Standing Next To You-Chapter 301: Is Liking someone this troublesome?

The first memory Fei Chuan had with his mother was her telling him stories on how she and his father met, and the sickening romance between the two.

Like every cliché love story, they met without knowing each other’s names and backgrounds. Away from their home country, the two met simply as a woman traveling for sightseeing and a young man working abroad for experience.

His mother said it was love at first sight. It didn’t even take them a whole week for the two to fall deeper and spend a passionate night together.

As a result, his mother got pregnant.

The two went back home to take care of his mother’s pregnancy and finally got to know each other’s true backgrounds. But their backgrounds didn’t matter, because the two were madly in love.

They had a grand wedding, and the union of the two great families became the topic of gatherings for a long time.

And the story stopped there.

"...That’s why your name is Fei Chuan. Your name signifies the love between me and your father, the unification of my family and his. Didn’t I choose a great name?"

Fei Chuan, who was a two-year-old kid at that time, blinked at his mother and responded in childish voice, "..Yes."

He was glad his mother was in a good mood today. Although this story had been told to him many times, he would rather hear it than watch her throwing things around.

His mother, leaning on the bed, rubbed his head with her thin, bony hand, "When your father comes later, greet him back and say you don’t want him to leave. Can you help me with that?"

Fei Chuan was silent for a moment. The father in the stories would never come, but he still nodded, not wanting to disappoint his mother.

Later that evening, Fei Chuan followed Grandma Pei to his mother’s room to deliver the medicine. But the sound of things breaking and a woman’s scream pierced the tranquility in the mansion.

"Bastard! How could you do this to me?! Why won’t you accept my child? Our child is better than that woman’s!"

"No, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill that child too! Then you’ll return to us, right?"

Grandma Pei did not open the door and backed away. She held Fei Chuan’s hand with her other free hand and smiled at him, "I almost forgot, I baked your favorite cookies. Let’s eat them first, okay?"

Fei Chuan glanced at the door, then slowly nodded.

Being smart and having matured early had its own disadvantages too. No matter how much he wanted to ignore many things around him like the other children his age, he couldn’t do so.

Grandma Pei said his mother often had nightmares and couldn’t be visited at those times, but he knew that his mother was sick.

And the reason was because of him and his so-called father. His oldest cousin said so, and the adults talking behind their backs said so as well.

The stories his mother told him all the time might be all lies or something that happened so long ago. It wasn’t the current reality.

His mother had been living in a memory she had well protected and was currently living on it. The moment she became aware of the reality, she snapped and become violent.

Thus, little Fei Chuan knew he couldn’t tell the truth to his mother even if he wanted to.

And his doubts were confirmed to be true when his father finally returned two years later, with a new family.

****

The car parked in front of the third branch’s building.

Butler Xing had been waiting for Bei Sangyun, and the moment she came out, he checked her from head to toe.

"You’re not injured, are you?"

Bei Sangyun sighed. "I didn’t do any strenuous activity. It was just a hot spring."

Butler Xin’s face turned ugly. "That’s what I’m even more worried about. It would be better if it were mountain climbing."

Maid Ye Zhai pushed Butler Xin away. "Don’t overreact. Young Miss knows what she’s doing." She helped Bei Sangyun with her bag and leaned closely to her. "Did you have fun, Young Miss?"

Bei Sangyun glanced at Maid Ye Zhai and saw that her usual stoic face had a hint of wanting to hear gossip.

Bei Sangyun sighed with a heavy heart. "I was enjoying it until earlier."

Maid Ye Zhai raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Let’s talk about it upstairs." Bei Sangyun needed to let out the frustration in her heart.

Butler Xin followed them upstairs, but Maid Ye Zhai closed the door in his face when the two entered the bedroom.

Butler Xin wondered, "What do they have to talk about that they need to close the door and keep me out?"

He pressed his face against the door, but it was futile; the sound insulation in the room was too good, and he couldn’t hear anything on the other side.

Inside the room, Bei Sangyun fell onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow. Seeing her like this, Maid Ye Zhai understood that the trip had not ended well.

Maid Ye Zhai busied herself arranging the items in the bag as she waited for Bei Sangyun to speak up.

Bei Sangyun turned over and let out a heavy sigh.

"I think there’s something wrong with me," she murmured.

Maid Ye Zhai waited for her to continue.

"I think I’m aging backwards,"

Maid Ye Zhai: "...."

Sitting up straight, Bei Sangyun ran a hand through her disheveled hair. "I mean, I shouldn’t be so petty and angry just because he pretended not to remember it, right? I’ve told myself many times that I’m willing to wait and be patient with him. But right now, I just want to strangle him, shake him, and maybe get his eyes checked too."

Maid Ye Zhai was rendered speechless by Bei Sangyun’s outburst.

Bei Sangyun suddenly fixed Maid Ye Zhai with a fierce gaze. "Am I not pretty?"

"...You are very attractive and beautiful, Young Miss."

"I thought so too. If it’s not my looks, then what could it be?" Bei Sangyun’s voice carried a hint of frustration.

Maid Ye Zhai could sense the underlying turmoil. "Perhaps...he has his own reasons that he couldn’t express."

Bei Sangyun sighed weakly and admitted, "I know that too. It’s just that...I’m upset. And I don’t know how to get rid of this annoying emotion out of my chest."

She had boarded the plane beside Fei Chuan with the determination to laugh off the morning’s events and maintain a cordial atmosphere. However, she found herself unable to ignore the situation. The more she dwelled on it, the more her frustration grew. She knew she couldn’t vent this anger on Fei Chuan, but it left her feeling suffocated.

In the end, she had left without saying a word. She feared that if she opened her mouth, she might say something regrettable.

She turned to Maid Ye Zhai, "Do you think I’m being childish?"

Maid Ye Zhai shook her head. "Of course not. Compared to other young ladies your age, you’re very mature. Even when I talk with you, I don’t feel any age gap between us."

"This feeling is normal, Young Miss," Maid Ye Zhai continued. "If you weren’t upset by what happened, it would mean you don’t care for him as much."

"Is liking someone supposed to be this troublesome?" Bei Sangyun’s frustration was evident. "Do I have to feel this terrible every now and then?"

Maid Ye Zhai smiled gently. "Would you prefer to only feel happy with him? In good times, you stand by his side. But what happens when there are bad times? Will you abandon him and leave him to face it alone?"