Baby's Breath

Chapter 5

Xue Youka had just escaped and ran to find Pi Hu, only to hear from a distance, at the entrance of Pi Hu's home, the sound of Pi Hu being beaten. The cause of the uproar was Pi Hu's mother scolding him, "What kind of lessons are you learning? Learning to steal? How many mulberries does your second uncle have? And you've gone and picked them all clean!"

Pi Hu twisted and turned, defending himself, "It wasn't me! I didn't steal them. It was Xue Youka who told me to go, it was him, him... ah..."

His mother retorted sharply, "He's no good, and now you're following his bad example!"

The sound of a willow switch hitting flesh echoed, a chilling reminder of the punishment being meted out.

Outside the red iron gate, Xue Youka silently listened to Pi Hu's cries of pain but ultimately did not enter the house, choosing instead to run back home.

"Cheng Yu, how did you come here by yourself? I've been looking for you," Wei Bo said as he found Cheng Yu in the mulberry orchard. Cheng Yu had picked a red mulberry but was just holding it in his hand, not eating it. Wei Bo advised, "The red ones might look nice, but they're sour and unripe. You should pick the black, plump ones; those are the sweet ones."

They had paid an entrance fee of sixty yuan each to pick fruit at the base, allowing them to eat as much as they wanted, though Cheng Yu hadn't eaten much.

This kind of melancholy, showing a lack of interest in anything, worried both Wei Bo and his grandfather greatly.

Cheng Yu wasn't born this way. Shortly after his birth, he was diagnosed with a heart condition and underwent heart surgery at just a few months old. Fortunately, the surgery was successful, and he survived.

Because of this, Cheng Yu was treated like a treasure by his family, who doted on him immensely. His education was also carefully managed, with tutors coming to his home for lessons to minimize outside interactions.

Children who have had heart disease often grow up to be physically weaker. To ensure Cheng Yu remained healthy, his family arranged for a professional to design a fitness plan for him, including regular fencing and horseback riding lessons. A nutritionist planned his meals, and doctors visited every few days for check-ups.

This regimen made Cheng Yu appear very healthy, even healthier and stronger than his cousin Cheng Ziwei, who was two months his senior. However, a childhood isolated from normal life also led to him becoming introverted and reclusive.

Realizing the issue, his family decided to send him to school. However, Cheng Yu's personality did not help him make friends at school. He was cold to everyone and showed little interest in his studies. At some point, he expressed a desire to learn the drums.

His parents, always indulgent, agreed to his request. They didn't know much about the instrument but hired a teacher for him and built a soundproof room for drum practice.

Before long, Cheng Yu had joined a band called "Angry Rhinos," abbreviated as "Fenxi," where he was the youngest member. The band was made up of boys three to four years his senior, who had accepted him as their drummer due to a shortage of good drummers.

Having a hobby was initially seen as positive until the nature of the band and Cheng Yu's stage name, "Rhino," became known, at which point his family started to worry that his interest was becoming inappropriate.

Cheng Yu was very insistent on being a drummer. Spoiled by his family, they had no choice but to let him indulge in music in such an unreasonable manner for many years. This continued until not long ago, when a servant cleaning the house found Cheng Yu fainted in the soundproof room.