Chapter 22
Han Shuo's mind went blank for a long time before he came to his senses. After he did, he glanced at the other scraps of paper on the desk and hurriedly pieced them together as if he were in a rush.
He didn't even feel like eating lunch and stayed upstairs by himself.
After Han Hong finished cooking, he stood downstairs and called out several times but received no response. Puzzled, he went upstairs.
"What are you doing, Xiao Shuo? What are you so busy with that you forgot to eat lunch?"
Han Shuo sat in the chair with his head down. Han Hong noticed that his eyes were almost glued to the desk, and he was fiddling with a pile of scraps of paper.
What is this thing?
Han Shuo didn't even look up and lied: "It seems that my previous test paper was chewed up by a mouse. Let me see if I can put it back together."
When Han Hong heard that it was related to studying, he stopped worrying about it. He went downstairs, ladled a bowl of white rice for Han Shuo from the pot, added some vegetables and meat, and then picked up his chopsticks and went back upstairs.
Han Shuo took the bowl and sat down at the desk. He ate a few mouthfuls of rice and then worked on his writing for a while. Han Hong was quite pleased to see his younger brother so focused.
The pieces of paper were so fragmented that piecing them back together was an enormous and difficult task. Han Shuo could only compare the cracks in each piece of paper. Finally, after a whole day, he managed to piece together another sentence.
He bent over his desk and began to read aloud, word by word.
"If you find the first task troublesome, you can complete the second task instead."
Han Shuo hurriedly grabbed the other piece of paper he had pieced together and placed it side by side. He read the contents of the two pieces of paper over and over again, his lips trembling, until he was completely certain. He was extremely shocked.
"Holy crap... you can actually do that?!"
Han Shuo completely ignored the words "making love" on the note, and even ignored that these two words meant the act between two men. He also ignored that he was a straight man, and a straight man who would only react slowly and hesitantly when kissed by a man.
At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind, which was... this way, the time would be greatly shortened!
The first task, French kissing, would take over 700 days. Even if he and Meng Yuxiu kissed until their tongues cramped all day long, they still couldn't kiss for very long.
You only need to do that fifty times!
Between 700+ days and 50 times, even a fool would know which to choose, and each time it only takes 30 minutes.
Which man can't last thirty minutes?! Oh, maybe men over twenty-five really can't last thirty minutes.
But he's different. He'll be eighteen in half a month. He's an eighteen-year-old diamond boy. With his self-perceived energy and vitality, this task is a piece of cake for him.
Han Shuo was so excited that he almost paced back and forth on the second-floor floor. He couldn't wait to run to Baishan Town to find Meng Yuxiu and tell him this amazing news.
However, it's too late to go now, and there are no buses, so Han Shuo can only wait until tomorrow, Sunday, to get up early and go out, and return to school with Meng Yuxiu.
That night, he was so excited that he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, just like when he was in elementary school and was going on a field trip. He opened his eyes countless times throughout the night to see if it was light outside.
Han Shuo usually sleeps until late morning at home, but today, as soon as the rooster crowed, he heard Han Hong's movements and quickly got out of bed.
Han Hong asked in surprise, "Xiao Shuo, why don't you sleep a little longer? It's still early."
"I can't sleep. Oh right, bro, I need to tell you that I have to leave early today and won't be coming back. I'm going straight to school."
Han Hong: "Why are you going so early?"
"Something came up at school..." Han Shuo made up a quick excuse to brush it off, afraid that Han Hong would ask more questions and he would give himself away. So he hurriedly went downstairs to wash his face and brush his teeth.
Seeing his younger brother's anxious state, Han Hong had no choice but to cook him breakfast and stir-fry the dishes he would take to school.
Before leaving, Han Hong gave him 1.5 yuan. Han Shuo couldn't let his brother know that he was making money for the time being, but he refused to accept the extra 50 cents no matter what. Han Hong had no choice but to give up.
Han Shuo, carrying a schoolbag and a teacup filled with vegetables, walked out of the village and waited for a car at the intersection for a while.
He didn't recognize Baishan Town, so after boarding the bus he told the ticket seller to call him when they arrived in Baishan Town.
More than half an hour later, the ticket seller told him that they had arrived at Baishan Town, and Han Shuo immediately picked up his teacup.
Meng Yuxiu's village is called Xiqiao Village. Han Shuo got off the car and asked the people in town. He learned that Xiqiao Village was not far away. If you walk straight along the main road, the first village you will see is it.
Han Shuo continued along the main road for more than ten minutes until he arrived at Meng Yuxiu's village.
He stood at the entrance of the village and looked at the scenery of Xiqiao Village. He didn't expect that the village was actually quite well-off. In Han Shuo's village, there were hardly any brick houses. Most of the houses were adobe houses or wooden buildings.
But in Meng Yuxiu's village, all the houses are two or three stories high, made of brick. They're not as fancy as Pan Xiaodong's house in the county town, which is covered in mosaic tiles. The houses here have cement plastered on the exterior walls of the wealthy ones, while the houses here are just bare red bricks.
Han Shuo thought he would have to ask Meng Yuxiu for directions when he arrived in the village, but he just randomly asked an old man.
The old man pointed to a two-story cement house by the stream at the village entrance and said, "Look, that's it."
How ironic! The location is really easy to find. And it seems to be in the heart of Xiqiao Village, because there's a big tree next to Meng Yuxiu's house, and a dozen or so elderly men and women are sitting under the tree chatting and knitting.
Han Shuo was a new face, so when he passed by, the group of elderly men and women all had their eyes glued to him.
"Who is this young man?"
"I don't know him, he's from another village, right?"
"Looking for someone in our village?"
The old man, puffing on his pipe, asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Han Shuo pointed to the cement house next to him and said, "I'm looking for Meng Yuxiu. Is this Meng Yuxiu's house?"
The elderly folks enthusiastically told Han Shuo that this was the place.
Han Shuo thanked them a few times and walked towards the cement house. However, as soon as he turned around, before he had even left, the elderly people behind him began to whisper among themselves.
Meng Yuxiu's family was quite well-off, at least for that time and in that village. It was a clean two-story cement house with a courtyard enclosed by a wall downstairs, and the courtyard was even paved with cement.
The courtyard gate was not closed, and the house was quite lively. After knocking on the gate a few times and receiving no response, Han Shuo simply went inside.
He had just stood at the threshold when everyone in the room turned to look at him upon hearing the noise.
Han Shuo glanced around; there were a dozen or so people, all women, all in their forties or fifties. If this were a normal seventeen-year-old high school student, they would probably be incredibly reserved.
However, Han Shuo was fearless. He asked the people inside openly, not caring which one was Meng Yuxiu's current mother, because he was sure someone would answer him.
"Hey everyone, is Meng Yuxiu here?"
The group inside forgot to chat, their eyes constantly darting back and forth over Han Shuo.
"They're looking for Xiao Xiu."
Someone beckoned Han Shuo into the house, while someone else called out to the kitchen, "Xiao Xiu's mom, a handsome young man has come to see your Xiao Xiu!"
As soon as he said that, the women in the room burst into laughter. Well, Han Shuo understood the meaning behind their laughter; they probably all misunderstood that Meng Yuxiu's girlfriend had come to visit.
Fortunately, he was thick-skinned; when they laughed, he laughed too.
A moment later, two people came out of the kitchen. One was an elderly woman with gray hair, and the other was a woman wearing a turtleneck sweater and an apron. Her features were somewhat similar to Meng Yuxiu's. Han Shuo guessed that she was Meng Yuxiu's current mother.
Meng's mother was busy in the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, her gaze lingering on Han Shuo's face.
"Are you here to see our Xiao Xiu?"
Is he home?
"Yes, yes." Before Meng's mother could speak, the old lady next to her immediately chimed in. She smiled and looked Han Shuo up and down before pointing upstairs and saying, "Our Xiao Xiu is doing his homework upstairs. I'll go call him for you."
With that, she happily went upstairs.
When Meng's mother saw that Han Shuo was carrying a schoolbag and a teacup, she invited him to come inside and sit down.
"Auntie will make you a bowl of sweet tea."
Han Shuo quickly stopped her, saying, "Oh, no need for that, Auntie, there's no need to go to so much trouble."
Mencius' mother: "That won't do."
"Really, no need, thank you Auntie." Han Shuo had just finished speaking when he saw Meng Yuxiu come down the stairs next to him, and the old lady followed him downstairs with a smile.
Now that it's cold, Meng Yuxiu is wearing an indigo turtleneck sweater, which makes his skin appear even whiter. He walks down the narrow stairs with the elegance of a leader disembarking from an airplane, and even the shabby house seems to look more upscale because of him.
Han Shuo sat in the chair, grinning and waving to Meng Yuxiu.
Meng Yuxiu was doing his homework upstairs when he heard someone was looking for him. He didn't think much of it and went downstairs. After all, he had lived in this world for more than half a year, and his peers in the village would occasionally ask him for review materials or ask him questions.
He never expected Han Shuo to come looking for him. When he stood on the stairs and saw the person sitting in the chair, he was really surprised.
If it were someone else approaching him, he wouldn't react much. He would greet them indifferently and then go back upstairs to continue doing his homework.
Upon seeing that it was Han Shuo, he felt inexplicably guilty. Especially since his grandmother, all his aunts and uncles, and the neighbors were all there today.
He felt as if countless mocking gazes were cast upon him simply by walking up and down those few steps.
Han Shuo saw Meng Yuxiu walk up to him with red ears and an unnatural expression, and heard his voice, which was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Why are you here?
Han Shuo suppressed his excitement, which had been bubbling up since last night, and craned his neck to talk to Meng Yuxiu, saying, "I need to talk to you about something."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuxiu's dark eyes slowly moved, his expression somewhat subtle. He turned to his mother and said, "Mom, my classmate came to see me, so I took him upstairs."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room had a slightly awkward expression. Meng's mother even smiled stiffly and said, "Oh, okay, then take your classmate upstairs."
Meng Yuxiu nodded, silently signaled to Han Shuo with his eyes, and then left.
Han Shuo immediately followed Meng Yuxiu's pace.
Downstairs, Meng's mother looked up at the two boys who had disappeared at the bottom of the stairs with an indescribable expression, while her aunts and uncles came up to tease her.
"Xiao Xiu's mom, our Xiao Xiu is quite capable, he managed to bring such a tall and thin boy home."
Another woman standing nearby laughed and said, "It's not a kidnapping, the boy came to us on his own."
"That's why I said Xiao Xiu is capable." The woman who said this then said to the old lady, "Old lady, you are so lucky. Your grandson has brought a wife home for you. Look how good that boy is. He is good-looking, with such bright eyes. He looks like a lively person."
The old lady was overjoyed and nodded, saying, "Yes, this child is very generous and kind."
Meng's mother laughed awkwardly, "Don't say that. Our Xiao Xiu is still young, and his father is very strict. He will definitely have to go to college before he starts dating."
The old lady said, "What do you mean 'little'? That guy in our village, Xiaobing, how many years older is he than Xiaoxiu? Look at him, he got married in his second year of high school, and now his son is three years old, isn't he?"
People around him chimed in, "He's three years old. I even went to his son's one-month celebration."
The old lady said, "That's right. Look how well they're living now. They went to university in another city and even took their wife and son with them."
Mencius' mother smiled and said to them, "Oh dear, I just let nature take its course, it was his father..."
They were chatting downstairs, but it was obviously not as noisy as when Han Shuo came in earlier, so Meng Yuxiu still quietly led Han Shuo upstairs.
He glanced furtively at Han Shuo standing beside him, a strange feeling stirring within him, like a thief caught in the act—a mixture of nervousness and excitement.
Perhaps there were other things, but Meng Yuxiu couldn't quite put his finger on them. However, when he saw Han Shuo raise the corners of his mouth and reveal a roguish smile, a faint sweetness welled up in his heart.
He asked Han Shuo in a low voice, "Why did you suddenly come here?"
As the downstairs chattered intermittently and then fell silent, Han Shuo lowered his voice and replied, "Can't I come to hang out with you if there's nothing wrong?"
Meng Yuxiu didn't reply, but after giving Han Shuo a deep look, his eyes were filled with an uncontrollable smile.
Seeing that he was walking slowly and he was an impatient person, Han Shuo kept urging Meng Yuxiu to open the door quickly.
To Meng Yuxiu, this anxious look was similar to that of a migrant worker who goes to the city to work, only to return home a few times a year, and then hastily tries to drag his wife to bed as soon as he gets home.
Meng Yuxiu couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Are you in such a hurry?"
"Tsk! Of course I'm anxious!" Han Shuo was thick-skinned and didn't notice the meaning behind Meng Yuxiu's tone. He put his arm around Meng Yuxiu's shoulder and said, "Yesterday I wished I could grow wings and fly over to find you overnight, but there was nothing I could do. There were no cars or tractors at night."
Hearing his words, Meng Yuxiu was slightly moved, and at the same time, he felt an indescribable joy.
So when the door opened, he locked it with his other hand, and then, without thinking, cupped Han Shuo's face in his hands, lowered his head slightly, and closed his eyes.
However, before her lips could even touch Han Shuo, she was unexpectedly slapped on the forehead.
Startled by the slap, Meng Yuxiu glared at her and demanded, "What are you doing?"
Han Shuo chuckled and said, "I knew you silly boy would think I came all this way to kiss you."
At the most emotional moment, Meng Yuxiu was slapped by Han Shuo, causing his handsome face to fall. He said irritably, "What do you mean?"
"Come on, come on." Han Shuo pulled him to sit on the single bed in the room, and in front of Meng Yuxiu, he mysteriously took out two pieces of paper folded into small squares from his pocket and slapped them onto the bed sheet.
Then he gestured with his chin toward Meng Yuxiu, "I have a huge surprise for you! Open it and see for yourself."
Seeing his serious expression, Meng Yuxiu picked up the paper with suspicion and opened it.
Han Shuo sat on his bed, arms crossed, looking very proud. He exaggeratedly said, as if showing off a treasure, "After you finish reading the contents, you have to stay calm and not get too excited."
Meng Yuxiu frowned and glanced at him, then looked away and focused his gaze on the open note.
There were two slips of paper. He read the first one, or rather, he hadn't even finished reading the contents yet. Just seeing those two words made his pupils tremble slightly.
He quickly looked at the second note.
After reading it, she suddenly looked up at Han Shuo and asked, "What does this mean?"
Han Shuo clicked his tongue and said, "Are you an idiot? What else could it mean? It means that we don't have to do that damn kissing mission anymore, we only need to do the second mission!"
"..." Meng Yuxiu was completely shocked. It took him a while to calm down before he asked Han Shuo in disbelief, "Is this true?"
"Why would I lie to you? Didn't I tell you before that the mouse had somehow taken my novel somewhere?" Han Shuo said. "Just yesterday, my brother told me to air out the blankets, and wouldn't you know it, I found it in the closet, and then I spent the whole day working on this piece of junk."
Meng Yuxiu suddenly fell silent.
Han Shuo nudged him, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Meng Yuxiu clutched the note in his hand, seemingly lost in thought. Then, with a complicated expression, he looked at Han Shuo and asked, "Do you know what the second task is?"
Han Shuo chuckled: "I'm not stupid. I've never seen a pig run even if I haven't eaten pork, right?"
In Meng Yuxiu's seventeen years of innocent life, the series of events that happened after he met Han Shuo were already outrageous and exciting enough. Meng Yuxiu thought that nothing could be more exciting or outrageous than this.
But to his surprise, Han Shuo brought him a bombshell today.
But he could tell that Han Shuo was extremely happy, almost to the point of being ecstatic. It was precisely because of Han Shuo's appearance, combined with the contents of the note…
He glanced at Han Shuo, who was beaming with joy beside him... and for a moment, he felt he understood why Han Shuo had been so eager to come find him today.
Upon realizing this, Meng Yuxiu suddenly felt his heart pounding in his chest.
Seeing that he wasn't moving, Han Shuo asked, "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Meng Yuxiu swallowed hard, and when he opened his mouth, he realized his voice was tense. "Han Shuo, you...you want to do the second mission?"
Han Shuo: "Isn't that obvious? If it were you, would you want to kiss like you're stuck in oil for two years?"
He thought he was patiently analyzing the pros and cons for Meng Yuxiu: "Think about it, how much time has passed since we found out about the kissing mission? At least almost two months, right? So how much time have we kissed in total? Ten hours? No, right?"
You need to study, attend classes, and take college entrance exams, while I need to attend classes and earn money. How much time is left to do tasks? Yes, I'm telling you that you can do them slowly, but this timeline is just too long.
But the second task is different, only fifty times, fifty times, bro! Han Shuo patted Meng Yuxiu on the shoulder smugly, "If we're even more diligent, on weekends when we have time off, seven times a night, that's fourteen times in two days, and fifty-six times a month, that's more than enough!"
After Han Shuo finished speaking, even he felt that the opportunity had come and was truly unstoppable.
But he didn't notice that after hearing his words, Meng Yuxiu's ears turned bright red, and he lowered his eyes and stared at the ground without saying a word.
"What's wrong with you again? Why are you so quiet again? What's going on? Just give me a straight answer! Do you want to do this mission or not?" Han Shuo nudged Meng Yuxiu with his elbow. "Stop dawdling and talk!"
Meng Yuxiu stiffly avoided Han Shuo's direct gaze, coughed lightly, and then spoke: "Han Shuo, I... I'm not an adult yet."
Oh, Han Shuo almost forgot about that. He asked Meng Yuxiu, "How much longer?"
"End of December"
Han Shuo: "Then it's next month. My birthday is at the end of this month. It's okay, next month it is. I'll wait for you."
Meng Yuxiu's ears turned even redder after hearing this.
Han Shuo heard his voice was like a mosquito's buzz, and he had to get close to hear him clearly. "What did you say? Speak louder."
Meng Yuxiu hesitated to speak, saying, "I said I... I never did that."
This seventeen-year-old high school boy is quite troublesome, but when Han Shuo thought about what he would have to do with Meng Yuxiu in the future, he felt that he should feel some pity for Meng Yuxiu.
"I didn't either, but there's always a first time." Han Shuo intended to reassure the nervous high school boy, so he patted Meng Yuxiu's thigh to stop him from overthinking.
But then he thought to himself, since he was about to do those things with Meng Yuxiu, he should be more considerate of him. How could he just pat him on the shoulder and thigh like an ordinary brother?
After thinking it over, he softened his movements.
"..." Meng Yuxiu stared at Han Shuo, who was almost pressed against him, and saw Han Shuo's palm gently rubbing his thigh. The situation looked awkward no matter how you looked at it.
At the same time, Han Shuo leaned closer and gently coaxed, "Don't be afraid. If you feel uncomfortable, just close your eyes."
Meng Yuxiu's lips twitched. "And what about you?"
"Me?" Han Shuo sighed. "What can I do? Money is hard to earn and life is tough. It's not easy for you, and it's not easy for me either. Who can blame me when this mission is so ridiculous, yet so tempting?"
"..." Meng Yuxiu suddenly felt uncomfortable after hearing this. He frowned and stared at Han Shuo's face, asking, "Actually, you're not happy about it, are you?"
To be honest, Han Shuo had really thought about this question carefully on his way here today.
Actually, Han Shuo was excited about the sudden appearance of the second task, but he also hesitated for a moment. After all, he would definitely feel uncomfortable doing that kind of thing with a man.
But it has to be said, habit is a wonderful thing. At first, Han Shuo would gag even at a French kiss, but later, when Meng Yuxiu touched his leg, he could take it all in stride.
Now, looking at Meng Yuxiu's face, he felt that the task wasn't too difficult, because he thought that since Meng Yuxiu's skin was so fair, he could probably see other parts of his face as well, so he wouldn't be too embarrassed to do it.
Thinking about it that way, Han Shuo felt it was acceptable.
So he smiled at Meng Yuxiu and said, "Why wouldn't you be happy? I told you in the dorm that I would never mind as long as it's you."
After saying that, Meng Yuxiu felt relieved. But as soon as their conversation ended, Han Shuo's hand was stroking his leg again.
"..." Meng Yuxiu felt that his brain was becoming somewhat confused due to the constant rubbing of Han Shuo's palm.
He even wondered in confusion if Han Shuo would come over today and immediately want to do a second task with him.
But that's definitely not going to work. First of all, he's not an adult yet, and secondly, this is at home, while downstairs there are his current mother and grandmother, as well as a bunch of gossipy relatives.
He couldn't help but grab Han Shuo's fidgeting wrist tightly, trying his best to control his expression.
"Don't move your hands around," he said to Han Shuo.
"Okay, okay." Han Shuo immediately let go of his leg and put his arm around his shoulder instead.
Meng Yuxiu suddenly had a strange feeling that... Han Shuo seemed to be treating him like a little girl.
But Han Shuo was completely unaware that he was still rambling on and on about how to proceed with the second mission.
"Look, a month has thirty days, two months have sixty days, and you won't get your period. So, Sen*wan*zheng*zhi, we can... you know what I mean, anytime, anywhere. Anyway, we don't have to pick a time."
However, I need to give you a heads-up: I can only stop at 49 out of 50 attempts, because I need to earn some more money for my brother and nephew before that.
Meng Yuxiu had been listening quietly, but he paused when he heard a certain sentence.
He frowned and stared at Han Shuo, "What do you mean... I don't get my period?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com