Chapter Ch22.2 - A Momentous Scene
Xu Yao, who had been nearby, saw what was happening and grabbed Jiang TingJun’s arm. “Hey, hey, hey, look at Huo YeRui that wily old fox. He must have done something!”
The steel straight man Jiang TingJun didn’t notice anything brewing. All he knew was that his arm was about to fall off his shoulder, and so he tried to pull away from Xu Yao.
“What are you talking about?” Jiang TingJun asked.
Xu Yao moved Jiang TingJun’s body, then continued to shake. “Are you a pig? Don’t you see that Huo YeRui is interested in that You NiNi from No. 9?”
“Ah, really?” Jiang TingJun exclaimed. Then he chuckled. “He has a good eye. You NiNi is really pretty.”
But he still didn’t understand. “So? How’s that a problem?”
Xu Yao rolled his eyes, then furiously grabbed Jiang TingJun’s chin and turned his face towards You NiNi. “Look at You NiNi carefully. Who is she looking at?”
Jiang TingJun, under Xu Yao’s crazy watchful eyes, finally followed You NiNi’s gaze with much difficulty. He exclaimed: “Ah, she’s watching Ah Qian!”
Then, he finally reacted sensibly: “She likes Ah Hui!”
Xu Yao rolled his eyes even more. “Can it be any more obvious?”
Having been solo since the moment he was born, Jiang TingJun, who had never received a single love letter, cried out bitterly: “It’s so unfair being so handsome! Partic.i.p.ating in only a single birthday party, and he can already harvest the hearts of many beautiful girls.”
Xu Yao: “…shouldn’t you be already used to this situation?”
Jiang TingJun continued to cry. “Even if you get used to it, it’s still sad.”
In the end, Xu Yao had to beat Jiang TingJun up to keep him from continuing to nag.
Xu Yao said: “Huo YeRui must’ve deliberately got Tang WanQi to come over and seduce him, to make You NiNi angry and hate Ah Qian.”
Jiang TingJun cut him off: “How is any of this relevant?”
Xu Yao shouted angrily: “It’s one thing for this to be irrelevant to us, but its another thing for Huo YeRui to act mean and shameless to one of our friends. Anyway, scolding him like this doesn’t cost me anything.”
And just as Xu Yao had predicted, news that Lin Qian was going to bring Tang WanQi around spread quickly. A meddlesome person even started singing “Lin Qian’s going to princess carry~”
After constantly being under the weight of their studies, these teenagers, with their rampaging hormones, seemed very enthusiastic about ambiguous relationships. Soon, other people heard the news and joined in, clapping their hands and shouting rhythmically:
“Lin Qian go princess carry~”
“Lin Qian go princess carry~”
“Lin Qian go princess carry~”
……
The coaxing became infectious, and all of a sudden, a threatening momentum started to rise. Many students began to tease: “WanQi, good for you!”
“Lin Qian is quite good, and WanQi is also very beautiful!”
There were also several girls ‘whining’, saying: “WanQi, let go of our Ah Qian!”
“Ah Qian, you gotta man up! Xu Yao can’t help you this time.”
Tang WanQi looked back at the crowd and shouted: “Go away!”
The crowd’s mood was bubbling, and Tang WanQi was getting worked up, so she turned to Lin Qian and said: “Lin Qian, things are getting out of hand. Can you please give me some face just this once and carry me? I’m not heavy.”
Meanwhile, Huo YeRui smiled and commented: “Lin Qian and Tang WanQi look well-matched, worthy of being called our cla.s.s’ golden pair.”
His voice wasn’t loud, so Lin Qian and Tang WanQi didn’t hear his comment. But You NiNi, who was much closer, heard this, and her expression sunk.
Xu Yao, who had been keeping an eye on You NiNi, became desperate. “It’s over, totally over! Ah Qian and You NiNi are over!”
Jiang TingJun: “They haven’t even started yet, have they?”
Xu Yao beat him up again. “How is that the issue? Both of them are interested in each other, so it was already a given that they would get together!”
As Jiang TingJun fended Xu Yao’s blows, he managed to ask: “Ah Qian also likes You NiNi?”
“Love at first sight!” Xu Yao repeatedly nodded his head, and talked about Lin Qian and You NiNi’s fateful eye-contact earlier this evening.
“Ah Qian finally wants to eat some cabbage!” The thousand-year-old single dog still had the heart to worry about his best friend. Jiang TingJun comforted his friend but was also quite angry. “Huo YeRui is really annoying, stirring s.h.i.t into things.”
Lin Qian, who was the focus of practically everyone in the room by now, held his forehead. He was totally helpless. It wasn’t really that big of a deal to carry Tan WanQi around the restaurant, but the noise from the crowd was unmistakably ambiguous. He was afraid that rumors would start flying all over the place by the next day. As a man who already had a boyfriend, he didn’t want to fall into any sort of scandal.
Lin Qian tried to figure out a way to get out of this mess. He was surrounded by onlookers that were waiting for his reply with bated breath. It was apparent that they weren’t going to leave him alone until they accomplished their goal.
And then, Huo YeRui shouted out: “Lin Qian, since today’s my birthday, give me a little bit of face. Don’t let everyone down.”
Lin Qian: No, I don’t want to give you face.
As soon as Huo YeRui said this, everyone immediately became even more energetic: “The protagonist has spoken, Lin Qian give him some face!”
But then, a familiar voice came from the entrance.
“Who’s giving Lin Qian face?”
The voice was clear and penetrating, audible to everyone, even in this noisy restaurant. The crowd all turned towards the source of this voice. Soon, a commotion started near the entrance, and several girls’ breathing all became audibly heavier.
Zheng PingQing came inside under the eyes of the public. He stood tall and elegant in his semi-formal casual clothes. His eyes exuded a casual indifference, completely inconsistent to his current age, and he had an intense temperament that instantly attracted everyone’s gaze. Many could only give way in the face of such superior strength.
But Zheng PingQing didn’t care about the many eyes trained on him. He simply started walking towards Lin Qian, with the cold indifference in his eyes instantly dissipating as he asked him: “What’s going on?”
Lin Qian pointed towards Tang WanQi, then at Huo YeRui. With a wry smile, he explained: “She lost some game and they asked me to princess carry WanQi around the restaurant.”
Zheng PingQing didn’t even hesitate and immediately objected. “I’m opposed to this.”
His aura was too powerful, and his voice too uncompromising. In a split second, he made everyone lose their fighting spirit. However, a rare tough individual managed not to get affected and retorted: “Why are you opposed? It has nothing to do with you.”
This sentence snapped everyone out of their stupor.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Woah, I almost got carried away. It’s true; it doesn’t have anything to do with you, don’t meddle.”
“I don’t want to hear objections; I want to see them cuddle!”
Even a few of the students attending the same school as Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing tried to figure out why Zheng PingQing of all people wanted to get involved in a situation concerning Lin Qian. “Ah, ah, I guess as long as it has something to do with Lin Qian, Zheng PingQing will automatically oppose him.”
……
The ignorant Tang WanQi blinked in confusion and asked: “Cla.s.smate Zheng, why are you opposed?”
Zheng PingQing raised his eyebrow and softly answered: “Oh, since a younger brother of mine likes you, I can’t let Lin Qian hold you.”
Lin Qian: “….” He’s pretty sure that none of Zheng PingQing’s brothers even knew Tang WanQi.
As soon as Zheng PingQing said this, the crowd burst into a frenzy. Unexpectedly, a seemingly ordinary game led to such a big explosion.
So exciting!
Tang WanQi didn’t expect such an answer. She couldn’t help but utter a faint ‘ah’ as she blushed hard.
Because of his good relationship with tonight’s protagonist, Gou XinDou had also been invited to the party. Amongst the crowd, he asked: “Who likes her?”
Zheng PingQing replied without hesitation. “I can’t say.”
There were several sighs all around, but most of them could understand the secrecy. After all, a brother had the right to some privacy. It was normal for Zheng PingQing to refuse to divulge such secrets.
Lin Qian, the only other person who knew the truth: “…” He can’t say because he doesn’t exist.
The crowd talked amongst themselves, and someone wolf-whistled. Tang WanQi was still red. She was at a loss and didn’t know whether she should walk off or stay.
But on the side, You NiNi’s face had relaxed a little.
Seeing that his plan was about to fail, Huo YeRui, who had arranged the game with much difficulty, cut in. “Your younger brother isn’t WanQi’s boyfriend, so he can’t just prevent other people from doing what they want just because he liked her.”
“I can’t let Lin Qian carry this cla.s.smate.” Zheng PingQing unexpectedly continued to refuse.
By this point, Tang WanQi was so red it looked like all her blood traveled to her face.
Huo YeRui hummed and said: “It’s great that you’re willing to do such things for your brother’s sake, but you can’t just circ.u.mvent the rules of a game.”
Several of Huo YeRui’s friends followed his lead: “That’s right; you’re being too overbearing.”
“We need to see the game through!”
Zheng PingQing looked at Tang WanQi, then at Lin Qian. He then said: “Alright. I won’t break the rules of your game. I’ll take her place and get Lin Qian to carry me instead.”
Lin Qian: “….”
Everyone else in the room: “….”
Lin Qian stayed silent because he didn’t want to expose Zheng PingQing on the spot. He pretended to be reluctant, but ah, he was so eager he almost lost his breath.
The crowd was stunned by the sudden turn of events. After a short silence, the restaurant burst into an unbelievably enthusiastic cheer.
“Wow!! I’ll allow this!”
“Gosh, such loyalty!”
“What kind of genuine brotherhood is this? To protect his brother’s woman, he didn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself?”
“So touching, I’m so moved.”
There were a few voices of doubt: “I wonder if this is real. I think Zheng PingQing’s just planning on doing something to Lin Qian?”
“Walking around while carrying Zheng PingQing around this huge restaurant? Lin Qian’s going to get exhausted.”
“I’m pretty sure Zheng PingQing’s still salty about Lin Qian not buying radishes off him.”
A student from a different school didn’t know such things and asked in a low voice: “That handsome boy’s family is selling radishes?”
“Shhh. Don’t let him hear; people say that they weren’t very good.”
……
It wasn’t too hard for people to start having wild delusions on what was happening.
Xu Yao had also become indignant. “That shameless Zheng PingQing, doesn’t he know how many kilograms he weighs!”
Since it was Lin Qian’s brother, Zheng PingQing patiently replied to his shout. “Fifty-four.”
Xu Yao: “…..” How could this man stay so free and uncaring, utterly devoid of any sort of psychological barrier? At this point, Xu Yao was debating which angle he should spray the blood that threatened to rise from his throat.
Lin Qian also looked very helpless, asking Zheng PingQing: “Do you mind me carrying you?” He wasn’t sure he could carry that much weight for so long.
“Too heavy?” Zheng PingQing frowned, then changed his plan. “Then I can carry you instead.”
The crowd had long been blinded. No matter who held who, the important part was that either way, they were going to witness a momentous scene. So they all readily agreed with the change: “That’s OK too.”
“Hurry up; I’ve already taken off my pants, so get to it!”
Lin Qian: “….” I don’t think so.
But Zheng PingQian didn’t give him the chance to refuse. Taking a step forward, Zheng PingQing put a hand on Lin Qian’s shoulder, put his other hand on his waist, and lifted him up in front of everyone.
He’s so skilled at this!
Lin Qian: = = No wonder Zheng PingQing didn’t hesitate.
Before their rebirth, this posture had often occurred between them. Of course, it happened before and after a certain sport. Lin Qian figured Zheng PingQing had really missed this posture.
Zheng PingQing had been so resolute and decisive when he brought Lin Qian into his arms. His movements were fluid and neat, without an ounce of mishandling. Nevermind Lin Qian, even the audience couldn’t immediately react to his steady action.
It wasn’t until Zheng PingQing started to walk around with Lin Qian in his arms that they all managed to respond. Thunderous applause started, with many whistling and cheering.
“Ah, ah, a real-life princess carry, I’m so jealous!”
“I actually saw Zheng PingQing hug Lin Qian in this lifetime?! I need to buy a lottery ticket!”
“Did anyone take a picture?”
“I feel like crying. I think this scene is even worse than seeing them fight.”
“Famous scene, famous scene!”
……
You NiNi’s black mood was finally swept away. Relived, she let out a smile.
No matter the situation, the fact was that Lin Qian didn’t carry any other woman.
Instead, it was Luo RunWei who violently rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure Zheng PingQing just wanted to hold that guy this entire time. He even did it when they skated this afternoon.”
You NiNi ignored Luo RunWei. She knew that RunWei was still angry with Zheng PingQing and simply wanted to badmouth him for ditching her.
Xu Yao, however, was moments away from fainting. Shaking Jiang TingJun’s shoulders, he said: “Zheng PingQing’s too excessive! He actually princess carried Ah Qian!”
“Quick, tie a few barbells to Lin Qian to crush Zheng PingQing to death!”
“Zheng PingQing is actually stronger than Ah Qian; I refuse to believe this!”
Jiang TingJun was confused by Xu Yao’s rambling. “When Zheng PingQing was going to get carried by Ah Qian you were angry. Now that its Zheng PingQing carrying Ah Qian, you’re still mad? What is it that you want exactly?”
At this, Xu Yao was speechless for a minute. After some deliberation, he answered: “For them to not have any relationship at all?”
Jiang TingJun, the logical man that he was, raised an important detail. “But then Ah Qian would have to carry WanQi!”
Xu Yao: “……”
Xu Yao felt very tired. “One of my friends is currently being princess carried by a thief. Another friend is dragging my legs. I think the world hates me.”
Jiang TingJun sympathetically patted his head like one would a dog.
It was only one lap around the restaurant, but Lin Qian’s body was very different to that of a girl’s. They didn’t really want to force Zheng PingQing to finish his walk. They were all fellow students. After getting a kick out of such a fantastic scene, they all stopped pressuring Zheng PingQing to continue.
But really, Zheng PingQing didn’t feel a single ounce of pressure in the first place. Of course Lin Qian wasn’t light, but there was an undeniable harmony to the way their bodies fit together.
At first, Lin Qian had been caught off guard by the sudden lift, but the familiarity of the embrace soon calmed him down.
He didn’t feel particularly shy and didn’t feel the need to hide from all these people watching. He simply relaxed and even wrapped an arm around Zheng PingQing’s neck to distribute his weight better.
Not only that, Lin Qian even took this opportunity to chat with Zheng PingQing: “Why’d you change your clothes?”
That afternoon, Zheng PingQing plainly said that they were going to wear couple’s clothes to the party.
Zheng PingQing’s eyes dimmed as he replied: “They accidentally got dirty.”
Lin Qian didn’t ask how it got dirty, but instead smiled and said: “I guess they don’t get to know that we’re together.”
Zheng PingQing was indifferent as he replied: “Like I care about them.”
Lin Qian thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Well, we’re us. We don’t need to worry about what other people think.”
When Zheng PingQing finally put him down, Lin Qian generously waved towards the crowd. “I’ll be collecting tickets for the next performance, ah.”
Taking advantage of the jolly atmosphere, You NiNi finally approached and patted the shoulder of the retreating Lin Qian. “Mr. Lin, wait a minute.”
Lin Qian turned around and looked at her oddly. “What’s the matter?”
“Um, can I get your phone number?” You NiNi blushed as she asked this daring question.
Lin Qian frowned. Then Zheng PingQing grabbed Lin Qian by the wrist and asked You NiNi: “Did you lose some game too?”
You NiNi jumped, not expecting Zheng PingQing to be nearby and to talk to her again. When Zheng PingQing asked You NiNi this question, she felt uneasy, and she hesitated, but she eventually nodded. “Yes.”
“Oh, alright. Take out your phone then.” Zheng PingQing said.
At these words, You NiNi automatically handed over her cell phone.
Zheng PingQing quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed her phone and quickly typed in a number. Then he pulled Lin Qian away, leaving a sluggish You NiNi. Soon, Luo RunWei came over, her face dark: “Why did you get Zheng PingQing’s number?”
You NiNi felt wronged. “I didn’t!!!”
On the other end, Lin Qian was also questioning Zheng PingQing via torture. “You actually gave her your number!”
Zheng PingQing’s face didn’t change one bit as he replied: “I gave her Dong MingEn’s number.”
The author has something to say:
One day, Dong MingEn received an anonymous text message: ‘h.e.l.lo, this is You NiNi from No. 9. I was just wondering if we could maybe study for the college entrance exams together?’
Dong MingEn: excited!
You NiNi: ‘What university are you aiming for?’
Dong MingEn: ‘……XX Vocational School.’
You NiNi: ‘I’m sorry for the inconvenience, I texted the wrong person.’
Dong MingEn: ah, ah, ah, ah, these crazy study fanatics!