Chapter 55: Don’t You Feel It’s Hard?
Out of nowhere, Chi Yuheng was saddled with a huge accusation.
Before Ye Ran’s brain could even react, Old Master Chi had already started a lecture aimed at Chi Yuheng, “Xiao Ran is just a bit mischievous and noisy, and sometimes he really does deserve a beating, but how could you actually hit him?!”
Ye Ran: “…”
Is that even right?
Old Master Chi continued his tirade, “Chi Yuheng, is this how I taught you?!”
“Don’t you know this is a violent act? I don’t care how you are outside, but you absolutely cannot treat our Xiao Ran like this.”
Having said that, he went back to comforting Ye Ran, “Xiao Ran, hang in there. Wait until Grandfather gets back, and I’ll help you hit him back.”
In his younger years, Old Master Chi had been a legendary figure in the business world of Jing City. With his sharp and decisive nature, people everywhere would be a bit wary of him.
But after experiencing the successive pains of losing his wife and his son, he was physically and mentally exhausted. He gave all the remaining tenderness and love in his heart to his grandsons.
Especially to Ye Ran.
All the children had been raised before him since they were young. Chi Yuheng and Chi Youchu had at least received their parents’ love, but Ye Ran lacked that part of love. Old Master Chi felt sorry for him and gave him extra favoritism.
However, as the old man got older, his favoritism gradually evolved into an indiscriminate protection of his own, as it was now.
Ye Ran peeked at Chi Yuheng, who was standing by the bed like a bodyguard.
If Chi Yuheng didn’t maintain a certain distance from him right now and instead moved a bit closer, the old man would probably suspect him of domestic violence. He might even fly back from abroad immediately to protect Ye Ran.
The old man could misunderstand, but Ye Ran couldn’t not explain.
“Grandfather, it was because I was playing. My foot was cut by a rock at the seaside…”
Old Master Chi: “…”
The truth was revealed. Chi Yuheng, whose name had been cleared, twitched his eyes and waited for the old man to start making excuses.
Old Master Chi’s gaze lingered on Ye Ran’s foot, then he looked at the screen where Chi Yuheng hadn’t said a word but inexplicably gave off an “I knew it” vibe.
Sure enough, after a few seconds, the old man on the other side of the video gave a sheepish laugh, “Hahaha, Grandfather just woke up. I might have still been in a dream just now. Everything I said was just sleep-talking.”
Chi Yuheng found the right moment to speak up. “If I remember correctly, the time over there is already two in the afternoon.”
The old man was stumped. He snorted in annoyance, “I stayed up late surfing the internet. Can’t I have just woken up?!”
Chi Yuheng raised an eyebrow and spoke realistically, “I finally know who Ye Ran learned his stubbornness from.”
Whether it was because the old man was temporarily hard of hearing or because the network signal was bad, he raised his volume. “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly…”
Chi Yuheng smiled. “Be careful with your eyes, don’t spend as much time online as a child.”
Old Master Chi heard this sentence clearly and glared at him. “Only in your twenties and already so naggy.”
Ye Ran completely agreed with these words and nodded unconsciously.
Chi Yuheng swept a glance over. The person who was nodding froze, then pulled a pillow from the bed and hugged it, as if it were the best shield to block Chi Yuheng’s gaze.
Chi Yuheng turned his gaze back to the phone. “Alright, I won’t nag you anymore. It’s two in the afternoon for you, but it’s already almost midnight for us. Ye Ran is very tired and needs to rest.”
As he spoke, he was about to say goodbye and end the video call.
“Wait a minute.”
Chi Yuheng’s fingertip was suspended in mid-air. He was about to hang up when he was urgently stopped.
Old Master Chi quickly squeezed in a few more words, “Xiao Ran, recover well from your injury. Grandfather is returning home tomorrow. I’ve prepared gifts for all three of you. Oh, and there’s a surprise.”
The last time they had a video call, the old man had mentioned a surprise. Ye Ran’s curiosity was about to burst.
“Grandfather, what’s the surprise?”
Old Master Chi kept them in suspense. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”
“Anyway, it’s very good. How do they say it on the internet nowadays?” The old man tried hard to remember. “Oh right, it’s YYDS.”
When Ye Ran heard this term, his eyes instantly lit up. He even forgot to hold the pillow tightly. “Grandfather, you even know about that!”
The old man was quite confident. “Of course. Grandfather knows many things. For example, you are the ‘Tall, Rich, and Handsome’ himself.”
A few words once again connected the common topics between the two.
Ye Ran asked again, “What about Chi Youchu?”
The old man looked disgusted and spoke the truth, “A hexagonal loser.”
Hearing this description, Ye Ran was suddenly struck by the humor. He suppressed his laughter for a long while before asking, “Grandfather, what about Brother Yuheng?”
The old man opened his mouth to say, “Yuheng, this child, since he was little…”
“Alright.” Before the old man could finish, Chi Yuheng interrupted him in time. Otherwise, there was no telling what words his grandfather would come out with.
“If we keep chatting, it’ll be dawn.”
Ye Ran made a bitter face. “Just a few more words…”
He was about to hear how the old man described Chi Yuheng.
Chi Yuheng looked at Ye Ran, his tone Brook no refusal. “Go to sleep now.”
He said a few more simple words to the old man and hung up the video.
Ye Ran felt a little regretful that he hadn’t heard how the old man described Chi Yuheng, but it didn’t matter. He could wait until the old man returned and ask him then.
Chi Yuheng changed into his pajamas and got into bed. Ye Ran had already used the quilt to mark a “Chu-Han Border.”
“You sleep on your side, I sleep on mine. Let’s not cross the line.”
To Chi Yuheng, a boundary made of a quilt was the same whether it was there or not.
He just found it a bit funny. Ye Ran had piled the quilt into a large mound, which took up quite a bit of space in the middle of the bed. Instead, it left them with much less space to turn over.
So he asked in a negotiating tone, “Can we move the quilt away? With it there, neither of us can move.”
Ye Ran: “…”
How else do you want to move!
Then he secretly rejoiced. It’s exactly so you can’t move.
Of course, Ye Ran wouldn’t say that out loud. He tilted his chin up arrogantly. “No. If it’s not in the middle, what if you squeeze into me while you’re sleeping at night? With my foot like this, I can’t even kick you away with one leg.”
Chi Yuheng laughed when he heard the latter part.
Ye Ran couldn’t kick him with one leg, but it seemed he couldn’t kick him with both legs either.
Chi Yuheng didn’t say anything more. He just lay down on his side and said “Go to sleep” before closing his eyes.
He’s being this easy to talk to?
Ye Ran leaned back slightly, peeking at Chi Yuheng over the quilt mound that stood like a yurt in the middle.
The stray hairs on the man’s forehead hung down, partially covering his eyes. Under the warm yellow wall lamp, they traced a soft silhouette. He didn’t look as sharp as he did during the day; it was a different kind of handsomeness.
After Chi Yuheng said those three words, there was only the sound of steady breathing.
Ye Ran watched for a few moments. He’s already asleep?
He slowly lay down, his back to Chi Yuheng. With a slight movement, the large mound behind him pressed against his back.
Fortunately, that mound had width but not length. Ye Ran didn’t have much room for his upper body, but he did for his lower body.
To sleep comfortably, he moved his legs as far as possible toward the middle of the bed. Only when his legs found a suitable and comfortable position did Ye Ran stop.
Satisfied, he went to sleep.
Just as he closed his eyes, the person beside him, who appeared to be asleep, spoke.
“Ye Ran, don’t you feel it’s hard?”
Translator’s Note:
Hi everyone! Thanks for reading. There are a few cultural bits I wanted to explain:
- Gaokao Scores: The National College Entrance Exam in China is out of 750 points. Scores in the high 600s and 700s are elite—we’re talking top 0.1% territory. Chi Yuheng’s 726 is practically legendary status!
- YYDS: This is a very popular internet slang term in China. It stands for Yǒngyuǎn de Shén (永远的神), which literally means “Always the God.” In English, we would say “The GOAT” (Greatest of All Time).
- Hexagonal Loser: This is a play on the “Hexagonal Warrior” (a term often used in sports or games to describe a perfectly balanced, all-around top player). Calling someone a “hexagonal loser” means they are consistently useless in every possible category. Poor Chi Youchu!
- The “Cabbage and Pig” Idiom: You’ll often see this in Chinese novels. Raising a child (especially a beautiful/precious one) is compared to “raising a fine cabbage.” When they start dating, it’s described as “a pig finally arched/rooted the cabbage.”
See you in the next update!
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