(t.i.tle – 确认这份感情 – Quèrèn zhè fèn gǎnqíng – Confirming These Feelings)
Author: Angelina
Translator: chiangyushien, Renkun27
Proofreader: KainGuru
"h.e.l.lo Auntie," Everyone respectfully greeted. In exchange, Lan Yin looked at them with disdain: "Am I that old to be called auntie?"
“No, you look as if you"re only a few years older than us," Chu Haoyu kissed up to her.
“What "a few years older"? She"s obviously just about my younger sister"s age. My younger sister just entered junior high school this year." Here came more kissing up from Zhang Luo.
"Call me Lan Yin."
"But it doesn"t seem very good to call you by your first name like that.”
“I said, just call me Lan Yin.”
“Okay, okay.”
“There"s only one man in the world who can call me Yin.” n.o.body asked you this question. Ke Bu suspected that the man must be Zhi Li"s father.
“Yin, go and change your clothes.”
It turned out that one particular man in the world was here!! Ke Bu uttered a reminder: “Isn"t it too rude to call her like that!” Zhi Li seemed to be puzzled by this matter, as if it was a matter of course to call her Yin.
Lan Yin waved her hand: “I"ve inculcated him to call me like this since he was young and I also don"t feel like it. If he called me Yin, others will think that there"s a young handsome guy who"s always following and pursuing me. If he called me mom, others will only think that I"m a woman with a child from my previous marriage."
Ke Bu finally understood where Zhi Li got his character of having no common sense from. Lan Yin, this woman was not only very poisonous in her heart, but she was also ruthless in her words. Who would say that their own son was a child from their previous marriage? That would make her son sad.
“Then I, as the child from your previous marriage, will lessen the number of times that I"ll see you," said the son who was not sad at all.
“I was just kidding. Every day when you"re not here, I wanted to die.”
“Then why are you still alive?”
Lan Yin sneered: “You"re really not cute. I really miss the son who always stayed around me when he was a kid.”
“I also miss that young woman.”
“I"m gonna change clothes!” Lan Yin left everyone downstairs and went upstairs by herself in rage. At first, Ke Bu thought that it was nearly impossible to find Lan Yin"s weakness, but obviously, her biggest weakness was Zhi Li.
Lan Yin looked like she did not hear what Ke Bu said. This made Ke Bu feel relieved; but in his heart, he always felt that there was something that smothered him up so he was unable to calm down. A moment ago, he admitted to Zhi Li"s mother about his relationship with Zhi Li. What would she think as the mother? Would she feel disgusted? Would she make Zhi Li and him break up? Lan Yin and Zhi Li were alike. Ke Bu could not see their real emotions. This made Ke Bu feel even more uneasy. He never thought that they would face the facts so quickly. There was a price to pay if two men would be together.
“You"re going to stay here tonight. I"ll help you clean up your room.” A middle-aged woman and man appeared at the door. It looked like they were the housemaid and the housekeeper. This voice reminded Ke Bu of the cursing voice when they broke the window"s gla.s.s earlier.
“And who"s the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who broke my window?" Lan Yin asked from upstairs.
“I"ll help you fix it right away.” Ying Xiujie took a step and ran outside. Lan Yin liked peaceful and quiet places, so she had been living in this villa since she got divorced. She only asked this couple to be her housekeeper and housemaid. Because Lan Yin was strange and had a unique temperament, over a long period of time, she evolved into the witch in the legends. Even when she wore a fur shawl in winter, she was even considered as a fox. There were always some young people who would come to explore and play in this place, so Lan Yin placed two fake skeletons by the entrance. Occasionally, when her mood was good, she would come out to scare those people to have some fun.
When everyone left the room, Ke Bu went near Zhi Li"s side: “It was you who suggested coming to Yinguo town, right?”
"What?”
“I know it"s you. Don"t pretend.”
"What?”
“Why didn"t you tell me beforehand!? My heart is already very fragile. When did you decide to come here?”
“When she called the last time, weren"t you also there? I thought you knew.”
Ke Bu searched in his mind and recalled when they quarreled previously, Zhi Li received a phone call. At that time, he thought that Zhi Li and that girl had exchanged phone numbers with each other. It turned out the hint was hidden there!!
“How could I possibly know!? By the way, do you think I can live through this winter?”
“If you"re so cowardly like this, how will you enter into my family later on?"
“Even if Laozi dies, I still don"t want to enter into your family.” What happened just now had marked Ke Bu"s mind with a very terrifying shadow.
Zhi Li reached out and ruffled Ke Bu"s hair: “Don"t worry, it"s just Yin.” Ke Bu felt a little relieved with Zhi Li consoling him. Zhi Li continued: “Right now, you think Yin is very scary, that"s just because you haven"t met my dad yet.” What kind of comfort was this? One Lan Yin was already so frightening like this, what would Zhi Li"s father be like?!! Ke Bu was reluctant to think further. Although he had known Zhi Li for many years, it was limited to the school and he only knew very little about Zhi Li"s family.
“Zhi Li, Lan Yin, she…” He really felt uncomfortable calling her by name. Zhi Li went outside then poke his head back inside: “Don"t worry about other unnecessary things.”
Aunt Qing, the housemaid, prepared a sumptuous evening snack for everyone, while Lan Yin changed back into her usual clothes and went downstairs. She looked younger with it. She called Zhi Li: “Zhi Li, you know what, your friends have very distinct personalities."
“You didn"t call me here just to say this, right?” Zhi Li opened up the topic.
“Are you referring to Ke Bu? Although I had a little objection at first, who told me to give birth to someone so smart like you? From the first time you told me about him, up until now, you really gave me enough buffer time. But that b.a.s.t.a.r.d doesn"t know about this yet. I really want to see the expression on that b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s face when he finds out about your relationship. Since you"ve made this decision, you"re most likely expecting the consequences from this decision in the future. Don"t take things too lightly. There"s more trouble to come. Duo La is coming back soon. Take responsibility for what you think is important."
“Are you going to watch?”
Lan Yin smiled: “You can ask mother to help you, maybe I"ll consider it.”
“What?” Zhi Li directly ignored Lan Yin"s teasing.
“Don"t use this technique of yours on me.”
“What?”
“I won"t do anything that doesn"t benefit me.”
“I"ll visit you more often.”
“Deal.”
One person finished his meal with his heart alarmed, trembling in fear. Ke Bu"s gaze captured Lan Yin"s expression from beginning to end. Even if Lan Yin only moved the corners of her mouth, Ke Bu"s heart would also be affected. He became very quiet. Whether it was because he was unable to say what he wanted to say or maybe he just wanted to leave a good impression on Lan Yin, Ke Bu could not figure it out. His strong feelings of like for Zhi Li suddenly appearing in front of Lan Yin made him embarra.s.sed and at a complete loss.
Lan Yin sat on the empty balcony outside the hall on the second floor while smoking. She held the thin cigarette with her spotless white fingers. The slightly crumpled cigarette holder had a faint red mark. She puffed out the smoke that she had been holding on in her chest, then said: "Do you have anything to say?” Ke Bu, who was in a daze, was discovered by Lan Yin. He hesitated for a while then he walked to Lan Yin"s side. Lan Yin"s beautiful pair of eyes were looking at Ke Bu through the moonlight. Ke Bu restlessly stood there: “About what I said a moment ago…”
“Isn"t it too late if you"ll come and explain it to me now?” There was almost no feelings in Lan Yin"s words and it just sounded like a plain narration.
“It"s not an explanation. I"m serious about what I said. I know that I"m not a very good person. I"ve told a lot of lies, but you are Zhi Li"s mother. There"s only one sentence that I wanted to convey to you. From beginning to end, it"s only that one sentence. I like Zhi Li. I also don"t know what"s wrong with me. I don"t care about anything. I"m flexible with everything. However, I"m more serious about these feelings than anything else. He"s a man. I"m a man. He"s so great. I"m so ordinary. So what? Nothing matters to me anymore. Nothing can stop me anymore. Liking Zhi Li is a must for me, so… so please don"t hate me."
Lan Yin played the cigarette in her hand with her index finger, then she looked at the flaming cigarette b.u.t.t. After a long time, she finally opened her mouth: “Are you stupid?”
“Huh?” Ke Bu, who was suddenly scolded, also anxiously stared at the cigarette but he did not dare looking directly at Lan Yin.
“I wanted to see you a long time ago. I want to say thank you, Ke Bu.” Lan Yin"s voice was gentle: "You don"t have to show such an idiotic expression. Thank you for meeting Zhi Li. Because of you, Zhi Li was given the opportunity to become like this. He was able to find so many people who love him. He was able to find friends who are happy and willing to accompany him. That"s very good. It"s quite good that it became like this." Lan Yin stood up and touched Ke Bu"s shoulder: “Just like before, stay with him all the time.”
“Lan Yin.” Ke Bu was about to move his body, but then Lan Yin coldly said: “But if you will hurt him, I"ll kill you.”