CH 28.1

Chapter 28.1 - About Entrance Exams Part 

The time seemed to have stood still for an entire minute, Yang Mo thought to himself.

After muttering his reply, Yang Mo continued to eat but his throat felt constricted by a series of complex emotions, blocking his airway and making it difficult to swallow anything.

There was no reaction from Han Shi Yu for a long time.

Yang Mo finally said, “Eat up.”

Han Shi Yu stared at him, then looked down at the rice in his bowl again.

This reaction of his seemed a little odd, but Yang Mo thought it was within his expectations. He suddenly wondered why it was within his expectations then.

Han Shi Yu slowly put down his chopsticks and gave an awkward laugh, “…I don’t seem to be that hungry.”

Too fake.

Yang Mo said, “Oh.”

Han Shi Yu sat down in front of Lu You Qi’s desk and reached out his hand, wanting to flip through the textbooks lying messily there. But his hand hung in mid-air before he retracted it.

He took out his phone and swiped through it with his head down.

There was silence without any words.

When Yang Mo finished eating, Han Shi Yu looked up and asked, “Are you full?”

Yang Mo: “Mm.”

There were still some leftovers in Han Shi Yu’s bowl.

Han Shi Yu smiled a little and said, “Isn’t this too wasteful.”

After Yang Mo got up and left, Han Shi Yu went over to finish up the cold rice.

Yang Mo returned to his laptop, his mind was a total mess but his hands were typing nonstop on the keyboard while his heart drifted somewhere else.

He pondered on the exchange they had just now. He felt like he had answered correctly – he did indeed have a little…difficulty accepting it.

Even when the female students in his class told him they were fujoshis and were into that kind of content, he found it a little inconceivable.

But he was a Buddhist-like person. Even if he disliked something, he wouldn’t aggressively comment on it. When the girls try to promote such things to him, he would still politely reject or placate them instead of forcing himself to click and view those things.

He was such a person. He thought Han Shi Yu should know about this too. So, he shouldn’t have minded it too much.

Yang Mo turned his head and wanted to pick a conversation starter to talk about, but Han Shi Yu had finished eating and was cleaning up the mess.

Yang Mo swallowed his words back in.

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Han Shi Yu tidied up the table really cleanly and neatly before saying, “Senior, I’m going down to throw the garbage away.”

Yang Mo: “There’s a trash can on the balcony. Just throw it there.”

Han Shi Yu opened the balcony door, took a look at the black garbage bag before taking it and putting on a new one.

Han Shi Yu: “This one should be emptied too. I’ll just throw it out together.”

He opened the door and walked out. His back appeared a lot like he was fleeing.

Yang Mo glanced at the door.

After a really long time – it was actually only ten minutes, just that waiting made it feel really long.

Han Shi Yu still hasn’t returned.

Yang Mo pulled out his phone, bringing it in front of him as his screen lit up just then.

Han Shi Yu: “Sorry, senior…I have something to do, so I’ll leave first.”

Yang Mo’s heart tripped over itself a little.

He said, “Didn’t you want to stay overnight?”

Han Shi Yu sent a lot of “sorry” emoticons, saying, “There’s no need anymore. Brother Min sent a message just now asking us to go back.”

“Oh.” Yang Mo replied, putting down his phone.

His phone let out a ‘beep’ sound, meaning the other side had picked up.

Han Shi Yu: “Guess who I am.”

Xie Chen Min did not hesitate before answering: “A dimwit.”

Both sides didn’t have each other’s number labelled.

Yang Han let out a snort.

Liu Zuo Ye: “……”

After graduation, Xie Chen Min continued to further his studies while Han Shi Yu went to start his business.

Starting his own business wasn’t such a wonderful thing. Although he had Han Lang’s financial support, this new startup still experienced nearly four years of sinking period, almost going bankrupt in the middle of all that of that too.

It was only after they returned to the starting point after the dipping period that they became grounded and begun to earnestly work on the business. It was also at that time when Han Shi Yu invited Xie Chen Min to join them. Later on, as Ji Xun gradually grew bigger, Xie Chen Min resigned and went to work as a self-publisher.

The board of directors’ list included Brother Qi and Old Sui. Han Shi Yu always felt uncomfortable with one of them missing, so he would make a phone call each month to persuade Xie Chen Min on returning.

Xie Chen Min said that he already has a studio. That video editor with million of followers on Qu Di, specializing in editing autotuned remixes of Han Shi Yu, worked at that studio.

“……” Han Shi Yu asked, “Where’s the brotherhood we shared?”

Xie Chen Min: “It’s but a piece of paper in front of profits and personal interests.”

Han Shi Yu: “How heartless.”

Xie Chen Min: “Thanks for the compliment.”

The two of them bickered on for a while more while Liu Zuo Ye and Yang Han sat across the table watching him.

Yang Han finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and nudged Han Shi Yu with her foot, telling him to get to the point. Han Shi Yu got down to business and explained a little. “Your daughter is here with me now.”

Yang Han felt awkward when she heard that. It really sounded like Han Shi Yu was wearing a black mask over his face with only two eyes showing, negotiating with the victim’s family. The other party listened for a while before saying, “Xiao Ye is over at your place, huh?”

Han Shi Yu handed the phone to Liu Zuo Ye.

Due to the fear of disturbing his work, Liu Zuo Ye didn’t dare to take the initiative to call him all this while. She originally came over only to thank Han Shi Yu. But now that she could make a phone call to greet her godfather too, she was in a really good mood.

There was warmth in Xie Chen Min’s voice as he said, “I’ve been too busy lately and haven’t visited you guys for a long time…The money I sent over is still enough, right?”

Liu Zuo Ye: “Mm.”

The pair of godfather and goddaughter chatted for a while, and finally a smile appeared on Liu Zuo Ye’s face. She then said, “Remember to take care of your health.”

“Right,” Xie Chen Min laughed, “You too.”

After hanging up the phone call, Liu Zuo Ye took a deep breath and turned towards Han Shi Yu. “Thank you, uncle.”

Han Shi Yu smiled back.

Yang Mo served lunch, then went upstairs to call for Lu Yue Ming who had stayed in Yang Han’s room to obediently analyze the difficult questions for her.

Han Shi Yu retrieved his phone back as Yang Han asked, “Dad.”

As soon as he heard the way she referred to him, Han Shi Yu knew Xiao Yang was being nice to ask for something. He asked, “What is it.”

Yang Han’s was increasingly curious and interested in Han Shi Yu’s university life and all sorts of his strange friends.  Taking advantage of this moment, she continued to ask, “Where did you stop last time? Tutoring and then meeting the secretary sister. What happens after that?”

Yang Han really enjoyed listening to Han Shi Yu’s storytelling. Yang Mo wasn’t that great at narrating, his choice of words was always dry and he often skipped over many details whenever it involved his own pride.

Yang Han also wondered about how, after so many years, Han Shi Yu had that youthful time of theirs clearly imprinted in his mind. Even the smallest details could vividly be described when he retold the story.

Yang Han probed him again, “…How did you two get together?”

Liu Zuo Ye looked at Yang Han, who looked at Han Shi Yu while sticking her tongue out a little. Liu Zuo Ye smiled, her expression also saying “I’m quite curious too”.