novelWhat a rubbish forum!
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Chapter 22: What a rubbish forum!
Translator: DragonRider
It was really hard not to associate.
It was just that the post was too thin on detail. Given that in this vast world such events were not necessarily unique, Rong Yi was afraid to jump to conclusions.
Especially, the middle part of the post, with its lengthy description of this Omega character, was way too exaggerated. Although regardless of gender, Rong Yi was confident that he was indeed good-looking, but still not to that kind of extent.
When he saw the date of the post, he was even more hesitant.
Normally it should be just a few days after someone had experienced an incident that he would write about it in a post, right? However, this post was published two days after he moved in with Chen Keyao.
He checked the post author's profile, and found that the first sex column showed "female."
Besides, would vomiting count as a stress response?
So taking everything into account, Rong Yi thought it didn't seem quite right and completely impossible to tell if the post was about him. After all, there is nothing new under the sun; the world is so big, and it's not surprising that something like that happens from time to time. But whether it was about him or not, Rong Yi couldn't stop himself from writing a reply to this post.
"Isn't it obvious that you've got some kind of illness? If you're ill, why don't you go and get it treated!"
He made a point to register an account on this forum so that he could publish a reply. However, when he clicked 'Reply to Post' a window popped up asking him to verify his phone number. He patiently filled in his phone number and then the verification code, only to receive another pop-up message saying that he would have to complete a forum task first, so he uploaded his picture and completed his personal information section as instructed, and then when the unyielding Rong Yi tried to publish his reply again, the system displayed another message saying that new users could not put up posts until 24 hours later.
What a rubbish forum.
Rong Yi was so totally mad that he closed the web browser on the phone and went to sleep straightaway.
It was Sunday the next day. Rong Yi slept through the night until noon.
Chen Keyao was on a phone call with someone in the living room when Rong Yi came out of his room. When the two men's eyes fell on each other, Chen Keyao nodded at Rong Yi, and Rong Yi got flustered for no reason and fled into the bathroom without responding.
Although all the peripheral information was not matching up, Rong Yi was still tempted to wonder if that post was actually posted by Chen Keyao.
Rong Yi was particularly concerned about one detail in the post. The man said that it was not Omegas that he could not accept, but himself who had feelings for Omegas.
The scene in the elevator the night before yesterday was not totally clear in Rong Yi's drunken memory, but it still had some traces. Rong Yi never mentioned it after he woke up, but that didn't mean he didn't care.
He was actually upset and couldn't let it go. Even though Chen Keyao said "We're friends now, " yet he got sick when he simply gave him a hug. It was a brutal trampling of his self-esteem. Even though Chen Keyao explained that he would feel sick when riding in an elevator, of course Rong Yi didn't believe that.
But he didn't want to unmask the lie either, as it would be a punch in the face for himself. He had thought at the time that Chen Keyao was actually a man with a very gentle heart, who still tried to protect his dignity while he himself was unable to refrain from his instinctive physical repulsion.
However, if that post was actually from Chen Keyao, none of the above would have been true.
Chen Keyao's denials at the time would have been a flash of cover. It might not have been love, but at least for a moment, that would mean Chen Keyao must have had some other feelings for him.
Of course, this was all based on the premise that "that post was indeed sent by Chen Keyao".
Rong Yi squeezed out half a tube of the toothpaste.
He stood in front of the mirror, frowning, immersed in his thoughts until his hands felt a little sticky.
After he had washed away all the minty toothpaste on his hands, his fingers and the back of his hand felt cold. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he rubbed the cold skin against the clothing fabric around his waist subconsciously, and then found that Chen Keyao, who was still in the living room, was sitting on the sofa and rubbing his cheeks with his hands.
The wound on his face, though covered by scab, had not yet fully healed. Rong Yi was a bit worried, asking: "What are you doing?"
Chen Keyao looked up and then sprawled his limbs all over the sofa, his face looking totally hopeless.
"I've been complained by parents." He said.
"... What?"
"There was a parent who complained that I just looked like a gangster and couldn't entrust her child with me."
"..."
"Don't hold it, " Chen Keyao glanced at him, "If you want to laugh, just laugh."
Rong Yi burst into laughter.
Chen Keyao, with a frown and a helpless face, watched Rong Yi's body rocking with laghter. He sighed: "I'm so wronged. Isn't this scar at least a heroic evidence of bravery for just cause?"
"Did your organization explain this to the parents?" Rong Yi sat by him and asked.
"I explained that I was injured on the road when fighting with the gangsters to save some child, " Chen Keyao said."But it doesn't seem to work very well."
The rescued child Rong Yi thought for a moment:"... Why don't I send a brocade banner of honour to your workplace now?"
"No, " Chen Keyao waved his hands bitterly."I'm on holiday now."
Rong Yi was stunned: "oh?"
"It's not just that one parent who complained, " Chen Keyao sighed."It seems that a few parents came to visit us that day, and they were all going to sign up, but as soon as they saw me, they just left."
"..."
"If you want to laugh, just laugh. Don't get your face so twisted."
"Sorry, but..." Rong Yi covered his mouth, "Pooh..."
"Do I look that scary now?" Chen Keyao was looking rather displeased, "I think I look pretty okay in the mirror."
"... Do you want to hear the truth?" Rong Yi asked.
Chen Keyao was very decisive: "No."
"Uh... It's alright, it's not scary." Rong Yi said.
"You know what?" Chen Keyao said, "There was a little kid who just broke into tears as soon as he saw me, and he just wouldn't go back to class, insisting on looking for his mother."
"..."
"... I said you could laugh as you like."
Rong Yi shook his head.
Although his facial expression was a bit distorted, that was not because he was trying to hold back a laugh. It did sound funny, but for Chen Keyao, who was genuinely fond of children, it must have been a big blow.
The injury on Chen Keyao's face had a lot to do with him after all, so Rong Yi could not help feeling sorry.
Chen Keyao grabbed a cushion and embraced it: "I was voted the second most popular teacher in our school."
Rong Yi, whose mood had just turned serious, burst into laughter again.
When Chen Keyao glanced at him, he forced himself to stop laughing and clapped his hands: "Amazing, Teacher Chen is amazing."
"I was really popular, " For some reason, Chen Keyao took it to heart, "Don't you believe it?"
Of course Rong Yi believed it.
He was good-looking, gentle, and he looked really competent at his job too. Children were naturally drawn to such mature adults. Although he observed with a thick 'filter lense' on his previous visit, he could see that many children really admired Teacher Chen.
When Rong Yi thought of that day, naturally he recalled what happened in the parking lot afterwards.
Rong Yi suddenly furrowed his brow, which unsurprisingly caused a misunderstanding on Chen Keyao's part.
He stood up from the sofa and dashed to his room with the cushion: "Wait a minute, I'll show you something."
"Ah?" Rong Yi was a bit surprised, "Your award letter for being the second most popular teacher?"
When Chen Keyao came out of the room again, he held a photo frame in addition to the cushion.
He had even framed such a thing? Rong Yi was shocked.
"Look, " Chen Keyao presented the frame to him."Isn't it cute?"
Rong Yi took over the frame, and after seeing what was inside it, he was a bit confused.
This painting, which Chen Keyao had made effort to frame nicely, was truly unflattering. Many crooked little figures lined up one by one, a bit like a group photo, each with a name written on his chest.
"Did your students draw this?"
"Yes, " Sitting next to him, Chen Keyao pointed his finger at the biggest of the little figures, "That is me."
Obviously. It had got the three words of Teacher Chen on it.
"It was a birthday present from my previous class, " hen Keyao said."some of the kids in the class got along really well and they secretly prepared this. Each of them painted himself and left me a space to draw myself. Isn't that cute?"
Rong Yi looked down at the twisted matchstick man who had the words 'Teacher Chen' on his chest:"... So you drew this guy?"
Chen Keyao nodded: "Yeah, can't you see the handwriting is totally different."
The Chinese characters were indeed nicely written, in sharp contrast to the writhing characters written by the children. But the painting didn't make half the difference. In a way, maybe it was also a kind of talent.
Chen Keyao clearly liked the present so much that he had it framed especially. Rong Yi had never been in his room, but the fact that he was able to get it out so quickly showed that the painting must be displayed in a prominent place.
Is it that when you spend all your time with children, you'll become innocent and cute too?
Looking at the smug Chen Keyao, Rong Yi felt a bit emotional. He bowed his head and gave a gentle cough: "Well... Well, that wound will surely heal properly in the end. Then you can still be the king of your kids."
"Oh well, " Chen Keyao sighed."I just hope it'll be faster, "
Rong Yi nodded, and suddenly he remembered something he had been curious about for a while but had not managed to find a chance to ask: "In that case, aren't you going to have no income?"
"Don't you worry about that. Two classes every week wasn't earning me that much money anyway." Chen Keyao said "My main job is not that. I can still afford to buy food."
Rong Yi rushed to the point: "So your main job is... ?"
This guy got up at noon every day and didn't work at all. Rong Yi had been wondering what exactly he was doing.
"Uh..." Chen Keyao, however, was a little reluctant to talk about it."It's a job that will keep me from being starved to death as long as I use my intelligent brain, "
"..."
Seeing that Rong Yi's expression still looked rather quizzical, Chen Keyao added: "I'm just an ordinary freelancer."
"..."
Chen Keyao added again: "And a legitimate one too."
"Forget about it since you don't want to tell." Rong Yi rose and headed for the kitchen.
Meanwhile, he couldn't help wondering. Chen Keyao seemed economically well-off with plenty of income and didn't need to go out most of the time. He looked too relaxed to be a designer, or a professional stock investor, even less likely owner of an online shop.
What else could it be then? Was he a full-time landlord? That wouldn't require much intelligence though.
Puzzled, Rong Yi opened the fridge door only to find that the yogurt he bought last night seemed to have disappeared again.
From outside the kitchen, there came the voice of the suspected yogurt thief: "I want to have spare ribs soup for dinner!"
The author's notes:
Rong Yi: Wait. Does this guy really have an intelligent brain?
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