Chapter 23
As He Renyuan walked, he noticed that Bai Qingyu and Bai Xiaocha had wilted, like saplings that hadn’t been watered for a long time. He thought they were tired from walking, but Bai Qingyu’s pace was relaxed, his breathing even, and his speed consistent.
What was wrong? Were they not happy traveling with him?
Up ahead was a large viewing platform with a wide view. The monkeys had finally disappeared into the forest. He Renyuan spread out a picnic blanket, “Sit down and rest for a while.”
Bai Qingyu put Bai Xiaocha down. Bai Xiaocha immediately flopped down, his round face pressed against the picnic blanket like a pancake, still immersed in his envy of the monkeys. Monkey babies were fed by tourists, tea babies were not. This was the difference between plants and animals, as Dad said.
He wanted to be a monkey baby! No! He didn’t want to be a monkey baby! He didn’t want a monkey baby’s dad, he wanted his own dad.
Bai Xiaocha turned over, pressing the other side of his face down.
So, no one fed coffee bean babies either.
At this moment, the little tea deity and the coffee bean baby reconciled for ten minutes.
He Renyuan didn’t understand Cha Bao’s sudden “melancholy” and said, “Cha Bao, do you want to lie down and sleep?”
“Creak,” He Renyuan opened a box of fruit, and a plump, juicy jujube rolled out, “Do you want to eat a jujube?”
Bai Xiaocha perked up his ears and sat up nimbly, “Uncle, can I eat for free too?”
He Renyuan, “Of course, you can eat anything Uncle has for free.”
He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but after he said this, the father and son’s eyes lit up at the same time, and the illusion of wilting and dehydration disappeared.
Bai Xiaocha held a large jujube in both hands and took a big bite, his long eyelashes touching each other from the force.
He Renyuan breathed a sigh of relief. So they were hungry. The little one had such a good appetite, no wonder the housekeeper liked him. He explained, “Those two monkeys were following us just now, I was afraid they would come up and snatch the food.”
Oh, so that was it. Bai Qingyu suppressed the corners of his mouth, unable to stop a smile from appearing.
He Renyuan looked at Bai Xiaocha happily eating the jujube and the innocent Bai Qingyu, and suddenly felt that the father and son were easy to please.
Bai Qingyu wasn’t so difficult to deal with after all, at least he could accept jujubes. One point for him.
There were four in a box, not enough to share. He Renyuan didn’t plan to eat any. To avoid seeming awkward, he said casually, “I’ll go over there and enjoy the view.”
Bai Qingyu thought that a busy person like He Renyuan rarely came to scenic spots specifically. He was willing to bring his own child, but it was tiring to bring other people’s children. People often said that if you wanted a comfortable trip, don’t bring children.
Thinking of this, Bai Qingyu felt a little guilty and said, “You go ahead, we’ll rest here for a while.”
He Renyuan stood up. There were cliffs everywhere here, and the view from any spot was unique. He bent down, held onto the railing, and looked down. The cliff was steep and vertical, even deeper than the one he fell from.
He rarely went near cliffs like this anymore. It wasn’t that he had a psychological shadow. When he was rescued, apart from excessive bleeding from the wound on his forehead, the rest were just minor injuries. But He Renyuan was depressed after waking up, insisting that he had amnesia, making He Wangzhong and Shu Mei think that he must have suffered a great psychological trauma, and ordered him not to go near cliffs again.
After their only son’s accident, Shu Mei was worried for a while. Although He Wangzhong didn’t say anything, he started to delve into cooking, more or less inspired by He Renyuan’s nutritionist.
As a son, he couldn’t let his parents worry.
He Renyuan stared at the deep cliff, his gaze sharp as if he wanted to see through to the bottom and see what had happened there.
Perhaps the tea he drank was working, or perhaps it was the scene replaying. Some chaotic images flashed through his mind, and He Renyuan shook his head, the back of his head aching faintly.
[Can you not mash the food?]
[You can’t even move, and you’re still so demanding.]
[My masseter, temporalis, and mandible are all fully functional.]
[Oh, I know you can speak without any problems.]
Although they were just small fragments, his body felt as if it had been violently impacted, his fingertips trembling slightly.
“Uncle Boss!” A milky voice broke into his aching mind, bringing sudden clarity.
He Renyuan came back to his senses and saw Bai Qingyu worriedly grabbing his arm, as if afraid he would jump.
Cha Bao held the largest jujube in his hand, unable to hold even half of it, and tried his best to hold it up, “This biggest one is for Uncle Boss.”
He Renyuan saw that the jujube in his hand was so big that it could roll down at any moment, so he took it and said, “Are you full?”
Bai Xiaocha nodded, “I’m full.”
Bai Qingyu asked directly, “You weren’t thinking of jumping, were you? Did something happen at the company?”
He Renyuan admitted that he had thought about whether he would remember everything if he jumped, but it was just a thought. He wouldn’t be so crazy as to throw his life away.
He subconsciously substituted the two sentences he just remembered with Bai Qingyu’s tone. It was too fitting. He suddenly doubted the authenticity of the memory.
Could it be that he was remembering a dream? Daydreams turned into night dreams. After eating the tea congee made by Bai Qingyu, after eating the leftover hodgepodge buffet from Bai Xiaocha… such a meal, such a dream, it was reasonable.
The doctor had said that if he dwelled too much on lost memories, his brain would make things up.
It wasn’t the first time he dreamed of Bai Qingyu defying him.
“I’m fine.”
He Renyuan picked up Bai Xiaocha, who was shorter than the railing, and let him see the scenery.
Huangshan was quite suitable for Cha Bao. He could appreciate the wonders of nature with his eyes.
Bai Qingyu, “Young master, can you take a picture of me and Cha Bao?”
Commemorating the little tea deity’s visit to Huangshan.
“Sure.” He Renyuan took out his phone and said to a girl who looked like a student next to him, “Could you take a picture of the three of us?”
He Renyuan was polite, tall, and handsome. It was hard for anyone to refuse his request.
“Sure.”
The girl turned He Renyuan’s phone horizontally and saw through the viewfinder that He Renyuan had moved closer to the big one and the small one, holding the child and facing the camera directly.
Such a cute little one.
Click, a temporary family of three commemorating their Huangshan trip.
“Thank you.” He Renyuan took the phone and looked, “It’s a good picture.”
“Your son is very cute,” the girl couldn’t help but say.
“Thank you.” He Renyuan looked at the photo again and didn’t clarify.
What was there to clarify about this kind of thing? He wouldn’t lose anything from being misunderstood.
Bai Qingyu: “…” The three of them came together, so taking a group photo wasn’t wrong.
He just never thought he would take a picture with Young Master He.
He Renyuan took more pictures of Bai Qingyu and Bai Xiaocha. His photography skills were average, he just pressed the shutter button dozens of times.
Bai Qingyu took out his phone and took a picture of Cha Bao, but his old phone’s pixels were too poor, and Cha Bao was blurry.
“Use mine.” He Renyuan handed him his phone.
He Renyuan’s phone looked very expensive, even the texture in his hand was different. Bai Qingyu held it carefully and accidentally clicked on the photo album, seeing the group photo of the three of them.
Cha Bao’s eyes were curved in a smile, Young Master He was dashing, and the tea deity… was also standing very straight.
Bai Qingyu frowned slightly. It was a pity to take a picture with this face, making Cha Bao look even more like He Renyuan’s son. Those eyebrows… as expected, beautiful people always had something in common.
The three of them walked towards the Cloud Valley to take the cable car. There were many steps up the mountain, and the little one fell asleep halfway, adding a stable weight to Uncle Boss.
Bai Qingyu, “Let me hold him.”
He Renyuan, “No need, your legs will hurt when we get back.”
The little one woke up on the cable car down the mountain and leaned against the glass to watch the mountains whizzing by, not afraid of heights at all.
When they arrived at the station, He Renyuan said, “Cha Bao, do you want to ride again?”
At this time, whether going up or down the mountain, it wasn’t crowded, and some cable cars were even empty.
Bai Xiaocha shook his head, “Baby has had enough.”
He Renyuan said decisively, “Uncle wants to ride again, Cha Bao is free, will you accompany Uncle?”
Bai Xiaocha’s eyes lit up, “Free?”
Bai Qingyu immediately said, “You guys go ahead, I get carsick.”
It cost 160 yuan for a round trip, he wasn’t going to ride. He could even fly in the divine realm.
It got a little windy halfway through the cable car ride, and the cabin swayed excitingly in mid-air. When they got out of the cable car, Cha Bao excitedly hugged Uncle Boss’s neck tightly.
He Renyuan thought this ride was worth it and struck while the iron was hot, “Cha Bao, can you call me Uncle from now on?”
Bai Xiaocha asked in confusion, “What’s an uncle?”
He Renyuan, “Uncle is—” your mother’s brother or younger brother.
He Renyuan realized it wasn’t easy to explain. The housekeeper said Bai Qingyu was a single father, it wasn’t appropriate to mention the role of mother, so he gave up, “Just call me Uncle.”
This trip was quite successful. Bai Qingyu secretly smelled Bai Xiaocha’s hair on the train. After being bathed in the Huangshan spring rain, it smelled a bit like Huangshan Maofeng.
Bai Xiaocha’s body grew slowly, but his hair grew quickly. He could have another haircut in a few days.
He Renyuan’s driver picked them up at Nancheng Station. After getting in the car, He Renyuan said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Let’s go home.”
Bai Xiaocha cleverly said, “Uncle Driver, Grandpa Jiang’s house is at—”
He fluently recited the address. He hadn’t seen the hens for two days and missed them a little.
He Renyuan: “…” Where was the uncle-nephew bond they just cultivated?
At the Jiang family’s old apartment.
The day after Cha Bao went on his trip, Xu Liping, Professor Jiang’s mother, personally collected an egg from the chicken coop, brushed off the straw, and saved four, for Cha Bao’s breakfast tomorrow.
She and her husband didn’t like boiled eggs. In the past, most of the eggs laid by the hens were given to neighbors. She fed the chickens high-quality natural grains, and the eggs were more fragrant than those bought in the supermarket, suitable for children.
After collecting the eggs, she came out and saw Mrs. Wang from next door walking her dog. She greeted her, “Have you eaten?”
“Yes.” Mrs. Wang glanced at the eggs in her hand and asked knowingly, “Are the hens not laying eggs recently? My grandson hasn’t had your eggs for several days, he’s been asking for Grandma Jiang’s eggs.”
Xu Liping smiled apologetically, “I’m so sorry, my nephew and his child are staying with me recently, and the child also likes eggs. I’ll ask Xiaoli to add another hen next time.”
Mrs. Wang felt uncomfortable when she saw that Xu Liping didn’t intend to give her the eggs. Everyone knew that the young man at the Jiang family was just a housekeeper. What nephew? Giving the eggs to the housekeeper’s son, but not to her grandson, an old neighbor of more than ten years?
She grumbled, “Don’t add any more. If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve eaten your eggs, I wouldn’t have put up with your chicken coop for so long.”
Xu Liping smiled. She didn’t even want to mention how smelly Mrs. Wang’s dog’s pee and poop were everywhere, “Really? You didn’t say that before when you were eating the eggs.”
Mrs. Wang, “What do you mean? Do you think I’m after your eggs?”
Xu Liping, “I didn’t say that, go walk your dog, it’s getting anxious.”
Mrs. Wang, “Who are you calling a dog? My grandson always pities you and calls you Grandma Jiang, he’s been calling you that for so many years for nothing.”
Xu Liping, “Who are you pitying?”
Mrs. Wang, “Pitying you for not having a grandson, your son is gay and can’t give you a grandson to hold! Who are you saving those eggs for? An illiterate housekeeper’s child, you’re treating him as your grandson?”
Xu Liping’s expression changed, “He’s better than your deadbeat son.”
Mrs. Wang had just talked about someone else’s son, but she couldn’t stand others talking about her son, “At least my son is not sick, your son is! Disgusting!”
Slap!
Xu Liping couldn’t hold back and slapped her, her eyes red, her body trembling with anger, “It’s not your place to say that!”
Mrs. Wang immediately sat on the ground wailing, pulling the dog leash, “The professor’s mother hit someone! Like father, like son! No wonder you’ve been a teacher all your life, and you raised a gay son…”
It was just after dinner, and many elderly people in the old residential area were taking a walk. Soon, a crowd gathered.
Mrs. Wang sat on the ground cursing, her dog becoming a weapon, sometimes hugging it, sometimes pushing it.
Xu Liping stood there stiffly, her lips pressed into a thin line. Father Jiang came out upon hearing the noise and patted her back, clumsily trying to comfort her.
He Renyuan was sending Bai Qingyu and his son home when he happened to see this scene.
Before he could react, Bai Qingyu squeezed into the crowd with Bai Xiaocha.
Bai Qingyu was a head taller than the surrounding elderly people. Holding Bai Xiaocha, he could clearly see the scene.
Before Bai Qingyu could figure out what was going on, he saw Xu Liping’s tears and hurriedly took out a tissue from his pocket while holding his son.
The argument was somewhat related to Bai Qingyu, the housekeeper. Seeing that he had arrived, the crowd quieted down.
And Bai Xiaocha, seeing Mrs. Wang and the dog in the center, was very wary of the performer + animal scene. The parrot from the uncle last time had snatched his one hundred yuan.
He put his hands in his pockets and asked worriedly, “Grandma, are you performing for free?!”
His pronunciation was clear, his voice loud and milky, like a thunderclap in the sudden silence.
Bai Qingyu: “…” Baby, you know how to add fuel to the fire.
The surrounding people were silent for a second, then burst into laughter.
“Alright, alright, Mrs. Wang, your dog’s poop is the smelliest in the whole community, and you don’t even clean it up. We’ve been neighbors for more than ten years, we’ve tolerated each other and haven’t said anything to you.”
“Get up, you’re making a spectacle of yourself in front of the children.”
Mrs. Wang’s face turned red and white. Being publicly pointed out by a child that she was putting on a show, she couldn’t save face. She cursed and dropped the dog leash, stood up, and started cursing everything. The dog, after being tossed around by her, ran home as soon as it was released.
Xu Liping wiped her tears and sneered, “It’s not free, she’s extorting eggs.”
Cha Bao said nervously, “Baby doesn’t have any eggs!”
Someone called the police, and two officers came to understand the situation.
Bai Qingyu tugged on He Renyuan’s sleeve, “Big lawyer, can you help Aunt Xu?”
He Renyuan didn’t say that this kind of dispute didn’t need a lawyer. He said, “Okay, you take Cha Bao inside first.”
Later, Xu Liping came back with red eyes. Besides He Renyuan, Xu Zhao was also behind her.
She seemed to have figured things out and said to Bai Qingyu, “I might not raise chickens anymore, I’m going to live with my son.”
She thought that raising chickens and accepting her son’s sexual orientation were her own family matters. She didn’t expect that her seemingly close neighbor would think of them this way behind her back.
Then, when her son helped her clean the chicken coop every time, he must have heard unpleasant things!
He Renyuan raised an eyebrow: An unexpected harvest?
He saw Xu Liping’s hesitation and immediately acted like a good person doing good deeds to the end, “My house has a chicken coop, it can accommodate three hens.”
The Jiang family didn’t raise chickens anymore. It was clear whose housekeeper position was more competitive.
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