Young People Talk Too Much, It’s Easy to End Up Annoying
Luckily, after Su Jingyang finished speaking, the youth’s dark eyes stared at him for a moment before he stepped aside and said, “Fine, then catch it,” and didn’t make things difficult for him again. More accurately, it was that he couldn’t be bothered to make things difficult for him.
Su Jingyang huffed and puffed for a long time before he finally managed to crawl up. He felt like his bones were about to be shattered from the fall. He originally wanted to rub his numb, aching butt, but it felt too humiliating, so his hand naturally moved up to his waist instead. Supporting his waist like that, he limped toward the chicken that was leisurely strolling around under someone else’s window.
A voice that sounded like it was watching a show came from behind him: “Hey, are you sure you can manage like that? Do you need me to help?”
Su Jingyang didn’t believe for a second that he would help him. He started rolling up his sleeves. “You would better stay farther away. Watch out, I might hurt an innocent bystander.”
That adulterous chicken probably still didn’t know it had been targeted. It kept its head down, pecking around on the ground for something to eat. Su Jingyang fixed his eyes on it, and once he had it in sight, he gathered his strength and launched into a storm of action.
At once, the chicken’s shrieks rang through the entire courtyard. Su Jingyang didn’t loosen up for even a moment. He pounced and chased viciously, kicking up dust all over the ground, and in the end, he finally caught that frantically flapping chicken!
With his face covered in dust, Su Jingyang clutched the chicken in his arms and fell into a sitting position on the ground. The movements just now had tugged at his body, making him bare his teeth in pain, and he was so tired he was panting hard.
While Su Jingyang was catching his breath, there came urgent knocking from outside. The youth, who had just been forced back into a corner by Su Jingyang’s fierce momentum, turned his head to glance that way and then walked over to open the door.
Ling Li stood outside holding Ah Xuan, his face pale. He first apologized and explained anxiously to this neighbor, then looked toward Su Jingyang with deep worry and called out, “Jingyang!”
Su Jingyang knew he had made him worry. He hurriedly stood up with the chicken and walked toward the door. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Su Jingyang was about to leave together with Ling Li when he suddenly remembered the ladder still hadn’t been taken away. He ran back to shoulder the ladder. When he turned around again, he found that Ling Li was actually talking with this new neighbor!
Su Jingyang looked utterly incredulous and hurried back to listen to what they were saying.
It turned out Ling Li had learned that the one who saved Ah Xuan that day was this youth, and with a heart full of gratitude, he was inviting him to come to their home for dinner that night.
Su Jingyang’s eyes widened abruptly. In his mind, he thought, Ah Li, you’re done for, you’re done for! You’re about to suffer a brutal rejection and a merciless round of mockery!
Su Jingyang was just about to cut in and drag Ling Li home when the youth’s clear, brisk voice reached his ears: “Sure. I was just worrying about not having any food to eat.”
“…!!!?” Su Jingyang’s body stiffened. He stood there like a wooden chicken.
He agreed??? He actually agreed??? He didn’t even say, you’re not worthy of eating with me?!
No, no, no, no. This wasn’t scientific.
“Ah, you’ve only just moved here, so it’s definitely inconvenient in many ways.” Ling Li pulled Ah Xuan’s finger out of his mouth as he spoke, then glanced subconsciously in Su Jingyang’s direction before continuing, “If… if you don’t mind, you can eat breakfast with us too. I cooked a lot of noodles.”
“Really? That couldn’t be better.” That guy accepted without a hint of courtesy. His brows and eyes still held a faint smile as he looked at Ling Li, his expression gentle as he said, “You go home first. I’ll change clothes and come over in a bit.”
Ling Li said, “Right, I still don’t know… how should I address you?”
The youth’s clear, dark eyes flicked toward Su Jingyang, who looked like he wanted to say something but was holding it back until his face was red. A smile appeared. With red lips and white teeth, he smiled so brightly and dazzlingly it was hard to look away. He said to Ling Li, “I should be younger than you. Just call me Ah Yi.”
Su Jingyang: “…………”
After Su Jingyang returned home and put down the chicken and the ladder, he was still breathing unevenly. Only with the comparison did he realize that this guy was actually quite polite with other people. He just wasn’t polite to him, that’s all. Damn. It made him feel really displeased.
Ling Li set Ah Xuan down on the ground. After hesitating, he walked over and asked Su Jingyang in a low voice, “Are you unhappy that I asked him to come eat?”
When Ling Li returned with him, he had already noticed that Su Jingyang didn’t look too good.
Su Jingyang turned his head to look at him, coming back to his senses. He suddenly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I’m not. Besides, Ah Li, this is your home. Whoever you want to bring…”
“This is your home too.” Ling Li grabbed his wrist, looked at him, and shook his head as he spoke gently. “If you don’t like it, we can thank him in some other way. That’s fine too. I don’t want you to be unhappy.”
Hearing that made Su Jingyang feel delighted inside. He also didn’t want to make things hard for Ling Li, so he said, “I’m not unhappy. It’s just that getting caught climbing into his yard is pretty awkward. If he wants to come, then let him come. At most he’ll eat a few meals, it’s not a big deal. Besides, he’s Ah Xuan’s lifesaver. We really should thank him properly.”
Only then did Ling Li feel more at ease. He smiled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll go check the kitchen again.”
Ling Li had already cooked vegetable and shredded pork noodles in the morning. Ever since Su Jingyang started earning wages, he bought meat for the home almost every day, and not in small amounts either.
Ling Li felt heartbroken about it and told Su Jingyang to save the money and not spend it recklessly. Having food to eat and being full was already good enough. Su Jingyang still did whatever he wanted, even saying that he liked eating fresh meat and didn’t like meat that had been cured.
Ling Li couldn’t stop him and had no other choice. He could only cook it fresh whenever Su Jingyang bought it back, stir-frying, steaming, boiling, deep-frying, braising, changing up the dishes in every way he could. Su Jingyang loved it all anyway.
Ah Xuan, eating along with them, had grown a lot better too. His face had even become round and chubby. At least now he wasn’t the skinny, pitiful little thing he used to be. As for Ling Li, no matter how much he ate, he was still just as slender, but his complexion had improved a little.
Ling Li was afraid that serving only noodles would look too meager for a guest, so he stir-fried two more dishes. He even cooked Ah Yi a large bowl of shredded pork noodles separately, because the broth from the earlier pot had already gotten a bit scorched.
Just as Ling Li finished setting the steaming, fragrant food on the table, Ah Yi, already changed into fresh clothes, swaggered in. He was still dressed in black. He was tall, with long legs, broad shoulders and a narrow waist.
The sleeves of his clothes were cinched tight at the wrists. His not-very-long black hair was tied back at the back of his head, looking neat and dashing, and his whole body overflowed with the bold, sharp vigor of youth.
Ah Yi smiled and greeted Ling Li, then sat down at the table, taking the seat right beside Su Jingyang. Seeing how casual he was, as if it were his own home, Su Jingyang couldn’t help letting out a snort through his nose. Ah Yi turned his head, his red lips curving into a smiling arc, his voice very gentle as he asked, “What are you snorting about?”
When he said that ‘snort,’ he deliberately dragged out the tone a little, as though an intimate person were teasing.
Su Jingyang felt that this guy was young, yet his moods flipped unpredictably. He was strange and irritating. Su Jingyang shifted his butt over to the side, dragged his bowl of noodles along with him, and moved a bit farther away. Then he scooped Ah Xuan up onto his lap and only then said to him, “I’m doing my huff-and-puff routine, what’s it to you? Eat your food and grow taller, that’s what matters.”
As soon as he said it, he choked a little. This guy seemed taller than him…
Su Jingyang immediately became indignantly silent and didn’t speak anymore, eating while feeding Ah Xuan.
Ah Yi picked up his chopsticks. With a single glance, he saw that the soup in his bowl was clear and bright, obviously freshly cooked, different from what was in Su Jingyang’s bowl.
Ah Yi glanced at Su Jingyang’s puffed cheeks, then turned his face toward Ling Li and said, “So abundant. You’ve really worked hard.”
The moment his words fell, Su Jingyang slurped up a mouthful of noodles. The sound was even louder than before, as if he were eating with exceptional relish, not showing the slightest sign that he was doing it on purpose.
He fed Ah Xuan again, and Ah Xuan copied him, also deliberately making a slurping sound, then happily showed off to Su Jingyang. Su Jingyang immediately put on a serious face and scolded him, telling him to eat more politely and not make such loud noise.
After being scolded, Ah Xuan stopped chewing even with noodles in his mouth. Looking aggrieved, he lifted his little face and stared at Su Jingyang.
Ah Yi couldn’t help giving a small amused snort from the side. In an admiring tone, he said, “You really are lenient with yourself and strict with others.”
Su Jingyang had been exposed. The tips of his ears flushed red, and he glared at Ah Yi. “Eat your food. Young people talk too much, it’s easy to end up annoying.”
“Still better than you nagging at a child nonstop, isn’t it?”
“Nagging?! I’m nagging?! Was I nagging you?! Was I nagging you?!”
“Not really, but you’ve disturbed my ears.”
“Bring your head over here. I’ll help you cut it off!”
Ling Li could see it now too. These two probably didn’t get along for some reason. He pushed the dishes closer to Ah Yi and quickly cut off the increasingly off-track conversation between them. “Try some. If it suits your taste, eat more. If you don’t like it, I’ll go make you something else.”
“This is already very good.” Facing Ling Li, Ah Yi immediately became pleasant again. After saying that, he picked up a chopstickful of noodles and fed it into his mouth. He chewed, and a sliver of surprise flashed in his eyes.
He truly hadn’t expected much from this bowl of shredded pork noodles that looked so ordinary, but the flavor was unexpectedly good. The two plates of food in front of him were also extremely simple, homestyle dishes: vinegar-stir-fried shredded potatoes and green pepper scrambled eggs. Eating them together with the noodles was quite satisfying.
Ah Yi ate elegantly and calmly beside them. In stark contrast, Su Jingyang made a few quick slurping sounds and finished off the remaining noodles in his bowl. He simply treated Ah Yi like air and focused on holding Ah Xuan’s small bowl and feeding him.
Su Jingyang had tried teaching Ah Xuan to hold chopsticks himself, but Ah Xuan always clenched the chopsticks in his small fist. With little brows knitted and his face full of confusion, he couldn’t learn no matter what. There was no way around it. Even now, Su Jingyang still had to feed him.
“Let me do it, Jingyang. You should get going.” Ling Li put down his chopsticks and stood up, about to take Ah Xuan over. Su Jingyang said, “It’s still early. I’ll walk it off a bit before I go.”
Ling Li could only sit back down. Seeing him raise a hand to rub his shoulder with a slight frown, Su Jingyang hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? Does the place where you were bitten still hurt? Put on some more ointment later.”
Ah Yi, who had been lowering his head and picking at noodles, froze. He abruptly lifted his head. His suddenly tightened dark eyes stared deathly at Ling Li’s hand as it left his left shoulder. In the unfathomable depths of his gaze, a violent undercurrent surged at once, and his breathing turned unsteady for an instant.
Ling Li answered Su Jingyang, “It’s not because of that. It seems I strained it while carrying water.”
Before Su Jingyang could speak, Ah Yi put down his chopsticks and suddenly cut in. Looking at Ling Li, he said, “I’ve got medicated oil. I’ll bring you some later. The place where you were bitten can’t be ignored either. Be careful, the wound could fester. Also—”
Ah Yi’s eyes darkened further. Staring straight at Ling Li’s pale, delicate face, he asked slowly, “When did you get bitten?”
Ling Li, hearing such natural words of concern from him, was silently stunned for a moment before he said, “Yesterday… last night I got bitten… It shouldn’t be that serious, right? I don’t even feel that much pain now.”
Author’s Note:
The novel title has been changed! The previous one didn’t pass, so I switched to something simple and straightforward.
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