CH 55

Jiang Xu’s parents picked them up from the station, and they were surprised to see a man beside Jiang Xu.

“Xiao Shen?” Mother Jiang remembered him as a likable child who had borrowed from loan sharks and couldn’t pay them back, and she said enthusiastically, “Have you paid off your money?” She remembered that Shen Fangyu’s hometown was also in B City, “Did you meet Xiao Xu on your way home?”

“Yes, thank you for the concern, uncle and auntie,” Shen Fangyu smiled and muddled through the first question. He was about to answer the second when Jiang Xu suddenly said, “He came back with me.”

“Huh?” Mother Jiang was obviously a little surprised, but she quickly recovered and said, “No problem, no problem. There’s a spare room at home.”

“I’m sorry to bother you.” Shen Fangyu was polite but didn’t say why he would be staying with the Jiang family.

The Jiang couple exchanged a look, and there was a subtle silence in the car on the way home.

Jiang Xu was very busy and would not usually come back until New Year’s Eve. Now he suddenly rushed over, moreover, with Shen Fangyu.…

The suspicions that had previously subsided started coming up again.

It was after nine o’clock when they arrived home. Jiang Xu and Shen Fangyu had eaten on the way, and the Jiang couple had also finished their dinner early. After the usual greetings, Mother Jiang’s cautious gaze fell on Jiang Xu’s face, as if trying to get some clues.

Perhaps it was because he noticed his mother’s gaze that Jiang Xu didn’t leave his mother confused any longer and went straight to the point: “Dad, Mom, I came back this time because I want to talk to you about something.”

The Jiang couple was sitting on the long sofa in the living room, while Jiang Xu and Shen Fangyu sat side by side on the old-fashioned sofa at the side.

“What’s wrong?” Mother Jiang was inexplicably flustered by Jiang Xu’s cautious tone, and she took an apple intending to peel it, “You haven’t even had a glass of water yet, why don’t you have some fruit first?”

“No, thanks, mom.” Jiang Xu pursed his lips, his throat a little dry.

Shen Fangyu held Jiang Xu’s hand through the cover of his clothes, probably needing encouragement, and Jiang Xu did not break away from him.

A thin layer of sweat broke out on his palms, but his voice was calm.

“Do you remember the man who got pregnant in country M?”

Father Jiang rubbed his hands together awkwardly, and Mother Jiang’s expression was also a little tense. The two of them looked at each other and then at Jiang Xu at the same time, saying with a little uncertainty: “What’s wrong?”

“He and I…” Jiang Xu took a slow, deep breath before continuing, “met with the same accident.”

“What …… do you mean by that?” Mother Jiang’s voice trembled a little.

Jiang Xu lowered his head and glanced at his abdomen, and under Mother Jiang’s wide-eyed gaze, he said, “That’s what it means.”

The Jiang couple were dumbfounded for a long time, as if they couldn’t understand the meaning of Jiang Xu’s words, and it was only after a while that Mother Jiang said in a trance, “Is what you said true, Xiao Xu? That news …… wasn’t it just news? How could it happen to you?”

Seeing Jiang Xu acquiesce, she could not restrain herself from taking a glance at Jiang Xu’s abdomen, and then she withdrew her gaze as if she had been scalded. After a long time, she jumped to her feet and said incredulously, “You’re a man, Xiao Xu! How is it possible… how can this happen?”

“I don’t believe it.” She shook her head and took a few steps forward to pull Jiang Xu, but Shen Fangyu stood up and blocked her, shielding Jiang Xu behind him.

“Auntie-“

This call made Mother Jiang distracted for a short time, and then she remembered Shen Fangyu. “You…” she quickly realized, pointing at the tip of Shen Fangyu’s nose, “so you came here, you…”

“He’s also the baby’s father.” Jiang Xu answered her directly.

Mother Jiang’s eyes went black. She held her heart, searching through her memories before looking at Shen Fangyu and confirming with difficulty, “Loan sharks?”

Shen Fangyu lowered his head and said, “It’s made up.”

“Dead wife?”

Shen Fangyu gritted his teeth, “It’s made up too.”

Mother Jiang took two breaths, her fingers trembling, “A daughter?”

“…… That’s true.”

Mother Jiang broke down and glanced at Jiang Xu in dismay, her voice trembling madly, “In our.… Xiao Xu’s …… stomach?”

Shen Fangyu bit his lower lip and said, “Mm……”

Mother Jiang turned around and raised her hand to slap Jiang Xu. Jiang Xu quickly closed his eyes, but the expected pain did not appear. He opened his eyes and found Shen Fangyu stopping his mother’s hand and blocking him tightly behind him.

“Uncle and Auntie …we can talk, but don’t do anything physical.” Shen Fangyu said.

“Talk? Talk my ass!”

Mother Jiang had no idea how to vent her emotions after finding out about her son’s situation, and now she has found an outlet for them in Shen Fangyu: “You’ve got the nerve to talk after you got my son fucking pregnant! Get the hell out of my way.”

“Yes, it’s all my fault,” Shen Fangyu said, “If you want to hit me, hit me, don’t touch Jiang Xu.”

“Why are you being hypocritical? Do you think I wouldn’t dare to hit you just because you are someone else’s son?”

It was clear that the good impression Shen Fangyu had made on the two elders was completely useless at this moment, and her son was the biggest reverse scale. Mother Jiang was now like a tigress whose child has been stolen, and she only wanted to kill Shen Fangyu, who had brought himself into the tiger’s den.

“Fine, you hit me,” Shen Fangyu said, “as long as you don’t hit Jiang Xu. I won’t fight back.”

Mother Jiang was even more furious when she heard this. She tried to pass Shen Fangyu to reach Jiang Xu behind him, saying with hatred, “Is that how he tricked you into bed? Jiang Xu! If you’re my son, don’t hide; explain to me and to your father what’s going on!”

“We both had too much to drink and had an accident.” Jiang Xu stood up and said to his mother, “No one lied to me.”

“Then what is your relationship?” Mother Jiang found a feather duster from somewhere and stared at Shen Fangyu intently.

“Colleagues.” Jiang Xu said.

Mother Jiang hit Shen Fangyu on the back with the duster. Shen Fangyu grunted in pain, but he didn’t dodge as he had promised.

“Mum!”

Jiang Xu stepped forward and pulled Shen Fangyu aside, but Mother Jiang still went after him. She pointed the duster at the tip of Shen Fangyu’s nose and asked, “What were your intentions when you approached Xiao Xu? Money? Or is it for our Xiao Xu?”

“He lived in my house to take care of me, he didn’t want anything from me; it was really just an accident.” Jiang Xu was a bit overwhelmed.

Shen Fangyu: “Auntie…”

“You shut up!”

Mother Jiang finished scolding Shen Fangyu and then looked at Jiang Xu, a look of disappointment flashing in her eyes, “You’ve always been your mother’s pride, how could you do such a thing?”

Jiang Xu turned his face away and said, “I didn’t want this either.”

“Can’t this child be disposed of?” Mother Jiang said, “Since you’ve said it was an accident,…”

“No.” Jiang Xu interrupted her without the slightest hesitation.

“Jiang Xu,” Mother Jiang said emotionally, “do you know what this means? This child will ruin your life. How will you start a family in the future? How will you find a wife? How will I explain to others that my son had a child?”

Jiang Xu glanced at his mother, who was surging with anger, and suddenly remembered the night he heard Ren Han and Ren Miao talking.

That day, Shen Fangyu suddenly talked to him about Ren Han’s rebellious behavior and asked him what infuriating things he had done during his rebellious period.

Jiang Xu had never done anything rebellious. He had been a good student since he was a child, and the most unusual thing he had done was sneak off to an internet café to play a few games, which almost all teenage boys had done, and it wasn’t really worth mentioning.

Suddenly, he felt that the most rebellious thing he had done in his life was to keep this unexpected child in his womb when he could have aborted it.

The rebellious period seemed to have come too late, but it was a decision he had made after much deliberation, not a gamble because of anger.

He had thought through everything that needed to be thought through, and what he would have to face later, he had decided to face.

He didn’t regret it at all.

“Mum,” he said, “I’ll take responsibility for my life.”

“Wife,” Father Jiang, who had been silent from the beginning to the end, finally spoke up, “sit down first and listen to what the boy has to say.”

“Say what?” Mother Jiang was so angry that she couldn’t choose her words: “About how he slept with a man, or that he’s a man-woman that can have children?”

Jiang Xu’s face changed at these words, and Shen Fangyu caught his look in an instant. He half-protected Jiang Xu in his arms and squeezed his arm gently.

“What are you doing!” Mother Jiang said, “What do you mean by hugging right in front of me?”

Shen Fangyu didn’t let go, “Auntie, it’s time for Jiang Xu to rest. If you don’t care about him, I do. We’ll talk after you’ve calmed down.”

After he finished, he whispered to Jiang Xu, “Go and take a bath first, okay?”

Jiang Xu nodded with a pale face, turned around, and stumbled on his feet. Shen Fangyu hurriedly supported him, but he waved his hand to say he was fine and then walked towards the bathroom next to the bedroom. Shen Fangyu followed him as usual, but Father Jiang, who hadn’t said anything, called out to him and pointed to the room furthest away from Jiang Xu’s bedroom, “You’ll sleep there tonight.”

“I’ll go and put the water on for him.” Shen Fangyu said.

“Jiang Xu can take a bath himself.” Father Jiang said, “You don’t need to help.”

Shen Fangyu took a deep breath, and only when Jiang Xu gestured for him to sit back did he squeeze Jiang Xu’s shoulder, “Be careful and be safe.”

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom, and the three people in the living room were unusually silent, as if the conversation had suddenly lost its fulcrum in Jiang Xu’s absence.

After a while, the sound of water stopped, and Jiang Xu came out with a towel and wearing white pyjama. He stood at the bathroom door and glanced at the three people in the living room and said, “I’m going to bed.”

“You-“ Mother Jiang obviously wanted to say something else, but Jiang Xu simply closed the door.

Hearing Jiang Xu’s bedroom door being closed, Shen Fangyu sighed softly. His eyes fell on the half-peeled apple on the coffee table, and after a moment, he lowered his voice and said, “Uncle and auntie, if you guys are calm now, then please listen to what I have to say.”

“Like what!” Mother Jiang was about to get angry again, but Father Jiang stopped her and said, with a calm but angry tone, “Let him speak.”

Shen Fangyu looked at Father Jiang and then at Mother Jiang and said, “Jiang Xu and I, two financially independent adults with houses and jobs, could have kept the child’s affairs a secret from you for the rest of our lives, but have you ever wondered why Jiang Xu came to confess to you?”

“I’m his mother, of course, he has to talk to me!”

“That’s not true,” Shen Fangyu said, “Children don’t always confide in their mothers. You can’t do anything if he doesn’t want to talk, you’re not even a roundworm in his stomach.”

Mother Jiang gave him a look but didn’t say anything. Shen Fangyu continued, “I know that you two saw this case on the news, but you may not know that there were men who were pregnant before that case in country M. Think about it. How come none of those people were reported on the news, and only the patient from country M was reported?”

Seeing that the Jiang couple was listening to him carefully, Shen Fangyu paused for a moment and explained, “Because their operations were unsuccessful.”

Father Jiang frowned, “What do you mean ……”

“The operation to get the baby out is very risky.” Shen Fangyu said.

“Then Xiao Xu ……,” Mother Jiang looked a little panicked, “also… needs to undergo an operation?”

Shen Fangyu nodded and said, “Of course.”

Mother Jiang became nervous, and Father Jiang hugged her, looking at Shen Fangyu with some hesitation. When they first got the news, they were so emotional that they didn’t have time to think further.

Compared to the shock of their son’s pregnancy, the danger Jiang Xu was going to face was more worrying.

“I know that Jiang Xu is your pride,” Shen Fangyu said, “and it’s only human to like to show off your son.”

He looked at the two of them and went to the point: “You feel that your son’s pregnancy is a disgrace, that you can’t accept it, that he has to marry a girl from a good family and have a bunch of children so that you can continue to show off and enjoy being envied by your relatives and friends.”

“But Jiang Xu is your son first, and then he is a tool to bring you a sense of accomplishment and bragging rights. If one day Jiang Xu is no longer your pride, will you stop loving him?”

Without waiting for the Jiang couple to answer, he shook his head in denial and said, “I don’t think so.” He said, “From what I know of Jiang Xu’s character, he should be a child that was brought up with love, and even though you have put pressure on him, you truly wish him well.”

He swept a glance at Jiang Xu’s bedroom door and said, “Your son is facing the greatest difficulty in his life, and I think we all need to support him, not ridicule him.”

Mother Jiang’s expression was somewhat relaxed, and after a long time, she retorted, “I wanted him to get married for his good. How pitiful it is to be old without marriage and children.”

“You’ve never tried life without children, so that is just a paper excuse to judge people’s lives,” Shen Fangyu said. “Besides, Jiang Xu has a child now and he wants it.”

He lowered his eyelashes and said, “I’ve already discussed the future with him. I won’t get married, and we’ll raise this child together. We’ll continue living together even when we’re old and we won’t be worse off than others.”

“But this ……” said Mother Jiang, “There is no such thing, what kind of relationship are you two going to have for the rest of your lives?”

“According to Jiang Xu, we shall be colleagues; according to me ……” Shen Fangyu paused, and swallowed back the words he was going to say, instead saying, “It will be as he said, colleagues.”

“But whatever the relationship is between the two of us, we’re happy to spend time together, and we can bring up the child together,” Shen Fangyu said, “Don’t worry, I want Jiang Xu to be safe and sound as much as you do, and I want him to always be happy.”

He stood up and said to Mother Jiang, “If you can, I’d like you to apologize to him. What you said earlier was very hurtful.”

He finished his words and said no more, leaving the Jiang couple to digest everything on their own.

And not far from the living room, no one noticed that the door to Jiang Xu’s closed bedroom had been opened at some point.

The doorway was hidden, and the person inside stood holding the handle, remaining exceptionally silent.

A long time after the conversation had ended, he silently closed the door once again.