Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Cheng Yuan sat down, looking at the breakfast spread across the table, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

He watched as Pei Qingji, coughing now and then, still brought the plates over and set them on the table.

Sandwiches, milk, and a goose egg.

The goose egg was exceptionally large, nutritious, and quite valuable.

"Let's eat."

He watched Pei Qingji pull out a chair, sit across from him, smile at him, then peel the goose egg and put it in his bowl.

It seemed he probably didn't remember what happened last night.

Cheng Yuan thought.

Just then, the phone rang.

Pei Qingji answered the call, hesitated for a moment, then spoke cautiously.

"Grandpa wants to come over and see you today."

Cheng Yuan hadn't really been listening, only giving a faint "mm" in response before it sank in.

He was slightly taken aback. Grandpa Pei was coming?

He assumed it was to see Pei Qingji—after all, since Pei Qingji was sick, it would be normal for Grandpa Pei to visit.

But he didn't expect it to be for him.

His impression of Grandpa Pei wasn't deep; he'd only met him once.

Cheng Yuan worried that Grandpa Pei might be like Pei Qingji's father and mother.

A hint of wariness rose in him.

Pei Qingji knew what he was thinking and quickly explained.

"Don't worry, he won't be like my parents. He just wants to meet you."

Pei Qingji added, "He really likes you."

"And I'll be there too."

Cheng Yuan was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

Pei Qingji's eyes lit up immediately; he had thought Cheng Yuan would refuse.

After hanging up, he said, "Grandpa said he'll come over this afternoon."

Cheng Yuan nodded.

Later that afternoon, the doorbell rang, and then the door opened.

Grandpa Pei walked in with a cane. An old butler followed him.

Cheng Yuan met his gaze and was slightly startled.

Grandpa Pei squinted and said with a chuckle.

"So you're An'an."

Cheng Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and greeted him politely, "Hello, Grandpa Pei."

Grandpa Pei told him to sit down first.

Cheng Yuan felt a bit nervous, but fortunately Pei Qingji came downstairs not long after.

Grandpa Pei's back wasn't in good shape; with the old butler's help, he sat down on the sofa and said with a chuckle.

"Oh my, this back of mine. I guess I'm getting old."

Cheng Yuan didn't know what to say, so he just gave a tight-lipped smile as a response.

"Staying for dinner?" Pei Qingji handed the warmed milk to Cheng Yuan, then turned to look at him.

Grandpa Pei let out an "oh."

"Who's cooking? You?"

"I'll do the cooking."

Grandpa Pei didn't show much surprise in his eyes—after all, he'd heard about it from Old Man Xie last time—but still pretended not to know.

"You can cook? You little rascal, why haven't you made me a single meal in all these years?"

Pei Qingji coughed a few times and smiled. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"Little rascal."

"I have something to say to this kid. You go to the kitchen and get on with your cooking."

Pei Qingji hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and reminded him.

"Grandpa, don't give him a hard time."

Grandpa Pei huffed. "Don't worry, he's my grandson's husband."

Once Pei Qingji left, it was just the two of them.

"You're a good kid. Don't hold it against them."

"I have two sons, you see."

"One is Qingji's father, and the other is his eldest brother. His eldest brother died in a car accident in his twenties, and my wife couldn't take the shock—she passed away not long after."

"So it was just me and Qingji's father left."

"Naturally, we doted on him, spoiled him, and that's how he became what he is now."

"It's my fault as an elder for not teaching him well."

"Child, I'm truly sorry."

Grandpa Pei sighed, his tone apologetic.

"I didn't come today to ask for your forgiveness on their behalf. When you do something wrong, you do something wrong."

"I know that in their hearts, they do love Qingji. They just handled it wrong, always thinking everything they did was for their kid's own good."

"Do you... want to hear Qingji's story?"

Grandpa Pei glanced at Pei Qingji bustling around in the kitchen, and Cheng Yuan looked over too.

About his past?

Cheng Yuan froze for a second.

Grandpa Pei sighed and then slowly started talking.

"It's because this kid's had congenital pheromone disorder since he was little."

"His mom and dad lost countless nights of sleep worrying about it."

"When he was little, while other kids his age were out playing, he could only stay home, spending his days on meds, IV drips, shots, and surgeries."

"Later, after all their hard work, his condition improved a bit, but not by much—it could only be managed for now."

"Because of this, his mom was super strict with him, not letting him do anything. Over time, she became this overbearing person, always forbidding him from doing what he wanted."

"They wanted this kid to be the best at everything, whether it was grades or anything else."

"Luckily, Qingji never let them down—he was always the 'perfect kid' everyone praised."

"The worst time was when they wanted to send him abroad to study. That was the first time they ever fought."

Cheng Yuan was caught off guard.

"This kid wanted to stay here to study, but his parents said no because the education here wasn't as good as overseas, and the medical care abroad was better, which would also help with his treatment."

"His attitude at the time was really unusual and stubborn. I even thought it was a bit weird back then."

"Now that I think about it, the person he kept talking about to me must have been you."

"He always talked about me to you?"

Cheng Yuan was taken aback.

Grandpa Pei nodded.

"But his parents drugged him. When he woke up, he was already abroad, and they'd already handled his withdrawal from school."

"They also took his phone, so he couldn't contact anyone."

"He fought with his parents, but they wouldn't budge."

"He went on hunger strikes and rebelled several times, but this time his parents were dead set."

"Eventually, he realized fighting was pointless, so he stopped. But once, he asked to borrow my phone. He said he wanted to make a call, but in the end, he never did."

"I asked him why not."

"He said he didn't have your number."

Cheng Yuan was a bit taken aback. Yeah, he didn't have a phone back then, so of course he didn't have a number.

"I asked him what that person looked like, who they were."

"He asked me to help find them, and I said yes."

"But his parents found out."

"They said that if he kept looking for this person, they'd make you disappear for good."

"He didn't dare take that risk, so he stopped making a fuss."

"But to make Qingji give up, they deliberately made up information, making him believe you'd moved away and had long forgotten him."

"Those years were really hard for him—while getting treatment, he desperately tried to hold onto his memories of you."

"Later, when they found out he still hadn't forgotten you, they gave him meds to make him forget some things from the past."

"In the end, Qingji only remembered that there seemed to be someone really important in his heart, but he couldn't remember their name, and even their face slowly became blurry."

"Fate really plays cruel tricks on people. Who would've thought that years later, you two would meet again."

Grandpa Pei sighed as he said this and wiped a tear away.

"Kid, he probably never told you about this, did he?"

Cheng Yuan's eyes were full of mixed emotions as he shook his head.

Suddenly, his chest felt tight, but he didn't say anything, just sat there quietly.

Grandpa Pei suddenly pulled something out from his chest—an emerald ring.

It was extremely valuable, worth hundreds of millions.

He handed the ring over: "Kid, this is a family heirloom of mine. I'm giving it to you."

Cheng Yuan felt it was too precious and quickly declined.

"This was originally meant for my future granddaughter-in-law. Now that you're here, it's yours."

"Please take it."

Cheng Yuan felt that such a valuable gift was too much to take.

"No need, Grandpa Pei. Please take it back."

"This is what you deserve, and it's also what our family owes you."

"Oh dear, I'm getting a bit tired. I'll head back now."

Grandpa Pei suddenly stood up, patted his waist, and with the old butler's help, picked up his cane and walked toward the door.

Cheng Yuan wanted to give it back.

"You don't want it back?"

Grandpa Pei said, "Keep it."

"Giving you a gift isn't to make you forgive him—it's just that there are some things you still need to know."

"As for whether to forgive you, that's his decision, and I won't interfere. If the outcome doesn't turn out as hoped, it means you weren't meant to be together, and forcing it won't help."

With that, Grandpa Pei left.

When Pei Qingji came out, he found Grandpa was already gone.

Cheng Yu'an caught his eye and explained.

"Grandpa Pei has already left."

He hesitated, bit his lip, and showed him what he was holding.

"But... he left this behind."

In his hand was the emerald ring Grandpa Pei had given Cheng Yu'an.

Pei Qingji was momentarily stunned—that was the ring Grandpa had given his grandmother, meant for his future grandson's wife.

It meant Grandpa truly accepted Cheng Yu'an now.

His eyes softened. Seeing the conflicted look on Cheng Yu'an's face, he quickly explained.

"Don't feel pressured. Grandpa didn't mean anything by it."

Cheng Yu'an asked, "Can't we really send it back?"

Pei Qingji shook his head. "That was his gift to you. It's not my call to make. If you really don't want it, you can tell him next time he visits."

Cheng Yu'an looked down, hiding the complicated feelings in his eyes.

He'd always thought Pei Qingji didn't love him at all.

But now that he knew the whole truth, he went quiet.

So it turned out he hadn't forgotten because he was heartless—he just had no choice.

But even knowing that, what difference did it make?

Should he forgive him?

Those hurts and scars couldn't just be wiped away.

But...

Cheng Yu'an watched Pei Qingji's busy form, for the first time unsure how to face him.

Meanwhile, Pei Qingji called his grandpa.

"Why'd you leave so suddenly? Weren't you always complaining that I never cooked for you myself?"

Grandpa Pei's voice came over the phone. He was already in the car and, hearing this, pretended to sound annoyed.

"You little rascal, what kind of talk is that?"

"I'm old now, so I'll leave you young folks to your life together.

"Be good to An'an."

Pei Qingji was caught off guard for a moment, then it clicked and he smiled.

"Yeah, I will."

Author's note:

None