Mistaken Canary Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Ying Tongchen stood in place, his expression darkening as he watched Zhuo Shu’s strategic retreat.
He bent down, picked up the half-eaten chocolate and the wrapper that had fallen to the ground, frowned slightly, and threw it into the nearby trash can.
Then, he took a new piece from the box, unwrapped it, and stared at it for a while. ‘Is it really that bad?’
He took a bite: "..."
He discarded the chocolate, rushed into a convenience store, and bought a cup of hot coffee, which finally helped to wash away the strange taste in his mouth.
Ying Tongchen then wandered aimlessly down the street, when his phone rang.
He glanced at the caller, then smiled as he asked, "Where did you go today?"
"I'm by the Seine River now," the old man chuckled. "Listen, there are so many performers here."
Ying Tongchen listened to the street performers singing on the other end of the line and smiled. "Sounds like you're having a great time."
"Of course! When you're out having fun, you should be happy," the old man relaxed. "It's Christmas today. I didn't disturb you two, did I?"
"No," Ying Tongchen took a sip of coffee and chuckled, "He ran off."
"Ran off? What do you mean, ran off? Where did he run to?" The old man immediately grew anxious. "Did you two argue?"
"No," Ying Tongchen smiled faintly, lowering his gaze to the ground. The snow had melted, leaving the ground damp, and his new shoes had picked up some muddy water. He asked softly, "Teacher, does 'forever' really exist?"
"What? Did brat upset you?" The old man asked, concerned.
"No." Ying Tongchen's tone grew a little more dejected. "I just feel like I'm useless. I can't even do anything right."
The old man fell silent for a moment before responding, "I understand now. You're overthinking things. It's perfectly normal to feel this way. But you see, feeling secure, that’s something both of you need to work on together. You need to trust him more, and also have more confidence in yourself."
Ying Tongchen was quiet for a while, then said, "Merry Christmas, Teacher."
"Hah, at my age, I don't really celebrate this holiday anymore. But you young folks seem to enjoy it..." The old man chuckled. "Tongchen, I just want you to be happy. No matter who you end up with, as long as you're happy, that’s all that matters."
"Thank you, Teacher." Ying Tongchen paused for a moment, then looked ahead, "I have to go. Something’s come up."
"What’s going on?"
Ying Tongchen stopped in his tracks, his gaze locking onto the person approaching him. "He’s back."
The old man chuckled a few times. "Then I won’t bother you two."
Ying Tongchen tucked his phone into his pocket slowly, his eyes never leaving the figure in front of him. The man was holding a small bouquet of flowers. "Where did you go?"
Zhuo Shu looked slightly awkward, glancing at him before presenting the flowers with sincerity. "I went to get something to make up for it."
Ying Tongchen stared at the small bouquet.
Zhuo Shu, seeming worried that he might reject the flowers, took his hand and gently, yet forcefully, placed the flowers in his palm. He spoke cautiously, "Please don’t be mad anymore. Anger is bad for your health."
"Mm." Ying Tongchen chuckled softly. "I tried one, and it was indeed terrible."
"It wasn’t that bad..." Zhuo Shu muttered, looking a little guilty.
"It was Zheng Zhinan who taught me how to make it," Ying Tongchen remarked.
Zhuo Shu: "No wonder it was so awful!"
Ying Tongchen smiled and was about to respond when suddenly, Zhuo Shu grabbed his hand and started to pull him along. "I bought the flowers from Ban Zhang. He said they just bumped into each other, nothing else. But it’s too dangerous around here; let’s go somewhere else."
With one hand firmly gripped by Zhuo Shu and the other holding the bouquet, Ying Tongchen hurried through the bustling streets. As they moved, the warmth from Zhuo Shu’s hand spread through his own, melting the snowflakes that fell, leaving only the heat of their touch behind.
After a while, they reached the parking lot. Zhuo Shu opened the car door, gesturing for him to get in.
Sitting in his seat, Ying Tongchen glanced at his watch. "Heading home?"
Zhuo Shu shook his head. "No, to another place." He paused for a moment, his gaze lingering on Ying Tongchen’s face—after the brisk exertion, the faint flush on his cheeks only made him look even more endearing.
Zhuo Shu couldn’t help but lean down, gently pressing his lips to Ying Tongchen’s.
Ying Tongchen closed his eyes, allowing the exchange to happen, the sound of their heartbeats thundering in his ears.
He wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but eventually, Zhuo Shu pulled away, fastening his seatbelt for him before walking around to the other side of the car. "Let’s go."
Ying Tongchen looked at the route on the GPS. It wasn’t his apartment, nor was it the hotel. "Where are we going?"
"You’ll see when we get there." Zhuo Shu smiled, keeping the mystery alive.
As they left the city, Ying Tongchen suddenly had a hunch and accurately guessed the destination.
The car finally came to a stop in front of the villa. Ying Tongchen stood in the yard, looking at the closed gate. "What are we doing here? You don’t plan to work on more mock exams, are you?"
Zhuo Shu shuddered at the thought of it. "I never want to see those again in my life." He pushed open the front door, the darkness beyond making it seem even more mysterious. "Go in and take a look."
Ying Tongchen flicked on the light, and the room instantly brightened. In the middle of the living room stood a towering Christmas tree, over two meters tall, covered with ornaments and gift boxes of all sizes.
He walked closer, gazing up at the tree, the decorations twinkling softly in the light.
"Turns out, you actually like this kind of holiday." Ying Tongchen's lips curled into a slight smile as he glanced at Zhuo Shu from the side, his eyes filled with teasing and affection. "And you even want to secretly celebrate it."
"Not secretly, it’s something we’re doing together." Zhuo Shu walked over to his side. "Pick a box."
"There’s gifts?" Ying Tongchen pointed to the boxes above, surprised. "Is it in there?"
"Yep, I hid a great one. See if you can find it," Zhuo Shu replied.
"Which one?"
"You’ll have to find it yourself."
Ying Tongchen studied him seriously for a moment before reaching for the nearest box. He unwrapped it, opened the lid, and froze for a second. "What is this? A toy car?"
"It even has a remote control." Zhuo Shu picked up the remote from inside the box, placed the car on the ground, and began playing with it.
"..." Ying Tongchen reached for another box beside it. Upon opening it, he found a children’s coloring book. "What’s this?"
"Drawing, of course. I’m helping you develop an interest in it." Zhuo Shu placed a paintbrush in Ying Tongchen’s hand, then guided his hand to doodle on the side. "Come on, babe, draw together with daddy."
"..." Ying Tongchen punched him in the chest.
"Ugh, that’s a rough one, tough guy." Zhuo Shu clutched his chest. "Keep looking, have some patience."
Ying Tongchen moved to the other side, picked up a small box, and opened it to reveal a few glass marbles. "..."
He decided to just take down every box he could reach. Altogether, there were about thirty-something of them. He sat down on the floor and started tearing into them.
Certificates, candy, game cards, notebooks, cassettes, MP3 players, old albums, fountain pens, newspapers, sneakers...
A random assortment of gifts piled up in front of him. Ying Tongchen flipped through them, about to laugh at Zhuo Shu’s hopelessly straightforward idea of gift-giving. But when he turned and saw the look in his eyes, he froze for a moment. He then shifted his gaze back to the chaotic, seemingly useless pile of presents.
They might seem like nothing more than filler for the great gift at the end, but what if they actually had meaning?
These kinds of things—no one had ever given them to him.
While his classmates played games, passed notes, and secretly listened to idol tapes, he was wandering alone at night, not wanting to go home. Holidays weren’t celebrations for him—they were flashpoints for family drama.
By the time he graduated high school, he didn’t have any friends he could truly call his own, let alone friends who exchanged gifts.
Zhuo Shu noticed him staring blankly at the little trinkets. He sat down beside him and spoke gently, "We only met when we were 27. I wasn’t part of your childhood or teenage years, so these gifts… they’re for you, Ying Xiao Tongchen."
Ying Tongchen’s fingers trembled slightly. He blinked, holding back the tears that had suddenly welled up in his eyes. He solemnly packed all the little gifts back into their boxes, his voice unintentionally thick with emotion. "Thank you."
Zhuo Shu tilted his head, gently cupping his face in both hands. He playfully squeezed, causing Ying Tongchen’s beautiful face to twist in a funny way, and then burst out laughing. "No way, Mr. Ying, you’re actually a little crybaby?"
Ying Tongchen shot him a reproachful glance, his eyes slightly reddened.
"Don’t look at me like that." Zhuo Shu watched as Ying Tongchen’s lips involuntarily puckered up, then leaned over and gave him a quick peck. Laughing, he added, "If you keep looking at me like that, I won’t be able to resist... and may just end up doing it here on the floor."
"..." Ying Tongchen pushed him away and continued to organize the gifts.
"There’s still the best gift left. Don’t you want to find it?" Zhuo Shu teased.
Ying Tongchen glanced up at the tree. "It’s probably at the top of the tree."
Zhuo Shu only smiled without saying a word.
Ying Tongchen stood up, tiptoed, and retrieved a Christmas card from the top of the tree. "How childish."
He opened the card, and inside was a letter. He looked at Zhuo Shu, puzzled.
Zhuo Shu scratched his face awkwardly. "You must have received a lot of love letters, but how could I not send you mine? If only I’d been the one to confess back then... how much better would it have been."
"How childish. Don’t tell me it’s another ‘I love you’..." Ying Tongchen unfolded the letter, staring at it for a moment, feeling his chest heat up slightly.
—Hello, Classmate Ying. I’m very happy to meet you. I’m your future boyfriend, Zhuo Shu.
Can you entrust your future to me? I’ll take good care of it.
The room fell into a deep silence. Zhuo Shu didn’t dare to breathe, waiting for a response. After a long while, he finally spoke. "What’s wrong? Is it not good? Should I add a few more lines?"
"How corny." Ying Tongchen slipped the letter into his pocket, smoothing his fingers over the paper. "Take all this stuff to the car."
"Oh..." Zhuo Shu obediently loaded the boxes into the car, only to turn around and realize Ying Tongchen had walked out and was heading toward the backyard alone.
He quickly followed him, seeing Ying Tongchen standing next to a small sapling. "What are you doing here?"
"Do you remember the last time you left first, leaving me here to supervise?" Ying Tongchen asked.
"Yeah, actually, I thought you were going to break up with me. I didn’t want that, so I ran away." Zhuo Shu confessed honestly.
Ying Tongchen smiled and pointed to a wooden sign hanging from one of the tree branches. "And then I ended up scolding you on it. The workers said it’s really effective to curse people on this sign."
"They’re lying to you. It only grants wishes, not curses," Zhuo Shu chuckled, then picked up the wooden sign to take a closer look. Originally, it had the tree’s name on it, but there was now a string of small words added below.
— Bastard Zhuo, I think I kind of like you. Of course, just a little bit, though.
Go die.
Zhuo Shu’s eyes slowly widened in disbelief. He pointed at the sign and turned back to Ying Tongchen, his words stumbling in excitement. "You… you… when did this happen?"
"I forgot." Ying Tongchen turned to leave.
"No, you need to explain yourself!" Zhuo Shu grabbed him, grinning like a mischievous child who had just found an advantage. "So you liked me this early, huh? But how come it’s only a little bit?"
"A little bit isn’t enough?"
"Nope, that’s not enough. It’s all about fairness." Zhuo Shu declared, trying to sound serious. "I liked you ‘a lot’, a lot! How can you only like me ‘a little’?"
"Is this something we’re really arguing about? Fine then." Ying Tongchen took out a pen, crossed out ‘a little bit’, and changed it to ‘super much’.
Zhuo Shu was finally satisfied. Suddenly, he hugged Ying Tongchen. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone that time."
"If you had stayed…" Ying Tongchen thought back to how he had felt at the time, "…things might’ve ended up pretty badly."
"..." Zhuo Shu let out an awkward chuckle. "Let’s not stand outside in the cold anymore."
"Mm."
"Let’s go to bed and warm up." Zhuo Shu excitedly continued, his tone suggestive.
Ying Tongchen: "..."
That night, Ying Tongchen once again experienced the prowess of a younger man. Reflecting on how they first met, the difference in skills between then and now was like night and day. Back then, it hurt so much he couldn’t sleep. Now, it was so pleasurable, he couldn’t sleep either.
It wasn’t until nearly morning that Ying Tongchen finally fell into a tired sleep. He slept straight through until the afternoon. Before he even opened his eyes, he realized his backdoor had been breached again.
"..."
Zhuo Shu smiled and kissed the corner of Ying Tongchen’s mouth. At that moment, Ying Tongchen was undeniably tempting. "Classmate Ying, I suddenly feel that meeting at 27 isn’t so bad after all."
"Mm," Ying Tongchen couldn’t quite form a complete sentence. "Mm—what…?"
"If we had met earlier, I might not have been able to resist trying to seduce you when you were still a minor," Zhuo Shu’s breath brushed past his ear.
"..."
They spent the entire weekend together in the villa. Whenever they got out of bed, Ying Tongchen would wander downstairs, loosening the soil around the saplings and watering them, only to be followed up by himself being ‘loosened’ and ‘watered’ by Zhuo Shu.
…
On Sunday evening, Zhuo Shu sent him back. They made several trips back and forth before finally getting all the gift boxes upstairs.
In the elevator, Ying Tongchen instinctively rubbed his waist. In front of them stood a pregnant woman, who, at the same moment, also rubbed her waist.
Ying Tongchen: "..."
Zhuo Shu smiled without saying a word. As soon as the elevator doors closed, he stepped forward, pinched Ying Tongchen’s waist, and asked, "How many months along are you?"
Ying Tongchen shot him a glance. "Get lost, the child isn’t yours."
Zhuo Shu: "..."
…
A few days later was the New Year’s holiday.
The day before the holiday, school let out an hour earlier. Parents waited outside the school gates to pick up their children.
Zhuo Zi was busy discussing her holiday plans with her classmates. She lingered for quite a while and only left when most of the others had already gone. As she left the building, she bumped into Ying Tongchen, who was about to head home as well. She greeted him with a "Hello, Mr. Ying" but then didn’t know what else to say.
Ying Tongchen walked alongside her and said, "Your performance in class this week hasn’t been great."
Zhuo Zi nodded. How could it be great?
Every time she saw Mr. Ying, she couldn’t help but think of Zhuo Shu’s face, which definitely deserved to be dunked in a pig cage!
As they reached the school gate, she spotted Zhuo Shu. Instinctively, she looked at Ying Tongchen.
As expected, those two were already exchanging glances.
"Ge." Zhuo Zi greetly coldly.
"Mm, go ahead and get in the car. I need to ask your teacher something," Zhuo Shu’s gaze was fixed on Ying Tongchen.
Zhuo Zi: "..."
Ahhh, the world of adults is so complicated!
Zhuo Zi turned around multiple times as she walked, noticing that they hadn’t done anything unexpected between them—they were still standing in the same spot talking. But the air around them was so thick with green tension, it was almost palpable!
While she was distracted, she nearly bumped into someone and quickly apologized.
Unexpectedly, the person spotted her and asked, "Young lady, excuse me, do you happen to know someone by the name of Ying Tongchen?"
"Mr. Ying?" Zhuo Zi glanced at the woman, who was accompanied by a child about thirteen years old. "Who are you?"
"I’m his mother. Can you help me find him?" The woman said.
"Oh, so you’re Mr. Ying’s mother. Please follow me." Zhuo Zi called out from a distance, "Mr. Ying!"
The two men stopped talking as soon as they saw her return and waited quietly.
Zhuo Zi quickly took a few steps forward, squeezed between the two, and broke the affectionate atmosphere. "Mr. Ying, your mom is here to find you."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Ying Tongchen’s expression stiffened.
Zhuo Shu quickly glanced at him. Seeing his impassive face, he leaned in closer, resting his arm on Ying Tongchen’s shoulder, and whispered, "It’s okay."
The woman hurried up to them, scanning Ying Tongchen from head to toe. Excitedly, she said, "Tongchen, it’s me! Do you still remember me?"
"No, I don’t." Ying Tongchen replied coldly, then turned and walked toward the teaching building without looking back.
"Tongchen, I’m your mother, how could you not recognize me? I came specially to see you." The woman tugged at him, refusing to let him walk away. "And your younger brother came to see you too. Irri Tant, come over here."
The boy beside the woman rolled his eyes, reluctantly stepping forward and giving them a disdainful look.
Zhuo Zi was completely confused by the scene and turned to the boy. "You’re Mr. Ying’s younger brother? The one who’s been abroad with your mother since you were little?"
Irri Tant indifferently nodded.
"No way!" Zhuo Zi gasped in shock. "You–You—You’re my sister-in-law?!"
Irri Tant: "?"
Zhuo Shu: "..."
Ying Tongchen: "..."