If Zhou Hui sees those marks, she might go crazy. Xu Shen went inside to get dressed, asking Chen Kai to keep his mouth shut and never reveal anything he shouldn’t. Then, they both went down the stairs.
“Where’s my brother? He’s not up yet?” Zhou Hui frowned while asking. It was getting late. Why was he still in bed? Besides, this was not even his house, and this behavior was too unruly.
“Don’t call him,” Xu Shen said, “He was not used to the bed last night and had problems falling asleep. Just let him rest.”
Zhou Hui was speechless and started complaining: “Since when is Dingzi so delicate? He was fine at home.” Usually, he’d already be out in the fields at this hour. Now, he has learned to be lazy in bed.
“It’s okay,” Xu Shen repeated. “There’s nothing for him to do, anyways. Don’t worry.”
Zhou Hui was really embarrassed: “Brother Xu Shen, you are spoiling him. I should talk to him later… You sit down, I’ve made crucian carp porridge with scallion pancakes baked in oil.”
Seeing the flour in the kitchen, her hands kept itching. The scallion and oil pancakes were soft and delicious, with clear layers and moist filling. She couldn’t help but eat one all by herself. There were many brothers and sisters back home, and such a meal, rich in oil, was a rarity.
“So delicious!” Chen Kai took a big bite out of a scallion pancake and looked at Xu Shen with a foolish smile, teasing him.
Xu Shen touched his neck with the back of his hand, hiding the bite marks. Feeling his body grow hot all over, it became increasingly hard to keep his mind away from the boy sleeping upstairs.
This not-so-early breakfast went on until after ten o’clock.
Jiang Fan and Chen Sen also swayed over from their home, asking Zhou Hui for food.
“Yes, yes, you sit down, I’ll come back right away.” Zhou Hui was diligently cleaning the windows. Hearing them complain of hunger, she put down the rug and went to the kitchen.
“Sister Zhou Hui, don’t bother with them! They can go by themselves!” Xu Shen said.
“It’s fine!” Zhou Hui answered cheerfully.
Xu Shen looked at Jiang Fan and asked: “You are not living alone, and also have a nanny back home. How dare you come and eat my food?”
“I’m not popular…” Jiang Fan complained: “By the time I get up in the morning, there’s not even a steamed bun left for me. My family’s dog eats better than I do.”
Jiang Fan lived with his older brother and sister-in-law. His brother, Jiang Hang, was transferred here three years ago. On the way, he also packed this disobedient little brother, in the hopes of straightening him up. So far, there has been no success. Jiang Fan was already twenty, with no job or school. He just followed Xu Shen every day, bringing shame to his family.
Chen Sen was so hungry that he followed Zhou Hui to the kitchen without being told. He found the crucian carp porridge and gave Zhou Hui a big thumbs-up while stuffing his face: “Zhou Ding’s sister, this porridge is very delicious!”
Zhou Hui said shyly: “The fish was fresh. I just made it casually. Come, there are also scallion pancakes.”
Chen Sen came out with a full bowl, looked around, and asked: “Where is Zhou Ding?”
Zhou Hui was even more embarrassed. She gave Jiang Fan his bowl and went up the stairs to shout: “I’ll call him. Bad child, how can you be so rude!”
What time was it now?
Xu Shen moved faster than his words. He blocked the stairs, opening his arms and supporting the walls. “He’s not busy, just let him sleep for a while!”
“Puff…” Chen Kai couldn’t stop laughing.
Chen Sen scratched his head and realized he’d said something wrong. He quickly agreed: “Yeah, yeah, he’s not busy. Let him sleep.”
Jiang Fan looked at Xu Shen and raised his eyebrows ambiguously, as if asking: “Did you bully him?”
Zhou Hui: “No, you are too kind to him. How can this be?”
Xu Shen thought while continuing to block the stairs: “He’s my wife, how can I not be kind to him…”
Upstairs, in Xu Shen’s bedroom, Shu Ran had barely managed to sleep for a few hours. When he woke up, his eyes were no longer swollen, but his legs and waist were, feeling like he indulged way too much. He struggled to wash his face and brush his teeth. Looking in the mirror, his lips looked raw and his eyes bright red. On his white skin, there were marks left by Xu Shen everywhere, from his ears to his chest. He couldn’t let anyone see him like that in broad daylight.
“Damn…” Shu Ran pouted his lips, thinking there was no way to hide this from Zhou Hui.
Hearing her confronting Xu Shen on the stairs, Shu Ran went to the balcony and shouted: “Sister, I’m up!” Opening his mouth, he found that his voice was also hoarse and sounded terrible.
Zhou Hui was stunned. In the blink of an eye, the Xu Shen who blocked the stairs completely vanished… Did he know how to fly?!
Seeing him, Shu Ran gave an angry stare: “How can I go out and meet people like this?!”
He was wearing Xu Shen’s shirt and shorts, with two long legs, looking like a feast for the eyes. Xu Shen realized his wife was too eye-catching. He has never felt this kind of happiness for the first part of his life, and couldn’t help but stare for a long time. After receiving a look back from Shu Ran, he mumbled: “I’ll get you something else to wear.”
Xu Shen went to the wardrobe and picked up a high-collared shirt for Shu Ran. Even though it was weird to wear something like that in the middle of summer, there was nothing they could do. Fortunately, Shu Ran looked good in anything. As for the traces behind his ear, Shu Ran found some medicine and asked Xu Shen to apply it, pretending it was a mosquito bite.
“Your sister knows nothing?” Xu Shen slowly twisted the lid of the medicine jar. “When can we tell her?”
The fact that the Zhou family didn’t know was not important, but Zhou Hui lived with them and was smart, and Xu Shen didn’t want to sneak behind her back in his own house.
Shu Ran yawned and said slowly: “We’ll see, anyway, not now.”
He took the lead to go downstairs and Xu Shen obediently followed behind.
Her brother was finally up! Zhou Hui originally wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but seeing him so haggard, made her reluctant to get angry: “Really, why didn’t I know you had problems sleeping in a new bed? After two o’clock last night, the lights were still on in your room! It’s one thing to not be able to fall asleep, but you also kept Brother Xu Shen up!”
Shu Ran smiled helplessly and didn’t know what to say: “…”
Zhou Hui: “Sit down, I’ll bring you something to eat.”
The men in the room knew the truth, but they couldn’t interrupt an older sister educating her brother. They could only offer their silent sympathies and condemn Xu Shen, that scumbag, along the way. When Zhou Hui left, everybody immediately turned to glare at Xu Shen saying: “Mister Xu, you have gone too far! There should be no next time! Tossing and turning until two in the morning, isn’t that too excessive? Look at you, all pleased and comfortable… then look at your wife! He looks like half of his life was sucked up by a goblin! Is this the firepower of an old virgin?!”
Xu Shen: “…”
It was true, he didn’t pay enough attention. Xu Shen touched his face with embarrassment and told Shu Ran: “Let’s go, I’ll get you a soft chair.”
Shu Ran immediately slapped his back. Say what?! He continued angrily: “It’s so nice to have a big mouth to speak! Can’t you talk less and do more?”
Xu Shen was beaten but still smiled with a ripple on his face. He hurriedly said: “I know, wife!”
Shu Ran quickly looked at the kitchen and was relieved to know that Zhou Hui was not in sight.
Everyone: “Wow! Pay attention to your words!”
The chair Xu Shen prepared for Shu Ran was the kind of folding chair with leather cushions popular in the 80’s and 90’s. It was not cheap, and Xu Shen bought two for his marriage. One was used in the living room, and the other one in the bedroom, next to the desk. Shu Ran didn’t want to be special, but he had to admit it was nice to be protected in someone else’s palms.
“Jiang Fan.” Xu Shen stood and poured water for Shu Ran. “When will you go to the unit to inquire about the marriage? His sister can’t delay any longer.”
Jiang Fan, who was full and wanted to sit down and rest, had no choice but to stand up again and take the order: “Okay, I’ll go now and report the news to you when I come back in the evening.”
Shu Ran looked grateful: “Thank you, Brother Fan. Thanks for your hard work!”
Zhou Hui’s marriage was indeed an important decision, something that he always kept in his mind.
“It’s a small matter…” Jiang Fan waved his hand. “By the way, can you write something for me? I want to take it back home and show it to my brother. He needs to stop saying that I only hang out with pigs and dogs!”
“Okay, no problem.” Shu Ran readily agreed, but turned around and looked at Xu Shen doubtfully: “Brother Shen, is he talking about you?”
Xu Shen: “…” This sudden black pot falling on his head was quite hard to avoid…
Jiang Fan: “Right, I’ll go first. You talk…”
Everyone liked joking around, but they couldn’t joke about Xu Shen. He was not like Chen Kai, full of loopholes. Xu Shen was a very serious person. They all knew his mental age was way more mature than his actual age. After all, he was full of life experience. The arrival of Shu Ran seemed to inject a ray of sunshine into his bleak life. They all hoped it could last…
Chen Sen drank tea and spoke to Xu Shen: “Since your marriage is now complete, Kaizi and I should go out and finish Lai Da’s matter. It’s been many days. What do you think?”
Xu Shen looked at Shu Ran who was sitting next to him eating breakfast, and said vaguely: “Go ahead.”
Hearing this, Chen Sen didn’t say much and left with his brother.
Shu Ran knew he shouldn’t care too much, just pretend to be deaf and dumb and not ask any questions. What Xu Shen and the others did was deep, and it shouldn’t matter to him.
But…
People’s hearts were made of flesh and he still had the fish Chen Kai caught for him in his mouth. He couldn’t help but ask: “Brother Shen, is it dangerous?”
Xu Shen was stunned and smiled: “Don’t worry.” But nothing else.
Xu Shen married Shu Ran and knew he had to be honest. After all, all the money he earned over the years would be given to his wife from now on, but there were still things better kept secret. On one hand, Xu Shen didn’t want Shu Ran to listen to dirty things. On the other hand, his reputation was already bad, and he feared his wife might leave him if he knew everything.
“Do you usually go together?” Shu Ran continued to press.
“Ah?” Xu Shen felt that Shu Ran’s tone had changed, so he tried to reassure him: “Not really, you saw my body last night. I have no scars.”
Indeed, he hadn’t seen or touched any scars, and that proved Xu Shen didn’t usually fight with others. But still, Shu Ran wasn’t convinced: “You are a smart man, you should know that putting your body in danger is stupid. It’s better to change your job instead of doing that for the long run.”
Xu Shen played with the lighter in his hand and smiled happily: “Wife, are you worried about me?”
Even if Shu Ran never answered his question, Xu Shen was still happy and finally promised gently: “Don’t worry, I won’t let you become a widow.”
Shu Ran secretly mocked him: “As if I do not know who went and got himself killed at the young age of 37…”
But he was right, he won’t become a widow. Because, by that time, he planned to long be gone from Xu Shen’s side.
The author has something to say:
Shu Ran: I’m good, don’t care at all! ( In fact, my heart is soft and emotional )
Xu Shen: I’m very gentle! ( Actually cruel and rational )
Thank you for your support ^_^
