V2C1

Translator: Anne Noh

Shu Nian felt his health declining and his weariness was totally obvious. He couldn't sleep at night and could only stared at the ceiling the darkness without uttering anything. His head would thump madly like drum during the day when he was working.

It was a forewarning of an illness.

It wasn't a serious illness. It was noting more but due to being overwork, being overwork until he got sick. He didn't say anything even though he was weary.

In fact, the works weren't arduous. Although he always need to accompany Ke Luo, but Ke Luo very sensible and Shu Nian didn't need to worry about him. He also didn't need to worry about overusing his strength.

Shu Nian refrained himself from thinking about Xie Yan. He forced himself to remain calm in front of Xie Yan's cold and disgusted look. He tried as best as he could to be disheartened when he was in the hard time. However, there was some situation that made him felt slightly discouraged.

Just like yesterday when he received a call from Ke Luo in the living room. Xie Yan was angry and threw a teacup and told him to go out if he wanted to take the phone. Shu Nian spent a great effort to make sure his expression remained calm.

Yes, Shu Nian didn't feel angry and he wouldn't get angry and didn't feel grievance, but he still felt "hurt". His heart would still be in pain no matter how patient he was.

During lunch break, Ke Luo fled from school to have lunch with Shu Nian at a small shop nearby the company to eat the spicy [1] hongyu chaoshou.

[T/N: [1] Refer to the picture below.]

Ke Luo really liked to eat at a small shop. It wasn't because it was cheap, but due to the fact that they sat far from each other in expensive restaurant. At a small and packed shop, they had to sit closely together and even their arms and legs were touching one another. It was completely an intimate atmosphere.

"Shu Nian..."

"Hmm?" Shu Nian pushed a bowl of fresh chaoshou to Ke Luo since having a bowl of [2] wonton soup for lunch wasn't enough for a growing up child.

[T/N: [2] Refer to the picture below.]

"Do you remember...today...what day is it?" Ke Luo stirred the fragrant soup with a spoon. He hesitated and slightly embarrassed. But his tone showed that he was unable to conceal his excitement. His eyes were dark and deed. It was reflecting the light and was simply breathtaking.

"Oh right...Your birthday! You are turning eighteen!" Shu Nian suddenly became upset. He was very tired and in dazed. He had completely forgotten about that important day, "We can change restaurant. I will give you a proper celebration. I give your present tonight, okay?"

"It's okay. This food is also delicious!" Ke Luo hurriedly guarding his bowl and embarrassedly touched his slightly reddened ears, "but...are you free tonight? Come to my house...Is if okay? "

"Sure," Shu Nian nodded and lifted the atmosphere, "I'll buy a cake. Is there anything that you specially wanted?"

Shu Nian had originally wanted to go back and have a good sleep after get off from work. However, Ke Luo would be completely independent after today. Shu Nian couldn't let him down on such an important birthday.

Not sure either it was true or just an illusion but Ke Luo's face was getting redder. He pursed his lips for a while before saying "yes".

"There's one..."

"Oh, what is it? I'll buy it for you after I get off from work."

"Ah..." Ke Luo seemed to be very embarrassed. He turned away from Shu Nian and concentrated on his bowl of chaoshou, "That...I'll tell you tonight...Just remember to come."

"Oh..." The brat was shrouded in mystery. Shu Nian smiled tenderly and lightly touched Ke Luo's head.

"You must come."

"Of course."

"Seven o'clock at my house. Don't be late."

"I know."

"I will wait for you at home...If you dare to ditch me...I will..."

"Okay. I know. I will be there at six fifty, okay?"

After lunch, Shu Nian accompanied Ke Luo for a while. He had originally planned to take a nap for a while during his break but his plan didn't work out. His head was buzzing by the time he went back to the company and he had to message his temple.

"Manager Shu, you have returned. Mr. Xie is looking for you." An assistant came to him with a terrified expression.

"Ah? Okay. Thank you." Shu Nian knew something was wrong. He was in a bad condition for the past few days. He had made many mistakes and had been warned many times.

Sure enough, once he opened the door, he saw Xie Yan's livid face. Xie Yan mercilessly threw a document at him: "How did you do your work?! You had been working at Xie for so many years and yet you made this mistake! Take a look at it yourself!"

Shu Nian was shocked with Xie Yan's anger. He hurriedly picked up the document and took a closer look.

"Short on a zero! Do you know the difference a zero makes?! How many the company has lost? Calculate it yourself! Do you afford to compensate?! Tell me, how you are going to compensate?!"

Shu Nian was stunned rooted to the floor. He couldn't believe with what he saw and didn't say anything for a while.

He never would have known that he would make a huge mistake when he was dizzied.

"You feel dizzy? Like a wondering soul and always inattentive. What are you thinking? Where was your mind? Did you learn to have a passionate relationship like a youngster?! Why don't you look at your own capability?!"

"I'm sorry...Young master..." Shu Nian murmured. His body was covered with cold sweat as if he had taken a bath and his hands and feet were icy cold.

"You don't have to come to work tomorrow! This company doesn't need a good-for-nothing." Xie Yan was extremely furious and his tone was cold, "you should compensate the exact amount. Find a solution!"

"Yes...Young master..." Shu Nian was stupefied. How could he compensate? Even if he were to sell his organs, it wouldn't even cover one-tenth of the amount.

"You can't compensate?" Xie Yan suddenly glared at him coldly, "You don't have to be afraid. How about your young master of Ke family? Don't you always accompany him home? Both of you are so passionate so why don't you ask him? Catch him. That 20 percent of Ke family's share will be yours sooner or later. Am I right?"

Shu Nian felt his vision turned dark and his temple was buzzing madly. He was terrified and unable to say anything for a while.

Standing still while shivering for a while, his vision kept on shifting from blurry to clear. He took a shallow breath and turned around slowly. He took two stiff steps, and turned back to defense himself weakly: "...I will...think of a way all by myself..."

He really wanted to say; there's nothing between me and Ke Luo. It is not what you think. But he was unable to say anything when he saw Xie Yan's cold face. He suddenly felt dizzy when he was about to speak and his legs became weak. He instinctively wanted to reach out but there was nothing to hold. He probably hit the table first before he fell down.

Shu Nian vaguely heard a scream but almost instantaneously couldn't hear anything.

Shu Nian felt his body lying on something soft when he woke up. He saw the ceiling of a familiar bedroom once he opened his eyes. He was in a trance for a while before he heaved a breath.

"You are awake?"

Shu Nian turned around in surprise. The person sitting next to him was actually Xie Yan.

"I brought you home. The doctor just left," Xie Yan had calmed down but he was still quite angry, "you are an idiot. You are sick yet you don't call Dr. Su to check on you. You fainted in the company. You scare me to death!"

"I'm sorry..." Shu Nian's mind was still fuzzy. Xie Yan's attitude with him was totally different than before he fainted and Shu Nian couldn't adjust to it.

"Idiot..." Xie Yan sighed and reached out to pinch Shu Nian's face as if he wanted to vent his anger but he didn't use strength because he was afraid that he might hurt Shu Nian. The warmth touch made Shu Nian felt tingling sensation.

"How do you feel now? You just received an injection just now."

"...a little...dizzy" Shu Nian said cautiously. Actually there was more than dizziness, but he was afraid to say more in case the harmonious tranquility would vanish.

"Of course, you have a fever." Xie Yan raised his hand toward Shu Nian's forehead that was covered in sweat and pushed his hair aside. The action was done carelessly, but it showed a very rare gentleness, "I will let you rest at home for a few days. Tell me when you are uncomfortable, I'll call the doctor."

Shu Nian just said "hmm", and blankly stared at Xie Yan's handsome face. Xie Yan was actually very handsome, but his cold and stiff tight lips and made him looked untouchable. At that moment his face muscle was relaxed and it unexpectedly made him looked very gentle and the evening twilight made him looked like a different person.

The thought of sharing the same space through the night made Shu Nian uneasy: "That..."

Xie Yan totally could see Shu Nian's mind and continued to pinch his face: "You don't have to worry and just rest obediently. This fool. You won't get that much even if you sell all your organs. At the end, why don't you rely on your young master to handle the situation? I never expect you to compensate."

"But..."

"Just forget about it. I was really angry at that time so you should ignore it. I'll let you to really recuperate. I'll give you three days to get better or..."

"But that's..." Shu Nian muttered, "The loss was indeed caused by my negligence. I must be responsible for..."

"Don't be silly," Xie Yan clenched his teeth and pulled Shu Nian's face hardly, "You have always been one of Xie family's members. Furthermore, don't forget about your odd jobs. You are responsible for everything regarding me, right? Same goes to me, right? I'm your master! Humph...I'll consider myself to be unlucky since my own person made a careless mistake..."

Shu Nian felt funny with Xie Yan's condescension and tone since it was like talking to a pet dog that was caught defecating on the carpet. He was slightly tired and closed his eyes.

Xie Yan looked at Shu Nian's pale and weak eyelids that were blinking very slowly. He couldn't help but to lightly caressed Shu Nian's face.

"Xiao Nian..."

"Hmm?" Shu Nian opened his eyes again and looked dazedly at Xie Yan like a child. He looked at Xie Yan who was inattentively caressing his bony face.

Shu Nian couldn't and didn't dare to imagine of something else, especially in situation where he was lying down and Xie Yan was sitting beside him and touched his face gently. Quietly looking at each other and it was such a warm situation.

"Take your medicine and go to sleep," Xie Yan unconsciously said in a very gentle voice and it was very uncanny, "it's already late."

Shu Nian was confused and suddenly he vaguely remembered something: "...what time is it now?"

"You slept for quite a while. It's almost 10 o'clock now. I'll bring the medicine to you..."

"Ten...o'clock..." Shu Nian was startled and instantly came back to reality. He didn't take the cup that was handed by Xie Yan as he hurriedly got out of bed: "Oh no! I'm going out for a while. I have to go out. How terrible...I..."

"What's going on?" Xie Yan pushed aside the cup to firmly hold Shu Nian. He tucked Shu Nian back and scolded him, "Don't be silly. You are still unstable to stand, how will you go out? What's the important matter? I'll ask someone to handle it."

"No. I have to go there personally." Shu Nian was anxious, "Ke Luo is certainly still waiting for me. I made an appointment to celebrate his birthday with him."

Xie Yan seemed to be stunned for a while. It looked like he had woken up from the calm and gentle illusion and his gentle expression was wiped out in a flash and his eyes turned icy cold like before: "Oh?"

It was like Xie Yan agreed but it also sounded indifferent. He removed his hand from Shu Nian's shoulder and his posture became estranged. But he didn't take any action and just step aside. He merely looked at Shu Nian's expressionless face with anger and disgust.

Shu Nian didn't look at Xie Yan and grabbed the clothes that were hanging at the side. He changed his pajama hastily and buttoned the coat. Then he heard Xie Yan's order in a cold voice: "you aren't allowed to go."

Shu Nian was slightly stunned: "But..."

"No but. Lie down for me."

Shu Nian was bewildered for a while and he was slightly sweating due to anxious: "young master, don't be like this...I really need to go..."

"You really need to go?" Xie Yan smiled coldly and looked menacingly, "Oh? You desperately wanted to see a man once you woken up from faint? You are really...very passionate."

Shu Nian refused to feel embarrassed and whispered lowly: "I'll come back as fast as I could..."

"Lie back."

Shu Nian knew that he was unable to go against Xie Yan and he was in a dilemma and took his phone: "Then I'll call to inform him..."

"Not allowed."

"Young master..."

"I say you aren't allowed, then you aren't allowed!" Xie Yan's tone turned higher, "You aren't allowed to interact with that person anymore. You hear me! Instantly cut off any relation with him! You aren't allowed to be closed with someone else. You are my..."

Suddenly Shu Nian's phone rang blazingly and the caller's number flashed. He refused to look at it because he saw how angry Xie Yan looked. He was about to answer the call but Xie Yan snatched it and mercilessly threw it to the wall.

"..." Shu Nian was stunned. The small device shattered into pieces and flew everywhere.

"Don't take it!" Xie Yan clenched his teeth and grabbed Shu Nian's shoulder, "You dare to take the call? You dare to take the call in front of me?!"

"Young master," Shu Nian argued helplessly, "Ke Luo isn't like that. He's not like me...Don't misunderstand..."

"You like him? I won't allow you! When I say no then it means no!" Xie Yan had completely lost control of himself and he was frantically in anger, "That kid is simply a freak who likes men. You think I don't see it?! He doesn't want to hit on you? You think I'm blind?! Don't have any interactions with him anymore..."

"Young master!" Shu Nian quickly chided. His chest heaved and bulging veins could be clearly seen on his forehead. He looked away and his voice was weary and cold, "Thank you for reminding me, but you shouldn't forget that I'm also a freak who likes men."

Xie Yan was tongue-tied and flustered like someone had splashed his head with a bucket of cold water.

"Therefore you don't have to worry about it."

"..." Xie Yan bit his lips. He wanted to force Shu Nian but he was at lost and had to be stubborn, "I forbid you to like a man! You can only listen to me! You can't like man...That's wrong...You should change. Change for me..."

"Young master..." Shu Nian smiled wryly. He didn't know how ridiculous he was in Xie Yan's eyes, "Don't make fun of me."

"I can only be that kind of person...If you don't like it...I can move out if you want. You can also fire me..." Shu Nian lowered his head and straightened his clothes. Then he turned around to walk away, "I'll go first, young master."

"See if you dare to go," Xie Yan was stiff like a statue and his eyes narrowed up, "don't come back if you dare to go."

Shu Nian halted and he was discouraged for a while. Then he silently opened the door and went out.

Shu Nian rushed to the main entrance of Ke Luo's apartment. He panted and raised his hand to look at his watch. Fortunately it was not 12 o'clock yet, but the meeting time had passed long time ago. He looked up and saw that the lights in Ke Luo's room were turned off.

His heart suddenly shrunk and rushed into the building. He was about to go upstairs, but he saw a familiar figure sitting down at the stairs.

"Ke Luo?"

The young guy raised his expressionless face and the lights in the corridor illuminated his face. His nose and eyes were red because of the cold night air.

"I'm sorry..." Shu Nian pulled himself together. He was gasping for air and his body was weak due to fatigue. His head was in extreme pain and his chest was aching fiercely as if it was split opened. However, he hid his conditions as if he was cleaning a bundle of coil and threw it away in a corner and then pulled a curtain to hide it away so that he could look like nothing had happened and be an adult that Ke Luo could depend on.

[1] Hongyu Chaoshou – wonton in spicy chili oil. My fave haha

[2] Wonton Soup – wonton in clear broth / nonspicy

Anne's Rant:

Vol 2 wehaaa ( ✧Д✧) YES!!

There's time when I pity Ke Luo but there's time when I hate him. Truthfully both of them don't deserve Shu Nian lol

I never meet someone as stupid as Xie Yan and I hope I won't ever know anyone like him in fear I might beat that human to pulp （￣^￣）凸

Next update might be by this weekend or next week...

Please note that some part might be incorrect as I don't know how to translate it to English. Mistakes are bound to happen and corrections are very welcome.