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[Chapter 059] Didn’t you want to stay over? I can take you in
Bian JinYuan was momentarily frozen.
Lu YunFei continued to plead his case, “It just so happens that there’s no one at your home, and it’s difficult for me to call a cab. Why don’t you let me stay over, I can also accompany you.”
“Forget it,” Bian JinYuan said.
“That resolute?” Lu YunFei looked at him, “Consider it, I’m obedient and well-mannered, I would definitely listen to you when I go to your house.”
Bian JinYuan was helpless at this. He looked back at Lu YunFei, “Are you that keen on visiting my home?”
“It’s a matter of courtesy, you’ve already been to my home, but I haven’t set foot in yours at all.”
“What was it you said in the car the last time?” Bian JinYuan asked him, “Didn’t you say that you’d only visit if I invited you?”
“Which is why I’m negotiating with you right now~” Lu YunFei said pleasantly.
The main point was that today was too serendipitous. He wasn’t able to get a cab, while Bian JinYuan had no one at home. When else could he visit if not today? Furthermore, Lu YunFei thought, he didn’t mind that Bian JinYuan’s household was poor. But Bian JinYuan probably worried about this, which was why he had been refusing his requests. As soon as he visits, Bian JinYuan would know that he really didn’t mind it.
When it came down to it, he had been a Tmall Genie in Bian JinYuan’s home for so long, yet he was so pitiable for not knowing what Bian JinYuan’s house looked like. It really was a case wherein a small electronic device wasn’t seen as part of the family, without any human rights!
“I promise I’ll be good,” Lu YunFei stated.
“It’s not a matter of whether you’re good or not.”
“What then?”
Bian JinYuan looked at him and didn’t know how to broach the matter.
Lu YunFei saw him sink into silence and didn’t want him to feel any more discomfort, so he said laughingly, “Alright, I was just kidding. Look at how serious you are, it was a joke.”
His smile brought the warmth of the sun, lighting up the night sky in a flash.
Bian JinYuan watched him, and in that moment, suddenly felt a sense of hesitancy.
He was about to launch into another internal debate over inviting Lu YunFei over to his house when a cab arrived. Lu YunFei quickly walked over and pulled the door open, as he stood there to say with levity, “I’ll be heading off. See you, get home quickly.”
Saying that, he got into the cab and closed the door.
Bian JinYuan watched as the vehicle went to the end of the road before turning around to head towards the bus stop. As he made his way home, he kept on wondering if he would have invited Lu YunFei home. If the cab hadn’t arrived, would he have done so?
Bian JinYuan didn’t realise that while he had always had a decisive personality, it was only at this moment that he had become exceptionally indecisive.
He opened the door and switched on the light. As it flickered on, he suddenly recalled Lu YunFei’s smile from under the streetlight. He had brought up visiting his house twice, and probably really wanted to visit, yet he had rejected him time and again. He likely wasn’t joking about it, nor was he teasing him. He had brought the matter up as equals, as friends, and had not received the same treatment in return.
Bian JinYuan thought that he probably rarely encountered people like himself – stubborn, distant, selfish, and overthinking. Yet he had simply generously saved both of them face and awkwardness. He could laugh it off by saying he was joking, and could say goodbye to him good-naturedly.
I should have invited him over, Bian JinYuan thought.
He closed the door and sat still. After a long while, he said quietly: “If he brings this up again, I’ll invite him.”
Lu YunFei who had just woken up in the Tmall Genie was confused. Who? Where?
And then he saw Bian JinYuan unzip his bag to take out an incomplete paper. After answering two questions, he said to himself, “Wouldn’t know if he were busy tomorrow. I wonder if he would be available if I invited him out to do homework?”
Lu YunFei was in a fog, who was Bian JinYuan intending to invite to do homework with? It should be him, right? Apart from him, Bian JinYuan didn’t have any other friends.
So, the ‘he’ in Bian JinYuan’s words were referring to himself? Then those previous words as well
 he was willing to invite him over to his home?
Lu YunFei’s mood instantly lifted and soared. With this surge, the Tmall Genie rang out with a “ding”. Bian JinYuan turned to look at him, so Lu YunFei quickly said, “Online connection established, I can start work now.”
Bian JinYuan said coolly, “When did you secretly disconnect? What, are you trying to connect to another house?”
Lu YunFei: ??? He was simply mimicking the language of the Tmall Genie in his home okay? Who the hell knew why they would secretly disconnect? Unstable connection?
“Red cat climbs over the wall # ,” Bian JinYuan started to make fun of it.
Tmall Genie Lu YunFei in a red casing: 

Bian JinYuan saw how it didn’t respond and laughed a little.
Lu YunFei had nothing to say, you still have the gall to tease me like this when you’re arguing with a Tmall Genie everyday. He gave out a “hmpf”. Bian JinYuan looked at him and advised, “You have to behave if we have guests over.”
Am I not obedient? Moreover, what guests? Me? Then I’ll just have to praise myself more then.
Wait a minute, if he were to stay over at Bian JinYuan’s home, then would he still transmigrate into the Tmall Genie at 9pm? Tsk tsk, his soul was going to be out and about. He was looking forward to it a little.
Bian Jie had not come back that day. She gave Bian JinYuan a call and said that Jiang Feng’s mother seemed under the weather, and so she had to stay for another two days before she could come back home. Bian JinYuan didn’t mind, and told her that he was doing fine and that she should take care of herself.
Before heading to bed that night, he sent a WeChat message to Lu YunFei to ask if he would like to do homework together the next day. But no matter how long Bian JinYuan waited, Lu YunFei didn’t reply.
He couldn’t be angry, could he? Bian JinYuan thought that it was unlikely. Lu YunFei wasn’t such a petty person. He was probably fast asleep, he guessed.
“I should have asked him over today instead.”
Lu YunFei’s eyes brightened. This time, he knew that the “he” that Bian JinYuan had been referring to was himself.
He tried to create an opening for himself, “You could ask him over tomorrow.”
“Looks like you’re not just a red cat climbing over the wall, you’re also a red cat eavesdropping.”
“I’m listening righteously.”
“Righteously?” Bian JinYuan laughed, but then he said, “You said to ask him over tomorrow?”
“Correct.”
Bian JinYuan went silent, and then he suddenly said, “Let’s play a game.”
“What game?”
“Rock paper scissors. What’s your hand?”
Lu YunFei: ??? Bro, I don’t have hands! I’m a Tmall Genie, not an actual cat!
Lu YunFei: “Rock.”
Bian JinYuan nodded, “You win,” he said, “I was intending to show scissors.”
Lu YunFei: 
 So this was how it was done?
“So I’ll listen to you,” Bian JinYuan said softly, “I hope he won’t be disappointed.”
“Definitely not,” Lu YunFei guaranteed.
When he woke up in his home and saw his phone, he saw that Bian JinYuan had sent him a WeChat message to ask: Are you still doing homework tomorrow?
Lu YunFei immediately replied: Of course, I fell asleep last night and didn’t see your message. Today at 2pm, the same book bar.
Bian JinYuan had cooked dumplings for himself early in the morning. Seeing that he had finally received a reply, he answered: Alright.
When mother Lu saw that Lu YunFei had packed his bag to leave after eating, she stopped him by his arm, “Where are you going? It’s the New Year yet you’re going out everyday.”
“I’m going to work on my winter break homework with teacher Bian,” Lu YunFei said truthfully, “Just happens that I have a few English questions to ask him.”
“So hardworking,” mother Lu exclaimed.
Lu YunFei replied loftily, “How else could I become a top student.”
“A top student who barely passed English,” Lu YunShang teased.
“Better than a top student who failed Physics,” Lu YunFei retorted.
Lu YunShang picked up some sweets on the table to throw at him. This pair of siblings – one never understood Physics, while the other never picked up English. While they excelled in other subjects, they also each had an achilles heel subject.
Lu YunFei caught the sweet that Lu YunShang had thrown at him, said “Thanks”, and left the house.
The both of them met up at the book bar. After ordering their two drinks, the book bar boss commented: “So hardworking to do homework during the New Year celebrations.”
Lu YunFei sighed, “Which is why students don’t have it easy.”
“Then I’ll give you a discount,” the boss said good-naturedly, “Buy one get one free, I’ll just accept payment for one drink.”
“So great? Then thank you, wishing you a prosperous business.”
Lu YunFei said as Bian JinYuan paid, and they took their drinks up to the second floor.
Lu YunFei was working on English papers today. This paper was more difficult, and Lu YunFei had trouble finishing it. Bian JinYuan helped him to mark it, and it turned out that he had almost failed.
“It’s too difficult,” Lu YunFei complained, “This paper is too hard.”
Bian JinYuan looked at his tortured expression and moved to sit beside him, “No problem, it’ll be okay after doing a few more papers.”
He picked up his pen and started explaining questions to Lu YunFei. Lu YunFei quietly listened, occasionally asking a few “why”s. When the sky started darkening, they finished going over the paper, so the both of them packed their bags and left the book bar.
They went to the same restaurant to eat. After eating, Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan walked to the taxi spot.
Lu YunFei stole a few glances at him, wondering, why hadn’t he invited him over to his house yet?
If it were any other time, Lu YunFei would have already broached the topic. But since Bian JinYuan had recently rejected him, it wasn’t appropriate to bring it up again. And so Lu YunFei could only pray that cabs wouldn’t arrive yet while waiting for the person next to him to open up.
He waited for a while. No vehicles arrived, but Bian JinYuan also remained silent.
Lu YunFei sighed and thought about how hard this was.
Bian JinYuan looked at his watch. They had already been waiting for 20 minutes. It was only at this point when he finally mustered up the courage, his heart pounding while maintaining a poke face, “Forget it, let’s not wait any longer. Didn’t you want to visit my home? I can take you in today.”
Lu YunFei’s eyes brightened. The time he’d been waiting for had finally come!
“Really?”
Bian JinYuan nodded, “Let’s go, we’ll take the bus.”
Lu YunFei answered enthusiastically.
Bian JinYuan couldn’t help but breathe out a sigh of relief. He slowly unclenched the fists in his pants pockets as they headed towards the bus stop.
Several buses serviced the route to his home. As soon as he and Lu YunFei arrived at the bus stop, a bus arrived which they could take. Bian JinYuan boarded the bus, swiped his card for two people, and headed towards the back of the bus. Lu YunFei followed behind him.
The both of them chose a relatively empty area to stand in and held onto the handles. When the bus stopped, Lu YunFei was taken aback by the bus driver’s sudden halt and fell into Bian JinYuan.
“This bus driver is too rough on the brakes,” Lu YunFei exclaimed, “Did they previously operate roller coasters?”
Bian JinYuan held out his hand to support him and said gently, “Lean on me.”
Quack Notes
# Bian JinYuan said çșąçŒ«ć‡ș汙 (hĂłng māo chĆ« qiĂĄng, literally ‘red cat over the wall’). This is based off the idiom çșąæć‡ș汙 (hĂłng xĂŹng chĆ« qiĂĄng, literally ‘red apricot over wall’), which is now used to refer to adultering women (them being the apricots enticing sexual desires beyond their marriage boundaries I guess). Bian JinYuan took this idiom and swapped out the apricot for a cat, because the mascot of the Tmall Genie is a cat plus the chinese name for Tmall is ć€©çŒ« (tiān māo, literally ‘sky cat’). And the Tmall Genie is a red Tmall Genie, so this idiom fits so well just by changing one character. Pretty smart actually!