Mistaken Canary Chapter 62
Chapter 62
The sun was shining brightly outside the window, and the birds were chirping incessantly, filling the air with noise. From downstairs, faint sounds of laughter and conversation could be heard.
Ying Tongchen struggled to sit up from the bed. His body felt weak, his head was pounding, and his brain was clouded and disoriented, leaving him in a haze.
He shook his head, furrowing his brow, and rubbed his temples. He looked around at the furnishings in the room, realizing this wasn’t his own.
He had agreed to spend the night at Zhuo Shu’s place last night, and it was, indeed, Zhuo Shu’s room.
It was impolite to laze around in someone else's house, so he tossed the blanket off and got out of bed.
However, his knees buckled and he ended up kneeling on the floor.
Just then, Zhuo Shu entered the room, quickly stepping forward to help him up. "It’s just New Year’s Day. There’s no need for all this formality, really."
"..." Ying Tongchen gave him a cool glance, grabbing his ear. "Did you take advantage of me last night?"
"Nonsense, am I really that kind of person?" Zhuo Shu asked, then paused for a moment, reflecting on his life before adding, "Actually, yeah, I am that kind of person."
Ying Tongchen shoved him away, glaring at him in frustration. I have never seen such a shameless person as this!
The whole reason he hadn’t wanted to stay over was because he was afraid of the awkwardness!
Why was it awkward? Because now, as a result of that, he had overslept, and made a joke of himself!
Not to mention, he had drunk alcohol last night. The atmosphere at the dinner table had been great, and then Mu Qing brought out a bottle of Erguotou.
He did not restrain himself and toasted the elders, but as they kept drinking, he had ended up drunk and unconscious.
And now, he hadn’t expected that Zhuo Shu would be—
Completely unreasonable!
Morally corrupt!
A scoundrel!
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zhuo Shu was startled by the look in his eyes, immediately regretting all the mistakes he had made in the past twenty-something years. He even wondered if he had accidentally killed Ying Tongchen's entire family, "I swear, I'm a good person."
"Out, I need to change." Ying Tongchen said.
"Out for what? We've seen everything…already…haven't…we?" Zhuo Shu’s voice grew smaller and smaller under the pressure of his gaze, and he swiftly exited the room.
Ying Tongchen took off his pajamas and noticed there were no additional marks on his body. He couldn't help but wonder—did they really not do anything last night?
Then why did his knees hurt so much? His back felt sore, and his arms could barely move?
Downstairs, the laughter of the elders echoed up again. He stopped thinking about it and quickly put on some clothes before opening the door.
Zhuo Shu was standing at the door, grinning widely as he looked at him. "What do you want to eat?"
"Anything is fine." The moment he spoke, Zhuo Shu leaned in closer, and Ying Tongchen quickly raised a hand to cover his lips, signaling that the elders were downstairs.
Just then, the door to the room next door creaked open.
Zhuo Zi walked past them with a neutral expression, not even sparing them a glance.
Ying Tongchen couldn't help but feel puzzled. The entire day yesterday, Zhuo Zi's gaze had been glued to him and Zhuo Shu, almost as if she wanted to observe them under a microscope for the tiniest details of sweet moments she could savor.
So why was she now completely ignoring them upon waking up?
"What's wrong with her?" Ying Tongchen asked in a low voice.
"You don't know?" Zhuo Shu gave him a surprised look before his eyes narrowed slightly, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "Looks like you're not too sharp after all. Don't remember anything? Or are you too embarrassed to admit it and are just pretending?"
"What's pretending?" Ying Tongchen was confused, only feeling that something must've happened last night that he couldn't remember because he had drunk so much. "What exactly happened last night?!"
Zhuo Shu chuckled under his breath and was about to say "nothing", but at that moment, another familiar figure passed by them, greeting them brightly with a wave. "Hey, mornin~"
"Good morning," Ying Tongchen replied automatically, but suddenly his eyes widened in shock. He trembled, pointing at the figure’s back, as if he was seeing a hallucination. "Wasn't teacher abroad? How could he be here?!"
Zhuo Shu gently patted his head with a look of sympathy. "Looks like this kid really drank himself silly."
"Ying Tongchen, you’re up? Come downstairs for breakfast," Mu Qing called out when she saw the two of them standing by the door. She quickly asked the housekeeper to prepare something to eat.
Ying Tongchen came downstairs in a daze, seeing the old man already engaged in a game of Go with Zhuo Fu, both chatting away like old friends. His mind felt overloaded and numb.
"When did teacher arrive?" Ying Tongchen sat down and asked Mu Qing, the one person who seemed willing to tell him what was going on.
"Looks like you really drank a lot, huh? Come, have a glass of water first," Mu Qing laughed. "Don't you remember? You and Zhuo Shu went to the airport to pick him up."
"Really?" Ying Tongchen looked at Zhuo Shu, who nodded in confirmation.
He rubbed his temples, trying to recall the scattered memories that seemed to flicker through his mind—
It was near the end of dinner, and he was feeling lightheaded from the alcohol, but his phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
Zhuo Shu had answered the call for him and then explained, "Teacher's back in the country. Should I go pick him up?"
Mu Qing, however, said, "You’ve both been drinking, so if you're going to pick someone up, just let the driver handle it."
"Fair enough." Although Zhuo Shu wasn’t completely drunk, there was still a noticeable aroma of alcohol on him. He figured it was better to personally pick up teacher, so he sat in the backseat and instructed the driver to head to the airport.
Just as he was about to lie back, the car door opened, and Ying Tongchen climbed in, his face flushed. Slurring his words, he mumbled, "Go pick—pick up the...tech–teacher..."
In the next scene, the two inebriated men were standing at the arrival gate, saluting the passengers and shouting Tei Cher's name in unison. The red scarves on their chests seemed brighter than ever…
(TLN: Red scarves are worn by members of the Young Pioneers of China (中国少年先锋队) , a mass youth organization for children aged six to fourteen in the People's Republic of China.)
Ying Tongchen buried his face in his hands, the memory too embarrassing to recall further.
Tei Cher placed a piece on the Go board, a winning move, and burst into laughter. Turning to Ying Tongchen, he said, "I saw you two last night. I wanted to pretend not to know you, but then Tongchen, you ran faster than anyone, chasing me and shouting 'Stop!' The crowd thought you were catching a thief, and they all started chasing me too. My goodness; honestly, it was like a live, low-budget version of 'Train to Busan'."
Ying Tongchen: "..."
The Zhuo siblings collapsed into the sofa, laughing uncontrollably.
Ying Tongchen subtly nudged Zhuo Shu and whispered, "So why didn't teacher go home and instead came here?"
Zhuo Shu grinned and replied, "You were the one who insisted on dragging him here to back you up. You said we, the Zhuo’s, were bullying you. You couldn’t outdrink the three adults, and could not even win a cola drink-off with Zhuo Zi. So you ended up koala-hugging teacher, not letting him leave."
"... No way." Ying Tongchen's face twitched slightly.
"Yes way," Zhuo Shu laughed even harder. "And then you ended up puking all over teacher. He couldn’t take a cab, so he just came along."
Ying Tongchen was stunned for a moment, then quickly turned to Tei Cher and apologized, "Sorry."
"It's fine, it's fine," Tei Cher waved his hand dismissively, "If it weren't for you bringing me here, I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet Zhuo da ge and Zhuo da sao. Hahaha! Ha, da ge I see you sneaking a piece off the board."
(TLN: da ge 大哥 is a less formal way to address friend who may or may not be older than you, da sao 大嫂 refers to a da ge’s wife.)
Zhuo Fu awkwardly placed the Go piece back and tried to steer the conversation away, "But seriously, drunk Tongchen is pretty cute."
Cu—Cute?
Ying Tongchen looked at him incredulously and said, "Uncle, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I... I’m not a ‘cute’ person."
Not cute in the slightest.
"No, no, you’re very cute," both Mu Qing and Tei Cher chimed in simultaneously.
Zhuo Fu suddenly shot a sharp glance at Tei Cher, surprised by their synchronicity. Then, taking advantage of Tei Cher's momentary distraction, he snuck a piece off the board.
Ying Tongchen immediately felt uneasy and asked, "What happened after I got drunk...?"
"I know this one!" Zhuo Zi, who had been silent up until now, stood up, holding an imaginary microphone and began recounting the events with dramatic flair, "Master, after you brought the Venerable back, you picked up a shot glass to toast him. The Venerable replied, ‘No, no, drinking is bad for your health’. But you insisted, ‘It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s just a kidney’."
Ying Tongchen: "..."
"Did I really say that?" Ying Tongchen whispered to Zhuo Shu.
At that moment, he seriously wished he could embody the great resolve Xiang Yu showed when he took his own life!
(TLN: Xiang Yu, the famed warlord of the late Qin dynasty, died by suicide at the Battle of Gaixia. Surrounded and wounded, he fought fiercely, killing over 100 enemies. Spotting his old friend Lü Matong among the enemies, he said, "Liu Bang has placed a bounty of 1,000 gold and the title of Wanhu Marquis on me. Take it for our friendship." He then took his own life by slitting his throat.)
Zhuo Zi continued, "After Master toasted the Venerable, his gaze landed on the Mistress. Master looked at him with deep affection, his long fingers gently tracing Mistress’s cheek, then suddenly he grabbed his neck and softly asked, ‘Did you do it?’"
Ying Tongchen: "..." Do what?
Zhuo Zi went on, "Mistress immediately replied, ‘Yes, yes’ and turned the shot glass upside down on his head to show him but it poured all over his face! Master then pressed Mistress’s head down and made him drink three shots. This little disciple would like to coin this as ‘Three cups at least, helps matters in bed ease’."
Ying Tongchen: "..."
Zhuo Shu: "...What nonsense are you saying?! Who’s the Mistress?!"
"Thbptttttttt thbptttttttt." Zhuo Zi stuck out her tongue, slammed her hand down on the table with a dramatic gesture, then continued, "Afterward, the dinner conversation took an unexpected turn when Mom and Dad suddenly brought up some embarrassing stories about my gege and how low his emotional intelligence was."
Hearing this, Ying Tongchen nodded. "That’s not wrong."
"Oh really?" Zhuo Shu chuckled meaningfully, turning his head to look at him with a look that said, ‘I'm ready for a good show.’
Zhuo Zi said, "When those words were said, sis-in-law got so mad!"
"Cough, watch your words," Ying Tongchen reminded.
"Understood, Master." Zhuo Zi immediately corrected herself. "Master wasn’t pleased with what he heard. He slammed the table and said loudly, ‘You’ve all misunderstood Zhuo Shu! He’s not emotionally unintelligent! He just lacks brains and has thick skin!’"
Ying Tongchen looked at Zhuo Shu in confusion. "That doesn’t sound like a problem?"
Zhuo Shu’s fists clenched. He gave Zhuo Zi a cold glare. "Stop adding your own personal opinion into this, got it?"
"Alright," Zhuo Zi pouted. "Actually, what Master said at that time was that Zhuo Shu is the best person he’s ever met, and no one’s allowed to bully him."
Zhuo Shu smiled and added, "Yeah, not even my real parents."
"Right, not only did he say that Dad and Mom can’t bully Zhuo Shu, but even this adorable girl wasn't spared from this disaster. Master threatened this humble one, saying that if I disrespect my gege, he’d make me do homework until my hands cramp. Boohoohoo, Master, I promise I’ll never love anyone in the future!"
Ying Tongchen: "......"
No wonder Zhuo Zi hadn’t given him a single glance this morning.
Ying Tongchen suspected the brother and sister were performing crosstalk just to tease him, but when he saw the identical smiles on Zhuo Fu, Mu Qing, and Tei Cher’s faces, a wave of embarrassment washed over him and he looked down.
His slightly flushed ears were pinched, and Zhuo Shu smiled warmly. "I didn’t know Teacher Ying was so protective."
Ying Tongchen pushed his hand away, looked at the others, and apologized. "Sorry for my lack of manners."
The elders naturally didn’t mind. Zhuo Zi fancied herself a maiden grown; yesterday's anger was hers alone. Fury brings illness none can share, so she smiled and said she didn’t care.
Ying Tongchen once again rubbed his knee, confused. "Why do I feel so sore today?"
At this, everyone burst into laughter.
Zhuo Zi responded, "Because yesterday you were swimming on dry land!"
Ying Tongchen: "?"
"After you yelled at everyone, you gave ge a passionate confession. Ge got so emotional, he fainted right there on the ground. You immediately threw yourself on the floor, claiming he had fallen into the river and you had to swim over to save him. That was when the charismatic and unrestrained Master appeared, whom I’d like to call ‘Wetlander’."
Ying Tongchen: This is f*cking outrageous.
Zhuo Zi: "And then you two—"
"Alright, alright, that’s enough." Ying Tongchen quickly interrupted. If he kept listening, he’d have completely ruined his reputation for life.
After breakfast, Tei Cher asked Ying Tongchen to take him out for a walk.
Ying Tongchen knew he had something to say, so he led him outside to stroll around.
They walked for a while in silence before Ying Tongchen had to ask, "Teacher, have you found him?"
"No. The world’s a big place—it’s not that easy." Tei Cher replied with a smile, "And honestly, I was just looking to unwind a bit."
Ying Tongchen replied, "It's okay, take your time. If you can’t find him...I’ll take care of you for life."
Tei Cher laughed heartily and patted his shoulder. "You, oh you... Is it that whenever someone is kind to you, you feel the need to repay them a hundredfold?"
"Aside from you, there’s no one—" Ying Tongchen coughed and started again awkwardly, "Aside from you and them, no one else has been that kind to me."
"Hmm, the folks at Zhuo family are pretty nice," Tei Cher said with a cheerful smile. "They're sincere, and I'm happy for you."
"Thank you, teacher."
Tei Cher chuckled, "At first, the Zhuo family thought I was your father. Later, I clarified my identity, and they didn’t ask any further questions. I figure they still don’t know about your family situation, so you can decide when to tell them."
Ying Tongchen nodded silently.
"Don't be afraid, they’re not unreasonable parents," Tei Cher encouraged him. "Besides, you’ve got me backing you up, hahahaha."
Ying Tongchen smiled softly. "Alright."
"What are you two talking about?" Zhuo Shu called out as he caught up from behind.
"Hmm? You can’t bear to let me have a moment alone with him?" Tei Cher teased with a playful tone and waved his hand. "Alright, you young’uns go ahead and enjoy yourselves. I’ll go find my new friends."
"Did teacher say anything to you?" Zhuo Shu asked curiously, walking alongside him.
Ying Tongchen repeated what teacher had said.
Zhuo Shu was silent for a moment before responding, "You can tell them whenever you feel like it, or not at all. It doesn’t matter. They don’t interfere with the friends I choose or their family situation, whether they’re rich or not. Anyway, none of them are richer than me."
Ying Tongchen shot him an exasperated look.
"Why did you come out anyways?" he asked.
"Oh right. Didn’t you really really want to know what exactly happened after you got drunk?" Zhuo Shu pulled out his phone and opened a video.
"We have surveillance cameras in the living room, and I just went to check the footage. Tsk tsk, the scene where you risked your life over a homme fatal. Take a look. Too bad I was passed out, so I missed your iconic non-swimmer scene. But no worries, we can watch it togethe—ow!"
Ying Tongchen kicked him onto the lawn.
…
Meanwhile, Zhuo Zi, with nothing else to do, noticed the signs of yesterday’s hard work in the yard. Remembering she hadn't liberated the neighbour’s abandoned daylilies, she grabbed a small shovel and headed toward the neglected flowers.
The clear waves rippled along the lakeside, a beautiful winter scene.
Zhuo Zi marched proudly, holding the shovel, when she suddenly heard a soft groan coming from a patch of grass hidden behind some scenery.
This sound—she'd recognize it even if it were from a horror movie!
Zhuo Shu, groaning and grumbling, said, "How could you be so rough? Can't you show me a little mercy?"
Ying Tongchen coldly responded, "Who told you to show me that video?"
"It’s just a clip and I’ve already uploaded it to my cloud," Zhuo Shu laughed, sounding like a lascivious villain in a bad movie. "We can watch it together next time."
Ying Tongchen immediately grabbed his ear.
"Ah! Ow, gentler gentler~"
Zhuo Zi stared vacantly at the lake, her mind clouded with dirty thoughts, raining down harder than the day Yiping asked her father for money—and even scarier!
(TLN: It’s a meme from the old 2001 drama ‘Romance in the Rain 情深深雨蒙蒙’. Watch the movie sum-up here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyt4I_OUWPU)
Every day I examine myself on these three points: Am I dirtyminded? Am I dirtyminded? I must be dirtyminded, right?
(TLN: Parody on a quote from the Analects of Confucius, where a disciple of Confucius remarks: "Every day I examine myself on these three points: in acting on behalf of others, have I always been loyal to their interests? In intercourse with my friends, have I always been true to my word? Have I failed to repeat the precepts that have been handed down to me? (为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎)". Credit: I used Ku Hungming’s English translation of the Analects.)
AHHHHHH!
Zhuo Zi threw the shovel away and left the filthy place without a second glance!
Zhuo Shu let out a sharp pained shout. He picked up the shovel that bounced off his head. "Who’s so inconsiderate and littering!?"