SC Chapter28

The weather gradually turned cooler, each autumn rain bringing a chill. Since the last time he vomited blood, the stabbing pain in Shen Yunjie’s chest became more frequent. He secretly went to see Old Zhou again. Old Zhou was also helpless, only saying, “If you want to stabilize the poison of ‘Wang Duan Chang’, you can only switch to stronger medicine to fight the poison with poison. But this, I’m afraid, will harm the child in your belly.”

Shen Yunjie sighed while stroking his raised abdomen: “Then so be it.” The child was due in two more months; he could not risk the child’s safety.

Old Zhou watched Shen Yunjie walk out the door, unable to help but sigh with regret. He didn’t even dare to face Xiao Ning now; he felt truly guilty.

As dusk approached, the autumn rain began to drizzle. Xiao Yuan was hunched over the table doing his homework. When Xiao Ning closed the stall, he put a warm, freshly baked flatbread in the oven, into Xiao Yuan’s hand, letting the child have a snack first. Shen Yunjie had been busy in the kitchen all afternoon, steaming, boiling, frying, stir-frying, and stewing, making a spread that looked like a banquet.

When Xiao Yuan had munched halfway through the flatbread, the dishes were brought up one by one.

Xiao Ning helped set the bowls and chopsticks while pressing down on Xiao Yuan’s little hands stained with ink: “Go wash them clean.”

Xiao Yuan hopped off the small stool and obediently went to wash his hands. Xiao Ning took the last plate from Shen Yunjie as he supported his waist, and pressed him onto a chair, “Why make so many dishes?”

“I specially made a little extra.” Shen Yunjie’s face was flushed from being in the kitchen for a long time. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and got up to carry the last bowl.

It was a bowl of plain noodles, clear broth, and green vegetables.

“Young Master, today is your birthday.” Shen Yunjie presented the longevity noodles to Xiao Ning. Since their first encounter at the age of fourteen, Shen Yunjie had spent his birthday with him every year, and now, perhaps, it would be the last time.

The rising heat from the noodles blurred Xiao Ning’s features, preventing Shen Yunjie from clearly seeing his expression. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and the candle on the table sputtered with a pah sound. The porcelain bowl then shattered on the ground and splitted into pieces. The bowl of plain noodles was completely overturned onto Shen Yunjie. The green vegetables scattered on his clothes, while the clear broth scalded his pale hands.

“I am not Xie Junyi.” Xiao Ning’s expression was icy, he slowly traced Shen Yunjie’s face with his fingers and finally pinched his chin tightly. “You ruined his family, and now you come to celebrate his birthday? Shen Yunjie, you are courting death.”

Shen Yunjie was forced to raise his head to look at Xiao Ning. The sharp and cold features no longer resembled the look from back then. The struggle and agony of seven years of living together day and night, the gnawing, bone-deep longing of six years of separation, the life and death so close at hand—how could he forget all of them?

“Don’t look at me with that gaze.” Xiao Ning clenched his fists, his fingers digging into his palms while his knuckles cracked. What birthday was there? The days in Jinling City felt as distant as a dream. When those deliberately forgotten pains were ripped open, the person in front of him was no longer his gentle Ah Yun.

Xiao Ning gripped Shen Yunjie’s neck, his heart feeling as if a sharp blade was turning within it, leaving it raw and bloody. He could neither love nor hate him. When Xiao Yuan walked in and saw the scene and immediately cried out in fear. He grabbed Xiao Ning’s trouser leg with his wet little hand, crying and hitting him with his small fists, “Let go of Father!”

The murderous intent in Xiao Ning’s eyes faded as he slowly loosened his  fingers. He watched Shen Yunjie fall to his knees while clutching his belly and coughing softly. Xiao Yuan sobbed quietly and tried to pull his father up. Being so small, how could he possibly lift Shen Yunjie? After pulling fruitlessly for a long time, he simply burrowed into Shen Yunjie’s arms, crying pitifully.

Xiao Ning’s mind was a mess. A mix of sadness, distress, and irritation was stuck in his throat, and his head ached sharply. He violently pulled Xiao Yuan away from Shen Yunjie’s arms before dragging Shen Yunjie to the door, kicked it open, and threw him out.

“Get lost… if you don’t want to die, hurry and get lost…” Xiao Ning slammed the door shut. He was afraid that seeing Shen Yunjie again would make him unable to resist strangling him.

“Young Master… Young Master!” Shen Yunjie frantically knocked on the door incoherently, “I was wrong, I was wrong, Young Master…” It was his fault. He was too greedy. He knew it would anger Xiao Ning but still delusionally wanted to spend his birthday with him one last time. But he couldn’t leave. Since the day he betrayed his master’s sect, where could he, alone, go? Xiao Yuan’s crying came through the door. Neighbors couldn’t help but open their windows to peek out. In the continuous autumn rain, Shen Yunjie knelt by the door as he pleaded for Xiao Ning to open the door.

Xiao Ning leaned against the door as he sat on the ground and silently hugged Xiao Yuan. Xiao Yuan cried until he hiccuped, gradually stopped struggling, and instead reached out his little hand to wipe the coldness from Xiao Ning’s face while whimpering, “Big Father, don’t cry. Can we open the door and let Father in? It’s raining outside, and Father has a little brother in his belly.”

The knocking on the door grew fainter and, after a moment, completely stopped. The longevity noodles were still spilt on the ground, while the dishes on the table gradually turned cold. Those were all dishes Xiao Ning used to love. These past few days, in order to buy fresh ingredients, Shen Yunjie had gotten up almost before dawn to go out with his basket.

Xiao Yuan was weak from crying as he curled up in Xiao Ning’s arms like a little bundle, whimpering like a small animal.

Shen Yunjie supported himself against the door panel outside the door. The pain in his chest made his vision go black, and the sweet, metallic taste in his throat was almost overflowing. He quickly wiped the blood from the corner of his lips with the back of his hand, struggled to get up while clutching his belly, and staggered towards Old Zhou’s medical hall. The onset of the poison was fiercer than any previous time. Every breath he took was extremely difficult. The rain soaked his thin clothing. Shen Yunjie leaned against a mud wall when he reached the corner of the alley with blood seeping into the rainwater. Before losing consciousness, someone covered his mouth and nose from behind…