Love Rival Is Getting Prettier Everyday - Chap 196
Chapter 196: He Really Still Likes Him!
Bai Qingquan had a meal with the relevant leaders at noon and then went to his uncle’s house in the afternoon. He grew up with his uncle’s family since he was a child. His uncle, Bai Mingjie, was an honest man who worked outside of town. He had only recently returned in the past few years. His aunt, Chu Ying, didn’t like him very much. While their relationship wasn’t good, he had never been abused. The couple had a son and a daughter who followed after their mother and had an estranged relationship with him.
However, since he made his debut, Chu Ying and the others had become more enthusiastic about him. He was considerate because, after all, this was part of human nature. While they were enthusiastic, he rarely ever returned or made calls to them, but he always gave them a surplus of money. He considered this in part to repay them for his upbringing.
Bai Mingjie and his wife were waiting for him at home. Their children were working out of town, but there were a lot of people gathered around the Bai family.
Wei Ge glanced out through the car window. “The people in your hometown are quite enthusiastic.”
From a glance, it looked as if there were about 70 or 80 people gathered around.
As soon as the car door opened, the fellow villagers all looked over. Bai Qingquan thought for a while but decided not to wear a mask. He smiled and greeted everyone. The old watched with excitement while the young kept taking pictures with him. Bai Mingjie had been waiting for him at the entrance for a long time. When Bai Qingquan smiled at him and shouted “uncle”, he hugged him with a smile and said, “Come in, come in.”
The yard of the Bai family was also full of people. When the neighbors heard that he had come back, they all came to see the excitement. He recognized some of the aunties and uncles, while others he didn’t recognize, but everyone knew who he was as they were familiar with the fact that he was now a big star. The familiar country hospitality was very kind, as they all stayed until the evening when dinner was about to be served before they dispersed.
Bai Mingjie invited a few dignified people to accompany him. These people were all regulars at the drinking table and had a special way of persuading others to drink. The most common thing they said was, “You’re looking down on uncle, aren’t you?”
When he heard this, Bai Qingquan could only raise his cup and drink all the alcohol in it. He had an average tolerance for alcohol, so after a short while, Wei Ge blocked his cup for him and finally drank it on his behalf.
Chu Ying helped him to the room to rest. “Just sleep in your brother’s room. Your room has been unoccupied for a long time, so there are no sundries.”
His cousin’s room had recently been renovated, looking completely different from before. There were new frames on the window and colored strips hanging from the chandelier.
His cousin had gotten married last year, and he helped buy him a wedding room. He now lives in the big city but would come back every new year for the holidays.
Bai Qingquan laid down for a while. He felt cold, so he drank some wine and fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already completely dark outside. The room was pitch black, and he could hear a faint sound of voices coming from the living room.
He touched his phone and glanced at it. Before he could see the time, he saw a few messages, which caused him to sit up all at once. The texts were sent by Shi Lei more than an hour ago.
He got up from the bed, took his coat, and put it on. As soon as he left the bedroom, he saw Bai Mingjie and Chu Ying sitting in the living room watching TV, with the neighbor’s aunt sitting next to them. The three of them were chatting. When they saw him coming out, they all stood up.
“Awake?” Chu Ying hurriedly poured him a glass of water.
Bai Qingquan said, “Thank you”, took a few sips, and then asked, “Did my agent and the others gone back?”
“That Qian Wei can really drink,” Bai Minjie said. “We asked them to stay, but they didn’t want to and went back to the hotel to rest.”
“I have to go too,” Bai Qingquan said.
“It’s so late, what are you going to do? You have a place here at home, so why go to a hotel to sleep?”
“I have something to do when I go back,” Bai Qingquan said. “We’re all family, so no need to be polite to me.”
As a big star, even Bai Mingjie, who was relatively close to him, still treated him politely. He didn’t dare push the issue and let him go. Chu Ying asked him if he wanted to take the electric cart. “It’s fully enclosed and warm.”
In the past few years, his hometown had also developed rapidly. The roads had been built with asphalt, and streetlights had been installed on every street, but the houses hadn’t changed much. They were still mainly two- to three-story small buildings. The winding street from Baijia to Ranmin Road was still the road he used to go to school. He looked through the car window and passed by the place where Shi Lei had confessed to him that year.
Memories came pouring back.
Bai Mingjie said with a smile, “When the spring festival starts next year, all the houses here will be demolished, and high-rise buildings will be built.”
“That’s great,” Bai Qingquan said.
It was a good thing for the local people, as they would have new homes to live in. He had heard them talking happily about it during dinner.
Bai Qingquan had a whim and asked Bai Mingjie, “Uncle, do you know Shi Lei?”
Bai Mingjie said, “Shi Lei?”
“My former classmate. Their family seems to live behind Shi Xiao.”
Bai Mingjie said, “I don’t know.”
“His father seems to have been in jail,” Bai Qingquan said.
When he said this, Bai Mingjie immediately said, “I know about his family.”
“I had a good relationship with Shi Lei. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him. Can you take me there? I’ll go and say hello.”
Bai Mingjie said very readily, “Okay.”
The car turned a corner and headed to Shi Lei’s house. Bai Qingquan smiled, took out his phone from his pocket, and called Shi Lei. After calling for a long time, no one answered. Just as he was about to hang up, he suddenly got through. Shi Lei’s voice came over, very eagerly. “Hello?!”
“Are you at home? I’m coming to find you,” Bai Qingquan said.
Shi Lei was a mess over there. He said, “I’m out drinking with my buddy.”
Bai Qingquan let out an “Oh”, and Shi Lei immediately said, “But it’s not far from my house. Are you coming? We’re at the restaurant opposite Xuelang Internet Café… We’re done. Where are you? I can come to you.”
Bai Qingquan said, “Then you wait for me there. I’ll meet you there.”
After he hung up the call, Bai Mingjie said, “I know where that place is.”
Before they got there, they saw Shi Lei from a distance, standing in the cold wind in front of the restaurant. Shi Lei probably didn’t expect him to come on an electric cart, so he didn’t even pay attention when the cart stopped in front of him.
Bai Qingquan knocked on the glass window twice and got out of the car with a smile. Shi Lei smiled in surprise and then glanced at Bai Mingjie in the car.
“Uncle, you can go back first,” Bai Qingquan said.
Bai Mingjie nodded. “Come back home again before you leave tomorrow. Remember.”
“Got it.”
After the electric cart drove away, Bai Qingquan looked back at Shi Lei and asked, “Where’s your friend?”
“Here.” A young man opened the heavy curtain and smiled at him. “A big star. I thought Xiao Lei was just bragging.”
Bai Qingquan looked at the man, and Shi Lei introduced him, “My buddy, Xiang Zi.”
“Brother Xiang.” Bai Qingquan nodded with a smile.
“Damn, I don’t deserve it,” Xiang Zi said, “Come in. What are you doing outside in the cold wind?”
The three of them entered the restaurant together. Probably due to how late it was and the cold, there weren’t any other guests around. The owner was sitting inside, watching TV. When she saw them come in, her eyes lit up. She seemed uncertain and couldn’t help doing a double take.
There were a few dishes on the table. Almost all of them had been eaten, and there were two bottles of alcohol, with one almost empty.
“What do you want to eat?” Shi Lei gave him the menu.
“I’m not hungry. Do they have porridge? I’ll have some porridge.”
As soon as his voice fell, the boss leaned over and asked, “Are you… Bai Qingquan?”
Bai Qingquan smiled and shook his head. “Many people say that I look like him.”
“It’s really similar!” The boss said.
“Madam, do you have porridge?” Shi Lei asked.
“No, just noodle soup.”
“Then I’ll have a bowl of noodle soup,” Bai Qingquan said.
The boss went to get him his order, and Shi Lei said, “I texted you a few times, but you didn’t reply.”
“I drank too much at my uncle’s house and slept for a while,” Bai Qingquan said.
Xiang Zi had already filled up his glass, but when he heard this, he took the glass back and kept staring at Bai Qingquan. He and Shi Lei were good brothers, so he knew about his sexual orientation and also about his secret love for Bai Qingquan.
Today, Shi Lei had asked him out for a drink, and he felt that Shi Lei had something on his mind. Shi Lei didn’t talk about it, but he had guessed that he came back this time most likely for Bai Qingquan. Everyone in the county knew that Bai Qingquan was planning to come to No. 2 Junior High to participate in their celebration.
However, he didn’t expect Shi Lei to hook up with Bai Qingquan. As soon as Shi Lei answered the phone, he told him excitedly that Bai Qingquan was coming. He thought the kid had drunk too much and was experiencing hysteria.
Tonight, Shi Lei’s heart was like a rollercoaster. He had texted Bai Qingquan with great anxiety but didn’t see him reply. He thought Bai Qingquan was just being polite to him during the day and didn’t really want to have dinner with him.
He was a big star after all, so he probably just wanted to say a few nice words to him—a gangster with whom he wasn’t familiar back in the old days.
Tossing and turning, he felt too uncomfortable being alone, so he had to ask his buddy out for a drink. Since it was related to Bai Qingquan, he didn’t dare divulge too much, even to his good brother, for fear it would have a negative impact on Bai Qingquan.
If he couldn’t talk about it, he filled the gap with alcohol and talked about other things. On the verge of drinking too much, suddenly Bai Qingquan came and was sitting right next to him.
His skin was tanned, so despite drinking too much, there was no change in color. He only had a hot look in his eyes, as if he were heated by the alcohol, as he stared at Bai Qingquan from time to time.
Xiang Zi looked at him and felt surprised by the melancholy for his buddy.
As a big star, even when he was just sitting there, his body exuded a dazzling elegance. His skin was fair, and he was handsome with a refined temperament. Shi Lei was really a straight-laced guy who couldn’t help but stare at his beauty. When Xiang Zi looked at his buddy, he considered Shi Lei to be a top man among men. He’s considered a small boss and was rich, but compared to Bai Qingquan, the gap was like the Pacific Ocean.
It was destined that this love could only be bitter.
“Are you really not Bai Qingquan?” The boss asked when she brought over the soup.
Bai Qingquan smiled, and Xiang Zi said, “Sister, let us have a good chat, yeah?”
The boss scolded him, “Who’s your sister? This sister is two generations older than you!”
Shi Lei seemed to have nothing to say suddenly as Xiang Zi chatted with Bai Qingquan. They talked a lot, despite Xiang Zi meeting such a big star for the first time. Bai Qingquan would occasionally eat his soup while talking and would give glances at Shi Lei, who sat beside him. He felt that Shi Lei’s eyes were red and bare.
It was the kind of look that, although he couldn’t see the redness on his face, he could obviously feel that he had drunk a lot, and the kind of unscrupulous look that was brought out by the strength of the alcohol.
Shi Lei really liked him; he could clearly feel it. Moreover, this love was mixed with a stronger desire than when he was a teenager.
Bai Qingquan took a sip of his hot soup. When it entered his stomach, it ignited his internal organs, and he felt his heartbeat accelerate, as if it had never beat this fast before.
The author has something to say:
I feel that this side story may be thicker and longer than I thought.
