Ch 26

When Ding Xuerun heard Lou Cheng’s voice message, a smile appeared on his face. He listened to it a few times and decided that neither calling it now nor rejecting it was a good idea, so he sent him a message saying, “I owe it first, and I’ll call you it next time, okay?”

“No,” Lou Cheng said, “You can’t.”

“I’m not going to cheat.” He isn’t accustomed to sending voice messages to people. They are all written messages; Lou Cheng is most likely not fluent in Pinyin and always sends out voice messages. He previously asked Ding Xuerun how to spell “hot.”

Lou Cheng said in a tone that I can see through you: “If you aren’t going to reject it, why don’t you call it now?”

Ding Xuerun was preparing to go through the security check. He had a lot of stuff and couldn’t type, so he also sent him a voice: ” Lou Cheng…I’m sorry, the airport is crowded.”

Lou Cheng heard it and seemed to be able to imagine his shy appearance, and suddenly felt very itchy. Originally, Lou Cheng did not intend to make it difficult for him; he could simply deny it, but that is no longer an option, and he must hear it: “What is there to be embarrassed about? Isn’t it just to call your husband, you still don’t know how to act like a spoiled child?”

After Ding Xuerun went through the security check, Lou Cheng sends a series of voice messages.

“If you can’t do it there, find a place where there is no one around, such as a toilet.”

“It’s not like you’re learning to scream in bed, just call your husband. If you keep your voice low, no one will hear you.”

“Hurry up, Ding Xuerun. Where are you? Why ignore me?”

“Really ignore me???”

“Runrun, don’t ignore me…” Lou Cheng’s voice became a little aggrieved.

“Well, if  you don’t want to call, then don’t…”

Ding Xuerun finally passed the security check, and he found the boarding gate and sat down. There are people everywhere on domestic flights. Ding Xuerun is really embarrassed because he has never been addressed in this manner since he was a child. He has no brothers and is unconcerned if he is referred to as a brother.

Lou Cheng asked him to call him that, but he couldn’t. He had the courage to do other things, but it was different in this matter.

Lou Cheng’s voice call came over just as Ding Xuerun hesitated and even walked to a quiet place, planning to compromise.

“Hello, Xiao Ding? Why don’t you reply to the messages? Are you angry?”

“No, I went through the security check just now and I was planning to go back to you.”

Lou Cheng’s mobile phone is connected to the car’s Bluetooth, and the volume is turned to the maximum sound.

“It’s good that you’re not angry, but why are you so petty that you won’t call your husband…” Lou Cheng muttered.

“…Do you really want to hear it?”

“Of course, don’t you want to thank me? Hurry up, talk quietly and act spoiled a little bit.”

Ding Xuerun was particularly helpless when it comes to Lou Cheng because Lou Cheng has such a childish temper. If you don’t follow his will, he will be angry. Ding Xuerun walked to the place where he got the hot water, and suppressed his voice so low that he didn’t know if it had been recorded by the mobile phone: “Brother…”

Lou Cheng heard it directly. The voice was similar to the breathing sound. There is a slight milky tone as soon as the low tone is heard, which lingers in the ears for three days.

For a brief moment, he felt numb all the way down his spine, making it impossible for him to see the road clearly. With one hand on the steering wheel, he dashed to the flower stand in the middle of the road. The car shakes violently and unexpectedly. Lou Cheng makes a sudden brake, causing the car and the driver to shake violently. Ding Xuerun’s anxious voice came from the Bluetooth stereo connected to the mobile phone in the car: “Hello? Lou Cheng?! Are you okay?”

He just regained his senses.

“It’s all right,” Lou Cheng was in a trance, and he felt that his legs were soft. He doesn’t know if it was because of the car crash or because of Ding Xuerun’s particularly affectionate ‘brother’. His heart trembled, and he gasped, “There’s a stupid rear-end collision, damn it. I scraped the car, what a fool.”

Ding Xuerun breathed a sigh of relief: “It’s good that you are all right.”

Lou Cheng said shamelessly, “Xiao Ding, I didn’t hear it because of the accident just now. Did you say it?”

“I did.”

“Then your voice is too low, it doesn’t count, call again.”

Ding Xuerun said no: “Lou Cheng, don’t be a scoundrel.”

“I don’t care. I didn’t hear you!”

Compared to Ding Xuerun’s insincere and unspoiled “brother”, Lou Cheng’s appearance of playing a scoundrel is more spoiled. The two argued endlessly, and Lou Cheng insisted on hearing it again, feeling that it was too beautiful, but Ding Xuerun refused.

Some drivers turned around to look at the Land Rover, which drove erratically and rushed to the flower bed without moving for an extended period of time.

The Land Rover driver, on the other hand, got out of the car to see if it had been scratched, and instead of calling the insurance company, he pestered his deskmate on the other end of the phone like a childish primary school student. He couldn’t defeat Ding Xuerun and eventually yelled angrily, “How dare you, Xiao Ding! You just called me Brother, but you don’t recognize it!”

Ding Xuerun said calmly, “So you heard it?”

Lou Cheng: “…”

“Okay, Lou Cheng, I’ll board on the plane soon, you should drive carefully and don’t rear-ended again.”

Lou Cheng sighed: “Oh, the driver behind the rear-end saw me keep calling, so he sneaked away. Forget it, I don’t care about him.”

“When your plane lands, you need to send me a message that you landed safely, okay?”

Ding Xuerun remembered his words, so after landing, he sent him a message and then replied to Ding Zhaowen’s text message, saying he was at the airport.

Ding Zhaowen is overjoyed that Ding Xuerun will be returning by plane this year, because Ding Xuerun has been a very sensible child since he was a child, and he does not waste his family’s money. He began receiving scholarships in junior high school and saved his money. When his mother became ill, he drew 20,000 yuan in one breath, which surprised Ding Zhaowen.

The child was reluctant to spend money, he was very economical on food and clothing. He asked him why he saved money. He said that he wanted to start a business. When he had enough money, he would set up a foundation to help children with disabilities.

Ding Zhaowen drove to the airport to pick him up, and it took more than two hours to get home.

Ding Zhaowen used his provident fund to purchase the house. After living for more than 20 years, the old house was cleaned and the windows were clean and bright. There are photos of Ding Xuerun’s mother on the table and on the wall.

Ding Xuerun placed his luggage in his room. His room wasn’t big and there was no memento from his childhood, only a slew of awards adorning the walls.

He took the tea out and placed it on the coffee table in the living room: “Here’s a tea from a classmate.”

Ding Zhaowen was panning rice when he turned around and said, “You get along well with your classmates? If he sends tea so politely, you must also bring some gifts to your classmate as well.”

He didn’t communicate with Ding Xuerun before, but now he feels a little awkward when communicating, but he doesn’t feel the same sense of isolation he did before.

Ding Xuerun said in a low voice: “Umm, I will bring him some sweet osmanthus.”

“The osmanthus flower season is over.”

Ding Xuerun thought for a while and said: “He likes to eat sweets. I’ll make him some southern sugar with dried sweet-scented osmanthus.”

“I’ll go out and buy some special products in two days and bring them back to your classmates,” Ding Zhaowen said as he worked in the kitchen, “have the final grades come out?”

“Not yet.” Because the winter break is less than 20 days, the final exam results will not be announced until the start of the semester, and classes will be divided directly at that time.

The father and son couldn’t communicate and couldn’t talk without saying a few words.

During vacation, there is a lot of homework. Ding Xuerun is accustomed to completing tasks on time. He never accumulates things. He didn’t leave the house for three days and completed all of his winter vacation homework.

Ding Zhaowen took Ding Xuerun back to his hometown in the countryside on the fourth day of New Year’s Eve. In his hometown, he had a large number of relatives and children. They called him ‘brother’ crisply, like a swarm of free-range ducks surrounding Ding Xuerun for sugar.

Ding Xuerun had already prepared. On the one hand, he distributed the candy and recorded a short video to Lou Cheng: “You owe me a candy.”

Lou Cheng had lunch with his friends outside and had to go to the airport to pick up his dad after eating.

He clicked on the video and laughed hard, and said, “Xiao Ding, that’s not okay, you just called me brother once, how many times did they call you?”

Piggy, who was sitting across from him, immediately raised his head and looked at him.

Ding Xuerun replied: “Why don’t you see how many candies I gave them?”

“How many? I’ll give them too. How many times do you want to hear it? I’ll buy the sugar factory for you!” Lou Cheng sent out the bold and unruly voice of the mine boss.

He doesn’t like typing. Basically, he sends voice messages to people as long as it is not in situations where he cannot speak.

Piggy almost choked on hearing it.

Ding Xuerun dismissed the child and sat on the stone bench under the shade of the tree: “Then I will test your elementary school math problem. I guarantee you’ll be able to do it in ten minutes. Assuming I have 200 candies, distribute 9 to each girl and 8 to each boy. Finally, I only have two candies left. How many boys and girls are there?”

Lou Cheng: “…”

Lou Huan looked at the subject, his face was confused, and his head grew big in an instant.

Ding Xuerun said: “You need to do it yourself, you can’t ask others.”

Lou Cheng wouldn’t listen to him, and immediately showed his phone to Piggy: “Quickly, help me how to do this question?”

Piggy looked confused. Lou Cheng glanced at it and calculated it in his mind, but couldn’t figure it out: “Excuse me, could you bring me a paper and pen.”

Lou Cheng saw Piggy quickly set up an equation, what 9X+8Y+2=200.

He looked at Piggy’s writing one formula after another, and couldn’t understand at all. He cursed: “He actually lied to me that this is a primary school math problem. How is this like a primary school problem?”

Piggy just solved the answer. With a complicated face, he said, “Brother Cheng, this is really a math problem in primary school.”

“Impossible, how could a primary school student do it? I can’t even do it.” Lou Cheng glanced at his answer, “Is X a boy or a girl?”

Piggy replied, and Lou Cheng quickly sent the answer: “Am I right?”

“Yes, but did you do it yourself?”

“Of course, do you think I don’t know how to solve this primary school math problem? Ding Xuerun, I warn you, don’t humiliate me like this!”

Lou Cheng was addicted to chatting, always with a loving smile on his face that made him appear particularly silly. Piggy’s expression became increasingly strange until he couldn’t help himself and asked, “Brother Cheng, what is your relationship with top student Ding?”

“Father and son.” Lou Cheng didn’t raise his head and told him in a childish manner. Ding Xuerun debated whether or not he had attended primary school.

The corner of Piggy’s mouth twitched: “I heard Tang Xiaorong say… She was drunk that day, she didn’t mean it, but I heard it. She said…” Piggy hesitated and didn’t say anything.

Tang Xiaorong had some wine that day and unintentionally revealed Lou Cheng’s secrets. She cried to Piggy while lying on the table: “I have liked him for so many years only to know he liked men.”

Piggy: “…” No To tell you the truth, I’ve known Brother Cheng for so long and I didn’t know he likes men.

Piggy thought about it, and based on his knowledge of Lou Cheng, he felt that Lou Cheng was mostly acting.

He comforted Tang Xiaorong, but did not tell her that Lou Cheng was lying to her.

Only today…

Lou Cheng raised his head when he heard it: “What are you talking about? I’m gay?”

Piggy can’t eat anymore: “Brother Cheng, aren’t you a little too kind to top student Ding?”

“Do you think I’m kind to him? I also think I’m too kind to him. Why is that?” Lou Cheng put his chin in one hand, and his handsome face was stained with the sadness of a young man, as if talking to himself. “I don’t really like him, do I?”

Piggy was completely stunned, unable to believe this fact.

After about ten seconds, Lou Cheng couldn’t help it with Piggy’s sluggish expression, bent over and laughed wildly: “My god, you actually believed it, really a pig brain hahaha, did I act it well? Really?”

“If my little cheng is bent, I will jump from here, hahahahaha.” He vowed while pointing to the second floor window of the restaurant.

Piggy looked at him inexplicably: “…”

He felt that he had recognized a mentally retarded eldest brother.

The author has something to say: 

Lou Cheng: Give me a compliment for my excellent acting skills, yeah!

T/N: Osmanthus cake is a traditional sweet-scented Chinese pastry made with glutinous rice flour, honey sweet-scented osmanthus, and rock sugar