Our Entire Family Has Secrets [Transmigrated] - Chapter 13

This was the most exhausting weekend that Yuan Bozhu had ever experienced.

To avoid any unexpected plans, he stayed home all day on Sunday without going out.

After dinner, he had to go pick up his glasses, otherwise he wouldn’t have time tomorrow.

On the way to the glasses store, Yuan Bozhu was on edge, feeling paranoid at every sound and movement, preparing himself at every intersection – he didn’t want to encounter anyone again.

Fortunately, the damned string of coincidences ended like a ghost hitting a wall.

Yuan Bozhu returned home safely.

He sat on the sofa with the news playing on the TV. Yuan Jilang was on the balcony making a call, Zhang Shu was sitting on the massage chair browsing a shopping platform, Yuan Wanjiao seemed exhausted and had gone to bed early, while Yuan Qifeng was still absent.

Everything was so peaceful and quiet.

Good, life returned to its expected monotony. When a news report about a vicious brawl from the previous night aired, Yuan Bozho lifted his eyes and silently watched the TV screen.

Several bodies were found in an abandoned factory in the north of the city. According to the police investigation, the cause of death was excessive blood loss due to external force attacks. The scene was covered in blood, and the faces of the deceased were unrecognizable.

One person had a deep wound from neck to chest that exposed bones – but the latest update from the forensic examination stated that it wasn’t a knife wound. It resembled more like claw marks from some kind of wild animal.

However, due to its sharpness and the inability to detect any residue, the investigation was still ongoing.

Suddenly, Yuan Bozhu glanced at his own hand, feeling an invisible thread of connection pulling him towards the distant Yuan Qifeng.

Most of the time, Yuan Bozhu trusted Yuan Qifeng’s judgment.

Over the years, no matter how strange Yuan Qifeng’s actions seemed or how many injuries he suffered, Yuan Bozhu never delved deeper. He believed Yuan Qifeng wouldn’t harm his own family, and that was enough. Whatever Yuan Qifeng did outside, Yuan Bozhu didn’t care.

But murder obviously exceeded the scope of his ideal ordinary life.

He should go see what Yuan Qifeng had been up to recently.

“Son.”

Zhang Shu’s voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Yuan Bozhuo turned to look at her and successfully dodged her attempt to pat his head again.

“What time is the parent-teacher meeting this week?” Zhang Shu didn’t manage to pat her son’s head. She propped her hands on the sofa, looking unhappy as she glanced at Yuan Bozhu. “Dad’s too busy to go, so mom will go this time.”

“Friday afternoon at three o’clock.”

“Hmm, does mom need to prepare anything? Like… if little brother has a crush and gets caught by the teacher, do you need mom to help you cover it up, you know, give mom a heads-up in advance.” She blinked mischievously and smiled slyly.

Yuan Bozhu was accustomed to Zhang Shu’s flights of fancy about her, so he simply said, “No.”

“Oh my.” Zhang Shu’s expression looked regretful. “You’re eighteen already, if you don’t start dating soon, it’ll be too late!”

Yuan Bozhu thought to himself, for him, the matter of dating was already ancient history by eighteen hundred years.

“Who’s dating whom?!”

Yuan Jilang, who had just finished his call, walked in from the balcony. Upon hearing the words “dating,” he raised his eyebrows, his emotions rising, and stared at Yuan Bozhu. “Who’s the girl? Let your old man see!”

Yuan Bozhu replied, “…There’s nothing like that.”

“Oh, your sister told me, our little son might start having some luck in love recently, and she even asked me to give him more pocket money, in case he wants to buy a token of affection.”

Zhang Shu walked over and took Yuan Jilang’s hand, leaning her head on his shoulder, looking happy yet sympathetic as she looked at her son. “But you know, our little son isn’t cute at all. Who would want to date him?”

” Yuan Jilang’s eyebrows relaxed, disagreeing with Zhang Shu. “That’s not necessarily true. If Yuan  Wanjiao says there’s someone, then there probably is.”

“But she might be teasing us.”

“She wouldn’t dare. Marriage is a serious matter, not to be joked about. If she dares to joke about it, I’ll criticize her.”

“Oh, we’re just talking about dating, not marriage yet.”

“If they’re dating, why wouldn’t they get married?!”

Well, they might not even be dating—”

Yuan Bozhu stood up suddenly, expressionless, glanced at the two, then silently walked back to his bedroom.

He shut out his parents’ discussion about his potential for dating.

It was just another typical Monday, just like any other flag-raising ceremony.

Yuan Bozhu still walked on the outer edge of the crowd, gradually moving down with everyone else’s steps.

“So many things going on this week! There’s a parent-teacher meeting and a welcome party.”

“You don’t have to worry about the welcome party, you don’t even have a seat there.”

“Who says? I know people in the student union, they’ve reserved a ticket for me. Don’t be jealous, this is the advantage of having many friends.”

“Really? Then help me get a ticket too, I want to see the three campus beauties dance jazz!”

…

When they reached the first floor, the crowded crowd finally dispersed.

The students in Yuan Bozhu’s class were gathering together very unitedly.

Probably still nostalgic about their experience at the Nightless Continent on Friday, they were chatting loudly, wishing they could use a megaphone to tell everyone that the whole class was going to the Nightless Continent again.

Yuan Bozhu was always a bit of an outsider in group activities.

Even though he participated in this gathering, he still didn’t leave a deep impression on anyone.

As usual, he walked alone.

But Yuan Bozhu enjoyed the feeling of being forgotten or ignored, as it saved him the trouble of talking to people, allowing him to focus his consciousness on meditation…

“Classmate!”

Someone lightly tapped Yuan Bozhu’s shoulder.

His meditation was interrupted, and his first reaction was that the person had mistaken him for someone else.

In school, no one would deliberately greet Yuan Bozhu.

“I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

…It seemed he wasn’t mistaken.

This person was indeed looking for him.

Lin Shuanghuai jogged a few steps to stand in front of Yuan Bozhu, turned around to face him, and walked backward.

As they walked, he said, “I thought you were on our floor, turns out you were upstairs?”

Yuan Bozhu only glanced at him once, then averted his gaze, his brows lightly furrowed.

He wasn’t good at dealing with this situation.

Recalling their encounter at the café, Lin Shuanghuai had ignored him, and after that night at Xuantian Mountain, Lin Shuanghuai had exposed even more flaws in front of him.

Shouldn’t he avoid him even more, pretend not to know him?

Why then, would he specifically greet him in the crowded crowd?

“That day I was in a hurry and forgot to ask you, what’s your name? Which class are you in?” Lin Shuanghuai spoke with his hands behind his back, chin slightly raised. With each step backward, a small strand of his hair on his forehead trembled slightly, like some delicate and soft feather.

Yuan Bozhu watched his walking posture, feeling unsafe.

Because now there were people all around, and it was easy for Lin Shuanghuai to bump into others while walking backwards.

Sure enough, the next second, Lin Shuanghuai stepped on someone’s heel.

But when the other person turned around and saw Lin Shuanghuai, they didn’t get angry at all. Instead, they greeted him, “Ling Shuanghuai, I was just about to look for you. Can you help me get a ticket for the welcome party?”

A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and several seniors squeezed over. “I want one too! Lin Shuanghuai, you can’t favor one over the other!”

Lin Shuanghuai waved his hand with a smile and said, “Dream on, I only have one ticket, and I’m not giving it to anyone.”

After saying that, he squeezed out of the crowd and ran back to Yuan Bozhu’s side, tightly holding onto Yuan Bozhu’s arm.

Yuan Bozhu turned sideways, trying to avoid him.

But Lin Shuanghuai didn’t give up. He tilted his head, leaned towards Yuan Bozhu’s chest, and before Yuan Bozhu could react, he saw the information on Yuan Bozhu’s school badge.

“Class 7 of Grade 3, Yuan, Bozhu…”

Lin Shuanghuai read his name with a happy smile. “Remember, I’ll come to your class at noon to find you. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“No need.”

“Yes, there is.”

Yuan Bozhu glanced at Lin Shuanghuai, trying to detect any insincerity in his expression. But there was none.

Lin Shuanghuai was genuinely offering to treat him to a meal.

“Not necessary.” Yuan Bozhu slightly emphasized his tone.

Thinking that a firm rejection would save face for Lin Shuanghuai and make him give up talking to him.

However, Lin Shuanghuai seemed somewhat different, like someone not easily provoked.

Yuan Bozhu refused, but Lin Shuanghuai persisted, “Do you like milk tea? I’m going out for lunch; I can bring you some.”

At this point, many people nearby slowed down, curious and gossiping.

“Who is Lin Shuanghuai talking to?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you seen him before? What grade is he in? Why haven’t I seen him around Grade 3?”

“He must have something to ask Lin Shuanhuai for help.”

This was why Yuan Bozhu didn’t want to get close to Lin Shuanghuai.

It seemed like just being within two meters of him automatically made one the center of attention.

Yuan Bozhu furrowed his brows. He didn’t want to be involved with Lin Shuanghuai, nor did he want to continue being the center of attention.

“Ah, are you…?” Lin Shuanghuai, seeing him silent, suddenly realized something and asked in a lowered voice, “Do you dislike me talking to you in crowded places?”

“…”

Yuan Bozhu was somewhat surprised by Lin Shuanghuai’s perceptiveness.

He glanced at him, intending to ignore him, but Lin Shuanghuai blinked confidently at him.

He replied shortly, “Yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll find you quietly next time.”

Lin Shuanghuai was skilled at using his beautiful eyes to convey his feelings.

He winked at Yuan Bozhu, silently said “goodbye”, then turned and immersed himself in the crowd of other students.

Yuan Bozhu opened his mouth, wanting to tell Lin Shuanghuai that it wasn’t the case, that he didn’t dislike him talking to him in crowded places, but rather, he hoped that Lin Shuanghuai would never talk to him again.

However, Lin Shuanghuai had already been engulfed by his classmates.

Yuan Bozhu could only lower his gaze and continue walking alone.

The so-called Murphy’s Law, in simpler terms, suggests that if something can go wrong, no matter how much you anticipate and try to prevent it, it will inevitably happen.

Applied to Yuan Bozhu’s situation now, it was true.

He had successfully avoided unnecessary social interactions from freshman year until now.

But today, cracks were visible in his perfect transparent life.

The person who pierced through these cracks was someone Yuan Bozhu least wanted to befriend in the entire Qiancheng No.1 High School: the campus heartthrob, Baidu Tieba celebrity, and mascot of Qiancheng No.1 High School, Lin Shuanghuai.

Now, this person was standing under the big tree outside the cafeteria, holding two cups of drinks, eagerly waiting for him.

Yuan Bozhu looked around and indeed, there was no one else.

Lin Shuanghuai hadn’t lied; he had come to find him “quietly”.

“Yuan Bozhu, I bought two drinks, one is mango sago and the other is iced coffee. I like sweet drinks, so I bought one for you to try. But I think you don’t look like someone who enjoys sweet stuff, so I also prepared a cup of black coffee without milk or sugar for you.”

Lin Shuanghuai raised the two bags in his hand, offering them to Yuan Bozhu as if presenting an achievement, and said, “Now, choose one.”

Yuan Bozhu didn’t choose anything and just asked, “What’s up?”

Lin Shuanghuai tilted his head slightly with a naive and innocent expression, and smiled at him, “Nothing, I just came to bring you a drink. Which one do you want?”

Yuan Bozhu knew that this kind of obedience was one of Lin Shuanghuai’s habitual masks. Most of the time, facing most people, Lin Shuanghuai would have this appearance.

“None of them,” Yuan Bozhu replied bluntly.

Being rejected, Lin Shuanghuai pursed his lips, put down his hand, and didn’t insist, “Oh, so you don’t like drinking? Okay, I understand.”

Yuan Bozhu sighed silently.

He wanted to tell Lin Shuanghuai that it wasn’t that he didn’t drink beverages, but he just didn’t drink the ones Lin Shuanghuai brought.

However, saying this would inevitably cause misunderstanding. Lin Shuanghuai would think that Yuan Bozhu disliked him.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t dislike Lin Shuanghuai as a person but rather disliked all the chain reactions he brought.

Because explaining it was complicated, he remained silent.

“Um…”

Lin Shuanghuai noticed that Yuan Bozhu seemed to want to leave, but he seemed to have something to say.

If he didn’t let him speak, perhaps Yuan Bozhu would continue to receive his special attention.

So, Yuan Bozhu took the initiative to ask, “What?”

“Although it seems a bit late now, and maybe unnecessary… I know Yuan is not the gossiping type, but I tend to be overly sensitive, so I still want to ask you. About Friday and Saturday…”

Lin Shuanghuai licked his dry lips, trying to smile as naturally as possible, “Can we just pretend that nothing happened?”

Hearing him say this, Yuan Bozhu actually felt relieved.

Asking for a favor could make Lin Shuanghuai’s behavior understandable.

As long as he agreed, Lin Shuanghuai probably wouldn’t bother him again, right?

“Okay,” Yuan Bozhu nodded.

“Great,”

Lin Shuanghuai tried to express his gratitude again, “Can I buy you a drink to thank you? I feel bad otherwise. You don’t like coffee or milk tea, how about cola? Seems like many guys like soda.”

Yuan Bozhu interpreted his words as meaning that as long as he accepted his thanks, they could reach a consensus and everything would be fine between them.

So, he reached out and placed his hand on the cup of iced coffee, saying, “I’ll have coffee, thank you.”

Lin Shuanghuai readily handed him the coffee, smiling as Yuan Bozhu took a sip, finally satisfied.

Yuan Bozhu was also content.

He thought, this is fine, he helped Lin Shuanghuai, and Lin Shuanghuai thanked him by buying coffee.

Everything was settled.

“Is it good?”

“It’s okay.”

Yuan Bozhu often made coffee, and he had his own taste preferences.

Lin Shuanghui didn’t understand, so the coffee he bought was hard to say whether it was good or not. But it wasn’t bad, just average with a strong acidity.

“Looks like you don’t like it,” Lin Shuanghuai sounded a bit regretful.

Yuan Bozhu once again admired this person’s observation skills.

“Shouldn’t have bought coffee then, should’ve bought soda, that’s less likely to go wrong.”

“No need, coffee is fine.”

“Really?”

Yuan Bozhu nodded, seeing Lin Shuanghuai’s disappointed face finally return to a smile.

“Then tomorrow, I’ll buy you coffee again.”

“Huh?”

Yuan Bozhu hadn’t quite understood the logic behind this, but Lin Shuanghuai had already waved goodbye and darted off like a flash.

Yuan Bozhu didn’t have time to refuse;

He just saw Lin Shuanghuai slip away like flying.

His eyebrow twitched, expression blank, “…That’s not what I meant.”

“Delivered it? Impressive. First time I’ve seen you rushing to give someone water,”

Han Banlan and Yu Yanen were playing table tennis. Seeing Lin Shuanghuai bouncing back, Han Banlan threw her racket aside and walked over, hands on her hips, staring at him.

Lin Shuanghuai stretched lazily, looking very pleased, “I’ll buy from a different place tomorrow. He didn’t seem to like the one today.”

Han Banlan gave him a disdainful look and sat on the edge of the table, “Just because he saved you from a cat’s claw, you’re so grateful?

Lin Shuanghuai shrugged noncommittally, “Hmm.”

Yu Yanen approached them, scratching his head, “Cat’s claw? What cat’s claw?”

Han Banlan ignored him and continued asking Lin Shuanghuai, “Wasn’t it him at the café that day? You stared at him all afternoon. I thought you owed him money.”

Lin Shuanghuai glanced at her, “Can’t you think better of me?” ”

Owed money? What money?” Yu Yanen continued scratching his head.

No one paid attention to Yu Yanen.

Han Banlan asked, “Wasn’t that student surprised when he got the coffee? Did he immediately thank you?”

“No, he didn’t want it at first.”

“Huh?” Han Banlan was shocked, “He seems like the honest, nerdy type. I thought he’d be too nervous to even say thank you when he got the coffee.”

“What’s there to be nervous about with me?”

“Many people get nervous around you.”

They chatted casually, while Yu Yanen, in agony, pulled his hair, “Who are you talking about? What thanking? Who are you talking about?”

“Ah, annoying, you’re really the typical example of having a strong body and a simple mind, Yu Yanen. I can’t understand how I liked you in the first year of high school. You’re just a big idiot.”

Han Banlan scolded him while kicking him, “I told you it was the guy who made coffee that day! Why do you care so much?!”

Yu Yanen covered his buttocks and said, “How can you insult people? You said you liked the manly demeanor of a 1.88-meter man, and now you’re calling me an idiot. You’re really too much.”

“I didn’t expect that muscles and brains couldn’t coexist in a man! Get out of the way and stop blocking me from talking to Lin Shuanghuai.” Han Banlan pushed Yu Yanen aside and continued to ask Lin Shuanghuai, “You said you want to be friends with that person, are you planning to introduce him into our circle?”

“Not necessarily, he didn’t say he wanted to be friends with me either.” Lin Shuanghuai took out the cup of mango pomelo sago that Yuan Bozhu hadn’t chosen and sipped it contentedly.

“Of course not, can he reject you?” Han Banlan didn’t even consider that possibility, “I just think if you want to thank him, treating him to a meal or buying him coffee is enough. Why do you have to be friends with him? Do you know what it looked like this morning when you went to talk to him, standing next to him? It was so weird.”

“How was it weird?” Lin Shuanghuai didn’t understand.

“You two are completely different styles! If you’re the male protagonist in a shojo manga, then he’s just a background character. Doesn’t match at all, especially awkward.”

“Nonsense,” Lin Shuanghuai corrected her, “He’s very cool.”

Yuan Bozhu, both inside and outside of school, was always alone, quiet, seemingly indifferent to everything around him, not caring for anyone or anything.

Even the occasional words he said were just “Hmm,” “Oh,” “No.”

Consistently aloof.

Such a person appearing in a manga would definitely be a mysterious and important character.

Lin Shuanghuai thought for a moment and added, “He’s the kind of cool that I can’t learn.”

Hearing Lin Shuanghuai’s description, Han Banlan couldn’t help but feel speechless.

She reached up and touched Lin Shuanghuai’s forehead, “You’re not running a fever, are you?”

Lin Shuanghuai pushed her hand away, nonchalantly grunting, “He’s a friend I must make.”

Yu Yanen successfully interjected, “Oh, come on, it’s just making a friend, not getting a boyfriend. Why do you care so much about appearance? You women are too demanding!”

Han Banlan glared at him, successfully shifting the argument, and chased after Yu Yanen for a lap.

The afternoon sun was scorching, but the three of them seemed to not care.

Sunlight, sweat, easily dissipating boredom.

Lin Shuanghuai looked at them while holding his mango pomelo sago, thinking, Han Banlan just doesn’t understand.

Yuan is very cool.