Content warning: passing mentions of corporal punishment of children in jest
Moonlight streamed in through the windows, making Yan Bubu’s hair shine lustrously. You could still pick out the few strands that were scorched yellow by the flamethrower.
His skin was almost transparent in the moonlight, his eyes big and round. Along with his curly mop of hair, he looked like a doll.
As Feng Chen watched him gesticulate seriously to himself, he fell into a trance of sorts.
At this time of day just a few days ago, Yan Bubu would still be playing in the backyard, hunkered down in a random corner of the lawn digging for earthworms while A-Mei searched all over to bring him back to bed.
Feng Chen would immediately close the window at that point, because Yan Bubu’s howling would soon resound through every corner of the villa.
He really didn’t like Yan Bubu that much. He found him annoying and loud, but right now Yan Bubu was the only one who could still be by his side.
The world outside was reduced to ruins. Even now, the faint sound of explosions came from the distance. On this night, exhausted after their lives were at stake, there was only him, Yan Bubu, and the moonlight streaming in through the window.
Yan Bubu’s voice trailed off. He gave two great yawns before rubbing his eyes.
Feng Chen saw that he was sleepy, so he got up and searched the bus. Surprisingly, he found two fleece blankets on the luggage rack.
He had Yan Bubu sleep on the seat across from him and tossed him a fleece blanket. Settling down on the opposite seat, he covered himself with the other blanket and closed his eyes.
The bus quieted down. Feng Chen was about to fall asleep, when he heard Yan Bubu chanting in a whisper, “Be well, Mommy. Awubengga Adawuxiya.”
Feng Chen’s eyelashes trembled. A moment later, he did the same in his heart. “Be well, everyone. Awu…xiya.”
Although he no longer had to train, Feng Chen has always been very disciplined with a strict biological clock. He woke up as he always did at 6:00 am sharp.
He wiped the condensation off the window and looked at the weather outside.
The sky was overcast. Although the sun wasn’t out, the air was still hot and dry. Yan Bubu was still fast asleep on the opposite seat, having kicked the fleece blanket off at some point. It twisted together with him like some sort of pretzel.
“Hey, get up.” Feng Chen walked over and nudged him.
When Yan Bubu didn’t move, Feng Chen went to pat his cheek. “Yan Bubu, get up.”
When Yan Bubu’s eyes were closed, his eyelashes rested against his lower eyelids like two long, curly little fans. As Feng Chen patted his cheeks, those little fans fluttered and slowly opened, revealing a pair of dazed eyes.
He stared at Feng Chen motionlessly like he wasn’t awake yet. Feng Chen patiently said, “Stop sleeping. We’re going out soon.”
Yan Bubu rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up. Feng Chen turned to go through his backpack. He took out the remaining half of the bread loaf they found in the office building. “Come here quickly and have breakfast.”
But there was no movement behind him. He turned his head to see Yan Bubu sitting cross-legged in his seat with a scowl on his face like someone owed him money.
Feng Chen paused. “What are you doing?”
Yan Bubu didn’t respond. He sat there like a statue with a chicken nest of curls on his head.
Feng Chen walked over and looked down at him. “Did someone mess with you? Who are you so angry with?”
“No one messed with me.” Yan Bubu scowled, his voice nasally like someone who just woke up.
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.
“Then hurry up and have some bread. We’ll leave when you’re done.”
Tjc Deye uijgfv ja atf rilmf bo ygfjv tf kjr tbivlcu. “Gbc’a kjca jcs.”
“Qts?”
“Dfmjerf.”
Mfcu Jtfc jrxfv qjalfcais, “Ktfc ktja vb sbe kjca ab fja?”
“P kjca wlix jcv jc fuu rjcvklmt.”
Mfcu Jtfc’r fzqgfrrlbc jirb rjcx. Lf aegcfv jcv yla lcab atf ygfjv rilmf. “Vela sbegrfio.”
Lf lucbgfv Tjc Deye jcv jaf tlr ygfjv ktlif gfmbgvlcu sfrafgvjs’r ylbwfaglm vjaj bc tlr rwjgakjamt.
“Body temperature was normal with no intermittent fever. Instantaneous explosive power reached…”
He paused before continuing to record, “Instantaneous explosive power reached 294 SJ in ten seconds. Rapid force reached 36 kN/s. It is unknown if this was due to experiencing danger.”
While Feng Chen recorded himself, Yan Bubu glanced at him occasionally from where he sat with a scowl. Then he scooted across to pick up a piece of bread, eating it quietly.
Feng Chen finished recording and glanced over coldly. Yan Bubu’s cheeks were bulging, but the child still beamed at him, his eyes curving into crescents.
“I thought you wanted milk and an egg sandwich?” Feng Chen asked.
Yan Bubu swung his feet that were dangling from the seat. He leaned over and nuzzled Feng Chen. “Bread is also tasty.”
Feng Chen used a finger to push him away.”Are you always like this in the morning?”
“?” Yan Bubu thought about it with a blank expression. “I dunno, but I do get a beating every morning.”
Feng Chen couldn’t help but smile a bit at that. Without saying anything else, he fished out the jar of caviar and took Yan Bubu’s bread, smearing a spoonful on it.
“Here.”
Yan Bubu took the slice of bread and took a bite. Then he saw Feng Chen close the jar and put it back in his backpack.
“Eat mine, Young Master. I’ll eat yours.” He reached for the slice of bread near Feng Chen’s mouth and handed his own over.
Feng Chen quickly raised his hand to avoid him. “What are you doing?”
Yan Bubu: “Mine is tastier, so you eat mine and I’ll eat yours.”
Feng Chen frowned slightly. “I don’t like caviar. Just eat it yourself.”
It was true that he didn’t like caviar. It was too fishy for him. But Yan Bubu’s gaze was full of disbelief, as if he was wondering how anyone could not like something so delicious.
Yan Bubu insisted on swapping. Feng Chen looked at the slice in his hands that looked like a dog got into it and simply stuffed the rest of his slice into his mouth.
He seldom ate so quickly and choked. Coughing up a storm, he went to get water from the backpack. A rosy tint adorned his handsome face.
“Have some water, Young Master.” Yan Bubu handed over water just in time.
Feng Chen gulped it down as Yan Bubu patted him on the back. “Eat slowly. No one will steal it from you.”
Somewhat embarrassed, Feng Chen pushed his hand away and put on the backpack. He expressionlessly declared they were leaving before striding towards the door.
Yan Bubu also hurried to get the cloth bag and chased after him with his bread in hand.
Yan Bubu was a little reluctant to leave the bus where they stayed last night. He kept turning back as he ate and almost tripped over a rock.
“Watch your feet.” Feng Chen grabbed the back of his collar. “We’re just going out to find food. We’ll come back after that.”
“Yay!” Yan Bubu bounced in place.
“You like living on the bus?” Feng Chen asked without looking away.
“Yeah.” Yan Bubu’s eyes were glittering. “Little Cooler’s whole family lives in a car.”
Feng Chen didn’t have to ask to know that ‘Little Cooler’ was from some cartoon. After the earthquake, nine out of ten houses in the city had collapsed and the rest weren’t fit to live in. Temporarily staying in this bus was indeed a good choice.
There was surprisingly a well in the alley across the street from the parking lot. A group of people were lined up there to fetch water.
Feng Chen watched them from far away. He led Yan Bubu back right away when he didn’t spot the Western Union Army to find some containers that could hold water.
Several cars weren’t just unlocked, their doors were wide open. The duo managed to find two buckets in one of the trunks, along with a plastic basin.
In the alley, there was a long line of people waiting for water with all sorts of containers.
These containers were basically all salvaged from the rubble. There were buckets, basins, lunchboxes and even some dusty clay pots.
Feng Chen and Yan Bubu joined the end of the line and slowly followed the procession forward.
No one here had much interest in conversation. They moved forward in silence, only occasionally exchanging a few words with someone.
“It’s pretty hot for April.”
“Probably because of the earthquake. It’ll be fine in a few days.”
“Why didn’t you guys go to the Western Union Army’s settlement?”
“I’m waiting for my son. He’s in Qingya City. What if he comes back and can’t find us?”
“Don’t even think about it. All air, land and sea traffic has been paralyzed. You can’t get out and he can’t get in…”
……
Yan Bubu didn’t pay attention to the conversations. He just tilted his head back to look at the sky.
There was a small military plane circling over the city. And then, like a hen laying an egg, a string of some things dropped from its belly and whistled through the air as they fell down.
Yan Bubu curiously tugged the corner of Feng Chen’s shirt. He was about to ask him what those were when a deafening sound came. The whole world seemed to be trembling.
He threw the basin away and hugged Feng Chen’s thigh. Feng Chen covered the child’s ears and bent over, vigilantly scanning the horizon.
The people in line to get water all panicked and squatted with their heads in their hands as well.
“Is it an earthquake? Another earthquake??”
“No, don’t panic. It’s not an earthquake, it’s the bombs from the Western Union Army’s planes.”
“Bombs? What are they bombing? The Church of Annujia? The Eastern Union Army?”
“How would I know? It almost seems to be the banks of the Feitu River.”
“It’s definitely not the Eastern Union Army, that’s for sure. They left our city already.”
After the explosion stopped and the plane flew away, everyone got back in line for water. Yan Bubu and Feng Cheng’s turn came quickly. They filled the two buckets and the basin to the brim.
Feng Chen carried the two buckets away. He turned around after a few steps and asked Yan Bubu, “Can you carry that?”
Yan Bubu rolled up his sleeves very seriously. “I can.”
So Feng Chen just walked away. Yan Bubu parted his legs slightly and reached for the full basin on the ground.
Hiya!
The water basin barely lifted an inch. Some of the water inside spilled out.
Yan Bubu went even further beyond.
Hiya!
He grit his teeth as his face turned red, finally managing to raise the basin with trembling arms. He lurched forward, bent over like that, step by step.
Feng Chen looked back when he reached the corner. Then he put the buckets down and strode over. “Put the basin down and wait there. I’ll get the basin after I carry the buckets back.”
Yan Bubu, however, refused to let go. He squeezed out two words from clenched teeth, “I– can–”
When Feng Chen saw how hard a time he was having and how wet his chest were from all the spilled water, he took the basin and emptied half of it. He gave the half full basin back to Yan Bubu.
“Why did you pour some of it out?” Yan Bubu looked at him incredulously. “I said I could carry it back. Why did you pour it out for me?”
“Just carrying half a basin is good enough.”
“No!” Yan Bubu put the basin on the ground and shouted at Feng Chen, “I want to carry a full basin of water. I said I could!”
Feng Chen looked at him with cold eyes. “Do you want that beating you didn’t get this morning so badly?”
Yan Bubu deflated like a balloon poked by a needle. He suddenly became silent.
Author’s Corner
Yan Bubu: It’s been three days since my big brother hit me uwu.
Rain
After reading this part again, I realize it might seem off how casually this chapter mentions beating kids and even joking about it. For what it’s worth I think his mother only hit his butt a few times?
Regardless, I will put a content warning on the novel page going forward.
Bubu sounds like he was very cheeky so I wouldn’t be surprised if his mum smacked his butt a lot.
Thanks for the chapter!
Pfft! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️
Corporal punishment is a common thing for Asia unfortunately
Thank you for your translation 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
Nah.. For Asian kids, beating is a norm.. Instead, not getting corporal punishment once in a while feels weird and makes the palms or butt itchy ~ lol
na verdade de onde eu sou também é comum a criança apanhar como forma de castigo, e eu odiava apanhar de varinha parecia humilhante kkk o pior é que pra mim sempre dava certo mais uma vez eu fazia o mesmo erro duas vezes.
And beatings? I did get beatings with a belt once, fortunately I was above 10 years of age, then got used to being hit with random objects when I did mistakes. Sometimes clothes, hangers, even pulling hair out actions or punched in the face(well, it’s not abuse, just quarrels between siblings and sometimes parents) I have heard of my closest uncle being hit by grandpa with wires (strong ones) and anything he could get his hands on for acting lazy since mom was very hardworking, fortunately no burning methods used(I recall it’s something like a kitchen tool placed on open gas stove flame and after heating it enough, it is placed on arms or legs as punishment for disobedience when it comes to naughty kids. Leaves burn marks on flesh and quite painful.) My grandparents were quite strict, but as they became older it mellowed out quite a bit.
I won’t say beatings are good, but compared to the ones mentioned just now spanking somehow feels a bit mild, only the intensity has to be kept in mind. Punishments can be beneficial if done right. Otherwise it can backlash and cause physical or mental dmg to the person involved and in extreme cases also cause others trouble.
Apparently, yes?
Hi, I really appreciate the trigger warning. It is off-putting to me when hitting/beating kids is normalized through jokes. Some commenters here are concerning me because of how nonchalant they are about this. kind of a major red flag lol if they plan to raise kids
These comments scare me… I think these ‘beating’ were just spankings can YBB’s mom seems like a nice lady. Using the word ‘beating’ probably makes it sound worse, but Yan Bubu is also super young so it’d make sense that he may dramatice it.
Am I the only one still thinking about bubu’s “you eat mine i eat yours?”
Man, some people here on comments need therapy. If 6 years old get their head smashed into a wall and you said ‘oh that’s normal’ then by all means please stay far away from me I don’t want to know you.
+1
While in my family in Asia literally everyone got spanked or smth but they don’t have any mental problems. So, the saying that getting beaten effects children’s mental health seems funny to me. I swear if my mother didn’t force me to go to school by scaring me I wouldn’t have graduated. And my friends’ parents’ scolding never worked they still do all that stuff regardless.
I also spent part of my childhood in Asia too but my parents rarely spanked me. Maybe it’s a good deterrent for misbehavior in some cases but there’s nothing praiseworthy about it
I also wanted to add, that I always appreciate trigger warnings, even though I’ve used to think that it’s useless. There are many people with many different stories. Even though some people may say that this trigger warning was unnecessary, I kind of think of it as someone saying: „don’t worry, you’re not alone, this topic might make you feel uncomfortable, so be mentally prepared”. It is great that there is this kind of social understanding.
Excellent points 🙂↕️