I Can Still Salvage It

Time flew and Shen Mian’s birthday arrived in the blink of an eye.

He was born after the beginning of winter, so on his birthday, the weather had already turned completely cold. There were no more blossoms on the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, but the winter plum in the corner started to bloom.

Pei Zhiyi had been staying at Shen Mian’s house since the previous day and was currently helping Shen Mian’s father make a cake. The two men, both tall and handsome, were studying cake decorating in the kitchen. They carefully placed sliced strawberries on the cake, occasionally exchanging jokes, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Shen Mian, the birthday boy himself, was sprawled on the couch. As the birthday boy, it was only natural for him to slack off. His mother, Su Ying, was also not skilled in cooking and was sitting on the couch with him, snacking on melon seeds.

Su Ying glanced at Pei Zhiyi in the kitchen, standing next to Shen Changhe. They were both wearing black turtlenecks and looked like a father and son at first glance, which made her smile.

Sometimes she felt like she was raising three children. Pei Zhiyi was the eldest, considerate and sensible, but the two younger ones were mischievous troublemakers.

Smiling, Su Ying said to Shen Mian, “Do you remember when I was pregnant with your younger sister? I made a childhood engagement with your Aunt Lian . I thought it would be better for your sister to marry such a handsome boy as Zhiyi rather than someone else.”

Shen Mian knew about this, although the parents were just joking and not serious, they often teased them about it when they were young.

When Shen Yu played house, she insisted on being Pei Zhiyi’s bride, but unfortunately, Pei Zhiyi didn’t cooperate and always held onto Shen Mian, insisting that he was the bride.

Shen Mian didn’t like to hear his mother talk about that. He used to joke along with it, but now it just sounded irritating.

He said, “What era is this? You’re still talking about arranged marriages. How backward.”

Su Ying didn’t sense her son’s annoyance at all and continued chattering while eating melon seeds, “your sister is just a bit younger. Actually, initially, we were talking about you and Zhiyi. When I was pregnant with you, I had all the symptoms of a girl, but you turned out to be a boy, which disappointed me.”

She had desperately wanted a daughter back then, and it took her three days to accept the reality after giving birth to Shen Mian. Yu Lian was the same, as she didn’t have a daughter of her own, she placed all her hopes on Su Ying.

But in the end, both of them had sons, which was a great disappointment.

As she was speaking, Pei Zhiyi came out with a plate of freshly baked cookies. He first gave some to Su Ying and Shen Mian to taste. Since Shen Mian had a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a bowl of melon seeds in the other, Pei Zhiyi instinctively fed him a cookie.

Shen Mian finished one and turned to Pei Zhiyi, saying, “more.”

Su Ying watched the two boys and faintly felt that something was strange.

Her own son, acting like a lazy bum and happily enjoying the care, was already enough to be absurd. But Pei Zhiyi showed no signs of impatience, instead, he had a smile in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.

If Shen Mian weren’t a boy, she would definitely suspect that Pei Zhiyi had taken a liking to their little fool.

Before she could think about it further, Pei Zhiyi asked her, “Aunt Su, what are you talking about?”

Su Ying smiled and repeated the words she had just said.

After hearing it, Pei Zhiyi smiled and continued, “If Mianmian were a girl, she would be very beautiful.”

Shen Mian frowned and lightly kicked Pei Zhiyi, saying, “I think you look more beautiful as a girl.”

The two of them playfully teased each other like children, as if they had returned to kindergarten. Pei Zhiyi, relying on his height, took away all of Shen Mian’s snacks, which made Shen Mian angry and went to tickle his waist.

Su Ying watched the scene with amusement and gradually forgot about her fleeting doubts.

Around five or six o’clock, Shen Yu, who had gone out for piano lessons, also returned. The whole family sat down together for dinner, and Shen Mian, as the birthday boy, had a pointed hat on his head.

But Shen Mian and Shen Yu, as siblings, couldn’t stay peaceful. After a while of eating, they started childishly throwing nuts at each other and smearing cream on each other’s faces. Pei Zhiyi was already used to it and calmly discussed future college plans with Shen Changhe.

He also mentioned that he hoped Shen Mian would take the entrance exam for X University, and he would buy a house nearby so that Shen Mian could live with him and be taken care of.

Both Su Ying and Shen Changhe were taken aback, but they also felt that it made sense.

They had long considered Pei Zhiyi as a member of their family. Even when Pei Zhiyi was sick as a child, they took care of him in the hospital, knowing that he was just as close to Shen Mian as a real brother.

So it didn’t seem to be a problem for the two brothers to live together.

However, Su Ying still looked at Shen Mian with concern. The little fool had made up with Shen Yu and was now leaning their heads together, looking at their phones.

Su Ying said helplessly, “When will he grow up?”

“He doesn’t need to grow up,” Pei Zhiyi naturally replied. Under the light, his eyes were clear and revealed his hidden selfishness. “Aunt Su, I will always take care of him.”

Su Ying smiled and didn’t think much about it. She just felt that Pei Zhiyi was naturally considerate.

She said to Pei Zhiyi, “But one day, he will leave you and us, and have his own life and family.”

Pei Zhiyi didn’t say anything more and left it at that.

After dinner, Shen Mian started opening his presents. His parents gave him a telescope, Shen Yu gave him a hoodie, and Pei Zhiyi gave him an Apple computer.

He liked all of those gifts and could use them right away. Shen Mian happily said, “If only it could be my birthday every day.”

Su Ying laughed and said, “You’re being greedy.”

Shen Changhe brought out the cake from the kitchen. He had spent the whole afternoon making it, and the strawberries on top were plump and dripping with juice. Written in chocolate on top was Shen Mian’s age, 18.

Shen Changhe turned off the lights, lit the candles, and said to Shen Mian, “Make a wish, baby.”

Even though it was his birthday as an adult, they still occasionally called Shen Mian “baby.” No matter how much he grew up, in their eyes, he still seemed like the little baby they brought back from the hospital years ago.

Shen Mian obediently closed his eyes.

The most important people in his life were by his side, and if possible, he hoped nothing would ever change.

He wanted them to always be together.

After making his wish in his heart, Shen Mian opened his eyes and blew out the candles.

Birthday wishes were meant to be kept in one’s heart, so no one asked Shen Mian what he had wished for.

The lights came back on, and the whole family sat together and shared the cake.

Su Ying and Shen Changhe didn’t hurry the children to sleep. They sat in the living room, chatting until late at night and even brought out the family photo album, flipping through the pictures one by one.

From the births of Shen Mian and Pei Zhiyi, to Shen Yu’s birth, and then their time in elementary school, middle school, and the graduation trip.

They flipped to the end, where they could see how they had grown up.

Every bit of their lives was recorded in the photo album by Su Ying and Shen Changhe.

Su Ying sighed and said, “When you were little, I always hoped you would grow up quickly. The three of you together exhausted me and your father. But now that you’ve really grown up, I find myself missing your younger days.”

She gently touched Pei Zhiyi’s head and said, “Especially you, you’ve always been like a little adult since you were young, more mature and sensible than those two little fools. But Zhiyi, you can still be spoiled by your family. No matter how outstanding you are, in our eyes, you are the best.”

Pei Zhiyi remained silent, something rare for him.

He looked at the last photo in the album, a family portrait of him, Shen Mian, and Shen Yu. It was taken during their trip last year. The five of them stood together, with him holding Shen Mian, Shen Mian embracing Shen Yu, and Su Ying and Shen Changhe standing behind, with their hands resting on their shoulders.

No one could tell that he didn’t truly belong to that family.

He wasn’t even considered a relative of the Shen family. It was only because of his parents’ friendship that he ended up being loved and raised by that family due to a fortunate turn of events.

He suddenly felt a little sad. He rarely experienced such emotions, and once he made up his mind, no one could shake him.

But today, with the warm atmosphere of the family gathering and Su Ying and Shen Changhe’s excessive tenderness towards him, he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

He struggled and asked Su Ying with difficulty, “Aunt Su, if I no longer behave responsibly, if I become unstable or even deviate from the right path, would you still want me to come home for dinner?”

He asked with a smile, as if it was just a joke.

But he knew it wasn’t.

Because what he wanted was one of the precious things Su Ying and Shen Changhe held in their hands.

If there really came a day, would Su Ying and Shen Changhe still accept him as they do now?

“Yes,” Su Ying answered seriously, “no matter what you encounter outside, when you come home and close the door, we are still family. Parents may scold you, but they will never stop loving you.”

She said these words to Shen Yu and Shen Mian as well.

Raising children was indeed difficult, especially when they had three of them, but she chose to become their parent and will always stand behind them.

Shen Yu let out a whine and threw herself into her mother’s arms, acting spoiled, “Then can your cute daughter buy another dress?”

Su Ying smiled and changed her expression, saying, “No, you can’t, because you’ve already bought five dresses this winter.”

Pei Zhiyi listened to their conversation, his expression unchanged, but his hand resting on his knee tightened and loosened.

He glanced at Shen Mian, who blushed and was still flipping through the photo album, unaware of the turmoil in his heart.

When it was almost eleven o’clock, the night at the Shen household finally came to a close, and everyone went to their rooms to sleep.

As usual, Pei Zhiyi slept in Shen Mian’s room. Actually, he had his own room in the Shen household, but since he never lived there, it had been turned into a small study.

Shen Mian had just started feeling a little sleepy, but after taking a shower, he became wide awake again. He lay on his bed playing with his tablet and wanted to choose a movie to watch.

However, Pei Zhiyi gently placed a small box in front of him.

Shen Mian looked up and asked, “What’s this?”

Pei Zhiyi had also taken a shower, and there were still a few water droplets on his hair. His robe was partially open, exuding a different kind of laziness and sensuality.

“It’s a birthday gift,” he smiled at Shen Mian, “It’s something I had prepared in advance.”

Shen Mian vaguely sensed that there was something quite important inside, rather than just a gift like a computer that he could accept without any pressure.

He opened the box with some doubt.

Inside, he saw a jade Guanyin pendant of excellent quality.

It looked similar to the one Pei Zhiyi wore around his neck.

Shen Mian heard Pei Zhiyi say, “This one is a pair with the one I have on my neck. They were both given to us by my grandmother. They have been blessed in front of a Buddha and have the ability to bring peace and blessings.”

He said it casually, as if the gift was nothing special.

But Shen Mian closed the box and pushed it back to Pei Zhiyi, saying, “No, I can’t accept this. It’s too precious, and it holds sentimental value. How could you give it to me?”

Pei Zhiyi knew that Shen Mian wouldn’t easily accept it.

He looked deeply at Shen Mian and said, “It’s precisely because it’s important that I’m giving it to you. If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t give it.”

Shen Mian’s heart thumped heavily, uncontrollably.

Pei Zhiyi’s gaze almost made him feel as if he  liked him, but he quickly dismissed that thought.

“I can’t accept it then…” Shen Mian muttered, “Does your grandmother know that you give away things like this?”

“She knows. I called and consulted her,” Pei Zhiyi said nonchalantly. He took out the jade pendant and without any hesitation, put it around Shen Mian’s neck, threatening, “If you don’t wear it, I’ll throw it away.”

He was a person who followed through with his words. If Shen Mian refused, he would really throw it away.

Shen Mian understood him well and for the time being, he didn’t dare to make any rush moves.

But he looked at Pei Zhiyi with a conflicted expression, feeling guilty.

“Brother, don’t… don’t treat me so well…” Shen Mian murmured, “If things continue like this, I won’t be able to live without you…”

He had already been poisoned by someone named Pei Zhiyi. There would come a day when that poison would penetrate deep into his heart and could never be removed.

He looked at Pei Zhiyi, his nose even feeling a bit sour.

How could there be such painful yet sweet torment in this world? The person he liked was the one who treated him best in the whole world.

It made him worry, made him melancholic, but it also made him indulge in it.

Pei Zhiyi leaned in and pressed his forehead against Shen Mian’s, saying, “Mian Mian, you have no idea how important you are to me.”

So important that he was willing to give up everything, just to get Shen Mian’s attention.

 

1

Author’s Note:

In the next chapter, the truth will be revealed~ You can guess who took the initiative.

 

1

Author’s Note:

In the next chapter, the truth will be revealed~ You can guess who took the initiative.