CH 112

Feng-shu’s niece had average cooking skills, so it was no wonder that the business wasn’t doing so well. If Wen Chuo had known, he would have gone to the restaurant across the street. Wen Chuo’s mood was turning sour, and it affected his appetite. After a few bites, he couldn’t stuff any more of it down his throat. Bai Yang wasn’t a picky eater, and he cleaned up all the rice in his bowl very well. The only thing was, he wouldn’t grab any food from the dishes on the table.

“Puh, eat some of the dishes. How could you be full just from eating rice? No wonder why you’re as skinny as a stick.”

Wen Chuo furrowed his eyebrows and picked up his chopsticks to put some food into Bai Yang’s bowl until it was half full. Then he filled it up with rice again until the little bowl was stacked like a mountain. Bai Yang paused before continuing to eat, silently and seriously.

Although Wen Chuo didn’t take any more bites, he was too lazy to leave. Purely here for the air conditioning, he leaned against the wall and began to play a game on his phone. Feng-shu gave him a look, knowing full well what Wen Chuo was up to, but he purposefully asked anyway, 

“Hoh, are you that bored with lots of money? Haven’t touched a single dish.”

Wen Chuo’s eyes were glued to his phone as he sat with his back against the wall and one leg on Bai Yang’s knees. He lazily replied, 

“No thanks. So terrible to eat, I can’t stomach any of it at all.”

The restaurant was very small which meant the distance between here and the kitchen was only about a few steps away. The moment Wen Chuo’s words were spoken, a thick browed, large-eyed female wearing a chef’s hat appeared loudly from behind the plastic curtain doorway, 

“Who said my food was terrible? Who said so?!”

Wen Chuo lazily raised his hand up, very openly claiming that he was the one, 

“Me.”

That girl also had her wok raised up very high when she stepped out, but the moment she saw that the person who spoke was Wen Chuo, she suddenly brought her hands down, looking very embarrassed. Then with overly elegant and light hands, she put the wok back onto the stove and then took off her chef’s hat. Letting down her two little black braids, she stood in front of where Wen Chuo was sitting, 

“It’s you little hooligan again. This is the first time I’ve cooked, okay. I’ve already worked so hard just for this one table, can’t you compliment me?”

Liu Meng Meng had a crush on Wen Chuo and everyone with eyes could see that. But it wasn’t such a strange nor curious thing, as there were waves of girls on this street alone who had a crush on him; she wasn’t the only one.

Although Wen Chuo had always been yelled at for being a young thug, it cannot be helped that girls loved these kinds of bad boys. Even looking at him for more than a few seconds would make them blush red. But, like was like; no one really wanted to marry him. Not to speak of whether their family would agree or not, just looking at him and his jobless, aimless life, it would mean to be poor for the rest of your life if they married him.

Lin Xian was very small, and those who lived here are very realistic. The days gone by, sowed with hard and gruelling work just for food and shelter, within a few years, it could turn a wealthy man’s wife into a crazed, swearing shrew, and it could teach a well raised wealthy descendent into a thuggish hooligan.

Just like the late Liu Ruo Qing, and just like the Wen Chuo of today.

“Hey, look at you. I’m eating because I spent the money, so it’s not even eating without paying. Just because it’s the first time you made food shouldn’t be the reason for me to be punished. But since I’m so generous, I won’t start a fight with a beautiful lady.”

Wen Chuo threw a peanut into his mouth, looking so shameless and like he was up to no good. Paired with his fierce eyebrows, it framed him in a way that made him look very handsome, so much so he could hook souls out of bodies. Seeing him compliment her, Liu Meng Meng’s ears started to burn, and she twirled her braid around and around, looking quite like a shy youthful girl, 

“Only you have so many words to say. Hasn’t Bai Yang been eating so well?”

Since the beginning, Bai Yang had only been silently eating his meal; his presence was almost down to zero. Liu Meng Meng looked over at him and met up with his very distinct black and white eyes, and her heart suddenly felt like it had skipped a beat from the fear that erupted from the deep depths of those eyes, hidden without a single light reflecting.

“Who? Bai Yang?” 

Wen Chuo didn’t have any sense of what just happened, and he chuckled in response to her question. Resting his arm on Bai Yang’s shoulders and squeezing his clean white cheeks, he said,

“He loves to not waste food. Whatever you give he can eat it all. Isn’t that right, Bai Yang?”

Bai Yang didn’t speak, only silently looking at Wen Chuo. His face didn’t have much of an expression, and Wen Chuo suddenly got the same feeling as Liu Meng Meng. His heart suddenly froze, and he chuckled mockingly before letting go of him.

Bai Yang silently stood up and then went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

There was still about more than half of the food left on the dishes as the both of them had not moved their chopsticks much. Liu Meng Meng turned her head around towards the back, 

“Ah, since there aren’t many customers around, sit down and eat some more. How can you stand it when you only eat steamed buns everyday?”

A faint sound of clinks and clangs of dishes lightly knocking against each other came out of the kitchen along with the noise of flowing water, but no one responded.

Wen Chuo slightly paused before looking at the food left in Bai Yang’s bowl and then towards the kitchen covered by those plastic curtains. He threw down the peanut shells and dusted his hands before saying to Liu Meng Meng, 

“Look at how terrible your cooking is. Bai Yang couldn’t even eat it anymore.”

“……”

Wen Chuo hadn’t said anything; he had only, only kissed Bai Yang once.

When it was the afternoon, when the sun wasn’t shining as brightly as it had at noon, Wen Chuo walked out of the restaurant, bumping right into Shan Dian and his groupies who were bumming around on the streets.

“Hey, Wen Chuo, the cafe just got a new game. Let’s go try it out. I think it looks pretty good.”

Shan Dian has only ever shaved his hair down to a short length, yet he was still very stubborn about leaving that bit of hair in a dumb looking lightning symbol. Wen Chuo jumped on the spot a few times as if to stretch and warm up his muscles, yet also looking as if he was contemplating something. He finally tilted up his chin and said, 

“Let’s go. To the internet cafe.”

Since the beginning of middle school, Wen Chuo grew up in internet cafes. Playing games everyday and playing games everyday. He had in his hands a few high level gaming accounts, and when he needed money, he’d sell one. Need some more money, sell some more. All the way until now where he’s left with only one.

The internet cafe was filled with smoke and other scents. One of the more crazy fellows in the bar has been here since half a month ago and hasn’t left for his home since. Wen Chuo found an empty spot but upon finding that the keyboard was filled with dandruff and that the headphones were oily and greasy, he switched to a new spot with a disgusted face.

He put his leg on the other knee as he sat on the chair and then went to put his remaining high level account on the market, waiting for someone to contact him. The owner was just selling instant noodles and seeing him in this stance, patted him and said, 

“Hey hey hey, leg.”

The owner of the cafe looked down on Wen Chuo and the group. Without fail, he’d always give them the stink eye whenever he saw them and there was a time where he upped the prices and sold them all expired food.

Wen Chuo lifted up his head and closed his eyes before putting down his leg.

The owner muttered, 

“What pieces of shit. Just looking at you lot and people would be afraid. Must have been mortal enemies in the past life.”

Wen Chuo raised his eyebrow, 

“A father and son aren’t really family if they didn’t have animosity towards each other. Do you think I look like your dad huh?”1

“Heh—-!”

The owner immediately slammed the instant noodles on the table and pointed at Wen Chuo, 

“What did you say, you rat bastard? Say it again to my face if you dare!”

Shan Dian and the gang were all just sitting beside Wen Chuo and they all immediately stood up at the owner’s words. They followed along each other to bang the keyboards and said,

“What hey, said you look like our son. What? Didn’t hear it clearly huh?”

“What Wen Chuo said was right, fathers and sons aren’t really family if they didn’t have animosity towards each other.”

The owner became agitated and pointed at the lot, 

“Go go go! I don’t want your business! All shitheads who have mothers but didn’t get taught!”

Wen Chuo had just sold his account and so at that, he pushed back his chair and emotionlessly pointed at the owner’s head. Underneath the gaze of the other’s slightly fearful eyes, he walked out. Shan Dian and them looked at each other, before reacting and chasing after him.

“Ah ah ah, Wen Chuo, where are you going? We’ve already paid the money. If we don’t play, we’d have wasted it.”

Wen Chuo flipped over to sit on the railing, a bit irritated, 

Shan Dian grabbed his hair, a bit downtrodden, 

“I just started a game on  << Jue Jing >>, and I’ll have to surrender before I even start. Meh!”2 

A boy wearing glasses beside them said, 

“Scared of what. It’s not only you. Quite a few people have been stuck on the first level. Even Jiu Cang, that hero rank number 1 streamer, has only beaten the first level now.”

<< Jue Jing >> was a new FPS game with an extremely high difficulty. The game company had some big backing and they contracted quite a few streamers to play it as a promotion. Even though it just came out, it has already found itself in the eyes of the public, but unfortunately too many still haven’t understood the mechanics and so even just the first couple levels have blocked a lot of people from advancing.

The popularity of this game in his past life lasted for a very long time. Wen Chuo had played it to death, and hearing Shan Dian and them talking their tongues off about it, a thought suddenly appeared at the bottom of his heart. Other people couldn’t play << Jue Jing >> well, but he could. If he led new players to win, with a new group every time, the amount he would earn wouldn’t be small……

The more Wen Chuo thought about it, the more he believed it could work. But then he was stuck with another new problem — he didn’t own a computer.

Liu Xian was small, and there were only those two internet bars. It wasn’t great to always sink his time everyday at one, so it was better to buy his own computer. But what should he do if he doesn’t have enough money?

Wen Chuo couldn’t help but think of Bai Yang……

[ Ding! Please, my dear host, be more self conscious and follow the rules of being self-sufficient and self-reliant. If you disobey, your life points will be deducted an appropriate amount ]

Every time Wen Chuo heard a “ding”, his head would hurt. He raised his eyebrows and asked, 

“Borrowing money. Borrowing money counts as being reliant?!”

[ …… Other people don’t count, but you count. ]

Wen Chuo: “Why?”

[ Because I think you won’t return it ]

Wen Chuo: “……”

Wen Chuo’s anger almost exploded out of him, but he really didn’t think about returning what he borrowed. He took a deep breath and then laughed out coldly, 

“Borrow a bit of money and my life points will be deducted. You must have a lot of hosts who have died by your hands, right?”

Wen Chuo lit up a cigarette and said, 

“Say it. How many lives have been on your hands? Let me prepare myself mentally.”

[ …… My host, please don’t slander this system!!! ]

From the bottom of its heart, out of the goodness of its conscience, it has always only used this to scare-scare its host. At most, shock them a few times, but it has never really deducted their life points.

The system thought, its generosity has been slandered.

TL Tidbit: The name of the  troublemaker friend of Wen Chuo who is said to have a lightning bolt on his head also means “lightning bolt”.

Notes:

*1  A father and son aren’t really family if they didn’t have animosity towards each other is a phrase that has been usually considered to be passed down orally, but it has been seen in some historical texts like folktales, and it usually has a second phrase that basically says a wife and husband can’t be really a wife and a husband if they didn’t have resentment towards each other.

There’s a few ways to interpret this, but one way to see this is in modern times, it’s mostly because of how children are raised, in particular the very strict standards and being rebellious against their fathers for enforcing such strict rules and growing hatred at the restrictions and certain ways you have to act in the culture. As they say, filial piety is the basis…

In any case, this phrase has also been tied with religion such as buddhism with reincarnation, about cycles of life, and to have been mortal enemies in a past life means you have to “end” that animosity in this life somehow (reminds me of the phrases daughters are their father’s past lover / sons are their father’s past mortal enemies)

*2 Jue Jing: I’ve learned my lesson from golden money sword last volume haha, so you get the pinyin for these names now. In any case, Jue Jing can mean like something like the apocalypse, where it’s basically a moment/place where it feels like there is no way out (stuck between a rock and a hard place, somewhere where you have no hope of escaping).