If I Die, Will You Still Hate Me? - Chapter 13

Why did you suddenly propose a breakup?

Elementary school had just let out. Many little pupils with backpacks ran out of the school gate, heading home in small groups. When passing the unfamiliar face of Ye Xun, they all raised their small heads and curiously looked him over.

Ye Xun regretted not grabbing a handful of milk candies from Jiang Xuzhou’s pocket. He smiled and greeted them, then slowly walked into the school.

Since everyone was from the same village and they saw each other all the time, every child could be identified by their family. Thus, the school gate didn’t have a proper security guard, only an old man. The old man recognized Ye Xun and allowed him to push the gate open and walk in.

The school wasn’t large, but it had all the necessary facilities, and school supplies and books were plentiful—it was no worse than public schools in the city.

This was the school Jiang Xuzhou had funded for renovations in the third year after the establishment of the Baiwen Group.

This time, Ye Xun didn’t remember its original appearance very clearly.

According to Tan Hui, elementary school was considered the darkest period of Jiang Xuzhou’s student life. Due to his congenital heart disease, his growth rate was naturally slower than his peers. Furthermore, while others had parents, he only had his grandparents, making him a frequent target for the “little bullies” at school.

When Tan Hui spoke of this, she would sigh helplessly. She said that children don’t know the limits of their actions; they do things because they find it amusing. At that time, Jiang Xuzhou didn’t know how to fight back, and even if he did, he couldn’t beat the older kids.

The turning point came when Jiang Xuzhou was in the sixth grade. He fought back one time and made the other child’s nose bleed profusely, which angered the parent enough to come to Tan Hui to complain. Tan Hui asked him to apologize, but he unexpectedly held his head up, his dark eyes filled with defiance. He stubbornly said, “No. He swore at me first. Why should I apologize?”

The parent stomped their foot and pointed at Jiang Xuzhou, cursing, “A thing born to parents who won’t raise it! No wonder your mom and dad didn’t want you.”

Jiang Xuzhou kicked the door shut with his foot, the door slamming with force, narrowly missing the parent’s nose.

Tan Hui happily patted his messy buzz cut and taught him how to hit people without leaving a mark.

Ye Xun suddenly remembered the day Cheng Zhaolin cried out in pain under Jiang Xuzhou’s grip. He thought, Jiang Xuzhou’s learning ability is as strong as ever.

The environment inside the school was very nice. Children’s books were scattered on the desks, the blackboard held homework, and the walls were covered with paintings and rotating red flags.

Ye Xun attended elementary school in the city. The children there generally came from well-off families. The school was larger and the environment was better. Teachers educated them from a young age to reject school bullying. Therefore, he never encountered school bullying, nor did he know how to fight.

Ye Xun didn’t think he was more civilized than Jiang Xuzhou in this regard. At most, the circumstances were different, and the reactions were different. But he had to admit that in this matter, he truly admired Jiang Xuzhou. After all, Ye Wenmao would only tell him to talk to the teacher about any problems, or if that didn’t work, Ye Wenmao would go talk to the teacher himself.

Ye Xun walked out of the school, checked his watch, calculated that Tan Hui should be returning home soon, and walked toward the house.

Walking this path for the second time, the image in his mind was no longer the successful Chairman of the Baiwen Group, Jiang Xuzhou, but the thin, small Jiang Xuzhou, walking sullenly on the other side of the road. He had a buzz cut, his clothes were patched, and his dirty little hands gripped his backpack straps tightly.

The two of them walked this road together, just like that.

It was nearing evening when he returned home, the sunset meeting the horizon.

Jiang Xuzhou was awake, sitting in the living room dealing with work on his tablet. Hearing the noise, he looked up: “You’re back?”

Ye Xun affirmed.

The two sat quietly, one at each end of the sofa, neither speaking. Jiang Xuzhou quickly finished his work and looked at Ye Xun—Ye Xun’s skin was a healthy tan, and his muscles were firm.

Jiang Xuzhou thought of Ye Xun in college, who loved sports and was extremely good at all ball games and long-distance running.

People shine when they are in their element. Ye Xun was no exception. His light attracted Jiang Xuzhou, compelling him to pursue it.

The two sat in silence, much like the quiet afternoon outside.

Until Tan Hui’s left foot crossed the threshold, Jiang Xuzhou quickly slid to Ye Xun’s side, his speed catching Ye Xun off guard.

Ye Xun looked up at Tan Hui, smiled, and greeted her. Jiang Xuzhou also looked up, smiling lightly as he called out to her.

“You two keep working. I’ll put my things down and then heat the food,” Tan Hui saw both of them holding their phones, assuming they were working, and waved her hand, signaling them to continue being busy.

Jiang Xuzhou immediately got up and went into the kitchen, putting the food in the microwave. Ye Xun opened the pressure cooker, then turned back and sternly said, “Didn’t you eat lunch today?”

That tone instantly reminded Jiang Xuzhou of that stormy night years ago when Ye Xun had asked him the same question: Why did you suddenly propose a breakup?

And just like that year, Jiang Xuzhou couldn’t utter a single word.

Ye Xun glanced at him, plugged in the pressure cooker, and walked out of the kitchen.

“…Ye Xun,” Jiang Xuzhou ground out his name. He wanted to explain that he was too busy at noon, and then he received a call from his estranged younger brother, leaving him with absolutely no appetite; he wanted to explain that he truly hadn’t lied to him, at least about resting; and he wanted to explain what happened that year.

But Ye Xun didn’t turn back. He was as resolute as he had been when he walked into the heavy rain years ago.

Jiang Xuzhou lowered his eyes, silently putting the dishes into the microwave one by one, then taking them out and placing them on the table.

Tan Hui put her things down and saw this awkward scene. Although she didn’t know exactly what happened, she first comforted Ye Xun, then turned and walked into the kitchen to ask Jiang Xuzhou what was going on.

“Ah… nothing,” Jiang Xuzhou mumbled vaguely, making excuses. “It’s work stuff. We just disagreed on something.”

Tan Hui knew she couldn’t intervene in work matters, so she could only sigh: “Can’t you find a middle ground?”

“How can there be a middle ground?” Jiang Xuzhou said with a bitter smile.

“That’s up to you two. I can’t manage it,” Tan Hui shrugged, smiling helplessly at her grandson.

Jiang Xuzhou shrugged in imitation of her, then suddenly remembered Jiang Yongjun and Mei Yue’s matter, “Grandma, I wanted to ask you about my parents?”

As expected, when Tan Hui heard those two names, the expression on her face instantly darkened. She asked displeasedly: “After all these years, why bring them up?”

Jiang Xuzhou had always been a little afraid of his grandmother’s serious expression. He softened his voice and asked: “…They came back looking for me.”

Tan Hui turned her face away and spat out a word like bad luck: “Those two scoundrels. They finally remember to come back now.”

“Grandma, do you know I have a younger brother named Jiang Chengzhi?”

How could Tan Hui not know? When Jiang Chengzhi was born, Jiang Yongjun had called her back, asking her to come to the city to help take care of the little grandson. She refused, saying, Zouzhou still needs me to look after him.

In response, the ungrateful son immediately blurted out, He’s not dead yet?

It was a pity the telephone line couldn’t transmit physical things, or Tan Hui would have sent a slap across the air.

If Jiang Xuzhou hadn’t asked, Tan Hui planned to keep the secret until the day she died, taking it to the grave with her.

She wanted to do her utmost to protect Jiang Xuzhou.

“You… stay away from them, and protect yourself,” Tan Hui thought hard and could only manage to say this. “They would do anything for that younger son.”

She still looked worriedly into Jiang Xuzhou’s eyes: “Zouzhou, promise Grandma that no matter what you encounter in the future, you must always put your own safety first.”

Meanwhile, things were far from peaceful at Jiang Yongjun and Mei Yue’s place.

After Jiang Chengzhi’s call was disconnected by Jiang Xuzhou, he unleashed his frustration at home.

No one had ever dared to speak to him like that, nor had anyone ever dared to disobey him. Jiang Chengzhi kicked away a family photo of the three of them on the floor, picked up a glass wine bottle left on the coffee table, and pointed at the couple huddled in the corner: “No matter what, you hurry up and get me that money.” With that, he slammed the glass bottle forcefully against the corner of the table, sending glass shards flying.

Mei Yue’s forehead was cut by the flying glass. Jiang Yongjun wasn’t in much better shape. He had been punched twice in the cheek while trying to stop Jiang Chengzhi, and his nosebleed still hadn’t stopped.

“Son… can we both try to figure something out?” Mei Yue huddled in Jiang Yongjun’s arms, trembling, partly out of fear and partly negotiating. “…You go find a job, and Mom and Dad will also look for work. Otherwise, we really can’t pay back this much money.”

Mei Yue and Jiang Yongjun had only found out today that their precious son had taken out a high-interest loan, an amount so huge that even mortgaging their house wouldn’t cover it.

No sooner had she finished speaking than there was a knock on the door outside, followed by a man’s voice: “Lights on! I know you’re home! When are you going to pay the debt!”

Mei Yue nervously hugged Jiang Yongjun tighter. Jiang Chengzhi calmly glanced at the door, grabbed an apple, and casually leaned back on the sofa, stretching his leg to rest on the coffee table: “If they knock this door down, I’ll jump off the building first.” He took a bite of the apple, looking serious, “Didn’t you say that no matter what happened to me, you would always have my back?”

When he scored badly on tests as a child, Jiang Yongjun would drag him to the office to see the teacher, shouting that the teacher had marked the test wrong; after a fight at the police station, Mei Yue would stand in front of him, denying all his misdeeds, firmly believing someone else had provoked him; when he was fired from his job for chronic tardiness and early departures, Jiang Yongjun and Mei Yue nearly sued the company.

“Son… this matter…” Jiang Yongjun stammered, “We really can’t do it.”

The knocking outside the door sounded like rolling thunder from the heavens, and a storm broke out in their home.

Jiang Chengzhi finished his apple, tossing the core like a three-pointer into the garbage can: “You can do it.”

A mother knows her son best. Mei Yue understood the meaning of his words. She raised her hoarse voice and shouted toward the door: “…We are the parents of Jiang Xuzhou, the CEO of the Baiwen Group…”

Before she could finish the rest of the sentence, Jiang Yongjun covered her mouth: “Mei Yue, what are you doing? We have no relationship with Jiang Xuzhou anymore.”

Mei Yue roughly pulled his hand away, her messy hair brushing against Jiang Yongjun’s face: “Do you want Chengzhi to die, or Jiang Xuzhou to die?”

The answer was obvious. In their hearts, Jiang Xuzhou was no different from a dead person, just a question of whether he died sooner or later, and whether his death had any value.

Jiang Yongjun’s hand slowly dropped. The knocking paused for a few seconds. Clearly, the person outside hadn’t heard Mei Yue clearly: “What?”

Jiang Yongjun spoke for Mei Yue: “Go find the chairman of the Baiwen Group, Jiang Xuzhou. He can pay your debt.”

“If you dare to lie to me, I’ll tear down your door and use it for your coffin!” the person outside threatened.

Afterward, silence returned.