Chapter 54 – Too Late
by Salted FishWei Lai said, “Go say hello. It’d be awkward to cancel last minute. Offer her some tea and grab some snacks for Wei Gui. I know you’re not good at small talk, so just sit nearby. Yan Xueni talks a lot, so just give a few ‘mhms’ and don’t look impatient.”
“Yan Xueni won’t stay long with the kid. Once the tea is almost done, stand up like you’re going to refill her cup—she’ll take the hint and leave on her own.”
Chu Yin listened carefully, fascinated by this human interaction strategy, and nodded in understanding. He asked, “Is this the etiquette for when relatives visit?”
Wei Lai: “…Sort of. Oh, and try not to let them come upstairs to see me. It’d be awkward.”
After Wei Lai’s crash course, Chu Yin felt his social skills had leveled up significantly. He went downstairs and opened the door to find Yan Xueni and Wei Gui standing outside.
Wei Gui was a delicate, fashionably dressed little boy with a neat watermelon haircut. Tipping his face—which looked eerily like Wei Lai’s—up at Chu Yin, he gasped in excitement and exclaimed, “Mommy, it really is the handsome brother from TV!”
Chu Yin: “…”
Wei Gui bounced forward and wrapped himself around Chu Yin’s leg. From who-knows-where, he produced a piece of chocolate, standing on tiptoe to hold it up to Chu Yin. In a sweet, childish voice, he said, “I like you. Will you eat my chocolate?”
Reality was brutal. Chu Yin hadn’t expected Wei Gui to be this enthusiastic, clinging to his leg like that. His social skills bar was rapidly depleting. He took the chocolate, face stern. “Thanks.”
As soon as he spoke, Chu Yin regretted how cold he sounded—had he hurt the child’s feelings?
But Wei Gui jumped in excitement. “If you take my chocolate, you have to marry me!”
Chu Yin: “…?”
Yan Xueni looked pained as she yanked Wei Gui off Chu Yin’s leg by his little backpack, sighing. “Sorry about that. This kid’s a total flirt—if you’re good-looking, he’ll go for it. He once charmed his whole kindergarten into chaos.”
Chu Yin thought, Isn’t this just a Slutty Wei 2.0 version?
Yan Xueni peeked inside. “Did I come too early? Is Wei Lai still asleep?”
Following Wei Lai’s instructions precisely, Chu Yin invited them in. “I’ll pour you some tea.”
Yan Xueni waved him off. “No need, I’m not thirsty. I’ll just sit and wait. You go do your thing.”
Chu Yin thought seriously for a moment, then declared solemnly, “I have to pour you tea. Even if you’re not thirsty, it’s basic social etiquette. And later, I’ll refill your cup.” Then you can leave!
Yan Xueni once again felt Chu Yin’s inexplicable intensity: “…Uh, sure, go ahead then.”
Satisfied, Chu Yin brewed her a cup of floral tea, feeling like he’d made great progress under Wei Lai’s guidance—he was practically a social butterfly now.
After serving Yan Xueni her tea, Chu Yin also piled a mountain of snacks in front of Wei Gui.
But Wei Gui barely glanced at the snacks, his attention captured by Big Orange. He dashed forward, but the chubby cat wasn’t about to let a tiny human catch it. With a flick of its fat butt, it leapt onto the tall cat tree, dangling its fluffy tail and swishing it left and right—as if taunting the tiny human below. Wei Gui stretched and strained, meowing desperately, trying every trick to lure Big Orange down.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere between Chu Yin and Yan Xueni was… odd.
Chu Yin sat across from Yan Xueni, his dark, gleaming eyes fixed on her.
Yan Xueni: “…”
Chu Yin stared unblinkingly: —Intense gaze—
Yan Xueni and Chu Yin locked eyes. She rubbed her hands together nervously.
Chu Yin said coldly, “Drink your tea.”
Yan Xueni: “…”
She took a tiny sip, thinking, Did he put rat poison in this…?
Chu Yin kept staring. After a while, he repeated, “Drink your tea.”
Under the pressure of Chu Yin’s intimidating aura, Yan Xueni gulped down a big mouthful this time. She forced a smile. “This tea’s pretty fragrant, huh?”
Chu Yin gave a single “Mhm.”
Outside the suffocating silence between Chu Yin and Yan Xueni, Wei Gui’s chaotic attempts to catch the cat were especially loud. Finally, Yan Xueni seized the chance to escape. “Wei Gui! Stop making noise, you’re scaring the cat! Come do your summer homework!”
Wei Gui grumbled but obediently shuffled over, opening his backpack and sprawling across the coffee table to work on his assignments.
Yan Xueni finally found an opening to vent about Wei Gui’s antics.
Wei Gui wasn’t some adorable genius—he was a little demon. At school, he barely studied, too busy flirting. With his cute face and sweet words, no one—boy or girl—could escape his charms. His classmates fought over him, turning the school upside down.
Yan Xueni sighed deeply. “We hired tutors, but the strict ones? Wei Gui hated them and threw tantrums. The lenient ones couldn’t control this brat. Tutoring classes didn’t work either—people kept sending their kids in just to suck up to Wei Gangzheng, bringing gifts at every chance. Sigh… Parenting these days is hard.”
Chu Yin gave another “Mhm,” then asked, “What about Wei Lai?”
Yan Xueni blinked. “Huh? Isn’t Wei Lai still asleep?”
Chu Yin clarified, “I mean, what was Wei Lai like as a kid?”
That stumped Yan Xueni—as Wei Lai’s stepmom, five years his junior, how would she know?
After some thought, she said, “From what his dad told me, he was basically never any trouble. Super well-behaved. There’s a big box at home filled with his awards, certificates, and trophies.”
Chu Yin thought wistfully, If only I were a girl. If he were a girl, he could openly go home with Wei Lai, see his childhood room, flip through his awards, maybe even laugh over embarrassing childhood photos with his family.
But alas, he was a grown man.
Wei Gui hit a snag on the very first question of his summer homework. He looked up and asked, “Mommy, how do you read this word?”
Yan Xueni glanced at it and snapped, “You don’t even know this? It’s pe! Pe pe lan lan (破破烂烂)!”
Chu Yin, mid-melancholy, suddenly snapped out of it, staring at Yan Xueni in shock—Wasn’t that character pronounced po?!
Wei Gui went “Oh,” then froze, pencil in hand. Yan Xueni barked, “What’s wrong? Write it! Hurry up!”
Wei Gui flopped his head onto the table in defeat. “I don’t know how.”
Yan Xueni grabbed his head and wrote the pinyin for “破” (po) on the paper. Chu Yin peeked and sighed in relief—At least the spelling was right, even if the pronunciation was wrong.
Wei Gui gripped his pencil and kept writing. Yan Xueni watched for a bit before suddenly roaring, “I told you to make a word with ‘看’ (look)! What the hell is this?!”
Wei Gui blinked innocently. “Isn’t ‘看个屁1A colloquialism meaning “what’s there to look at?” or “nonsense!” but literally means “look at a fart.”‘ (look at a fart) a word? Daddy said three-character words exist too!”
“‘看见’ (catch sight of), ‘看清’ (see clearly), ‘看电视’ (watch TV)—there are so many ‘look’ words! Why did you pick ‘look at a fart’?! And you even wrote ‘屁’ (fart) wrong!” Yan Xueni chugged her tea in frustration. “Erase it and rewrite!”
Wei Gui plopped his head back onto the table. “But Daddy says ‘look at a fart’ all the time! Why can’t I write it?”
Yan Xueni was at a loss. In her panic, she pointed at Chu Yin. “Ask your brother why you can’t write it!”
Yan Xueni looked at Chu Yin pleadingly. Wei Gui stared up at him with big eyes. Chu Yin suddenly felt the crushing pressure of tutoring a child. Slowly, he said, “Because… you shouldn’t show your butt to others, and we shouldn’t look at others’ butts.”
Wei Gui argued, “But Mommy saw my butt!”
Chu Yin: “Well… Only if they love you, and you love them, can they see your butt.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Chu Yin’s ears burned with embarrassment, flashing back to certain indecent moments with Wei Lai. He desperately wanted to teleport back upstairs and bury himself in Wei Lai’s arms.
Just then, Yan Xueni’s cup emptied. Chu Yin sprang up like a jack-in-the-box and announced formally, “I’ll refill your tea.”
Yan Xueni really didn’t want to endure Chu Yin’s intense tea-drinking supervision anymore. She stood hastily. “No need! I came too early. I’ll take Wei Gui out for a bit. Call me when you’re ready.”
Chu Yin asked, “Are you sure you don’t want more tea?”
Yan Xueni was firm. “No.”
Chu Yin’s admiration for Wei Lai soared—So giving the guest another cup of tea really does make them leave!
Chu Yin added, “Mm… Wei Lai isn’t feeling well, so he’ll have to take Wei Gui out another day.”
Though Yan Xueni wasn’t highly educated, she was sharp. If Wei Lai was actually sick, it wouldn’t be something minor like a cold—he’d only hide if it was something serious he couldn’t bear others seeing.
Worried, she asked, “What’s wrong? Did the tumor in his brain come back?”
Chu Yin’s breath hitched. It took him a moment to find his voice again. “…Wei Lai had a tumor?”
Yan Xueni counted on her fingers. “About six or seven years ago? That kid’s too proud—even when he was seriously ill, he refused to show weakness. Didn’t tell anyone, just hired a nurse in the hospital and barely pulled through.”
Six or seven years ago… Wasn’t that when Wei Lai had just gotten together with him?
Chu Yin pressed for more details, but Yan Xueni didn’t know much else.
After Yan Xueni left with the little demon Wei Gui, Chu Yin floated like a ghost back upstairs and into the bedroom.
Wei Lai was asleep, face buried in a pillow, snoring softly.
Chu Yin whispered, “How many more things are you hiding from me, you liar…”
Wei Lai slept on, undisturbed, his little snores peaceful.
Chu Yin climbed onto the bed as quietly as he could, curling up beside Wei Lai. It was rare to see Wei Lai sleep so soundly—usually, when Chu Yin got into bed, Wei Lai would stir slightly, either rolling over or pulling him into his arms. Chu Yin wanted to cry, to demand answers—when did Wei Lai come out? When did he have a tumor? But he held back. Wei Lai must be feeling terrible. He shouldn’t disturb him with old wounds.
Love was indulgence, but also restraint. Chu Yin decided to rely on his memory to piece together the truth.
Outside the window, the blue sky and white clouds resembled the bright Australian sun. A plane streaked across the sky as Chu Yin and Wei Lai had collapsed into bed as soon as they got home.
Six years ago, after My Idol at Home finished filming, Wei Lai no longer needed to act as Chu Yin’s temporary manager and returned to his usual routine—playing mahjong when free, and not being disturbed when playing mahjong.
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