Mr. Yuan is Always Unhappy - Chap 8
Edited by Yummers
Mid-Autumn arrived in the blink of an eye.
Zheng Qiuyang went to spend time with his mom and Yuan Rui went to his step dad’s house.
He thought that his little sister who was away studying wouldn’t be back home until National Day, but to his surprise, she came home early to spend Mid-Autumn with them.
When his step-dad Suo Jianjun, and Yuan Rui’s mother got married, both of them already had a child. Yuan Rui’s little sister from the Suo family was five years younger than him. She was currently studying in Shanghai, majoring in her third year of international relations.
Suo Yue’s mother had passed away from an accident. When Yuan Rui arrived at the Suo family’s household, Suo Yue wasn’t even old enough to walk properly yet. Yuan Rui was only about six or seven as well. Despite the two siblings not being related by blood, they’ve had a good relationship since they were kids.
“My classmates all love to watch the show you were on. They say you’re both handsome and silly, you’re their favorite out of all the guests. Our dorm even has a crazy fan of yours.” Suo Yue leaned against Yuan Rui on the sofa as she continued happily, “You could never guess how hard it was for me to hold it in, I wanted to tell them you were my brother so badly.”
Yuan Rui was embarrassed by the compliments. He replied jokingly, “Why did you hold back from telling them? Were you afraid that they’d laugh at the fact that your big brother is a big blockhead?”
Suo Yue pushed him, acting all serious. “What are you saying? It was because I didn’t want to accidentally make people your antis. I’m so pretty and outstanding, there are many people from my school who are envious of me. But they can’t get rid of me just because they don’t like me. If they know you’re my brother, they would’ve gone hardcore anti on you.”
Yuan Rui laughed with her.
Suo Yue changed her tone to speak in a low voice, “I heard from dad that you got a boyfriend?”
“……”
Suo Yue went, “Don’t be embarrassed, is he handsome? Do you have a photo? Let me see.”
Yuan Rui took out his phone and unlocked it before giving it to her. She opened the photo album and Yuan Rui pointed out Zheng Qiuyang for her. She reacted exaggeratingly. “Wah! He’s so handsome!”
Yuan Rui wanted to show off but he also felt embarrassed. He forced himself to keep it down, “Mn, he’s alright.”
Suo Yue flipped through a few more pictures, then asked, “What does he do? Is he also a model? His body’s not bad.”
Yuan Rui felt honored as he spoke proudly, “No, he’s a jewelry designer, he’s super talented.”
Suo Yue couldn’t hold back from laughing. “What about that? How is it?”
Yuan Rui couldn’t understand what she was referring to at first, but once he saw the look in her eyes, he realized. He replied awkwardly, “How can a little girl like you ask about this kind of stuff.”
Suo Yue laughed out loud, “It’s not like you haven’t seen the books and comics under my bed. Tell me tell me, is he big? Does it hurt? How many times per week? How long per round?”
Yuan Rui answered in a small voice with a red face, “Big, doesn’t really hurt, 3-4 times, about half an hour.”
Suo Yue didn’t actually want to know, she was just teasing him. When she heard the answers, she was stunned for a moment before letting out a PFT and laughing loudly.
Yuan Rui still didn’t understand, he asked dumbly, “Is that too much?”
Suo Yue leaned against his shoulder, laughing uncontrollably.
During mealtime, Suo Yue was still chuckling as she ate. Suo Jianjun questioned, “What fun stuff did you two talk about?”
Yuan Rui’s head was about to plant right into his bowl.
Suo Yue was about done laughing, she also felt like she’d teased her brother enough already, so she put on a serious face. “Nothing. We talked about some messy stuff that goes on in their industry.”
Suo Jianjun said, “The arts industry right now is rather messy. Xiao Rui, don’t hang out with the wrong people. Artists have great responsibilities and a long road ahead of them. Especially being young people’s role models, all your actions and decisions can have a direct impact.”
Yuan Rui nodded obediently.
Suo Yue wasn’t content. “They call it the entertainment circle now, it’s been a while since they used to call it the arts industry. Dad, don’t speak like you’re at a public event at home all the time.”
Suo Jianjun glared at her. “You shouldn’t be on social media so much too. Study properly to prepare for your postgraduate exam.”
Suo Yue curled her lips up, not continuing.
After they ate in silence for a while, Suo Jianjun suddenly spoke up, “Xiao Rui.”
Yuan Rui sat up straight, ready to listen to him speak, “Dad, go ahead.”
Suo Jianjun asked, “How are things going with your boyfriend?”
Yuan Rui didn’t know what to say.
Contrarily, Suo Yue started laughing.
After nine, Yuan Rui and Suo Yue washed the dishes together. When they were done cleaning, he announced that he was going back.
Suo Yue teased him, “You hurrying back to enjoy the moon with him?”
“It’s his birthday today, I promised I’d be back soon.”
Suo Yue smiled. “Then you gotta go fast. I’m going back to school on October 5th, how about we all go out to eat when you’re free?”
Yuan Rui thought for a moment before replying, “I’ll ask him when I get back.”
Suo Yue pretended to be unhappy. “What? You don’t want me to see him?”
Yuan Rui quickly said, “No no. Sigh, I’ll have to ask him anyway. It is a big deal to see each other’s family members after all.”
“It’s not like he’s meeting our dad…have you met his family members yet?”
“I’ve met his mom once.”
Suo Yue smiled. “That’s good. Call me after you’re done asking so I can make a reservation ahead of time, I’m going to be busy too.”
Once he left after saying his goodbyes to his sister and dad, Yuan Rui felt warm inside. They were already like a real family after the many years they’ve spent together, caring for and missing each other. Despite not having any blood relations, they were tied together gently by love.
The full moon hung brightly in the sky, its illumination reflected the light of thousands of families. Each lamp and window likely had their own reunion story.
Yuan Rui suddenly started to miss Zheng Qiuyang excessively. He took out his phone to send Zheng Qiuyang a WeChat message: “I’m on my way back, are you still at auntie’s?”
As long as Zheng Qiuyang was at his mom’s, Yuan Rui would never call him. He was afraid that he would upset his mom if she heard. Zheng Qiuyang had once brought him home when they first got together, but Yuan Rui couldn’t even get past the door when Zheng Qiuyang was chased out by his mom’s beating and scolding. That event ended up being very awkward. Zheng Qiuyang kept apologizing, saying that he shouldn’t have brought him over without giving his mom a heads up first. In the end, he made him witness that embarrassing scene. Though Yuan Rui felt like the other’s mom was hurt more greatly. The two of them, mother and son, originally had a good relationship, but they had to argue because of an outsider like him.
A while later, Zheng Qiuyang finally replied: “Don’t mention it. My dad came just now. The moment he stepped in, his wife came in right after. They got into a big fight again.”
Yuan Rui was shocked.
He quickly typed: “Is auntie okay?”
Zheng Qiuyang: “She’s crying, I’m going to comfort her, I’ll probably be back late.”
Yuan Rui: “Mhm.”
Zheng Qiuyang: “I ordered a cake and flowers, they’ll be there at ten-thirty. Go home and wait for the delivery, I won’t make it.”
Yuan Rui: “Don’t be so hung up on hurrying back. Spend more time with auntie. I won’t wait, I’ll sleep early.”
Zheng Qiuyang stood in the disordered living room. The suffocation from earlier disappeared without a trace, the softness he felt in his heart reached its peak.
When Yuan Rui stepped onto the subway train, his phone vibrated.
Zheng Qiuyang: “I’ll be back soon. Don’t sleep, wait for me.”
He put his phone back in his pocket. He was a bit happy, but also a bit concerned for Zheng Qiuyang’s mom.
There weren’t many people on the subway train at this hour, plus it was a holiday. A young couple kept trying to look at Yuan Rui discreetly. Finally, the girl mustered up the courage to come over and ask, “Are you Yuan Rui?”
Yuan Rui said, “I-”
The guy behind the girl cut in, “He just looks kind of similar, right? Why would a celebrity take the subway?”
The girl was a bit disappointed. She looked at Yuan Rui’s face as she spoke, “I’m sorry. But, has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like Yuan Rui?”
“……I am Yuan Rui.”
The couple went silent.
The boy spoke up, “You’re lying, right?”
Yuan Rui stood up.
The girl’s eyes widened. “This height! He really is!”
Yuan Rui gave her an autograph and took a picture with her. The girl’s cheeks were red from excitement. She asked, “Are you on a show right now? You don’t get a break even during Mid-Autumn? Why are there no cameras following you?”
The boy said, “There must be hidden cameras around.”
Both of them were a bit anticipated for the answer, the girl even fixed her hair.
Yuan Rui pulled out a Conan cardholder from his pocket to show them a subway card, “I applied for this card a while ago. It still has a lot of money left in it, it’d be a waste to not use it.”
The couple went silent again.
When the subway reached his station, Yuan Rui left after saying, “I’m getting off now, happy holidays. Get home soon, goodbye.”
Once he was gone, the girl pulled on the boy as she screeched, “He’s so handsome and cute, ahhhh!”
“……He’s alright, also seems a bit dumb.”
“Shut up! He’s super cute!”
