Fifteenth Meow

Before today, He Yunzhou had never known that there were times when embarrassment could be turned into substance.

However, he knows now.

During the short journey of helping Shu Ran from the foyer to the sofa, she had already sized up Huo Zheng from He Yunzhou.

“You’re that… that… right?” Shu Ran mysteriously winked at Huo Zheng.

Huo Zheng: “……”

He Yunzhou: “Shu Ran, you’re drunk.”

Shu Ran gave a drunken burp, then suddenly nodded seriously at Huo Zheng.

“I can tell… you… you’re… burp…” She suddenly paused, and after a short moment of daze, her eyes blurrily turned to He Yunzhou, “… I want to drink beer.”

Huo Zheng stared at Shu Ran’s face, took a deep breath, and didn’t say anything.

On the other side, He Yunzhou listened to Shu Ran’s raving, his scalp was about to explode for fear that she would accidentally say something that shouldn’t be said, making the whole scene more out of hand.

Fortunately, Shu Ran’s drinking wasn’t too bad. As long as she gets what she wants, she’ll settle down.

He Yunzhou braced himself to resettle Shu Ran on the sofa, then handed a beer bottle filled with iced black tea to the latter’s hand.

“Here, your drink.”

“I always feel that your beer at home is sweet…”

Shu Ran hehe-ed giggled a few words, holding the beer bottle in both hands, topped with a smell of alcohol on her face, she drank in small sips.

It wasn’t until Shu Ran calmed down did He Yunzhou breathed a sigh of relief—

But then he realized that the silence around him was a bit terrifying. 

“……”

He Yunzhou sighed soundlessly and turned to look at the other corner of the living room.

Huo Zheng didn’t hide his disdain for Shu Ran at all.

After walking into the living room, he dragged the single sofa directly to the corner farthest from Shu Ran and sat down his butt.

He seemed to be avoiding Shu Ran’s alcohol smell, but other than that, he also seemed to be slightly sulking.

Unfortunately, where the young and arrogant Mr. Huo settled himself, he happened to be leaning against Nangua’s cat climbing frame.

So when He Yunzhou looked back, what he saw was a frosty-faced Huo Zheng and a fat Nangua huddled together, staring at him and Shu Ran.

Huo Zheng’s whole body was written with displeasure while Nangua’s face was full of vigilance and curiosity.

At this moment, He Yunzhou seemed to see an unusually familiar image in that corner—the scene of Guaji and Nangua sitting in rows and secretly peeking into the living room was as if it was just yesterday, and He Yunzhou couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.

“I never knew it before… you’re quite good at coaxing people.”

And on the other side, watching He Yunzhou’s soft voice while deceiving the drunkard with iced black tea with an innocent face, Huo Zheng’s inexplicable anger in his body was becoming more and more exuberant, and his tone when he spoke was also very subtle.

Rather than being gloomy, it would be better to say it was resentment.

Realizing this, Huo Zheng’s heart tightened and he pursed his lips tightly.

“She’s just drunk.” After He Yunzhou came back to his senses, he hurriedly softened his voice and explained to Huo Zheng, “After all, she’s my friend. I couldn’t just ignore her.”

“En, I can tell.” Huo Zheng replied seemingly calmly. 

But this appearance fell on He Yunzhou’s eyes, and once again overlapped with Guaji’s look.

Ah, if Huo Zheng was really a cat, he would’ve probably have stuck up his tail now, leaned down, and began hissing in a low voice.

I didn’t expect that even the point of hating Shu Ran was exactly the same?

He Yunzhou couldn’t help but think. 

That’s right. Guaji also didn’t like Shu Ran when it was alive. Of course, Guaji has been the kind of cat that hates humans; except for He Yunzhou, it has a strong defense against everyone. However, it was probably because every Shu Ran’s visit was accompanied by drunkenness and crying, and the sound and smell she emitted were very strong, so Shu Ran was almost tied with another person for the first place of Guaji’s humans hate list.

……

The only fortunate thing for this night is probably that this situation that made things difficult for He Yunzhou didn’t last long.

Before Shu Ran could even finish drinking the can^[1]I thought it was a bottle?? of iced black tea beer, He Yunzhou’s phone rang.

He opened his phone and the words “Liang Mengmeng” came into view. 

It would be a lie to say that there is no heartache mixed with various tastes, but in the same way, Liang Mengmeng quickly found him is not surprising to He Yunzhou.

After all, the same process has been staged more than once in his house.

“I’m at the door, came to pick her up.”

Even after pressing the answer button, He Yunzhou felt déjà vu when he heard the words.

Opening the door, a slim woman walked in with ease. What is completely incompatible with the somewhat cute name is the blunt, cold aura, and slightly gloomy face on her body.^[2]Liang Mengmeng’s ‘Meng’ means cute, which I think a lot of us know now. Hehe.It can be said that at a glance, you know that she is the type that is completely difficult to deal with.

After entering the door, her gaze paused slightly on Huo Zheng in the corner, and her eyes became a little complicated.

But in the end, she only slightly lowered her head, softly said “Hello”, and completely ignored Huo Zheng.

“I’ve troubled you again this time, thank you.” Turning back, Liang Mengmeng said to He Yunzhou.

However, He Yunzhou always felt that Liang Mengmeng seemed to have aggravated the tone of the “troubled”, and her thanks was also a bit more solemn than he remembered.

When He Yunzhou was slightly stunned, Liang Mengmeng had calmly walked towards the sofa and directly held Shu Ran.

“A’Yan,^[3]Prefix used to indicate familiarityget up and go home.” She leaned into Shu Ran’s ear and said softly.

“Mengmeng?! Wah wuwuwuwu, you came to pick me up wuwuwuwu—“

As soon as she heard Liang Mengmeng’s voice, Shu Ran, who was previously as drunk as a dead dog, jumped up from the sofa and hugged her lover’s waist tightly.

The next moment, she yelled, half crying and half laughing.

“Mengmeng, you’re not angry with me anymore, right? We’re not going to break up, right? Wuwuwu—”

“En.”

Faced with Shu Ran, who was snotty and tearful, with a pitiful expression and a smell of alcohol, Liang Mengmeng’s expression gradually became gentle.

Seeing that Shu Ran was really about to cry out, she stretched out her hand and touched Shu Ran’s messy hair. 

“Don’t cry,” she said.

Shu Ran buried her head in her shoulder, sobbed a little, her voice lowered, “En, I won’t cry.” 

She obviously didn’t say a single sappy word and didn’t do anything.

But at this moment, anyone can feel that the two people who are hugging each other tightly are deeply in love.

He Yunzhou stood somewhat woodenly not far from the two, lowering his eyes. 

At the other end of the room, Huo Zheng stared at Shu Ran and Liang Mengmeng somewhat annoyed, his face gloomy.

He felt a very odd, unexplainable displeasure.

Especially after discovering He Yunzhou, who was standing there with a smile on his face and motionless. This strange mood swelled to a level he couldn’t control.

He Yunzhou’s smile… Why does it look so sad?

Huo Zheng’s gaze couldn’t extricate himself and stay on He Yunzhou’s somewhat melancholic side profile.

The chest was very heavy, no, should I say, itchy? Huo Zheng couldn’t find any words to describe this feeling. He had an impulse to rush over and hug He Yunzhou, and then throw the two women who were so happy that they were desperately^[4]as if their life depends on itemitting pink bubbles out of He Yunzhou’s house.

But that woman came here clearly to take away that drunkard, so why did she still make him so irritable?

Huo Zheng really hated He Yunzhou’s smile at this time.

……

Huo Zheng was still contemplating on this side, but Shu Ran has completely calmed down on that side.

In the second half of her drunkenness, Shu Ran seemed a little drowsy. Liang Mengmeng directly embraced her, who still staggered a little while walking, and planned to leave.

He Yunzhou barely maintained the gentle smile on his face and sent the two people out of the door. 

“Goodbye.” He waved his hand at them.

Next, he should calmly turn around and calmly close the door.

And then, wait.

Wait for the next time his door opened once again, and Shu Ran to barge in once again, and be taken away by Liang Mengmeng once again.

He Yunzhou thought that this time he could digest the pain as usual.

However, the moment the door was closed, he subconsciously looked up and saw Shu Ran’s back.

The person who once lit up his life leaned on the shoulder of another person, step by step, gradually moving away from him.

He Yunzhou’s brain went blank for a moment.

“I’ll send her off.”

In a trance, He Yunzhou only gave this curt explanation to Huo Zheng, then rushed out the door.

……

In front of the elevator entrance, Liang Mengmeng, who saw He Yunzhou again, looked a little surprised.

“Yunzhou? What’s wrong… is something the matter?”

“That…”

He Yunzhou abruptly stopped and looked at the lovers snuggled up in front of him.

Reason gradually returned to his body, but the pain entrenched in his heart increased every second.

Shu Ran’s breakup ended again, just like so many times before. All along, He Yunzhou was just a small prop in their relationship. Now that the little love affair between them has come to an end, why should he foolishly run out to humiliate himself?

He Yunzhou seemed to hear an extremely cold voice whispering in his ear.

“You two still need to live well.”^[5]Telling them to be on good termsShu Ran, actually, I like you.)

The next moment, He Yunzhou heard himself speaking in a gentle, unfamiliar voice.

“Don’t toss and turn if you can.”^[6]He’s telling them not to repeat things over and over again.I’m still counting on to when I could go to the United States to freeload on a wedding banquet.”

(I have always, always, always liked you for so many years.)

“You two can be regarded as an example of true love for so many years. My confidence in love depends on you.”

The lights in the corridor flickered slightly, and at that moment, Liang Mengmeng’s expression seemed to become a little strange.

But when He Yunzhou settled down to look again, neither Shu Ran nor Liang Mengmeng was the same as before. 

“Hehehe… You too… Classmate He…”

Before Liang Mengmeng could speak, Shu Ran had already spoken with a giggle. 

Although she cried like a dog in He Yunzhou’s house before, now when she returned to Liang Mengmeng, she immediately became happy like a child celebrating Chinese New Year.

“You have to be on good terms with Mr. Be Good ah… I think he’s quite good… and… he’s much more handsome than that bullshit Ouyang… As expected of my best friend, you have good eyes… I think you’re also very sticky to him before… hooh,^[7]exhale slowly.I can see that, you treat him differently…”

As she said that, she also winked at He Yunzhou and stretched out her thumb, incessantly gesturing.

Liang Mengmeng also spoke at the right time, “Congratulations.”

When He Yunzhou heard this, he knew that the two had really misunderstood Huo Zheng’s identity. 

“Actually, that what, you guys misunderstood, he’s not my love interest…”

He wanted to explain.

That person is not really his love interest, and he’s not really gay—

But in the middle of speaking, He Yunzhou’s sight accidentally fell on Shu Ran and Liang Mengmeng’s interlocked hands once again.

Countless scenes flashed in his mind like lanterns for a moment, the pain of not being able to ask for it, the years of secret love, the disguised calm and sorrowful blessings… instantly swelled, pervaded, and irremediable.

As if demons and gods were at work, He Yunzhou’s mind moved slightly as if he was controlled by another person, he finished the latter half of his sentence. 

“… I haven’t succeeded yet, and now I’m still trying to pursue him. After all, he’s such a handsome person, so it’s hard to chase him.” 

Thump thump—

Thump thump—

Thump thump—

Thump thump—

He Yunzhou didn’t know that in a corner he couldn’t see just behind him, a man suddenly turned around and pressed his back hard against the cold wall.

---

The author has something to say:

Huo Zheng: Heh, you said it yourself, I’m very hard to chase (・‘ヘ′・;)ゞ

---

T/N: Oh my… He Yunzhou…

Anyway, hello! This is Nen. I assume everyone would’ve known the current events and this novel happens to be under there, too. That said, I’ll be laying low and would update more slowly than before until it’s clear with what’s about to happen. It’s either this will be discontinued or not. But I would still translate this ’till it’s allowed. This novel isn’t much popular than others, but it’s better to be safe.

Thanks for understanding! ?

tl;dr: We’ll be now in a slower update and in a wait and see period.