A Certain Someone ( The On1y One ) Chapter 038 – Mix-Up

I’ve Caught Plenty Of Young Couples Already.

Staying in school didn’t go quite well. The moment it was brought up, they were met with all sorts of opposition. By ‘Opposition’, it referred to Sheng Mingyang, Jiang Ou as well as the nanny, Auntie Sun.

Sheng Mingyang sent three video call requests in a row. Sheng Wang accepted one, and hung up on two. With that, he was still nagged to the point that his head was buzzing.
It was already one in the morning. The ‘Encyclopedia For Healthy Living’ wasn’t living ‘healthily’ at all; he assiduously sent new messages.

With an earpiece stuffed into his ears, Sheng Wang tapped on the 10+ voice messages in quick succession. They were father and son after all, he knew what the other person would say with the beginning alone—
“Something must have made my son unhappy, why else would you want to stay in the dorms when everything is fine and dandy?”
“Wang-zai, talk with dad, please?”
“Don’t keep it to yourself, you can say whatever that you want to say. People your age always think that us parents are old-fashioned and rigid in our thinking. We aren’t all like that, actually.”
“Is it dad’s fault or your Auntie Jiang’s?”
……

Sheng Wang was someone with a good upbringing. Until now, he had never ever seen him losing his temper at anyone. Yet, at the same time, he had an extremely dominant nature. It was just that his dominance happened to be wrapped in his moderate use of language, it would be difficult for ordinary people to tell.
Those who dealt with Sheng Mingyang would often unwittingly end up following the plan he charted out for them. He would always be able to convince you but it would be challenging for you to even change his mind.

That was what was exactly happening right now. He stubbornly insisted that his son chose to stay in school due to unhappiness with the current arrangement; he even proved his point from various angles, despite the multiple “I’m not angry” Sheng Wang stated over and over again.

It was useless no matter what; it was as though there would never be an end to this ordeal if he didn’t admit according to his words.

The last voice message lasted for an entire 60 seconds. Sheng Wang stopped it after five.
He removed his earpiece and tossed it onto his desk, restless and irritable. After hanging on the chair with his head skywards, he finally couldn’t help himself.
He pressed the voice message button: “I’ve said that it isn’t because I’m angry, I’m not angry, can you please listen to me for once.”
Sheng Mingyang replied almost immediately: “I’m listening, really. Dad will only know some things when you say them out loud, dad is scared that you’re unhappy.”

Sheng Wang’s irritation threatened to break out from him with greater force. Still, he was a little similar to Sheng Mingyang at the fundamental level; he wouldn’t start screaming and yelling in an ugly manner, that would be way too unsightly.
Even at this moment, his tone was slightly harsher, his talking speed slightly increased.

“I’m oversensitive, selfish, and have a terrible temper. There are plenty of times when I’m truly pissed off, when have I ever not told you any of them? Have you ever helped with any of them? I said I didn’t need some new family members, I’m fine with being on my own and you dealing with your business all over the place. Tell me when you’re coming back ahead of time, and I can wait. Did you actually listen? You found Auntie Jiang.”

“Afterwards, I got over it. My mom isn’t around anymore, there’s still decades ahead. I will fall in love and get married when I’m an adult, and you can’t just be by yourself forever. You can find someone new, I’ll accept anything, as long as you don’t let her replace my mom, anything goes. In the end? You let the person move into where I lived as a kid, sleep in the room where my mom used to stay in, use the kitchen where my mom cooked, cook the dishes she loved to cook.”

“You totally did it on purpose.”

“You deliberately found someone alike to my mom, you knew that I wouldn’t know what to do with her. As long as she had a good temper and a decent personality, I wouldn’t be able to get mad at her or take my anger out on her. You planned it all out, you figured that I will have to accept her sooner or later.”

“Fine, I’ve already accepted her.”
Sheng Wang’s back remained leaning against his chair, the phone by his lips. His dark eyes stared at the lamp above his head.

In order to ensure he stays awake when he studies, he especially got Auntie Sun to switch the fluorescent light into one with a cold tone. He couldn’t tell on a regular basis, but now that he had been staring at it for a while he then discovered how harsh it was on the eyes.
It was so harsh that it caused his eyes to puff up, reddening for some strange reason.

He said: “When I was drunk, she made me honey water. When I was sick, she searched all over for medicine for me. The dish I haven’t eaten for a long time, she learned how to cook it for me. Nobody can replace my mom, but I can accept two more at home.”

“I’ve told you, I’m not bothered by Auntie Jiang. I could treat her as part of the family. I’m on good terms with Jiang Tian, super good terms in fact. I wasn’t mad at anyone, nobody pissed me off. I just felt like staying in school, that’s all.”

“Can you please, listen to me for once.”

He let go of his fingers, sent the last voice message, and tossed it behind him. It soared in an arc, silently crashed onto the bed, sinking deeply into the blankets. From then on, he couldn’t hear it no matter how many times it vibrated.

He dazedly stared at the lights for a while, closed his eyes and muttered, “Fuck.”
Between him and Sheng Mingyang, there was usually only one person who spoke in paragraphs. This was the first time it happened in reverse, all for a tiny matter like staying in school……
It seemed kind of prissy.

He felt a little upset when he had to say these to Sheng Mingyang, in all honesty. What was undeniable though was the tinge of exhilaration he felt within the upset. It was as though after being stuffed in a cramped and narrow bag, there was finally a tiny slit torn open.

*
Jiang Ou’s objections were slightly different from Sheng Mingyang’s; she had too much guilt towards Jiang Tian, even her opposition was silent and timid.

Jiang Tian was a little thirsty when he woke up in the middle of the night; he decided to get some water. As he went downstairs, a glass cup in his hands, he realised that there was light in the living room. Jiang Ou was curled up on the couch all by herself. The floor lamp encased her in a dusky yellow glow, the television was switched on. It was playing a random old movie, the actors were laughing and joking around in the scene, but there was nothing but silence in the living room.
Jiang Tian stopped at the foot of the staircase.
After a while of looking from afar, he walked over with an empty cup.

When Jiang Ou heard the footsteps, she turned around vacantly. A few seconds of confusion later, she said, “Why are you up?”
“Mn.” Jiang Tian replied, shot a glance at the television before asking, “Why are you sitting here?”

“Can’t fall asleep, so I’m watching a bit of TV.” Jiang Ou said mildly.
“Watching the television without the sound on?” Jiang Tian continued asking.
“It was a little loud.” Jiang Ou said.

The couch she was sitting on was a long couch, there was a huge stretch of empty space next to her. Jiang Tian bent over to settle the cup down, and yet he sat on the single person chair.
This was honestly just something he did subconsciously, he didn’t intend to make anyone uncomfortable at all. It was precisely because of that however that made her even more hurt.

Jiang Ou looked aside and rapidly blinked her eyes. When that sour, aching feeling was finally suppressed, she finally turned to face Jiang Tian and asked, “Xiao-Tian, were you having a bad time staying here?”
Jiang Tian was momentarily silent. He said: “The dorm’s convenient.”

There, even though she asked him straight to the face like this, even though the answer couldn’t be any more obvious, he still chose the phrasing that would break people’s hearts the least (despite his stiff and awkward tone).

As Jiang Ou watched the soundless images on the television, her nose was a little flushed. Quite a while later, her voice was a little hoarse as she spoke: “I’ve been thinking for the past two years, exactly how many things did I mess up on before.”

“If I wasn’t so competitive, if only we both took a step back, or maybe I should have been the one to take more steps back, spend a few more days away from work, spend more time at home and not send you to your grandma’s, spend more time accompanying you, would it all turn out differently?”

“I had a dream the other day. I dreamt of you as a kid, were you two or three? Around when you just entered kindergarten, I think. Back then, I was especially terrified of you keeping your eyes on me. Whenever you did that, I couldn’t leave. So everytime I left the house, I had to wait for you to be asleep.”

In those days, Jiang Ou had a blouse that had a ribbon around the cuff. It was usually tied up in a knot, but there were a few times the knot was untied for some mysterious reason. She was pretty puzzled about it.
She only discovered later that it was because of Jiang Tian.

Jiang Tian was so small back then, she would sit beside him when he took his afternoon nap, a hand propped at his side. Before Jiang Tian shut his eyes, he would grab that ribbon and wind it around his fingers.
When Jiang Ou first discovered it, she thought that this was a little kid’s strange sleeping habit, the need to grab onto something in his sleep.
A certain day later, when she prepared to leave the house while Jiang Tian was asleep, the ribbon tightened as she stood up. As she watched the ribbon about to slip out of his grip right in front of her eyes, the child, who was asleep, suddenly opened eyes.

It was only that day when Jiang Ou knew that that wasn’t any strange habit, it was just that the child wanted to hold onto her, wanted for her to stay a little longer, wanted to know when it was that she left, and not be unable to find her anymore the moment he woke up.

Jiang Tian wanted to say “I don’t remember anymore”, but saying this would probably hurt her. Therefore, he merely pursed his lips, and quietly listened.

“Your Uncle Sheng told me stories about Sheng Wang as a kid. Sometimes, as I listened, I would think that he was actually a little similar to you as a kid. Maybe all children are the same, he was brought up into that, I caused you to be like this.”

“Sometimes, when I see how he’s all smiles as he chatted, joking around with his dad, even throw little tantrums, I would think: if I’ve used a different method to take care of you, will you be a little happier, laugh a little more, throw little tantrums and joke around too?”

Jiang Tian didn’t look at her.
He had never been good at dealing with people on the verge of crying, especially a Jiang Ou on the verge of shedding tears. His gaze landed on the television screen. He was quiet for a moment before saying, “There’s no need to think about these.”

Jiang Ou suddenly stopped her dialogue.

“You’ve said before, you want to go back to work when you have the time.” Jiang Tian said, “That’s pretty good.”

Jiang Ou didn’t open her mouth for a period of time. She was competitive in her nature, and somehow was eroded away into this state by various things. She changed from someone who was constantly on the move to a person guarding the kitchen and the television everyday.

“There’s still time for me to go back to work.” She finally spoke. “I don’t want to see my son carry a suitcase by himself, and move into another place again.”
She said: “I’ve seen it too many times, my heart aches.”

There was yet another period of silence in the living room. The lights from the television brightened and dimmed again, the characters came and went.
“It’s not the same this time.” Jiang Tian finally retracted his gaze from the silent movie.

Jiang Ou didn’t react in time. She was stunned before she questioned: “What’s not the same?”
Jiang Tian swept a look at a certain area upstairs. He said: “I’m not alone.”
This time, there’s someone with me.

*
Sheng Wang slept all the way until the sky turned bright before he finally groped around for his phone at the corner of his bed by following the sound of his alarm. He slightly hesitated before he opened WeChat in the end.
Sheng Mingyang, who was usually long-winded, didn’t speak for the entire night. He only sent an “Ok” at around the time he would wake up in the morning.
He said: “I’ll listen to you this time.”

They were late for their application to stay in the school dorms, the school replied that the year ones were going through military training and they invited two vehicles worth of military instructors over. They were temporarily staying at the boy’s dorms and already have filled up the remaining space. The students who applied late could only move in when this wave of military practice is over and the dorms are vacated.

Therefore, the two stayed in White Horse Alley for an extended period of time.

Sheng Mingyang finished a portion of his business at last, and could finally come back home for a few days to rest. The father and son both mutually decided to move on from the late night voice messages that time, both taking half a step back. They got along pretty harmoniously.
There was also a subtle change to Jiang Ou and Jiang Tian’s dynamics, maintaining a different sort of balance.

Due to the two’s decision to stay in school, Jiang Ou no longer needed to be at home every day. She brought up how she could help out again; this time, Sheng Mingyang took a step back. The two came to an agreement on the schedule. In Fuzhong, the residential students had breaks on a monthly basis, they just needed to ensure they were home for those few days.
With this, there was less remorse and guilt, and somehow they ended up feeling like there was an increase in the time they got to spend together.

This family that was put together like jigsaw pieces seemed to have found the perfect dynamic, to the point that in some moments, there was even a hint of joy and harmony amongst everyone.

For this period of time, Sheng Wang was in a great mood. It wasn’t simply because of relations at home becoming better, it was more because of Jiang Tian.
Ever since the day he said to stay in school together, he grew even closer to Jiang Tian.

Of course, student Jiang Tian was used to being frozen, he wouldn’t put the words “I’m overjoyed” on his face, when his words ought to be toxic they were toxic as usual. He continued to brazenly be the type to say one thing but actually feel the other, and yet he would reveal a tinge of indulgence in the details of certain things. It wasn’t as obvious as the mountains and rivers; it was still a sort of hidden intimacy.

Sheng Wang didn’t know if Jiang Tian was like this towards Old Man Ding and towards the cat named “Leader” too. There’s probably a little difference.
Regardless, he was enjoying it plenty much.

Once youth is in a good mood, light will always seem to emanate from the tip of their brows and the corner of their lips.

Gao Tianyang mixed around with him every day, he would be hard-pressed to even ignore it. Once, after the jogging exercise, he joked with his arm hooked around Sheng Wang, “Just this state of yours alone, it’s definitely on the level of the Four Major Happy Events back in the ancient times. Rain after a long draught, running into a close friend in a faraway place, wedding night, or excelling in the imperial exams. Which one out of these are you, Sheng-ge?”

Sheng Wang was completely baffled by the question.
His head was drenched in sweat after the run and was about to go snatch Jiang Tian’s ice water. Upon hearing that, he was bemused. “What state? Which state? You’re drunk this early in the morning? Why are you speaking nonsense?”
Gao Tianyang, this idiot, was extremely cooperative. He crazily shook his head on the spot and acted like a mad drunk.
Sheng Wang didn’t understand what he meant. It wasn’t just Sheng Wang, even Gao Tianyang himself just said it on a whim.

The summer heat was extremely drawn out at summer’s end, it was humid and stuffy. Until the last third of September with the arrival of an autumn rain, the weather then abruptly changed for the cooler.
The year ones’ military training reached its end, they took up the sports ground for the entire morning to carry out their display performance, their shouts were heaven deafening. The jogging exercise during the long break for the year twos and threes were cancelled for the day, many students watched the show for fun outside the wire fence, sipping on their drinks.

Sheng Wang went to Xi Le to buy water, on his way back he was captured by Gao Tianyang, Song Sirui and the rest, and somehow was dragged into the army of spectators.
He wasn’t particularly interested in the performance, he gave it a couple of looks, let out a yell, and busied himself with chatting with Jiang Tian on WeChat.

Jiang Tian: The dorms are allocated
Sticker: really? how did you know?
Jiang Tian: Old He gave me the keys

Sticker: which room?
Jiang Tian: Block 2 – 601
Sticker: what does it look like?
Jiang Tian sent a picture of an envelope containing a key. “Block 2 – 601” was written on it.
Sticker: ……

Sticker: does it look like I don’t know what these words look like?
Sticker: i’m asking about the dorms
Jiang Tian: I don’t know
Jiang Tian: You can skip the physics lesson next period and go take a look
Sticker: ……
Sticker: skipping physics? do i look like i want 2 die

Sticker: the keys are already here, when are we moving in?
Jiang Tian: During self-study tonight
Sheng Wang sent three “violently shaking his head” memes in a row.

In the midst of chatting, he briefly looked up and happened to meet Song Sirui’s curious gaze. There wasn’t curiosity, the desire for gossip burned within too.
Sheng Wang raised an eyebrow at him, and swept a look at the sports ground again. His thumbs flew as he typed.
Sticker: i’m kidnapped by Gao Tianyang and Old Song, they’re forcing me to watch the military exhibition performance
Jiang Tian: What performance
Jiang Tian: Black people doing goose-steps?

It was rare for him to joke, Sheng Wang was doubled over in laughter for quite a while. Just as he was about to reply, he was suddenly elbowed by someone.
“What?” Sheng Wang looked up, only to see Gao Tianyang burying his head in his palms. “Too late.”

The next second, a hand dove in from a tricky angle and snatched Sheng Wang’s phone away at lightning speed. Sheng Wang resisted on instinct, but he wasn’t successful. He only managed to lock the screen by pressing the side button.

Oh shit.
Big Mouth Xu!

The administration dean popped up from god knows where, and Sheng Wang’s phone was right in his hands.
“How bold of you!” Big Mouth Xu laughed coldly, “So ostentatious with your phone on the road, you’re scared that I can’t see you, right?”

He was caught red handed, there was no use in finding excuses.
Sheng Wang sheepishly smiled as he touched the tip of his nose, and was prepared to give in and apologise.

Unexpectedly though, Big Mouth Xu walked a few steps away from the crowd, and beckoned him. “Come over for a bit.”
Sheng Wang obediently followed over, all the way to a random corner opposite the boulevard, then did Big Mouth Xu stop in his steps.

Both his hands were behind his back, his head tilting slightly upwards. His gaze was judgemental as he stared at Sheng Wang; Sheng Wang’s hackles were raised from that alone.
“What is it, teacher?”
“Are you in love?” Big Mouth Xu’s expression was solemn.
Sheng Wang: “Huh???”

Big Mouth Xu looked at him in suspicion, as though trying to look for any revealing clue from his face. A while later, his expression turned back to normal, and his tone relaxed: “You all are now at the stage where everything is fresh and new to you, and you want to try everything, more ignorant too. For you, there’s no need to mention your looks, everyone can appreciate beauty, you do get more attention than others on your own, and for some girls, hmm, they can be more gutsy and also in a stage of rebellion too. They might show some attraction to you, and we do not lack excellent girls here.”

Sheng Wang was full of question marks as he listened.
Big Mouth Xu was still going on, “……the teachers also survived this age, we do understand, but—”

“Nowaitteacherholdon,” Sheng Wang stopped him, he was a little unsure if he was supposed to laugh or cry, “who tattled, are they blind? Why would they think I’m dating someone?”

Big Mouth Xu narrowed his eyes. “Who were you sending messages to just now then?”
Sheng Wang choked back his answer on instinct. “Just someone.”
Big Mouth Xu’s expression turned even stranger.
Sheng Wang finally stated: “Jiang Tian.”
“Impossible, I’ve caught plenty of young couples already.” Big Mouth Xu was ready to swear to the heavens, “Don’t try to be slippery with your teachers.”
Sheng Wang was briefly stunned.

So Big Mouth Xu saw the state he was in as he chatted, and mistook him to be dating and in love?
Upon that realisation, Sheng Wang felt that it was a little absurd. But a few seconds later, when he digested that information, his heart abruptly skipped a beat. It was like accidentally taking a step into thin air when climbing the stairs, and also like someone giving his palm a light tickle.

“Unlock your phone and let me check.” Big Mouth Xu presented his phone to him.
Sheng Wang’s fingers, dangling beside him, slightly crooked.

“Hurry up, boy.” Big Mouth Xu urged.
Sheng Wang lifted his hand and pressed, the screen quickly lit up along. The screen was still at his WeChat conversation with Jiang Tian, the top clearly displaying the other person’s name.

“Fine, it really was Jiang Tian.” Big Mouth Xu relaxed. “I’ve wrongfully blamed you, but what I said can still serve as a reminder. Students ought to put their studies as their main priority. You are incredibly brilliant, I hope you can successfully spend your last two years in high school with no regrets, and don’t let other things get in your way.”

He had good intentions, he was sincere as he passed on many heartfelt teachings. He also left with his phone in the end.
But Sheng Wang didn’t move at all.

The wind swept from the tip of tree branches, bringing with it the coolness of the start of autumn.
Gao Tianyang made a small jog over from the edge of the sports ground. He tapped Sheng Wang’s shoulders. “Why are you daydreaming, Sheng-ge? Big Mouth’s gone?”

“Hm?” Sheng Wang just came back to himself, and appeared to be startled by him, but soon he quickly relaxed again, saying, “Yeah, he left.”

TO BE CONTINUED.