Chapter 07#

#

Under Zhou Yun’s pressure, Song Zhiyan reluctantly agreed. But he didn’t dare act on his own. The night Zhou Yan came back, he told him about it, hoping for a refusal so he could talk Zhou Yun out of the idea.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yan agreed. Not only that, he allowed Song Zhiyan to stay an extra day in G City—visit his mother first, then accompany Zhou Yun around. As a condition, he would personally accompany them the whole way to ensure Zhou Yun’s safety.

…Song Zhiyan had no idea what threat required ensuring Zhou Yun’s safety. In any case, he had no right to refuse in front of the Zhou siblings. On the day of departure, because Zhou Yan was sitting beside him, Zhou Yun in the seat on the other side shot him several dirty looks, calling him a blabbermouth for reporting even such a trivial matter to her brother.

Zhou Yan kept his eyes closed and rested as if he didn’t hear the complaints Zhou Yun deliberately aimed at him, leaving the task of soothing his sister’s mood entirely to Song Zhiyan.

Bastard. Jerk.

Last night in bed he’d held him and called him “Yan-yan” as if he adored him, yet just a few hours later he was cold-faced and ignoring him.

Song Zhiyan pressed his hand against his sore lower back, humming in response to Zhou Yun while silently cursing her brother. In the end, he asked the attendant for a bag of potato chips to pacify her—the young miss had no particular hobbies, just loved junk food. Normally she put on an aloof act in front of the housekeeper and servants and wouldn’t mention it, but when she found a bag of rice crisps he’d casually grabbed while waiting for a seat at the hotpot place in his pocket, she munched them up happily and told him to bring more next time.

So childish.

Just as childish as her brother, who, when asked “can you handle it?”, had fucked him for three hours.

He only wanted Zhou Yan to hurry up and finish so he could be released back to his room to sleep!

Song Zhiyan rubbed his waist regretfully. Sitting for so long had made his backside uncomfortable too, so he used the bathroom as an excuse, walked to the exit of the carriage, and stood for a while. Along the way, he texted his mother their arrival time and asked her to prepare in advance.

Yang Lanzhi replied immediately: “I changed clothes long ago, just waiting for you to come.”

Days earlier, when she heard her son was bringing a girlfriend, Yang Lanzhi had been overjoyed. She sent photos every day asking Song Zhiyan to help her choose a nice outfit, so she wouldn’t embarrass him.

Song Zhiyan said okay, and told his mother not to be too nervous—it was just a chat over a meal.

Yang Lanzhi replied: “I know, you worry too much.”

After getting off the high-speed rail, Song Zhiyan detoured as usual to buy fruit and flowers. Zhou Yun pulled him back and said it wasn’t necessary. She took a square red velvet box out of her handbag; inside was a yang-green jadeite bracelet that clearly cost a fortune. “Just give your mother this. It’s worth dozens of carts of fruit and flowers.”

“…” Song Zhiyan didn’t know what to say. He turned to look at Zhou Yan, hoping he would put a stop to it. To his surprise, Zhou Yan also wore an expression of tacit approval. Forced to refuse, he said, “Th-this is too valuable. It’ll scare my mom.”

“Then tell her it cost a few hundred.” Zhou Yun couldn’t be bothered to argue with the little guy. She put the box back in her bag and pulled him along. “Hurry up. Don’t waste my playtime.”

Song Zhiyan had no choice. In the end, he only bought a fruit basket at a fruit supermarket near the hospital and went upstairs with Zhou Yun.

Yang Lanzhi had been waiting in the ward for a long time. Seeing the two come in arm in arm, she broke into a smile. When Zhou Yun called her “Auntie,” she grinned even wider, unable to close her mouth, and praised the girl for being pretty and well-bred, saying little Yan had struck gold.

“Auntie, I’m not that young,” Zhou Yun said. “I’m two years older than Song Zhiyan. He should call me older sister.”

“…Mom, um,” Song Zhiyan quickly smoothed things over, “I skipped a grade, didn’t I? The girls in my class are all two years older than me.”

“Oh, right, right.” Yang Lanzhi nodded. “She looks young, that’s good.”

“Thank you, Auntie.” Zhou Yun curled her lips in a smile and took the square box out of her bag, handing it to Yang Lanzhi. “This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it.”

Yang Lanzhi took it, opened it, and took a look. Even without knowing its value, she could tell it must be very expensive. She looked at her son hesitantly. “This… isn’t it too…”

Free of charge every day

“It’s fine, Mom.” Song Zhiyan was afraid Zhou Yun would blurt out the “a few hundred” line and make it even more fake, so he explained as tactfully as possible, “I went with her to buy it; she did the choosing. Just accept it.”

Only then did Yang Lanzhi feel at ease. To show she liked it, she took it out and put it on right away, asking them if it looked nice.

Song Zhiyan said it was pretty. Zhou Yun said, “Do you think something I picked could not be pretty?” Song Zhiyan tugged her and quietly urged her to keep quiet. Speechless, she clicked her little heels and headed to the restroom.

“Little Yan, your girlfriend has a bit of a temper.” Yang Lanzhi pulled Song Zhiyan to sit down. “…She’s not bullying you, is she?”

Song Zhiyan said no, adding in his heart that her brother bullied him a lot more.

“That’s good, ah.” Yang Lanzhi stroked her son’s head. “Ever since your freshman year, I’ve been hoping you’d find a girlfriend. I was anxious but didn’t dare to push. Now I’ve finally waited until you brought someone for me to see… It’s good. What matters is that you like her. Treat her well, and don’t let her feel wronged.”

Song Zhiyan listened to her ramble on for a while, feeling both guilty and a little bitter—he knew he liked men and would never be able to marry a woman in this life. When the lie was eventually exposed, his mother would probably have been happy for nothing.

Since there were too many people, they didn’t eat lunch at the sanatorium. Yang Lanzhi said that since Zhou Yun was visiting G City for the first time, she should try authentic local cuisine, and had her son book a private room at a time-honored restaurant. When they went downstairs and saw Zhou Yan, Song Zhiyan remembered that he was there too. He introduced him to Yang Lanzhi as Zhou Yun’s brother, saying he had business in G City and had given them a ride on the way.

Zhou Yan politely said, “Hello, Auntie.” Yang Lanzhi responded and asked if he’d had lunch. Zhou Yan said no, so she suggested that if he wasn’t in a hurry, he could join them for a meal before handling his business.

Zhou Yan naturally agreed. He hailed a taxi and got in with the three of them, taking the front passenger seat.

Song Zhiyan told the driver the destination. Wedged between his mother and Zhou Yun, he dealt with a barrage of comments from both sides while staying on guard against Zhou Yun blurting out something shocking. For the first time, he sincerely felt that being gay was better.

Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t far from the sanatorium; they arrived in about ten minutes. Song Zhiyan helped his mother upstairs, while Zhou Yun and Zhou Yan followed behind ignoring each other, her little heels clacking loudly.

The atmosphere during the meal was fairly harmonious. Zhou Yan was as quiet as always. Zhou Yun was in a good mood since she rarely went out, and was quite satisfied by Yang Lanzhi’s affectionate calls of “Yun-yun” at every turn. So she cooperated with Song Zhiyan in putting on a dutiful, harmonious “meet the parents” act, which delighted Yang Lanzhi greatly.

When it came time to pay, Zhou Yan followed the waiter to the front desk to pay by card, and Zhou Yun went to the restroom. Taking advantage of the siblings’ absence, Yang Lanzhi tugged at Song Zhiyan and said she found Xiao Zhou very familiar, as if she’d seen him somewhere before. She asked if Song Zhiyan had known him from before.

“…He’s a senior from the same school,” Song Zhiyan said. “We’re not close. When you came to the school to find me in my sophomore year, it was his roommate who took you to the hospital.”

Junyang ：㈠ five ㈨①⒋58㈨⒈㈤

Yang Lanzhi thought for a moment, then nodded. “Right. There were two people in the car. The young man driving called me to get in. The other one had urgent business and left first. That’s probably when I saw him.”

Driving?

Song Zhiyan remembered that Qin Shu’s family didn’t own a car. He wasn’t sure if Qin Shu had a driver’s license, but he’d never seen him drive. He usually took the subway or taxis when going out.

“Didn’t you say it was a taxi before?” Song Zhiyan pressed.

“No, it was a private car, a black one.” Yang Lanzhi said. “Maybe I was in a hurry and didn’t tell you the details. When I walked in and saw you lying on the hospital bed with your leg suspended, wrapped in such a thick cast—oh dear, it really scared me to death.”

Song Zhiyan was stunned and didn’t respond.

So the person who picked up his mother from the high-speed rail station and took her to the hospital that day wasn’t Qin Shu… it was Zhou Yan?

Now do you get what “atypical” in the synopsis means? Don’t rush, this is just the beginning (×