"You haven't eaten at my house yet, have you?" Su Yi put down his wine glass and smiled slightly at him.
Shen Moyu nodded: "Yes, I've never been here before."
"Hahaha." Su Yi chuckled twice, then thought for a moment and said, "But it seems Xiao Ning has eaten at your place quite a few times." He raised his glass apologetically, "You've really gone to a lot of trouble."
"No, no," Shen Moyu respectfully clinked glasses with him, "We're all friends, and my mom likes him a lot too."
Su Yi smiled and nodded: "I'm glad you don't find it troublesome. I'm usually busy, and our housekeeper is getting old and has gone back to the countryside. He's often home alone and doesn't eat properly, which worries me."
Shen Moyu smiled slightly, added a piece of fish to his mouth, and found it indeed delicious, almost identical to the fish Su Jinning made. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Very delicious."
Su Yi seemed very happy and put a few more pieces on his plate: "Eat more if you like it."
As Shen Moyu thanked them, he realized he really couldn't possibly eat all of it.
Su Yi took a sip of baijiu (Chinese liquor), the spicy taste quickly going down his throat. He couldn't help but smack his lips, his face instantly turning red: "This dish, Xiao Ning can actually make it too. His mother taught him."
After he finished speaking, he stared at the wine glass and smiled, somewhat lost in thought.
Shen Moyu chewed on his food, somewhat moved: "Mmm, it's delicious. It must taste even better if Auntie makes it."
"Yes!" Su Yi poured himself another glass of baijiu. He hadn't eaten much all day and had been drinking the whole time.
He looked at the full glass of baijiu, a bittersweet smile on his face, as if he were seeing an old friend: "What a pity, now I have to do it myself."
Shen Moyu's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't understand how this kind and interesting uncle in front of him had managed to keep everything to himself and get through so many years.
The pain of losing a loved one is not much different from being tortured to death.
After thinking for a long time, Shen Moyu finally asked, "Didn't Auntie leave anything else behind?"
Su Yi took another gulp of baijiu, his forehead turning quite red: "I left it, a letter for Xiao Ning."
After saying that, he laughed as if mocking himself: "That was the last letter she wrote, and it also stated the fact that she had passed away."
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but Su Yi's eyes also reddened, and he looked somewhat bitter, but his smile remained warm: "I originally planned to show it to Xiao Ning after he went to university, but I didn't expect..." He seemed to realize how absurd it was, and shook his head with his eyes closed.
Shen Moyu was still shaken by what she heard, and her stomach felt full, so she couldn't eat anymore.
"It's my fault," Su Yi said heavily, his voice heavy with years of regret. "I couldn't find a way to cure his mother's illness."
Shen Moyu lowered her head, her long eyelashes fluttering weakly: "It's not your fault. Fate is unpredictable; some things are destined and can never be changed. You... don't blame yourself too much."
Su Yi sighed deeply, a hint of sorrow and helplessness in his voice: "Yes, who could have imagined..."
He finished the last sip of wine in his glass, then looked at Shen Moyu with some admiration: "You know so much at such a young age."
Shen Moyu smiled softly and said nothing.
After all, his father and family were nothing more than a cruel twist of fate.
"When I learned that his mother was sick, it was already in its late stages." Su Yi poured himself a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.
"The company had just officially gone public, which was a critical time. She was afraid I would use the money I had just earned to treat her illness, so she kept it from me."
He rubbed his face, lowered his brows, and stared into a corner, as if lost in deep thought: "She said she wouldn't get treatment anymore and wanted to spend the rest of her time with us. I refused. We couldn't keep her in China, so I sent her to a friend of mine abroad who's a neurosurgeon. I thought that as long as there was a sliver of hope, I'd spend whatever it took to cure her."
Shen Moyu lowered his head and stroked the glass.
"He told me not to tell Xiaoning, because the way she looked during chemotherapy would scare him."
Su Yi paused for a long time before saying, "She started writing letters to Xiao Ning every day. At first, she would travel around and send Xiao Ning many photos. Later, her condition worsened, and she could only stay at home, unable to go anywhere. My friend told me that she had only extended her life by six months, which was her limit."
He poured himself a drink and downed it in one gulp, forcefully suppressing his tears. These old memories, stirred up like this, were like scabbed wounds being brutally ripped open: "Later, she started counting down the days to write to Jinning."
He sniffed: "Birthdays, Mid-Autumn Festivals, Lunar New Years—I wrote a thick stack of letters, asking me to send one to Xiaoning every year according to the date."
He even gestured with his hand to show how thick it was, laughing with emotion, but tears streamed down his face: "I knew then that she was already planning to leave."
Shen Moyu couldn't help but think of her parents, who had once been so happy, the whole family together in harmony, and everything seemed to be going perfectly.
But why does everything end up unsatisfactory?
He didn't understand. Must people who love each other always separate?
Su Yi had drunk too much, and his emotions were running high as he spoke. He pointed angrily at the ceiling, but had nowhere to vent his anger.
"I've kept this from Xiaoning for so many years, and it still bothers me... He looks a lot like his mother. Right after she passed away, my heart would pound every time I saw Xiaoning."
He took a deep breath, his gaze hardening, then he lowered his head. "She suffered so much with me. When we got married, we didn't have enough money, so we couldn't even have a wedding for her."
"I owe her a wedding." Su Yi's lips trembled, his adult composure long gone. "I owe her for a lifetime."
Su Yi fell silent, as if to say goodbye to this long story. Shen Moyu, however, stared blankly at the table full of dishes, unsure of what to say.
But Su Jinning upstairs heard it all clearly.
He gripped the stair railing tightly, afraid to make the slightest sound, his vacant gaze already brimming with tears.
————
For the next few days, Shen Moyu continued to bring him meals on time as usual, sometimes talking to him, though he often received no response. Sometimes he would just sit with Su Jinning, perhaps taking the ball and playing with Su Jinning for a while, even though he didn't want to pay any attention to him. Or he would simply come in and keep him company until he fell asleep.
Until the day before the midterm exam, Shen Moyu couldn't hold back any longer and asked him decisively, "Will you come for the midterm exam?"
His response was also Su Jinning's silence.
Shen Moyu packed his things and went home. He knew that Su Jinning wouldn't come. Even if he said more to Su Jinning, she would just stand there like a block of wood and wouldn't respond for a long time.
That night, he called Jin Shuoshuo to ask for leave, saying that his condition was too serious and he really couldn't come. He only breathed a sigh of relief when it was confirmed that the senior year exam could be made up.
Shen Moyu knew that this incident had dealt a huge blow to Su Jinning, but every time he saw him sitting dejectedly in the study, cold as an ice cube, he couldn't help but feel afraid.
If Su Jinning gives up everything because of this, all her efforts over the past few days will have been in vain. Shen Moyu really didn't know what to do.
This time, he really didn't know how to get him ashore.
——
It was fortunate that it didn't rain on the day of the exam. The rush and the amount of information she had been dealing with over the past few days had greatly affected Shen Moyu's mood. She often spaced out during the exam and would find herself unable to continue writing.
Fortunately, the exam wasn't too difficult, otherwise he didn't know if he would have failed.