Chapter 9

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I ignored him. I want to confess to her.\n

After having dealt with the unforeseen event, they were all hungry and exhausted, so He Yu asked them if they wanted to get supper. The first person to respond to this suggestion with a raise of hand expressing their enthusiasm was Bai Jing, who had no relations to them.\n

“Sureeee, can we go get some porridge? There’s a hotel at the Shanghai Bund that serves amazing shark fin and sea urchin porridge, how about we go there?”\n

He Yu turned to look at Xie Xue.\n

Xie Xue wiped her tears and shot Bai Jing a look of displeasure, “I want to eat barbecue. I want to eat street food.”\n

“Then let’s get street food.”\n

Bai Jing: “Ah….. That’s too….. Alright……”\n

With Xie Xue present, He Yu at least showed Xie Qingcheng some face and asked him, “What about you?”\n

“I’ll pass. I’m taking this dog to get vaccinated, then check if it could be put up for adoption. If you’re planning on raising it then I’ll bring it back to you.”\n

As he was talking, he glanced at Xiao Huang, who sat obediently by his feet.\n

Xiao Huang seemed to like Xie Qingcheng a lot. It circled a few times around him, wagging its furry yellow tail as it barked, “Woof!”\n

.\n

Half an hour later.\n

A stall located at Huzhou’s night market.\n

As soon as Xie Xue arrived at the entrance of the barbeque stall, she greeted the owner with a sense of familiarity, “Laoban, I want fifty chicken cartilage skewers, fifty lamb skewers, ten grilled rice cake skewers, ten grilled shiitake mushroom skewers, a dozen grilled oysters, and five bottles of beer.”\n

“Aren’t places like this unhygienic…..? I would never eat here.” Bai Jing stretched out two fingers and used the tip of her fingernails to flip through the greasy menu.\n

Xie Xue rolled her eyes without a trace of politeness. “Weren’t you the one who insisted on getting into the car and following us here?”\n

“Aiyo, what are you so fierce for, little sister? I was getting hungry too.” As Bai Jing spoke, she made her way over to the seat closest to He Yu and obnoxiously plopped her noble buttocks down onto it. “May I trouble you to order some light dishes? It’s already this late and I’m afraid of gaining weight.”\n

With a glare, Xie Xue slammed her fist down onto the table with a furious yell, “Laoban, give me ten more fucking deep-fried rabbit heads!” \n

Bai Jing: “You—!”\n

He Yu spoke lightly, “Make it twenty instead, I want some as well.”　　\n

Bai Jing: “…….”\n

When it came to grilling skewers, it was either extremely easy for some, or extremely difficult for others. Even though they were all grilling chicken cartilage skewers here, the person grilling it made all the difference. With a twist of his arm, the owner flipped over the bamboo skewers, and the fat melted from the golden brown chicken cartilage. Ghee dripped down onto the charcoal and incited a wonderful chemical reaction; the burnt aroma of the oil, along with tiny sparks of flame, wafted up into the air. The owner, shrouded in the smoke, was like a peerless master who didn’t show his face too often. With a twitch of his nose, he could whiff out a delicious scent from within the huge smoke, and knew exactly when the skewers needed to be removed from the flame.\n

　　\n

He then plated it and served it while it was still hot, the handful of skewers cooked to perfection. Those skewers seemed to have become the gourmet world’s Goldilocks of comfort food; a little less cooked and it would’ve been too raw, while a little more cooked and it would’ve been too well done. It was just the right amount of burnt and crispy; even the fatty bits melted like snowflakes inside the mouth.\n

　　\n

Xie Xue was a regular customer of this place. She ordered a table full of skewers, as if she was trying to crush the small table that was draped with a light plastic tablecloth. While she was swept away by the wide array of delicious foods, Bai Jing held back and did her best to perform the classic act of the Sichuan Opera — Face Changing.\n

“Young Master He isn’t from Alahuzhou?” Bai Jing fluttered her semi-permanent eyelash curls, her pearl-glossed lips curved into a grin. “Doesn’t sound like it from your accent.”\n

He Yu asked with a smile, “Miss Bai, are you checking on my assets?”\n

“Aiya, no, no.” Bai Jing hurriedly waved her hand and touched her hair awkwardly. “Well, I previously majored in Business Administration as a graduate student in Yan City. You seem quite fluent in standard Mandarin, so I was wondering if you were from the North.”\n

“Then you must be a top student,” He Yu said with a polite smile as he picked out a dead rabbit head with its eyes wide open from the pile of barbeque skewers.\n

Bai Jing didn’t catch on to it and continued to ramble on, “That’s right. Working at the sales counter was mainly a way for me to gain experience. I’ll be promoted to a management role in the future. However, working at the front counter lets you get exposed to a lot of things; I’ve served quite a few celebrities and bosses, and I even met an actor a few days back, the one who appeared on the recent prime time television—”\n

Crack. He Yu’s white teeth bit into the rabbit’s skull and crushed it into pieces.\n

Bai Jing choked. It was as if He Yu had crushed her unspoken words into pieces down her throat. She suddenly felt some pain in her neck.\n

He Yu smiled, and only then did Bai Jing notice his canines. They weren’t too prominent, however, and only appeared slightly whenever He Yu gave a lopsided grin. He unhurriedly ate the rabbit brain paste while saying, “Miss Bai, let’s eat while we talk. Since you’re already here with us, don’t just starve. Do you not like rabbit heads?”\n

Bai Jing hurriedly waved her hand. “I—I usually have a small appetite. A few sips of Coke will fill me up so there’s no need to……”\n

“Is that so?” He Yu tossed the crushed rabbit bones onto a plate and said with a smile, “That’s truly a shame.”\n

After a few drinks, even though Bai Jing had become a little more restrained in her words and actions, she still couldn’t resist the temptation to ask for He Yu’s WeChat ID. Seeing this, Xie Xue finally snapped. This woman was supposed to be her older brother’s matchmaking date! Why was she asking for He Yu’s WeChat ID? How disrespectful!\n

Thus, she said furiously:\n

“Sorry, but he can’t give you his WeChat ID.”\n

“Why? Are you his girlfriend?”\n

“I— I’m not!” Xie Xue sputtered angrily and began to blindly make up stories. “But He Yu already has a girlfriend. She’s a beautiful woman with a ruthless personality and gets jealous very easily. She’s several years older than him and is very strict on him! She’ll slap him if he doesn’t listen to her, and she even makes me keep an eye on him whenever we’re out to make sure he stays faithful. Isn’t that right, He Yu?!”\n

But who would’ve thought that He Yu wouldn’t play along with her. He said, “What you’re describing is a military mission for spies.”\n

Fuck!\n

Xie Xue was so angry that she stomped on his feet underneath the table.\n

He Yu continued, “I don’t have a girlfriend like that, and neither do I like beautiful women who are excessively aggressive and gets jealous easily.”\n

That motherfucker!\n

Xie Xue stomped on him even harder, but ended up feeling pain in her feet. She looked down and realised that she had been stepping on the bottom of the table frame this entire time. Damn it!\n

He Yu laughed. Without a word, he retracted his long legs that had been leaning against the side of the table frames, and placed some skewers sprinkled with pepper powder onto Xie Xue’s plate. Then, he turned to the expectant Bai Jing and said, “Although, miss, I do have someone I like. So I can’t be casually adding other girls on WeChat, I hope you understand.”\n

Bai Jing couldn’t hide the disappointment on her face. “We can’t even be regular friends?”\n

In an instant, He Yu lost his perfunctory smile, and his easy-going youthfulness from earlier on seemed to vanish entirely. He quietly stared at the other party.\n

“Thanks. But I feel like we don’t belong to the same world.”\n

That sentence essentially shut down the other party, turning the atmosphere rigid in an instant.\n

He Yu grabbed a paper towel. Very carefully, he wiped away the oil stains from the barbeque sticks off his fingers, one by one, before throwing it away. He coldly passed by the colorfully dressed woman and said calmly, “I’m going to wash my hands.”\n

Not everyone in this world was socially inept and unable to comprehend human speech. Bai Jing had clearly picked up on the cold and dismissive attitude that this handsome and affluent young man had towards her. And the girl surnamed Xie obviously read the situation and didn’t bother to say anything else to her. Bai Jing felt awkward. Finally, she made up an excuse to say that something came up and left the table pathetically.\n

He Yu returned after a while. When he saw that she had left, he only raised his eyebrows without questioning it, and sat next to Xie Xue with a nonchalant expression on.\n

Xie Xue rolled her eyes a few times, scolded Bai Jing some more, and then munched on the chicken cartilage skewers. Then, she tilted her head towards He Yu and asked, “Earlier on, you mentioned that there’s someone you like? For real? Who is it?”\n

“I was just teasing you.”\n

Xie Xue patted her chest in relief and took another small sip of beer. “Oh, you almost scared me to death……”\n

The movements of He Yu’s hands paused for a moment as he gazed at the side profile of the girl who held no ulterior motives.\n

“Why are you looking at me?”\n

“Are you afraid that I have someone I like?”\n

“That’s for sure.”\n

“Why?”\n

“Because I’m still single! So won’t that mean I’ll no longer be able to hang out with you as much if you were attached?”\n

…… What kind of dumb reasoning is this?\n

Xie Xue: “What are you laughing at?”\n

He Yu lifted his hand and gently brushed off traces of pepper powder that clung to the corner of her lips with his thumb. His expression relaxed and then acting as if nothing had happened, he said, “How could you be eating a skewer and still manage to get some on your lips?”\n

Actually, he had been wanting to confess to her for a long time now and was planning to do it after returning to China.\n

But He Yu was a careful person. He believed that rather than confessing in a spur of a moment without much thought, casually revealing the secret he had kept inside of him for years out on a busy street like that, a confession should be taken seriously instead.\n

With that thought, he redirected the conversation, “You shouldn’t let your brother go on matchmaking dates with young girls like that in the future. He isn’t young anymore, and has an old-fashioned personality. Even the aunties of the same generation can’t stand him, let alone this kind of girl. How deep must the generation gap between them be?”\n

“Why are you bad-mouthing my brother? He doesn’t treat you badly!”\n

He Yu said, “I’m just telling the truth.”\n

“Pah!”\n

He Yu rolled his eyes, unable to understand Xie Xue’s brother complex. “It’s true. Remove the filter and look at it closely. Your brother is already an old man seeking out a second marriage, just look for someone with a virtuous personality and it’ll do. Someone this young really isn’t suitable for him.”\n

“Save your breath. My brother is so handsome and great, why should he just settle for someone?”\n

“He’s handsome, but he always regards others with a high and mighty attitude all the time. It’s not like anyone owes him.” Then, the image of Xie Qingcheng’s nonchalant face lightly biting onto the straw with his body leaning forward appeared in front of him as if he was actually there.\n

His posture looked as if he were some CEO that was being rightfully served by his assistant, even though he clearly didn’t have any money. How could he be so calm and provocative at the same time?\n

Even thinking about it made He Yu a little angry. He wasn’t sure what he should swap the straw out with that could sweep the calm look off ‘CEO Xie’s’ face and leave a dazed look in his eyes instead, his expression full of embarrassment and humiliation.\n

However, would Xie Qingcheng’s face really show such a vulnerable expression……?\n

He Yu had never seen it before. He tried to imagine it, but found out that he couldn’t actually picture it.\n

“What are you thinking about?”\n

He Yu said absentmindedly, “Thinking about your brother.”\n

“Ah?”\n

“…… I was wondering if your brother had ever lost his composure and suffered defeat at the hands of anyone before.”\n

“Oh, then just give up. Ever since I could remember, I’ve never seen him like that. My big brother is particularly great, he could be calm, he could also be tough. Looking at him wearing a suit with a book in his hand everyday, you wouldn’t expect it, but when he was your age, he was the most skilled fighter in our area. Once when I was being bullied by a bunch of hooligans, he lugged a steel pipe and took on more than a dozen punks alone before bringing them to the police station….. After that, whenever the group of hooligans saw him, they’d all nod and humble themselves while calling him big brother, only short of creating a path made out of rugs for him…. except for one person… but that was an outlier so it doesn’t count.”\n

He Yu saw the light in her eyes, and became even more uncomfortable. He smiled, “How are you still the same as you were back when you were a child? Whenever you talk about him you’d be full of worship, always thinking that your brother is your savior.”\n

“But he is! You have no idea how hard it was for him to raise me, being a father, mother, and brother all at once……”\n

“But you’re also very obedient and that saves him a lot of trouble.”\n

“…… Sigh, I’m no good, I don’t even have a tenth of the capabilities he has.” Xie Xue shook her head while she ate a skewer, “Aiya, I’m no good, I’m no good.”\n

As they continued to talk, He Yu watched as she self-deprecated herself in this store, heavy with the smell of smoke and beer, and thought she was rather funny. His eyes grew gentle. He thought, ‘such a great girl. I’m definitely not the only one who likes her.’\n

He really couldn’t wait any longer. \n

That night, He Yu did not return to his dorm room. It was too late and he didn’t want to disturb his roommates. So after he sent Xie Xue back to the faculty dormitory, he asked the driver to drop himself off at a hotel he frequented, then took a shower and laid down on the soft, fluffy goose woollen pillow.\n

“I’ve arrived. You….”\n

His fingers typed quickly on the phone screen, but halfway through his thoughts, he suddenly stopped.\n

He Yu finally sighed, and deleted the message in the text box. He gazed at the avatar of a sleepwalking bear on WeChat for a long while, and ended up sending just two simple words.\n

“Good night.”\n

Just when he was about to turn his phone off, he heard a ding. He Yu thought that Xie Xue had sent a reply, so he immediately checked his phone.\n

But the message was actually from the ‘savior’, and it turned out to be a notification detailing a transfer of funds.\n

“Earlier at the hospital there was a limit on Internet banking. I’ve taken care of it, so I’m returning the money to you.”\n

He Yu had always hated when Xie Qingcheng acted like this, plus it wasn’t a response from Xie Xue’s, so he was even colder.\n

“I just wanted to help someone out, why should you pay?”\n

Likewise, Xie Qingcheng especially hated this kind of attitude from He Yu, but was too lazy to argue with him so he simply said, “Then consider it a service fee.”\n

“What?”\n

“Your service fee for driving me. Even if I had managed to find a substitute driver on the spot, it wouldn’t have been someone who’s young, strong, and can drift like you.”\n

“……”\n

He sure was bold.\n

How many people in this world truly dared to take Young Master He as a driver and even paid him a service fee?\n

And why does this sound like he’s paying a prostitute!\n

He Yu’s eyes were gloomy. He was just about to reply when he accidentally pressed the back button and saw his conversation with Xie Xue. \n

Once again, he recalled Xie Xue’s bright shimmering eyes whenever she mentioned Xie Qingcheng, and the line, “You have no idea how hard it was for my brother to raise me alone ……”\n

“……”\n

Forget it, he was still her big brother.\n

So, He Yu replied, “You’re welcome Xie-ge. If you ever need me, just call me at your convenience. I promise you a smooth ride with satisfaction guaranteed each time.”\n

“Show me your car insurance claims while you were abroad first, and then we’ll talk.”\n

He Yu’s expression darkened again. He really shouldn’t have given him any courtesy!\n

At this moment, the phone vibrated again.\n

This time it wasn’t Xie Qingcheng, but Xie Xue.\n

Xie Xue replied, “Good night! Thanks for today.”\n

She came out of the university faculty dormitory bathroom, as she wiped her wet hair and yawned. Xie Xue had just touched her phone when she saw that He Yu had sent her a good night message. She couldn’t help but smile and returned this message to him.\n

Then she sat down at the table and opened her notebook. Although these days few people will use pen and paper to record their daily lives, there are always a few oddballs with a nostalgic heart, willing to use the rusty ink, sharp fountain pen, and yellowed pages to wander in days of the past.\n

Turning on the desk lamp, Xie Xue began to write in her bedtime journal: \n

“Today, my brother went on another matchmaking date. I don’t like that girl, however, I think……”\n

Just like that, she wrote more than five hundred words. Perhaps it was because she brought up Xie Qingcheng’s relationship status, but she ended up thinking of her dry lovelife too.\n

Xie Xue sighed and looked out the window at the misty night with flashing streetlights.\n

She and her brother were different. Her brother had already lost hope in love and marriage, living too realistically. When his peach blossom eyes squinted over, he seemed to be annoyed at everyone he looked at.\n

But she had someone that she liked.\n

The shadow of that person vaguely appeared in front of her eyes. Since childhood, she would often see him hang around in front of her, so close yet so far away.\n

She was aware that they are not from the same world, the disparity between their circles was too great. Besides, he was also younger than her ……\n

But now that they are both at HU, she could also see that the girls who were interested in him were more plentiful than wheat crops in the fall.\n

If she didn’t tell him, there would not be much time left. If she missed this opportunity, she might regret it later…… eventually end up in the same situation as her brother – counting the trivialities of life with people who he doesn’t have much affection for, saying vows that don’t mean anything, and walking into the grave of marriage. And then one day rise from that grave all alone again, having to keep dating in order to keep the elders from being sad.\n

She really can’t bear to see her big brother like this sometimes, she feels that Xie Qingcheng was living for others most of the time. He says he did not care about the view of others, but it was he who cared most about his relatives.\n

Xie Qingcheng has been too tightly wound.\n

It’s not like she hasn’t tried to persuade him, but each time the words would barely leave her lips before her big brother gave her a glare, either telling her to study and worry about herself, or admonishing her for being involved in adult affairs, saying what would a little girl like her understand.\n

Actually, the person who does not understand emotions the most is himself. He has lived a good portion of his life, and only had a failed marriage to show for it.\n

“I want to try and confess to someone I like. My brother has always wanted me to be brave from a young age, and I feel it’s the same for this matter. Whether I succeed or not, at least I tried. When I think about it later, I won’t have any regrets.”\n

Xie Xue finished writing the last sentence and closed the notebook.\n

What she didn’t know was that in the hotel suite a few kilometers away, He Yu also had thoughts similar to hers’ ……\n

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The author has something to say: \n

Those who can understand the deeper meaning in yesterday’s straw biting scene, and interpret it to even deeper levels, are talents that should be automatically admitted into Beijing University hahaha.\n

Tomorrow, Young Master He will get ready to confess to his future wife’s sister (?)\n

Promise me, sweethearts, don’t be surprised no matter what you see tomorrow, okay? \n

Mini Theatre: \n

He Yu: your brother is not suitable for someone like Bai Jing. \n

Xie Xue: Then what is he suitable for? \n

He Yu: he is suitable for the kind of person who can rip off his high and mighty mask, take him apart, tear him to pieces and break him down. \n

Xie Xue: why…. \n

He Yu: because I want to see it. \n

Xie Qingcheng: Xiao Gui, drink some milk before bed, wash up and go to bed early. You can have anything you want in your dreams.\n\n

NOTE: wanted to make it clear that this is a human translation. we will no longer be posting rough drafts – only the final version will be posted from now on.

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