SBS chapter 38

Ye Xi chatted with Bai Yue until it was midnight in Australia. Even though it was just after ten on his side, he got sleepy first and couldn’t help yawning.

But he didn’t want to hang up. He buried half his face in the blanket, blinking up at Bai Yue.

Bai Yue, however, didn’t want him staying up late and asked softly, “What’s wrong? Did you stay up too late last night? You look really tired.”

Ye Xi was too embarrassed to admit he’d been reading a comic until dawn, so he just nodded.

“Then go to sleep,” Bai Yue said. “Let’s end the video call here. I’ll contact you again in a few days.”

Ye Xi was reluctant.

But he was so tired. His eyelids were fighting to stay open. If he kept going, Bai Yue might see him fall asleep mid-call.

That wouldn’t do.

Ye Xi thought anxiously—what if he drooled in his sleep? That would be a total disaster.

So after three seconds of hesitation, he had to give in.

“Alright then,” he said, his voice soft and a little nasal from sleepiness—so unlike his usual cool tone. “I’ll sleep now. You should rest early too, Bai-ge. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Bai Yue said it, but he didn’t press the button to end the call. He just kept staring at Ye Xi on the screen.

In the end, it was Ye Xi who, still confused, reluctantly hung up the call.

Whoosh—the sleepy beauty vanished from the screen in an instant, leaving only darkness.

Bai Yue suddenly felt a little empty inside. He gazed out at the night sky, then looked at the calendar beside him. Seventeen more days before he could return to Ye Xi’s side.

…..

The days that followed passed both quickly and slowly.

By the time Ye Xi finally finished the last of his winter homework, it was nearly New Year’s Eve.

Three days before the New Year, Zheng Yang left the Zheng household.

That year, he was spending the holiday with his mother, so he wouldn’t be staying long.

And almost as if it were planned to avoid crossing paths with him, the moment Zheng Yang began packing to leave, Ye Xi’s mother, Ms. Ye Shuyue, arrived with her luggage.

Her return was quiet and understated. Over a dozen suitcases were brought in one by one by the servants. The Zheng family mansion was big enough—she stayed on the third floor and occasionally in the small guesthouse next door, so even when home, she could easily avoid Zheng Yang.

Wrapped in a shawl and dressed in an elegant plaid dress with a black mandarin collar, her skin pale as snow and lips painted with soft lipstick, she stood in the center of the living room giving light yet firm instructions to the servants as they set down a newly purchased antique clock.

Zheng Yang and Ye Xi came down the stairs one after the other just then.

Zheng Yang had been yawning, but the moment he spotted the woman in the living room, his expression froze. His hand dropped, and a frown crept onto his face.

He instinctively glanced at Ye Xi beside him.

Ye Xi pressed his lips together, clearly even more shocked than Zheng Yang—he had no idea his mother would be back that day

Ye Shuyue noticed them as well. She adjusted her shawl and smiled at Zheng Yang. “Yangyang, you’re home. I just got back—did I disturb you?”

Her voice was soft and gentle, her smile captivating. She was undeniably beautiful.

After all these years, Zheng Yang no longer wore his disgust for Ye Shuyue on his face like he did as a child.

But that didn’t mean he liked her.

He nodded at her coldly, walked past without a word, and sat down at the table to pour himself a glass of water.

While drinking, he looked up and saw Ye Xi hesitantly walk over to Ye Shuyue and softly greet her.

“Mom.”

Though Ye Xi’s face was expressionless and he stood tall—taller even than Ye Shuyue—Zheng Yang inexplicably heard a trace of sorrow in that one word.

His frown deepened.

“Aren’t you coming to eat? What are you standing there for?” he raised his voice at Ye Xi.

Ye Xi was stunned for a moment but didn’t resent Zheng Yang’s tone. Instead, he seemed relieved to have a reason to leave and nodded.

“Okay.”

He walked over and sat across from Zheng Yang.

Ye Shuyue watched him walk to Zheng Yang’s side, a flicker of mockery flashing in her eyes.

But mindful of Zheng Yang, she said nothing.

Zheng Yang pushed a dish of French-style baked eggs toward Ye Xi.

“Fresh out of the oven—pretty good,” he said, sipping his coffee.

Ye Xi looked at him in surprise but didn’t argue. He obediently took the dish.

…..

After breakfast, Zheng Yang was off to his mother’s house. When his parents divorced, they had signed a settlement that ensured his position in the family’s inheritance, so he often had to stay at the Zheng residence for appearances.

In truth, he’d rather be with his mom all the time.

Just before getting into the car, he turned to look back at Ye Xi.

It was rare for Ye Xi to come out to see him off. Zheng Yang had dropped something earlier, and Ye Xi had helped him pick it up.

But that was it. Ye Xi handed it to him, followed him to the door like it was nothing, and turned to go back immediately.

Anyone else wouldn’t have recognized that this was Ye Xi’s way of saying goodbye.

Zheng Yang’s lips twitched slightly into a smile, but it vanished just as quickly.

He got into the Ruan family car and watched it slowly drive out of the Zheng estate. His brows furrowed lightly.

Just before getting in, he had seen Ye Xi slip back inside. For a brief moment, he had the impulse to pack Ye Xi up and take him to his mom’s place too.

Others might not believe it, but his mom, Ms. Ruan Wenxi, didn’t dislike Ye Xi.

His mother’s marriage to his father had been a business arrangement, with little to no real affection. When Ye Xi’s mother became involved, she had been more annoyed at his father’s lack of discretion than anything else.

But she had quickly used the incident to her advantage—crying to Grandpa, joining forces with the Ruan family to apply pressure, forcing his father to sign a series of agreements. By the time Zheng Yang was three, she had successfully divorced and happily moved on with her life.

So when Zheng Yang began targeting Ye Xi out of anger, Ruan Wenxi remained unmoved.

She even tried to reason with him: “That child is pitiful. Born to such a pair of parents, he’s already suffered enough. There’s no need for you to make it worse.”

Zheng Yang scoffed. “You’re such a saint. What’s so pitiful about him? He and his mother are two of a kind.”

But years later, after witnessing Ye Xi at twelve nearly lose his hearing from a slap by his own mother, Zheng Yang finally understood what she meant.

Illegitimate children aren’t always pitiful. Some are spoiled, arrogant, and utterly clueless about the real world.

But Ye Xi wasn’t one of them.

He was born into this family like a plant, like a tool meant to gain favor—never like a child meant to be loved.

The older he grew, the more mature he became. Quiet, never trying to provoke or please anyone.

Whenever Zheng Yang thought of this, an undeniable discomfort stirred in his chest.

…..

After Zheng Yang left, Ye Xi felt the house suddenly become empty.

Normally, he found Zheng Yang a bit noisy, but now, with his biological mother in the living room, he almost wished Zheng Yang would come back.

At least Zheng Yang was a normal person.

But while he tried to avoid Ye Shuyue, she had no intention of letting him go.

“Come here.”

She looked up from the sofa and fixed her eyes on him. “I got your final exam results. Your teacher said you improved—fifth from the bottom to fifteenth from the bottom. Quite the achievement. Anyone else would think I gave birth to a genius.”

Ye Xi slowly shuffled over. Standing on the soft carpet, his face was blank.

He clearly heard the sarcasm in her voice but didn’t take it to heart.

Seeing his unbothered expression only made Ye Shuyue angrier.

She set her teacup down hard on its saucer, unable to help using a bit more force than necessary.

“Look at yourself. What do you think you are?” she sneered. “Are you a dog? Zheng Yang calls and you come running?”

Ye Xi’s expression darkened.

He thought to himself: Zheng Yang is at least better than you—he even helped pass on Bai Yue’s gift.

Still, he said nothing. He just stared at the carpet, letting her say whatever she wanted.

Seeing his stubborn indifference, Ye Shuyue’s anger flared even more.

But Ye Xi was no longer the child she could twist and mold at will.

She gave a cold laugh, took another sip of tea, and said, “Do you think I want to care about you? You’re about to turn eighteen. You’d better start being clever. The Zheng family gives each child a coming-of-age gift. You’re no match for Zheng Yang in the old man’s eyes, but what’s yours is still yours. With one gesture from him, you could live worry-free for the rest of your life. So behave.”

She looked up at him. Her eyes, accented with sharp eyeliner, sparkled with beauty—but her words were ice-cold.

“You need to understand, that’s all the value you have left.”

Ye Xi finally couldn’t hold it in. He looked at her and chuckled softly.

“Is that so? I thought I was still pretty valuable.”

His eyes resembled hers, but they were colder, lacking her charm.

He said quietly, “If you hadn’t given birth to me, what would you have used to stand out among all of Dad’s lovers?”

Zheng Lu had had many lovers even before marriage. His divorce from Ruan Wenxi wasn’t really caused by Ye Shuyue.

So after the divorce, he hadn’t rushed to remarry. He spent years doing whatever he pleased—until Ye Xi, his only illegitimate child, gave Ye Shuyue her chance to secure a place in the household.

Before Ye Xi even finished speaking, a cup of hot tea splashed onto his face.

Thin tea leaves clung to his cheek, looking a little ridiculous.

Ye Shuyue stood up, her expression dark with fury. He had hit a nerve. Her jaw clenched, and she raised her hand to slap him.

But Ye Xi caught her wrist.

“That’s enough.”

His voice was calm. He didn’t care about the tea on his face—he just hadn’t dodged in time.

“I know you don’t want me as a son. I annoy you just by existing. But it’s almost New Year’s, and Dad will be home soon. You should try to hold it in.”

He looked at her calmly, wiped the tea off his face, and said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be upstairs.”

He turned and left without sparing her another glance.

When he reached the stairs, he heard the sound of porcelain shattering—Ye Shuyue had thrown something again.

Ye Xi returned to his room.

The door shut with a click. He walked to his desk and gazed out at the quiet winter garden.

For a brief moment, he felt utterly exhausted.

He opened the window. The cold wind hit his face, carrying the scent of snow and ice.

Plum blossoms had bloomed outside. Their faint, elegant fragrance filled the air—just like that day when he was twelve, kneeling in the study as punishment, smelling the same scent through the window.

How long it’s been…

Ye Xi thought, maybe he’s the only student in the world who actually looks forward to school starting again.

Everyone else wished for longer breaks.

But he would rather be back at school.

…..

In the following days, Ye Xi’s life remained relatively calm.

Because his biological father, Zheng Lu, had returned, Ye Shuyue reined in her icy demeanor and transformed into a gentle, soft-spoken woman, speaking to Zheng Lu in a sweet and delicate tone.

Zheng Lu, in turn, fulfilled his familial duty by casually asking Ye Xi about school life, but he clearly wasn’t really listening.

Ye Xi knew this too, so he just gave a perfunctory answer and continued sipping his sweet soup on the side.

Later, he followed Zheng Lu and Ye Shuyue back to the Zheng family estate to celebrate the New Year, offering greetings to Zheng Lu’s father, Old Master Zheng, and a whole crowd of relatives Ye Xi couldn’t even tell apart.

But Ye Xi only made it to the second day of the New Year before he found an excuse to leave.

He said he was going to a classmate’s house. Zheng Lu didn’t care and, in front of the relatives, even played the part of a gentle, loving father: “Go on, it’s good to keep in touch with your classmates.”

So Ye Xi bolted off to Li Rui’s house, flopped onto Li Rui’s couch, and the two of them played games together online.

Li Rui’s entire family welcomed him warmly. Li Rui’s dad even baked him a cake, and his older brother took both boys out skiing and to a shooting range.

Li Rui’s mom was experimenting with some kind of low-fat meal and shared a bite with Ye Xi and Li Rui. The two of them wore expressions of utter suffering.

Ye Xi was incredibly happy staying at Li Rui’s place. If it weren’t for feeling bad about intruding too much, he could’ve stayed there forever.

When Bai Yue’s call came through, Ye Xi was still lying on the bed playing Gomoku with Li Rui.

He’d put his phone on silent, eyes still fixed on the board. “Hello? Who is it?”

“It’s me, Ye Xi.”

Bai Yue’s voice came through the phone.

The white game piece slipped from Ye Xi’s fingertips and rolled across the blanket.

Across from him, Li Rui’s eyes widened, ears perked up to listen.

Bai Yue chuckled lightly on the phone. “I made it back before my birthday. I’m in your living room right now. But where’d you go? Why aren’t you home?”

Ye Xi froze and glanced at the time on his phone. Sure enough, it was the 25th. He’d been having so much fun at Li Rui’s that he completely lost track of time.

Crap!

He immediately bounced off the bed, feeling utterly guilty.

“I’ll be right back,” he said in a panic. “Bai-ge, wait for me!”

Li Rui sprang into action too, rushing to grab his coat.

The two of them scrambled around like madmen. Ten minutes later, Li Rui successfully got Ye Xi into the family car.

“Go, go,” Li Rui said hurriedly, smearing lip balm on Ye Xi. “Your lips are so dry—what if Bai Yue wants to kiss you later?”

Ye Xi couldn’t help but laugh, the mood lightened by Li Rui’s antics.

Half an hour later, he arrived home. Li Rui’s driver dropped him off at the entrance and even warned him to be careful on the slippery ground.

“Thank you, uncle,” Ye Xi said politely before turning to enter the house.

But as soon as he stepped into the garden, he saw two figures standing beneath the plum tree.

One was the tall and long-legged Zheng Yang in a short jacket.

The other… was wearing a deep gray wool coat with a slanted lapel and a silky sheen. A slender neck peeked out from under the collar, and one hand was tucked into a pocket. His stance was casual, saying something to Zheng Yang.

Ye Xi stopped in his tracks.

He hadn’t made a sound.

Yet Bai Yue seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around.

Their eyes met.

They stood across from each other, separated by a pond. Though it had only been a month, the moment felt unfamiliar. Ye Xi, though so familiar with him, suddenly felt nervous as if he were nearing home after a long time away.

But soon, a soft smile spread across his face.

“Bai-ge, Happy New Year,” he called out, raising his voice. In the desolate winter scene, his cool phoenix eyes curved like crescent moons.