Chapter 35

In the following time, Shang Mu was completely confused.

He watched his vote count increase by one, placing him in first place. He saw the resentful look in the headquarters design director's eyes, heard the enthusiastic applause, the host's closing remarks, and the Deep Ocean Blue was placed in a transparent, luxurious jewelry box.

When a reporter came to interview him, he was unable to speak, so his assistant went to make another appointment with the reporter.

In the crowd, the designer who won second place excitedly hugged his family, and his mother said she was proud of him.

Shang Mu felt as if the world was separated by a veil, so light and unreal that everything seemed to be a beat slower.

Suddenly someone grabbed his wrist. He looked up in confusion and saw Cheng Yunxuan standing in front of him.

"What's the matter?" Cheng Yunxuan said gently, "Why are you in a daze? Let's go out."

Shang Mu's throat was dry, and he called out, "Auntie."

He asked again, "Why are you here?"

Cheng Yunxuan said, "The organizer invited me to be a special guest, and I can even buy beautiful jewelry. I love this kind of event the most."

"You won first place not because of my vote, but because the necklace you designed is so beautiful."

Shang Mu was stunned and didn't say anything.

Cheng Yunxuan took his wrist and walked out, smiling, "Wangchuan called me on the way here. His surgery was successful and he's on his way here. He should be here soon."

Shang Mu followed her out. The warmth on his wrist reminded him of that early summer when his senior had taken his wrist and led him out of the alley filled with blood and darkness.

The lights were just coming on, and the crowds were thronging. A black car pulled up to the curb. Zhou Wangchuan pushed the door open and got out, smiling and calling out, "Mom."

Cheng Yunxuan said: "The operation was successful, congratulations!"

She took Zhou Wangchuan's hand again, passed Shang Mu's hand over, and put their hands together. She smiled and said, "Xiao Mu is so happy that he can't speak. Go ask him."

Zhou Wangchuan smiled and took Shang Mu's hand, put his arm around his shoulders, and squeezed gently: "Don't worry, Mom."

Cheng Yunxuan took out two red envelopes from her handbag: "Congratulations to you two."

Zhou Wangchuan took the red envelope. Cheng Yunxuan glanced at the car and driver across the street and said, "I have a party to attend, so I won't disturb you young people from dating."

"Mom, it's cold today, don't catch a cold." Zhou Wangchuan opened the car door for her and handed her the coat from the back seat, saying with concern, "Call me if you have anything."

"Don't worry." Cheng Yunxuan smiled gently, lowered the car window, and the car slowly drove away.

After watching the car disappear, Zhou Wangchuan turned around and saw Shang Mu still standing there in a daze with a confused expression.

Zhou Wangchuan hugged him in amusement and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong? You've become dull."

Shang Mu slowly came back to his senses, looked at him, and his lips moved.

Zhou Wangchuan rubbed his face, ruffled his hair out of impatience, and laughed: "Fried cat."

Shang Mu finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse: "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What should I tell you?" Zhou Wangchuan rubbed his hair again and asked in surprise, "You're not angry?" In the past, Shang Mukei took great care of his hairstyle, and would frown and look at him coldly if it was a little messed up.

Shang Mu stared at him depressedly, his eyes gradually turning red.

"Oh, don't cry. I was wrong." Zhou Wangchuan apologized quickly.

"Who's crying?" Shang Mu glared at him, took a step forward and buried his face in his shoulder.

Zhou Wangchuan put his arm around his back and patted him gently: "Okay. Let me take you to celebrate. What do you want to eat tonight?"

"Whatever." Shang Mu said sullenly.

After Shang Mu calmed down, the two got in the car. Zhou Wangchuan handed over the red envelope: "My mom gave it to you to celebrate your first place."

Shang Mu took the red envelope and put it in the inner pocket of his coat.

Traffic was heavy, so Zhou Wangchuan wasn't driving fast. He remembered something, tilted his head, and asked with a smile, "Did you open the red envelope your parents gave you when I first brought you home for the New Year?" He still remembered the note in Shang Mu's drawer. "I felt like opening it would confirm our status."

Shang Mu reached out, tugged at his tie, and said, "I bought your tie with the money in the red envelope."

Zhou Wangchuan shook his disruptive hand and said with a smile, "The status is finally confirmed."

Shang Mu remained silent.

On the morning of the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, news of Shang Mu's father's death came from the nursing home. Shang Mu was shopping for ingredients at the fresh food supermarket with Zhou Wangchuan when he received the news. He calmly hung up the phone.

Zhou Wangchuan immediately contacted someone and took full charge of all matters at the sanatorium.

On New Year's Eve, after the family had finished their New Year's Eve dinner, Cheng Yunxuan gestured to Zhou Wangchuan to go upstairs with her amid the singing and dancing on TV.

Cheng Yunxuan sat down on the sofa in the bedroom, and Zhou Wangchuan knelt on one knee beside her legs as usual. That year, Cheng Yunxuan was seriously ill and unconscious in the ICU of the hospital. Zhou Wangchuan got used to lying by her bedside to watch over her, and this habit has not changed over the years.

"Mom," he asked, "what's wrong?"

Cheng Yunxuan touched his hair and said gently, "Baby, Mom is really proud of you. You are a great doctor." She knew Zhou Wangchuan's original intention of studying medicine.

Zhou Wangchuan said, "Mom, as long as you and Dad are healthy, I have nothing to worry about."

Cheng Yunxuan patted his shoulder gently, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "I heard... Xiao Mu's father passed away today? Although he was a bad man, he was his last relative after all."

Zhou Wangchuan understood what she meant. He thought of Shang Mu admitting that he had opened the red envelope, and he also understood what Shang Mu meant.

He comforted her: "Mom, we are his relatives too."

Cheng Yunxuan smiled and said slowly, "Please ask him if he is willing..."

She stopped there, but Zhou Wangchuan understood everything. He said, "He's willing."

Cheng Yunxuan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked a little nervous and said softly, "This is my first time too. You have to help Mom."

Zhou Wangchuan smiled and held her hand: "Don't worry, Mom, I'll go ask him right away."

Cheng Yunxuan remembered something and said with a smile, "We've been out for so long, and your dad only talks about finance and stocks and stuff like that. It's so boring. He and Xiao Mu can't get along. You should go check it out."

"OK."

Zhou Wangchuan returned to the living room and saw Shang Mu sitting on the sofa in a state of extreme discomfort. Shang Mu's eyes immediately turned to him, sending him a signal of both blame and help.

Zhou Wangchuan laughed muffledly and pulled him upstairs. When they reached the lightly closed bedroom door, Shang Mu seemed to have anticipated something and stopped.

"Didn't you say before that if you succeeded in the competition, you would let me give you a gift?" Zhou Wangchuan asked, "I'll give you a home, okay?"

Shang Mu looked a little nervous. He asked softly, "Will your mother like me?"

Zhou Wangchuan asked, "Who wouldn't like you?"

Shang Mu looked unconvinced. Zhou Wangchuan then became more specific: "She loves the jewelry and clothes you designed so much, and praises them to everyone she meets. How could she not like you?"

After a few minutes, Shang Mu calmed down and let Zhou Wangchuan pull his wrist and lead him into the bedroom.

A single syllable, the first intimate name uttered by a human child at birth, signifies home. A wandering child, with this single word, returns to his homeland. A weary bird returns to its nest, a ship docks.

The countdown to the Spring Festival Gala ended, the clock on the wall pointed to twelve o'clock, and fireworks bloomed outside the window.

His parents had already gone to bed. Amid the sound of fireworks, Shang Mu pulled Zhou Wangchuan out to the street.

So much happened in just one week. He won first place in a design competition, became the company's design director and editor-in-chief, and successfully transitioned from front-stage to behind-the-scenes. He waited for the evil man's death. He now had family he could rely on.

Shang Mu felt that everything was unreal. He was suspended in a vacuum, without any perception or pain.

And he has always had only one way to resolve it——

The punch was fast, fierce, and accurate, hitting his abdomen and heart. He missed her every moment. He was drinking poison to quench his thirst.

He needs sharp, pleasurable pain to remind him of the reality of the world.

In the flying snow, Zhou Wangchuan strode behind Shang Mu and held his shoulders: "Slow down."

Shang Mu shook off his hand and ran across the road. He didn't look at the road and a car brushed past his clothes.

Zhou Wangchuan was still in shock and quickly grabbed him: "What's wrong with you?"

Shang Mu irritably grabbed a handful of snow and slapped it on his face. His eyes were red and bloodshot, and he shouted, "I feel uncomfortable!"

As soon as he said this, he seemed to lose all his strength. He lay down in the foot-deep snow and said in despair, "Go away."

Zhou Wangchuan wanted to pull him up, but Shang Mu used all his strength to weld himself to the ground, allowing the heavy snow to fall all over his body.

Both of them were very good at fighting, but Zhou Wangchuan often thought that he would not be able to beat Shang Mu. Because Shang Mu always gave him no room for maneuver, but he had some concerns.

For example, now.

Zhou Wangchuan gave up trying to pull him and sat down next to him: "Let's go home and talk slowly. You'll catch a cold like this."

"There's nothing to say." Shang Mu closed his eyes and lay in the foot-thick snow. "I asked for that punch, but now I'm not satisfied. I want you to beat me up completely, but I know you won't agree. So, go away."

He opened his eyes again and said, "I'm not throwing a tantrum. You know I love you, and I don't want to embarrass you. I'm working on the problem. Maybe if I lie down for a while to cool down, I'll be fine."

Zhou Wangchuan was stunned when he suddenly heard those three words.

Shang Mu added: "I'm not angry with you, I just want to solve the problem. I don't want to quarrel with you on New Year's Eve. So, go away and let me cool down."

Zhou Wangchuan was completely unaccustomed to his calm and rational demeanor. The words "I love you" overwhelmed him. Zhou Wangchuan's mind became confused, and he simply lay down side by side with Shang Mu: "Okay."

The two of them lay in the snow, and people passing by gave them strange looks.

Shang Mu closed his eyes, feeling the snowflakes falling on his face, and murmured, "Senior."

"I understand you, really. I understood you in the past, but I've let it go now. Everyone has their bottom line. I know. I don't blame you."

The snow cooled his brain, and Zhou Wangchuan calmed down, realizing that his behavior of lying in the snow was absurd and childish. When it came to cheating, there was no way he could outsmart Shang Mu.

He sat up and went to help Shang Mu up: "Get up. Let's discuss the practice when we get home."

Shang Mu opened his eyes and looked at him, saying calmly, "I need a complete practice. I want you to feed me some stomach-injuring medicine, and then punch me in the stomach. This usually lasts about an hour. Not just one punch, but many, many punches."

Zhou Wangchuan insisted, "Let's talk about it when we get home. The floor is dirty, aren't you afraid of getting your clothes dirty?"

The trick that always works no longer works. The mysophobic person doesn't care about his clothes getting dirty or his hair getting messy.

Shang Mu said, "I know you can't accept it. It's okay. I won't force you. But you have to let me lie here. Whether it's a cold or a fever, it may cover up the pain of being bitten by ants all over my body."

Zhou Wangchuan looked into his eyes, wondering if he was playing hard to get. Those beautiful eyes, clean and clear, met his gaze quietly.

There really seems to be no extra emotions.

Zhou Wangchuan said, "Baby, you're forcing me. You know I can't let you lie here all night."

Shang Mu said sincerely: "No."

On previous occasions, he had used coquettishness, weakness, and scheming to gain Zhou Wangchuan's compromise. He had intended to take it slow. But now he had overturned the chessboard, and he was ready.

He wanted to be honest about everything, not to resort to those back-and-forth tactics. They were so close and in love, and it was only right that they should be so honest.

A thin layer of snow covered his face and hair. Zhou Wangchuan reached out to wipe it off for him and looked at him silently.

Zhou Wangchuan asked, "Where's your mind, you cunning little fox?"

Shang Mu said: "I have only a sincere heart towards you. I have no tricks."

Yes, he was still gambling, betting his entire sincerity. He was betting that Zhou Wangchuan would reveal his cards to him. He didn't want to take it slow.

Zhou Wangchuan listened to these sweet words and said helplessly in his heart, "This is really terrible."

He helped Shang Mu up and leaned him against his chest: "I have one condition."

Shang Mu blinked slowly, and pure white snowflakes fell from his eyelashes.

"You must tell me the whole story. What exactly led you to develop this hobby? Tell me everything. Don't hide anything."

Shang Mu leaned against his chest, his voice trembling with coldness, and said softly: "As long as you promise, I can tell you now."

Zhou Wangchuan hugged him tightly, remembering the last time he cheated, and he kissed Shang Mu's cold lips: "Don't cheat like last time, don't miss any details, tell me everything."

Shang Mu shrank in his arms: "When have I ever cheated?"

How unreasonable, Zhou Wangchuan thought. He hugged Shang Mu's waist and tried to stand up, but Shang Mu used all his strength to refuse to get up.

Zhou Wangchuan sighed softly in compromise: "Go home, I'll give you-"

He paused and finished his sentence: "Give you a complete practice."