If You Don’t Go To Hell, Who Will? - Chapter 52
Shi Yunheng and Shi Jing decided to stay at Zhong Yuan’s house. It was already past nine in the evening, and I should also leave.
However, Zhong Yuan held onto me, looking deeply moved, and said, “Don’t go.”
His expression gave off a feeling of “don’t leave me alone.”
Rarely did I see Zhong Yuan make such a pitiful expression, so I softened my heart and decided to stay.
By this time, Shi Yunheng had already dragged Shi Jing into the kitchen, and there was some commotion inside. In the end, Shi Yunheng came out alone. I was puzzled and asked her, “Where’s Shi Jing?”
Shi Yunheng replied calmly, “He’s cooking noodles for me.”
I raised an eyebrow, thinking, “Are you seriously making a nine-year-old kid cook noodles for you?”
Considering safety concerns, I cautiously entered the kitchen, only to see Shi Jing pouring water into a pot and then throwing in noodles, eggs with shells, and a whole carrot directly into the water—though the fire hadn’t even been turned on yet.
I walked over, and Shi Jing looked up at me, calling out plaintively, “Teacher Mu.”
I gently patted his head, trying to appear as a friendly teacher, and comforted him, saying, “Go and accompany your sister; I’ll handle the cooking.”
Shi Jing’s expression relaxed, and he hurriedly escaped from the kitchen.
Since it was late at night, I opted for a lighter meal. I cooked a bowl of plain green onion noodles for the seemingly divine sister and also made two half-boiled eggs. In addition, I prepared a simple cucumber salad. Unfortunately, there weren’t many ingredients available in Zhong Yuan’s kitchen.
When I placed the green onion egg noodles and the cucumber salad in front of Shi Yunheng, she sniffed and suddenly hugged me, excitedly exclaiming, “Ah, Mu’er, I love you!”
Before I could respond, Zhong Yuan swiftly pulled me away and looked at Shi Yunheng with clear disdain, saying, “Don’t get too touchy-feely. Besides, who said you could love anyone? My wife, do you hear that?”
To be honest, I… I felt really awkward…
…
When it was bedtime, the four of us had a disagreement over room arrangements. Zhong Yuan’s house had three bedrooms, but there were four of us, two boys and two girls.
Zhong Yuan proposed the first solution: “I’ll sleep in one room with Mu, and you two can have one room each.”
I frowned and said, “No.”
Then Zhong Yuan suggested the second solution: “I’ll sleep in one room with Mu, and you two can have one room each.”
Shi Yunheng immediately objected, “Hey, hey, isn’t it better not to mix guys and girls?”
Zhong Yuan deadpanned, “He’s your little brother, and besides,” he glanced at Shi Jing and then at Shi Yunheng, “you’re sixteen years older than her.”
At this point, Shi Jing chimed in, “Teacher Mu is twelve years older than me, so can we…”
Zhong Yuan’s expression turned serious. “No.”
Shi Yunheng tried again: “Forget it, Mu’er and I can share a room, right?”
Zhong Yuan was furious. “No, my wife can’t share a room with anyone else.”
Shi Yunheng: “…”
In the end, Zhong Yuan reluctantly agreed, “Fine, I’ll share with Little Jing.”
Shi Jing pouted and muttered, “Can’t I say no?”
The other three said in unison, “No!”
Suddenly, I felt a guilty conscience, like we were bullying a child… >_<
…
The next morning, Shi Yunheng and her brother were taken back by their parents. I watched their reluctant figures and asked Zhong Yuan, “Didn’t she say they wouldn’t be found if they hid here?”
Zhong Yuan smiled nonchalantly. “Who knows.”
I thought for a moment and realized something was off. “Did you report them?”
Zhong Yuan pinched my cheek and chuckled, “Mu’er, you’re getting smarter.”
I sweated a bit and thought, “This big brother here, you’ve done something wrong; at least you should show a little guilt, right? I’ve never seen someone so calm and happy after doing something bad…”
Zhong Yuan held my face and bent down to kiss me. I reached out to cover his mouth and turned away, saying, “Classmate, you haven’t brushed your teeth yet.”
Zhong Yuan then kissed my forehead firmly and, grinning, led me back to the room.
…
The next day was Saturday, and as usual, I went to help Shi Jing with his tutoring. Zhong Yuan was bored and came along to Shi Jing’s house.
In the study, Shi Jing was working on a worksheet when he suddenly stopped and asked me, “Teacher Mu, what are my sister and brother Zhong Yuan doing?”
I pointed in the direction of the living room and said, “They’re playing a game. Be a good boy and finish your homework. You can play with them when you’re done.”
Shi Jing used his pencil to tap his chin thoughtfully and looked up at me with innocent eyes. He said, “I don’t want to play with them. I want Teacher Mu to play with me.”
I patted his head and smiled, saying, “Alright, alright. I’ll play with you, but please focus on your homework.”
Shi Jing glanced at the living room again and asked mysteriously, “Teacher Mu, are you really going to marry Brother Zhong Yuan?”
“Well,” I felt a bit embarrassed, “kids have wild imaginations. Focus on your studies and always aim for the top.”
“But,” Shi Jing’s clear black and white eyes kept rolling, and finally he said, “but, don’t you think my sister and Brother Zhong Yuan are a perfect match?”
“Well…”
Shi Jing continued, “My mom says they’re childhood sweethearts, like a bickering couple.”
Childhood sweethearts… a bickering couple…
“Teacher Mu? Teacher Mu? What’s wrong with you?” Shi Jing grabbed my hand and shook it.
I snapped out of my thoughts, smiled, and shook my head, saying, “Nothing, nothing.”
In the evening, when Zhong Yuan and I left together, Shi Yunheng and her brother saw us off. I watched Zhong Yuan play around with Shi Yunheng, and suddenly, I felt a bit sad. Childhood sweethearts? A bickering couple?
Was I just too sensitive or too oblivious?
In the following days, I couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease. The image of Zhong Yuan and Shi Yunheng frolicking together kept haunting my mind. It’s strange; some things were fine when you didn’t pay attention to them, but once you did, they felt uncomfortable and suspicious.
Moreover, Zhong Yuan had mentioned that he used to like a girl who ended up breaking his bones.
They say guys find it hard to forget their first love… Wait a minute, first love? I suddenly remembered the perfume he gave me once, and it seemed to be called “First Love.” Thinking about it now, it’s quite ironic…
Zhong Yuan also noticed that I was often in a somewhat gloomy mood and asked me several times what was wrong. I always said it was just work stress. In reality, I really wanted to ask him if he still had feelings for Shi Yunheng. But I didn’t dare; what if he said “yes”? What would I do?
However, even though I didn’t dare to ask, the inevitable happened.
