The Yu Brother's Case Book ss

To commemorate Father's Day, I'm posting a side story today! It is a standalone story that does not fall in any specific timeline of the main plot, because it is a snapshot of Yu Yin's past as a child! In reality, this chapter would have been more appropriate for Mother's Day (although if you read the story, Father's Day definitely works too :P), but I unfortunately did not read this until after Mother's Day had passed! I had never known there were side stories for this series, until I one day accidentally found its , where the author had posted a ton of content back when the series was still in progress (around 10 years ago now, I think). I fell in love with this side story instantly, because it's such a heart-wrenching but touching moment, and really makes your heart go out for Yu Yin. He was such a precious child, and he truly deserves the world. ❤ Hope you enjoy the special moment captured in this story~

Translated by: TaffyGirl13

Side Story: Because, I don't have

“Ah Yin doesn't have a mom.”

He always heard this sentence on the same day every year.

He could hear it everywhere around him, whether it was from the mouths of other children or from his own thoughts.

“Idiot! I have a mom!”

But she's only in photos.

Children typically used their handful of pocket change to buy a small bouquet of pink and white carnations. They looked really beautiful and elegant when arranged on a table. The vendor would always set up their stand next to the school gates quickly before the elementary students got out of school.

The class would typically order them as a group, or the school would let the students make corsages. When the students were let out, every person would have a bundle of reds in their hands as they happily welcomed their parents who were picking them up, before passionately gifting the flowers over.

Or they would run a bit faster in anticipation, excited to go home and give their mothers a surprise.

But even if he went home, his house would just be empty.

Yu Yin looked at the bouquets at the school gates.

The teacher had let them make corsages after finishing their work in class today, and his other classmates that he typically played together with had asked if he would give his corsage to them.

“Because Ah Yin doesn't have a mom, you don't need to give it to anyone.”

Although only in fifth grade, Yu Yin narrowed his eyes. In that moment, he thought of what his Uncle had secretly told him: “If there are kids mocking you for not having a mom, the fastest solution is to directly punch them so that they can't laugh at you anymore.”

So he flew out a fist at the other person.

Then he and the other student were kicked out together by the teacher and punished to stand outside while holding a chair above their heads.

But the matter did not end there. The teacher had also asked them to call his parent, since the parents of the child that he had punched was furiously protesting. They had said something along the lines of injuring the child's heart, and had even pointed out in anger that only a motherless child would be so wild.

Anyways, he really did make the call, so he was currently waiting obediently for his parent to come. He just didn't know if they would really come or not.

Neither his dad nor his uncle could ever leave the station whenever there was something wrong. They would often say that they would pick him up after school, but he typically always ended up walking home by himself in the end. As a result, he was now very used to going to and from school by himself.

At home, his paternal grandparents would sometimes come and help for a few days. Sometimes his maternal grandparents. Even the neighbouring mom would invite him over to eat dinner. He had also learned to not be too noisy or fussy, because everyone was very busy. He was now in fifth grade, and more mature than before.

After seeing most of the young children run off after school, the flower peddler began to clean up.

Yu Yin rummaged through his pockets to discover that he still had a hundred yuan bill and some loose change. He had been holding himself back and eating less in the morning these past few days and had saved the pocket money his dad and uncle had given him.

The flower peddler passing by the school gates saw the child going through his pockets, and he walked over to ask warmly, “Do you want to buy some carnations? If you bring them home and give them to your mom, she will be very happy. Since I need to head home too, how about I sell the rest of the flowers to you for cheap?”

Yu Yin thought about it for a moment before nodding.

***

When Yu Xia rushed over to the school, he saw his family's child standing in front of the gates with a huge bunch of carnations in his arms. Without much thought, Yu Xia jumped off the taxi and, in a few large strides, crossed over to pick up the slightly heavy boy and put him on his back. “What's up, does your school have a criminal that is urgently in need of being caught?”

“I punched a classmate,” Yu Yin honestly informed his uncle. His dad had always said that children should not lie. “I acted first. But he was the first to be rude, so I don't feel bad about punching him.”

“Oh? Is it very serious?” Yu Xia began to walk towards the school with the child on his back, having figured out the general reason behind why he had been called over.

“No, he crawled back up to hit back.” Yu Yin shook his head and added, “No bruises either.”

Yu Xia clicked his tongue. “What did I teach you! No bruises, and able to crawl back up? Are you kidding me? The most important part about suppressing the opponent is to make sure they can't even budge after…forget it. If there wasn't even a bruise, what are they calling parents over for? Do schools just have nothing better to do these days?” He had just been in the middle of interrogating a criminal that he had caught red-handed. His brother had also been in the middle of a task, unable to leave, so he had been forced to hurriedly abandon the criminal and run over here.

Technically, it was already past work hours…to be more accurate, today was actually his day off. It was just that while he had grabbed a menu to buy some food in the afternoon, he had happened to catch someone in the middle of a snatch theft and brought the criminal back.

“My classmate's dad said we need to pay medical fees.”

“Hohohohohoho.” Yu Xia made an indiscernible sound and then turned to look at the things that had been making his neck itch for a while now. “What did you buy so many carnations for?”

“For Granny, Grandma, the neighbour mom, and Dad.” Yu Yin counted out each person. There was a total of seven carnations wrapped in a clear plastic paper. “And Mama's.” There were still some left over, but the peddler had said earlier that he would sell them for cheap if Yu Yin bought them all.

“Don't tell me you were saving breakfast money again? Next time, speak up earlier, and I'll give you some more pocket money.”

“Dad said you can't, because children should not have so much money. You have to do what you are told,” Yu Yin seriously replied in a tone that mirrored Yu Tong's.

“He's your dad, not mine. Why do I have to listen to him? Dishonest money cannot be taken, but someone like you that uses it honestly doesn't need to listen…we're here.” After seeing the plaque in front of the teacher's office, Yu Xia let the child on his back down and patted his head. “Ok, first promise me that if you dad asks about this later when we go home…”

“I will say that Uncle communicated peacefully.” Yu Yin finished the sentence and earnestly nodded. Then he seemed to think of another problem. “But Teacher said I needed to find Dad…” The teacher had definitely said his dad had to personally come.

“Don't worry, I grabbed Tong's wallet when I left.” Yu Xia fixed his clothes and then stepped into the teacher's office.

Although Yu Yin did not know what the wallet had to do with anything, he still obediently followed inside.

Since school had already ended, most of the teachers had left by now. Only a few were still there, organising some materials, as well as his own class's teacher. She was currently on the sofa sitting with the classmate from earlier and his parents.

As soon as she saw Yu Yin had come back, the female teacher immediately stood up. But when she saw Yu Xia nearby, she started slightly.

Although she knew the child lived in a single-parent household, she had never once met Yu Yin's father during the past parent-teacher conferences. Even on the first day and during the school festival, she had only ever seen his paternal grandparents. This was the first time she had ever seen the youth currently standing in front of her.

The teacher furrowed her brows and looked at the innocent Yu Yin. “Didn't I say that you had to ask your dad to come over today? This brother…is he your cousin on one of your parent's sides?” It didn't seem quite right to call him a university student; he was just too young. Moreover, he was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, which just made him look even younger. “This won't do. Can't you ask your dad to come?”

Yu Xia expressionlessly looked at the obtrusive teacher. “I am his father.”

“Eh…” The teacher showed an expression of disbelief. “That's…” She hadn't imagined Yu Yin's father to be so young. Did he have the child as a minor?

Yu Xia maintained his blank expression as he pulled out his wallet and took out Yu Tong's ID to pass it over to the teacher. “I'm nearly thirty years old.” Even with just his pores, he could guess what the teacher had been thinking.

This time, the teacher was completely shocked. She blankly stared at the ID the other had given to her. After a while, she coughed several times and said, “Then, Mister Yu, because Ah Yin fought with another student at school today, the other party's parents persisted on you coming to deal with the matter personally, or else they would call someone over…please come this way.”

As Yu Xia's gaze followed her, he finally got a good look at the parents. The child seemed like any ordinary child, but the parents had a somewhat pompous and imposing manner. He had encountered these kinds of people many times before. Most of them had either the boss of a gang supporting them or had positions in the legislative committee. After carefully surveying the parents, Yu Xia decided they were likely the former case.

“Didn't you ask for his dad?” The tall male smoking a cigarette glanced at Yu Xia, who was nearly half a head shorter than him, and disapprovingly said, “Yet there's another child here. Forget not having a mom, the dad doesn't even have the guts to show his face.”

The short woman standing next to the man appeared to be in her thirties and was fairly pretty. However, she had an arrogant and overbearing air about her. The instant she saw Yu Xia, an impatient expression flashed across her face. “Aren't you just wasting our time? Our child was hit at school, you should be asking the father to come out and apologise, as well as compensate for medical fees. My child has been miserable all day today after being hit. It's possible he has some spiritual trauma now. If you don't call an adult over, how will you resolve the issue of compensation?”

Yu Xia glanced over to the side where the child that had been hit and Yu Yin were standing side by the side. The two were whispering something to each other and seemed to be talking pretty happily.

“Um, Mister Yu here is…” Just as the teacher tried to explain, the other parent angrily shouted out and interrupted her words, putting her at a loss on what to do.

“Looks to me like there's no point in calling him anymore. Go back and tell your dad that because my child was bullied so badly, he'd better hand over thirty thousand to resolve it. If he doesn't put forth the sincerity, nobody will be in a good spot!” The male spat out and, taking advantage of their height difference, spat out the tobacco near Yu Xia's shoes. “The video game centre's Chen Zai is my good friend. It's hard to say what might happen.”

Yu Xia scratched his face. “I don't have the money. I'm curious as to what might happen.”

“Fuck—”

“Please don't curse at school—”

A loud bang echoed throughout the entire teacher's office.

Yu Yin pulled his terrified and dazed classmate back a few steps to avoid being wrapped up into the adults' problems.

Yu Xia had utilised the momentum from the other person's swinging fist during their attempted attack to slam them into the ground. He crouched down next to the male and took out his police badge to pat the man's face with it. He twisted the other's previous words to answer, “The video game centre's Chen Zai is who I have been watching recently. If you are his friend, you had better warn him not to get too aggressive, and get some less machines. If he gets caught by me again, the situation won't be as easy to get out of as last time. Also, you'd better not let me hear of you threatening the other parents at this school again. You can ask your friend what might happen otherwise.”

Once he finished speaking, Yu Xia stood up and easily pulled the other male up as well. “Ah Yin, come here.”

Ah Yin obediently walked over.

Yu Xia threw a fist down onto the boy's head and said, “Apologise to your classmate. His rudeness is his parents' business, but you are in the wrong for hitting someone in front of your teacher.” At the very least, pull the person into the bathroom before hitting him.

“Eh, I'm sorry.” Yu Yin sincerely apologised to his classmate while clutching his head.

“That's…not right, I was the one to first say you didn't have a mom…sorry. And it doesn't really hurt anymore, really.” The other boy awkwardly lowered his head. He hadn't known that the situation would blow up to such proportions.

Children's personalities were originally like that - after fighting it out, arguments would quickly pass, and everything would instantly become fine again.

The teacher had been standing to the side in a stunned daze the whole time. After a long while, she finally recollected herself. “If, if there's nothing else wrong, then Mister Zheng…” She looked at the now dejected and subdued couple. Their rage was significantly reduced.

“If you have any problems, you can call my cellphone. That includes compensation, if you really want it.” Yu Xia smiled and passed over a business card. “I'll be available 24/7 for your call.”

“No, no need. It's just children playing around, nothing wrong. There are absolutely no issues at all.” The man hurriedly smiled in response and said, “As long as we have talked it out, it's fine. Tomorrow is a holiday, right? No need to dampen everyone's spirits. It's much better for everyone to be polite and amiable with each other.”

“Yes, that's right…” The wife also smiled.

“Alright, we'll leave it at that then.” Yu Xia shrugged. “Can we go back now then?”

“Since both parties' parents have cleared the misunderstanding, then you should hurry back home. The children are probably hungry by now too,” the teacher quickly said for her own benefit.

“Then we'll take our leave first.” The couple grabbed their child and bowed to thank the teacher.

“Ah Yin, let's go.” Yu Xia patted Yu Yin's head.

“Ah, wait.” Yu Yin scrambled over to the wife and handed her a small carnation. “Mama Zheng, this is for you. Happy Mother's Day. I'm sorry that my mom can't take them, but my dad said that Mama was very happy to get flowers. So Mama Zheng can take these and be even happier.”

The wife was a bit shocked. She then somewhat awkwardly accepted the flower.

“See you next time.” Yu Yin happily bid farewell to his classmate and then headed home while holding hands with Yu Xia.

***

Yu Xia walked back home with the child on his back.

Back when they had first bought the house, they had kept the distance in mind. It took around half an hour to walk back home at a slow, leisurely pace, so it wasn't very far.

“Ah Yin, did you get fatter? You seem to be a bit heavier,” Yu Xia casually spoke up as they began to head out as the sky was starting to darken.

“I grew one centimeter. Dad said I shouldn't let you carry me around all the time.” Since Yu Yin was actually in fifth grade now, and had already grown quite a bit, he had more or less started to feel that being carried around by an adult was embarrassing.

“You can start walking around by yourself next year then. Right now, I'm training my body.” Actually, Yu Xia could easily carry an adult without changing expression. This kind of weight was nothing to him. “Do you really mind a lot? About not having a mom?”

Yu Yin started.

Yu Xia, who never decorated his words, paused for a moment and realised that his wording just now had been a bit too blunt. “Tch, it's already been several years since Sister-in-law passed. There's nothing that can be done about it. I've also told Tong before that it's still better for a child to have a mom. Would you want a new mom?” It wasn't like they hadn't noticed that Ah Yin would always seem lonely on Mother's Day every year, despite the fact that he never said anything.

“No.” Yu Yin frowned and shifted his weight on his uncle's back. “Wouldn't my mom be forgotten then? I don't want a new mom.” He wanted to remember his mom, the best mom, forever.

“Then my brother will probably spent the rest of his life as a monk,” Yu Xia half-jokingly replied. “But won't you feel very lonely by yourself? You don't have a brother or a sister; isn't it boring to be alone?”

“But one of my classmate's dad just married a new mom, and my classmate said that after the new mom gave birth to a younger brother, she stopped paying attention to my classmate. His dad also likes the brother more. So it's better to not have any at all.” Yu Yin pouted and added, “And I'm not lonely by myself. Sometimes there are other friends to play with, so it's fine.”

“…Other?”

“Yeah, there's some in the park and some at school. Sometimes I see them, but they quickly disappear again.”

“Ah Yin, don't play with those friends again from now on,” Yu Xia very calmly stated.

“Dad said that too…but…”

“You must listen to what adults say.”

“Oh…” If I knew earlier, I wouldn't have mentioned it. Yu Yin thought in regret. He then waved the carnations in his hands. “That's right, will Uncle also marry a new mom?”

“If I marry, it wouldn't be a ‘new mom'; it's not like I've married before.” Yu Xia raised a brow as he wondered if he should continue correcting the little brat's thoughts.

“Can you not marry a new mom and have a new brother and sister? Dad and Uncle and Grandpa and Grandma are enough. I only had one mom originally, I don't want any others. Our family is perfect as it is with just us. Can we keep it that way?” Yu Yin leaned forward to cling onto the other's neck tightly as he asked, “Can we?”

Yu Xia was silent for a few seconds, seriously reflecting on the possible issue of the Yu family bloodline ending without any grandchildren. “We can talk about it again after you grow up. It's not like my brother currently has any plans to remarry anyways.”

“How grown up do I have to be?”

“You have to be at least my height to count as grown up.”

“Oh.” Yu Yin thought about this for a moment. “Then before that happens, no new brother or sister or mom is allowed, none at all! Otherwise, I'll be very mad!”

“Exactly what kind of classmates are you learning this kind of stuff from?” Yu Xia was starting to think that he needed to beat up whichever child that was.

“Hehe~” After giggling, Yu Yin buried his head into the adult's shoulders and said, “But, I still really miss Mama…” All his other classmates had moms. There had been many moms at school this morning, he had seen a lot of moms bringing lunch today, and he had also seen many picking up their children after school. All the students were talking and laughing with their moms. The moms would even go off with the kids to buy some ice cream or egg bread or red bean cake.

His mom was already no longer by his side. He couldn't even give a flower to her; all he could do was put it in front of a picture.

Sometimes, his classmates would complain about their moms being too fussy. But he couldn't even hear his mom's voice anymore.

He missed her, he really did.

He wanted to put the corsage they had made in class today on his mom's clothes for his mom to touch.

He didn't understand why he could not do so anymore, nor did he want to understand.

Because Ah Yin did not have a mom.

“Don't cry.” Yu Xia stretched his hands up to touch the small head atop his shoulders.

“But when we go home…Dad will be sad…and still keep comforting me…” Yu Yin sniffed hard and tightly gripped his uncle's neck. “I can't cry at home…but I don't have a mom…”

Yu Xia stopped walking and looked around before circling back to enter a small community park nearby. The homes they passed by had all already started cooking and eating dinner, and the sounds of laughter could be heard intermittently.

Under the illumination from the streetlamps, Yu Xia placed Yu Yin down on a swing before crouching down to the child's eye level. “How do you not have a mom?”

“I just don't…”

“Who gave birth to you?”

“Mama…” Yu Yin wiped his tears and lowered his head.

“You learned from health class that you were born from your mom's stomach, right? A part of your mom transformed into you.” Yu Xia reached out to poke the child's head. “Your mom's flesh became your brain, your mom's flesh became your hands and feet, and your mom's flesh became your stomach…you need to start eating more. If you try to save money to buy things again, you'd better watch out or I'll beat you. So how do you not have a mom? Isn't your mom's flesh still a part of your body?”

Yu Yin widened his eyes and stared at his hands in astonishment.

“See how your mom's flesh is still growing? It's still here. Even if your mom has already gone to become a spirit, half of her is still here. Who said you don't have a mom? You and your mom are inseparable. The next time someone says that, you should beat him until he can't speak anymore.” Yu Xia pinched the boy's face. “So you should just obediently eat more and grow taller. The more your grow, the more your mom is part of you. Got it?”

“Mmm…” Yu Yin nodded vigorously and finally stopped crying. He then smiled, “Yeah, Ah Yin has a mom. But, if I punch someone, Teacher will make me stand outside as punishment.”

“Just drag the person to somewhere you can't be seen first before beating them up.” Yu Xia picked up the small child again before heading back in the direction of their home.

About halfway through the trip, a carnation suddenly appeared from behind him. “Uncle, Happy Mother's Day.”

“…Do you think I'm like your mom?”

“Uncle is also born from Grandma, and also her flesh, so you are also a mom that can celebrate Mother's Day.” Now the amount of flowers was just perfect.

“…Whatever, forget it.”

Either way, it was his brother's job to educate the boy.

***

When they arrived home, his dad had already finished making dinner and had been waiting for them.

After Yu Tong lectured Yu Xia for a while for stealing his wallet and ID, he told Yu Yin not to learn from his uncle in any form, no matter what.

Yu Yin did not quite understand the dispute between the adults. Once they settled, he gave a carnation to his dad. In exchange, his dad smiled very happily and rubbed his head. Then, Yu Yin went next to door to give a flower to the neighbouring mom, who gave him a cake to bring back home and share.

On Saturday and Sunday, his grandparents on both sides would visit too.

Everyone would be here.

Yu Yin looked at the photo on the desk and carefully placed a carnation and the corsage in front of the picture. “Ah Yin has a mom. It's okay, Ah Yin has a mom.”

Everything was fine. He would keep growing older, and he would continue to celebrate many Mother's Days.

“Mama, Happy Mother's Day. I love you very much.”

That night, he slept very deeply.

However, he felt a very warm person sit next to his bed and help tuck in his blankets and rub his head. The person whispered some stories to him, ones that he used know very well.

He knew someone touched the carnation with a gentle and beautiful smile on their face.

She did not need an expensive gift nor something that only adults could buy. Just this was enough to make her smile.

“Mama and Ah Yin can each have one. Ah Yin is Mama's precious baby, after all.”

When he woke up the next morning, the carnation he had placed in front of the picture was gone.

He touched his clothes; the carnation had been stitched on carefully without piercing him at all.

All that was lingered in the room was the faint scent of incense.

It was 6 AM.

“Ah Yin, hurry down and eat breakfast!”

“Ok—”

Afterword

“How grown up do I have to be?”

“You have to be at least my height to count as grown up.”

In the end, Yu Yin grew even taller than Yu Xia.

“…Damn it.”

“Xia, could I request for you to not go to the school pretending to be me ever again?”

Yu Tong took his wallet back and looked over at his brother sitting across from him currently flipping through the TV channels.

“Is there something wrong with that? The teacher was looking for a father anyways.” Yu Xia picked up the hot cup of tea from the table and replied naturally, “We're the same, after all.”

“…But Ah Yin's teacher keeps calling me now to ask me how I maintain my youth.”

“What?!”

Chapter end