One-way Passage

Ming Qin didn’t say anything for a long time, as if dumbfounded.

Xia Wennan had a sudden desire to see Ming Luchuan. He then told Ming Qin, “Dad, I should get back to work. Why don’t you go outside, get some fresh air? Don’t stay at home by yourself.” After that, he immediately turned away to leave.

“Wennan,” Ming Qin stopped him in a somewhat urgent tone.

Xia Wennan stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

“Wait for me,” Ming Qin said after briefly hesitating. “I’m coming to the company with you.”

“Ah?” Xia Wennan uttered in surprise.

“I’d like to hang around the laboratory,” said Ming Qin.

When Xia Wennan came down, Ming Luchuan was on the phone. The man paused for a second and asked Xia Wennan, “Can we go now?”

“Give it another minute.” Xia Wennan sported an awkward expression as he pinched his forefinger and thumb together.

Ming Luchuan gave a nod. He turned around and resumed his phone call, but once he hung up, he said “I’ll have the driver bring you over. Something came up and I have to leave now.”

“Your dad said that he’s coming to the company with us,” said Xia Wennan.

Ming Luchuan appeared somewhat surprised for a fleeting moment. “Hm?”

Xia Wennan approached him and whispered, “I guess he’s just lonely after his breakup. He doesn’t want to be alone.”

Ming Luchuan nodded when he heard that and said, “Wait for the driver to get here, he’ll take you two to the company.”

“Okay,” Xia Wennan obediently agreed.

Ming Luchuan drove away in his own car.

Because Ming Qin was still upstairs, Xia Wennan sat in the living room, bored stiff, and waited for him alone.

A few moments later, he saw Aunt Zhang wheeling Ming Sichen out of his bedroom. She greeted him as she passed through the living room on her way to the garden.

Ming Sichen looked completely incognisant in his wheelchair, his condition worse off than before. The sight of him was barely bearable to Xia Wennan’s eyes.

Aunt Zhang retreated inside after positioning Ming Sichen’s wheelchair in the sun, telling Xia Wennan that Ming Sichen generally stayed alone in the garden every morning for some fresh air, and that she would head back in to tidy up his room.

Xia Wennan stood at the doorway, watching Ming Sichen.

Before ten minutes could go by, Lu Huaiye’s car pulled up at the Ming house.

Xia Wennan had never thought that he’d be seeing Lu Huaiye at this hour. When the two men spotted each other, they exchanged greetings, and Xia Wennan said, “Siyan’s already left for work.”

It was clear that Lu Huaiye hadn’t expected to run into Xia Wennan. “I know,” he answered with a nod. Then, in an uneasy tone, he added, “I’m here to check on Sichen.”

“Oh,” was Xia Wennan’s response.

Without even setting foot inside the house, Lu Huaiye turned and made his way to the garden.

Slightly perplexed, Xia Wennan pondered what Lu Huaiye meant; since he knew that Ming Siyan had already left, did that mean he was purposefully taking advantage of Ming Siyan’s absence to pay a visit to Ming Sichen?

Curiosity piqued, Xia Wennan couldn’t resist the urge to go and see what Lu Huaiye and Ming Sichen were up to, but he was too ashamed to go to the garden and spent a long time finding the right spot to peep at them from the dining room instead. Through the window, he could just manage to see Lu Huaiye and Ming Sichen outside.

Ming Sichen was sitting in his wheelchair. His frail back seemed like it could no longer support his body, and his head drooped slightly.

Despite the fact that the sun was shining, the temperature in early winter was rather low. Ming Sichen was dressed in a thick turtleneck sweater underneath his padded jacket, which concealed his slender neck.

When Lu Huaiye reached the wheelchair, he knelt next to it and spoke to Ming Sichen, but there was no response from the latter. A while later, Lu Huaiye took hold of Ming Sichen’s hand.

Isn’t that a little too intimate? Xia Wennan mused. In an instant, his thoughts returned to that night at the Duan house when Lu Huaiye and Ming Siyan had quarrelled.

“What are you looking at?” A voice suddenly sounded by Xia Wennan’s ear.

Xia Wennan gave a start and turned his head to see that Ming Qin had entered the dining room and was currently standing right next to him.

Ming Qin had changed into a new outfit. It really did seem like he planned on heading to the company with Xia Wennan.

“Lu Huiaye?” Ming Qin clearly noticed Lu Huaiye holding Ming Sichen’s hand, but there was no inflection to his tone.

Lu Huaiye suddenly turned around. Noticing Ming Qin and Xia Wennan in the dining room, he let go of Ming Sichen’s hand and rose to his feet, then headed in the direction of the entrance.

Soon after, Lu Huaiye entered the dining room, just as Ming Qin sat down to start on his breakfast.

“Uncle,” Lu Huaiye greeted Ming Qin, then nodded in Xia Wennan’s direction.

Ming Qin looked up at him. “Why have you come over so early? Have you had breakfast yet? Why don’t you sit down and eat with us.”

“I’m all right,” said Lu Huaiye.

Ming Qin turned to Xia Wennan. “Has Siyan left already?”

Xia Wennan nodded.

Lu Huaiye cut in, “I’m not here for Siyan.”

“Oh?” Ming Qin questioned.

“Uncle, I’d like to take Sichen for a medical examination,” said Lu Huaiye.

Ming Qin’s breakfast was steamed eggs and a ham sandwich. He grabbed a spoon and dug into his eggs, but before they reached his mouth, he said, “What examination?”

“A physical examination.”

Ming Qin was in no hurry to speak. It was only after he swallowed his eggs that he said, “Siyan has always been the one to bring him to his check-ups, what other physical examinations do you want to take Sichen for? Does Siyan know about this?”

“He doesn’t know,” Lu Huaiye answered. He then paused for a second, as if calculating something in his head, and asked, “Uncle, don’t you think that Sichen’s condition has deteriorated recently?”

“I’m aware of that.” Ming Qin drank a sip of his coffee. “This is the aftermath of his brain damage. Siyan takes him to be reexamined on a regular basis. He also takes him to his rehabilitation sessions. There are no better treatments available at the moment.”

“Do you accompany them?” asked Lu Huaiye.

Ming Qin was silent as he picked up the sandwich on his plate, but it never made it to his mouth, as he asked Lu Huaiye a moment later, “What exactly are you implying here?”

“I suspect that there might be an issue with his treatment. I’d like to take him to the doctor myself.”

“You ‘suspect’?” Ming Qin frowned faintly. “Are you in a position to ‘suspect’ anything? Who are you to Sichen? Don’t be mistaken, you’re Siyan’s fiance. Sichen is none of your concern.”

“All right, I’m not in any position to do that,” Lu Huaiye conceded. “But he’s your son—aren’t you the least bit concerned about his health?”

Ming Qin’s face froze over. “These are my family matters.”

Lu Huaiye took a deep breath. Somewhat irritated, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, only to take them out again the next second. “Uncle, I don’t think we should be taking risks on Sichen’s health.”

Ming Qin looked at him. “Lu Huaiye, what’s going on between you and Siyan?”

Lu Huaiye didn’t answer.

Ming Qin said, “You’ve been engaged for long enough. If you intend to marry, hurry and start preparing. If you’re not going to marry him, clear things up with Siyan as soon as possible. Don’t waste my son’s time.”

“We probably won’t be getting married,” Lu Huaiye stated.

Ming Qin’s face transformed with abrupt fury; Xia Wennan noted his aborted motion of throwing his chopsticks at Lu Huaiye’s face. In the end, he merely said, “Get the hell out of here, then. After you break off your engagement, you and our Ming family will have no relationship. Sichen is none of your business.”

Lu Huaiye still had something to say, but just as he bit out an “I”, he was ruthlessly cut off by Ming Qin.

“GET OUT!” Ming Qin drove him out mercilessly.

Lu Huaiye turned and walked out of the house.

Xia Wennan shot a glance at Ming Qin, and in the next second, he turned away to chase after Lu Huaiye.