translator: daisy
Sheng Renxing tutted, and turned around to glance out the window.
As the car made turn after turn, the place became more and more remote.
Even the road had turned into a dirt path.
“Nong Jia Le?” Sheng Renxing looked out at the Hui-style building outside, with a sign displaying the words “Guests go.”
The ‘go’ was written in a very large font, while the ‘guests’ was very small. In front of the door, a sizable arrangement of plants obstructed the entrance.
Only after getting closer, Sheng Renxing realized that there was another word on the sign. Altogether, it read “Guests go here.”
“?” And where was this?
Although he was a little taken aback, Sheng Renxing quickly recovered and realized that although the establishment looked like a Nong Jia Le, it probably wasn’t.
Standing next to the entrance that wasn’t blocked by plants, there were several well dressed men smoking and chatting around.
Sure enough. Wei Huan smiled back at him, and answered Sheng Renxing’s unspoken question: “No, it’s a clubhouse, but the food is really good.”
That was believable. Otherwise, his uncle wouldn’t have run all the way here.
After parking the car, both passengers walked up to the entrance.
As they passed the men wearing suits, they also greeted Wei Huan.
“Boss Wei! You’ve come to eat?”
Wei Huan smiled politely and nodded at them: “Boss Zhang, Boss Mu.”
A little off to the side, Sheng Renxing asked quietly, “Don’t you only own a bar?”
Wei Huan glanced at the other: “Don’t you think that the owner of the largest bar in Dongtou Bay is deserving of the ‘boss’ title?”
Taking note of Sheng Renxing’s shocked expression, he smiled, “Little kid, it’s called being polite.”
“Don’t call me that.” Sheng Renxing frowned, but silently came to a conclusion. “Boss” was probably the same as “Mr.” and didn’t actually represent the position of the person.
Wei Huan beckoned to the waiter: “Maybe when you grow taller.”
“…” Sheng Renxing looked at this uncle who was half a head taller and muttered, “I don’t want to shoot up to the sky!”
“But you’re too short now, it leaves plenty of chances for Sheng Qiong to abuse you.” Wei Huan spoke lightly, mentioning the other’s father as if he was talking about a stranger.
Sheng Renxing originally wanted to refute the other, but listening to his statement, he immediately changed his tune, “Well, I guess it’s not impossible.”
Taken aback by his nephew’s quick change of heart, Wei Huan smiled surprisedly and gave him a thumbs up.
Sheng Renxing shrugged indifferently, and thought “I can be short, but Sheng Qiong’s reputation must remain scummy.”
The two sat down in their small private room.
One wall was made of bamboo. The large window gave a clear view of the garden-esque pond and various rockery arranged outside.
“This was originally a garden.” Wei Huan poured the tea unhurriedly. “It was later sold to the boss here. If you want to look around, head out using that corridor. The scenery is much more beautiful there.”
“Why are you so familiar with this place?” Sheng Renxing turned to look at him.
“Because I was the one who sold it.”
Sheng Renxing held the cup and toasted to him, “Boss Wei.”
Wei Huan laughed heartily, “It’s a pity that it was sold so early. Otherwise, it will be yours now.”
“?” Sheng Renxing looked at him.
“You haven’t found a house yet, right?”
“Ah.” Sheng Renxing tugged on a lock of hair, slightly irritated, “Yes.”
Because he still couldn’t pick a house, Sheng Renxing was stuck living in that five-star hotel.
“But you can buy it back again.” He tilted his head.
The other grinned, “Of course I can! But I didn’t buy this building.”
Wei Huan took out a bunch of keys.
“The house in Qinyuan Community is twenty minutes away from your school. If you buy a bike, just ‘petal petal’ a bit and you’ll be there.”
Sheng Renxing watched him slide the keys onto the table, but momentarily didn’t answer, “Thank you, but I’ll find a house myself.”
“If you don’t want it, I can also rent it out, but that’s too much trouble, so it’s better to rent it to you.”
Sheng Renxing pursed his lips, and then thought of the miserable-looking houses that he toured during the past few days: “How much is the rent?”
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.
“Twelve thousand.”
Ktf tjcv atja kjr gfjmtlcu bea ab ugjy atf xfsr rabqqfv wlvjlg, “Lbk wemt?”
Ktf jufca tjv jirb ajxfc tlw ab rff atf tberfr lc Hlcsejc Jbwweclas, ktlmt ufcfgjiis tjv akb yfvgbbwr jcv bcf ilnlcu gbbw.
Qfl Lejc rajgfv ja tlw obg j ibcu alwf, jcv ecklaalcuis yegra bea ijeutlcu, “Po sbe vbc’a wbnf atf oegclaegf jgbecv, la’ii bcis mbra bcf atberjcv, ktlmt klii yf qjlv bcmf j wbcat.”
After studying the other’s expression and coming to the conclusion that he wasn’t joking, Sheng Renxing took the keys.
When the dishes came, the two chatted for a while. While discussing No. 13 High, Wei Huan commented, “Your school is pretty chaotic.”
Sheng Renxing felt that his uncle had already mentioned this several times, and his tune was a little odd, so he carefully replied: “There’s a lot of hooligans.”
More than a lot.
Even the teachers seemed like they were well acquainted with the Pugilistic World.
Wei Huan immediately understood his expression: “Did they provoke you?”
As he spoke, his eyes glanced over Sheng Renxing’s scabbed knuckles.
“…” Knowing that the other noticed the aftermath of his fights, Sheng Renxing replied, “Just a small matter.”
Wei Huan raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything: “Chen Ying even posted it to his Moments yesterday.”
“He didn’t block you?” Sheng Renxing was astonished. Wasn’t it common sense to block elders from their friend lists?
Of course, Sheng Renxing himself didn’t block Sheng Qiong from his posts of skipping classes and fights.
It’s best to anger him to death.
“…” Wei Huan smiled breezily, “It’s because I have a good image.”
The other muttered internally at this uncle of his, and then asked: “Chen Ying said you told him not to provoke Xing Ye?”
Wei Huan frowned imperceptibly, “Did you fight with him?”
Instead of outright saying yes or no, Sheng Renxing smoothly dodged the question by asking another one: “He can’t be messed with?”
Wei Huan’s frown became slightly more apparent as his eyebrows wrinkled. Tapping his fingers on the table, he replied, “It’s better not to. Why did you guys fight?”
“I didn’t fight with him.” Sheng Renxing raised his eyebrows, as if to show that he didn’t care, “Isn’t he just a high school student?”
Tilting his head, Sheng Renxing thought about Xing Ye’s image again: “Oh right. He looks like a man who’s well acquainted with the world.”
Having been in Xuancheng for so long, these hooligans were what Sheng Renxing had seen the most.
Wei Huan just stared at the other and shook his head slowly: “He’s different from the rest.”
…
“What’s the difference between you and these people outside?!” A woman yelled as she pointed at the man who was slumped on the side of the road outside the window. It was difficult to determine whether he was a beggar or a tramp, and whether he was dead or just drunk.
Nonetheless, it didn’t matter, as passerbys couldn’t even be bothered to spare him a single glance.
Xing Ye slowly retracted his gaze and stared expressionlessly at his mother.
“Say something! Don’t pretend to be mute!” Poking the tip of his nose with her finger, the gems on her nails flashed into his eyes.
“There’s no difference.” Xing Ye looked at her blankly and shook his head, “If you say there’s no difference, then there is none.”
“Don’t fucking show me this attitude! I don’t owe you anything!” His mother’s hands were trembling, and her voice pitched up again, “Beating up the teacher! Why don’t you just beat the principal! Won’t that show your prowess even better?”
“Intention.” Xing Ye was unmoved, and added the word that his mother had ignored.
She lifted her feet to kick his chair, but it remained firmly attached to the ground. “Talk back one more time with that mouth of yours! This is exactly the behavior that your teachers mentioned! That Wang—” His mother obviously didn’t know his name.
“Wang Dahai.” Xing Ye helpfully chimed in.
“I don’t care if it’s Wang Dahai or Fat Dahai! If it wasn’t you who beat him up, I’d cut his head off at this point! And you, lying to me like that! You were still in laozi’s uterus when I first learned how to lie! The more she ranted, the more her local dialect became indistinguishable. Xing Ye only frowned briefly at the beginning of her tirade, and then recovered his expressionless face.
And regarded the woman in front of him blankly.
Once she started the tongue-lashing, she couldn’t stop. The leopard-print skirt was hitched up to her calves, and under the vulgar makeup, her skin was so thick that it looked like a colorful ball of dough. The pungent and cheap smell of perfume was wrapped tightly around Xing Ye, leaving no trace of breathable air.
When a sickening feeling in his stomach rushed up, Xing Ye remembered that he had yet to eat anything this evening.
Seemingly locked in an internal battle with himself, he breathed deeply into the turbid air, exhaustion evident after each lungful.
As the urge to vomit became stronger, Xing Ye attempted to find pleasure in the experience out of some twisted self-masochism tendency.
He didn’t know how long it took before the woman finally got tired of scolding him.
“Speak!” Maybe it was because she was so angry, but she regarded Xing Ye as if he was her enemy: “Are you proud of using laozi’s money to beat up the teacher?”
“I earned it myself.” Xing Ye said. These four words immediately lit the explosive barrel.
After the brief extinction in temper, his mother detonated again, “Where did you even earn it from! Did you go fight again?”
Her fingers continued to tremble, yet she did not scold him anymore. Instead, she glared at him with red eyes. Gritting her teeth, she bit out, “Get lost! I don’t care how far, just leave! I wasted so much effort on finding a school for you, yet you’re wholeheartedly concentrated on digging a hole for yourself!”
Leaning over to pick up a book, she slammed it harshly against Xing Ye.
It hit his shoulder, and the sharp corner of the book dug deeply into his collarbone.
He looked at the woman as if to say something, but turned away without saying a single word.
…
“Underground all-contact boxing?” Sheng Renxing frowned.
He recalled the scene he saw at the West Bend before.
Wei Huan’s mouth quirked up into a half-smile: “It’s called an unofficial, private, small fighting match.”
Sheng Renxing sneered: “The name is pretty good.”
The other skipped to the point: “Anyways, a lot of chaos occurs around there, and it’s not even comparable to the hooligans you usually see on the street.” He finally warned, “Don’t provoke him.”
After returning, Wei Huan’s words and his evasive attitude flashed in his mind. When Sheng Renxing asked again later, the other refused to say another word.
Leaning on the sofa, he licked his lips and searched for the words “underground boxing.”
A whole slew of results popped out.
From the beginning of the inquiry till now, Sheng Renxing’s face was expressionless.
At first glance, the articles looked made up, and even the writing style was poor.
He didn’t even know what he was doing.
Sheng Renxing sighed internally, clicked on QQ, and swiped through it casually.
He saw the new post Huang Mao added: [“I heard my parents discussing whether to use wood or iron!!! Xiaoqing Temple was totally useless!!!]
There were already dozens of likes, and all the comments were: [We bid you farewell, rest in peace].
Sheng Renxing only then realized that Huang Mao meant that his parents were discussing what weapon to use to hit him.
Despite being beaten so many times since he was young, Sheng Renxing didn’t connect the dots until now.
After basking in joy at the other’s plight, he wanted to leave a comment. However, seeing that it was from half an hour ago, and that the body must be cold, he only liked the post.
Poking around in his group chats, he pressed on the one with Xing Ye in it. However, he didn’t see “Not adding friends.”
“Tsk-ing” internally, Sheng Renxing went through his friends list to open the chat box and asked “Not adding friends”: [Are you still alive? /Cute].
No one replied.
…
When Xing Ye left the house, he didn’t bring anything with him.
After walking through several streets, he finally came to his senses in a dark and secluded alley. Standing still, he let out a deep breath.
Xing Ye dug around in his pocket while shaking out of his reverie.
The banknotes and coins on his person couldn’t add up to more than one hundred yuan.
Looking left and right, the already hushed noises within the alley suddenly seemed even further away from him.
The dark street lamp above his head was riddled with cobwebs. When a gust of wind swept past, it pulled on the spider webs so that the strands loosened bit by bit. Now that night fell, the temperature dropped sharply. It was a shame that Xing Ye didn’t bring a coat.
His stomach was empty as well.
Xing Ye slowly sat down while leaning on the street lamp. Letting his mind wander again, he thought that if he changed his gender, he’d be a poor imitation of the little match girl.
Stuffing the money back into his pocket, Xing Ye fiddled with his phone; turning it on and then off several times.
However, his line of sight wasn’t on it at all.
Xing Ye only managed to come back to his senses upon seeing a band of eye-catching yellow light reflect across the screen.
He had opened Sheng Renxing’s chat dialog unconsciously.
Staring at the words above, Xing Ye thought blankly, “how did I know?”
Without the red icon displaying new messages, Xing Ye exited the app.
Huang Mao and the others can’t even take care of themselves right now, but they didn’t usually send many messages to him anyways.
Xing Ye fell into a daze again, and by the time he came back to the land of the living, the phone had already dialed Sheng Renxing’s number.
On the other end, Sheng Renxing replied in a sleepy voice, “Hello?”
The voice suddenly jolted Xing Ye awake. He wanted to hang up, but the opposite side had already reacted: “Xing Ye?”
Rumor has it that if a child gets startled because of fright, their soul will run away. And if you wanted to bring them back, you would just call out their name.
Xing Ye didn’t think that he was a child, nor was he startled, but with this sound, he stopped moving around.
It felt like he was sharply plunging to the ground.
“Mn.” Xing Ye answered.
Some rustling came from the other side.
After a while: “What’s the matter?” Sheng Renxing’s voice was low and lazy, and the other judged that he should still be lying in bed.
What’s the matter?
Xing Ye was stunned, and thought, “What’s what’s the matter?”
Following a long pause, the other party made a nasal “um” that increased in pitch towards the ending.
Xing Ye thought about the time when Sheng Renxing spoke English in front of him.
It was gentle and pleasant.
He said, “I found the poem you read to me last time.”
“Mn.” Sheng Renxing answered.
He didn’t say anything else.
After a while, Sheng Renxing suddenly recovered: “Huh?”
In a tone that held a trace of incredibility, he asked, “You called in the middle of the night just to say this?” It sounded like he was saying, “What is this!”
A corner of Xing Ye’s mouth quirked up, but before it could properly form a smile, it quickly fell: “No.”
“Just to tell you that I’m still alive.”
The other end seemed to be a little speechless. Then came a sigh of breath—a little like a silent smile—drifted through the intercom, “Okay. You live well then, good night.”
“Mn.” Xing Ye lifted his head to glance up at the sky. There were very few stars, and the moon was dim.
Amidst the few rays of light scattered here and there, the only beam that wasn’t swallowed by the darkness was his phone screen.
And if he closed it, that would be gone too.
Xing Ye stared at the moon in a daze. Sheng Renxing didn’t hang up the phone, but there wasn’t any more sound, like if he was asleep.
Amongst the silence, Xing Ye could at least hear the other’s breathing.
After an indeterminate period of time, he felt that his feet were growing numb from the cold.
Suddenly, the sound of motorcycles came from the alley next door.
The destructive noise of its momentum resounded through the sky.
Xing Ye immediately heard Sheng Renxing’s breathing change, as if he was jolted awake.
The other party’s confused voice came through the receiver: “You haven’t hung up yet?”
Xing Ye asked him softly, “The text message you sent, why did you ask that?”
“Huh?” Sheng Renxing thought for a while, hesitating, “Otherwise, I’d have to ask if you were dead. That’s not very auspicious.”
There was another rustling noise, like if he was sitting up: “Because your Wan ge has already started praying. Seeing how you were scared like that this afternoon, I’m worrying about you in the name of humanitarianism.”
As he spoke, he punctuated his words with a yawn.
Xing Ye: “Like what?”
Sheng Renxing paused as if he heard something strange, and then replied, “You didn’t seem like you were in a good mood at that time.”
“I’m in a bad mood?”
“Are you asking me?”
Xing Ye didn’t speak.
Then came another round of silence.
Finally, Sheng Renxing quietly muttered, “Anyone with eyes could see, okay.”
Xing Ye retorted in his heart that no, at least Jiang Jing, who was also next to him at the time, didn’t see it.
“You didn’t get kicked out of the house, did you?”
Xing Ye sucked in a breath.
Before he could react, the other side continued, “Where are you? I’ll come find you.”
daisy: aaaaa oh no xing ye ;-; sxr go rescue your bf please 
today is totally tuesday and this chapter isn’t late at all.
Last chapter, Sheng Renxing unintentionally flirted with Xing Ye. This chapter, Xing Ye unconsciously contacted Sheng Renxing. Now, all we need is for the two to unknowingly get in a relationship with each other.
+1
+1 😳
+1
+1 ^v^
+1 pfft haha thats too funny if that happened
+1 That’s exciting if that happened lol
+1
Today is Thursday in my country 19:53 🙈🤭
Thanks for the update.
Boyfriend to the rescue
please kindly avert your gaze while i get myself together 😔🤡
Kyaahh these 2. 😍
thanks for the chapter <3
Xingxing!! Go recue your Yeye!!!!!! He needs a hug🥺🥺
Ty for the chapter💜💜💜