Translator: Neko
Proofreader: DeviLaugh
The two of them spent the night popping all the firecrackers; everywhere was brightly lit. The weather quickly got colder as if freezing them into popsicles.
The snow did not stop in the morning; each snowflake fluttered down slowly. Wu Han Ying and Xia Chen now started to look for a small shop to have their breakfast. Even though they ate it very slowly, it was not yet 7 o'clock; they simply headed to Temple of Earth to visit the temple fair.
Temple of Earth Park
The official Temple fair started at 8 o'clock, so before 8 o'clock, the ticket price was still at the regular park price. The two of them were lucky enough to buy tickets at regular price so they directly went in.
It was still very early, so there weren't that many people at the park, even the vendors on both side of the road had not started to operate yet, only a few individuals were opened a bit early. Xia Chen dragged the boy to the roadside bench to sit down and rest. They spent a whole night of 6 to 7 hours outside, although they were taking a slow walk, they still got tired from no rest.
"I'm so tired." Wu Han Ying spread his whole body on the bench. He didn't feel tired when eating breakfast earlier, but after he sat down and stood up to walk for a few steps, he already felt completely exhausted.
"You can rest for an hour, then we take advantage of the deserted hour to walk around the temple fair. At around 10 o'clock people will start to crowd this place."
"I haven't been to the temple fair for a long time, but it looks like you have quite a lot of experience with it."
Xia Chen got quiet for a moment, "Each year Xiao Shang forces me to come with him, it is hard to not be familiar with this."
Wu Han Ying imagined that little bun taking a helpless Professor Xia through the crowded temple fair with his left hand holding a candied fruit and cotton candy and right hand holding a lamb skewer... unkindly laughing loudly.
Candied Fruit
"I think all the vendors are about to open, let's go." Xia Chen patted the boy's head, pulled the boy up, and then followed the small path into the fair.
Everyone stayed up late for the New Year's Eve, or some are currently sleeping now due to staying up all night to play, so it was very quiet in the morning. It was some time past 8 o'clock, there were not that many people at the temple, so both sides of the road were piling up with snow.
Actually, the annual temple fair is the same every year, selling some gadgets, some snacks, and the like. There is a big arcade playground in the middle of the road; it has a ferrule game, basketball game, shooting darts, etc. The prizes are usually the big plus.h.i.+es.
Ferrule
Wu Han Ying had not come to the temple fair for a long time; the real reason is that there was no one to come along with him. Of course his uncle and aunt would go to the fair every New Year, but they only took Wu Ning along. Each time they would bring back toy candied fruit or some small b.u.t.terflies; although they are all children's playthings, it would still make other feel envy.
Xia Chen touched Wu Han Ying's arm, and seeing that the boy's eyes got all sparkly looking at the toy booth, he felt somewhat amused. "Do you want to buy them? But you have to hold them."
Wu Han Ying shook his head, "No, an adult like me buying these kiddie food, it's too shameful." Even with that said, the boy still glanced over them a few times. The oversized fake candied fruit with the big, round, s.h.i.+ny, red hawthorn looked very nice. There was a big windmill vendor right next to that one...
"Everyone is buying them for the New Year, no one is going to look at you." Xia Chen smiled then took the boy over to the toy vendor, picked a super sized toy candied fruit, paid for it, then handed it to Wu Han Ying.
Wu Han Ying looked at the super sized candied fruit toy in his hand. He was feeling a bit embarra.s.sed; he is just in his twenties, yet he was still acting like a kid. But he felt so happy that he could not contend his feeling. Speaking of which, the sparklingly, bright red color is very likable and so tempting that he wants to take a bite to see how it feels.
But of course, he cannot eat plastic. Wu Han Ying rubbed the candied fruit toy on his cheek; the snowflakes also got some on the toy and was quite cold, "I will also buy you one; you want a windmill or a big b.u.t.terfly?" He laughed out loudly after saying that, pointing to the big pink b.u.t.terfly hanging on the stall next to them.
"I think that rabbit ears are more suitable for you, and the pink looks really nice." Xia Chen raised his brow at the object.
"..." Total defeat...
Wu Han Ying realized that he would never be a match to Xia Chen in this area, so he kept his silence and dragged the man with him. He went to the snack vendors to satisfy his craving.
The temple fair food is very expensive; the Kabob alone already costs around 10 yuan. Seasoned millet mush, fried sausage, stinky tofu, there were all kinds of snacks with an expensive price. Every time, the temple is the most prosperous place that sells lot of various snacks.
Kabob
Seasoned Millet Mush
Fried Sausage
Wu Han Ying was holding the supersize candied fruit in his left hand while his right hand was holding on a kabob skewer. Let's not count how much meat the skewer has on the stick, the length of the stick alone was very, very long.
He took a bite of the meat, and because the taste was very good, Wu Han Ying shoved the skewer in front of Xia Chen and shook it. "It's not bad, have a taste."
"..." Now it was Xia Chen to turn speechless. His left hand was holding the fried sausage dish for the boy while he held a stinky tofu dish in his right hand. "You eat it."
After they had stuffed themselves with food and wiped their greasy mouth with a napkin, the two people continued to walk around the fair. After it was some time past 9 o'clock, more people came to the fair, and it got super noisy around them.
Wu Han Ying and Xia Chen wandered around to all the places and were ready to leave. On their way out, they stopped by the playground in the middle of the fair and also bought some game coins to play some games.
They were just some child games like ferrule, basketball, and shooting darts. They don't look that hard, but they aren't easy either. Wu Han Ying was standing on the side thinking of what to play while watching other people play a shooting game. The baskets were very small, and they lined up very close to each other. A boy threw out his first ball which hit on the side of the basket, bounced up, and went into another person's basket.
Wu Han Ying secretly laughed at the other, but when it was his turn, he felt completely dejected... not one went through the basket.
Therefore, he hurriedly changed to another game and dragged Xia Chen over to play shooting darts. One could imagine the result; he shot 10 times but only got 2 balloons. He felt completely depressed. The dart was the type with a heavy head and lightweight tail. Not to mention popping the balloon, when shooting the dart halfway, it would change its route to a different direction.
Xia Chen bought another ten game coins. "How about I get you that big teddy bear? You must carry it if we win it."
Wu Han Ying looked at the hanging bear on the booth; it was 2-meter tall. He bet that he would be buried under it if he were to carry it, "Okay."
Originally he thought Xia Chen was joking, but when he carried the big teddy bear out of the park, dark clouds circled around his head. "I say, are you Xiao Li Fei Dao* ah..."
Xia Chen smiled, "I think it's better if you should carry it bridal style because giving it a piggyback, the bear's feet are being dragged on the ground."
Wu Han Ying bared his teeth and clenched his mouth, it was strange enough with the two grown up men visiting the temple fair together... now it was even worse; he carried a big, pink teddy bear that was taller than himself. Yeah it was very cute and all, but... it was also too noticeable... too strange.
Even though he bared his teeth and clenched his mouth, Wu Han Ying still switched from carrying it on his back to hugging his arms around it and carefully wrapping the bear's feet around him so that they wouldn't get dragged on the ground.
"Let's go home." It was a better idea to leave this big teddy bear at home; it was too weird to carry this big boy around.
"Okay." Xia Chen nodded his head, and they hailed a taxi after exiting the temple fair.
"Wow, this bear is huge, did you win it at the fair?"
Wu Han Ying and Xia Chen sat on the backseat, the driver was a very talkative middle-aged man, right when they got into the cab the man started to make conversation with them.
"Girls nowadays really like these plush toys; you must have spent a lot of money in order to win such a prize ah." Blah blah blah...
"It's not easy to be a boyfriend ah" blah blah blah...
"Such a big bear, it would be quite strenuous to clean it up at home." blah blah blah...
The driver was driving and talking at the same time. Wu Han Ying at first got a little confused, but as the conversation carried on, he quickly turned 囧. The driver actually thinks of him as a... girl...?!
Wu Han Ying was sitting behind the driver seat, and with a big teddy bear in his arms, of course the driver cannot see his face... the driver kept saying something like "girl" ah, and "your boyfriend" ah, which made him exceptionally embarra.s.sed. Next to him, Xia Chen only smiled, and then from time to time he would answer the driver. He did not know when the man had become so gentle and did not even try to help him out here. Wu Han Ying decisively decided to hug his fellow teddy bear by the waist; he pretended to not hear anything and buried his face into the bear to play dead.
By the time they got out of the cab, Wu Han Ying immediately felt all dizzy looking at the big villa in front of him, his tongue started to tie up in a knot, "This, this is where ah?" He had a very ominous feeling...
"My family home. Didn't you say that you will come to my parents' home on the first." Xia Chen answered very naturally.
Wu Han Ying made an =口= expression, turning into stone. He did agree to come on the first, but he thought it is after dinner, now it was only 10 o'clock in the morning ah! Moreover... he was holding the candied fruit toy and the big teddy bear in his hands... what is this situation ah...
"I..." Wu Han Ying immediately wanted to find a reason to escape; he did not sleep at all last night, certainly he must look very messy now. "...I'm not ready."
"Don't worry." Xia Chen reached out and hugged the boy by the waist, "I'm here."
"Let's come back in the afternoon..." How can he not be worried, Wu Han Ying felt really awkward and wanted to cry out loud in his heart.
"Big brother!"
Wu Han Ying did not get to retreat when he saw a little ball rolling over, throwing its small body onto his big plus.h.i.+e.
Xiao Shang threw himself onto the big teddy bear, stretched out his hand to hug it, "So soft ah, such a cute big bear. So much more bigger than me!" He tugged on Wu Han Ying's clothes when saying that, "Let's go in. My mom just made us egg tarts; it's very warm to eat."
Wu Han Ying would like to say no, but he was being pulled by Xiao Shang in front of him, and there was Xia Chen pus.h.i.+ng him from the back. He had no other choice but to follow them forward and to the door.
"Yo, Lao Da you're here."
Jun Zhe sat on the sofa with crossed legs watching the TV. When he turned around and saw Xia Chen and Wu Han Ying, his eyes simply lit up.
"Brother, you've come back..." Xia Yan heard sounds coming from the entrance and looked over, then he heard a loud "thump thump" sound against the wood floor coming from the stairs from the second floor.
"You even know to come back! You went out to fool around outside at that early hour and didn't even wait until after dinner. You didn't come home during the New Year's Eve; you think you can now do anything you want with such little success? Come back once but be so presumptuous, then don't ever come back!"
Wu Han Ying was shocked to see a 60-year-old man in Chinese tunic suit walking down from upstairs. This must be Xia Chen's father, right? Just by listening the older man's voice, he could tell the elder is in perfect health. He couldn't help but to shrink his neck, thinking that the reason Xia Chen left the house yesterday was because of him, so he felt a bit of a guilty conscience.
Xia Papa angrily said with a loud voice seemed to be coming from his belly {meaning he is in perfect health ^^}, but it did not seem to faze Xia Yan, who just keeps on doing what he always does, stuffing himself with an egg tart, completely unfazed with the current "frightening" situation. It has always been like this; it is nothing new... my brother and father have the same temper; they both are equally stubborn as well.
"Dad, that's good enough." He heard a woman's voice coming from downstairs, a very beautiful woman who looks like she's 30 years old. "Here is some tea for you. You scolded all you want, but in the end you are the only one that gets angry. If Xiao Chen does not come home, you will get all angry by yourself."
Xia Papa grunted then sipped on his cup of tea. His eyes swept around the room and then fell onto Wu Han Ying.
Wu Han Ying suddenly felt he was being p.r.i.c.ked with a needle; the hair on his back stood straight up. He really did not dare to rise his head up. He was still holding onto the supersized candied fruit toy and the oversized teddy bear, and he really did not know where he should put these things away.
"It is Xiao Wu right, put those toys here. You went to the temple fair in the morning with Xiao Chen, right? Those toys are so big, you must be tired from carrying them." The beautiful woman patted on the sofa, gesturing for him to come over. "I'm Xiao Chen's older sister, Xia Ming, just make yourself at home."
"Mom, I want to eat egg tart." Xiao Shang thump, thump, thump ran over.
"Thank you." Wu Han Ying nodded his head thanking the other. Xia Chen dragged him over and sat next to the boy.
Xia Papa still had his eyes fixed on Wu Han Ying and watched his every move. He still did not say anything since when he started his staring, it caused Wu Han Ying to feel a little bit of apprehension and mannerly sat straight up.
After a long time, he finally turned to Xia Chen and said one sentence to the man, "Is this child only 15? Since when have you become a pedophile?"
Wu Han Ying felt like banging his head on the wall as he almost got choked to death from his saliva.
He listened on the elder man began to say, "Since the other company is now under his name, I won't say anything. The day will come that you cannot handle everything on your own, so don't blame me for not giving you a warning." After saying that, he stood up and started to head back upstairs.
When the elder man reached the stairs, he turned around. "Although our country won't legalize your marriage, a ceremony still needs to be done; pick a date because we need time to send out the invitations. Don't just keep quiet about it or else people will think the Xia family is being shabby." Then he pointed to Xia Chen, "Do something about that tiny place of yours, you're going to be a married man soon. Can that rundown place with only 50 square meters hold up for two people; don't let it be a joke to other people. Hurry and buy a new one with good decorations. Remember to pick one near home." He gave a long lecture then went upstairs.
Jun Zhe's eyes squinted from smiling. He waited for Xia Papa to go upstairs before busted into laughter, "Father can be quite awkward. Lao Da, you heard him. Father said to buy a house not too far away from home."
Wu Han Ying felt quite stupid, he had thought that Xia Chen's father disliked him.
Xia Ming let Xiao Shang play by himself. "Dad is right. He has admitted defeat. Xiao Chen, you should come home often to visit us, and take Xiao Wu with you too. Regarding the marriage ceremony, don't feel so anxious about it. Dad said that, but he knows what needs to be done first; Xiao Wu is still in school, but you two do want to settle down right."
Wu Han Ying felt completely stunned when listening to this. Xia Chen nodded his head, "Xiao Wu hasn't graduated yet, I also think to let him graduate first then we will talk about the other stuff at a later time."
"Have you met with Xiao Wu's family?" Xia Ming continued.
Wu Han Ying's back stiffened up; he really could not produce an answer. Xia Chen said without frowning, "Not yet."
"Why so?" Xia Ming carefully observed, "They don't accept you two? With dad's character, he certainly won't let go of his pride, but I have no problem with going in his place."
"No need," Xia Chen shook his head. "It'll be fine with just me."
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End of Chapter 68