EAY Chapter 52

Feeling Younger

Feeling Younger

52

At Qi Ye’s house, Shi Ran felt the warmth of a family gathering for the first time.

Qi Ye’s family was incredibly kind, constantly offering Shi Ran food. Qi Ye’s parents and older sister were all lively and humorous, except for Qi Ye, who spoke very little, which Shi Ran found strange.

After dinner, Qi Ye’s father did the dishes, while Shi Ran and the rest of the family watched TV in the living room. Seeing a lively and adorable child star on the screen, Qi Ye’s mother started talking about Qi Ye’s childhood, even going to get photo albums for Shi Ran to see.

The photos looked old, the pixels weren’t very clear, and the clothes were simple.

There was a photo of Qi Ye and Qi Xue together. In comparison, Qi Xue’s style looked much more fashionable than Qi Ye’s, and she seemed more pampered. Qi Ye’s skin was dark, and his eyes were wide open, with a kind of awkwardness in front of the camera, not as natural and confident as Qi Xue.

Shi Ran was embarrassed to say it directly, so he said tactfully, “Your sister seems to have been prettier since she was little.”

“Haha, it’s probably because your sister grew up in the city,” Qi Ye’s mother said with a smile, then sighed, “Ah, it was really hard on the two kids back then, especially Qi Ye. He went to live with his grandparents in the countryside not long after he was born. Although Qi Xue went to elementary school with us in the city, we basically had to ask my sister to help take care of her. His father and I were running around doing business, and we couldn’t take care of either of them.”

“I see,” Shi Ran nodded.

Qi’s mother glanced at Qi Ye and said, “Maybe it’s because he didn’t grow up with us, and his grandparents were always busy in the fields and couldn’t take care of him. Plus, there were few children in the village, so he developed such a quiet personality.”

“I really liked being at my grandparents’ house,” Qi Ye weakly retorted.

Qi Xue deliberately said, “More than being at your own home?”

“Not really,” Qi Ye moved closer to Shi Ran.

Qi’s mother said, “At first, his father and I were worried, feeling like we had let the kids down. But slowly, we realized that there was nothing wrong with Qi Ye’s personality. After all, no one said kids had to be lively and outgoing, right? If he likes being quiet, so be it, it’s not like he’s doing anything wrong.”

“Yeah,” Shi Ran agreed wholeheartedly, saying, “Qi Ye is really popular at our school now, a lot of girls like him.”

“Really?” Qi’s mother’s eyes lit up, “So it looks like our son might find a girlfriend before graduation? You have to tell Mom, okay?”

Qi Ye silently looked at Shi Ran, his expression speaking volumes.

Shi Ran also felt awkward. Why did he say all that? He was really digging a hole for himself.

Coming back from Qi Ye’s house, Shi Ran was carrying a bag full of snacks. Shi Xiao Peng was still there, watching TV with Grandpa in the living room. There was no talking, only the sound of the TV.

Seeing Shi Ran return, Shi Xiao Peng seemed relieved. “Went to a classmate’s house?”

“Yeah.” Shi Ran turned around, put the snacks in his room, took off his coat, sat on the sofa, and asked Grandpa, “Did you take your medicine?”

Shi Xiao Peng answered, “Yes, yes, I was watching him. And lunch too, I ordered Grandpa’s favorite casserole rice porridge.”

“That’s good,” Shi Ran nodded.

Grandpa asked Shi Ran, “How was it meeting Little Qi’s family?”

Shi Ran hummed, scratching the back of his head, “They were very welcoming, very nice to me, and the food your uncle made was delicious.”

Grandpa said, “When I get better, we’ll invite Little Qi over to eat at our house, we can’t always eat at their place.”

“Oh, I only went to eat once,” Shi Ran said, peeling an orange for Grandpa.

“I’m not talking about this time. When I was sick and in the hospital before, didn’t Little Qi stay with you, helping us with everything and buying food? We should have invited him to eat first. You have to remember these things, don’t think it’s something others should do, you have to repay them.”

“I know,” Shi Ran thought to himself, I’ll be repaying him for a long, long time, why rush it?

Shi Xiao Peng watched the grandfather and grandson talking back and forth, unable to get a word in. In the past, he would have made up an excuse and left, but since Shi Ran got into a pretty good university, his opinion of his son had changed a lot. It turned out that Shi Ran was no longer the little troublemaker who only knew how to cause trouble and fight. He was still very promising and capable.

Shi Xiao Peng’s current family only had two daughters. Daughters should also be loved, they were all his flesh and blood, but according to his old ideas, a son was still a son, different.

Especially now, looking at his promising son, it was even more different.

Shi Xiao Peng forced himself into the conversation, saying, “Son, look at you, why didn’t you tell your old man when your grandpa was sick and in the hospital? Why call your friends? No matter how reliable your friends are, they’re still kids your age, what do they know? Don’t bother people casually, family matters should be solved by ourselves.”

Shi Ran was about to retort when Grandpa stopped him, saying, “Hey, your dad’s right about that. Next time, remember to call your dad.”

Shi Xiao Peng quickly said, “That’s right, that’s right, I told you on the phone last time, if anything happens, tell Dad. If you’re short on money, ask me. If you run into trouble, tell me too. Although I’m not very capable, I’ve been through more, I know more than you do. Don’t underestimate your dad.”

Shi Ran said bluntly, “I’m pretty short on living expenses lately.”

Shi Xiao Peng laughed awkwardly, “Small matter, small matter, it’s almost New Year’s, Dad will give it to you together with the red envelope money.”

Shi Ran: “I’ve never heard of pocket money being equal to red envelope money.”

Shi Xiao Peng said, “No, I mean I’ll give you both when the time comes. Recently, there are a lot of places at home that need money, good son, wait a little longer, please be considerate.”

Shi Ran rolled his eyes, preparing to get up and leave. Shi Xiao Peng grabbed him, “Chat with your old man for a bit, it’s not easy to have a vacation.”

Shi Ran: “What do you want to talk about?”

Shi Xiao Peng: “Let’s talk about what major you’re studying now. I forgot when you mentioned it casually on the phone last time. What’s the job outlook like, is it easy to find a job? That’s the most important thing…”

At that moment, Shi Ran suddenly felt grateful in his heart that his parents had divorced and let each other go, and that he had grown up with his grandfather.

Sometimes, it wasn’t necessarily that a family was complete with both parents. Having elders who genuinely loved and cared for you was enough for a child.

At night, Shi Ran curled up in bed and called Qi Ye, not daring to speak too loudly because the room wasn’t very soundproof.

Shi Ran said helplessly, “Looking at my dad’s attitude today, he can’t wait for me to start working right away, earn millions a year right away, and then immediately let him enjoy his retirement and live a rich and fulfilling old age.”

“You can just think of your uncle as considering things for you,” Qi Ye said.

Shi Ran tsked and shook his head, “I really want to brainwash myself like that, but I really can’t. His purpose is too strong, he even feels like my grandpa won’t be able to enjoy my blessings for many years, and the rest should be for him to enjoy.”

“That’s not good, it sounds annoying.”

“Yeah, my grandpa worked so hard to raise me, and he didn’t say he was in a hurry for me to go out and work. He even told me to enjoy college life, but my dad is so anxious, thinking about turning me into money as soon as possible.”

“So Grandpa is the one who really loves you. As for what your uncle says, don’t listen to it,” Qi Ye pondered for a moment and said, “Just treat it like he’s farting randomly.”

Rarely hearing Qi Ye swear, Shi Ran chuckled and turned over, continuing, “Actually, I read in a book before that middle-aged people are actually very pitiful. They have the old above them and the young below them. When they open their eyes, they’re surrounded by people who depend on them, and there’s no one they can depend on. So, my dad is probably in a hurry to have me be his support.”

Shi Ran sighed, “But his wishful thinking will probably fail. I’m a very vengeful person, and I won’t be the main force in supporting him in his old age in the future. In the future, I want to do my best to treat the people who love me and the people I love well. The list isn’t long, one is my grandpa, and one is–”

Shi Ran deliberately dragged out his words, and Qi Ye knowingly asked, “Who else? Do you have any other relatives?”

“Guess.”

“It can’t be some relative I don’t know about.”

“Not a relative, no blood relation to me.” Shi Ran deliberately coughed, “This person is silly, only knows how to be good to me, but never knows how good he is himself.”

“That person is really lucky,” Qi Ye sighed.

“Yeah, I think so too.” Shi Ran felt suddenly stuffy in the quilt, and he propped up a corner of the quilt with his hand to let fresh air in.

After chatting for a while longer, Qi Ye remembered the main thing. “Um, my parents heard about Grandpa getting hurt, they wanted to say, well, should you and Grandpa come to our house for New Year’s Eve dinner?”

“New Year’s Eve dinner?”

“Yeah, our family isn’t going back to the countryside this year. Grandpa and Grandma are going to our aunt’s house for the New Year. It’s just our family, so it’s kind of lonely. If you guys come, it’ll be much livelier.”

Shi Ran didn’t even think about it, “No, we won’t.”

“Why?”

“My grandpa definitely won’t go. If he was healthy, he might go, but now that he’s not, he wouldn’t want to bother anyone.”

Qi Ye quickly said, “It won’t be a bother, it’s just adding two more chopsticks–”

“My grandpa wouldn’t think that way, he’d just feel bad about troubling people during the New Year. If you force him to go, he might reluctantly agree, but he probably wouldn’t even enjoy the meal. Let’s not make the old man uncomfortable,” Shi Ran said easily, “Besides, it’s always been me and Grandpa eating New Year’s Eve dinner, we’re used to it.”

It was Qi Ye who had taken the initiative to mention the New Year’s Eve dinner to his mother. Not to mention that he thought Shi Ran only had his grandpa with him, and the New Year’s Eve dinner for two people was too lonely, but also because Grandpa was not in good health, and Shi Ran had to take care of everything, so he was worried that his boyfriend was too tired.

He almost forgot to consider the old man’s self-esteem.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly,” Qi Ye apologized, “Mainly, you came to my house today, and I saw you were very happy, and my family really likes you, and for a moment, I got a little carried away, thinking that you would definitely fit into our family quickly. Actually, it must have been a bit restrained, right? It’s like I really like Grandpa, but every time I talk to him, I have to carefully consider what I say, worrying that he won’t like me.”

Shi Ran also admitted, “After all, it was my first time going, so it’s natural to be nervous and restrained, but I really like your family, I like every one of them. Besides, my social skills are much better than yours, and I adapt faster than you, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll think more carefully in the future,” Qi Ye said again, reflecting on his actions.

“Relax, it’s really not a big deal,” Shi Ran felt warm in his heart, “I’m really happy that you thought of me on such an important day as New Year’s Eve dinner.”

Qi Ye said softly, “I hope that in the future, we can have New Year’s Eve dinner together openly, with both sides of our parents present.”

“That makes it sound,” Shi Ran rubbed his nose, “like we’re doing something shameful now.”

“I didn’t mean that–”

“I know, don’t be so nervous.” Shi Ran felt like he was teasing a younger brother. Speaking of which, he was clearly younger than Qi Ye, but how come he suddenly had this inexplicable feeling that Qi Ye was younger?

It was quite interesting.