TCWSITD – Chapter 41.2

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Chapter 41.2 – The He Family Banquet

His mother trembled with rage. “What urgent business? Xiao Cheng reports everything to me. Don’t use this as an excuse to justify your actions! Is that it now? You’re grown up, got some independence, and suddenly you think it’s okay to disrespect us? Have you even considered your father and me? Have you thought about your grandfather? Without you here, how is this supposed to be a complete family gathering?!”

“From ancient times till now, the family banquet has always been a symbol of a clan’s unity and strength. In your grandfather’s eyes, nothing is more important! Only when everyone is present can the family flourish. Do you even understand that?!”

“I won’t allow you to become like this! Take off those shoes and put your coat back!”

But He Gu didn’t move. He stood frozen, still in the posture of leaving, staring at her with a kind of defeated bitterness. “Mom… that photo. You’re really not going to give me an explanation?”

His mother was so angry she could barely breathe. She genuinely believed she had done nothing wrong. “You’d ruin my meticulously planned family banquet over someone like Lin Jiang? Now I’m certain I wasn’t wrong before. Now I think I was completely right. If I hadn’t stepped in back then, would you really have torn the entire family apart for him?”

He Gu’s eyes turned slightly red.

Even now, the mere mention of that matter made his heart ache with lingering pain.

If he were given a chance to choose again, he might make a completely different choice this time.

“What are you still standing there for?” His mother, seeing his lack of response, raised her hand and slapped him again. “I posted that article not to target him, but to warn you! He knows his limits better than you do. If you keep crossing the line and can’t distinguish priorities, don’t blame me for getting rid of all your shameful business!”

The slap hit hard. But on his face, it only felt like a dull, numbed pressure.

From age 7 to 27—

He had struggled for 20 years, yet had never truly stepped out of the cage.

This cage would keep him trapped for another 10 years, 20 years—even for an entire lifetime.

Perhaps only when there was nothing left in this world worth holding onto could he finally leave without hesitation.

Taking a deep breath, he obediently removed his shoes and neatly put his clothes back in place.

He had always done it this way. He knew how to play his part—flawlessly.

The butterfly in the display case also had wings, but in truth, it had long since lost the strength to fly—just a beautiful decoration, nothing more.

At 4:30 PM, his father returned home. He personally went downstairs to greet him.

At 5:40 PM, his uncles and aunts arrived. He stayed with them, chatting politely.

At 6:00 PM sharp, the family patriarch arrived. He followed his parents downstairs, nothing more than a silent backdrop.

At 6:20 PM, the family banquet officially began.

Not a single minute belonged to him.

The patriarch and his father would both give opening speeches—same words every year—and once they were done, it would be his turn, as the youngest of the generation, to open the wine for them.

Red wine poured into the decanter, the crimson liquid mingling with the joyful, harmonious atmosphere.

Suddenly, He Gu thought—

Perhaps he was the sick one.

Why else, in the middle of a banquet filled with laughter and joy, was he the only one who couldn’t feel a thing?

At 10 PM, the suffocating banquet finally ended. After seeing off every family member, it was finally his turn to leave.

“You’ve been drinking—don’t drive. I’ll have Old Chen take you.”

He Gu nodded obediently, sat in the car, and looked out at the neon lights flowing past the window. It felt like his entire life was flashing by like a blur.

“Young Master, should I take you to the apartment or the residence?”

“The apartment.”

The car pulled up to the curb. He Gu stepped out.

Instead of returning to his apartment, he bought a leftover slice of cake from a street vendor and hailed a taxi—one he wasn’t even sure was clean.

“To OT headquarters,” he told the driver.

All he wanted was to see Lin Jiang—just once—before this godforsaken day came to an end.

His apartment was close to Lin Jiang’s team headquarters, so the ride didn’t take long.

He Gu stumbled out of the car, coat carelessly slung over his shoulders. The sharp, commanding aura he once carried had faded, only the disheveled air of an ordinary man remain—none of the former confidence and radiance.

He stood beneath the building, eyes fixed on the lit windows above, dialing his number over and over again, tirelessly.

Lin Jiang didn’t pick up at first. But eventually, he answered. The first thing he said was, “Have all the photos been taken down?”

“Mm,” He Gu murmured, lifting his gaze once more toward the windows, his voice unconsciously pleading. “Lin Jiang… can you come down? I want to see you.”

He once believed that if he just turned around, Lin Jiang would be there. Now, even when he looked up—craned his neck, strained his eyes—there was no guarantee he’d catch a glimpse. Such a stark contrast could drive a person mad.

Lin Jiang didn’t respond right away. After a long pause, his voice finally came through: “I’m still in training.”

“It’s fine,” He Gu replied, settling onto the edge of a nearby flower bed. “I’ll wait for you—no matter how long it takes.”

He knew Lin Jiang too well. He could never bear to let someone wait for him for too long, not even a stranger.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, Lin Jiang came downstairs.

He saw He Gu sitting dejectedly by the flower bed with a cheap cake box placed beside him. Lin Jiang’s footsteps gradually slowed.

“Did your family go bankrupt or something?”

The moment those words left Lin Jiang’s mouth, it was as if He Gu was yanked straight back into a memory from four years ago, vivid like a dream.

He Gu laughed. He stood up, dusting the dirt off his clothes, then picked up the cake, replying just as casually as before: “Hate to disappoint you—my family’s doing just fine. We even… had a family banquet today.”

He didn’t elaborate further, but Lin Jiang already understood. That banquet couldn’t have been pleasant. Who would’ve thought his birthday would coincide with such an occasion?

Lin Jiang let out a sigh and looked at the cake in his hand. “What exactly did you come here for?”

In those four fleeting years, Lin Jiang had celebrated He Gu’s birthday twice.

The first time, it was spontaneous—no plan, no gift. He bought a small cake from a roadside bakery and held it up, asking, “Want some cake? It’s on me.”

The second time, Lin Jiang woke up early, carefully arranged a custom cake, and picked out the perfect present. He promised to celebrate with him every year, even saying he’d buy him a tailored suit the following year.

But that promise was never kept.

He Gu’s eyes turned slightly red. He wasn’t good at these emotionally charged moments. He looked around and said, “Let’s find a café and sit down to talk.”

“What cafe is open at this hour?” Lin Jiang showed him his phone. “It’s already half past eleven. What could be so urgent that it has to be said now?”

The street was completely dark—only the convenience store was still open. All other shops had already closed.

He Gu lowered his head, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. He smiled pleadingly, “Could we go to my apartment instead? I just… I wanted to share some cake with you. There’s only half an hour left before my birthday’s over…”

“I really don’t have the energy to celebrate your birthday with you.”

Lin Jiang rarely saw He Gu in such a disheveled state. He didn’t know what had happened to him, but it wasn’t his concern anymore.

He lowered his head and hesitated for a moment, before finally voicing his thoughts: “I haven’t even finished training yet. The finals match is in two days, and everyone’s counting on me. I only came down because I thought you wanted to talk about the photos. Since that’s not the case, I’m heading back up.”

Lin Jiang was a soft-hearted person, but when he turned his sharp edges toward someone, it hurt more than a thousand bullets ever could.

The cheap cake in He Gu’s hands was just like him at this moment—unpresentable and unworthy.

He Gu didn’t know how things had ended up like this between them. He didn’t know when things had started to go wrong.

He was like a headless fly—panicked, frantic, desperate to find an exit—only to crash headfirst into a pane of glass.

“Today’s my birthday. Could you spare a few minutes to talk with me? I’lI give you an explanation about the photos.”

He Gu stood there with that cheap cake in hand, begging for cheap affection. The vibrant, confident version of him was long gone.

Lin Jiang, seeing how pitiful he looked, checked the time. “I’Il only give you half an hour.”

“…Okay.” He Gu finally smiled.

They sat on the curb outside the convenience store. Lin Jiang glanced around, brows furrowed slightly. “You didn’t drive?”

He Gu shook his head. “I took a taxi.”

How strange. The man who never ate cream cakes had gone out of his way to buy one, and the same person who always complained about taxis being dirty had actually taken one.

Lin Jiang sat opposite him, keeping a deliberate distance. “Go ahead. I want to hear about the photos first.”

He Gu unbuttoned his shirt collar, rolled up his sleeves, and clumsily opened the cake box. “ The photos were taken by someone I hired. My original intention was just to see if you were doing well, not to spy on you. When I saw you were fine, I withdrew the people. All those photos were kept in my office cabinet. I didn’t expect A’Wen to take them.”

He awkwardly cut a slice of cake. Knowing Lin Jiang liked sweets, he made sure to leave the red cherry on top just for him.

“The article … was arranged by my mother.” He pushed the slice of cake toward Lin Jiang, like a man awaiting judgment. “The story about you having a girlfriend couldn’t fool her. If I could find out, she definitely could too. She probably thought I came back because something happened between us again…”

Lin Jiang stared at the cake in front of him but didn’t touch it.

He Gu’s mother was undoubtedly the most difficult woman in the world.

She carried an innate air of oppression. She could just sit there without saying a word but still exert pressure effortlessly.

Lin Jiang still remembered vividly how she sat across from him, stirring her coffee unhurriedly. She barely spoke but she made him feel utterly humiliated, his self-esteem shattered.

Back then, he really wanted to know what He Gu thought about it all.

So he asked him, “What are we?”

And He Gu replied, “Let’s just be ordinary friends.”

Yeah, just ordinary friends. That’s fine too… right?

Lin Jiang asked calmly, “So how do you plan to resolve this?”

He Gu continued, “Don’t worry, I won’t let her disturb your life again. A’Wen won’t be allowed in my office anymore. And as for me coming back to China, I’ll explain everything to her…”

Lin Jiang cut him off. “No need to explain. Just tell her the photos are real and that Shen Ju and I are together.”

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