Chapter 48 - He Made It Through All of That
With a turn of the key, Ji Liao stepped inside and turned on the lights, brightening the house.
He Cheng Ming was asked to sit on the sofa while Ji Liao poured him a cup of hot water to warm his hands.
“Wait a moment.” He ran to his room and took out the gift that he had prepared. It was quite a big box.
“For you.” Ji Liao bowed his head slightly, feeling a little shy.
He Cheng Ming opened it and saw a dark blue beanie, a blue and white striped scarf, as well as gloves and boat socks of the same franchise placed on soft padding material.
He bought him a warm 4-piece set in regards to his fear of the cold?
He Cheng Ming was speechless. The better Ji Liao treated him, the deeper his heart sank in guilt.
“You don’t like it?” Seeing his silence, Ji Liao was a little disheartened.
He Cheng Ming got up to hug him and his voice trembled slightly. “How can that be? I’m just so moved.” Then he whispered, “I didn’t prepare a present for you.”
Ji Liao encircled his waist and said with a smile, “Didn’t you already buy me a sweater? Just treat it as my New Year’s gift.”
He Cheng Ming held him tightly in his arms as his eyes moistened.
When the clock sounded at midnight, fireworks and firecrackers set off noisily outside.
Ji Liao went outside to watch the fireworks light up the night sky. He turned around, wanting to call He Cheng Ming out, but instead, he found a handsome face right before him, then his mouth was kissed. His heart warmed and he pulled himself up on the boy’s neck.
He Cheng Ming carried him into the house and kicked the door shut.
It was a deep and unadulterated kiss without any disruptions.
Ji Liao gradually felt faint and pushed him away, his chest heaving.
“Happy New Year,” He Cheng Ming whispered.
Ji Liao looked up, his clear eyes were curved. “Happy New Year.”
Before the two of them could be affectionate once again, Meng Yao Yao’s call disturbed them. Meng Yuan had already urged her three times and if she still didn’t return home, she would get a scolding!
He Cheng Ming sent him to the designated location, then separated from Ji Liao.
He Cheng Ming stayed in his family home for the winter holidays. Seeing his end-of-term transcript, Zhao Mei Lan, again, persuaded him to skip a grade.
He had refused before in order to stay in the same school as Ji Liao. Now that he was with Ji Liao, it became even less of a possibility for him to skip. Moreover, he was already preparing in advance for his university course.
But Zhao Mei Lan didn’t care. She cried and made a fuss. Seeing her son unwilling to give in, she immediately thought of a person and angrily asked him, “Do you still like that little male vixen from the Ji family?!”
When He Cheng Ming heard “little male vixen,” he turned his head sharply to look at her. The intensity in his eyes was fierce as if he wanted to kill someone.
Zhao Mei Lan retreated two steps back in fright, then burst into tears; she pointed at He Cheng Ming and sobbed, “You, you disrespectful son. I’m your mother, not your enemy!”
He Cheng Ming’s face tightened but he restrained his anger. He gritted his teeth and said, “Do you treat me as your son? I’m just a bargaining chip for you to establish yourself.”
She had controlled him ever since he showed his remarkable memory — she destroyed his hobbies and shut him in the room, forcing him to study. Only when he received full marks in an exam, would he be able to walk out the door and gain a little freedom.
She forcefully transformed him into an exam genius, but never once asked if he was willing or happy.
As long as she was respected, as long as there was light on her.
What were his joys and sorrows worth?
When Zhao Mei Lan heard him say this, she cried, heartbroken. With tears staining her face, she pulled He Cheng Ming’s hand and said, “Why do you think of Mom that way? When has Mom ever not done what was best for you? Look at yourself now, always in first place. If I hadn’t made you study, would you be able to take first place? Would your father value you so much? Would he have allowed you to move out? Now you say such things to hurt Mom. I gave birth to you. If I don’t treat you as my son, who would treat you as a son?!”
Her words were reasonable and emotional. If He Cheng Ming had not personally experienced it, he would have almost believed it.
But now he only wanted to laugh. “When I was nine, you shut me in the room for seventeen days. Remember that? During those entire seventeen days, you kept me from seeing the sun or the night sky. You even kept me from seeing anyone else besides you. The reason for that was because I took second place.”
It was also since then that his temperament started to change — it became more indifferent and more difficult to control.
“When I was fourteen, you read my diary and discovered that I liked Ji Liao. You forced me to see a psychiatrist, forced me to admit that I was ill and forced me to take medicine. Do you even know the side effects of that medicine? It would slow down a person’s responses. It would make your talented son stupid.”
His memory had always been good, but after taking the so-called psychological tranquillizer, he gradually found that his thinking was becoming sluggish. It was the exam period at that time and because he was afraid of getting second place, afraid of being locked up again, he begged He Mu Sheng to help him verify it.
Zhao Mei Lan’s tears stopped as she couldn’t believe He Cheng Ming’s words. She hadn’t told anyone about him seeing a psychiatrist.
Because she had to maintain the “perfect” image of her son in everyone’s mind. If anyone found out that he had a problematic s.e.xual orientation, she would be destroyed: He Yue Jin would spurn her, and the ladies within the circle would look down on her.
So she secretly found a private doctor who specialized in treating psychological illnesses.
“That’s impossible. You’re still in first place now. Your final exam results are number one. How could there be a problem with the medicine?!”
She still attempted a final struggle.
He Cheng Ming told her coldly, “Because I begged Da Ge to replace the medicine.”
Replaced it with vitamins.
But consuming too many vitamins also had a side effect that led to the decline of his immune system. During winter, he easily caught colds and fell sick.
His mother didn’t have the slightest knowledge of the situation. She only paid attention to his rankings.
Even now, after saying so much, her first reaction was to confirm his words. “You told your Da Ge? He knows that you’re gay?”
Zhao Mei Lan was fl.u.s.tered; she didn’t trust He Mu Sheng and was afraid that he would tell He Yue Jin about it. Then her good life would come to an end. But after careful consideration, it had been two years since he took the medicine. If He Mu Sheng wanted to say something, he would have done so long ago. Why would he wait until now? She was a little relieved.
Regarding her failures towards He Cheng Ming, she asked in concern, “How are you now? Were there any other problems?”
Then, she added reflectively, “It’s all Mom’s fault for not checking the medicine properly. But when you found out, why didn’t you just talk to Mom? Did you really believe that Mom would actually hurt you?!”
In the end, she still blamed him.
He Cheng Ming let out a silent laugh. Why didn’t he tell her directly? What was the result of that? If nothing else, she would just change doctors and medicine. He wasn’t stupid.
But now, he made it through all of that.
He wasn’t the nine or fourteen year old kid that people could trample on. No one could force him to do anything that he didn’t want to do.