What was supposed to be a pleasant meeting had turned into this. Hating iron for not becoming steel, Ji Yangzong said with frustration. "You... you..."
[恨铁不成钢 (hèn tiě bù chéng gāng): lit. To hate iron for not becoming steel; fig. Frustration when someone fails to meet expectations despite potential.]
Huo Shu admitted fault. "I was too hasty. I shouldn’t have said that."
Ji Yangzong had been ready to scold him, but seeing Huo Shu’s tight lips and obvious regret, the words died in his throat.
Instead, he said, "This talk was bound to happen sooner or later. Maybe it’s not a bad thing he knows early."
"But bringing it up so suddenly must have shocked him, he probably thought you were asking him to elope! Give him time to process it."
Huo Shu asked, "Will he ignore me now?"
"Probably not."
Ji Yangzong sighed. "I’ll talk to him later. Don’t blame yourself too much."
After seeing Ji Yangzong off, Huo Shu still felt uneasy. He skipped lunch and went out again.
____
Ji Yangzong returned empty-handed, with no choice but to focus on his own child.
But Ji Taoyu holed up in his room all afternoon, only emerging when Huang Manjing called him for dinner.
"Starving yourself at noon, are you trying to become immortal?"
Huang Manjing scolded him lightly, avoiding the earlier topic.
Ji Yangzong, however, couldn’t hold back. Every time he tried to speak, his wife stopped him. Only after Ji Taoyu finished his meal and drank some soup did he finally say:
"Did the plum blossoms at the foot of the mountain not bloom? Is that why you came back so angry?"
Ji Taoyu knew exactly what his father was hinting at. He glared. "Dad, no talking during meals. Eat quietly."
Ji Yangzong choked. Under his ger's fierce gaze, he ladled more soup into his bowl.
"I’m just concerned about you. Fine, fine, I won’t say more. Drink some more soup to warm your stomach. Skipping meals when you’re upset, what kind of habit is that?"
Ji Taoyu sipped the hot pork lung and radish soup. After not eating all day, he really was hungry.
He ate two bowls of rice and drank quite a bit of soup, his belly rounded and full, it was rare for him to eat so much during the evening meal.
Ji Yangzong tried several times to talk to him, but Ji Taoyu avoided him, refusing to let him speak.
After eating, he strolled into the yard to digest his meal.
"He doesn’t want to bring it up, so why chase after him?"
Huang Manjing washed the dishes, watching her husband pace back and forth in the kitchen with his hands behind his back. "Give it some time," she said.
"Ai, it’s not like Huo Shu has no other options. If we don’t settle this soon, once Butcher Qiao returns in a few days, who knows if the chance will still be there."
Ji Yangzong sighed. "Ah, this is really driving me mad."
Ji Taoyu sat in the courtyard’s pavilion, half-reclining in a rocking chair, gazing at the sparse stars in the sky.
His mind wandered as he rocked the chair, recalling his encounters with Huo Shu.
Thinking carefully, he realized with surprise that they had only known each other for two or three months.
A span of time that should have passed in the blink of an eye, yet it felt as if much longer had gone by.
So many things had happened during this period, far more than the sum of major events in his otherwise smooth and uneventful decade of life.
And it just so happened that Huo Shu had appeared amidst these ups and downs, becoming part of the turbulence in his life.
Huo Shu had saved him, he had helped Huo Shu find someone, then Huo Shu had saved him again… Counting it up, he was still the one who had received more help.
In truth, he had wondered, with so many ties between them, why would someone as aloof as Huo Shu help him time and again? Was it arranged by fate?
Only today had he gotten his answer: fate had no hand in it. It was simply that someone had deliberately drawn close.
He pinched his fingers, thinking about how Huo Shu liked him. His heart, which had only just calmed, inexplicably fluttered again.
The smile on his lips was impossible to suppress.
It wasn’t because of family background or reputation, he was happy to receive such genuine affection.
But his happiness wasn’t just due to that. It was also because he happened to feel the same way about that person.
By the time Ji Taoyu returned to his room, it was already quite late.
Dusk had settled, and the room was pitch-dark. As he stepped inside, he caught a faint whiff of plum blossom fragrance.
Surprised at where the scent came from, he fumbled in the dark to light an oil lamp with a firestarter. A breeze drifted in through the window, making the flame flicker.
Ji Taoyu walked over to close the window and, upon reaching it, discovered a branch of plum blossoms placed on the windowsill.
He picked up the flowers and instinctively glanced out into the dark - silent night, but only the sound of the winter wind answered him.
There was no need to guess who had delivered the flowers so quietly, Ji Taoyu already knew.
He just wasn’t sure when the man had come.
Closing the window, he took a deep breath of the cold plum blossom fragrance and noticed a slip of paper tucked between the branches.
He quickly pulled it out and saw just two words written on it: "Sorry."
"Even when writing, he’s so sparing with words."
Ji Taoyu pressed his lips together, unable to resist muttering.
Still, holding the gift lifted his mood. He felt lighter, almost buoyant. He fetched a vase and fresh water, trimming the plum blossoms before arranging them.
Before bed, he placed the vase on the cabinet by his bedside.
The next morning, Ji Taoyu got up early.
He had slept soundly the night before and was full of energy.
After washing his face, he planned to grab breakfast and finally talk to his parents about Huo Shu. But just as he reached the kitchen, he overheard their conversation inside.
Thanks for the update!!!!
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