Chapter 43: Dare to Undermine Me and I’ll Twist Your Ear! How About Considering…
Jian Minglang, dressed in trendy and avant-garde fashion, nodded weakly at the strangers beside him.
He hadn’t expected that while he was lazing around in the shop soaking up the sun as usual, his brother Jian Yu would suddenly appear and catch him red-handed.
It was all Big Bear’s (Xiong Anguo’s) fault!
If that guy hadn’t been asking him about food every day recently, he wouldn’t have suddenly craved that savory, chewy old-braised noodle soup in the antique market. If he hadn’t gotten a food coma after eating, he wouldn’t have come to his own shop to “Ge You slouch” (lie down lazily)…
The true mastermind behind the scenes, Le Can: Modest smile.JPG
In the antique business, it’s generally “three years without a sale, but one sale eats for three years.” The shop was usually quiet and deserted; as long as he wasn’t forced to manage the shops, it was absolutely a great place to slack off.
Jian Minglang usually “held multiple jobs.” Whenever he got tired or bored of a job, he loved to come to the nearby shops to be a salted fish for a few days.
Nothing had ever happened before, but who knew he would crash and burn today!
Other employees of Yayun Ancient Workshop: “…”
Bro, Ancestor, did you never suspect why there’s an identical recliner in every shop?
Not only did he not get to rest, but he also had to work overtime. The gloomy Jian Minglang had neither the mood nor the energy to be suspicious. Like a wandering spirit sucked dry of essence, he followed behind his brother Jian Yu, unwillingly entertaining guests.
It was so exhausting to nod his heavy head on his neck; Jian Minglang got tired after just a few nods. If he could, he really wanted to sing out loud: “I really want to escape, but I can’t escape~”
But obviously, he couldn’t. Jian Minglang could only hum a few bars of the melody. To people in this world unfamiliar with this tune, it sounded no different from him groaning from a toothache.
Le Can, the only one who could distinguish it, quietly narrowed his eyes.
Later, Jian Yu started chatting with someone. Jian Minglang lowered his head and followed automatically, bored out of his mind listening to his brother exchange pleasantries for the billionth time.
But this time was a bit different.
Listening to the voice, the person opposite wasn’t of the age where he had to force himself to address them as elders. For example, Uncle So-and-so, Auntie So-and-so, Grandpa So-and-so, Grandma So-and-so… a massive group of unfamiliar elders.
It was a magnetic voice with a cold tone, like swallowing a bowl of ice water. Jian Minglang instantly shivered, and his dispirited mind cleared up significantly.
After the coldness came the unique charm of the voice.
It wasn’t just superficially pleasant; the speaker enunciated clearly, at an unhurried pace. There was no fawning flattery, nor that annoying tone of giving directions. Calm, steady, and crisp, it highlighted an invisible power.
The last time Jian Minglang felt this power was from his cheap older brother, Jian Yu, in this life. And the time before that… it wasn’t a voice, but a short text written on a piece of paper…
Jian Minglang looked up melancholically and suddenly met the face that had just flashed through his memory.
Alike! It’s simply too alike!
The facial features were equally stunning at first glance, especially those bright eyes like blooming peach blossoms. However, the eyes of the past held more sarcasm and discouragement, unlike the current ones full of romance and unrestraint.
The face, previously thin to the point of being emaciated, was now much fuller and better looking. The originally pale complexion was now replaced by a healthy pink, clear and lustrous like warm jade.
Jian Minglang’s eyes widened, and he instantly raised his finger to point at the person a few steps away: “You? You! You…”
Coincidentally, just before this, Jian Yu and Xi Yun’s topic had shifted direction.
Jian Yu looked at the unfamiliar face beside Xi Yun that he had never seen before, his eyes holding some inquiry: “And this person beside you is?”
Before the guest could speak, Jian Yu heard his brother—who couldn’t stay steady for three seconds—exclaim in shock. He turned around and was almost poked in the face by Jian Minglang’s raised finger.
Jian Yu: “…”
Enduring the throbbing pain between his brows, he raised his hand and pulled down Jian Minglang’s raised arm. When he faced Xi Yun again, his refined and handsome face was full of helplessness and apology.
“This is my brother from the same mother, Jian Minglang. He’s been raised to be a bit too lively… I apologize for offending you and your friend on his behalf.”
At this moment, Jian Minglang suddenly realized he had “changed maps” (transmigrated). He retracted the hand that had been pushed down and hid it behind his back.
Then, the person nearly 1.8 meters tall shrank his neck like a quail that fell into the water, apologizing in a small voice: “No need for my brother to apologize for me; I was wrong.”
“Pointing at people with the index finger is indeed impolite. I apologize myself. I’m really sorry, this gentleman, uh, this…”
Jian Minglang’s brain suddenly jammed.
That designer who sacrificed himself to save him was named Le Can, but Jian Minglang wasn’t sure what this person—who looked like an alternate world version of him—was actually called…
The person who had just shown some self-responsibility instantly collapsed.
Facing the familiar face filled with unease, Le Can chuckled lightly, “You can call me Le Can.”
“The Le (Yào) from ‘The wise find joy (yào) in water, the benevolent find joy (yào) in mountains.’
The Can from ‘Jade mountains and precious belts, precious walls and inch-long pearls,’ dazzling and resplendent (Cui Can).”
Translator’s Note: In the Confucian saying “The wise find joy in water, the benevolent find joy in mountains” (Zn zhe yao shui, ren zhe yao shan), the character 樂 is pronounced ‘Yào’ (meaning to love/find joy in) rather than the common ‘Lè’ (happiness/music). Le Can is changing the pronunciation of his surname.
In the past, many people called his surname ‘Lè’ (Happy), calling him Lele. Le Can had never actively corrected this mistake.
Since his relatives left, no one around him had called his name correctly. This name, carrying expectation, blessing, and brilliant light, was gradually covered in dust and then buried among the masses.
But now, Le Can wanted to pick up this name and brush off the dust on its surface…
Suddenly, several gazes that were hard to ignore were cast from the side.
Le Can turned his head to meet Yuan Cheng, who was pouting with eyes full of heartache, unbeknownst to what he was imagining. Beside him, Liang Yusheng was more restrained, though his reaction of quickly looking away was somewhat of a clumsy cover-up.
Xi Yun… Xi Yun’s gaze was heavy. Under the quiet scrutiny of those silver-gray eyes, Le Can always felt an indescribable guilty conscience.
Well, you didn’t ask before either…
The key was that the Le Can of this world really had the surname Le (Lè). He couldn’t just come up and tell Xi Yun and the others, You guys are pronouncing my surname wrong, right?
Le Wenxin’s family was still alive; did he want his cover blown?
He lowered his head and touched his nose, trying to smooth things over for himself.
“Mainly because I didn’t want to change my name, but wanted to distinguish myself from Le Wenxin’s family, so I thought I’d simply change the pronunciation of the surname.”
After speaking, Le Can instantly switched to being self-righteous, raising an eyebrow at Xi Yun and the other two. “Please call me Le (Yào) Can from now on.”
Then, he added another sentence:
“Don’t call me Lele anymore either; change it to Yaoyao.”
Every time he heard “Lele,” Le Can would think of Lu Zhangping and Dan Man, who used this name the most in his past life. It really messed with his mindset too much.
Fortunately, Le Can hadn’t revealed the matter of the surname pronunciation to those two scumbags. In the future, that address would be buried in the past with them, having no part in his present or future.
“Le (Yào) Can,” Jian Minglang repeated the name hesitantly.
The designer who had saved him was also named with these two characters, but the pronunciation was different. Jian Minglang felt dazed and hesitant; his brain completely stopped turning, and he could only follow up on the previous words dizzily.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry to you, Le Can…”
Listening to Jian Minglang’s mechanical voice, the subtle feeling of wrongness that had arisen in Le Can’s heart since knowing Jian Yu and Xi Yun knew each other became increasingly hard to ignore.
Does Jian Minglang not know Xi Yun?
A certain man who lowered his eyes and silently recited “The wise find joy in water, the benevolent find joy in mountains” gently lifted his eyelids, looking at the young man whose smile had faded from the corners of his eyes, and frowned almost inaudibly.
Xi Yun and Jian Yu weren’t actually that close.
Even for biological brothers, knowing little or nothing about friends in the other’s social circle who weren’t intimate—shouldn’t that be a normal phenomenon?
Le “Half-Bottle of Water Transmigrator” Can didn’t expect the male lead to have such a cheating ability as mind reading in addition to X-ray vision. He hadn’t anticipated that even if he kept his mouth shut, his cover would still have security risks…
However, the matter of his cover being blown was still far off, and he didn’t notice Xi Yun looking at him right now.
Le Can was completely unaware and was quietly staring intently at Jian Minglang’s eyes and the corners of his mouth. Especially at the micro-expressions that would generate after his next words.
The young man’s tone was gentle: “It’s just a small matter. I received the apology; it’s fine.”
After hearing the forgiveness, Jian Minglang sure enough withdrew his mind from self-doubt and focused his attention again.
Meeting the other party’s moved and dazed eyes, the smile at the corner of Le Can’s mouth hooked even deeper. Then, at a certain moment, it instantly turned into shyness.
Jian Minglang: ???
Le Can hooked his arm around the person next to him, tilted his head slightly to lean on the other’s shoulder, and pursed his lips in a shy and sweet smile.
“Just like our family’s Xi Yun said just now, don’t overthink it.”
Xi Yun felt the weight on his shoulder, as well as the fingers quietly stroking his ear, lingering threateningly around the auricle and behind the ear.
“Right, Husband?”
Ambiguous breath sprayed on the side of his face.
Yet in Xi Yun’s mind, he heard a completely different voice:
Dare to undermine me and I’ll twist your ear!
Xi Yun was silent for a moment. Before Le Can could take the next step, like a foolish monarch bewitched by a demon concubine, he uttered a deep “Mn” in response.
As bystanders, Yuan Cheng and Liang Yusheng both flushed bright red, finally only able to turn their heads away huffing and puffing, revealing equally bright red earlobes.
Jian Yu should be the most surprised among those who knew Xi Yun.
The seemingly refined man opened his lips slightly, looking at Xi Yun who was cooperating with Le Can, unable to spit out a single word for a long time. His gentle gaze became dazed, his dark pupils seeming to reveal a trace of silliness.
Le Can was very satisfied with most people’s reactions, nodding slightly in his heart.
However, in reality, his body still maintained the posture of a dodder flower clinging to Xi Yun, only turning his head to wait for Jian Minglang’s next reaction.
“What? You’re married?!”
Jian Minglang’s expression was shocked as he expected, but the object of the shock was a bit off.
He suspected Jian Minglang might just have missed the point, so unwilling to give up, he straightened his body, narrowed his eyes, and said in a serious tone: “Yes, married. To Xi Yun.”
Every word was emphasized with extra weight. Now he shouldn’t…
Jian Minglang was going a bit crazy: “No, why couldn’t you think it through and got married so early?!”
Le Can’s confidence was smacked onto the ground with a splat, shattering into dregs.
The key was that the two people, both in the midst of a breakdown, didn’t feel the strangeness of this dialogue at all. Especially Jian Minglang, who simply looked like a latecomer who couldn’t forget his old love and couldn’t get what he wanted.
Yuan Cheng couldn’t help but look at his Brother Yun’s perfectly shaped skull… Liang Yusheng, with quick eyes and hands, slapped a palm over those audacious eyes.
Jian Yu’s expression switched from shock to headache with familiar ease. He pinched the bridge of his nose, which was aching from either the glasses or something else, and was preparing to pull a certain unlucky kid back.
Jian Minglang suddenly said: “If you weren’t married, I could have introduced my brother to you.”
His tone was sorrowful and full of deep regret. “Is this person reliable? Don’t be like that… Peh, bad luck!”
“Let me tell you, my brother Jian Yu is super reliable. Although he’s a bit old, his private life is very clean. He’s twenty-eight and still a vir—”
Jian Yu couldn’t listen anymore, veins popping on his forehead: “Jian. Ming. Lang!”
Jian Minglang instantly shut his mouth, but when his eyes swept over Le Can’s act of being lovestruck, the guilt and desire to make amends to his benefactor instantly outweighed his fear of his cheap older brother.
“Really, I’m not lying to you! He looks pretty good too and has money. Le Can, how about considering divorcing your husband and—Mmph mmph mmph…”
Before Jian Minglang could finish his sentence, he was gagged and bound by the other clerks in Yayun Ancient Workshop and dragged away quickly.
…
The atmosphere was dead awkward.
Le Can figured it out.
Jian Minglang was indeed a transmigrator from the same world as him, but the other party probably didn’t know that this was a book world centered on Xi Yun.
After all, actively delivering a “green hat” (cuckolding) to the male lead right in front of him…
From ancient times to the present,
Only Jian Minglang, this weirdo, could do it!
Author’s Note: Hahahaha, didn’t expect that, right? [Covering face and peeking]
- Our Yaoyao’s name is Le (Yào) Can. From given name to surname, it’s all bright and resplendent, and will shine forever!
- Jian “Two Dogs” is a transmigrator, but he doesn’t know who Xi Yun is. Gagagagaga [Evil Grin]
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