Keztranslations

Chapter 43

　　”You should buy an aircraft.” Zhuo Jia Shuo said, “Isn’t it popular with kids these days? You don’t want one?”

　　Tong Yan closed the folder, rubbing his fingertips on the sharp corners. After a while, he asked: “I’m always home, why would I need one?”

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo: “To play, duh.”

　　”Why on earth do you care about my playing?” Tong Yan turned to look at him, “And what’s bad about holding back?”

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo’s expression stiffened: “Why are you speaking like that?”

　　After reading that thing, Tong Yan really wasn’t in the mood to chat.

　　But when he closed his eyes and sunk into the seat, he still couldn’t help but think about it.

　　The framework of the proposal should’ve been made by a subordinate, but Zhuo Xiang Ming really did review it seriously. There was his signature on it, and some suggestions written in small print. Approve or reject, the more densely packed was the future, thinking about it, Tong Yan’s head hurt.

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo probably thought that Tong Yan was asleep. He didn’t speak again, and even turned off the music. When they arrived at the house, he finally called him: “Tong Yan, we’re here.”

　　Tong Yan opened his eyes, groaned, then shoved the folder in his arms into his bag and shifted to get out of the vehicle.

　　”Wait.” Zhuo Jia Shuo spoke again. He fished out a square card made out of diamond crystal, hung on a key ring, and handed it to Tong Yan, “The aircraft should be delivered tonight, they’ll park it on your roof.”

　　”…” Tong Yan stared blankly, then took it, saying, “Thank you …”

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo said coolly: “It’s nothing.”

　　”Why are you suddenly giving me a gift?”

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo: “It’s not completely my present, mom put up half.”

　　Tong Yan once again said: “Thank you and Auntie.”

　　”Oh?” Zhuo Jia Shuo raised an eyebrow.

　　Tong Yan also knew that he’d called out the wrong address, waving his hand, he said, “I know.”

　　Lin Yue Hua and Zhuo ZhengDe were both home. They’d lit up the fireplace, although it was smoke-less, the room still had a slight woodsy scent.

　　”Tong Tong is here.” Lin Yue Hua smiled and walked over, leading Tong Yan to the table where she was drinking tea with Zhuo ZhengDe. She poured him a cup, “Just brewed, drink it to warm the body.”

　　”Thanks, Mom.” Tong Yan said.

　　Lin Yue Hua smiled even more cheerfully, saying, “Xiang Ming too, he goes to work by himself with no concern for your vacation, letting you stay home alone.”

　　Tong Yan: “He’s concerned about me, he sometimes comes back for lunch, and I can always go see him.”

“That’s good.” Lin Yue Hua said, “It’s good to spend time together. He’s like a block of wood, I hope you don’t feel bored.”

　　Lin Yue Hua always spoke like this in order to express her closeness to Tong Yan, but this time, Tong Yan suddenly felt like he couldn’t listen to it. But in the end, he had a good upbringing, so he didn’t talk back to his elders. Plus, Lin Yue Hua wasn’t sincerely bad-mouthing Zhuo Xiang Ming, Tong Yan drank two mouthfuls of tea, and finally said, “Actually, he can also tell jokes, which is very different from a block of wood.”

　　Lin Yue Hua laughed when she heard this: “He tells jokes? Maybe only to you, we’ve never had such blessings.”

　　Tong Yan also laughed.

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo sat to the side in rare silence. Lin Yue Hua pulled him in to chat. The group chatted idly, and at around seven o’clock, Zhuo Xiang Ming arrived. Tong Yan ran out as soon as he heard the sound of the car, pulling up in front of the stopped car. Zhuo Xiang Ming got out and walked up to him: “What are you doing out here? It’s cold.”

　　”It’s not that cold.” Tong Yan said.

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming pulled his hand into his coat pocket.

　　Lin Yue Hua looked out from the window, when they came in, she greeted them with a call to dinner.

　　She looked very happy, Tong Yan wasn’t sure if it was because he and Zhuo Xiang Ming seemed to be in a very close relationship. In fact, he was somewhat absent-minded all night, minding Zhuo Xiang Ming’s every move, but also easily getting lost in his thoughts.

　　When it was time to wash their hands and brush their teeth, no one else was around, so Zhuo Xiang Ming squeezed his hand: “What’s wrong?”

　　Tong Yan looked up: “What?”

　　”You look lifeless.” Zhuo Xiang Ming asked in concern, “Are you not eating enough? What else do you want to eat?”

　　Tong Yan: “No, maybe it’s because of the cold air today.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming: “It is very cold. Go to bed early tonight.”

　　When he entered the house, he went straight to the dining table, so he didn’t have time to change his clothes, and was still wearing the suit he’d worn to the company. Because he’d worked a whole day shift, and drove over from so far away, he inevitably looked tired, but the concern for Tong Yan in his eyes was still so deep.

　　Tong Yan’s untimely downheartedness reached the extreme point. In any case, the bathroom door was shut, so he hugged Zhuo Xiang Ming, shoving his face into his chest.

　　He originally planned to directly ask Zhuo Xiang Ming about that matter tonight. He really couldn’t figure it out, to put it plainly, Zhuo Xiang Ming was raised outside because at that time, Zhuo ZhengDe was openly financing female students. The family had been disturbed to that extent, but now Zhuo ZhengDe was continuing this bad habit, and even pushing the problem onto Zhuo Xiang Ming? In the end, does anyone in their family sincerely feel like they’d wronged Zhuo Xiang Ming?

　　And why did Zhuo Xiang Ming agree? Could he really not be upset?

　　But now, facing Zhuo Xiang Ming, he didn’t want to bluntly interrogate. Zhuo Xiang Ming never requested anything from his family, this was his own choice. His childhood was a long time ago, Zhuo Xiang Ming chose to flatly ignore it. Perhaps, as Zhuo Xiang Ming once said, he gave the matter to time. Time had already helped him forget. Tong Yan had also suffered while growing up, and he wouldn’t like to discuss those things again.

　　”Do you want to go home?” Zhuo Xiang Ming guessed on the basis of the few occasions Tong Yan was in a bad mood, “I’ll take you back to your home for dinner tomorrow, okay?”

　　”No, I want to stay at our home tomorrow.” Tong Yan knew what to say to make Zhuo Xiang Ming happy, “Are you tired?”

　　Sure enough, Zhuo Xiang Ming’s lips pursed up in a smile, because he’d called it ‘our home’. Then he bowed his head, kissing his hair: “Not tired. You’re really a little squirrel, unwilling to leave home when the weather is cold.”

　　Tong Yan didn’t know when he’d given him a little squirrel pet name, snorting in dissatisfaction, he raised his head to welcome his gentle kiss.

　　It was still early after they finished dinner, so no one returned to their rooms. The family was disorderly scattered around the living room. Tong Yan and Zhuo Xiang Ming sat on the sofa, he switched to the news channel, which was fortunately broadcasting financial news.

　　Usually at home, Zhuo Xiang Ming would always watch this, and Tong Yan would build Lego. But there was nothing here for him to play with, Zhuo Xiang Ming said, “Change it to what you want to watch.”

　　Tong Yan leaned on him and shook his head: “I’ll watch this.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming looked down at him, Tong Yan raised a hand to turn his face: “Watch the TV.”

　　When the news broadcast was over, Zhuo ZhengDe wanted to say a few words to Zhuo Xiang Ming, but when he saw Tong Yan asleep, he said quietly, “Your wife is sleepy, bring him up.”

　　Lin Yue Hua was a little further away, when she saw Tong Yan asleep, she also waved at him: “Don’t call out, carry him up.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming also had this idea. Zhuo Jia Shuo suddenly said, “I have something to say.”

　　Everyone looked at him. Zhuo Jia Shuo walked over from the terrace and sat opposite Zhuo Xiang Ming. After a long pause, he said, “I want to get married.”

　　”Huh?” Lin Yue Hua reacted first, “With whom?”

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo looked at her, then looked at Zhuo Xiang Ming again and said, “Tong Yang.”

　　Lin Yue Hua asked incredulously: “Who Tong Yang?”

　　Zhuo Jia Shuo pointed to the sleeping Tong Yan with his chin: “His older brother.”

　　”…” Lin Yue Hua was speechless for a long while.

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming learned about this a few hours in advance, so it wasn’t too surprising. At this time, he didn’t intervene, holding up Tong Yan and saying, “You guys should slowly talk this over.”

　　After entering the bedroom, he put Tong Yan down on the bed, and was preparing to wring a towel to wipe him, when Tong Yan woke up.

　　”Up? You should go take a bath.” Zhuo Xiang Ming bent over, rubbing his index finger across Tong Yan’s face, “Do you want to go now or later?”

　　Tong Yan slowly sat up, remembering how he was originally going to accompany Zhuo Xiang Ming to watch the news, but he fell asleep in the end. He blushed a little: “I’ll go now.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming went in to run the water for him.

　　After washing up, it was only nine o’clock. Zhuo Xiang Ming leaned against the headboard, watching Tong Yan do exercises on the ground like he was watching a serious program.

　　He didn’t know where he read about leg thinning yoga exercises, but he did twenty minutes of it every night.

　　There were a few poses that were very contorted and funny, so this became Zhuo Xiang Ming’s recent entertainment source.

　　However, although he laughed at Tong Yan today, he wasn’t smacked by Tong Yan. Tong Yan even good-temperedly poured him a glass of water after drinking his own.

　　”Do you have any room for thinner legs?” Zhuo Xiang Ming’s hands were naughty, leaning forward to kiss Tong Yan while groping Tong Yan’s lower leg, “They’ll fade out of existence if they get any thinner.”

　　Tong Yan obediently gave him a kiss, even opening his mouth a little, and wrapping his legs around his waist, not very docile.

　　”Don’t you watch enthusiastically every day?” Tong Yan said ambiguously.

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming: “Don’t you hit me when I laugh?”

　　After saying this, he let out an ‘oh’ and said, “It’s not that you want skinny legs, you want to make me laugh so you can hit me?”

　　Tong Yan squeezed his face back a little: “Did I hit you today?”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming: “No.”

　　”I won’t hit you anymore.” Tong Yan patted his face again, “I’m going to treat you better.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming wasn’t very convinced, but facing Tong Yan’s red lips, he couldn’t help but kiss them, temporarily throwing the domestic violence incident to the back of his mind.

　　The two entangled together without shyness, and Zhuo Xiang Ming didn’t have time to react when Tong Yan went down on him.

　　The shiver inducing numbness ran from his lower back to his scalp, he reached out to push Tong Yan’s shoulder, but Tong Yan insisted, and his pushing also wasn’t very sincere. This time, Zhuo Xiang Ming was sober and not confused like last time. Tong Yan exhausted all his skills, and took a breather several times, serving for more than 20 minutes before the conclusion.

　　Because of the retching, his eyes were wet, and his face had a few tear stains. His lips were so red that Zhuo Xiang Ming didn’t dare look, moistened with some whiteness.

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming was simply bewildered, staring blankly for a few moments before realizing, and reaching out to let Tong Yan spit it out. But Tong Yan closed his mouth, then stuck his tongue out to show him: “Swallowed.”

　　”You …” Zhuo Xiang Ming’s eyes were also a little red, forced red by some brain-burning desires.

　　He hugged Tong Yan fiercely, kissing those red lips, hard, until Tong Yan mumbled: “Mouth hurts.” He immediately didn’t dare continue the kiss, looking at Tong Yan, not knowing what to say. It was like he was looking at his archenemy, wishing he could swallow them whole, but also like he was looking at a treasure, wanting to find an undiscovered island, so he could conceal Tong Yan away.

　　”What’s going on today? So good.” Zhuo Xiang Ming used his thumb to gently rub Tong Yan’s lips, “Intentionally making me feel troubled.”

　　Tong Yan: “Don’t ever make the same mistake again.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming was immediately vigilant, asking: “What mistake?”

　　Tong Yan: “I found it in your car today, promoting that painter.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming obviously didn’t remember, only reacting after a few moments: “I can explain, my …”

　　”What use is an explanation?” Tong Yan said, “Your father asked you to do it, I can guess this, but knowing doesn’t mean understanding. I was in a very bad mood today, because I was jealous. That female painter looks very pretty, and isn’t she very appropriate for your age? One day, if some gossip blog reports on it, and other people wantonly spread it, will I find myself in a broken marriage again?”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming responded, stammering: “I understand, I’ll definitely, I’ll never do it again.”

　　Tong Yan wasn’t very convinced: “Really?”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming solemnly said, “Of course it’s true. When he asks me to do it again, I’ll definitely reject him.”

　　”Okay.” Tong Yan said, “Let’s sleep, it’s really very cold today.”

　　Zhuo Xiang Ming hugged him tightly. After a long time, he kissed Tong Yan’s forehead, and the two held hands in the quilt, reluctant to separate.

　　He couldn’t pretend to not understand the situation. If Tong Yan hadn’t done those clumsy and earnest actions earlier, in order to make him happy, maybe he really would believe that Tong Yan was jealous because of the artist. But the fact was, Tong Yan wasn’t the slightest bit jealous, although he hadn’t gotten upset about it, Tong Yan had taken his place, and felt wronged on his behalf. Tong Yan had wielded his fangs and claws to protect him.

　　In the end, this was merely a very small matter, but Zhuo Xiang Ming was very ashamed to admit that he felt like crying, because he realized that from now on, all his happiness, sorrow, anger and joy would be accompanied by another person. At this moment, this became a very substantial idea, but ultimately, there were no tears in his eyes.

　　He’d probably cried too many times as a child, so now, as an adult, his tears didn’t come out as easily. Even if there were tears, most of them went to his heart, and even when they flowed to his heart, he might not notice it, because many things passed away in numbness.

　　He was a nonchalant adult, but Tong Yan always found his weak points. However, he never poked them, instead, the little squirrel worked hard to carry over a lot of pine cones, helping him plug up the weak places.

　　====================================================================

       Author’s Note:

               It’s very late, Mr. Tong didn’t write his diary, everyone should also go to bed early.

       T/N:

That’s right TongTong, keep your man in line.

I think their families are pretty realistic, sometimes kind and caring, sometimes thoughtless and selfish. It’s a change of pace from the usual family dynamic in Chinese novels, where they’re either overly supportive and doting, or ridiculously cruel. Still don’t like them lol