Chapter 96.1
Face-slapping the childhood sweetheart (4.1)
Editor: chestnutwhale
Zhou Xu also smiled and said, “I’m happy to see someone eating my leftovers.”
Ru Yu’s smile was frozen on her face, he could only cough to cover up this awkward moment, “Cough, cough… Where did you get this fried chicken from? It’s quite good.”
Zhou Xu smiled and answered, “I liked it a lot, so Uncle bought it especially for me.”
Ye Shaoyun hummed as he chewed on the chicken, and Ru Yu just smiled, “Your uncle-nephew relationship is quite admirable.”
“Of course,” answered Ye Shaoyun.
Zhou Xu looked back at Ye Shaoyun and asked quietly, “Uncle, did you forget that you were adopted? We don’t share any blood. If we have a good relationship, it’s definitely because we have good chemistry, not because we’re blood-related.”
After hearing Zhou Xu, Ye Shaoyun and Ru Yu fell silent. Ru Yu didn’t know that Ye Shaoyun and Zhou Xu weren’t related, and he’d even forgotten that he was adopted.
Seeing that the two were silent, Zhou Xu smiled and said, “Uncle, how about this, I’ll address you differently from now on. Since we aren’t related, why not just call you Brother Ye?”
Ru Yu interrupted, “How can you just change these things so spontaneously? You’ve been calling him uncle for so many years, and it’s undeniable that he’s fed you for many years. If you change it now, don’t you think you’re messing up the generation gap?”
Ye Shaoyun agreed with Ru Yu on this, because in his mind, he was still hesitant to step across a certain line, at least for now.
Zhou Xu was Ye Shaoyun’s most precious person. He didn’t want to hurt Zhou Xu, and to prevent this, he needed to control himself. That was Ye Shaoyun’s mentality.
So, this time, Ye Shaoyun nodded and said, “Xiao Xu, you should still call me Uncle.”
Zhou Xu nodded and said, “Okay, Uncle, I’ll listen to you.”
Ye Shaoyun reached out his hand, but his fingers were all greasy, so he touched Zhou Xu’s head with the back of his hand to say that he was happy with the reply.
Watching their interactions, Ru Yu’s heart was turbulent. He’d thought his enemy was He Meng, but never once had he thought that his real enemy was Zhou Xu.
Although his heart was filled with anger, his face remained cheerful. Ru Yu took a few bites of the fried chicken and said, “Uncle Ye, no matter how many years it has been, you still liked Xiao Xu the best.”
Ye Shaoyun nodded and didn’t speak.
After that, Ru Yu mentioned things about school, such as Zhou Xu’s mock test results.
Zhou Xu had always been Ye Shaoyun’s pride, so when he heard that Zhou Xu got second place, he was still very proud, and Zhou Xu also said with a smile, “It’s not a big deal. Next time, I will replace the first place.”
Ru Yu, who was first place, had thought that when he changed the topic to this, Zhou Xu would also mention that Ru Yu was first. Instead, Zhou Xu’s words made it impossible for Ru Yu to reveal his first-place status.
Zhou Xu was still smiling, but Ru Yu knew that he was doing this on purpose. In his mind, he thought that at least an interesting opponent was better than the idiots he was facing.
That day, Ru Yu didn’t stay for long, because in this atmosphere, he only felt constant embarra.s.sment. After seeing how these two were getting along, he figured out what tactic he should use, and that in itself could be considered a breakthrough.
In fact, Ru Yu was only planning to break through Ye Shaoyun, because by then, Zhou Xu’s fortress would break apart by itself.
After he thought through his plan, Ru Yu stood up and said to the two, “It is great to meet you two again, so I shouldn’t bother you anymore. Please continue, and I’ll head back first. ”
Ye Shaoyun nodded, and Zhou Xu put down the fried chicken in his hand, “I’ll send you along.”
“No need.”
Zhou Xu picked his chicken back and said, “Alright, bye.”
Ru Yu smiled and left. Before he left, he even carefully closed their door and saw that Zhou Xu and Zhou Xu were still focused on eating their chicken. They didn’t even bother to give him another word.
Normally Ye Shaoyun would not be so indifferent, but today, he noticed that there was a strangely hostile tension between Zhou Xu and Ru Yu.
He knew that the more Zhou Xu smiled in front of others, the more Zhou Xu disliked that person. Since Ru Yu got here, Zhou Xu had been smiling the whole time, so he knew that Zhou Xu must really dislike Ru Yu.
He sighed in his mind, knowing that the two didn’t get along very well since their childhood, and now, though they were grown, they were still determined to go against each other.
Forget it, thought Ye Shaoyun, they wouldn’t have many interactions with Ru Yu in the future, so it would be better to pretend that nothing had happened. So, he picked up the chicken wing that Zhou Xu had taken a few bites of and started eating.
After dinner, Zhou Xu felt a little too full, because he’d only eaten meat without any fruits or vegetables. He lay on the sofa resting on Ye Shaoyun’s leg and deliberately whined.
Ye Shaoyun rubbed Zhou Xu’s stomach and said, “How useless.”
Zhou Xu smiled, “That’s because the fried chicken you made was too delicious.”
The two chatted and laughed as if the rest of the world had nothing to do with them. All that was left was this tiny living room and the person beside the other.
After that day, Zhou Xu continued to attend school as usual and continued to be polite to Ru Yu, but as time went on, Ye Shaoyun also began receiving calls from Ru Yu more frequently.
But they would talk a few sentences at most, mostly just a greeting. Occasionally, Ru Yu would say “It’s cold outside, remember to stay warm” and words like that, yet Ye Shaoyun never paid much attention. As an independent man in his thirties, how would he not know how to take care of himself, but because he heard someone worrying about his health, he still felt a bit of warmth in his heart.
Having a person caring about you must be a very good feeling.
Ye Shaoyun also told Zhou Xu about him receiving calls from Ru Yu, but Zhou Xu simply nodded and never said much about it.
In a flash, two months had pa.s.sed, and May arrived. The weather became warmer, but the college entrance exam also approached quickly.
In the second mock exam, Zhou Xu got first place in the school, more than thirty points ahead of Ru Yu, who had placed second.
As Ru Yu went over to congratulate him, Zhou Xu curved the corner of his mouth and said, “Sorry about that, I’m the final winner.”
Ru Yu also smiled and said, “Then good luck to you.”
“In fact, there’s no need. I can perform normally on the exam,” said Zhou Xu.
“You’re amazing,” said Ru Yu as he returned to his seat.
The curve on the corner of Zhou Xu’s mouth was still there. He didn’t like to argue, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t. Since Ru Yu in this world liked to talk so much, then Zhou Xu must also talk a little more back, and as for the damage, he wouldn’t be responsible for that.
As adults, they need to be responsible for their own actions and words. This would especially apply to Ru Yu.
That day, Ru Yu called Ye Shaoyun again, but this time, he added one more sentence.
“h.e.l.lo, Uncle Ye, are you off work yet?”
“Yeah.”
“The results of the second mock exam came out. Zhou Xu got first place.”
“Oh, he’s been doing well.”
“I got second, and I am a little sad. In fact, I got first in the last mock exam. Xiao Xu said he would knock me off my first place, and he certainly did.”
“Well, try your best next time.”
“Uncle Ye, I’m very sad today, can you come to visit me? Just a moment is fine, just want to say a few words. After you don’t want me in your house anymore, I have been all alone. Even though the Yang Family has been very nice to me, in the end, you are my real family. Just to comfort me a bit, uncle. Alright?”
This was something Ru Yu said very often. He wanted to eat away Ye Shaoyun’s heart piece by piece, not leaving any s.p.a.ce for Zhou Xu.
But he didn’t expect that Ye Shaoyun would refuse him on the spot. Ye Shaoyun said, “Sorry Ru Yu, today I have to make sour and spicy soup for Zhou Xu. I promised him this morning.”
Ru Yu was shocked. If Ye Shaoyun was going to refuse his request, at least Ye Shaoyun should find a better excuse. Did he refuse to visit Ru Yu just to make soup for Zhou Xu?
“Just to make a bowl of spicy and sour soup, Uncle Ye? Okay, I get it. It was too much to ask from you. After all, you chose to abandon me back then.” Ru Yu’s voice was choking and sounded very sad.
“Because I already promised Xiao Xu.”
“Is tomorrow all right then?”
Ye Shaoyun thought about it and decided not to refuse anymore, so he said, “Fine, tomorrow afternoon, I’ll bring you and Xiao Xu out for a buffet.”
“Can it just be just you and me?”
“No.”
“Well, see you tomorrow then.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After he hung up, Ru Yu was about to burst out laughing. He thought that Zhou Xu would be more difficult to deal with, but never did he imagine how much more difficult would Ye Shaoyun be to deal with. It was as if his whole world revolved around Zhou Xu. Even a bowl of soup was much more important than Ru Yu.
How absurd!
Clearing his head of these thoughts, Ru Yu felt that he was about to go crazy from Zhou Xu and Ye Shaoyun. Anyway, at least he got to go out with them. Even with Zhou Xu tagging along, he could still find an opportunity to get rid of him.
That day, when Zhou Xu came back, Ye Shaoyun told him about what happened, but he didn’t care much. Honestly, for him, if his lover got taken away by others, he wouldn’t mind. It wasn’t that Zhou Xu trusted Ye Shaoyin, but he did trust his lover.