Forty-Three: Because he is mine.

Chapter Forty-Three: Because he is mine.

Cheng YuTang looked at the expression on Ji XiaoYu’s face and could tell that he was jealous again. And that he was more eating even more vinegar than before. He was amused and felt an indescribable pleasure in this moment, so he whispered softly in his ear, “Hey, don’t be angry, I’m worried that there’s a problem with his mental state, I’m not deliberately blaming you. You care about me so much, I’m overjoyed, how could I actually blame you?”

Since the two men’s argument that day, Cheng YuTang’s attitude had been one of great restraint and his speech had all been very formal. After so many days, Ji XiaoYu was suddenly treated as affectionately and tenderly as he used to be and he instantly felt like a firecracker soaked in snowy slush. Suddenly his fury cooled, but now the roots of his ears uncontrollably heated a bit. Tongue-tied, he said, “Who, who cares about you? I’m just, just fulfilling my duties responsibly!”

Cheng YuTang whispered with a chuckle in his voice, “Okay, okay, so you say.”

When Han QingShi saw the two men whispering while ignoring him, his eyes flashed with a chill of hostile coldness and evil energy. Just as he was about to sneer out a few mocking words, a person came out of the hall and shouted loudly, “Hey, isn’t this our School Grass Cheng YuTang and our Prodigy Han? Why are you two standing at the door? Everyone’s waiting for you inside!”

Cheng YuTang nodded minutely, “Class Monitor, long time no see.”

Han QingShi changed his expression instantly. He smiled at the chubby man with a beer belly and a Mediterranean hairstyle. “Class Monitor Da Luo, long time no see, looks like you’ve been very comfortably off these days.”

“How am I comparable to you and School Grass Cheng? The two of you look more handsome than a decade ago. It’s too much. Clearly you didn’t give in to the life of us greasy middle-aged men.”

Luo ZhiHao wiped his bright forehead and said cheerfully as he looked around, “Hey, Prodigy Han, you and School Grass Cheng didn’t bring any family members, so you came to the class reunion together? Fuck, your two handsome guys are really a waste of resources, just wait for the female students to whine again!”

Although Luo ZhiHao saw Ji XiaoYu next to Cheng YuTang, he thought he was just a coincidental passer-by, because Ji XiaoYu’s face was too youthful and spirited, not in the same league as the thirty-something-year-old uncles at all.

Ji XiaoYu, who was ignored, was instantly a little angry again. Chubby man, do you have bad eyes? Can’t you see for yourself such a mighty man standing right here?!

Moreover, Cheng YuTang being the school grass is one thing but what kind of prodigy is this surname Han, actually comparing him to Cheng YuTang? This stinky, anger-inducing fox spirit is handsome, my butt!

Fortunately, as he turned away, Cheng YuTang reached out and put his hand on his shoulder, clarifying, “No, I have a companion.”

Luo ZhiHao looked at Ji XiaoYu, who was wearing a stinky expression, and said in surprise, “It’s this little kid?”

Ji XiaoYu defended his family honor with a powerful, sonorous tone, “My name is Ji XiaoYu, I’m the bodyguard of your school grass!”

Cheng YuTang laughed soundlessly.

Han QingShi sniffed coldly.

“…..so I see, welcome.” A drop of cold sweat appeared on Luo ZhiHao’s head. He wondered secretly in his heart, how is it that this bodyguard is more imposing than the boss?

Also, what’s with Cheng YuTang’s indulgent expression? In fact, of the more than 20 students, a third of them were still single, bringing a bro, a bestie, or a sibling-in-law. He was a bachelor himself, who had brought a cheeky-faced little niece who was attending college, but Cheng YuTang appeared to be earnest, giving off a couple-vibe with the bodyguard. He was still really one of a kind.

School Grass Cheng’s stature was nowadays nothing like an ordinary person’s, so it was understandable he was traveling with a bodyguard for safety, but it was that the two were standing a little too close together, even closer than two brothers.

Han QingShi simpered and said, “Class Monitor, I’m here on my own, can I not attend the class reunion? That’s okay, I’ll leave.”

“You can, of course you can! Whoever says no, this class monitor will be the first to kick them out!” Luo ZhiHao said repeatedly, “Come on, come on, come on, the class monitor will escort you in!”

Han QingShi shot a glance at Luo ZhiHao and said sweetly and smoothly while walking in with him, “Thank you, Class Monitor. The class monitor is so good to me.”

Luo ZhiHao shivered all over and two big suspicious red spots appeared on his big, chubby face. He almost tripped over his own feet.

Ji XiaoYu was simply disgusted. He wanted to turn around and leave, but Cheng YuTang pulled him forward by his hand, softly bargaining with him, “Since you’re here, just come inside, or I’ll have to break my word. Let’s go in and sit for a while. We’ll leave after half an hour, okay?”

“Yes, going by what you say, half an hour then!” Ji XiaoYu reluctantly compromised.

If he left, that damn fox would take the opportunity to do whatever he wanted to Cheng YuTang, how could that be allowed!

They followed Luo ZhiHao through the door of the large private room, where there was a red banner saying “The 15th Anniversary of the 2003 Graduation Class of A Certain Secondary School.” The lighting was dim and some of the lights were flashing as some people were singing with microphones in their hands. After seeing who came in, defending screams and cheers rang out in the private room.

Oh papa, is this a class reunion? It’s more scary than a spiritual beast dance gathering! Ji XiaoYu covered his ears, freaking out.

Then a group of men and women flocked over, arcing around Han QingShi and Cheng YuTang. They all greeted them and asked questions to catch up, in a buzz of excitement.

Many of the people were surprised at Cheng YuTang’s presence. Han QingShi smiled and said softly, “YuTang is a busy man. I made three humble visits to his thatched cottage and finally accomplished my mission, bringing him over.”

One person’s eyebrows rose and they joked, “Or is it that our Prodigy has a way with School Grass Cheng?!”

Everyone in the crowd dragged out the sound of “Oh~~” and they all showed sly smiles.

When Ji XiaoYu heard this, he almost threw up his dinner.

He was originally pulled into the private room by Cheng YuTang, but as soon as he came in, he was swept away by the group of people. However, he had an outstanding prominence, so people couldn’t just ignore him. There were a lot of people were interested in him at first, coming up to chat, but he was all cold-faced so those people got bored and didn’t bother him anymore.

Cheng YuTang was trapped in the crowd. While he dealt with the over-enthusiastic old classmates, his eyes still tracked Ji XiaoYu’s every move, finding that the little thing was sitting alone in the corner, just like a small iceberg exuding a chill towards strangers. He couldn’t help but feel love and pity in his heart. He wanted to go straight over there and cuddle that shy, fluffy person in his arms, but he was surrounded by three layers of people, so he couldn’t get away for a while.

Han QingShi meanwhile, worked the crowd smoothly just like a fish in water, using a little minor trick and enchanted the group of classmates into a state of confusion, so that they were prostrating themselves at the hem of his trousers.

After a while, someone clamored for Cheng YuTang and Han QingShi to sing to everyone. A female student pulled up a song on the jukebox straight away and gave an unruly smile as she said, “Just sing ‘’, okay?!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, sing it!” a bunch of people immediately followed suit while cheering.

Han QingShi was very shy while agreeing to cooperate, causing several female students to scream with their faces in their hands.

Cheng YuTang pushed up his glasses and said coolly, “Sorry, I can’t sing this song.”

His aura was very strong, so since he said he couldn’t sing, no one dared to come forward and force him. The atmosphere of the private room went a bit cold for a moment and the woman who brought up the song was a bit embarrassed.

Han QingShi picked up a microphone and said, “Yu Tang doesn’t normally have any time to get in touch with these popular songs, so he doesn’t normally sing. If you all don’t hate the idea, I’ll offer you this ugly one as a replacement.”

As soon as his words fell, everyone began to laugh again, yelling one after another that they wouldn’t hate it and for him to go ahead, go ahead.

The female classmate with the song immediately played “You Are The Song Within My Heart.” Han QingShi, with the microphone, stood on the small stage and sang sweetly in a myriad of tones. As one person, he sang both parts, switching freely back and forth between the male and female voices. The male voice was clear and the female voice was charming. And it was even more wonderful than the original song.

The spotlight shone down on his head and from his eyebrows to the corners of his eyes was all an enchanting hook. The crowd below stared up at his appearance as if bewitched, all of them listening in fascination.

Cheng YuTang also felt a little dazed inexplicably, but he improved a bit when he turned his back to the stage. After trying to recover his thoughts, while everyone’s attention was caught by Han QingShi like children, he finally found the opportunity to take care of his little bodyguard who had been neglected by himself for a long time. As it turned out, when he looked over to the corner, his expression suddenly sank.

In the corner of the private room, Ji XiaoYu had another person near him. It was a young woman who looks like she was less than 20 years old. She had a round apple-like face and looked very sweet and lovely. She was talking to Ji XiaoYu with her eyes glittering.

From Cheng YuTang’s perspective, the two were very close, their two melon-like heads seeming to be coming close together, with some sort of indescribable intimacy.

His teeth suddenly felt a bit itchy. How great that he had been so worried that the little thing would be disgusted with the environment and would be uncomfortable staying for a while. But instead, this guy had adapted very quickly and, in the blink of an eye, was getting hot with a young woman, with no boss in his eyes anymore!

……

There was a total of forty or fifty people in the big private room. They were all basically in their thirties. The only young person besides Ji XiaoYu was Luo ZhiHao’s little 18-year-old freshman niece, Luo LanLan.

Luo LanLan was still strongly regretting that she was pulled over by her little uncle today. When they arrived, she didn’t have anyone to talk to and her little uncle had been busy entertaining his classmates and had no time to talk to her. She had been bored to death. While sitting at the table, eating tasteless popcorn, she had suddenly found a man sitting in the corner, around her age. He was better compared to the little fresh meat that was so popular nowadays. Her eyes had suddenly lit up and she had run over to sit next to him, saying of her own initiative, “Cutie, my name is Luo LanLan, what’s your name?”

(t/n: she calls him ‘xiao gege’ which is a term of address for handsome boys, but means little big brother literally)

Ji XiaoYu had been in a bad mood. Seconds passed like years and then he had glanced at her with a blank expression and then had turned his eyes away with no expression. He hadn’t wanted to acknowledge this silly little girl at all.

Luo LanLan had run into a snag but didn’t get angry. Instead, she had felt that this cutie was cool and handsome, cold and proud. He was just a clear stream in a muddy world, so she had smiled and said, “Cutie, I’m here with my uncle. My uncle was the monitor of their class. I’m a freshman at Ning City University’s School of Social Sciences. What about you? Are you a sophomore or a junior? What’s your major?”

Seeing that he kept up his cold, silent expression, Luo LanLan finally got a little frustrated, grumbling and complaining, “Ay, cutie, why aren’t you talking, am I that annoying……”

“I’m very sorry, but yes, if you keep pestering him, he really won’t speak.”

A cool, mature male voice suddenly broke in, startling Ji XiaoYu and Luo LanLan both.

Luo LanLan looked up and saw Cheng YuTang. Her face first went red, then white. Feeling wronged, she asked, “Uncle, wh-what do you mean by that?”

Cheng YuTang Yan placed his hands on the back of the sofa behind Ji XiaoYu, just as if he were surrounding the man in the half-circle of his arms. The gesture was both elegant and domineering. Then he said, “Because he is mine.”

Luo LanLan: “……”

Ji XiaoYu: “……”

Luo LanLan looked back and forth between the two. Her pale face turned red instantly and she whispered, covering her mouth, “Ah, ah, ah, it turned out to be like this! Sorry, uncle, I didn’t know you and this cutie were a couple, that’s why……. Hey, I won’t bother you again, you two take your time talking, I’ll leave!” After those words, she leaped up and ran off like a lively, happy rabbit.

Ji XiaoYu: “……”

Cheng YuTang: “……”

It’s good to have this kind of awareness, but what the hell was with the ‘uncle’ and ‘little big brother’? What kind of mixed up mess of generations, do I seem that old?! That silly little girl was such a nuisance!

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Footnotes:

1. School grass (校草): pairing to the term school flower; the most handsome boy in the school

2. Prodigy (才子): term for gifted scholar

3. Mediterranean hairstyle: bald patch on top with hair still on the sides

4. Three humble visits to a thatched cottage (三顾茅庐): famous scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms where a character recruits another by visiting his cottage three times

5. prostrating themselves…trousers (拜倒在我西装裤下吧): play on an idiom ‘prostrating himself at the hem of her pomegranate skirt’ referencing men worshiping at the feet of a beautiful woman

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btw if you don’t like how I use translate uncommon honorifics and not commonly-known ones, you don’t have to read. comments mocking me will be deleted ??