The Yellowed Page
Chapter 3/4 of the week. We're 13 dollars away from 4.5 regular chapters on Patreon! Thanks for the support, enjoy reading.
“Oh, you’re here,” Yang Jieyu said. When she heard footsteps, she stood up to greet Yang Chen.
“I got into some trouble on my way here, but I’m not late at last,” Yang Chen said before sitting down.
Yang Jieyu didn’t want to ask about what trouble he ran into earlier. Directly, she said, “What do you want to drink?”
“Anything,” Yang Chen replied.
“There’s civet coffee here that can’t be found at other places. Do you want to have a cup of it?” Yang Jieyu advised.
Yang Chen shocked. “Is there really civet coffee?” he asked.
“Although it’s rather expensive, treating you merely a cup of coffee isn’t a problem since you saved Little Ye,” Yang Jieyu said smilingly.
Yang Chen waved before saying, “Nevermind, I know about the type of coffee. But I don’t think I would ever drink it in my life. Simplicity can be good.”
“Why? Have you tried it before?” Yang Jieyu asked doubtfully.
Smiling, Yang Chen replied, “Don’t you know how it is produced?”
“I just know that it’s the most expensive coffee in the world. Every kilogram can exceed thousands of US Dollars, excluding the other various fees. Is there anything special about it?” Yang Jieyu asked.
Yang Chen adjusted his sitting posture as he nodded. Upright, he answered, “That’s right. The civet coffee is the most expensive coffee in expensive due to its rarity. Its price can be said to be gold in the world of coffee. Being produced in Sumatra, Indonesia, it’s a type of local coffee beans.”
“You seem like you know a lot,” Yang Jieyu said.
Yang Chen smiled relaxedly. He said, “Quite a while ago, my friend from Indonesia gave me a small pack of the coffee beans. Originally, I thought they smelled really nice and I liked them a lot. However, I returned it to him after listening to the production process.”
“What about the production process?”
“After waiting for the coffee berries to mature, the local farmers would allow a type of palm cats which are exclusive to their country to enter the coffee farm. They would then wait for these cats to get diarrhea before searching for their poo there. When the undigested coffee beans are picked out and polished, they would be considered as the most superior coffee beans in the world,” Yang Chen explained. “In simple terms, the most expensive and luxury coffee is basically cat poo… Pathetic, but some people would still proudly drink the beverage. They may think differently from me, but I still dislike it.”
Yang Jieyu’s expression slowly changed. Covering her mouth, she looked at her empty cup of coffee with a bitter smile, saying, “I regret listening to your full explanation…”
“Apologies, I didn’t know you were drinking the exact same type,” Yang Chen ridiculed.
Yang Jieyu summoned a server and asked for two glasses of orange juice instead before feeling slightly better.
“I heard from Little Ye that you’re a master’s degree holder from Harvard University. You do seem really knowledgeable,” Yang Jieyu said calmly.
“Not really, universities abroad usually have a lower threshold. I can say that I was barely able to graduate,” Yang Chen said blindly.
Yang Jieyu nodded as she said, “You’re indeed really humble. However, judging from how you treated the terrorists on that day, you’re not as simple as an overseas graduate.”
“I learned quite a bit of martial arts back then, and participated in some military training. I may have trained a little better than the others, but to be honest, my potential only got forced out when I almost died. So I’m not as impressive as you may think,” Yang Chen said as he carefully picked his words. He wondered what Yang Jieyu asked him out today for.
Yang Jieyu asked a few more questions regarding Yang Chen’s life abroad, which he answered with countless made-up bullshit. However, he didn’t seem to create any loophole.
“Yang Chen, you’re a really good young man. Our Yuan Ye lacks friends like you. Do you have any family member? I want to invite all of you to visit my house one day. What do you think?” Yang Jieyu said smilingly.
Without changing his expression, Yang Chen replied, “No need, I’m always alone. My stepparents have passed away.”
“Your stepparents? How about your biological parents?” Yang Jieyu asked as she looked at Yang Chen with curiosity.
“Sigh.” Yang Chen said softly, “I have no idea. I got adopted when I was very young. I don’t know who my parents are.”
A hint of regret appeared in Yang Jieyu’s eyes. She said, “I’m sorry. It must be hard living alone for so many years.”
“If it’s because of my lack of parents that I had a tough time living, that hasn’t happened to me. I’m used to living alone. It’s great this way,” Yang Chen said expressionlessly.
Yang Jieyu’s face turned stiff, but she forced a smile and nodded lightly. “This… Yeah, abandoning a kid this young is really the parents’ fault.”
“I think they aren’t alive anymore,” Yang Chen said.
Yang Jieyu got startled. She asked, “Why do you say so?”
“If they’re still alive, I really wonder how they still have the face to live,” Yang Chen said before finishing all his fruit juice in one go.
Looking at Yang Chen stand up, Yang Jieyu quickly said, “Have you thought that your parents may have their reason doing so?”
“Humph,” Yang Chen smiled in contempt. “Maybe, but that doesn’t concern me anymore. I still need to work in the afternoon. I shall take my leave now.”
Yang Jieyu wanted to let him stay, but after looking at Yang Chen walk out of the exit quickly, she could only sit back down helplessly.
After Yang Chen left for a short moment, a man who looked like a meticulous soldier, wearing a nicely trimmed, lead-colored western suit, looking handsome, with eyes of huge depths, walked out from an isolated seat towards Yang Jieyu before sitting down on Yang Chen’s seat.
Yang Jieyu raised her head and smiled to the guy. “Elder Brother, he looks very similar to when you were young regardless of his look or the way he talks,” she said.
Sitting upright and looking dull, the man replied, “Jieyu, take the incident today like it never happened before. Don’t get near him anymore in the future.”
“Why?” Yang Jieyu asked doubtfully. “Sister-In-Law has never been truly happy ever since abandoning Yang Chen from our home. Elder Brother, don’t you want our family to reunite? He is the biological son of you and Sister-In-Law! Back then, you had no choice since there wasn’t any news about him. But he was right in front of you minutes ago! Since he’s this outstanding now, why wouldn’t you show yourself up and recognize him?”
“That’s exactly because I don’t want to suddenly pop up in front of him. Also, just like you said, he’s now an extraordinary person. We have to be extra cautious. Our Yang clan isn’t a normal family. These two years will be significant when an inheritor is chosen. No matter what situation we’re in, we mustn’t let our competitor have any chance of success! If a son suddenly appears, we would definitely suffer from much negativity,” the man said with a serious tone.
“Elder Brother! Is a stupid rank more important than your own offspring?!” Yang Jieyu shouted as she couldn’t control her temper.
“Jieyu! You’re the eldest daughter in Yang clan, can’t you have the slightest rationale?! I need to take the entire family into consideration, including everyone who relies on our Yang clan. We can’t afford to collapse for being careless! At times like this, how can I make another mistake for the one I made 20 years ago?!” the man exclaimed.
“Mistake? You are the one who made the mistake. Why must your child shoulder the consequences?!” Yang Jieyu said loudly as her eyes got filled with tears. “Whenever I see Yang Chen’s face, I recall the times where Elder Brother was still young. He’s more amiable, humble, polite than you. Won’t you feel guilty when you see him?”
The man took a deep breath. He said coldly, “Jieyu, one who is destined to do something major doesn’t care about the minor details. Yang clan has always been solemn and just since it started. That’s only because we can sacrifice things that are far beyond other’s imagination. You don’t need to persuade me anymore. You mustn’t talk about it to Sister-In-Law. We only want a son with clean birth history to inherit Yang clan!”
“Haha, clean…” Yang Jieyu laughed in contempt. Standing up, she said, “Looking clean on the outside, while acting disgusting deep down in the heart. Yang Pojun, you’ve completely disappointed me!”
“Yang Jieyu! Are you rebelling?!” Yang Pojun shouted angrily.
Yang Jieyu suddenly stopped walking. Without turning her head around, she said, “Rest assured, I will take this as it never happened before. I won’t affect Elder Brother’s bright future. This is a sin made by you guys. You all will regret one day…”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yang Jieyu quickly left the cafe.
Yang Pojun sat back down angrily. His expression changed as the past vaguely emerged in his eyes.
Like yellowed papers, time flipped back to more than 20 years ago…
At a snowy night, a military Jeep stopped in front of an orphanage at the north of China.
A pair of couple dressed in military uniforms passed a child of two to three years old who was asleep to an old woman who had wrinkled skin.
The child was deep asleep. Wrapped in a fluffy blanket with warmth, he couldn’t hear the young woman’s sobbing as north wind whistled.
The old woman hugging the child smiled as she received a letter before turning around and returning to the orphanage.
The young lady stared at the old woman who walked into the building with her child. She forced herself up the car as she felt sorrow before leaving through the snowstorm.
Time quickly elapsed. After more than a year when the married couple returned to the place, they found out that the deserted orphanage had moved away.
No clue was left to track every single child there. They left no method of communication, like they disappeared in the air.
The young woman held onto her slightly elevated abdomen as she leaned on her husband’s chest before crying away…
Yang Chen who left the cafe towards Yu Lei International had no idea that all these happened. The attitude that Yang Jieyu revealed to him made him feel extremely upset. Having been through all types of disastrous waves, Yang Chen still couldn’t remain calm whenever he recalled his broken childhood memory.
As he walked absentmindedly, his phone, which was in his shirt pocket since the pockets in his pants were broken, suddenly vibrated.
Yang Chen took out his phone and got dumbstruck. It was a call from Lin Ruoxi.
Whenever Lin Ruoxi took the initiative to call him, there must be something important that she needed to tell Yang Chen. Smiling, he picked up the call.