AM Chapter 16

16 Reversing, Please Be Careful——

16 Reversing, Please Be Careful——

At 8:05 AM, a silver sedan drove up and stopped in front of the Villa.

Seeing the car stop from the third-floor window, Chen Mo immediately dropped the clothes he was organizing and hurried downstairs.

“You’re back!” Chen Mo opened the door before the person outside could enter the password.

Standing outside the door was Liang Jingren.

Liang Jingren seemed startled by him and took a small step back.

Chen Mo smiled slightly triumphantly, then he stepped aside to let Liang Jingren in, saying, “I made breakfast. Have you eaten this morning? If not, come in and eat together.”

The way he said it made him seem like the owner of the Villa. Liang Jingren glanced at him, not missing the detail of the swollen eyes on his smiling face, but his tone didn’t soften because of it, and his words were just as cold: “This is my home.”

Liang Jingren said as he walked inside, “I told you to pack your luggage last night, did you…”

As he passed the dining room, he saw two plates of toast, grilled sausage, and fried eggs, along with two cups of hot black tea, on the table.

Chen Mo had just walked up behind him when he heard Liang Jingren say, “I didn’t ask you to make these.”

“But I didn’t ask you to come and see me off or help me move my luggage either, but you came anyway,” Chen Mo said, tilting his head to the side from behind him.

Now he could clearly see the other’s expression – a variety of complex emotions were swirling between Liang Jingren’s slightly furrowed handsome brows.

Chen Mo straightened up and smiled, “I consider myself to know you quite well, hehe~”

Liang Jingren pursed his lips, walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, and sat down in front of one of the breakfasts. He turned to look at Chen Mo and said, “You probably haven’t finished packing your luggage, go do it now.”

Liang Jingren knew him just as well. Chen Mo nodded with a smile and turned to go upstairs.

Half an hour later, Liang Jingren had placed Chen Mo’s two suitcases in the trunk of the car.

After the trunk was closed, Chen Mo finally walked around the silver sedan and came back behind it. “New car?”

“Someone else’s, borrowed it for a drive,” Liang Jingren said.

“Can I sit in the passenger seat later?” Chen Mo asked.

Liang Jingren didn’t give a definite answer, just said “Get in the car” as he walked to the driver’s seat.

After getting in the car, Chen Mo obediently and quickly fastened his seat belt in the passenger seat.

Liang Jingren glanced at him, then reached out and rolled down both windows. Chen Mo was smiling on the surface, but in his heart, he couldn’t help but think: Am I that suffocating to be around?

Then, Liang Jingren turned on the car’s screen to start the navigation. Chen Mo was immediately amazed by the extra-wide smart screen of this new silver car. He hadn’t seen this kind of configuration abroad, so he leaned over to observe it.

Liang Jingren asked him, “Have you decided where you want to go?” Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, looked up at him, and said, “To a hotel, I guess.”

“Which hotel?”

“I don’t know which one is good. I haven’t been back for four years. You recommend one.”

Liang Jingren sighed softly, “Are you going to want me to pay for the hotel too?”

“Depends on you…” Chen Mo said, then paused. He thought for a moment, and then said, “But I don’t have a formal job or income yet, so it’s better if you pay. After all, you promised me two weeks to find a house, but now you’re going back on your word, so you should take some responsibility, right?”

Chen Mo knew that Liang Jingren was different from him; he was an honest and very contractually minded person.

See—”Alright.”

With these words, the car, which had been idling for a long time, finally drove off.

Although Chen Mo’s name sounded a lot like “silence,” he only pretended to be quiet in front of strangers. He was never a quiet person in front of people he was familiar with.

When he was still in school, every time Liang Jingren picked him up or dropped him off, Chen Mo could talk the whole way, complaining about the teachers and classmates. After the real-life topics were exhausted, he would start fantasizing and making things up, such as: “Do you think our principal wears a wig? He’s over forty years old, wouldn’t his hair be receding into a Mediterranean? If he wears a wig, wouldn’t it be possible that one day when he’s giving a speech on the playground, a big gust of wind will blow his wig off?”

At that time, Liang Jingren would drive while responding to him and correcting him: “Not everyone goes bald when they turn forty…”

“But Chen Daxiang is also over forty, why did so much of his hair fall out?”

“Can you stop calling your dad by his full name all the time…”

“What? Did he complain about me to you? Did he try to influence you in bed?”

“Influence in bed… Heh…” Liang Jingren would sometimes be speechless to the point of laughing.

However, even though Chen Mo was always noisy and talking nonsense in the passenger seat, Liang Jingren never told him to shut up or switch seats. In fact, at that time, Liang Jingren felt that Chen Mo was full of innocence and vitality.

But that Chen Mo who was full of innocence and vitality seemed to disappear all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, as he grew older. The Chen Mo sitting in the passenger seat now had become silent.

In four years, he had indeed grown a lot, which could be seen just from his appearance. When the road was open, Liang Jingren glanced at the person beside him – he had grown taller, and now he was about as tall as himself. The childishness on his face had disappeared, and his eyes were stained with a hint of the dryness and gloom common to adults.

But his face was still as good-looking as ever, very similar to that picture of his childhood sweetheart that Chen Daxiang liked the most, with fair skin and very distinctive features.

Chen Mo caught the tail end of his quickly retracted gaze, and no longer silent, he turned his head and suddenly said, “I left a gift in your room, remember to take a look when you get back.”

“Okay, thank you,” Liang Jingren, who had been in the business world, gave a subconscious, polite response.

Realizing that it was Chen Mo who had just spoken to him, Liang Jingren’s hands on the steering wheel unconsciously loosened and then tightened again. He had a bad feeling in his heart.

Chen Mo noticed the movement of his hands, and raised his eyes to look at Liang Jingren’s face. A pair of bright eyes on a straight nose were focused on the road ahead.

“You didn’t actually drink last night, did you?” Chen Mo stared firmly at the face of the person in the driver’s seat and said, “Otherwise, why would you be driving so early in the morning? You wouldn’t do something illegal like drink and drive…”

Liang Jingren glanced at him, “It would have metabolized completely by morning.”

“So you did drink.” Chen Mo’s tone sank.

“I only drank a little, and it was a long time ago,” Liang Jingren said, then immediately shut his mouth, his lips pursed. He didn’t know why he was telling the other person this.

“Who forced you to drink?” Chen Mo asked.

Liang Jingren “tsk”ed and didn’t say anything else.

Liang Jingren disdained lying. If he wanted to drink himself, he would definitely impatiently snap back an answer, but if it was a “tsk,” then that meant…

Ah… there really was such a person.

Chen Mo leaned back into the leather seat and rolled his eyes towards the window.

He was so annoyed.

If anyone was annoyed, Liang Jingren was the most annoyed. Last night, he was chatting with the bartender at the Night Shade branch when a certain disabled person insisted on sitting next to him with his crutches.

Sitting next to him was fine, but having a broken leg didn’t stop his hands from being dirty – he actually secretly poured alcohol into his cup of Coke!

Liang Jingren didn’t notice at the time, but when he took a sip of the Coke because he felt bored, he was immediately choked by the alcohol and coughed. The culprit was still laughing wildly beside him.

If it weren’t for the cast on the other person’s leg, Liang Jingren would have poured all the Coke on him in a heartbeat.

Too (jian – bitchy/despicable) – just like Chen Mo.

Liang Jingren immediately understood the feelings of those classmates who had been pranked by Chen Mo. It was only natural that Chen Mo was disliked and isolated when he was in school.

After more than ten minutes, the car, which had no music playing and was so quiet that you could hear the “tick-tock” of the turn signal, drove off the main road and entered a narrow street in a residential area.

The breakfast stalls and clothing stores on both sides of the road were open at this time, and the noisy sounds of the crowd instantly poured through the open windows and into the car.

Chen Mo, who had been silent for a long time, spoke at this moment, saying, “Can we really not go back?”

Huh? Liang Jingren looked at him suspiciously, wondering if Chen Mo was just talking to himself.

Based on that one look he gave him, Chen Mo was sure that he had heard him, so he continued, “Our relationship, it seems like there’s no turning back?”

Although the background was noisy, Chen Mo was closely watching Liang Jingren, so he was able to see him lower his eyes and hear that extremely quiet “Mm.”

Chen Mo raised his voice, trying to cover up that “Mm”: “That’s not right! It’s all just your wishful thinking!”

Liang Jingren’s forehead twitched, and he looked at him with a confused expression.

Just then, a pedicab loaded with a pile of cardboard that looked like a small mountain turned out from the intersection next to them, blocking the road ahead.

“Forcing me to admit my mistakes again and again! Making me sign that piece of waste paper yesterday too! It’s all your selfish ideas!” Chen Mo shouted loudly as if trying to outdo the hawkers in the breakfast stalls outside.

Liang Jingren was a little angry. He didn’t understand why Chen Mo was suddenly going crazy and yelling at him. “That’s not a piece of waste paper, and you’re the one who signed it yourself. You’re the one who wanted to sever our father-son relationship!”

The car stopped to give way with its turn signal on. Chen Mo “whooshed” over and pressed down on his hand on the steering wheel. “I originally planned to endure it until we got to the hotel before telling you…”

What… the hotel? What does he want to do? Liang Jingren’s eyes widened slightly as he stared back at him.

“But I can’t stand it anymore, you can’t be like this! Before, when you saw that I hadn’t spoken for a long time, you would find a topic to pry open my mouth and care about me!” The current Chen Mo was being selfish, endlessly saying his own thoughts and complaining about the other person. “You would call in advance if you had to socialize and come home late or not come home at all! You would tolerate me no matter how many lies I told or how many bad things I did! Even if I accidentally scratched your motorcycle, you wouldn’t completely ignore me and not look at me!”

“That’s because we were still father and son at that time. I said that I always treated you like my own child, so even if you made a mistake, I was willing to forg…”

“Then let’s be father and son again!”

……

Huh?!

Liang Jingren was shocked. His eyes had never been opened so wide.

Reversing, please be careful—reversing, please be careful—

A hoarse, piercing horn sounded from outside the window. The pedicab was starting to reverse.

“I’m willing to admit my mistakes.” Chen Mo looked at Liang Jingren with a sincere expression, his hand still on the other’s hand. “I know I was wrong.”

Liang Jingren couldn’t react. “Wh-what?”

“I shouldn’t have said those things in the park yesterday. I didn’t consider your feelings at all. I’m sorry.” Chen Mo fixed his eyes, which were still slightly swollen from crying for who knows how long last night, on him. “Let’s forget about it, and also forget about what happened four years ago. Can we start over?”

Liang Jingren had trouble breathing for a moment. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable in his chest. He had waited so long, waited so long…

For four years, Chen Mo had gone abroad and come back. They had only seen each other once during that time, and they hadn’t even spoken on the phone. After coming back, it had only been less than a month. Liang Jingren thought that they, himself and Chen Mo, had both thought it through, so he had taken Chen Mo to sign the 《Termination of Adoption Agreement》, and then Chen Mo had said those things in the park…

Afterwards, after drinking that alcoholic Coke at the bar, Liang Jingren’s mind became clear instead. He suddenly realized: He was the one who had made the mistake first!

He regretted it. If he hadn’t brought a woman back that night, hadn’t let that woman climb onto the sofa and onto him to unbutton his shirt, if Chen Mo, who had come downstairs to find a late-night snack, hadn’t seen that scene…

Then, Chen Mo’s thoughts about him, about his body, wouldn’t have been formed, and the things that happened later wouldn’t have happened either.

But… there was no turning back…

What Liang Jingren regretted most was that he had accepted Chen Mo at the last moment that night four years ago, which had caused Chen Mo to be constantly misunderstanding, concerned, rebellious, and unwilling to admit his mistakes.

Perhaps in Chen Mo’s heart, he was equally guilty.

Reversing, please be careful—reversing, please be careful—

The beat-up pedicab had been reversing slowly for several rounds and still hadn’t turned the corner. The pile of cardboard on the car looked crooked and about to fall, and the harsh horn kept disturbing people’s minds. Liang Jingren couldn’t help but curse inwardly, then pulled the hand that Chen Mo was pressing down on away and rubbed his temples.

“No, Chen Mo, some things really can’t go back,” Liang Jingren said while rubbing, using a gentler tone to talk about great principles. “Just like life has no turning back.”

Chen Mo still looked at him earnestly, saying, “All roads lead to Rome. I’ve thought about it, we can turn back.”

Reversing, please be careful—reversing, please be careful—

“Let’s go back to the past, Dad!”

Liang Jingren suddenly raised his head, and a “fuck” escaped his lips.

Did he turn back?!

That’s not right either! Even in the past, Chen Mo had never called him “Dad”!

Liang Jingren choked, went mute, and his whole person, from his brain to his heart to his stomach, was turned upside down by this “Dad.”

In his magnified pupils, Chen Mo’s retreating figure was reflected. Liang Jingren had to admit that he was very powerful.

—This move was much more insidious than his wild words and absurdities yesterday!

“Boom,” “Whoosh”… “Rattle, rattle, rattle”…

A towering shadow collapsed in front of the window. Liang Jingren turned his head and saw the pile of tattered cardboard piled up on the hood of the car, and his tense shoulders finally collapsed at this moment.

Especially since Chen Mo in the passenger seat was still pretending to be obedient and said to him, “Dad, let’s get out of the car and help!”

Five minutes later, the pedicab and the tattered cardboard disappeared, and the silver sedan restarted.

After getting in the car and buckling his seat belt, Liang Jingren wiped away his sweat, took a deep breath, and hurriedly spoke before Chen Mo could look over: “From now on, shut up. If you say another word, I’ll stop on the side of the road and kick you out of the car.”

Liang Jingren always did what he said. Chen Mo didn’t dare to even “mm,” he just blinked and then nodded.

For the rest of the way, Chen Mo didn’t make a sound, or even glance at the driver’s seat. He stared intently at the phone in his hand, occasionally swiping the screen, as if he was wholeheartedly invested in scrolling through his smartphone.

On the contrary, Liang Jingren felt uncomfortable and uneasy. He would occasionally glance to the side, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. His whole mind was a mess.

He even felt like he had suddenly developed road rage and mania – he wanted to smash the horn in front of him countless times.

Fortunately, he just thought about it and didn’t do it. After successfully arriving at the hotel, Liang Jingren’s emotions had gradually returned to normal.

He still helped Chen Mo take the suitcases out of the car as planned, then went to the front desk to book a room, and then led Chen Mo and his suitcases into the elevator, pressing the corresponding floor.

During this time, Chen Mo remained silent, without saying a word.

After entering the room, Chen Mo took the suitcase that Liang Jingren was helping him carry and said with a smile, “Thank you, Dad!”

Liang Jingren felt a chill run down his spine. He said with some disgust, “Don’t call me that.” Then he paused and said, “We’re not father and son anymore.”

When it was his turn to say these words, Chen Mo seemed stunned.

Liang Jingren might have felt unbearable, or he might have simply not wanted to face it anymore. He didn’t say anything else and turned to leave.

At this moment, Chen Mo suddenly grabbed his hand—

When Liang Jingren turned his head, he suddenly crashed into Chen Mo’s smiling eyes, and those eyes not only contained him, but also contained one glittering dot of cunning light after another, surrounding him.

“So, Mr. Liang, can we go to bed now?”

“…”

Liang Jingren didn’t remember how many times his pupils had been dilated today.

“Brother Ren, look at the bed behind me, how big it is~” Chen Mo held his hand tightly, smiling like a triumphant fox.

Liang Jingren ran away in a panic.

As he ran wildly down the hallway, his heart was pounding, and all he could see was the red-flowered carpet of the hotel swaying before his eyes, but in his mind was Chen Mo’s infatuated and charming face in front of the hotel bed.

Fuck, fuck – fuck!

“Honk—”

After getting into the car, Liang Jingren punched the horn, cursing, “Damn it, I should have slapped him, damn it!”

After returning to the Villa, Liang Jingren planned to take a good shower and go to bed.

He had only drunk that one sip of alcoholic soda last night, but he felt like he was a little drunk now.

When he pushed open the door to his room, a bunch of vibrant red roses stabbed deeply into his eyes.

Liang Jingren remembered that when they were in the car, Chen Mo had said that he had left him a gift. So the gift was flowers.

He sighed and slowly walked to the bed to pick up the roses – a note fell down, landing next to his blue slippers.

Liang Jingren bent down to pick up the note, his eyes scanned the text, and he finished reading and understanding it in less than two seconds.

Then, the roses were thrown onto the bed by him without a trace of tenderness. Liang Jingren ran to the closet in nervous, hurried panic.

He pulled out all the clothes and shoe boxes, rummaging and rummaging, almost turning it inside out, but he still couldn’t find the thing that had been secretly stored in the small box.

As for that box? Chen Mo wrote in the note:

[How can small toys be placed in such an obvious box? I threw the box away for you, and I also carefully hid the small toys for you~ No need to thank me~]

Inside the hotel room, Chen Mo opened one of the suitcases and then “pfft”ed and laughed.

Liang Jingren’s “toys” were lying naked in his suitcase just like that.

I wonder what kind of panicked expression Liang Jingren will have when he goes back and sees the note? I really want to see it with my own eyes…

If only I hadn’t gone to sleep last night, I should have set up a pinhole camera on the closet overnight.

Just thinking about how Liang Jingren might search the entire Villa, looking for the small toys all morning, afternoon, evening, and all day long, while those things are in his own hands, Chen Mo was simply overjoyed!

Picking up one of the pink soft rubber rods from the suitcase and looking it up and down, Chen Mo couldn’t help but reveal an infatuated smile. He murmured to himself:

“Still want to deceive yourself, Brother Ren? Obviously all my size…”