Translator: Fringe Capybara

Chapter 123 - "Good morning, Lu JingYan." (1)

Before Chi Yu returned home, Jing Zheng had already prepped him. Telling him that a kid’s childhood could have very everlasting effect on them and that he should stop bullying Chi Cheng.

Chi Yu gathered himself and walked over to Chi Cheng in a friendly manner and bent over to appease him. “Hi, Xiao Cheng-zi, Uncle brought you something tasty.”

Chi Cheng widened his eyes with curiosity, his voice the milkiness that could only belong to a child. “Are you really my uncle?”

The smile that Chi Yu had forced on him collapsed all of a sudden and his voice became a little bit stiff. “What nonsense was that?”

After Chi Yu showed his true colors, Chi Cheng said an “oy” then shook his head like a little adult, “You really are Uncle. But, Uncle, you were so handsome when you were talking to me earlier ~~ now you are back to being ugly.”

“… is that so?” Chi Yu’s face blackened and he coughed in embarrassment. Putting on his smile once again, he handed Chi Cheng a big bag of snacks. “Are you going to thank your uncle?”

Chi Cheng waved his hand. “Thank you, Uncle.”

Chi Yu did not say anything else but picked up Chi Cheng and lifted him over his head. “Let’s go! It’s time for dinner!”

Chi Cheng wasn’t afraid of height. He just felt very novel to be up in the air.

He waved his arms in excitement.

His uncle carried him into the courtyard and his mother and grandparents had already seated themselves around the stone table.

Chi Cheng’s eyes widened. They were having dinner in the courtyard today!

Chi Ying sprayed insect repellent around him. It felt cool on his skin and Chi Cheng giggled.

The night was clear. The moon hung high up and the stars sparkled.

Chi Cheng puffed out his chest in pride and said, “Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle, dinner tonight was prepared by Mommy, Grandma, and I.”

The elders smiled and Jing Zheng chuckled. “Alright. Alright. Good job, ChengCheng. It is very tasty.”

“Thank you, Grandma,” said Chi Cheng as he lowered his head shyly. Different shades of red could be seen on his cheeks.

The courtyard had a lot of trees inside of it, there were even a few sweet Osmanthus. The smell of cinnamon mixed in with the smell of leaves filled the air.

Chi Ying’s eyes rolled and, covered under the night, the patchwork structure of the buildings inside the mansion district gave a very peculiar feel.

Though the alleyway, old memories came from afar.

Going through the front door and taking a small path to the right, there was a courtyard covered in weeds.

That was a place that Lu JingYan used to live and it hadn’t been taken care of in over ten years.

***

The night was getting later and Lu JingYan was still working. The light from the moon poured in through the floor-to-ceiling window. The color of the moon was gentle and rich. It was serene and nice when one was with their family but cold and lonely when one was by themselves.

Jiang Chong had already gone home. In front of his massive desk, his lonely back seemed particularly lonely.

Lu JingYan’s brows were furrowed and they did not unfurrow till his screen lit up.

Above Chi Ying’s warm orange WeChat profile was a red bubble. “Have you had dinner yet?”

His cold and hard lips softened reflexively. “Yes, I have.”

“Oh good.”

“Look outside your window, Lu JingYan. The moon is so beautiful tonight.”

Then, Chi Ying sent him a photo. In the vast night sky, the stars were sparkling and the moon hung high. Surrounded by thin clouds, the scene was extremely soft and beautiful.

The photo was taken with a very professional camera. Lu JingYan chuckled lightly. “Did you take it?”

“Mmmhmm.”

A few minutes later, a special notification set for WeChat chimed in the lonely office.

Chi Ying posted a Weibo message. It was herself with a table full of delicacies.

There were a few soft and gentle-looking cherry trees behind the stone table.

And the girl’s hair waved in the wind in the picture.

Her skin looked like jade, her eyes were lively, and her smile sweet.

Lu JingYan’s eyes deepened some. His finger scrolling through it and he could see a screen full of compliments. That being said, there were still also offensive comments from netizens of a lower quality.

Lu JingYan frowned. Bending his finger, he reported them one by one.

His Weibo had opened up a green pathway and that gave him a lot of priorities when it came to the moderators.

All the accounts were shut down not too long after.

Lu JingYan looked back at the photo again. Chi Ying said that was dinner that she had made with her family.

There were some pastries inside a ceramic plate. They looked somewhat similar to what Jiang Chong had brought over today. They were chubby and cute.

Lu JingYan never liked sweets but, looking at the sweet and filling delicacies in the picture, he sudden felt hungry.

He looked over at the gift bag left behind by Jiang Chong on a corner of his desk.

Frowning slightly, he opened it up slowly and carefully tried them out.