Chapter 144: Chapter 143 Complete Thaw
Shi Yang’s father was a clever man, and he could see Shi Yang’s reluctance at a glance.
He reached out and patted Shi Yang on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "As a man, it’s never too late to start a career after establishing a family. Tonight’s gathering is just to meet up first. After all, more friends mean more opportunities." His underlying meaning was that he didn’t intend to force him to make a decision.
Shi Yang released a breath he had been holding halfway.
After Shi Yang’s father finished what he wanted to say, he turned around to leave, but Shi Yang quickly called him back, "I have something I want to discuss with you."
Shi Yang’s father paused his steps and turned to look at Shi Yang, "What is it?"
There was a bit of shadow in the corridor corner, lit dimly by the distant window light, casting a heavy shadow over Shi Yang’s handsome yet particularly firm profile.
Shi Yang didn’t answer immediately. Initially, he intended to first lay out the predicament Zhao Dazhuang and Liu Xiue were facing and the future he had planned for Meimei’s family before proposing to have Zhao Meimei stay at their place for a year or so.
However, when the words reached his mouth, they suddenly lost their persuasive power, because no matter how difficult Zhao Meimei’s family was living, it had nothing to do with his father. Between friends, there is a division of closeness and distance. In between is a relationship without blood ties or contractual obligation. Such sentiments change in an instant; whether one chooses to give is entirely up to one’s feelings, with no standards to measure and no moral constraints.
His father had no obligation to support Zhao Meimei, even if only for a year or even half a year.
Moreover, he himself had no position to ask his father to do anything because even he was still dependent on his father’s support, desperately trying to prove himself. The only thing he could control was not rushing ahead, impulsively proving his independence, jumping off a cliff.
Shi Yang remained silent, and his father didn’t urge him, just stood quietly by his side.
He watched Shi Yang staring at the wall lost in thought, his beautiful dark eyes dimming little by little, as if weighed down instantly by something, wanting to struggle, yet powerless.
The dim corridor corner, as the sunset outside the window faded, left Shi Yang shrouded in the diminishing light, particularly vulnerable.
Looking at him, Shi Yang’s father suddenly recalled many years back, a younger Shi Yang standing on the roadside, lips pursed tightly, gazing unwaveringly at him.
Shi Yang and his father stood face to face, their gazes never meeting, each lost in their own thoughts, dazedly.
Eventually, it was Shi Yang’s father who couldn’t hold it anymore. His chest was overwhelmed with guilt and self-reproach, suffocating him.
He proactively stated, "Yangyang, I am your father. Whatever it is, you can tell me. As long as I can do it, have the ability to help, I will certainly not ignore it. Between you and Dad, you don’t need to think too much, understand?"
Shi Yang felt as if thawed from an icy cavern, warming from a deep chill; his father’s words reached his heart. He murmured heavily, suddenly seized by a fleeting thought, perhaps it was time to come clean.
At that moment, he almost wanted to lay bare all his long-suppressed desires, though the words reached his lips, he held back, telling himself not yet, to wait, that the main thing now was how to keep them here.
Shi Yang’s father soothingly said, "I know you’re focused on your career now, eager to accomplish something. When I was your age, I thought the same way. I understand your feelings and want to support you in pursuing your dreams. But living a lifetime, money can never be fully earned, yet relationships are different; they require time to nurture."
Shi Yang’s father, seemingly touched by his own experiences, softened his voice even more: "Your mother and I are not trying to pressure you. We just think you’re at the age to meet more people. You don’t need to think too much."
Shi Yang looked up at his father, keenly capturing the surge of guilt in his father’s eyes, previously scattered rationality instantly reinstated. He lowered his gaze, his muddled brain quickly churned, and then, in a deeply complex tone, he said, "Uncle Zhao and his family mean a lot to me. In my heart, they are second only to my mom in this world."
Shi Yang’s father stayed silent, a wave of unspeakable sadness washing over his heart.
Before Shi Yang’s college entrance exams, he had never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father; his expression of fatherly love was limited to a hefty allowance, never spending a night in the rented house at the family compound.
During these emotional voids over the years, Zhao Meimei’s family’s care for Shi Yang’s mother and him was a kindness that could never be erased in a lifetime.
Shi Yang’s father knew this clearly, so when he heard Shi Yang say it out loud, he merely sighed softly, "I’m sorry to both of you."
Years ago, because of a moment of willfulness, he ignored too much. When he finally wanted to regretfully mend and make amends, more than ten years had passed; it was indeed late, too late.
Shi Yang accurately seized on his father’s most emotionally vulnerable moment, his astute, somewhat ruthless grasp on his father’s Achilles heel.
After revealing his special feelings for Zhao Meimei’s family, he struck a decisive emotional blow to his father, calling out, "Dad."
Shi Yang’s father froze completely, feeling as if his heart had been set aflame, scorching him, the blood rushing speedily to his heart, warming him to a blank space, a moment feeling everything around particularly unreal.
His lips trembled, he wanted Shi Yang to call him once more, to prove that he hadn’t heard wrong, wasn’t dreaming.
Shi Yang took a deep breath, holding down the equally shaken emotions swelling within, saying calmly, "I don’t want to let Uncle Zhao’s family leave. Help me think of a way; I want them all to stay."
Shi Yang finished speaking; neither he nor his father uttered another word, as if performing a silent drama.
Shi Yang’s father was so excited his face flushed slightly, under the cover of night it wasn’t clearly visible.
They just stood like this until the hospital corridor lights suddenly lit, and Shi Yang’s father slowly reached to rub his face, his voice gentle as if it could squeeze out water, "Son, rest assured, this matter, Dad will certainly handle it for you properly. Can you call me once more?"
An infinite sadness welled up in Shi Yang’s heart for a moment.
He called out, "Dad."
With this word spoken, the accumulated estrangement between him and his father over so many years finally broke, with a crackling sound, as if all time had been smoothed out, arriving at peace.