IOLYF Chapter 82

Mo Ming made a special trip to buy a fruit basket before heading to the 20th floor to visit Zhao Cheng.

When he arrived, Zhao Cheng’s friends had just left. Zhao Cheng was chatting and laughing with his younger sister, Zhao Li, when Mo Ming walked in. Zhao Cheng instinctively looked past Mo Ming, searching for Han Shao Zhou, and seemed puzzled when he didn’t see him.

Could it be that Han Shao Zhou really went to buy supplements for him? Zhao Cheng doubted it.

Zhao Li was surprised and smiled as she asked, “Mo Ming, how did you know my brother was in the hospital?”

Seeing that Zhao Cheng’s injuries weren’t too severe, Mo Ming placed the fruit basket on the table and responded warmly, “Han Shao Zhou said that Zhao Ge was on the verge of death…”

Zhao Li: “…”

Zhao Cheng didn’t seem surprised either. “That bastard Han, using me as an excuse to get you here. Now he’s off who knows where. He said he was going to buy supplements for me. I almost thought he went to find you.”

Mo Ming: “…”

Zhao Cheng’s injuries weren’t too serious. After surgery, he would stay in the hospital for observation for a few days before being able to go home to recuperate. But when he spoke to Mo Ming about his brush with death the previous night, he was still shaken.

The previous night, Qin You had returned from a business trip abroad, and they had dinner in the western district. Zhao Cheng had been late due to work at his store, so Han Shao Zhou had sent his driver to pick him up. It was on the West Ring Bridge that the accident happened.

“Luckily, that driver, Han’s new bodyguard—I think his name is Ah De—reacted quickly and drove skillfully. Otherwise, I would’ve been a goner… I should find a time to treat him to dinner. That guy is amazing,” Zhao Cheng said. “But I guess I took the hit for Han. If he’d been in that car, he might not have been as lucky as I was.”

Mo Ming listened intently and nodded in agreement.

After a brief chat, seeing that Zhao Cheng was in good spirits, Mo Ming decided not to stay long. But before he could say his goodbyes, Han Shao Zhou walked in from outside.

Han Shao Zhou entered in a rush, and only when he saw that Mo Ming was still in the room did he let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.

Seeing Han Shao Zhou enter, Mo Ming turned back to Zhao Cheng and said softly, “I wish you a speedy recovery, Zhao Ge. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.”

“I come in, and you leave…” Han Shao Zhou looked at Mo Ming. “I’m not going to give you a hard time. Why are you avoiding me?”

Mo Ming didn’t bother to explain and started walking toward the door.

Han Shao Zhou moved instinctively, stepping in front of Mo Ming to block his path, but then suddenly found himself at a loss for words. He stood there, a tall figure awkwardly obstructing Mo Ming’s way.

Mo Ming looked up at Han Shao Zhou, his calm, bright eyes waiting patiently for an explanation.

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Li exchanged cautious glances.

Han Shao Zhou averted his gaze, his hand sliding into his pocket as if trying to act nonchalant. “I have some questions to ask you. Let’s go somewhere to talk.”

Mo Ming lowered his eyes, his tone cool with a hint of resignation. “You’ve already taken back everything you gave me over the past three years. If you feel there’s anything missing or any losses, you can send me a message, and I’ll transfer the equivalent in cash to you.”

Han Shao Zhou felt as if he’d been punched in the chest, the air knocked out of him, leaving him gasping for breath with no way to ease the pressure. “Do you think I care about those things?”

“Whether you care or not, you’ve taken them all back.”

“I… I…”

Mo Ming stepped around Han Shao Zhou and left the room.

Han Shao Zhou turned, opening his mouth but unsure how to call Mo Ming back. He stood there for a long time, staring at the now-empty doorway, feeling utterly lost.

He had meant to say so many things.

After learning about Mo Ming’s past from Shen Peiling, his feelings had been tangled ever since.

“Han, did I hear that right?” Zhao Cheng said, incredulous. “You took back everything you gave to Mo Ming over those years? Seriously?”

Han Shao Zhou remained silent, implicitly confirming Zhao Cheng’s statement.

“I can’t believe it. When I was thinking of asking my ex-girlfriend for my stuff back, you were the one who lectured me…” Zhao Cheng said. “But when it’s your turn, you went and did it even more ruthlessly.”

Han Shao Zhou closed his eyes… Maybe no one would believe him, no matter how much he explained. He had never really wanted those things back; he just… wanted Mo Ming to understand his anger.

To let him know how he felt at that moment…

Unwilling to accept that he had been the only one who was serious all along.

Han Shao Zhou recognized Mo Ming’s car, so he waited for Mo Ming by it.

“I just have a few questions. Once I ask them, I’ll leave.” Han Shao Zhou leaned against Mo Ming’s car door, looking at him. “If I’ve been a stand-in for Zhou Xu for three years, why suddenly give up? Are you tired of me, or…”

“There’s no complicated reason,” Mo Ming replied calmly. “I want to let go of my obsession and start over.”

“When you look at my face now…” Han Shao Zhou frowned. “Do you still think of Zhou Xu?”

Mo Ming stared at Han Shao Zhou without hesitation. “No.”

The tension in Han Shao Zhou’s expression eased slightly. “Then…”

“No one will ever be him,” Mo Ming said quietly. “And no one ever will be.”

Han Shao Zhou: “…”

The midday sun did little to chase away the cold of winter.

Mo Ming drove away, leaving Han Shao Zhou standing there like a withered tree stump, anger exploding in his chest like a spiked ball, each breath tinged with the taste of blood…

He already knew the answer. He didn’t know why he kept humiliating himself by asking again and again.

Zhou Xu, Zhou Xu… That name had become a curse echoing in his mind.

Not long after, using a business trip to the northern city as an excuse, Han Shao Zhou drove an extra sixty kilometers and arrived for the first time at the small county where Mo Ming was born.

He needed to solve the mystery himself, to fully understand Mo Ming and Zhou Xu’s past, or he would never be at peace. He had to know why he could only be a stand-in for Zhou Xu, why after three years of intimacy, he still couldn’t surpass Zhou Xu in Mo Ming’s heart.

He had already hired people to do a thorough investigation and prepare everything in advance. Once he arrived, Han Shao Zhou quickly found Mo Ming’s family home.

Zhou Yixiang had only told him that Mo Ming had been someone Zhou Xu had once sponsored, a child from a remote town who later moved to Chuanhai. The two had become close, with Mo Ming trusting Zhou Xu, and Zhou Xu privately taking care of him. However, because Zhou Xu was a popular star at the time, with fanatical fans, their interactions had to remain low-key to avoid causing Mo Ming unnecessary trouble…

But Zhou Yixiang didn’t know much about Mo Ming’s life before he came to Chuanhai.

Han Shao Zhou had a gut feeling that Mo Ming’s deep attachment to Zhou Xu couldn’t have stemmed from a mere academic sponsorship, so he had people dig into Zhou Xu’s former team members for more information. He learned that Zhou Xu had visited the small county where Mo Ming lived about seven or eight years ago—when Mo Ming was only fourteen or fifteen—invited as part of a charity event organized by the local government.

That was when Mo Ming and Zhou Xu first met—an encounter that felt both coincidental and fated…

Mo Ming’s original name was Qiu Ming, which he later changed to follow his mother’s surname.

The town had a limited population, and only one family bore the surname Qiu, so it wasn’t hard to find information.

When people mentioned Qiu Ming, most sighed in sympathy, saying that the child had it rough… As a small child, he was incredibly cute, with big, watery eyes and long eyelashes. In a town where most people had rough, yellowish skin, he looked like he was made of creamy white icing. He was quiet and soft-spoken, always clutching a dirty, worn-out teddy bear that his mother had left him.

People still remembered him after all these years because the child had been so beautiful. Unfortunately, his father was a useless thug, a drunk who abused him. After his mother’s death, the once-adorable boy became a silent, bruised figure, rarely speaking or smiling.

The town had one upscale establishment—a KTV lounge where the young Qiu Ming had worked. The owner hired a group of underage enforcers, and the young Qiu Ming was one of them. The owner provided food, a wage, and even cigarettes. The young Qiu Ming, known for his reckless fighting, earned more cigarettes than the others. But when the owner tried to put his hands down Qiu Ming’s pants, Qiu Ming stabbed him in the thigh with a fruit knife.

The owner’s enforcers beat Qiu Ming up, and when he returned home, his father whipped him nearly to death with a belt for having to pay off the owner.

Later, the owner made a fortune and left the town. The KTV was taken over by someone else, and because of his reputation for being tough, Qiu Ming was rehired, becoming the leader of the group at the age of fourteen.

Han Shao Zhou didn’t meet Mo Ming’s father. The neighbors told him that someone had taken the man away a few days ago.

“They say he went to find little Qiu Ming…”

The neighbor was an elderly woman, over eighty years old, her face lined with age. But when she spoke of Qiu Ming, her cloudy eyes were filled with endless sighs.

“That child had it so tough. The town’s been saying that little Qiu Ming ran off with some rich man, but I think it doesn’t matter who he ran off with, as long as that person treats him well… That scoundrel of a father is probably going to demand money from little Qiu Ming. Do any of you know where Qiu Ming is? If you do, you must warn him. It’s been so many years, that bastard probably doesn’t even remember what his son looks like, yet he still has the nerve to go find little Qiu Ming…”

The old woman lived next door to the Qiu family and had watched Mo Ming grow up. When Mo Ming was a child, she had given him shelter from the abuse, fed him hot meals. When Mo Ming left, he handed her an envelope containing all the money he had saved—1,362 yuan.

He said he would never return to this place…

When Han Shao Zhou explained that he was Mo Ming’s friend, the old woman hesitated for a moment before slowly rising from her bench by the door and shuffling inside. “I have something I’d like you to pass on to little Qiu Ming…”

It was a small, gray stuffed bear, tattered and patched beyond recognition.

“This was something his mother gave him. It was his favorite toy when he was little. His father stepped on it and ruined it a few times, but I helped him patch it up each time. Later, he hid it here with me, asking me to keep it safe… I don’t know how he’s doing now, but I hope he can have some good memories. His mother was a hardworking and kind woman. Don’t listen to the people outside who say she was improper—they were just jealous of her beauty. She was a good person. When little Qiu Ming was sick as a child, she worked hard to earn the money to treat him. She loved him very much… she was a very good mother. Little Qiu Ming loved her deeply…”

Han Shao Zhou accepted the small bear.

As night fell, snow covered the remote and dim town.