Sun Rain Chapter 19

The first week of January felt slow for Shi Meng.

He finished one painting and started drafting another, considering painting portraits. However, he worried that having only painted landscapes, he wouldn’t do well with figures, so he found some books to study.

Jiang Xue was speechless when he heard about this: “You’re already a painter of this caliber, and you still need to read books to learn?”

Of course he did.

Just like learning how to get along with people, not long ago Shi Meng insisted on his own methods, believing that being tough was enough to keep what belonged to him by his side. But now, he had tasted the sweetness of yielding, finding that Fu Xuanliao’s attitude was changing accordingly, becoming willing to approach him, becoming gentle.

No one is born loving conflict. Shi Meng felt this was good, and with a little more time, perhaps…

Shi Meng stopped his imagination.

Being in a completely unfamiliar territory, he dared not easily predict the outcome. As long as things were moving in a good direction, he was satisfied.

Busy until Saturday, Shi Meng woke up early. When he went downstairs, Shi Huaiyi and Li Bihan were having breakfast. He originally intended to avoid them, but Shi Huaiyi called out, “Xiao Meng, you’re up so early. Come, have something to eat before you go out.”

Shi Meng had no choice but to go over. He was seated in the center of the long table, sandwiched between the two of them. During the meal, only the faint clinking of cutlery, bowls, and plates could be heard. If one didn’t know the inside story, anyone would assume this was a perfectly ordinary family.

The Shi family had many rules, but they were slightly relaxed at the breakfast table. After Shi Huaiyi finished eating and put down his utensils, he asked Shi Meng what he was busy with lately. Shi Meng said painting. He then asked if Shi Meng wanted him to contact a school for graduate studies, but Shi Meng shook his head and refused.

Shi Huaiyi said that the atmosphere in schools nowadays was open and inclusive, vastly different from many years ago, implying that Shi Meng didn’t need to worry about the farce of that year repeating itself.

But it was precisely after that incident that Shi Meng became more afraid of communicating with people and feared crowded places. Fortunately, his work mostly involved being alone, and the parts that required dealing with people were handled by Jiang Xue. He naturally resisted returning to a campus with high population density.

Shi Huaiyi probably just mentioned it casually and didn’t press the issue when he saw Shi Meng was unwilling. However, Li Bihan, who had been silent until then, heard him say he didn’t want to return to school and curled her lips into a slight, contemptuous smile, as if mocking his lack of ambition.

Shi Mu had been accepted into the Academy of Fine Arts graduate program before he was twenty. If it hadn’t been for his serious illness, he would have graduated by now.

Shi Meng bit his fork, his teeth unconsciously pressing down until the pain made him release it.

Li Bihan didn’t seem to be planning on going out today, wearing simple loungewear. Her flowing black hair was loosely tied back. In front of her was a glass of juice, and her plate held only toast with vegetables and half a boiled egg.

Shi Meng didn’t know why he always involuntarily paid attention to her. Perhaps it was because he had received her care in this house, drinking the soup she had made, even if she hadn’t done those things willingly.

As he was nearing the end of his meal, Shi Huaiyi asked Shi Meng where he was going so early. Shi Meng said he was picking up a cat.

“A cat?” Shi Huaiyi paused for a moment before realizing. “Oh, the one you mentioned last time, your Teacher Sun’s cat?”

Shi Meng vaguely replied, “Mhm.”

Keeping a cat was not a small matter in the Shi family. Shi Meng had reported it to Shi Huaiyi a few days in advance. Fearing that mentioning Yang Youlan would cause trouble, he lied and claimed it was Sun Yanfeng’s cat, quickly gaining approval.

Shi Huaiyi nodded and instructed, “Your Teacher Sun has been kind to our family. Take good care of his cat.”

The so-called “kindness” was merely persuading Yang Youlan to send Shi Meng back to the Shi family years ago, and then working through the young Shi Mu to devise ways for the entire Shi family to accept Shi Meng’s existence.

However, while this was a favor to Shi Huaiyi, it was a conspiracy, or perhaps a disaster, for Li Bihan. A happy family of four suddenly had an outsider join them. Although she had known of his existence for a long time, living together was another matter entirely.

Therefore, when Li Bihan heard Sun Yanfeng’s name, her face fell. Hearing that she was expected to help raise his cat, she was even more disgusted: “Where is there room to keep a cat in this house? Who will clean up cat hair everywhere?”

Shi Meng said, “I will manage it and not let it run around.”

Li Bihan was noncommittal. She instructed the maid to prepare a good dinner and then got up and went upstairs.

Shi Huaiyi had wanted to keep her to chat a little longer, and feeling a bit awkward at being dismissed, he simply told Shi Meng, “Go early and come back early. Your Uncle Fu and Aunt Fu are coming over for dinner tonight.”

On the way, Shi Meng hesitated several times but still didn’t call Fu Xuanliao.

He wanted to ask Fu Xuanliao why he hadn’t told him that his family was coming for dinner tonight, but then he guessed that perhaps Fu Xuanliao thought it was a very normal thing and hadn’t bothered to tell him.

No wonder he hadn’t agreed to go out with him last week; he had other plans.

Besides, Jiang Xue had reminded him not to be too clingy. Watching too closely would only push the other person’s heart further away.

Shi Meng believed this because Jiang Xue had also told him that to deal with a man like Fu Xuanliao, he had to use soft tactics. The more overbearing and aggressive he was, the more the other party would resent it. If he acted indifferent, the other party would get anxious and might rush back to coax him, actively delivering himself into Shi Meng’s hands.

Raising his left wrist, the sapphire sparkled brilliantly under the sun. Remembering the way Fu Xuanliao pretended not to care while putting the bracelet on him, Shi Meng curved his lips, revealing a faint smile.

It turned out he didn’t need to fight for it; Fu Xuanliao would know that he liked it and wanted it.

Perhaps the sapphire was too eye-catching. When Shi Meng arrived at Yang Youlan’s residence in the east of the city, the first thing noticed was his wrist.

“Where did you get that rock? It’s huge,” Yang Youlan gasped. “Did your dad buy it for you?”

Unable to find slippers, Shi Meng stood awkwardly at the doorway, muttering a denial: “No.”

Fortunately, Sun Yanfeng also came out and, familiar with the place, took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet beside the door and placed them on the floor: “It’s cold outside, hurry up and come in.”

Shi Meng had guessed that Teacher Sun would be there before arriving. When they contacted each other on WeChat yesterday, Teacher Sun told him to leave early and said they would have lunch together. He hadn’t specified where they would meet, so it turned out to be at Yang Youlan’s house.

Inside the house, Shi Meng sat on the edge of the sofa. Two minutes later, he shifted even further to the side.

This house was not the one he lived in until he was eight; it was a property Shi Huaiyi had transferred to Yang Youlan four years ago.

The location and layout were good, and the hundred square meters were quite spacious, completely different from the small, drafty shack of those years. Shi Meng first glanced at the windows of the dining room and kitchen, then looked at the windows of the living room balcony opposite, remembering Jiang Xue telling him when she bought her house that this was called “north-south transparency.”

“What are you staring at blankly?” Yang Youlan’s sharp voice interrupted his observation in time. “Come over and help.”

Shi Meng stood up before his butt was warm, washed his hands in the kitchen sink, and helped make dumplings.

He had known how to make dumplings since he was six, and he was still adept at it. Sun Yanfeng saw the dumplings he made were round and plump, with neatly pinched pleats, and his eyes crinkled with a smile: “Reaching the halls of art and entering the family kitchen—Mengmeng is truly excellent.”

Yang Youlan also glanced over and snorted: “I thought you were too used to living in a big house to come back to this broken place. I didn’t expect you to still remember how to make dumplings.”

The three of them sat together and ate a peaceful lunch.

Perhaps because Sun Yanfeng was present, Yang Youlan was restrained and didn’t say the nasty, sharp-tongued things she used to, focusing instead on stuffing dumplings into her mouth.

After eating, Shi Meng wanted to wash the dishes, but Sun Yanfeng quickly occupied the sink, telling him to rest: “And look for Mumu, that’s the cat. See where it ran off to.”

Shi Meng had never kept small animals. Before coming, he had checked the cat’s habits online, thinking it must be shy and hiding because a stranger was in the house. So he searched in the nooks and crannies.

It wasn’t in the dining room, the living room, or the balcony. He finally saw a furry tail sticking out from around the corner of an open bedroom door. Shi Meng tiptoed in, intending to pick up the cat.

However, the cat was very alert. Hearing the movement, it twisted around and darted out. Shi Meng was bent over, about to grab it, but was startled by the sudden rush and leaned backward, steadying himself by grabbing the nearby chest of drawers. He didn’t catch the cat, but he knocked two books off the top of the cabinet.

Steadying himself, Shi Meng first breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he hadn’t fallen. The sprain in his right foot from last week hadn’t fully healed, and a new injury would be troublesome.

Leaning against the wall, he bent down to pick up the books on the floor. Shi Meng realized that the A3-sized folder among them was actually a sketchbook.

Out of a painter’s professional habit, and finding it strange that such a thing would be in Yang Youlan’s bedroom, he casually flipped through a couple of pages. The images looked familiar. His gaze shifted to the bottom right corner, where he saw the signature “Mu,” confirming whose hands these drawings came from.

Before Shi Meng could recover his senses, the folder in his hand was suddenly snatched away. Yang Youlan, who had rushed over upon hearing the noise, glared at him, shouting exasperatedly, “Who told you to enter my room and touch my things?”

Shi Meng opened his mouth but couldn’t answer.

Sun Yanfeng, who arrived right after, quickly stood between the two of them, taking the folder from Yang Youlan’s hand. He seemed momentarily stunned but quickly recovered, saying, “I wondered why I couldn’t find this sketchbook. It must have been left here.”

Yang Youlan was still angry, but hearing Sun Yanfeng’s words, she somehow felt a little guilty. She turned her face away and vaguely said, “Yes, remember to take it with you when you leave.”

In the afternoon, Shi Meng wanted to leave early. Sun Yanfeng used all his tricks to coax the cat out, packed it into the prepared carrier, along with various cat foods and supplies, and was still panting when he carried it downstairs.

“I’m getting old; I can’t deny it,” Sun Yanfeng wiped the sweat from his brow and handed the carrier to Shi Meng. “This cat is just a little shy around strangers. You’ll be fine once you get familiar with it.”

Shi Meng took it. He originally planned to put it in the trunk, but after thinking about it, he opened the back car door and settled the cat on the seat.

When the car moved to the intersection, Sun Yanfeng hadn’t gone back upstairs yet. Shi Meng rolled down the window to say goodbye. Sun Yanfeng bent down and leaned toward the window, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated: “Mengmeng, your mother has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Don’t take her words to heart.”

Shi Meng didn’t know how to respond.

Sun Yanfeng continued, “If she truly didn’t want the best for you, she wouldn’t have sent you back to the Shi family in the first place, right?”

Shi Meng was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Sun Yanfeng seemed relieved, straightening up and sighing, “You’ve suffered these years.”

Shi Meng couldn’t understand the “suffering” Teacher Sun spoke of, as he rarely even felt the emotion of being wronged.

He guessed Teacher Sun was mostly referring to the favoritism shown toward Shi Mu, but liking someone is uncontrollable. He could understand everyone who liked Shi Mu and didn’t like him. At least Shi Mu gave everyone around him the impression of being cheerful, excellent, sunny, or kind. It wasn’t strange for people who hadn’t seen his true face to think this way.

Remembering the few times he had interacted with Shi Mu many years ago, especially their last meeting four years ago, and the triumphant smile on that pale face, Shi Meng shivered, and thin sweat seeped into the palms gripping the steering wheel.

On the way back, he passed a flower shop. Shi Meng parked the car on the side of the road and went in to buy two bouquets of flowers.

Jiang Xue had told him that flowers make people happy, and she herself couldn’t bear to refuse the flowers Gao Lecheng sent anymore.

Shi Meng decided: red roses for Fu Xuanliao, and lisianthus for the vase on the staircase landing. Li Bihan liked white. If she saw them when she came downstairs, her mood might improve, and perhaps she wouldn’t mind him keeping the cat.

He had prepared everything and returned home almost impatiently. Seeing Fu Xuanliao’s car parked in the garage, he couldn’t help but speed up, so eager that he forgot the cat in the car and had to turn back to retrieve it just as he reached the door.

With too many things in his hands, Shi Meng first went upstairs to put the carrier and the large bag of cat supplies in his bedroom. Then, holding the two bouquets, he went out and arranged the white one.

Thinking that he hadn’t seen anyone in the study downstairs when he passed by, the guests were likely in the living room on the second floor. Shi Meng walked down the corridor, trying to keep his steps light, afraid of disturbing them.

When he reached the doorway, he realized he was still holding the roses. These were for Fu Xuanliao, and bringing them in front of the elders was clearly impolite. Shi Meng hesitated for only a moment before turning to put the flowers back in his bedroom.

Just then, the voices coming from the living room, separated by a thin wooden sliding door, made him freeze in place.

“I said back then that signing a contract wasn’t appropriate. You can’t force fate like that,” Li Bihan’s voice said.

This was followed by a man’s voice, one Shi Meng was unfamiliar with, likely Fu Xuanliao’s father: “So we came here today hoping to calmly discuss the matter of dissolving the contract.”

It was like a heavy punch to the face. Before he could feel the pain, a violent ringing exploded in his ears, then spread to his mind, quickly occupying all his senses.

Shi Meng stood there blankly, as if his soul had been sucked out. He was completely unaware that the flowers in his hands had dropped to the floor from his slack grip.

The conversation inside the room stopped. Someone approached, the wooden door slid open, and a foot stepped onto the fallen crimson petals.

Seeing the person standing at the doorway, Fu Xuanliao first froze, then frowned with slight irritation: “What are you doing here?”