SVWL Chapter 34.1

When Zhu Tong proposed to be discharged from the hospital and transferred to another school, Cheng Qingsong did not agree.

Gongshui County was a remote area and the school conditions there were rather poor. Zhu Tong has never been exposed to such harsh conditions. Furthermore, he had to pay more attention to food, clothing, housing, and transportation than ordinary people. How could he go to school in such a place?

At that time, he was just out of ICU. 

But Zhu Tong’s diagnosis made him have to compromise. The doctor said that it was a miracle that his grandson was able to get out of the ICU that day. Even if he survived that time, his body would not last long. In the end, Cheng Qingsong agreed on his grandson’s whim. If luck permits, his good mood might be able to prolong his life. 

So he nodded, but he didn’t expect it would really work.

Zhu Tong’s sickly physique was actually inherited from his mother, and it’s even more serious than her. 

His mother, Cheng Lan, was also in poor health since childhood. When she knew that her life was not long, she was afraid that her father would be sad and lonely. She gave herself up to others and married Zhu Shoushan despite her not liking him much. She managed to give birth to the twins not long before she succumbed to her illness. 

Cheng Qingsong firmly disagreed with Cheng Lan’s decision. No father would want his daughter to marry casually for this kind of thing.

But Cheng Lan was too stubborn, and their relationship became strained because of this. 

What Cheng Qingsong regretted most was because Cheng Lan got angry with him when she got married, and she didn’t even let him take care of his grandchildren. So, after her death, Zhu Tong and Zhu Xin did not hesitate to stay with their father instead of with him. 

And so, years went in a flash. 

When Zhu Tong suddenly called him that day and wanted to send Zhu Xin over to take care of him, he was actually a little flattered.

It’s a surprise followed by anger.

How could Tongtong send Xiao Xin to take care of him for no reason?

Is that deflated cow Zhu Shoushan who wasn’t capable of taking care of them? Then his answer turned out to be: in order to be filial to his mother.

Cheng Qingsong: “…”

As expected of his mother’s son. They had similar ideas. 

He thought that even if Zhu Tong wanted to go outside to take a look at the world before he died, he wouldn’t be able to last long in a place like Gongshui No. 1 Middle School. Unexpectedly, in a month, not only was he able to stand the condition, he became… happier? 

The family doctor said, “Looking at Young Master Tong’s attitude towards that boy, it should have something to do with it. Before he was discharged from the hospital, Young Master Tong had a cardiac arrest in the ICU. His condition was very dangerous. It is a miracle that he is still alive and kicking. I think it has a lot to do with his mentality. I have sorted out what happened to Young Master Tong with that boy after his transfer. Please take a look.” 

The doctor handed him a document.

Cheng Qingsong took it over with a complicated mood.

“As far as I know, after Young Master Tong transferred, he asked to be at the same table with Shao Ming, and then moved into a homestay. But for unknown reasons, Young Master moved out.” 

Cheng Qingsong: “…”

“Afterwards, Young Master Tong encountered a group of gangsters outside the school, and it was Shao Ming who helped to clean them up.” 

After that, Zhu Tong entered the hospital for the first, second, and even a third time. He was accompanied by the boy named Shao Ming. 

The two often eat together, and Shao Ming often “robs” Uncle Liu’s job after school.

Cheng Qingsong originally suspected that the boy had ulterior motives for approaching Tongtong. But the more he looked, the more he felt that his grandson was the one with ulterior motives? 

–When his feet were sprained, he lined up properly to visit Shao Ming’s milk tea shop. When he secretly made a move against a bad student who was terrorizing that Shao Ming boy, he even asked his cousin to help. 

These were things that were simply unthinkable before.

When did his grandson become so warmhearted?

As early as when Zhu Tong entered the hospital for the first time after transferring to another school, Cheng Qingsong asked someone to investigate Shao Ming. He was a good student with excellent academic performance and had a good relationship with his grandson. His care could even be said to be utterly meticulous. 

Cheng Qingsong had to admit that he was ashamed.

Meeting such a person at the new school, it was no wonder that Tongtong was in a happy mood.

Cheng Qingsong put down the document and picked up the stack of photos. After looking at it for a while, he handed it to the butler and said, “Take it and destroy it, don’t let Xiao Xin see it.”

That little girl was “abandoned” by her brother, and she was still aggrieved to this day.

If she saw these photos, she would probably think that her brother didn’t want her because of her new “sister-in-law”. She definitely would have lamented at the injustices she had to suffer. 

The butler took the photo and asked, “Then about the young master…”

Cheng Qingsong paused before taking a deep sigh. “Let him do whatever. As long as his body is fine, don’t let anyone disturb him.”

The butler gave an affirmative nod. Then he turned around and went out.

–

Gongshui County, inside the homestay.

The lunch break was long, but due to the sudden “moving” and Uncle Liu’s instructions, Shao Ming did not prepare a complicated lunch. Two bowls of tomato and egg noodles were quickly served on the table.

“Try it, does it suit your taste?”

Zhu Tong sat down at the table with him.

Although he didn’t cook it himself, he watched the whole process. He watched as Shao Ming skillfully turned the simple ingredients into cooked food with a rich and attractive color. 

It looks very appetizing.

Shao Ming gave him a pair of new chopsticks. “Mix it before eating it. Be careful not to burn your tongue.”

Zhu Tong nodded and took the chopsticks.

He had never eaten food from the pot directly. Generally, the food delivered to him was at a moderate temperature and could be eaten directly. Most of them were nutritious meals carefully formulated by a nutritionist.

After transferring to another school, he saw various noodle restaurants outside the school. The advertisements on the signboards of those restaurants clearly signaled that they were all the popular spicy noodles, so he never tried them. 

This was the first time he had eaten noodles after his transfer. Looking at the steaming noodle soup in front of him, he didn’t know what to say.

Sitting opposite of him, Shao Ming had already started stirring his bowl with chopsticks. After mixing for a while, he picked up a mouthful, blew it twice, and sent it directly into his mouth.

Zhu Tong: “…”

He was stunned for a while, followed Shao Ming’s way and picked up the noodles. He blew it a couple of times, but was still wary of its temperature. He kept blowing on it. 

Shao Ming raised his head, just in time to see the scene of Zhu Tong blowing noodles clumsily with his head tilted. A flash of a smile appeared on his face. 

It seems that he had learned from being scalded by that morning’s bowl of porridge. 

He took another porcelain spoon and handed it to Zhu Tong, “If it’s too hot, you can eat it after it’s cooled for a while. Drink the soup first.”

“…”

Zhu Tong thought, ‘I must’ve looked so stupid when blowing on it.’ 

He decisively gave up. He took a spoon and scooped a mouthful of rich soup, blew lightly twice, and carefully sipped it. 

Shao Ming smiled and said, “How does it taste?”

Zhu Tong’s eyes brightened slightly and nodded. “It’s delicious.”

Shao Ming: “It seems that I am good at cooking.”

Zhu Tong was stunned, he suddenly realized something.

He now lives here with Shao Ming, and he eats the food that Shao Ming cooked. He hasn’t… paid for any of it. 

‘How much is this bowl of noodles?’ He thought as his gaze wandered to Shao Ming’s figure. 

Shao Ming noticed this. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhu Tong thought again, ‘Will I sound a little too fussy if I ask the price now?’ 

They have eaten together a lot, and Shao Ming and Luo Suo never seem to care about who paid the bill. And now, Shao Ming cooked the noodles himself, it’s even harder to set a price. 

Should he refer to the median market price or something? It doesn’t seem like a good idea… 

He chewed as he searched for a good alternative, and he finally found one. He offered, “I’ll wash the dishes later.”

Shao Ming: “…what?”

Zhu Tong reiterated, “I said, I’ll wash the dishes later.” 

Shao Ming paused for a while before asking: “Why?”

Zhu Tong was dumbfounded for a moment. “You cook, shouldn’t I wash the dishes?”

Shao Ming’s tone became rather odd. “When you go to other people’s houses and eat there, do you also wash the dishes in return?” 

Zhu Tong casually replied, “I have never eaten at someone else’s house.”

‘–Banquets don’t count.’ He added internally.

He had no friends before, nor had he been to other classmates’ homes. It was even more impossible to live in other people’s houses. He seemed to be out of touch with his peers, and he didn’t know how to get along with them..

Should he and Shao Ming be friends now? But why does Shao Ming look unhappy? Is his proposal a bad idea?

His relaxed and casual way of speaking made Shao Ming have mixed feelings in his heart.

He suddenly thought that Zhu Tong had told him that he rarely went out. He used to think that rarely going out just meant “house”, but now it doesn’t seem to be that simple.

“Never even once?” 

Zhu Tong thought for a while, then nodded. “Yup.” 

Shao Ming: “…”

‘What was his life like before? Based on his affluent family, many of his peers should try to befriend him, right? Inviting him to dinner should be normal… so why hasn’t he done it?’

‘Does he not want to go?’ 

Shao Ming looked at him with turbulent emotions reflected in his eyes. Finally, he brushed the topic aside. “No need, I can wash it faster. Go take a shower, didn’t you want to take a shower in the morning?”

“…” Zhu Tong was stunned. “How do you know that I am…”

“You have ‘disgust’ written all over your face.”  

Based on his hygiene habits, it must be unpleasant for Zhu Tong to wear his current clothes for another day. 

Zhu Tong: “…”

Seeing him pause, Shao Ming said again, “Okay, let’s eat quickly. The food won’t taste good after it’s gotten cold.” 

Zhu Tong nodded again and lowered his head to eat the noodles.

The two bowls of noodles were cleaned, Shao Ming skillfully carried the bowl into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Zhu Tong took a rag to wipe the table and Shao Ming saw this. He just smiled without stopping it. 

After wiping the table, Zhu Tong entered his room.

No one has lived in this vacant room, but Shao Ming has always cleaned it. The room was very clean, and even the windows were polished.

Zhu Tong took a change of clothes from the closet and prepared to take a shower.

He had used the bathroom in the morning, and the difference was that there was a set of his toiletries in the bathroom cabinet. Zhu Tong stood in there for a while before turning around and walking into the shower.

Compared with the hotel, the only disadvantage of the homestay was probably that there was no bathtub in the double room.

Zhu Tong studied the switch on the shower, started to undress, and then switched the shower head on. 

What just came out was cold water, and when the temperature got hot, he switched up the shower again.

Drenching his head with hot water, he temporarily turned off the shower while washing his hair.

He had used the shower before, but he rarely used it. After washing his hair, he closed his eyes and turned on the shower to cold settings, and suddenly his whole body jolted.

The water wasn’t cold. It’s hot. 

‘Why is the water so hot all of a sudden?’

Zhu Tong instinctively took a step back and reached out to turn off the switch in a panic.

At the same time, there was a rapid knock on the door.

Shao Ming still had a dish towel in his hand, he suddenly remembered it while washing dishes. He anxiously reminded, “By the way, the water temperature is not constant. After the water is hot, remember to turn the switch back a little, otherwise it will be hot despite you turning it to cold!”

Zhu Tong: “…”

‘Your reminder came too late.’ 

There was a fine stinging pain in the back of his neck.

There was no response from the bathroom, and it worried Shao Ming. “Zhu Tong?”

“It’s okay,” Zhu Tong replied, “I know it now.”

Shao Ming: “…”

‘Why am I so worried?’ Shao Ming wondered. 

Since Zhu Tong said that he’s fine, he couldn’t push the door open to peek inside. He went back to the kitchen. 

In the bathroom, Zhu Tong washed for more than ten minutes. After washing and drying, he stood in front of the face mirror, opened his collar and looked at the back of his neck. The scalded area was already red.

‘Didn’t you say that I’m impervious to minor illnesses or disasters?’ Zhu Tong complained, distressed.

The system’s tone sounded like it was rolling its eyes. ‘Yes, you are impervious to those, not to your reckless behavior. No zuo no die¹Chinese Internet meme proverb. “You won’t get into trouble if you don’t seek it (by your reckless/daring/stupid behavior)” It might be a meme, but it’s equally as wise as any other proverb. and all that jazz. Your skin is too tender, so a little hot water can easily scald it.’

Zhu Tong: “…”

‘Forget it, it doesn’t hurt so much anyway.’

He tidied up his clothes, opened the door, and walked out of the bathroom.

When passing by the living room, he saw Shao Ming still sitting on the sofa, and said in a daze, “Why haven’t you rested yet?”

Shao Ming didn’t take a nap during lunch break. But he didn’t answer him. Instead, he stood up and walked towards him.

Zhu Tong was startled and subconsciously wanted to step back, but Shao Ming had already stepped forward and pulled his collar away.

“…”

Zhu Tong’s breaths suddenly stagnated. 

Shao Ming’s grip was slightly loose. With raised eyebrows, he asked, “Are you okay?”

Zhu Tong: “…”

The set of clothes he just changed was originally rather large, so it was strange to have the collar gripped like this.

Uncomfortably, he tried to pull the collar back. “I’m  alright, it’ll be fine in a while.”

Shao Ming looked down at him. Zhu Tong also lowered his head, his freshly dried hair was fluffy and soft.

Shao Ming sighed. “My fault, I forgot to tell you… Come here and take off your clothes.”

Zhu Tong raised his head in pure bafflement.

Shao Ming had already turned around and walked into the living room. When he looked back, he saw that Zhu Tong were stunned silly in place. He let out a short laugh. “I’m giving you burn medicine. It’s not a trivial matter, the scar it left can be ugly if left untreated.” 

Zhu Tong was still completely speechless. Not even the word “scar” could snap him out of his state. 

He saw that Shao Ming had already brought out the first-aid kit from the TV cabinet. Towards Shao Ming, he hesitantly refused, “I don’t need it, I…”

Shao Ming turned to look at him. “Do you want to take your clothes off yourself or should I help?”

Zhu Tong: “…”

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  Chinese Internet meme proverb. “You won’t get into trouble if you don’t seek it (by your reckless/daring/stupid behavior)” It might be a meme, but it’s equally as wise as any other proverb.