Qing Kuang Chapter 108

Published at 10th of May 2023 01:16:57 PM

Kou Chen had always known his dad got good grades in school. So did all of his siblings, and all of their children. Apart from that one named Kou Chen.

The books in his dad’s study all looked pretty philosophical too. Although Kou Chen always thought he didn’t do anything too advanced, worked as a contractor or something, his company was indeed centred around polymers or whatever materials. He was never interested, so he never asked. Of course, his dad never talked about work at home anyways, saying that home is a place to relax… 

Kou Chen thinks he can add one more thing to that, home is a place to hit your son.

Actually, everything pointed to the fact that his dad was a good student, but Kou Chen just didn’t want to accept it. The fear of getting made into a sausage has followed him for many years, after all.

But now, he had no choice but to accept reality.

That is, he can’t guarantee he will pass all of his finals, but his father might actually get into Peking University. 

That’ll be way too embarrassing.

“I think it’s too mysterious,” Jiang Lei said. “Maybe my grades are limiting my imagination, I think we need to go ask Old Yuan if it’s true?”

“Let’s go.” Kou Chen agreed immediately.

They turned around and headed for the building.

Old Yuan was just walking out of his office with a lunchbox in his hands. Seeing them, he smiled: “What is it? Coming to me for news?”

“My dad said he got dozens of points more than me,” Kou Chen said, forgetting to even greet him. “Is that true?”

“It’s not.” Old Yuan closed the door. 

“Fuck!” Kou Chen yelled. “I knew-”

“He got almost a hundred points more than you,” Old Yuan said. “His English mark was pretty high, he was probably just sparing your pride.”

They all went silent.

Kou Chen’s mouth opened and closed, before he blocked Old Yuan’s path and asked: “Old Yuan, tell me the truth, did you leak the questions to him?” 

“How could I?” Old Yaun smiled. “I’m not that kind of person. But you can ask your dad. He called me and said studying is annoying, and he wanted to give up.”

“Why didn’t he give up?!” Kou Chen said.

“He said he wants to do it with you,” Old Yuan said. “To see just how long you’ll last, and how long he can last. There aren’t many parents who will do that.”

“Not my dad that’s for sure,” Wei Chaoren said. 

“My dad probably can’t even do better than me,” Jiang Lei said.

“Fine,” Kou Chen grit his teeth. “Let’s see then. Why should I be scared?”

“You’re not?” Hu Yi said. “High school for him was ages ago, to get a mark like that after just a little bit of studying…”

“Shut up, you.” Kou Chen smacked Hu Yi. 

Huo Ran felt quite some admiration for Old Yuan as they left the building.

Old Yuan really was amazing. For someone like Kou Chen, only his dad, someone he’d been fighting against since he was a kid, could incite him so much.

For Kou Chen, nothing was more embarrassing than losing to his dad, and nothing felt better than beating his dad. 

Huo Ran glanced back at Old Yuan, who was cheerfully following them to the cafeteria. Good for you, you behind-the-scenes mastermind.

But his train of thought was quickly cut off by Kou Chen making him think “are you okay?”.

“I’m not celebrating my birthday anymore,” Kou Chen said. “It’ll waste a few days of my time!”

Everyone turned to look at him. 

“You can skip lunch too,” Huo Ran said. “It’ll waste an hour of your time.”

“You’re right,” Kou Chen pointed at him, and then he headed towards the classroom.

“Where are you going?” Old Yuan asked.

“Going to study in the classroom,” Kou Chen said. 

“You’re not eating?” Old Yuan looked at him.

“Nope, it’s a waste of time,” Kou Chen said.

“You need to steady yourself,” Old Yuan patted his shoulder. “I understand your feelings, but it won’t do you any good to push yourself so hard. From my experience, you should do it step by step. Take the time to eat and have fun, but put everything into studying when it’s time.”

“Old Yuan’s right,” Xu Chuan said. “Besides, if you study so hard without even eating and then you lose to your dad again, that’ll be way too embarrassing. Study like normal, and then you can say that wasn’t the best you could do.” 

“…Whose side are you on, Chuan-ge?” Kou Chen looked at him.

“You’re side,” Xu Chuan took his hand and shook it. “Welcome to Team Let’s Go Eat in the Cafeteria.”

The rest of them applauded, making passerbys glance at them in curiosity.

“Okay okay, lunch first, lunch first,” Kou Chen furrowed his brows and looked at Huo Ran, who was clapping. “Why are you learning from them?” 

If it were any other person it might not be such a big deal, but it had to be Kou Chen. When his mind is made up, nobody can stop him, and nobody wanted to try.

Besides, studying hard wasn’t anything bad, and he had all of his friends suffering with him too.

But not only did he have to study, he also had to work on the bracelets at home during the weekends, as well as write a card and love letter… Life was hard.

Kou Chen 

I have written two letters in my lifetime. One, in elementary school when our teacher had us write about the person we admired the most, and I wrote about Doraemon. There’s no way he got it, and my teacher said I wanted to be rewarded for doing nothing. Sad. Two, was the one Old Yuan had us write, and that was actually pretty fun.

This is the third letter.

For you.

I never thought I would like someone, and that they would be a man at that. It’s hard to believe. I’m never writing another one again, it’s too much work. I didn’t really have a choice for this letter, this love letter. 

I don’t know what to write I don’t know what to write I don’t know what to write I don’t know what to write

How do you write a love letter?

I searched up some examples, and they were all so cheesy, I don’t even want to copy them. I doubt you’d want to read them either.

No more! I have to study, I’m even skipping meals. I have to study, why do I have to write a love letter? 

Okay, this is the end.

Very sincerely.

Kou Chen, I really like you. I can’t help but look at you during class. Sometimes when Xu Zhifan is sitting beside him, I would miss you (sorry Xu Zhifan, but it’s not like he’ll see this anyways). I don’t know how long I will like you for, maybe a long time, but as long as I still like you, I will put everything into it. As long as I still like you, you can’t change.

Pinky promise. 

Huo Ran.

At the very bottom, Huo Ran drew a pair of hands with their pinkies looped around each other.

It took him a while to draw, and he took a photo of his own two hands, shrunk it down and printed it, then traced it onto the letter.

The letter was pretty perfunctory, but he really didn’t know how to write it. After all, he always had to use little tricks to meet the word requirements for his essays and just barely pass. 

It took him a week! With taking photos and printing and tracing.

But he was satisfied with it.

But the bracelets… He has to finish them today. It was the last weekend before Kou Chen’s birthday, so he has to take them with him when he goes back to school today.

He could fix bikes, fix the chains, and adjust them with no problem at all, if he fails his university entrance exams he might as well just open up a bike repair shop. But he didn’t expect that he would mess up over ten times just making a bracelet. 

In hindsight, buying twenty clasps was a bit dumb of him. He didn’t realize that he could just reuse the clasps, but the chain grew shorter and shorter with each failure.

He had already used up half of the best black chain he had. Each time he would either break it, or distort it enough that the clasp won’t go on.

He might be stupid.

He still had enough chain to mess up some more, but time was running out. 

“Please, God,” He sat on the floor, picking up the fliers. “I can fix bikes, I’ve even linked my own chains. If you don’t let me succeed at least once, it might ruin my future outdoors, I’d be to embarrassed to ride a bike ever again. Really… thanks. Forget it, I’ll just be honest. I’m making this for my boyfriend, if I don’t finish it today, I’m screwed. Thank you!”

Kou Chen sat on the couch in the living room, scrolling through his phone. Huo Ran just posted something, a string of “hahahaha”s.

The others hahahed along, not even caring what he was laughing about. Each comment was exactly the same. 

Kou Chen laughed and joined in.

“I’ll take you to school later.” His dad walked over with a cigarette in his mouth.

“Do you want to die?” Kou Chen immediately looked around. “Mom is gonna stab you.”

“She’s getting her nails done with your sister.” His dad waved the cigarette in front of him. “Want a puff?” 

“No,” Kou Chen shoved his hand away. “Can’t you encourage better habits?”

“It’s not like you’ll listen,” His dad said. “Sitting here on your phone, not studying.”

“Have you finished your homework?” Kou Chen asked.

His dad snorted: “I finished it yesterday. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me now. I’ll teach you.” 

“No need!” Kou Chen raised his voice. “I don’t need it! I already finished it! I know how to do everything!”

His dad laughed for a bit, and then he stood up: “Come on, I’ll take you to school.”

In the car, Kou Chen couldn’t help but ask: “Dad, if there’s anything you don’t understand, who do you ask?” 

His dad glanced at him. “I’ll call your teachers. I’m not like you, I have the foundation, and I understand things quick.”

“Damn?” Kou Chen looked at him. “You ask the teachers?”

“What, you can ask but I can’t?” His dad raised an eyebrow. “Your Mr. Yu is about to resign because of you.”

Kou Chen paused, and then he couldn’t help but laugh. 

“But he hasn’t resigned yet, keep asking.” His dad patted him on the shoulder. “Good kid.”

Kou Chen looked at him.

“I actually don’t have very high expectations for you,” He said. “I just want to see you work hard like you are right now, nothing else.”

“Really?” Kou Chen asked. 

“If you fail you still have to go abroad,” His dad said. “You can’t go back on your word.”

“Just you wait,” Kou Chen said, staring ahead cooly.

Kou Chen’s birthday surprise was already half set up. 

They’ve bought the balloons and helium tank.

After some discussion, the tank was shoved under Wei Chaoren’s bed.

“I thank God for giving me such sincere friendships,” Wei Chaoren said.

“Just a few days, we’ll head over on Saturday,” Xu Chuan said. 

“What if they leak by Sunday?” Jiang Lei asked.

“They won’t, we bought double-layer balloons, it’ll be sealed shut,” Xu Zhifan said.

“Can’t we just go on Sunday?” Huo Ran asked.

“What if something happens? We’ll need time to deal with it, and then it’ll be too late to set everything up,” Xu Zhifan said. 

“Very thorough.” Hu Yi gave him a thumbs up.

Huo Ran looked at the others. He felt happy, and at ease.

“Why do I smell bike oil on your hands?” Kou Chen sat on the bleachers at the field, and he tugged Huo Ran’s hand towards himself to smell. “Bike stuff?” 

“Mhm, I changed the chain,” Huo Ran said.

He washed his hands very carefully, but the smell wasn’t that easy to get rid of. Kou Chen hadn’t noticed it before, but he was probably extra sensitive these days because it was almost his birthday.

As expected, Kou Chen asked: “Are you getting me a bike?”

“Wake up, will you? They’re thousands of dollars, even I have to wait for a special occasion so my dad will buy it for me,” Huo Ran said. “I’m not getting you a bike.” 

“That’s good, I told you, I want something handmade,” Kou Chen said.

“Mhm,” Huo Ran nodded.

“Then are you getting me a chain?” Kou Chen thought about it. “As a belt?”

Huo Ran sighed, feeling the pain of Kou Chen’s deteriorating taste. 

“Are you making something with the wheels?” Kou Chen said.

“I’ll print a picture of myself on the wheel, and you can hang it in your bedroom,” Huo Ran said.

“Creative!” Kou Chen put an arm around him in approval. “Seriously, I like that.”

“Let’s change the topic,” Huo Ran said. 

“Did you finish the love letter?” Kou Chen asked.

“…Why don’t we just study?” Huo Ran flipped open the book. “Your English mark was the worst, let’s start with that?”

“Okay,” Kou Chen nodded.

Kou Chen’s family threw a very big party for his birthday. His dad invited all of the relatives that he could. It was comparable to a wedding banquet.

None of the others attended. Kou Chen felt that it was a bit too much.

-look at this

He sent a photo in the group chat. 

There was a poster hung by the door of the hotel. It was a photo of Kou Chen, with a bunch of words like “my dear son is of age” and all that. On the other side of the door was a poster for someone else’s baby turning a month old.

They couldn’t stop laughing.

Huo Ran suddenly realized where Kou Chen’s strange tastes came from.

The poster was a really handsome photo of Kou Chen, taken in their backyard. Kou Chen probably didn’t know what the photo was gonna be used for, so he looked relaxed and cooperative. 

But the colourful words printed on the poster really made Huo Ran wonder.

Kou Chen’s dad was an educated horror movie butcher, he dressed well normally, and he was rich, but he somehow designed a poster that looked like it came out of the 90s.

That’s right, the poster must have been personally commissioned by Kou Chen’s dad. If not, the graphic designer would’ve long since starved to death.

-I miss you 

Kou Chen sent the photo, and then he messaged Huo Ran privately.

Huo Ran was crouched by a freshly dug hole, feeling a bit like he was sneaking around. He glanced beside him.

“If you’re not gonna work, go away.” Jiang Lei dug furiously at the ground with a small hoe. “And you’re playing on your phone, who are you trying to piss off?”

-I miss you too 

Huo Ran didn’t move.

-did you finish the love letter yet, is that in it

-yes yes yes yes!

Huo Ran sighed in between his laughs. 

-I’m off to eat now, I don’t know any of these relatives, call you later

-okay

Huo Ran picked up the shovel and started digging.

The ground was pretty soft, so they made short work of things together. They had five holes dug in less than an hour.

“I just realized.” Xu Chuan was next to a hole. “How many holes do we need? Huo Ran doesn’t even know what he wants to write on them yet. What if he just wants to say ‘I love you’?”

“…That’s too cheesy, I can’t.” Huo Ran quickly waved him off. “And it’s too much, we’re not gonna start talking about love so soon. That’s for the little kids.”

“Think about it now then. Just five words, more than that and we have no holes. No less either, we can’t have dug these for nothing,” Xu Zhifan said. 

“Let me think.” Huo Ran furrowed his brows and started thinking.

They all crouched there in a circle looking at him, and it felt a little intimidating.

“Help him out,” Jiang Lei said.

“Kou Chen I love you,” Wei Chaoren said. 

“Huo Ran loves you lots,” Jiang Lei said.

Xu Chuan pointed at the two of them: “Starting now, you two shut up for five minutes.”

“What was the first thing Kou Chen ever said to you?” Xu Zhifan suddenly asked.

“…Don’t remember,” Huo Ran paused. 

“I think it was an insult,” Hu Yi said. “They met for the first time on the battlefield.”

“I think it was…” Huo Ran tried to recall the moment. “It was… Fuck again?”

They all fell silent.

“That’s too uncivilized,” Xu Chuan said. 

“Why don’t you just say something cheesy,” Xu Zhifan said. “It’s not like we’re gonna judge.”

“I have a little secret,” Huo Ran said.

“Hm?” They all paused.

“Before we, you know… confessed,” Huo Ran cleared his throat. “I… something like that, a secret and all.” 

Xu Chuan counted: “It's a little long, you can split secret in two, and we’ll dig one more hole.”

“I have a little secret.” Xu Zhifan clapped his hands. “Let’s get to it.”

I have a little secret.

I didn’t think I would ever tell you. 

I like you a lot, Kou Chen.

Chapter end