Translator: Lynn
Cheng Ke was on the verge of losing his composure and attacking Jiang Yuduo when the waiter’s announcement saved him.
“Number 23, it’s your turn!” The waiter called out, opening the curtain.
Jiang Yuduo, unfazed, pulled Cheng Ke towards their table, “Let’s go, that’s us.”
Cheng Ke couldn’t help but think that the restaurant was shabby and poorly managed. The staff’s abruptness during the seating process was just one example of their poor service.
It seemed like every activity Cheng Ke engaged in with Jiang Yuduo, whether it was taking a shower or getting in the car, felt like a chore. But the strong aroma of fish sour soup made him forget all of that, at least temporarily.
“What kind of soup do you want?” the waiter asked them.
Jiang Yuduo looked at Cheng Ke, who then turned to the waiter and inquired, “What types of soup do you offer?”
“Salty sour, spicy sour, spicy and salty, fresh sour, and astringent sour,” the waiter replied in one breath, his speech fast and practiced from his many daily repetitions. Cheng Ke remembered all of the options except for the sour taste.
Jiang Yuduo waited for a moment before turning to the waiter and saying, “Spicy and sour fish soup.”
“Alright,” the waiter nodded. “I’ll place your order first, and you can call me back when you’re ready to order side dishes.”
Without waiting for their reply, the waiter quickly walked away and signaled for service at another table.
Cheng Ke couldn’t help but remark, “Business seems good here.”
“Yeah, that’s why the waiter is so exhausted. Er Tu couldn’t handle it after working for a year, so he quit,” Jiang Yuduo explained.
“Oh,” Cheng Ke nodded in understanding.
Jiang Yuduo inquired, “Have you ever had a job?”
Cheng Ke responded, “No, but I did work at my father’s company for a period of time.”
“What did you do there?” Jiang Yuduo asked.
Cheng Ke didn’t like discussing this topic, and even thinking about it made him feel down. To put it nicely, he worked with Cheng Yi, and less nicely, he was under Cheng Yi’s orders and subjected to physical abuse.
He sighed softly, “I did chores for Cheng Yi.”
“I see,” Jiang Yuduo nodded understandingly, “It’s not too tiring and you get paid, right?”
Cheng Ke laughed, “No, I don’t get paid. When I need money, I use my own and divide the profits at the end of the year.”
“I see,” Jiang Yuduo marked his menu with a pen, “That’s why even if the bill is over 100,000 yuan. You throw away the watch easily.”
Cheng Ke smiled, “Cheng Yi gave me that watch.”
Jiang Yuduo raised an eyebrow, “Has he given you anything else?”
Cheng Ke took a sip of his tea, “Yes, I thought it was a sign that he was willing to reconcile with me.”
“It turned out to be a sign that you would be kicked out of the house,” Jiang Yuduo remarked, “I was right. That watch looks quite new, and you haven’t worn it for more than a few days. If you keep going like this, even if there isn’t a second young master vying for the family inheritance, your father will still kick you out sooner or later.”
“Probably,” Cheng Ke admitted.
“But you should hang in there for a few more months,” Jiang Yuduo advised, “At least you’ll get a share of the profits at the end of the year. With the way you spend money, last year’s share wasn’t much.”
Cheng Ke didn’t want to delve into his embarrassing past, but he found himself opening up to Jiang Yuduo. “You’re right.”
Jiang Yuduo looked up in surprise as the waiter brought a large pot of fish in sour soup. He kept staring at Cheng Ke through the steaming pot as the waiter lit the fire and walked away. “You haven’t worked for a year?” he asked in surprise.
Cheng Ke nodded. “Yeah.”
“So you lived for 27, nearly 28 years without ever working, but within a year of starting to work in your father’s company with your younger brother, you got kicked out by your own father?” Jiang Yuduo summarized bluntly. “Sorry to say, but you’re trash.”
Cheng Ke felt like he should feel embarrassed, but instead, he felt a little emotional and found Jiang Yuduo’s summary quite accurate. “Yeah, I only worked odd jobs for a few months before getting into the family business. I guess I messed up the negotiation early,” he laughed.
“You don’t seem like someone who messes up,” Jiang Yuduo frowned. “Is your brother framed you?”
Cheng Ke didn’t answer, but instead, he knocked on the empty cup. He knew he couldn’t mess up. Although he wasn’t interested in the business, since he was doing it, he wanted to do well. However, Cheng Yi never gave him a chance.
Jiang Yuduo poured wine for both of them and said, “If you always remain a waste, you may grow old safely, but if you suddenly stop being a waste, someone will clear the obstacles.” Cheng Ke glanced at Jiang Yuduo, impressed by his young age and insightful thinking.
“Rich people like you live very tiring lives,” Jiang Yuduo continued, pouring wine for himself. “If you’re trash, your father is not happy. If you’re not trash, your brothers are not happy.”
Cheng Ke picked up his wine glass, and Jiang Yuduo did the same. “Cheers,” he said, knocking his glass heavily, causing some of the wine to spill into the soup.
Jiang Yuduo took a swig of his wine and looked at Cheng Ke with a smirk. “I’m fine, but I don’t know how much you can handle. I don’t want to deal with a drunk on our way home – it’s a long way back,” he said, contradicting himself by simultaneously teasing Cheng Ke about his drinking abilities.
Cheng Ke downed a glass of wine and set it down with a thud. “What, are you challenging me?” Jiang Yuduo chuckled in response. “Lao San, I’m not a lightweight,” Cheng Ke added with a smile.
Jiang Yuduo refilled their cups and reassured Cheng Ke, “Don’t worry, I’ll be the one who’s really drunk. You don’t need to carry me – just call Chen Qing to help.”
“What if I’m the one who’s drunk?” Cheng Ke asked.
“I’ll wake you up,” Jiang Yuduo replied with a grin.
Cheng Ke reflected on his ability to handle alcohol, which he attributed to watching his father drink often but never get drunk. He acknowledged that he was better than his brother Cheng Yi in this regard. Cheng Yi had stopped drinking entirely after realizing he couldn’t handle it. Cheng Ke, however, had no accurate judgment when it came to things that weren’t good for him.
As he looked at Jiang Yuduo, Cheng Ke couldn’t help but compare himself to his brother. He knew that if it were Cheng Yi in his place, he would never have associated with someone like Jiang Yuduo, much less after discovering his true nature. However, Cheng Ke was different – he tended to classify people based on their outward appearance and had no qualms about separating himself from those he deemed undesirable. Even Jiang Yuduo himself drew a line, placing Cheng Ke at the other end of the spectrum.
Cheng Ke extended his cup to Jiang Yuduo, who looked at him with amusement. Jiang Yuduo then raised his own glass and tapped it against Cheng Ke’s. “If your glass wasn’t already full, I’d think you were begging for a drink,” he joked. Cheng Ke smiled in response.
“The fish in sour soup was really satisfying, I’m glad we came here,” Cheng Ke said as he stepped out of the restaurant.
Jiang Yuduo glanced at him and asked, “Are you drunk?”
Cheng Ke shook his head, “No, not really. But I do feel a little dizzy.”
He walked outside to get some fresh air and noticed the snowfall. “Hey, look! It’s snowing!” he exclaimed and went back inside to share the moment with Jiang Yuduo.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” Jiang Yuduo said nonchalantly, “You want to go outside and howl or something?”
Cheng Ke chuckled and replied, “No, I just wanted to enjoy the moment.”
Jiang Yuduo then noticed that Cheng Ke wasn’t dressed warmly enough for the weather. “You’re going to freeze,” he commented.
Cheng Ke quickly put on his hat and zipped up his jacket. “I wasn’t expecting it to snow,” he explained.
Jiang Yuduo teased him, “Aren’t you the little cutie one?”
Cheng Ke rolled his eyes. “I swear, if you don’t stop saying stuff like that, I’m going to lose it.”
Jiang Yuduo laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll try to be more careful with my words.”
The street is too small, only motorcycles and bicycles can pass through, even tricycles cannot enter the street. To catch a taxi, one must walk to the intersection. Cheng Ke seldom has to walk a long way after meals and wait by the roadside to hail a taxi. As he strides out with his head down, he can’t help but admire the other diners who go through this routine every time. They either walk or wait for a taxi or retrieve their car parked at the intersection lot.
Despite the distance being only thirty to fifty meters, Cheng Ke still feels a bit embarrassed after walking half a street. He realizes that Jiang Yuduo was right when he called him coquettish.
“Can I flag down a taxi here?” Cheng Ke queries, observing the cars passing by at the intersection.
“I’ve called, but haven’t received confirmation yet,” Jiang Yuduo says, holding his mobile phone. “Head to the supermarket across the street and wait. You don’t need to turn around when the car arrives.”
“Got it,” Cheng Ke nods, and heads towards the opposite side.
Cheng Ke acknowledged and hurriedly walked across the street as the pedestrian traffic light turned green. Although it was bearable to walk in such weather, stopping could freeze one immediately. While crossing the zebra crossing, the wind blew fiercely, and Cheng Ke could barely hear anything due to his ears being covered by his hat.
However, he heard something amidst the snoring of the north wind. It was the screeching sound of a car’s tires rubbing against the ground when braking suddenly, which came from the left side. He immediately realized that the car driver must have turned right without slowing down on the icy ground.
Cheng Ke responded promptly and chose to back up instead of moving forward to avoid being hit by the skidding car. But it seemed that he had run out of time, as the car was too close. He managed to take one step back, but the car had already arrived beside him. The dazzling lights made it impossible for him to see anything.
Suddenly, his right arm was yanked back, and his waist was pulled with great force, making him lose balance. The car brushed past him, swerved sideways, and skidded for more than ten meters, forcing three cars in the opposite lane to stop before it finally drove away.
After regaining his senses, Cheng Ke found himself being dragged by Jiang Yu back to the side of the road. “Fuck.” Still a little shaken, he muttered a curse under his breath.
Jiang Yuduo didn’t say a word, but still firmly held onto Cheng Ke’s arm with one hand, and used his other arm to wrap around Cheng Ke’s chest, yanking him back forcefully. Since Cheng Ke was still leaning backward, he stumbled a bit as he was pulled unsteadily.
“I’m okay,” Cheng Ke said, turning his head to look at Jiang Yuduo. “You can let go now.”
Jiang Yuduo continued to remain silent as he quickly led Cheng Ke forward.
“Jiang Yuduo?” Cheng Ke called out to him again, taking off his hat and shouting in his ear. “You can let go of me now, I’m fine.”
Jiang Yuduo gave him a quick glance but didn’t say anything.
As Cheng Ke turned his head, he heard Jiang Yuduo’s urgent and heavy breathing, indicating that he was very nervous.
“Lao-san?” Cheng Ke also became nervous and attempted to call out to him again. At the same time, he braced himself for an impending attack from Jiang Yuduo.
However, Jiang Yuduo didn’t strike him. Instead, he pulled Cheng Ke all the way back to the intersection, then to the side of a building, and finally let go of him.
Cheng Ke breathed a sigh of relief, just as he was about to say something, but Jiang Yuduo hugged him tightly.
This embrace was so strong that Cheng Ke was pulled forward. When he tried to move, Jiang Yuduo’s arms tightened even more.
“Jiang Yuduo?” Cheng Ke was taken aback.
In normal circumstances, Cheng Ke would have immediately embraced the moment and enjoyed it. However, as he was being hugged now, his immediate reaction was that Jiang Yuduo might be planning to strangle him to death. He quickly bent his elbow and tried to put his arm between them, so he could push Jiang Yuduo away if needed. But Jiang Yuduo didn’t take any further action and remained still after the embrace.
Though, it wouldn’t be entirely accurate to say that he didn’t move at all. Cheng Ke could feel the trembling of Jiang Yuduo’s arms around him, which then spread to his entire body. He was breathing heavily as if he had just finished running ten kilometers while being chased by a ghost.
It was then that Cheng Ke realized that Jiang Yuduo was afraid.
“It’s okay,” Cheng Ke said hesitantly, raising his arms to hug Jiang Yuduo back. Even though he was not good at comforting people, he knew that he had to try. He couldn’t understand what Jiang Yuduo was afraid of, so he repeated the same sentence over and over again, “It’s okay.”
Jiang Yuduo didn’t respond, but instead, tightened his arms and clutched Cheng Ke’s clothes tightly.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Cheng Ke repeated to himself, admiring his own attempts to console Jiang Yuduo. He thought of various phrases to say, but realized that they all sounded the same, “It’s okay…”
Finally, he gave up trying to find the right words and decided to remain silent. He kept patting Jiang Yuduo’s back gently, hoping that the simple physical gesture would be enough to offer some comfort.
It had been about two minutes, but Jiang Yuduo still seemed to be in an altered state. Cheng Ke thought it might attract attention if they kept hugging, so he tugged at Jiang Yuduo’s clothes to break the embrace.
Jiang Yuduo stirred, but then grabbed Cheng Ke’s sleeve tightly and stared at him with a confused expression.
“It’s me,” Cheng Ke said hastily, “Cheng Ke, I’m Cheng Ke.” He didn’t want to risk getting punched.
Jiang Yuduo didn’t reply, but his breathing slowed down a bit. Cheng Ke held his face and shook it gently, saying, “Hey, it’s me.”
Jiang Yuduo continued to gaze at him with a look of fear and confusion that made Cheng Ke uneasy.
It was clear that Jiang Yuduo was genuinely frightened, trapped in some kind of intense fear.
“Say something,” Cheng Ke urged, still holding onto his face.
Jiang Yuduo remained silent but kept staring at him.
Cheng Ke made a decision. He knew that he wanted to snap Jiang Yuduo back to reality, but he couldn’t deny that there were other motives driving him as well. However, he had no other choice at the moment. He didn’t dare to hit him, as he feared that he might end up fighting on the street and Jiang Yuduo had a knife in his pocket.
He cleared his throat.
He cleared his throat without knowing why and then leaned in to kiss Jiang Yuduo on the lips. “Wake up, pretty cutie!” he said, before Jiang Yuduo suddenly pushed him away, causing Cheng Ke to hit the wall behind him.
After a few seconds of staring at Cheng Ke, Jiang Yuduo asked, “What are you doing?”
“Fuck,” Cheng Ke replied with relief as Jiang Yuduo’s eyes finally focused. “Are you all right?”
Jiang Yuduo said it was okay, but then asked, “Did you just kiss me?”
“En,” Cheng Ke said, “If you don’t move, I’m going to fuck you in the street.”
Jiang Yuduo remained silent and let out a sigh after a while, “You scared me to death.”
“What?” Cheng Ke inquired.
“Don’t you watch where you’re going when you cross the road!” Jiang Yuduo shouted.
“Damn!” Cheng Ke was taken aback by his loud voice and hit the wall once more, “What are you yelling for?”
“There was a car coming towards you!” Jiang Yuduo shouted again.
“…I didn’t see it,” Cheng Ke noticed someone looking their way and lowered his voice, “I had a hat on, and besides, I didn’t expect people to drive like that in such weather.”
“If I didn’t stop you, you would have been hit!” Jiang Yuduo said.
“It’s not necessarily… fatal.” Cheng Ke said with little confidence, mainly because he didn’t know how to make Jiang Yuduo less angry.
Jiang Yuduo gazed at him for a while, then suddenly grinned, “Screw you.”
Cheng Ke felt relieved when he saw him smile, and adjusted his clothing, “Thank you.”
Jiang Yuduo’s phone rang, and the car they had called had arrived, but no one was visible.
“We’re here. We’re on the other side of the road,” Jiang Yuduo informed the caller. After hanging up, he glanced at Cheng Ke, “The car is here. Let’s go.”
“Sure,” Cheng Ke replied.
This time, when they crossed the street, Jiang Yuduo stood on his left. Halfway through the pedestrian crossing, Jiang Yuduo went back to his right side again.
Cheng Ke wanted to chuckle a little, but his nose was a bit sore, feeling moved.
After the fight they had, Jiang Yuduo had always been the one driving and sitting in the co-drivers seat whenever they took the car. But this time, he sat next to Cheng Ke in the back seat. During the ride, he kept looking back and then took out a piece of cigarette case paper and a pen from his pocket. Cheng Ke couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
“What are you writing?” Cheng Ke whispered.
“License plate,” Jiang Yuduo replied, as he wrote down a string of letters and numbers on the cigarette case paper.
“The car just now?” Cheng Ke was surprised.
“Yeah,” Jiang Yuduo nodded and put the cigarette case paper and pen back in his pocket. “I’m afraid I’ll forget it in two days if I don’t write it down.”
Cheng Ke knew he would forget it in a heartbeat, let alone two days. He was moved by Jiang Yuduo’s attentiveness.
As they listened to the music played by the driver, Cheng Ke couldn’t help but feel touched by the fact that the driver had chosen to play soothing guitar music instead of the usual traffic reports or chart-topping hits. They sat quietly in the back seat, enjoying the music.
It wasn’t until the car turned into Cheng Ke’s street that Jiang Yuduo leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, “Did you really kiss me just now?”
Cheng Ke could sense that Jiang Yuduo had been holding back this question for a while. “Yes,” he whispered back. “Special circumstances call for special measures, and it’s not the first time we’ve kissed.”
“Ah.” Jiang Yuduo frowned at him in response.
Translator notes
Hii! This week I’ll post three chapters^^Support me on ko-fi for faster releases ^^
