An Wuyang carefully took the four yuan that Huo Yunchuan handed over, wrapping two coins with two bills, revealing a happy smile. Then, he reminisced, “Seeing a one-yuan coin reminds me of the time when you were so stubborn.”
Huo quickly tried to recall, but couldn’t figure out when he had been stubborn. “…”
After thinking about it, all he could remember was accidentally stepping on An Wuyang’s one-yuan coin outside the Lafayette Hotel?
If so, Huo Yunchuan was speechless.
However, Huo Yunchuan pursed his lips and silently carried this old grudge.
“Sorry,” An Wuyang said. “Why are you being so polite?” He himself didn’t mind: “You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you were very handsome, hehe, to be honest…” he said seriously, “…if it wasn’t you washing your hands next to me at the time, I might not have asked for help.”
Huo was suddenly filled with excitement and excitement inside.
Little angel: “Hmm, you don’t know, but I think you’re perfect everywhere. I couldn’t possibly really like you.”
That’s how I felt at the time.
Including sometimes thinking about it now, there’s a little uneasiness, afraid that such a perfect object will be taken away by better ‘little fairies’.
“Don’t overthink.” Huo Yunchuan, who was confused and dazzled by the little angel, first felt sweet, then felt a pang, immediately hugged the other person to his lap, and his nurturing feelings were self-evident.
Little angel: “Thinking back, we were probably like a snapping turtle watching green beans, catching each other’s eyes, right?” Then affirming to himself, “Yes, that’s probably how it was.”
Huo Yunchuan tried hard to suppress his curiosity, not delving into who might be the snapping turtle and who the green bean: “Hmm…” He could only vaguely respond, as there was no point in arguing further.
An Wuyang, tired from the journey, yawning endlessly by eleven o’clock, wanted to sleep.
Huo Yunchuan held him all the while, chatting intermittently.
Sometimes they talked about topics like the little angel’s preference for plain water, and other times they discussed small historical stories.
Through these stories, Huo Yunchuan subtly reshaped his perspectives, not very objectively imparting knowledge to the little angel and broadening his thinking.
It’s not hard to imagine that in a few years, An Wuyang would bear many resemblances to Huo Yunchuan.
Upon reflection, could this be what they call cultivation?
The next noon, they faced the most troublesome issue of their trip again: what to eat for lunch and where to eat.
Everyone knows that in non-major cities, the quality of accommodation, dining, and transportation will inevitably decline.
For An Wuyang, who was used to simplicity, this was surely no problem.
But for the CEO born with a silver spoon, he was particularly picky, constantly dissatisfied with this hotel or that restaurant. By the time he made a decision, lunchtime was almost over.
An Wuyang was starving, and as soon as the food arrived, he dug in earnestly.
They say a full belly leads to lecherous thoughts. After finishing his meal, An Wuyang began to think about the four yuan in his pocket.
Glancing at Huo Yunchuan still eating, he softly spoke up, “Um, could I go to the restroom for a moment?”
Huo Yunchuan paused eating, turned to look towards the direction of the restroom, solemnly calculating the possibility of An Wuyang getting lost.
Noticing waiters around and few other guests, he replied seriously, “Go ahead, be careful.”
Not hearing the words “I’ll come with you,” An Wuyang couldn’t contain his excitement, managing to restrain himself from revealing his eagerness: “Alright!”
There was a side door leading towards the restroom, where patrons would exit after paying their bills.
That’s where An Wuyang headed out.
The place they were traveling to was a niche city, with small shops lining the streets, including places to buy lottery tickets.
An Wuyang soon spotted a small storefront, hesitatingly approached, clutching the four yuan Huo Yunchuan had given him, and peeked inside the door.
Shopkeeper: “Young man, buying a lottery ticket?”
An Wuyang: “Can I buy two tickets?”
Two minutes later, An Wuyang held the small tickets the shopkeeper had printed out, curiously examining them.
So this is what a lottery ticket looks like.
He packed them away hopefully.
Crossing a street to the restaurant opposite, he pretended to have used the restroom and now returned.
Huo Yunchuan sitting opposite didn’t suspect anything but was a bit concerned, “Are you really not going to eat a bit more?”
An Wuyang shook his head, “I’m really full.”
The earlier bowl of food, eaten quickly to have a chance to go out and wander around sooner, had left An Wuyang feeling a bit uncomfortably stuffed…
But it didn’t dampen his cheerful mood.
In his pocket were two lottery tickets, as though he carried a huge sum of five million.
Though the chances of winning were very slim, one must have dreams, or else what’s the difference with being a salted fish?
In the afternoon, An Wuyang continued to wander with Huo Yunchuan, exploring and listening to stories he hadn’t heard before.
Learning about history and culture through stories and understanding the man he admired from oral history was such a wonderful feeling.
Two lottery tickets plus Huo Yunchuan’s charming voice finally made An Wuyang feel the joy of the holiday.
… If only the spring rope hadn’t made a comeback.
“So many people in this place,” Huo Yunchuan calmly observed the bustling crowd, pulling out the child leash, and clasped An Wuyang’s hand. “Today is our last stop, behave.”
After seeing this, he could take the child back.
At first, An Wuyang refused, “…”
But then he suddenly remembered, today was Thursday, it seemed like the day the lottery results were announced!
Regardless, a person who had done something bad in secret was bound to feel guilty.
“Alright.” An Wuyang willingly accepted the spring rope that made him look somewhat foolish, obediently led around by the contraption all day.
Lottery drawings occurred every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 21:35.
On the last day of their trip, when they returned to the hotel in the evening, there were only about five minutes left until the drawing.
An Wuyang held his phone, hiding in the bathroom stall, scrutinizing the ticket seriously.
At that moment, he was like a scientist conducting serious research, completely focused with bright, shining eyes.
“02, 14, 19…”
Two minutes later, angrily he put down his phone, stood up, and threw the ticket into the toilet, pressing the flush button forcefully.
He kicked the toilet bowl again after thinking about it.
Huo Yunchuan silently watched this scene through the transparent glass wall, feeling internally injured by the cuteness…
“Hmph… wasted four yuan for nothing.” After flushing the toilet, An Wuyang sat back on the seat, feeling sorry for the four yuan that had brought him no value. At the same time, he admonished himself that the dream of overnight riches was unrealistic, and he would never buy a lottery ticket again.
As An Wuyang thought this, relieved from thoughts of the lottery, he looked around and suddenly saw someone sitting on the bed, “Huh?”
This wall is interesting; you can actually see through it?
Realizing belatedly, the young man blushed instantly, darn…
Embarrassing, embarrassing, embarrassing!
Until the next morning when they boarded the plane home, whenever Huo Yunchuan gave An Wuyang that teasing, ambiguous look, An Wuyang’s face still burned hot with embarrassment.
The hypocritical man who pretended not to have seen anything last night couldn’t hold back anymore and asked, “When did you sneak off to buy the lottery behind my back?”
An Wuyang leaned back in his seat, hands covering his face in despair, and grumbled miserably, “Wednesday noon, during the bathroom break.”
Huo Yunchuan suppressed a laugh and coughed lightly into his fist, “And then?”
“What ‘and then’? Of course, I didn’t win anything.” An Wuyang, remembering the painful four yuan, grabbed the nearby cushion and buried his face in it, “I’m never buying lottery tickets again. Getting rich overnight is impossible, and that kind of wishful thinking can become addictive.”
Bit by bit, those two yuan coins add up, invisibly losing a substantial amount of money.
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Huo Yunchuan nodded, thoroughly charmed by the repentant little angel next door, replaying the scene of him kicking the toilet in his mind.
The trip ended the day before the long holiday finished, and An Wuyang spent a blissful day sleeping at home.
On the first day back to school in the afternoon, he and Huo Yunchuan went to the Huo family’s home to pick up Dun dun who had been away for many days.
With the end of the long holiday, the arrival of deep autumn was imminent, and soon they would welcome the change to colder weather.
Grandma reminded Dun Dun to start wearing thicker long sleeves.
Aunt Zhang sorted through Dun Dun’s clothes from birth to now, filling up two large bags.
“Yangyang,” she asked the lively teenager who had just finished his homework, “what should we do with Dun Dun’s clothes?”
Kids grow so fast; the previous clothes won’t fit anymore.
Leaving them at home takes up space, but it seems a waste to throw them away.
An Wuyang looked at the pile of little clothes, lost in thought, thinking: Kids really grow up so fast. And also: It would be a waste to throw the clothes away; why not save them for Dun Dun’s future little brother?
The dreadful thought flashed through his mind but he shook his head and dismissed it.
“Aunt Zhang, let’s leave them for now. I’ll think about it later,” he said.
When Huo Yunchuan returned home and saw the two large bags of stuff in the living room, he discovered they were Dun Dun’s old clothes. Silently, he carried them downstairs and placed them in the car trunk.
The next day, when An Wuyang went to school, Huo Yunchuan drove out, passing by the Huo family home to drop off the clothes.
Mrs. Huo asked, “What’s all this?”
Huo Yunchuan replied calmly, “Dun Dun’s old clothes.”
His mother looked surprised, “But how did you bring them back?” As a lady from a privileged background, she wasn’t accustomed to keeping old clothes, but since these were for her beloved grandchild, she gladly started sorting through them.
“It’s a shame to throw them away. We’ll see if they can be used in the future,” Huo Yunchuan said casually, laying out a tempting bait.
Mrs. Huo’s heart almost skipped a beat as she pinched Dun Dun’s little pants and asked, “What do you mean?”
Huo Yunchuan didn’t answer, maintaining a poker face, “I’m heading back now. I’ll bring them over again this weekend,” he bid farewell and left.
“Tsk, I wonder who he takes after…” Mrs. Huo grumbled, but deep down, she was still delighted, flipping through Dun Dun’s old clothes happily.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
