BFILWY CH 12

Chapter 12: You’re Playing Too Big.

Ye Qinghe was furious. “A monkey, a monkey? And a old monkey at that.” The anger was bubbling up inside him, his face darkening from the frustration.

An Xue, nearly choking on a sip of water, coughed violently. While trying to suppress his laughter, it was clear that Ye Lao Houzi (Old Monkey Ye) was not pleased. On his first day at work, Teacher An almost choked to death in his employer’s house.

“I’m not playing anymore.” Ye Qinghe, sulking, tossed the phone onto the nearby sofa. Once An Xue managed to stop coughing, he forced himself to calm down. “You’re sitting in a backlight,” he kindly pointed out. This was a subtle way of giving him an out, and Ye Qinghe’s mood lightened a little. After a brief pause, though, he was still dissatisfied. Grumbling, he muttered, “This app is totally inaccurate. I tested it, and at home, it even showed a leopard… right there…” Ye Qinghe pointed his finger, and An Xue turned to see an abstract painting on the wall, with some colors and strokes resembling leopard spots. He almost laughed.

“Well, yeah, it’s not very accurate. I’m not exactly a handsome guy,” An Xue’s hoarse voice reassured Ye Qinghe. Not sure if it was meant to comfort him, An Xue quietly added, “I’m ugly.”

Ye Qinghe was momentarily stunned. “You shouldn’t be that ugly, right?”

An Xue absentmindedly rubbed his face and didn’t respond. Instead, he casually asked, “Are you hungry? What would you like to eat?” He had had a late breakfast and skipped lunch to pick Ye Qinghe up, so it wasn’t even five o’clock yet, but he was already feeling a bit hungry. According to Ye Qinghe, Aunt Chen’s daughter-in-law had just given birth and was busy with postpartum care, so she wouldn’t be coming over every day. That meant they’d have to take care of dinner themselves tonight. An Xue opened the fridge, hoping to find some simple ingredients to whip up something quickly.

“Teacher An, can you cook?”

“I can’t,” An Xue replied, “I can only guarantee that it will be cooked and not cause any stomach issues. I hope Mr. Ye isn’t too picky.”

“I’m not picky,” Ye Qinghe said with a smile.

An Xue raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing that the young master of the Ye family was the type to be an easy guest when it came to food. He was already thinking that he would make something simple for tonight and let Mr. Ye hire someone to cook in the future. That way, it would be easier for him.

An Xue rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a transparent bottle labeled in both English and Japanese. “Hmm? You put Yunni Sha^[1] in the fridge?” he asked in disbelief, looking at the bottle in his hand. “Isn’t it too cold? Won’t it be too harsh?”

“What?” Ye Qinghe was taken aback for a moment before he understood. He looked a little embarrassed. “No, no, I didn’t put it there. It was probably Aunt Chen when she was tidying up the house, thinking it was aloe vera gel, so she put it in the fridge. I told you, I haven’t been here in a long time. I let my friends borrow the house for a party before, so the stuff could have been theirs… Wait a second,” Ye Qinghe, in the middle of his long-winded and somewhat evasive explanation, realized something important. An Xue knew exactly what the Yunni Sha was, but Aunt Chen didn’t. A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Teacher An, do you know what Yunni Sha is?”

“…Heh,” An Xue placed the bottle back in the fridge. “Isn’t it aloe vera gel? I didn’t know it had to be kept in the fridge. Learned something new.” Whether it was because of guilt or something else, his voice sounded a bit stiff.

“Heh,” Ye Qinghe chuckled, mimicking An Xue’s laughter. “Don’t worry about putting it back in the fridge. I have no idea who used it, and it’s probably expired by now. Anyway, neither of us will use it, so you just…” There was a loud thud as something was thrown forcefully into the trash can. “…Just throw it away,” Ye Qinghe said awkwardly.

“Not knowing who it’s been used by, you really do play big.” About ten minutes later, a teasing remark came from the kitchen, laced with a smile that didn’t reach the eyes.

That evening’s dinner was a guarantee of overcooked dumplings, with the skin and filling falling apart into a mushy mess.

An Xue shrugged. “Sorry, I told you I can’t cook.” There wasn’t a hint of apology in his tone.

Ye Qinghe forced a smile, trying to stab a chunk of dumpling skin with his fork. He wisely refrained from making any further comments.

(To be continued…)