TSIBAMS Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ye Xing hadn’t slept well for a week.

Every time he called Fang Rong, either no one answered or the line was busy. Even if she picked up, her voice was always filled with exhaustion, and she’d hang up after saying only a few words, claiming she had to get back to work.

Ye Xing vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts to the number labeled “Old Ye.” This string of digits seemed so unfamiliar. Unlike other kids who knew their parents’ phone numbers by heart, Ye Xing had hardly ever dialed this number.

Old Ye—Ye Xing’s father. Although Ye Xing called him Dad, he had always been distant from Ye Xing’s life.

He wasn’t a good father, maybe not even a good husband, but he was definitely a good boss. He had dedicated his life’s passion to his work, leaving not a single bit for his family, not even coming home often.

Occasionally, when Ye Xing ran into Old Ye at home, they had no desire to chat.

And Fang Rong, as a housewife, took care of Ye Xing and Old Ye’s lives, becoming the only point of intersection between the two of them.

Ye Xing finally realized what was wrong. Fang Rong didn’t have a job, so what had she been so busy with lately?

If, in the beginning, when they moved to this small, rundown town, he had only been slightly suspicious of his father’s business dealings, Fang Rong’s recent unusual behavior made him feel that something was seriously wrong.

Something must have happened.

If Fang Rong didn’t want to say, then how about he try calling him?

After hesitating again and again, he pressed the lock button.

Two seconds later, the screen lit up again. It was a message from Zhou Tian.

– “My classmate is having a birthday party tonight, wanna come sing karaoke?”

Without even thinking, Ye Xing typed two words.

– “No thanks.”

Just as he sent the message, the other party called. Zhou Tian’s voice was especially loud amidst the surrounding noise, “Xing’er, don’t just coop yourself up at home every day, it’s boring alone. Come join us and have some fun.”

“Your classmate—I don’t even know them, and besides, I’m not bored at all at home,” Ye Xing said, enunciating each word clearly, afraid he wouldn’t understand.

“My classmate is also your classmate! My classmates are all great people, they really want to meet you!” Zhou Tian continued to urge him.

Ye Xing glanced at the time, it was 8 PM. If he went out now, he probably wouldn’t get back until midnight. He was about to refuse when Zhou Tian spoke up again.

“Star daddy, Star grandpa, please give me some face, I already bragged that I was bringing a handsome guy!”

A handsome guy, Ye Xing couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why don’t you bring your deskmate, that’ll guarantee you exceed your performance goals.”

“My deskmate? You mean Qi Guang? Of course, he’s coming. We’re going to his KTV!” Zhou Tian said.

Qi Guang is also working at a KTV?

He’s really busy.

No wonder I never see him after school.

He still hasn’t returned my clothes! I knew I was missing something.

“Fine, send me the address, I’ll go later,” Ye Xing said before hanging up.

He took the T-shirt that had been washed and dried from the balcony, folded it neatly, and found a decent paper bag to put the clothes in.

He put on his newly bought hoodie. Because it was a bit chilly at night, he kept the hoodie’s hood up over his head, and hadn’t taken it off even when he arrived at the KTV and asked the receptionist for directions.

His height advantage plus his outfit made the receptionist girl think he was a robber.

Standing next to the receptionist was a fair-skinned young man. He wasn’t wearing a uniform, dressed in casual clothing. His eyes were somewhat similar to Qi Guang’s, with the outer corners slightly downturned. But that was where the similarity ended. When Qi Guang wasn’t talking, he had an aura of “don’t come close”, but the young man in front of him just seemed a bit indifferent at most.

However, when he spoke, his tone was gentle, “You’re also Qi Guang’s classmate, right?”

“Mm,” the head under the hood nodded.

He pointed to an entrance on the right, “302 is in that direction, go to the end and turn right at the third opening.”

“Thank you,” After saying thanks, Ye Xing headed to the right.

As he walked to the door of the private room, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed “Old Fang.”

It was Fang Rong.

He walked into the men’s bathroom next door. After closing the door, the surrounding noise was immediately blocked out.

“Hello, Mom,” Ye Xing answered the phone.

Fang Rong’s voice on the other end of the line was devoid of emotional fluctuations, “Xiao Xing, Mom is coming to see you next week.”

Finally.

Ye Xing suppressed his excitement and anticipation, casually asking, “What about Dad? Is he not coming?”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment. Fang Rong slowly said, “He’s not coming for now.”

“Mom, has something happened?” Ye Xing asked.

“No,” Fang Rong answered firmly.

“You’re not lying to me?” Ye Xing pressed.

“No,” Fang Rong said again.

Ye Xing said tentatively, “Mom, do you think I can’t feel anything?”

“You just need to focus on your studies. Adults will handle adult matters.”

As expected, no matter what, such an ambiguous answer meant yes.

Ye Xing decided to take advantage of Fang Rong’s slightly lowered guard and try to get more information.

“Mom, I’m not a child anymore. Do you think I can’t see or feel anything?”

“Now, besides studying, you don’t need to experience more things,” Fang Rong still wouldn’t budge.

“Then what about you? You don’t have a job, what have you been busy with lately?” Ye Xing asked.

Fang Rong paused, “Some things are not as simple as you think.”

“How do you know I think simply? I’ve been guessing and worrying constantly during this period, I haven’t slept soundly a single day!” Ye Xing started to get anxious as he said this.

Fang Rong’s tone was no longer calm. Even through the phone, her breathing had obviously become rapid, “Xiao Xing, remember, your task right now is to study hard. No matter what happens to us, we can bear it, but you, you’ve grown up, yes, you have the ability to think independently, to doubt and to refute me, so what I hope for is that you also have the ability to take care of yourself.”

Ye Xing suddenly felt cold, he pulled the hood of his hoodie tighter, opening his mouth to speak but found his voice a little hoarse, “Why are you saying that, Mom, do you not want me anymore?”

“Don’t think nonsense! Xiao Xing, I won’t, I will never. If something separates our family, your dad and mom both love you. No, there won’t be any ‘if’. Our family will always be together.” Fang Rong covered her mouth on the other end of the phone, weeping.

Fang Rong tried her best to control her emotions, like a cornered beast. The remaining rationality told her, “don’t say it.”

At least now was not the time.

Even the smallest lie would need more lies to cover the first.

Even now, just keeping silent could arouse Ye Xing’s suspicion.

Ye Xing didn’t hear the sobs that the person on the other end of the phone was trying to hide. He was very irritable at this moment, wishing he could pull someone in and have a big fight, but towards Fang Rong, he tried his best to soften his tone, “Mom, I’ve really grown up, I’m more responsible than you think, please don’t treat me like a child, okay?”

Silence remained on the other end of the line.

Fang Rong took a deep breath, adjusting her tone to normal. After a long time, she spoke –

“If you really think you are a man now, prove it with the ability to live independently.”

Ye Xing felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar, he didn’t want to interpret the deeper meaning of these words.

Since coming to this town, every time he called Fang Rong, she would hang up with all sorts of excuses after just a few words.

Fang Rong had always been relatively detached from the complex world. As a full-time mother, she had naturally never been good at lying. This time, she must be working very hard to hide things from him.

Ye Xing’s heart was pounding. The hand holding the phone began to tremble uncontrollably. He didn’t know if he was feeling sad or angry at his parents’ repeated concealment, nor was he willing to give up when he had finally managed to find a few clues today.

Maybe it was to provoke Fang Rong, maybe it was to vent his emotions, Ye Xing asked –

“So you really are going to abandon me.”

He spoke slowly, trying hard to control his trembling voice.

After he spoke, Fang Rong was obviously unable to handle it, “No, Xiao Xing, listen to me, something did happen at home recently. I’ll go see you next month, but I have to rush back here to continue dealing with things. During this time… I’m also not sure how much longer this will go on, you need to live there by yourself, mom is really sorry that I can’t be with you during the most crucial time of your studies, don’t blame me, okay?”

Fang Rong was incoherent, completely flustered. She tried her best to reassure Ye Xing, and tried her best to keep the bottom line of not telling him the truth.

Ye Xing felt that he was just one step away from the truth, he asked loudly, “Mom, what exactly happened?! If you don’t tell me clearly, how am I supposed to stay here by myself in peace?”

Ye Xing’s right palm holding the phone was already full of sweat, but the trembling didn’t ease, it was even difficult to switch hands. In order not to let the phone slip, he supported the phone with his left hand, pressing it tightly to his ear, afraid of missing a single word.

But the person on the other end of the phone was clearly too tired to fight him anymore.

“Son, don’t ask anymore, mom is a bit tired, I need to rest now.”

Ye Xing held the phone with both hands, and all he could hear was a flat busy tone.

He put the phone back in his pocket, and held onto the sink for a long time, feeling dizzy.

Those words he said just now, instead of being to provoke Fang Rong to tell the truth, he was more truly feeling hurt because he suspected that his parents were going to abandon him. Otherwise, why would he be trembling uncontrollably even now?

Even with support from the sink, he still felt like he would collapse at any moment.

Ye Xing simply squatted down.

This was the busiest time at the KTV, and Qi Guang was extremely busy. Zhou Tian kept messaging him, telling him to hurry and finish work so they could all have fun in room 302, but he had no time to reply.

Several of Xu Ge’s men had played together with Qi Guang when they were kids. During his time helping out at the KTV, they had told him a lot about the things that had happened over the years. Qi Guang was surprised and also couldn’t help but feel moved. It was really hard to connect the Xu Ge who all the elders used to sneer at with the current Xu Ge, who was well-dressed, and could be considered as a person with a small business.

Time really does change a person.

Even though Xu Ge had no parents since childhood and the only uncle he was related to by blood had also not shown him any concern, when this “only one” disappeared from the world, something was indeed changed silently.

For example, growth.

The current Xu Ge was more mature than he was eight years ago. Although Qi Guang could feel that Xu Ge was trying hard to use his tone from eight years ago when talking to him, trying to imply that they were still the same people as before, and didn’t want to be distanced by time. However, Xu Ge wasn’t the little punk who only talked a big game but never took action. Now, even when he made a joke, he knew exactly how far to go, and when to stop, without making anyone feel awkward.

And he, himself, had also changed, Qi Guang smiled wryly.

When he passed by the restroom, a disheveled girl rushed out, tears streaming down her face, and bumped hard into Qi Guang.

Qi Guang almost lost his balance, he supported the girl in front of him, asking, “What happened?”

The girl looked up, her face with black-framed glasses was tear-stained. She opened her mouth trying to speak, but sobbed, unable to utter a sound.

The girl with glasses?

Qi Guang wasn’t good at remembering faces, but this was Shuai Xiaoyun’s deskmate who had also helped him get breakfast every day. Even if he didn’t remember her name, her face was quite easy to recognize.

Even though the person in front of him was wearing a shirt and a mini-skirt, she looked completely different from the bespectacled girl in her usual baggy school uniform.

And right now, her shirt was torn, a button had fallen off, her hair was messy, her lips were swollen and there was even blood on them. The exposed parts of her legs under the short skirt were also covered in bruises. Her eyes were filled with fear, and she kept trying to speak but couldn’t say anything.

There was no need to even think to know what happened.

Qi Guang frowned. Without saying anything, he rushed into the bathroom.