South of the Yangtze River, in the winter when the temperature dropped below zero, everyone was dressed in down jackets, scarves, and cotton pants, including the professor who wore suits all year round.
However, even while wearing thick cotton clothes, Bian Cheng was still distinctly different from the other people in town. Wen Di reluctantly admitted that there was such a thing as temperament in the world.
As long as this person didn’t speak.
“Tofu pudding and fried dough sticks.” Wen Di handed over a plastic bag.
Bian Cheng took it and asked, “What time do you close? Come find me after.”
Wen Di turned his head to glance at his parents who were busy in the kitchen, and looked at Bian Cheng with eyes wide open: “Are you crazy?”
Just the thought of him facing his legal husband on the hometown’s main commercial street made Wen Di break out in a cold sweat.
“I’m staying at the nearby Yilin Hotel,” Bian Cheng said. “Room 306.”
This statement could easily be misunderstood. Wen Di shuddered: “What does that have to do with me?”
“Didn’t I already say?” Bian Cheng replied. “I’m giving you a New Year’s gift.”
What was this guy up to?!
The special guest had been lingering for too long, so Wen Di’s mother poked her head out from beside the steamer.
Wen Di started to shiver and waved his hand to chase him away so quickly that it left an afterimage: “Quick, quick, quick, my parents will come out any moment now.”
“Are you coming over or not?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Wen Di leaned to look past Bian Cheng and loudly asked, “What would you like to order, sister?”
Bian Cheng left, carrying the plastic bag, and Wen Di, while packing sesame balls, felt uneasy. The county town was so small that even a slight disturbance would become widely known by the next day. This guy’s emotional intelligence was low, and if he got into any scandal, Wen Di would be as good as done for.
As the year-end approached, business was good; by just before nine, all the steamed buns and fried pancakes were sold out. Wen Di watched his father drag the tables back into the store and close up, then said, “I’m going to walk around town—I’ve arranged to have lunch with a classmate.”
“How are you going to get home later?” the mother asked. “It’s several miles away, and we don’t have shared bikes here.”
“I’ll walk back and digest my food,” Wen Di said, pushing her toward the tricycle. “I’m already in my late twenties and you’re still worried that I won’t be able to find my way home?”
Watching the tricycle disappear into the distance, Wen Di stuffed his hands into his down jacket pockets and headed toward the hotel, glancing around on the way to see if there were any familiar faces.
He quietly walked to the door of Room 306, raised his hand and knocked on the door, and Bian Cheng’s face soon appeared from behind the door. Perhaps because he was not used to the lack of heating, the air conditioner was turned on very hot. Wen Di was tempted by the warmth and came in immediately.
Next to the trash can were three bags containing empty plastic bowls, napkins, and mineral water bottles. Wen Di took a sharp breath; even at the hotel, they had to sort the trash.
He crossed his arms and stood at the doorway, looking at Bian Cheng: “I never thought you’d actually do something so cheesy.”
The so-called gift from this guy turned out to be himself. The idea that such a romantic gesture could come from Professor Bian made him wonder if the world was about to end. As he spoke, he glanced up and down at the professor’s new outfit and said: “Why didn’t you tie a bow around yourself?”
Bian Cheng glanced at him, looking puzzled, as if he found his words utterly baffling. Then he took a box from the bedside table and handed it over: “I went to the courier point, but they said they were about to suspend deliveries and couldn’t deliver it, so I had to bring it myself.”
Wen Di looked at the box in front of him; even this box didn’t have a bow on it.
He was left speechless, his words choked up. Damn it, what was he even expecting? How did such a ridiculous thought even come to mind?
“Open it and take a look.” Seeing that Wen Di hadn’t moved for a long time, Bian Cheng nudged the box forward again.
Wen Di sighed. Since his first expectation hadn’t been met, he doubted Bian Cheng would give anything…
Inside the box was a phone.
A new phone.
Wen Di looked at the shiny screen, then at Bian Cheng.
“The main event is underneath,” Bian Cheng said.
Wen Di probably anticipated what was going to happen. He picked up the phone and pried out the plastic cushion beneath…
At the bottom of the box lay seven neatly arranged bills, each featuring Franklin’s face, turned to the side with a slight smile.
Wen Di looked at the bank notes, then at Bian Cheng.
Bian Cheng seemed quite pleased with this gift. “I reviewed it,” he pointed at the box as if presenting a treasure, “and finally found the root of the problem.”
Holding the phone and box, Wen Di arms froze mid-air. In a flat tone, he said, “You think I want money.”
“Plus the phone,” Bian Cheng replied. “I did promise you before.”
Wen Di gritted his teeth—he should have set his expectations even lower. With a brain that seemed to fall outside the confidence interval of the normal distribution of human beings, how could Bian Cheng come to any effective conclusion? Wen Di closed the lid and handed it back to Bian Cheng: “It’s not like you stole it; there’s no need to compensate me.”
Bian Cheng didn’t take it back: “I put it in my wedding vows, how could I go back on my word? Take it ba, no need to feel embarrassed.”
So this guy actually thought he was just being polite!
Wen Di felt utterly hopeless about the professor’s way of thinking, but he knew how much of a hassle it was to travel from Beijing to here. Since Bian Cheng had come all this way, he felt obliged to show some basic hospitality. Since Bian Cheng refused to take the box back, Wen Di placed it on the table and said, “Let me treat you to lunch.”
“No need,” Bian Cheng replied. “I’m heading back soon. There’s a minor at home; it’s already irresponsible of me to leave him for this long.”
Wen Di was at a loss for words: “You came all this way just to deliver these seven hundred dollars?”
“How can you say ‘just’?” Bian Cheng said. “This means a lot to you. You forgot about the casino, forgot about the wedding, but still remember this.”
Although Bian Cheng’s tone was calm, there was a hint of resentment in his words. Wen Di narrowed his eyes: “Seems like you have a lot of grievances with me.”
“Not a lot,” Bian Cheng replied. “Just this one.”
Wen Di stared at him for a long moment. Was this guy here to make peace or to pick a fight? “You’re still holding a grudge, you…” He stopped halfway, shook his head, and said, “Forget it. As a mere level-five person, how am I qualified to give advice to a level-ten boss?”
“What level five, level ten?”
“My mom signed up for a dating website. If you were on it, you’d probably be a level ten,” Wen Di shook his head, clicking his tongue. “But if you ask me, marriage can’t be based on hard criteria alone. With your personality, you’d lose at least twenty levels.”
“Dating website,” Bian Cheng looked at him warily, “You want to go on a blind date? When? Where? Why?”
“Who said I wanted to go on a blind date? My mom just registered for fun,” Wen Di suddenly realized he was explaining himself too hastily. “Hey, why should I report my dating life to you?”
Bian Cheng looked at him in disbelief. “You’re my legal partner.”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Wen Di held up a finger. Wasn’t this guy all about logic and facts? Why was he bringing up legality now? “Not under our country’s laws.”
Bian Cheng stared at him for so long that Wen Di started to feel as if he’d done something he should feel guilty about.
“One can’t have double standards,” Wen Di questioned him. “I don’t recall you reporting any dates to me. Are you telling me you haven’t gone on a single date in the past five years?”
“Of course not,” Bian Cheng said seriously. “That would be marital infidelity.”
“Marital in… in what?” Wen Di’s mind was a mess, and before he could think of a rebuttal, Bian Cheng picked up the room key, pulled out the keycard, and strode out.
As he passed by Wen Di, he leaned down and placed a kiss on the beads of lip. “Happy New Year.”
Wen Di was dazed for a few seconds by the sudden kiss, and by the time he realized what had happened, the only things left in the room were the neatly made bed, the sorted trash, and the phone box on the table.
He turned his head in disbelief, looking out at the hallway, which was empty without a trace of anyone—he kissed him and then ran off? And so quickly, too?
This person had appeared abruptly and left just as suddenly, leaving behind only the phone and seven hundred dollars. Wen Di could only put the gift away and ponder this New Year incident in his mind. After thinking for a bit, he understood: this person left in such a hurry because he was afraid Wen Di wouldn’t take the money. A brain with an IQ of 180, and after all that thinking, he concluded that Wen Di loved money but was too embarrassed to accept it directly—so he put it on the table and ran away, just like the aunties and grandmas giving red envelopes during the New Year.
As if to confirm his thoughts, a message immediately popped up on his phone: [Don’t forget the money.]
This guy really thought he’d done something clever!
Staring at the screen, Wen Di thought back over all his encounters with this human singularity, and felt utterly hopeless about the future of this marriage.
And, even more despairingly, a class reunion was next on his agenda.
The county town was small, so after locating the RT-Mart, Wen Di quickly spotted the hot pot restaurant next to it. His classmate had reserved a large private room with two large round tables, each of which could seat fourteen people. In front of each person was an individual hot pot, while meat and vegetables were placed at the center of the tables—a modern and convenient setup.
As soon as Wen Di entered the room, he recognized many familiar faces through the thick swirling white mist. The tall one was the former sports committee member, who was good at climbing over walls and once took the lead in skipping school to go to the Internet cafe. The round-faced one was the son of the owner of a deli in the east of the city, now looking much slimmer. The girls had gained a bit of mature charm, dressing stylishly and looking prettier than before.
There was also a little girl in the room, sucking on a lollipop and running around the tables, likely the child of one of them.
“Isn’t this Wen Di?!” Wen Di’s old buddy jumped up excitedly. “Our T University God has arrived; everyone, make way!”
Others turned their gazes toward Wen Di, making his face flush. In middle school, he was indeed a celebrity, topping the grade, several dozen points ahead of the second place, and the whole school knew there was such a genius. It wasn’t until high school that Wen Di realized that they had learned too simple things.
“Come, come, come, sit here with me!” his buddy pointed to an empty seat next to him.
Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Wen Di walked gingerly to the empty seat and sat down. The little girl, seeing a new handsome brother, bounced over with her lollipop and stared at him with wide eyes. Wen Di smiled awkwardly, and then the class monitor shouted across two tables, “Miao’er, don’t run around! Be careful not to spill the hot pot broth!”
Wen Di was shocked as he looked at the little girl. “Is she his daughter?” She was almost old enough for elementary school!
His buddy raised an eyebrow: “You don’t know? They got in the car first and got the certificate later. It was big news back then.”
Wen Di calculated that he was a junior that year and was on exchange abroad. He rarely checked the group chat and did not come back for the Chinese New Year, so he missed the best time to gossip.
“Zhou-ge and Huan-ge, they are all married now,” his buddy counted on his fingers, glancing at the girls across the table. “Everyone at that table is married too. Xiao Yi just had a baby, and Fang Fang’s kid is already in kindergarten this year.”
Wen Di blinked, feeling the passage of time. His hometown had undergone changes, while he hadn’t even finished his student phase yet.
“Everyone has moved up a level,” Wen Di said.
“Ha, staying here is just like that, right?” his buddy replied as he brought a plate of mutton over from the table, picked at half of it with his chopsticks, and tossed it into the spicy broth. “Not like you, a top student in a big city, living so comfortably.”
Wen Di decided to go along with others’ imaginations, and save some face for his childhood self: “Not bad ba.”
“Hey, didn’t you say you were going for a PhD?” his buddy asked while stirring the lamb in the pot. “What do you plan to do afterward? University teacher? Hey, don’t you think the side income is particularly high for you guys? Those popular online creators, aren’t they all professors from prestigious schools? I hear they make quite a lot.”
That’s survivor bias, Wen Di thought; working a dead-end job all year round, unable to get a promotion, and countless people were dismissed at the ‘either promote or leave’ juncture. However, he maintained a mysterious silence; in front of old classmates, he wanted to keep a bit of the glory from back then.
“And you?” Wen Di asked. “Where have you been making money lately?”
“Just following my dad to do a few small projects,” his buddy sighed. “Every day, I accompany the leaders to drink, serve tea, and act like a lackey, just getting by. After a year of hard work, I only earn about two hundred thousand.”
Wen Di almost blurted out, “That’s way better than me,” but after thinking about it, he kept quiet.
“Zhou-ge is working as an engineer in the provincial city,” his buddy said in a low voice. “I heard he earns quite a lot.”
“Yeah.” Wen Di knew about that.
“Huan-ge has gone to the county committee.”
“Everyone seems to be doing well.”
“What are you talking about? You’ll definitely make big money,” his buddy said, taking a few gulps of beer and patting Wen Di on the shoulder. “Back then, while everyone was skipping class, getting into fights, and going to internet cafes to look at pictures of beautiful girls all night, there you were, studying day and night without even looking up despite the noise around you. I thought back then that you were someone who would accomplish great things.”
“Is that so?” Wen Di said with a bitter smile. “Then I’ll take your good wishes.”
“When you become successful, if you want to turn your family’s house into a villa., you have to come to me,” said the best friend, “I’ll give you 20% off.”
Wen Di replied, “Sure, sure.”
Making big money and building a villa—would that day ever come?
The conversation at the dinner table was lively, but Wen Di was eating in a dull mood. He listened to his former classmates talk about their families and work struggles, feeling a wave of envy rise within him. Yes, staying in his hometown, marrying and having children, living day by day like his parents, grandparents, and countless ancestors, would lead to a mundane life, where the end could be seen at a glance; it was neither not beautiful, nor poetic.
But he had worked hard in the big city until he was thirty, and all he had earned was an impressive degree and a meager salary. Compared to them, he had just put in a few more years of effort.
After the meal, Wen Di felt even more downcast than during the New Year’s Eve dinner.
When he returned home and sat on his small bed, he watched his mother knitting a scarf across from him. The bamboo needles flew up and down, making a rhythmic clicking sound, and the scarf gradually grew longer as the night deepened.
Seeing her son not moving for half an hour, his mother put down the scarf and scratched the back of her head with the bamboo needle. “What’s wrong? Did you feel depressed after eating with your classmates?”
Wen Di looked at the dim yellow light, slowly blinked, and asked, “Mom, what if I never amount to anything? What if all my classmates are doing better than me? What if I end up poor my whole life?”
His mother looked at him in surprise, thought for a moment in silence, and said, “Then just eat a couple more bowls of rice.”
Wen Di’s face twisted in pain. “What?”
“Eat more, exercise more, and keep your body healthy,” his mother replied. “In your twenties and thirties, you can still talk about your career and relationships. By the time you reach your forties and fifties, you’ll only be able to talk about arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease. There won’t be many years left to boast about having a good job and making a lot of money, so don’t take it too seriously.”
Wen Di felt slightly comforted. “Is that so?”
“Besides, our family isn’t just ordinary poor,” his mother said. “Our family has been poor for five generations.”
“Can we at least pass down something other than poverty?”
His mother moved closer and hugged her son. “Think about it; how much better could a wealthy person’s life be? Australian lobsters don’t taste that much different from regular lobsters, and luxury sports cars stuck in traffic aren’t any better than a rundown tricycle.”
Wen Di lamented, “But I’ve never had Australian lobster. I just want to try it; I’m curious.”
“Did you understand what your mom meant?”
“I understand, I understand,” Wen Di said, feeling heartbroken. “It’s just that I’m like my dad; otherwise, I’d definitely be happy every day.”
His mother pushed him away, stood up, and turned to leave the room. “What kind of talk is that? Your dad heard you will be coming back on the 27th, and he started marinating beef on Laba day.”[footnote]Laba is celebrated on the eighth day of the last lunar month, referring to the traditional start of celebrations for the Chinese New Year.[/footnote]
Wen Di called out from behind, “Are you going to tell on me to Dad?”
“Let your dad go to the market and see the seafood market,” his mother replied. “He’ll buy you some Australian lobster.”
T/N: Hiii, sorry for not updating for the whole week, I thought I had scheduled all these chapters but apparently I’m not(?) I actually will be on holiday starting tomorrow but worry not, I’ll schedule all the three chapters by today so that there’ll be update everyday until Monday to makeup for the previous days. Anyway, Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it and Happy Holiday! Also, there’ll be no update for next week aside from Monday. Will continue posting chapters after 3rd Jan (hopefully!)
Yep yep this one too I cannot find anything if this is from Shakespeare or not.
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
