DSF Chapter 97

At 10.30 PM, Papa Yan and Mama Yan noticed that Yan Yibing was missing.

And he wasn’t wearing his outer coat.

Mama Yan urgently called him back.

Yan Yibing couldn’t come up with a strong reason for his absence for a moment, and he was afraid his grandmother would be sad if she thought he didn’t want to be with his family, so he reluctantly gave up the cozy hotel bed and also forfeited the opportunity for special services.

Han Mo escorted him to the gate, then hid in the darkness away from the streetlights, holding the clothes Yan Yibing wore, silently watching him enter the courtyard.

There were startled bird cries in the courtyard, followed by a dull sound of the door closing.

Han Mo couldn’t help but grip Yan Yibing’s clothes tighter, lifting his arms and pressing the clothes against his nose, gently sniffing.

Actually, he really wanted Yan Yibing to stay with him today, not for anything deeper, just for company.

At noon today, when he was packing his bags preparing to go to the airport, he transferred a thousand yuan into a bank card that had been unused for almost two years.

Because he had been thinking about Yan Yibing, he never changed his phone number. This phone number was assigned to him by the staff when he was a youth training player at Zero.

At that time, his salary card was also tied to this phone number. He only had one bank card back then.

Later, when he went to Prince, he got a new salary card, and his annual salary increased by a hundredfold.

He never touched his original card again because there wasn’t much money in it, just a meager salary during the youth training camp.

He thought there was a glitch on Zero’s side when he suddenly received money in his account.

So, he registered for online banking and checked his statement, only to find out that this thousand yuan was from an insurance company.

The team bought high-value commercial insurance for them, critical illness insurance. He had never bought this kind of insurance that could return money and had flawed coverage.

So he called to ask about it.

The insurance company said that the insurance was bought by Bei Jingzhu three years ago.

The insurance premium was a total of 40,000 yuan, and from the age of twenty, one thousand yuan would be returned every year at the same time, and it could be returned to the person until they were seventy, totaling fifty thousand yuan.

In addition, if the insured person was hospitalized for a serious illness before the age of sixty, they could withdraw the remaining forty thousand yuan in a lump sum.

Bei Jingzhu set the annual date on New Year’s Day. Starting from this year, Han Mo would continue to receive greetings from two years ago.

Han Mo never expected to hear from his mom again today.

A thousand yuan wasn’t much and couldn’t satisfy his current life at all.

And the value he could create far exceeded that amount.

But he had a subtle and strange feeling in his heart, as if that gradually distant figure was still smiling and waving at him ——

“Hi son, Happy New Year.”

Han Mo knew how short of money they were back then. He didn’t understand how Bei Jingzhu could save forty thousand yuan from somewhere and buy such insurance that couldn’t guarantee anything.

He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse, and asked, “How did you sign the contract back then? What did she say?”

The customer service representative paused. “Sorry, sir, I don’t know. The colleague who handled it back then has already left.”

Han Mo asked again, “Why does the repayment start at the age of twenty?”

Customer service representative: “Let me check for you… It seems that it was requested by the customer. Perhaps you can ask Miss Bei about it.”

Han Mo: “She passed away.”

The customer service representative was stunned and said awkwardly, “I’m sorry.”

Han Mo: “It’s okay. I didn’t know about this insurance before, she never told me.”

Customer service representative: “Sir, this insurance was introduced by us years ago as a welfare insurance. It’s impossible to have such insurance now, but it was very popular when it was introduced. Because this insurance can only obtain full benefits at the age of seventy, so I think Miss Bei may hope you can safely reach seventy.”

Han Mo chuckled softly. “Hmm, that’s what I think too. Thank you.”

After hanging up the phone, he repeatedly looked at the notification of the payment. He didn’t know what Bei Jingzhu’s mood was when she bought this insurance.

The forty thousand yuan back then might be able to afford a doctor’s visit or a full-body checkup.

He even dreamed of money appearing in his card out of thin air.

But Bei Jingzhu used the money to buy a trivial insurance.

It started when Han Mo was twenty years old.

Perhaps when she decided to give up treatment back then, she still hoped that she could accompany him until he turned twenty.

When she was truly unable to continue, she let this thing, similar to a timed device, continue to accompany him.

She had thought of everything, planned everything.

Even when she stroked his eyebrows and eyes, saying she was a coward, saying she didn’t want to suffer anymore, she still prepared for the pain until his twentieth birthday.

Three years had passed, and Han Mo had completely accepted the reality of his mother’s departure.

He was just deeply moved by the power of maternal love.

Why would someone think for him until death, yet another person could so easily abandon him?

He wasn’t too emotionally excited, he just felt a little melancholic.

But this was still something to be happy about.

On the first day of each new year, he would receive a message from his mother, and this message would continue until he was seventy.

When he saw Yan Yibing, he originally wanted to talk about this.

But he knew Yan Yibing was a sensitive person, hearing such things would surely make him sad for him and resent Han Tang.

On this beautiful Chinese New Year, master shouldn’t have such emotions.

So Han Mo silently swallowed it and didn’t mention a word.

Even meeting Yan Yibing diluted his melancholy after learning about this.

What he gained more was sweetness.

He was with his beloved person and received his mother’s New Year blessings.

So he hoped Yan Yibing could accompany him all the time, after all, being alone was always prone to overthinking.

However, he also understood that Yan Yibing’s family also needed company.

Han Mo stood quietly in front of Yan Yibing’s grandmother’s house for a while, until he received a text message from Yan Yibing—

【Go back and sleep, wake up early tomorrow for morning tea. Otherwise, we won’t be able to get in line.】

Han Mo decided to listen.

He went back, took a shower, lay on the bed, turned off all the lights, didn’t think about anything, and fell asleep deeply.

The next day at seven o’clock, Yan Yibing, wrapped in a milky white cotton jacket, knocked on his door.

Han Mo opened the door, surprised, “So early, did uncle and aunt agree to let you go?”

Yan Yibing: “Told them I’m meeting a friend from Guangzhou in the esports circle. They don’t know who it is. I said the other person retired and we haven’t seen each other in a few years, it’s a rare opportunity, so they let me go.”

They strolled to Beijing Road.

Many shops were still closed, but there were already people shopping on the street.

A well-reputed morning tea shop near Beijing Road was open, and despite it being the second day of the new year, there were many people eating.

Although Han Mo had eaten Cantonese dim sum in Magic City before, he had never tried so many varieties at once.

Yan Yibing ordered seven or eight items in one go.

Han Mo had a hunch they wouldn’t be able to finish them.

Yan Yibing: “My grandma occasionally brought me to this place when I was a child. It used to be very cheap back then, but it has increased in price a lot over the years. However, the taste hasn’t changed much. Back then, they even allowed us to exchange a perfect test score for a set of morning tea. When I was in elementary school, I aimed for this but unfortunately never had the opportunity to come to Guangzhou after many exams. Ah, when I was in elementary school, you couldn’t even walk yet.”

Han Mo chuckled softly, “I could talk and walk very early. Maybe I could even run to chase you.”

Yan Yibing stopped halfway through eating, raised an eyebrow lightly, “You’re bragging. Although I don’t exercise much now, I used to often come first in sports events when I was a kid.”

Han Mo replied, “Then I can catch up with you, slowly but surely.”

Yan Yibing’s eyes trembled slightly, he bit his chopsticks gently, paused for a few seconds, and whispered, “Unless I intentionally let you catch up.”

Han Mo peeled a sticky rice chicken and put it on his plate, saying slowly, “Definitely.”

He loved listening to Yan Yibing share stories from time periods that didn’t exist for him.

Through these stories, he could imagine what his master was like as a child, how cute and lovable he must have been.

Yan Yibing lightly kicked Han Mo’s stool, “What about you, what were you like as a child?”

Han Mo thought seriously. Actually, it wasn’t that distant for him; he had many years where time passed too quickly, so fast that he couldn’t catch up, and he grew up in a hurry.

So his childhood memories were still very vivid.

“I’m not very obedient. I’m good at fighting and had a group of so-called little brothers. Everyone in the neighborhood had heard my name, and other classmates didn’t dare to provoke me. Many parents of students thought… thought Han Tang wasn’t doing business but was mixing in society to raise a kid like me. But I did well in my studies, I didn’t need to study much to remember things, teachers just scolded me but didn’t call my parents.”

Yan Yibing frowned, “Is your memory really that strong?”

Han Mo leisurely took a bite of the water chestnut cake, “It’s not exaggerated, I still have to rely on hard work now.”

The weather today wasn’t too cold. After finishing their meal, they went out for a walk.

Yan Yibing didn’t know when he would be urged to go back by his parents, so reluctantly, boldly, he held Han Mo’s hand on the street.

Han Mo’s palm was warm, but his fingertips were cool and dry, grabbing it felt comfortable. He originally just wanted to hold it briefly, but once he held it, he didn’t want to let go.

Surely, there were passersby staring at them, but they both had their hats on, and no one could recognize their identities.

Unknowingly, they left Beijing Road and strolled to the entrance of a shopping mall.

Before nine o’clock, the shopping mall wasn’t open yet, but the large screen outside had already started operating.

What surprised them was that the screen was actually playing their promotional video from when they participated in the East Asia Championship.

The championship had ended several months ago, it was no longer fresh news, and obviously, no team would be willing to promote their opponents. So, this screen was definitely not bought by them.

Yan Yibing looked at himself on the screen, feeling a bit surreal.

Golden ribbons fluttered down with the lights, falling onto the entire stage, while they were bowing with the trophy.

The Chinese flag was raised on-site, and under the flickering red light, they held microphones to speak.

Yan Yibing stood still, noticing many young people around also watching the screen.

Unable to resist, Yan Yibing asked aloud, “The competition ended a long time ago, why are they still playing this?”

Before Han Mo could respond, a teenager standing not far from him couldn’t help but say, “You don’t know about this? NNTC dissed our god during the global pre-match interviews. Fans from China and Korea have been exchanging insults online. Since their team members are visiting Guangzhou this year, fans collectively funded this. Besides a few iconic large screens, even the subway advertising frames have it.”

Yan Yibing: “…Wow, that’s impressive.”

Teenager: “It’s okay, this amount of money is nothing in the esports circle. Being able to annoy NNTC is what matters.”

Yan Yibing sincerely said, “Thank you all.”

The teenager glanced at him strangely.

Being unexpectedly thanked on the street was quite awkward.

He didn’t recognize Yan Yibing and Han Mo. Their hats covered them well, and holding hands, nobody would have thought they’d encounter the gods themselves here.

After the teenager with a cold and aloof expression left, Yan Yibing muttered to Han Mo, “It’s kind of scary to casually stroll and see your own face on a big screen. I wonder how celebrities adapt to it.”

Han Mo, still looking up, smiled at the remark, gently pinched Yan Yibing’s finger, and whispered, “Bing Shen, good luck at the world championship.”

Yan Yibing’s eyelids trembled, and he looked up again, watching the scene of winning the championship replayed.

He responded leisurely, “Hmm, Han Shen, good luck to you too.”

---

Thank you for reading! 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day 🍀

If you like reading my translations, do consider supporting me with ko-fi🌼