(Note: The first story was originally set in high school, but later changed to university due to certain reasons. Please overlook any age discrepancies while reading. The author sincerely apologizes and bows if this causes any difficulty in reading.)
“Uncle, I will not be coming home for dinner tonight. You do not need to wait for me.” The teenager stood by the doorway, hesitated for a moment, and said this to the person inside the room.
Standing inside the room was a man in his twenties.
The man wore casual home clothes, and his slightly long hair was clipped back with a hair claw. He was holding a kettle and looked toward the entrance when he heard the teenager’s words.
The expression on his face was very calm, as if the teenager’s words had not even registered in his ears.
“Got it. But I will still leave some for you, just in case you are hungry when you get back.” After saying this, the man turned around and poured the water from the kettle into the water heater.
He seemed entirely accustomed to the teenager’s behavior.
However, seeing his uncle act so indifferent made the teenager feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Even though he had been living here for half a month, he and his uncle did not have much interaction. Furthermore, this uncle before him was somewhat different from the uncle in his childhood memories.
Song Jianbai only looked toward the closed door after filling the water heater.
He had arrived in this book three months ago.
His current identity was that of this teenager’s uncle, and this teenager was the male lead of the novel.
Because this was his first mission, he had been given a three-month buffer period before meeting the male lead, allowing him to adapt to his current identity and environment.
Song Jianbai had adapted quickly, simply resigning from the original body’s job and finding a new one.
The original owner was not particularly capable, and the nature of the previous job was something Song Jianbai was not very skilled at. Fortunately, his educational background was decent, and combined with Song Jianbai’s own abilities, the new job he found paid within an acceptable range.
After all, since he was about to support a nineteen-year-old teenager, a salary of just five or six thousand yuan naturally would not be enough. Sharing an apartment with strangers would not be appropriate either. Therefore, these three months had truly served as preparation.
According to the book, the male protagonist was very rebellious. Moreover, he was not actually the biological nephew of this identity; his true background was the child of a wealthy family in the city.
Although he was the child of the legitimate first wife, while she was pregnant with him, his father brought home his true love along with a three-year-old son.
This drove the male lead’s mother into a fit of rage, causing her to flee with the child in her belly.
As a result, she got into a car accident and encountered the original owner’s older sister and brother-in-law. They had been married for seven years without children, so they adopted the male lead.
A month ago, the male lead’s adoptive parents also passed away in an accident. Consequently, the male lead, whose identity had not yet been restored, could only board at his uncle’s home.
Although he was an adult, he was also a college student.
Speaking of college students, Song Jianbai was quite familiar with them: three younger sisters and a brother-in-law. They could more or less count as college students.
Song Jianbai turned off the water heater and walked toward the study.
Fortunately, he had not forgotten any of his knowledge; if anything, he remembered it even more firmly now.
No wonder Xixi always said he was too sentimental and that doing this kind of work might hurt himself. Yet, he could also be rather ruthless toward himself.
After finishing his work, Song Jianbai glanced outside. It was indeed time to make dinner, but that kid still had not returned.
He had been like this all week. Under normal circumstances, Song Jianbai would not worry too much. But looking at the weather outside today, a severe thunderstorm seemed imminent.
That kid probably did not have any money on him. True to the male protagonist’s usual behavior, he would likely beat someone up first and then squat in some alley.
Song Jianbai finished making dinner, and by then, it had already started raining outside.
Yet Chu Xingyan showed no intention of returning.
Song Jianbai sighed. He finished his meal, picked up the umbrella leaning by the door, and went out.
Meanwhile, in a narrow alley, Chu Xingyan was leaning against the wall.
Several minor punks lay scattered on the ground.
A flash of lightning cut across the sky, illuminating the already dim, narrow alley.
Rainwater washed over his face. Without even sparing a glance at the punks lying on the ground like stray dogs, he walked straight out.
However, Chu Xingyan had not expected that his uncle would actually be standing right outside the alley.
Holding an umbrella in one hand and carrying another spare umbrella in the other, he stood quietly at the mouth of the alley. Although he held an umbrella, the splashes from the rain hitting the ground still wet his trouser legs and leather shoes. At a glance, it was clear he had been waiting here for quite a while.
This instantly made Chu Xingyan subconsciously assume that his uncle had been tracking him.
Seeing him drenched and somewhat disheveled, Song Jianbai started to speak, “Let us go back first.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Xingyan yelled at him, “You were actually following me!”
Song Jianbai, who had just picked up the umbrella, was not angry at being shouted at by Chu Xingyan. He spoke on his own accord, “I brought you an umbrella. With rain this heavy, you will catch a cold. Besides, you will be a sophomore soon, do not let other things delay your studies.”
With that, Song Jianbai shoved the umbrella into Chu Xingyan’s hand.
Chu Xingyan was already fuming, but Song Jianbai directly ignored his outburst and thrust the umbrella into his hand anyway.
Having delivered the umbrella, Song Jianbai turned to leave. Seeming to remember something, he turned his head back to add, “I was not following you. I could just roughly guess where you might be.”
After saying this, Song Jianbai pulled open the car door, closed his umbrella, and shook off the rainwater.
Without looking at Chu Xingyan, he drove away straight into the distance.
In other words, his uncle had not come to drag him back; he had simply brought him an umbrella purely out of familial obligation.
Of course, Song Jianbai was only doing these things because of his mission.
Yet, when it came down to it, Chu Xingyan was only nineteen years old, an age where he should not strictly be considered in a rebellious phase anymore.
Song Jianbai had interacted with plenty of kids before, but he had not dealt much with particularly rebellious ones. Therefore, during the past half month since bringing Chu Xingyan home, he had not interfered much with him. Aside from Chu Xingyan asking him for money twice and telling him today that he would not be back for dinner, the two of them had very little interaction.
Song Jianbai knew that dealing with such rebellious children meant you could not just give in to their every whim, but you could not completely ignore them either.
They simply craved attention and wanted to find someone who understood their inner world.
So with kids like this, you had to keep them guessing.
Sure enough.
Less than twenty minutes after Song Jianbai returned home, Chu Xingyan came back, completely soaked.
He propped his umbrella against the wall. While his clothes were not dripping wet, he certainly could not wander around the living room like that.
Song Jianbai walked out of the bathroom, having changed into his home clothes, holding a towel in his hand.
“Go wash up. A change of clothes and hot water are ready, and the dinner is set aside too. Just heat it up in the microwave. You know how to use the microwave, right?” Song Jianbai handed the towel to Chu Xingyan.
Chu Xingyan did not take it. Song Jianbai did not mind either; he simply placed the towel on the shoe cabinet nearby and walked toward the living room, leaving Chu Xingyan standing alone in the entryway.
Chu Xingyan completely failed to understand what his uncle was trying to do.
It seemed like he cared, yet not particularly much.
Then again, it made sense; although this man was his uncle, they were not close at all.
Most importantly, this uncle was completely different from the scoundrel uncle in his memories. If not for the identical face and the fact that the man knew all his family’s circumstances, Chu Xingyan would have thought his uncle had been replaced by a completely different person.
In just three years, the man who used to beg his mother for money had actually managed to own his own car and house.
Whatever. Tomorrow was Sunday, and he had to go back to school anyway.
(Banhaia Novel, much joy)