In the living room downstairs, the food was laid out on the table. Four people were sitting around it, drinking and talking while waiting for the Zhou siblings to accompany them.
Shu Ran walked in front, followed by Zhou Hui. With their arrival, the room fell quiet.
Chen Kai finally found his voice and said after a long time: “Oh, I finally met my sister-in-law…”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Shen slapped the back of his head. Chen Kai angrily turned around and raged, “Brother Shen, why do you always hit me?!”
It was not only Xu Shen who hit him, but Jiang Fan also kicked him under the table, saying, “You fool, who are you calling your sister-in-law? Are you blind? Did you watch today’s show in vain?”
“What?!” Chen Kai was confused.
On the contrary, his brother Chen Sen raised his eyebrows as if sensing something smelled fishy. His eyes kept looking back and forth between Shu Ran, Xu Shen, and Zhou Hui, looking thoughtful.
“Done? Come and sit down?” Xu Shen raised his eyes and said hello, but it was unclear to whom his greeting was meant.
“I’m sorry we’ve kept everyone waiting for so long,” Shu Ran nodded, then went to the chair next to Xu Shen and sat down. Patting the empty seat next to him, he called Zhou Hui over with a “Sister, sit here.”
“Oh!” Zhou Hui said.
Any discerning person could sense that the order was wrong.
“…Shouldn’t you sit on the other side?” Chen Kai tried to remind her, but the embarrassing thing was that nobody paid him any attention.
“I have something to tell you.” After everyone was seated, Xu Shen coldly announced, “In fact, my marriage to Zhou Ding’s sister is fake.”
Upon hearing that, Chen Kai was the only one shocked, shouting: “What?! Fake?!”
“Yes.” Shu Ran was afraid Xu Shen would start talking about something he shouldn’t, so he interfered and said: “I begged Brother Shen to bring my sister out of the village; it’s not like they really wanted to get married.” Then he looked at Jiang Fan and continued, “After all, we are still counting on Brother Fan to pull some strings and find my sister a good mother-in-law.”
Jiang Fan nodded and said that it was no big deal.
No big deal?! How can everyone be so calm?! Chen Kai scratched his head, mumbling, “Why is it fake?! Brother Shen, didn’t you want to get married?!”
He still remembered Xu Shen enthusiastically asking around about which girl was good! Was that also fake?!
But Xu Shen looked at Shu Ran and answered, “I did originally, but then I realized it was not his sister I wanted to marry…”
After hearing that, Chen Sen realized that Xu Shen no longer wanted to marry Zhou Ding’s sister, but Zhou Ding himself. Today’s banquet was not so much for Xu Shen and Zhou Hui, but to celebrate Xu Shen’s and Zhou Ding’s real wedding. Understanding the truth, Chen Sen looked at Shu Ran as he said calmly, “Well, brother-in-law really fooled us…”
Even going as far as kissing in front of everyone and pretending it was all for a bet…
…So insidious, ah!
“What?!” Chen Kai still didn’t understand.
“You donkey’s head…” Jiang Fan glanced at him and gave up trying to explain. He simply picked up his chopsticks to eat and mumbled, “What they want to say is that although Brother Shen won’t marry Sister Zhou, they’d still be a family in the future. Do you understand now?”
Shu Ran also picked up a pair of chopsticks and gave them to his sister, adding, “Yes, no matter who my sister marries in the future, Brother Shen is my Brother Shen. I will follow him.”
At least until the money is paid off…
Now Chen Sen was sure he was right. Xu Shen and Zhou Ding were, in fact, a couple, and his sister was just a cover. He looked at Xu Shen and gave him a speechless smile. His brother was so good at playing that he actually dared to play with men… no wonder he never wanted to go look for women with them.
It turned out that the gender and everything else were wrong! What was right for Xu Shen was this little brother-in-law, a fair and good-looking young man.
After a moment, Chen Kai was hit with some divine insight and finally understood. His mouth slowly opened into an O shape, so shocked he was about to jump out of his body. Just in time, Jiang Fan kicked him and said, “Okay, there’s a girl here! Don’t make a fuss.”
After all, it was best for Zhou Ding’s family not to know about this.
As for Xu Shen, he really wanted to make it public, but not right now. What if the Zhou family knew? Zhou Ding chose this road by himself, but the deal hadn’t been sealed yet, so he still had time to change his mind. It was better if Zhou Hui didn’t know right now, so he could prevent any unwanted fuss. With that, Xu Shen felt he had no other choice but to stuff his mouth with food and keep it closed.
Everyone finished what they wanted to say, and the subject was over, with only Zhou Hui left confused and speechless. Not knowing what to say, she whispered: “Thank you for your care…please look after my brother Dingzi in the future.”
Jiang Fan smiled and calmed her down, joking, “Don’t worry, Xu Shen is good to your brother. He won’t need our care.”
Chen Kai hasn’t recovered from the shock, with his little eyes as round as a coin. He kept looking at Xu Shen and Shu Ran, feeling like a fool.
Damn, they were already a dog couple, so wasn’t today’s bet unfair from the beginning?!
“Zhou Ding, you cheated!” Chen Kai patted the table angrily and immediately started laughing in rage.
Shu Ran also smiled. After everything that’s been said, that was what he cared about?!
Has Chen Kai always been that funny?!
“Okay, I cheated, so what?”
Chen Kai pointed his finger at him: “You!!!”
Seeing Shu Ran smiling, his eyes as bright as the stars in the sky, made Xu Shen feel giddy. He was already handsome, but smiling like that made him look beautiful.
“Xu Shen, you don’t care about this?! I’ve lost so badly!” Chen Kai looked at this elder brother and Jiang Fan, seeking support: “Don’t you also think so?!”
But Xu Shen slowly picked up dishes with his chopsticks, only saying, “It’s out of my control.”
“It’s fine to cook,” Chen Sen held his bowl and said. “I always cook anyway.”
“It’s just a little bit of money,” Jiang Fan casually commented as well. “I always pay anyway.”
Chen Kai: “!!!”
These bastard dogs! They’re just laughing straight to his face!
“Sister, eat quickly and go to bed early after you’re full.” Ignoring the drama, Shu Ran picked up vegetables for Zhou Hui.
“People were coming and going all day long, right?” Zhou Hui answered. “I’ll help with cleaning the house at night.”
She didn’t know why, but as soon as she opened her mouth and said that, everyone started shamelessly laughing.
Everyone but Chen Kai.
“No, sister.” Shu Ran said with a smile while pointing at Chen Kai. “Someone else will take care of the cleaning; it’s not our turn yet.”
“You’re so bad,” Chen Kai stared at Shu Ran fiercely and said. “I’ll never trust you again! Such a waste to take care of you for so long!”
Hearing that, Zhou Hui was confused and pulled her brother’s sleeve to ask in a low voice: “Dingzi, what’s wrong with him?”
“No, we just made a bet and whoever loses will clean the house.” Shu Ran explained comfortably.
“Oh.” Zhou Hui was relieved. She was not used to mingling with a pile of men, so after eating well, she went upstairs to her book. As soon as the girl left, Xu Shen stopped hiding and put his hand around Shu Ran’s shoulder, declaring, “Then, I’ll say what I didn’t finish just now.”
“…”
Everyone was mentally prepared and looked at them at the same time.
“Although I won’t marry Zhou Ding’s sister,” Xu Shen said, “I married her younger brother, and this will be my partner from now on.” With that, he kissed the corner of Shu Ran’s mouth, his face full of smiles.
Jiang Fan knew it a long time ago, so he said, “Congratulations, let it be a good match for a hundred years!”
“I said it was strange to look at you two at noon,” Chen Sen nodded. “So that’s what happened.” He laughed and continued, “Brother Shen, you hid too deeply! You should have told us you were like that… We all thought you couldn’t get it up!”
“Yes, why didn’t you say it earlier?!” Chen Kai was still struggling with his loss. “If I knew you were like that, I wouldn’t have dared to make that bet…” But he still picked up his cup and toasted his friend, giggling, “For a hundred years of good devotion! I wish my Brother Shen happiness with his true love!”
They traveled north to south all year long, and they were all well-informed. It’s not like they haven’t seen homosexuals before, and they also knew how they were treated in society. Anyway, if one had the courage to come out, they could only expect to be smacked in the head and treated like a pervert. And their poor Brother Shen, who already had a bad reputation, if hit with the ‘cut sleeve’ title… they didn’t dare think about it.
And yet, those were things Xu Shen never cared about. It was fine if his wife and friends understood him, so he only added, “I don’t have a proper family, and these few brothers are all I have. They can be regarded as witnesses to our marriage. You will follow me steadily in the future. I… I will listen to you when I have to listen, and all the money I earn will be spent on you. I promise to treat you well. Okay, Shu Ran?”
Shu Ran listened to his words with a calm heart, all the way until the end, when Xu Shen called his real name. Now his heart felt sinful and ungrateful.
If you are so capable, just be brave and live by yourself, instead of staying here, taking advantage of others… Shu Ran scolded himself. Not knowing what to say, he raised his head, smiled, and took the initiative to give Xu Shen a light kiss. In fact, he felt like he couldn’t afford his promises. After all, he only agreed to pay him back the money his family took. So Shu Ran could only promise to listen to him before earning enough money, try to work in Xu Shen’s interest, and do a good job in business.
Xu Shen was happy to be kissed, but he couldn’t help but be disappointed by Shu Ran’s lack of response. He knew that the boy was still reluctant in his heart, and his feelings for him were mild at best. He understood that Shu Ran didn’t hate him, but didn’t like him that much either.
“Okay, let’s continue our dinner.” Xu Shen said, thoughtfully picking up vegetables for Shu Ran. There was nothing wrong with the boy not liking him right now. They only met a couple of times before, and their feelings were still blossoming. He was not in a hurry and simply felt grateful that Shu Ran didn’t reject intimacy with him and gave him enough face.
“What did you just call Zhou Ding?” Jiang Fan asked curiously.
“Shu Ran, my wife’s nickname,” Xu Shen answered. “From ‘comfortable’ and ‘pledge’. How about it, isn’t he educated?”
“Oh, it sounds just like a pen name,” Chen Sen said before continuing, “Shu Ran, I heard that you read a lot of books. Can you also write articles?”
“I guess I know how to,” Shu Ran answered. “I published articles when I was back in school.” That was the truth. As a teenager, he published articles in youth magazines. He could even get enough pocket money to satisfy his needs.
“Really? So awesome?” Chen Kai’s expression said that he didn’t believe a word he said.
If he was so good, what was he doing still farming in the countryside?
Shu Ran didn’t want to compete about that, but it was interesting to slap Chen Kai’s face, so he turned his head and asked Xu Shen: “Brother, do you have paper and pen here?”
Xu Shen lightly pinched his shoulder, comforting, “Don’t lower yourself to his level…” Was writing articles on the spot such an easy thing to do?
“If you have it, bring it to me.” Shu Ran saw he had a pen and paper on the cabinet not far from them. Xu Shen couldn’t stand his wife’s spoiled act, so he hurriedly brought it to him, saying, “Chen Kai is a rough man; even if you write, he won’t be able to read.”
That was fine.
What he wrote could be read even if you didn’t have eyes. After all, he was the backbone of the calligraphy group in college, with a steady hand in both brush and pen writing. Now, he just took the ordinary pen and paper and started casually writing. First Chen Kai’s name, and then two lines of poetry.
“A gentle breeze blows from the south,
caressing the tender thorns in my heart1.”
The words were written so ornamentally that even those who had no idea what they were looking at could understand his skills.
“Here.” Shu Ran handed the piece of paper to Chen Kai. “This is the official script. I can write in several different types of scripts.”
Literary and artistic people, just messing with the unfortunate ones.
They were all poor, illiterate villagers who never looked at any kind of random scribble before, let alone the official script. Except for Jiang Fan, who came from a rich background, the rest could only say that the writing was indeed pretty.
Xu Shen glanced at the piece of paper, and his smile faded a little bit, finally understanding why Shu Ran was reluctant to settle with him. In his eyes, they were all probably just stupid dogs who were not worth dealing with.
“Convinced!” Chen Kai gave Shu Ran a thumbs up and then tore off a corner of the paper and put it in his pocket, saying, “Hey, this part is mine, I’ve never seen my name written so beautifully!”
“Talented.” Jiang Fan wanted to compete and say that he could also write in the official script, but seeing that Xu Shen’s expression was not good, he stopped talking in an instant and lowered his head to eat.
Shu Ran also noticed that Xu Shen seemed unhappy. He guessed he didn’t want him to show off in front of his brothers, so he put down the pen in his hand.
Indeed, it made him look like he was looking down on people. But he really didn’t mean it like that; he just thought it was funny to mess with Chen Kai.
But did Xu Shen even say he was unhappy? Instead, he seemed to be thinking about something, saying with a grin, “A talented man can only be matched by a beauty! What’s there to grieve about?”
Shu Ran quickly understood what made Xu Shen unhappy, so he coaxed him with a “My talent is not as remarkable as your beauty!”
Even if it wasn’t to make Xu Shen happy, he still felt the need to correct this misunderstanding.
He really didn’t mean to show off, ah!
……………………….
The author has something to say:
There will be a hearty bridal chamber. Don’t worry about it, QAQ!
- part of a poem from the Book of Songs, 凱風自南, 吹彼棘心, 棘心夭夭, 母氏劬勞 ↩︎
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