AGRCIW CH10

Chapter 10: “Uncle, my daddy is sick. …”

“Give me back the contract.”

The call ended. Lin Songyu reverted to his aloof demeanor, giving Yang He a cold look.

Yang He subconsciously clutched his folder tightly, the information his ears received slowly processing in his brain. What did Lin Songyu just say? Hush money? Three hundred thousand?

Is it still too late to shut up now?

“A signed contract can’t be reneged on!” Yang He tried to argue, his momentum just starting to build, when he suddenly remembered his grand declaration about throwing caterpillars at rich women who harassed his brother… signing this contract meant selling his brother out.

Among the many rich, wealthy individuals pursuing Xie Zhuo, Lin Songyu was the first to approach him directly. Others who saw him acting as a gatekeeper for his brother seemed to see a pile of cow dung blocking a fresh flower.

Yang He was instantly moved to tears. Finally, it was his turn for such a good thing, like how when one girl in a dorm falls in love, the entire dorm gets milk tea.

“Not returning it is fine too.” Lin Songyu folded his arms, leisurely sitting down. “Tell me about this person, Tang Yu.”

Since Yang He was in a relationship where Xie Zhuo could “frame him with debt,” he must truly be Xie Zhuo’s good brother.

Yang He mumbled: “Then maybe I should just return the contract.”

Lin Songyu’s fingers tightened on the wooden armrest. Indeed, birds of a feather flock together—a bunch of blockheads.

“Even his advisor actively talked to me about Tang Yu. Why are you being so coy?”

Yang He was surprised: “You’ve even met his advisor?”

Isn’t that practically meeting the parents?

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk, it’s because I’ve never met Tang Yu. Xie Zhuo didn’t even tell me about his car accident, and his dating life was even more secretive. I was abroad at the time, and when I came back, he already had a child.”

“Besides, he’s already dead. I never interacted with him, so I have no right to speak.”

Lin Songyu heard the unspoken meaning—Yang He had issues with Tang Yu.

He needed to find a way to pry his mouth open.

“You have an issue with him. Do you also like Xie Zhuo? Are you holding a grudge because childhood friends can’t beat a sudden appearance?”

Yang He’s single eyelids had never been so wide: “Don’t talk nonsense! We’re both straight!”

Lin Songyu looked at him suspiciously.

Yang He: “I just feel bad for Xie Zhuo because he made him poor.”

Lin Songyu said against his true feelings: “He’s not poor, is he? Doesn’t he still have one hundred three thousand and fifty in his card?”

Yang He was surprised: “You even know his savings? He earned that by working day and night for the past two years. When Tang Huhu was born, he barely had any money in his pocket.”

It was precisely because he had no money that he truly couldn’t continue his studies and had to take a leave of absence to earn money.

Yang He picked up the water glass on the table and chugged it down: “Xie Zhuo was originally very rich. He started working part-time in high school and didn’t spend money. He could live on steamed buns and pickles.”

“Ever since Tang Yu came, he was a big spender. Have you been to his home?”

Lin Songyu hadn’t been, but he nodded naturally: “Mhm.”

Yang He: “Did you see that silk quilt on the bed? Ten thousand yuan. Tang Yu bought it using Xie Zhuo’s card. Really, if he wanted a silk quilt, he should’ve said earlier. I have channels; I could get the same quality for a thousand yuan…”

Lin Songyu was puzzled: “What’s wrong with ten thousand yuan? You use it every day.”

Yang He: “But Xie Zhuo only needed a cotton quilt. He used one cotton quilt from high school until his doctorate.”

Lin Songyu disagreed: “If you have money, you can appropriately improve your quality of life.”

Yang He: “But Xie Zhuo only had five hundred thousand. He squandered half of it in two months.”

Lin Songyu changed his posture and said clearly: “Of course, you spend more in the first two months of a relationship. Didn’t you say Xie Zhuo was frugal? His wife probably looked down on his belongings and wanted to replace everything. Once everything’s replaced, he won’t fuss anymore.”

Yang He was perplexed: “Why are you even defending your love rival?”

Lin Songyu: “What love rival? I’m his future boss. Continue. Didn’t he have another two hundred fifty thousand? How did he become poor?”

Yang He: “Then Tang Yu had an accident, you know.”

Yang He’s voice lowered, somewhat muffled: “He went out to sea. The cruise ship encountered a strong wind at night and capsized. He was the only one on the whole ship who wasn’t rescued. No one knows where the seawater swept him away. Isn’t that unlucky?”

“Everyone said it was impossible for him to be alive, but Xie Zhuo insisted on searching. He self-funded a search at sea for half a month, spending all his remaining money at once.”

“If it weren’t for having Huhu to raise, he would have taken out a loan to keep searching. How could I possibly borrow money from a poor man like him?”

Lin Songyu lost his voice, quietly looking at the floor in front of him. “Wasn’t even his body found?”

Yang He: “He even went to identify bodies a few times afterward.”

Lin Songyu murmured: “Since he still had a child to raise, why would he spend all his money on something with such little hope? Doesn’t he have any sense?”

Or does he care about Tang Yu far more than the child?

Tang Huhu is so cute, yet he cares even more about Tang Yu…

Lin Songyu felt a knot in his heart.

Yang He scratched his head: “I don’t know either. When I came back, Huhu was already a month old. I only knew what he was willing to tell me. How would I dare to ask in detail?”

Yang He cleared his throat: “I’m not telling you this for the thirty thousand. I just feel that you’re different from those rich women before, and Xie Zhuo’s attitude towards you is also different, that’s why I…”

Lin Songyu: “Rich women?”

Yang He: “Doesn’t our Xie Zhuo’s looks deserve to be noticed by rich women? Let me tell you, there are rich women in the city, and matchmakers in the villages. They’d practically break down the Xie family’s threshold. He’s an orphan, excellent, with boundless prospects, so suitable to be a live-in son-in-law…”

Lin Songyu stood up, his expression not looking good.

Yang He observed Lin Songyu’s expression, subtly retaliating for the shadow of being scared by the five black-clad bodyguards earlier: “Those matchmakers in the village are very direct when it comes to making money. They won’t go two hundred by two hundred; they’ll directly talk about the father-in-law’s family having millions upon millions…”

Lin Songyu flung his hand and left, his voice cold: “Fine, let him be a live-in son-in-law. I’ll raise Huhu.”

Yang He: ???

Didn’t you like Xie Zhuo’s body?

Before falling asleep, Xie Zhuo felt a little restless. After coaxing Huhu to sleep, he went out to the balcony to get some fresh air.

The research institute provided apartments for doctoral students, but the space was too small to make nutritious meals for Huhu, and the little rascal didn’t have enough room to practice crawling.

Therefore, when Tang Huhu was five months old, he took him out to rent an apartment. The rent pressure was not light.

Initially, because of his leg inconvenience, he rented on the first floor. Now, he was on the top floor of a seven-story walk-up, which was quiet and had an acceptable price.

Lin Songyu’s words echoed in his ears like a mantra, stirring up a memory that brought a bone-chilling cold.

Two years ago, on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Tang Yu suddenly said he was going to work part-time as a waiter on a cruise ship. Xie Zhuo disagreed because Tang Yu’s last part-time job didn’t end well, but Tang Yu was determined to go.

“It’s a rich young master’s cruise birthday party. I know him. Don’t stop me from earning money.”

Xie Zhuo: “Offshore is too dangerous. I can take on a few more students.”

Tang Yu glanced at him with a “you’re unworldly” look: “Party themes vary. This rich young master is a decent person. Have you ever been on a cruise ship? You say it’s dangerous?”

Xie Zhuo’s danger didn’t refer to traffic danger, but Tang Yu’s personal safety.

The two almost argued about it, but Tang Yu still went.

Xie Zhuo stayed in the apartment, tutoring students online, until a breaking news alert popped up on his phone—a cruise ship had capsized barely a kilometer offshore.

The scene was chaotic. The police tallied the number of people on board and those rescued and discovered something: Tang Yu had apparently sneaked in without any identification. His figure only flashed across the initial entrance surveillance.

Because of the other party’s distinguished aura, claiming to be a friend of the rich young master, the security guard had momentarily overlooked checking for an invitation.

The police checked everyone named Tang Yu nationwide, but none matched. Xie Zhuo had no effective relationship with Tang Yu; he couldn’t even be considered a victim of this incident.

Everyone was pulled out, except for the unidentified Tang Yu.

The rich young master celebrating his birthday was also rescued, surrounded by dozens of people.

Xie Zhuo suddenly remembered Tang Yu saying he knew this rich young master, and his purpose in sneaking in might be related to him. He desperately pushed through the crowd, wanting to ask the rich young master for information about Tang Yu.

But he was on crutches and found it impossible to move in the chaotic scene. He was knocked down by the panicking crowd, then fearfully propped himself up with his crutches, refusing to stop. When he was still two meters away, he watched as the person answered a call and left joyfully.

Later, he could only communicate through the other party’s lawyer. The lawyer said that the cruise ship had just started moving, and the client had not come into contact with anyone suspected to be Tang Yu. The client was willing to compensate, but it had to be genuinely given to Tang Yu’s relatives.

The police and accident investigators searched at sea for three days, then withdrew.

Xie Zhuo could only search himself.

From the first to the fifteenth day of the lunar month, he spent his time at sea. During the Spring Festival, he had to pay exorbitant prices for fishermen to be willing to go out to sea with him to search for a person with little hope.

An old fisherman smoking his pipe recounted how so-and-so’s family went out to sea twenty years ago and never returned, advising Xie Zhuo not to spend any more money.

“We’ll go back today and won’t come tomorrow. I can’t earn this money. Your leg isn’t healed yet, and you’re out at sea in the dead of winter. Don’t get rheumatism at such a young age.”

Xie Zhuo thought, if Tang Yu was exposed to the wind at sea for half a month, would he get rheumatism? Would his face crack?

The fiery red sunset plunged into the horizon. The slender man, leaning on crutches, limped down from the small fishing boat.

The fisherman yelled from behind: “Want to come to my house for tangyuan… Sigh, he’s so stubborn.”

Xie Zhuo blindly walked along the soft beach towards an uninhabited area. Someone seemed to be standing ahead.

He looked up, but couldn’t see the person’s face clearly.

Couldn’t see it? Fine. It wasn’t Tang Yu anyway.

“Xie Zhuo.” The person called him.

Xie Zhuo stopped and mechanically asked: “Do you have any clues about Tang Yu?”

The person: “Tang Yu has already gone to another world.”

Xie Zhuo seemed not to hear, and continued walking forward.

The young man whose face he couldn’t see clearly said: “He was never from the same world as you. He was pregnant when he left. Look, this is your child.”

Xie Zhuo suddenly looked up, only then noticing that the other person was holding a swaddled baby, not a winter coat.

Life felt like a grand and clumsy hoax. Hadn’t he clearly stated Tang Yu’s gender in the reward notice? Everyone in this small fishing village knew he was looking for his wife, but his wife couldn’t get pregnant, and even if she could, she wasn’t full-term yet.

Which parents didn’t want a child and wanted to give it to him?

“I’m not in the mood, and I can’t afford to raise a child.”

The young man said: “Your parents are deceased, and you’ve been taken as a child of the Heavenly Dao. Tang Yu was sent by the Heavenly Dao to take care of you and help you through difficulties… Uh, I’m sorry for making your life harder.”

“He and the Heavenly Dao made a transaction where each got what they needed. He completed his mission and his physical body died. The Heavenly Dao saved the fetus in his womb, which has now been nurtured to full term. Do you want it?”

“Look at this baby. He looks a lot like you.” The young man was talking nonsense with his eyes closed, because the baby looked more like Lin Songyu himself.

A swaddled baby was suddenly thrust into Xie Zhuo’s arms. Caught off guard, he had to drop his crutches and use both hands to hold it.

The baby was sleeping soundly, its nose and mouth tiny, like it had just been taken out of an incubator, so small it felt like it could slip through Xie Zhuo’s fingers.

He must have gone crazy searching for Tang Yu, falling for any trick, his mind so muddled he couldn’t even see people’s faces clearly… No, his mind was perfectly clear.

Xie Zhuo stared intently at the young man, realizing his face was like a blurred mosaic placed by the police on a suspect; he simply couldn’t see it clearly.

“You said Tang Yu went to another world?”

“Yes, he won’t be coming back again.” The young man said. This was agreed upon with Lin Songyu at the beginning of their transaction. He had never seen such a proud young master who absolutely refused to let anyone know he had been a nanny. After the mission was completed, he had to be declared “dead,” his face had to be changed, his hands had to be changed, and his voice too. He refused to serve others with his original appearance. Lin Songyu falling into the sea was an accident, which also conveniently ended this “caregiving” and allowed his original body to awaken from its comatose state.

Xie Zhuo’s five fingers holding the swaddled baby tightened. He had thought of many reasons for Tang Yu’s appearance, but he never imagined it transcended the realm of science.

A transaction? Taking care of him? How was he worthy? Was that why Tang Yu initially served him with a forced smile?

Xie Zhuo actually felt a self-deprecating “it figures.” He was all alone, and Tang Yu came in like a sun, giving him a fleeting shadow. Night always falls, and no one stays by your side forever.

“When he left, was he in pain?”

“No pain.”

“Did he know about this child?”

“Yes, he did.”

“Was he…” Was he giving birth to the child in another world and deciding he didn’t want this bonus mission reward? Was there a time difference between the two worlds? Was childbirth painful? Did Tang Yu ever hold the child? …

Xie Zhuo had so many questions to ask.

The young man suddenly jumped up in a panic, as if warned: “You can’t ask any more questions! I’m leaving!”

“Is he doing well over there?” Xie Zhuo squeezed out one question from thousands, grabbing the person.

“Very well!”

The young man’s shadow suddenly vanished, as if an illusion. Only the heavy swaddled baby in his arms, and his weak left leg, reminded him of the reality and pain of his life.

Xie Zhuo looked at the child, slowly sitting on the beach in a disheveled and twisted posture. He pulled out his phone and ordered a runner service—he couldn’t bring the child back from the beach alone.

He closed his eyes and looked down at the baby, trying to find Tang Yu’s shadow in its features.

A pointed chin, long eyelashes, like Tang Yu. The rest, he couldn’t find.

Pop, pop, pop, bang, bang, bang.

In the distance, firecrackers suddenly sounded from the village, one by one, then in a continuous burst.

The baby in his arms was startled and whimpered twice.

Xie Zhuo quickly covered the baby’s ears tightly with the swaddling and turned his back to the source of the firecrackers.

It was the Lantern Festival.

He sat there blankly for half an hour until two runners finally found the right place, looking confused by the scene—a disabled father with a newborn child, dirty clothes, and crutches haphazardly thrown on the ground.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Xie Zhuo smiled with difficulty, “My wife and I brought the child to see the sea, but she had an urgent matter and left first.”

The runners happened to be a man and a woman. The woman offered to help hold the child. Noticing Xie Zhuo’s hesitation, she said, “I have two children. I know how to hold a baby.”

Xie Zhuo then handed the child to her.

The other runner helped Xie Zhuo stand up. His left leg was numb from the cold at sea. He thought he wouldn’t care, but then Tang Yu left a child.

He had to be able to stand. He couldn’t fall on the way back. He had a child to take care of.

Xie Zhuo stood in a standard, upright posture. The alarm in his pocket vibrated, indicating that Huhu’s cup had finished sterilizing and could be put away.

He turned and looked down at the pine tree in the corner of the balcony.

One day, Tang Yu had suddenly brought it back from outside, holding a small potted plant with soil, awkwardly asking him, “Would you like to raise a small pine tree?”

Of course, he would.

Tomorrow, he would return to his hometown. Xie Zhuo went to get a roll of insulation cotton, knelt down, and carefully wrapped the main trunk, then applied some warming fertilizer.

He hoped it would sprout next year.

The next day, Xie Zhuo felt a little feverish on his forehead and quickly took a packet of cold medicine. When Tang Huhu pounced on him, he put on a mask.

Tang Huhu: “Is Daddy sick too?”

Xie Zhuo: “Just a little.”

Tang Huhu’s eyes were filled with concern: “A little means a lot.”

“I’ll be better soon. It won’t stop Daddy from taking you on the plane.” Xie Zhuo got out of bed and took out steamed buns and eggs from the timed rice cooker.

“Daddy, Huhu is going to make a call,” the little rascal said, acting first and reporting later.

Xie Zhuo: “Who is Huhu calling?”

Tang Huhu: “Uncle!”

No, he’s blacklisted. Xie Zhuo quickly walked over to stop him, but when he looked down, he saw that the video call was already requesting.

Not blacklisted anymore?

But no one answered.

Lin Songyu couldn’t sleep last night and was woken up by the call this morning. He only reached for his phone on the second attempt.

“Hello.”

“Ah Yu, you absolutely have to come to my birthday this year. How about I throw a birthday party on a mountaintop?”

Xu Youxiang said cheerily.

Lin Songyu: “Don’t want to get windy, not going.”

Xu Youxiang: “It’s not just my birthday, it’s also our survival anniversary after the disaster.”

Lin Songyu: “Commemorating your capsized boat? Your most urgent task right now is to have fewer parties and study more.”

Xu Youxiang: “Commemorating your awakening from a vegetative state! I was just pulled out of the sea and thought I was completely unlucky, but then you woke up. You don’t know how happy I was.”

Lin Songyu was about to agree, but then he looked closely at his phone and realized the last WeChat call wasn’t from Xu Youxiang, but from Tang Huhu.

Don’t ask him how he knew it wasn’t Xie Zhuo; everyone knows.

Lin Songyu paused, didn’t immediately agree, and said, “Happy birthday first. I’ll check my schedule. Gotta hang up, my mom’s looking for me.”

He hung up that call and then called Tang Huhu.

“Is there something, Huhu?”

“Uncle, my daddy is sick,” Tang Huhu said worriedly, “Uncle, can you—”

Before the little rascal could finish his sentence, his voice suddenly faded, then a low male voice leaned into the microphone.

“It’s nothing. Sorry for the trouble.”

Lin Songyu: ?

If he’s not sick, he’s not sick.

If he is sick, he’s deliberately keeping people from sleeping.