novelThe Meaning of One Month
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Chapter 18: The Meaning of One Month
"I swear I owe you from my previous life!"
Chu Ge scolded angrily as he entered the house, wiping the water droplets off his face.
Chu Ge was completely drenched. He looked miserably at Yan Jin and Xiao Yu with grievances written all over his face.
"You let me wait for five damn minutes! Do you know how heavy the rain was out there?! I even took a leave on purpose today just to come here and guess what happened?!"
Xiao Yu cowered to pretend that he was dead.
Yan Jin suggested, "It's okay. The weather's hot, you'll dry up fast under the air-conditioner."
"What the fuck?"
"No one asked you not to bring an umbrella."
"I drove my car here. I thought that it was only a few steps from the car to your doorsteps and hence I did not take the umbrella. Who the hell would have guessed that you wouldn't open the door?!"
Yan Jin shrugged his shoulders: "That's okay. Lesson learned, remember to bring an umbrella next time."
Chu Ge was pissed beyond words: "At least give me a dry set of clothes."
"I just happen to have one. It's on the table. Your cousin gave it to me."
Saying that 'It's on the table' wasn't exactly the right description - the gift box with the clothes in it was lying pitifully underneath the table.... which was the floor. The gift box was already open and revealed a striped blouse inside. With one glance, you could tell that it was conveniently discarded by Yan Jin who was too lazy to pick it up after it had fallen off the table.
Chu Ge widened his eyes as he asked in shock, "Who gifted it?"
Yan Jin repeated, "Your cousin, Nan Chan."
"Fuck. Who gave her the guts?" Chu Ge mumbled then continued, "Not even giving up until now, she's truly unreasonable¹."
"Otherwise, why would she be named Nan Chan?" Yan Jin gave an insightful conclusion.
Chu Ge smirked coldly: "You don't have to give me face, just torture them any way you like."
"No worries, I have not spared them since the beginning."
Nan Chan's name sounded familiar to Xiao Yu, but he was not too bothered by it. However, when he saw the blouse that Chu Ge changed into, Xiao Yu then noticed the famous brand that sparkled before him and it reminded him of who 'Nan Chan' was.
SI's main business was in the jewelry industry, but they did quite well in the clothing design industry as well. Xiao Yu was close with the designer in the clothing design department and had coincidentally replaced one of the designers to participate in S City's new clothing launch exposition. At that exposition, the fashion industry's most famous luxurious clothing brand, NN, who was also the successor of Nan's financial group, gave a speech as the organizing company. The speech was made by a beautiful young lady that was only twenty-one, so she stole the attention of all the men at the venue.
That girl was Nan Chan.
Nan Chan was Chu Ge's cousin? Then what identity did Chu Ge have?
Xiao Yu couldn't recall all the big shots whose surname was Chu, but since he was related to Nan Chan, then Chu Ge's status was basically at the same level. The only difference was probably the degree of wealth and reputation that Chu Ge had.
The fashion industry was neither too big nor too small. People like Yan Jin were well-known amongst everyone in the scene. Nan Chan was slightly less famous because even though she had a solid family background, her personal capability was not overly impressive enough for people to talk about her enthusiastically. But that was not the case for Chu Ge - if he was a big shot and had a good relationship with Yan Jin, it was impossible for Xiao Yu to not have heard of him before.
Yet the truth was, Xiao Yu had indeed not heard of any person named Chu Ge before.
Xiao Yu wondered if there was a scandalous story behind Chu Ge's birth, and then he imagined what kind of 'get-rich' methods the Nan and Chu family had passed down to their descendants. Suddenly, Xiao Yu recalled that Chu Ge was the Yan's family doctor, Teacher Fang's disciple behind closed doors - his heart started racing even faster.
Was this the modern version of 'If you don't become a doctor then don't come back to inherit our wealth' kind of situation?
Xiao Yu's gaze on Chu Ge became really complicated.
Coincidentally, after changing into the blouse from the latest fashion season, Chu Ge looked distinguished and accomplished, making him even more attractive as if he would steal everyone's attention.
At that moment, Chu Ge was looking at Xiao Yu as well. The human and hamster stared at each other before Chu Ge broke the silence: "That's rare. It seems so active."
That sentence wasn't different from how he spoke before, but this time, Yan Jin did not get angry and even continued his words, "Yeah, when I saw the cage wide open earlier, I thought something had happened."
"Tsktsk, I got drenched from head to toe because of you, Fishy. You better give me the biggest portion of the cake later." Chu Ge teased Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu dodged Chu Ge's finger as he thought of what Chu Ge meant by saying that.
"Light the candles then we cut the cake." Yan Jin said.
The cake was on top of the commonly used white-colored base, but the flowery sides and decorative fruits slices were uniquely arranged. The edible gold flakes were scattered all over the top as if money was not an issue. The most fascinating thing was the fruit basket decorated on top of the cake - the basket was woven with vines that had various types of fruits placed in it. Right in the middle was a tomato made with cream and butter, with a closer look, one could even see water droplets on the surface, as if it was the real thing.
It was a cake that met the CEO's standards. Xiao Yu suddenly thought of the carpet that was in Yan Jin's room and started to suspect if Yan Jin had asked that designer to design this cake.
Xiao Yu felt like he had discovered the truth to a certain extent.
There was a candle on the table. Yan Jin took it and inserted the candle on top of the cake and lit it.
Xiao Yu stood beside the cake as he watched Yan Jin take out his phone. Without further instructions, Xiao Yu posed and allowed Yan Jin to upload the picture before he held Xiao Yu on his palm.
Similarly, Chu Ge went to switch off the lights.
The '1' candle emitted a weak glow as it stood on the peak of the cake. Xiao Yu did not really understand what it meant - didn't birthday candles usually represent their age? So, what did '1' stand for in this case? One year? One month? One day?
When the living room was only left with that single candle glowing, Yan Jin held Xiao Yu up to his level and said softly, "Here, Fishy, this is your one-month-old birthday. We will celebrate it every month from now on. On the count of three, we'll blow the candle together."
Xiao Yu was shocked. This cake was for him? He thought...
Without further ado, Yan Jin had already counted to 'one'. Xiao Yu quickly took a deep breath and blew out the candle together with Yan Jin.
Sadly, a hamster's strength was impossible to measure as the candle was blown out by Yan Jin.
The smoke went up into the air as darkness overtook the room. Xiao Yu felt his eyes getting damp.
It turned out that it had already been one month since Yan Jin had picked him up.
Hamsters had a short lifespan - Xiao Yu was very clear about that. His life would perhaps reach the end before two years was up.
It turned out that Yan Jin had already accompanied him for one-twentieth of his lifespan.
Xiao Yu turned and looked at Yan Jin. Amidst the darkness, he could not see Yan Jin's expression clearly, but he thought that Yan Jin would be smiling at this moment.
That person was CEO Yan, who could change the tides like the weather in the business world. He was cold like an iceberg and expressionless, but at the same time, he was the same Yan Jin who was an elbow length away from him, gently holding a hamster in his hand, meticulous and caring.
Those rumors about Yan Jin, all of them were not accurate.
Xiao Yu once thought that Yan Jin was not as perfect as those rumors had said so. But at this moment, Yan Jin was even better than those rumors, better in a different sense. The women that approached Yan Jin because of money and status did not deserve him at all. Yan Jin was worth a woman better than that - a woman without a celebrity background or gorgeous looks. Instead, she should be a gentle and refined person that is educated and well-balanced.
The person who met all these criteria would be befitting of Yan Jin, who would celebrate a birthday for a hamster.
If he could treat a hamster this way, imagine what he would do for a lover... that person would so be blissful.
Xiao Yu suddenly felt jealous. At that very moment, he did not know if he was jealous because of Yan Jin who was so close to perfection, or if it was because of the person who was going to be Yan Jin's lover.
The lights were switched back on as Chu Ge cut the cake in high spirits. To finish such a big cake in one go was impossible, not to mention there were only two people around. As for Xiao Yu, he couldn't eat too much human food anyway, and his appetite was not that big either.
Chu Ge ended up cutting a small slice of cake to eat. He had already planned the whereabouts of the remaining portion - he planned to bring the cake to the bar tonight and give it away. The atmosphere was looking good tonight, and Chu Ge was thinking of getting Yan Jin to go with him as well.
Without desires, one would get stronger. As the reward for giving up a lot of things in life, Chu Ge did not have to live a difficult life like Yan Jin. That was why Chu Ge never thought about getting himself involved with the Yan family feud. But if Yan Jin requested his help, he would lend a hand.
In fact, based on their family's relationship, Chu Ge was considered Yan Jin's elder. With just one word from Yan Jin, he would surely be able to help with the Yan family matters.
Chu Ge once thought that Yan Jin would never ever request for any help. The requests from Yan Jin were barely a handful ever since they were young, as Yan Jin would always take up all the responsibilities on his own. Who would have guessed that such stubbornness would be defeated by a hamster?
Tsktsk, there would always be something to subdue another with.
Chu Ge eyed Xiao Yu from head to toe, not knowing how exactly this slightly intelligent hamster was worth all these efforts.
Yan Jin did not care about where the cake ended up at. He was more concern about the things on the table.
Chu Ge stuck a small piece of cake in the front of Xiao Yu. Just before Xiao Yu reached out his paws, Chu Ge immediately withdrew his fork and shoved the cake into his mouth. Xiao Yu angrily went up and pulled Chu Ge's sleeve.
"Haha, I'm surprised that you have so much strength, Fishy." Chu Ge used one finger to hold Xiao Yu down as he turned to Yan Jin: "No wonder he survived with you for one whole month, he indeed has some special abilities."
Yan Jin rolled his eyes: "Didn't the cake shut you up?"
"Hey, I'm not that easy to bribe, okay?"
Chu Ge had a face full of righteousness and determination as he continued, "Fishy, Fishy, you better be careful. This Yan Jin has a very scary secret."
Oh? Yan Jin's secret? Xiao Yu perked his ears to listen.
"That secret is, the pets that Yan Jin kept before never lived beyond one month."
Chu Ge proudly revealed Yan Jin's 'secret' and added on to it: "Except for you - you're the first one to live past one month. Yan Jin must be really happy in his heart."
This matter was indeed a big issue in Yan Jin's heart. It was like a fish bone that was stuck in his throat which had tortured Yan Jin all this time. But with Xiao Yu as the first exception, Yan Jin finally let go of his fears over this matter and did not flare up even when Chu Ge mentioned it.
So, the one-month celebration had this meaning behind it.
Xiao Yu suddenly understood a lot of things. No wonder Chu Ge had this weird attitude towards him - even the purchase of the cage was in a hurry - in fact, they felt that he would die very soon.
To be honest, Xiao Yu still felt that the incident of 'Yan Jin's pets would die very quickly' was actually a very normal thing.
It was harsh to say this, but although Yan Jin would make him feel moved at some weird aspects, Yan Jin's attitude towards animals was like how an idiot would act. If Xiao Yu wasn't a human inside a hamster's body, he would have been tortured to death by Yan Jin already.
Who the hell would put their hamster at the bedside cabinet to sleep? Just a roll to the side and he'll fall off just like that, okay? Who would bathe their hamster underneath the water tap and even blow dry them with the hair dryer? They'll die from shock! And how could he let hamster eat human food? It was guaranteed to live a shorter life, okay?! Lastly, who would let their hamster roam around without locking it inside the cage? It'd be gone before you knew it....
But thank goodness it was him - the hamster that had the soul of a human - hence he was able to remain alive under the hands of Yan Jin.
And thank goodness it was Yan Jin - the person who treated his pets like humans - that took him in.
Thankfully, they were all very lucky.
Translator's Note:
[1] Chu Ge's cousin, 南婵 (nán chán) and the adjective, 难缠 (nán chán) which means 'unreasonable' have the same pronunciation, so Chu Ge was making fun of his cousin's name. xD
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