Translated by Eve
Losers Under Aliases Go at Each Other
Sheng Renxing sat at a table inside a mala hotpot restaurant. It was currently three in the afternoon and there weren’t many other customers around. The bored employee was staring at his table, not bothering to be discreet about it.
Sheng Renxing tried to endure it but in the end, he still turned to stare right back at the employee.
The employee was taken aback. He promptly lowered his head and pretended to busy himself with the sales register. His acting was so realistic, Sheng Renxing almost thought he was watching a play.
The employee quietly acted out the bit for a while. After some time, he figured it must have been long enough so he raised his head to take another peek at the two customers.
As a result, he ended up lockeing eyes with Sheng Renxing, who was still staring at him expressionlessly.
The employee: “….”
“What are you looking at?” Wei Huan, who was sitting in front of Sheng Renxing, asked.
Sheng Renxing turned to look at him. “Looking at a d…” He was about to say ‘dumbass’ but realized that this was his uncle he was speaking to, so he changed his words, “at the diversity of living creatures.”
“?” Wei Huan glanced in the direction Sheng Renxing had been looking at before dropping the topic. “Do you like the food here?”
There was a smile in his eyes. “Your mom told me that you like to eat spicy food.”
Wei Huan had put on a blazer, a dress shirt and a pair of dress pants today. After coming in, he had taken off his blazer and placed it on the side. The top two buttons of his pink dress shirt were undone and he had rolled up his sleeves.
He gave off a mature, but slightly provocative air. It was like a bolt of electricity flowed through his every movement.
He was a lot different from how he sounded on the phone.
Sheng Renxing was still wearing his outfit from yesterday: a hoodie and a pair of jeans. Originally, he had thought that he looked pretty cool. Now that he had his uncle for comparison, however, he felt like he looked like a little brat.
Inexplicably influenced by male hormones, he quietly rolled his sleeves up too.
He felt like he looked more mature like this.
Actually, he also had a suit from the same brand. He had bought it to show off.
But he had only worn it once. When he had looked at himself in the mirror, no matter what angle it had been at, something had always seemed off. In the end, he had come to the following conclusion: the outfit was unworthy of him.
So he had immediately taken it off.
Unexpectedly, it looked good on Wei Huan.
Sheng Renxing shifted his gaze from the other’s clothes to the older man’s eyes. “I like it.”
“…Thanks, Uncle.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Wei Huan’s eyes curved into a smile as he examined Sheng Renxing. The boy currently had his head lowered as he immersed himself in eating a piece of nian gao.
Suddenly, Wei Huan broke out into a chuckle. “Your mom also told me that you don’t like to eat scallions and cilantro, and that you hate carrots, rabbit meat, onions….”
Sheng Renxing abruptly choked on his food and he began to cough violently.
Wei Huan tried not to laugh as he passed him a glass of water and some napkins.
Sheng Renxing coughed for a while, his face turning red in the meanwhile. He wiped his lips with the napkins and tried to save his image. “…Carrots are all right.”
Wei Huan couldn’t stop himself as he burst out into laughter.
Sheng Renxing’s ears flushed. After wallowing in his embarrassment for a moment, he asked, “Why did she tell you these things?”
Wei Huan took some time to regain his breath. “When you were younger, there was a time where I wanted to bring you here to Xuancheng during one of your breaks.”
“Your mom had been worried that you wouldn’t be able to get accustomed to living here so she listed off everything I had to pay attention to for half an hour.” When he saw the blank expression on Sheng Renxing’s face, he grumbled playfully. “She told me all of this during that time. She even forced me to repeat everything in fear that I’d forget something.”
Sheng Renxing combed through his memories. “Was this…when I was in fourth grade?”
“You remember?” Wei Huan was amazed.
“Mn.” Sheng Renxing cast his gaze to the ground and tapped at the bottom of the table with his chopsticks. “She had asked me if I wanted to spend my summer vacation at Uncle’s place….”
Back then, the fight between his parents had turned vicious.
He had agreed, but the trip hadn’t happened in the end.
Wei Huan: “What did you say?”
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.
“I said that I wanted to go,” Sheng Renxing answered.
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Qfl Lejc rwlifv jujlc jcv rlutfv gefoeiis. “Pa’r j qlas la vlvc’a tjqqfc lc atf fcv.”
Sheng Renxing didn’t want to dirty his hands so he bit off the shrimps head. He then continued to use his teeth to peel off the shrimp’s skin before eating it in one bite. Upon hearing his uncle’s words, he nodded and gave him a ‘mn’.
The reason it had not happened in the end was because his father hadn’t approved of it.
Wei Huan: “What did you do that summer?”
Sheng Renxing lowered his head to spit out the shrimp’s tail. “Summer classes.”
Wei Huan thought about this for a moment. “Right, your grades are really good, aren’t they?” Every time he had talked to his older sister, they had always chatted a lot about his nephew’s awards and accomplishments.
“Wasn’t that.” Sheng Renxing shook his head and added, “I had piano lessons, violin lessons, calligraphy lessons…I had these classes every day.”
“!” Wei Huan took a moment to process this information. “This summer break must have sucked, huh?”
“No, it was fine.” Sheng Renxing straightforwardly admitted: “I skipped half of them.”
“?” Wei Huan blinked his eyes dumbly. He then broke out into raucous laughter and gave his nephew a thumbs-up. “Did your dad know?”
Sheng Renxing shrugged. He sounded unconcerned but there was a sliver of ridicule in his voice. “As long as my results are satisfactory, he won’t say a thing.”
……
As the two of them chatted, Sheng Renxing gradually relaxed around his uncle. He felt like Wei Huan was a really easy person to talk to.
The meal lasted about two hours. As the end of their meal neared the restaurant slowly began to fill up with people.
Wei Huan looked around and then asked Sheng Renxing, “Do you want to leave now?”
“Sure.” He had eaten his fill a long time ago.
“What are you doing now? Heading back to the hotel?” Wei Huan got up and smoothed out his clothing.
Contrary to his expectations, Sheng Renxing shook his head. “I’m going clothes shopping.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Huan sized him up and praised him, “Your shoes are nice.”
He then left his seat and headed outside.
Sheng Renxing followed after him, his hands in his pockets. He raised his chin slightly and there was a trace of pride in his brightening expression. “There are only 87 pairs in the world.”
Wei Huan nodded. He wasn’t really into shoes. “Where are you going clothes shopping? Do you need me to take you there?”
Sheng Renxing: “I’ll probably just look around on my way back to the hotel.”
Taking into account Sheng Renxing wasn’t used to Xuancheng yet, Wei Huan asked, “Do you want me to show you the way?”
Sheng Renxing had yet to reply when Wei Huan’s phone went off.
Wei Huan pulled it out and took a look. He then cast Sheng Renxing an apologetic smile. “Sorry, have to answer this.”
Sheng Renxing nodded and watched as the other answered the phone with a quiet, “I’m busy.”
He didn’t hear what the person on the other side said. He saw his uncle frown, the other’s expression growing heavy.
When his uncle didn’t smile, he looked a bit scary.
He didn’t look like someone that was easy to deal with when he was like this.
Sheng Renxing watched Wei Huan for a while as random thoughts whirled through his head.
Wei Huan immediately noticed his gaze. He softened his expression and made a gesture towards Sheng Renxing before taking a few steps away. His back now faced him.
Sheng Renxing stared at the older man’s back for a few seconds.
He didn’t have any memories related to this uncle of his. His impression of the other was based on the fact that this man would send him all sorts of presents during various holidays every year.
After interacting with him today, he felt like the other was a good person.
He was a bit like his mom.
Sheng Renxing pursed his lips and lowered his head. He pulled out his own phone, feeling a bit bored.
While he inputted his password, he wondered if Xing Ye had replied yet.
He hadn’t checked his phone since waking up.
The phone unlocked and it just so happened to be on his and Xing Ye’s chatroom.
[Up to you.]
Sheng Renxing glanced at the timestamp on the message. It had been sent at 2am.
His eyes curved up into a smile.
He had thought the other would tell him to keep it.
At this moment, Wei Huan came back upon finishing his call.
The emotions he had displayed just now had been completely swept away. He asked with a smile, “What are you grinning over?”
“Hm?” Sheng Renxing turned off his phone’s screen and quickly pulled his lips back down into a straight line to look like a ‘cool guy.’ “Just chatting.”
Wei Huan nodded. He could see the awkwardness in the young boy. He muttered to himself and then said, “Something’s happened at my store. I can’t take you shopping.”
Sheng Renxing actually preferred this. He thought that only kids needed adults to take them shopping.
So he nodded in a cool manner. “That’s fine. Your store’s more important. Do you need any help?”
Wei Huan chuckled. “No need. Don’t underestimate your uncle. I’ll take you to my store when everything’s been handled. How about it?”
“Sure.” Sheng Renxing agreed. He then asked, “What kind of store is it?”
Wei Huan blinked at him: “A nightclub.”
Sheng Renxing: “….”
Sheng Renxing was silent for some time.
It wasn’t like he had never been to a club before. It was just that, no matter how young Wei Huan looked, he was still his elder.
Was he supposed to dance at his elder’s night club?
Just thinking about it made him feel unwell all over.
“Hahahahahaha,” Wei Huan laughed, “I’m just teasing you.”
Before Sheng Renxing could sigh in relief, he corrected: “It’s a bar.”
Sheng Renxing: “….”
Fine, a bar was better than a nightclub.
They were currently standing on the sidewalk near the entrance of the restaurant they had just been in. The sky was dark, as if rain would fall at any moment.
The pedestrians came and left in hurried steps. A few people’s gazes were drawn in by their appearances, but that was it.
Everyone was just a passerby to one another.
But suddenly, one of the passerbys abruptly turned around. “Uncle?”
Both Wei Huan and Sheng Renxing turned to look.
They were standing on the sidewalk closer to the restaurant whereas the boy who called out—and his female companion—stood on the side closer to the road.
There was a crowd of people walking to and fro between them.
After the boy called out, he immediately let go of the girl’s hand. He also quickly nudged the girl a bit away before walking over.
The girl: “?”
Sheng Renxing’s gaze flickered between the two of them before looking away, uninterested.
He continued to think about when he should return the umbrella, his phone still in his hand.
Wei Huan asked, “What are you doing here?”
He sounded like he knew the boy well.
“Ah,” The boy froze, “I’m buying reference books with my classmate!”
Wei Huan smirked at him. He then nodded at the girl, who was still on the other side of the crowd and glaring at the boy.
The girl immediately fixed her expression. She greeted him with a grin. She then hesitated, unsure of whether or not she should also head over.
Wei Huan then gave Sheng Renxing an introduction. “This is Chen Ying, the son of one of my friends. He’s like a nephew to me.”
He then turned to Chen Ying: “This is….”
Chen Ying cut him off before he could finish. “I know you! Sheng Renxing!”
Sheng Renxing raised his brow and looked at the other boy probingly.
The boy seemed excited. “I was in the audience when you went mountain racing at Long Mountain with Xiangzi ge and them! I even took a picture with your motorcycle!”
Sheng Renxing searched through his memories for a long time while faced with the other’s expectant eyes.
The race that night on Long Mountain had been organized by one of Big Head Qiu’s friends. He didn’t know any of them.
The participants had all modded their motorcycles so that the engines revved up loudly when they accelerated. It had been obvious how confident they had felt.
As soon as he had arrived, they had said that they wanted to see his racing skills. They had said that they wanted to have a fast and fervent race.
What happened in the end was that he had watched a group of losers battle it out from his rear mirror.
After the race, Big Head Qiu had asked him how it had gone. Sheng Renxing had taken off his helmet and snorted. He had said: “The scenery at night is nice.”
As for the faces of those losers, he didn’t remember a single one of them, let alone the people who had come over to take a picture with his bike.
In response to his silence, Chen Ying laughed awkwardly. “It’s fine. There were so many people taking pictures with your bike, it’s normal for you not to remember me! But you guys were awesome!”
“….” Take out the ‘guys’ from ‘you guys.’
Sheng Renxing furrowed his brows. “How come I didn’t know a lot of people took pictures of my bike?”
Chen Ying: “….”
“Oh!” The girl had walked over at some unknown point in time. She sounded like she had come to a realization. “So the bike you posted online was his bike!”
Chen Ying panicked. He was a bit angry and embarrassed from being exposed in front of the bike’s actual owner. “It wasn’t! Don’t make things up!”
Wei Huan watched them quietly with a smile on his face. He didn’t ask what mountain racing was or about the bikes. Seeing that the girl had come over, he asked Chen Ying, “Shouldn’t you introduce your classmate?”
The girl was very cheerful. She didn’t wait for Chen Ying to introduce her and simply did it herself. “Hi Uncle, my name is Cui Xiaoxiao. I’m Chen Ying’s classmate!”
“Hi there.” Wei Huan had on a parental smile. “Are you on your way to buy reference books?”
“We already bought them!” Cui Xiaoxiao said, “I’m about to go home!”
“Do you need me to take you back?”
“Perfect.” Chen Ying pouted, “You can take her home!”
The girl pinched him. He hissed in pain.
Wei Huan asked, “What about you?”
“I—I have somewhere else to be!” His gaze shifted away.
Wei Huan didn’t want to bother with him so he turned to Sheng Renxing. “Do you want me to drop you off at a store?”
“No,” Sheng Renxing said, “I can walk.”
After everyone bid farewell, Sheng Renxing walked while typing on his phone: [Tomorrow?]
He then clicked ‘send.’
The author has something to say:
It’s been five chapters and Xingxing gege still hasn’t been able to buy clothes.
All right, Fs in the chat.
Eve: I was cackling at Xingxing’s thoughts when faced with ~mature man~ Wei Huan. He’s so cute hahaha. And Wei Huan trolling Xingxing is never not funny.
Thanks for the chapter! <3
yay 😀 thanks for the chapter :3
Can someone please remind our son Xingxing to buy clothes first?
Thanks for the chapter<3
…It seems SRX is going to forget to buy clothes…uh oh
Thanks for the chapter~
Chen Ying, i’m so confused- why did you actually hide the girl?? It just makes it more obvious lmao. An it’s not like it’s a crime💀
Ty for the chapter!!💜💜💜