MNL Chapter 22
by Volare“Twice in one day, this voice of mine will be ruined sooner or later…”
After finishing dinner, it had already gotten dark. Qin Xin still wanted the whole family to go, but Xu Jing refused several times. He could only seek help from Xu Huaiyang, who was enjoying the show.
Thinking that his son had never asked him for anything like this before, Xu Huaiyang was very pleased. He put his hands behind his back and gave him an OK sign. Relying on the mouth he had used in the business world for nearly thirty years, he finally persuaded Qin Xin to leave.
Watching the two of them leave, Xu Jing breathed a sigh of relief.
“Xiao Jing is so old, he must have his own ideas. Since he doesn’t want to go, why force him?” After going downstairs, Xu Huaiyang said, carefully observing Qin Xin’s expression. Seeing that she wasn’t getting angry, he confidently said, “My son has been independent and self-reliant since he was a child, and he will definitely be as outstanding as his father in the future.”
After hearing this, Qin Xin couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I saw what you meant at the dinner table just now. Are you going to give the company to Xiao Jing in the future?”
“Otherwise? Who else would I give it to if not my own son?”
“My point is, have you ever considered that Xiao Jing might not be interested in this?”
After she spoke, Xu Huaiyang nodded thoughtfully. Seeing the strange look on his face, Qin Xin asked suspiciously, “What do you want to say?”
Xu Huaiyang wasn’t very capable when it came to pursuing his wife, relying instead on his thinking, which was a hundred times more unconventional than the average person. So, he took Qin Xin’s hand affectionately and said decisively, “Let’s have another one.”
“Get lost!” Qin Xin pulled her hand back, refusing very decisively. “If you want to have one, have it yourself, and you can take care of it yourself too.”
It wasn’t a matter of age. On the contrary, she was one of the first among her peers to have children. If she wanted to have another one now, it wouldn’t be difficult.
But Qin Xin did regret it a bit. When she was young, she was impulsive and willful, so she didn’t get to experience the beauty of her teenage years before getting married. Later, she had Xu Jing, and she nurtured and educated him meticulously. In addition, Xu Jing’s temperament was nothing like hers or Xu Huaiyang’s. It wasn’t quite accurate to call him introverted; rather, he had a kind of detachment and a preference for being alone. Sometimes she was really glad that she had given Xu Jing such a face, at least he looked pleasing to the eye and wasn’t easy to dislike.
In short, having children is a beautiful nightmare for women. Qin Xin thought that if she had another little ice cube like Xu Jing, she would probably live ten years less.
“Consider it again?”
“Impossible!”
Even her hair was expressing the word “rejection,” and several strands fell down in a short period of time. Xu Huaiyang sighed deeply after seeing this and took Qin Xin’s hand again. “Okay, I’ll listen to you, we won’t have another one.”
Qin Xin smiled and touched Xu Huaiyang’s face. “Good boy.”
“…”
The next day.
Dazzling light shone in from the south-facing window. The person in bed groggily opened their eyes, still heavy with sleep as they got up. The white cotton pajamas slipped halfway down their shoulders, revealing a patch of soft, fair skin. Although that area looked a bit thin, it was actually more toned than many people’s.
Xu Jing didn’t notice anything unusual when he got to the living room. He had just picked up a glass and taken two sips of water when he suddenly noticed someone sitting on his sofa out of the corner of his eye. He was so scared that he forgot to breathe, and the liquid in his mouth surged towards his throat, choking him until his eyes teared up and his face turned red.
Hearing the earth-shattering coughing, Shen Yan was stunned for a moment and walked over to pat Xu Jing’s back to help him breathe.
The boy’s body was thin, and you could clearly feel the two shoulder blades through the fabric. He coughed urgently just now, and he was trembling non-stop. Shen Yan’s hand didn’t stop, but his gaze shifted away as if he were running away.
After coughing for a full minute, Xu Jing felt a pain in his sternum. He raised his eyes, his voice a little hoarse. “How did you get in?”
Shen Yan didn’t say anything, just looked back with a non-smiling expression. Xu Jing’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Why did the scene of him opening the door for this person this morning flash through his mind?
“With such a shallow sense of security, it’s dangerous to live alone.”
Xu Jing was a little dissatisfied with the sudden lecture in the tone of an elder. He also saw that Shen Yan was moving freely, with no sign that his leg was injured and needed someone to help him.
“Is your leg better?”
“No.” Shen Yan denied it while bending over and touching his knee, saying, “That’s why I want you to accompany me to that place.”
His tone was as natural as if he were going to have breakfast. Xu Jing clicked his tongue and asked, “Did I agree to this?”
“It’s not too late for you to agree now.”
“I refuse.”
He thought the scene would be deadlocked, but Xu Jing’s stomach grumbled very disappointingly at this moment, directly pushing the awkward atmosphere to the top. He immediately wanted to bury himself.
Fortunately, someone was very perceptive. After pausing for two seconds, he went into the kitchen and used the remaining ingredients to make a bowl of delicious-looking fried rice in no time.
Half an hour later, Xu Jing slowly wiped the corners of his mouth until he was stared at by Shen Yan’s calm gaze and felt a little restless. Only then did he belatedly realize the principle of “eating someone’s food softens their tongue.”
Oh well, just for the sake of this lunch.
Xu Jing said, “Just this once.”
Although he seemed reluctant to go, Xu Jing wasn’t a spoilsport. It’s just that he hadn’t said a word since getting in the car. Shen Yan found it a little strange. When he turned his head, he saw the person next to him frowning slightly, his eyes half-lowered, his thick eyelashes covering his eyelids, forming a patch of flickering shadow. In addition, his complexion wasn’t quite right, and he looked like he was enduring something.
Shen Yan leaned over. The slight movement still disturbed the other person. Xu Jing endured the urge to vomit and said in a dark voice, “What are you doing?”
He didn’t hear a response for a long time, but the wind was rushing towards him, and although the dizziness didn’t diminish, breathing was much easier. He was originally going to open the window for him. Xu Jing was about to speak, but the next second he felt something forced into his mouth, followed by water. Xu Jing was caught off guard and swallowed the particle that looked like medicine.
“…”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t want to eat it.” Shen Yan shook the thing in his hand, his tone very considerate. “Motion sickness medicine, it tastes bitter.”
Twice in one day, his voice would be ruined sooner or later.
Besides, he wasn’t a three-year-old child who would refuse to take medicine because it was bitter. Xu Jing thought that this person must be deliberately finding a reason to tease him, after all, his actions just now were too rough.
Two seconds later, Shen Yan frowned in confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Xu Jing snorted coldly, sounding like he wanted to throw him out of the car.
Shen Yan: “…”
“Are you guys on vacation? Why did you think of going to Qiyuan Mountain?” The taxi driver, who had just called them, said this. He hadn’t spoken all the way, and now he suddenly asked this question when they were almost there.
Shen Yan saw the driver’s eyes were a little strange through the rearview mirror, so he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” The driver laughed twice. “The people I usually pick up are uncles and aunts who are older than me. You two look like students. Why would you believe in these things?”
Shen Yan’s gaze swept around the car and slowly said, “Don’t you believe it?”
“Of course I don’t believe it. People like us should be concerned about how many trips we’ve made, how much money we’ve earned, and whether our savings are enough to live on, wife and children… Well, as for the others, believe it or not, it’s up to you.”
Xu Jing moved, Shen Yan turned his head to look at him, and then asked the driver seemingly unintentionally, “Then why do you have that in your car?”
In the center of the car was a Buddha statue, shining brightly in the sun. It seemed that he would wipe it from time to time, taking great care of it.
It was a red light, and the driver seemed to be hooked by some memory. He slammed on the brakes, and Xu Jing almost got thrown out. Fortunately, Shen Yan grabbed him quickly. The driver looked sad and took the opportunity to reach out and touch the head of the Buddha statue, saying, “I used to believe it, but I don’t anymore.”
After a long silence, the voice came again from the front.
“I used to have a daughter. Her mother worked in a factory and it wasn’t convenient, so I had to bring her with me. Once, on a business trip, she got lost.” The driver’s tone was very calm, but the calmness was a bit scary. He retracted his gaze and looked ahead again. “It was my carelessness, I deserved it, I can’t blame anyone else.”
Xu Jing had just recovered from the inertia and didn’t know what to say after hearing the driver’s words. But when he turned his head, he found Shen Yan leaning on the car seat, his expression cold and his lips pressed into a tight line.
That’s right, in the vast sea of people, relying on those blurred characteristics, you can never know whether the person you are looking for is passing by or just around the corner, or whether they are already in different places.
Half an hour later, the driver made a turn and stopped steadily. He first apologized for being distracted just now, and then patted the bottom of the seat, saying, “There’s an umbrella there, take it with you, don’t get wet.”
“No—”
“It’s okay, take it! There’s a girl here, it’s not good to get caught in the rain.”
These words almost stunned both of them at the same time. “Girl?”
The driver still didn’t react and asked suspiciously, “Isn’t she a girl?”
Xu Jing clenched his teeth a little. “No.”
“Eh?” This time the driver turned his head, and only after he completely saw Xu Jing’s face clearly did he scratch his head awkwardly, saying, “I’m so sorry, you’re such a handsome young man, I didn’t look carefully just now.”
This was the first time Xu Jing had been mistaken for a girl. Although the driver’s words sounded like he was praising him, he always felt strange. But Shen Yan paused his actions when getting out of the car, and then chuckled without a care.
The car slowly drove away from the two of them, and Shen Yan’s laughter gradually became rampant. At first, he was still reserved, but now he simply didn’t hold back. He directly covered his abdomen and squatted down, his shoulders heaving up and down. The tiny dimples that appeared vaguely on his right cheek became obvious under his handsome face. Looking at it this way, even the sharp contours that were like carvings in the past had a bit more softness.
“…”
What’s so funny?
What’s so funny?
Xu Jing thought with a blank expression that he might as well not worship Buddha and just send this person to see Buddha directly.