Mistaken Canary Chapter 77 (Part 1)
Chapter 77.1
After starting middle school, Tei Cher no longer kept his distance from Lae Leon.
First, because their former classmates had all went into different classes, and nobody was paying attention anymore to whether they were enemies or not.
Second, not long after school started, Lae Leon was being extorted for protection fees.
Lae Leon’s family was wealthy and well-known throughout the county.
But there were always a few dropouts and small-time thugs looking to make some easy cash.
One day, Tei Cher had made plans with friends to play basketball after school. They were having so much fun that they lost track of time.
By the time they left campus, it was nearly dark.
As he passed the entrance of an alley, Tei Cher vaguely heard Lae Leon’s voice, followed by several boys speaking harshly: “Hurry up and hand over the money.”
Tei Cher quietly slipped inside and saw Lae Leon surrounded by a few boys, his white shirt marked with several footprints.
He spun the ball in his hand, then threw it, hitting the leading boy right on the forehead.
In an instant, a fierce scuffle broke out. Knowing there was no way to beat all our four opponents without getting hurt, Tei Cher pulled Lae Leon close and shielded his head while they ran out of the alley. “Run!”
Lae Leon glanced at the cut on Tei Cher’s forehead, then suddenly turned and grabbed a wooden plank from the roadside. He threw it hard at the pursuing boys, and a sharp scream echoed immediately.
Seeing Lae Leon’s cold expression and ruthless action, the other three boys hesitated, afraid to move forward.
Tei Cher was startled, unsure if the plank had nails in it and worried it might cause serious harm.
When someone nearby tried to sneak-attack Lae Leon, Tei Cher reacted without thinking—he kicked the attacker away, then dragged him to a nearby pigpen and threw him inside.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Tei Cher grabbed Lae Leon’s hand and ran straight home.
“Uncle Lae, someone just tried to rob Xiao Lion,” Tei Cher tattled eagerly as soon as they reached Lae Leon’s house.
The two boys often visited each other, so the adults already knew they were close.
Seeing both boys dirty and disheveled, their parents questioned them while tending to their wounds.
After mooching dinner from the Lae’s, Tei Cher was about to head home. Just as he reached the courtyard gate, Lae Leon caught up to him. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Sure,” Tei Cher said, giving him a thumbs-up. “You were so badass. Have you been secretly practicing some martial arts or what?”
“What you eat will always turn into strength,” Lae Leon replied.
“So will Uncle Lae help out?”
“He said he’ll send someone to check the area tomorrow.”
Tei Cher nodded. “That’s good, but I’m still a bit worried. From now on, just like before, wait for me to go home together. You don’t have to wait at the school gate, just wait for me in the classro—”
“I waited for you, but you took forever,” Lae Leon said, his words carried a trace of bitterness; chances are he vented it all on that gang of punks.
Feeling guilty, Tei Cher grabbed his hand and patted it. “There won’t be a next time. If I ever play ball again, I–I—I’ll bring you along. Okay?”
“You better keep your word.”
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you before?”
Lae Leon said, “You did. You clearly promised me you’d study hard.”
“Look at you, changing the subject. Let’s just get back to talking about basketball.”
Lae Leon gave him a disappointed look. He punched him lightly, and Tei Cher yelped. Thinking he’d hit a wound, Lae Leon quickly felt him over. “Where does it hurt?”
Tei Cher laughed, grabbing both his hands. “Hey, if you were a girl, that’d be considered immoral behavior*.”
(TLN: Back in the 70s~80s, men and women could be arrested for indecent behavior. As long as they were not betrothed, even indoors, it was something unlawful they could get arrested for it. It’s very strict, indecent behavior includes just dancing really close, or getting handsy.)
“Pooey.” Lae Leon scoffed. “With your toad-like face, no woman would ever want to act immorally to you.”
“Hey, that’s not true,” Tei Cher protested.
“Who then?”
“Let me think… Huang Rong! Huang Rong especially likes my face!” Tei Cher grinned.
(TLN: Huang Rong is a fictional female protagonist in the wuxia novel ‘The Legend of the Condor Heroes’ by Jin Yong.)
Back then, the boys spent their days reading Jin Yong’s novels. Tei Cher didn’t have any books, so he’d go to Lae Leon’s house and they’d read one together.
Sometimes, when it got late, they’d sneak under the covers to keep reading quietly, whispering debates over whether the Eighteen Palms of Dragon-subduing or the Sunflower Manual was stronger.
Lae Leon scoffed, “Go away, you shameless one.”
“What do you mean shameless?” Tei Cher shot back, ready to pull a fast one—until his gaze landed on Lae Leon’s face and he zoned out.
The moon was full that night, its silver light spilling like water.
Lae Leon was naturally fair-skinned, and under the thin veil of moonlight, he looked just like the celestial Chang’e that elders often spoke of.
(TLN: Chang'e (嫦娥), originally known as Heng'e (姮娥), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. She is renowned for her beauty.)
He grinned cheekily, “Since no woman wants to act immorally to me, how about you, Xiao Lion? Since we’re good friends, if you do act on it, I definitely won’t get you in trouble.”
Lae Leon’s hands were in a tight grip, and the more Tei Cher leaned in, the more frustrated he became. Blushing furiously, he finally rammed his forehead into Tei Cher’s.
Tei Cher had only meant to tease him and was ready to pull back when he saw Lae Leon’s face turn red—only to accidentally collide, his lips brushing against Lae Leon’s forehead.
Both froze for a moment.
Tei Cher suddenly laughed, “Do you remember how Linghu Chong kissed Ren Yingying the first time they met?”
(TLN: These two are characters from Jin Yong’s novel ‘The Smiling, Proud Wanderer’. Ren Yingying meets Linghu Chong while in disguise as a guqin-playing old woman. When her true appearance gets revealed, Linghu Chong couldn’t help but kiss her on the cheeks after a short scuffle.)
Lae Leon immediately pushed him away, fuming, and stormed off.
But Tei Cher followed behind with a smirk, “Aiyo, I don’t even remember how Linghu Chong and Ren Yingying ended up. Xiao Lion, you remind me.”
(TLN: Spoiler, Linghu Chong eventually retires from the jianghu to lead a peaceful life with Ren Yingying.)
Lae Leon snapped, “You’ve got such a bad memory, you pighead! I’m never lending you books again! What a waste!”
The two bickered all the way to the communal apartment. Seeing how late it had gotten, Tei Cher grew worried. “How about I walk you back?”
Lae Leon: “.”
…
Tei Cher, worried those troublemakers might come back, started waiting for Lae Leon to finish his homework in the classroom every day before they went home together.
Sometimes, when he really couldn’t resist playing basketball, he’d drag Lae Leon to the edge of the playground. One would play ball while the other did homework.
Around ten girls by the sidelines kept calling out Tei Cher’s name loudly, making it impossible for Lae Leon to concentrate.
After shooting a basket, Tei Cher proudly struck a cool pose toward Lae Leon—only to notice that Lae Leon had already slung his backpack and was walking away. Tei Cher hurried after him, “You already finished your homework?”
“Too noisy. I’m going home to do it,” Lae Leon replied.
“Alright then,” Tei Cher said, running back to the court.
Lae Leon snorted and quickened his pace.
It wasn’t until he reached the school gate that Lae Leon heard panting and shouting behind him. Turning around, he saw Tei Cher carrying a faded cloth bag, bouncing in rhythm with his steps.
“Why didn’t you wait for me? I went back to get my bag and you disappeared,” Tei Cher said, resting a hand on Lae Leon’s shoulder, catching his breath. “Ge’s tired, Xiao Lion, carry me.”
“You’re as heavy as a pig.”
“You heartless jerk; calling me a pig, huh?” Tei Cher grabbed Lae Leon’s neck from behind. When that didn’t get a reaction, he switched to pinching his cheeks, fascinated. “Why does your face just keep getting softer and softer? So weird. Could it be from all that milk you drink every day?”
“If you want to grow taller, you should drink more too,” Lae Leon said.
“My family’s poor. Just having enough to eat is a luxury,” Tei Cher laughed, carefree.
…
The next day, Tei Cher was dozing on his desk when someone nudged him awake.
“Here,” Lae Leon handed him a bottle of milk, instantly causing a wave of envy to ripple through the whole class.
Tei Cher asked, “You’re not drinking it?”
“No, I’m full.”
“That won’t do; you need to grow taller.”
“I said you should take it, so take it,” Lae Leon said, turning back to his seat.
After a moment, Tei Cher walked over and said, “Then I’ll just have a little taste.”
He pulled out an iron lunchbox, poured some milk into it, then put the milk bottle back on Lae Leon’s desk. “This way we both get to drink it, haha! I’m so smart.”
Truthfully, Tei Cher knew Lae Leon had given it to him on purpose. His family couldn’t get milk delivered, so to repay Lae Leon, so he shoved every last bit of meat from his lunch into Lae Leon’s bowl every day, insisting it was top-quality pig meat, one that shared an ancestry with Marshal Tianpeng.
(TLN: Marshal Tianpeng (天蓬元帅, 'Heavenly Marshal Canopy') is a deity in Chinese mythology and Taoism. He is best known for his role in the classic Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West (西游记)’, where he is reincarnated as Zhu Bajie, one of the main disciples of the monk Tang Sanzang.)
Tei Cher enjoyed three years of free milk and gave Lae Leon three years of meat slices in return. Over those years, both of them grew quite a bit.
But they did have a falling out once, and Lae Leon ignored him for a while.
In their second year of middle school, during a biology class, Tei Cher learned about wet dreams.
At first, he was relieved—thank goodness, it wasn’t bedwetting.
But when he looked more closely at the explanation, things got complicated.
He vividly remembered his first wet dream—he dreamed of Lae Leon wearing celestial Chang’e’s clothes. He had played with him and even kissed his cheek.
The next morning, he thought he had wet the bed and blamed Lae Leon for giving him too much milk.
After class, he dragged a few boys to the bathroom to ask who they had dreamt about.
Every answer was a girl.
And when they asked him, Tei Cher wouldn’t dare to admit he had dreamed about a buddy.
“I dreamt of Chang’e,” he lied.
Everyone burst out laughing.
Just then, Lae Leon came out of the stall. The classmates asked him who he dreamed of.
While washing his hands, Lae Leon replied, “Marshal Tianpeng.”
The boys laughed so hard they were pounding the walls. Tei Cher laughed too, “Did you eat too much meat? That’s why you’re having nightmares?”
“Exactly. A huge nightmare,” Lae Leon replied quietly.