Qin Weidong gently stroked his hair. “You really can’t leave me.”
“I know… I never even thought of leaving you.”
That was the truth. Over the years, he and Qin Weidong had fought countless times—loud, explosive fights—but had he ever once truly considered leaving him?
Qin Weidong said, “You used to talk about marrying a woman and having a son.”
“Oh come on, that’s ancient history! I was young and stupid. We’re where we are now, and you’re still bringing that up?”
Fang Li was at a loss. Clearly, not only did Qin Weidong remember it, he remembered it vividly. Sometimes Fang Li really wondered if this man’s heart had room for anything—was it even as big as the eye of a needle?
He lifted his head, suddenly recalling something. “Don’t just talk about me. What about that time I sang at the nightclub and you treated me like crap? Did I walk away? If I really wanted to leave you, I wouldn’t have let you humiliate me like that, not even if it killed me.”
Sure enough, the moment he brought that up, Qin Weidong lost all his bluster. He lowered his head and kissed him. “Let’s not talk about that night anymore, okay?”
“Why not?! That was all your doing, you bastard!”
Qin Weidong could only keep kissing him. He hadn’t given Fang Li a good memory that time—and he regretted it deeply.
“Forget it, forget it…”
Fang Li hadn’t intended to dredge it up again anyway. He’d already hit him, cursed him out—beaten him so badly that Qin Weidong’s back was covered in deep purple bruises for days. The sight of him shirtless had been terrifying. That had been revenge enough.
He shifted in Qin Weidong’s arms.
“When you went back, who did you see?”
“My parents, my uncle, my grandparents on both sides.”
“That’s really nice… Did they cry when they saw you? Did they tell you what really happened back then?”
Qin Weidong gave him a quiet summary. After listening, Fang Li was stunned. “That guy had the nerve to do that? It’s not like your dad ruined his family—why the hell did he take it out on you?!”
He suddenly remembered the first time he found Qin Weidong as a child. He’d had a high fever that wouldn’t go down, a bleeding wound on his forehead. That winter had been so cold—and to leave a child abandoned by the roadside on a mountain like that… it was practically murder. How could anyone be so heartless?
“Don’t get so worked up—have some water.”
Qin Weidong brought the glass to Fang Li’s lips. Fang Li took a few sips. His emotions had been swinging too wildly, too frequently these days. Qin Weidong didn’t want to agitate him further, so he stopped talking, even though Fang Li still had so many questions.
“What’s your mother like? Last time, I only saw her from a distance outside the hospital. She looked really young… and beautiful.”
“Mm.”
“‘Mm’? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what you saw.”
Fang Li made a face. He’d been curled up in Qin Weidong’s arms for a while now, and after talking so much, the constant tension and anxiety he’d been carrying for days finally started to ease a little. “So basically, you told me nothing… What about your dad? What kind of person is he?”
Qin Weidong said, “A bit serious.”
Fang Li shot him a glare. “You know I want to hear about them, and this is all you give me?”
Qin Weidong lowered his eyes. “Baby… I don’t know how to describe it. They’re just… who they are.”
Memories from his childhood had started to resurface now and then these past few days, mostly about Ye Yunshan. But those memories had been buried so deep for fifteen years. Fifteen years—long enough for even recalled memories to feel hazy and faded. They both needed time to adjust. Especially after what had happened.
Fang Li pressed on. “What about your… sister? The one you mentioned earlier?”
“We haven’t talked much. She’s in school during the day.”
Fang Li didn’t know what to say. This reunion was nothing like what he’d imagined. He’d pictured something out of a TV drama—a big family crying tears of joy, embracing each other tightly, pouring out years of longing and sorrow.
But then he remembered Qin Weidong’s father… the man he’d seen that afternoon—stern, composed. It really was hard to imagine someone like that breaking down in tears, holding his long-lost son.
“Oh—what about the report? What’s going on with that?”
He’d been so happy to see Qin Weidong that he almost forgot the most important thing.
“The person who filed it withdrew the documents. The higher-ups decided not to pursue it.”
“They withdrew it? So… that means it’s over?”
“You could say that. I’ll explain more later.”
Qin Weidong glanced at the time. “It’s almost time for your blood draw.”
“Can I skip it?” Fang Li lowered his head, refusing to move. “You’re here now—why do I still need to get my blood drawn?”
“Who told you just because I’m here, you don’t have to do it?”
Qin Weidong got out of bed and slipped on his shoes. Then he lifted Fang Li’s legs and helped him into his slippers. “I just spoke with your attending physician. He’s a top specialist from Beijing. He said your numbers have been a bit low the past few days. They’ll adjust your medication a little over the next couple of days. As long as things stabilize, your surgery date won’t change.”
Fang Li was genuinely scared—just the thought of surgery terrified him.
Qin Weidong walked him to the nurse’s station. The cold needle pierced Fang Li’s arm. At first, he turned his head away, too afraid to look. But when he blinked, his eyes caught a glimpse of Qin Weidong standing nearby—his face had gone pale.
The nurse said the draw was done. Fang Li looked at Qin Weidong pressing the cotton swab on his arm without saying a word. With his free hand, he poked Qin Weidong lightly. “What’s wrong with you? Who’s the one getting their blood drawn here? Why do you look paler than me?”
“They draw blood every day?”
“Sometimes every other day. But sometimes they take a bunch at once—six vials once. It scared Qi Jian half to death.”
Fang Li had just been speaking casually, but when Qin Weidong looked at his arms—thin, with tiny veins, both bruised from multiple needles—it hit him hard. Because his blood vessels were so fine, they had to leave the tourniquet on a long time to find a good spot, and it always left marks.
Qin Weidong’s throat tightened, like something was stuck there. He couldn’t speak for a long while. He hated himself for not being by Fang Li’s side during this time. If he could, he would take it all on himself—lie on that operating table, be the one under the knife in Fang Li’s place.
“Weren’t you always calling me a baby, saying I make a fuss about everything?” Fang Li said. “Well, now someone else is doing it for you.”
Qin Weidong carried him back on his back. Fang Li teased him, but he didn’t respond. Fang Li could tell—this time, Qin Weidong really was heartbroken for him.
He understood. Ever since they were little, whenever Fang Li was in pain, Qin Weidong always seemed to hurt even more.
“Alright. It really did hurt a lot a few days ago, because you weren’t here. But now that you’re here, it doesn’t hurt as much. And the nurse had a steady hand—just blinked and it was over.”
Qin Weidong thought for a moment, then said, “Once the surgery’s over and you recover, we’re going to build you back up—get your blood levels up again. I’ll make sure you exercise too. You’re always holed up at home writing music all day.”
“And whose fault is that? Every time I go to the music store, your face practically hits the floor.”
Qin Weidong didn’t argue—because he had no defense.
Fang Li’s surgery was only a week away. Qin Weidong stayed at the hospital with him for days, keeping him company through tests and IV drips. The surgical plan had been finalized. After repeated consultation, a top cardiology specialist from Beijing would perform the operation himself—fortifying Fang Li’s overburdened heart with a new, strong wall.
This same expert had operated on several prominent figures in Beijing. So when word spread around the provincial hospital that such a renowned doctor had been invited all the way to Jinyang, many doctors were stunned—who had the kind of influence to make that happen?
Fang Li wasn’t aware of any of this. Ever since Qin Weidong became wealthy, it seemed the people around him had grown much friendlier. As he watched Qin Weidong peeling an apple beside him, he couldn’t help voicing the question that had been on his mind.
“Qin Weidong, don’t you need to go to the office these days?”
“No need.”
Qin Weidong tossed the apple peel into the trash. Fang Li hesitated, then asked worriedly, “It’s not because of that incident… You didn’t get fired, did you?”
Could it be that the “solution” Qin Weidong mentioned last time… was that he’d been dismissed?
Seeing the concern in Fang Li’s eyes, Qin Weidong smiled. “What’s wrong? Afraid I won’t be able to support you if I get fired?”
“Just tell me the truth!” Fang Li grew anxious—he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Whether Qin Weidong could support him didn’t really matter; they’d survived worse. But if Qin Weidong had really been fired, then didn’t that mean all his hard work over the past two years had gone to waste? Qin Weidong was someone with a strong drive—he cared about his career.
Seeing that Fang Li was genuinely upset, Qin Weidong sobered and tried to soothe him. “I wasn’t fired. I resigned. I handed in my letter myself.”
He hadn’t expected Fang Li’s eyes to well up immediately. “What kind of nonsense is that?! Fired or resigned—what’s the difference?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”
Before, when they talked about “serious conduct issues,” Fang Li hadn’t grasped how serious. But now he truly understood—they had forced Qin Weidong to resign! What kind of “solution” was that?!
“Baby.” Qin Weidong couldn’t bear to see him on the verge of tears. “After your surgery, once you’ve recovered a bit, I’ll take you to the U.S., okay?”
Fang Li, stunned, looked up. “T-To the U.S.?”
The U.S.? The one they talked about on the radio?
Qin Weidong nodded. “Yes.”
Fang Li thought he’d misheard. In disbelief, he asked again, “Are you serious? We’re… going to the U.S.? What for?”
“To study. To make money. To take care of you.”
That, Qin Weidong said, was the final agreement he had reached with Qin Zhengrong after their negotiation in the study. He would spend four years in the U.S., and at the end of that time, he would present a satisfactory outcome. A promise made—and one he fully intended to keep.
Fang Li was genuinely surprised at first, but once the shock wore off, he slowly began to process it.
In truth, to him, going to the U.S. felt no different from when people back in Chongsi told him they were heading to Jinyang.
In his mind, whether it was the United States or Jinyang, both were faraway places—so distant that when he thought about it carefully, he realized he had no real concept of either. America, to him, might as well have been as remote and abstract as Jinyang.
As long as Qin Weidong was with him, that was all that mattered.
“They speak English in America, right? Do you think it’ll be hard to learn?”
Fang Li was a little worried. They couldn’t go all the way there just for him to end up deaf and mute, could they? That would be unbearable.
“It’s not that hard.”
Hearing that, Fang Li felt a bit disheartened. He shouldn’t have bothered asking Qin Weidong—his brain worked differently from everyone else’s. Was there anything in this world he actually found difficult to learn?
As he was thinking this, Qin Weidong’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and frowned slightly.
“Who is it?”
“Ye Yunshan.”
“Ye Yunshan?”
“My mother.”
“She came to the hospital?”
Qin Weidong got up to take the call outside. “Don’t meet with her.”
Fang Li stopped him. “Let her.”
At that moment, Ye Yunshan had already arrived at the entrance of the provincial hospital. The driver had gone to park, and she saw her son emerging from the building—he was the most eye-catching presence in the crowd. A light rain had just stopped. Qin Weidong took an umbrella from the security guard and held it over her.
Since the incident last time, Ye Yunshan hadn’t seen her son in days. Missing him dearly, she had come to the hospital.
“You didn’t want your mother to come…?”
“His surgery is next week.”
“I know,” Ye Yunshan replied. “You told me. I won’t give him a hard time… I brought you some clean clothes. The hospital’s full of germs. If you’re taking care of him, you also need to take care of yourself…”
Qin Weidong was taken aback for a moment. He accepted the bag and said, “Thanks, Mom.”
Ye Yunshan felt a pang in her heart. She smiled faintly. As the two reached the door of the hospital room, her emotions were in turmoil. The boy inside was her son’s savior—this was her first time visiting him. And yet, he was also the one who had taken her son away from her.
Inside, Fang Li was even more uneasy. Though Qin Weidong had told him he didn’t want to see his mother and had gone downstairs to talk to her, Fang Li still felt anxious. No matter how immature he might seem, he understood that Ye Yunshan was an elder—and Qin Weidong’s mother. He didn’t want to put Weidong in a difficult position between them.
“Auntie…”
As soon as he saw Ye Yunshan, Fang Li hurriedly sat up and greeted her with a small smile. Since he was still on an IV drip, he couldn’t get out of bed. Qin Weidong came over, picked up two pillows, and placed them behind his back to prop him up.
Ye Yunshan noticed her son’s gesture, and it stirred mixed feelings in her heart.
“I heard from Weidong that you’ll be having major surgery soon. Be sure to rest well. No matter what happened in the past—you saved Weidong. Auntie is truly grateful to you.”
“Oh, no, not at all…” Fang Li waved his hand. “That was a long time ago. I only carried him back. My grandma was the one who took care of us afterward… It’s just a shame she’s no longer with us.”
Ye Yunshan looked at Fang Li. Such a beautiful child. If only they didn’t love each other.
If only they were just childhood friends, growing up together as brothers—she wasn’t a cold or cruel mother. She would have gladly taken them both in and raised them as her own.
But somehow, things had taken this path.
Fang Li didn’t know what else to say. The things Ye Yunshan had said over the phone still echoed in his ears. In the end, he picked up a slice of apple from the plate and popped it in his mouth. “Auntie, would you like some apple? Qin Weidong bought them—they’re really sweet…”
It was the same apple Qin Weidong had sliced earlier before heading downstairs. It had already started to oxidize. Seeing this, Qin Weidong reached out and put his fingers in Fang Li’s mouth.
“It’s gone bad. Spit it out.”
“Mmph…!”
Before Fang Li could react, Qin Weidong’s thumb and index finger were already in his mouth. With practiced ease, Qin Weidong pushed against his teeth, retrieved the chewed bits of apple, wrapped them in a tissue, and tossed them into the trash.
He did all this so naturally that Ye Yunshan, standing nearby, was stunned by the sight.
Fang Li was mortified. He wished he could disappear into the floor. He glared at Qin Weidong, blaming him—how could he stick his fingers into his mouth right in front of his mom? Great. Now she must dislike him even more…
Qin Weidong calmly picked up another apple, peeled it, and neatly sliced it. He speared a piece and offered it to Ye Yunshan.
Ye Yunshan snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at the apple her son handed her. A wave of sorrow surged in her chest. She took the slice, and then Weidong passed another piece to Fang Li, continuing to cut the rest for himself.
Ye Yunshan had originally wanted to speak with Fang Li alone. But her son was sitting right there beside them.
Although he barely said a word, it was clear he had no intention of leaving. Ye Yunshan could tell—he must be on guard after that last phone call. She didn’t want to believe it. She was his mother. Could the bond of blood really mean less than the closeness he felt with someone from outside the family?
Ye Yunshan’s heart ached. Not long after, she said she was leaving.
In the elevator, she asked her son, “What day is his surgery?”
“The sixth. The day after tomorrow.”
The elevator quickly reached the ground floor. Ye Yunshan couldn’t hold back any longer. “Weidong… have you really made up your mind? Are you truly giving up the future your father planned for you… all for him? You just came home…”
She truly couldn’t accept it. Her son was throwing away a bright future at home, a promising career, all to go to the United States, halfway across the world—for that boy.
And what hurt even more was that her husband had agreed. Their son had just returned. She had just ended fifteen years of painful separation. And now, he was going to leave her all over again?
To go that far away… It felt like someone was cutting her heart out. How could she bear it?
“I’ve made up my mind. I gave my word to Father—I’ll keep it,” Qin Weidong replied.
The elevator doors opened. Ye Yunshan covered her mouth with a handkerchief. After a long moment, she said, “…After his surgery, can you come home for a while?”
“We’ll need to deal with the paperwork,” Qin Weidong said.
He looked at her and handed his umbrella to the driver. “Once he’s recovered and before we leave, I’ll come home.”
When she heard that, Ye Yunshan looked up at him. “Good. Good… Then Mom will be waiting for you at home.”
Axolotl Translations 
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