TLDMDTBS Chapter 13

Chapter 13

That night, the unfortunate Ji Ruan angrily sent a 500-word text message to Boss Gu, composed entirely of the phrase “You are the big unfortunate one!” followed by exclamation marks.

And at 5:30 AM the next morning, when Boss Gu got up, he received a reply—

[ . ]

The little unfortunate one was so angry that he had no appetite all day, only extra cherries.

In the following days, Boss Gu went back to work, disappearing day and night.

Ji Ruan first completely let himself go, lying idly in bed. It wasn’t that he suddenly became very lazy; it was just that the crying scene had drained him of too much energy.

They say tears can detoxify, but after crying a lot, Ji Ruan only felt empty. He couldn’t muster the energy for two whole days, only recovering his spirits on the third day.

It seems that laziness and social anxiety are intermittent; at first, being lazy at home feels quite happy, but after a while, one starts to feel bored.

This day, after lunch, Ji Ruan lay on the bed eating cherries, pondering whether to invite Han Xiaolin out to play when his phone rang at just the right moment.

“Hello?” Ji Ruan quickly answered.

“Hey bro!” Han Xiaolin’s iconic voice came through: “Come out and have fun!”

It was very noisy on Han Xiaolin’s end. Ji Ruan tugged at the ear of his stuffed bear and asked, “How to have fun? Where?”

“We’re having a graduation team-building event! Lots of people!” Han Xiaolin shouted, “At the Central Square Arcade, there’s a party tonight, are you coming?”

“Sure.” Ji Ruan got up and opened his wardrobe, “Just wait for me, I’ll head out now.”

“Alright, I just arrived too. Not everyone is here yet, so take your time getting ready.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Ji Ruan casually changed into a T-shirt and shorts and slipped into the kitchen to find Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao had just finished washing the dishes. She looked up to see a fluffy little head popping out from the wall. Ji Ruan blinked his big round eyes at her.

The elderly Aunt Zhao was instantly melted by his cuteness, waving her hand repeatedly: “Why are you hiding there, Ruan Ruan? Come here!”

Ji Ruan approached, pouted his little dimple, and hugged Aunt Zhao’s arm, first playing coy: “Aunt Zhao, um… do you know when Boss Gu will be back?”

Aunt Zhao, being hugged by the fair-skinned little one, felt dizzy and pinched Ji Ruan’s face: “Oh, that’s hard to say. He’s always working; we don’t even know if he’ll be back this week.”

“Oh…” Ji Ruan rolled his eyes, “Then Aunt Zhao, I want to go out to play.”

Aunt Zhao smiled brightly: “So that’s what you wanted to say! You’re so clever. Just go out and play, but what will you be doing? Be careful!”

Ji Ruan replied seriously: “We’re having a graduation team-building activity, at the Central Square, there’s that arcade, it’s very close.”

Aunt Zhao thought for a moment: “I see… I remember now, that’s where a lot of young people gather… Alright, go ahead and let Uncle Zhang—”

“No need,” Ji Ruan picked up his phone and walked towards the entrance, “I can take a taxi; it’s not far. By the way, Aunt Zhao, I won’t be back for dinner; we’ll be out late.”

“Okay, okay,” Aunt Zhao waved her hand while smiling, “Hurry up, don’t keep your classmates waiting.”

Ji Ruan was about to change his shoes but ran back to give Aunt Zhao a big bear hug before heading out, leaving her with a fluffy head and a waving back:

“Bye Aunt Zhao!”

Aunt Zhao was attacked by the hug, leaving her so happy she felt dizzy. After watching Ji Ruan leave, she couldn’t hold back her smile, gently swaying as she tidied up to prepare for a nap.

It was then that Boss Gu returned.

Thirty minutes after Ji Ruan left, Gu Xiuyi finally opened the big door of the villa after being away for three days.

But the inside was different from usual; there was no high-pitched laughter from Aunt Zhao, nor Ji Ruan’s wrinkled smile, just an unusual silence.

It felt like returning to those cold days before Ji Ruan came.

Gu Xiuyi suppressed the discomfort in his heart and walked around the house.

He first went to Ji Ruan’s room, knocked on the door, but no one answered. Worried that Ji Ruan might have turned off his cochlear implant and couldn’t hear, he pushed the door open a crack—no one was there.

Gu Xiuyi opened the door, checked the bathroom and the cloakroom, but Ji Ruan was indeed not there.

Next, he roamed every floor of the villa, even checking the pool in the backyard, but still, not a single person was in sight.

He took out his phone to call Ji Ruan, but as his finger hovered over the dial button, suddenly, he didn’t know what to say. After hesitating for a moment, he unconsciously walked back to Ji Ruan’s door.

“Hey, Xiao Gu!” Aunt Zhao’s voice came from somewhere, “Why are you back?”

Gu Xiuyi put away his phone and looked around until he saw Aunt Zhao standing on the first floor. She had changed into her pajamas and was holding a towel, looking like she had just taken a shower and was about to nap.

“Nothing,” Gu Xiuyi cleared his throat as he walked downstairs, “The Lingzhou project is done, so I’m taking a few days off.”

“Oh, that’s rare. How long has it been since you took a vacation?” Aunt Zhao’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

Gu Xiuyi skipped the topic of vacation, pointing to Ji Ruan’s room: “Where is he?”

As soon as Ji Ruan was mentioned, Aunt Zhao couldn’t help but smile: “He went out to play with friends.”

“Play?” Gu Xiuyi walked toward the counter, “Where is he going? How long will he be out?”

Aunt Zhao, drying her hair with a towel, said: “He said it was a graduation team building, a lot of classmates are together at the arcade, they’ll probably be out for quite a while and won’t be back for dinner.”

“Is that so…” Gu Xiuyi took out a cup and slowly filled it with water, suddenly remembering something and asked, “Didn’t he feel unwell a few days ago? How did he go out today?”

“Not really unwell,” Aunt Zhao recalled, “He just didn’t seem to have much energy; he seemed much better today, so I let him go out to play. After all, he just graduated high school; it’s normal that he wants to have fun. It’s better than staying at home all the time, right?”

“That’s true…”

Aunt Zhao sighed happily: “And he hugged me and acted cute; how could I say no?”

The water that Gu Xiuyi was about to drink stopped at his lips, and his tone rose: “He hugged you?”

“Yeah, such a little cutie…” Aunt Zhao said before noticing Gu Xiuyi’s strange expression: “What’s wrong, Xiao Gu?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Gu Xiuyi smiled lightly, “You should go rest. I’ll take a shower and nap too.”

“Oh… alright.” Aunt Zhao left, looking confused, while Gu Xiuyi stood still, holding the water cup motionless.

“Hug… act cute?”

Gu Xiuyi took a sip of water.

“Still acts cute?”

Gu Xiuyi took another sip.

He shook his head, trying to push Ji Ruan’s face out of his mind, fully immersing himself in the pleasant vacation.

–

At 2 PM, Gu Xiuyi napped.

At 3 PM, Gu Xiuyi got up.

At 3:30 PM, Gu Xiuyi watched TV.

At 3:50 PM, finding the TV unbearable, he wandered around.

Wandering into Ji Ruan’s room.

Due to a work error that made it overly cartoonish, Ji Ruan’s room looked like a child’s room, yet he seemed to live quite happily.

On the little wooden table by the bed sat a money cat missing its claws; it was a bit ugly, but Ji Ruan seemed to enjoy using it to eat cherries.

Gu Xiuyi poked at the bald claws, the corners of his lips unconsciously curling up—pretty nice.

On the desk lay a pile of A4 papers that Ji Ruan used to draw when bored; some of them featured Aunt Zhao and were quite well done.

Gu Xiuyi glanced over quickly and found no portrait of himself… pretty nice.

On the balcony, the plant Ji Ruan brought back had grown larger and greener… all pretty nice.

Before leaving, Gu Xiuyi saw the large stuffed bear on the bed, often hugged and snuggled by Ji Ruan.

He reached out to pinch the bear’s belly; it felt average, though why did Ji Ruan always like resting his face on it?

At 5 PM, Gu Xiuyi finished wandering around the whole villa at a pace of looking back every three steps and finally made it to dinner time.

After dinner, Gu Xiuyi continued watching TV.

After spending ten minutes browsing all the channels, he tossed the remote on the coffee table, lying back on the sofa, staring at the chandelier on the ceiling in a daze.

Gu Xiuyi, nearing thirty, felt absurd for the first time in his life, immensely absurd.

How could anyone dislike working yet enjoy vacations?

What is the meaning of this boring vacation?

How does Ji Ruan manage to stay at home for half a month and still feel so good about it?

This is a profound question that only Ji Ruan himself can answer.

But the person who can solve Gu Xiuyi’s lifelong confusion was nowhere to be found, happily enjoying himself, even forgetting to call back.

In the evening, Gu Xiuyi took Ji Ruan’s place to watch a rural ethical drama with Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao and Xiao An were happily engrossed, while Gu Xiuyi found himself unable to understand it.

Why did the big brother from that household like this big sister-in-law? Why did everyone in the village dislike this big sister-in-law? And why was she always holding a child and crying?

But Ji Ruan should be able to understand—he would find an opportunity to ask him.

The clock on the wall was nearing midnight. Gu Xiuyi glanced at the time and casually asked Aunt Zhao, “Why hasn’t Ji Ruan come back yet? It’s getting a bit late.”

Aunt Zhao also looked anxious, wanting to get up to grab her phone; not knowing what she recalled, she suddenly looked at Gu Xiuyi and shifted the topic: “Why don’t you call him, Xiao Gu?”

“Me?” Upon hearing this, the corners of Gu Xiuyi’s mouth immediately lifted slightly, only to be suppressed the next second.

He raised his hand to pinch his jaw, took out his phone, and spoke calmly: “Then I’ll ask him for you.”

The call rang for a long time. Gu Xiuyi and Aunt Zhao sat quietly waiting until it was almost about to hang up automatically when it was finally answered.

Gu Xiuyi switched to speakerphone and didn’t have time to say anything before the other end erupted with deafening noise.

Drumming, loud music, melodies, rhythms, mixed with a roaring cheer, Gu Xiuyi’s brows furrowed almost instantly.

“Where are you?”

Ji Ruan’s weak voice sounded almost negligible amidst the fierce sound waves, but he was trying hard to shout: “Hello—? Hello—! Boss—Gu—?”

Gu Xiuyi: “…”

Aunt Zhao’s eyes widened in horror; she recalled that the arcade didn’t sound like this…

Gu Xiuyi pressed his lips down, his expression icy, speaking slowly: “You went to a nightclub?”