Chapter 47 – All I Want

Jiang Ruo had heard about it and didn’t take it to heart. He merely recalled that Xi Yufeng had never mentioned his father before. It was Aunt Fang who had mentioned it once or twice, saying that the master knew that Xi Wangchen was useless, yet he still tried his best to lead him onto the right path. This showed that the master was biased. He didn’t value Xi Yufeng despite how outstanding he was, but held Xi Wangchen, a good-for-nothing, in the palm of his hand because Xi Yufeng didn’t have a mother to protect him, making him an easy target.

Jiang Ruo began to feel indignant without realizing it. When he made a video call to An He, he still had a sour look on his face, which scared the living daylights out of An He when he answered. They stared at each other through the screen for a long moment. In the end, it was An He who couldn’t hold back, “Brother, you… Are you angry?”

Jiang Ruo let out a cold snort, “Why would I be angry because you ran away from home for a man?”

An He scratched his head, “It wasn’t really running away from home. Didn’t I leave you a note? And you can contact me anytime…”

Jiang Ruo rolled his eyes, “So I should thank you for keeping in touch with me?”

“In fact, I originally planned to switch my phone off,” An He said quietly, noticing Jiang Ruo’s unfriendly expression, “I was just afraid you’d report me missing…”

“If this call hadn’t gone through, I would indeed have reported it.” Jiang Ruo, who had just returned to Feng City and was bombarded with messages, finally caught his breath and sat down on the sofa, “Tell me, what’s going on? Is that Meng guy getting married too?”

An He lowered his eyelids, “He seemed to be… But it didn’t work out later.”

“Then why did you run away? Preparing in advance?”

“It’s just that I’ve had enough of the big city life. I wanted to breathe some fresh air in the countryside.”

“You’re at your hometown?”

“Mm-hm.” An He raised a handful of seeds in his hand, “It’s spring plowing season. By summer, I’ll treat you to big, sweet watermelons.”

“Don’t change the subject.” Jiang Ruo barked, “What’s really going on? You were acting strange during the Spring Festival.”

An He reached up to press down on the brim of his straw hat and muttered, “It’s nothing. I just thought that rather than wasting time waiting for an uncertain outcome, it’s better to let him go.”

Jiang Ruo sighed, “Can you speak in a way that I can understand?”

To a certain extent, An He and Jiang Ruo shared similar personalities; they were both strong when faced with strength and weak when faced with weakness.

Thus, the more Jiang Ruo pressed, the more stubborn An He became, refusing to explain clearly. He mumbled something about the poor signal in the countryside and said that he should go help with farm chores. Before hanging up the video call, he didn’t forget to remind Jiang Ruo not to tell others about his whereabouts.

When Jiang Ruo called back, he refused to answer.

Jiang Ruo was so furious that he almost bought a train ticket to An He’s hometown to catch him and get a clear explanation.

Just as he was still fuming, there was a knock on the door.

After asking twice who it was without receiving an answer, Jiang Ruo, who had been paying close attention to personal safety since his kidnapping last time, tiptoed to the door and peered out through the peephole.

Then, he opened the door a crack with a puzzled expression and asked the person standing outside, “What do you want?”

Meng Chao didn’t reply. He pushed the door open with his hand, squeezed in sideways, took a tour around the living room and kitchen, then strode towards the bedroom.

“Hey, who let you in?” Jiang Ruo hurried after him, “Stop! I’m calling the police if you take another step inside!”

The house wasn’t large, so he quickly finished searching it. Meng Chao, still unconvinced, returned to the room where An He used to stay. He opened the wardrobe, bent over to look under the bed, even overturned the table, and stood up with an even darker expression than when he entered.

“Where is he?”

“Who?”

“An He.”

Jiang Ruo humphed, “I’d like to ask you that. Where did you hide him?”

Meng Chao looked at Jiang Ruo, seemingly trying to judge from his expression whether he was lying. Jiang Ruo glared back at him, looking righteous and unashamed.

They stared at each other for a long time before Meng Chao gave in first. He took a deep breath and asked, “Hasn’t An He come back?”

“No,” Jiang Ruo said, “He moved all his things to your place. Why would he return here?”

“Then has he contacted you?”

Remembering An He’s warning, Jiang Ruo replied, “That’s what I should be asking you.”

Meng Chao pursed his lips and fell silent.

Jiang Ruo pressed further, “What happened between you two? What’s really going on?”

As if he hadn’t heard, Meng Chao looked at the calendar on the wall in An He’s room, a helpless and defeated expression on his face.

Ignoring Jiang Ruo’s question, he silently turned around and walked outside.

He stopped again just before reaching the door and turned to say to Jiang Ruo, “Send me your bank card number.”

Jiang Ruo, who hadn’t found out anything, was already annoyed, “What do you want my card number for? To transfer me money?”

Meng Chao responded with a simple “Yes”: “Three hundred thousand, for An He’s heart surgery.”

Jiang Ruo felt a twinge of annoyance at being left in the dark. His tone was less than polite, “Didn’t I say that this is between An He and me, it has nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me?” Meng Chao suddenly laughed, “He’s my brother.”

Jiang Ruo’s mouth twitched, “I know you two have a thing for calling each other brothers in private, but there’s no need to — ”

“Didn’t he tell you?” Meng Chao interrupted him, “With how close you two are, he really didn’t tell you anything?”

Jiang Ruo’s heart inexplicably jolted, “Tell me what?”

Meng Chao turned around, his gaze deep and serious, completely devoid of his usual carefree demeanor.

His voice was heavy, “To tell you that his original name is Meng Ze.”

“That he’s the true lost son of the Meng family, and also my… legally recognized younger brother.”

By May, Feng City was showing signs of summer’s approach. At noon, the sun was scorching, and many passersby had already taken out their parasols for shade.

In contrast, the hospital corridors were excessively quiet. Occasionally, visitors would pass by, their footsteps light and their voices deliberately hushed, fearful of disturbing the patients resting there.

In the top floor single room ward, Xi Yufeng sat on the sofa in the outer room, a laptop on his lap. His right elbow was propped against the armrest, and his left hand was sliding across the touchpad as if handling documents.

Shi Mingxu called, saying that several senior executives from the company wanted to visit Xi Chengli at the hospital. Xi Yufeng said, “Let them come. But give them a heads-up beforehand, Old Xi hasn’t woken up yet. Even if they bring documents, there’s no one to sign them.”

Shi Mingxu agreed.

Putting down his phone, the peace didn’t last long as muffled commotion could be heard outside.

“Can’t I even visit my husband? Have you all been bribed by that little beast Xi Yufeng? Get out of the way, let me in!”

Xi Yufeng rubbed his temples, placed his notebook on the low table in front of him, and got up to walk to the door.

When the door opened, it faced Xiao Yin, who was poised to kick it with her chest puffed out. Xi Yufeng slightly furrowed his brows and asked, “What’s the commotion about?”

The nurse responsible for registering visitors was at a loss, “This lady said she wants to visit Mr. Xi. I couldn’t stop her…”

“Mr. Xi?” Xiao Yin widened her eyes, “The Mr. Xi you’re talking about is my legal husband. Why are you stopping me from seeing him?”

Her shrill voice echoed loudly in the empty corridor, and people from the neighboring wards had already poked their heads out to see what was happening.

Xi Yufeng said sternly, “Your legal husband just transferred from the ICU to a regular ward. If you want him to die sooner, feel free to shout louder.”

Hearing these words, Xiao Yin closed her mouth, but her glare at Xi Yufeng remained fierce, as if she wanted to flay him alive.

Once inside the ward, she put on a pitiful and weak facade. Holding Xi Chengli’s hand, which had an IV needle inserted, Xiao Yin wept, “How bitter is my fate, I finally waited for our son to return home, and now you’re in the hospital.

“You tell me, was that truck driver blind, or did he deliberately target you? There were so many cars around, why did it have to hit the one you were in?

“Wake up soon and investigate this properly. I’m truly powerless and unable to intervene! The world is dangerous, and human hearts are unpredictable. We can’t live without you, my dear!”

…

Xi Yufeng sat back in his original position in the outer room, listening to Xiao Yin’s veiled lamentation, the corner of his lips curved into a mocking smile.

After sending the woman, who had lost her mind, on her way, Xi Yufeng went to the reception desk on this floor to check the list of visitors for the past few days, instructing the nurses that anyone wanting to visit must obtain his approval.

On his way back, passing by the stairwell, he saw a person leaning against the wall, seemingly having been standing there for quite some time.

Meng Chao had a faint smile on his face, “Does that mean I also need President Xi’s approval to visit?”

The two of them went to the public lounge on this floor to talk.

“I was originally too lazy to make this trip,” Meng Chao said, “Everything’s in chaos at home, I couldn’t bear staying there.”

After a moment of contemplation, Xi Yufeng said, “Sorry.”

“Huh? Don’t say that to me, save those words for Meng Lan. Her temper is terrible, she’s almost destroyed everything at home these days.”

“You can stay at my place.”

“Then leave the door unlocked for me tonight.”

“Mm.”

After a brief silence, Meng Chao asked, “By the way, your father’s car accident, really has nothing to do with you?”

Xi Yufeng lifted his eyes and glanced at him meaninglessly. Meng Chao immediately straightened up, “I was just asking. It’s not like you didn’t want to get married, it doesn’t justify taking such a risk.”

Then he asked again, “At this point, shouldn’t there be no one in your group who can rival you?”

“Not necessarily,” Xi Yufeng said, “If they unite, they can’t be underestimated.”

Meng Chao nodded, “No wonder you’re staying here. At a time like this, whoever gets Uncle’s support first will have a greater advantage in the situation.”

They discussed business matters for a while.

In short, the cooperation project between the Xi family and the Meng family was still progressing, and no one would turn down money.

When he was sending someone off, Meng Chao said, “By the way, I met your big celebrity today.”

Xi Yufeng was taken aback, “Where?”

“At his residence,” Meng Chao said, “I went to look for An He and intended to return that three hundred thousand to him.”

“Three hundred thousand?”

“Mm, last year, the money for An He’s heart surgery came from your big celebrity.”

Last year… Xi Yufeng frowned, as if recalling something.

“It’s just that he didn’t accept it, because — ” Meng Chao stumbled over his own words, chuckled, and said, “Forget it, I’ll tell you about this matter another time when the opportunity arises. It’s already chaotic enough for you here.”

Back in the ward, Xi Yufeng rarely had the chance to space out for a bit.

It wasn’t just blank spacing out; scenes flashed through his mind like a carousel.

His first encounter with Jiang Ruo, that hazy yet intoxicating night under the influence of drugs, and their subsequent face-to-face talks. Jiang Ruo’s near-embarrassed expression when he heard that the three hundred thousand was what he deserved.

And the way Jiang Ruo smiled with his lips curved, the way he cried in sadness but wouldn’t let him see, the way he danced, panting yet blissfully happy, the way he was on the bed, lost in passion, holding him tightly and begging for more…

Perhaps due to the long time they hadn’t seen each other, the moment he heard something about him, memories flooded out uncontrollably.

Sitting there for a while longer, Xi Yufeng got up, intending to wash his face. Suddenly, he heard a faint movement coming from the direction of the hospital bed.

Stepping into the inner room and approaching the bedside, Xi Chengli, who had been in a coma for over half a month, his eyelids fluttered, slowly opening his eyes as he woke up.

Glancing at the monitoring equipment beside him, everything was normal. Xi Yufeng didn’t immediately call the doctor. Instead, he picked up the water bottle by the bedside and poured water into a glass.

Pouring half a glass of warm water, he held the cup and asked the person lying in bed, “Want to drink?”

Xi Chengli was still wearing an oxygen mask, his lips moving slightly, and his chest rising and falling.

He stared at Xi Yufeng, his eyes filled with a helpless fear.

Seeing his reaction, Xi Yufeng found it amusing, “Don’t tell me you also think that the car accident was orchestrated by me?”

He drank the water slowly, the sound of the empty glass touching the tabletop crisp and clear.

Xi Chengli caught his breath during this time. Through the oxygen mask, his voice was muffled, and Xi Yufeng had to lean in to hear clearly.

The first words a person who had experienced a severe car accident spoke upon waking up were “Don’t hurt your younger brother.”

His pupils darkened abruptly, like gathering clouds. Xi Yufeng straightened his waist and said coldly, “I don’t remember having a younger brother.”

His breathing seemed to quicken slightly, and Xi Chengli gasped, “You… What do you want?”

Initially, Xi Yufeng thought they would have to beat around the bush, but he didn’t expect the old man to be so impatient.

It saved him the trouble of talking. From the drawer by the bedside, Xi Yufeng took out a few sheets of paper, “I’m not getting married, so there’s no need for this agreement to exist anymore.”

All I want is for him to come back to me.