Chapter 39 – Accepted
Novel Title: 我们已经分手了 (We Have Broken Up)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 刘帆 (Liu Fan -MC), 陈谦 (Chen Qian -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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The other bed in Zhao Rou’s hospital room now had a new patient. She had completed all her examinations and rested enough, so she was preparing to be discharged.
“I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow morning,” Chen Qian said, helping Zhao Rou pack her things. Then he checked the time and looked a bit anxious.
Chen Chong rarely spoke when Chen Qian was around, but this time he opened his mouth, “Are you coming alone tomorrow?”
The implication was clear. Chen Qian was quite angry upon hearing it. He smirked and asked, “Why would I let Liu Fan come and face your wrath?”
Chen Chong said, “Did you forget what I told you last time?”
Chen Qian chuckled, “When did I ever say I would listen? You were just talking to yourself.”
“What’s going on?” Zhao Rou looked back and forth between the two. “What did you two talk about last time?”
Chen Qian smiled sarcastically and kept silent.
“Chen Qian.” Chen Chong’s voice was filled with barely suppressed anger as he stood up, “Come out with me for a moment.”
Zhao Rou hurriedly said, “Chen Chong!”
“Want to hit me again, right?” Chen Qian put his hands in his pockets lazily, “After all these years, that’s all you’re good at. I even feel worried for you.”
“Chen Qian!” Zhao Rou called out to Chen Qian as Chen Chong’s face darkened. With a mix of reproach and plea, she said, “What did you promise me?”
“I promised you that I would get along with him and not bring up Liu Fan at the very beginning. But this matter can’t just be ignored as if it doesn’t exist.” Chen Qian said calmly, “Mom, every time I want to talk to you about it, you brush it off. In truth, you don’t accept it either. You just want me to come home, right?”
Unexpectedly, he suddenly directed his words at her. Zhao Rou was surprised, her eyes welling up with tears. Chen Chong slapped the table, “Chen Qian! Your mother is still lying in a hospital bed. Don’t go too far.”
Chen Qian’s expression froze. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His hand in his pocket clenched slightly. With a faint look of disappointment in his eyes, he stood up and said, “Mom, take care of yourself. I’ll come to see you next time.”
“Chen Qian!” Zhao Rou grabbed him, “Is it wrong for me to want you to come home? My son hasn’t spoken to the family for seven years. Do you know how happy I was the first time I got your call? How long will you be gone this time? How many more seven years do your mom and dad have?”
Chen Qian looked at Zhao Rou’s anxious and hurt face, then at Chen Chong’s angry face. The fatigue and helplessness of the past few days surged in his heart. For a moment, he felt utterly hopeless towards his parents, wanting to give up on communicating with them and just leave without saying anything.
He had left a mess, trying to come back and fix it, only to find it still a mess. What a fool he was to think that if it was impossible before, it could be possible now.
Really, what a fool.
Just as Chen Qian was thinking about how much money would be appropriate to send home each month if he never returned, his mind jumped to Liu Fan waiting for him downstairs. He wondered if Liu Fan was already asleep in the car, or wearing headphones watching cartoons he didn’t understand, waiting to give him a playful hug when he returned, and then teasingly asking about his well-being.
Suddenly, Chen Qian felt a sense of peace.
Not everything had remained the same. Even though Zhao Rou and Chen Chong were still the same, he was no longer the child who only knew how to shout and scream.
He lowered his eyes and stayed silent for a while. His chest was rising and falling. And then he exhaled the frustration from his chest.
“…Mom, don’t worry.” Chen Qian sat down again, covering Zhao Rou’s hand with his own. Seeing Zhao Rou’s surprised expression, he slowly said, “I was unfilial before. I ran away from home for so many years without contacting you, only thinking about my own affairs, and that was wrong of me. I won’t do that again.”
This sudden statement left Zhao Rou extremely shocked. She stared blankly at Chen Chong for a moment, then turned back to look at her son as if she didn’t recognize him.
Chen Qian continued, “But about Liu Fan and me, please consider it too.”
“Consider what?” Chen Chong said, not allowing any refusal. “Do you want to continue this abnormality? It’s enough to have fooled around for so many years!”
“This is neither abnormal nor fooling around.” Chen Qian lifted his head and looked him in the eye, trying to restrain himself. “But I know that in your mind, everything I do is wrong.”
“Liking men is right? Can you name anything you’ve done that could make me think it’s right?” Chen Chong’s shoulders were tense, clearly very angry. “Anyway, you’re fearless of everything, not afraid of the heavens, the earth, or even your father. Who can control you?!”
“No, Dad.” Chen Qian stared into his eyes for a long time, suddenly smiled and shook his head. When he looked back, something had changed in his eyes.
He calmly said, “I’m very afraid of you.”
These words stunned the other two people.
“From childhood to adulthood, I’ve always been afraid of you. When I was a child, you rarely came home. I was afraid you wouldn’t come back, and Mom would cry.” Chen Qian looked at him and said, “But later, I was afraid of you being at home. I was afraid of you getting angry, afraid of you being disappointed, and afraid of you hitting me. You were terrifying when you hit people, and it hurt a lot. How could I not be afraid? Many times, I thought you would beat me to death.”
Chen Chong’s fierce expression froze on his face, whether because of the rarely used term of address or the words that followed.
Zhao Rou suddenly began to cry. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to make her sobs quieter.
Chen Chong’s lips moved a few times. But he couldn’t say anything.
Chen Qian turned to Zhao Rou, his tone softening slightly, “At that time, we were still neighbours with Liu Fan’s family. I often went to their house to eat. Do you remember?”
Zhao Rou nodded with tears streaming down her face.
Chen Qian paused, leaned over to take a napkin and handed it to Zhao Rou. “Liu Fan and I were both ignorant back then. Every time I ran to his house after being beaten, he would pull me and tell his parents to let me be their child. I didn’t agree because I knew if I left, you would be heartbroken.”
These words had been suppressed in Chen Qian’s heart for too long, so long that when he finally spoke them, it was without sadness. It came out just plain and straightforward.
Chen Qian’s gaze shifted to the side as if he was considering something. Then he looked at Zhao Rou, whose eyes were red, and said, “All that is in the past. I know I’ve caused you a lot of worry. I’m telling you this now just to reassure you. I know it will be difficult for you to accept. But we can take it slow.”
After speaking, he even smiled, “It wasn’t me who started the fight today. I’m sorry for making you so sad and worried for all these years.”
No one spoke in the ward.
After a long time, Zhao Rou put down her hand and tried to smile, “Chen Qian…”
She choked up a bit, “My son has grown up and become sensible…”
Turning her head away, Zhao Rou composed herself for a moment and then requested Chen Chong, “Can you leave us alone for a bit? I want to talk to Chen Qian privately.”
Chen Chong’s face showed no discernible expression. He looked at Chen Qian and Zhao Rou, said nothing, and left the room.
Zhao Rou wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and asked, “Liu Fan is… your… right?”
“Mm…” Zhao Rou taking the initiative to ask about Liu Fan was an unexpected change in attitude for Chen Qian. After a moment of surprise, he said with a hint of excitement, “Yes, he’s my partner. It’s Liu Fan, the one you know.”
This unexpected development made Chen Qian realise he hadn’t really imagined what it would be like to talk to his mother about the person he loved. He felt both happy and unsure of where to start. He had been speaking confidently just now. But when it came to the details, he hesitated, struggling to find a safe topic, “He came to our house a few times, do you remember?”
It was a memory from many years ago. Since Chen Qian didn’t often talk about his personal relationships with his family, Zhao Rou couldn’t recall clearly. She asked, “So… how did you…-“
She paused, looking at the silver ring on Chen Qian’s ring finger, and tentatively asked, “Have you been together all this time?”
“No, we were separated for a while…” Chen Qian seemed like he wanted to laugh but felt a bit embarrassed. So his mouth curved into a nearly bashful smile, “But then we got back together.”
Zhao Rou looked at Chen Qian’s slightly flushed face. For a moment, she felt as if they had returned to many years ago. At that time, she was preoccupied with Chen Chong, who was serving away from home, and missed out on so much with Chen Qian.
Perhaps even more than she had thought.
In fact, it wasn’t as Chen Qian said, that she was just brushing him off. During this time, Zhao Rou had thought a lot. Deep down, she knew that opposing Chen Qian wouldn’t change anything. After all, if there had been a chance for change, it would have happened years ago. Chen Qian was as stubborn as Chen Chong. They were very much alike.
But she also didn’t want conflict between Chen Chong and Chen Qian. In the past, what Chen Qian feared, didn’t she fear it too? All she ever wanted was for the family to live in harmony and happiness.
Chen Chong had always been authoritative at home. As a traditional housewife, Zhao Rou was too accustomed to obeying Chen Chong in everything. In her heart, she believed that if Chen Qian was as obedient as she was, there would be no problems. After all, she knew that Chen Chong did not lack love for Chen Qian. He just didn’t use the right method. It was only natural for a son to listen to his father, and there was nothing wrong with Chen Qian obeying Chen Chong. That was why she always tried to mediate in the conflicts between father and son by advising Chen Qian. Sometimes, she even blamed Chen Qian for constantly provoking Chen Chong and causing unrest at home.
Maybe her method was also not right.
But it was too late to change now. Everything had turned out this way. What could she do about it? At this point, Zhao Rou just didn’t want to ruin the hard-earned peace and was willing to maintain this precarious calm for as long as possible.
No one understands a child better than a mother. Zhao Rou realised that Chen Qian had been very patient, which was more than she had expected.
Indeed, Chen Qian was very different from the boy she remembered. His features had become more resolute, his gaze more determined. He had learned not to shirk responsibility and knew how to fight for what he wanted in the right way. Zhao Rou understood that she and Chen Chong probably had little influence on this change. She also knew that Liu Fan had a significant role in Chen Qian’s transformation, even though they had been apart, as Chen Qian mentioned.
But Zhao Rou also understood how important it was for someone to have something to hold onto, even if that person was not physically present.
She no longer had the right to arbitrarily reject someone who had caused such a positive change in her son.
“I will reason with your father again,” Zhao Rou said, pressing her lips together. It was a difficult decision for her. So she spoke hesitantly, as if she wanted to take back every word, “Next time… bring Liu Fan home to meet us… But I can’t promise when your father will come around.”
“Mom!” Chen Qian’s eyes lit up. It felt like fireworks were going off in his mind. He asked incredulously, “You accepted?!”
Zhao Rou was startled by his intense reaction. Half dazed, half helpless, she said, “You’ve been so persistent…”
“You accepted?!” Chen Qian clenched his fists and, unable to stay seated, jumped up and looked out the window before sitting back down. “Mom… if you’ve accepted, when can we meet Liu Fan’s parents?”
This efficiency was overwhelming. Zhao Rou was stunned, “His parents know too?”
“Yes, they’ve known for a long time. They accepted it from the beginning.” Chen Qian’s smile was so genuine and happy, a kind of happiness Zhao Rou had never seen before.
She thought, even if it was just for the sake of seeing her child smile like this, this decision couldn’t be wrong.
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*Translator’s Note: Okay, guys. The role [💔] for this novel is up now on Novels Space discord so you can follow the roles to get updates. But it’s almost coming to the end anyway. And I’ll still update daily until the end. Mwah! -K
Next update: 2024.10.14
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