CH 68

“What are you thinking about?”

A voice suddenly rang in his ears, snapping Bai Xianzhi back to reality. He then realized that the pen clip in his hand had been broken by him.

“Uh, nothing, nothing.” He awkwardly threw away the broken pen clip in his hand and immediately changed the topic. “Let’s continue, continue.”

Just as he opened the book, Bai Xianzhi’s hand paused once again, and he said somewhat embarrassedly, “Well, it seems like we’ve finished learning.”

Indeed, after removing the ancient poems and classical Chinese content, this Chinese language study guide for the third year of high school had been flipped to the last page. In other words, Feng Ye had already familiarized himself with the vocabulary from elementary to high school levels. Continuing on, Bai Xianzhi didn’t have much more to teach, as he hadn’t touched Chinese language since his own third year of high school.

“Um, it seems like we’ve finished learning. I don’t have any more study materials here, so does that mean… this course has come to an end?”

Feng Ye nodded. “If there’s anything I don’t understand in the future—”

“You can ask me,” Bai Xianzhi added in his mind, “even though I might not understand it either.”

“Okay, thank you.” Feng Ye replied.

“No, no trouble at all.” After Bai Xianzhi finished speaking, an awkward silence fell between them.

For a long time, the two of them had almost met every day, but every meeting had been focused on the main topic. Their conversations had been strictly business-related, revolving around teaching characters. Occasionally, they might chat about other things, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant, but those moments were rare and usually interwoven with their teaching. Situations where they sat relatively across from each other, face to face, in silence were almost non-existent.

In theory, he should celebrate the end of Feng Ye’s course, then hurry downstairs to tend to his own matters. However, the words just wouldn’t come out, and he felt desperate.

Finally, Fengye broke the silence. “Do you have something on your mind?”

“Ah!” The topic shifted so suddenly that Bai Xianzhi didn’t even react.

Before he could respond, his phone in his pocket started ringing. Bai Xianzhi took it out and answered. His finger accidentally brushed the speaker button, and Grandma Zhao’s energetic voice immediately echoed on the second floor:

“Xiao Bai~”

“Uh, what’s the matter, Grandma Zhao?” Bai Xianzhi quickly turned off the speaker, but unfortunately, he didn’t know that for a godlike being with heightened senses like Feng Ye, even if the speaker was off, the sounds from the phone could still be heard clearly.

“Well, Piao Piao’s company asked her to work overtime today, so she won’t be able to meet in the morning. Sorry about that, Xiao Bai.”

“No problem, no problem!”

Bai Xianzhi was delighted, eager to avoid the matchmaking. However, just as he was enjoying his happiness, Grandma Zhao continued on the phone, “Okay, I talked to Piao Piao, and she agreed too. You guys can exchange WeChat IDs first. Aren’t you young people all into chatting online? Chat first, and if you get along well, you can meet in private later. How about that?”

“Um, okay.” After hanging up the phone, Bai Xianzhi searched for the WeChat ID with the phone number he had noted down, sent a friend request, and then looked up only to find that Feng Ye was still watching him. Bai Xianzhi gave an awkward smile. “Ah, blind date.”

Not sure if it was his imagination, but Bai Xianzhi felt that after that phone call, Feng Ye’s expression had become even colder than before. Bai Xianzhi added, “A blind date means looking for a partner. Is that the term you use there too?”

Feng Ye’s expression visibly darkened, and he said coldly, “Yes, I’m leaving.”

With that, Feng Ye briskly walked downstairs. Bai Xianzhi scratched his head in confusion. What just happened? Why did he suddenly become so hostile?

Unable to figure it out, he gave up and took out his phone. The other party had accepted his request and after a brief introduction, Bai Xianzhi expressed his lack of intention in this regard. The girl on the other end also revealed that she was still young and hadn’t considered such matters at all. It was just her family’s pressure that had forced her to add him as a friend. With that, things became clear between them, and the matter was resolved.

Putting away his phone, Xiao Long and Xiao Lu burst out from the stairwell, hugging Bai Xianzhi’s leg while complaining, “Uncle Feng Ye is so mean. We called him, but he ignored us.”

Bai Xianzhi scratched his head, equally puzzled!

…..

Feng Ye returned to the Feng residence, his face extremely displeased. No one dared to disturb him at this time within the Feng family. However, Lin had to go since the Grandmaster of the household’s parents had returned from their travels.

Seeing the returning parents, Feng Ye greeted them in a proper manner, “Father, Mother.”

Feng Ye’s mother was an extraordinarily beautiful woman. She smiled gently, her brows slightly furrowed, and her voice was soft and pleasant, “Ye, what’s wrong? It seems like something is bothering you.”

Standing to the side, Lín inwardly nodded in agreement. Of course, after a trip to Three Thousand Food House, he returned with such a sour expression. It was possible that he had clashed with Boss Bai again.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t asked. He couldn’t speak, only hearing the Master say, “Nothing’s wrong. Everything is normal with the child.”

Lín couldn’t help but internally scoff. The Master had always been like this, stubbornly holding onto his stance.

The saying goes, “Onlookers see clearly.” Even Lin could tell that something was off with Feng Ye. How could his mother, who knew her own child so well, not notice? Apparently, Mrs. Feng understood her son quite well. She smiled and turned to the man sitting beside her with an indifferent expression, “We’ve heard about Ye’s recent major endeavors, even though we’re in other small worlds. You’ve done well. What do you think?”

The silver-haired man beside her was also dignified. He had short hair and carried an air of unconventionality. He looked at Feng Ye and said, “Impressive.”

Feng Ye nodded in acknowledgement and said, “Thank you for your praise, Father.”

Mr. Feng nodded. Afterward, he fell silent. The father and son both refrained from speaking. Mrs. Feng let out a slight sigh and transitioned the topic back to the original subject, “Speaking of which, the way Ye looks now reminds me of something.”

Mr. Feng coldly spoke from the side, “He’s your son, of course he looks familiar to you.”

Mrs. Feng gave him a glare, and Mr. Feng obediently closed his mouth. Mrs. Feng turned her gaze to Feng Ye and said, “Ye, please have a seat.”

Feng Ye nodded and took a seat, intentionally or unintentionally choosing a spot farthest from his father. Seeing this, Mr. Feng made a sound of unclear meaning.

Ignoring the childish behavior of the father and son, Mrs. Feng continued, “Back when you were pursuing me, there was a period of time when you looked exactly like Ye does now. Brooding, never a smile for anyone, and the servants of the Feng family were too scared to breathe around you.”

Mr. Feng looked at his son with an expression of disgust, “Impossible! How could I be like him, walking around with a sour face all day?!”

Mr. Feng saw himself as a dashing young man. In his prime, a mere smile from him could captivate numerous women across the Three Thousand Worlds. How could he resemble his younger son, who always had the demeanor of a stern judge?

Mrs. Feng cast him a sidelong glance and lightly uttered three words, “Ji Changfeng.”

Upon hearing this name, Mr. Feng seemed like a chicken with its throat squeezed, suddenly mute.

Back then, before I had settled down with your father, I interacted with Ji Changfeng, the master of the Ji family. When your father found out about it, he was just like you are now. He had a serious expression, and no matter who asked, he would insist that everything was fine.”

Feng Ye understood his mother’s implication and lowered his head, insisting, “Father is father, I am me, Mother, I really am fine.”

Mr. Feng coolly remarked, “Yes, your son always has this serious expression on his face. Has there ever been a day when he smiled? He’s always fine.”

Feng Ye’s mother glared at him once again, and then turned to Feng Ye, saying, “Alright, Mother won’t force you. You should go and attend to your business. We’ve held you up for quite a while.”

Following her advice, Feng Ye lowered his head, saluted, and left.

As he walked away, Feng Ye’s mother’s eyes dimmed slightly. She looked at Mr. Feng and said, “Feng Zhou, how long are you going to continue this? Your perspective is so narrow. He is our own child after all!”

Mr. Feng, disgruntled, replied, “You always take their side. Feng Ye has already taken me down from the position of the family head at such a young age. Why don’t you mention that?”

“What’s there to mention?” Feng Ye’s mother was indignant. “You should examine yourself. What have you done in your role as the family head, and what has Feng Ye done? Who has performed better?”

Mr. Feng fell silent, muttering under his breath, “In any case, he shouldn’t be trying to snatch things from me.”

“Haha,” Feng Ye’s mother chuckled in anger. “Alright, I’ll go tell Ye right now to hand over the actual power of the family head to you!”

With that, Feng Ye’s mother got up to leave, but Mr. Feng hurriedly grabbed her arm, “Forget it, forget it. He’s doing well. Let him continue.”

“No!” Fengye’s mother’s eyes widened. “You hold grudges and are dissatisfied. Ye’s position as the family head is still unstable. It’s better for him to step down!”

“No, no, no!” Mr. Feng hugged her tightly, “He’s doing better than me, okay! If you make him step down and let me take over, can I handle it? All those reforms and equality, even thinking about them gives me a headache. If I take over, won’t his efforts go to waste?”

Feng Ye’s mother replied firmly, “Even if it goes to waste, it goes to waste!”

Mr. Feng imprisoned the woman in his arms, pleading, “Alright, alright, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have been at odds with Feng Ye, and I shouldn’t have said those sarcastic words.”

Feng Ye’s mother stopped struggling, “Then you must promise that from now on, whenever you see Feng Ye, you’ll treat him with care and concern.”

“Um,” Mr. Feng made a disgusted expression, “I’m a grown man. Are you making things difficult for me?”

Feng Ye’s mother pried his hands off her, her expression neutral. Mr. Feng could only hold his nose and concede, “Alright, alright, I promise.”

Meanwhile, Feng Ye was unaware of the conversation between his parents. At the moment, his mind was filled with thoughts of his mother’s arranged meeting with Ji Changfeng. His father’s displeasure about it, coupled with the fact that Bai Xianzhi was currently engaged in matchmaking, made him realize that his mood seemed to have soured after he heard the phone call. Could it be—

No, it’s impossible. He and Bai Xianzhi were just friends, nothing more!

…..

On the side of Three Thousand Food House, Bai Xianzhi was still bothered by the sudden change in Feng Ye’s mood when he left. Despite his efforts to avoid thinking about it, whenever he had a moment of idleness, he couldn’t help but wonder what could have caused Feng Ye’s change in mood. Could it be because he inadvertently offended him somewhere unknown? What had he done at that time?

“Boss, there… really isn’t much going on here. You can go check the kitchen.”

Nuan nuan voice snapped Bai Xianzhi back to reality. He lowered his head to see that he had broken a pen into two pieces. “Uh, well, I’ll go check the kitchen.”

About to turn and leave, Bai Xianzhi suddenly turned back to look at Nuan nuan, who felt a shiver run down her spine. She stammered, “Boss, I didn’t mean to offend you. If you want to play with the pen, feel free to continue. Continue!”

Bai Xianzhi threw the pen aside and gazed at Nuan nuan, saying, “Nuan nuan, you’re a girl, and you’re more perceptive than I am. Help me analyze something.”

Phew—

Alright, alright. As long as it wasn’t about getting fired for offending the boss, Warmth reluctantly agreed. She still remembered how she was dismissed during her internship because of this reason and couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.

“Boss, go ahead. I’m listening.”

*Cough, cough.* Clearing his throat, Bai Xianzhi recounted the events of the morning and even highlighted his confusion, “Tell me, where did I offend Feng Ye?”

Nuan nuan widened her eyes, “Boss, are you on a blind date?!”

Bai Xianzhi felt a bit embarrassed, “No, no, it’s just going along with the flow. We’ve clarified things now. That’s not the main issue. Analyze for me where I might have upset Feng Ye.”

“That’s the main point!” Nuan nuan looked at him with impatience, “It’s clear that the family head is jealous!”

“Jealous?” Bai Xianzhi found the term quite unbelievable.

“Yes, jealous!” Warmth nodded affirmatively, noticing Bai Xianzhi’s shocked expression. She couldn’t believe it herself as she continued, “Seriously! Boss, haven’t you realized that the family head likes you?!”

Bai Xianzhi felt like he had been struck by lightning. What, what did she just say? Feng Ye likes me?! How is that possible? They’re clearly just friends!

At this moment, Nuan nuan’s voice chimed in again, “And Boss, don’t you also like the family head?”

Bai Xianzhi: “!!!!!!” Who, who likes him? Don’t talk nonsense!!

—–

Author’s Note: Summary of this chapter:

Feng Ye: We’re just friends!

Bai Xianzhi: Don’t talk nonsense, we’re just friends!

Nuan nuan: Yes, yes, you’re just ‘fri-end’.

Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solutions during the period from 2020-08-24 14:57:07 to 2020-08-25 14:52:17~

Special thanks to the nutrient-sprinkling angels: Four-Eyed Sister with 20 bottles; Jia with 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, and I will continue to work hard!

1TL: YSIAD “Jelly Feng Ye is so cute haha! You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”