Chapter 76

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Translator: Cheese

Departure

After standing in the snow for so long, Yu Cai felt a bit uncomfortable once he returned. Ji Shaoheng wasn’t at home, and Yu Cai did not call him. He peeled off his damp clothes and drilled under the covers, hugging the gloves Su Tian gave him to keep his body warm.

In the process, he inadvertently fell asleep.

He didn’t know how long he slept for before he was roughly shaken awake by Ji Shaoheng.

When he opened his eyes, he was shivering from the cold, and his head was spinning. A blurry halo ringed Ji Shaoheng’s face.

Ji Shaoheng patted his face, which had already flushed red. He growled, “You haven’t died?”

Yu Cai was so annoyed by him that he wanted to cover his face and continue sleeping, but he had no strength in his hands. Fortunately, he was still holding on to Su Tian’s gloves, which he used to cover his face.

Ji Shaoheng: “…”

He simply threw the little brat out of bed and brought over a wet towel to wipe his face with and cool him down. The entire time, he continued to curse:

“Throwing away your life to chase your girlfriend? Don’t you know what kind of rotten body you have? See if I don’t care about you and throw you at the foot of Tiantian’s home, let her see your body tomorrow morning…”

Ji Shoheng grew angrier the longer he spoke. Finally, he simply tossed the towel in Yu Cai’s face, stood up, and looked down on the bedridden, half-dead youth in disdain. “This Daddy really gets mad at the sight of you.”

Little brat. He clearly knew how awful his immunity system was, yet he still dared to toss himself at every turn. He was scared of living too comfortably, was that it?

Yu Cai turned face down into the bed, holding his treasured gloves. After a long while, he muttered, “This way, she might feel distressed for me.”

Ji Shaoheng: “…”

He kicked the bed frame, scolding, “Useless thing.”

He reached over to pull the little brat up, wishing that iron could become steel1. “What’s the use of you playing dead here? If you like her, then go after her! If you can’t, then go and snatch her. If you can’t even do that, then why don’t you just die in front of her, you good-for-nothing.”

Yu Cai looked up, revealing reddened eyes and a pair of pitch-black, bottomless pupils that could not reflect a single trace of light.

He looked at the fluffy pair of gloves and croaked, “I’m scared… I won’t be able to control myself…”

Ji Shaoheng: “…”

“Get up!” He dragged him out of bed. “Let’s take you to the hospital first.”

Yu Cai was stuffed into the car. Ji Shaoheng entered the car right after and turned up the heater to the maximum.

“Why are you investigating Tiantian.”

!

The hand holding the car key paused. Ji Shaoheng didn’t speak.

Yu Cai leaned back into his seat with the gloves in his arms, his eyes lowered, looking listless.

Without waiting for Ji Shaoheng’s answer, he continued, “Why are you investigating Tiantian? Is there something wrong with her?”

After another moment of silence, Ji Shaoheng finally opened his mouth. He asked in a low voice, “Why do you like her?”

Yu Cai looked up. His face was flushed with fever, and it was difficult to even move his fingers, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

Why did he like Tiantian?

He wasn’t sure, either. From the moment he saw the photo of her, he couldn’t help but want to get closer to her.

Like how a creature of darkness instinctively moved toward light, wanting to embrace that warmth.

Ji Shaoheng: “Because she’s warm, cute, and so perfect she’s almost a saint?”

The police chief turned his head and asked him, “Don’t you think that she’s too perfect for a seventeen-year-old girl?”

So perfect, she didn’t seem like a real person.

As perfect as a saint envisioned by humans, completely flawless.

As soon as Ji Shaoheng had seen Su Tian’s information, he had wanted to bring her to the police station. He had sharper senses than Bai Qiyuan. Even Bai Qiyuan could perceive that something was wrong with Su Tian, so how could he not feel it?

It was an instinct that could only be explained by experience.

He warned, “Yu Cai, think about it carefully. Do you like her because she’s the complete opposite of you, or because…”

He paused, then continued, “…she’s just like you?”

Yu Cai’s lips moved. He looked over at Ji Shaoheng. “Put away your criminal observation lenses. Tiantian isn’t like that.”

Ji Shaoheng: “You’re so sure?”

Yu Cai: “I’m sure. She’s definitely not.”

He liked Tiantian, definitely not out of attraction between those of the same kind.

The two of them were complete opposites.

Ji Shaoheng didn’t speak further and drove them to the dessert shop’s entrance.

It was noon now. There was too much snow, and there were no customers in the store, only the few half-grown children Su Tian knew and He Qingwan. The group of people sat together for lunch.

Seeing Ji Shaoheng, Su Tian greeted with an unhurried smile, “Uncle Ji, have you eaten?”

The others gave their greetings in a casual manner.

Ji Shaoheng glanced at Su Tian, raising his brows. Was his intuition off, or were this brat’s eyes blinded by love.

He smiled. “I’ve eaten. I’m here to say goodbye.”

He directed his gaze to He Qingwan. “Which design did you and Tiantian choose?”

He Qingwan took out the interior mockups and handed him the one she chose. She glanced at the thick snow outside, somewhat worried. “It’s snowing so heavily. Will it be dangerous on the road? Why not wait until the snow melts before leaving?”

Ji Shaoheng tucked away the mockups and heaved a sigh. “No can do. Xiao Hang is sick again. He ran out to build a snowman and ended up with a fever.”

He Qingwan let out an exclamation. She hurriedly asked, “Is it serious? Why not… take him to a local hospital first for a checkup?”

Although Su Tian didn’t speak, she also kept looking at Ji Shaoheng, clearly interested in Yu Cai’s condition.

Ji Shaoheng: “He can’t. He has a special physique, so we can only go back to Didu. That stinky boy is in the car. He’s burning up so badly he can’t walk, so I didn’t let him come in.”

He Qingwan: “I’ll go out and have a look. Tiantian…”

She subconsciously called Su Tian to go together, but Su Tian unexpectedly shook her head. “Mom, you should go. I won’t go.”

He Qingwan was stunned. “Tiantian, why would…”

Ji Shaoheng: “Tiantian has to go to school soon. It’s more important to eat; she doesn’t need to go and see him.”

Although He Qingwan felt that Tiantian’s reaction was a bit indifferent, she knew that there must be a reason for it. There were too many people present for her to ask, so she followed Ji Shaoheng alone to see Ji Hang.

As soon as the two adults left, You Pinyan, who had long been unable to hold it in, tugged on Su Tian’s arm. “What’s wrong, what happened? Did he offend you?”

Su Tian: “He didn’t, don’t guess blindly.”

Liu Kaiyan: “He likes you.”

Su Tian: “…”

You Pinyan exclaimed in a near screech, “Whaat?! Your future stepbrother likes you?!”

Xi Yun, on the other hand, looked unsurprised. “It’s normal to like jiejie, wouldn’t it be weird to not like her?”

You Pinyan: “What do you know, stinky brat, be quiet.”

Xi Yun harrumphed, ignoring her.

Su Tian: “That’s why I don’t want to have more contact with him.”

You Pinyan: “…Fine, that’s the way it should be. Whatever old cat or dog likes Tiantian, it’s impossible.”

Just as she finished speaking, He Qingwan came back after speaking with the ‘old cat or dog.’

Su Tian shot everyone a wink, and everyone shut up and ate their meal in completely tacit agreement.

He Qingwan pushed open the door and walked in, asking, “Tiantian, what happened? Weren’t you getting along very well with Xiao Hang yesterday? You didn’t even go see him today even though he’s sick.”

You Pinyan nervously looked at Su Tian. She knew why Su Tian wouldn’t let everyone talk about it. If He Qingwan found out that Ji Shaoheng’s adopted son liked Su Tian, she likely wouldn’t develop any further with Ji Shaoheng.

But how should Tiantian answer her?

There was no answer for this question!

Su Tian swallowed her food and answered without a change in expression, “My pants are ‘dirty,’ I can’t get up.”

He Qingwan was stunned. She wanted to say that it wasn’t the right time, but then she thought–was it that it wasn’t the right time because her pants were dirty?

You Pinyan: “…!”

Fuck, how did Tiantian’s brain grow? Why was she able to find such a reasonable and exotic excuse so fast?

She looked again at Su Tian’s gentle, faintly smiling expression…

Spouting lies so naturally, there was no equal.

Liu Kaiyan was frozen for a moment. When he finally reacted, his face flushed red.

Only Xi Yun was left puzzled. Why couldn’t she get up because of dirty pants?

But his survival instinct told him that this question couldn’t be asked.

Su Tian asked He Qingwan for a change of clothes. When He Qingwan left, the blushing Liu Kaiyan polished off his food in two or three bites and whisked Xi Yun away.

When He Qingwan came back, Su Tian had on You Pinyan’s long outer coat, covering her ‘dirty pants,’ and went back to ‘wash’ them, successfully fooling He Qingwan.

But the price was immense. He Qingwan believed that Su Tian had an irregular menstruation and took her to see an old Chinese medicine doctor. The old doctor didn’t find any issues, but seeing He Qingwan’s worried face, he prescribed Su Tian a week of nutritional medicine.

She pinched her nose and drank Chinese medicine for a week.

After drinking the last dose of medicine, Su Tian floated into her room, half-dead, and collapsed head first onto the bed. She watched the two clownfish swim around happily in the tank next to her desk.

Evil grows from the gut2.

She picked up the feeder, lightly tapped the clownfish on their heads, and said bitterly, “It’s all your former owner’s fault, I was harmed into drinking Chinese medicine for a week.”

Far away in the capital, Yu Cai was hit by a big pot3 falling from the sky.

Su Tian threw a pinch of fish food into the tank and watched the clownfish eat. She murmured, “When will you start having babies? Hopefully it’s during winter break. Otherwise, I won’t have time to take care of the babies.”

The clownfish were very generous. Sure enough, they didn’t lay eggs until the start of winter vacation.

After their last subject test, Wang Haoxue immediately went wild. “Tiantian, Tiantian, we’re leaving tomorrow, right?”

She had confirmed it several times before the exam, and every time Su Tian said yes, she couldn’t help but repeatedly confirm it.

Su Tian smiled good-naturedly. “That’s right. Our luggage is all packed.”

Wang Haoxue embraced Su Tian tightly, so happy that she acted like a little lunatic.

Su Tian discussed the plan to go skiing with the big bosses. After the exam, they would go out, play for seven or eight days, then come back.

Everyone was in high spirits. You Pinyan closed her toy store.

Su Tian arrived home. The dessert store was closed today. He Qingwan was sorting out Su Tian and Xi Yun’s things at home–their change of clothes, toiletries, and their daily medicines.

She packed two full suitcases.

If not for the two elders from the He family who were still upstairs and hadn’t left, He Qingwan would never have let the children go out on their own.

When it was time to leave, the old couple and He Qingwan came down to send them off. The three of them nearly shed tears as they repeatedly reminded Su Tian and the others to pay attention to safety, never run around, when skiing don’t go into the dangerous areas, blah blah blah without end.

Su Tian comforted them. “Mom, Grandma, Grandpa, don’t worry. I’m super afraid of pain, I’ll never be in danger.”

Big Brother Wang added, “I’ll watch over them and make sure they never go to dangerous places.”

Xi Yun raised his hand. “I will protect jiejie.”

The others also offered assurances to lay the adults’ worries to rest.

He Qingwan stuffed them with a large pack of food, afraid that they wouldn’t be accustomed to outside food.

By the time they got in the car, it was already an hour later.

Uncle Wang drove a big SUV, which still had room for six more people.

There had been no snow in the past few days, and the tires had been wrapped in chains, so it was very safe. Moreover, in order to attract tourists, the ski resort had also built a special road.

The village flew past the window, giving off wisps of smoke.

The others were fine, but the Young Miss had never seen such a place before. In her mind, Luocheng was already a shabby village. This was the first time she had seen walls and houses made of mud and straw.

Uncle Wang knew that You Pinyan and Su Tian had come from good family backgrounds. He smiled. “Tiantian, Xiao Yan, you’ve never seen this before, right?”

Su Tian nodded. In fact, in her last life, she had seen places that were poorer and more backwards than this.

On the other hand, You Pinyan asked curiously, “This kind of house won’t collapse in the rain?”

Uncle Wang answered, “Some will collapse, but most are covered in a thick layer of straw to keep the water out. With a bit of care, it’s liveable.”

Wang Haoxue: “This village isn’t bad, Dad, that Li Village twenty-five kilometers from our village can be called poor. It’s not just poor, it’s also bad.”

Uncle Wang: “Barren mountains and wild rivers4 make wicked people.”

Wang Haoxue turned around and explained to them, “Tiantian, did I ever tell you about Li Village? They’re super poor, and the people there are fierce. But we don’t need to worry, they don’t dare to mess with us. When there was a conflict between our two villages before, our villages beat them until they were crying for their moms and dads.”

Uncle Wang said to Wang Haoxue, “Do you know why we beat them until they were crying for their parents?”

Wang Haoxue really didn’t know; at that time, she had still been very young.

Uncle Wang: “Your Grandpa San’s family’s youngest daughter was abducted by Li Village people when she entered the city. Fortunately, the girl knew the road and ran back by herself. Your Grandpa San brought the whole village over to fight.”

You Pinyan let out an exclamation. “Human traffickers?”

Uncle Wang: “Yeah, but this happened ten years ago. Now, no one dares to do it. And even if they dared, they don’t have the guts to touch our family’s people. We’ll beat them to death.”

Uncle Wang declared with a domineering tone.

“You all play how you like. Li Village people are like grandsons when they come to us. They’ve long been scared of being beaten.”

Su Tian and the others earnestly listened to Uncle Wang’s story. In the past, the previous legal system was not sound, and the buying and selling of people in remote areas was particularly rampant. The wife of a certain family was bought for 5,000 yuan. After giving birth to a child, she tried to run away. When she was caught, she continued to escape. She escaped and was caught again. In the end, she was beaten to death. And the son of a certain family spent 8,000 yuan, blah blah blah.

You Pinyan felt unspeakably uncomfortable in her heart as she listened.

In the past, she only heard about the abduction and trafficking of women in the news or on television. This was the first time she had been so close to such inhuman cruelty.

Wang Haoxue rubbed her arms. “Don’t talk anymore, Dad, I’m getting scared listening to it.”

Uncle Wang guffawed. “I’m scaring you all first to save you from running around randomly.”

Finally, he concluded, “And that’s why, little girls and boys should pay attention to safety when going out. Don’t follow strangers, and don’t eat things given by strangers.”

Su Tian didn’t speak. She stared at the passing scenery outside the window, falling in a daze.

[1] 恨铁不成钢: to wish for something/someone to become better or more promising

[2] 恶从胆边生: lit. evil grows from the gut. Part of a longer phrase 怒从心头起，恶向胆边生 (anger starts from the heart, evil grows from the gut); to lose one’s temper; to be extremely angry

[3] To be blamed for something

[4] 穷山恶水: an inhospitable natural environment

Cheese: sounds ominous

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