Chapter 80 My Backer "If you call me brother, then I'm supposed to take responsibility..."
Li Leshan didn't look for work during winter break. The time was too short, and these days there aren't many people hiring during winter break. It's not like he had a break of less than a month, and at Shiga High School, it's even less than half a month, unless he was paid by the day. And those paid by the day are practically impossible to find.
The advantage was that she could spend more time with Jiang Yueming. Throughout the winter break, Jiang Yueming hardly went home, and Lin Cuiqin teased her that she couldn't tell which home was his anymore.
Jiang Yueming thought it was easy to divide things up: his aunt's family was his maternal family. Of course, he couldn't say that out loud, risking being kicked out—that would be too much of a loss.
“You can stay at Renle Mountain’s house indefinitely,” Lin Cuiqin straightened his collar, her tone slightly amused. “I have no objection, but what about other people?”
Jiang Yueming raised an eyebrow. He might not know about other things, but he definitely knew about this. He laughed and said, "Let him try to have any objections!"
“You’re so confident, don’t bully Leshan,” Lin Cuiqin said, rarely seeing Jiang Yueming like this.
"Would I dare bully him?" Jiang Yueming realized her words were a bit too...too much, and quickly corrected herself, "Am I that kind of person? You've watched me grow up..."
He's not the type to bully people!
"Yes, yes, hurry up and go, don't keep Leshan waiting. Tonight..." Lin Cuiqin blinked and saw that the person had already run to the door and was about to rush downstairs. At that speed, anyone who didn't know better would think that he was going to meet his boyfriend. So fast.
"Go back!" Jiang Yueming shook her schoolbag. "I'm going to do my homework!"
Of course I'll go back. No matter what, I have to spend New Year's Eve with my aunt.
For some reason, after 2010, the days seemed to fly by. The festive atmosphere in the Third Alley was still strong, with lanterns and decorations everywhere. After putting up his own couplets, Jiang Yueming went to put up Li Leshan's couplets. He only learned this year that Li Leshan's family never put up Spring Festival couplets in previous years.
Jiang Yueming reacted as if he'd heard something extraordinary. Those were Spring Festival couplets, for welcoming the New Year! No matter how much you try to save money, you can't skimp on this. So this year, he brought a pair of Spring Festival couplets with him early on. He specially bought the same ones as the ones at home, calling it "matching outfits."
"Did I stick it straight?" Jiang Yueming turned around and glanced at Li Leshan.
Li Leshan shook his head and steered the direction slightly to the left.
"Is it right now?" Jiang Yueming asked again.
Li Leshan nodded and gave him a thumbs up.
Jiang Yueming chuckled, put his arm around Li Leshan's shoulder, and said with a smile, "It's very festive, isn't it? It has a good meaning, you should put it up in the future, you know?"
Li Leshan nodded solemnly.
“I have to go home for New Year’s Eve tonight. I want to spend it with you too, but I can’t let Auntie and Tiantian be lonely.” Jiang Yueming’s tone softened again. “You stay home and keep Grandma company.”
“I know,” Li Leshan said, seeing his sad face, and reached out to ruffle his hair. “Don’t come early tomorrow morning. Stay home and rest well, get a good night’s sleep.”
“But I just want to see you first thing in the morning…” Jiang Yueming muttered, then thought that if he didn’t sleep, Li Leshan would have to sleep too, so he changed his mind, “Okay, then I’ll come later.”
"How did you spend New Year's Eve?" Jiang Yueming asked, genuinely curious, because she hadn't spent New Year's Eve with Li Leshan in all these years. "You weren't doing practice problems again, were you?"
He did know that some people did this, like Li Xiang downstairs, who spent New Year's Eve doing practice problems, managing to watch the Spring Festival Gala while doing problems. He really admired people like that.
"I don't watch the Spring Festival Gala either," Li Leshan said in sign language.
"My God," Jiang Yueming exclaimed in surprise. He thought that in the entire Third Alley, there was no one else besides Li Xiang. "That's right, doing practice problems is entertainment for you, more interesting than watching the Spring Festival Gala."
"So how did you spend New Year's Eve?" Li Leshan asked in return.
Jiang Yueming was too embarrassed to admit that he played games, watched the Spring Festival Gala, and slept in late, as it would make him seem unambitious, stubborn, or just... well, you know. Actually, this was just his daily routine. After all these years, the only time he'd ever stayed up late to cram for the high school entrance exam was during that time, but even then, he'd still play games on New Year's Eve.
He thinks this is normal! There aren't many people like Li Leshan in the whole province.
Leaving aside the whole of China, there are indeed a few provinces where we can find them, and I estimate we can find quite a few more.
"I'll just play..." Jiang Yueming smiled a little embarrassedly.
"Then have fun." Li Leshan smiled. "Go home and play with Tiantian more. She probably doesn't like you always coming to see me."
“What could she possibly be unhappy about?” Jiang Yueming recounted her misdeeds, which could stretch from Li Leshan’s house all the way to the third alleyway. “I think she’d love for me not to come home. The day before yesterday she threw firecrackers at my feet, and yesterday she burned my clothes with sparklers. Brother, you don’t know, she bullies me every day.”
Jiang Yueming pursed his lips and drooped his eyebrows, looking as if he had been wronged. But he wasn't lying; it was all true, as heaven and earth could bear witness.
Li Leshan stroked his hair, letting Jiang Yueming lean on his shoulder. He lowered his head and kissed Jiang Yueming's forehead. "Next time I go to your house, I'll talk to her and tell her not to bully you."
“What if she throws a tantrum? What if she cries and makes a scene, insisting that you take her side?” Jiang Yueming said. Actually, he wasn’t that aggrieved; he just wanted to act pitiful to gain Li Leshan’s sympathy. But he didn’t want to really put Li Leshan in a difficult position, so he continued, “Then you should take her side. I won’t argue with a child.”
“You’re still a child in my eyes.” Li Leshan signified. “Tian Tian is very well-behaved; she’ll listen to me.”
Jiang Yueming looked up and stared into Li Leshan's eyes. The indifference he used to see in those eyes had long since disappeared. Now, when he looked into those eyes, he only felt tenderness.
"Aren't you two months younger than me?" Jiang Yueming covered his face, only his eyes peeking out a little. He was really embarrassed now, even though he was the older brother.
“You call me brother,” Li Leshan chuckled, “so wouldn’t I have to take responsibility?”
Jiang Yueming was so engrossed in watching that he forgot to reply for a moment. He leaned back against Li Leshan's shoulder, their palms pressed tightly together.
As if sensing something, as if anticipating Jiang Yueming's complaint, just as Jiang Yueming pushed open the door, another firecracker exploded at his feet with a "bang".
"Lin, Yan, Xi." Jiang Yueming suddenly lifted her foot, then realized what she meant and looked at the girl in front of her with braided pigtails and wearing a bright red cotton-padded jacket, saying each word clearly, "Are you trying to rebel?"
"Hehehe." Sweetie made a face at him.
"Even your aunt can't protect you today." Jiang Yueming picked up her slippers from the ground and walked inside.
Sweetie ran as fast as she could, disappearing back into her room in a flash. She locked the door and yelled, "Jiang Yueming, you stingy bastard!"
Jiang Yueming wanted to kick the door, but a sliver of reason remained in her mind. If she kicked the door, it might actually fall down, and she didn't want to cause that kind of trouble during the New Year.
"Let me tell you, Lin Yanxi, first of all, call me brother! Secondly, I have a powerful backer now, do you understand?"
They call him by his full name every day and treat him as an equal.
"What kind of backer?" Sweetie was clearly curious. "My mom?"
“Your brother from Leshan,” Jiang Yueming said without a hint of joking, “you just wait and see if he’ll pay any attention to you next time. If he does, I’m not Jiang anymore.”
There was a long silence on the other side of the door, then a sharp shout suddenly erupted, "Jiang Yueming, you're tattling!"
"So what if you complained?" Jiang Yueming said nonchalantly, "Then I'll..."
Can't my partner sue? Not only can he sue, he can sue big time. To be honest, he should have sue a long time ago. He's only been patient until now because he's good-natured.
This tactic really worked on Tian Tian. She'd been incredibly attached to Li Leshan since she was little, and she'd obey his every word. Although they had almost no communication barriers, it didn't stop Tian Tian from liking him, mostly because Li Leshan was handsome and gentle. Among kids her age, he was practically a hot commodity.
However, Jiang Yueming wasn't one to hold grudges. So what if he hit him with firecrackers? So what if he burned his clothes with fireworks? Give him a sweet treat, like a proper, obedient "brother," and the kid would forget about it the next day.
"Eat more food, did you two quarrel again?" Lin Cuiqin put a piece of meat on Jiang Yueming's plate.
“No,” Jiang Yueming glanced at the little girl next to him who looked guilty, “we’re the best of friends in the world.”
"You can't take advantage of your age to make your brother give in to you, you know?" Lin Cuiqin lectured Tiantian. She was never biased in this regard. Rather than saying Jiang Yueming was her nephew, it was more like saying he was her half-son.
"I understand." Sweetie lowered her head and obediently ate her rice.
It seems only Li Leshan can control her; Jiang Yueming has figured that out. Even Lin Cuiqin can't manage her. Thinking about it, Tian Tian likes him, Xiao Yu likes him, and all the neighborhood kids like him. Could it be that Li Leshan's constitution is attractive to children?
But I like it too.
As Jiang Yueming thought about it, she started to laugh again.
What do you call this? I've finally struck up a conversation with a heartthrob! It's the best thing ever; you couldn't find another like it even with a lantern.
Jiang Yueming hadn't watched the Spring Festival Gala very seriously; he only knew that his Chinese teacher told him to watch it at home, saying that the college entrance exam even used the Gala as material, and that the essay topic might even be from it. Jiang Yueming didn't think much of it; that was something he would consider two years from now.
The Spring Festival Gala was playing on TV. Tian Tian kept asking to tell jokes, but Jiang Yueming was focused on Li Leshan and told two jokes without any expression. Even the real jokes turned into lame jokes.
This little girl is like a walking encyclopedia of questions, constantly asking, talking, and repeating herself in my ear, giving me a headache.
"Once upon a time, there was a mountain, and on the mountain was a temple, and in the temple was an old monk telling stories to a young monk..."
He had barely finished speaking when Tian Tian impatiently asked, "What were you talking about?"
"Don't be impatient." Jiang Yueming ignored her curious expression. "What is it about? It's about a mountain, a temple on the mountain, and an old monk telling a story to a young monk..."
The phone suddenly beeped with a text message notification. Although it was drowned out by the surrounding noise, Jiang Yueming still noticed it very clearly.
The text message was from Li Leshan.
Li Leshan: I'm downstairs, is it convenient for us to meet?
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