand was icy cold, and he didn’t dare to touch Gu Nuan. He had to rub his hands together to warm them up before he reached over and held Gu Nuan, letting him rest his chin on his shoulder as he gently patted his back. He felt so sorry for him.

Meanwhile, not far away, uncle Zhang, the driver, had already come over with a glass of warm water. “Mr. Gu, here’s some warm water for you.”

Gu Yuanchen thanked him, took the glass, and picked out a white pill from the medicine box. He said to Ji Mu, “Let Nuan take the medicine.”

Ji Mu sat down on a nearby chair and let Gu Nuan sit up in his lap. “Nuan, open your mouth.”

Tears welled up in Gu Nuan’s eyes again. “Is it very bitter?”

“Not at all.”

“I really can’t stand bitterness, Dad.”

Ji Mu, who had always spoiled his child, comforted him. “Be a good boy and take the medicine. Tomorrow, Dad will buy you lollipops from ‘Rabbit Castle.’ Okay?”

Gu Nuan’s eyes lit up, and he seemed to temporarily forget the stomachache. He asked with a sniffle, “Is it the soda-flavored one?”

“Any flavor you want,” Ji Mu said. He usually didn’t allow Gu Nuan to eat too much candy, but in times like these, principles could be set aside. When it came to disciplining Gu Nuan, he was firm where it mattered, but when it came to indulgence, he couldn’t resist.

Gu Nuan smiled through his tears, and a child’s mood could easily change for the better. “Then, I want to give half to my brother.”

On the other side,

In the house where Han Yang lived, only the living room light was on. Wang Sheng had lit his third cigarette, but he barely took a few puffs before crushing it into the ashtray.

Han Yang was hiding in his cluttered little room, sitting with his knees pulled up under the table. The left side of his face was slightly swollen, and one eye was temporarily blinded, making it difficult for him to see things clearly.

This situation continued until four in the morning when Li Li finished work and came home.

The smoky room displeased Li Li, so she opened the window to ventilate and scolded Wang Sheng, who was sleeping on the sofa. She walked over and lifted Wang Sheng’s thick blanket, discovering several torn pages of exercise books beneath him.

Her expression froze for a moment, then she turned and went into the small room, turning on the light.

There was no sign of Han Yang on the bed, but she found him crouched barefoot under the old desk. He seemed to have passed out, unresponsive to Li Li’s calls no matter how hard she tried.

The noisy sound attracted Wang Sheng’s irritated shouting. “What are you yelling about?”

“Wang Sheng, you scoundrel!” Li Li’s voice was grating, and she picked up Han Yang and struggled to carry him. She grabbed her phone and left the house.

Han Yang, dazed and confused, slowly opened his eyes. He had been carried by Li Li the whole way, and he was gradually regaining his senses.

Mother and son sat in the backseat of a taxi, and this was the first time Li Li had held Han Yang with warmth. Han Yang slowly opened his eyes, and he was surprised to see Li Li’s eye sockets were moist.

He wanted to respond but found his throat dry, unable to make a sound.

At seven in the morning, Han Yang and Li Li emerged from the hospital. In just a few days, Han Yang had been to the hospital for the second time.

Li Li stopped walking and waited for him. “Can you walk on your own?”

“I can.” Han Yang quickly caught up.

When they passed by a milk tea shop, Li Li paused for a moment and suddenly asked Han Yang, “Do you want some milk tea?”

“…”

“It’s… it’s really good,” Li Li said, rare words of casual conversation. Most of the time, she couldn’t be bothered to talk to Han Yang. Could it be that she was feeling sorry for him because Wang Sheng had been particularly harsh on him this time?

Han Yang couldn’t figure out Li Li’s thoughts, so he shook his head. “I can’t drink it.”

But Li Li bought it anyway, and Han Yang held the warm cup in his hand.

The two of them arrived at another breakfast shop, and Li Li ordered two bowls of wonton soup and a basket of steamed buns. She scooped some with a spoon and asked, “What happened last night?” She knew that Wang Sheng didn’t like Han Yang and often made life difficult for him, but he had never beaten Han Yang this severely before.

Han Yang’s eyelids drooped, and it seemed he didn’t intend to speak.

Li Li didn’t press him for answers; she was the kind of person who, even if she asked a single question, it was already a sign of concern. Even if he told her the truth, she wouldn’t do anything to Wang Sheng.

In such situations, Han Yang’s eyebrows were frozen in the cold of winter, and the February wind blew over him.

At the end of this winter vacation, today, Han Yang heard Li Li say, “Do you want to go back to your grandmother’s?”

Han Yang’s hand holding the spoon trembled, and he looked at Li Li in fear.

Going back to his grandmother’s meant going back to Han Yongnian.

Clearly sensing his fear, Li Li quietly shifted her gaze away, looking at nothing in particular as she said softly, “These past few days, Han Yongnian contacted me.”

“…”

“He told me to either give him a large sum of money, or send you back.” Li Li spoke as if she was sharing a funny joke, smiling to herself. Her youthful face was filled with wrinkles of worry, oppressed by the chains of the past, and she appeared increasingly gaunt.

For the first time, Han Yang responded so quickly, “He just wants money.”

“No, both he wants both you and the money. He’s in trouble, got beaten down there, and for the rest of his life, he might only have you as his child. In those remote villages, having no successors is a big deal. They finally remembered you,” Li Li sneered. “When they handed you over to me, it seemed like you were just my responsibility. Now they remember, not only do they want you back, but they also want me to pay child support.”

Is she out of her mind?

Li Li said this, and couldn’t help but take out a cigarette from her pocket, lighting it and taking two deep drags. It was as if this rough behavior could suppress the anger in her heart; otherwise, this fire would burn even more fiercely, dragging innocent people into it.

“I don’t have a marital relationship with Han Yongnian, and I don’t acknowledge this relationship.”

The steam rose from the bowl of wonton in Han Yang’s hand. These words took only a few seconds to reach his ears, but they stirred up a storm within him.

“He wants child support from me, and I won’t give him a dime. But I’ll give you a card, and I’ll have five hundred yuan deposited into it for you every month.”

“…”

So.

Li Li seemed calm but was actually restless. She crushed the cigarette butt with one hand. “You should go back.”

“…”

“I’ll divorce Wang Sheng, and I’ll leave this place to start anew somewhere where nobody knows me, where nobody can find me,” she looked at Han Yang, and the few tears that refused to fall still swirled in her eyes. “If you follow me, my life will always be a mess, and neither of us will have a good life.”

Li Li had her life, and Han Yang had his.

They were mother and son, but apart from the thread of blood, every other connection had been ruthlessly severed.

The wonton in the bowl grew cold, and the seaweed floating in the soup carried a greasy smell. The soup on Han Yang’s hand felt icy, just like the temperature in his palm.

In his pocket was the first page of the exercise book torn off last night, with Ji Mu’s contact information written on it.

But he couldn’t make that call anymore.

Even though opportunities sometimes came only once, Han Yang just couldn’t grasp them, nor was he allowed to.