Can I Hold You for A While, Just A While…
Huo Cheng couldn’t have imagined his mother would ever cheat on his father. In his memory, Fang Ke was a gentle and beautiful person. She was a good mother and a good wife. Surely she wouldn’t have an affair?
Huo Cheng hadn’t said a word since they left the Starlight Farm hotel. Shen Wanying accompanied him, her heart uneasy. She, an outsider, was already shocked to learn what might have happened; he must be all the more shaken.
She turned to look at the boy by her side. “Huo Cheng.”
“Hm?” He came back to life, regarding her with those pretty eyes.
Shen Wanying asked, “Where are you going after this? Will you go straight home?”
He was silent for a moment. “I want to go to the mountain villa. I’ll have the driver take you home first.”
“I’ll go with you,” she volunteered. She felt uneasy leaving him alone.
“Don’t you have a speech class this afternoon?”
“I’ve already told Mom that it’s been rescheduled for tomorrow.” She smiled at him. “Can I go to the villa with you?”
“Mm.” He nodded, then stared out the window as silence descended upon them both once more.
♥
Starlight Farm was in the same direction as the Huo family’s mountain villa, so it took less time to get there than if they had set off from the city. When the car stopped, Huo Cheng was still a little out of it.
“Huo Cheng, we’re here.” Shen Wanying looked at him, concerned. “Are you alright?”
He shook his head and stepped out of the car. “I’m fine.”
They had arrived unannounced, so the butler was a little surprised to see them. “Young Master, Miss Shen.”
“Hello.” She greeted the butler as she followed Huo Cheng inside. The butler could see that the young master was in low spirits, but didn’t pry and instead went into the kitchen to prepare refreshments for them.
Huo Cheng brought her to his mother’s room once more. The painting he had brought back from the Starlight Farm was there, along with the cheap lighter.
Shen Wanying looked at the lighter on the floor, surprised. “Is this also your mother’s?”
He shook his head. “No, my mother didn’t smoke. This is something I found by chance the last time we were here.”
She was silent. This lighter is definitely not Uncle Huo’s either, he wouldn’t use such a cheap lighter. It can only belong to Huo Cheng’s mother’s lover. And she had gone so far as to keep it for so long?
Shen Wanying found it hard to believe. The owner of this lighter was surely not someone of status, why would Huo Cheng’s mother take such a lover?
The butler entered, pushing a small food cart stocked with some snacks and juice. The kids had been visiting every week for the past month, so he had slowly learned their tastes – mainly, Shen Wanying’s taste in snacks.
♥
The villa was halfway up the mountain, so it wasn’t easy to get supplies. And since its occupants were only a few servants, the butler only descended the mountain once a week to buy supplies. But in the recent month, they’d had someone send ingredients up the mountain every other day – mostly things that Shen Wanying liked to eat.
Huo Cheng didn’t much mind what kind of food he got, but he would be upset if Miss Shen did not eat well.
The butler parked the food cart in a suitable spot. “Excuse me.”
Shen Wanying looked up. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. If you need anything else, you can call me anytime.” The butler’s gaze took in the painting and lighter on the floor before he silently exited the room.
“Huo Cheng, would you like something to eat? There are little baked biscuits.” While he didn’t usually like sweets, Shen Wanying found that he seemed to have a particular fondness for these particular biscuits.
He raised his eyes to look at them, then lowered his gaze a little. “My mother used to bake them for me.”
Shen Wanying grimaced. How did she keep managing to step on these landmines with such precision???
“Uh….” She carefully selected something else. “There’s caramel pudding, do you want to try it?”
He looked at her, the corner of his mouth quirking upward a little. “I’ll just have the biscuits.”
“Okay.” She carried them over and bent down to pass a piece to him. Her long hair fell over her chest, and the soft light from the window fell on the slightly upturned corners of her mouth.
Huo Cheng raised his eyes to look at her and reached out to take her into his arms. She stiffened, ever so slightly.
“Ah Wan.” His voice sounded in her ear. “Can I hold you? Just for a little while.”
Only her eyes shifted minutely as she stood quietly in his arms. His light breath brushed her neck, like a kiss or a feather, gently teasing her heart.
After an eternity – or perhaps it was only a brief moment – he let go of her.
She pressed the small biscuit into the palm of her hand and sat down beside him. “Your mother…what was she like?” Her tone was soft.
He pondered for a moment before responding. “My mum was very gentle. She was pretty and always smiling. She could paint and make little snacks, and she was very good to me.”
She said, “I may not have met her, but I believe she was a very good mother.”
“Mm.” He nodded, finally smiling. “Do you want to see a picture of her?”
“May I?”
“Mm.” He stood up and retrieved a photo album from the bedside table, before rejoining her. “These are photos of me as a child. When my mother was sick, I could only come over once a week, so I brought all my photo albums over to her.”
He flipped open the album in his hand as he spoke, revealing a photo of him and his mother.
The woman in the photo had long black hair. She was seated before an easel, holding a brush in one hand and gently stroking a young boy’s head with the other. Her smile was warmer than Shen Wanying had imagined it would be.
Little Huo Cheng, standing in front of her, also had a rare smile on his face. It was clear to Shen Wanying that he loved his mother very much.
“Your mother was so pretty.” She tilted her head to look at the boy beside her. “You and your mother look very much alike.”
He turned to her and cracked a small smile. “Is that a compliment on my good looks?”
“Yes.” She admitted as she turned another page of the photo album in her hand. It was a photo of Huo Cheng’s mother standing in the garden, holding a very large bouquet of champagne roses.
“These are the champagne roses I gave to my mother on her birthday one year,” he told her. “It was her favourite flower.”
She nodded. “It’s really pretty.”
His gaze fell to the ground again as he reached out and picked up the lighter, examining the daisy printed on it. “The last time I went to pay respects to my mother, I saw daisies at her grave as well.”
Shen Wanying looked at the lighter in his hand. It indeed had daisies on the body, looking a little worn from age. She lowered her eyes and spoke. “In the language of flowers, the daisy represents hidden love.”
There was a moment of silence, before he said, “Do you think this lighter and the daisies on the grave are from that man?”
“I don’t know. Do you… want to ask your father?”
Whatever the truth is, Uncle Huo must know.
♥
T/N: B*tch, I’m still reeling! Poor Huo Cheng though. It’s tripping me out that he’s basically finding this out as an adult, in the NG+/second do-over of his high school days. Poor fella. I’m a li’l flattened rn, but you can definitely expect that I am also wondering. hit us up if you want advance chapters, or join me in the wondering & know that by the time you read this, I’m not wondering anymore 😛 stay safe, y’all. I hope you enjoy!
P.S: Thank you Bright Eyes for lending a speedy hand with this chapter