CH 52

Ou Shaowen’s eyes widened slightly and he let out an involuntary “ah”.

Since Ou Renjin mentioned introducing him so solemnly, it had to be the family he recognised, not those nominal relatives who would hurt him and make him angry. It was great. He liked to be taken out to dinner by Ou Renjin and also wanted to see his family.

He replied, “Okay, I’ll ask the manager for leave right away,” and added an emoji of a little tiger nodding that he had saved from a chat with his teammates to illustrate his leap of joy at the moment.

They had the tightest itinerary in the near future, and it was only after he had pestered the manager using a whole set of promises and coquettishness that she finally gave him three hours off, and he had to be back in the studio by 11 pm to continue practising the dance for their debut concert, even though he had already learnt the moves long ago.

He made an appointment with Ou Renjin and spent the rest of the day in a state of peculiar anticipation. When the time came, he stood in front of the door of the private room and used the back of his phone as a mirror to examine his hair and straighten his tie and cuffs before knocking gently on the door.

When the door opened, Ou Renjin stood there holding the door handle, unable to stop himself from chuckling, “Are you going to walk down the red carpet? You’re dressed so formally.”

It was rare for Ou Shaowen to be dressed formally, “My teammates said I look more handsome this way.”

He Yixin poked his head out from behind Ou Renjin, waving his hand cheerfully, “Hello, I’ve heard a lot about you, my name is He Yixin, I’m Ou Renjin’s cousin.”

“Hello, Cousin.” Ou Shaowen instantly stood up straight, as if he was in a military stance waiting to be examined by the squad leader.

“Don’t be nervous, I’m not a wolf or a tiger, come and sit in the middle. I have lots and lots of things about Ou Renjin I want to talk to you about.”

He Yixin called Ou Shaowen to sit between them and pulled out a beautifully wrapped box from under the table and handed it to him, “A meeting gift for you. I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought a watch. It just happens to be the same as the one I gave to Ou Renjin before, so it’s perfect for you two to wear as a couple.”

Ou Shaowen didn’t take it at first, but turned his head and looked at Ou Renjin on the other side of him.

“Take it, don’t you like receiving gifts?”

Ou Shaowen smiled, took it and said “thank you” in a small voice.

They ate Japanese food today, and Ou Shaowen was not very eager to accept sashimi. After Ou Renjin and He Yixin demonstrated eating it, he picked up a piece and tried it with a puzzled look on his face. Then his eyes lit up and he immediately fell in love with the taste.

“This is also delicious, I like it!” He particularly liked the feeling of the caviar popping between his lips one by one, a totally new experience.

“You think anything you’re taken to eat is delicious anyway. Didn’t you say before that your favourite thing was hot pot?” Ou Renjin scooped a spoonful of caviar into his bowl.

“Hot pot is also delicious, it’s all delicious.”

He Yixin suddenly laughed, then leaned towards Ou Shaowen and whispered to him, “Let me tell you, ah. In fact, the meeting gift I gave you is what Ou Renjin specially reminded me to buy. He said you like receiving gifts very much.”

“Really?” Ou Shaowen smiled with his eyes slightly curved, “Thank you anyway.”

“I’ll send a big gift when you get married.”

“Ma… married.” Ou Shaowen stammered, his cheeks instantly flushed.

“Don’t say whatever you want in front of Ou Shaowen.” Ou Renjin lifted his eyelids lazily at He Yixin, saying it as a warning but with little strength in his tone.

“Have you ever thought about marrying me?” Ou Shaowen became excited, asking him bluntly, “It’s the kind of ceremony that will turn two people into family.”

“Do you really want to get married?” Ou Renjin asked rhetorically, and before Ou Shaowen could answer, he shook his head slightly, “I’m sorry, I haven’t considered that for now. At least, it has to be two people with a future to get married.” 

He looked straight into Ou Shaowen’s eyes and said cruel words in the most bland and casual tone, “You know I’m carrying a bomb, maybe one day it’ll explode with a bang.”

Ou Shaowen fell silent, his eyes visibly losing their joy and filling with sorrow. He slightly hung his head, tightly pursed his lips, and did not speak.

Ou Renjin looked at him quietly for a moment, as if waiting for him to give some kind of response, but after a long time, Ou Shaowen still did not say anything.

Ou Renjin suddenly smiled, breaking the somewhat dull atmosphere, “I’m sorry, but this doesn’t mean that my feelings for you have changed. In fact, we can also be a family now.”

In fact, he was secretly slightly relieved that this fool finally didn’t open his mouth and say he wanted to give him a new heart, which was a gratifying change.

It seemed that he had made the right choice letting him enter the talent contest and make his debut in a group. In the company of his teammates, no matter how heavy the workload was, everyone didn’t feel lonely. The little fool also seemed to have finally understood a bit about the correct way of getting along with people.

“Yeah, when two people’s hearts are connected, they don’t care about these external constraints. Aren’t you guys family now? We’re all family.” He Yixin suddenly proposed on a whim, “How about I call you Sister-in-law?”

Then he dismissed it himself, “Haha, that doesn’t seem appropriate.”

Ou Shaowen, however, still seemed to be immersed in some sort of emotion that he couldn’t get out of, and he reluctantly hooked the corners of his mouth, “Well, yeah.”

Ou Renjin knew that the little sugar pea was upset by him again, and was about to say something to coax him, when the company suddenly called to talk about the cooperation agreement with the movie theatres during the movie release. He waved his hand at He Yixin, asking him to help coax the kid, and got up to go out to answer the phone.

He Yixin waited for the door to close and slapped Ou Shaowen’s shoulder with a big grin, “Ou Renjin told me all about your previous attempt to give him a heart transplant.”

Ou Shaowen suddenly raised his head to look at him.

“Don’t hold such thoughts anymore, he won’t agree. How can I explain? Before a person loves someone, he must first love himself. Especially since you were young and probably just entering society when you met Ou Renjin. Falling in love for the first time, you see your other half as more important than the sky.” Although he might not be much older than Ou Shaowen, at this time, he looked at Ou Shaowen with the loving gaze of looking at his younger brother, “To put it in a bad way, in case you really separate one day, you will slowly realise that it’s not like anyone can’t live without anyone in this world. Only by living will there be a million other possibilities.”

What he said at this moment came from the bottom of his heart. Although it was a bit offensive and abrupt, it was a case of loving the house and its crow to a certain extent, making him simply hope that this young man could have the simple happiness, joy, sorrow and anger of a normal person. The absurd and terrifying idea of giving up your heart needed to disappear sooner rather than later.

Ou Shaowen clenched his fists, suddenly feeling less fond of this so-called cousin. His tone was a little stiff and cold, as if he had wrapped himself in another layer of protection, “Can you stop telling me this? I know what you’re trying to say, but… can all of you stop treating me like a child and stop preaching to me all the time? I’m capable of my own judgement too.”

He was already feeling incredibly guilty and sad that he was not able to say categorically that he was willing to give Ou Renjin his heart, as he had done before. Wasn’t this cousin Ou Renjin’s family? Shouldn’t he put Ou Renjin’s life and health above everything else, shouldn’t he be on his side unconditionally? Why did he have to advise him?

This was not the family he had imagined.

“Also, I know that ordinary people will die if they have their hearts cut out, so you all must think…” He said these words with difficulty, hesitating and falling silent for a moment halfway through. These were the words he never dared to say to Ou Renjin, but it was his cousin, a family member he had personally introduced to him. If he knew, it would mean… that Ou Renjin would know.

“…You think I’m so great that I am willing to give my life for Ou Renjin, but actually, it’s not like that, I…” He frowned slightly and simply picked up the dinner knife and plunged it into his palm without any warning. He moved quickly and decisively, and blood splashed out abruptly.

He Yixin’s pupils shrunk fiercely and he sucked in a breath of air as he saw Ou Shaowen take a napkin and soak the blood quickly, not letting it stain anything else.

Then he calmly pulled out the dinner knife and placed it in front of him with his palm spread out.