TWMOV Chapter 6: The Poor Little Thing Who Suffered Domestic Abuse 06
When Yu Mu opened the door in the morning, a rose fell to the ground.
He picked it up, stared at it for a while, and was quite confused.
Since when can roses grow out of door cracks?
The system seemed to know what he was thinking and answered,
[This is Liang Han’s rose. He inserted it through your door crack at 2 a.m. last night and even bowed to the door.]
"Two in the morning? What is this kid doing stuffing roses through my door crack in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" Yu Mu changed the question and asked the system, "Did something happen to Liang Han yesterday? Tell me."
The system could access recent event records—otherwise, it wouldn’t have known the rose came from Liang Han.
The system searched for a moment.
[Yesterday, he went home and gave the flower to his mother. She smiled, he cried, then he couldn't sleep at night and came over to stick a rose in your door.]
“……” Yu Mu facepalmed, thinking this explanation was just as good as no explanation at all.
He sat on the sofa, flipping the rose in his hand repeatedly, brows furrowed.
Why a rose, of all things?
Summer in Beicheng was dry and hot, and air conditioning was so expensive that ordinary households couldn’t afford it.
Staying indoors was stifling, so people in the compound brought out stools and fans to gather under the big locust tree for some breeze.
The jujube tree in the yard belonged to the Liang family; the locust tree was planted by Grandpa Li, one of the earliest residents. The old man loved chess and had carved a board on a stone stool where he’d play with his old friends.
Zhang Mei’s husband, Wang Bing, ran a food stall outside for money, so she stayed home to take care of their daughter, who was on summer break. She was sitting under the locust tree, playing with her daughter using a hand fan.
Seeing Yu Mu come out, she waved at him to join.
They chatted casually for a bit before Zhang Mei suddenly brought up Liang Han.
“Mr. Yu, Xiao Han is in your class, right?”
Yu Mu paused. “Yes, why?”
“How is he in school?”
Yu Mu didn’t know why she asked but answered truthfully.
“He does well—often in the top ten of the grade.”
Speaking of Liang Han’s grades, Yu Mu couldn’t help but praise him. Despite spending quite a bit of time in the infirmary each semester, his studies never suffered. He was sharp.
“That’s such a pity.” Zhang Mei looked regretful.
Yu Mu was puzzled. “Zhang Jie, I don’t understand what you mean.”
Zhang Mei then told him what she knew.
She had gone out to buy groceries and passed by the hardware store run by Liang Han’s father, Liang Hua. There, she saw the father and son arguing.
Liang Hua didn’t want Liang Han to continue school, saying education was useless. Liang Han disagreed. After a few words, Liang Hua kicked him down and picked up an iron pipe to beat him. It was only thanks to the people nearby stopping him that it didn’t get worse.
Yu Mu didn’t feel good hearing this.
Liang Han had never mentioned any of this.
In fact, once summer break started, Yu Mu hadn’t seen much of Liang Han.
The boy was always out early and back late. When they met a few days ago, he looked even skinnier than before, with bruises on his face.
Yu Mu understood—Liang Hua treated Liang Han like an animal. Feeding him was already "kind." With high school requiring tuition fees, Liang Hua didn’t want to spend another dime and decided to make him drop out.
But Yu Mu knew Liang Han wanted to go to school.
After their relationship improved, Liang Han had changed a lot.
He cut his bangs, and thanks to his natural good looks, classmates stopped avoiding him. Though he still wasn’t social, he was no longer isolated.
Everything was getting better.
For Liang Han, school was his only way out. It was a sanctuary from abuse.
Liang Hua asking him to drop out was like cutting off his lifeline.
Cruel beyond measure.
Zhang Mei kept chattering about other things, but Yu Mu couldn’t listen anymore.
He didn’t eat dinner. He just sat at the compound entrance waiting for Liang Han—from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., lighting his eighth cigarette when Liang Han finally returned.
The porch light was still on. Under its dim glow, the young man wearing a black tank top and shorts had shadows draped across him, light and darkness clearly divided.
His elbows rested on his knees, long fingers holding a half-lit cigarette that flickered weakly.
Yu Mu took a deep drag, stubbed out the cigarette, and stood to block his path.
Though, he didn’t need to. Liang Han stopped as soon as he saw him. In the dim light, his emotions were well hidden. His eyes greedily fixed on Yu Mu, unwilling to look away for even a second.
He hadn’t seen his teacher for days. During this time, he’d found a job cooking at a food stall two streets away, starting at 5 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m.
He was determined. He couldn’t drop out.
If Liang Hua wouldn’t pay, he’d earn the money himself. No matter how tiring or hard, he wouldn’t give up school.
He still remembered the way Yu Mu smiled when talking about his grades to other teachers.
If being a good student could make Yu Mu happy, he’d do it.
He knew staying in school gave him more chances to be with Yu Mu.
He didn’t want to lose those chances.
Liang Han’s gaze burned too intensely. Even in the dim light, Yu Mu felt something strange. Looking at the boy who was now nearly as tall as he was, he frowned.
He wanted to scold him—for not telling him something so important.
But then again, if he were Liang Han, he wouldn’t have said anything either.
Pride. Or not wanting to burden his teacher.
Besides, even if he had said something, what could a teacher really do? Pay the tuition? Convince that hopeless father to change?
Still, Yu Mu genuinely wanted to help.
But it had to be done the right way—not out of pity.
“Mr. Yu, did you need something?”
The silence dragged on too long. Liang Han pulled back his gaze and broke the silence.
He had a hunch why Yu Mu was waiting, and that made him secretly happy.
Waiting this long showed that Yu Mu cared.
Maybe ever since he gave that rose, his feelings for his teacher had changed. He didn’t know exactly how—he just started to follow him with his eyes more and more.
At school, at home, even lying in bed late at night—he thought of him.
When being beaten or insulted, when dark thoughts flooded in, he’d remember something his teacher once said, and that gave him just enough strength to hold on.
He craved Yu Mu’s attention, approval, and the sense of peace he brought.
Like now, standing face to face. His fingers trembled.
All the exhaustion and pressure turned into an overwhelming desire to hold this man. A near-sick kind of longing.
Liang Han called again, “Mr. Yu?”
Yu Mu finally figured out what to do. A subtle smile curved his lips.
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“I have.”
“Oh? You have?” That surprised Yu Mu. He thought the poor kid probably hadn’t eaten.
“Yeah, outside.” Liang Han answered obediently.
Yu Mu’s face fell. He’d waited for nothing.
Maybe because Liang Han had fainted on the first day they met, he kept thinking the kid wasn’t eating well or couldn’t afford to. But the boy was sixteen—he knew how to survive.
“You haven’t eaten, Mr. Yu?” Liang Han asked.
“Nope.” Yu Mu pouted slightly—caught by Liang Han’s keen eyes.
His gaze darkened slightly. His heart was scratched like by cat claws—ticklish and warm.
“Did you wait for me so long you didn’t eat?” Liang Han’s throat went dry at the thought.
“Tch, you could say that.” Yu Mu ruffled his hair awkwardly and turned to go inside. “Come with me, I’ve got something to say.”
Yu Mu brought him in, turned on the light, and grabbed a pack of instant noodles from a box of Six Ding Taste.
“Sit wherever. I’m starving—gonna make some noodles.”
Liang Han noticed the stash of instant noodles in the corner and frowned.
He went to the kitchen and rummaged through the veggie basket—two cucumbers, one tomato, and half a basket of eggs.
“Mr. Yu, this isn’t healthy.” Liang Han, though frugal himself, didn’t want Yu Mu neglecting his health.
Yu Mu paused, asking the system in his mind: System, can Liang Han cook?
[Of course. And very well, too,] the system replied. [He’s been working at a food stall these days as a cook—earns little, but they feed him three meals.]
Yu Mu: ...And you didn’t tell me because…?
[You didn’t ask. I only search when you ask. If you don’t, I don’t know either.]
Yu Mu: …
Choosing not to argue with the system, Yu Mu set down the noodles and called Liang Han over.
Leaning on the counter, he gave a self-deprecating smile.
“I know this isn’t healthy. But I don’t know how to cook.”
He shrugged, joking, “Guess I need to get a girlfriend just to solve my meals.”
At the word “girlfriend,” Liang Han tensed. His fists clenched at his sides.
Words spilled out without thinking, “You don’t need a girlfriend. I can cook—I’ll do it for you!”
Yu Mu was startled. This was smoother than expected. He’d planned to coax it out slowly, but the kid confessed right away.
Liang Han realized what he’d said and took a step back, covering his mouth—his face already flushed.
Ah, what did I just say…
Too bad Yu Mu was too straight to notice the subtext. He was just happy he’d gotten his way. Especially seeing the little floating heart above Liang Han’s head lighting up a fourth bar.
He grinned. “Alright then. From now on, you’re in charge of my meals—three a day. I’ll pay you for it.”
Liang Han panicked. “No! I can cook for you, but I can’t take money! I want to…”
“Liang Han.” Yu Mu suddenly put on a serious face. “You’ve been working odd jobs, right? Up early, tired all day, not eating or sleeping well…”
He stepped closer and gently pinched Liang Han’s face, studying it. “Look at these dark circles. At this rate, you’ll collapse before school starts.”
He let go and launched into teacher mode. “How can you face the new semester like this? How will you ace your exams?
As your homeroom teacher, I have the right to ask you to quit that job and cook for me instead. I can also keep an eye on your studies.”
“But…” Liang Han could still feel the warmth from Yu Mu’s fingers on his cheek. His heart swelled.
“No buts. It’s settled.” Yu Mu cut him off and opened the seasoning packet. He broke off a piece of dry noodle and popped it in his mouth with a crunch. “Starting tomorrow, we’re going to the market together. I’ll buy the ingredients—I want, you cook.”
Liang Han’s gaze was drawn to the dry noodles in his teacher’s hand, watching him chew with puffed cheeks, like some kind of animal.
His nails dug into his palms. He forced away the fluttering feelings in his chest and agreed.
Or rather—his mouth wanted to say no, but his heart… was already saying yes.
Because being noticed, protected, and cherished like this—
Felt really, really good.
Author's Note: Xiao Han is always saying no with his mouth, but his heart is very honest. 💙
it's really cute omg T___T even though he's the one cooking for yu mu, he's the one being taken care of...but i wonder how he'll become a villain in the future? maybe something will happen to yu mu...
ReplyDeleteand thank you for the translation!
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