CH 22

Li Ting briefly locked eyes with Fang Huaining before quickly turning his attention to Li Han, who was wailing increasingly noisily in the distance.

Fang Huaining saw him approach the boy who was squatting on the ground and try to pick him up, but Li Han didn’t cooperate: he was sobbing and struggling. Fang Huaining then realized that the younger brother was probably drunk, and his thoughts were likely still immersed in what had just happened. In this awkward moment, he didn’t even recognize who the person in front of him was; all he wanted to do was get rid of him.

Li Han made a big movement; the first time he threw his hand at Li Ting’s face, Li Ting was able to dodge it, but the second time his elbow directly hit Li Ting’s chest. Fang Huaining vaguely heard a heavy “mph”, and his heart tightened.

Li Ting is actually skilled at dealing with drunk people. No matter how difficult Li Han is to deal with, he is not nearly as bad as Tian Dian. He slowly took a deep breath and was about to deal with the drunk man when another hand suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Han’s wildly waving arms.

His shoulders were pulled back by the hand, which also prevented him from moving.

Li Ting looked up. He saw Fang Huaining looking down at him.

“Where to?” Fang Huai Ning asked straightforwardly.

Li Ting replied more succinctly, “It’s not on the way.”

If Fang Huaining was a more reactive person, he would have laughed angrily on the spot. 

You claim that my home is not on the way even though you don’t know where it is? His kindness was being treated like a donkey’s liver and lungs*.

[TN: Like it was worth nothing.]

However, people who have experienced a kitten’s claws won’t be afraid of being scratched again anymore. Fang Huaining said calmly, “Then you will take the bus? Or take a taxi by yourself?”

Taking a drunk on the bus, he might be directly kicked off by the other passengers.

And taking a taxi by himself… No one would have liked it.

Sure enough, the kitten’s weakness was accurately pinpointed.

Li Ting looked at Fang Huaining and thought for a while; his voice softened when he spoke again. “Where do you live?”

His voice, when he was not speaking coldly, was softer than the wind on a summer night. Fang Huaining coughed lightly and asked. “Where are you going?”

Li Ting answered, “Sumei Garden.”

The fact that this location was so close to his home and with the cost of the land there surprised Fang Huaining.

“Then it’s on the way.” He said without hesitation.

When the car arrived, Fang Huaining sat in the front while Li Ting sat in the back seat with the drunk. No one spoke on the road— only Li Han’s muffled sobs could be heard occasionally.

Fang Huaining raised his head and saw from the rearview mirror that Li Ting had pulled out a large lump of tissue paper from nowhere and pasted it on Li Han’s face, wiping his tears and snot. Even though the movements were not gentle, they were still very careful.

The radio in the car was playing an old song of some unknown age, and the husky male voice sang the same lyrics repeatedly.

You are what I longed for…

The one I adore…

All I can think of is you…

In that silent space, the catchy tune was lingering as it kept repeating; Fang Huaining wouldn’t have cared about it in the past, but maybe because of the scene he had just experienced, Fang Huaining felt a little embarrassed listening to the song.

Fortunately, the car arrived at the destination very quickly.

Li Ting did not object when Fang Huaining unconsciously offered him a hand after observing him struggling to drag the sluggish person out of the car.

Although Fang Huaining had heard of Sumei Garden before, it was the first time he actually came here. He didn’t expect it to be better than what he had heard of. The look of the community was very elegant, and the security at the gate was also tight. People were only allowed to enter after repeated confirmation.

Even though they were brothers, one lived in a remote area and worked long hours, while the other was wealthy and led a comfortable life in an elegant neighborhood. Fang Huaining believed that these two brothers should have at least a backstory.

Li Han hadn’t returned when it was already quite late; Di Wei, who always worried about her son, was already in a mess. So, as soon as Li Ting knocked on the door, she and Aunt Wang rushed out from inside. They were a little surprised when they saw Li Ting. Seeing Li Han in a daze, she became even more anxious and pulled him over.     

“Why did he drink so much?” Di Wei asked while glancing at Li Ting. Li Eryang also came out when he heard the commotion; he looked at Li Ting and then at Fang Huaining.

“What is happening here?”

He asked calmly, but Li Ting had long been used to their behaviour. If a good and bad student get into trouble together, most people would think that the latter is responsible.

Li Ting simply turned around and walked away without even bothering to speak.

But Li Eryang stopped him from behind, “It’s rare for you to come back for once. Is this the attitude you should have?!”

Without showing any emotion, Li Ting suddenly turned around and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Li Eryang took two deep breaths: “Before school starts, come back for dinner next month, I have something to tell you.”

Di Wei, on the side, was a little surprised when she heard it; it seemed she didn’t know it beforehand.

But Li Ting blinked, “No time.”

Li Eryang was stunned, unable to suppress his anger. “How can you be busy if you haven’t even been going to class?”

Li Ting turned a deaf ear and continued to turn around to leave.

Li Eryang obviously hadn’t said enough. “Li Ting! Your brother also knows how to find a school to do a serious internship during the summer. What about you? When will you be able to cleanse your mind? If something happens, don’t expect me to wipe your ass for you! No restraint! Undisciplined all day long, how can you ever learn anything well?!”

The harsh and vulgar accusations surprised Fang Huaining, Li Ting was almost omnipotent in the eyes of a “stranger” like him. But these people…who should be regarded as being close to him, saw him with eyes different from everyone else*?!

[This is a bit awkwardly phrased, basically that the ‘close’ people had a different impression of LT/ didn’t know him as well as, a ‘stranger’ like FH.]

Were they too ignorant of Li Ting or just too harsh?

Li Eryang’s attention was originally on Li Ting; when he glanced at him, he found that another boy beside him was glaring at him coldly. That aura was not like the good-for-nothing person who usually hangs around Li Ting.

But Fang Huaining’s dissatisfied eyes were quickly withdrawn. However, Li Ting, who was walking silently, suddenly turned a corner and pushed him away from the position he was standing in with his shoulder. Before Fang Huaining could react, several jets of water fell from nowhere, spraying the courtyard from all directions, watering the flowers and plants planted on the ground, then watering the people nearby, barely missing him.

“—Ah!!” Di Wei, who was the first to suffer, couldn’t help but yell, “What is this… Who turned on the sprinklers to water the flowers?!! Shut it off! Shut it off!!”

She was thoroughly drenched, and Li Eryang was also furious. “——Li Ting!!!!!!!!”

Li Ting had already walked away and only gave a faint response, “Sorry, I wanted to clear my mind, and I couldn’t see where I was stepping…”

…

While walking on the quiet path, Fang Huaining was having trouble gathering his thoughts…

Just now, he seemed to have witnessed a family ethics drama that can only be seen in a TV series—the disapproval of the elders and the comparison between brothers. Looking at the person in front of him, who was still walking steadily but whose feelings were unknown, Fang Huaining couldn’t help but guess what type of mood he must be in right now. Even if nothing was visible on the surface, he should be very sad in his heart, right? After all, how can a strong and stubborn person like him not have his self-esteem hurt?!

Sure enough, as he was walking, Li Ting slowed down and raised his hands to cover himself.

Could it be that his chest was in pain?!

Must be due to anger.

Fang Huaining couldn’t help but quickly walk to his side and quickly think of the comforting words he could say so as to not cross the line of their unfamiliar relationship when he suddenly heard a sound from Li Ting’s direction.

“Grrrrr…grrgrrr..”

Fang Huaining turned his head just as Li Ting turned his, and their eyes met again.

His eyes fell on Li Ting’s hands, which were not clutching his chest, but his stomach…

Li Ting: “…”

Fang Huai Ning: “…”

…

Li Ting didn’t have dinner before rushing over, nor did he have lunch earlier. He only ate something casually, and by now, he was already so hungry that his chest was stuck to his back.

The problem was that there were few small shops near the high-end residential area and even fewer roadside stalls. In addition, today was a special day*, and the only roadside stall that had set up business was doing surprisingly well.

[TN: Special day as in ‘Qixi Festival’, valentines day in China.]

Li Ting and Fang Huaining stood in front of a Liangpi cold noodle stall for a long time under the attack of all kinds of couples, but they were unable to get a seat.

The noodles for the two of them had already been prepared. Fang Huaining wanted to pay for it, but Li Ting was one step ahead and took out the money first.

Facing Fang Huaining’s surprise, Li Ting responded calmly: “Take it as half the taxi’s fare.”

After picking up the bowl and looking around, Li Ting pointed to a seat that was available and signaled for Fang Huaining to take a seat. After that, he ran to sit on the side of the road.

It was just that as soon as he sat down, he found that the cool and handsome high-achieving student also walked over, looked around, and shifted from his left foot to his right foot. After a long time, his buttock still didn’t plant itself on the ground.

Li Ting glanced at him quietly from the corner of his eye, curled his mouth, and suddenly pulled out another thing from his pocket and threw it on the ground.

Fang Huaining stared at the snow-white handkerchief casually thrown at his feet, a little confused.

Li Ting lowered his head, rolled up a spoonful of noodles and stuffed it into his mouth, then said, “The other half of the taxi fare.”

Fang Huaining accepted it.

When he finally put his handkerchief properly and sat down, Fang Huaining found that Li Ting had already eaten half of the noodles. He ate very quickly; his cheeks were bulging, chewing and chewing, chewing and chewing, then swallowing after a while, just like a little squirrel.

Li Ting’s noodles had a lot of spicy oil, leaving the red drops layered over his lips, making them look glossy and bright which was particularly eye-catching.

Li Ting had almost reached the bottom of the bowl when he found that the person beside him was still motionless. He turned his head to find Fang Huaining staring at him solemnly.

Li Ting couldn’t help thinking: Just looking at a person eating, can he already be full? Or is this person really serious about cleanliness?

Notes:

So I made some changes to the site. Black looked too gloomy ig. Is this better or should I go back to the previous one?