MTLY | Chapter 2

◎Troubled Youth?◎

The next day.

Before the seven o’clock alarm had even gone off, Song Tinghuan was already awake.

She was a little picky about beds, and hadn’t slept all that well all night.

The room had a walk-in closet of its own, and it was already more than half full. All of it was new clothes Meng Shutang had prepared for her, all of them washed and ironed.

Song Tinghuan didn’t touch those pretty clothes. She pulled out the clothes she had brought yesterday from the very edge of the wardrobe, a white T-shirt and loose denim overalls, changed, and went downstairs.

The cook wasn’t around. Song Tinghuan walked into the kitchen, planning to make herself some breakfast.

There were still two cans of cola sitting on the island counter. Jiang Yu had taken them out of the fridge last night. Seeing those two cans of cola, Song Tinghuan remembered last night’s mess.

She had bitten Jiang Yu last night. Although it had been a stress reaction in the heat of the moment, since it was all a misunderstanding, maybe she should apologize to Jiang Yu?

Song Mingcheng was the kind of person who hated causing trouble for others. Letting her stay with the Jiang family had been a helpless necessity. Before Song Tinghuan came to Jiangbei, Song Mingcheng had repeatedly told her that the Jiang family was not the same as their own home, so she should listen more, look more, talk less, be good, and behave.

Father and daughter had depended on each other for more than ten years, and Song Tinghuan understood all the helplessness and reluctance in Song Mingcheng’s words. Her dad felt he was useless, that he had wronged her.

Song Tinghuan thought that she couldn’t keep letting Song Mingcheng worry about her. Since she still had to stay at the Jiang house, she had to find a way to get along well with Jiang Yu.

But how was she supposed to repair her relationship with Jiang Yu?

Thinking about it, Song Tinghuan casually put the carton of milk from the fridge into the microwave.

A moment later, there was a thunderous bang.

The microwave door was violently flung open, and milky white liquid splashed out. Song Tinghuan reflexively stepped back. Still shaken, she stared blankly at the little flames jumping inside the cavity.

The pendant light above the island flickered, then went out. The sound of the fridge running also stopped.

Song Tinghuan: “…”

“What are you doing?”

A cold, lazy male voice rang out. Song Tinghuan turned her head and met Jiang Yu’s sharp but impatient eyebrows and eyes. The boy strode over and yanked her behind him. Song Tinghuan was dragged back two steps by his force.

Seeing Jiang Yu turn on the tap to get water, Song Tinghuan hurriedly warned him, “There’s electricity…”

“Zzzzt…”

Half a cup of water was splashed into the cavity, and the little flames gradually died out. The word “electricity” in Song Tinghuan’s mouth was also muffled and swallowed.

Milky liquid dripped down the counter and stained Jiang Yu’s black pants.

The placement was a little awkward, to say the least.

Jiang Yu turned his head. His brows were pressed down, and his thin lips were drawn into a straight line. Only then did Song Tinghuan realize his hair was still wet, and there was a charcoal-colored towel hanging around his neck.

A faint cool mint scent drifted through the air, mixed with the clean smell of shower gel.

“I’m sorry.” Shame welled up, and Song Tinghuan slowly lowered her head. “I just wanted to make something to eat…”

Her voice was soft, like a child who had done something wrong.

Jiang Yu had already walked past her, seemingly unwilling to hear her explanation. Song Tinghuan’s long lashes trembled, and she bit her lip before following after him.

The tall boy stood at the entryway, his loose white T-shirt hanging loosely on him. Jiang Yu lifted a hand and switched the breaker back on.

With a ding, the whole villa regained power.

“Yu-ge, what are you doing?” Half a tattooed arm poked out from the stairs, and a glance swept over. The question on the lips of the person leaning out froze when he saw the patch of milky white on Jiang Yu’s pants.

The milk had spread, sticky and thin, clinging like paste to the black fabric.

The tattooed guy’s face was full of shock. “Holy crap… bro, first thing in the morning and you’re kind of fired up.”

Jiang Yu: “…”

Song Tinghuan also noticed the milky white stain on Jiang Yu’s front, then looked at his darkened face. Anyone’s temper would be up if they got interrupted in the middle of a morning shower and then nearly had the kitchen set on fire.

She still had to stay at the Jiang house. She didn’t want to make things too stiff between her and Jiang Yu.

So, in a calm voice as soft as cotton, Song Tinghuan apologized, “I was too careless. Sorry. I definitely won’t let this happen again next time.”

Tattooed guy: “?”

Jiang Yu: “…”

Another incredulous “holy crap” came from the stairs. The tattooed guy pointed at Jiang Yu. “Beast…”

Before he could get out the last character, Jiang Yu’s cold, weary glance swept him back into silence.

Jiang Yu turned his head and looked at the girl following behind him.

A pure white face, soft bangs on her forehead, and overly loose denim overalls wrapping around a slim frame. The cuffs were rolled up once, revealing a thin stretch of ankle bone. Her snow-white skin looked like it had been doused in milk.

Jiang Yu looked away, grabbed the towel, and wiped his damp hair.

He had only gone to bed at three in the morning. Before seven, he had been dragged up by Meng Shutang’s call, saying that no matter what, he absolutely had to take good care of the girl at home.

As Jiang Yu wiped his hair, he gave a soft, derisive laugh. How had he never known he still had a little sister?

Song Tinghuan could clearly feel that this older brother was in a bad mood.

“Um, I’ll clean the kitchen properly. You… you go take a shower.”

Jiang Yu’s hand paused while wiping his hair. His dark eyes lifted. “Planning to blow up the kitchen again?”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

So fierce. Just like that tattooed social-guy upstairs said, way too much fire in him.

*
Breakfast had not been saved, and Song Tinghuan slunk back to her room. Her stomach was a little hungry, so she took a candy out of her bag, wrapped in pale pink glassine paper, peach-flavored.

Song Tinghuan really liked this fruit candy. She had been eating it for years.

In the chair sat the backpack she had carried over from home, an off-white canvas bag, a New Year’s gift from Song Mingcheng.

It had been dirtied by the child in the neighboring seat on the plane. A small stain had soaked into the side, and the stain had also smeared the felt dachshund on the zipper, along with the strawberry hat on the dog’s head.

Song Tinghuan hugged the canvas bag and went downstairs to the laundry room.

The laundry room was next to the garden. It had just rained last night, and the greenery outside looked even more lush and drenched.

Song Tinghuan didn’t really know how to use the larger machines, and worried about causing trouble for the Jiang family, so she found a clean little basin, filled it with water, and planned to wash only the dirty part.

Just as she had soaked the backpack in the water, her phone rang. It was Meng Shutang.

Meng Shutang asked whether she had slept well last night and whether she was getting used to living there. She also specifically asked whether Jiang Yu had arranged breakfast for her. Song Tinghuan touched her flat little stomach and replied to Meng Shutang with great revolutionary camaraderie, “Yes.”

Meng Shutang was helping her transfer schools and needed some basic student information. Song Tinghuan chatted with Meng Shutang on the phone as she went back upstairs, but after sitting down at the desk and fiddling with it for a long while, the computer screen was still black.

“How is it? Finished filling it out?”

“The computer doesn’t seem to turn on.”

“Oh, the one in your room seems to have a problem. How about this, Jiang Yu is home, so borrow his for now. No rush, Auntie will wait for you.”

“Mm.”

Song Tinghuan puffed out her cheeks and stood up.

She and Jiang Yu lived on the same floor.

Across from a guest room, in Jiang Yu’s room, Li Yiliang was curled up on the sofa playing games. The coffee table was a total mess, with an open cup of instant noodles, half-eaten fries, and crooked aluminum cans.

“F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck!!!!! Damn it, I died again!”

Li Yiliang hurled his phone aside and collapsed on the sofa like a dead salted fish.

Jiang Yu had showered again. He was only wearing a loose pair of gray pants. His teenage frame was relaxed and open, and the thin lines of muscle had a kind of power that sat somewhere between youthful and mature.

Li Yiliang clicked his tongue. “Bro, you’ve already taken two showers this morning. Your temper’s pretty hot, huh.”

Jiang Yu ignored him, walked over to open the window, and casually picked up the white T-shirt hanging over the back of the chair. The look he gave Li Yiliang was a little disgusted.

Li Yiliang knew Jiang Yu had a bit of a cleanliness issue, but he had thick skin and didn’t care.

“You think the girls at our school are especially jealous of me? After all, our Yu-ge has such a clean and innocent body, and I’m the only one who’s seen it.”

What Song Tinghuan heard when she stopped at the door of Jiang Yu’s room was exactly that sentence.

Her steps halted, and her whole body stiffened a little.

The door to Jiang Yu’s room wasn’t fully closed. It was left open a thin crack, and Song Tinghuan felt as if she had been nailed in place. Her gaze was occupied by the broad, straight line of the boy’s back inside the room, his skin a cool white, the center line of his spine slightly sunken inward.

But only for a moment. The loose white T-shirt fell back down, covering the taut line of his waist.

Song Tinghuan only felt her face burn red, even the tips of her ears hidden in her hair were getting hot. She had grown up with Song Mingcheng. He spoiled her, but he was also strict. From childhood to adulthood, there had never really been any other men around her.

The impact on her field of vision was too strong. Song Tinghuan closed her eyes. Just as she was about to turn back, the door in front of her suddenly opened.

Jiang Yu looked down at her. The loose white T-shirt covered his body, and the broken hair at his forehead was still wet.

Song Tinghuan: “…!”

Her dark, clear eyes widened all at once, even the corners of her eyes turning slightly round.

“Need something?”

“I, I was just passing by.”

“Then you’ve been passing by for quite a while.”

“…”

The depth in Jiang Yu’s eyes was obvious, as if to say, Keep making it up.

Song Tinghuan pressed her lips together. “The computer in my room won’t turn on. There are a few forms I need to fill out. Auntie Shutang is waiting for me at school right now. I…”

“Come in.”

Before Song Tinghuan could even finish speaking, Jiang Yu had already stepped aside from the doorway.

This was Song Tinghuan’s first time entering a strange man’s room. The main colors were indigo and white, and everything was kept in perfect order, though the coffee table in front of the sofa was a little messy.

In the sofa, Li Yiliang was showing off his tattooed arm and grinning at Song Tinghuan with a full row of white teeth. “Hello, pretty girl.”

Jiang Yu glanced at him, and Li Yiliang laughed with a heh-heh, picked up the phone from the table, and plunged back into battle. Jiang Yu brought Song Tinghuan to the computer, his slim knuckles clicking lightly on the mouse. The screen lit up.

Song Tinghuan sat in the chair. A faint clean fragrance drifted through her nose, mixed with mint and cedar.

It was Jiang Yu’s scent. It smelled wonderful, and made one think of the dim forest in the early spring dusk.

“Knock.”

The boy’s knuckles bent slightly as he tapped the desk. Song Tinghuan instinctively came back to herself and met Jiang Yu’s sidelong gaze.

He looked down at her, his eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny.

Song Tinghuan swallowed and said softly, “Thank you.”

The instant she reached for the mouse, Jiang Yu’s hand brushed the tips of her fingers. Song Tinghuan curled her fingers slightly.

The cool fragrance beside her faded.

Jiang Yu walked over to the coffee table and swept all the trash on it into a bag in one go, then casually lifted Li Yiliang by the back of his collar.

“What are you doing, bro?”

“Taking out the trash.”

“?”

Jiang Yu hauled Li Yiliang and the trash out together. Only Song Tinghuan was left in the room. The tense feeling in her chest gradually eased, and she took a deep breath before starting to fill out the form seriously.

Not long after, the form was finished. Song Tinghuan logged into QQ and sent the file over. She didn’t dare touch anything on Jiang Yu’s desk randomly, and even put the mouse back in its original place properly.

Getting up and walking to the door, Song Tinghuan quietly pulled it open, and then heard a familiar voice from the hallway, cold and lazy, the roughness filtered out, leaving a slightly low tone with a bit of careless slackness to it.

“You want me to be her gigolo?”

Song Tinghuan: “…?”

“Then you’ll have to pay more.”

Song Tinghuan: “…!”

Had she accidentally heard some incredible secret?

Probably not realizing anyone was behind him, the boy let out a light laugh after dropping that series of bombshells. “Fine, got it. I’ll definitely stay by her side twenty-four hours a day, never leave her side. If she says go east, I’ll go east. If she says go west, I’ll go west. I’ll make sure she’s served happily and comfortably.”

On the other end of the line, Meng Shutang was probably about ready to die of anger at his shameless attitude. She had only asked him to take care of the little girl at home, and this was the attitude he gave her?

But Song Tinghuan’s thoughts had already shot off at high speed without her control.

Leaving aside the fact that Jiang Yu was only seventeen or eighteen now, the Jiang family’s circumstances should hardly be so bad that he’d need to sell his body to make money. Then that meant…

Song Tinghuan vaguely remembered similar news she had seen before. Some people with special fetishes couldn’t have their needs satisfied in ordinary daily life, so they liked to seek out unusual刺激.

Jiang Yu was currently bent over the railing, half his body bathed in the soft morning light. His skin was fair, the wrist holding the phone slender, his knuckles long and clean, carrying a distinctly youthful air.

It was completely unlike the words coming out of his mouth at that very moment.

Maybe Song Tinghuan’s stare was too focused. Jiang Yu turned his head, and without missing, crashed straight into her pair of clear, glossy eyes. It was just that the way the girl was looking at him now was a little strange.

Like she was looking at some kind of… troubled youth?

That phrase suddenly flashed through Jiang Yu’s mind.

“Fine, I won’t say any more. Hanging up.” He ended the call with Meng Shutang. His gaze drifted over, lazy and careless, but fixed right on Song Tinghuan.

Song Tinghuan: “…”

Author’s note:

Jiang Yu: I’ll make sure she’s served happily and comfortably.

Song Tinghuan: ?

Starting a new two-update schedule~ Good night, babies~~