TRMLCM Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Going Home

It was already past three in the afternoon when they arrived at Li Family Village.

Cheng Yi had ridden horses on vast plains, surfed in clean, clear seawater, glided through the sky, and seen snow in the Arctic… He had been to almost all the famous tourist destinations in the world.

This was his first time coming to the foot of a plain, unremarkable mountain.

Mountains surrounded them, and in the ravines nestled among the overlapping peaks lay a quiet, remote little village.

It was very quiet. Shen Chang’an slowly got out of the car. As soon as he turned around, he saw Cheng Yi looking around with a face full of curiosity. His innate noble aura made it easy for anyone to tell at a glance that he was not from this place.

“Let’s go.”

Shen Chang’an said softly. He carried his bag and the bouquet of flowers, and walked towards the self-built house next to the courtyard.

Cheng Yi carried his things and followed him, pulling his suitcase. He looked up at the tall tree in the open space beside the courtyard and a hint of curiosity appeared in his eyes. He couldn’t help but ask, “This tree is quite tall. Hasn’t it been trimmed?”

Shen Chang’an glanced sideways, following his line of sight, and said blandly, “This tree has been here for many years. It used to be trimmed, but now it’s too tall to trim easily.”

The door of the house was wide open and there was the sound of talking inside. Shen Chang’an waited for Cheng Yi to catch up, and then they went in together.

Three neighbors were sitting on stools in the house, talking to his grandmother. Their dark faces were full of wrinkles, and they were about the same age as his grandmother. They were all villagers who had a good relationship with Shen Chang’an’s family and were somewhat related by blood.

His grandfather was a native of the village and the only teacher in the village. Although his own daughter had run off with a young punk, and the scandal had been circulating in the village for many years, they still respected his grandfather.

This time, they had heard that his grandfather had returned from the hospital, so they had brought gifts to visit him and chat with his grandmother.

“Grandma, I’m back.”

Before his grandmother could speak, the three old women squinted and saw Shen Chang’an and a young, unfamiliar man walk in.

“Chang’an is back,” Grandma Liu said with a smile, her cloudy eyes slightly narrowed as she looked at Shen Chang’an. “Long time no see. Tsk, you’ve grown even more handsome. I heard you rushed back as soon as your grandfather got sick. You’re such a filial child.”

Shen Chang’an pursed his lips. He never knew how to respond to compliments from these elders. He just smiled shyly at Grandma Liu and greeted the three guests in turn, “Hello, grandmas.”

The three neighbors had only come to keep his grandmother company because there weren’t many people at Shen Chang’an’s house. Now that they saw he had guests, they got up, said a few words to his grandmother, and then left.

After they left, Shen Chang’an put the intact flowers and the bulging backpack on the empty table. His grandmother got up and walked to Shen Chang’an’s side, took his hand, looked at his face, and examined him before asking, “Chang’an, have you eaten?”

“I’ve eaten, Grandma,” Shen Chang’an turned to walk towards Cheng Yi, who was still standing at the door. He took his suitcase with one hand and gently grabbed Cheng Yi’s arm with the other, pulling him over. “Grandma, this is my friend, Cheng Yi. He’s here to play for a few days.”

Cheng Yi felt a little flustered, but he wasn’t stage-frightened at all. He pretended to be very calm on the surface, with an upward curve on his lips, revealing an alluring smile and bright, even white teeth.

He bent slightly, looking directly at her, and greeted with a smile, “Hello, Grandma.”

His An-ge’s grandmother was his grandmother.

His grandmother looked up at Cheng Yi, a hint of amazement flashing in her eyes. Her hand was suspended in mid-air, as if she wanted to pull him over for a good look, but she felt that it wouldn’t be appropriate to do so on their first meeting. She could only smile kindly and say repeatedly, “Good, good, so you’re called Cheng Yi.”

Cheng Yi directly reached out and took her rough, dark yellow hand in his. With one hand, he handed the grapes he had been carrying all the way to her, his eyes filled with a smile and his expression honest as he said with a smile, “Grandma, it’s my first time here, and I was a little rushed, so I just bought some fruit. Don’t dislike it, okay?”

Cheng Yi took his grandmother’s hand and pulled her back to the stool to sit down. Then he put the grapes aside and chatted with her. Occasionally, he would look up and smile at Shen Chang’an, blinking his eyes as if asking for praise and compliments.

Seeing that they were chatting, Shen Chang’an didn’t interrupt. He went to the place where he usually stored Debris, found an empty bottle, and washed it in the sink with water from the mountain stream.

It was the first time his grandmother had seen Shen Chang’an bring a friend back, and she was so excited that she kept chatting with Cheng Yi, almost finding out about Cheng Yi’s ancestors for eighteen generations.

Cheng Yi was being asked questions by Shen Chang’an’s grandmother, and he couldn’t very well not answer. It wasn’t until his grandmother asked him if he had a girlfriend that Cheng Yi’s ears turned slightly red. He turned to look to Shen Chang’an for help, but when he turned around, he didn’t see him in the living room. All he saw was a wall of gold.

“Grandma, are those all An-An’s certificates of merit on the wall?”

Cheng Yi looked at the entire wall of neatly arranged certificates of merit and a hint of curiosity rose in his heart.

As he spoke, he got up and moved closer to the wall. His deep eyes slowly scanned over the certificates, which were fading in color but still neat.

His grandmother didn’t come over. She sat on the stool, her eyes, clouded with the traces of time, looked over as if recalling something. She bent over, and even though she was hunched over, she still looked gentle and quiet.

“Yes, those are all the certificates he received from the third grade of elementary school to his college graduation. His grandfather said that no matter what the award is, as long as it’s an honor, it should be boldly displayed. It’s his achievement, a symbol of every step he takes in life.”

His grandmother spoke very slowly, with the strong accent of Li Family Village, but she enunciated each word clearly. Her eyes were kind, her voice distant. When she spoke of this, she exuded a faint sense of pride and honor from the inside out.

Clearly, she also greatly approved of what Shen Chang’an’s grandfather had said.

Cheng Yi also quite approved, but he didn’t quite understand the meaning of one sentence. What did it mean, from the third grade of elementary school to college? Didn’t he get any in kindergarten, first or second grade?

Although he was puzzled, Cheng Yi didn’t ask. He walked back to the stool and acted like he was selling himself, saying pitifully, “It seems like An-An was quite well-behaved and sensible before. Unlike me, my mom has been annoyed with me since I was little.”

His grandmother was amused by him and quickly waved her hand, saying, “How could he be sensible? That stubbornness is inherited from his grandfather. They’re both like stubborn donkeys, sticking to their principles. No matter what you say to him, you can’t talk him out of it. It’s infuriating.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing this, Cheng Yi’s eyes lit up with interest. He leaned closer to his grandmother, listening attentively.

…

After chatting for a while, Cheng Yi had already gotten along very well with his grandmother, relying on his social skills.

He walked out the door and heard the sound of running water. He turned his head and saw Shen Chang’an by the sink next to the house. Cheng Yi walked over, stood next to Shen Chang’an, and looked curiously.

There were several roses in the sink. Shen Chang’an lowered his eyes slightly, holding scissors and trimming the branches with a very serious expression.

“An-An.”

A magnetic voice sounded, calling him softly, with a hint of grievance in the soft tone. If they weren’t outside right now, he would have wanted to hug him and act spoiled.

“What’s wrong?”

The hand holding the scissors paused slightly. Shen Chang’an turned his head slightly to look at him. Seeing his originally tough and resolute face deliberately pretending to be pitiful, Shen Chang’an couldn’t help but find it funny. A hint of playful smile flashed in his clear, cold eyes, but his delicate face looked worried.

Cheng Yi lowered his eyes slightly, and was inexplicably choked up for a moment. When he thought of how he had said before that he would give Shen Chang’an a grand confession, the words he had almost spoken were swallowed back down, and the little thoughts that had just popped up in his heart quietly subsided.

“…Are these flowers going to be put in this bottle?”

He changed the subject, picked up the bottle that had been cut with scissors in the sink, and shook it. Seeing Shen Chang’an nod, he filled it with some water and put the roses that the other had already trimmed short into it.

Shen Chang’an continued to cut the flowers carefully and asked casually, “Did you finish chatting with Grandma?”

“Mhm, I had a great time chatting with Grandma.”

Shen Chang’an chuckled softly, his eyes gentle. “Yeah, I heard you laughing.”

Since his grandfather had gotten sick, his grandmother hadn’t been this happy in a long time. He only hoped that this gentle laughter could last longer, so he hadn’t dared to go in and interrupt.

Cheng Yi didn’t know what he was thinking. He propped himself up on the side of the sink with one hand, held the bottle with the other, a sly glint flashed in his eyes, and said with a smile, “I saw that you hadn’t been back in the house for a long time, so I made an excuse to come out and find you.”

“What excuse?”

“I said I missed you and wanted to come out and find you. Grandma saw that I was being too sincere, and agreed as soon as she heard it.”

Shen Chang’an was slightly stunned. He turned his head and frowned, his cold eyes scrutinizing Cheng Yi, his expression serious, as if to determine if he was joking.

Cheng Yi felt uncomfortable under his gaze and subconsciously averted his eyes, his lips opening and closing. Just as he was about to explain that he was just joking, his fingers were lifted up.

The fingers that had been soaked in the cold water were a little damp and had a faint coolness. Cheng Yi felt that the coolness was just right, his fingers were burning and needed this coolness to cool down.

His smooth skin brushed against him, and most of Cheng Yi’s thoughts rushed to his fingertips, like stroking a smooth piece of white jade. Before he could carefully feel anything, he heard Shen Chang’an say seriously, “I haven’t told them about my sexuality.”

Cheng Yi nodded in understanding.