Duan Shumin called Cao Feng into his study. “Come with uncle.”
This was the second time Cao Feng had ever entered the study. He usually wouldn’t go in, not even to clean it, because there were important documents in there. And even when the part-time workers came to clean it, the surveillance camera inside was always on.
“Xiao Feng, you are a mature child.”
Cao Feng still didn’t speak. He thought in his heart that this was unfair to Duan Yuche, but such things weren’t for someone like him to say.
“Uncle knows what you’re thinking. Sit down, don’t just stand there.” Duan Shumin was frowning a little, and he took a pack of cigarettes out from the drawer and lit one. “My relationship with Xiao Che’s mother is very complicated, you must have noticed it too when you arrived. His mother has been dead for many years now.”
“I know…didi, he said it before.” Of course Cao Feng noticed. He had also noticed that Duan Shumin didn’t have a single photo related to the deceased mistress of the house. Only Duan Yuche’s room had a photo of his mother and him as a baby, preserved inside a picture frame.
The lights in the study room were very dim, and the smell of smoke began to waft in the sealed and dark space.
Duan Shumin was quite surprised that Duan Yuche would tell him this. He used his finger to remove the cigarette he was holding in his mouth, and continued: “Then you should also know that Vivian did some art things, that is, installation art. More than ten years ago, she came to Wuzhen to host a lighting-based art exhibition, and that was when I saw her.”
“Uncle is just like you. I came from nothing. The last three generations of my family were farmers, but I studied my way out. I taught in the mountains for two years until I didn’t want to be a teacher anymore, and then I opened a bar with a classmate in Wuzhen. In the daytime I studied and researched, and at night I worked as a bar singer.”
“After three months, the installation was over, and she left. Vivian even asked me if I wanted to leave with her because she liked me very much. Of course I couldn’t. My family and the foundation I built are all here.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Ten years ago, she came to Shanghai for an installation. I saw a poster of her arrival on the side of the street, so I went there specifically, every day, until I finally met her.”
Cao Feng listened without interrupting him. He was so quiet that it was as if he didn’t even exist.
“It was then that I learned I had a five-year-old child. She showed me the photos. I thought she had changed her mind, and was maybe willing to be with me, so I asked her if she could bring the child back to China for both of us to raise. That’s my child too.”
“You probably already know the answer. She didn’t want to, and she also looked down on me. At the time, I was working an entry-level job at the bank, and she asked if I thought I could give the child the best education and life. I couldn’t, but she could.” Duan Shumin wasn’t willing to speak too much on the trivial details. Some things he was willing to say for the sake of getting rid of the old knots in his heart. But that was a great source of shame back then. He worked desperately, made achievements, met important people, and finally, at this age, managed to do what many people couldn’t do in their entire lifetime.
“After that, you know that Xiao Che’s mother got sick and brought Xiao Che back here. That was when I saw him for the first time.” At the time he had had a girlfriend of two years, but after he suddenly brought a child home, she had felt like she’d been deceived: “Your son is so old and you still wanted to date me, are you for real?”
His girlfriend suggested splitting up, and Duan Shumin had no way to refuse. The sudden appearance of his son, an icy-looking but adorable child, took all his attention away.
“His mother told me that Xiao Che had some psychological problems. Because she held exhibitions everywhere for all those years, pursuing her honourable art, she had no time to accompany him. His emotional needs were very strong, and he needed a father. He had never experienced a father’s love before, which was why she brought him back to China, so I could continue to raise him after her death and make up for the love he lacked in childhood.” At the time Duan Shumin hated her so much. Very quickly, he realised how big of a problem this child had. Duan Yuche tried to please every single person, especially him; but at the time he was busy at work too, so his son would often call him pitifully, saying he had fallen off his bike, fell down the stairs, his stomach hurt, his head hurt…
He always came up with inexplicable illnesses to trick him into going home. But when Duan Shumin wanted to take him to the hospital, he would always refuse.
Duan Shumin quickly saw through the matter of pretending to be sick. He was very angry at the beginning, and taught him not to do this. Xiao Yuche didn’t cry or make trouble. He honestly said that he would not do this in the future. But in the end he did the same thing again, and it severely interfered with Duan Shumin’s job, and lost him many clients.
He had no choice but to call Duan Yuche’s aunt and ask her to come and see him.
“His aunt said that this child had been like that since he was young. He would often call her and tell her that he had learned a new song and needed her to guide him. If it was just once or twice, then fine, but it was constantly like that.” Duan Shumin flicked the ash from his cigarette, and the red glow of the flames reflected on his face. The ashtray in front of him had four or five cigarette butts, and the thick scent of smoke flooded the study.
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 had planned to take him to a counsellor, but his aunt told me Tommy wasn’t sick, he didn’t get sick, he just…needed a little bit of company. As long as I was willing to spend some time with him, he wouldn’t make a fuss. Only when I was busy would he throw a tantrum.”
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No matter how deep the love is, it couldn’t last that long. Who would be willing to wait for someone for so many years?
After hearing him finish speaking, Cao Feng was silent for a long time again. It took a long time before he replied in a low voice: “Uncle, I will keep this matter a secret, but next time don’t, don’t do such a dangerous thing. If Xiao Che had done the same thing as me today and hadn’t gone out, it’s…this is too dangerous.”
Duan Shumin also felt a little awkward, and explained: “It’s not what you think, we were just…forget it, I’ll send her home. Have you had dinner yet? I’ll go outside and bring something back for you.”
Cao Feng said he hadn’t eaten: “I bought vegetables, I was going to come back and eat below by myself.”
“What nutrition is there in eating noodles? Wait a bit, Uncle will bring some food back for you later…make sure you don’t let the secret out.”
“I won’t.” Cao Feng promised.
If Duan Shumin hadn’t told him this, maybe…he would feel sorry for his didi, and maybe he wouldn’t be able to resist telling him the truth. But it was because Duan Shumin knew what kind of person Cao Feng was, which was why he specifically called him into the study to tell him this.
–
“Xiao Che, it’s a bit cold outside, you should put on a coat before you come out.”
Duan Yuche said to the outside, “Okay.”
The evening boat tour was an activity arranged by Zhou Zeliang’s cousin. She said that she’d tried it once two years ago, and at night the dying lights were reminiscent of another lifetime, making for an unforgettable experience.
So in the afternoon they bought a few boat tickets and waited for nightfall to go out for a cruise.
Duan Yuche hadn’t brought a coat. The only piece of outerwear he had was the one that Cao Feng had given to him when he was still in the car.
The school uniform was a little too big for him. When Duan Yuche wore it out, Zhou Zeliang even asked him, “Cao Feng’s school uniform? Only he could think of something like wearing a school uniform on vacation.”
Duan Yuche didn’t let out a peep, because he had been feeling uneasy for the whole day over what had happened that morning.
Seeing him so listless, Zhou Zeliang asked, “Are you in a bad mood? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” The place to get on the boat wasn’t far, it only took a few steps to get there.
The night sky was like flowing water, and the wind was cool. The inn they were staying at was in Xizha, and they’d already played around the city during the day. But when night came and the lights began to flicker on, they sat in the boat and saw as this ancient town finally revealed her most honest, yet most hazy face.
The towering Hui style buildings with its horse head walls, Guanyin headcovering, and cornices and angles of the roofs were all outlined by various lights.
Duan Yuche took out Duan Shumin’s digital camera, looked for the right angle, and clicked the shutter.
When he went to put the camera in his pocket, he accidentally touched a piece of plum candy. As far as he knew, Cao Feng didn’t eat candy very often, so for him to carry around candy could only be because Duan Yuche liked eating them.
Cao Feng’s school uniform was freshly washed, and it smelled of lavender fabric softener, just like Duan Yuche’s bedsheets and pillows. Wearing this coat was just like wearing his own clothes, with their familiar smell.
The ship made one loop, and returned to the original starting point after an hour. It was late at night, and they had supper in the ancient town before returning to the inn.
Back in the room, Duan Yuche took off the school uniform jacket in preparation to take a shower. It was then that he found a small bag sewn inside the jacket.
The cloth bag was under the armpit, had a zipper, and was made with a layer of cotton cloth.
Duan Yuche touched it and found that there was something inside. Money?
He knew that Cao Feng didn’t carry a wallet in the past, and always stuffed his money in this place.
Duan Yuche opened the zipper, and sure enough, he found a stack of RMB inside, all hundred-yuan bills –
Looking at the brand-new texture, it was obvious that this was the money his dad had given Cao Feng, about a thousand yuan. Duan Yuche put the money back, and then discovered that the little pouch still contained a small piece of paper.
He took it out and opened it. It turned out to be a daily plan that Cao Feng had written.
October 1st, morning, watch flower-drum opera with didi; afternoon, go to mail postcards at the post office; evening, go on the boat ride.
October 2, morning, go to the cloth dyeing workroom; afternoon, watch shadow puppetry show; evening, watch an open-air movie.
October 3rd, morning…
The handwriting was a bit messy, but it wasn’t hard to see that Cao Feng had searched for some information in advance.
He had been carrying his bag this morning and was supposed to come with them, but then something like that had happened.
He must have really wanted to come, right?
Duan Yuche felt more and more guilty in his heart. His heart had been blocked all day long. Whenever he thought of Cao Feng being alone at home, he felt upset, like he had wronged Cao Feng.
Duan Yuche stared at it for a while, then put the note back in its original place. He hesitated for a while, then called the landline at home.
“Hello?”
“Hello…Xiao Che.” Cao Feng had just finished speaking with Duan Shumin, and had taken a lot of effort to accept the matter. Suddenly he heard his didi’s voice, and his heart abruptly stopped.
“That, I…” Duan Yuche paused. The phrase “I’m sorry” was stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t say it aloud.
“Do you want to ask about the pants?” Cao Feng said. “I managed to find the pants for you this afternoon, they’re in your room.”
“I’m not asking about the pants…” He scratched at his hair and muttered softly, “Forget it.”
“Xiao Che.” Cao Feng thought he had something to say. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing. Hey, I’ll be back on the afternoon of the 3rd, where do you want to go? Xihu? Qiandao Lake? I can… go with you.”
Cao Feng’s eyes lit up: “…I haven’t been to either of them, wherever you want to go is good, I’ll like them all. I’ll wait for you to come home.”
“Good, then. Oh, right, I went to the Wuzhen post office today. There are a lot of pretty postcards, I wrote a lot and sent you one too. Make sure you get it.” Duan Yuche actually hadn’t sent it yet. He had gone to the post office in the afternoon, but he didn’t know who to send mail to. He heard that they couldn’t deliver mail overseas, so he hadn’t bought anything.
But he could go there again tomorrow.
“Really?” Cao Feng said happily. “Then I’ll check the mailbox later.”
“It won’t be that fast! The postal service is very slow, go check it the day after tomorrow.”
Despite what he said, after Cao Feng hung up the phone, he still ran out and checked the mailbox to see if there was a postcard inside.
After Duan Yuche took a shower, it was already very late. He had been running around all day today, so it stood to reason that he should be able to fall asleep quickly after being so tired.
But when he was lying on the bed, facing the brightly lit window, he couldn’t fall asleep no matter what he did.
He lay with his eyes closed for a while, but still ended up tossing and turning. Then he realised that the problem was this unfamiliar bed.
Duan Yuche sat up, closed the curtains, took out his long sleeved cotton shirt from his school bag, and spread it on the pillow as a pillow cover.
This way, as he slept, he would be able to smell the scent of home, and it might make it easier to fall asleep.
He lay like this for a few minutes and then felt uncomfortable again. He sat up for the second time, grabbed Cao Feng’s school uniform jacket from the end of the bed, and pulled it over his body.
hi i’m 17, i’m the new translator for Little Ancestor ! please let me know if you see anything weird, i’m new to posting on here so i might get some things wrong 
Thank you for picking it up and welcome ❤️
Thank you so much for picking this up!
Yay. Thanks for picking this up. I love this novel 🥹
Also, welcome!
Thank you for picking it up and welcome 😍