MHWFYYTMDF Chapter44

He Muyan hadn’t tasted the feeling of a hangover in a long time. He didn’t wake up naturally; he was awakened by nausea.

His head hurt so badly it felt like it was splitting open, and his throat was uncomfortably dry. Out of habit, he reached out to wrap an arm around the space beside him but found nothing but empty air beneath his hand.

Rolling over, he saw that the bedding beside him was empty, already long gone cold.

Blinking, He Muyan was suddenly overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling; a hollow, suffocating sense of panic.

He had never felt like this before: like reaching out during a dream trying to grasp something, only to catch a handful of air; it was that helpless sensation of being terrified of gains and losses.

He simply laid spread-eagled on the bed, closing his eyes in disgust at himself.

After nursing the nauseating hangover for a moment, He Muyan finally got up to wash in the bathroom. Just as he stepped out, he bumped into Song Li, who was coming in from outside.

Seeing that he was up, Song Li seemed quite surprised, widening his big eyes. “You’re already awake.”

He Muyan had just washed his face with cold water with droplets still clinging to the tips of his hair. His expression was even colder than the autumn waters of November. Without saying a word, he glanced at the tray Song Li was holding in his hands.

Noticing his gaze, Song Li held the bowl up for him to see. “It’s hangover soup. I spent a long time making it. It’s my first time trying, so I don’t know how it tastes.”

Saying so, he even scratched his chin with a finger in embarrassment.

He Muyan noticed that a large patch of that finger was bright red, seemingly even blistered.

His complexion instantly turned even worse. Grabbing his hand in a swift motion, he inspected it carefully. “How did you manage to injure your hand by making hangover soup?”

Though these were words of concern, his tone carried unmistakable anger and blame. Song Li felt like he was mad, though he had no idea where this temper was coming from so early in the morning.

He had never seen him have morning grumpiness before.

Despite feeling baffled, he knew he was just caring about him. Carefully watching his expression, Song Li spoke softly, “I haven’t been in the kitchen for a long time, so I accidentally scalded myself. It doesn’t hurt that much; I’ve already cold-compressed it, really. Don’t be mad.”

Song Li told him not to be angry, his voice gentle and soft, with a soothing sweetness to it.

Looking at his cautious gaze, He Muyan felt a sudden, sharp pain in his heart. He didn’t like Song Li looking at him with eyes like that.

Covering his eyes with a broad palm, he let out a soft sigh. “I’m not mad.”

Song Li let out an “en,” struggling to move his hand away, and held the bowl back up again. “Then drink this. Chen Yi taught me the recipe, saying it’s very effective.”

He Muyan glanced at the contents of the bowl before reaching out to take it. Bringing it close to his nose, he took a sniff, his brows knitting together imperceptibly. “What’s this smell?”

“I put in dried tangerine peel, mung beans, plus a little ginseng and saltwater. The flavor might be a bit odd, but it should be pretty useful. Good medicine tastes bitter after all.”

He Muyan still looked somewhat reluctant, but seeing Song Li’s expectant face, he truly couldn’t bear to refuse him. In the end, he held his breath and downed it all in one gulp.

The taste was slightly astringent, though not quite as unacceptable as it seemed upon entry.

“How is it? It’s not as terrible to drink as it looks, right?” He had secretly tried it in the kitchen earlier; while it looked a bit like traditional Chinese medicine, the taste was actually alright.

Wiping his mouth, He Muyan gave a subtle nod.

Song Li brightened up, taking the bowl back. Just as he turned around to leave, one of his arms was grabbed by He Muyan.

Song Li turned his head to look at him in confusion.

“Where is Lili going?”

Song Li lifted the bowl in his hands slightly. “Taking this downstairs.”

Of course, He Muyan knew he was going to return the bowl, yet for some reason, seeing him turn his back on him made him unable to resist pulling him back.

Glancing at his expression, Song Li set the bowl down to the side and walked over. Taking his arms, he carefully guided them around his own waist from top to bottom, while simultaneously reaching out with his own hands to embrace him. Raising his head in his chest, he blinked at him like a small animal. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve been strange since you woke up this morning. Are you unhappy?”

He Muyan looked at the small face right in front of him; which was fair, sweet, and tender, with a pair of clear pupils clearly reflecting his own gloomy expression.

He could kiss his soft and sweet lips if he lowers his head just a bit. He asked him in a low voice, “What did you eat just now?”

Song Li stuck out his tongue for him to play with, his voice slurred as he answered, “The osmanthus frosted cake Mom had someone send over yesterday. She said your family’s aunt made it with the osmanthus from the yard, it was completely natural. She also sent osmanthus rice wine. I couldn’t drink it, but I opened it and took a sniff, it smelled super sweet too. You can go try some later, mmnf…”

He Muyan didn’t let him speak anymore, sucking on his tongue and stirring his mouth into complete turmoil as if trying to loot every last bit of sweetness from inside.

Song Li was nearly overwhelmed by him, his eyes filled with a misty haze. By the time he was released, the base of his tongue was so numb he had no sensation left.

He Muyan kissed his forehead again, smiling as he whispered into his ear, “I’ve already tasted it.”

Song Li didn’t even have time to blush, slumping in his arms to catch his breath.

Auntie Chen had already prepared breakfast earlier. After waiting downstairs for a long time without seeing anyone come down, she knew they probably wouldn’t be coming down to eat anytime soon. She covered the food back up and left a note telling them to heat it up themselves later.

Due to his hangover, He Muyan didn’t go to the company today, and Li Xiu thoughtfully called to tell him to take a good rest at home today.

He Muyan had always been completely at ease with him, so after giving him a few casual instructions, he hung up the phone.

While straightening the throw pillows on the nearby sofa, Song Li couldn’t help smiling as he said to him, “I think Li Xiu is so capable. Having a right-hand man like him must save you so much trouble.”

Half-leaning against the sofa with one arm resting on the back, He Muyan lightly pinched his temple with his fingers, letting out an “en”, “He’s been following me ever since I first stepped out into the business world. He knows my temper very well and has built up the necessary unspoken understanding.”

Song Li nodded. Seeing him with his eyes closed, still looking quite uncomfortable, Song Li walked up behind him to knead his temples. “Why don’t you go sleep for a bit? You have nothing to do at home today anyway.”

He Muyan grasped his hand, tilting his head back to look at him. “Lili, I’ve been leaving early and returning late so much recently. Has it been a long time since I last stayed home to accompany you?”

“Has it?” Song Li thought for a moment. “It’s alright, I guess.”

He Muyan reminded him, “Including last weekend when I went on a business trip, it’s been almost nineteen days since I last spent proper time with you.”

Song Li blinked, looking quite surprised. “Has it been that long? I didn’t really feel it. But you’re busy with work, so it’s completely understandable.”

Having known all along that he would take this attitude, He Muyan’s expression gradually darkened. “You don’t always have to be so understanding of me. If there’s anything you’re unhappy about, feel free to speak your mind.”

Song Li shook his head. “There isn’t though. I really feel like things are pretty great right now. Although being home alone gets a little boring at times, I sometimes ask Xiao Sang to come over and keep me company, or occasionally pop over to his shop to hang out. It’s not hard to pass the time at all.”

He spoke lightheartedly and casually as if truly satisfied with his current state. He Muyan fell silent, releasing his grip on his hand.

Thinking he was feeling a bit better, Song Li walked over and sat down beside him.

Who could have known that the moment he sat down, He Muyan suddenly stood up.

Startled, Song Li looked up at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m going out for a bit.”

Song Li was somewhat bewildered. “Didn’t you say you’d stay home and not go anywhere today?”

He Muyan glanced down at him with a faint tug at the corner of his lips. “I suddenly remembered there’s something I need to do.”

Song Li let out an “oh,” a trace of disappointment flickering deep within his eyes, yet he forced himself to smile and ask, “Where are you heading then? How long will you be out, and will you be back for lunch?”

“I won’t be back.” He Muyan removed his bathrobe and turned to walk upstairs. “Lian Jiu asked me out for drinks. It’s been a long time since I hung out with him, so I might come back quite late.”

Song Li watched his retreating figure heading upstairs without uttering a word.

Before long, He Muyan came back down, already changed into different clothes. Because he wasn’t going to work, he was dressed casually and youthfully for once; his hair wasn’t stiffly combed back, his soft fringe falling over his forehead to partially reveal his handsome, refined brows and eyes; carrying a subtle, youthful charm that was truly, captivatingly handsome.

Song Li’s heart hadn’t beaten this fast in a long time. In the past, seeing his husband looking so handsome, he might have been unable to resist throwing himself into his arms long ago. But right now, He Muyan exuded a chilly sense of distance all over, making one hesitate to draw near him for a moment.

With both hands stuffed in his pockets, He Muyan walked over and looked at him, “I’m leaving.”

Song Li gazed at him, hesitated for a moment, and gave a gentle nod.

He Muyan cast another deep look at him, still saying nothing, before picking up the car keys and turning to walk out.

After a short pause, the sound of the car engine started echoed from outside. Song Li sat on the sofa dazed for a while yet couldn’t resist standing up and walking over to the window.

He Muyan’s car had already receded so far that only a tiny black rear end remained visible.

Song Li stared at that tiny car tail for a long time, until nothing could be seen anymore.

Why did he just leave like that?

Didn’t he say he was going to stay home and accompany him for the day?

Didn’t he himself say it had been nineteen days since he last stayed home to properly spend time with him?

Then why did he just up and leave again without a word?

Although Song Li still couldn’t figure out what on earth was going on, he couldn’t help but start getting angry!

Walking back to sitting on the sofa, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He couldn’t resist picking up the throw pillow He Muyan had leaned on earlier and throwing it out with force.

He angered him to death!

When Auntie Chen came over to cook lunch and saw that almost none of the food she prepared in the morning had been touched, she thought it didn’t suit their taste. When she anxiously went over to inquire, Song Li listlessly replied that there was no need to make lunch either as he had no appetite.

This made Auntie Chen extremely anxious, afraid that he might be experiencing discomfort in his stomach or abdomen, and she repeatedly urged him to have the doctor come over and examine him.

Curled up on the sofa, Song Li was too lazy to move, holding the remote control as he flicked through channels, “I’m really fine, Auntie Chen, don’t worry. See, my belly is totally fine. I’m just not hungry and really don’t feel like eating.”

Having raised three children herself, Auntie Chen squatted down to carefully inspect the state of his belly. Confirming that there was indeed nothing out of the ordinary, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Still, she earnestly persuaded him, “It’s naturally best that nothing is wrong, but no matter what, you must eat your meals. You young people don’t understand the harm of not eating three meals on time, not to mention you’re carrying a baby right now. Even if you don’t eat, you shouldn’t starve the baby either. Be good, I’ll go cook some sliced fish porridge that you like in a bit, and you have at least a bowl, okay?”

Auntie Chen was incredibly gentle, her patient, coaxing tone reminding him of how Mother Song used to speak to him whenever he fell ill, gently coaxing him to eat. As Song Li listened, his nose tingled with emotion, and he looked at her with reddened eyes before gently nodding.

Auntie Chen reached out to stroke his hair. “Xiao Li’er is so good.”

Perhaps because she was used to calling her own children like that, Auntie Chen would occasionally call him Xiao Li’er, which sounded quite affectionate, like a senior member of the family. Song Li never asked her to change it either.

Song Li had his porridge at noon, took a short walk in the yard, and then went back upstairs to sleep through a solid afternoon nap. By the time he woke up, it was already dark outside.

Coming back to his senses, his first instinct was to fumble around beside his pillow for his phone, hurriedly unlocking it to check. Having flipped through everything, however, he couldn’t find a single message sent by He Muyan.

A whole entire day!

Song Li looked at his phone in disbelief, feeling both furious and hurt. What on earth was wrong with this man? In the past, even when swamped with work, he would always try his best to squeeze out time to send him a few messages, even if it was just asking meaningless daily topics like whether he had eaten on time.

Yet today he wasn’t busy with proper business, but merely out drinking and having fun with a friend, yet he didn’t even have the time to send him a single message.

Or perhaps, he had simply thrown him completely to the back of his mind, forgetting that there was even a person like him waiting at home.

Once Song Li finished fuming, a chill crept into his heart. Throwing the phone back down, he stared up at the ceiling overhead.

Eating dinner alone, he suddenly received a video call from his mom. Song Li was listlessly wrapping pasta around his fork in his plate when the phone rang out of nowhere, giving him quite a scare.

Instinctively tapping the green answer button, Mother Song’s cheerful, smiling face filled the entire screen, her bright and lively voice immediately calling out to him, “Xiao Li baby, guess where Mom and Dad are and what we’re doing right now?”

Her face was filling up the screen so much that Song Li couldn’t see the background behind her at all. He could only hear that the audio background on her end was quite noisy with faint sounds of some animals calling out.

Song Li smiled and said, “You two old bones better take it easy over there and stay safe.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! Your dad’s as strong as ever; even riding an elephant would be a piece of cake for him.”

Father Song’s voice suddenly came through from outside the frame. Song Li asked with some curiosity, “You guys are riding elephants?”

Just as he spoke, he indeed caught a residual shadow of a large trunk swinging past on the screen, seeming to spray out a bunch of water as well. Mother Song let out an excited cry, hurriedly saying to Song Li, “Xiao Li, look! How big is this elephant!”

Seeing how happily they were playing, Song Li’s mood brightened up quite a bit along with them. Cupping his cheeks, he said, “I see it, I see it.”

Forced to take an unexpected bath, Mother Song didn’t even forget to turn back and ask him loudly, “How come you’re all alone? Where’s my son-in-law? I want to say a word to my precious son-in-law.”

Hearing her mention He Muyan, the smile on Song Li’s face froze, and he spoke rather unnaturally, “He… went to the study to work. You guys go ahead and play, he’ll be happy just knowing you two are having fun.”

Mother Song gave an “oh.” It was far too lively on her end, leaving her with no spare energy to pay attention to his situation. After saying only a couple of words, she hurriedly hung up the call.

The moment the call disconnected, the huge living room instantly turned so quiet that not a single sound remained. Song Li stared at his phone for a moment, no longer in the mood to eat. He tossed out the remaining pasta, and after taking no more than two sips of the rib soup, sealed everything up and put it in the refrigerator.

Being alone with nothing to do, he curled up on the sofa and watched TV for a while, the audio going in one ear and out the other while his eyes remained out of focus the entire time. After an unknown amount of time passed, just as he managed to brew up a bit of sleepiness, an abrupt phone ring suddenly burst right beside his ear.

Jolted awake, Song Li regained consciousness and blearily reached out to find his phone.

It was actually He Muyan’s number.

For a split second, Song Li’s heart skipped a beat. Even as he inwardly grumbled, It’s been an entire day, and you finally remembered to call! his hand had already moved faster than his thoughts, swiping the answer button without hesitation.

“Hello…”

“Sister-in-law!!! Help me!!!”

Before his tone could settle, a voice roared out from the other side even louder than his.

Song Li froze. This familiar voice wasn’t He Muyan.

“Xiao Jiu?”

“It’s me! Sister-in-law, where are you? Hurry and come save me! If you don’t come soon, I’m going to get killed by Brother Yan!!!”

Song Li was utterly baffled, though he was now completely wide awake. Sitting up from the sofa, he asked on the phone, “What’s wrong with He Muyan? Don’t panic, speak slowly.”

There was a burst of chaos on the other end; Lian Jiu seemed to curse for a moment before shouting into the phone again, “There’s no time to explain, Brother Yan has gone crazy today! Sister-in-law, I know it’s really late to disturb you, but right now I truly can’t think of anyone else who can save me besides you. Can you come over right now?”

Hearing his voice, Song Li could tell that he was truly at his wit’s end, and anxiety immediately rose in him as well. “Where are you guys right now? Don’t panic, I’m coming over right away.”

Lian Jiu hung up the phone and immediately sent him a location pin.

Song Li searched for the route on the map, it wasn’t very far. He immediately went upstairs to change his clothes and hurriedly headed out the door.

In his current condition, driving himself was completely out of the question, so he had no choice but to put on the loosest clothes possible and go out to hail a cab.

Fretful with anxiety all along the way, when he arrived at the location pin Lian Jiu had sent, he discovered it was actually a bar. Looking up at the familiar signboard above, he couldn’t hide the turmoil in his heart.

This was the very bar where he and He Muyan had met for the first time.

Coming back after several months, everything had already changed.

It was peak business hours for the bar at this time. Even with Song Li bundled up as much as he could, several people still came over to hit on him along the way.

Having finally located the private room Lian Jiu mentioned, he pushed open the door, only to be met with a punchy stench of alcohol.

The lighting inside the room was dim, revealing empty wine bottles rolling all over the tables and the floor.

There were several people inside, all asleep in complete disarray. Song Li couldn’t distinguish who was who for a moment, so he simply stood in the middle and shouted out, “He Muyan!”

This single shout woke most of the people up, with quite a few groggily raising their heads to look his way.

Lian Jiu was woken up by his roar as well. Getting up, he dry-heaved twice before taking heavy steps toward him.

“Sister-in-law, you’ve finally come.”

Taking a clear look at his face, Song Li frowned. “How did you all get drunk like this? Where’s He Muyan?”

Holding onto the table, Lian Jiu waved a hand at him. “Don’t… don’t even mention it. Us drinking into this state… isn’t it all thanks to Brother Yan… urgh… Brother Yan’s doing?”

Song Li didn’t want to listen to his nonsense and continued scanning the surroundings. “Where’s He Muyan?”

“Brother Yan… Brother Yan is over there…” Lian Jiu pointed his finger in a direction where the light was even dimmer. From where he stood, he could only see the silhouette of a person half-reclining on the sofa, unable to see his face.

Song Li walked straight over, nearly tripping over the floor full of wine bottles along the way.

His temper had actually flared up by now. Walking over, he yanked the wine bottle right out of the hands of the person on the sofa.

“Have you had enough yet!”

The air around the sofa stank of alcohol. It was unknown just how much He Muyan had drunk or whether his consciousness was still clear, but lifting his eyes to glance at Song Li, he actually tilted his head and smiled, saying, “Do you want to drink with me too?”

Song Li looked at him in disbelief, he couldn’t even recognize him anymore.

The hand holding the wine bottle trembled violently. Song Li closed his eyes for a moment, enduring it as he spoke, “I’ll count to three, and you’re coming back with me. If you still don’t leave by the count of three, don’t even think about seeing me starting tomorrow.”

It was unclear if He Muyan understood what he said. Looking up at him, his ink-black pupils were filled with confusion.

Song Li stared at him and began to count, “One…”

He spat out every word slowly and coldly. Sensing the unusual atmosphere over here, the other people in the private room successively turned to look at Lian Jiu on the side.

One of the heavily intoxicated men asked him in confusion, “Brother Xiao Jiu, what’s the deal with this guy? He looks pretty decent, but how dare he talk to our Brother Yan like that? Does he have a death wish?”

Lian Jiu raised his hand and smacked him on the head. “I think you’re the one with a death wish, kid! Do you know who this is? This is the sister-in-law your Brother Yan has been obsessing over ever since he got drunk.”

The man sobered up a bit from the smack, nodding with an “oh, oh”, “So, he’s the sister-in-law. You’re looking this pretty, if I were Brother Yan, I’d treat him like a treasure and talk about him every day too.”

Too lazy to pay him any attention and seeing that Song Li was about to reach three, Lian Jiu hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and walked over, “Sis, sister-in-law, please don’t be mad. You have no idea, before you got here, Brother Yan kept calling your name. Calling it non-stop. He wouldn’t listen to anyone who tried to talk to him. I was really terrified something bad would happen if he kept drinking; otherwise, I wouldn’t have called to make you come over in the middle of the night.”

Song Li ignored him, still slowly finishing the final count of “Three.”

He took another look at the person on the sofa, then turned around and about to walk away.

Lian Jiu was just anxiously trying to persuade him further, when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist from behind. The force used was immense, gripping him so hard it hurt.

“Lili.” He Muyan’s voice was pained and fragile, seeming to carry an imperceptible tremble, “Lili, don’t go…”

Song Li’s icy expression loosened slightly. Turning back to look at him, he let out a soft sigh. “So you can recognize me properly after all, can’t you?”

He Muyan shook his head while pulling him closer to his side. Wrapping both arms around his waist, he buried his face in his chest, softly nuzzling against him like a child.

“Lili, Lili, I miss you so much…”

Song Li looked down at him, his gaze gradually softening as well. “If you miss me, why don’t you go home instead of fooling around here?”

He Muyan seemed unable to hear his words, simply following his own heart to incessantly repeat what he wanted to say, muttering things like “Lili, miss you, don’t leave” over and over again, never tiring of it.

Lian Jiu said from the side, “Sister-in-law, see? Before you came, Brother Yan was like this the whole time, just like a repeating machine. He wouldn’t listen to a word anyone said and kept chugging bottle after bottle. This whole room full of us got flattened by him.”

Song Li turned his head to look at him. “Then why didn’t you call me earlier?”

Lian Jiu said timidly, “Well, hasn’t Brother Yan been kept on such a tight leash by you lately? We asked him out several times and he turned us down every time. Since we finally got a chance, I didn’t want to just let it pass in vain either.”

Song Li glared at him, feeling as if he had heard a joke. “I keep him on a tight leash?”

Fearing he’d get mad, Lian Jiu hurriedly waved his hands with an apologetic smile, “No, no, no, I’m just talking nonsense! I drank too much wine, my tongue’s not obeying me. Sister-in-law, don’t take offense.”

Just as Song Li wanted to scold him a few more words, the hands wrapped around his waist suddenly tightened with force.

It squeezed his belly so much that it hurt a little. Perplexed, he looked down.

He Muyan was still buried in his chest, his muffled voice carrying a touch of grievance, “Lili, don’t talk to other people.”

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