NH chapter 047

Chapter 47: Phone Call

Huo Ye gathered his strength and pushed Zhousheng Yi away, then leaned against the wall due to the reaction force, his body tensing up as he anxiously glanced at Shen Tingyu.

He couldn’t understand how he continuously encountered such situations, as if Heaven was determined to go against him this year, leaving him speechless and physically and mentally exhausted, unable to explain a single word.

Huo Ye stared blankly at Shen Tingyu as he walked down the steps, too afraid to even breathe.

Shen Tingyu wore a grim expression and, without saying a word, landed a solid punch on Zhousheng Yi, almost knocking him to the ground; Zhousheng Yi turned his head, and blood quickly seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Shen Tingyu stepped forward to continue, but Huo Ye, gritting his teeth, propped himself up and intervened, disrupting his movement: “Stop it! Can you not be so childish? There are cameras nearby!”

“—I’m being childish?” Shen Tingyu could not bear to hear that and immediately forgot everything, pushing Huo Ye away without a second thought.

Caught off guard, Huo Ye suddenly lost his balance and his entire body leaned against the staircase railing, pain causing him to instantly lose his voice, curling up as if electrocuted, slowly sliding down from the railing, completely silent and still.

“Huo Ye!” Shen Tingyu immediately regretted it, the anger of betrayal swiftly dissipating, replaced by a surge of panic and frustration.

Zhousheng Yi’s face changed dramatically at the sight, springing up to lunge towards Huo Ye, but Shen Tingyu, in a fit of urgency, did not forget the damned guy who often met Huo Ye in secret and had been caught by him several times. He turned and landed another punch, sending him back to the ground, shouting angrily: “Get lost!”

He then bent down and pulled Huo Ye into his arms, cradling him by the knees and waist, as if terrified that some audacious fellow would steal him away, hastily walking out toward the teaching building.

Huo Ye’s consciousness was sinking in a sea of suffering, his head weakly resting on Shen Tingyu’s shoulder, feeling an unbearable pain.

Shen Tingyu’s clothes were soaked with Huo Ye’s cold sweat, and in a moment of anxiety, he softly called out Huo Ye’s name: “Don’t sleep. If you dare to fall asleep, I’ll dock your pay.”

Huo Ye, half-conscious, heard those words, closing his eyes slightly as he sighed against his shoulder, intermittently reminding him: “…Didn’t you…already…fire me?”

Shen Tingyu paused, momentarily stunned.

But it was just a pause, and then he darkened his face, carrying him out of the school gate.

Outside the gate, a Maybach was parked by the roadside, the driver seemingly waiting there since before class. As soon as they came out, he rushed over to help, but was silenced by Shen Tingyu’s glare.

After getting in the car, Shen Tingyu refused to hold him any longer, letting Huo Ye lean against the most comfortable seat, while he himself pressed against the car door with crossed arms, still looking indifferent, as if the flustered person from earlier was unrelated to him, or perhaps not him at all.

Huo Ye knew that he had misunderstood something, but at that moment he was too weak to comfort him, closing his eyes and nearly slipping into unconsciousness.

The following sensations became very hazy; he seemed to have returned to a warm place, dreaming a long dream.

Huo Ye dreamed he was bound by a python, the constriction around his waist tight enough to nearly suffocate him, teeth grazing his neck gently, causing a bit of pain, but compared to the torment in his abdomen, it hardly mattered.

The snake was mournful and restless, but also clingy, licking him after biting as if it cared, its tongue surprisingly warm and soft.

Bumps, floating, and then finally settling.

When he awoke in a hospital bed, he found himself alone.

His hand was cold as a nurse was pulling the needle out of him. Seeing Huo Ye open his eyes in confusion, she said, “Awake? Just in time; this IV has finished. You can go home now. Remember to push the button.”

“…Okay.”

Huo Ye nodded gently, pressing down on the needle site on his hand.

The young nurse tidied up the medicine bottles on her cart. After a while, noticing the silence, she paused and asked, “Where’s your family?”

Huo Ye sat up and replied softly, “They’re not here.”

“Ah, not here?” The nurse exclaimed, “I remember a tall, handsome boy brought you in.”

Huo Ye paused for a moment, unable to resist feeling his neck.

So it wasn’t just a dream?

He felt a brief thrill of happiness, but sitting in the empty ward, he quickly fell into despair again.

He glanced at the door, “…Maybe he left long ago.”

“Can you manage being here alone?”

“I can.” Huo Ye said.

The nurse wheeled the cart out of the ward.

Huo Ye didn’t hurry to leave; he first took out his phone and sent a message to the pinned contact on WeChat.

[007]:

Thank you, Young Master.

…

After waiting a few minutes with no reply, Huo Ye decided to head back.

Half an hour later, the other party finally replied right on time.

[Big Miss]:

Don’t thank me. Thank your new boyfriend.

[Big Miss]:

I didn’t care about your life or death.

…

Huo Ye fell silent for a moment before typing back.

[007]:

Then who brought me here just now?

[Big Miss]:

Why are you asking me? I don’t know; I’m in class.

[007]:

Oh, what about that little boy?

[Big Miss]:

Died; I punched him. You fainted and didn’t catch him.

…

Huo Ye couldn’t help but tug at the corner of his lips, yet his brows furrowed lightly, worried that Shen Tingyu’s bad temper could only be tolerated by someone equally difficult like himself. — Since he cared, why would he still hurt him and say such unpleasant things?

After that day, although Shen Tingyu still ignored him most of the time, his attention clearly increased, and the times they met eyes from afar grew more frequent, though one of them would always look away first.

Zhousheng Yi didn’t know whether he was punished or what, but Huo Ye hadn’t run into him for quite some time, perhaps because Shen Tingyu was monitoring him too closely, leaving no room for anyone else.

The calendar flipped another page; in March, the school held a 100-day pledge ceremony, meaning there were less than 100 days until the college entrance examination.

One hundred days, two thousand four hundred hours.

Once the college entrance examination was over, it should soon clear up, right?

Huo Ye dared not slack off for a single day, having endured under heavy pressure for so long; he was on the brink of breaking through. If he could receive an acceptance letter he was satisfied with, he would be free.

He could take his mother and sister away from here, to a city where Shen Tingyu was. In a new city, no one would recognize them, allowing them to hold hands and kiss openly under the daytime sun.

This thought had almost become his only guiding light, where every moment of each day before dawn felt like hanging a lonely sail in a black ocean, constantly drenched in rain, drifting, and sailing away.

During the monthly exam at the end of March, Huo Ye estimated he would score quite high, calculating that he could probably reach the past year’s score line for Political University.

Although the report card had not yet come out, he was already confident, and the gloomy clouds from the past few days had dissipated a lot. Even the oppressive weight on his chest felt slightly lifted, and Huo Ye felt a sense of relief.

Actually, he wasn’t that bad.

…right?

If he could maintain it, he would have the courage not to hide anymore.

On the night after the monthly exam, Huo Ye returned home, packaging the few things he bought for his sister to take over.

Huo Lijun hadn’t shown up for over half a month; he didn’t know where he had gone to gamble or hide from debts. Having no fixed source of income, he worked odd jobs everywhere, especially after his wife and daughter ran away, he had become even more disheveled, often disappearing without a trace.

But his extended absence was indeed unusual, though Huo Ye felt high-spirited this time and didn’t want to think about it. As long as he stayed here to deal with it, those debt collectors wouldn’t bother his mother and sister.

After a winding journey, he arrived at the house on the city outskirts. Huo Yan jumped off the sofa in surprise when she saw her brother and ran over to hug his leg.

“Where’s Mom?” Huo Ye pinched her little face.

Huo Yan said, “She’s cooking.”

Huo Ye looked up; Song Jianlan’s figure had busily moved from the kitchen of the old rental to the new one, never changing. It seemed like she had always been cooking, frying, washing dishes… day after day.

Song Jianlan never seemed to find it monotonous; every time she spoke to them, her face was always smiling, gentle and strong, subtly influencing Huo Ye’s personality.

As a mother, she was definitely not weak.

At dinner, Song Jianlan served the children dishes, evidently well aware of their favorites—this was indeed quite rare.

Because Huo Ye did not like to eat meat but loved eggs, she minced the meat and wrapped it in golden egg batter, coaxing him to eat a bit; Huo Yan was picky, so she would change the flavors of the dishes every day, making an effort to ensure they were always different.

Thus, even though life was quite frugal, the two children were raised well and not thin at all, with a balanced diet.

Huo Ye couldn’t have grown this tall merely by eating plain rice.

After dinner, Huo Yan went to do her homework, while Song Jianlan intended to tidy the table, but Huo Ye pulled her back down to sit.

Seeing Huo Ye’s serious expression, she immediately became nervous and nervously rubbed the hem of her clothes, hurriedly asking, “What’s wrong? Is it something happening with your dad again? Has he found us? Or…”

Huo Ye shook his head, solemnly saying, “No, but maybe it’s something more important. Mom, I must tell you.”

Song Jianlan widened her eyes and gasped.

Huo Ye said, “I have someone I like.”

“…Ah?”

This sentence came out of Huo Ye’s mouth so abruptly, with no preamble, that Song Jianlan initially thought of laughing, but seeing his serious face, she couldn’t bring herself to.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she said, “Little Seven, are you willing to tell me? I’m very happy, but you are about to take the college entrance exam…”

“It won’t affect the college entrance exam.”

Huo Ye interrupted: “We won’t be together before the exam.”

“Oh, that’s good…”

Song Jianlan hadn’t yet caught her breath when she heard her son succinctly say again: “The person I like is a boy.”

“Ah??”

Huo Ye squatted down, lowering his head to rest on her knee, just like when he was a child, snuggling up to her and saying, “Mom, actually, I’ve thought about this for a long time during many nights. He’s very excellent, but he also has many bad and perhaps unbearable flaws. Yet I always knew he was probably the only one who could make me happy.”

Song Jianlan’s mouth hung open, her trembling hands raising and lowering, after a long while she softly stroked his head.

After smoothing his hair for a while, Song Jianlan finally regained her voice, with a hint of restrained tears: “Okay, if he can make you happy, then it’s all good…”

“Once the college entrance exam is over, bring him home so I can see what kind of child he is, okay?” Song Jianlan said warmly.

Huo Ye looked up but hesitated.

“Mom, but he’s a boy.”

Song Jianlan vigorously rubbed his hair as if finding him somewhat unreasonable, letting out a sigh: “Whether it’s a boy or a girl, you should bring them home for me to see.”

Huo Ye lightly blinked, finally bowing his head.

“I understand.”

He said while resting on his mother’s knee.

After stepping out, Huo Ye walked to a nearby alley downstairs, suddenly feeling the urge to send Shen Tingyu a message or perhaps make a call.

He again touched the red mark on his neck.

It had hurt a bit at the time, but this kind of pain was unlike any other. The pains in his body only made him feel anguish.

But what Shen Tingyu gave him was always because he cared.

Shen Tingyu liked to bite his neck and Adam’s apple, mostly as a means of punishment, a lesson for him. But because it was Shen Tingyu, Huo Ye even found the punishment to be sweet.

Even though Huo Ye had told him not to make a scene that day, Shen Tingyu was especially angry about it, Huo Ye still hoped that if Shen Tingyu misunderstood something, even if he got angry or resentful, as long as he wasn’t truly indifferent, it would be fine.

Shen Tingyu being angry proved that he cared, and Huo Ye indeed needed to be cared for. He stubbornly believed that being cared for was the first step toward happiness, and he was almost there.

Carrying this slightly happy, somewhat anxious, and slightly tense mood, Huo Ye took the initiative to make a call for the first time.

He hadn’t had the courage to call Shen Tingyu actively until he was sure of his improved grades.

Until today, he finally had a stance to respond with.

In those few seconds before dialing the number, Huo Ye thought a lot.

—Shen Tingyu, I did well this time; I shouldn’t disappoint you again. I’ve been following the study plan you set, studying well every day. I haven’t fallen into decline.

—Shen Tingyu, even though you often treat me harshly, always throwing tantrums and bullying me… but it can’t be denied that you are indeed the best person to me in this world besides my family, and no one has ever given me so many promises.

—Shen Tingyu, I have nothing to do with that little boy; please don’t be angry. You really hurt me that day. If possible, could you be less violent in the future and not be so fierce? You used to be so kind to me.

—Shen Tingyu, I’m responsible for you. After the college entrance exam, let’s be together, okay? I might be a bit foolish, and my family situation isn’t good, which could bring you a lot of trouble, but I’m sorry, I still need to trouble you.

“Hello?”

The call took a long time to connect, and Shen Tingyu’s voice was cold and indifferent.

Huo Ye had rehearsed so much in his mind, but when the call finally connected, his mind went blank and he couldn’t remember anything.

Unable to hear any words, there was the sound of something dropping, Shen Tingyu must be doing his homework in the room, and without patience, asked, “What is it?”

Say it, you have to say it.

Say you like him and want to be together forever.

However, Huo Ye swallowed hard and said: “It’s nothing.”

After so long, this was the first time he had taken the initiative to call; how could Shen Tingyu believe that nothing was wrong? But at this moment, Shen Tingyu behaved arrogantly, thinking, well, after waiting so long, finally you came to seek peace with me; I might as well give you a bit of push and pull.

“Why are you calling if there’s nothing? I’m hanging up.” Shen Tingyu’s tone was as always, proud and unyielding, sounding so cold, harsh, and nonchalant to Huo Ye.

Hearing this, Huo Ye began to doubt whether being cared for was merely his illusion of wanting happiness, as if Shen Tingyu had already let go of him, otherwise how could he have not sought him out for such a long time?

Huo Ye felt a bitter feeling in his heart, pleading: “Please don’t hang up.”

“…What is it?”

Huo Ye said: “Shen Tingyu, I want to see you.”

Shen Tingyu immediately stood up from his desk, grabbed his phone, and rushed to his wardrobe, frantically searching for a nice coat to wear, all while stubbornly saying, “Oh, but I don’t want to see you at all. What should I do?”

Huo Ye remained silent for a long time, only his breathing became heavier. Knowing what he wanted to say made him uncomfortable, he finally uttered: “…Sorry to disturb you.”

“It’s late, get some rest.”

“It’s only ten o’clock, when… Huo Ye? Huo Ye!” Shen Tingyu called out several times, realizing that the call had already ended.

At this moment, he had even put on his coat, looking incredulous.

On the other side, Huo Ye stood rooted to the spot, bending over while clutching his chest, unable to breathe and fearing that if he delayed a moment longer, Shen Tingyu would hear the signs of his brittle shell breaking through.

His phone vibrated again; this time, it was Shen Tingyu calling him back. The ringtone was urgent, but Huo Ye didn’t dare to answer.

The ringing stopped.

The second call came in.

Huo Ye struggled for a long time, just about to pick it up, when suddenly a sharp, instantaneous pain pierced through his back, then he felt nothing—he looked down and saw blood.

One drop, two drops, three drops… countless droplets pooled on the ground, forming a small, deep red stream.

Huo Ye couldn’t turn around, his body stiffening to the point where he couldn’t move, knowing that at this moment the village idiot should also be running away, or in his normal state, no one would have been his match.

All this while, no one could hurt him.

Unless he didn’t hide.

Or rather, at the moment of this bodily eruption, Huo Ye’s reaction felt delayed as if it were slowed down; he didn’t know nor had time to hide.

“You forced me, you forced me!” The man cried out desperately, “You promised you would return this hundred thousand, why haven’t you? Why hasn’t it been returned for so long?!! My daughter is dead! My daughter is dead! Before she died, she was crying in bed, saying: Dad, it hurts, did you hear, Old Huo? She said it hurts, it hurts so much…”

The crimson blade repeatedly plunged into Huo Ye’s body, blood gushing uncontrollably, splattering everywhere. His front and back clothes were quickly soaked red, no longer recognizable.

He seemed to lose his senses, his vision swaying, the man’s wailing and noise ringing in his ears, until he finally fell to the ground.

But the man still thought it wasn’t enough and refused to let go, stabbing many more times, until he finally knelt down weakly.

As the fireworks burned out and the hourglass ran empty, Huo Ye thought that time was always cruel, never stopping for anyone, whether it was a rich second generation with boundless wealth or a poor man down on his luck, the god of time showed no sympathy or mercy, unwilling to pause even for a moment.

Even if the happiness that Huo Ye longed for was clearly within reach, already on its way to find him, wearing that prettiest coat.

Even if he only had two months until the college entrance examination.

This was a remote suburb, far from the city center, almost a place Huo Ye had personally searched for for a long time, scarcely touched by people.

A fruit knife fell to the ground with a clang, the man seemed startled awake, seeing the blood pooled everywhere, trembling and stammering: “Old Huo, don’t blame me…”

“Don’t blame me, don’t blame me.”

He stumbled to his feet and fled in madness.

The third call ended.

Immediately, the fourth call came in.

Blood spread along the ground, following the patterns as it flowed, like a crushed and discarded broken rose, fiercely revealing its claws and slowly engulfing Huo Ye, including that little remnant of awareness.

Why couldn’t they wait for him?

If only they could wait a little longer, he was just about to gain happiness.

The fifth call came in.

Huo Ye gazed at the pitch black night sky, clearly sensing his life rapidly slipping away. He used to often wish for time to speed up a bit, a bit more, waiting for the college entrance examination to end so he could live his dream because Shen Tingyu had promised to take him to the most beautiful places.

But now he wished time could slow down, slow down to the point of extending this moment infinitely, asking everything in the world to come to a halt, except for Shen Tingyu on the other side.

If time was destined to have an end, I want to see you; please let me see you once more, even if it’s just for a quarter of an hour.

I like you; please let me tell you myself.

The night sky, silent like time, was empty, and he could no longer wait for the day to clear up. He reluctantly closed his eyes, thinking about the last night without the moon, fearing he might not have the chance to pluck it.

He had promised, always letting Shen Tingyu down.

From now on, no more suffering. Being burdened by love for so many years felt like a release. But even so, he couldn’t put his mind at ease, not even a word of farewell could be entrusted to anyone, his gaze always aimed in the direction of his mother and sister.

The sixth call came in, the seventh call, then the eighth and ninth…the phone continued to vibrate insistently.

But once he hung up, no one would answer anymore.