SM Chapter 46

Chapter 46: I don’t owe you, and I don’t owe that child…

Even through the fabric, Sheng Mingqian had reddened Ye Lai’s wrist, the inside of it throbbing with pain. Ye Lai rotated his wrist, slowly rubbing it with his other hand.

He didn’t know how Sheng Mingqian had found out. If he wanted to investigate, it would be easy. Moreover, he had become the focus of attention. He only prayed that those people wouldn’t dig up all his past, leaving him at least some dignity.

Enduring winter means welcoming a warm spring.

Sheng Mingqian had once said this to him, and Ye Lai still remembered it, but he no longer believed it so much.

Spring can sometimes be quite cold, just like now. Stepping outside, the wind could tear a person apart. There was no such thing as a warm spring, only falling from one ice hole into another.

The current situation was beyond Ye Lai’s expectations.

He had previously thought that once he divorced Sheng Mingqian, the two of them would be completely unrelated. There would be no further contact in the future. Even if they were in the same circle, the chances of face-to-face interaction would be almost zero, just like in the past five years. Ye Lai had never been in the same frame with Sheng Mingqian, nor had he accidentally met him in the same place.

Perhaps intentionally or unintentionally, he would occasionally hear some news about the other person, but once heard, it would be stuffed into his ears, and after a while, it would naturally disappear.

This was the distance Ye Lai had imagined between himself and Sheng Mingqian after the divorce. Wasn’t this the state most people should be in after a divorce?

Sheng Mingqian might have once pitied that child, but to Sheng Mingqian, that child was just an insignificant episode.

A dispensable episode that wouldn’t change the main melody or the predetermined ending. The final stop had already been drawn.

What he had once hoped for and been obsessed with was doomed when Sheng Mingqian denied the ending of Bai Yusheng.

Ye Lai was lost in thought. His wrist, originally swollen and painful from Sheng Mingqian’s grip, became increasingly red and painful as he rubbed it himself.

Sheng Mingqian leaned against the window with his arms folded, watching Ye Lai staring blankly, still rubbing his wrist. He walked over and held his hand.

Zhang Yihao came to see the director of the orphanage. As soon as he entered, he saw Sheng Mingqian grabbing Ye Lai’s wrist, and Ye Lai struggling forcefully, suppressing his voice.

“Sheng Mingqian, what are you doing?”

Zhang Yihao was already suppressing his anger. Now he didn’t care about anything. If his own person was being bullied, he would go up against anyone, regardless of who they were. He strode over, pulled Sheng Mingqian’s hand away, grabbed Ye Lai’s arm, and pulled him behind him with a forceful tug.

Ye Lai didn’t stand steadily and staggered a couple of steps, holding onto Zhang Yihao.

“Brother Hao, why are you here?”

“If I hadn’t come, you would have been bullied,” Zhang Yihao glanced at Sheng Mingqian. “Being eaten until there’s nothing left but bone scraps, and even the foam spit out can’t be formed into a ball anymore.”

Sheng Mingqian could tell that Zhang Yihao was mocking him. He stood to the side with a sullen face, wanting to retort, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

“Brother Hao, it’s not what you think,” Ye Lai whispered.

“Not what I think? If he hadn’t been stirring things up behind the scenes, would your endorsements and contracts have all gone down the drain? They were all finalized, and now they’re gone, just like that, and all at once.”

Zhang Yihao had just called and told Ye Lai about this. The brands and the film crew had terminated their contracts with Ye Lai at the same time.

Ye Lai didn’t say anything, his lips tightly sealed. Sheng Mingqian had repeatedly snatched his roles before, and now he probably wanted to retaliate against him for revealing their hidden marriage.

He just didn’t understand, if he wanted to retaliate against him, why didn’t he leave now?

“Hidden marriage for five years, unable to see the light of day. When you had an accident in the mountains before, Director Sheng took lawyers and rushed over overnight, and then eagerly took you back to Finland to see your parents. Now he’s blocking your path again?”

Zhang Yihao spoke very directly, not giving Sheng Mingqian any face. Ye Lai tugged at Zhang Yihao’s sleeve from the side. They were already divorced, and he didn’t want to continue the entanglement: “Brother Hao, let’s not talk about this for now. It’s really not what you think.”

After calming down, Zhang Yihao shut his mouth, knowing that they were in a hospital room, not a place to argue.

When Ye Lai was grabbed by Sheng Mingqian and struggled, he didn’t dare to make a sound, afraid of waking up the director of the orphanage. Zhang Yihao was so agitated now that his voice was constantly loud.

The director of the orphanage heard the noise and woke up, looking for Ye Lai: “Xiao Lai, what’s wrong?”

Ye Lai turned around and walked to the bedside: “It’s nothing, Brother Hao came to see you.”

“Move a chair for him to sit on,” the director of the orphanage pointed, then waved to Sheng Mingqian, “Mr. Sheng, what were you talking about just now? Who wants to eat Xiao Lai?”

Sheng Mingqian was about to speak, but Ye Lai stopped him: “Director Māma, you misheard. No one wants to eat me.”

The director of the orphanage coughed and laughed: “I thought so, it must have been me mishearing. How could anyone eat Xiao Lai.”

Zhang Yihao hooked a chair with his toe, dragged it to the side, and placed it next to Sheng Mingqian. He plopped down in front of him, constantly glancing at Sheng Mingqian’s face, muttering loud enough for Sheng Mingqian to hear: “How could there not be? Isn’t there a big bad wolf standing right here?”

Zhang Yihao’s dissatisfaction with Sheng Mingqian almost overflowed from the room. Sheng Mingqian didn’t want to argue with him. On the other hand, he thought that Zhang Yihao cared a lot about Ye Lai, so he didn’t pay attention to the knives in Zhang Yihao’s eyes.

Sheng Mingqian was still thinking about what Zhang Yihao had just said. Ye Lai’s endorsements and the contracts he had already signed were all gone. Although the public opinion was unfavorable to Ye Lai, other than the divorce, the other information, whether true or false, hadn’t been verified. Moreover, Ye Lai’s attitude was tough, so the brands shouldn’t be terminating their contracts with Ye Lai at the same time.

It seemed that Zhang Yihao thought he had done it.

The director of the orphanage’s condition was very bad. Sheng Mingqian knew that Ye Lai didn’t have the extra energy to deal with these things. He only sent a message to Lin Han, asking him to investigate who was causing trouble for him behind the scenes.

After sending the message, he wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before.

It wasn’t until the nurse and doctor came in to check on the director of the orphanage that the subtle atmosphere between the people in the room eased slightly.

In the afternoon, Sheng Mingqian arranged for the director of oncology to come over to examine the director of the orphanage and look at the report. Finally, he called Ye Lai to the office. The director spoke very bluntly to Ye Lai, telling the family to be prepared.

Ye Lai had already expected it, but when it really came to this, it was still difficult to accept.

—

—

The director of the orphanage stayed in the hospital for a week, and finally passed away. The funeral was kept simple, as she had instructed before she left.

Some reporters found out about the funeral that day. They had been digging into Ye Lai’s past for a while, and found out that he grew up in an orphanage.

Sheng Mingqian knew that there would definitely be reporters who would find their way to the orphanage, so he found a lot of people to guard the entrance in advance. Those reporters in black couldn’t get in and could only stand at the entrance and take a few pictures from afar. But what excited them was that they still managed to photograph Sheng Mingqian and Ye Lai in the same frame.

During this week, Sheng Mingqian spent almost all his time in the hospital, except for dealing with urgent matters. He also stood by Ye Lai’s side at the funeral, in the position of a family member, and greeted and saw off guests with Ye Lai.

Ye Lai opened his mouth several times, telling Sheng Mingqian that it wasn’t necessary for him to do this. He didn’t need to accompany him, let alone wear mourning clothes with him. They were already divorced, and even if they weren’t, their relationship was only a contractual marriage.

But Sheng Mingqian didn’t respond to him several times, as if he didn’t understand. Later, Ye Lai stopped talking. He could follow if he wanted to, he would leave eventually.

The children didn’t know what death was, they only knew that they would never see the director of the orphanage again.

The crying in the yard continued incessantly. Xiao Yu finally cried until he fainted, and Ye Lai went to take care of the children again, running around non-stop.

Although the funeral was kept simple, there were quite a few people who came to attend. Zhang Yihao and Chen Yu Chuan came early in the morning to help Ye Lai with the funeral arrangements. Sheng Mingqian still greeted the visitors in an orderly manner.

An Xuyao also came: “Ye Lai, my mother and Director Jiang have been friends for many years. She is not in the country and asked me to attend Director Jiang’s funeral on her behalf. If there is anything I can help with, just tell me.”

After the blind date, the two didn’t have much contact. After the divorce news, An Xuyao also sent him a message. Ye Lai saw it at the time, but never replied.

“Thank you, President An,” Ye Lai set aside the blind date aspect and only treated him as the son of a friend of the director of the orphanage. “Many friends have come today, and there are enough people for now. President An, please sit inside.”

After Ye Lai finished speaking, he led An Xuyao inside, followed closely by Sheng Mingqian.

Ever since he saw An Xuyao, Sheng Mingqian’s gaze had been intentionally or unintentionally directed at him. An Xuyao also felt the hostile gaze examining him.

The news of Ye Lai and Sheng Mingqian’s divorce was so big that An Xuyao didn’t expect Sheng Mingqian to be there, and still standing in the position of a family member. He looked at Sheng Mingqian playfully.

—

—

After the funeral banquet ended in the evening, Ye Lai and Sheng Mingqian saw off the guests one by one, and finally collapsed in the director of the orphanage’s room.

“You can cry if you’re sad.” Sheng Mingqian was still standing by his side.

Ye Lai rested his arms on his knees, his upper body drooping low. After hearing Sheng Mingqian’s words, he raised his hand and touched his face. His cheeks were hot, but there were no tears. In extreme emotions, people can’t cry, and their senses become dull and empty, those emotions can’t find an outlet.

Geese return on time, tides come with regularity, people who die will not come back, and the traces they once left will slowly fade.

The sky outside was getting dark, the sky near night was bluish-gray, and the wind gathered high on the white cloth hanging at the door. The color in Ye Lai’s eyes was like the white cloth blowing in the wind, bleak and desolate.

Ye Lai slowly sorted out the director of the orphanage’s belongings, while talking to himself, saying it to himself, and also saying it to Sheng Mingqian.

“Director Māma told me before she left that everyone has to go through this, birth, death, separation, joy, and sorrow. A lifetime is just these things, some things, when they come, they come, when they’re gone, they’re gone.”

Ye Lai paused here, slowly raised his head and took a breath. The vision in front of him was blurred, and the grief that had been accumulating in his body finally found an exit. He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to. He rubbed his wet face with his sleeve, and pressed his eyes for a long time before continuing to speak.

“Mingqian, I used that video in the first place, that’s why you married me. When it comes to it, I was wrong first, my obsession was too deep.”

“I am the child on the sixth floor, but that child has nothing to do with you anymore, because I am Ye Lai, I am no longer Fu Ruige…”

Ye Lai licked his chapped The corner of the mouth, and the tears that hadn’t dried were salty.

It was completely dark outside the window, and the lights in the room hadn’t been turned on yet, it was all dark. Ye Lai moved his neck, turned his head, raised his chin, and spoke to the vague breath in the darkness beside him: “Mingqian, you don’t have to keep following me, you don’t owe me, and you don’t owe that child…”