Qin Cheng ran to the kitchen, filled a hot water bottle for each of them, and handed it to them to hold. “Tomorrow, wear my and Jian Heng’s down jackets when you go out. I’m afraid you two will go and not come back.”
Cheng Bin shivered and took a sip of hot water: “Cheng’er, I heard you transferred?”
“Let’s skip the pleasantries,” Qin Cheng said as he sat on a small sofa, peeling oranges for the two of them. “I was right next to Heng’er when he sent the message——”
The two of them immediately wore expressions that said, ‘Don’t mention it, we don’t want any dog food’.
Qin Cheng smirked slightly and finished his sentence: “In his nest.”
“Fuck,” Shao Ze held back for a long time and couldn’t help but laugh. “First, I wish you both a hundred years of harmony.”
“The blessings from your group are all standardized across provinces,” Qin Cheng handed the oranges to them. “Qi’er wished the same, and so did my classmates.”
“Standardized nationwide,” Cheng Bin added.
“This time, we didn’t buy anything particularly valuable——” Shao Ze was about to continue when Qin Cheng suddenly interrupted him.
“Hey, why didn’t you buy anything valuable?” Qin Cheng looked up and shouted towards the kitchen, “Honey[mfn]那口子 (nà kǒu zi): one’s better half; my husband or wife; classifier for people (used for indicating the number of people in a family ctc).[/mfn], Shao Ze didn’t bring any valuable gifts, what should we do?”
Jian Heng’s voice came from the kitchen: “Kick him out.”
“You two—” Shao Ze’s hand, which was taking out things, hesitated. In the end, he could only sigh: “Husband and wife are of the same mind.”
“Who is the wife and who is the husband?” Cheng Bin casually asked while eating an orange.
Qin Cheng was quite satisfied that Jian Heng’s good friend could ask this question, which showed that Qin-ge was very A, A to the point that they thought he couldn’t possibly be 0 for love.
Tsk tsk tsk, if it weren’t for deep love, which A would be willing to make such a sacrifice?
Thinking about it, he was truly great.
“Brutal question[mfn]送命題 (sòng mìng tí): (informal) brutal question; fatal question; a life- threatening question. 送命題 (sòng mìng tí) is a popular internet term . It refers to a question that is difficult for the respondent to answer, and no matter how the respondent answers, it will be wrong, making it difficult to make a decision.[/mfn], don’t ask,” Shao Ze was a sensible person. He took out two gift boxes from his backpack and placed them on the coffee table, changing the topic. “This is my and Cheng Bin’s heartfelt intention, don’t dislike it.”
“Not at all,” Qin Cheng looked at them, “Can I open them?”
“It’s for both of you, go ahead and open it,” Shao Ze said.
Qin Cheng’s hand was already outstretched, but he pulled it back halfway: “Let’s wait for my family’s honey to join.”
“If you keep talking like this, I might regret giving gifts,” Shao Ze glanced at the kitchen. “What is he doing in there for so long?”
Qin Cheng stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “Preparing a feast, I’ll help my family’s h-o-n-e-y with the preparation.”
Shao Ze laughed and cursed, shaking his head.
***
At the dining table, each person had a glass of baijiu, eating and chatting.
“Actually, besides the gifts, we have some news to tell you,” Shao Ze said.
“What?” Jian Heng picked the fatty meat out of Qin Cheng’s bowl and put a piece of lean meat in. “You guys leaving tomorrow morning?”
“There’s no love left,” Shao Ze, tired of their show of affection, didn’t even want to resist anymore, “Su Danqiu gave birth.”
Jian Heng and Qin Cheng paused at the same time.
“Jian Xingguo is suspicious and insists that the child doesn’t look like him, demanding a paternity test,” Cheng Bin took a sip of baijiu, his white hair swaying as he spoke, looking quite pleased, “What do you think?”
Jian Heng glanced at him calmly, his expression unchanged: “Should I send you to do stand-up comedy instead?”
“No!” Cheng Bin slammed the table, “Jian Xingguo may not be good at anything else, but he’s a pro at detecting cheater[mfn]鑒綠 (jiàn lǜ): lit. detecting green. From 戴綠帽子 (dài lǜ mào zi), lit. to wear a green hat; (idiomatic, slang) to cuckold another person; to be cuckolded by one’s wife; (idiomatic, slang) to be cuckolded; to have one’s wife or girlfriend cheat on one. In China “wearing a green hat” (戴綠帽子 or dài lǜ mào zǐ) is an expression that Chinese use when a woman cheats on her husband or boyfriend because the phrase sounds similar to the word for cuckold. This apparently dates back to the Yuan dynasty when the relatives of prostitutes were forced to wear green hats. More information: Link 1, Link 2.[/mfn]. That child is definitely not his!”
“What the! Fuck!” Qin Cheng dropped the meat he was trying to pick up with his chopsticks onto the table. He looked at Cheng Bin, then turned to Jian Heng, feeling dazed by the absurdity of the world. “And then…?”
Jian Heng remained calm, sipping his drink leisurely as if watching a show.
“And now the two of them are in the middle of a divorce. Jian Xingguo doesn’t want to give her a single cent and wants to sue Su Danqiu. Su Danqiu just had a baby, and although it’s not Jian Xingguo’s, the law still protects her. How does that saying go again, ‘The child is not yours, but the wife is yours’…” Cheng Bin said with a look of schadenfreude, “In short, it’s causing a huge uproar in the city now.”
After he finished speaking, Shao Ze said: “It’s a joke in Chuan City, a huge one.”
“How could such a thing be spread,” just based on what Jian Xingguo did to Jian Heng before, Qin Cheng wanted to give him a good beating, tie him up, and send him to a mental hospital to let him experience the pain Jian Heng once went through. Jian Xingguo being cheated on was like karma for his past actions, which made Qin Cheng feel quite satisfied. “Does he have an IQ problem?”
“There is indeed a problem,” Jian Heng poured him a glass of juice. He was a physical education student and should drank less alcohol. “But this matter was leaked by Su Danqiu, right?”
“Modern-day miraculous detective[mfn]當代神探 (dāng dài shén tàn): lit. the present age master sleuth; the contemporary era miraculous detective.[/mfn],” Cheng Bin gave a thumbs up. “Jian Xingguo wants to save face, but Su Danqiu doesn’t. Once the money’s gone, all that elegance and pretense are gone too, and it became widely known.”
“How to put it, they are like a lame donkey and a broken mill[mfn]瘸驢配破磨 (qué lǘ pèi pò mó): lit. the lame mule matching a broken mill. A lame donkey is paired with a broken millstone. This is a proverb that means two people with defects are a perfect match.[/mfn],” Shao Ze said.
Qin Cheng couldn’t help but look at Jian Heng’s expression. There was no change, but he still felt that Jian Heng wasn’t particularly pleased but wasn’t upset either.
It was a rather complicated emotional journey. It could also be that he didn’t have Jian Heng’s superpower, and his observation wasn’t quite on point.
However, since Jian Heng didn’t want to show it, or rather didn’t want to show it in this situation, he didn’t plan to ask further.
Love also needs to give the other person space.
Especially for matters like this.
“What are we doing tomorrow?” Qin Cheng changed the subject, “Want me to take you guys out for a stroll?”
“Forget it,” Cheng Bin said with lingering fear. “I’m afraid I’ll freeze to death, going out and not coming back.”
“We’ll lend you our down jackets,” Qin Cheng said, “Shall we go watch a movie?”
“Forget the movie,” Shao Ze also refused, “The movie has also let us down.”
Just as Qin Cheng was about to drink, there was suddenly a knock on the door from outside, knocking on the door across from them.
Qin Cheng’s whole body jolted, and he immediately stood up and walked outside.
The others in the room didn’t know what was going on, but from the sound of the knocking, they could guess that the visitor was not friendly, so they quickly followed him out.
Jian Heng closely followed Qin Cheng out the door.
Three men were standing outside the door, two of them in their forties or fifties, one tall and one short, and the other man looked to be around the same age as them, in his early twenties.
The moment the young man saw Qin Cheng, he directly raised his fist and swung it over.
Qin Cheng didn’t dodge or avoid; he actually intended to take the punch head-on. The expression on his face was one Jian Heng had never seen before——guilt, discomfort, unwillingness to face it…
Jian Heng stepped in front of Qin Cheng and grabbed the man’s hand. The expression on Qin Cheng’s face made Jian Heng not go for a lethal blow, but he did push the man back with force.
Of course, it wasn’t just a casual push; it was impossible for the man’s shoulder not to be bruised the next day.
“How dare you fucking bring a helper! Qin Cheng! Are you even a man?” Guo Yangxia glared at him fiercely, the hatred in his eyes making Jian Heng frown.
The two middle-aged men beside him also approached when they saw Jian Heng making a move, their eyes unkind. “Is the murderer so arrogant now? Should we call the police? Huh? Isn’t this bullying?”
“Xia-ge,” Qin Cheng’s voice was very low, suppressing his emotions from exploding, “let’s talk properly. My mom’s health isn’t good, let’s go to the other side.”
“Your mom’s health isn’t good, my parents are gone!!!” Guo Yangxia, tall and thin, started shaking for a moment, like a bamboo pole about to fall over. “Don’t you fucking get close to me! Who’s
your Ge? It would be better if you were dead!”
Before Qin Cheng could speak, Jian Heng grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall, his voice low, the overwhelming pheromones fiercely crushing: “If there’s something to say, say it. Don’t court death.”
“Jian Heng,” Qin Cheng quickly tugged at him, “don’t make a move, they are——”
Guo Yangxia, being choked, had his previously weakened momentum reignited by Qin Cheng’s words: “Say it! Say who I am! Say how your dad went crazy and crashed into my dad’s car! Say it! Say it in front of your helper!!!”
Qin Cheng clenched his fingers tightly.
Guo Yangxia could say whatever he wanted about him, but he couldn’t say anything about Jian Heng.
“The money for this month has already been transferred,” Qin Cheng took a deep breath, suppressing his agitated emotions with all his might, tugged at Jian Heng, and only continued speaking when he saw him release his grip, “We’ve already discussed it, it’s all written in the contract, signed and sealed. If there’s anything, find me, don’t disturb my mom.”
“Contract??? What a load of crap! If you don’t bring the money today, we won’t leave!” The short middle-aged man suddenly rushed over to grab Qin Cheng, but Jian Heng pushed him away with one hand. The man, intimidated by Jian Heng’s gaze, took a few steps back and shouted: “Want to hit people? A murderer wants to hit people? Is there any justice left!”
Jian Heng ignored him, turned back to Qin Cheng and asked softly: “Is there a contract?”
“Mm,” only when he heard Jian Heng’s voice did Qin Cheng felt like he had come back to life. He frowned and said: “How much to pay back each month, how to pay it back, it’s all written down.”
Jian Heng nodded, turned to the three men: “Call the police, intentionally hurting people.”
The short man seemed to have never expected that he could say such words. He choked for a moment, exchanged glances with the tall man, and suddenly shouted: “Is Song Yingmei here?! You——”
The next second, he was violently thrown out, crashing against the wall with a bang. Qin Cheng gritted his teeth: “Don’t push your fucking luck! If you dare touch my mom, I’ll kill you! I owe Xia-ge, but I don’t owe you!”
Guo Yangxia also didn’t expect his uncle to act like this, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to vent his anger.
Cheng Bin and Shao Ze didn’t understand the situation, but it didn’t matter. In short, someone was looking for trouble and even threatening Qin Cheng’s mother.
Shao Ze stepped forward, his face darkened: “Aren’t you going to call the police? If you don’t, I will. This is illegal, isn’t it?”
Saying this, he took out his phone and was about to dial a number.
The two men were scared, but Guo Yangxia still stared at Qin Cheng: “Qin Cheng, you can’t escape this. Sooner or later, you will suffer retribution. Your whole family owes me, and you will owe me for a lifetime!”
“He doesn’t owe you anything,” Jian Heng looked at him, standing in front of Qin Cheng, “How much is it in total?”
Guo Yangxia didn’t speak, but the tall man jumped in: “570,000[mfn]五十七萬 (wǔ shí qī wàn): T/N: As of today’s rate, it’s around 78,660 USD.[/mfn]! Enough to pay off a lifetime! Paying off that little amount each month, what’s the point!!!”
“I will pay it off!” Qin Cheng tried hard to keep his voice down, like a beast that should be roaring, but was trapped in a small cage, struggling to break free.
“The day after tomorrow,” Jian Heng looked at Guo Yangxia, his eyes cold enough to freeze, making him take a step back with just one glance, “Bring the contract to Shang Le Road and wait for me. Pay it all off at once.”
Guo Yangxia stood frozen in place.
“He doesn’t owe you anything,” Jian Heng looked down at him from above, “He only owes me.”
The author has something to say:
Oh——ah——ya ya ya———today is 狗烏 (gǒu wū). Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or watered me with nutrient solutions between 2020-05-27 11:56:44 and 2020-05-28 18:00:12~
Thank you all for your support, I will keep working hard!
Uhh, I don’t understand what the author means by 狗烏 (gǒu wū). I can’t seem to find anything on the internet either. If anyone know what this means, please notify me. Thank you.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 58.2″]
有來無回 (yǒu lái wú huí): back and forth; come but never return; oneway trip; no return; irreversible; point of no return; once you come, you can never go back, referring to being completely wiped out.疑神疑鬼 (yí shén yí guǐ): to be extremely suspicious; to be afraid of one’s own shadow; to suspect everyone; overly suspicious; be suspicious; be paranoid; imagine things; see ghosts in broad daylight; be haunted by imaginary fears; to doubt this and that.
滿城風雨 (mǎn chéng fēng yǔ): lit. wind and rain through the town (idiom); fig. a big scandal; an uproar; (usu of a bad thing) become the talk of the town; make a great commotion; create quite a stir/sensation; (of news, rumour) spread all over the city; It’s windy and rainy everywhere in the city; Originally described the rain scene before the Double Ninth Festival, later become a metaphor for a certain event that spread widely, and there was a lot of discussion everywhere.
心有餘悸 (xīn yǒu yú jì): to have lingering fears; trepidation remaining after a trauma (idiom); one’s heart still flutters/throbs with fear/apprehension.
張牙舞爪 (zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo): (of a beast) to be ferocious; (of a person, figurative) to act savagely and threateningly; to bare fangs and brandish claws (idiom); to make threatening gestures; act ferociously; behave aggressively; show one’s teeth and claws; be menacing; to describe a ferocious beast with its mouth open and claws waving. It also refers to being rampant and vicious.
[/dropdown]Check out my completed & current project at my carrd. If you like my translation, you can buy me coffee at Ko-fi~ Thank you.
