Chapter 23

Mo Yousen lost two of his closest relatives in the first week of the new year. He couldn't imagine what kind of mental preparation Tang Miao had made on the day she jumped, and whether she was thinking of him in her heart?

Tang Tianlin's departure caused significant turmoil throughout the group and the stock market. Mo Guozheng seized the opportunity to dismiss several of Tang Tianlin's former managers, completely reorganizing the entire staff from HR to the secretariat. He also replaced the entire household staff, from top to bottom. Yusen's stock plummeted, and various news media outlets speculated about the Mo family's affairs. The online information was a mixture of truth and falsehood, attempting to cover up Mo Guozheng's crimes.

From the day he arrived at Yan Yuheng's house, Mo Yousen locked himself in his room and refused to go out. Apart from the basic "thank you", "um" and "oh", he didn't say anything and refused to communicate with others.

He crouched on the floor, holding his head, letting his emotions crumble. It was ridiculous, right? They'd all just left him like that, gone. No one ever asked if he was happy, just blindly telling him to be strong and keep going. Mo Yousen gradually relaxed, closed his eyes, and lay on the floor. Tears fell from his eyes, dripping down his ears and onto the ground.

Mo Yousen spent over a month in his room, abandoned to himself. Every time Yan Yuheng went in to see him, he was lying in bed. Mo Yousen was lifeless, like a walking corpse. As Yan Yuheng stared into his empty eyes, he felt as if his heart was being pierced by countless needles, clamoring in his heart, yet no one could pull them out.

Yan Yuheng would help him wash his hair, take a bath, shave, and change clothes every day... The two of them had a tacit understanding and no one said a word. Mo Yousen just watched Yan Yuheng quietly. Yan Yuheng would help him do everything carefully. He was like a puppet. No matter how Yan Yuheng manipulated him, he would not react at all.

On New Year's Eve, Mo Yousen woke up very early. He was woken by the sound of an argument downstairs. It sounded like Yan Yuheng's voice, and Pei Man's.

Mo Yousen sat up from the bed, put on his slippers, and slowly moved to the door. He quietly turned the doorknob, opened a crack, and put his ear close to listen.

Yan Yuheng's powerful voice penetrated from downstairs to upstairs, "I said I will wait for Xiao Sen to get better! I will go back to school after he gets better! Wen Xian will help me with the company's affairs! I can handle it online myself! I say it again, I will wait for Xiao Sen to recover!"

Pei Man's voice was unclear and came out intermittently, "Xiao Sen... are we really going to ignore him?... Tang Miao's son! At most, by the end of the month..."

After listening to a few words, Mo Yousen lowered his eyes and quietly closed the door. He leaned sideways on the door panel and slid to the floor. Mo Yousen hugged his legs tightly, bent his waist and leaned his head against the door panel. It seemed that he had caused trouble for others again.

Mo Yousen walked into the bathroom and looked up at himself in the mirror. His face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, and his cheeks were sunken. He forced himself to smile in the mirror. It was so ugly. He never thought he could smile so ugly.

"I'm such a loser. I can't take care of myself and I have to trouble others. I'm such a loser, haha..." Mo Yousen supported himself on the sink with his hands, lowered his head and smiled bitterly, tears falling into the sink as his body trembled.

When Yan Yuheng entered the room and saw that there was no one on the bed, he subconsciously looked at the window and the balcony. Fortunately, there was no sign of any movement. Yan Yuheng breathed a sigh of relief, turned on the light in the room and walked in. "Xiao Sen? Xiao Sen, where are you?"

Mo Yousen heard Yan Yuheng's voice in the bathroom and quickly wiped his face to calm down, "I'm here, wash your face."

Yan Yuheng was surprised and delighted. This was the first time in such a long time that he was willing to talk to someone. His heart was pounding, and his right hand was shaking so much that he needed to use his left hand to hold on to open the bathroom door. Yan Yuheng looked at Mo Yousen standing by the sink and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Xiao Sen? What's wrong? If you have anything, I can..."

Before Yan Yuheng could finish his words, Mo Yousen hugged him tightly. Yan Yuheng didn't react for a moment. After two seconds, he tightened his arms, as if he wanted to press Mo Yousen into his bones and blood.

Mo Yousen rubbed his head against Yan Yuheng's chest, pouting as if he was very aggrieved, "Brother Heng, today is New Year's Eve, I want to eat dumplings."

Yan Yuheng's palms rubbed Mo Yousen's back roughly, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face and landing on Mo Yousen's head. He rolled his Adam's apple, and each word was filled with restrained tenderness. "Okay, my Xiaosen wants to eat dumplings. Let's have Xiaosen's favorite corn and shrimp, okay?"

Mo Yousen said softly, "Okay."

In the mirror, they hugged each other tightly, inseparable. Mo Yousen used all his strength to hug Yan Yuheng tightly, and Yan Yuheng hugged him back, his fingers digging deep into Mo Yousen's clothes. The two of them were so close that they felt suffocated, as if only this could fill the black hole of panic between them.

Like two wrecked ships that found each other in a rainstorm, neither wanted to be the first to let go. Yan Yuheng pressed his face against Mo Yousen's and gently rubbed it, confirming the reality of this lost and regained feeling. The steady, strong heartbeat of Yan Yuheng pounded against him through the fabric of Mo Yousen's clothes. Mo Yousen smiled a reassuring smile and relaxed in Yan Yuheng's arms.

Yan Yuheng was in high spirits because of the happy event. He went downstairs happily and asked the servants to prepare the ingredients. He wanted to make dumplings himself.

Mo Yousen sat on the bed listening to the clanging sounds downstairs, occasionally accompanied by Yan Yuheng's screams. His heart gradually warmed up and he smiled gently.

Pei Man looked at Mo Yousen at the dining table and tears started falling as she spoke. "Xiao Sen, I haven't spoken to you in a long time. These dumplings were made by that naughty boy Yan Yuheng himself... I've never seen him go into the kitchen in my life. Eat more. When Yan Yuheng said you wanted to eat dumplings, I was really, really, really happy."

Mo Yousen's eyes flickered for a moment, and he smiled gently at Pei Man and said, "Thank you, Auntie, thank you, Uncle, and thank you, Brother Heng. Thank you for always taking care of me."

Pei Man turned her back to Mo Yousen and wiped her tears. Then she turned around and said warmly with tears in her eyes: "Don't thank me. You...you and Yan Yuheng are both my children."

Mo Yousen lowered his head and took small bites of the dumplings in the bowl, nodding slightly. Yan Yuheng leaned over, his eyes sparkling, and asked him excitedly, "How is it? How is it? Is it delicious? Even if it's not delicious, you have to say it's delicious. I made it all afternoon!"

Mo Yousen couldn't help but chuckled, "It's delicious. Everything Brother Heng makes is delicious."

Yan Yuheng was very satisfied with this answer and proudly nodded towards his parents, saying, "See, I am such an all-rounder."

Yan Yuheng gently touched Mo Yousen's head with his palm, "After dinner, come to my room to watch the fireworks. The floor-to-ceiling window of my room faces the yard. I'll ask them to set off fireworks in the yard for you to watch!"

Mo Yousen stuffed a dumpling into his mouth and chewed it hard. Feeling a little choked, he picked up the bowl and drank a mouthful of soup. "Cough cough cough... uh... cough cough..." Mo Yousen was choked by the dumpling soup. His face was red and tears were still flowing from his eyes.

Yan Yuheng quickly stood up from the table and walked over to him. He let Mo Yousen lean on him and gently patted Mo Yousen's back. He frowned slightly and said, "Why are you eating so fast? Eat slowly! Don't eat one at a time!"

Pei Man looked at Mo Yousen, who was coughing so hard that the ground shook, and her son, who was standing beside her like a housekeeper, and felt something was amiss. She nudged Yan Yuan, who was standing beside her with her elbow. Yan Yuan, still with a piece of braised pork in his mouth, asked her what was wrong. Pei Man saw her stupid teammate and gouged him with her eyes.