Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 116 : Crisis At Shen House (4)

Chapter 116: Chapter 116 : Crisis At Shen House (4)

"Actually, why don’t I start first?" Mother Shen interjected, prompting all pairs of eyes to look at her.

"Mom...?"

An uneasy smile spread on Mother Shen’s face as she looked at her son.

"I will tell everything in a chronological order, so Jingwei can understand properly."

Mother Shen took a deep breath before she began digging through her memories and telling the story.

It was a difficult Chapter in their family history, thus saying it out loud proved to be rather difficult, but necessary.

"After your late father heard about your relationship with Little Yan, he flew into rage and disowned you on the spot.

My late husband..."

Mother Shen sighed, "was inherently a good man, but nothing Dou Dou and I said could move his stone heart.

And then, unbeknownst to you, Jingwei, Little Yan paid us a visit."

Shen Jingwei widened his eyes at his mother.

"He knelt in front of your father and begged for his forgiveness. He said that everything was his fault, and he was ready to assume all responsibility for you.

The only thing he needed from your father and I was our blessing, he said."

"Of course, your father kicked him out the way he kicked you out," Mother Shen said regretfully.

"But he came back.

Again and again.

And because your father was old and this house kept running into problems, one day he hurt his back trying to fix the ceiling.

By chance, Little Yan was there to beg for his blessing again.

He didn’t receive any blessing that day, but he was given an assignment to fix the ceiling instead."

Shen Jingwei was rendered speechless by the unexpected plot twist.

"Your father still hated homosexual men, but he appreciated Little Yan’s help," Mother Shen pointed out.

"From then on, and I say this with love, every time Little Yan came, your father gave him more and more tasks to fix the house."

"...."

Shen Jingwei smacked his face in horror.

His old man actually employed Yan Renzhong as an unpaid, freelance handyman without the slightest reservation.

Mother Shen sighed again as she looked at the brand new ceiling adorning their living room.

There used to be a huge wet spot at the center of the ceiling. This was Yan Renzhong’s first big project that he completed over the weekend.

At that time, Mother Shen held some hope that her husband would eventually softened his stance toward Jingwei’s gender preference.

It might actually happen if only his health did not deteriorate a short while later.

"Little Yan was here when your father had his first heart attack.

He carried your father on his back, and we rushed to the hospital as soon as possible. The hospital told us that his poor diet and lack of physical activities in later years led to several blocked arteries.

A complex bypass surgery in a more advanced city hospital was his only hope."

Mother Shen reached out and put one of her hands above her son’s. Her eyes glistened over with unshed tears when she spoke further.

"We didn’t have the money for the costly procedure, Jingwei.

We squandered all our savings to pay for your acting academy’s entrance fee and monthly tuition fee.

And then, Dou Dou was still at school.

Your father stopped working after his first heart attack, and I had to stop baking and selling cakes to take care of him.

In the end, with no other option made available to us, your father and I made the difficult decision to sell the house."

"Mom..." Shen Jingwei softly spoke as he took his mother’s hand and squeezed it. "Why... Why didn’t you tell me anything about the money problem...?"

He would have dropped out of the acting academy on the spot. He would have thrown out his dreams and returned home to support his family.

He would do anything remotely possible to...

"Because, Jingwei, your father has already disowned you."

"..."

"The proud, stubborn man, whom I loved the most, refused to take any help from you.

On the other hand, I also knew that you were unable to help us. Not without sacrificing your dreams. Life in a big city is costly, and the training to become an actor also requires a lot of money.

Ever since you stopped taking money from us, you worked day and night to provide for yourself.

Knowing that, how could I approach you with the family’s money problem...?"

"... Mom..."

Mother Shen withdrew her hand from Shen Jingwei’s grip and patted her son’s hand affectionately.

"Long story short, we started advertising at nearby real estate agency.

I thought it would take several months to sell, so I was very worried about our financial situation.

Unexpectedly, the real estate agency called back and told me that they found a buyer for our house.

There was no need to haggle because he agreed to pay the highest price for our house, too.

I only found out much later that it was Little Yan who bought our house."

By reflex, Shen Jingwei turned to look at Yan Renzhong for additional confirmation.

Although he knew his mother wouldn’t lie to him, the story was too unreal.

It couldn’t be, right...?

Why would Yan Renzhong do all that behind his back?

After everything he had done, it made no sense at all.

The two men looked at each other for several seconds before Shen Jingwei averted his gaze.

He did not know what to think.

A whirlwind of conflicting emotions swirled within him, becoming increasingly complex as he uncovered more and more secrets of the past.

Still, he needed to know everything that happened back then, so he had to persevere.

"Little Yan allowed us to continue living in this house as usual. He also refused to accept rental fees, but he made us promise not to tell your father anything.

He said, he didn’t want to buy your father’s blessing with money. He wanted to earn it.

And so we had enough money for the surgery and everything else.

Unfortunately, even after the bypass surgery, your father kept encountering heart problems."

Mother Shen broke into choked sobs when she continued recounting the story.

"His heart gave out while he slept, and he never awoke again."

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Author’s note :

RIP for Father Shen.