Upstairs, the three people left in the room were discussing what to do about lunch.
Xu Shen proposed, “Let’s say your sister is carsick and has no appetite,” then he continued, looking at Shu Ran, “You take her place and come have a drink with everyone.”
Zhou Hui didn’t want to play Xu Shen’s wife, so she thought the idea was feasible, but still needed her brother’s approval. “Is it okay?” she asked.
“It is,” Shu Ran nodded, agreeing.
Of course, Zhou Hui couldn’t show her face. She still wanted to get married in the future, so what would she do if the neighbors talked about today’s matter and her future mother-in-law did not approve of her?
“Right.” Xu Shen didn’t stay for long. He got up and said, “Then I’ll go down. Call me if there’s something. You two talk.”
He left the room gracefully, raising Zhou Hui’s appreciation, who glanced at her brother and whispered, “Oh, Dingzi, he’s actually not that bad…”
Shu Ran thought that was because he wanted something, and this was all part of the deal. Otherwise, how could Xu Shen be a good person? He was a real villain, always ready to do anything to get what he wanted. Even Shu Ran was afraid of provoking him.
“Sister, don’t be so naive.” After thinking about it, Shu Ran swallowed his extra words, determined not to let Zhou Hui know about Xu Shen’s real character.
“That’s right, I’m just seeing what’s on the surface…” Zhou Hui picked up a glass of soda to quench her thirst. She ate nothing in the morning and now started munching on snacks, continuing, “Anyway, be careful in the future, try to get along with those outside, do more and talk less.”
“My sister is so smart,” Shu Ran said with a smile.
Zhou Hui felt pride in her heart, so she continued, “Well, at least I went out to study. Alas, if our family weren’t so shortsighted, I could have taken the college entrance exam.”
Indeed, Zhou Hui was smart and a quick learner. It was a pity she couldn’t attend college.
“Sister, you can live in this room for now. Relax, you’ll find a good husband soon.” Then, Shu Ran continued, “I’ll find you a book to pass the time, and then go find Xu Shen. What to do, we have to rely on him in the future…”
“Hmm.” Zhou Hui nodded solemnly.
Shu Ran knew there was a bookcase in Xu Shen’s room, but looking through it, it was full of martial arts and romance novels. Some of them even had covers that made people blush. Shu Ran really wanted to know where he got all those books from, but in the end, he could only pick an unassuming martial arts novel for his sister and left Zhou Hui absorbed in reading.
By the time Shu Ran went to the first floor, the women were having lunch. Most of the men were already done and now sat down, bragging about their achievements. Seeing Shu Ran coming, they quickly greeted him: “Little Brother! Come here and tell us what you’ve been doing upstairs all this time, like a shy little girl.”
Shu Ran locked eyes with Xu Shen, and the other party moved a little to the side, making space for him. Without talking, Xu Shen made it clear that he wanted the boy to sit down next to him. When Shu Ran approached, Xu Shen even showed a big, charming smile. Today, he was dressed carefully and looked like the hero in a romance novel, coming with his own filter and accompanying background music. Even Shu Ran, a transmigrator accustomed to seeing attractive men and women in the media, had to admit that he was really handsome. Even the word “beautiful” was not too much to describe him.
“I thought you would hide until the end of the banquet.” Xu Shen lowered his eyes to peel peanuts, speaking leisurely. The peanuts fell into Shu Ran’s hand as he said, “Here, have some and tell me if they are still raw or already cooked1.”
Hearing that, Shu Ran raised his hand and pinched his arm fiercely.
The man was just happily bullying others!
The people around thought Xu Shen was just joking with his brother-in-law, so they started laughing: “Hahaha, Brother Shen, you have talent! Pay attention to not annoying your brother-in-law, otherwise you won’t feel good tonight!”
“That’s right! What if your brother-in-law complains about you and you’ll have to sleep with the dogs?”
Shu Ran lowered his head and, with the mentality of not wasting food, started eating the crispy peanuts conscientiously.
“I’m kidding. Don’t be angry.” Xu Shen touched his pinched arm and then sulked: “I don’t want to sleep outside tonight…”
Only Jiang Fan understood Xu Shen’s happiness, looking straight at the big man who was acting like a fool.
Shu Ran couldn’t accept the bullying, so he snapped back with a “Whether you sleep outside or not depends on your performance!”
Everyone didn’t expect Shu Ran to participate in the joke, so all their spirits were lifted. Urging Xu Shen to ingratiate himself, Chen Kai took a knife and handed him an apple, saying, “Brother Shen, you should start pleasing! Why don’t you peel an apple for your brother-in-law? Pay attention to not breaking the skin, for good luck!”
“Okay.” Xu Shen took the knife and started to peel the apple with a serious face and nimble fingers. The knife in his hands was obedient, perfectly cutting the skin off in a continuous strip, not breaking it from start to finish. Chopping off a piece of the pulp, Xu Shen sent it to Shu Ran’s mouth and teased: “Eat this apple and let me sleep inside tonight.”
Shu Ran blushed, but he couldn’t refute Xu Shen in front of everyone. Opening his mouth and eating the piece of apple, he hurriedly said, “Okay, stop talking about such private things!”
“Hahaha!” The men laughed at him again. They knew the young boy had thin skin. Chen Kai’s brother, Chen Sen, even winked at him, saying, “Little brother-in-law is still young. How about accompanying me to see the world later?”
“If you want to play, take your own brother with you,” Xu Shen glared at him, but Chen Sen answered with a grin: “You think I need to worry about my brother? He has more experience than I do!”
Wang Dong was also a practical man, wondering, “Dingzi is already eighteen. How about finding a matchmaker and getting married by the end of the year?”
“Thank you for your kindness, Brother Dong,” Shu Ran quickly said, “but I want to start a business before getting married.”
Talking all that nonsense in front of Xu Shen, weren’t they afraid of losing their tongues?! He wanted to save the situation, so he continued, “Just like my Brother Shen, I will only get married after I have my life in order.”
As for Xu Shen, listening to their gibberish, he felt depressed, but after hearing Shu Ran’s answer, his mood improved a little. He couldn’t help raising his arm and hugging the boy’s shoulder, saying happily: “You know how to talk!”
Shu Ran secretly rolled his eyes. It was all common sense.
In an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar people, of course, he knew how to talk, ah!
………………….
At noon, everyone started asking: “What about the bride? Won’t she come down?”
Xu Shen fed them the answer they previously agreed upon, answering, “She’s carsick. She can’t get up now. But it’s fine, let her brother toast you in her place.”
That reminded Shu Ran that his sister was still upstairs and he needed to take care of her, otherwise people would start talking. Therefore, he quickly found an excuse to bring Zhou Hui some food and let her know to never come down, no matter what. Zhou Hui understood and felt afraid just by listening to the voices downstairs. The house was full of unfamiliar men, who sounded like rogues. She knew it was not something she could deal with, and didn’t dare show her face.
When Shu Ran came back, he was pulled over by Xu Shen and was handed a glass of liquor. Immediately, Shu Ran pulled Xu Shen’s sleeve in horror, almost screaming, “I don’t know how to drink!!!”
Xu Shen looked at him from the corners of his eyes, asking, “Then why did you promise to have a drink with everyone?!”
“Oh, I meant to pretend to take a sip and then turn around and spit it out!” Shu Ran stared at him and smiled.
Anyway, that was wedding wine, and it wouldn’t look good to start vomiting because of it! However, it wasn’t that Shu Ran couldn’t drink at all… just as long as he wasn’t pressured.
Seeing that he actually intended to take a sip of the wine, Xu Shen raised an eyebrow. Alas, it was never too late for a man to learn how to drink and smoke, he thought. Lighting a cigarette and blowing smoke in his face, Xu Shen still admonished: “Didn’t you say you’re bad at drinking?”
“Get out of here!” Shu Ran immediately slapped his hand and made him drop his cigarette. Everyone looked stunned at the cigarette on the ground, and then at Xu Shen’s face. Xu Shen also looked confused for a brief moment. After a while, he came to his senses and naturally raised his foot to step on the cigarette as if nothing had happened, and then glanced at the crowd with a “What are you looking at?! Drink your wine!”
Shu Ran was horrified.
Was he already drunk from just one sip?!
How dare he do that, ahh?!
After thinking about it, he picked up the wine bottle and filled Xu Shen’s glass, ingratiating himself. “I’m sorry, my sister won’t come down for a toast, so you’ll have to make do with me. Do you mind?”
Shu Ran apologized in his mind. It wasn’t that he was a coward; it was just human nature, ah…
Xu Shen felt like he was first hit and then fed sugar. He was also depressed but knew he needed to save face, so he mumbled, “I don’t mind…”
The two of them shared a glass of wine, but no one thought there was anything wrong with that. They were all young people who liked to watch the fun.
But with that glass of wine, Shu Ran’s cheeks flushed red, and he had to lean against Xu Shen; otherwise… he was afraid his soul might flow out. Xu Shen hugged Shu Ran’s thin waist, and a kind of unspeakable satisfaction rose in his heart.
Who could remember the little episode just now?
He never took it seriously anyway.
The young men liked to kick up a fuss, and soon enough, someone shouted, “Now that the toast is complete, how about a kiss?”
Shu Ran heard Jiang Fan’s voice and knew it was intentional. Xu Shen smiled and looked at the boy in his arms, letting him make the decision. The main point was that it was quite embarrassing, and he didn’t want to force it.
Shu Ran looked dizzy on the surface, but his mind was still sharp. He knew the true nature of his deal with Xu Shen. Sooner or later, he would have to pay the price. Acting coy won’t bring any good results, so it was better to just get over it quickly.
They all wanted to make fun of him, but soon realized Shu Ran wasn’t fazed at all. Instead, he said, “Kissing is fine, but it shouldn’t come for free, right?”
“Yes, after all, brother-in-law is still a man!” Chen Kai interfered. “Kissing shouldn’t come for nothing!” With that, he smiled and took out a stack of money from his pocket, slapping it on the table. “How about this? If you kiss your brother-in-law, it’s my loss! Dare kiss him, and this will be yours!”
It was quite a substantial stack of money that made everyone look at it with a straight gaze. The men immediately started cheering and coaxing: “Come on, accept the bet and take his money!”
But Shu Ran’s self-esteem was stabbed, so he complained, “Why would I need your money?” In fact, he actually disliked Chen Kai’s attempt to make fun of him by flaunting his wealth, so he continued, “Bet on something else. How about you come and clean my brother-in-law’s house if you lose? You’ll have to do it for a week!”
“Puff!” Everyone who knew Chen Kai was aware that the thing he hated the most was housework, unlike his brother, who took care of everything.
They suspected Shu Ran did it intentionally, ha!
Chen Kai grabbed his head. How can there be such a person who doesn’t like money?! He quickly looked at Xu Shen, hoping for salvation, but…
“You provoked him first.” At this time, Xu Shen knew on whose side he needed to be.
One entire week of housework, it was better to just kill him directly… He flinched and gave up, admitting, “I won’t bet, don’t mind me…”
“Chen Kai, you bastard, you’re such a coward!” His friends started booing him. No matter the age, men were most afraid of others looking down on them. To prove that he was not a chicken, Chen Kai finally stepped on a chair with a determined stomp, shouting, “Fine, let’s bet! Whoever doesn’t dare to bet is a coward!”
Chen Sen was interested in watching the fun but also wanted to save his brother’s skin, so he tried to mediate, “Then let me participate too. I’ll come to your house to cook and make sure your sister won’t have to set foot in the kitchen for the entire week.”
Shu Ran glanced at him and said, “Fine.”
Chen Sen grinned while taking a cigarette out of the case, continuing with a smug “But you’ll still have to kiss Brother Shen. How about for two full minutes?”
As soon as the words fell, the entire room erupted in laughter. For two full minutes, what kind of genius came up with that?! The women felt they had gone too far and started protesting: “What are you doing?”
All those men were so shameless! If that was how they liked to play, they were too ashamed to share the same room!
But Jiang Fan lifted his hand lazily, saying, “Then I’ll raise the bet. How about I buy your entire family’s food for the week, but you’ll have to kiss him for five minutes?”
At this point, Shu Ran was starting to get cold feet, but he couldn’t show it on his face. “Anyone else who feels like contributing to our little family?” he finally said.
All men looked at each other in consternation. This brother-in-law was truly something. Really awesome, was he crazily drunk?!
Chen Kai also thought so, so he asked, “Zhou Ding, did you drink too much?”
“You’re the one who drank too much,” Shu Ran answered, feeling annoyed. “I’m very sober. Do I need to recite the multiplication table for you?”
“Hurry up, is five minutes still not enough for you?” Jiang Fan joked.
Truth be told, Shu Ran felt crazy, but it was too late to back down. So many eyes were looking at him, including Xu Shen, who was full of disbelief. But that was exactly the kind of spectacular first impression he was after. He wanted everyone to know he was not someone they could mess around with.
In the end, Shu Ran cleared his throat and said, “…Well, women and children should leave the room first.”
There was another burst of laughter in the room, with Xu Shen himself laughing the most. He felt that after drinking wine, Shu Ran’s whole demeanor changed, and he appeared strangely enchanting.
Amidst the commotion, Shu Ran really raised his head and placed a light kiss on Xu Shen’s lips. But he felt that five minutes was too long to stand, and he didn’t want to get tired, so he broke the kiss and whispered, “Brother Shen, let’s sit down.”
Xu Shen sat down obediently, placing Shu Ran on the armrest of his chair. He felt the position was the most comfortable and prevented the boy from getting tired.
The room was quiet. Shu Ran lowered his head and continued to kiss Xu Shen, from shallow to deep. At first, they tentatively tasted each other, exchanging shy glances. Later, they closed their eyes and completely devoted themselves to kissing.
Everyone around started staring with open mouths. Was this little boy truly drunk or outright crazy?! Otherwise, how dare he push Brother Shen like that?! And that Xu Shen, he actually let him fool around!
Wasn’t he afraid to spoil him too much?!
Only Jiang Fan whistled, feeling really optimistic about Shu Ran. It was no wonder his Brother Shen was fascinated.
As for Xu Shen, he hugged the boy’s comfortable waist. At the moment, he felt all the alcohol run to his head and his entire body floating in happiness.
- offering peanuts to the bride on the wedding day symbolises the wish to give birth soon. I feel there’s a little dirty play of words in here with the “cooked” part. You know, how they say that the “rice has already been cooked”, meaning that the deed was done, I believe Xu Shen is teasing Shu Ran about doing the deed. ↩︎
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