EAY Chapter 5

Night Market

Night Market

5

“My precious Shi Ran, he always dreams of being a hero, his world is dazzling and colorful, and I, no matter what era, will only ever be a humble commoner, mediocre and powerless.”

This is a sentence Qi Ye wrote in his diary. It’s a bit corny, but compared to other content, it’s nothing.

However, if he knew that one day, his Shi Ran would develop the bad habit of reading his diary and enjoy teasing him about it, Qi Ye would have never written such heartfelt words.

After all, he had once considered destroying the diary, but he couldn’t bear to do it at the last moment.

Shi Ran has been very sleep-deprived lately. He’s fallen asleep in math class several times, and each time, he’s been ruthlessly struck by the teacher’s chalk and then sent outside the classroom to stand as punishment.

So pitiful.

Qi Ye deeply sympathizes with him, but there’s nothing he can do. He can only quietly watch the figure standing as punishment.

Qi Ye went to the office to deliver homework and saw the class teacher lecturing Shi Ran. First, she scolded him sternly for a few sentences, then her tone softened, and she advised Shi Ran not to focus on small things and lose sight of the big picture. The difficulties at home were only temporary, and if he didn’t focus on his studies now, they would only become long-term problems.

Shi Ran, who is usually arrogant outside, behaved very well in front of the teacher.

Qi Ye felt that he shouldn’t be faking it. If he was, his Shi Ran’s acting skills were too good. He really had the talent to be an actor.

Shi Ran really seemed to cherish the elder’s advice.

Oh, I’m getting off topic. That was a key point that Qi Ye focused on in retrospect. At the time, only one thing was on Qi Ye’s mind: What difficulties at home was she referring to?

He knew that Shi Ran’s family wasn’t wealthy, but was it an economic problem?

“Hey, how long are you going to space out for?” The English teacher suddenly asked Qi Ye, “Do you like being in the office that much?”

Qi Ye came back to his senses, nodded to the teacher, and quickly left.

Qi Ye thought about it for a long time. He definitely couldn’t ask Shi Ran directly. He was so proud, he would definitely be unhappy, and might even dislike him because of it.

How about secretly following him? Despite the risk, Qi Ye really wanted to know.

But that would have to wait until after school. Qi Ye was restless in his seat and couldn’t concentrate on his books.

Qi Ye finally decided to ask his classmates. Shi Ran was very popular, and he was never short of people around him, but there were a few who were always by his side.

Actually, more male classmates had good relationships with Shi Ran, but perhaps due to male aversion, Qi Ye inexplicably didn’t want to inquire about Shi Ran’s news from the boys.

Although most of the girls in the class admired Shi Ran, there were also a few who had a pretty good relationship with him.

For example, the math representative in the class. She and Shi Ran were neighbors when they were little, and now they often let Shi Ran copy their math homework.

The math representative was a top student in the class, with a cold expression and a serious demeanor. She equally looked down on all the academically challenged students in the class, but of course, Shi Ran was an exception. She could even occasionally joke with Shi Ran.

The math representative sat in front of Qi Ye, but since school started, the two had never spoken. The only interaction was when she passed the test papers to the back during exams.

“Wei, Wei Lin.” Qi Ye finally mustered up the courage to poke her back, “Can I ask you something?”

Wei Lin leaned back against his desk without turning her head and asked, “What?”

Qi Ye said softly, “Do you know what’s been going on with Shi Ran lately?”

“Huh?” This time, Wei Lin completely turned around, frowning at him. “Why are you asking about Shi Ran?”

Qi Ye was very nervous and slowly said the answer he had already thought of: “When I went to the office, I heard the teacher scolding him, telling him not to let his family’s affairs interfere with his studies, but she didn’t explain clearly. I’m quite curious.”

It was basically the truth. Qi Ye just wanted to hide his excessive concern, portraying it as mere curiosity.

Wei Lin raised her eyebrows, with an expression that said, “So, you can be curious about other people’s affairs too.” She seemed to temporarily remove Qi Ye from the ranks of transparent people, then she cleared her throat. “It’s nothing much. Grandpa Shi fell and injured his leg and is recuperating at home. He recently got a batch of trinkets to sell at the night market, and then Shi Ran took over.”

Trinkets? What trinkets? Qi Ye didn’t know why he immediately thought of those tinkling wind chimes, and all kinds of small ornaments that Qi Xue liked to buy.

Qi Ye asked, “Which night market?”

Wei Lin: “What, you want to go?” Seeing Qi Ye nod, she said to herself, “Yeah, you should be pretty rich, right? Please go and patronize Shi Ran’s stall a lot, but don’t tell anyone.”

Qi Ye received the address of the night market, and he was very happy. At the same time, he was also surprised. Wei Lin not only told him but also told him not to tell others. Was this because he was different from others?

Poor Qi Ye didn’t know that “don’t tell others” as a suffix to a sentence didn’t really have much meaning. It was almost like an impractical decoration on a sentence.

Qi Ye was really curious about what kind of trinkets Shi Ran was selling. He hurriedly left home after dinner. The Qi family’s children were very free.

There were no curfew requirements, as long as they didn’t disturb other family members from sleeping.

Although there was no curfew, Qi Ye and Qi Xue had never come home particularly late. Qi Ye was an exception, but Qi Xue, who had many friends and loved to play, had never come home later than nine o’clock. The siblings’ personalities were completely different, but the shared trait of being homebodies seemed to be ingrained since birth and had never changed.

The night market wasn’t far from their home. Qi Ye rode his bicycle out. On the way, he mentally calculated all kinds of other small things, making full preparations. However, when he finally saw Shi Ran’s stall and the colorful butterfly hair accessories under the colored light bulbs, he still leaned on his bike and stood there in a daze.

Shi Ran, who was enthusiastically hawking, also suddenly closed his mouth. His beautiful eyes stared motionlessly at the uninvited guest. After a moment of awkwardness, those eyes took on a curved smile. “Do you need to buy clips?”