The Flower Of The High Mountain Is Pregnant With The Son Of The Sand Sculpture Ceo Chapter 49
byChapter 49 A Light Kiss, and Another
As soon as Chen Hao heard this, he instantly panicked, his eyes wide as he said, “You’ll say any kind of bullshit just to save your own skin! Be careful, I’ll cut out your tongue!”
The woman shrieked in fear, shrinking further into the corner. She cried, not daring to look at Chen Hao, much less raise her head to look at anyone else.
She regretted everything now. If she had known, she would have run away when Chen Hao ordered her to block people earlier, saving herself from this suffering!
Tang Suichen’s eyes were cold and menacing, and Pei Yumin was growing increasingly impatient. Both their gazes fell on Tang Yi, causing him to shiver despite the summer heat, a chill running down his spine.
At this point, he knew he couldn’t play the peacemaker anymore. Protecting himself was the most important thing!
Tang Yi turned to look at Chen Hao, feeling instantly as if he had daggers in his back, the pressure of the gaze making it hard to breathe. “Tell the truth!”
Chen Hao looked up at him, pleading with his eyes, but it was too late for anything now.
With Tang Yi refusing to speak up for him, Chen Hao grew increasingly frantic. Finally, he shuffled forward on his knees, grabbing Tang Yi’s trousers. “Godfather, you can’t abandon me! Everything I did was for you!”
Chen Hao had been a simple-minded brute before, but after following Tang Yi, he had grown a little cunning. He could tell Tang Yi wanted to wash his hands of him, but at this moment, Tang Yi was clearly the only person he could rely on. Therefore, he had to drag Tang Yi down with him, making them partners in crime, or his fate would be even worse!
Chen Hao said, “Godfather, you know I only like women. I only look for women when I go out. I have no interest in men!”
Tang Yi quickly interjected, “Then why did you provoke…” He didn’t know how to address Lu Shangyan, so the words circled in his mouth and came out as, “Why did you provoke Young Master Pei’s beloved! I think you were drunk and didn’t know your place, seeing things wrongly!”
Tang Yi was clearly trying to curry favor, but Pei Yumin wasn’t buying it. He continued to stare coldly at Chen Hao on the floor.
Tang Yi completely gave up. “Young Master Pei needs to vent his anger, so you’ll just have to take it!”
When Chen Hao heard this, how could he accept it? He had already taken a severe beating and knew the methods of these two. If they started again, he would truly be crippled!
He hugged Tang Yi’s leg, desperately stopping him from leaving. “Godfather! Godfather, you can’t leave!”
“I saw how delicate he looked and wanted to trick him upstairs to drug him and save him for you! I did it for you, to make you happy! You can’t abandon me!”
The anger that had just slightly subsided in Pei Yumin flared up again, even stronger than before!
He looked at Tang Yi, Chen Hao’s words having completely pierced his heart. His expression was savage. “Happy?”
Tang Yi immediately raised his hand and slapped Chen Hao hard twice. “How dare you say such vulgar things!”
Chen Hao was in great pain but dared not relax his grip. “I was wrong, Godfather, I said the wrong thing.”
“But my filial devotion to you is real, you can’t abandon me!”
Tears, sweat, and blood smeared his face. His gaze slid past Pei Yumin, not daring to linger, and finally settled on Lu Shangyan, who looked the easiest to bully. He looked at him and said word by word, “I know I was wrong. I apologize to you both. I promise to be a good person from now on.”
“I guarantee I will never appear before you again. I was blind this time, and I truly did not mean to offend!”
Seeing him like this, Lu Shangyan felt a pang of sympathy and nudged Pei Yumin with his arm, but Pei Yumin just gripped his hand, choosing not to accept the hint.
He knew that a fool like Chen Hao, who became arrogant the moment he got rich, would quickly forget his pain once he was let off. He might even come back to bite them later. Pei Yumin wasn’t afraid, but he couldn’t let Lu Shangyan take that risk.
Moreover, even if Tang Suichen and he managed to suppress the news of today’s incident, some people would still find out. If those who wanted to deliberately disgust him knew that he had easily let go of the person who bullied Lu Shangyan, even more scumbags would likely target Lu Shangyan in the future to provoke them both!
Therefore, he had to nip all possibilities in the bud from the start.
After Chen Hao finished speaking, the scene fell into a dead silence. He no longer knew how to beg or how to appease them. Tang Yi had been dragged into the mess, yet he still refused to say a single word in his defense.
More and more sweat beaded on his forehead, and he felt increasingly terrified, even trying to breathe more quietly.
Finally, Tang Suichen broke the silence. He pointed at the woman crouching nearby. “You, tell us what exactly happened?”
No matter what, Tang Yi was relying on being his “Second Uncle” and using the Tang family name, which was why his subordinates dared to be so reckless. This matter was partly his responsibility, and he had to see it through.
Otherwise, tomorrow some distant Third Uncle or Second Aunt might pop up!
The woman had long been scared witless, crouching there with wide eyes, trying hard to minimize her presence and play dead, terrified of drawing more trouble onto herself.
Suddenly addressed, she immediately scrambled over, trembling. But she looked at Tang Yi, then at Tang Suichen, not daring to say a single word.
She was afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Of everyone present, she was the only one without protection, the only one without a backer!
Song Yuxin maintained his businesslike attitude. “Explain everything clearly, and this matter will have nothing to do with you.”
The woman clung to his words like a lifeline and quickly said to him, “It was Chen Hao. When Young Master Pei’s person came to deliver something, he was in high spirits and saw how good-looking he was, so he got that idea.”
Pei Yumin interrupted her coldly. “He has a name. His surname is Lu.”
The woman trembled even more, nodding repeatedly, and continued, “He genuinely didn’t usually mess with men, but he told me that since his godfather messes with both men and women, he wanted to know what men tasted like. He felt no aversion to Young Master Lu, so he wanted to try it with him. That’s why he hid his watch, intending to frame Young Master Lu for stealing his property.”
“Then he sent me down to try and persuade Young Master Lu to go upstairs to help look for it, so he could keep him there and do that kind of thing.”
After she finished, all the strength drained out of her, and she slumped onto the floor.
Chen Hao twisted his bloodied face and glared at her, raising his voice in a threat. “Say that again?! What exactly happened?! Don’t slander me!”
The woman was so terrified by his appearance that she screamed repeatedly and fainted.
Song Yuxin sighed lightly, took out his phone, and sent a message. Soon, people came in and carried the woman away.
Chen Hao quickly asked, “Where are you taking her? Murder is illegal!”
He was also reminding them not to kill him!
Tang Suichen gave a wicked smile. “Don’t worry, we won’t take her life.” He squatted down. “But you might not be so lucky.”
“You just said you wanted us to kneel and kowtow to you, and even carve words on our bodies and parade us around the school?”
Chen Hao said, “I was just talking nonsense! I would never do that!”
Tang Suichen sneered. “I don’t believe you.”
“How about this? If you kneel down and kowtow a few times to him right now, I’ll spare your life? That’s a good deal, isn’t it?”
He naturally wouldn’t actually kill anyone, but Chen Hao, cornered and desperate, dared not resist or harbor any doubt.
He immediately backed up a few steps and began kowtowing and admitting his mistake in Lu Shangyan’s direction.
Lu Shangyan couldn’t bear to watch this. Just as he was about to speak, Pei Yumin covered his eyes. Then he heard Pei Yumin say, “He’s all yours.”
Tang Suichen had many friends and many ways to torment people. He immediately nodded and agreed. “But in exchange, you should take good care of my ‘Second Uncle’ here.”
Tang Yi had thought that since the matter was resolved, he was out of it! But he hadn’t expected to end up dealing with Pei Yumin, the more difficult person!
Tang Yi’s legs trembled even more. This time, he couldn’t hold on and collapsed onto a nearby chair. “Young Master Pei, you heard the woman just now. I didn’t know about this, and it truly has nothing to do with me.”
“I promise I won’t say a word after I leave today. Please let this old man go.”
Tang Suichen said, “Don’t try to pull the seniority card with me. I don’t fall for that!”
“You’ve been using our family’s name to cheat and swindle outside. I’m not letting this go!”
But it wasn’t ideal for him to handle it directly. After all, there were still a few relatives who were somewhat useful to their family. If those people found out, they might start making veiled accusations again.
He didn’t want to hear annoying things while he was newly married, so handing the matter over to Pei Yumin was the most suitable choice, as no one would dare criticize Pei Yumin.
Tang Yi’s face was pale. “I’ll go far away from now on, alright?”
Pei Yumin said, “Too late.”
“Lu Shangyan was about to leave then, but because you answered Chen Hao’s call, he dared to brazenly stop him.”
Tang Yi explained, “I didn’t know he was stopping Young Master Lu.”
Pei Yumin was tired of wasting words with him. The smell of blood in the room was getting stronger, and he noticed Lu Shangyan’s eyelashes fluttering more violently, his body tensing up.
He must be feeling unwell.
He grabbed Lu Shangyan’s arm, didn’t say another word, and simply led him out of there.
Once outside, Lu Shangyan took several deep breaths. Finally, he couldn’t hold it in, quickly ran outside, found a flowerbed, and threw up.
Pei Yumin ran back to grab a bottle of water for him, twisted the cap open, and handed it to him to rinse his mouth.
Lu Shangyan took a long time to recover and finally calmed down. “Wasn’t that a bit too much?”
Pei Yumin didn’t answer, only countered, “When something happened, why didn’t you call me? I only found out from Tang Suichen.”
Li Xiaorui’s call had gone to Song Yuxin, and his message had also gone to Song Yuxin.
Lu Shangyan sighed almost imperceptibly. “I thought I could handle it. If I couldn’t, I’d call the police. I didn’t steal anything anyway, so at most I’d pay him some medical fees.”
Pei Yumin was a little angry, but he didn’t dare vent it on Lu Shangyan. He ended up pacing in circles, hands on his hips, tilting his head, forcing himself to calm down. “Look at Chen Hao. Does he look like someone who fears the police? Even if the police came, so what? Tang Yi would bail him out quickly!”
“This time, it was because he brought a woman. What about next time? If he wants to cause trouble for you again, and he brings more people, can you still fight them off? Even if you can win once, can you hide from him for the rest of your life!”
Lu Shangyan licked his dry lips. “He won’t.”
“What do you mean, ‘won’t’?” Pei Yumin was terrified thinking about Lu Shangyan getting involved with this kind of hooligan and almost being taken upstairs. “Have you forgotten how that Chen Shuo treated you at the bar back then?”
Lu Shangyan also felt wronged. “I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. I thought the next time he came looking for me, you would be by my side.”
“Since you know I exist, you should notify me immediately!” He paced two more circles, his frustration growing. “If I had been a moment late, or if Tang Yi had brought people to find you first, what would you have done?”
“What is your physical condition right now? You should know better than me that the fewer people who know about this, the better. I didn’t even tell Tang Suichen. If people like that knew you could get pregnant, you wouldn’t have a moment of peace for the rest of your life!”
His hands had been shaking on the way here. He ran several red lights. He was also angry at himself. Why did he have to attend that stupid meeting today? Why couldn’t he have picked up Lu Shangyan earlier, like before!
Lu Shangyan’s nose felt sore, and his eyes turned red. “I know. I didn’t let him touch my stomach.”
Seeing him argue, Pei Yumin grew even angrier, fiercely grabbing his own hair. “He might not touch it once or twice, but that doesn’t mean he’ll never touch it.”
Lu Shangyan pursed his lips, unable to hold back anymore. His lips trembled, and a tear dropped onto the back of his hand. “I don’t want to keep getting entangled with these rotten people either.”
He sniffled, taking a deep breath. “Why are you getting angry at me? I’m already trying hard to solve the problem.”
Pei Yumin’s heart was fiercely clutched. He raised his hand and punched himself hard, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He abruptly pulled Lu Shangyan into a hug. “I’m sorry. I was just too scared. I don’t know why you’re always unwilling to let me help you solve problems.”
“Chen Shuo, Dong Shufan, and those scumbag relatives of yours—I handled every one of them well, didn’t I?”
“Why are you still unwilling to find me immediately? I’m genuinely afraid that if I’m a moment late, you’ll suffer more.”
When he followed Lu Shangyan back to Cuixian, he learned too much about Lu Shangyan’s past. He would wake up in a cold sweat from nightmares during that time, dreaming of a small Lu Shangyan being dragged into an alley by stray dogs, or dreaming that Lu Shangyan hadn’t met him and was deceived by Chen Shuo and Dong Shufan, or dreaming that Lu Shangyan was constantly exploited by those relatives, walking weakly on the street, and never getting back up after arriving home…
There were too many nightmares like this. He always regretted why he hadn’t confessed immediately after falling for Lu Shangyan. That way, Lu Shangyan might have suffered less.
But there were no ‘what ifs.’
So, he wanted to treat Lu Shangyan better in the future, help him solve all difficulties, and let him grow up safely and happily like other children, making up for the peace he never enjoyed.
But he still messed up.
Lu Shangyan had been avoiding him lately. He had probed many times, both overtly and covertly, but couldn’t find the reason.
Even today, Lu Shangyan was blocked there for so long, and Chen Hao had even called people, yet the first person he contacted wasn’t him, but Song Yuxin, with whom he had barely spoken.
He could understand Lu Shangyan wanting to maintain his dignity, preferring to borrow money from Song Yuxin or endure hardship alone rather than opening up about his difficulties to him.
But back in Cuixian, hadn’t Lu Shangyan slowly started to open up to him?
Why, now that they were dating, had he become even more reluctant to express himself?
What was the point of his identity as a boyfriend then?
He sighed deeply, planting a light kiss on the crown of Lu Shangyan’s head, and repeated, “I’m sorry, I was just too anxious. I want you to rely on me more.”
Lu Shangyan’s entire face was crumpled up as he tried hard not to cry too loudly. “I’m very scared.”
Pei Yumin thought he was still scared about the recent incident and comforted him. “It’s okay, it’s all resolved.”
“Let’s go home first. You take a shower and get a good night’s sleep. We can talk properly tomorrow morning, okay?”
Lu Shangyan raised his arms and hugged him tightly, preventing him from leaving. “Pei Yumin, I’m always relying on you.”
“Before you appeared, I could handle everything well. But after meeting you, I’ve become unlike myself. I can’t even solve the smallest things.”
“At home, you cook and do the laundry for me. I originally said I’d give you the grocery money, but in the end, you spent all of it on me, even giving me more.”
“Just like you said, Chen Shuo, Dong Shufan, my aunts and uncles, and those two tonight—every time I try to solve things my way, it doesn’t end the problem; it causes bigger trouble. Every time, I need you to help me.”
“I don’t want to be like this, always bringing you trouble. I don’t want to be a burden to you.”
He bit his lower lip hard, tasting blood, but still couldn’t control his sobs.
He had to stop, trying hard to breathe, and only managed to speak after a long time.
He slowly said, word by word, “What can I do for you? It seems like I can’t do anything. You are so capable. I can never be your support. I don’t know what meaning my existence has for you.”
At this moment, Pei Yumin finally understood what Lu Shangyan meant by “wanting to be needed.”
Pei Yumin hugged him, saying “I’m sorry” over and over.
Lu Shangyan had no parents to guide his growth. He grew up stumbling alone. What he learned from his aunts and uncles was probably that only by bringing benefit and being needed could he be qualified to stay by someone’s side.
After his parents died, the two apartments and the compensation money allowed him to rotate between his three aunts’ homes for a few days, preventing him from truly becoming an unwanted child.
Later, when he was a little older, he collected bottles and helped others, exchanging it for food and money, allowing him to eat a little more.
Later still, he wanted to go to university and gave his aunts and uncles more money. He earned the opportunity to study, and because of that money, his luggage wouldn’t be thrown out when he returned during winter break.
Then, as a man, he became pregnant, sacrificing his body and risking being treated as an anomaly to gain the only true family member he had.
He was always exchanging, always giving, using everything he had to get what he wanted.
So, when Pei Yumin asked nothing of him, he became so panicked. He was afraid of not being needed. He was afraid he couldn’t give Pei Yumin anything, and Pei Yumin seemed to lack nothing. He was afraid that Pei Yumin would eventually discover that he was dispensable, that his existence had no meaning, and that he would be abandoned again.
Just like when he was very young, if he couldn’t provide money, he was a burden to his aunt and would be kicked out.
Moreover, he had brought Pei Yumin so much trouble; to him, he was already a burden.
“I thought that if I bought a house and you moved in with me, you wouldn’t need to rent outside, and I would be useful to you. But I suddenly realized that I can never afford the kind of house you’ve had since birth. Even if I try my best, I might not be able to give you anything better.”
Pei Yumin buried his face in Lu Shangyan’s shoulder, his body trembling violently. But he couldn’t cry in front of Lu Shangyan now. He secretly wiped his tears on Lu Shangyan’s shoulder, his voice incredibly gentle. “I really love the little nightlight you gave me.”
Lu Shangyan said, “But that light is actually cheap. Anyone could buy it for you.”
Pei Yumin said, “It’s different. The one you bought is the prettiest.”
“And only you would give me a ring, and I will only accept a ring from you.”
“You have never been a burden to me. You are the family I have chosen to be with for life.”
“If I didn’t have you, when my parents leave me, and when I get old, I might be kicked out by my relatives’ children. They’d take over my company and my house, and I’d be left alone, leaning on a cane, dying lonely on the street. But because of you, I’m not afraid anymore. You also made me a father. You are amazing, and very brave.”
Lu Shangyan’s nose felt sore again. “Really?”
Pei Yumin nodded. “Yes. Did you forget? I told you a long time ago that I liked you for a long time, and I only like you. I’m not lying to you.”
“Otherwise, you can look at Tang Suichen. He changes the people around him so quickly. I’ve been friends with him for so long, but I never learned to mess around like that.”
“And I’m almost thirty, and I’ve never been in a relationship. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my mother. It’s because I only like you.”
Lu Shangyan listened intently and asked him, “But what do you like about me? I’m not good at all.”
Pei Yumin asked him back, “Does liking someone need a reason?”
Lu Shangyan’s eyes were firm, and he slowly nodded.
Pei Yumin realized that while liking someone might not need a reason for others, for Lu Shangyan, it definitely did.
He pushed Lu Shangyan’s waist, moving him back slightly, reaching out to wipe away his tear stains, and smoothed back his sweat-dampened fringe, gathering all his hair behind his head, looking at his knitted brows.
Then his gaze moved down to his eyes, and he said sincerely, word by word, “Every time I finish cooking, you eat everything so cleanly, reducing the difficulty of washing dishes. And my cooking skills are affirmed by you. I’m especially happy every time I cook. Only you can provide me with such good emotional value.”
“Also, now I sleep with the little nightlight on every night. I have sweet dreams when I sleep, and I wake up refreshed the next morning. My work efficiency has improved significantly!”
“And, whenever I have meetings, you help me choose the most suitable clothes when I have decision paralysis, reducing my worry about hair loss from overthinking. Old Pei has been troubled by that for decades.”
“Most importantly, three years ago, you saved my life. Compared to my life, the things I do for you are small matters. So I always think that you must be an angel sent by God to save me, my own personal treasure.”
Lu Shangyan gradually calmed down. Seeing that Pei Yumin had stopped talking, he urged him a little anxiously, “Why don’t I remember? How did I save you?”