Qiu Xian's teacher, surnamed Lin, was 75 years old this year. When he was young, he went abroad on government scholarship and studied single-mindedly for more than ten years in America before returning to China to teach. He was now the honorary dean of the Huaguo Academy of Fine Arts and people called him "Lin Taoli." No matter who met him, they addressed him deferentially as "Teacher Lin."
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
Qiu Xian: "Teacher Lin has stopped teaching undergraduates along time ago. I was in the last class of graduate students he mentored. Now he has only two PhD students under him. Yiheng, I think you must know that Teacher Lin writing a letter of recommendation for you is a great honor."
Xiao Yiheng was really talented in painting. Qiu Xian cherished his talent and was unwilling to let it go to waste. But Qiu Xian also knew that Xiao Yiheng's academic performance had always ranked first in his grade, and he had won countless awards in academic competitions. No matter which university he applied to, he would get a full scholarship.
Making a child who was among the best academically abandon what ordinary people considered a "bright road" and choose a thorny and winding path of art... If others knew this, they would definitely think she was crazy.
"In fact, the key point of this matter is not just 'talent,' but whether you truly like painting. Talent is important, but your heart is even more important. If you prefer physics or mathematics to painting, then certainly I support you going to Huaqing university. But if you feel that painting is more important, then I sincerely hope that you can become my junior brother." Qiu Xian looked at the silent Xiao Yiheng and said this from the bottom of her heart.
"...Thank you, teacher." Xiao Yiheng nodded, the expression on his face solemn and serious. "I'll consider this matter carefully."
"It's okay, you can think about it as long as you want." Qiu Xian folded the letter of recommendation and put it back in the envelope. "This winter break, Huaguo will also be holding a winter camp. As long as you have this letter of recommendation, the winter camp will reserve a spot for you. Even if you have not signed up, you can still join the camp with other students just by showing this letter of recommendation when you report for camp."
...
In the living room, Xu Jun held the baby in her arms and awkwardly patted the baby's back, but no matter how she did it, she couldn't get the baby to burp.
As an alpha, she had more than enough stamina to stay up late for work. She could stay up late for two or three days in a row without sleeping while rushing to finish architectural drawings, and still be in good spirits; but as a novice mother, she was overwhelmed by a little guy weighing only a few pounds. When the child cried in the middle of the night, she had to get up to feed him and change his diapers.
Xu Jun fumbled around for a long time and finally couldn't help but ask for help from the other person in the room.
"Student Li Cheng, do you know how to look after children?"
Li Cheng was sitting on the sofa idly playing on his phone. Hearing this, his hand shook and he looked at Xu Jun in shock.
He pointed to his blond hair and asked incredulously, "Look at my appearance. I scare kids to tears when I go out, as if I have 'Brat Killer' plastered on my forehead. Why on earth do you think I can take care of children??"
"...Uh, because you're an omega?"
"...Then aren't you a woman?"
The omega boy and the alpha woman looked at each other and sighed at the same time.
Li Cheng put away his phone, walked through the pillows and toys scattered all over the floor, and went to the cradle, wanting to see how he could help. Xu Jun was sitting on the small sofa next to the cradle, holding the baby in her arms and gently patting his back.
When Youyou was born, Li Cheng was only eight years old. His parents were still alive at that time, so they naturally wouldn't let an eight-year-old take care of a baby. Therefore, in the eyes of eight-year-old Li Cheng, Youyou was just a cute little doll. His parents took care of all her needs, and he only needed to play with his baby sister.
But now Li Cheng was seventeen years old and almost an adult. In his eyes at this age, the chubby month-old baby was like a time bomb, both fragile and terrifying.
Li Cheng couldn't help asking: "Aren't there many baby care centers now? I saw in the news that babies born in artificial wombs are raised in childcare centers until they are three months old before going home. Why don't you send him to a baby care center? It would be so worry free!"
Xu Jun shook her head while patting the baby's back: "The baby was born naturally, and the childcare center won't take him. And even if they do, Qiu Xian is reluctant to send him there. No golden or silver house is as good as the hut she built with her own hands. Every single plush toy was chosen by her and every blanket was knitted by her."
As she said this, Xu Jun pointed to the baby's swaddling clothes: "Look at this corner of the cloth, doesn't it look old? This is one of my shirts. Qiu Xian tore off a corner and sewed it onto the swaddling clothes because she said it would have my scent. Actually, undifferentiated children can't smell pheromones at all, but Qiu Xian can. Building a nest isn't only for the child, but also for the omega themself."
Li Cheng listened, seemingly understanding but not quite. Nesting behavior wasn't common to every omega; at least, he hadn't experienced it yet. According to the book, after marking, an omega would yearn for the alpha's pheromones and might even actively collect things used by the alpha to build a nest.
It was really baffling. He had also been marked (cough), but he didn't think Xiao Yiheng's pheromones had any special attraction.
Just as Li Cheng's thoughts went wandering, Xu Jun finally managed to lull the baby to sleep. She gently put the baby back into the cradle.
Seeing this scene, Li Cheng felt even more strongly that it was not easy to raise a child. When he married in the future, he would never have a baby! It was terrifying; raising a baby was much more difficult than raising a duck...
Just as they were watching the baby sleep in the cradle, the door of the study was opened. Qiu Xian and Xiao Yiheng walked out one after the other, both looking calm, as if their private conversation had ended.
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
Li Cheng suspected that he must have been killed by curiosity in his previous life. He badly wanted to know what they had talked about, but he was unwilling to ask Xiao Yiheng directly, because that would make him seem like he cared about him.
It was noon in the blink of an eye.
Qiu Xian had the two boys stay for lunch. Xu Jun and she cooked the meal together. They were swift, and made five dishes and a soup in forty minutes. Although they were all simple dishes, Li Cheng was particularly enthusiastic and ate without raising his head, praising them as delicious again and again. He even ate three bowls of rice.
Xiao Yiheng couldn't help reminding him: "Aren't you afraid to eating away your abs?"
"It's fine. I'll go back and swim three kilometers, and my abs will be back." Li Cheng, having had his fill, finally put down his chopsticks and started drinking the soup. "If I were on the scale now, I'd surely be two kilograms heavier than this morning!"
Qiu Xian suppressed her laughter: "You're exaggerating too much. Both of us have ordinary cooking skills; this is just ordinary everyday food."
"The food tastes so delicious because it's home-cooked!" Li Cheng said seriously. "It's been seven... no, almost eight years since I had this kind of home-cooked food!"
Xu Jun asked curiously, "Don't your parents usually cook?"
Qiu Xian winked at her quickly and kicked her several times under the table. The female alpha was totally confused by her partner's kicks, having no idea what she had said wrong.
Li Cheng saw what was happening between them and joked: "Teacher Qiu, please stop kicking her! The table is shaking because of your kicks; it's going to collapse in a bit."
"..." Qiu Xian mumbled, "Where do I have so much strength?!"
The school staff all knew that Li Cheng was an orphan. Qiu Xian had never mentioned this to her lover before, but she never expected that Xu Jun would accidentally touch on Li Cheng's wound.
"My parents left early, so you don't have to feel sorry for me. It's been so many years, I accepted it a long time ago." Li Cheng smiled, his tone quite relaxed. "And she didn't mean it. She didn't even know about it. Don't worry, I'm not that fragile, and I..."
"Li Cheng, eat some fish." Xiao Yiheng, who was sitting next to him, suddenly picked out a piece of fish for him, and it was the tenderest and most intact piece of fish from the tail. All the fish bones were removed in advance, and what fell in Li Cheng's bowl was a clean and white piece of fish. "Eat fish and swim fast."
Li Cheng was taken aback: "What kind of feudal superstition is this?"
"This is not feudal superstition, it's a good omen."
With his interruption, the conversation about Li Cheng's parents unconsciously closed. Li Cheng concentrated on eating the fish, while Xiao Yiheng concentrated on picking out fish for him. For a while, the atmosphere was unexpectedly good.
Xu Jun's eyes fell on the two children, and she vaguely guessed something.
In order to celebrate the birth of Qiu Xian's baby, Li Cheng proposed a toast. They didn't drink alcohol; instead, they drank ice-cold coke that had just been taken from the refrigerator.
There were crystal water droplets condensed on the outer wall of the can. One sip of the cold drink made the scalp numb. Li Cheng drank too fast and choked, accidentally spilling some on his T-shirt.
He was wearing a light-colored T-shirt today, and when the coke spilled on it, a large black patch instantly appeared.
Xiao Yiheng took out a tissue and handed it to him: "How old are you? You still spill coke on yourself while drinking?"
Li Cheng hmphed, "You don't know how old your venerable father is? If you're filial, hurry up and take off your clothes and let me wear them."
He originally wanted to take verbal advantage of Xiao Yiheng's words, but he didn't expect Xiao Yiheng to actually take off his T-shirt and give it to him without saying a word.
Li Cheng was taken aback and subconsciously pressed down on his clothes, squeaking: "Xiao Yiheng, don't act like a hoodlum! And...and...and there are outsiders here! My own clothes are good enough, why would I wear yours?"
Xiao Yiheng raised his eyebrows: "Don't you think your clothes are dirty?"
"I think your stinky clothes smell worse!"
Of course Xiao Yiheng's clothes weren't smelly. Not only were they not smelly, if you smelled carefully, you could faintly detect the refreshing scent of alpine cedar. As for Li Cheng's T-shirt, besides smelling like coke, it also carried a smell of baby milk. It was probably from playing with the baby.
Li Cheng was 1.83 meters tall. Qiu Xian took out the longest T-shirt in the house, but it looked like a tight-fitting crop top on him. There was no other way; Li Cheng had to continue wearing his dirty T-shirt with a bitter face.
"How about this?" Xiao Yiheng thought for a minute, "Aren't you coming to my house to get homework later? I'll find you a coat. You can just wear it on the T-shirt, and no one will notice."
Since they needed to reach Xiao Yiheng's house as soon as possible to get the coat, they didn't continue to bother Qiu Xian's family.
Qiu Xian stayed home to take care of the baby, while Xu Jun sent the two children all the way to the outside of the community.
Along the way, Li Cheng kept trying to cover the coke stain on his chest with both hands, looking stupid, as if he was always worried that others would see him.
Xiao Yiheng said helplessly, "I told you to switch clothes with me."
Li Cheng whistled, letting his words go in one ear and right out the other, acting as if he didn't hear anything.
Xu Jun, who had been a silent background figure for a long time, suddenly said: "...Actually, you two are in love, right?"
Xiao Yiheng: "..."
Li Cheng: "??? No, no, it's not like that."
Xu Jun: "I guessed it already. You two came out alone today because you're on a date, aren't you."
Xiao Yiheng: "..."
Li Cheng: "??? Really no, really no, you don't know what you're talking about!!"
Xu Jun nodded: "Don't worry, I won't tell your Teacher Qiu about this. After all, it's best to keep puppy love out of the teacher's sight."
She showed an auntie smile, patted Xiao Yiheng on the shoulder, then patted Li Cheng on the shoulder, her eyes filled with blessings and gratification.
Li Cheng: "It's really not like that. You've seriously misunderstood something."
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
What was wrong with this world? Why did the Little Tigers think he and Xiao Yiheng were deeply in love? Coach Wu thought he and Xiao Yiheng were a perfect match, Huang Yelun thought he and Xiao Yiheng had marital harmony, and now even Xu Jun thought he and Xiao Yiheng were dating!
What the hell were they on about! Love! Dating! What's going on?!
...
The taxi stopped downstairs at Xiao's house. Xiao Yiheng went upstairs to get his jacket and homework, while Li Cheng could only wait in the lobby on the first floor.
The Xiao family resided in Briiliant Community, a splendid neighborhood with elaborately decorated, high-end houses. The interior of the lobby on the first floor was a dazzling sight and there were even sofas for rest. The coke stain on Li Cheng's T-shirt had been blown dry, leaving only a brown stain.
Li Cheng always felt that the people coming and going in the lobby were staring at his chest.
He asked, "Can't I come upstairs with you? Didn't you say your parents are not at home?"
He had a bad impression of Mrs. Xiao, and always felt that she looked down her nose at people. If she were home, he would never want to step foot into the Xiao family home.
Xiao Yiheng didn't answer directly, but only shook his head.
Fortunately, Xiao Yiheng moved quickly. Li Cheng only waited three or four minutes downstairs before Xiao Yiheng walked out of the elevator with his old homework and a neatly folded school uniform jacket.
"Why is it school uniform again... I really doubt if you have any clothes in your closet that an ordinary high school boy would wear." Although Li Cheng complained, his body was very honest. He put on Xiao Yiheng's school uniform jacket and quickly pulled the zipper to the top, wrapping himself up tightly.
The freshly washed school uniform jacket still had the clean fragrance of the washing powder, along with a faint pheromone smell.
When Li Cheng put on this jacket, he seemed to be held in Xiao Yiheng's arms.
Li Cheng suddenly felt a little hot, so he pulled the zipper down a bit to let some air in.
Xiao Yiheng didn't notice Li Cheng's uneasiness. He handed the homework to Li Cheng: "This is the homework for the National Health Education Course. Although it was required to write 600 words, I wrote 800 words at the time, which should be enough for you to refer to."
As expected of a study god. Even his elective course homework was so excellent. The handwriting on the assignment papers was neat and distinct, with each stroke structured and beautiful. Li Cheng's handwriting was out and out "ant style," densely packed in small groups. Compared to Xiao Yiheng, it was truly heaven and hell.
Li Cheng secretly compared the handwriting of the two people in his heart, and the more he compared, the more frustrated he became.
Forget it, even if Xiao Yiheng was good at everything else, put him in the swimming pool, and he couldn't compare to this Li-ge.
Li Cheng borrowed the homework and left in high spirits. He wanted to hurry back to his dorm to finish his assignment, a 1200-word monstrosity, which he had to write asap.
The warm school uniform jacket hugged his body, and the smell of alpine cedar surrounded him. Li Cheng walked briskly, his mood somehow becoming especially bright.
Xiao Yiheng stood at the entrance of the apartment building, looking at Li Cheng's receding back, as if the sun itself was also fading away with him. It wasn't until the boy's figure had completely disappeared that Xiao Yiheng let out a sigh and slowly turned to walk towards the elevator.
The elevator stopped at the floor where the Xiaos lived. The visual electronic doorbell on the Xiaos' house door accurately recorded Xiao Yiheng's time of entry and exit.
With today's advanced technology, almost every household used electronic doorbells, and everyone who appeared outside the house would be recorded by the camera. For other people's homes, this electronic doorbell was used to guard against theft, but for the Xiao family, it served another important function.
Xiao Yiheng returned home and changed into his slippers in the hallway.
A camera placed in the hallway suddenly made a mechanical buzzing sound and turned towards Xiao Yiheng.
After a beep from the camera, Mother Xiao's voice came through.
"Yiheng, why are you coming home so late today?" The camera moving left and right exuded a red light, similar to Mother Xiao's eyes. "I said long ago, you shouldn't have become a teaching assistant. Can becoming a teaching assistant give you extra credits or get you a recommendation to university? More importantly, you just came home, why did you suddenly go out again? What did you go out for?"
The questions were intensely bombarded, but Xiao Yiheng's expression remained unchanged. Pretending that the network was bad and the sound was inaudible, he changed into his slippers and went back to his bedroom.
Fortunately, Mother Xiao had not become so frenzied as to install a camera in his bedroom, which gave Xiao Yiheng a chance to breathe.
The young alpha threw himself onto the bed, took out his phone, and after some taps, opened a private bank account.
Every cent in the account was money he saved over the past three years after entrusting Teacher Qiu Xian to help him consign his artworks for sale.
Now, this money had accumulated to a very impressive figure. If Li Cheng saw it, he would definitely make a big fuss about it.
And this account was straightforwardly named "FXXK U MONEY" by Xiao Yiheng.
Xiao Yiheng clicked on another account book, which was filled with every single expenditure the Xiao family's parents had paid for him.
Work stolen from https://chipoholictranslations.blogspot.com
New Year's money, food, clothing, housing and transportation expenses, cram school money, medical expenses...it costs a lot of money to raise children, and the Xiao family had been always pursued elite education. In the past 17 years, they had spent a lot of money on Xiao Yiheng, just to have him realize their unfulfilled dreams.
Every cent they spend on Xiao Yiheng, Xiao Yiheng would pay them back.
After three years of accumulation, "FXXK U MONEY" was about to catch up with the total expenditure recorded in the account book.
Just a bit more, and he would save enough.
Just a bit more, and he would be free.
The author has something to say:
The concept of "fxxk u money" comes from an interview with Liu Yuling.
A solid economic foundation is always the cornerstone of freedom. Only when you have enough money to settle down can you confidently tell your boss, "fxxk u! I quit!"
In the comments, I saw everyone discussing how Xiao Yiheng should tell his parents and get them to accept his choice of an art career after he and Li Cheng got together.
But Xiao Yiheng has no intention of changing his parents' minds; he plans to elope directly, hahaha.
The concept of "fxxk u money" comes from an interview with Liu Yuling.
A solid economic foundation is always the cornerstone of freedom. Only when you have enough money to settle down can you confidently tell your boss, "fxxk u! I quit!"
In the comments, I saw everyone discussing how Xiao Yiheng should tell his parents and get them to accept his choice of an art career after he and Li Cheng got together.
But Xiao Yiheng has no intention of changing his parents' minds; he plans to elope directly, hahaha.
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