Part 2 of Chapter 78
Please Like Her 29 – No one can get past those twenty years (of living with Brother)
Downstairs, peace was restored.
Shang Lu looked at the old butler who was pouring her tea and asked, “You know something, don’t you?”
The old butler’s hands trembled slightly, and he accidentally spilled some tea, but he still pretended to be calm and said, “Miss, what do you mean?”
“About the injuries on Shang Mu.” Shang Lu took a bite of a small biscuit. She still couldn’t believe Shang Mu’s words.
Shang Mu had always been calm by nature and wouldn’t have provoked Shang An’s dissatisfaction so many times.
And Shang An wasn’t mentally ill; he couldn’t randomly vent his frustrations on his children. If it was as Shang Mu said, Shang An should treat them all equally, not just punish Shang Mu.
The old butler looked increasingly troubled and said, “Miss, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you.”
“Speak, or I’ll leave now.” Shang Lu stood up and pretended to leave, saying, “If Shang Mu comes down and doesn’t see me, he’ll probably get even more upset. As long as you tell me, I can pretend I never heard it.”
The old butler hesitated for a moment.
He understood his Young Master’s quirky personality; Young Master would never voluntarily reveal the truth. He also knew that once Miss promised, she wouldn’t lie to him.
He actually… hoped that his Young Master and Miss could reconcile.
So, the old butler compromised and said, “It’s because of you, Miss. Whenever you do something that displeases the old master, he… vents his anger on Young Master. I overheard them argue once, and Master thinks that not raising his sister properly is an older brother’s fault. Since Miss looks so much like the late Madam, Master can’t bear to punish you, so he can only make Young Master learn his lesson this way.”
It was an unexpected answer for Shang Lu, but it also matched Shang An’s personality. It was something Shang An could do.
Shang Lu believed it, but she still found it hard to understand. “Whenever I make a mistake, he’s the one who gets punished, has it always been like this?”
The old butler replied, “It’s always been like this.”
Shang Lu didn’t say anything; she just took a small sip of the hot tea in front of her.
She seemed to suddenly understand Shang Mu.
If she were Shang Mu, doing nothing wrong yet always being punished in place of her sister, growing up with this kind of education, it would be difficult not to feel resentment and aversion.
The old butler added, “But, Miss, neither you nor Young Master have done anything wrong.”
The old butler had watched Shang Mu and Shang Lu grow up, like his own grandchildren.
Many times he feels heartache for these two children, but he can’t do anything because of his own identity.
They have all grown up, and he just hopes that they can both be well.
“I know, thank you,” Shang Lu reluctantly flashed a smile.
When Shang Mu finished his examination and went downstairs, Shang Lu stood up, clearly indicating that she was about to leave.
Shang Mu was prepared for her to leave directly, but he didn’t expect her to ask him, “How about having a meal together?”
Shang Mu looked pleasantly surprised and immediately arranged for a driver to take them to the restaurant.
Shang Lu didn’t know why she made such an invitation.
Perhaps it was because she thought that she and Shang Mu had been considered family for so many years, but they had never had a proper meal together.
Shang Lu asked him, “What would you like to eat?”
Shang Mu replied, “Anything is fine, I’ll eat what you like.”
Shang Lu chose hotpot.
For Shang An, this kind of meal was so simple and low-end that it was not allowed in the Shang family, as it would be considered a chef’s negligence. Because Shang Mu’s leg was still injured, Shang Lu chose a hotpot with both spicy and non-spicy broth.
The two of them ordered a private room and a variety of ingredients were brought to their table.
There wasn’t much to talk about between Shang Lu and Shang Mu, they simply repeated the action of putting food into the hotpot.
Shang Lu didn’t pay much attention to Shang Mu either, she just focused on eating what she liked. When Shang Mu used the serving chopsticks to pick up a few pieces of meat for her, she didn’t refuse.
In fact, Shang Lu felt some regret; she wished she hadn’t invited Shang Mu out for hotpot. Maybe she should have had the two servants from home come inside instead of eating at the table by the entrance. It felt strange for the two of them to be alone together.
Shang Lu felt like there wasn’t much to talk about with Shang Mu, but unexpectedly, Shang Mu spoke up, saying, “I saw Ah Yin last month.”
This Ah Yin is Shang Mu’s first love, a beautiful girl that Shang Lu also remembers fondly.
In an instant, Shang Lu put down her chopsticks and looked at Shang Mu with a face full of curiosity.
She admitted that she was curious and wanted to hear more.
As he mentioned this name, Shang Mu’s expression became even gentler, and he continued, “Before you joined the variety show, I had been abroad for a long time because I received news about her, but I didn’t get to see her that time. Last month, we finally got in touch and agreed to meet. She came to see me, with… her son.”
This twist came too suddenly.
Shang Lu covered her mouth with one hand and took a few seconds to react. “She’s married?”
“Yes, it happened three years ago.” Shang Mu fumbled around the top of his chopsticks with his fingers, his expression filled with nostalgia. “When she went abroad, she realized she couldn’t change the situation and took the opportunity to continuously improve herself, just like I thought. She’s still so outstanding. She said she thought about waiting for me, but she met a man who loved her deeply. He pursued her for several years, always treating her very well, so she chose to enter the bonds of marriage with him. She apologized to me, and I said it was fine. Thankfully, she didn’t really wait for me; otherwise, I would only have found her this year, and I don’t know how many years of her youth would have been wasted.
“Her son is of mixed race, with adorable golden hair, but the lower half of his face looks just like her; you can tell he’s her son at a glance. She told her husband that I was the first love she deeply loved in the past that she once mentioned. Her husband was a bit cautious in his attitude, but still very polite. I could see that he loves her very much, and she loves him too, which is why she was so open about my existence. I even had someone investigate her husband specifically. He comes from a good family with well-educated parents. He has stable employment, and he once saved an elderly person from drowning. He’s a kind person, and he deserves her.”
Shang Mu’s voice grew lower, and he began to show signs of uncontainable emotion. He said, “She’s doing well. She found someone better than me to spend her life with. She’ll be very happy, and I have no regrets.”
In reality, there aren’t so many fairy tales. Reuniting after many years may not necessarily be a romantic reunion; it might also mean that things have changed.
Shang Lu also liked that Sister very much and felt some regret but could only offer comfort, saying, “Shang Mu, this proves that you should also move on. You’ll have a new life too.”
“Yeah,” Shang Mu didn’t deny Shang Lu’s words but closed his eyes.
There were some things they both didn’t say but thought about at the same time.
If only they hadn’t been born into such a family.
If only they didn’t have such a father.
Unfortunately, in this world, there are no ‘ifs’ in everything.
This is their fate, whether they acknowledge it or not, it’s already set.
After finishing their meal, Shang Mu suddenly suggested, “There’s a movie theater upstairs. Do you want to go watch a movie together?”
Shang Lu looked at him in confusion, feeling that this invitation was even more sudden.
Shang Mu explained, “It’s a classic foreign film that’s only showing in China for a limited time, and today is the last day.”
Shang Lu found his words intriguing, but when she received the movie tickets, she couldn’t help but smile.
This is indeed a classic foreign film.
There are really coincidences in this world. What they’re about to watch is the horror movie she watched together with Ye Lu during Xiao Taoyan’s recording.
She had originally watched it five times, and the last time she watched it with Ye Lu was the sixth time, so this is now the seventh time.
I feel sad for Shang Mu. I hope he gets his new, better, and happy life.
But, he needs forgiveness before he can get it. Even if he wouldn’t get SL’s forgiveness, at least, he needs to forgive himself.