IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 16

Chapter 16: It Won’t Stay Sour Forever… Right?

Chapter 16: It Won’t Stay Sour Forever… Right?

“Okay…” Lin Yan only managed to say one word before stopping. Looking at the perfectly unharmed Yun Qi beside him, he sighed with some regret, “Never mind, with your identity…”

Yun Qi shook his head vigorously, “It’s okay…”

“How can it be okay?” Lin Yan shouted, startling White in the corner. It meowed twice in displeasure, flicked its tail, changed position, and went back to sleep.

“With the current situation, even if the original owner came back, they might not be able to handle it, let alone you, who transmigrated here.” Lin Yan glanced out the window, pointed upwards, and cautiously lowered his voice, “Sitting in that position for too long makes people sensitive and suspicious.”

“As long as I don’t appear in front of him, it should…”

“Forget it, forget it. I don’t want you getting involved. Just in case…” Lin Yan sighed, taking the blame on himself, “Just think of it as me being afraid of trouble.”

“Big Brother…”

Seeing the atmosphere turn a bit strange, Lin Yan resorted to his old trick, “Let’s not talk about this. How about double-pepper fish head for dinner? The River Sister chilies ripened a couple of days ago. I introduced Ah Tang and Ah Jiu to them, and they should be ripe by now.”

“The pickled peppers are ready,” Yun Qi said. He was long accustomed to Lin Yan’s strange way of speaking. He swallowed his saliva and took the fish head out of the net bag, “Anything is fine. Whatever Big Brother makes is delicious.”

Lin Yan liked to tinker with all sorts of bizarre dishes but hated cleaning up, especially touching slimy things like this. His eyes darted around as he began to make various excuses, “Need to prepare the seasonings, side dishes, and also check on the garden…”

Yun Qi understood and carried the fish toward the kitchen, “Big Brother, go ahead. I’ll clean the fish.”

“Alright.” Lin Yan pointed at White in the corner and instructed, “If White causes trouble, give him a flick of the tail.”

“Got it.”

The division of labor in Lin Yan’s house was very clear. Specifically, Lin Yan was in charge of creating the mess, and Yun Qi was in charge of cleaning it up. Ninety percent of the place was neat and tidy, but Lin Yan’s pickled peppers were always in that remaining ten percent.

Something placed in the corner seven days ago seemed to have grown legs and was nowhere to be found. Lin Yan rummaged through boxes and cabinets and finally found… a “Sour Patch Kid.”

Lin Yan stuffed the candy into his pocket and continued searching.

The small jar of pickled peppers was placed together with White’s dried fish. Lin Yan unscrewed the lid, and the fermented pickled peppers inside exuded a spicy and fragrant aroma.

“Look at this, how beautifully red,” Lin Yan said, handing the jar to Yun Qi. He suddenly remembered that Yun Qi liked dipping sauces and hesitated, “Oh right, you’re from the South. Can you handle spicy food?”

Yun Qi didn’t know what Lin Yan meant by “spicy” compared to pepper, but he liked the spiciness of pepper, and he liked Lin Yan’s cooking, so whatever Lin Yan made…

Yun Qi nodded frantically, saliva already starting to form, “Yes, I can.”

“Then I’ll make it normal,” Lin Yan hummed an unidentifiable tune, hugged the jar, and walked toward the kitchen.

“Oh right,” Yun Qi pointed outside, his voice somewhat timid, “I saw some constables entering Sister-in-law Lin’s house to summon people. I wonder what happened.”

“Relax, anyway, your identity has been settled. You’re my sworn younger brother, my little husband.” Lin Yan ruffled Yun Qi’s hair, “Nothing will happen.”

Yun Qi’s face flushed red again, but he quickly thought of something else. The blush was replaced by paleness as he nodded with difficulty, appearing even more nervous.

The gloomy atmosphere needed to be dispelled. Lin Yan thought of the candy. He placed the jar of pickled peppers on the kitchen range and slipped out of the room, holding the candy, “Little~ Mushroom~”

Yun Qi continued to work diligently without looking up, “Big Brother, the fish will be ready soon…”

“No rush. I found something delicious.” Lin Yan pinched Yun Qi’s cheek and waved his clenched fist in front of him, “Open your mouth, ah—”

Yun Qi obediently opened his mouth, “Ah—”

Lin Yan stuffed the candy into Yun Qi’s mouth, watching Yun Qi’s expression intently, trying to suppress the rising corners of his mouth. His voice already carried a hint of laughter, “Is it good?”

“Goo…” Yun Qi had a hundred percent trust in everything Lin Yan made. Praising had become muscle memory, but this time, he only managed to say one word before stopping.

A sour taste spread throughout his mouth, every cell on his tongue screaming “Poison!” “Spit it out!”

Yun Qi looked up and met Lin Yan’s bright, sparkling eyes. Instinct took precedence over thought. Yun Qi hadn’t figured out why Lin Yan had given him this strange thing to eat, but he still managed to force out three words with a grimace: “Delicious.”

The child was too well-behaved, too understanding, and too willing to compromise. Lin Yan suddenly felt a bit bored, and guilt surged up. He reached out to Yun Qi, his voice tinged with anxiety, “Spit it out quickly!”

Yun Qi shook his head.

Lin Yan listlessly withdrew his hand and hurriedly went to the kitchen to get water, handing it to Yun Qi, “Then… drink some water. It’ll be better in a while.”

Yun Qi took the water and gulped it down.

The sour taste was diluted and quickly overwhelmed by the flavor of the candy.

Yun Qi’s expression softened considerably. Lin Yan took the water glass from his hand and chuckled, “Sweet now, right?”

Yun Qi greedily savored the taste on his tongue and nodded in response.

“It won’t stay sour forever.”

Yun Qi felt that Lin Yan meant something else, but he also felt that Lin Yan was just talking about the candy.

The gloom in the air had dissipated a lot. Lin Yan took the fish head from Yun Qi’s hand and carefully inspected it. Yun Qi’s skills in preparing ingredients were becoming increasingly adept, even managing the most difficult part, the fish head, very cleanly. The meat around the gills was cleaned, the fish’s white teeth were removed, and even the sticky membrane on the outside was carefully washed clean with salt.

“Little Mushroom, you’re amazing!” Lin Yan gave a thumbs up and skipped toward the kitchen, “I’m going to prepare the sauce~ Tonight we’ll have double-pepper fish head.”

The dispersed gloom began to re-condense. Yun Qi, who was focused on cleaning up the remaining mess, stopped. He looked in the direction of the kitchen, lost in thought.

Lin Yan was just being kind, arranging this fake identity for him, but he had taken it as true, and his feelings for Lin Yan had gradually changed.

The constables who came to Lin Family Village to summon people weren’t the usual ones, but rather seemed to be from the Capital City. Lin Yan said there was no need to worry about his identity, but Yun Qi knew very well that if they wanted to investigate, it would be very easy to find out the truth.

The Li Zheng (Village Head) wouldn’t take on such a big burden for just two jars of wine. The one who would ultimately take the blame would definitely be Lin Yan.

But this matter wasn’t as complicated as it seemed. Although his younger brother was deep, he wouldn’t kill him. Lin Yan was so good to him. He couldn’t watch Lin Yan hide and worry for him. It was better to use this opportunity to reveal the truth.

Lin Yan was so simple, so soft-hearted, that he should be able to forgive him and understand him… right?

This site has no pop-up ads, permanent domain (volarereads.com)