Don't look at the scenes on television or movies; even if Wen Fei inherited some of the original body's thick filter for his son, the image of him crying like this was really messy and ugly. Wen Fei patiently hugged the still-crying child, soothing him with soft words and patting his back comfortingly, all while slowly moving his son closer toward his car.
In the end, while he knew the child needed time to throw out all the grievances in his heart, this was still a public car park after all. A teenager's face was thin and easily embarrassed; if Wen Muchen was seen by someone they knew, he might be too ashamed later. As a considerate father, he also needs to help protect his son's face.
"Baby, come, get in the car. I have some water. You need to replenish yourself, or you'll get sick." Wen Fei murmurs.
A loud, wet snorting sound was his response as Wen Muchen rubs his face against his father's chest, wiping away his tears and the contents of his runny nose while trying to breath from his nostrils which have been clogged as a result of all the crying.
Feeling the already wet fabric get even more sticky and wet, on purpose no less, Wen Fei's expression immediately changed. "You brat!" He vigorously rubs Wen Muchen's hair before grabbing the sides of his head like it was a basketball and prying his son's face off his chest. "Just because I'm letting you use me as a napkin doesn't mean you can actively use me as one!!"
"Pft- hahah, wu, ahaha-" Looking at his usually handsome and well put together dad all dishevelled and dirty, a fierce but playful expression with reddened eyes that hinted his own distress, Wen Muchen felt his chest become ten times lighter. Even though he was still terribly sad, it was much better than the overwhelming and confusingly chaotic and choking feeling that seemed to scrape the inside of his internal organs every time he thought about things.
From Wen Huang to the Wen family in general, his grades, his future, all of these things were tied up together, and it felt so hard even though he understood he didn't deserve to complain. How could he? He was so lucky, his dad was so good to him, even his friends said so, plus he was rich and didn't have to worry about living so why should he be worrying in the first place?
He even sometimes resented his father for not understanding and seeing his invisible pain and suffering. To swoop in, know his smile was not real at a glance and solve all his worries for him. But then Wen Muchen would feel stupid and useless and hate his weak self for thinking those thoughts. His dad was doing it for him after all; it was he who needed to grow up and learn to depend on himself.
These doubts and fears and anxieties, Wen Muchen didn't know what to do with them, couldn't get rid of them and didn't dare to share them.
It was scary and suffocating.
But now.. it seems… Well, it still felt bad, but maybe a little less bad.
After all, he really did have a good dad.
Wen Fei who saw his child that was giggling start to weep again sighs and pulls the young man back into his embrace for another hug. Fifteen was a turbulent time for anyone. Hormones and mood swings, people can become more volatile and sensitive with many oppressive thoughts that can weigh on their mind. They were at the time when they were arguably the hardest to understand, but they were also at the time they yearned to be understood the most. Unfortunately, more are usually disappointed than fulfilled.
Seeing Wen Muchen was at least more controlled than before, Wen Fei unlocks the car, opens the passenger seat door and prods his son in. Watching him shakily get on, wiping his tears, which seemed to keep on leaking, he couldn't help but tease the child. "You, tsk, do you have an ocean behind your eyes? The water coming out seems to be infinite."
"Wu.."
Patting his son's head, he leans over to open the car compartment in front of Wen Muchen. In there, there was an assortment of cooled canned drinks ranging from juice to cola, revealing the compartment was customised into a small mini-fridge.
Grabbing two cans, one filled with plain green tea and the other was sweet ice lemon tea, he passed them to Wen Muchen and gently ordered him. "Drink one and put the other on your eyes, otherwise you'll really scare yourself tomorrow with how puffy they'll become."
Wen Muchen looks at the two cans, then at his father's kind face and consideration, before bursting into tears again.
Wen Fei: …He really is hiding the solution to the global water shortage behind those eyes ah.
All jokes aside, he more or less understood the child's current emotional outburst.
Love was really a painfully sweet thing. Wen Muchen resents his father on some level for pushing him to cater to people like Wen Huang and the fake Wen daughter. But at the same time, he feels guilty for resenting him, especially when Wen Fei has shown him sincere familial love in other places.
It's a feeling that makes one hate that they hated in the first place, breeding inferiority and other ugly emotions that were like worms digging into their flesh. This is a natural contradiction that many people will never be able to escape from. After all it is impossible to love someone without a shred of dissatisfaction just as it's impossible for your loved one to be completely flawless.
There will always be a hateful part, just as there are parts you adore. Usually, they are separate, but when they clash together, it is inevitably very painful.
However while Wen Fei understood that there's not much he can do. This sort of thing can only be healed slowly, and the best thing he can do as a father is to do his best not to let down his son's precious love.
Closing the door on Wen Muchen's side, Wen Fei walks to the other side of the car and sits in the driver's seat. Buckling himself in and taking out his phone to plug into the car, he doesn't forget to nag his son a little, "Try drink both drinks before we get home, it's important to hydrate. If your eyes are still sore, just get another can to press against your eyes or just close them."
"En." Wen Muchen sniffles, nodding obediently.
With a smile, Wen Fei reaches over to tousle the other's hair again, "Good child. Now… dad's going to make a call; I want you to be quiet during and if you can't, just make some crying sounds, okay?"
As he says this, he starts the car. His car, like many that could afford it, had a built-in small screen that showcased not only basic GPS, music and so on but also accessed various apps from his phone. Of course, phone calls were one of the functions.
Slowly driving out of the car park, he expertly uses one hand to find the person he wanted to contact and called them.
Watching Wen Muchen, who was pressing the can of green tea onto his left eye, couldn't help but hoarsely whisper inquisitively, "What are you doing?"
"Scolding before I get scolded." Wen Fei calmly says before the call finally connects.
"Hello? A Fei?" A low male voice crackled through the speaker. From the background noise, it seems there was some sort of gathering happening where the other man was.
"Wen Junjie!" Wen Fei bursts out loudly and violently, his voice fierce and ferocious as if he couldn't wait to rush over and rip the other's throat with his teeth while digging out his beating heart from his chest. If it wasn't for his fairly calm expression, the startled Wen Muchen would've sworn his father had gone mad from fury. "Wen Junjie, you son of a bitch, how the fuck do you raise your child?! No, how the fuck do you consider me your brother?! Are you a fucking dog*?! No, this is too harsh to dogs, at least they know how to take care of their own kin, but what about you?! I have been blind to consider you my dear gege**!"
*calling someone a dog is an insult in various ways in chinese language. Multiple ways to go about it but generally it's not good at all, even if they like dogs, it holds a diff meaning when called one. Kinda like the vibe of you can like female dogs, but it's different if you're being called a bitch. The Chinese word for egg is also a common sight in insults :3.
**gege = big brother
The background noise across the line became very silent at once. It seems the surrounding people could also hear his outburst. Wen Fei's mouth curls into a smile. Perfect.
"A Fei what-"
"I trusted you, Junjie! I treated your son like my own!" Wen Fei practically howls in heartbroken aggrievement, "I did so much and helped you even if I felt bad for Changming*! Who would've thought you and your son would repay gratitude with viciousness! Secretly dismantling the bridge after crossing the river!"
Wen Muchen sips on his drink silently with wide eyes. To be honest, if he wasn't the victim, from the way his father was reacting, he would really believe Wen Huang and Uncle Junjie had done something terrible, like stabbing him in a dirty alley with a dirtier spork and spitting on his dying corpse.
Watching his father beat his chest, swearing and crying angrily and full of agony, scolding his uncle so emotionally his words were practically falling all over each other to spill out from his lips, Wen Muchen inexplicably wanted to laugh.
After a minute or two, though, he perceptively noticed his dad rubbing his throat absentmindedly as he continued his drama. Contemplatively, the teenager glances at the half-drunk can of sweet lemon tea before rummaging through the car compartment.
Finding one of the few straws left, he opens the wrapping and puts it in the drink before tentatively moving the straw close to his father's face. Because of inertia, though, the straw bumped into Wen Fei's thin lips, successfully gaining the older man's attention.
A bit surprised, Wen Fei pauses his tirade for a moment to distractedly register the straw and be a little moved at his son's filial piety. With a silent wink at Wen Muchen, he takes a sip from the offered straw, satiating his parched throat. Of course, he couldn't be distracted for long since he was driving.
Still, these few seconds of silence were enough for Wen Junjie, the original body's eldest brother, to hurriedly find a quiet area to speak and recover from the bombardment of words. "A Fei, what the fuck was that?!" The man hisses harshly.
"You go ask your dear son." Wen Fei sneers, "I heard he and his friends were bringing my son to the Jade Star. Since I was, by the way, I thought I would come visit and give our sons some face by paying for their room; who knew I would see my son being bullied and forced to drink a dangerous amount of alcohol on an empty stomach?!"
"That.. they're just boys playing around!" Wen Junjie stutters, angry and annoyed. He honestly didn't think much of it; after all, his younger brother's protectiveness over his son was well known.
Still, inwardly, he was already thinking of ways to scold his son; after all, Wen Fei may not help with the company, but his social connections were vast and valuable. Plus, with the old man not getting any younger, it was best to get the most neutral and sweet-mouthed brother on his side to tilt the odds of getting the company in his favour. There were simply no benefits to getting into a conflict with Wen Fei at all!
"If playing around is forcing my son to down nearly three litres of cocktails, calling him names, slapping his face, all while forcing him to kneel on the ground shirtless with insults written on his body, then I hate to see what your son does when he's actually bullying people!" Wen Fei replies coldly. "If I hadn't come in time, I'm sure he would've forced him to kowtow while stepping on his head, too!"
Wen Junjie: …I didn't expect my son to be so perverted. What sort of messed up play is this.
Wen Muchen: …When was that? Why don't I remember any of that last part, Dad?
TangTang: …Host, why did TangTang feel you were a little too excited describing such a suspiciously specific scenario?