CH 73

Back to the Countryside

Chapter 73:曾经

(Former/Once) 

When he saved him, Qi Yue knew he was a troublesome person, but he didn’t expect him to be this much trouble!

“Beauty, I can’t use my hands. Would you like to serve me some food?” Xiao Yu Heng held his chin with one hand, his pair of charming evil eyes unblinkingly staring at the person sitting across from him.

Qi Yue raised his foot and kicked him in the calf. The space under the table was so narrow and he could not hide, he then let out a muffled grunt.

The person who kicked Xiao Yu Heng acted as if nothing had happened, peeled an egg for the harassed and troubled person. Qi Yue handed the egg to He Ling and said gently, “Be good, eat! Don’t pay attention to him.”

Looking at that person gentle like water, Xiao Yu Heng was getting more and more interested, although he was often beaten by the other side, but the process of annoying him was still very interesting, “Beauty, I am a patient, if I don’t eat, I’ll starve to death～” 

He Ling gave a long sigh, knowing that by ignoring him, he was afraid the whole eating meal’s time would not be good so he put the egg which he had not had the time to bite yet into his bowl, “Is this okay?”

Xiao Yu Heng picked up the egg and took a bite joyfully, “The things that beauty has touched are different, particularly delicious!”

Qi Yue glared at him fiercely. He peeled the new one for his Fu Lang again and said, “Snatching food from a person who is pregnant, you really have a face!”

“Ling Ge’er does not lack food but you know I am a patient here!” He said this and winked to He Ling, “Am I right,beauty?”

He Ling bowed his head and ate as he pretended not to see it. He used to think that Zheng Yue Feng’s face was thick enough. Now after he met this one person, he finally knew what it meant to be ‘there are mountains beyond mountains and the heavens beyond heavens’. 1[山外有山,天外有天 :  Literal meaning: There are mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens. Meaning : Behind an able man there are always other able men. Particularly this part (天外有天) : there is no limit in the universe — knowledge is infinite; no matter how strong you are, there is always someone stronger]It was him being naive previously. 

The good point was that Xiao Yu Heng still knew how to behave properly. He had gotten his way once and that was all. He won’t keep on pestering. He was not that annoying and his behavior was still bearable.

After eating, he was driven by Qi Yue to wash the dishes. After Qi Yue coaxed He Ling to take a nap after lunch, he made a pot of tea and sat beside him. His leisurely look made Xiao Yu Heng grit his teeth, “At least, I am still the grand Young Master and you actually let me wash the dishes here!”

Qi Yue ignored his resentment, tasted a mouthful of tea in the cup and smiled: “Move more! It will help you to recover from your wounds faster.”

Xiao Yu Heng did not believe his words, the other party was simply taking this opportunity to bully him. However, when he thought about how this man who had frightened the people of Jiang Hu was doing this kind of work everyday, his heart felt so much in balance. 

“Hereafter do you really plan to stay in this small mountain village?” He asked him with a sideways glance as his hands moved, “Are you really willing to live this kind of ordinary life for your entire life?”

“Why not?” Qi Yue’s fingertips circled around the teacup and his face was calm, : “I have done everything that I need to do. To be together with A Ling for the rest of my life, that’s exactly the life I want now.”

“You’re a strange person,leaving ‘the top notch life’ behind and prefer staying in this kind of small remote village!”Xiao Yu Heng could not understand.

Is this kind of ‘oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar days’ 2[油盐酱醋 yóu yán jiàng cù ;  (lit.) oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar / (fig.) the trivia of everyday life]really better?

“Wandering around in the chaos of the martial arts world (Jiang Hu), from the beginning it’s not what I like. However, there was once something that supported me so I have to accomplish it. When it’s all over, then I’ll also be able to set my mind at ease and look for what I want.” Qi Yue looked back at the closed door of his room, “But I also didn’t expect to meet someone who would accompany me for the rest of my life this soon!”

Xiao Yu Heng put down the bowl in his hand, lifted up the corners of his mouth and smiled teasingly, “In the term of choosing a ‘Fu Lang’,at this point, you are indeed amazing. If I were to meet with such beauty, I would certainly also be immersed in the tender land!”3[温柔乡 (wēn róu xiāng) : the literal meaning of this term is ‘the gentle countryside’ Land of warmth and tenderness – a place where a man can find solace in feminine charms/ tender land/ conjugal bed/ lover’s nest.  The enthralling experience of enjoying female charms in an intimate manner. ]

Qi Yue flicked his wrist, the cup of tea splashed all over on the surface of the door. The other party conveniently fell backwards to avoid it. The next moment, he was unexpectedly hit on the shoulder by the cup that came after him.

“The body with injuries in the end is unfit for anything!” Xiao Yu Heng rubbed his extremely painful shoulder, and looked at him askance, “Qi Gongzi’s agility is as nimble as in the past!”

“If you keep your unconstrained mouth and babbling nonsense again, then in the future you won’t have to talk anymore!” Qi Yue re-poured himself a cup of tea and slightly drifted his eyes past him.

“I’m simply envious that you have a beautiful Fu Lang, that’s all!” Xiao Yu Heng’s expression was clearly unrepentant, frivolous enough to make people want to beat him, “If that little beauty knows how cruel you are, do I still have a chance ah?”

Qi Yue, who was drinking tea with his head down, raised his eyes to look at him. The bottom of his eyes darkened and profound, “You can try it!”

“Better forget it then!” He put his hand into the water basin and continued to wash the dishes. As if he sighed, he also said : “If I die, those young beauties and intimate friends of mine will be sad!”

“I don’t care who you are being chased to kill by. Leave as soon as you’re healed! Don’t cause trouble for me!” Qi Yue didn’t drink the tea anymore, stood up, reminded him for a moment and went back to his room. 

Xiao Yu Heng watched him leave, raised the clean bowl from the basin and slightly narrowed his eyes. That’s right, ah! He couldn’t stay here for too long either. That group of people who were scheming against him were still alive and active outside! 

Zheng Yue Feng and Xu Hua stared blankly at the unfamiliar man who opened the door for them. For a moment, they thought they had knocked on the wrong door. They looked around their surroundings for a while and after making sure that they didn’t get it wrong, they still had the appearance full of doubts on their face. 

“Are you guys Qi Yue’s friends?” That man, on the contrary, did not regard himself as an outsider at all. Seeing that they were hesitant to speak, he opened his mouth first, as if he was the owner of the house. 

“Exactly! Then you are…?”  Don’t tell me, this man is a person that Qi Yue used to know?

Zheng Yue Feng had known Qi Yue for quite some time too but he had never seen his old friends come to look for him!

Xiao Yu Heng’s body was tilted against the door frame. The corners of his mouth were lifted in an unrestrained wicked smile. His finger wrapped around his strand of long hair and slowly circled it, “Me ah? I am Ling Ge’er’s new little pet lover!”

His words had not yet fallen, he suddenly felt the sound of wind coming from behind his head. He avoided it by slightly tilting his head and a tangerine flew past his ear. It fell to the ground and smashed into pieces. He then pretended, as if he didn’t see it, “My surname is Xiao.”

Zheng Yue Feng and Xu Hua were both confused. They weren’t able to come here for only a few days yet how come they felt as if they had missed a lot of stories? And where did this divine person suddenly come from?

It was not until they sat in the courtyard and listened to He Ling tell them in detail what had happened, only then they finally got their confused thoughts straightened out, to think that this person was picked up from outside!

Zheng Yue Feng looked at that man who was persevering against Qi Yue’s murderous gaze and kept molesting He Ling. He simply admired from the bottom of his heart, this person was worthy of surviving from being chopped down. His guts were extraordinary and couldn’t be compared to any other human being. 

However, admiration was no more than admiration. He felt in his heart that this person was not simple. How could it be possible for the ordinary person to be chased to kill by people? He vaguely felt that he had something similar on him to Qi Yue. He couldn’t say what it was but it was very subtle.

“So Xiao Gongzi and Qi Gongzi also know each other for the first time?” Zheng Yue Feng looked at both sides and asked them in a way as if he didn’t pay any attention at all. 

“Naturally (Of Course!)!” From Xiao Yu Heng, he could not see any mistakes or gaps in his expression. He even looked him straight in the eye, without any dodging, “After the first sight, I felt regret for not having met him earlier. Moreover our temperament is very compatible!”

[相见恨晚 xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn : to regret not having met earlier (idiom); It is nice to meet you finally. / It feels like we have known each other all along.]

Compatible? He was not even blind! This was the first time Zheng Yue Feng met someone who could talk smoothly even better than himself. Qi Yue clearly wanted to throw him out of the house okay!? Where on earth did he get the confidence to say such things?

“I mean, in terms of looking at people!” As if he could see his unspoken criticism, the other party raised his eyebrows and gave He Ling an ambiguous look. 

The latter turned his face away and

buried his face into the arms of the person next to him. Toward an evildoer like him, it was better not to see him at all! 

Qi Yue was too lazy to pay attention to him. If you give him a look, it would only make him more aggressive so it was better to leave him alone, “He won’t stay here long, he’ll leave when he’s healed.”

Zheng Yue Feng sipped his tea and nodded his head. The implication was that there was no need for them to have too much contact with him? Was he afraid that they would get into trouble? Or was there something that he didn’t want them to know?

“Truly heartless! Every day you want to drive me away!” Xiao Yu Heng held his chin and looked at him with a sorrowful look. Inwardly, he sighed in admiration; this young master was somewhat intelligent because he was suspicious of the relationship between him and Qi Yue. 

Qi Yue raised his eyes to look at him, implying a warning. He indicated to him not to talk too much and behave like a guest who was staying overnight to recover from his illness!

“Ai ya, I suddenly feel a little tired. I’m going to take a nap. You guys take your time!” Receiving his look, Xiao Yu Heng stretched his body, slowly stood up and left. Since he was not well received then he better not stay here to be an eyesore.

“Taking in such a person of unknown origin, aren’t you afraid of getting into trouble?” Zheng Yue Feng saw that the person had left, only then he said this to him, “Or are you simply not afraid at all of any of these?”

Qi Yue’s hand that patted the back of He Ling’s shoulder stopped, remaining calm and collected as he took a cup of tea and drank the tea. He said: “As a healer, it’s just a matter of saving a person’s life. After he has recovered and left, then just pretend that you and I have never seen this person before.”      

“If trouble really comes to you, what will you do?” Zheng Yue Feng did not believe in his excuse. He was now basically sure that these two people must be acquainted with each other.

He just did not understand why the other side was hiding it? What was it about his past that no one was allowed to know? They were already so close with each other now but he still refused to reveal half of his past.

Sometimes he felt it was quite unfair, Qi Yue knew all the details about them, while on the other side, apart from his name and age, they knew almost nothing.

“Zheng Gongzi, I don’t care what you’re guessing in your head, for your own good, it’s best to stop there.” Although Qi Yue often called him stupid, his heart knew clearly that as a businessman, he (ZYF) was never short of his clever minds. 

Zheng Yue Feng pursed his lips and did not say anything anymore but his expression was not very good. He treated the other side as a friend, but did the other side really also treated him as his friend? Even if he and Xiao Yu Heng truly knew each other, so what? Wasn’t it normal to have one or two old friends? 

“Xiang Gong, I’m hungry!” Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was already a bit tense, He Ling hurriedly dragged Qi Yue, “Can you make me a bowl of noodles?”

Xu Hua patted Zheng Yue Feng’s leg, under the table, soothing his somewhat indignant emotions. No matter what, in this case, that was the other side’s problem, willing or not willing to inform them, still depending on the other party’s wishes.

Qi Yue did not ignore his little Fu Lang’s kindness, he got up and went to the kitchen. 

It was all in the past, what was the point of mentioning it?

“Zheng Gongzi, I know you don’t have bad intentions but can you promise me that you won’t ask these things anymore?” He Ling looked toward the still somewhat unhappy man and spoke.

Zheng Yue Feng lightly frowned after he heard his words and said, “it’s okay that if he didn’t want me and Xu Hua know but even if it’s you, he has never mentioned it. Don’t you feel sad?”

He Ling, however, lowered his eyes and curled his lips. He looked very calm, “If he wanted me to know, he would have told me. But if he doesn’t want to mention all of those, then I do not want to force him either. I just need to know that he is my Xiang Gong.”

Zheng Yue Feng sighed after hearing this. The seemingly normal but eccentric temper of Qi Yue, he guessed only He Ling could put up with him, “Okay then, I will put away my curiosity and not mention it again.” 

He Ling got one thing right ; no matter what he was like in the past, he was always him. The person they knew was the person he was now and that was enough!

When Qi Yue came back again, no one mentioned that little unpleasantness just now. It was as if none of that had happened. They were still the same as always, just getting together as close friends.

Xiao Yu Heng’s back leaned against the door sheet, tilted his ears listening to the sound of laughter from the courtyard and lifted the corners of his lips. The reason why that person chose to live in seclusion here, he seemed to somehow understand it. 

Translator’s Corner: 

Xiao Yu Heng is hilarious . I like him already, another favorable character.