Just in Time Chapter 51
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 51 Cake
On Saturdays and Sundays, Yi Chenliang would help out at the shop. Yun Fang’s shop was in a great location and business was booming. Sometimes, when Huang Chu saw that they were too busy, he would also lend a hand.
Zhao Fang had been pregnant for eight months. Yi Chenliang was shocked when he found out because Zhao Fang was so thin that she didn’t look pregnant at all.
“She’s a pitiful woman,” Huang Chu once chatted with him during a break. “She and her husband came to the city to work. Her husband got involved with another married woman and insisted on getting a divorce. At that time, Sister Zhao was already five months pregnant. In the cold winter, she went to jump into the river, but after crying for half a day, she couldn’t bear to harm the child in her belly.”
Yi Chenliang squatted at the door, turning his head to look at Zhao Fang.
Zhao Fang was smiling as she packed things for the customers, gentle and patient.
“Her husband is a jerk, and no one in her husband’s or her own family would help her. She found me,” Huang Chu sat on the steps smoking. “I helped her with the divorce lawsuit, but I couldn’t get her a single penny.”
Yi Chenliang looked at Huang Chu, “Why?”
“He refused to give anything, insisting that the child wasn’t his and demanded a paternity test,” Huang Chu said with a mocking face. “At that time, a paternity test was not good for the fetus. Sister Zhao was disheartened and just wanted to divorce him.”
Yi Chenliang frowned, “Her husband is a jerk.”
Huang Chu laughed, “More than that, he spread rumors in the village that Sister Zhao had an affair and got pregnant. The whole village knew about it, and she couldn’t even go home. The villagers believed it, and Sister Zhao was scolded when she went back to her mother’s house.”
Yi Chenliang was indignant, “But what he said was false.”
“Sometimes people always believe what they want to believe,” Huang Chu sneered. “With a few words from that man, Sister Zhao was ruined. It’s such an easy thing.”
Huang Chu, who had been underappreciated for years, finally had someone to chat with and sighed, “Sometimes when you see too much of this kind of thing, you feel that there are not many good people in the world. You feel really pissed off. The beasts who are not human are living a good life, while the good people are driven to desperation.”
After a moment of silence, Yi Chenliang said, “Sister Zhao will be a good mother.”
“That’s true,” Huang Chu laughed a bit, “You don’t need to worry too much about your lawsuit. There’s no big problem. Once you’ve had your birthday, you’ll be sixteen, and you can fight.”
“Thank you,” Yi Chenliang thanked him very seriously, “Lawyer Huang, you’re a good person.”
“Hey, don’t say that,” Huang Chu was so scared that he choked on his cigarette, “Isn’t that cursing me?”
The two of them laughed together.
Speaking of birthdays, Yi Chenliang just remembered that his birthday was coming up. He had never celebrated his birthday before, but this year was different. He wanted to celebrate it with Yun Fang.
His birthday happened to fall on the weekend. Yi Chenliang told Sister Zhao in advance that he wouldn’t be coming over in the evening, and asked Huang Chu to help out, before he confidently ran off to the mall.
He spent a bit too long at the mall. He didn’t know that birthday cakes from the cake shop needed to be ordered in advance. After asking around, he was told that the earliest they could make one was tomorrow morning. In the end, he bought a small cupcake in frustration.
When he got home and pushed open the door, there was an unopened cake on the coffee table. He stood there, stunned.
Yun Fang heard the noise and poked his head out of the kitchen, “You’re back?”
“Yeah.” Yi Chenliang responded, walked to the coffee table and stared at the cake box, “You bought a cake?”
“Isn’t it your birthday today?” Yun Fang turned off the stove and came out of the kitchen, “I remember when I was a kid, I really wanted a birthday cake.”
Yi Chenliang laughed a bit, “Ah, it has to be chocolate.”
“There has to be a big circle of cream waves and big red flowers on the side.” Yun Fang also found it funny thinking about it, “It’s best if there’s a beautiful sister to help light the candles.”
Yi Chenliang laughed heartily, “I saw it on TV.”
“I remembered it for a long time.” Yun Fang said, “I specifically told the boss your specific requirements.”
Yi Chenliang touched his nose, “I didn’t really want the big red flowers.”
“Open it and see.” Yun Fang laughed, “I haven’t seen the final effect yet.”
Yi Chenliang opened the cake box, and both of them were stunned for a moment.
They didn’t know if there was a problem with Yun Fang’s description or the boss’s understanding. The cake was made with pink chocolate powder. One side was decorated with delicate and elegant yellow and white cream flowers, and the other side had a palm-sized doll with big eyes, two buns on her head, and a pink dress. There was also a delicate blue bow on the gauze skirt.
It was very beautiful, but it might be a bit too beautiful for a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy.
“This… also counts as a beautiful sister helping to light the candles.” Yun Fang reached out and poked the doll’s bun, and laughed out loud.
Yi Chenliang also couldn’t stop laughing. The two of them laughed at the doll for a long time before they finally stopped.
“Light the candles and make a wish.” Yun Fang gestured for him to light the candles, and he went to turn off the lights in the living room.
Yi Chenliang lit two candles in the middle of the cake. The flickering little flames illuminated half of his face. The two of them sat by the coffee table and watched for a while.
“This is my first time celebrating a birthday.” Yi Chenliang turned his head and asked him, “Have you ever celebrated a birthday?”
“No.” Yun Fang squinted his eyes as if he was thinking about something. He tugged at the corner of his mouth, but there was no smile in his eyes.
Yi Chenliang didn’t continue to ask.
The candles had already burned halfway. Yun Fang reached out and ruffled his hair, “Close your eyes and make a wish.”
Yi Chenliang said, “Let’s make a wish together, I put in two candles.”
Yun Fang smiled, “Okay, let’s make a wish together.”
“You have to close your eyes too,” Yi Chenliang said.
Yun Fang treated it as if he was coaxing a child, and closed his eyes without much thought. However, after closing his eyes, he involuntarily made a wish.
The two candles were blown out together, and a few sparks flickered in the air.
Yun Fang opened his eyes in the dark, only able to vaguely see the outlines of things.
“What did you wish for?” Yi Chenliang asked him in the dark.
“I hope that Little Yi is healthy and safe.” Yun Fang turned his head with a smile, and unexpectedly, a soft touch came from his lips. It was so gentle that it felt like an illusion, and it was over as soon as it touched.
Yun Fang froze in place.
Yi Chenliang’s voice sounded very close to him, “You haven’t asked me what I wished for.”
Yun Fang’s throat was a bit dry, and he subconsciously asked, “What…did you wish for?”
“I hope that when I grow up, Big Yi can always be with me.” Yi Chenliang covered his eyes in the dark and kissed his forehead.
“On New Year’s Eve, I didn’t black out. I said I liked you, and you kissed me like this. You also said——”
Yun Fang closed his eyes, regretting that he had brought this upon himself.
——New Year's Eve.
Yun Fang covered Yi Chenliang's eyes with his hand, leaning down to kiss his own hand softly, his voice barely audible, "But I am a bad person."
Yi Chenliang, heavily intoxicated, stubbornly repeated, "I like you."
Yun Fang's will, eroded by alcohol, finally collapsed completely. He lowered his head and kissed those stubborn and annoying lips, letting his rationality dissolve in the guise of drunkenness.
"I am a bad person," he seemed to be reminding Yi Chenliang, yet also reminding himself, a last-minute attempt to rein in before it was too late.
However, emotions acted recklessly.
"But I like you."
Another kiss, gently planted on Yi Chenliang's forehead.