During the ride back to the Song residence, Song Yuanyan did not say a word to Xu Qichen. He simply held the box in his hand and stared out the window.
Even the driver found the atmosphere not right. The young master always smiled and was kind to every servant, not to mention Sun Lin, whom he grew up with. Why did he seem like he was angry with him today?
The driver glanced in the rearview mirror and hesitantly said, “Young master… it’s still early. If you wish to go for a ride, you need only say the word.”
Song Yuanyan pursed his lip without saying anything. Even though his features were sharp and clear-cut, he always smiled and because he often got sick, it made people overlook the sharpness.
Xu Qichen felt the driver look at him through the mirror, so he said, “Just go straight back.”
The driver nodded and continued driving. Xu Qichen glanced at Song Yuanyan as he contemplated his reason for being upset.
What was he angry about? He was fine when he entered the room, and was even saying something, until he saw him shaking hands with Miss He. But judging by the way he spoke to Miss He, he did not seem interested in her, so it must not be jealousy.
Then… It must be because Xu Qichen, as his servant and friend, went behind his back and spoke to his date, and that made him uncomfortable.
This reason was somewhat more believable. After all, the young master was bound to have a temper.
Still, he must not let him continue to simmer in his rage. If he fell sick because of this, wouldn’t it be Xu Qichen’s fault? Even worse, if it festered and ruined their relationship, then the secondary task would fail for sure.
The more he thought about it, the more Xu Qichen felt that he had understood everything, so he said to the driver, “Actually, why don’t you stop at the theatre at the intersection there? I remember, the young master wanted to see a play.”
The driver made a sound as though he had been saved, and immediately made a U-turn to send them to the theatre.
Song Yuanyan did not reject the idea, but he did not say anything else either. Xu Qichen got off the car and said to the driver, “Go back and tell Mrs. Song, all of the young master’s dates failed today, and he might not be going back for dinner.”
Then, he turned and started towards the theater. After taking two steps, he realised that Song Yuanyan was still standing at the doorway, so he said, “Is the young master allowing me a head start because he thinks I walk too slowly?”
Song Yuanyan looked at him, and Xu Qichen immediately understood what the look meant: ‘Why must you insist on provoking me?’
As expected, this method was very effective. Song Yuanyan followed him. It could be said that his legs were like this because he had blocked Song Yuanyan’s misfortunes, so he would never shame him for them.
The two of them walked in together. The manager of the theatre, greeting the guests at the door, smiled happily when he saw Song Yuanyan. “Oh, isn’t this the little fourth master of the Song family? What brings you here today? It’s really an honour.”
Song Yuanyan might still be upset, but he forced a smile with a will that Xu Qichen had to admire. He only threw tantrums in front of his own people.
“What’s on today?”
The manager led them in with a smile, “The Peony Pavilion. If the young master does not like it, we can change it.”
Song Yuanyan saw that the place was rather crowded today, “No need, The Peony Pavilion is fine.” Then he made his way up to the second floor. Xu Qichen followed him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Vbcu Tejcsjc kjr kjixlcu nfgs ribkis, jr lo vfilyfgjafis ribklcu tlr rafqr. Ktf rajlgr kfgf cba qjgalmeijgis ibcu, yea la abbx j ktlif obg atfw ab wjxf la ab atf abq.
We Hlmtfc, ktb kjr atf gfjrbc tf kjixfv rb ribkis, vlv cba offi bea bo ygfjat ktfc atfs jgglnfv. Ktfs rbbc obecv j delfa mbgcfg klat j ubbv nlfk.
Several theater attendants brought some refreshments to them and made a pot of hot tea. Xu Qichen looked at the stage and thought it was very novel. He had never seen a play in person before. So he found it very interesting to listen to the play in such an antique theatre.
But to be honest, The Peony Pavilion was a Kunqu Opera, so he couldn’t quite understand it. As a layman, he could only admire the style and novelty.
He couldn’t help glancing at Song Yuanyan. The other party seemed to be listening very carefully; leaning back against the ebony chair and looking at the stage motionlessly.
His eyes wandered and moved to his hand. He was still holding the box. Xu Qichen narrowed his eyes slightly and tried to see what was written on it.
“You said you wanted to watch a play, but then you’re not watching it.”
Xu Qichen quickly looked away, “I’m watching.”
“Which part are they at?”
Xu Qichen could not answer that, so he simply played dead and did not reply.
Song Yuanyan threw the box on the table and, eyes still on the stage, asked, “Which is your favourite line in The Peony Pavilion?”
The question came out of the blue, catching Xu Qichen off guard. He had very little knowledge of The Peony Pavilion, so he could hardly say which was his favourite line. So he asked back, “Which is the young master’s favourite?”
Song Yuanyan only said, “Make a guess.”
Tossing the question back and forth, the way they were chatting, they could go 18 rounds without saying anything of substance.
Xu Qichen thought, surely it was not ‘that’ line that was so overused in the real world? He tried, “Is it, ‘This emotion of unknown origins, keeps getting stronger’?”
Song Yuanyan shook his head. Xu Qichen had expected this result.
Then he said, “The line before that.”
The line before that? This line was quoted so often that Xu Qichen had no idea which line came before it, and had never bothered to check. Perhaps his confusion was obvious, because Song Yuanyan said, “It’s coming soon.”
Hearing that, Xu Qichen focused on the words sung by the performers.
“I was surprised that my longing was not evident, then I learnt that that was because it was bone-deep.”
An unknown feeling washed over Xu Qichen. He glanced at the box and finally understood which English word was on it.
The singing on the stage was long and soft, with a trace of melancholy and confusion, which suddenly plunged Xu Qichen into deeply-buried memories.
It was March, the White Day that the girls are so excited about, in his first year of high school.
Xu Qichen, who had always been very quiet, walked into class with a packet of milk as usual.
He still remembered, the English teacher was in charge of self-study that day. He paced along the aisle of the classroom while reading his own book, and reminded students to begin studying.
Xu Qichen was biting the straw and, without looking down, feeling around inside the desk drawer for his textbook. Somehow, he found a small heart-shaped box instead. There was even a pink and purple ribbon on it. He shook it curiously; there seemed to be something in it.
Then he looked in the drawer and found several other pretty boxes of different shapes and sizes.
The English teacher was approaching hsi desk, so he quickly took the textbook out, opened it, and mumbled under his breath pretentiously. When the teacher had passed him by, he took the box out again and opened it.
It had chocolates.
Xu Qichen was surprised. So someone as asocial as him could also receive this kind of gifts?
What did they like about him?
He could not understand, but chocolate was not anything bad, and he even liked it.
Just as he was about to open it and eat it, there was a bright voice from behind him, “Teacher, I have a question.”
The English teacher who had just passed by turned back around and happened to see Xu Qichen holding the chocolate. He knocked on his table, “What are you doing? Study, keep all of that away.”
Just like that, Xu Qichen got rid of the idea of trying them and put everything else back in the drawer.
Then he listened in to the conversation between the teacher and that person who sat behind him.
“What’s your question?”
“Teacher, must we memorise this segment as well?”
“I said it in the last lesson., memorise all of Section A. Were you even listening in class?”
That person giggled, “I forgot. Thank you, teacher.”
“Go back to studying, then.”
Xu Qichen flipped the textbook to where he last stopped memorising, looked down and covered his ears, then began to read quietly.
When self-study was over, he was called away by the class’s cleanliness officer for daily duty.
When he came back right before the first math class, Xu Qichen hurriedly bent over to find the textbook, but found that the four or five small boxes he had seen during self-study were missing. Every single one of them. He took out his textbook. After some thought, he concluded that those gifts were an illusion, a sign of him getting insufficient sleep.
After all, how could someone like him receive any gifts?
But the happenings of that day were so strange that Xu Qichen still remembered them even now.
When he got home, it was time to do homework. He opened his bag and found a box, almost as large as a textbook, in there – full of golden chocolate balls.
They rolled all over his bed.
“What are you thinking of?”
His train of thoughts, which was floating further and further away, was pulled back. Xu Qichen lowered his head, “Nothing much. I just thought that the young master’s favourite line is indeed very nice.”
My longing is not evident, only because it is bone-deep.
Song Yuanyan was silent for a long moment, “You have been acting strange recently. In the past, you never called me ‘young master’ when we are alone. You always used my courtesy name. Why are you being so distant now?”
Xu Qichen’s surprise showed on his face.
Courtesy name?
That was even more intimate than simply calling his name.
If he didn’t say it, would he be discovered? After all, Song Yuanyan was very clever and cunning.
The more he thought of it, the more Xu Qichen felt like he had dug a pit for himself, but it was too late for regrets.
Song Yuanyan did not wait for him to speak. When the performer finished singing his line and got off the stage, Song Yuanyan called the staff over. He picked up the box on the table and said with a smile, “Give this to the one on the stage earlier.”
The staff bowed and received the box with both hands, “Yes. I thank the young master on his behalf. Then, I shall take my leave. If you have any other instructions…”
“Wait.”
Xu Qichen looked up and met Song Yuanyan’s gaze.
“Isn’t that box of chocolates for me?”
thanks for the chapter <3
Thank u
♥️
Tsss!! Xu Qichen taking iniciative!!!
Im too shy for this arc the secondhand embarrassment is killing me
reading this chapter on valentine’s day 💔