Just as Meng Yuxiu was feeling restless, frequently glancing towards the door to see if Han Shuo had returned, Han Hong suddenly spoke up.
“Xiao Meng,” Han Hong said, placing a couple of pieces of firewood into the stove, temporarily freeing himself from tending to it.
Meng Yuxiu quickly withdrew his gaze, nodding slightly, “Hey, brother…”
What followed felt like being called on by a teacher in class to answer questions, as Han Hong fired off one question after another.
“Xiao Meng, where are you from?”
“Baishan Town.”
“That’s quite far from here, over ten kilometers,” Han Hong continued, “Xiao Meng, you’re about the same age as our Xiao Shuo, right?”
Meng Yuxiu nodded, “I’m seventeen this year.”
“What month?”
“December.”
“Then you’re a month younger than our Xiao Shuo,” Han Hong chuckled.
Meng Yuxiu also managed a slight smile.
The questioning seemed to pause, leaving only the crackling sound of the firewood in the room.
Han Ting was still staring at him, so Meng Yuxiu lowered his head and smiled. Unexpectedly, the little guy smiled back and even moved his small stool closer.
Just when Meng Yuxiu thought he could wait for Han Shuo in peace, Han Hong suddenly asked, “Xiao Meng, what do your parents do?”
“They’re both teachers at the elementary school in Baishan Town.”
Han Hong exclaimed, “Wow, so you’re from a scholarly family.”
Meng Yuxiu suddenly didn’t know how to respond, so he awkwardly forced another smile.
“Are you in the same class as Xiao Shuo?” Han Hong asked, “I’ve never heard Xiao Shuo mention it before.”
Meng Yuxiu replied, “He’s in Class Seven, I’m in Class One.”
“Oh…” Han Hong lowered his eyes, seemingly pondering for a moment, then asked, “You’re in Class One… How did you two meet? Why is someone from Class One tutoring someone from Class Seven?”
The top student was indeed overthinking it. Meng Yuxiu was contemplating whether Han Shuo and his brother had ever made up a story about how they met him.
If they hadn’t, he could make up something on the spot, like playing basketball or ping pong.
But if they had, Han Shuo hadn’t given him a heads-up.
Meng Yuxiu wasn’t sure and suddenly felt a bit guilty. After all, he and Han Shuo had gotten to know each other through less-than-proper means.
So, for a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to speak and pretended not to hear Han Hong’s question, awkwardly pinching Han Ting’s little face to divert attention.
Sure enough, Han Ting didn’t disappoint. When the candy-giving brother pinched his face, he immediately got up from the stool and threw his hands around Meng Yuxiu’s legs.
Seeing this, Han Hong called out, “Hey, you little rascal, how did you end up on your brother’s lap?”
Meng Yuxiu quickly said, “It’s fine.”
Just then, Han Shuo came back, whistling and carrying a small piece of pork. Instantly, Meng Yuxiu felt a sense of relief.
“What were you guys talking about?” Han Shuo asked as he walked into the room.
Han Hong laughed, “Nothing much, just chatting with Xiao Meng about this and that.”
Han Shuo handed the change from buying the meat to Han Hong and placed the meat on the cutting board.
With the stove unattended, Han Hong took a basin to wash vegetables by the well outside, instructing Han Shuo to get some chestnuts.
The chestnuts had been knocked down from the tree a few days ago and were piled in a corner under the porch. Han Shuo took a pair of tongs, picked up a chestnut, and used his shoe to press down on the spiky shell. With the tongs, he pulled the cracked shell to the side, and the plump chestnut fell out.
“Hey, Meng Yuxiu,” Han Shuo said while picking up chestnuts, “we can do some tasks before dinner.”
Meng Yuxiu glanced at Han Hong washing vegetables by the well and asked Han Shuo in a low voice, “Don’t you need to cook?”
“No need, my brother will handle it when he’s home,” Han Shuo said with a mischievous grin, “I’ll tell him you’re tutoring me, and I’ll take you upstairs.”
Meng Yuxiu hesitated but eventually nodded.
After Han Shuo finished with the chestnuts, he split them open with a knife, peeled off the inner skin, and filled a small bowl. When Han Hong returned from washing vegetables, Han Shuo said, “Brother, I’m taking Meng Yuxiu to do homework.”
Han Hong was pleasantly surprised that his brother was voluntarily doing homework and said, “Sure, sure, homework is important.”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Han Shuo leading Meng Yuxiu up the stairs and quickly called out, “Hey, hey, hey, why are you two going upstairs?”
Meng Yuxiu paused and looked at Han Shuo.
Han Shuo replied, “To do homework upstairs.”
Han Hong said, “You can do it downstairs too, and the lighting upstairs isn’t great.”
“It’s quieter upstairs,” Han Shuo said, pulling Meng Yuxiu’s arm, “Come on, let’s go upstairs.”
Meng Yuxiu awkwardly smiled at Han Hong.
“…” Han Hong couldn’t say much more. If he continued, it would seem like he didn’t trust his own brother.
He watched as Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu disappeared at the top of the stairs, and then the wooden floor on the second floor creaked under their footsteps, indicating they had gone to the desk by the window near his bed.
Meng Yuxiu followed Han Shuo upstairs. The second floor was indeed dimly lit, as Han Hong had mentioned. In the dark space, at the top of the stairs, there was a bed against the wall on the left, barely enough for two people. A narrow passage led further in, and on the right, by the window, there was another bed. In other words, the layout of the room was clear from the top of the stairs.
Meng Yuxiu asked Han Shuo in surprise, “Why didn’t you tell me you don’t have a room?”
Han Shuo was taken aback, “When did I say I had a room? Isn’t it like this in every rural household?”
“…” Meng Yuxiu frowned and whispered, “Then how are we going to do the task?”
Han Shuo clicked his tongue, “You’re just worrying for nothing. If I could invite you to my house, do you think we can’t do the task?”
He pointed to the bed at the top of the stairs, “Look, that’s my bed. Once the lights are off, who can tell we’re kissing in the dark? As long as you don’t make any slurping sounds, no one will notice.”
“…When did I ever make slurping sounds?” Meng Yuxiu stared at the bed, his brows furrowed, still a bit worried.
Han Shuo patted his chest with the back of his hand, “Don’t worry. If you’re really scared, you can sleep inside, and I’ll block you. Really, don’t worry. It’s not like I’m asking you to kiss me in front of my brother, and my brother sleeps like a log. Not even ten oxen could wake him.”
Meng Yuxiu reluctantly believed him. Han Shuo offered him the only chair at the desk, while he sat on Han Hong’s bed.
Even on the second floor, Meng Yuxiu felt the need to put on a show. He had actually brought a backpack full of books. After taking out his stationery, Han Shuo was already impatient.
“Alright, alright, just pretend for a bit. Don’t waste time; they’ll call us for dinner soon.” He tilted Meng Yuxiu’s chin, turning his face towards him. In his haste, he wasn’t gentle at all.
Meng Yuxiu felt as if his lips were being bumped by Han Shuo’s teeth and complained, “Can you not be so rough?”
Han Shuo chuckled while holding his lips, “Are you made of tofu?”
Meng Yuxiu silently rolled his eyes, then continued kissing while keeping a wary eye on the stairs.
Downstairs, Han Hong had already cooked the rice, with only the chestnut braised pork still simmering in the pot. He held the spatula, listening intently for any sounds from upstairs, but there was none.
Shouldn’t tutoring involve talking? How can you tutor without talking? The more Han Hong thought about it, the deeper his frown became, but going upstairs unannounced wasn’t an option either.
While he was fretting, he saw his son playing with the dog at the door, so he called him over.
“Tingting, stop playing,” Han Hong said, pointing to the second floor and whispering to his son, “Go upstairs and check on your little uncle.”
Han Ting tilted his head and said, “Little uncle is doing homework!”
“I know your little uncle is doing homework. Just go and watch him do it.”
Han Ting obediently nodded and was about to head to the stairs.
However, Han Hong pulled him back, “Tingting, listen to Dad. When you go up, see what your little uncle is doing.”
Han Ting blankly repeated Han Hong’s words, “See what little uncle is doing.”
Han Hong looked at his son’s innocent face, feeling conflicted about how to assign the task. He furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, and said, “Just help Dad see if your little uncle and that brother are doing homework. If your little uncle asks why you went upstairs, just say you’re going up to play, got it? Don’t say Dad told you.”
Han Ting, seeing his dad’s nervous expression, also tensed up his little face and nodded vigorously.
“If your little uncle and that brother…” Han Hong found it difficult to explain to his son, and his son was too young to understand.
He thought for a moment, then extended his right hand, bringing his fingers together. He explained to Han Ting, “Look, this hand is that brother. If you see that brother…”
Han Hong made a bird’s beak with his fingers and tapped his lips, “If you see that brother doing this with your little uncle, come downstairs and tell Dad, okay?”
“Got it!”