Chapter 108

The two sat on a stone bench by the roadside.

Jiang Zhihuo had been holding it fully; there were certain emotions he didn’t want to reveal in front of Yun Xiaoxu.

He said to Yan Mu, “I knew my mom was an omega, so when I found out about my secondary differentiation, I was surprised, but I accepted it quickly.”

He added, “Actually, I went back to that hospital later and found the doctor from back then.”

When Jiang Zhihuo went, the doctor had already resigned. He asked the doctor if he still remembered what had happened all those years ago. The doctor’s expression became one of extreme anguish. He clutched his head, grabbing a handful of his hair, and said in a tone bordering on remorse, “I remember.”

He remembered that omega.

Before she lost consciousness from blood loss, she had been talking nonstop about her child.

She talked about the future, about what was to come. She said she had to protect this child, that her child would definitely be as smart as his father.

When she realized she wouldn’t make it until the child was born, the woman used her weakest voice to tell the doctor, “The man outside is not the child’s father. So no matter what happens, you have to help me save the child first. He’s already so big. He only has a chance if he’s born. Don’t give the child to him.”

Those were the woman’s last words.

The doctor lowered his head. “I didn’t do anything afterward. I couldn’t. Taking the child away was illegal, but if I had performed the surgery by force, I couldn’t have afforded the subsequent responsibility.”

After that day, the doctor was constantly wracked with guilt. “I used to believe that I was welcoming new life into the world, that I was doing a great job. But I couldn’t bear death, couldn’t bear the fickleness of human nature, and couldn’t bear the request a woman made to me before she closed her eyes for the last time. Perhaps I’m not suitable to be a doctor.”

Yan Mu listened quietly the entire time, taking in every word Jiang Zhihuo said to him, before giving him an incredibly gentle hug.

Jiang Zhihuo rested his head on Yan Mu’s shoulder, rubbing the corner of his eye.

There were many things he didn’t allow himself to think about—his biological parents and the doctor.

In reality, they had nothing to do with the person he was now.

However, that’s how it is between people. A tiny thread connects them, and no matter how much time passes, there’s no escaping it.

After learning the truth, Li Hao transferred his information out. When asked to pick a new name for himself, he remembered what the doctor had said and decided, “Then I’ll take my mom’s surname.”

Yan Mu gently stroked Jiang Zhihuo’s hair as Jiang Zhihuo buried himself in the crook of his neck.

He liked the scent on Yan Mu.

They held each other like that for a while. Not many words were needed during times of sorrow. Jiang Zhihuo closed his eyes, which felt a little dry.

Soon, he heard Yan Mu call him, “Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou.”

Jiang Zhihuo nuzzled Yan Mu with his cheek, not wanting to move.

Yan Mu gestured for him to turn his head.

Jiang Zhihuo obediently turned, and their eyes met—the two professors were standing not far from them.

The two professors had just come from the police station. Hearing that Dai Hongtian and Xiao Zhou were not related by blood, their astonishment turned to elation.

Jiang Zhihuo’s back suddenly tensed. He let go of Yan Mu, then grabbed his own shoulder, a subconscious habit when he was nervous.

Yan Mu clasped his hand, his thumb stroking the back of it, doing his best to soothe his emotions. “You need to have a good talk with the two professors now. I’ll go buy a drink from the vending machine at the courtyard entrance. You’ll be able to see me, okay?”

Jiang Zhihuo took a deep breath.

Yan Mu got up and left, nodding to Father and Mother Yun. It wasn’t appropriate for him to stay.

With no one beside him, Jiang Zhihuo suddenly felt at a loss.

The easy way he usually interacted with people was completely useless at this moment. He could joke and banter with anyone, but he didn’t know how to face the two professors. They hadn’t seen each other for too long, so long that he didn’t even know what to call them.

After a long moment of staring at each other, Mother Yun finally lost her composure and began to cry.

“Xiao Zhou…” She called his name and hugged Jiang Zhihuo, saying nothing else.

Jiang Zhihuo could hear her sobs and feel her tears landing on his shoulder. He raised a hand and gently patted her back.

—It was a long-forgotten feeling.

A long, long time ago, deep in his memory, his mother would hug and kiss him every night before bed. And little Yun Zhou would raise his hand to pat his mother’s back and tell her, “Good night.”

At that moment, it was as if Mother Yun had been pricked by a soft cotton needle, and her tears could no longer be held back.

Father Yun also silently placed a hand on their shoulders.

The two professors didn’t ask a single question. There was no need to.

They understood their son.

His initial departure had been a forced abduction by Dai Hongtian, but afterward, it was Xiao Zhou himself who was unwilling to return.

They sometimes regretted letting Yun Zhou read so many books. He was too sensible.

Especially when the knowledge gained from books was applied to a child who wasn’t very old, he would make choices completely unbefitting of his age.

Like patiently staying by Dai Hongtian’s side to gather evidence against him.

Like choosing to leave after the matter was over, not meeting them, not coming home, and not letting them find him.

Father Yun pressed his lips together.

As a father, he didn’t want to show his overly emotional side, but he couldn’t help it either.

So he gripped Jiang Zhihuo’s shoulder and patted it heavily.

As if an extremely heavy stone was pressing down on his shoulder, Father Yun said, “You weren’t sensible, Xiao Zhou.”

Jiang Zhihuo didn’t refute him. “Mhm…”

Mr. Yun squeezed his shoulder again, his fingertips landing right on the tattoo. He repeated in a low voice, “You weren’t sensible.”

“Mhm…”

“You weren’t sensible at all…”

“Mhm…”

They clearly had so much they wanted to say, but there was no way. They couldn’t stay downstairs for too long.

Soon, the program’s crew arrived at the hospital.

Public opinion needed to be quelled not solely by an official statement; the program’s crew also needed to step in. Father and Mother Yun had to cooperate with the crew for a live broadcast to appease the netizens’ emotions.

Father Yun composed himself first, took the hand of the still-crying Mother Yun, and said slowly, “Let’s go up first. Xiao Zhou… from now on, don’t hide from us anymore…”

Jiang Zhihuo nodded.

He had suppressed his emotions for too long, always pushing them to the very bottom. Once they surfaced, they were impossible to stop.

He couldn’t calm down, and his eyes remained red.

Yan Mu walked back with two drinks.

Jiang Zhihuo sniffled, about to get all sentimental with Yan-ge, perhaps even using the opportunity to make him forget about how he had suddenly run out and jumped off a building. His hand had reached out, the words still turning in his throat, when a group of people suddenly burst through the hospital’s small gate.

One by one, they rushed toward Jiang Zhihuo, all wearing the No. 1 High School uniform.

“Huo-ge!”

“What happened to you? What’s with the bandage on your hand?”

“We said we’d come check it out, and it really is you!”

“Why were you at the scene?!”

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

The tears were stuck deep in his eyes, unable to fall.

Jiang Zhihuo: “Why are you guys at the hospital?”

Chang Luo slowly opened the local news account on his phone. “The report is out. The face of the school-uniform-wearing brother in the photo was covered, but we knew it was you at a glance.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “…”

He was momentarily speechless.

So, was he supposed to praise this group for their sharp eyes and celebrate their camaraderie right now?

Seeing the boys crowding Jiang Zhihuo so much that he couldn’t move, Yan Mu pushed through the crowd and said sternly, “Don’t touch Xiao Zhou. He’s injured.”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Chang Luo took a few steps back, then froze. “Who’s Xiao Zhou?”

Zong Bei: “Is that a nickname for Huo? Which ‘zhou’ is it? It has nothing to do with Huo-ge‘s name, does it?”

Jiang Zhihuo: “…”

Seeing that the topic was about to go off-track, and since these guys had completely ruined his emotional mood anyway, Jiang Zhihuo gave up and clutched his chest. “Ouch, it hurts, it hurts… Yan-ge, help me up.”

The boys grew nervous at the sight, raising their hands, not knowing whether to touch him or not.

Chang Luo: “How about… we go to the hospital room first?”

“No need…” Jiang Zhihuo feigned weakness, raising a trembling hand. “I’ll just go back. Yan-ge, let’s go.”

“Okay, it’s crowded here,” Yan Mu played along.

If they didn’t leave now, the boys would surely grab them and ask a million questions.

“There are a lot of Yun Xiaoxu’s fans outside, probably waiting for news about him.”

“Huo-ge, you can’t touch people, right? We’ll escort you out.”

And so, the boys spontaneously formed a circle, escorting Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu out of the hospital.

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when one of the windows of a hospital room behind them was suddenly pulled open. Yun Xiaoxu yelled down, “Ge! Ge!!”

Jiang Zhihuo: “…”

Yun Xiaoxu saw the strange yet heartwarming scene of Jiang Zhihuo surrounded by a group of people, collapsing into Yan Mu’s arms, and his eyes widened.

The boys recognized him. “Isn’t that Yun Xiaoxu! Who’s he looking at? Who’s he calling brother??”

“Where? I’m actually curious what Yun Xiaoxu’s brother looks like.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “…”

The room was full of cameras. Yun Xiaoxu was halfway through filming when he saw his parents come up, so he knew they must have met downstairs. Afraid his brother would run off and disappear again, Yun Xiaoxu hurriedly leaned against the window. “My finals are in two weeks! When I’m out, let’s go eat together! With Mom and Dad!!”

“Wow, what a touching brotherly love.”

“So who exactly is Yun Xiaoxu’s brother?”

“Hmm, speaking of which, Yun Xiaoxu looks pretty handsome.”

“Ge!” Yun Xiaoxu shouted again, as if on purpose. “The one surrounded in the middle, that’s you, did you hear me!!”

“Who? Surrounded in the middle?”

The boys were getting the gossip live, looking around. There weren’t many people by the flowerbeds. The only one who could be considered “surrounded in the middle” was… 

“…”

Huo-ge?

Eh?!

The boys looked at Jiang Zhihuo again.

Great, now he was going to be interrogated when he got back!

“…” Jiang Zhihuo gripped Yan Mu’s hand, resisting the urge to rush upstairs and strangle Yun Xiaoxu, and shouted back, “Got it! You keep filming!”

Having gotten a response, Yun Xiaoxu grinned, pinched his index finger and thumb together, and made a series of finger hearts at the people below. “I’m going now, love you, love you, love you! Ge!”

The boys: “???”

They didn’t follow the talent show, and the news report hadn’t laid out Yun Xiaoxu’s entire family situation, so they certainly wouldn’t have analyzed or guessed. Therefore, at this very moment, their minds were filled with—

Jiang Zhihuo is Yun Xiaoxu’s older brother????

Since when did Huo-ge have a younger brother?