After An Zi Yan brought Mai Ding back, Mai Ding couldn’t stop thinking about the things he had left in the car. But the car had been towed away for repairs, and An Zi Yan refused to let him leave the house, so all he could do was sit there and worry. Although Grandpa An and the others were still concerned about him, the accident had only given Wu Xin another reason to dislike him.
“Xiao Ding, be more careful when you drive next time. Thank goodness nothing serious happened. If something had happened to you, how would I explain it to your parents?” Grandpa An’s scolding tone couldn’t conceal his concern.
“I was too careless. I’m sorry I made all of you worry.” Mai Ding felt guilty too.
Wu Xin gave a cold snort. “I’m not worried about you. But if you keep acting like this and end up getting my son hurt someday, could you afford to make up for it?”
“I-I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Easy enough to say. It’s New Year’s and you deliberately came here just to get on my nerves. You haven’t given me a single peaceful minute. What did you even come here for?”
“Wu Xin!” Grandpa An and An Xun reprimanded her at the same time. Away from home, Wu Xin was always an elegant, gentle woman who never lost her composure. Yet whenever Mai Ding was involved, every trace of that image disappeared.
Mai Ding kept his head lowered. He had told himself not to care, but even when someone had grown accustomed to being hurt, it still hurt. Wu Xin’s words pierced directly into his sorest insecurities.
“That’s enough, Mom. I don’t want to argue with you. Stop.” An Zi Yan took the gauze and ointment An Su handed him. Without looking at Wu Xin, he focused entirely on the wound on Mai Ding’s head, slowly removing the old dressing and replacing it with fresh gauze to keep the wound from becoming infected.
“What, I’m not even allowed to say anything about him now?”
“Don’t go too far.”
“I’m going too far? Explain that to me. How am I going too far? What exactly did I do?”
Mai Ding tugged at An Zi Yan’s sleeve. “Stop. This really was my fault.”
An Zi Yan finished securing the bandage. His voice was cold, seemingly devoid of emotion. “I brought you home with me, not so you could be mistreated.”
“Zi Yan, what are you implying? That I’m mistreating him? I’m the one who feels wronged! I still can’t understand what’s so good about this man.” Wu Xin refused to let the matter drop.
Even An Su couldn’t stand it anymore. “Mom~ It sounds awful when you keep fighting like this.”
Mai Ding shook his head. “I’ve never felt mistreated.”
An Zi Yan tossed the used gauze into the nearby trash can, completely ignoring Wu Xin. “Does it still hurt?”
Mai Ding shook his head again. An Zi Yan stood and slipped his hands into his trouser pockets. “Then I’m going to shower.” He slowly headed upstairs, but halfway up the staircase he suddenly stopped. “Hey, Mai Ding.”
“Huh?!”
“You don’t have to give in to her. You have my permission to talk back. You can lose your temper too. Don’t be afraid. I’ll back you up.” An Zi Yan wasn’t saying it only for Mai Ding. He was saying it for Wu Xin to hear as well. Mai Ding stared at him foolishly, not knowing how to respond. His feelings were mixed: he was moved, but he also knew those words would definitely make Wu Xin even angrier.
He would never talk back to Wu Xin. Never. Just hearing An Zi Yan say that was enough to make him happy. After all, Wu Xin wasn’t just anybody. She was An Zi Yan’s mother, the person who had given birth to him. Anyone and anything connected to An Zi Yan was something Mai Ding felt grateful for.
Sure enough, An Zi Yan’s words made Wu Xin even more upset. Grandpa An finally had enough. Shaking his head, he prepared to return to his room. Mai Ding helped him up. “Grandpa, you’re going back to your room this early?”
“It’s too noisy out here. My room is quieter.”
“Then I’ll come with you and make you some tea.”
“Good.”
“Grandpa, tell me some more stories about how heroic you were back in the day. I love hearing those.”
That went straight to Grandpa An’s heart. Old people loved reminiscing about their glory days. An Xun loosened his tie and sat on the sofa. An Su had already returned to her room. Looking at Wu Xin, whose face was red with anger, An Xun said, “Look at yourself. What have you become?”
“What’s wrong with me? I just can’t stand him.”
“What is there to dislike so much? If you were willing to accept him, it wouldn’t be that difficult. Do you really have to make the entire family unhappy before you’re satisfied? You’re his elder, yet you expect the younger generation to be the ones constantly yielding to you?”
“He’s your biological son too. I just don’t understand how you can stand there and watch him be with a man like that. Our son is so outstanding. What wonderful woman couldn’t he find? Yet he insists on choosing a man. Just thinking about it makes me furious.”
“I think Mai Ding is perfectly fine. And you’ve seen the way Zi Yan treats him. If this is what he wants, if this is the person he likes, then why not let him have what he wants? What’s the big deal? No matter how much you hurt or insult them, they aren’t going to separate. Haven’t you understood that yet? This matter has already been decided. All you’re doing is making other people miserable and tormenting yourself.”
“You’re the unreasonable ones. I can’t understand how Dad and you accepted it so easily.”
“That’s because we love him.”
“You’re hurting him.”
An Xun repeatedly shook his head as he rose from the sofa. “Then let’s see what your version of a mother’s love ultimately gets you. They’re just kids. How can you bear to hurt them again and again? You’re his biological mother. When you look down on Mai Ding, have you really never noticed the sadness in Zi Yan’s eyes?”
With that, An Xun left with a sigh. Wu Xin remained alone in the enormous living room, which suddenly seemed terribly empty. She sat there staring into the darkness outside, completely lost.
After his shower, An Zi Yan casually picked up a book and leaned against the headboard, reading quietly. It wasn’t long before Mai Ding returned from Grandpa An’s room. Seeing An Zi Yan reading, he picked up a book of his own and lay on his stomach on the bed. Neither of them spoke. The room was so quiet that Mai Ding could hear An Zi Yan breathing. Finally, he lifted his head and broke the silence. “I really don’t feel mistreated, and I’m not sad either. The only things that can make me sad are fighting with you and being separated from you.”
An Zi Yan kept reading. “You really are thick-skinned.”
“What do you mean thick-skinned? That’s called being strong and resolute. Do you even know how to appreciate a good thing?”
“What is there about you worth appreciating?”
“Hey! You’re blatantly looking down on me now, aren’t you? I have plenty worth appreciating. For starters, I’ve got this fresh short haircut and this smile, this sturdy physique and my powerful inner world, the care and seriousness I put into looking after you, the persistence with which I constantly keep you on track… and besides, besides…”
“Besides what?” An Zi Yan lowered the book and looked at him.
“Besides, I guarantee there isn’t anyone in this world who loves you more than I do.” Mai Ding thumped his chest.
Mai Ding waited for another round of ridicule, but instead An Zi Yan said, “Then if you already know you have so many good qualities, you should also know you’re more than good enough for me.”
Mai Ding stared at him, almost unable to believe it. Once again—yet again—An Zi Yan had seen straight through him. Mai Ding threw his book onto the floor and began fidgeting, wanting to say something, but An Zi Yan cut him off. “If what you’re about to say is disgusting or sappy, I recommend you keep your mouth shut.”
“I have a right to speak.”
“And I have the right to take that right away.”
“I refuse to accept that.”
“Intelligence or physical strength. Pick one.”
Mai Ding’s heart sank. He was screwed. Neither was his strong point. He couldn’t beat An Zi Yan intellectually, and he definitely couldn’t beat him physically. A mischievous little light bulb suddenly flickered on in his head. “I choose charm. My wonderful husband, my little sweetheart, come give me some love.” A full-force cheesy attack.
“Against me, charm counts as physical force.” Frowning, An Zi Yan pinned Mai Ding down and twisted his arms behind him. “Say one more word. Go ahead.”
Mai Ding could no longer move at all, but he still refused to surrender. His face was squashed out of shape, yet he forced the words out anyway. “My little sweetie, my precious, my little darling. I said it. Bite me.”
An Zi Yan bent down with a wicked smile and bit Mai Ding’s lip. Mai Ding winced in pain, muffled noises escaping his mouth.
Snow began falling again outside, flake by flake drifting down from the sky. No matter how cold the winter beyond the walls became, the world inside remained unchanged. Reflected in the window were three words, two people, and one love.
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