The end-of-class bell rang on time.
Qin Cheng cracked his neck, which was sore after lying down for a whole class, and tilted his head to look at Jian Heng.
Still sleeping, how impressive.
While he was in a daze, a loud roar hit his eardrums, “Qin Cheng, come out!!!”
Qin Cheng shuddered. His movement of pulling out cigarettes from his school bag stopped. He looked up and saw Lao Xu looking at him at the door, her eyes blazing with anger.
Qin Cheng rubbed the back of his head, this is settling the scores at an opportune moment.
In the office, Qin Cheng stood across from Lao Xu, looking innocent.
Lao Xu slapped a student’s disciplinary punishment slip on the table and didn’t even bother to scold him: “The director suspends your class for one day, go home and reflect on it. If you do it again next time, I will definitely ask your mom to come to the school.”
Qin Cheng picked up the punishment slip and said thank you to the teacher.
The class was in a mess. Qin Cheng lazily walked back to his seat and picked up his schoolbag. Jian Heng was still sleeping soundly on the side.
Qin Cheng’s movement paused. He suddenly felt unhappy.
A kind of emotion called ‘Laozi1老子 (lǎo zi): (slang) father; old man; “I, your father” (in anger, or out of contempt); I (used arrogantly or jocularly). was suspended from class because of you, and you can still sleep peacefully‘ spread. Qin Cheng frowned, leaned down, and tilted his head to look at the side of Jian Heng’s face.
“Class is starting!”
Jian Heng didn’t even lift his eyelids.
Qin Cheng looked at him for a while.
A few seconds later, the corner of his mouth curled up——The overwhelming smell of damp wood suddenly enveloped Jian Heng, but it was gone as soon as it was released.
The effect was exceptionally remarkable.
Jian Heng raised his head, his face still looked dazed as if he had just woken up from sleep. He looked at him with an unfocused gaze.
Qin Cheng felt comfortable and went out before Jian Heng woke up completely.
–
Heping District is very old. Relying on its proximity to Fifth High School, the housing prices have soared a lot in recent years, but it still cannot change the fact that it is dilapidated.
The gray-brown building is mottled with paint and covered with messy small advertisements, but no one cares. From a distance, it inexplicably looks like a celebrity abstract painting.
Qin Cheng got off his bike at the entrance, lifted the bike, carried it to the third floor, unlocked the door with the key, and pushed the bike inside.
In this old residential area, the security level is zero. Locking the bike is as good as not locking it at all. If left downstairs, in less than half a day, you wouldn’t even find the trace of the bike.
The boy’s tall figure squeezed into the old two-bedroom apartment. The room was not big but was very tidy.
A middle-aged female voice came from the bedroom: “Xiao Cheng?”
Qin Cheng put the bicycle by the door, and spoke first: “Mom, someone bullied me this morning and I fought back. Just because your son won, Lao Xu suspended my class for a day.”
As he spoke, he walked towards the master bedroom. He pushed open the door and smiled: “Do you think she is jealous of you for having such a son who is handsome and good at fighting?”
Song Yingmei leaned against the head of the bed, with a half-finished cross-stitch on her legs and a pair of glasses hanging on her nose. Upon hearing this, she immediately looked him up and down and asked worriedly: “Did he hit you? Are you hurt?”
“No,” Qin Cheng came over and plopped down next to her, very well-behaved, “Your son is so powerful.”
Qin Cheng is fearless in most situations, but he fears that Lao Xu will involve his mother. His mother is in poor health, and he never dares to upset her.
The incident when the director called his mother completely crossed his bottom line. He directly approached Lao Xu, and the two reached an agreement——As long as he doesn’t cause trouble at Fifth High School, his mother doesn’t have to attend the parent-teacher meeting.
Song Yingmei touched his head, looking a little tired.
“Don’t embroider anymore, it costs your eyes,” Qin Cheng took away the cross-stitch on her lap and put it on the top of the wardrobe by virtue of his height, and said coquettishly, “Your son earns money to support the family, you’re just responsible for looking as beautiful as a flower!”
“Okay, I won’t embroider anymore,” Song Yingmei looked at her son and smiled, with pride and heartache in her eyes. She patted his arm and said, “Go back to study, don’t fall behind in class. Don’t stay up late all the time, mom can still earn money.”
Qin Cheng repeatedly let out a sound of agreement. Just as he was about to close the door, he paused. He uneasily took away the cross-stitch and hid it in the living room.
Qin Cheng’s room is not big. There is a bed, a wardrobe, and a computer desk.
The quilt was not folded but rolled up with the pillow and piled at the head of the bed. There was a small table on the right side of the bed, which was cluttered with water cups, wristbands, chargers, tissues…
The electronic devices on the computer table to the left of the bed are so neat and tidy that they seem to be in another space——The pitch-black keyboard, mouse, and display screen are wiped clean, without a single fingerprint or sweat stain, and the desk is spotless.
Those who know the business can tell at a glance that these are professional-grade equipment and are very expensive, providing a gaming experience that ordinary keyboards and mice cannot match.
Upon entering the room, Qin Cheng does nothing else but habitually tap the keyboard once. The distinctive crisp ‘click’ sound of the blue switches fills the room. Pleased with the familiar sound, the straight man curled his lips contentedly. He turns on the computer and starts a game to practice.
…..
Time always flies when playing games, and by the time Qin Cheng got up, it was already past five o’clock.
He stretched himself, pushed open the door, and shouted, “Mom, I’m a bit hungry~”
Song Yingmei’s voice came from the kitchen: “I’ve made some meat pies2馅饼 (xiàn bǐng): Meat Pies. 
, don’t eat them yet. We have a new neighbor next door. You should send two pieces over first to greet them.”
Qin Cheng lazily responded, feeling a bit curious.
There used to be a young couple living next door who argued about the house every day, making it sound like a pot was about to boil over. The old house had poor sound insulation. Due to some reasons, he stayed up late every night, and couldn’t sleep in the second half of the night because of the noise in the wee hours.
During that time, he couldn’t sleep well at night and couldn’t get up in the morning. He was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Not long ago, the young couple finally saved enough money to move out, but soon someone else came again.
Qin Cheng was not very optimistic, and his heart was not happy.
He carried the meat pie and knocked on the door of 302.
After a while, there was a ‘click’ sound on the door.
Qin Cheng lazily looked up.
“Jian Heng?!!!”
Qin Cheng’s hand holding the plate nearly hit Jian Heng’s nose, momentarily surprised to the point of forgetting his anger. He looked at the person in front of him who had just taken a shower and was bare-chested with short hair still dripping water. He couldn’t help but sigh: Life is truly fucking miraculous.
Surprise flickered in Jian Heng’s gaze, but was soon replaced by indifference and calmness. His gaze first fell on his face, and then moved to his hands holding the plate——a pile of golden and crispy meat pies were neatly arranged on the plate, exuding a tantalizing aroma.
“Ooh,” Qin Cheng looked at him, his tone inexplicably provocative, “My mom said a new neighbor moved in, it turned out to be you.”
Jian Heng leaned against the door expressionlessly, whether he was happy or angry couldn’t be heard from his tone: “Did your mom ask you to send it?”
He had a short haircut, revealing tanned skin, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist. He had just taken a shower, and there were still water droplets clinging to his body. His gaze unknowingly slid down along the bronze-colored abdominal muscles, all the way to the deep V-line, sparking people’s imagination…
Qin Cheng let out an ‘ah,’ a bit dazzled by him to the point where he could barely open his eyes fully. He paused for a moment and pointed behind him, saying: “I live across from you.”
Unfortunately, he was also an Alpha, possessing everything that Jian Heng had. Otherwise, seeing this scene would have made one’s eyes turn green with envy.
With the water vapor evaporating, pheromones inevitably overflowed a bit. Qin Cheng was so shocked earlier that he only noticed it now. A faint scent of incense lingered lightly around him. The kind of accelerated heartbeat and chaotic blood flow sensation returned, even causing his fingertips to tremble slightly.
Qin Cheng tried hard to ignore the discomfort, not wanting to show weakness in front of Jian Heng.
He pushed the plate forward and smiled insincerely: “To tell the truth, if my mother hadn’t asked me to send it, I would have slammed this plate on your face now.”
Jian Heng didn’t look at him, his gaze falling on the plate. He had single eyelids, narrow elongated eyes, and drooping eyelids. When he looked down at something, he seemed to be asleep, exuding that cold and cheerless aura again.
Just as Qin Cheng decided that if Jian Heng didn’t take the plate, he would take it back, Jian Heng took the plate.
The hand holding the plate had long, well-defined fingers. Qin Cheng had noticed this in the morning; it would be a pity if these hands were not used to play the piano or something. It’s just that this face and demeanor don’t seem like someone who plays the piano, more like someone who plays the drums.
One stick for one little friend3一棍一个小朋友 (yī gùn yīgè xiǎopéngyǒu): T/N: I’m not quite sure what this means. This could have something to do with the sentence before this that said that he look like someone who play drum, and drummer use stick. Or this chould imply that the one that has a problem with JH is QC, not his mom, so he shouldn’t involve his mother in his dispute. If anyone know what this means, please contact me. Thank you..
Qin Cheng didn’t want to make things difficult for his mom, so he added, “My mom is quite good at cooking, in the future——”
“Thank you, Auntie,” Jian Heng interrupted him, “You can leave now.”
His tone was far from friendly, not to mention that his hand was already on the door, bluntly driving people away.
Qin Cheng was stunned for a few seconds. This was the first time he was rejected even after he rushed to deliver something. The unhappiness in his heart evolved from wanting to curse to wanting to beat someone up. His voice was suppressed in his throat: “What did you say?”
Do you really think that your Qin-ge has no temper? You deserve a beating.
The two were about the same height, and their line of sight was level. Sparks flew when they looked at each other, one was indifferent, the other was unhappy.
Jian Heng steadily carried the pie in one hand, and without hesitation, he slammed the door shut with the other hand.
A face that deserved a beating disappeared from his field of vision. Qin Cheng was stunned for two seconds before he could react. This was a slap in the face.
“Fuck.”
Qin Cheng lifted his foot to kick the door, but Song Yingmei called out to him from the house, “Xiao Cheng?”
He stiffened and put down his legs. He held his breath and his face was gloomy.
In the end, he didn’t want to make his mother worry, so he rubbed his face twice, forced a smile, and went home.
When he got home, Song Yingmei had finished eating, so Qin Cheng took a few pieces of pies from the kitchen and brought them back to his room to eat.
He turned on the computer, randomly picked up a horror movie to watch while eating, put on headphones, and watched it while eating. He sat on the computer chair, his long legs resting dishonestly on the edge of the bed, half lying down to watch the screen. A piece of cloth was also delicately placed on the keyboard to prevent oil splash.
His heartbeat had been pounding since he saw Jian Heng, and it hadn’t slowed down even until now.
Qin Cheng diagnosed himself. He was just unhappy and angry. When he saw Jian Heng, he wanted to roll up his sleeves and fight. They were incompatible4八字不合 (bā zì bù hé): lit. eight characters don’t match; 八字 is the eight characters that indicate the year, month, date and double-hour of one’s birth, used in fortune-telling. T/N: Most likely form the phrase 八字相克 (bā zì xiāng kè), lit. the eight characters are in conflict with each other. In China, when two young people were going to get married with each other in the old time, their 八字 would be sent to someone to analyze whether they were suitable for each other. Some netizens also suggest that 八字不合 is an Internet buzzword that refers to two people who add each other as friends on social platforms but feel that they are not suitable for each other after just eight words of chatting. and their auras conflicted.
He took a bite of the pie viciously, and the mobile phone on the table rang at an inopportune time.
♪♫ Ride on my beloved little scooter~~~ It will never get stuck in traffic~~~ Dudu Dudu~~~5骑上我心爱的小摩托 (qí shàng wǒ xīn’ài de xiǎo mó tuō): T/N: Erm, this is the video link for this song. I won’t judge, but this song is really not my taste… 😅😅♪♫
Qin Cheng swallowed the meat pie, glanced at the caller ID, and answered the phone: “Qi’er?”
There was a lot of excitement over there, with Tan Qi yelling and shouting: “My brother, hurry up! Play the game! Live streaming!”
Qin Cheng tilted his head to check the time, then looked at the remaining piece of pies on the plate. He lay in his chair, not wanting to move, and his voice was still angry: “Your dad is resting today.”
“Don’t take a break, my dad! An inch of time is an inch of gold6一寸光阴一寸金 (yī cùn guāng yīn yī cùn jīn): lit. An interval of time is worth an ounce of gold; fig. free time is to be treasured; an inch of time is an inch of gold—every second counts; time is gold; time is money; an inch of time is as expensive as an inch of gold, metaphorically time is very precious. A commonly used saying. The complete phrase is 一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴 (yī cùn guāng yīn yī cùn jīn, cùn jīn nán mǎi cùn guāng yīn), lit. an inch of time is as long as an inch of gold in length, but an inch of time cannot be purchased with an inch of gold; time is priceless; money cannot buy you time.!” This side did not hear it at all, still exuberant.
Qin Cheng was just being pretentious. He was more active than anyone else in making money. He sat up and said lazily: “Give Dad time for a piece of meat pie.”
“Okay, Dad!”
After finishing the meat pie in a few bites, Qin Cheng opened the live streaming room and connected with Tan Qi. He yawned lazily and asked: “My son, what are you going to play today?”
As soon as he went online, the number of people in the live streaming room quickly soared to 100,000, and the comments on the bullet screen7弹幕 (dàn mù): barrage (military); bullet screen/bullet curtain; a subtitle system in online video platforms that originates from Japan and popularised in Mainland China. Such system allows user to post moving comments onto a playing video that are synchronized to the video timeline. The comments are typically presented as “shooting” across the screen, resembling a barrage; danmaku (video game subgenre), also known as manic shooter, a subgenre of shoot ’em up video games featuring large amounts of projectiles the player character is required to dodge. were overwhelming.
「Aaaahhh! Dog man8狗男人 (gǒu nán rén): lit. dog man/male. T/N: According to netizens, dog man is a popular Internet term. The most common meaning is that the person is relatively contemptuous and has poor conduct.!!!」
「Dad Qin, are you still playing Plants vs. Zombies9植物大战僵尸 (zhí wù dà zhàn jiāng shī): Plants vs. Zombies is a 2009 tower defense video game developed and published by PopCap Games. The player takes the role of a homeowner amid a zombie apocalypse. As a horde of zombies approaches along several parallel lanes, the player must defend their home by placing plants, which fire projectiles at the zombies or otherwise detrimentally affect them. The player collects a currency called sun to buy plants. If a zombie happens to make it to the house on any lane, the player loses the level. today? Hahahahahahaha」
「Dad Qin, fuck me!!!」
「Playing with Tan Qi again?」
「Don’t stop me, I’m going to send my husband a rocket10送火箭 (sòng huǒ jiàn): T/N: This should be a type of donation within live streaming.!」
…..
“Let’s play PUBG11吃鸡 (chī jī): lit. eating chicken; (Mandarin, neologism, slang) to win in a game of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or other similar video games; (Mandarin, neologism, slang) to play PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or other similar video games; battle royale game; last-man-standing game. today!” Tan Qi said, “Let me experience the thrill of fish frying12炸鱼 (zhá yú): Fish frying is an internet buzzword, originally refers to blast fishing. In Internet terms, it refers to the behavior of players with a high level of gaming who use certain means to maliciously play games among low-level players for a long time.!”
Qin Cheng yawned, opened the game, and said casually: “Dad is so sleepy, I might screw up13坑 (kēng): In Chinese, we have an expression that is gaining popularity online and is generally used in a joking manner. The expression is “你 (you) + 坑 (bury) + 我 (me),” or “你坑我 (nǐ kēng wǒ) you screwed me over / buried me”. It’s become a popular expression on the Internet to express dismay and annoyance at someone, especially while playing online video games remotely. “你坑我 (nǐ kēng wǒ)” could be used in a number of scenarios such as betrayal, being “set up” or having your plan foiled. More information: Link..”
The words turned out to be prophetic.
Qin Cheng was shot dead while drinking a glass of water. He choked, stared at the screen, and coughed for a long time.
The bullet screen went crazy with joy.
「Fishpond Bureau14鱼塘局 (yú táng jú): T/N: According to netizens, a fishpond is a pond with a lot of fish, which means a rookie concentration camp., losing their reputation hahahahahahahaha」
「Dad Qin’s face is full of joy」
「Hahahahahahaha」
…..
Qin Cheng raised his eyebrows, and after a few seconds, he accepted the fact that he was losing his reputation. He simply threw away the mouse, leaned back, and commanded unhappily: “Qi’er, avenge your dad quickly, shoot him to death!”
Tan Qi was aiming at a distance with a sniper rifle. Hearing this, he stopped laughing and said seriously: “Okay, Dad, I’ll snipe him to death now, and when he shows up, I’ll——”
“No, don’t snipe him to death,” Qin Cheng said, “You shoot him to death. Tit for tat.”
Tan Qi received the order and started to walk around the building where that person was. His mouth was not idle, he kept talking and chattering: “Brother, you are awesome! You can shoot your Dad Qin to death!”
Tan Qi spoke in a strange tone. If one wants to hang out with Qin-ge, one must be dramatic: “The big skillful anchor bravely entered the battlefield but was shot to death by an unknown passerby! Miserably reduced to a good-looking anchor! Is this a distortion of human nature or a decline of morality? Welcome to Dad Qin’s live streaming room to watch today’s PUBG talk!”
Qin Cheng laughed and scolded: “Stop talking.” If talking is useful, what’s the point of having skills?
Unexpectedly, the person on the other side really didn’t move, and Tan Qi collected his head with two shots.
Qin Cheng paused, laughed for a long time, and slapped the table: “Damn, Qi’er, you’re awesome!”
Heping District, 302.
Jian Heng hung up the courier’s phone call and looked at the screen in silence. ‘Big anchor Dad Qin’ echoed in his ears…
Open the browser. Search, click, enter.
The face he just saw at the door appeared on the screen, laughing so hard that he fell over. The camera angle was strange, but it still couldn’t hide the boy’s handsomeness.
Qin Cheng’s face is not the popular ‘milk dog15奶狗 (nǎi gǒu): T/N: Most likely short for 小奶狗 (xiǎo nǎi gǒu), (neologism, Internet slang) clingy “little puppy” (as a boyfriend); man who is younger than the girl, simple, naive, caring, emotionally dependent and loyal. Originally a classification given by Japanese girls to boys. Puppy boyfriends like to play outside, like to deal with others, can express their thoughts sincerely and frankly, and are better at sports than academic performance.‘ type. It has distinct angles, deep facial features, thick black eyebrows and eyes, with double eyelids and the outer corners of the eyes flying upwards arrogantly. It can be said to have a slightly fierce look.
But in front of the camera, he loves to smile. When he smiles, his double eyelids narrow, like a satisfied big cat.
Qin Cheng laughed enough. He rubbed his belly and said to the camera: “My friend who was shot to death by Qi’er, I don’t know if you’re here. If you’re here, give me a 1 and I’ll help you win the game.”
Jian Heng narrowed his eyes, memorized this live streaming room, and turned off the computer without hesitation.
The author has something to say:
The weather is so warm, your pancake dog is sneakily lying by the window whispering bb16bb: Internet buzzword, means talk rubbish; taking shit.: Ah~ it’s so warm~
Dang those meat pies look so good~~ 🤤🤤 Perhaps I should try making it? It doesn’t look too difficult. Video reference: Link.
To show the difference, words on the bullet screen will be in L-brackets 「」.
Ugh, I was trying to keep the footnote to a minimum, but there’s so much slang/jargon that I don’t understand… 🥹 Also, did you notice? The author use 3 different idioms to describe clean/neatness [干干净净 (gān gān jìng jìng); 一尘不染 (yī chén bù rǎn); 整整齐齐 (zhěng zhěng qí qí)] LMAO
Tan Qi’s name is 谭棋 (Tán Qí), but his online name is Tan Qi (Tan Seven) 谭七 (Tán Qī). Also, the pancake dog 饼狗狗 (bǐng gǒu gǒu) in ‘the author has something to say’ might be how the author call themselves.
IDIOM —— Chapter 02
秋后算账 (qiū hòu suàn zhàng): lit. settling accounts after the autumn harvest; to wait until the time is ripe to settle accounts, to bide time for revenge; to get revenge after a matter is over; settle scores at an opportune moment (idiom); settle/square accounts after the autumn harvest―wait until sth is over to settle accounts with sb; bide one’s time to clear the scores with sb; bide one’s time to take revenge; to wait until things develop to the final stage before judging who is right and wrong, or to wait for the opportunity to retaliate afterwards.铺天盖地 (pū tiān gài dì): lit. hiding the sky and covering the earth (idiom); to flood in; earth-shattering; to be omnipresent; everywhere; of universal importance; blanket the earth and eclipse the sky—come in large quantities; describes something that is coming fiercely, with great momentum, and everywhere.
乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo): everything in disorder (idiom); in a hideous mess; at sixes and sevens; in an awful mess; in great disorder; Describe disorder, unorganized, and disorderly.
干干净净 (gān gān jìng jìng): clean and tidy; spick-and-span; clean and fresh; neat and tidy; clean as a pin; spotlessly clean; entirely gone; empty; with nothing left; there is no dust, impurities, etc., and it also describes that the speech and movement are not sloppy or that there is no trace left at all.
一尘不染 (yī chén bù rǎn): untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible; (Buddhism) to be unstained by an evil environment; (figurative) to be incorruptible; scrupulous; spotless; immaculate.
整整齐齐 (zhěng zhěng qí qí): neat and tidy; in good trim; be arranged to a nicety; as clean as a pin; apple-pie order; to keep neat and orderly.
皮笑肉不笑 (pí xiào ròu bù xiào): to put on a fake smile (idiom); to smile insincerely; smile hypocritically/sinisterly; force/manage a smile.
冷冷清清 (lěng lěng qīng qīng): cold and cheerless; desolate; lonely; deserted.
一语成谶 (yī yǔ chéng chèn): (idiom) to have one’s words turn out to be (tragically) prophetic; one’s careless words (inauspiciously) turned out to be a prophecy.
身败名裂 (shēn bài míng liè): to lose one’s status and have one’s reputation destroyed; to lose one’s standing; to have one’s reputation swept away; a complete defeat and fall from grace; be utterly discredited; bring disgrace and ruin upon oneself; end up in shame and ruin; lose all standing and reputation; have one’s name lying in the dust.
人仰马翻 (rén yǎng mǎ fān): lit. humans and horses thrown off their feet; to suffer a crushing defeat (idiom); to be utterly routed; in a complete mess; in a pitiful state; to roll (with laughter); Describes being beaten miserably. It also refers to a mess that is out of control.
