Chapter 42: CH 42

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Sheng Min Ou looked at him, and a while had passed before a sneer formed on his lips, “You really don’t know where you stand. If you insist on your way of thinking, then perhaps I am not the person you should come to for help. I suggest you contact another party to assist you instead.” After saying so he stood up and directed his words at the young man by his side, “Wu Yi, please escort them out.”

His sprain had completely recovered, and now he could walk around freely without any impediment, so he no longer had any use for his cane. After finishing his remarks, he turned around and left for the door without another glance back.

Wu Yi looked towards Shen Xiao Shi and myself rather awkwardly and was afraid to say unnecessary words, so he could only display a stiff smile on his face as he gestured for us to leave.

Shen Xiao Shi’s complexion paled, and under normal circumstances, if someone dared talk to him like this, then he most likely would already have a hand around their collar. Now however, he could only cling onto my hand powerlessly, as he pleaded and asked if I could go say some nice words to make it up to Sheng Min Ou.

“Feng Ge, I’m… I was wrong, I misspoke. Could you please go and talk to lawyer Sheng, I really didn’t do it on purpose, it was just…” He lowered his head as he continued, “Twenty years, how many twenty years are there in a lifetime? I’ve lived my whole life until now and it’s only been twenty four years. My mother’s physical condition isn’t great, Feng Ge, you know what it’s like inside the cells. She.. she definitely won’t be able to bear with it.”

I patted the back of his hand and felt him trembling all over as I let out a soft sigh and comforted him, “Alright, wait here for me, I’ll be back in a second.”

I had Wu Yi stay with him as I got up and walked towards Sheng Min Ou’s office.

Sheng Min Ou seemed to have anticipated that I would follow after him, as when I entered his office, he had already sat down and was reclining in his seat. He was facing the window, and even when hearing the sound of the door, he didn’t make a move to acknowledge it.

I walked beside the office table and knocked on his transparent desk, “Xiao Shi just got a little carried away, he wasn’t maliciously intending to go against you. Give him another chance, that’s his mother, they’re related by blood, please try to be more understanding.”

Sheng Min Ou propped his chin with his palm, his index finger resting near the outer corner of his eye. He continued to remain stationary even after hearing me speak.

I gritted my teeth as I ran to meet him front on, “You owe me this favor, are you refusing to repay me right now?”

Sheng Min Ou raised his eyelids as he spoke, his tone pococurante, “Understanding? I don’t have that type of ability, aren’t you the one who knows this best?”

I was stunned by his response, and it took a long while for me to realise that he was responding to the question that I had asked him previously.

“I don’t have a conscience, I lack empathy, I don’t become dejected when hearing of other people’s suffering or misfortune, and I have no fear of death. What understanding are you asking for me to give him?” He wasn’t saying this to cause strife, rather he was genuinely perplexed.

I wasn’t sure why, but after hearing him confess these words my heart unexpectedly started aching.

When giving it more thought, he actually had it hard too. Who would want to be born and be different from everyone else? Abnormalities in the mental psyche was also a form of disability, and he would also just be included as a person with learning difficulties, one who needed the care and understanding of people around him. Therefore, if I treated him better, it was basically the equivalent of me showing compassion and love to that special group.

“Ktfc sbe vbc’a cffv ab ecvfgrajcv tlw, yea sbe ralii tjnf ab qlmx eq atf mjrf.” P tjio xcfia ab atf oibbg jr P qijmfv ybat tjcvr ja tlr jcxif, rboais wjrrjulcu atf jgfj, ws nblmf jvbqalcu j qifjrlcu abcf, “Gbfr sbeg offa ralii tega? Ofa wf gey la obg sbe?”

He didn’t avoid my approach and did not berate me either, as all I got was a slightly weary glance directed my way, “You treat your friends so well, nowadays ‘normal people’ like you are rare to come by.”

I pretended that I couldn’t hear the jibe in his words as I smiled, “Of course, I’m such a great person, no matter whether someone is my friend or my man, they’ll all be spoilt happy.”

The corner of his lips curled minutely, and just when I thought he was swayed by my words I heard him say, “Except being your parents must have been an arduous task, they raised such a disobedient and annoying child.”

I thought it was a rule to not hit people in the face when you’re assaulting them, and to not stab others in the heart when going for digs.

I straightened up my body all of a sudden, and found myself unable to present a smile, “Are you going to help or not?”

“Don’t come bother me for a whole month.”

Here I thought he was going to lay down some extravagant order, but in the end he was just waiting to deliver this rule. It must’ve been hard for him, in exchange for me to stay away and not bother him, he had to do all this in return.

“I have to help out with what’s going on with Xiao Shi. If you wanted me to completely avoid you, then that’s a bit of a hard ask.” It wasn’t that I was unwilling to oblige, but rather it really was difficult to carry out.

I had already waited ten or so years, would I really care about this one month?

Now that I continued to incessantly involve myself with him to stay by his side, instead of thinking that I wanted him all to myself and to spend the rest of my life with him in a sweet, coupley manner, it was a more apt description to call this an obsession of mine. I had only persisted until now based on the notion of not wanting to give up.

In this sense, I really was the best pairing for him. He wasn’t normal, and I wasn’t much better off than him. Stubborn to a fault and not willing to turn back on any decision I’ve committed to, normal people surely wouldn’t be able to do something like this.

“Then we’ll follow the arrangement that we’ve previously established, the three rules. You may participate, but you may not voice any opinions of your own. You will not touch anything with abandon and you will not have any dissents.” After finishing, he glanced down meaningfully at my two hands which were still clasped around his feet.

I hurriedly raised my hands and leaned my body back as I responded, “Okay! Starting from now right? I’ll shut up, I’ll go get Xiao Shi.”

I got up and turned to run outside before I suddenly stopped at the door, “Oh, that’s right, I had a dream about our father.”

I gripped the handle of the door and didn’t look back, behind me, there was not a single sound.

“Father wanted me to say to you that you’re doing great right now. He’s proud of you and he wants you to keep it up, don’t slack off.” After saying these words, I pushed the door open as I headed out and walked back to the parlour.

On my way back I brought both my hands together like I was praying and muttered a few words to the heavens, “I used you for a bit there father, don’t blame me please.”

In the present moment, it was only the thought and reminder of my father that could resonate with Sheng Min Ou. Though he stated verbatim himself that he didn’t have any conscience, he still lived according to my father’s last wishes, and he was tirelessly trying to be a ‘normal person’. No matter whether it was his career accomplishments, or the punching bag he hung in his room, all of this was proof of the effort that he put into becoming a ‘normal person’.

He erected a barrier, and he locked all the malevolent and tyrannical monsters behind it. He didn’t allow himself to make any mistakes, and didn’t allow himself to fall into the abyss. He believed that all living things were uneducated and ignorant, and he abhorred interacting with the cretinous humankind. However, he still used his superior intellect and disguised himself as an ordinary human, one that in his eyes, was unintelligent as can be.

He had said that he knew even better than me regarding how to survive on this earth. He of course knew. He recognised his own abnormality, and he decided to suppress his innate urges and instead become a normal human. Every second of every moment, he studied in an attempt to better understand how he could pass off as a normal person.

He went to college and passed with flying colours. He joined a company and he excelled at his work. He had a fiancée that everyone admired. Wearing the mask he molded for himself, Sheng Min Ou was on a path towards a limitless future. Until… I had returned.

It was as if I existed to purely act as his counter, before I felt wronged by this as I believed it wasn’t that bad. Now however, I could genuinely understand his disgust towards me.

I always infringed upon his personal boundaries, and I constantly touched that chain at the bottom of his heart which wasn’t particularly sturdy, it was even one that dangled and reached into the abyss, the chain representing his ‘morals’.

I thought that I was maintaining it, but in reality I was just shaking the door which kept the monsters in, over and over again.

So why would he ever like me?

I might be the only person on this earth which knew of his secret. People with obesity didn’t like weighing themselves, because the scales would tell them a harsh truth. Sheng Min Ou also didn’t like me, because my presence was like a reminder to him, a reminder of how abnormal he was.

Prior to yesterday, there were a lot of things that I knew of but didn’t fully understand. However, since then, it felt like I suddenly had an epiphany, a moment when I could make sense of everything.

Perhaps my father’s spirit couldn’t stand to witness this either, as he decided to borrow someone else’s misfortunes to explain the matter that gnawed at my mind, as well as to remind me of a fact.

Some things really could not be forced.

Shen Xiao Shi apprehensively walked into Sheng Min Ou’s office. With every step he took, he would cast a glance back at me, as if I was on the other side of the horizon. An elementary school student being called into the principal’s office would pretty much have the same reaction.

I waved my hand, telling him to make haste as he headed in.

Half an hour later, Shen Xiao Shi re-emerged from the office. He looked as if he could be blown away with every step he took, as he appeared in a trance, his gaze unfocused, like a demon spirit had sucked all the essence out of this innocent boy’s body.

I slapped my hand on his shoulder and asked him how it was.

Shen Xiao Shi’s whole body shook in response as he snapped out of it, “Oh, lawyer Sheng said that he would try his best to plead not guilty in court. However, if the right circumstances came about, then he also wouldn’t be averse to a plea deal with the prosecutor, and to have my mother plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence.

I patted his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it, leave it to my brother.”

Shen Xiao Shi nodded his head as he responded, “En.”

Later that night, as I had called Yi Da Zhuang previously for a favour and owed him a meal, I ended up also grabbing Xiao Shi and Wei Shi along to eat hotpot together.

Hotpot really was a meal where it could be enjoyed for hundreds of times without ever getting tired of it. The more you had, the more addicting it was. It was suitable for all genders and demographics.

The four of us got a private room to ourselves, Shen Xiao Shi had other things preoccupying his mind, so he ate little and spoke even less, as he dedicated himself to drinking.

Yi Da Zhuang also knew of what had happened, so he strived to liven the atmosphere by spilling all sorts of celebrity gossip. Paired with Wei Shi, the two of them spoke one line then sang the next, as they looked like they were performing some sort of duet.

“Da Zhuang, Xiao Shi and I both have seeked out lawyer Sheng, so you have to stay strong. Don’t create trouble.” Wei Shi said to Yi Da Zhuang as they clinked their glasses together. “Don’t get into conflicts with other people, if some celebrity sues you again and you end up back in jail, that’ll be real ugly.”

Yi Da Zhuang almost choked on his mouthful of beer, as he wiped his chin and spoke, “San Ge, touch wood or something, please. Besides, nowadays I haven’t been following celebrities around, so rest assured.”

“If you aren’t following celebrities, then who are you trailing?” I asked, while eating peanuts.

Yi Da Zhuang’s expression morphed into one that was crafty and sly at the same time as he purposefully gave us a vague response, “This I can’t reveal, if I do then it won’t be as shocking. Anyways, it’s big news that will definitely cause a stir in society. This year I have just been following this one case, I’ve done all my homework and preparation so that at the end of the year I can guarantee I’ll deliver something big.”

If he didn’t want to say it, then he didn’t have to. I didn’t have any particular interest towards this type of breaking news anyways.

After eating our fill, I took care of the bill as we all got ready to leave. Shen Xiao Shi had just been drinking alcohol, and had gotten heavily inebriated as a result. Even when he walked, it seemed like his footsteps were floating. Wei Shi originally planned to give him a hand and support him, but it resulted in the two of them being stuck at the door frame.

I was slightly worried about them, and since Yi Da Zhuang lived the same way as Shen Xiao Shi, I wanted him to give Shen Xiao Shi a ride, while I took Wei Shi home.

However, Wei Shi was adamantly against it, as he waved his large hand and told me that I could leave by myself first. He wanted to speak with Shen Xiao Shi and have a heart to heart, so he could properly guide him and be there for him.

“He’s already drunk to this degree and you still want to have a deep conversation with him?” I took a look at Shen Xiao Shi who was being propped up by Yi Da Zhuang, his cheeks flushed red as it looked like he had fallen asleep. “It’s probably better to not have that conversation today, go home and get some rest instead.”

Wei Shi slapped away my hand, “If we can’t have that conversation today, I can talk to him tomorrow morning.”

He was a man with a tall and sturdy build, if he really was stubborn about something then I wouldn’t be a match for him. Knowing this, I could only acquiesce, and inconvenience Yi Da Zhuang some more as I asked him to send the two drunks home.

I had no way of guessing that this ride would actually end up causing a problem, not counting the fact that it almost resulted in us the Qing Wan F4 collapsing and falling apart, but it also put Yi Da Zhuang in a very awkward position.