Duan Yuche’s birthday was on Monday, and he planned to spend it with his friends that weekend. Cao Feng watched him get up in the morning, start to dress up, and then ask him: “I have a denim jacket, have you seen the short one? And my Doc Marten boots, Cao Feng, help me find them!”
Cao Feng burrowed into Duan Yuche’s cloakroom to help him find the clothes: “Xiao Che, where are you going to eat? When will you be back?”
Duan Yuche reported the name of the restaurant: “We’re going to play mahjong in the afternoon, and then go to KTV at night. I might only be back at midnight.”
“So late?” Cao Feng furrowed his brow. “And these are your friends from your previous private school?”
“En.”
“How are you getting there? Why don’t I send you…” This weekend, the Duan family’s driver Xiao Zhang was on holiday.
“No need, no need, I’ll just take a taxi. You don’t have to send me there.” Duan Yuche felt that if Cao Feng sent him there, he would definitely want to see his friends, and at that point it wouldn’t be good to straightaway chase Cao Feng away. But Cao Feng didn’t know his friends, and their personalities were probably completely different. How could they get along? Duan Yuche had absolutely no intention of introducing Cao Feng to his friends.
“Is it this one?” Cao Feng finally helped him find the denim jacket, and handed it to him, saying, “Then ge will pick you up at night. It’s too late, I worry about you.”
“We’ll talk about it later.” Duan Yuche put on his clothes and looked in the mirror, dressed head to toe in a casual and wilful style. “I’m going out first, bye-bye.”
When he had attended a private middle school, Duan Yuche had made a few good friends. He had struggled to fit in when he first returned to China, and he first got to know his deskmate Zhou Zeliang, then the rest of his friends. In order to integrate into their friend group, Duan Yuche had adopted a number of bad habits that he hadn’t had before. When they went out to pick fights, he’d tag along to boost their numbers, and he would even smoke, drink, and gamble with them.
If he were in Switzerland, at this age, he wouldn’t yet be of legal drinking age. He was at the right time to be interested in these kinds of things, and it was easy to become just like everyone else.
*
Zhou Zeliang’s sickness still wasn’t better, and he wore a mask when going out, used communal serving chopsticks, and abstained from a number of foods. “They didn’t let me out for so long, this ancestor was getting suffocated.”
“You can’t eat seafood? Can you eat prawns?” Out of Duan Yuche’s friend group, Grasshopper was the one who didn’t care about anything, and just relied on his “has money, can fight, has a lot of connections” status. He had only just entered high school and was already very welcomed and well-respected.
Panda was like his little follower, tall but didn’t like to talk much, and looked like a professional fighter. He came a little late and went to deliver some cake to Duan Yuche.
Zhou Zeliang said: “Of course I want to eat the prawns. I’m basically better now, the doctor said that in a week, they’ll give me a medical certificate and let me go back to school.”
Grasshopper: “Isn’t it good not to go to class?”
“Ge, it’s so suffocating to be alone at home. My mom’s so anxious, she said that other students were in class and I was just playing at home, so she forced me to study, and watched me do it…and I haven’t been at school for so long, isn’t Xiao Che all by himself?”
Duan Yuche was peeling prawns, and when he heard the words, he said, “You take care of your illness, I’m fine. I have Cao Feng.”
“Cao Feng?” Zhou Zeliang’s expression changed. “Why are you hanging out with him!”
“He…” Before Duan Yuche could even finish speaking, Grasshopper interrupted: “Who’s Cao Feng? You really hate him?”
“Oh, Cao Feng is…a student who lives in Xiao Che’s house. Poor, sponsored by his father. Before he came, we were still wondering whether or not he was Xiao Che’s dad’s illegitimate son, and he’s super weird, don’t you know blah blah……..”
Zhou Zeliang, this person who always had a lot to say, hadn’t talked to anyone in a long time and was so bored that he was losing his mind. Of course he would seize the opportunity and talk everyone else’s ear off. Not to mention that making fun of other people was something he always had unlimited energy for.
Grasshopper slapped the table and laughed wildly as he listened, saying that he really wanted to meet this person.
It was not the first time Duan Yuche had heard Zhou Zeliang talk about Cao Feng like this in public. Even though what he said was true, and Duan Yuche had said most of it himself, Zhou Zeliang’s behavior still made him feel very uncomfortable: “Actually, Cao Feng…he didn’t do anything. He treats me pretty well.”
Zhou Zeliang was taken aback. A month ago, didn’t Xiao Che really hate him, and didn’t even want to go on holiday with him?
How come a month later he started defending Cao Feng?
After lunch, it was Duan Yuche who settled the bill. In the afternoon, they went to the teahouse and asked for a private room to play mahjong. Another friend of Duan Yuche’s, Small Prawn, came carrying his schoolbag. He was from Guangdong, and his nickname was Small Prawn. He was from the same high school as Grasshopper and the others.
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.
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Grasshopper said: “If you lose, it’s on me, I’ll treat you tonight. I took my dad’s credit card. At that hotel we can eat, sit in hot springs, get massages…oh yeah, after we do karaoke we can get a massage.”
Small Prawn: “What kind of massage?”
“Prawn ge, what are you thinking about? Of course it’s vegetarian.” He threw 70,000 yuan on the table, and said lazily, “If you want to eat meat, go ahead. Just don’t lead the children astray. We still have two minors here.”
Zhou Zeliang immediately answered: “After this year, my Chinese age will be eighteen years old.”
“Not legal, not possible.”
Small Prawn played for a while, and then gave his spot to Duan Yuche again: “Tommy, come and play. My luck isn’t good, and I haven’t finished my homework yet.”
“Prawn ge is working so hard now?”
“I can’t help it.” Small Prawn took out his workbook and said, “My mom wants me to take care of my dad’s company in the future. If I don’t study it doesn’t really matter, but my father also has two illegitimate children who work harder than me and get full marks in the exam every day… ”
When he was with this group of people, Duan Yuche was the one who didn’t talk much. But there were so many people who came together to spend time with him, and he felt really happy. Even if he lost over a thousand at the mahjong table, he still felt happy.
After eating dinner, they went to the high-end KTV next door to continue drinking. The KTV had even prepared birthday decorations, and the ground was covered in balloons. Duan Yuche had to drink, but he didn’t drink much, and his alcohol tolerance was extremely bad.
They played a few rounds of drinking games and then ordered cocktails. The estimated cost couldn’t be anything less than two thousand.
But Duan Yuche was short on money, and lost a lot in the afternoon – he did bring a credit card, but it was his father’s secondary card. He didn’t like to use this card because it was really easy for Duan Shumin to guess where he went, what he did, and how much he spent.
Then, Duan Yuche noticed the messages on his phone. Cao Feng had sent two or three messages, asking where he was.
“It’s already ten p.m., why haven’t you come back yet?”
“Where are you, gege will come to pick you up.”
Duan Yuche wrote a text message to him: “Can you help me check, I put a red chocolate tin in the fridge. Get 3000 from it. I’m at xxx club, help me bring it over! Quickly!”
Cao Feng had probably been staring at his phone, because he replied immediately. He was a little anxious. Asking for so much money, did something happen? But as soon as he asked this one question, Duan Yuche stopped replying.
Cao Feng was afraid that something had happened to him outside, so he opened the refrigerator, and opened the iron box at the bottom. Cao Feng found that it was full of cash, not only RMB, but also other large currencies. It was just like a small treasury.
Cao Feng counted out three thousand, but, fearing that it would not be enough, took another stack, and hurriedly drove over.
The KTV wasn’t far away.
In the private room, everyone took out the cake to share. It was a chocolate cake, but Duan Yuche was really picky about chocolate, and didn’t particularly like eating this type of processed food. So the cake became a tool for battle. Duan Yuche’s body and face had cream smashed all over, but he wasn’t upset at all, and was actually having a lot of fun.
After the cake fight was over, he went into the bathroom to wash his face. When he came out, he heard Zhou Zeliang say, “Grasshopper drank a little too much. Let’s stop drinking, play another game.”
“Who drank too much!” Grasshopper refused to back down. “Your mom drank too much, I can drink another dozen! Come, get me some booze!”
“I also think we, should stop drinking.” Duan Yuche had only lost a few times, and drank a few cups, but even then his head was a little dizzy.
Small Prawn said: “Then let’s play faceslapping. Let’s draw cards, the winner hits the loser, one card is one slap!”
“Prawn ge, if anyone loses to you, wouldn’t they have to go to the hospital? I haven’t recovered from mumps yet, and my face is about to be swollen like a pig’s head.”
Small Prawn said sweetly: “I will be gentler.”
The group were noisily playing games, and the faceslapping sounds of “pa, pa” was very crisp. Cao Feng kept urging the driver in the taxi: “Shifu, please drive faster, I have an urgent matter.”
Duan Yuche’s luck was pretty good, and he won the first two rounds. But the goddess of luck could not favor him forever – after playing a few rounds, he finally lost once, with two cards.
He had to be hit two times.
The phone in his pocket rang many times, but Duan Yuche didn’t hear it.
Small Prawn saw that Grasshopper had won, so he told him, “Be gentle, Tommy can’t be hit.”
“Relax.” Grasshopper’s drunk ideas came out, and he joked, “Our little Tommy is so delicate and tender, who would be willing to hit him?”
Duan Yuche said seriously: “If my dad comes home and sees that my face is swollen, he’ll suspect that I was getting into fights outside, and he might come to trouble you.”
“Then it’s even harder to hit you properly,” Grasshopper laughed loudly and said, “I’ll be gentler.”
Cao Feng didn’t know where Duan Yuche was, and he couldn’t get through to his phone. The front desk refused to disclose Duan Yuche’s location, so he went in and started looking. The doors of the KTV private rooms had transparent glass, so with a careful look he could tell who was inside.
Cao Feng was anxious, and was looking very quickly, but this high-end KTV was not small, and he ran from beginning to end, distraught.
There were a few boys in 888, and Cao Feng peeked through the glass. He happened to see a man in a leather jacket, and he was touching Duan Yuche’s face with a playful smile!
Duan Yuche’s face was flushed. He tilted his head and lowered his eyes, as if he were tolerating it.
Cao Feng thought he had seen wrong, but when he took a closer look, he found that the man was still touching Duan Yuche, and his face was still very close, as if he were kissing him!
He stared at this scene in disbelief. Anger incinerated his reason instantly. His body moved faster than his mind, and he kicked the door open! Cao Feng charged in furiously, and seized the collar of the boy’s leather jacket. Using all of his strength, Cao Feng shoved him into the table full of cocktails, and punched him viciously.
This scene was so unexpected that no one could react. Cao Feng was like a raging lion, each punch connecting to flesh. Cocktail glasses smashed to the ground and made a loud “clang”, and the balloons on the ground exploded one by one like bombs.
Grasshopper was usually capable of fighting, but in such a situation, and after drinking alcohol, how could he fight back?
In the end, he exerted all his strength, but he couldn’t break free. Was this man a bear? How can he be so strong!
“You idiot! You’ve got the wrong f*cking person! I don’t even know you!” Grasshopper roared angrily, “Who are you!”
“Your father!” Cao Feng’s eyes were full of cruelty, as if he had gone crazy.
But a few seconds later, Small Prawn and Panda next to him came to their senses and went to help. Duan Yuche was frozen in fright, and at the same time recognized him : “Cao Feng! Cao Feng, what are you doing!”
Cao Feng paused for a second, but didn’t stop.
Small Prawn and Panda used all of their strength to push away the crazed Cao Feng: “Tommy! Do you know this lunatic?!”
With his friends’ help, Grasshopper immediately stood up and launched himself into the fight.
Chaos.
The punch sent Cao Feng to the ground. His neck was crushed against glass, and dark red blood flowed out. The ruthlessness on his face became more and more violent, and when he stretched out an arm it was to choke his opponent’s neck.
Grasshopper stiffened his neck and slammed his deadly fist on Cao Feng’s face.
“Cao Feng!” Duan Yuche rushed over and grabbed Grasshopper. “Grasshopper, Grasshopper, stop fighting, I know him, I know him…”
Listening to his voice, Cao Feng became a little distracted.
Cao Feng thought Duan Yuche was calling him. He looked at Duan Yuche, and found that he was calling Cao Feng very anxiously. The strength in Cao Feng’s hand slowly loosened, and he did not continue to choke Grasshopper.
Duan Yuche and three other people pulled Grasshopper away first. Duan Yuche grabbed Cao Feng’s arm and asked him incredulously, “Are you crazy? Why did you hit someone?!”
Cao Feng didn’t speak, the hostility in his eyes slowly subsided, and he returned to how he usually was. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Duan Yuche’s hand firmly.
Duan Yuche felt like he was about to lose his mind. Cao Feng, who lived in his house and was supported by his father, suddenly ran in to beat his friend. Wasn’t this fighting style too lacking in self-preservation?
Small Prawn frowned and said, “Grasshopper has a nosebleed, I’ll take him to the hospital first. As for your friend, Tommy…”
Duan Yuche said: “Don’t call the police, he didn’t do it on purpose. You send Grasshopper to the hospital first, and I’ll bring him home.”
No one could have predicted that such an unexpected thing would happen at such a good birthday party.
Grasshopper glared at Cao Feng fiercely as he was helped away by his friend, but Cao Feng was no longer paying attention to him. He was only looking at didi, seeing the disbelief and disappointment on his face. It felt like Cao Feng’s heart was soaked in sulfuric acid, and was so piercingly painful that it was about to dissolve away.
Duan Yuche hadn’t noticed the blood on his neck yet: “Why did you rush in and beat others? Cao Feng, are you insane?”
Cao Feng’s expression was downcast. He knew he had been impulsive and didn’t think things through, but he couldn’t tolerate that kind of thing.
“Speak, are you mute?!”
“Didi…” Cao Feng’s voice was low and hoarse, mixed with grief. “Don’t associate with that kind of person, he’s too bad.”
“Bad?? How is it bad? What do you mean when you just come up and punch someone?! Do you know he’s my friend!”
Cao Feng’s nerves were still twitching. He knows his didi’s sexual orientation, and he knew it was abnormal, but he just couldn’t help and say: “He…just did that to you.”
Duan Yuche was really going to die of anger: “Did what?”
Cao Feng stared at him, and said in a low voice, “Touched your face.”
“What’s wrong with touching the face!” Duan Yuche was speechless, he couldn’t believe it was such a reason at all. He thought Cao Feng was a rational man, how could he go so crazy because of such a trivial matter?
“We were playing a game! Loser gets slapped, and he didn’t even use any force, it was nothing. We’ve all played worse games.”
“Slap?” Cao Feng didn’t believe his words at all. He stretched out his hand to touch Duan Yuche’s face, gently caressing, melancholic dark eyes gazing at him. And yet his voice hid a suppressed fury, “You tell me if this is a slap, Xiao Che. Do you really think this is nothing?”
Duan Yuche really thought it was nothing.
But when Cao Feng looked at him with this kind of expression, using this kind of tone, and Duan Yuche could feel his fingers tracing down his cheek and into his hair, even touching his ears, Duan Yuche suddenly felt like there was something.
It seemed that this action had an inexplicable ambiguity.
thanks for waiting for this chapter !! happily, i have a break now, so i will be doing some extra updates this week to make up for the two i missed, and prepping more chapters for when i go back to work.
Can Feng my boy… you’ve got it bad.
Thanks for the chapter <3
he really does ..but who can blame him when duan yuche is so pretty
thanks for reading and commenting ! ❤
Thanks for the chapter ☺️
thank you for reading and commenting ! <3
Ahhhhh!!! 😟🙄