Chapter 435 - 244: Yixia Relents, This Night’s Redemption

Chapter 435: Chapter 244: Yixia Relents, This Night’s Redemption

In Yangcheng, evening fell a little earlier than it had the past few days.

The wind chime at the flower shop’s entrance tinkled as the wind blew. Jiang Yixia was trimming a bundle of lilies with her head down, the scissors going SNIP, SNIP, as flower stems fell to the floor.

She glanced up at the shop across the street. The lights of the pastry shop were on, and through the glass, she could see Lu Fan sitting behind the counter, holding his phone and looking at something.

She paid it no mind and went back to trimming her flowers.

The lilies were a new arrival, with large heads and thick petals. Their fragrance was so strong it was almost overpowering.

She trimmed them meticulously, cutting each stem at an angle so it could properly absorb water.

After snipping a dozen or so stems, she glanced across the street again.

This time, things were different.

At some point, Lu Fan had returned.

He was back in the pastry shop, sitting in the back room.

Then he’d had Chen He buy him some good liquor.

She watched as he poured a glass, raised it for a drink, set it down, and then poured another.

Jiang Yixia frowned, her scissors pausing mid-air.

She recognized the bottle. It was Maotai.

It was potent. She’d seen it in the supermarket once—fifty-three percent alcohol.

Very expensive.

She stared across the street for a good while. Lu Fan poured another glass and tilted his head back, downing it in one go. As he set the glass down, his elbow knocked over an empty bottle next to him. The bottle toppled, rolling with a RUMBLE to the edge of the table.

He reached out to steady it but couldn’t get a good grip, and the bottle fell to the floor.

He stared down at the shattered glass on the floor, motionless. It was as if he were in a daze, or perhaps looking at something far, far away.

Jiang Yixia set down her scissors and walked to the doorway, watching him from across the street.

The streetlights hadn’t come on yet, and the sky was a dim gray. The light from the pastry shop spilled out through the glass door, stretching his shadow long across the floor.

He raised a hand and wiped his face.

He wasn’t wiping away sweat. He was wiping away tears.

Her heart suddenly clenched.

In all the years she’d known him, she had never seen him cry.

He hadn’t cried eighteen years ago, when she left.

He hadn’t cried when he came back to find her, nor had he cried when his hand was crushed by a rolling shutter door at the hospital.

But now, here he was, sitting alone in his shop, crying over a bottle of liquor.

Before walking out, Chen He quietly asked Lu Fan, "Boss, are we sticking to the plan?"

Wiping at his tears, Lu Fan nodded and whispered, "Make it look convincing. Don’t let Yixia find out."

"Don’t you worry, Boss. I’ve had professional training in the acting department," Chen He teased with a suppressed snicker. "You, on the other hand... your crying isn’t very convincing."

"Get lost."

Lu Fan said, continuing to wipe at his tears.

Chen He then exited the pastry shop and walked briskly toward the supermarket on the corner.

He was in such a hurry that he nearly tripped on the curb.

Jiang Yixia called out to him, "Chen He."

"Boss Lady, what’s up?" Chen He stopped, turned around, and put on a smile.

Jiang Yixia gestured toward the inside of the pastry shop and asked in a hushed voice, "What’s wrong with him?"

Chen He feigned a moment of surprise, his eyes flickering. He stammered, "N-nothing... nothing’s wrong. The boss is just in a bad mood."

"A bad mood? He’s in there drinking that much all by himself, and he was crying. And you’re telling me nothing’s wrong?" Jiang Yixia stared him down.

Chen He lowered his head and wrung his hands, as if he didn’t dare to speak.

His fingers were long and thick, and he rubbed them until the knuckles turned red.

Yixia grew anxious, her voice rising. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

Chen He sighed, looking up at her with a troubled expression, the corners of his mouth turning down. "Boss Lady, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that the boss won’t let me. You know his temper. If I say anything, I’ll get an earful. The last time I ran my mouth, he didn’t speak to me for two days."

"Even if you don’t tell me, I can guess. Did something happen at Qingshan Village?" Jiang Yixia’s brow furrowed even deeper.

Chen He was silent for a few seconds. He nodded, then shook his head, and finally, as if steeling himself, he lowered his voice. "The boss went to Qingshan Village to see the old man today, and the old man threw him out."

"The old man found out who he is. He called him a bastard and told him to get lost, saying he never wanted to see him again for the rest of his life. The boss stood in the courtyard for a long time, bowing several times, but the old man just ignored him. He had no choice but to come back. As soon as he got back, he started drinking alone, and he’s been at it ever since."

Jiang Yixia’s fingers tightened on the doorframe, her knuckles turning white.

She remembered Pan Lanfang calling her this afternoon. Her tone had been a little off. She’d asked how she was doing lately, and then asked if Lu Fan had come to see her.

When she said he had, Pan Lanfang just said, "Oh," and didn’t ask anything else.

She’d thought it was strange at the time but hadn’t given it much thought.

’So that’s what it was about. Mom didn’t dare tell me, afraid it would ruin my mood.’

Chen He spoke again, his voice even lower, as if afraid of being overheard. "Boss Lady, please don’t tell the boss I told you all this. He’ll definitely chew me out if he finds out."

Jiang Yixia nodded, released her grip, and turned back into the flower shop.

She stood behind the counter, staring at the lights of the pastry shop across the street. She watched Lu Fan pour another glass of liquor, drink half of it, and set the glass down. He propped his forehead up with his hand, his shoulders trembling slightly.

She picked up her scissors, then put them down.

She picked up a flower, then put it down.

She didn’t know if she should go over there.

’If I go, what will I say?’

’Tell him to "stop drinking"?’

’Will he even listen?’

’Tell him "that’s just how my dad is"?’

’What right do I have to say that?’

She hadn’t even forgiven him herself.

She sat in her chair, watching the sky outside darken bit by bit.

The streetlights came on, casting an orange-yellow glow on the street and making the lights of the pastry shop seem even brighter.

She saw Chen He come out again, this time returning from the supermarket with two more bottles of liquor in his hand.

This time, he walked slowly, his head down, as if he didn’t dare to look at her.