Qing Kuang Chapter 92

Published at 10th of May 2023 01:03:02 PM

On the way to eat, Huo Ran couldn’t stop laughing every time he thought about Kou Chen’s dad saying ‘fly for me’.

“Did my dad hit you?” Kou Chen looked t him. 

“No,” Huo Ran laughed. “How could he? You’re probably the only one he hits.”

“Did he yell at you?” Kou Chen asked again.

AD

“Nope,” Huo Ran said. “Actually, a lot of conflicts are because of the person and not the actual problem, you know? It’s easier to talk about it with anyone else.”

“Then what happened to you? You’ve been smiling the whole way.” Kou Chen touched his face. “Is it because you’re so happy to have bagged the handsome me?” 

“…Yeah,” Huo Ran laughed even harder.

“That I can understand,” Kou Chen wasn’t modest at all. “Forget the buffet, it’s too far away. Let’s find a place nearby.”

“Anything you want,” Huo Ran nodded. “Oh yeah, your dad told me to tell you that he’ll be waiting for you in Old Yuan’s office tomorrow at 10.”

“What, he wants a fight?” Kou Chen said.

“Old Yuan might’ve had an idea,” Huo Ran said. “I think it’s a step. You’re almost out of money too, he said he’ll give you your allowance tomorrow.”

“Even just for the money. Kou Chen sighed.

Huo Ran patted him on the back in comfort. And then he really couldn’t resist, so he laughed and asked Kou Chen: “Did you hear what your dad yelled earlier?”

AD

“What?” Kou Chen furrowed his brows. “I usually pretend to ignore him.” 

“Fly for me—” Huo Ran happily imitated Kou Chen’s dad, “Fly—”

Kou Chen started laughing: “Even this makes you fucking laugh?”

“It’s funny, especially when I remember it’s a Kou Family tradition.” Huo Ran cackled.

“Hey,” Kou Chen looked at him, and then he looked around. He leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Huo Ran, can I kiss you?” 

Yes!

…No, no, no! We’re in the middle of the street!

Before he could say anything, Kou Chen had already planted a kiss on his face.

Forget it. 

Just go with it.

He was feeling great anyways.

He should write a book called “The Descent of a Pure Young Man”.

As they were eating, Xu Zhifan texted them to ask about the situation.

“Why didn’t he send it in the group chat?” Kou Chen said.

“In case it’s something we can’t say in front of everyone,” Huo Ran said. “Xu Zhifan’s very considerate.” 

“Tell him we’re fine.” Kou Chen thought about it, “I’ll go back to the dorms tonight.”

“No more hotel?” Huo Ran asked.

“Isn’t the fight tomorrow?” Kou Chen frowned. “I’m kinda nervous.”

“Scared you’ll lose?” Huo Ran looked at him. 

“Scared that even after all of this, nothing will change in the end,” Kou Chen said. “If he’s still the same as before, there’s no way I’ll do something like this again.”

“Let me give you some advice,” Huo Ran said. “Don’t just think about what you want from your dad, and what he wants from you. Think about why he wants you to go abroad. It’s because of your grades and attitude, right?”

“I was going to tell him that my grades in middle school weren’t that bad, about average? Or… a little below average, or just… below?” The more Kou Chen spoke, the worse it got.

“Do you want to study hard and improve?” Huo Ran said. “Then tell him that.” 

“That’s not it,” Kou Chen quickly explained. “No way, I know what kind of person I am. I can set a goal, but it can’t be that high. An unachievable goal isn’t gonna motivate me.”

Huo Ran rested his cheek on his palm and clicked his tongue.

“Come on,” Kou Chen said. “I’m being serious.”

“I know. We’ll start small.” Huo Ran pushed his own cup over to his, and clinked it gently. Then he picked it up to take a small sip of tea. “Say that tomorrow.” 

Kou Chen took a sip as well, and then mirrored his position.

“What?” Huo Ran didn’t move.

“Just looking?” Kuu Chen said.

“Enjoying the view?” Huo Ran raised his chin. 

“Too handsome.” Kou Chen raised an eyebrow. “Mine.”

Huo Ran laughed.

“Yes or no!” Kou Chen hissed at him.

“Yes,” Huo Ran nodded with a smile. 

After they ate, the got a cab back to the hotel to refund the room and to get their stuff.

“Don’t tell her,” Kou Chen said. “She’s gonna think that it’s an insult to her intelligence, she’ll be pissed.”

“Do you have everything?” Huo Ran glanced at his phone. “We’ll be back in time, and then we can talk to the others too.”

“Mhm,” Kou Chen tossed his packed bag to the group and turned around, opening his arms wide. “Come.”

“What?” Huo Ran tensed up. 

“Hurry,” Kou Chen said. “We won’t have the chance anymore when we’re back at school.”

“What… ch chance?” Huo Ran tensed up even more.

“Stop fucking playing dumb!” Kou Chen sat down on the bed, arms still open. “Come here, give me a good kiss!”

“Shut up!” It felt like all the blood in Huo Ran’s body had rushed to his head. It was almost suffocating. 

“We can touch each other, and I want to bite you too.” Not only did Kou Chen not shut up, he said everything that he wanted to say out loud. “Of course, if you want to bite me I can bear the pain, I…”

Before he could finish, Huo Ran pounced, pinning Kou Chen to the bed.

“You poked my ribs, can you be careful!” Kou Chen rubbed his ribs. “You haven’t been beaten up enough…”

Huo Ran leaned down and pressed his lips to Kou Chen’s. 

Kou Chen froze, not moving or breathing for a few seconds. Then he powered back on and grabbed Huo Ran’s shirt to lift him up.

Huo Ran’s phone rang from where it lay on the floor. Kou Chen flipped around and hugged him, burying his face in his stomach and mumbling: “Don’t pick up.”

“What if it’s important?” Huo Ran said.

“You’re just a damn student, your most important position is being the basketball captain, what important calls are you getting?” Kou Chen said. 

Huo Ran started laughing, and Kou Chen’s head vibrated up and down with the movement of his stomach.

“Hey,” Huo Ran exhaled, puffing up Kou Chen’s head. “You know it feels pretty dirty right now? Like…”

“Are you hinting at something?” Kou Chen propped himself up on his arms. He tugged his pants down slightly with one hand. “I’m not opposed to it.”

“No!” Huo Ran yelled, grabbing his pants. “That’s not what I meant, I was trying to say that… it’s kinda similar.” 

“You have watched too many dirty films.” Kou Chen bit his stomach. Then he got off the bed and headed to the bathroom in his underwear. “Still got them? Sharing is caring.”

“No!” Huo Ran laughed and sat up.

“Are they straight ones?” Kou Chen poked his head out of the bathroom door again. “Maybe we should find some…”

“If you’re not gonna shower then get out!” Huo Ran hopped off the bed. 

“Oh?” Kou Chen immediately got out of the bathroom. “That’s what I’m saying, the great Captain Huo, how could he be satisfied with just a hand? At the very least…”

“I’m warning you, Kou Chen.” Huo Ran pushed him into the wall with both hands on his shoulders. “Calm down.”

“And if I don’t?” Kou Chen raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll stroke you to death in the dorms!” Huo Ran glared. 

“Damn,” Kou Chen laughed. “I really don’t care. I’m just scared you don’t have the balls to do it.”

“Are you showering or not?!” Huo Ran yelled.

“Yeah!” Kou Chen yelled back.

“Hurry up!” Huo Ran said. 

“Got it! Wanna join me?” They were still yelling.

Huo Ran put his hand over his mouth. “You better fucking watch it, the door’s not that soundproof.”

Kou Chen was laughing so hard that his eyes turned into little slits.

Guessing the position of his mouth, Huo Ran kissed the back of his hand: “MUA!” 

On the way back to school, Huo Ran chatted with the others in the group chat.

He could’ve just ignored them, but he had to find something to do at that moment. Talking, typing, anything. The moment he stopped, he would think about what just happened in the hotel room. 

Kou Chen’s gasps, the warm heat in his palm, and the touch that was both firm and soft.

Each one of those thoughts sent a jolt through his heart.

How indecent.

But he still couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

“What are you guys talking about?” Kou Chen leaned onto him, staring at his phone.

“They’re waiting in the cafeteria to welcome you back,” Huo Ran said.

“Fuck,” Kou Chen laughed. “It’s not like I did anything honourable, welcome my ass. They just want an excuse for a midnight snack.”

“They’re waiting in the cafeteria,” Huo Ran said. “For a midnight snack with you.” 

“That sounds better.” Kou Chen’s arm snaked back to wrap around his waist. It reached into his shirt, rubbing softly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Mhm.” Huo Ran looked down, making sure that the movement was hidden under his clothes so the driver couldn’t see from the rearview mirror.

“Just…” Kou Chen lowered his voice. “Have you, told anyone about this?”

“What?” Huo Ran turned to him. 

“Zhifan?” Kou Chen asked.

Huo Ran hesitated before nodding: “He noticed that something was up… that I was acting weird. He asked me, so I told him.”

“What about me?” Kou Chen asked.

“No,” Huo Ran said. “I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to. He’s gonna be able to tell anyways.” 

“Fuck you,” Kou Chen laughed. “Tell him then. How embarrassing is it to wait for him to realize himself?”

“Tomorrow then. Everyone else is there today.” Huo Ran said. “Actually, I haven’t thought about what to say either… Just, it’s a little awkward.”

“I bet he’ll ask you about it tonight,” Kou Chen said.

Xu Zhifan’s eyes were probably divinely blessed. The moment Huo Ran and Kou Chen walked into the cafeteria, before they could even speak, Xu Zhifan was smiling knowingly at them.

From Huo Ran’s experience over all these years, that smile meant that he pretty much didn’t need to think about how he should begin the conversation.

“Fuck!” Xu Chuan pointed at Kou Chen. “You better not say anything about trying to deal with our problems by ourselves now!”

“I was wrong.” Kou Chen immediately admitted. 

“How were you wrong?!” Wei Chaoren said. “What did you say to Zhifan before? And now when it’s your turn, you didn’t tell us a thing! How many texts have we sent you? How many times did we call you?! Are we not your fucking friends?!”

“Auntie!” Kou Chen called the lunch lady. “Barbeque, twenty of each!”

“Oh? I haven’t seen you in a while.” The lunch lady said. “Sure thing, it’ll be ready soon!”

“Stop dodging the question,” Jiang Lei said. “Zhifan and Chuan-ge are treating us this time.” 

“Okay, okay, okay.” Kou Chen sat down by the table. “Go ahead, yell at me.”

“Of course, that’ll all be coming,” Xu Chuan said. “But not now, let’s… get some drinks first.”

“I’ll go.” Hu Yi stood up.

Jiang Lei went with him, and they returned with a load of drinks from the fridge. 

They all sat by the table holding their opened drinks, staring at Kou Chen.

“What?” Kou Chen was alarmed. “Don’t you fucking dare dump anything on me.”

“Who’s gonna do that?” Xu Chuan tsked. “Talk!”

“About what?” Kou Chen asked. 

“About what happened. Where you were, how you dealt with everything.” Jiang Lei played with his fingers. “If you need our help for anything… That’s what we talked about the past few days.”

Kou Chen was silent. He squeezed the drink bottle, and a long moment later, he clasped a fist in his hand. “Now I know what true friends are. Thank you, everyone.”

“Uncle Kou is meeting Kou Chen in Old Yuan’s office tomorrow at 10,” Huo Ran said. “I think Old Yuan gave him some suggestions, but he’s still thinking about it.”

“What kind of suggestions?” Jiang Lei asked. “Should we ask Old Yuan first?” 

“Hey probably won’t say,” Huo Ran said. “Uncle Kou hasn’t agreed yet. But I think there’s no way it’ll put Kou Chen at a disadvantage.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Xu Chuan said. “How’s Uncle Kou now? What happened that made him faint earlier? Old Yuan was really worried.”

“He faked it.” Kou Chen took a sip of his drink. “He was trying to see if I had contact with you guys or not. If I did, then he can lure me out as well.”

“Holy shit,” Wei Chaoren said. “And he was right, you did go.” 

“He chased me down the road,” Kou Chen tsked. “Good thing Huo Ran was there to stop him. Who knows where I’d be otherwise.”

They all turned towards Huo Ran in shock.

“Good for you, Huo Ran,” Xu Chuan said. “His dad is so… so… You weren’t scared?”

“What else could I do? He even yelled out ‘Thief’. Huo Ran said. 

They all paused, before bursting out into laughter.

“I think your dad will be reasonable,” Xu Zhifan said as he laughed. “You two are pretty similar.”

That midnight snack was Huo Ran’s happiest meal out of these past few days. Even though he really wanted to be alone with Kou Chen, it felt nice to sit and eat as they chatted. 

Back at the dorms, he was a bit too embarrassed to specifically say goodnight to Kou Chen. They all said it to each other before going back to their own rooms.

When the doors closed, he took his phone and sent Kou Chen a message.

-goodnight chenchen

-goodnight kou ranran 

-fuck off!

-you’re the one that said you’ll take my last name

-okay, then you’re my little brother from now on

-? 

-I’m very conflicted, as siblings I don’t think this is very suitable…

-huo ran huo ran huo ranrannnnn

Huo Ran laughed happily, laying down on his bed.

Another message came through, one from Xu Zhifan.

-I’ll just ask this one thing, I’m too curious

Huo Ran looked towards Xu Zhifan’s bed. He was holding his phone, staring back at him with a serious face.

-go on 

-kou chen’s liked you for a long time, right?

Huo Ran glanced at Xu Zhifan again. He tsked and pointed at his phone before glaring, urging him to reply.

-that’s what he said

“Fuck.” Xu Zhifan whispered softly with a laugh. Then he turned and laid down. 

-congratulations on your marriage

Huo Ran burst out laughing. When he was done, he felt really embarrassed, and he shoved his phone under his pillow.

At ten o’clock in the morning, Old Yuan arrived at the classroom.

Kou Chen stood up when he saw Old Yuan. The others all gave him a thumbs up to cheer him on when he headed out the door.

He followed Old Yuan down the stairs calmly.

“My dad’s here?” Kou Chen asked. 

“Yes,” Old Yuan said quietly. “Was your dad faking it yesterday?”

“…You finally realized?” Kou Chen said.

“Your dad’s a pretty good actor,” Old Yuan said. “He even knocked a mug off of my desk when he fell yesterday.”

“How did you know he was faking?” Kou Chen asked. 

“He gave me a new mug today,” Old Yuan said. “When he fainted, another teacher was already cleaning up the shattered mug, so how did he know it fell?”

“A small overlook.” Kou Chen clicked his tongue. “He hasn’t perfected his act yet.”

When Kou Chen walked into the office, his dad was sitting in front of the desk, admiring that mug. 

Seeing him, he leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. “You’re here.”

Old Yuan pointed at his dad’s arms: “Put them down first.”

His dad hesitated before putting his arms down. He didn’t have anywhere to put them, so he rested them on the table.

“Grab a chair, sit next to your dad.” Old Yuan patted Kou Chen. 

Kou Chen dragged a chair over and set it next to his dad. He paused and then decided to move it a little further away. Right as he was about to sit down, Old Yuan came and kicked it back ten centimetres closer to his dad’s chair.

Kou Chen sighed and sat down.

“Mr. Yuan.” His dad propped his arms up politely. “I have a request.”

Kou Chen turned his head and bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing out loud. 

“What is it?” Old Yuan put a glass of water down on the desk, and then he handed Kou Chen a can of coke.

“Can you call Huo Ran here?” His dad said.

“What do you want?!” Kou Chen jerked his head around to look at his dad.

“None of your business,” His dad said. “Turn back around and laugh, don’t bother me.” 

“It’s between us, why do you want Huo Ran? He’s not your son,” Kou Chen said.

“See that, Mr. Yuan?” His dad said. “I can’t get three sentences out with this kid before we start arguing. I talked to Huo Ran yesterday, it seemed like he understood. I feel that he knows what Kou Chen is thinking, so I’d like him to help out and say a few words.”

Old Yuan looked and Kou Chen.

Kou Chen furrowed his brows before finally looking at his dad and saying: “Don’t yell at him.” 

“I won’t.” His dad said.

Huo Ran sneaked over to the office like a thief. He poked his head in the door first, looking around the office.

When his eyes met Kou Chen’s, he mouthed: “What’s going on?” 

“Come in, it’s nothing,” Kou Chen said. “My dad wants someone to speak for me.”

“Huh?” Huo Ran paused.

“Come in, Huo Ran.” Old Yuan waved him in with a smile. “Help your good friend ease the air a little.”

Huo Ran was a little nervous. It took him a couple of steps into the room to realize that he was only speaking for Kou Chen, he wasn’t here to be interrogated. 

So he held his head high and walked like he did as the school basketball team captain.

Chapter end