CM - 80

When Shen Ting-wen got home, Shen Cheng and Wen Huo were there. They never came to his place.

Wen Huo was standing in the living room. Her position showed that she had been pacing along the panoramic window and around the side table. Shen Cheng was sitting on the sofa, his left hand propping up the armrest and his right hand holding a glass with only a tiny bit of alcohol at the bottom. Shen Ting-wen glanced at the bottle on the table, it was Martell XO.

Wen Huo saw his face and her heart ached, but she was more angry, so she didn’t ask where his injuries came from. “The school called and said you were in a relationship, and they asked me to come talk about it.”

Shen Ting-wen didn’t explain. “Okay.”

Wen Huo continued, “I’m not asking you right now. I want you to be honest with me, and we’ll talk about it properly.”

Shen Ting-wen wasn’t very rebellious because Shen Cheng and Wen Huo gave him too much freedom. They had almost never restricted him. Since he was a child, he had always done whatever he wanted and had never lacked money.

The saying that money makes men bad is not true. There are too many wealthy people, but only a few of them are truly bad. What makes a person bad is his experiences, not the money itself.

Shen Ting-wen didn’t say anything. Shen Cheng reached out to Wen Huo, and she gave him her hand. He pulled her to sit next to him, but her heart was still unsettled. She wanted to hear it from Shen Ting-wen himself. “If you’re not going to talk, I’ll ask you. What is your relationship with Si Wen?”

Wen Huo asking that meant they already knew. Shen Ting-wen said, “He’s my teacher.”

Wen Huo unconsciously squeezed Shen Cheng’s hand. “All those times you went abroad to ‘play’ when you were little, you were actually with him most of the time, weren’t you?”

Shen Ting-wen didn’t say anything, tacitly admitting it.

Wen Huo’s speaking pace slowed down. Her words were less of a question and more like she was telling a story. “When you were little, you wanted to learn Muay Thai, Sanda, karate, judo, and close-quarters combat. You asked me to find language tutors for you, to learn all kinds of foreign languages, to buy books on national security and light and heavy weaponry, and you would pester your great-grandfather to tell you about the military activities he participated in. In the past two years, you even wanted to get your flying and diving licenses.”

The more Wen Huo spoke, the more she felt she was too irresponsible. “I thought you were just like your dad, that you inherited it from him. He also went through that phase. Only recently did I find out that you’ve been training yourself according to a desperado’s script since you were a child. You wanted to join Si Wen in fighting drug trafficking.”

Shen Ting-wen shook his head, denying that. “Aside from those who are born with a certain mission, most people don’t know what they want to do, and I didn’t either. I didn’t just want to fight drug trafficking with the Teacher. It was an accident that I got involved in this business. This business made me feel fulfilled and gave me a sense of existence I had never had before. And, because I was fighting drug trafficking with the Teacher, I was able to see Zhou Shu-rong whenever I wanted. This was my original intention.”

Wen Huo looked at him. “What about me? Am I supposed to just die? Am I supposed to just let you go and take risks?”

Shen Ting-wen slowly walked towards her, knelt down, and said softly, “Mom, you told me that a man must be a pillar of strength. How can I be a pillar of strength if I’m at home with you all day?”

“What I said was nonsense! I don’t want a pillar-of-strength son; I just want a son who’s with me!” Wen Huo said clearly.

Shen Ting-wen had no other choice. “A tiger doesn’t have a weak cub. The reason the gate of this Beijing courtyard couldn’t keep me in is because my dad is Shen Cheng and my mom is Wen Huo. You reap what you sow. If you think I’m disobedient, then look at whose son I am.”

Wen Huo was about to hit him, but Shen Cheng seized the opportunity and shooed him away. “Get out of here!”

Shen Ting-wen wanted to be alone for a while, so he left the house again.

Once he was gone, Wen Huo pushed Shen Cheng away. “You’ve raised a good son!”

Shen Cheng was protecting him. “How can I let something happen to him?”

“So you knew all along and just hid it from me,” Wen Huo moved away and glared at him. “I knew there was a reason you told me before that you couldn’t keep him in.”

Wen Huo became suspicious. “I thought I could always trust you.”

Shen Cheng explained, “I developed manic depression because of my parents’ wrong decisions. I don’t want my son to go through the same thing, so I gave him absolute freedom. Since I let go, there’s no reason for me to restrict him anymore. Whether he wants to fight drug trafficking or he likes Zhou Shu-rong, he can decide for himself. It doesn’t matter if Si Wen is a terrible person; what matters is that our son hasn’t learned anything bad from him.”

Wen Huo knew all this, but so what if he hadn’t learned anything bad? Wasn’t it a sure thing that she was going to lose him? She didn’t want to look at Shen Cheng anymore. Shen Cheng’s eyes always made her heart soften. She couldn’t keep being so soft-hearted. Everything else was fine, but she wanted her son.

Shen Cheng knew she couldn’t bear to let him go and that she actually understood, but she couldn’t help but feel sad. He stood up, walked over to Wen Huo, knelt down on one knee, held both of her hands, and rubbed her palms. “I remember back then your mom didn’t want you to be with me either. You said...”

Wen Huo didn’t let him finish. She glared at him. “Don’t talk to me about that. I’m a hypocrite. I can do it, but my son can’t.”

Shen Cheng smiled. “Yes, but can you control him?”

Wen Huo backed down, knowing her power was limited. She held Shen Cheng’s hand back. “Mr. Shen, don’t you feel bad for your son?”

Shen Cheng did, but he would always have to leave them. “Then let me ask you, who would you choose, our son or me?”

Wen Huo didn’t say anything. She would choose Shen Cheng. No matter how important her son was, she would choose Shen Cheng, so there was no point in her discussing it with Shen Cheng anymore.

Shen Cheng knew her answer. He changed his hold to her waist and pulled her into his arms. “Huo Huo, remember our original intention for having a child. We just wanted to create a life together, not to have a companion or a tool to prove that we loved each other.”

After Shen Cheng said that, Wen Huo felt she was being selfish and was silent for a long time.

Shen Cheng held her and slowly kissed her eyes and ears, calming her feelings of grievance and anger.

Wen Huo sniffled. “I almost forgot that I gave birth to him without any purpose.”

“You should trust his judgment, and you should believe that he won’t make the wrong choice because you and I wouldn’t either.”

Wen Huo understood. She put her arms around his neck and said in a soft voice, “Then why don’t you talk to the school and ask them to let them take their college entrance exams first? There are only two weeks left. There’s no need to call the parents and make a big deal out of it. Just tell them that we parents can be responsible for our children’s future.”

“I’ve already talked to their school.”

As expected, Shen Cheng had already taken care of everything. She lay on his shoulder and mumbled, “Okay.”