Knowing the truth, Dai Yao remained calm. He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then stepped forward and put his arm around Yuan Xiaoyuan’s shoulder, saying, “Who is this person? Is he the Qi Feng you mentioned last time?”
Suspicion flickered in Yuan Xiaoyuan’s eyes as he replied, “Yes, it’s Qi Feng. He… confessed to me the day before yesterday, and I wanted to give you a surprise!”
Dai Yao thought to himself, this wasn’t a surprise, it was a shock! Luckily, it was just a confession. He tentatively asked, “Okay! You two… kissed, hugged, and lifted each other up high[footnote]The literal meaning of “举高高(Jǔ gāo gāo); is to lift someone up high. In modern internet slang, it is usually used by couples or parents and children to express affection and coquetry. It is one of the three steps of being cute: “want a kiss, want a hug, want to be lifted up high.” It is often used to describe simply being coquettish or trying to gain attention and affection through soft and cute words.[/footnote]?”
Yuan Xiaoyuan looked uninterested and said, “Kissing? Hugging? Lifting me up high?! He just confessed, we haven’t even held hands! He’s the most handsome guy in the sports department, he came to pursue me himself, and I like him too!” Although he wasn’t extremely handsome, he had a great physique. And at that time, Yuan Xiaoyuan liked muscular physiques because they were very exciting when they were together. Ever since he came out to his parents, he had been looking forward to being together[footnote]Raw 合体(hétǐ); merge. I assume it means “sleep together” yeah, that kind of sleep~[/footnote]. Actually, it was just out of curiosity, but he underestimated his own infatuation and was heartbroken by Qi Feng.
Dai Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, Xiao Yuan hadn’t fallen for him yet.
He thought it over and over, then said casually, “Maybe I’m mistaken? But that guy often goes to see his girlfriend, and they even rent a place together. Maybe they just look alike!”
Although Yuan Xiaoyuan was naive and innocent, he wasn’t so stupid as to be completely ignorant of these things. He immediately said, “Similar? I’d like to see just how similar. Yaoyao, do you know where his girlfriend works? Take me there!”
Dai Yao said, “Today is Friday, let’s do it tomorrow! I’ll go check with you after I finish selling the steamed buns and close up shop over the weekend. Don’t leave tonight, call Uncle Yuan and Aunt Yuan and tell them you’re staying at my house.”
Yuan Xiaoyuan’s eyes immediately crinkled with laughter as he said, “That’s wonderful! It’s been so long since we slept in the same bed! My little darling, tonight I[footnote]Raw 大爷(dàyé); arrogant idler; self-centered show-off.XY refers to himself in playful way[/footnote] will pamper you!”
Dai Yao: ……
That night, Dai Yao and Yuan Xiaoyuan huddled together in bed, talking for half the night. It wasn’t anything important, just casual conversation. Yuan Xiaoyuan had recently become obsessed with Japanese anime, watching series all day long, his tablet filled with various anime dramas. He’d also bought a lot of related merchandise, which was quite a breakthrough for Dai Yao, who had never watched anime before.
Although he wasn’t interested in anime, he was quite interested in figurines. He took an oversized figurine out of Yuan Xiaoyuan’s bag, insisting on putting it in the steamed bun shop as a mascot. Yuan Xiaoyuan refused; it was a limited edition, one of a kind, that he had gone to great lengths to find, and he displayed it on his desk every day, carefully framed. If he hadn’t wanted to show it to Dai Yao today, he wouldn’t have taken it off.
Dai Yao pretended to be angry and said, “You stingy guy! Didn’t you say you loved your godson the most? You can’t even bear to part with a toy.”
Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiaoyuan immediately said, “How can a figurine compare to my godson? Take it! It’s just a limited edition? I… I’ll think of something else!”
Dai Yao laughed for a long time, then hugged Yuan Xiaoyuan and said, “I was just kidding with you, who wants your lifeblood[footnote]Raw 命根子((mìng gēn zi); Lifeblood. Usually describes the most important person or thing in one’s life, considered the source of life or the most precious thing. It is often used to refer to a beloved child, one’s only source of income, or a younger relative whom one regards as one’s lifeline, implying extreme importance and attachment. In addition, in colloquial language, “lifeblood/manhood” can also refer to the male genitalia.[/footnote]?”
Yuan Xiaoyuan laughed along, saying, “What? You want my manhood too? Come on, Yaoyao! I’ll give you anything.” This guy was in his adolescence, full of erotic fantasies, and would often make dirty jokes. Dai Yao knew this was normal, but he was afraid that he might accidentally entrust himself to someone else again. Entrusting himself to someone else wasn’t a big deal, but Xiaoyuan valued relationships too much, and in the end, he would be the one who got hurt.
The next day, after packing up his stall, Dai Yao and Yuan Xiaoyuan took a bus to the place where Qi Feng’s girlfriend worked. Actually, Dai Yao had never been to this place before, and probably hadn’t worked there. He knew about this place because in his past life, he and Yuan Xiaoyuan had come here to catch the boyfriend cheating. At that time, Xiaoyuan and Qi Feng were deeply in love, and suddenly discovering clues was truly devastating.
In his past life, Dai Yao had found out where Qi Feng’s girlfriend worked and, following her directions, located their rented apartment. When he opened the door, the two were inseparable. The scene was utterly indecent.
He had to act decisively before Xiaoyuan got too involved, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. On the way, he asked Yuan Xiaoyuan, “Yuanyuan, if this person really is someone you know, please don’t be sad!”
Yuan Xiaoyuan looked relaxed and said, “What’s there to be sad about? He’s only been pursuing me for two months! He just confessed to me two days ago! We haven’t even held hands yet! If I were to be so heartbroken over this, my feelings would be too cheap!”
Dai Yao was finally relieved. He nodded and said, “That’s good. It’s still early. We can go to their place and ask them.”
Yuan Xiaoyuan asked in confusion, “How did you know where they lived?”
To avoid arousing Xiao Yuan’s suspicion, Dai Yao said, “How would I know where they live? But I know where his girlfriend works! We can pretend to be their friends and ask the boss.”
Yuan Xiaoyuan suddenly realized and said, “Okay, okay, we’ll do it your way!”
Dai Yao sighed beside him. Yuan Xiaoyuan was even more naive and innocent than him. He had never experienced hardship or setbacks growing up, so he always held onto the most basic kindness in the world. Little did he know that the world wasn’t so pure, and that innocent little rabbits like them were the most easily hurt.
The two quickly arrived at the workplace of Qi Feng’s girlfriend in Dongcheng District. It was the weekend, and since her workplace was a printing shop in the university town, it was quite deserted. The printing shop was rather informal, with employees taking turns to rest. Qi Feng’s girlfriend wasn’t there; she was probably off work. Dai Yao and Yuan Xiaoyuan got out of the car together and went to the printing shop, which was less than ten square meters in size.
A QQ message notification came from inside. The owner was a fat man with a beer belly, and his wife was talking loudly on the phone, her voice rough and gruff. Even though Dai Yao had been through so many ups and downs in his previous life, he couldn’t help but frown when he saw this messy little printing shop.
The boss, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked over impatiently and asked, “Printing or photocopying?”
Upon seeing this, Dai Yao immediately stuffed a box of Zhonghua cigarettes he had prepared beforehand into the boss’s hand and said, “Hello, boss, I’m here to look for someone. Does Fang Lu work here?”
The boss looked Dai Yao up and down and said, “Fang Lu? What’s your relationship with her?”
Dai Yao said, “Oh, she’s a distant cousin of mine. My family has been looking for her for a long time and is very worried about her. Could you please do me a favor?” As he spoke, Dai Yao slipped another red envelope to the boss.
This boss didn’t look like someone easy to talk to. The red envelope contained two hundred yuan, not much, but it was really effective.
The boss opened the red envelope, glanced at it, and immediately beamed, saying, “Oh, so you are Fang Lu’s relative! She lives in Xuehuiyuan Community nearby, in the attic of Unit 6, Building 17, East Side. This little girl is quite… tsk tsk, anyway, you know what’s going on in your own family.”
The boss, with a greasy face and a malicious glint in his eyes, had barely finished speaking when his wife hung up the phone and yelled, “I told you to fire that slut! Don’t hire any more of these shady characters!”
Dai Yao was exasperated and hurriedly left with Yuan Xiaoyuan. The two took a taxi to Xuehuiyuan Community, a very old and chaotic neighborhood, even more disorganized than Dai Yao’s. Yuan Xiaoyuan suddenly said, “Why does Qi Feng’s girlfriend live here? And her boss’s attitude just now… it felt like he tried to force himself on her but failed. Poor thing.”
Dai Yao: …Yuan Xiaoyuan has turned into a saint again.
Qi Feng’s girlfriend was indeed quite pitiful; she forgave him several times after being cheated on. They argued and fought, but he always managed to coax her back with sweet words. In the end, they got married because she was pregnant, and she still had to endure his chauvinistic behavior. He later ran into her once by chance; she looked haggard, having to work and take care of the child all by herself.
Dai Yao, carrying two boxed lunches and wearing a baseball cap, said in a low voice, “I’ll pretend to be a deliveryman and knock on the door. You hide to the side. Come out only if you find anything wrong. Make sure you catch them red-handed.”
Yuan Xiaoyuan nodded and said, “That’s exciting!”
Dai Yao couldn’t help but laugh. His previous life wasn’t this exciting; it was much heavier. Seeing Xiao Yuan’s heartbroken expression, his heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife.
Dai Yao carried the lunchbox and knocked on the door. He knocked for a full ten minutes before someone inside impatiently asked, “Who is it?”
Dai Yao said, “Here’s your order!”
Footsteps came from inside, and the door was pulled open by the other party with a burst of anger. The man was tall and strong, wearing only a pair of house shorts, and there was a tent in his pants. He hadn’t completely calmed down yet, so it was obvious that it was after the act.
“Who ordered the food?” the man asked gruffly, his tone full of impatience, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.
Dai Yao asked, “Are you Mr. Gao?” Dai Yao said casually.
The man, looking annoyed, said, “Are you stupid? You delivered to the wrong address!”
A woman’s voice came from inside the room: “Who is it?”
The man replied, “It’s a delivery guy, he delivered to the wrong address!”
Just then, the door was about to close, and through the crack, Dai Yao saw a pretty girl in pajamas walk out of the bedroom. The girl was very thin and didn’t look like any disreputable person, but she was definitely easy to please and very hardworking.
Dai Yao nodded to Yuan Xiaoyuan and stepping aside. Yuan Xiaoyuan stepped forward and called out into the room, “Hey? Isn’t this Brother Feng? Brother Feng, you live here?”
Upon hearing the voice, Qi Feng inside was immediately stunned. He turned around and saw Yuan Xiaoyuan standing outside the door.
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