AAWOMAHI Chapter38

Returning home, the first thing Lu Xingmian did was find a glass vase and carefully place the sunflowers Lu Shiran had given him inside and arranging them nicely. The entire room brightened because of this bouquet.

 

Lu Xingmian looked at the sunflowers on his desk while lying on his bed with a smile that never left his face. That evening, Lu Shiran had taken him to dinner, driven him home, and then left.

 

He was still excited. It turned out Lu Shiran had come to see him every day for the past three days. Maybe Lu Shiran was right; if he had known Lu Shiran was waiting outside the examination hall, he might have been distracted during the test because he would be thinking of him. Thinking about how Lu Shiran had accompanied him for three days in the sweltering heat made Lu Xingmian’s heart feel a mix of sweetness and tenderness. How could Lu Shiran be so kind?

 

What made him even happier was that when he hugged Lu Shiran, Lu Shiran had hugged him back for the first time. Recalling it now, Lu Xingmian excitedly rolled back and forth on his bed several times. He just regretted a little that there were too many people then, and he was too shy to hold on longer.

 

Lu Xingmian lay on his pillow, his soft, fluffy hair a bit messy from rolling around, but it still couldn’t conceal his good-looking face at all. He slightly pursed his lips as he thought and wondered if Lu Shiran disliked him. Then he quickly answered himself, Lu Shiran probably didn’t dislike him since he was especially kind to him.

 

So why, no matter how late it was, did Lu Shiran always have to leave whenever he tried to get him to stay?

 

Lu Xingmian looked up at the calendar on his desk. It’s okay, he thought; he’ll be eighteen in two more days.

 

After the college entrance exam and before the results were released, it was a time for relaxing, of course. Lu Xingmian’s friends were all discussing where to go and what to do. Faced with all the plans being made in the group chat, Lu Xingmian didn’t say anything until Chen Che tagged him and asked him about it. Lu Xingmian said that he was going to work a part-time job over the summer.

 

The three people in the group chat fell silent. They probably knew a bit about Lu Xingmian’s background. He used to study at Mingcheng High School, and his family’s financial situation should have been many times better than the average family, so why would he need a part-time job? However, just as before, the other three tacitly didn’t ask Lu Xingmian about it. Everyone has things they don’t want to talk about.

 

Lu Xingmian was telling the truth. He needed to work to earn his own living expenses and tuition. Although the Lu family had given him 500,000 yuan, he wanted to return it to them. Since he had already severed ties with the Lu family, he didn’t want to owe them anything. Lu Xingmian had already spent tens of thousands of the 500,000 yuan, and he intended to pay it all back in full. So, before the school year started, he had to earn more money as quickly as possible; he didn’t want to use any of that 500,000 for his college living expenses or tuition.

 

After the college entrance exam, while other high school graduates were sleeping in and going out to have fun, Lu Xingmian woke up early and started looking for a part-time job. Luckily, on the very first day, he found one at a courier station. The station was short-staffed and offered a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan with one day off per week. Lu Xingmian thought it was a good deal. He started that same day, learning to sort packages and apply pickup codes with the other employees. By the end of the day, he was basically proficient and had adapted to the work.

 

On the high-speed train heading to Yancheng, Song Mingyi checked the time. It was a little over an hour until they arrived. Soon, they would see Lu Sihang. The closer they got to Yancheng, the happier they became. Seeing that his wife wasn’t feeling well, Song Mingyi took out a bag of yogurt and asked if she wanted to drink it. His wife declined, so he offered a box of washed bayberries, which she finally wanted to eat instead. Song Mingyi and his wife had brought a lot of things, all specialty products from Sucheng, for the Lu family and Lu Sihang. To avoid disturbing him and let him focus on his studies, they hadn’t called or visited Lu Sihang before this.

 

This was the second time they had come to see Lu Sihang since their last visit. Of course, they knew that the Lu family didn’t want them to have contact with Lu Sihang, but they still wanted to see him. Who wouldn’t love someone who is polite and well-behaved like Lu Shihang?

 

After getting off the high-speed train, Song Mingyi and his wife took a taxi directly to the Lu family’s home. Xia Yuefang received them quite warmly. She now understood that it was impossible for Lu Sihang to leave with them. If Song Mingyi and the others weren’t foolish, they should know that staying with the Lu family was the best option for Lu Sihang. Furthermore, Lu Sihang would be turning eighteen after tonight, and Song Mingyi and his wife would no longer have the right to interfere with his decision to stay or leave.

 

Song Mingyi and his wife were surprised and delighted to find that the Lu family welcomed them so warmly, and Lu Sihang was much closer to them than before. This time, besides coming to see Lu Sihang, they had other important matters to attend to.

 

Around the time his shift was ending, Lu Xingmian received a phone call from Song Mingyi, who said they were in Yancheng and wanted him to come see them because they had something to tell him. Lu Xingmian checked the time; it was almost seven. His “Father Song” and “Mother Song” had actually come to Yancheng. Worried they had something urgent to discuss, Lu Xingmian asked his manager for permission to leave half an hour early.

 

After leaving the courier station, Lu Xingmian took a taxi directly to the city center. A little over an hour later, he arrived at the agreed-upon location. Song Mingyi had asked him to meet at a coffee shop, where the couple had been waiting for over an hour. During that time, Song Mingyi had called Lu Xingmian, asking if he had left yet. It had been a long time, and he still hadn’t seen him. They were unclear about where City S was and wrongly assumed Yancheng’s outskirts were close, thinking Lu Xingmian would get there soon, yet they ended up waiting almost two hours.

 

Previously, Song Mingyi would not have thought much of this, but given the current circumstances, he suspected Lu Xingmian might be doing it on purpose.

 

When Lu Xingmian saw Song Mingyi and “Mother Song,” his eyes became a little moist. They were still the same as before, with no changes. Seeing them made Lu Xingmian feel a sense of warmth and familiarity.

 

For more than ten years, they had lived together; they were the closest family. They were once people he relied on; they were once his mom and dad.

 

“Mom, Dad.” Lu Xingmian said, unable to stop himself.

 

“Lu Xingmian, you should call us Uncle and Auntie from now on,” Mother Song said coldly. “We all know we have no relation to each other. We are not your parents.”

 

“Sit down first,” Song Mingyi said. “We have something to tell you.”

 

Lu Xingmian sat down, quietly looking at them.

 

Song Mingyi didn’t want to beat around the bush and said, “Lu Xingmian, here’s the thing. Two months ago, we found a house we liked. You know the location; it’s near your old high school. It’s a good spot. We’ve already paid the down payment, but we’re still short on some money.”

 

Mother Song, knowing her husband was a little embarrassed to ask, spoke directly. “We’re short 420,000 yuan for the house.”

 

Lu Xingmian stared at them, he couldn’t believe his ears and eyes about what Father and Mother Song were about to say.

 

Mother Song looked at him. “Lu Xingmian, don’t look at us like that. We believe that we haven’t mistreated you in the past seventeen years. We provided you with food, drink, and an education, and you never lacked anything.”

 

“But, Lu Xingmian, you must understand one thing, raising you to be this old also costs money, and we have invested a lot. We never skimped on a single cent that was supposed to be spent on you. You should admit that. We don’t know the exact amount of child support for the past ten-plus years, nor have we calculated it, but it’s at least more than 420,000 yuan.”

 

“Lu Xingmian, even though you didn’t live in the Lu family’s house, you still lived in a villa. You are the young master of the Lu family. We are not greedy people; we just want a little child support. This is nothing to you.”

 

Song Mingyi took out a small notebook. “This contains a record of the money we spent on you from childhood to adulthood. You can take a look. If you have any questions, you can ask them on the spot, and we’ll explain. We are absolutely not asking for a single extra cent.”

 

Lu Xingmian looked at the words and numbers in the small notebook and laughed, “Then why don’t you go look for Lu Sihang? He’s your son. Why don’t you look for him? If you went to him, let alone a little over 400,000, he could probably give you a million.”

 

When Mother Song heard this, she frowned tightly. “It’s true that Lu Sihang is our son, but the Lu family raised him to be who he is today. We’re grateful to your family, but for the past 17 years, we’ve been the ones raising you, Lu Xingmian. You can’t be so heartless. To avoid bothering you before your college entrance exam, we even waited until after your exam to find you. Lu Xingmian, think about it.”

 

So that’s why Song Mingyi asked him when his exam was. It was all for this. It turns out they had planned to ask him for the 420,000 yuan all along. He had foolishly thought Song Mingyi was concerned about him. He had really been making a fool of himself.

 

Should he thank them for waiting until after his exam to find him? Should he thank them for not asking for more?

 

Lu Xingmian laughed. He laughed at himself for rushing over as soon as he got the call and for still calling them “Mom” and “Dad” when he saw Song Mingyi and Mother Song. In their hearts, he had long been a stranger to them.

 

He looked at the small notebook Song Mingyi handed him. It listed all the money they had spent on him over the past decade or so that they could remember.

 

Lu Xingmian laughed again. It must have taken them a lot of hard work and time to recall all these things, right? It was truly a challenge for them to remember expenses spanning over a decade.

 

Seeing this unfamiliar smile, Song Mingyi felt a pang of fear in his heart. “What are you laughing at?”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “I’m laughing at myself.”

 

Mother Song had no more patience for small talk with Lu Xingmian. She just asked him, “Do you acknowledge this money? Will you give it to us?”

 

“Lu Xingmian, we know that even though the Lu family had you move out, they still gave you a sum of money, didn’t they?”

 

“I’ll give it to you,” Lu Xingmian said, looking at them. “I can give it to you now, but on one condition.”

 

Song Mingyi asked, “What’s the condition?”

 

“Since you’re saying this is for my upbringing,” Lu Xingmian said, “once I pay it, we’ll have absolutely no relationship anymore, right?”

 

“Yes.” Song Mingyi replied.

 

Lu Xingmian said calmly, “I hope you keep your word.”

 

“We will. From now on, we won’t come looking for you again.”

 

As he was speaking, Mother Song suddenly started to dry heave. Skillfully, Song Mingyi gently patted his wife’s back and offered her a sour plum, speaking softly, “Eat this, and you’ll feel better. The nausea will go away.”

 

It was only then that Lu Xingmian noticed Mother Song’s slightly bulging stomach. He had thought she had just gained weight, but it turned out she was pregnant.

 

So that’s what it was. Lu Xingmian felt like a clown and that he was incredibly ridiculous.

 

On the spot, Lu Xingmian transferred 420,000 yuan to Song Mingyi. Song Mingyi looked at the account credit notification, then handed the small ledger to Lu Xingmian. At the same time, he also gave him a signed statement officially severing their relationship.

 

“Lu Xingmian,” Song Mingyi said, “from now on, we have no connection whatsoever. Don’t blame us, and we hope you have a good life.”

 

Song Mingyi then helped his pregnant wife leave.

 

After leaving the cafe, Lu Xingmian walked aimlessly, not knowing where to go. Looking at the bustling crowds around him, he surprisingly didn’t feel like crying. When you’re at your saddest, you can’t even shed a tear.

 

He didn’t know what he had been for the past decade or so.

 

He walked aimlessly. It was a hot June night, but Lu Xingmian felt cold. He sat by the roadside, quietly observing everything. His phone vibrated. Lu Xingmian mechanically pulled it out. It was a message from Lu Shiran, asking him what he was doing, if he had eaten on time, and if his work at the courier station was tiring.

 

He dialed Lu Shiran’s number, his voice choked with sobs. “Ge, can you come pick me up?”