My Little Poplar - Chap 19

Edited by Isalee

At this time, there was no one in the communications office. Bai Xinyu picked up the phone receiver and dialled his mother’s number.

The call was picked up very quickly, and his mother was clearly still asleep as a groggy voice came through the line. “Hello?”

Bai Xinyu’s nose stung as he said in a small voice, “Ma.” That voice was like the whimper of a kitten, pitiful and full of grievances.

“Xinyu? Darling, is that you?”

“Ma, it’s me.”

“Xinyu…”Li Weizhi immediately started crying. “Why didn’t you call for more than a month? I’ve missed you so much.”

Bai Xinyu curbed his impulse to wail out loud. Choking, he said, “I… was busy with training.”

“H-how are you doing in the army? Are you doing fine?”

Bai Xinyu pressed his lips together, upset. “Not well, Ma, I’m so exhausted. Every day, I’m so tired that I can’t get out of bed. I miss home so much.”

Li Weizhi’s crying became even louder.

Bai Xinyu immediately regretted complaining to his mother. As such, he could only take his words back. “Ma, don’t cry anymore. At first, it was more tiring, but now… now, it’s a lot better. I’ve slowly started getting used to it already.”

Li Weizhi swallowed. “Ever since you left, I… I’ve been watching those military documentaries. There was one about Xinjiang. It’s too tough being a soldier in Xinjiang. It’s so cold there. I keep having dreams, dreams of you getting frozen or exhausted. I really want to go and see you. I don’t know if you are used to the food there, whether your blanket is thick enough, and if you fall sick, is there anyone to take care of you?”

Bai Xinyu felt a headache coming on, and he tried his best to console his mother. “Ma, I haven’t fallen ill. I have quite a good constitution, and… This place is not as bad as you think it is. The food is still okay, and there are heaters in the dormitory. When it’s cold, we’ll turn them on…”

He controlled himself, and did not mention wanting to go home. He knew that it was impossible for him to go back, and he did not want to waste any effort talking about it. Since that was the case, it was best if he let his mother worry less.

Li Weizhi was silent for a moment. “Darling, when did you learn how to comfort your mother?”

“What do you mean when did I learn it? Does one even need to learn this sort of thing?”

Li Weizhi sniffed. “In the past, you… Ai, forget it. Xinyu, no matter how difficult it is in the army, you must stay strong, all right? We did this all for your own good. Every day, I think about you all the time, but you’re so young and there’s such a long road ahead of you. Your parents cannot always accompany you the whole way, and we wish for you to grow up, all right?”

Bai Xinyu sighed, agreeing with his mother unwillingly. “Even if I say no, you won’t help me leave anyway.”

“Trust us, and trust your cousin. All of this is for your future. Ah, right. That child from the Yu family—is he together with you?”

Once Yu Fengcheng was mentioned, annoyance swelled up inside Bai Xinyu, and he grumbled, “Mn, we’re in the same squad.”

“Oh, then that’s good. He’s taking care of you, right? Don’t judge him by his age. I heard from Suiying that his family is quite interesting. No matter how old the child is, whether male or female, ever since they were a child, they went through a military upbringing. Their family is very strict, and the way he was brought up can be compared to an army veteran. With him taking care of you, no one will be able to bully you. If you actually remain with the army, you’ll need his family to help you gain some connections as well. You must get along with him, all right?”

Bai Xinyu felt as though his mother’s words were slapping him over and over again. How was he to tell his mother that it was this very Jinx Yu that his cousin had specially asked to “take care” of him was the one who bullied him the most? Hold on, it couldn’t be that his cousin had done this deliberately, right?

“Xinyu? Are you listening to me?”

“Ah, ah, I am.”

“How are you getting along with him?”

“Pretty… We’re fine,”Bai Xinyu said through gritted teeth.

Li Weizhi wasn’t a fool. Her son could never hide his emotions in front of anyone, not to mention her. She asked, “What’s wrong? You’re not getting along?”

“No, we… We’re usually busy with training, so there’s no time to make friends.”

“Oh, then it’s fine, you can take your time. Right, do you remember? You’ve met each other before as children.”

Bai Xinyu’s eyes nearly bulged out. “When?”

“There was one winter break when Suiying brought you to Qinhuangdao, over to the Jian family’s estate to play. Suiying and that child’s uncle are friends, and their family estate is in Qinhuangdao as well, so you met him. You were still young then, about eight or nine years old. You definitely don’t remember.”

Bai Xinyu tried his best to remember, but he couldn’t recall anything. When he was a child, he would travel every winter break, and since he had been to so many places, how could he remember every single one of them?

“I really can’t remember it anymore. How do you know about it?”

“Ai, I remember it too well. At that time, Suiying was at most fourteen or fifteen. The two of you were so young, and you went on a train trip just like that, making us all adults worry. Suiying was even beaten for that. Actually, I forgot about the matter. It was only when I looked through the photo album while missing you that I saw photos from that time, and the memories came back.”

Bai Xinyu’s brows creased together. In his memories, he seemed to recall that there was an incident like this, but he had already forgotten the details. He asked, “Then, did I see him again?”

“I don’t know. Probably not. Later on, his father was transferred to XX Military Zone, and they no longer lived in the north. You can ask… Oh, you can’t. The child was even younger than you then. He definitely wouldn’t remember.”

Bai Xinyu felt chills running down his spine. He was eight or nine then, and he couldn’t remember it. Yu Fengcheng would only be five or six at that time, and it was even more impossible for him to remember. However, he still felt a sense of prudent anxiety. He was a smart and pretty kid, and extremely lovable to boot. It couldn’t be that their feud started then, right? He thought for a moment, then said, “Ma, what else do you know about Yu Fengcheng? Tell me everything.”

As the saying went, know thy enemy. Perhaps he might be able to grasp hold of Yu Fengcheng’s weakness that way.

“I’m also not too certain. If you want to know, I’ll ask your cousin.”

Bai Xinyu recalled the phone call from the last time, and Jian Suiying’s furious roars were still ringing in his ears. His facial features twisted a little before he said, “Just… Forget it, it’s no big deal.”

The mother and son chatted for a while longer before Bai Xinyu hung up reluctantly. While listening to his mother’s gentle, doting voice, he felt that he was still a rich man’s son that was well-cared for. However, when the call ended, he was immediately taken back to the ice cold reality. That huge emotional contrast was really too painful.

Stroking the phone, Bai Xinyu whispered dejectedly, “Ma…”

Next to the phone, he slumped a little, sighing deeply before turning around to leave. In the end, when he turned, he saw Jinx Yu leaning against the doorframe, watching him.

“Fuck me…” Bai Xinyu received a shock. “Are you crazy? How long have you been standing there? Ah, you were fucking eavesdropping on me!” His embarrassment turned into anger. He did not know how much of his conversation with his mother Yu Fengcheng had heard. If Jinx Yu had heard the entire thing, he would definitely think that Bai Xinyu seemed to be very concerned about him, and their misunderstanding would be huge.

Yu Fengcheng gave a mocking smile. “You didn’t even know that someone was standing behind you. You have such a severe lack of vigilance, and yet you’re blaming others for eavesdropping?”

Bai Xinyu was enraged by Yu Fengcheng’s shamelessness. “If someone has their bag hanging off their shoulder, and they’re not vigilant, does that mean you can rob them?”

Yu Fengcheng laughed. “Then it depends on whether I want to do it or not. Fortunately, I’m not very interested in bags.”

Bai Xinyu asked anxiously, “Exactly what did you hear?!”

Yu Fengcheng walked over leisurely. “I heard it all. I heard how you whined to your mother like a little girl, as well as how you asked your mother about me.”

Grabbing hold on Bai Xinyu’s chin, Yu Fengcheng teased, “Why treat yourself like an outsider? If you want to know about me, just ask me directly. I can tell you everything.”

Bai Xinyu pushed his hand away. “I only happened to ask after my mother mentioned it. Who wants to know about you? Stop thinking too highly of yourself.”

Yu Fengcheng held his shoulders down, not allowing him to move. “Oh? Didn’t you just ask your mother to tell you everything she knew about me? Now, you don’t want to know?”

Bai Xinyu shot him a glare. “I… If I asked you, would you actually tell me?”

Yu Fengcheng smiled brightly. “Why don’t you try asking?”

“Uhh… Did we really meet when we were young?”

A glint appeared in Yu Fengcheng’s eyes. “We did.”

“You remember it?”

“My memory is clearly better than yours.”

“Then, at that time, I didn’t… offend you, right? No, I was so young, and I was at the smart and adorable stage of my life. How could I offend you, right?”

Yu Fengcheng’s lips curved into a smile. “No, you didn’t. We had quite a bit of fun together. As for the details, I can’t really remember them anymore. All I remember is you teaching me a few interesting games.”

“Oh? I don’t remember.”

Yu Fengcheng narrowed his eyes lightly, his tone ambiguous. “It’s all right. I’ll teach you how to play them next time.”

Bai Xinyu felt that the atmosphere wasn’t quite right. “Then… Since we bear each other no grudges, can you… let me off the hook?”

Drawing a finger lightly across Bai Xinyu’s cheek, Yu Fengcheng grinned as he said, “What are you saying? I quite like you. If I let you off the hook, life in the army will be so boring.”

Bai Xinyu swore silently. How the fuck can you like me? Angrily, he said, “Does your uncle know you treat me like this?”

A chuckle escaped Yu Fengcheng’s lips. “Are you really stupid? My uncle’s not here. How would he know?”

Bai Xinyu fumed. “He… I- I’ll tell my cousin about it! Sooner or later, your uncle will know!”

Yu Fengcheng shifted his finger to Bai Xinyu’s lips, fiddling with them lightly. “Your memory is really very poor. I told you long ago that by the time they find out, you might have already become addicted to getting fucked by me, and you won’t be able to bear leaving me.”

“Fuck you…” Bai Xinyu was about to continue swearing before Yu Fengcheng’s finger slipped into his mouth. Furious, Bai Xinyu wanted to chomp on it, but Yu Fengcheng was long prepared. With his other hand, he gripped Bai Xinyu’s lower jaw, causing him to be unable to close his mouth. That finger poked and prodded the insides of Bai Xinyu’s mouth, teasing the tongue that had nowhere to hide. Bai Xinyu jerked his head around desperately, but he was unable to pull away. His face was red and his neck was bulging.

Yu Fengcheng removed his finger smeared with saliva, wiping it on Bai Xinyu’s collar. He chuckled quietly, asking, “Which hand do you like to masturbate with? I usually use this one.”

Bai Xinyu glared. He always thought of himself as being very flirtatious, but now, in front of an actual pervert, he discovered that he was actually very pure and innocent!

Yu Fengcheng smiled. “Don’t pretend anymore. Each time you look at my cock, you look so desperate. Are you jealous, or are you thinking of trying it out? Don’t worry. Sooner or later, I’ll let you taste it.”

Bai Xinyu raged. “Bullshit! Who’s desperate?! You’re the one deliberately prancing in front of me nude!”

“Yes, I do it on purpose. It’s quite effective, isn’t it?” Yu Fengcheng leant into him deliberately. “Let’s be honest. When you look at me, are you ever curious about how something so big will feel in your hands?”

Bai Xinyu never thought that he would be exposed like this, and his embarrassment burst into rage. “Fucking hell, it’s not as if I don’t have one myself! Why would I be curious about yours? Can you be less shameless? You think you’re God or something?!”

Yu Fengcheng’s shoulders trembled with laughter. “Do you really not know? Everything is written on your face.”

Bai Xinyu could not stop himself from touching his face. Taking advantage of Yu Fengcheng laughing, he pushed him away, running off as he shouted, “You damn pervert, stay away from me!” And he disappeared into the distance.