Male Sing and His Pet Owner: Chapter 104

After returning home, Zhao Kaile went to prepare a boiled egg to apply to Zhan Hang’s face. That slap was neither light nor heavy, but it still left a red mark on his face.

“Normally you talk so much, how come now you won’t ask a single question?” Zhan Hang sat cross-legged on the sofa, asking Zhao Kaile who sat opposite him out of boredom.

Zhao Kaile said: “I normally don’t dare either……..”

“I think you’re quite daring now.” Zhan Hang reached out and pinched his face, raising an eyebrow as he asked: “Do you think I’m especially unfilial?”

“No.” Zhao Kaile’s face was slightly red, thinking to himself why are you touching me while talking! Just talk!

Zhan Hang withdrew his hand, letting him hold the egg and rub it all over his face, slowly saying: “When I was little, I was raised by my maternal grandfather. I’m not close with either of my parents, only close with my grandfather.”

Zhao Kaile recalled that he had said his hometown was in the north, and he only came south when he was in middle school, and so nodded in understanding.

Zhan Hang said discontentedly: “You should ask.”

“……..” Zhao Kaile cooperatively asked: “Then, then how old is your grandfather now?”

Zhan Hang said: “He passed away when I was in high school.”

Zhao Kaile said softly: “……..I’m sorry.”

He really wanted to travel back in time and bash his own head in.

“My grandfather was just an old soldier.” Zhan Hang didn’t particularly care, saying on his own: “Do you remember the orderly plotline of Thirteenth Company in ‘Sharp Sword’? It was somewhat similar to his time in the army back then. When I read the script, I felt this part was quite realistic. The quality of this drama shouldn’t be too bad.”

Zhao Kaile nodded, looking at him seriously, listening attentively.

“You can probably imagine what an upright person he was.” Zhan Hang said: “He always looked at Zhan Hongyuan unfavorably, but my mother wouldn’t listen to him and insisted on marrying him. Later I was born, and when I grew to over two years old, my grandfather was afraid Zhan Hongyuan would lead me astray, so he discussed with the two of them about taking me back to raise.”

Zhao Kaile frowned in puzzlement: “Your mother agreed?”

“She certainly agreed.” Zhan Hang said somewhat helplessly: “She was only nineteen when she gave birth to me. She hadn’t grown up herself yet, and muddleheadedly gave birth to me. Someone was willing to take a big trouble off her hands, she was happy it was even happening.”

Zhao Kaile’s head was full of black lines listening, thinking to himself so there are mothers like this.

Zhan Hang: “Before me, Zhan Hongyuan didn’t dare to openly act badly. After I was born, he felt he had bargaining chips, and slowly his true colors were revealed. Feng Biqin is foolish, sending everything into her man’s hands. My grandfather wasn’t foolish, but he was old, and under his knees he only had Feng Biqin as this one daughter. He couldn’t scold her, couldn’t curse her, and definitely couldn’t hit her, so he could only indulge her.”

In memory, that summer was still blazing hot. The sound of cicadas chirping came along the trajectory of time, waking the boy who had been napping on his homework notebook.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, looked down at his homework notebook, and was amazed to discover that he hadn’t written a single stroke. It seemed he had written that little bit in his dream.

“Little Hang.” From outside came his grandfather’s slightly hoarse call: “Come here.”

Zhan Hang’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Feeling guilty, he jumped off the small stool and shuffled in flip-flops toward the main hall.

Feng Xinghuai was advanced in years, but his back was still straight and his eyes spirited. He sat properly in the wicker chair and said to his grandson: “Your parents want you to go back to Province A to live. They’ll come pick you up in a couple of days.”

Zhan Hang was stunned for a moment. Hearing the words parents, he searched in his brain for quite a while before gradually recalling two faces that couldn’t be considered familiar. To him, Feng Biqin and Zhan Hongyuan were just “that man” and “that woman” who would come to the house to see him during New Year and holidays.

“Not going.” He said exceptionally decisively: “I’m living here.”

Feng Xinghuai said: “Those are your parents, not someone else. If you go to Province A, you can attend a better school.”

“The schools here are also very good.” Zhan Hang looked at him puzzledly: “Do you really want me to leave?”

Feng Xinghuai was caught by his question. His brows slightly furrowed, his gaze falling elsewhere, and he sighed.

Zhan Hang didn’t know why he was unhappy, and was a bit afraid he would really send him away. He immediately swore and vowed: “I will study hard. I’ll listen to you, listen to the teacher. I’ll definitely come straight home after school. I won’t fight with people anymore…….”

Feng Xinghuai most couldn’t stand seeing him in this cowardly manner, and immediately scolded: “What are you crying for? A man among men, crying at the drop of a hat, aren’t you making people laugh?”

“I’m not crying.” Zhan Hang raised his arm and vigorously wiped his tears, choking continuously: “I’m…….”

“Come here.” Feng Xinghuai beckoned to him.

Zhan Hang sniffled and went over. Feng Xinghuai wiped his tears and snot for him, his face full of hate that iron cannot become steel: “Are you going to still be crying and sniveling when you get there?”

“Why……. must I go…….” Zhan Hang said while hiccupping: “I don’t want to go. I don’t even know them.”

Feng Xinghuai could only say: “Yangyang is also transferring to Province A next semester. If you stay here alone, who will you play with normally?”

Zhan Hang looked at him with tear-filled eyes, pouting as he asked: “Really?”

Feng Xinghuai said to him: “Go ask yourself.”

The next day, Zhan Hang blocked the entrance to Zhou Jiyang’s classroom during break, grabbing the person and interrogating him.

“You’re transferring schools and didn’t even tell me??” Zhan Hang only felt he had suffered a great betrayal, his face full of anger: “Are we still brothers or not?”

Zhou Jiyang said innocently: “My dad said you were also transferring, so I agreed!”

The two brothers looked at each other in speechlessness, only then realizing they had both been deceived by the adults.

That evening, Zhan Hang ran away from home in a fit of pique. Zhou Jiyang accompanied him sitting on the field ridge, occasionally swatting mosquitoes a few times.

A full moon hung high in the sky, cool breeze blew gently, and the sounds of frogs and cicadas intertwined into one piece. Zhan Hang sat in the wind for a while, finally not so angry anymore.

Zhou Jiyang held a straw in his mouth and asked vaguely: “You really don’t want to leave?”

“Don’t want to.” Zhan Hang casually picked up a stone and whooshed it into a small puddle, saying: “Is my grandfather already tired of me, already wanting to send me away?”

Zhou Jiyang said: “My dad said, adults are strict with you for your own good, not because they’re tired of you.”

“Your dad is lying to you.” Zhan Hang looked at him with contempt: “If he really thought that, why does he buy you whatever you want? Why isn’t he strict with you?”

“Because I’m the youngest.” Zhou Jiyang said with full confidence: “My older brother and sister already took the education for me.”

Zhan Hang said: “Anyway, I’m not leaving. You also talk to your dad, neither of us is leaving.”

Zhou Jiyang said: “Okay then, I also can’t bear to part with Wang Yaya and the others. If I transfer schools, what if they like someone else?”

“You’re crazy.” Zhan Hang rolled his eyes at him.

Zhou Jiyang angrily pushed him. Zhan Hang pushed back indignantly. The two pushed and shoved, accidentally falling into the field, immediately getting covered in mud.

“We’re done for!” Zhou Jiyang was the first to cry out in misery: “My grandma is going to beat me again……. I have to go home, not keeping you company anymore!”

Zhan Hang laughed loudly, pressing him down and not letting him get up.

As the two were struggling, from the distance came the anxious shouts of several adults, among which an aged and hoarse male voice was especially obvious. It was Feng Xinghuai.

By the time the two were found by the adults, they had already become two mud monkeys.

Feng Xinghuai pressed one hand on Zhan Hang’s shoulder, his expression solemn, completely impossible to tell what he was feeling. Zhan Hang instinctively felt he was going to get beaten, and reflexively closed his eyes. But for half a day, he didn’t wait for his grandfather’s fist. He only knew that the hand on his shoulder was still trembling slightly.

On the other side, Zhou Jiyang already had his pants pulled down. His father was raising his hand high, and before it could come down, his mother and son were already crying out simultaneously. For a moment, that hand stopped in midair, neither going down nor not going down.

Zhou Jiyang’s grandmother wailed: “Son, forget it, the people are found! Don’t hit, don’t hit!”

“Mom, I haven’t……” Zhou Jiyang’s father was driven to his wit’s end by the crying, and could only withdraw his hand, dryly glaring at Zhou Jiyang who was all thunder and no rain.

Zhan Hang opened his eyes, only to see Feng Xinghuai supporting his own forehead with one hand, seemingly somewhat unable to stand steady. Only after quite a while did he recover.

“Grandfather?” Young Zhan Hang had this feeling for the first time. He discovered that his grandfather perhaps wasn’t as indestructible as he had imagined.

Feng Xinghuai’s wrinkles were deeper than before, his hair more gray than before, and his back could only stay straight when he forcibly held it up. Otherwise, he was just as hunched as other old people.

He was older than before.

Zhan Hang realized this problem, and for the first time felt afraid.

“Coming back is enough.” Feng Xinghuai reached out, wiped his face a few times, rubbing out a bit of clean appearance, and said in a low voice: “The person is fine, that’s enough. You can’t scare grandfather like this again in the future, understand?”

Zhan Hang choked for half a day, then slowly nodded.

Two days later, Feng Biqin and Zhan Hongyuan came to pick him up as promised.

The village roads were uneven and extremely muddy. The brand new Butterfly Benz stopped before the old-style building, appearing incomparably incongruous.

Feng Biqin went upstairs alone to talk with Feng Xinghuai. Zhan Hang sat alone in the living room facing Zhan Hongyuan, his expression slightly tense. After all, whenever he heard Zhan Hongyuan’s name from Feng Xinghuai’s mouth, it was always linked with some not very classy nouns.

“Son, Dad knows you’re reluctant to part with your grandfather.” Zhan Hongyuan sat beside him, his tone gentle, his eyes loving: “But grandfather is old. When people get old, they get sick. He can’t keep taking care of you forever, understand?”

Zhan Hang’s two hands gripped the fabric on his knees, saying softly: “I know.”

Zhan Hongyuan patiently said: “So Mom and Dad coming to pick you up this time is also to help grandfather lighten his burden. You also don’t want grandfather to be too tired, right?”

“But if I leave, he’ll be alone here.” Zhan Hang felt sad just thinking about it, his nose slightly sour.

Zhan Hongyuan said: “He won’t be. Aren’t Yangyang’s grandparents right next door? They’ll look after each other. Dad promises you, from now on every winter and summer vacation, I’ll bring you back to stay, okay?”

Hearing this, Zhan Hang finally raised his eyes to carefully examine the man before him. He still felt a bit puzzled in his heart, as if he couldn’t quite match the word Dad with this person.

Zhan Hongyuan extended his pinky finger toward him again. Zhan Hang thought for a moment, then also extended his pinky finger, making a promise that even now, when he recalled it, he would still feel regret about.

Translation Notes:

“恨铁不成钢” (hate that iron cannot become steel): An idiom expressing frustration at someone’s failure to live up to expectations, wishing they could improve through sheer force of will. Feng Xinghuai uses this toward young Zhan Hang’s crying.