Song Yuzhang: Extra 17 - The Situation Is Ever-Changing [featuring Meng Tingjing]

June 22, 2026 Baby L's Mom 0 Comments

Happy Reading~Extra 17: The Situation Is Ever-Changing [featuring Meng Tingjing]

 

When the first snowfall of the year arrived, Song Qiyuan came to Nancheng. The snow was heavy but the wind was light. Snow gathered on his umbrella. Tilting his palm slightly, the snow slid off with a soft shua-shua. He shook the umbrella clean, patted the snow off his shoulders, and squeezed into the temple.

 

Inside, a young novice monk sweeping the snow wore a woolen cap. Seeing Song Qiyuan, he greeted him. Song Qiyuan smiled and nodded. “Is Second Brother here?”

 

“Master Song Yekang is meditating in his room.”

 

Song Qiyuan carried his umbrella to the door of the room. Without knocking, he pushed it open and went inside.

 

The room was little warmer than outside—still cold. Song Qiyuan stamped his feet, leaned the umbrella beside the door, and walked toward the inner chamber, flexing his hands to warm them.

 

A fire had once been lit inside, but it had already gone out. On the bed, a lump rose under the quilt, wrapped so tightly that neither head nor feet could be seen. Song Qiyuan slapped the quilt. “Stop sleeping!”

 

The bundle inside jerked. A shiny bald head popped out—Song Yekang. Frowning, he said, “Sleep? In this cold? Who can sleep?”

 

Shaking his head, Song Qiyuan walked to the table and poured himself a cup of cold tea. The tea was icy. When it rolled down his throat he shivered and let out a breath. “Ha.” Turning back, he said, “Outside, Mingyuan still thinks you’re meditating in here. Meditating? From what I see, you can’t even sit still.”

 

Song Yekang sat up wrapped in the quilt and muttered, “Wine and meat pass through the gut, the Buddha remains in the heart. Devotion to the Buddha isn’t about outward form. You wouldn’t understand.”

 

Holding his cold tea, Song Qiyuan returned to sit beside the bed. “If you ask me, you should come back to Haizhou with me. The house has heating, and no one’s living there anyway.”

 

Song Yekang shook his head rapidly. “Not going.” After a moment he lowered his head slightly and pulled the quilt tighter around himself, lowering his voice. “Can’t you tell? Even Haizhou isn’t certain anymore.”

 

“If Haizhou isn’t stable, you think Nancheng will be?”

 

“Keep your voice down—”

 

Song Yekang scrunched his face into a tense expression.

 

“There are spies everywhere now,” he whispered even more quietly. “For all we know, Mingyuan might be one.”

 

Song Qiyuan glanced at him. Seeing his nervous, mysterious expression, he couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. He reached out and rubbed Song Yekang’s bald head. Song Yekang immediately scolded him. “Your hands are freezing!” Song Qiyuan quickly moved away.

 

The situation in the country now was difficult to describe.

 

Song Qiyuan had been wandering outside, but seeing the chaos worsening, he had returned to Haizhou. Before leaving, Song Yuzhang had left him a letter at the Haizhou residence, advising him to hurry and go abroad if possible.

 

Song Qiyuan stayed in Haizhou only two days before coming to Nancheng.

 

The situation in Haizhou indeed looked uncertain.

 

He had always hated political intrigue, yet if asked to abandon his homeland and live abroad, he found himself unwilling. 

 

There were still too many places in this land he had never walked, too many sights he had never seen. Most importantly, he still hadn’t found Song Jincheng.

 

Of the four brothers, now only he and Song Yekang remained.

 

Drinking the cold tea sip by sip, Song Qiyuan turned to Song Yekang. “Second Brother, do you want to go abroad?”

 

Song Yekang shook his head immediately.

 

“What would I do abroad?” he said. “Are there temples there?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Don’t talk nonsense. Abroad it’s all churches.”

 

“Buddhism originated abroad. How could there be no temples?”

 

Song Yekang was momentarily speechless. “You even know that?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Faced with his clever younger brother, Song Yekang found himself cornered. After stammering for a while, he finally muttered: “She’s overseas too. I don’t want to go.”

 

“He?”

 

Song Qiyuan thought for a moment. “You mean Fifth Brother?”

 

“No.”

 

Song Qiyuan thought again. This time he understood. “Nie Qingyun?”

 

Song Yekang said nothing.

 

After a moment of silence, Song Qiyuan burst into loud laughter, bending over as he laughed. Song Yekang grew angry, very much wanting to beat him up—but knowing he couldn’t win, he gave up unwillingly and silently recited in his heart: Amitabha. This humble monk does not strike people.

 

Who says becoming a monk means you can’t avoid talking about an old girlfriend? If anything, a monk should be even more careful! Song Yekang felt he was perfectly justified. Besides, like Song Qiyuan, he was somewhat homesick.

 

“Have you found any news about Eldest Brother?” Song Yekang asked.

 

Song Qiyuan’s expression dimmed slightly. “No.”

 

Times had changed. All the old grievances between the brothers seemed to have gradually faded from Song Yekang’s memory. After all, they were blood brothers. No matter what happened, broken bones were still connected by sinews. They shared the same blood.

 

With Song Yuzhang, however, it felt slightly different.

 

After all, they were not born of the same mother. They had never met growing up and had not been raised together. The four brothers, on the other hand, had eaten at the same table and grown up side by side for more than twenty years. When they were together, they might have disliked one another and held many grudges. But once someone was gone, only the good memories remained.

 

Song Yekang sighed and rolled the prayer beads in his hand. “Amitabha.”

 

That night the brothers slept under the same quilt. It was cold, and huddling together helped keep warm.

 

Song Yekang couldn’t fall asleep. He began talking again about Song Jincheng. As he spoke, he even started crying. In the darkness, Song Qiyuan’s eyes grew moist as well. He patted Song Yekang’s shoulder. “No news is good news. Maybe Eldest Brother is living a good life somewhere.”

 

Song Yekang murmured, “Mm.” After calming down, however, he felt a little dissatisfied.

 

As long as Song Jincheng was alive somewhere, that was enough—he didn’t have to be living too well. After all, Song Yekang himself was starving and freezing every day!

 

Snow continued falling over Nancheng. Song Qiyuan simply stayed in the temple and celebrated the New Year there. Life in the temple remained austere. Song Qiyuan still had some money, so he went out and bought food and supplies to donate. The monks were very grateful, and it became a decent New Year after all.

 

When spring arrived, Song Qiyuan prepared to leave Nancheng. Before leaving, he asked Song Yekang once more whether he wanted to go abroad.

 

Song Yekang still refused.

 

“When I was at my lowest, it was the Buddha who took me in,” he said. “I’ve never accomplished much in my life. But this one thing—becoming a monk—I want to see it through to the end.”

 

Song Qiyuan patted his shoulder and decided to respect his choice.

 

In the past, he had looked down on this second brother. After Song Zhenqiao died, he had practically taken care of him like dead weight. Now, Song Yekang had finally “grown up.” Yet Song Qiyuan felt a faint sense of loss. Song Yekang had found the road he wished to walk. Song Qiyuan himself still felt somewhat confused. But perhaps simply continuing forward and seeing what came—perhaps that, too, was a good way to live.

 

After spending several months in the temple, Song Qiyuan seemed to have absorbed a bit of Buddhist calm. He stopped worrying so much.Then he set out again on his journey.

 

At the same time, abroad, Song Yuzhang also learned about the situation back home through certain channels. It left him deeply uneasy, so he sent a telegram to the Nie family. This time his wording was harsher. He warned Nie Yinbing that if he did not withdraw in time, Song Yuzhang might have to return to the country personally to drag him out.

 

The telegram was seen by Meng Tingjing.

 

Well—so be it. Song Yuzhang had never intended to hide it from him anyway.

 

Meng Tingjing twirled the telegram between his fingers and looked at Song Yuzhang. “Is this just to scare him, or are you really planning to go back?”

 

Meeting his gaze, Song Yuzhang hesitated for a moment before saying, “We’ll see.”

 

Such an ambiguous answer was obviously not satisfactory to Meng Tingjing.

 

He was irritated.

 

He understood the situation in the country even better than Song Yuzhang did. His transport business still had dealings with the mainland. 

 

The chaos and tension of the current war could not be explained in a few sentences, and the situation changed by the moment—one could truly say the air itself seemed full of alarms. In such danger, Song Yuzhang merely said “we’ll see”? “We’ll see” meant it was still a possibility!

 

Meng Tingjing loved the gentleness and tenderness in Song Yuzhang, but he absolutely would not allow that same softness to lead him into danger.

 

Irritated though he was, Meng Tingjing had spent enough time with Song Yuzhang to understand him well. Song Yuzhang responded to softness, not force. Pushing him hard was useless—if anything, the harsher the method, the more stubborn he became.

 

So Meng Tingjing calmed himself and instead began actively providing Song Yuzhang with information from home.

 

Previously, Song Yuzhang had been learning about the situation through reports in British newspapers. What Meng Tingjing gave him, however, was intelligence from inside the country itself. The difference in detail between the two was enormous. Only then did Song Yuzhang realize that the country had already become a seething political quagmire.

 

As for Nie Yinbing—there was not even any definite news about him.

 

Song Yuzhang grew even more anxious. Meng Tingjing watched quietly as he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. “Why not,” Meng Tingjing said at last, “go back together?”

 

Song Yuzhang stopped and turned. “What?”

 

“If you’re this worried, I could accompany you back to the country to see the situation. You could persuade him in person and bring him out.”

 

Song Yuzhang was surprised. He studied Meng Tingjing carefully. When he realized there was no trace of mockery or sarcasm in his expression, he instead became hesitant.

 

“The country is in chaos right now,” he said softly. “It’s not just war—there are spies everywhere. It’s normal that no one has any news. Both sides are fighting intelligence wars now. The telegram you sent might not even reach Nie Yinbing’s hands. So it would actually be safer to go back, find him, and explain the situation face-to-face. I still have some business connections in the country. As for Li Zifeng… although we did cause him a bit of trouble, he won’t truly do anything to us. After all, the port and the banks ended up in his hands. Everything here is being looked after by Elder Sister. As for school, we can apply for leave. In short, don’t worry…” Meng Tingjing stood up and walked over, wrapping his arms around Song Yuzhang from behind. Meng Tingjing kissed Song Yuzhang lightly on the cheek. “Anyway, I’ll be with you.”

 

Song Yuzhang placed his hands over Meng Tingjing’s. He said nothing for a long time. After quite a while, he squeezed Meng Tingjing’s hand and sighed. “Let’s forget it.”

 

Meng Tingjing was overjoyed. Inside he was already laughing triumphantly, but outwardly he remained calm. “What? Are you worried it’s unsafe? With me there, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

 

Song Yuzhang held his hand. “We only just managed to get away. Better not risk it again. With such a big family here, Elder Sister is alone—and her English isn’t even very good. How could she manage everything?”

 

“As for Yinbing… he’s already that age. What he should do and what path he should take shouldn’t be decided by me.” Song Yuzhang sighed again. Leaning back slightly, he rested against Meng Tingjing’s shoulder. “I didn’t think it through. I panicked and forgot everything here.”

 

So you do realize it now, Meng Tingjing thought. 

 

Song Yuzhang raised a hand and gently stroked Meng Tingjing’s chin. “You can’t take risks either.”

 

Meng Tingjing had been silently grumbling to himself, but the moment his chin was touched he froze slightly. Lowering his head, he saw the softness in Song Yuzhang’s eyes like flowing water. The hidden anger in Meng Tingjing’s heart suddenly dissolved. He sighed quietly to himself, leaned down, and kissed Song Yuzhang on the lips. “Spring break is coming soon. If you’re still worried, we could disguise ourselves and return to the country. I have channels—it shouldn’t be discovered.”

 

“No need,” Song Yuzhang said with a faint smile. “Really, there’s no need.”

 

He lowered his head, removed Meng Tingjing’s arms, and turned to face him.

 

The two stood face to face, arms around each other’s waists. “I am worried about Yinbing,” Song Yuzhang said. “But I can’t let you risk yourself just because of him.”

 

“Tingjing,” he said softly, “you’re also very important to me.”

 

In his earlier words, Meng Tingjing had tried—layer by layer—to bring up everything in England that might tie Song Yuzhang down. Yet Song Yuzhang’s answer had mentioned only him. That meant none of those things were necessary. He alone—just he alone—was enough to make Song Yuzhang stay.

 

This was not a contest between him and Nie Yinbing. Between him and Song Yuzhang’s own nature, Song Yuzhang had chosen to consider him more.

 

Suddenly, Meng Tingjing remembered something Meng Sushan had once said to him during the New Year.

 

“If either of them changes their nature for the other, I’d feel it was a pity. Because then he would no longer be himself—and neither would you.”

 

She was wrong.

 

He was still himself. Song Yuzhang was still Song Yuzhang. It was simply that now they carried each other in their hearts.

 

Meng Tingjing lowered his head and kissed Song Yuzhang fiercely. At that moment, a sudden thought arose in his mind— He wanted to marry Song Yuzhang.

----------