MTLY | Chapter 19

◎Bastard pretty face.◎

The four clearly enunciated characters had barely left her mouth before not only did Song Tinghuan freeze, Jiang Yu was also slightly taken aback.

It was the evening rush hour. The area around Xuefu Road was packed with traffic and people, and the clouds on the horizon were churning into a red-orange glow. The whole world was bathed in searing gold, and even the girl’s fair cheeks were flushed pink by it.

Song Tinghuan hurriedly corrected herself. “Pah, pah, pah, I mean she wants to hook up with you.”

Jiang Yu: “…”

A hand suddenly came down on the top of her head. The boy’s large palm rubbed over her hair, his voice warm and low. “I already said it. You’re still so young, stop thinking about nonsense all the time.”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

It was clearly only April, but for some reason Song Tinghuan felt a scorching heat pressing in around her. Catching sight of a convenience store by the roadside, she quickly freed her head from under Jiang Yu’s hand.

“I… I’m going to buy a carton of milk!”

Jiang Yu lowered his eyes, looking at the soft crown of her head, the blush on her face, and the pale, slender fingers clutching the edge of her uniform. Her nails were trimmed round and neat, with a faint pink tint.

He took off one earbud. “Didn’t we have milk at home?”

Under his scrutinizing gaze, Song Tinghuan lied through her teeth with her eyes wide open. “I just suddenly really want to drink some, iced milk.”

Without giving Jiang Yu any chance to keep questioning her, Song Tinghuan turned and ran into the convenience store, looking for all the world like one more second of delay and the parent in charge would change their mind and refuse to buy it.

Jiang Yu let out a snort of laughter, the silver-gray earphone cord swinging in front of him as he lazily followed after her.

Only after Song Tinghuan went inside did she discover that there was a kind of milk on the refrigerated shelves that she used to drink all the time. The embarrassment and awkwardness from earlier were washed away in an instant, leaving only her bright eyes fixed on the milk products lined up on the shelf.

“They actually have this brand of milk here. I used to drink it all the time when I was in Lingcheng. I thought they wouldn’t have it in Jiangbei.”

Jiang Yu followed her gaze. The refrigerated milk on the shelf all looked more or less the same. He glanced at the girl beside him and said, “You drink so much milk, where exactly does it all go?”

Song Tinghuan: “?”

What was wrong with a perfectly good man that he had to have a mouth?

This was a local Lingcheng dairy brand called Tea Blossom, rarely seen in Jiangbei. Seeing that Song Tinghuan only picked up one bottle, Jiang Yu asked, “Is that enough for you?”

Before Song Tinghuan could answer, Jiang Yu glanced at the expiration date and put five or six more into the shopping basket. “Drink more. Try to grow to one meter sixty.”

“I’m already one meter sixty!”

While he pulled up the QR code to pay, Jiang Yu glanced sideways at her, the dark wash of his eyes carrying a thin thread of amusement. “Oh.”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

One fifty-seven, rounded up, is one meter sixty!

As the lights came on, the last streak of red clouds still hung at the edge of the sky, almost setting half the horizon on fire.

Jiang Yu carried Song Tinghuan’s backpack together with the bag of milk. Song Tinghuan followed quietly beside him, biting the straw as she drank her iced milk.

She wasn’t actually hungry, but she had to make her earlier lie hold up.

For some reason, Song Tinghuan kept feeling that Jiang Yu had some hard-to-describe mood around him today. His lips were clearly curved in a smile, but she could still sense a little loss, even sadness.

“Jiang Yu.” Song Tinghuan leaned closer to him and spoke softly, “Are you still not happy?”

When those clear black-and-white eyes met his, so clean and bright they seemed able to see right into a person’s heart, Jiang Yu looked at her sidelong, his gaze shifting slightly. “What made you think I was unhappy?”

“Just…” Song Tinghuan couldn’t really explain it either. “A feeling, I guess.”

“Mm, your feeling is pretty accurate.”

Song Tinghuan was a little surprised. She hadn’t expected Jiang Yu to admit it so directly.

“Is it because of Han Jingjing?”

Jiang Yu lowered his eyes to look at her, wearing an expression of regret. “She’s just not very smart.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Yu was walking in front, one silver-gray earphone hanging by his side. The last bit of sunset stretched the boy’s figure long and lean.

“Why do you think it’s because of Han Jingjing?” he asked.

Song Tinghuan bit her lip, not sure how to explain.

Everyone said Han Jingjing was Jiang Yu’s girlfriend, but at school today, Jiang Yu’s attitude toward Han Jingjing didn’t look anything like a boyfriend’s toward his girlfriend.

Song Tinghuan walked quietly at Jiang Yu’s side. She secretly looked at the boy’s handsome brows and eyes. His eyelashes were long and thick, but they didn’t make him look delicate. Maybe because his eyes were naturally cool and distant, the long lashes only pressed down some of that coldness in his gaze.

His nose bridge was straight and slender, his lips thin, tinted with a pale, almost watery red.

He looked ahead, but his gaze seemed to have nowhere to land. The black hoodie made his skin look even colder and fairer.

“It feels like every time you see Han Jingjing, you just… get a little unhappy. Or not unhappy, exactly, just not in a good mood?” Song Tinghuan couldn’t put it into words. Her soft pink lips opened and closed, and every word came out gently and slowly.

She thought of what Han Jingjing had said after school today.

“You didn’t really screw her over, did you?”

“Song Tingting, can you keep it a secret for me?”

The two voices overlapped in her mind.

The evening streets were noisy with people. The girl’s voice was soft and sweet, especially her dark, glossy eyes, clear black and white without the slightest trace of prying curiosity, only a simple question.

Suddenly, Jiang Yu bent down, bringing his line of sight level with Song Tinghuan’s. The sunset burned fiercely, and the city’s lights fell into his dark eyes, obscure and hidden, yet still holding a few points of faint starlight. “Song Tingting…”

“Huh?” Song Tinghuan was a little dazed. She looked at Jiang Yu’s extraordinarily good-looking face, at his thin lips parting as if carrying some sort of lure. “Keep it a secret for me, okay?”

Song Tinghuan looked into his deep, black eyes.

It felt like the tip of her heart had been scorched by burning clouds.

*

When Song Tinghuan and Jiang Yu got home, through the door they could already hear Meng Shutang’s voice from the living room.

It was her usual gentle tone, but today it was unusually firm and cold. “I don’t agree. Xiaoyu can’t go abroad.”

“Shutang, calm down.”

A man’s voice, deeper and heavier.

“On this matter, we need to respect Jiang Yu’s wishes.”

Song Tinghuan stole a glance at Jiang Yu. She was standing slightly behind him, and in the current situation, she felt a little caught between a rock and a hard place.

Inside the villa, Meng Shutang’s voice remained soft yet cool. She didn’t rush or lose her temper, but every word she said was sharp.

“Am I the one who’s not calm? You promised me back then that you wouldn’t let Xiaoyu go abroad, that he’d stay in Jiangbei. Tell me, am I really the one who’s not calm, or are you the ones going back on your word?”

A moment of silence. When Meng Shutang spoke again, her voice had softened, carrying a hint of daze.

“You promised me you wouldn’t let Xiaoyu leave me again.” It sounded almost like she was talking to herself, her voice very low. “Or do you think enough time has passed, and everyone can let it go now? That it doesn’t matter anymore? That none of you care anymore…”

“It’s not…”

“Xiaoyu can’t leave.” Meng Shutang’s voice suddenly rose again, carrying obvious panic and a tremor. “He can only stay in Jiangbei. He can’t go anywhere. I…”

Meng Shutang had walked too fast and too urgently, so the moment she pulled the door open, Song Tinghuan and Jiang Yu had almost nowhere to avoid her.

Meng Shutang looked at the boy in front of her, momentarily lost in thought. “Ayu?”

Not Xiaoyu, but Ayu.

Only when Jiang Yu was very small did Meng Shutang call him Xiaoyu.

The darkness in Jiang Yu’s eyes was heavy and shadowed, a look Song Tinghuan had never seen before. He was usually so careless and unconcerned, rarely like this.

Pale white light spilled out from the living room. The man inside had clearly also seen Jiang Yu standing at the door, and he suddenly stood up, his eyes faintly uneasy.

Only then did Song Tinghuan notice the mess all over the living room. The enamel vase that had originally sat on the narrow cabinet was shattered across the floor. Clearly, before they came back, there had already been a much more intense argument in the room.

The air went still for a moment. Just as Song Tinghuan thought this argument would drag Jiang Yu into it as well, the boy beside her let out a light laugh. The darkness in his expression faded completely, and his clean eyes were dusted with amusement. “Why are you getting so mad? Who said I was leaving?”

His amused voice was loose and easy, sounding no different from Jiang Yu’s usual tone, but Song Tinghuan could still hear that faint chill beneath the easy cheerfulness.

Just a little.

Gone in an instant.

“Ayu…” Meng Shutang stood at the door, seeming still somewhat at a loss.

The pale apricot qipao outlined the woman’s slender figure. She was like a crabapple blossom hanging from a branch in diagonal wind and rain, trembling faintly, her eyes full of panic and helplessness.

Jiang Yu put an arm around Meng Shutang’s shoulder and led her back inside. The seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy was already very tall. With him guiding her, Meng Shutang leaned against his side.

The boy’s voice was still careless. “Going abroad is exhausting. Not a single familiar face on the whole street. And if you get unhappy and cut off my allowance, I’d still have to wash dishes and work part-time to make money.”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

Meng Shutang turned her head to look at Jiang Yu. Because of the height difference, she had to tilt her face up slightly. Her eyes, usually warm with a gentle smile, were now full of uncertainty. “Ayu… you really won’t leave Mom?”

Jiang Yu curved his lips and nodded. “I won’t. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay in Jiangbei.”

He answered seriously.

Meng Shutang nodded, tears gathering in her beautiful eyes. Jiang Yu patted her head like he was coaxing a child. “Don’t. If you end up crying because of me, Lao Jiang will feel bad.”

With just that one sentence, Meng Shutang’s tears instantly brimmed over. They didn’t fall, but her eyes were completely red.

Song Tinghuan stood silently behind the two of them, watching Jiang Yu patiently coax Meng Shutang.

She had never seen this side of Jiang Yu.

She had never seen this side of Meng Shutang either.

Listening to Jiang Yu’s low, steady words, she could clearly feel Meng Shutang’s dependence on him, that irreplaceable dependence that came from the depths of the soul.

Jiang Yu looked up and, over Meng Shutang’s shoulder, nodded at the man standing in the living room.

Only then did Song Tinghuan notice the man in a suit. His brows and eyes looked somewhat like Jiang Yu’s, but he seemed younger, and his age obviously didn’t match Jiang Yu’s father.

She vaguely felt that the man looked familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she’d seen him.

The gloom that had hung over the Jiang household was swept away in an instant by Jiang Yu’s few words. An argument was dissolved without a trace, and everyone’s life seemed to have returned to normal. But Song Tinghuan couldn’t sleep.

At two in the morning, she lay staring blankly at the soft light on the ceiling, her gaze unfocused.

Although she hadn’t been at the Jiang house for long, in Song Tinghuan’s impression, Meng Shutang was a very gentle person, someone with the upbringing of a proper young lady from a wealthy family. She liked wearing qipao, was said to know many instruments, and could even sing Kunqu.

When she was alone, she often daydreamed, but when Jiang Yu was home she would smile warmly, without any airs of an elder, getting along with Jiang Yu and with Song Tinghuan like a friend.

But what happened tonight made Song Tinghuan suddenly feel as if she had brushed against something extremely private.

Rolling around unable to sleep, Song Tinghuan swallowed and found her throat a little dry.

She had forgotten to bring up her water cup before bed, so she had no choice but to put on her slippers and go downstairs. Just as she got close to the kitchen, she heard the faintest sound, the metallic click of a pull tab being opened.

She wasn’t as reckless as last time. Under the pale moonlight, she saw the boy leaning against the island counter.

“Jiang Yu?”

Song Tinghuan kept her voice very low. Jiang Yu turned his head and looked over, seeing the little girl bent at the waist as she came in, as if afraid of being discovered.

The chill in his eyes hadn’t faded yet, a heavy dark tide still gathered there.

Song Tinghuan came closer and sniffed lightly with her small nose. “You’re actually secretly drinking alcohol.”

The air was filled with a faint malty fragrance, mixed with the sour bitterness of beer hops.

“And you? Not calling me Uncle anymore?”

“…”

Song Tinghuan pressed her lips together and shot back softly, “I am not. I’m thirsty, so I came downstairs to get some water.”

As she spoke, she looked curiously at the beer can in Jiang Yu’s hand.

His long, slender fingers held the aluminum can, a thin sheen of condensation gathered on its surface.

“Want a sip?”

Jiang Yu clearly hadn’t missed the curiosity in her eyes. Song Tinghuan leaned in slightly, eager to try. “Can I?”

“No.”

“…”

Song Tinghuan refused to be convinced. “Why can you drink it? You’re not an adult either.”

Jiang Yu had already brushed past her. Turning his head, he looked her over, the corner of his lips lifting. “When you grow to one meter sixty, that’s when I’ll let you drink.”

Song Tinghuan: “…!”

By the counter, Jiang Yu had already opened a carton of milk. The milky liquid poured into a glass with a gurgle, and Song Tinghuan noticed the box tossed on the counter, Tea Blossom milk, the local Lingcheng milk she liked best, the same one they had bought together tonight.

Jiang Yu opened the microwave and put the glass of milk inside. The faint red light stood out especially clearly in the dark.

Song Tinghuan walked closer and stood beside Jiang Yu, watching his lowered eyelashes.

Jiang Yu was in a bad mood. Song Tinghuan could tell.

She had always remembered Song Mingcheng’s warning, and she knew she shouldn’t casually pry into other people’s private matters. But seeing Jiang Yu like this, she couldn’t quite describe the feeling in her chest. She wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know where to start.

“Ding…”

Before Song Tinghuan could even organize her words, the microwave dinged.

Jiang Yu opened the door, took out the glass of milk, and handed it to her.

“For me?”

“I don’t need milk to grow taller.”

“…”

Song Tinghuan took the glass, warmth spreading against her hand. Because of the strange atmosphere in the Jiang household tonight, she hadn’t dared to heat milk earlier.

Jiang Yu then reached for the beer can on the island counter, but Song Tinghuan held his wrist down. “Don’t drink anymore. Try this instead. It’s really delicious.”

Jiang Yu lowered his eyes and looked at the seriousness in the girl’s soft, dark gaze. She held the glass out to him, like she was offering up a treasure.

“Try it.”

Her already soft voice only needed that one trailing note to turn coquettish. Jiang Yu lowered his head and, using the cup Song Tinghuan held out, pressed his thin lips to the rim.

Song Tinghuan gently lifted her wrist and watched the milky liquid touch the boy’s soft lips. She curved her eyes. “Isn’t it good?”

A sweetness spread across his tongue. Jiang Yu didn’t usually like sweet foods, but he still gave a soft mm.

He wasn’t humoring her. He really did think this milk seemed pretty good.

“This is the best milk I’ve ever drunk.” As she spoke, Song Tinghuan didn’t notice that Jiang Yu seemed to want another sip. She held the glass of milk and, where he had just drunk from, gulped down two big mouthfuls.

Jiang Yu looked at her red, soft lips, moistened by the milk, with a thin layer of creamy residue on them. He suddenly turned his head away and looked elsewhere.

Song Tinghuan drank half the cup in one go. The sweet liquid soothed her stomach and lungs, and with her brows and eyes curved, she was still a little unsatisfied. “What about now? Do you feel any better? Want some more?”

As she spoke, she handed the cup to Jiang Yu again.

Jiang Yu looked at the rim of the cup, the milk sloshing inside, but he couldn’t bring himself to lean in again without betraying himself. If he didn’t know Song Tinghuan’s innocent and slow-going personality, he would almost suspect she was actually some top-tier flirt, teasing people without a trace.

His throat bobbed once. Jiang Yu gave a light cough.

Song Tinghuan: “?”

Suppressing the strange look in his eyes, Jiang Yu lifted a hand and lightly tapped her forehead. “Finish it and go back to sleep. Staying up late makes you shorter.”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

“Then wouldn’t all my milk money be wasted?”

Song Tinghuan fell silent.

She gritted her teeth and stared at Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu curled his lips, and the gloom of the whole night seemed to finally begin easing away in that instant.

After she finished the milk and was about to go back to her room, Jiang Yu once again lightly pressed a hand to the top of her head. “Go brush your teeth.”

“But I’m so sleepy.”

“Of course you can also not brush. I don’t mind taking you to the dentist again next time.”

“…”

The hospital was basically Song Tinghuan’s Achilles’ heel. She could only obediently go to the washroom in the first-floor lounge under Jiang Yu’s supervision and brush her teeth with a disposable cup.

Jiang Yu stood there with his arms crossed at the washroom door. Leaning against the doorframe, he met her gaze in the mirror on the wall. Song Tinghuan squeezed out toothpaste while baring her teeth on purpose, showing Jiang Yu her neat, white teeth.

She looked like a child, or some kind of small animal trying to act fierce.

Jiang Yu tilted his head, the corners of his lips lifting. The light rustle of swishing, gargling, and quick little brushing noises rang by his ear, like a bird fluttering its wings. Not loud, but in the stillness of the deep night, it seemed especially lively and fussy.

After Song Tinghuan finished brushing, she cleaned up the sink, took a tissue to wipe her mouth, and after getting everything tidied up, she stood properly in front of Jiang Yu. “Is that okay? Can I go upstairs and sleep now?”

“Oh, let me check.”

“…I don’t want you checking.” Song Tinghuan squeezed past Jiang Yu. The moment she passed him, the boy instinctively straightened his body, tightening his waist and abdomen, and Song Tinghuan got through smoothly. Afraid of waking Meng Shutang, she tiptoed toward the living room.

In the washroom, Jiang Yu raised a hand to turn off the light, only to spot a black hair tie lying by his foot. Just now, for convenience while brushing her teeth, Song Tinghuan had tied her hair back. He remembered it seemed to be the one she always wore on her wrist.

Jiang Yu bent down and picked up the hair tie.

It was a very plain black elastic band, with a tiny star the size of a bean threaded onto it.

*

The next day, the weekend.

Meng Shutang left early in the morning, leaving only Song Tinghuan and Jiang Yu at home. Jiang Yu didn’t come downstairs for breakfast. After spending so much time with him, Song Tinghuan had more or less figured out his habits. On days off, he never got up early.

Song Tinghuan planned to stay home and read for a while, then go out for lunch at noon and study at a bookstore in the afternoon.

She had the whole day arranged perfectly when the doorbell rang.

The door opened to reveal Han Jingjing’s bright and beautiful face. She hadn’t tied her hair up today. Her long hair fell past her waist, the ends slightly curled, with a chestnut sheen.

“Wow, you really do live together.”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

Only then did Song Tinghuan belatedly remember that Han Jingjing seemed to have said yesterday that she was coming to Jiang Yu’s house on the weekend.

“He hasn’t gotten up yet. Do you want me to go call him?”

While changing shoes at the door, Han Jingjing shook her head like a rattle drum. “Young Master Jiang has a terrible temper when he wakes up. I’m not crazy.”

Song Tinghuan nodded, very much agreeing with that assessment.

Han Jingjing smiled at her again. “I heard you’ve been living at his place. Don’t you feel suffocated living under the same roof as someone like him?”

Song Tinghuan didn’t know how to answer. At first, maybe a little, but recently it seemed okay.

“But I see he’s pretty good to you.”

When she said this, Han Jingjing looked fixedly at Song Tinghuan, her gaze carrying a bit of scrutiny and interest.

Song Tinghuan didn’t comment. To be fair, Jiang Yu really did treat her well.

She chose an evasive answer. “It’s all right.”

“Just all right?” Han Jingjing leaned closer, a flash of mischief seeming to pass through her glassy eyes. “Hey, seriously, what do you think of Jiang Yu as a person?”

That was too broad a question. Song Tinghuan didn’t know how to answer.

Han Jingjing pressed on. “Or, what was your first impression of him?”

Song Tinghuan recalled her initial impression of Jiang Yu, a rich second generation kid who was uneducated and tried to test the boundaries of the law over and over, but was good-looking.

The first two points had already been proven to be a huge misunderstanding. Song Tinghuan only kept the last one. “Good-looking.”

“A pretty face?”

“…”

Han Jingjing’s curiosity was really getting the better of her. “You live with him every day. Don’t you think that although he has a pretty decent face, his personality is really bastardly?”

Song Tinghuan: “…”

A little, maybe.

For instance, he always looked at her like she was an idiot, thinking she was dumb, spoiled, picky about food, too short, and not very smart…

But Jiang Yu bought her a backpack with a little bear charm hanging from it, took her to and from school every day, carried her backpack for her, and when they ran into those punks from No. 8 High School, it was Jiang Yu who protected her.

He also took her to the hospital for her eyes, signed his name on her failed test paper, and there was that terrifying thunderstorm night.

Song Tinghuan wasn’t the kind of person who didn’t know gratitude. She remembered all the good Jiang Yu had done for her.

“Isn’t that right?” Han Jingjing ignored Song Tinghuan’s silence, as if looking for validation. “I just think he’s a bastard, with an awful personality. No wonder he still doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“…” Song Tinghuan muttered, “A little.”

“So his first impression on you was a…” Han Jingjing paused slightly, then summed it up precisely, “bastard pretty face?”

Song Tinghuan: “?”

At last, Han Jingjing couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore, her expression full of schadenfreude.

Song Tinghuan also clearly noticed that Han Jingjing’s gaze was no longer on her, but past her, looking behind her.

Song Tinghuan had a bad feeling about this. She slowly turned her head, and then saw that certain “bastard pretty face” standing on the second-to-last step of the stairs with a cold expression, staring straight at her.

Song Tinghuan: “…”

Author’s Note:

Song Tinghuan: Jiang Yu, a big-shot campus heartthrob, arrogant and dog-like, bastard pretty face

Jiang Yu: ?

Double update combined~ This is the makeup update for Wednesday, Thursday’s update will be in the afternoon, around five~~

A tiny red packet~