You’re A Liar

Not Happy

Monday.

During Ma Guosheng’s language class, Ling Song’s essay on current affairs was used as an outstanding model essay to read outloud.

Ma Guosheng praised Ling Song afterwards.

He said that Ling Song wouldn’t cower away when he encountered challenges, would rise up to difficulties, and was worth the encouragement. The whole class should learn from him and help him together. 

Ling Song who didn’t even want to be a model student, “……”

Before the next class, Wen Yuanchu went to the staffroom to see Ma Guosheng.

Zhang Yang turned back to talk to Ling Song, winking suggestively as he gossiped about how he and Wen Yuanchu were making up for classes. 

Ling Song didn’t bother with him, but became so annoyed with his questioning that he stuck the question paper in his hands onto Zhang Yang’s face.

“Bother zhen again and I’ll drag you to be fed by dogs.”

Zhang Yang casually flipped through the question paper and was astonied. Ling Song was actually doing junior high math questions.

Wen Yuanchu’s charisma was still the best.

He actually had the ability to make our daughter put his heart into studies.

“Was that essay of yours really written by you?”

“Obviously,” without lifting his head, Ling Song snatched back his practice paper, “Zhen knows that you don’t understand, you don’t have to purposely tell zhen.”

“……Why are you speaking like that to your dad?”

Wen Yuanchu came back in the midst of their conversation.

After sweeping a cold glance at Zhang Yang, the latter tactfully turned back around. 

Ling Song stopped talking and didn’t make noise after.

Wen Yuanchu sat down and told him, “I have already told Ma laoshi, and he said it was fine if you don’t listen in class nor do homework for this school term.”

Ling Song was momentarily happy when he heard it, “Can I not go to school, then? Studying at home wouldn’t make a difference.”

“No.” Wen Yuanchu replied expressionlessly.

“Why?”

“Would you study when there’s no one to monitor you at home?”

Fine.

Wen Yuanchu reminded him again, “I have also made an agreement with Ma laoshi that before the next school term, I’ll help you catch up with your progress.”

“Next school term? What if I can’t catch up?”

Just how many months was that?

“Then you can only retain, so work a bit harder.”

Oh.

Ling Song didn’t really mind. This emperor wasn’t in a hurry anyway. Hurrying is too- cough…he can do whatever he wants. 

That afternoon, Zhang Yang and Wang Zide talked about having mala tang1 outside of school and asked Ling Song to tag along.

Not waiting for Ling Song’s response, Wen Yuanchu declined for him, “There’s no time, he needs to study.”

Ling Song was unwilling, “I want to eat mala tang.”

I’ve never had it before, it’s definitely delicious.

Wen Yuanchu didn’t agree, “Next time.”

Ling Song slapped the table and jumped up in anger, “You care too much, I want to go.”

He most hated how the prince regent had bothered him. How could Wen Yuanchu be the same too? This bullying is going too far. 

Wen Yuanchu ignored him and took the practice questions Ling Song did in class and quickly marked it.

“There are two questions wrong. Go eat after finishing ten of the same patterned questions.”

Ling Song instantly choked.

Zhang Yang and Wang Zide had run off ages ago. 

Ling Song mumbled complaints, “Even if we aren’t eating mala tang, we still have to eat lunch. You’re not hungry but I am.”

“Complete these ten questions in half an hour, we’ll go eat mala tang if you get it all right,” Wen Yuanchu threw out.

Ling Song immediately grabbed his pen.

Thirty minutes later, with the pen cap in his mouth, Ling Song stared at Wen Yuanchu anxiously.

Wen Yuanchu marked through the questions one by one and said in the end, “All correct.”

Ling Song cheered.

The two of them left the school’s gate together, but did not go to the food street Zhang Yang and the rest had gone to outside Ximen.

There was a huge shopping mall two blocks away from the main gate of the school, which had two mala tang stalls inside. 

Ling Song looked in all directions when they entered the mall. Whatever he saw was strange. A girl who was only wearing a short suspender dress that revealed her fair legs and arms passed by. He was so startled that he didn’t know where to look, so he subconsciously looked towards Wen Yuanchu’s side to avoid it. 

The girl, painted with beautiful eyeshadow, glanced at him with a faint smile on her face, leaving a string of perfume as she walked away. 

Ling Song was still suffering from the shock. He inadvertently stuck close to the arm of the person beside him, then backed off again. 

Wen Yuanchu looked at him.

Ling Song forced a smile.

How annoying. Why are people here so…unrestrained? 

He was like a country bumpkin who hasn’t seen the world.

Wen Yuanchu didn’t say anything. He took him to the food court on the fourth floor of the mall.

Ling Song ate the mala tang with hearty delight. It was so spicy that he was tearing up while his nose was runny. 

Wen Yuanchu went to the stall next to them and bought him a cup of milk tea.

Ling Song held the straw in his mouth, indistinctively thinking that it wasn’t right. 

This person seemed to be treating him with a little too much enthusiasm. 

Was it really because he was wracked with guilt, so he wanted to compensate for it?

“Wen Yuanchu.”

Wen Yuanchu looked up.

Ling Song earnestly said, “I was previously young and inexperienced, whatever I have said or done to you was just me messing around. Don’t take it to heart, just pretend it never happened.”

Wen Yuanchu asked, “What have you said or done before?”

Ling Song was speechless at that moment. 

What was he pretending to understand and be confused about? 

He couldn’t say it out even if he wanted to.

Only heaven would know what ridiculous things he had said or done to this guy in the past. 

This was just too awkward.

“……Whatever I have said or done to you, do you not know?”

“Whatever you have said or done before, you don’t know it yourself?”

Ling Song became pissed off by Wen Yuanchu’s rebuttal. 

Forget it, it’s like playing piano for a cow.

He was too lazy to continue talking, so he immersed himself with eating bitterly. 

Wen Yuanchu pursed the corner of his mouth lightly, the words at his lips turned back around and he swallowed them back. 

Four or five boys came in and stopped when they passed their table.

A tone dripping with sarcasm sounded over the top of their heads, “Look who it is, Ling Song! Laozi2 has been fucking looking for you for a long time, I didn’t expect to meet you here today. “

Wen Yuanchu frowned and lifted his gaze towards those few people. 

Each of them wore the uniform from the school across theirs, coming to find trouble with Ling Song. 

Ling Song swallowed the beef in his mouth, drank two mouthfuls of milk tea and said slowly, “Who are you guys?”

“Are you trying to get beaten up, you punk?!”

The leader, whose quiff was tinged with a wisp of red hair, sneered, “Ling Song, who are you pretending with? You fucking stole laozi’s girlfriend, so laozi has to settle this account with you today!” 

Ling Song almost spat out the milk tea that he hadn’t put in his mouth.

Wen Yuanchu’s facial expression became cold.

He stood up; he was taller than the other party by half a head.

“Go outside if you want to fight.”

Outside the mall.

Wen Yuanchu put them down one at a time easily and effortlessly.

Ling Song was still holding the milk tea straw in his mouth as he stood aside to watch the scene. 

Red-haired lied on the floor, wailing and cursing filthily. 

But he only bullied the weak and feared the strong, only daring to curse at Ling Song. 

Hearing that, Ling Song wasn’t happy, so he stepped forward and kicked him, “Scoundrel3, if you curse at zhen again, zhen will execute all nine generations of your family.”

Wen Yuanchu asked, “Stealing girlfriends? What’s going on?”

Red-haired spat out, “Laozi has been chasing Lin Qiuyi for a year. She was about to agree, but if it wasn’t for Ling Song’s interference, she would’ve been laozi’s girlfriend by now.”

Ling Song, “……”

What nonsense.

Wang Zide and the rest clearly said he had always chased Wen Yuanchu in the past, how did a girl surnamed Lin suddenly appear?

Wen Yuanchu glanced over.

Ling Song froze, his heart feeling inexplicably guilty. What are you looking at!

Wen Yuanchu looked away.

He gestured to red-haired coldly, “Lin Qiuyi’s business has nothing to do with Ling Song, don’t bother Ling Song in the future, get lost.”

The few people were aware that they couldn’t beat him. They got up, gritted their teeth and tossed out the sentence “wait and see”, before running away dejectedly. 

With a face filled with embarrassment, Ling Song asked Wen Yuanchu, ““Do you know who Lin Qiuyi is?”

Wen Yuanchu ignored him, he turned around and left.

Ling Song hurriedly went to catch up with him.

“Tell me if you know, I don’t even remember what happened, how awkward would it be if we bumped into each other.”

Afraid that Wen Yuanchu would misunderstand, he added another sentence, “I’ve really forgotten whatever I’ve said or done in the past.”

Wen Yuanchu continued ignoring him.

What’s the matter with him?

While waiting for the traffic light, Wen Yuanchu, who had been staying silent, suddenly spoke, “You previously said that you liked me.”

Ling Song’s feet staggered and almost sprained. 

Wen Yuanchu looked straight ahead, squinting lightly as he said faintly, “You said it yourself.”

……But that really wasn’t me.

Ling Song soon became extremely vexed. 

He felt that he must explain this matter clearly.

“I have memory loss, so I’ve forgotten whatever happened in the past. Just pretend you didn’t hear it. If this is the reason why you’re helping me make up for classes, then forget it…I can’t always trouble you like this.”

However, Wen Yuanchu refused to acknowledge it, “If I heard it means I heard it, It’s impossible to pretend I didn’t. You’ve said it before means you’ve said it before, and you can’t pretend you haven’t, even though you have memory loss.”

Ling Song was even more vexed.

In the end, he couldn’t refute. 

He couldn’t always say that that person wasn’t him.

“Then what do you want exactly? I liked you before but not anymore, is that not okay?”

Wen Yuanchu looked at him, his gaze was filled with an expression that was hard to describe, “You don’t like me anymore?”

Ling Song’s face turned red, “Of course. As a man, why would I like another man? So many beautiful women for me to give up just to like you? I’m not stupid.”

“Are you discriminating against homosexuality?”

Ling Song choked, “Of course not, don’t speak rubbish.”

His family’s ancestor was a homosexual.

The emperor of the most prosperous era of the Cheng Dynasty had married a man, how dare his descendent discriminate against his ancestor?  

The pedestrian red light turned green. Wen Yuanchu then tossed out, “Let’s go.” 

After sitting back down in the classroom, Ling Song continued doing practices. As he picked up his pen and finished doing two questions, he suddenly thought of something.

This person always tangled the previous Ling Song with whether or not he liked him. Was it not him who always ignored someone and harming them to commit suicide because they couldn’t stop thinking of him?

What’s the meaning of this?!

He tossed his pen and looked at Wen Yuanchu, huffing with anger. 

Wen Yuanchu was in the midst of drinking water, he looked back at Ling Song and raised his eyebrow.

“Wen Yuanchu.”

Wen Yuanchu capped his water bottle, wiped his chin with the back of his hand and looked at him.

Ling Song froze.

This person’s manner of lifting his hand was quite- what was it…in the word of people here; handsome. 

No wonder the original Ling Song was addicted to the point of distraction by him. 

Sure enough, he was still young and innocent. 

“It’s not like you like me, so whether I like you or not, does it concern you?”

Wen Yuanchu’s gaze became more profound, he didn’t speak.

Ling Song still continued, “Whatever it is, don’t bring up this matter again in the future. I feel so awkward that I don’t even dare to speak to you, how could you bring up the question so casually?”

Wen Yuanchu let out a sound of agreement and shifted his gaze.

Ling Song sighed in relief and continued doing his questions.

Wen Yuanchu absent-mindedly flipped out his phone that was hidden in his bag.

He fell into a daze for a moment as he held it in his hand, then wrote in his memo. 

The 8th day of his return, he said he doesn’t like me.

Not happy.

 

Footnotes 

麻辣烫 má là tàng: spicy hot pot老子 lǎo zǐ: lit. “father”, arrogant way to call oneself刁民 diāo mín: rogue person/ often used as someone who is treacherous