Jing City's Meng Family was one of the top big families in the local
community. Although recent generations had begun to engage in politics
and business, their scholarly temperament remained in their bones.
Song Yu's grandmother had been a standard Jiangnan1Jiangnan – literally
'South of the River'. It is a geographic area in China referring to lands
immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River beauty
when she was younger. Even though she'd grown old, her delicate
gentleness hadn't lessened at all. Her pale hair was neatly combed back and
she was currently standing at the carved iron gate on tiptoe, looking towards
the other end of the road nervously and expectantly .
Song Yu got out of the car.
Warm light illuminated the youth's pale face.
Grandma Meng's eyes reddened when she saw him and she rubbed at the
corners of her eyes, "Yuyu has grown up. Grandmother couldn't recognize
you for a moment."
Song Yu smiled slightly, supporting her as they walked, "Grandma must
have waited a long time. The wind is strong outside, let's go in first."
Grandma Meng's eyes were still red as she smiled. She patted the back of
his hand and spoke softly, "It wasn't a long wait, and it's fine now that
you're here."
Song Yu saw many people inside when they walked in. They were all from
the Meng Family, and most of them were from the younger generations. All
of his older and younger cousins had been gathered together.
They all got up to welcome him warmly when they saw him come in. It was
just that the gazes they used to look at him weren't very pure.
Song Yu clearly understood their purpose. It was likely that they were all
obeying their parents and had come to try and establish a relationship with
him due to A City's Song Family's renown.
"These are all your cousins, and we're all one family. In the future, if
there's anywhere in Jing City that you want to go to, you can look for them.
They're more familiar with the city than you are."
Grandma Meng introduced them one by one. Her purpose was very simple;
she was afraid that Song Yu would be lonely after coming to Jing City for
the first time and wanted him to know more people who were around his
age.
But Song Yu wasn't interested in them.
Song Yu's family situation in his original world wasn't bad, and he could
handle this kind of situation with ease. His smile was well behaved and
polite, but his attitude was cold and indifferent.
After settling down, the family had a quiet meal together.
Grandma Meng was a well-bred lady from a good family. Her family had
been strict when she was young, and she still kept with the tradition of not
holding conversation while eating. She didn't speak, and the younger
generations in the family naturally wouldn't dare to act presumptuously.
Although their gazes were anxious enough to poke holes in Song Yu's body,
they didn't try to start a conversation without permission.
For Song Yu, this was actually a good thing.
After he finished eating, he used the excuse of being tired from sitting in the
car for a long time and went upstairs to wash up and go to bed.
He left the group of people with complex and gloomy expressions behind at
the table who wanted to talk, but didn't know what to say.
After taking a bath and drying his hair, Song Yu splayed himself out on the
bed.
There was a faint fragrance of jasmine on the quilt and pillows. The air in
Jing City was fresher than in A City. Grandma Meng had planted many
flowers in the garden, and the evening breeze was gentle, making the
atmosphere seem particularly peaceful.
Song Yu stared at the ceiling, thinking about what to do next.
If he suddenly went to look for Xie Sui, he would definitely be regarded as
a psychopath.
How about waiting until school started?
They were going to be in the same class anyway.
No way.
Song Yu covered his eyes with an arm, thinking about how Xie Sui's finger
would be broken during this summer vacation, leaving behind a pain that
lingered for a lifetime. He had better go and save him.
"But where does he live?"
Oh, right, he'd forgotten the most important thing––
Where did Xie Sui live?!
When he thought of this, Song Yu suddenly sat up, his eyes wide open.
Damn. Couldn't he just?
"008! 008!"
Song Yu began to shout for 008 like mad.
After a while, 008's faint yet complex voice rang out in his mind. "I'm here,
what can I do for you?"
Song Yu sat up straight, "Do you have Xie Sui's present address?"
008 replied reflexively, "Of course." However, it quickly reacted and shot a
question back at Song Yu in alarm, "What do you want this for!"
Song Yu laughed briefly, "Of course it's because I want to go find him."
008: "???!!!"
008 was both anxious and angry. It projected its avatar in front of Song Yu.
After looking at the environment around it, its heart was completely
wretched. It suppressed its outrage and said, "Host, what are you doing?
Why are you in Jing City!!!"
Song Yu said, "Didn't you say that I could do whatever I wanted in these
five years?"
008 was so anxious it was going around in circles, "But my prerequisite for
that is that you don't affect the plot. You can't be in Jing City right now, and
you can't meet up with the protagonist. It's not time for you to show up yet,
hurry up and go back."
Song Yu raised his eyebrows.
008 was a little afraid of Song Yu, so it could only try to persuade him
earnestly, "Host, go back! Go back to A City. You can't appear in front of
Xie Sui with your identity as Song Yu. This will cause the plot to go off
track."
Song Yu sat cross legged on the bed and smiled particularly indifferently,
"That's simple. I don't need to use Song Yu's identity. I remember that in
the original book, Xie Sui always addressed Song Yu by his English name.
Besides, he's so young right now, and there's no way he remembers me
from back then. I'll just casually make up an identity and show up by his
side."
008's tone was anxious, "You can't do that!"
Song Yu snapped his fingers, "I can do exactly that. I think that there's
nothing wrong with it. You just have to give me Xie Sui's address."
008 was so angry that it was rendered speechless. Smoke was coming out of
the top of its head.
When Song Yu saw this, he toned down his smile and said lightly, "You
guys didn't ask me if I was willing and forcibly pulled me into this world.
You should've thought about the consequences."
008 bowed its head and pressed its lips together.
008 was really incredibly vexed. It was just that it was a system that was
also full of human feelings. They were the ones who'd been wrong to start
with, and there was nothing they could do.
A long time later, it gritted its teeth and scratched its head. Its expression
was extremely unsightly as it finally made a concession, "About this… I
have to go and ask the Host World for instructions. You, you shouldn't do
anything rashly… Even if you appear at Xie Sui's side, you can't expose
your identity."
Having obtained a satisfactory answer, Song Yu smiled slightly, "No
problem. In this world, A City's Third Young Master Song isn't the only
person with the name Song Yu."
008 didn't want to deal with Song Yu at all right now. Dejected, it turned
into a wisp of smoke and returned to Song Yu's mind.
Song Yu was stunned for a moment, "Hey, you still haven't told me Xie
Sui's home address!"
"I don't know!"
This reply was an angry roar that came from the flustered and exasperated
008.
Song Yu: "..."
So, what exactly had he called the system for?
He hadn't obtained any information and, instead, it had given him a whole
bunch of restraints.
What a garbage system!
Other than blocking him, it couldn't do anything else.
Song Yu sighed, laid back down, and went to sleep.
Looking for a person in such a big city might seem like looking for a needle
in a haystack, but it wasn't impossible for Song Yu. After all, he had an
uncle who was a mayor, and a group of cousins who were anxious to get
along well with him. However, he didn't even need to make use of these
networks and somehow still managed to meet Xie Sui through a strange
combination of events.
On the third day of his arrival to Jing City.
Grandma Meng was afraid that he would feel too suffocated at home, so she
tried to persuade him to go out and walk around.
Unable to bear his grandmother's urging, Song Yu had gotten into his
cousin Meng Guang's car.
Meng Guang's sports car was wine red and just as flashy as its owner.
He took off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of slightly uptilted peach blossom
eyes, looked at Song Yu who was seated in the copilot seat, and said, "Isn't
my grandma really annoying?"
Song Yu laughed, "Not really."
"What do you mean, not really." Meng Guang chuckled and stepped on the
gas pedal, "She has so many rules that I want to die. Every time I come
over, I can still deal with it for the first two days, but I end up being scolded
by her from morning till night by the third day."
Song Yu laughed and didn't say anything else. He liked the food that
Grandma Meng made, and he'd been living very comfortably over the past
few days.
Meng Guang's eyes were focused in front of him. He suddenly curved his
lips in a smile, "Little cousin, how old are you?"
Song Yu was surprised, "Fifteen."
Meng Guang's smile became even happier. He shot him an ambiguous
wink, "That's old enough. Your older cousin will take you to a fun place.
Wanna go?"
Meng Guang was his uncle's only son. As the mayor's son, he was a prince
who could run rampant anywhere in the entire city. If he said it was fun,
then it must be an extraordinary place.
Song Yu was a little interested, but made sure to remind him, "Cousin, I
can't drink."
Meng Guang laughed, "Don't worry. I won't let you touch even a single
drop of alcohol. If something happens to you, not just my grandma, even
my short-fused aunt would fly over first from A City and peel off my skin."
Song Yu was amused.
Meng Guang continued, "Consider it an apology for not going to pick you
up three days ago. I'll take you to a fun place. All you have to do is nod.
Wanna go?"
Song Yu had nothing to do. Since he was idle anyway, he simply agreed
directly.
Meng Guang smiled, "Alright, this is a secret between the two of us.
Remember our brotherhood and don't turn around and sell me out."
Song Yu couldn't help laughing, "I won't tell grandma."
Having obtained Song Yu's assurance, Meng Guang switched directions and
drove the car south.
Although Meng Guang loved to play around and have a good time, Song Yu
was his cousin, and he wasn't yet an adult. His mind was pure and clean,
and he naturally wouldn't take him to places that weren't suitable for
children. Otherwise, he'd be no different from a beast.
Meng Guang took Song Yu to a high-level club named 'Linshui'2Linshui –
it means 'facing water'. sounds more poetic in chinese, so i kept the name
in pinyin~. After they went in, he showed his membership card to the front
desk and was led inside by the waiter.
They passed through a magnificently decorated imperial hall, a dark
corridor, and then out the other side to an antique style courtyard. The
walkway, which was covered with red wooden planks, was built over a pool
of water. When looking down, they could see koi swimming around in the
clear water.
Meng Guang said, "Let me take you to meet some of my friends."
Song Yu nodded.
Meng Guang's friends were all famous young masters of Jing City. They
had actually planned a small private party amongst themselves that day.
Normally, it would've been a rich young men's carnival with music and
women, but due to Song Yu's presence, these older brothers weren't
shameless enough to call over any hostesses to keep them company.
So, it became more like a round of karaoke. They all went for the mics, and
demonic sounds filled their ears.
Meng Guang was upset, "Are you all trying to attack my younger cousin's
ears?!"
One of them sneered, "Real devastation would be giving you the
microphone."
Meng Guang was angry and slapped the table, "Who are you looking down
on!"
"..."
Song Yu, who was drinking water on the sofa, basically understood the
situation.
He'd been played by his cousin. He made it sound so ambiguous and
mysterious, then took him here. In fact, it was because Meng Guang
couldn't evade Grandma Meng anymore, and he didn't want to bail on his
brothers, so he'd put on an act and tricked him over.
He'd fallen for it.
Song Yu was driven to the limits of his endurance by this group of people
who couldn't carry a tune and went outside, saying, "Cousin, I'm going
outside for some air."
Meng Guang was already engrossed in having fun. He waved his hand,
"Okay, don't run around randomly."
Song Yu wanted to go get some air, and he also wanted to go to the
bathroom. However, he walked around the courtyard filled with fake rock
mountains for a long time, but still couldn't find a bathroom. As he wound
around and around, he ended up walking out of the courtyard and
inexplicably arrived at the Linshui club's second floor.
xiin: the ML is showing up soon!!! also, updates for TIHC will start
following a schedule next week. updates every friday, with an extra one on
monday if i'm ahead on translating or the ko-fi meter fills up~
1
Jiangnan – literally 'South of the River'. It is a geographic area in
China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches
of the Yangtze River
2
Linshui – it means 'facing water'. sounds more poetic in chinese, so i
kept the name in pinyin~