Fu Shinian could tell that Qiao Yu was very annoyed right now. How annoyed? If he could beat him, Fu Shinian had no doubt that he would choose to have a big fight with him, but while he had the intent, he lacked the capability.
Fu Shinian quietly watched him for a few seconds, then flicked out another cigarette and tried to put it in his mouth to light. However, Qiao Yu snatched it away:
"Don’t smoke in front of me, I can’t stand the smell of smoke."
Fu Shinian: "..."
Today, Fu Shinian wasn’t in a good mood, and unusually, he didn’t argue. He let Qiao Yu toss the unlit cigarette into the nearby trash can without a word of complaint. He only spoke leisurely when Qiao Yu walked back, not planning to continue standing beside him but heading straight for the door:
"How is she?"
Qiao Yu stopped, but didn’t turn around. After a few seconds, he let out a cold laugh:
"Who?"
"Su Mu."
"She’s your wife, Mr. Fu. You come here to ask about her condition. Are you still worried that I might have other intentions toward her?"
On hearing this, Fu Shinian frowned slightly. He had known Qiao Yu since they were children, they had been through everything together, fought, had cold wars, but that was all when they were kids. After growing up, they had never gone through such childish phases again. Yet, these thorny words were something Fu Shinian had never heard before; he could feel Qiao Yu’s dissatisfaction with him.
He stepped forward, standing in front of Qiao Yu, and said:
"Is she doing badly?"
"Should she be doing well?" Qiao Yu looked straight into his eyes. "Actually, you know Su Mu better than I do. She’s essentially no different from you, prideful to the extreme. When stubborn, no one can persuade her. You know this, yet you still choose such disrespectful, uncomprehending, and even humiliating ways to treat her. Do you think she should feel happy and kneel down to thank you for your grace?"
Fu Shinian didn’t speak.
Having spoken his mind, Qiao Yu felt somewhat relieved, and his tone softened a lot:
"You want to have a child. Is it your own idea or because of the old lady?"
"Does it make a difference?" Fu Shinian wanted to smoke again, took out a cigarette from his pocket, but then, thinking better of it, put it away.
Seeing his action, Qiao Yu let out a light laugh:
"To me, it makes no difference, and perhaps not much to you either, but for Su Mu, it’s very important. Nothing is more important than this."
In the chill of December, with a recent snowfall and deep into the night, Qiao Yu, despite his anger, felt cold. As a doctor, he was always aware of certain signals his body sent out. After speaking, he involuntarily shivered. He looked at his watch:
"I don’t want to get sick over the mess between you two. If you still have something to say to me, come in; if not, just go back."
Fu Shinian suppressed the urge to retort, and said indifferently:
"I’ll come in."
Qiao Yu: "..."
In the apartment, Qiao Yu wanted to take a shower, but at the same time, he didn’t want to keep Fu Shinian waiting too long, since every extra minute he stayed was a minute later Su Mu would see him. So, he endured his discomfort, waiting for Fu Shinian to say what he needed to say.
Qiao Yu went to the kitchen to make himself some ginger tea. Fu Shinian, unnoticed, had drifted to the kitchen doorway and watched him busying himself in there, and couldn’t help but sneer:
"This stuff, I’ve only seen women drink this."
Qiao Yu paused from slicing ginger:
"Do you want me to kick you out of my apartment right now?"
Fu Shinian didn’t speak anymore, glanced at Qiao Yu, and silently turned around and left.
When Qiao Yu came out with steaming ginger soup, Fu Shinian was sitting in front of the dining table, idly playing with his phone. Qiao Yu sat opposite him and looked at him somberly:
"It’s almost midnight, do you plan to stay over tonight?"
"No."
"Then what do you really want to tell me?"
Fu Shinian stopped playing with his phone: "She must have told you something."
"What she told me, do you think I would tell you every word?" Qiao Yu laughed, "Fu Shinian, you are my friend, but Su Mu has also known me for many years. She was my patient when I was still a medical intern, and she is my friend too. I have always respected other’s privacy. What made you so confident that I would talk?"
"Because you don’t want to see Su Mu and me continue like this."
Qiao Yu paused from drinking his soup for a few seconds, then chuckled lightly:
"Whatever you guys decide to do, what does it have to do with me?"
"How is she exactly?" Fu Shinian finally lost his patience.
"If you want to know how she is, why don’t you just go home and check?"
Fu Shinian didn’t talk, just stared straight at Qiao Yu. After calmly drinking half a bowl of soup, Qiao Yu finally couldn’t suppress his inner frustration and put down his spoon to look at Fu Shinian:
"If you want me to tell you what Su Mu told me, that’s not hard, but first, you tell me, what exactly do you think of Su Mu?"
"What do I think?"
"Don’t play dumb with me here. I don’t believe that you don’t understand what I mean." Qiao Yu was somewhat angry: "I’ve known you for so many years. Even if I’m not a worm in your stomach, I consider myself quite familiar with you. If you really had no feelings for Su Mu, I don’t think you would be sitting in front of me right now. But what exactly are these feelings? Are you hoping to keep one of her kidneys, or have you started liking her?"
Fu Shinian looked at Qiao Yu, but his gaze seemed distant as if looking past him. Qiao Yu knew he was thinking, and didn’t interrupt him aloud. However, the answer he eventually received was the same as Su Mu’s, he said:
"I don’t know."
Qiao Yu: "...You two really are a pair."
Noticing Fu Shinian’s puzzled look, Qiao Yu sighed:
"Today, I also asked Su Mu one question, whether she feels too exhausted to continue in this marriage, if she wants to give up. Her answer was the same as yours, she said ’I don’t know’."
Fu Shinian remained silent.
"This is an answer I would never have expected from Su Mu before. She was firm about this marriage from the start, but you really did go too far this time." Qiao Yu looked at him: "If you want a child, why couldn’t you just talk to Su Mu properly? Why couldn’t you respect her opinion? Is it because Su Mu has been so compliant these past two years, or do you really see yourself as an emperor from ancient times who cannot tolerate any dissent?"
Fu Shinian looked at Qiao Yu with a deep gaze and softly said:
"She still told you that she doesn’t want kids?"