TWSITAOCP Chapter 31

Nowadays, New Year’s greetings always come with ulterior motives. Although Yu Jingyuan had repeatedly said that today was only for catching up, not business, and they should just enjoy a simple family reunion dinner, when Yan Ying’s father took out a contract from his briefcase, Yu Jingyuan still followed him over.

The dishes were served one by one. Wealthy merchants favored lavish and grand table designs, so the Yan family accommodated Yu Jingyuan by laying out a feast fit for an emperor.

Lao Yan even personally prepared the fish soup. Just as the fish was drizzled with hot oil, he was called away.

So Yan Xiu, after helping out, came back to find someone.

Yan Ying was still watching those endlessly airing variety shows, drooling over the dazzling new heartthrobs on the screen.

Yu Sui straightened up with a cup in hand, idly studying the kettle nearby. He seemed to have caught a chill, his fingers tinged with a faint red.

Not far away, Yan Xiu folded his apron and placed it on the storage rack.

The Yan family’s kettle was high-tech. Normally, all they had to do was say “boil water” to the machine screen next to it, and the kettle would automatically move under the tap to fill and boil water.

But Yu Sui didn’t know that. He arched over to study the two “automatic“ and “manual” buttons, his fingers lightly touching them but seeing no response.

“Hold it down a bit longer.” Yan Xiu came over, his arm supporting the back of the sofa and reaching over to grab Yu Sui’s finger back on the button. He raised his chin and said, “Press longer.”

“…” Yu Sui was a bit startled. He rubbed his fingers uncomfortably and muttered softly, “I know.”

Only when the kettle finally began sluggishly moving to fill and heat the water did Yu Sui let out a sigh of relief. But before he could fully exhale, he caught a sight of the small machine screen nearby.

Next to the small screen was a tall thermos, about the height of an arm, which contained hot water that the Yan family’s aunt had stored in advance.

“…” Yu Sui hesitated for a moment before reaching for the thermos. It was indeed heavy, at least half-full.

For a moment,, the young master wondered if he was acting neurotic because he’d caught a chill. He carried the thermos to the sofa, poured himself a full cup to calm his nerves, and sat down.

Yan Ying blinked at Yu Sui and curled up to the other side in embarrassment.

With Yan Xiu sitting here, there was no way they could continue their earlier discussion about likes and dislikes.

Yan Ying was actually quite afraid of this cousin, maybe because he was too cold and mature. Though he was only one year older than her, he seemed a whole generation ahead and was often called upon by her parents to keep her in line.

Yu Sui drank his water slowly.

Gradually, the heat from the cup seeped through the glass, heating his fingers.

He stared aimlessly at the TV screen.

Yu Sui only recognized one of the celebrities on screen. It was because that celebrity had filmed a milk tea commercial, and a life-size cardboard cutout of him stood outside the milk tea shop across from No. 26 High School, updated every month.

Apart from that, Yu Sui couldn’t understand what they were doing. At one point, he saw two celebrities linking arms and hugging each other, just to pop a balloon between their stomachs. Yu Sui wondered, bewildered, Are they crazy? What are they doing?

At that moment, someone else shared the same thought, sitting right next to him.

Yan Xiu couldn’t help but ask, “What are they doing?”

“Popping balloons,” Yan Ying said.

Yan Xiu frowned: “And after it pops?”

Yan Ying: “One of the balloons has a note inside. After popping it, they can use the note to walk the mudman balance team. But that’s not the point—the point is that they’re hugging each other and popping the balloon.”

“…” Yan Xiu cast an incomprehensible look.

Yu Sui rarely saw him like this and turned away to stifle a laugh.

Yan Xiu also turned his head, looking quite helpless: “You understood that?”

“Nope,” Yu Sui took another sip of water and chuckled. “But I wouldn’t ask.”

Minister Yan shook his head, unbothered by the teasing. He simply stood up and lightly brushed his fingertips against Yu Sui’s hair. “Dinner’s ready.”

The long table was wide, with the parents sitting at one end and children at the other. Yu Sui glanced at the empty seat next to Yan Ying, then, almost unconsciously, glanced at Yan Xiu.

Yan Xiu returned a questioning gaze.

“You sit there,” Yu Sui whispered. “I’ll sit next to you later.”

His words came at just the right moment. Yan Ying had just raised her hand to wave at him, but her brother caught it and lowered it. Yan Xiu shot her a look and sat down next to her, much to her visible alarm.

“No way,” Yan Ying muttered under her breath, her gaze bewildered. “Are all the people in your and uncle’s generation incredibly possessive?”

Yan Xiu either didn’t hear her muttering or chose to ignore it. After all, Yan Ying was always talkative and she wouldn’t even notice if someone didn’t respond.

Most people were in high spirits during the meal, completely unaffected by the biting cold wind outside. Perhaps it was because Yu Jingyuan and the two Yan brothers were hitting it off so well this time, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Later, when the adults wanted to drink, the Yu siblings, now capable adults in their own right, remained seated calmly.

Only Yu Sui, using his underage status as an excuse, slowly followed Yan Xiu upstairs to get the drawing.

The young master’s foot had swollen terribly back then.Though there are no traces now, Yan Xiu still subconsciously glanced back at his foot as they went upstairs.

Suddenly, he noticed the young master was gripping the lower handrail, lost in thought. It was unclear what troubled Yu Sui, but his foot was resting pitifully on the next step.

Yan Xiu walked back down: “Can’t make it up?”

Yu Sui snapped out of his reverie: “Oh, no… Just spaced out.”

Yan Xiu remarked, “You can even daydream while climbing stairs?”

“Yeah.” Yu Sui blinked rapidly twice, then suddenly nudged Yan Xiu’s waist and abdomen. “Xiao Yan, both you and Lao Yan are ice sculptures carved from the same mold.”

Yan Xiu’s hand, which had been reaching out to steady him, paused mid-air. Thoroughly startled by the sudden “Xiao Yan”, he changed direction, curling his fingers to pinch the back collar of Yu Sui’s sweater. “What did you call me?”

Yu Sui, utterly fearless, had simply extended the “Lao Yan” nickname into “Xiao Yan” on a whim. He hadn’t expected such a reaction from Yan Xiu and burst into laughter. He let out an “ah!” at Yan Xiu, calling him “Xiao Yan” again, then released the railing and ran upstairs with surprisingly agility.

The Yan family’s staircase was made of solid wood, covered with a carpet in the cold weather, making each step heavy and muffled. With two boys stomping up, the floor echoed a chaotic, noisy rhythm.

Everyone chatting downstairs instinctively looked up. Yuan Yu was the first to break the silence with an awkward laugh. “Boys will be boys.”

Tang Ying was simply amazed: “I haven’t seen Xiao Xiu run like that since he was seven.”

Beside them, Yan Ying was watching a drama on her phone, completely undisturbed. Only when someone asked her a question did she curl her lips helplessly.  “I’m a refined girl. I even wore high heels today. Why should I run around with them?”

That night, the Yu family returned home under the cover of darkness and sent Yu Si upstairs to fetch Yu Sui down.

Yu Sui, clutching a scroll, stood lazily on the stairs and hobbled down step by step, as if he’d suddenly twisted his ankle again.

“Aren’t you cold?” Yan Xiu asked from behind him.

Yu Sui had already been teased about this all night. He curled his lips and scoffed, “Cold.”

When they had arrived earlier, he hadn’t felt anything—but now, as he was about to step back into the biting wind, Yu Sui lingered reluctantly inside, growing with clear displeasure.

Though the distance from the door to the car was short—just a quick dash—and running would get him there in no time, running itself was a torment. Running in the cold wind was something that required long-term mental preparation before one could even lift a foot.

Distractedly, Yu Sui waited behind Yu Si as Yu Jingyuan and Lao Yan exchanged pleasantries up front, secretly replying in his mind on Lao Yan’s behalf, No need to be so polite. No need. It’s fine. We’ll come again next time.

“What are you muttering about now?” Yu Si glanced at him.

Yu Sui ignored him.

Curious about the scroll in his hand, Yu Sui reached out and touched it. “What are you holding?”

Yu Sui shifted slightly, silently taking a step back.

Yu Si: “…I just want to look. I’m not going to steal it from you.”

Yu Sui raised an eyebrow: “Would you show me the pictures of a pretty girl you hide in your desk drawer?”

“How did you know?” Yu Si, caught off guard, glanced back at his family, then turned to stare at Yu Sui. “You went through my things?”

Yu Sui clicked his tongue, annoyed. “You left it sticking out of the drawer gap like that. Who could pretend not to see it?”

Hidden in Yu Si’s desk drawer was a photo of a girl with short hair and sharp chin—a real beauty. Rumor had it she was the new manager who had passed the interview at Yu Sui’s company. Yu Si had boldly ventured into an unfamiliar field, and now those working with him were his treasured subordinates.

There weren’t many women among his treasured subordinates, but there was more than one. Yet, Yu Sui had only hidden this girl’s photo.

Yu Sui discovered it by chance when he went to Yu Si’s room to borrow a pen. It seemed Yu Si might have stolen a whole stack of her photos—there was one in the pen holder, one tucked in his wallet, and the girl’s photos were scattered all over the room.

Judging by Yu Si’s recent radiant appearance, Yu Sui guessed he’d probably succeed in winning her over.

Thinking this, Yu Sui peeked through the crack in the door and mused, “It’s still cold outside, why is everyone acting like it’s spring?” 

Yu Si was left speechless, then suddenly realized something was off: “Is that a portrait of the girl?”

Yu Sui said, “Nonsense, it is a portrait of me.”

Yu Si didn’t believe him at all, frowning: “Someone from your school?”

“…” Yu Sui’s eye twitched, feeling like he had dug himself a hole.

Yu Jingyuan and Lao Yan finally finished their pleasantries and opened the door a crack, letting in a chilly breeze.

Yu Sui heard footsteps approaching behind him and slowly turned around.

Yan Xiu had a wool coat draped over his arm. He unfolded it and put the hood over Yu Sui’s head.

The young master instantly transformed from a dashing young man into a chubby-looking Maneki-neko¹憨厚的招財貓 (hān hòu de zhāo cái māo) is a beckoning cat depicted with a simple, honest, or somewhat naive expression, emphasizing its benevolent and trusting nature rather than a cunning or mischievous one. It also symbolizes good fortune, wealth, and prosperity..

People from the entryway filed out one after another into the wind. Yan Xiu glanced outside before giving Yu Sui a pat on the back.

He took the hat from the coat rack—the one Yu Sui had almost forgotten at the Yan family’s house— and casually stuffed it into Yu Sui’s arms.

Yan Xiu said, “Happy New Year.”

Yu Sui blinked lightly. That tingling sensation returned.

But then Yan Xiu’s gaze swept over Yu Sui’s tattered, drafty sweater, and his tone instantly turned sharp. “It’s my first time seeing a salted fish wrap itself in a net and waddle out on its own.”

Yu Sui: “…”

He tightened his grip on the coat, sighed in utter speechlessness, then clasped his hands together in a playful, irreverent New Year’s greeting to Minister Yan. He also took the chance to thank the busy name for taking time out of his busy schedule to care for his desk mate—sparing him from becoming a freeze-dried salted fish.

That night, perhaps because his New Year’s greeting was too flippant, Yu Sui had a nightmare.

He dreamt of a freezing world, where he turned into a salted fish, trapped beneath a layer of ice. A fisherman with a red armband stitched onto his shoulder walked through the wind, fiercely chipping the ice. The ice pick pierced through the ice, grinding against his fish scales, causing him both pain and stinging.

Yu Sui woke up drenched in sweat, turning his head to find the source of his nightmare. He was too exhausted when he returned home that night and forgot to close the window. Now, the curtains billowed thickly, roaring into the room. A scroll had been blown to the floor, the outline of a young man completely swallowed by shadows.

Yu Sui got up to close the window, picked up the scroll, and placed it on the table. He then climbed back into bed, trying to fall asleep. But no matter how hard he tried, sleep wouldn’t come—in fact, he felt increasingly alert.

Left with no choice, he fished his phone out from under his pillow and lit up the screen in the darkness.

Yan Xiu, who never posted on WeChat moments, had actually shared one. The attached photo showed a corner of his clothes, an easel, a canvas, and a half-finished painting.

The painting depicted the entryway, with slippers and sneakers scattered haphazardly.

Yu Sui immediately recognized this as the Yan family’s entryway today, because his own pair of flashy sneakers were unusually large and arrogantly placed right in the center.

Ren Mu: [Happy New Year]

The post time showed it was shared two minutes ago.

Yu Sui stared at the timestamp, his finger hovering over the profile picture for a while. In the end, perhaps out of guilt or something else, he couldn’t bring himself to press the button.

He remembered glancing at a story in the countless fanfics about him and Yan Xiu, something about someone being lovesick and unable to sleep at night.

He pursed his lips, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

As if he actually cared so much about this.

In the end, Yu Sui gave up—pulling the quilt over his head—determined to force himself back to sleep even if it meant suffocating.

That year, Yu Sui noticed a sudden, almost terrifying level of Yan Xiu’s presence in his life.

After the New Year’s greetings, Yu Sui deliberately avoided contacting Yan Xiu for a few days. But, no matter where he went, he kept hearing Yan Xiu’s name everywhere.

First, it was Yu Zhen. The young lady had developed a strong curiosity about the cold-faced young man from Yan family. The reason was mysterious—she thought Yan Xiu’s voice sounded familiar.

Next were Yuan Yu and Yu Jingyuan. They couldn’t stop praising the Yan family’s child, though Yu Sui couldn’t figure out exactly what they were praising him even after hearing it multiple times.

He was probably experiencing the “frequency illusion”²Frequency illusion, or Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, is a cognitiivie bias where, after noticing it the first time, you suddenly encounter it everywhere.—before he paid attention to it, he hadn’t noticed, but once he became consciously aware, he seemed to encounter it everywhere he went.

Yu Sui felt utterly tormented, so when Yang Feiwen and Liang Wen called him out in the group chat right after the New Year, he agreed without hesitation.

 This time, they gathered at Tang Bohu’s house.

Because Tang Bohu had crashed his bike into a tree during the holidays, one of his legs was in a cast, and his face was swollen like a pig’s head, requiring him to stay in bed and rest.

After seeing so many classmates arrive, Tang Bohu’s family went to visit relatives in the same neighborhood, so the house was only occupied by a group of unruly teenagers.

Yu Sui rang the doorbell and stood at the door for a moment.

Yang Feiwen peeked at him through the peephole, and only after confirming it was Yu Sui did he open the door a crack and beckon him to come in quickly.

“What’s going on?” Yu Sui was puzzled by this secretive attitude.

Yang Feiwen tugged at his arm and whispered, “We’re all hiding inside watching an erotic video because we’re afraid Huzi’s mom might come back.”

Watching what?

Yu Sui’s steps halted abruptly at the doorway.

The people inside were waiting for them to come in, and now they all had strange expressions on their faces, nervously urging in low voices, “Can’t you hurry up? Why are you guys dawdling like this?”

“I just had to make sure it wasn’t Huzi’s mom,” Yang Feiwen whispered as well.

He pulled Yu Sui inside, the door lock clicking shut behind them.

Yu Sui felt neither comfortable leaving nor sitting down.

He couldn’t just turn around and stand guard for them at a time like this—otherwise, rumors might spread the next day that Yu Sui had some kind of problem.

Tang Bohu, who played computer games, had a large-curved computer monitor.

Five or six boys sat on the bed and chairs, facing the screen. Someone clicked the mouse, pressed play, and two figures on the screen instantly became entangled.

The curtains were tightly drawn, leaving only the glow of the computer screen in the room. The lowered moans were just loud enough for everyone in the room to hear clearly.

Yu Sui lowered his gaze, silently pulling out his phone. A sense of helplessness washed up inside him; he blamed himself for not asking Yang Feiwen and the others what they were doing before he arrived.

It wasn’t that he had never watched such erotic video before—he just disliked the idea of a group of people gathering together to watch and comment, laughing and joking as if it was a movie.

Yang Feiwen was now sitting in the front row, and for a moment, Yu Sui suddenly didn’t know who to complain to.

He scrolled through his chat list, his gaze lingering on Yan Xiu’s profile picture.

In the end, he couldn’t resist sending a row of little figures sitting idly in place.

Yan Xiu replied instantly.

Yan Xiu: [?]

Yu Sui: […]

With his elbows propped on his knees, Yu Sui sat imposingly in the corner. No one noticed his silent presence.

Yu Sui didn’t know what to say to Yan Xiu, nor had he expected Yan Xiu to reply so quickly.

Things he could casually say to Yang Feiwen suddenly felt inappropriate to bring up with Yan Xiu.

It was just too strange, yet he still sought out Yan Xiu.

Yu Sui froze for two seconds, feeling even more regretful than when he first entered the room.

Why had he agreed to go out? If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have ended up here, and he wouldn’t have gone to find Yan Xiu.

Yan Xiu seemed to be outside.

When the young master was exasperated, he was usually full of complaints. Yan Xiu couldn’t be bothered to type and sent a two-second voice message instead.

Yu Sui plugged in his earphones and put them on to listen.

Yan Xiu: “Where are you?”

“…”

A boy in front of him hissed, clutching his clothes as he curled into a ball. The erotic video seemed to be reaching its climax, with waves of sounds rising and falling, gradually intensifying.

Yu Sui glanced up and only saw two intertwined colors.

His brow twitched, his fingers stopping on his earphones.

He felt utterly bored in this sudden “movie theater” but remained on high alert, his heart pounding, all because of the brief, two-second voice message from the person on the other end of the phone.