Chapter 32

When Daddy Tang arrived home, he saw his son leaning against the doorway of Yun Duo's room playing with his phone. The punk looked like he had discovered something fun — he was grinning softly, biting down on his lower lip, and his eyelashes were fluttering gently. He must have just taken a shower for his hair was still wet, though he wasn't wearing a bathrobe as he typically would. He was dressed in a T-shirt and Bermuda shorts.

Madam Lu whispered to Daddy Tang, "It's so strange. You're not handsome and I'm not pretty. How did we give birth to such a good-looking son? Every time, no matter what he did wrong, I find myself forgiving him so easily when I see that handsome face of his."

Daddy Tang shook his head. "Who says you aren't pretty? You're the most beautiful lady in the world. Haven't you heard the phrase 'daughters resemble their fathers, while sons resemble their mothers'? This means that our son of course takes after you. He's undoubtedly the most handsome boy in the world."

Madam Lu just gave him a sideways stare.

Frankly, in her youth, Madam Lu was a beauty of the subtle sort — her beauty laid in the way she carried herself — not the sort that would turn people's head's at first glance. Tang Yi-Bai's good looks could not be fully ascribed to his mother's influence — it could only be said that this punk was just too talented at selecting the right genetic traits. The shape of his face, the bridge of his nose, and his temperament resembled his mother's, but his eyes and brows resembled his father's. As for his lips, they mostly looked like his mother's, though slightly corrected. Unlike the cold lines of his mother's lips, they looked softer, and when he smiled, they quirked up gently.

In short, he had maxed out his skills in reincarnation, and it came with a self-photoshopping system to boot.

Right then, Daddy Tang saw his son leaning against the doorway of miss Yun Duo's room, so he asked, "Doudou, you've seen Yun Duo?"

Tang Yi-Bai huffed softly in acknowledgement and replied, "She has already seen me."

Daddy Tang did not catch the deeper meaning behind his phrasing, only saying, "Then what are you doing hanging out around a girl's room? Are you harassing her?"

"No," Tang Yi-Bai said, and left to go sit in the living room. When he looked down at his phone again to refresh his friend's feed, he found that Yun Duo had already deleted that post of hers. Tang Yi-Bai smirked and sent a message to Yun Duo:

I've taken a screenshot.

Yun Duo ignored him.

Daddy Tang followed him to the living room and said tenaciously, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You must have seen how pretty Yun Duo is and you're now regretting what you said before. Well, I tell you, it's too late. Don't think that I'll tolerate you harassing our tenant just because you're my son."

Tang Yi-Bai said somewhat helplessly, "Dad, I really didn't do anything."

"Hehe," Daddy Tang smirked coldly, "A father knows his son best. You've always been a rogue since you were a kid. Already bringing a female classmate home with you to do homework together in your first year of primary school. You even brought three at one time!"

Tang Yi-Bai stared at him, speechless. "You're still mentioning that old story? Also, I wasn't the one who brought them home with me. They followed me home."

He was completely innocent, okay? When he had first started school, his primary school had been very close to his house, so he didn't need his parents to send him to school or pick him up after school. Consequently, one day, when he came back after school, he had been followed by some classmates. He had naively thought that everyone just happened to be going the same way, and had even bought the girls some sweet treats with his own pocket money out of friendly kindness. In the end, after finishing the snacks, the girls had collectively followed him right to his doorstep and said that they wanted to work on their homework with him. Thus, when Daddy Tang came home after grocery shopping, he found that there were suddenly a couple more little kids in his home. Daddy Tang was very happy that his son had so many friends (even though they were all girls), so he cooked a lot of food. Only after he was done cooking did he feel that something wasn't quite right and asked if the girls had told their families where they were. Little kids were quick to show their guilt when they did something wrong — the girls really had not informed their parents of their whereabouts.

Well then, things were a right mess. Daddy Tang quickly rushed to call the parents of the three girls, making a call to the school as well. The parents on the other end were all in a tizzy searching for their kids and were currently at the school making a fuss. As soon as they received the call, they stormed over to Tang Yi-Bai's house. You could just imagine the expression on those parents' faces. Daddy Tang had to make nice and apologise for a good long while before they would leave.

When they left, the parents counselled Daddy Tang pointedly that he should educate his child properly, otherwise he might grow up crooked.

That time, Tang Yi-Bai had received critique from his parents as well as from the teachers at his school the next day. The teachers even threatened him to say that if anything like this ever happened again, he can forget about graduating with honours. In short, he had suffered greatly at the hands of those three female classmates ... the past was truly unsightly.

Now, Tang Yi-Bai did not want to recall this terrible past, so he asked his mum, "Mum, are you hungry?"

When Daddy Tang heard this, he quickly scrambled towards the kitchen.

Madam Lu was a woman of her word — she had promised to treat Yun Duo to breakfast, so she was sure to keep the invite. Besides, Yun Duo was her witness. Last night, that punk had asked her in an odd tone why she had not "rented a girl" back; today, she of course wanted to see Yun Duo's presence smack her son in the face.

So she went to knock on Yun Duo's door. Knock, knock, knock. "Yun Duo? Are you up?"

After waiting a while, the door cracked open. Yun Duo leaned against the doorway and said softly, "Auntie."

Madam Lu looked at her strangely. "What's wrong with you? Why's you face so red?"

"I ... I'm not feeling very well."

"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital? I have some free labour here to send you."

"It's fine! It's fine!" Yun Duo could guess who that 'free labour' would be, and her scalp crawled at the thought.

"Then, wash up and come eat breakfast! You can rest more after eating."

Auntie Lu spoke as if she were issuing a command, and Yun Duo found herself naturally submitting, "Oh, okay."

By the time Yun Duo was done washing up, Daddy Tang had already set up the table and served up breakfast. On the rectangular log table, there was millet yam porridge, steamed corn, fried eggs, xiaolongbao, and some fruit. The porridge had been cooked before he went out for his morning run, while the xiaolongbao had been bought from downstairs when he returned. Yun Duo sat by the table, very silent in the face of the steaming hot breakfast.

Uncle Tang and Auntie Lu were seated side-by-side across from her, so naturally, Tang Yi-Bai was seated beside her.

Auntie Lu cleared her throat and said to Yun Duo, "Yun Duo, I haven't introduced you. This is my son, Tang Yi-Bai."

Tang Yi-Bai sighed and said in a slightly sorrowful tone, "Dad, Mum, you two really don't pay enough attention to me." If they had seen his exclusive interview, they would have already known that he and Yun Duo were acquainted.

Daddy Tang snorted. "You think you would have grown so big if we didn't pay attention to you?"

In the end, it was still Auntie Lu who picked up on the hint. "You two already know each other?"

Yun Duo explained, "Uncle, Auntie, I'm a sports journalist, so I know Tang Yi-Bai." After a brief pause, she added, "Not very well though."

Tang Yi-Bai laughed softly and whispered, "Really?"

Yun Duo buckled down to eat her breakfast. She ate faster than she had ever eaten before; she was chewing as fast as a squirrel.

Daddy Tang and Madam Lu shared a glance, and read some special understanding in the other's eyes.

After breakfast, Uncle Tang and Auntie Lu left for work. Yun Duo sadly did not have to go to work today as it was her day off. She wanted to slip back to her room, but Tang Yi-Bai blocked her way.

Tang Yi-Bai stood in front of her room door and looking down at her, he said softly, "Still angry?"

Head bowed, Yun Duo said, "No."

"I'm sorry. I was just joking," he explained.

"It's nothing. I just ... need to calm down a little." She needed some time to process this reality, as well as the awkwardness.

Tang Yi-Bai was going to say something more when he saw Er-Bai coming over with its tail wagging, a tennis ball in its mouth. It walked over to Yun Duo, bent its head down and let go of the tennis ball. Then, it raised its head to look at her with a hopeful expression.

Every time, Yun Duo found herself unable to say no to this expression.

In the end, she led Er-Bai out of the house, while Tang Yi-Bai trailed behind them like a bodyguard, making the girl and the dog pair appear especially prestigious.

Tang Yi-Bai in Tang Yi-Bai's eyes: a loyal flower protector护花使者: The 'flower' here being the girl..

Tang Yi-Bai in Yun Duo's eyes: a hardworking dog poop cleaner.

Tang Yi-Bai in Er-Bai's eyes: an annoying third wheel.

The two humans and one dog came to a pet park not too far from the house. There were a lot of cats and dogs there. Er-Bai had a good temper, never ever provoking any unnecessary trouble. As he had been sterilized, he had never gone to disturb females, only bothered with eating and playing all day. Yun Duo threw the tennis ball, and Er-Bai happily ran after it to retrieve it. He then placed it down on the ground and waited for her to throw it out again.

Tang Yi-Bai picked it up this time and sent it flying with a whooosh. The little tennis ball flew like a comet towards the distant woods, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Er-Bai stared after the fading trajectory of the tennis ball, and his very silhouette seemed to tremble. Then, he suddenly turned its head to look mournfully at Yun Duo. I can't see it anymore!

Yun Duo shot an accusative glare at Tang Yi-Bai.

Tang Yi-Bai could only lead Er-Bai on a journey to reclaim the tennis ball. Yun Duo remained in place, fishing out her phone to chat with Chen Si-Qi.

Yun Duo: Accidentally saw a man's naked body. What should I do ...

Chen Si-Qi: Depends. Does he have a good body?

Yun Duo: Yes ...

Chen Si-Qi: That place. Is it big?

Yun Duo: =.=

Chen Si-Qi: Who did you see?

Yun Duo: Tang Yi-Bai ...

Chen Si-Qi: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!

Chen Si-Qi: Tang Yi-Bai is Qi Rui-Feng's! How could you peek on him?! You scoundrel!

Chen Si-Qi: Tell me now. Is he big there? I've wanted to know for a long time!

Chen Si-Qi: The margin of error when estimating through swimming trunks is relatively high!

Yun Duo: =.=

Chen Si-Qi: So are you here to gloat? Well, you've succeeded! Let's cut ties!

Yun Duo: I just don't know how to face him. It feels so awkward ...

Chen Si-Qi: You clearly won here. What are you unsatisfied about?! Did Tang Yi-Bai himself say something? Did Qi Rui-Feng say something?

Yun Duo: qaq

Chen Si-Qi: Drama queen!

Am I really being too dramatic ...? Yun Duo was caught in deep self-reflection. Frankly, she was no longer a child — she knew what a man's naked body looked like. She had even learned about it in biology class. So if she accidentally saw one, there really wasn't any need to make such a fuss, right?

See how calm Tang Yi-Bai was about it ...

It was no big deal, right? They were both adults and civilized people, and it wasn't like she was intentionally trying to molest him, right?

Yun Duo placated herself mentally, and then her phone suddenly rang. She accepted the call. "Hello, big brother Ling-Chen?"

Tang Yi-Bai, who had just returned from picking up the ball, stopped in his tracks. Big brother ... Ling-Chen?

Yun Duo did not seem to have noticed him, head still bent down to speak into her phone. "Yes, I did not forget. Okay ... okay, see you tonight ... no need, I'll take a taxi over ... that's fine. Thanks, big brother Ling-Chen."

After hanging up the phone, Yun Duo turned around and saw Tang Yi-Bai staring at her strangely. He asked, "You know my cousin Liang Ling-Chen?"

"Yes. Uncle Tang introduced us." That person was courteous and kind — Yun Duo had a pretty good impression of him. They had made an appointment to have dinner together. She had already agreed to meet him tonight. After all, they were both single, so there was no harm in getting to know each other. Even if they didn't work out as a couple, they could still become friends.

Tang Yi-Bai's lips thinned, and he casually tossed the ball in his hands to Er-Bai. He said, "You've always called him 'big brother Ling-Chen'?"

"Yes. Or else what should I call him? He's five years older than me."

Tang Yi-Bai looked at her with a half-smile. "Why have you never called me 'big brother Yi-Bai' then?"

Yun Duo found this funny. "Big brother my foot! You're only about a month older than me."

"A day older is still older," he said, and raised an eyebrow with a light laugh. "Come, call me 'big brother Yi-Bai'."

Yun Duo ignored him, bending over to play with Er-Bai.

Tang Yi-Bai would not let it go, however. "You must call me 'big brother Yi-Bai' from now on."

"Big brother Doudou."

Tang Yi-Bai: -_-|||

Seeing Yun Duo and Er-Bai frolicking together so happily, Tang Yi-Bai fished out his phone and sent a message to Liang Ling-Chen: Cousin, long time no see. Let's have dinner together tonight!

Liang Ling-Chen: I can't tonight. I'm already meeting someone else.

Tang Yi-Bai: I don't mind. ^_^

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Previous: Chapter 31
Next: Chapter 33

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