Chapter 28 Relationships
Shang Qiyue looked at him without saying a word for a long time.
Mu Yan managed to squeeze out a flattering remark, but received no response. He lowered his head awkwardly, unsure of what to say to please Shang Qiyue.
“You wait here,” Shang Qiyue said just as he was hesitating. “I’ll take your mother to dialysis.”
As he spoke, he stood up, seemingly intending to go to the front desk to buy breakfast for Mu Yan's mother.
"Are you taking my mother to dialysis?" Mu Yan hesitated for a moment, then quickly limped to catch up with Shang Qiyue. "But dialysis takes a long time, and you know how..."
Despite his best efforts to maintain his balance, Mu Yan still walked with a limp today, swaying unsteadily, so Shang Qiyue had to take a few steps back to help him.
"careful."
Shang Qiyue was tall and handsome, and his custom-made casual clothes seemed out of place in the environment. When he turned around, many people turned to look at him and Mu Yan.
Mu Yan was not used to being the center of attention, which made him feel very uncomfortable, so he lowered his head even further.
Shang Qiyue didn't let go of his arm: "Does your mother want steamed buns and tofu pudding? Does she want the tofu pudding sweet or savory?"
"It's sweet, thank you, sir."
The tofu pudding was quickly scooped out of the pot, packed up, and delivered to them. Mu Yan, still not entirely at ease, checked again to make sure the lid was securely fastened.
"I won't spill your tofu pudding," Shang Qiyue said calmly. "I don't know how to get dialysis. Doesn't your mother know that? I'll just say I'm your friend and ask her to take me."
Mu Yan seemed to only then realize what was happening, and smiled a little embarrassedly.
“I was just… not that I was worried about the tofu pudding,” Mu Yan quickly explained, “I was just afraid that the tofu pudding would spill and dirty your car.”
Hearing this reason, Shang Qiyue was a little surprised: "It's just spilled, it's just a matter of washing the car. Why are you so concerned about this kind of thing?"
But... car washes must be expensive, right? Such a nice car, it must cost at least several hundred yuan to wash it once.
Despite what he said, Mu Yan still couldn't help but care.
The xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) were also ready at this time. The owner quickly packed the xiaolongbao into a takeout box, threw in a vinegar packet and chili oil, and tied the bag.
Shang Qiyue picked up the steamed buns and tofu pudding and asked Mu Yan, "Are you going to wait here for me to pick you up, or in the car?"
“Why don’t you just wait here?” he quickly added, “The air in the garage isn’t very good…”
But Mu Yan had already taken the breakfast from his hand and followed closely behind him, like a little tail.
“I’ll go with you.”
If I wait for Shang Qiyue in the garage, he won't have to turn around to pick me up. It's fine now, but there will be a lot of cars on that road at noon, and turning around will be a hassle. Shang Qiyue's car must be very expensive, and it would be a big problem if it got scratched or bumped.
He wanted to avoid causing Shang Qiyue any trouble.
As the car pulled into the hospital's underground parking garage, Shang Qiyue parked the car and reached out to Mu Yan to get the breakfast he had brought for his mother. Suddenly, he noticed that Mu Yan's eyes were glistening, as if they were filled with tears.
Mu Yan noticed him staring at her and lowered her head a little embarrassed.
He blinked briefly, and a tear fell, leaving a clear tear stain.
Perhaps it was because he had suppressed his emotions for too long after his mother almost had her dialysis stopped, but after paying the remaining 150,000 yuan, Mu Yan felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
But he didn't dare to actually cry; he just quickly lowered his head and wiped away his tears.
"Thank you, sir, thank you so much for being so kind to me and for helping me so much... Apart from my brother, no one has ever helped me like this before. You even took my mother to dialysis..."
Shang Qiyue was slightly taken aback; Mu Yan seemed to be holding back her tears.
When you're sleepy, your eyelids droop; when you're upset, your eyes well up with tears. How can anyone possibly hold back these feelings?
Shang Qiyue bent down and found a box of tissues in front of Mu Yan's seat, handing it to him.
"If you want to cry, just cry. Wipe your tears, but don't touch your eyes with your hands."
Mu Yan nodded and took out a tissue.
"Didn't he come with you?" Shang Qiyue asked casually, seeing that he had calmed down a bit.
"Who... did you say?" The ambiguous reference made Mu Yan somewhat puzzled. He didn't know if Shang Qiyue was referring to Lu Chong, and he dared not speculate.
Besides Lu Chong, Mu Yan couldn't think of anyone else this "he" could refer to. But why would President Shang Qiyue bring up Lu Chong at this time? He must be overthinking it.
"It's nothing," Shang Qiyue quickly brushed off the topic as if nothing had happened. He waved the breakfast in his hand, "I just happen to be free today, no need to be polite. I'll be going now, or the breakfast will get cold."
Each dialysis session lasts at least three hours. Mu Yan usually chats with his mother during this time, but Shang Qiyue doesn't have much to talk about with his mother. He's actually a little afraid that Shang Qiyue won't be able to wait.
"It'll take a while, will you get bored?" Mu Yan texted him. "Thank you so much for your help this time, but I'll go by myself next time."
Almost an hour later, Shang Qiyue replied: "It's okay, I was chatting with Auntie and didn't see the message. She's asleep now."
Shang Qiyue and his mother seemed like completely unrelated people. Mu Yan was a little surprised when she saw this sentence. She wanted to ask what they had talked about, but then felt that she shouldn't ask.
The screen displayed "typing" for a long time. Shang Qiyue imagined Mu Yan painstakingly typing a line and then deleting it, and couldn't help but smile: "Are you curious about what I talked about with your mother?"
"Um."
"We just chatted casually. I asked her if she didn't like to eat much, since she's so thin. She said she used to love eating when she was little, and for a while her face was chubby, like a glutinous rice ball."
"So why did you become so thin later?" Shang Qiyue swallowed the question, "Was it because your ex-boyfriend treated you badly?" "Was it because you studied computer science?"
There's no need to avoid mentioning her ex-boyfriend in every three sentences, making it seem like she cares about that guy a lot.
Shang Qiyue was clearly joking, and Mu Yan laughed along as he looked at the screen, replying seriously, "It's all the computer's fault."
"It'll be ready soon. I'll take you out to eat in a bit. What would you like to eat? How about French food?"
“Sir, I have never eaten French food before,” Mu Yan replied. “Would it embarrass you?”
During his university years, Lu Chong did take him to some upscale restaurants, but Mu Yan was busy getting scholarships and working for professors, so he rarely had time to go too far to eat, and there just happened to be no French restaurants near A University.
Mu Yan was excessively frank about this kind of thing. He had never eaten French food, just as Shang Qiyue might not have eaten a rural banquet that looked dirty but was actually delicious.
It wasn't his fault that he was naive and inexperienced, and he didn't feel inferior because of it. However, he knew his current relationship with Shang Qiyue and was afraid of upsetting Shang Qiyue.
Rather than revealing your naiveté later and making him feel ashamed for taking you out to dinner, it's better to be frank and admit it now.
"No way. I paid for it, what's shameful about it?"
Mu Yan finally felt relieved.
It was indeed noon when the dialysis ended. Shang Qiyue drove him to the restaurant with ease. Mu Yan said he had never eaten there before. After asking him if he had any dietary restrictions, Shang Qiyue ordered the dishes by himself.
"Would you like some wine? If you'd like, I can call my assistant to take us home later," Shang Qiyue asked casually while waiting for the food to be served.
"I don't drink much, thank you sir."
With each dish served, Shang Qiyue would patiently explain its origin and how to eat it. He was knowledgeable and witty; it would be hard not to develop a liking for him if he were a date.
“When I was chatting with your mother just now,” Shang Qiyue forked a piece of stewed beef onto Mu Yan’s plate, “she seemed to be in a bad state. I told her to arrange a full physical examination this weekend at the First Hospital, so as not to have to move around. By then your leg should be better, or you can have your brother go with her.”
Mu Yan paused in his eating.
A full physical examination... It's not easy to book a full physical examination at the First Affiliated Hospital. Mu Yan and her brother tried to book one several times but were unsuccessful.
"Thank you, Mr. Shang. I've been wanting to take her to do this for a while, but I haven't been able to get an appointment..."
Director Zhang said that's how things are at the First Affiliated Hospital; if you can afford it, you can go to a private hospital for a checkup. However, their mother's health isn't good, and she can't withstand the hassle. The cost of a checkup there wouldn't be a small amount for Mu Yan and his brother.
My mother chats with other patients at the hospital every day, so how could she not know the price of a physical examination at a private hospital? She's used to being frugal and would never agree to spend so much money on a physical examination at a private hospital.
"Eat up, I brought you here to eat, how come you only eat so little? Even a cat has a bigger appetite than you," Shang Qiyue said nonchalantly, as he forked another piece of red wine braised beef onto Mu Yan's plate. "Your mother said you loved to eat when you were little, how come you only eat so little with me? Do I look so bad that you can't eat?"
Mu Yan's eyes widened: "No, no... President Shang is very handsome, he could be a movie star."
He said it almost offhand, but then he thought about it and realized that Shang Qiyue was never short of such praise, which was why he could joke about something like this so casually.
Seeing his reaction, Shang Qiyue couldn't help but smile and changed the subject back to the food: "The beef here is good; it's air-freighted in every day, very fresh, but the chef's cooking is just so-so..."
When Mu Yan ate it, he felt that the beef was stewed just right and had a slight aroma of red wine, but he didn't particularly like it. He couldn't join in the conversation at all, and just listened quietly, nodding from time to time.
"When you cook, how do you usually like to cook beef?" Shang Qiyue suddenly asked.
Mu Yan hadn't expected him to ask her this so suddenly, and lowered her head to say softly, "I just cooked something casually... how can I compare to the chefs here?"
"It's just a matter of taste. Generally speaking, Chinese food is more to our liking."
Mu Yan thought for a moment: "Boiled beef, or stewed with tomatoes."
"Boiled beef sounds like the way it's made in the southwest. I don't really like spicy food. Tomato stewed beef sounds pretty good," Shang Qiyue said, looking like he was already full. He ordered two soufflés and served his own first. "I'll try yours next time."
"It's just a very ordinary flavor, nothing to your liking..." Mu Yan said, then suddenly realized that Shang Qiyue might hear it as a rejection, so she quickly stopped herself, "If you want to try it, then I'll make a fool of myself."
Seeing that he had almost finished eating, Shang Qiyue considerately waved over a dessert and casually asked, "Is your workplace Xinqi? I think I've seen your employee badge before."
Mu Yan nodded.
"I have a friend who works there. I'll ask for leave for you so you can rest and recover at home."
Mu Yan shook his head, wanting to refuse. He had already taken two days off this month, and this couldn't go on. His leg injury didn't stop him from coding with his hands.
"I said I'd help you get leave, so it definitely won't affect your work. Don't worry."
Mu Yan didn't know what else to say, so he just nodded and whispered, "Thank you, sir."
Whether it's Shang Qiyue or Lu Chong from university, their worldviews are probably different from yours. Many things that seem insurmountable to you might actually be a matter of a single word for them.
A long time ago, he did feel a little resentful, thinking that everyone was the same, and he was not necessarily worse than others, so why did he have to struggle for a living and work hard just to survive?
But now, he feels nothing at all. He studied hard for ten years and got into the top university in the country, A University, but many of his classmates worked themselves to the bone and still failed to get into university.
Life is inherently unfair.
Shang Qiyue helped him get leave, and he stayed home to recover from his injury. The next day, his supervisor called him and said that he was being transferred to another department, so he should just focus on doing his job there and not worry about things here.
Mu Yan realized that Shang Qiyue hadn't lied to him about not having any impact on his work.
Shang Qiyue hasn't come over these past few days, but has been sending someone to his door every day to prepare nutritious meals for him. Mu Yan rarely has such leisurely time in his life, and he's even a little unaccustomed to it for a while.
Perhaps this is what they call a life of constant toil. Once I start enjoying leisure, I feel restless and itchy all over.
Remembering that he was supposed to cook for Shang Qiyue, he couldn't resist making himself some tomato stewed beef. He actually thought it tasted pretty good, but it was nowhere near as good as the Burgundy beef stew he had at the Western restaurant last time.
If Shang Qiyue isn't even satisfied with that kind of food, would he really like the beef I made?
But then again, if Shang Qiyue wanted to eat something, he would naturally hire the best chef to cook it, and he probably wouldn't expect to eat anything amazing here.
The dishes he cooked might just be a bonus. Shang Qiyue paid to have sex with him and incidentally discovered that he could cook a couple of dishes. It's like how he doesn't usually buy lottery tickets, but if the company occasionally gives him a lottery ticket as a gift and he happens to win twenty yuan, that would be a pleasant surprise.
Mu Yan wanted to constantly remind herself of her relationship with that person.
He was just a stray cat that he casually fed some cat treats. Even though the cat treats he bought for two coins could help him survive a cold winter.
[Author's Note]
Babies, I need to take a day off tomorrow because I need to work on a writing assignment and want my words to rank higher in the search results.
Update at 11 PM the day after tomorrow, and will continue to update at 12:09 AM daily thereafter.
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