Chapter 649, His Secret
Because of the “stolen underwear” incident, the Fusa Pavilion Master dragged on for half an hour, and the entire hotel was searched upside down without a trace.
When the Fusa Pavilion Master suggested a lockdown and search throughout Linzhou, Young Master Sang finally sighed.
“…Let’s just forget it. It’s just a piece of underwear, not worth making such a fuss.”
In the end, the matter was dropped.
By the time Young Master Sang changed into a new piece of underwear and returned to his room, it was already quite late.
Little Ying You was already lying in bed, ready to sleep.
“Ah, I really liked that piece of underwear.”
Sitting on the bed, Young Master Sang felt the stiff sensation of the new underwear that hadn’t been worn by anyone else, and couldn’t help but sigh, “I’ve been wearing that one for years.”
“Daddy is so dirty, never changes his underwear.”
“How rude. At my level of cultivation, keeping clothes clean and odorless is a piece of cake. Why waste energy washing them? I’m not like your mother who loves doing housework.”
“But it’s still dirty!”
“What do you know, little brat? This is called sentimentality! It means Daddy is a good man who doesn’t dislike old things.”
“It’s still dirty!” Little Ying You made a funny face.
Young Master Sang, fuming, pinned the little girl down on the bed, tickling her until she couldn’t stop giggling and finally begged for mercy.
“Time for bed. Tomorrow the comic exhibition ends, and we should head home.”
As the candlelight flickered out, Little Ying You, curled up in Young Master Sang’s arms, pondered for a moment and said softly:
“Daddy, continue telling me your stories.”
“Hmm… where did we leave off yesterday?”
“We reached the part after elementary school, where it seemed like something really sad happened, what was it called… divorce?”
Little Ying You blinked her eyes: “I forgot to ask Daddy, what is divorce?”
“Divorce means the parents aren’t together anymore.”
“Why won’t they be together?”
“There are many reasons. Maybe they lost feelings for each other, or one side cheated and fell for someone else, or maybe it’s some irresistible force… basically, they just split up.”
“So what was the reason for Daddy’s parents to split up?”
Little Ying You waited a long time but did not receive a reply from Young Master Sang.
She thought that Daddy had fallen asleep while telling his story.
Just as she was about to shake Young Master Sang awake to continue, she suddenly heard his tired and bitter voice:
“…Let’s say it was an irresistible force.”
——
The surroundings gradually came to a halt.
When Zhang Xiaoying saw this world for the first time, it felt strangely out of place.
It was noisy. That was Zhang Xiaoying’s first impression of this world.
It was noisy everywhere. Even though the roads were wide open, all sorts of metal boxes flew back and forth at high speed.
Surrounded by towering buildings, each blocked out the sky, making it hard to breathe.
“Don’t mind it,” beside her, Bai Ming’s eyes gleamed with nostalgia, “This is our world.”
“If you hadn’t remembered to call me, I might never have had the chance to see this scene again.”
Zhang Xiaoying didn’t know what to say for a while.
In fact, her intention was to have Bai Ming guide her through this unfamiliar world.
So in the end, besides Yan Rouwan and Nian Nian, she called Bai Ming along too.
“Where’s my husband?”
“There,” Nian Nian pointed to the roadside, where a small boy with a backpack was running along.
The little boy was clean and fair, but a bit frail. He weaved through the bustling crowd and dashed into a white building.
Zhang Xiaoying followed him inside. Along the way, she saw many new and puzzling things, some of which she had seen with Bai Ming, like revolving doors and elevators.
Entering the building behind the little boy, she encountered a sea of hurried people.
And a strange, complicated smell.
“What is this place?” Zhang Xiaoying asked, noticing many people wearing the same clothes. “It feels so oppressive.”
“Why are those people sitting on moving chairs?”
“What are those long tubes filled with liquid?”
“What are those screens? Are they also communication devices? What do all those symbols mean?”
Facing Zhang Xiaoying’s questions, Bai Ming fell into an unusual silence.
Continuing to follow Young Master Sang as a child up the stairs, they finally arrived at a narrow, cramped hallway.
Eventually, little Young Master Sang stopped in front of a room.
At that moment, two people in white coats walked out. They first paused when they saw little Young Master Sang, then broke into smiles.
“School’s out.”
“Hmm.”
“Go on in, your mom just fell asleep.”
Little Young Master Sang politely said, “Thank you, doctor,” and stepped inside.
Zhang Xiaoying wanted to follow but suddenly heard the doctor at the door sigh.
“…Did you see that? He just started middle school.”
“Master,” another man in white asked, “what should we do with a child in his situation? Where do we apply for government subsidies or health insurance?”
“Normally, his father should handle guardian duties; that’s something he should take care of. After all, the mother has no other relatives left.”
The doctor shook his head: “But there’s nothing to be done; this illness is a bottomless pit. It’s only natural for them to divorce.”
“The child doesn’t want to go with his father, so this matter will depend on whether we’re willing to spend time helping this mother and son navigate the relevant departments.”
The young doctor’s expression was complex, remaining at a loss for words, but he was merely patted on the shoulder by the older doctor.
“Don’t worry.”
“You’ll see more and more of this kind of thing in the future.”
Zhang Xiaoying watched them leave, then turned to look at the silent Bai Ming.
“…I don’t quite understand. Is that what I think it means?”
Bai Ming hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Is being sick a common thing in your world?”
“Yes.” Bai Ming thought a moment and added, “But situations like Young Master Sang’s are not common.”
Zhang Xiaoying looked at that door again.
But this time, for some reason, she felt as if she had lost the courage to push it open.
“No wonder I’ve never heard Young Master Sang mention his past.”
Bai Ming’s expression was also a bit complicated: “I always thought with his gentle personality, even if he wasn’t born into riches, he must have come from a happy family.”
“Didn’t expect his childhood was so tragic…”
“It’s true. He always appears so carefree; he hardly seems like someone who had an unhappy childhood.” Nian Nian sighed as well.
Yan Rouwan turned to Zhang Xiaoying: “Aren’t you going in to take a look?”
Zhang Xiaoying hesitated.
Now she could understand why Young Master Sang had always avoided mentioning his past.
As they said, Young Master Sang had always been very gentle.
When it came to his negative emotions, he never liked to share even a bit with those close to him.
“Maybe… let’s just forget it.”
Zhang Xiaoying gazed at the door: “My husband wouldn’t want anyone disturbing his time alone with his mother.”
“Let’s leave those memories as his secret.”
