MTCCP Chapter 18

| Previous | Table of Contents | Next |

The year their mother left, Yue Yiwan was eight years old, and Yue Zhigu was twelve.

For as long as he could remember, his father and mother were always affectionate and happy together.

His mother didn’t have to work, and household chores were taken care of by servants. All she had to do was arrange flowers, read magazines, and take care of him and his older brother while they waited for their always-traveling father to return.

At that time, their father had inherited the family business from their grandfather. He was the owner of an international toy company. No matter how busy he was, he would take the family on vacations every year, and their photo albums were filled with hundreds of beautiful memories.

But then, their mother decided to leave.

That day, while Yue Yiwan was napping, he heard his father knocking on a door, accompanied by the dull sounds of things being smashed.

He didn’t even bother putting on slippers and ran out barefoot.

His mother had locked herself in her bedroom, furiously destroying things like a madwoman.

She had taken the spare key long ago, and the locksmith wouldn’t arrive for a while.

His father even tried to break down the door, but no matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn’t budge.

When she finally emerged, she was covered in wounds and bruises, looking like a poor woman who had barely survived a disaster.

At the time, Yue Yiwan didn’t understand what had happened. It wasn’t until years later, haunted by nightmares, that he finally realized—

She had been smashing herself.

"Yue Pin, this is what happens when you refuse to divorce me."

Then, right in front of them, she called the police, sobbing so hard she nearly fainted.

The media arrived. His father was arrested. Even the elderly couple next door comforted her with sympathetic looks.

His older brother had been at piano lessons that day and hadn’t witnessed any of it.

But he believed his brother. He believed what he was told. And he believed that their father hadn’t done any of those things.

When it came to the trial, the two brothers ultimately chose to stay with their father.

Many years later, when Yue Yiwan had come of age, Yue Zhigu got drunk and finally told him the truth.

At the age of ten, his brother had seen, from the balcony, their mother lying naked with the gardener.

He had pleaded, even begged her. But the more he begged, the harder she cried—

as if he were the one who had done something wrong.

The last time Yue Yiwan saw his mother, he still hadn’t given up.

He was only eight years old. He didn’t want to lose his parents. He didn’t want to never see his mother again.

"Why do you have to leave? Don’t you love our home?"

The woman wiped away her tears, her voice chillingly cold.

"For fourteen years, I was kept in this cage like a canary."

"I’ve been suffering all this time."

She moved closer to him, her bloodshot eyes staring into his.

"Do you know what it feels like to be useless, to be raised like a pet for over a decade?"

"Do you know how terrifying it is to spend a lifetime with a dull man?"

She didn’t explain further. She just took a check and disappeared.

At the time, Yue Yiwan could barely write his own name. He couldn’t understand adult emotions.

But he had a vague feeling that her accusations were a trap—that things weren’t as she claimed.

As he grew older, rejected four or five confessions, and studied alone in the UK until graduation, he still didn’t understand.

He couldn’t comprehend his mother’s pain, but he always felt like she had deceived him.

Time couldn’t be rewound, and the truth of the past had long been buried.

Yue Yiwan thought about it for a long time. He figured that if he never fell in love or got married in his lifetime, he might never understand where she had lied.

So be it.

Yue Pin, having lost the lawsuit, was humiliated in the business world.

He refused to borrow money from his father. He refused to bow his head.

During the day, he wore a smile while running businesses and securing deals. At night, he checked his sons’ homework. Even with the dust of his daily struggles still clinging to him, he would gently teach Yue Yiwan math problems without ever getting angry—

As if nothing had ever happened.

But one night, when Yue Yiwan got up for water, he saw that his father’s bedroom light was still on.

His father was sewing his school uniform. The right sleeve had torn that morning.

His once-privileged hands struggled to thread the needle, trembling for a long time before, suddenly, a few drops of tears fell.

That strong, ever-smiling man—who never complained, never got angry—was now crying so hard his back was shaking.

He cried for almost half an hour.

Yue Yiwan stood in the corner and watched for just as long.

He didn’t dare approach. He didn’t dare hug him.

He was only ten years old, but he vaguely understood something—

Some wounds and vulnerabilities should never be spoken aloud.

If they were laid bare, they would only become more real, more painful, cutting even deeper.

Later, Yue Pin made a comeback, investing in small inns with his remaining capital, gradually expanding into the hotel industry. Over the next decade, he built an empire of luxury hotels—but that was a story for another time.

“I’m very sorry.”

The silence between them had stretched too long. As Yue Yiwan pulled himself from his memories, he instinctively repeated the words.

Hua Muzhi finally looked up, noticing that despite his composed expression, his eyes were red.

He wanted to reach out, to hug him or wipe his eyes, but he didn’t dare move.

Yue Yiwan took a deep breath, his voice trembling.

"If this is a problem for you, I can request to end the engagement period. We can part ways peacefully."

Hua Muzhi frowned, got up, and poured him a cup of hot tea, pressing the warm porcelain into his hands.

"Calm down. This isn’t that important."

"I’m probably a very selfish person," Yue Yiwan muttered, lowering his head. "At first, I just thought… Since neither of us had a choice in this marriage, we might as well just live together and make do."

"I’m actually afraid of marriage and love."

He wasn’t oblivious to the idea of knitting a scarf for Hua Muzhi.

He could play the role of a diligent student, memorizing every palace rule and pleasing every elder. But when it came to getting closer to Hua Muzhi, he instinctively avoided it.

Scarves were intimate. Ties, too.

After all, they wrapped around the neck.

Even giving a single tissue felt like too much intimacy.

He had been avoiding it all along.

When anxious, he usually wanted a cigarette to empty his mind.

But ever since entering the palace, many habits had disappeared—

as if they had never existed.

"Yue Yiwan." Hua Muzhi suddenly spoke.

"When people are hurt, they have only two instincts."

The silver-haired young man looked up instinctively.

"Fight or flight."

"Exactly." Hua Muzhi’s voice was steady. "Your memories have been eating away at your trust in the world."

Yue Yiwan suddenly chuckled. "You understand this feeling well, don’t you?"

"Yes," Hua Muzhi admitted. "Before I met you, I was trapped in it, too."

Yue Yiwan's expression shifted. He suddenly understood.

"I want to bet on this," Hua Muzhi said.

"Let's get married, with a prenuptial agreement."

Yue Yiwan hesitated, then met his gaze.

"Alright. Let’s bet on it."

T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page and please rate it on NU page properly cause i think this novel deserve high rating, thank you🍊🍊🍊