Our Entire Family Has Secrets [Transmigrated] - Chapter 31
“Yuan Bozhu is carrying such a large bag of stuff for the first time in his life, wandering around the mall.
Strictly speaking, though, it’s not really wandering.
He’s just silently following behind Lin Shuanghuai.
While Lin Shuanghuai happily looks around, Yuan Bozhu is only calculating in his mind how far they are from the second cup half-price bubble tea shop.
But soon, Yuan Bozhu’s thoughts are interrupted.
He’s curious why Lin Shuanghuai is so energetic.
Lin Shuanghuai’s happiness doesn’t seem forced; he doesn’t move slowly due to his injuries or act tough.
It seems like what he’s doing now can already alleviate the slight pain in his body.
‘Yuan, are you buying glasses?’
‘No.’
‘How about a watch?’
‘Not buying.’
‘Then do you want to go to the stationery store to look at pens or notebooks?’
‘Not needed for now.’
Lin Shuanghuai slows down and walks up next to Yuan Bozhu, somewhat disappointed as he says, ‘Should we just go buy bubble tea then?’
‘Hmm.’ Yuan Bozhu glances at him; in the past, the conversation would have ended here. But today, Yuan Bozhu asks one more question, ‘Do you want anything?’
‘No… Well, let’s go to the first floor.’
Although Lin Shuanghuai really wants to stroll around with Yuan Bozhu again, he’s not the same as before, more strapped for cash.
So he obediently takes Yuan Bozhu to the bubble tea shop.
As they ride the escalator down, Lin Shuanghuai can’t resist finding a topic to chat about with Yuan Bozhu.
‘That bubble tea shop always has some promotions. There used to be discounts for couples or best friends, and Han Banlan often dressed up as a couple or best friend with Yu Yangen just to get the discount. But I’ve never had half-price bubble tea.’
As Lin Shuanghuai says this, he laughs and tilts his head, asking Yuan Bozhu, ‘Do you know why?’
Yuan Bozhu thinks, normally at this point he’d need to set Lin Shuanghuai up for a joke so Lin could deliver the punchline.
So he cooperatively asks, ‘Why?’
Even though he isn’t curious.
‘Because I had money at that time.’
No matter how big the discount was, if it wasn’t the flavor he wanted, he wouldn’t buy it.
That’s the confidence that comes from having a full wallet.
Yuan Bozhu thinks Lin Shuanghuai is trying to make a joke in a humorous tone.
But his sense of humor is subtle and not easily caught, so Yuan Bozhu doesn’t find Lin Shuanghuai’s joke funny and doesn’t laugh.
Lin Shuanghuai looks at him for a moment, then laughs on his own.
‘Haha!’
‘… What?’
‘Yuan, did you know, you look like you’re indifferent to people, but actually, every time, you listen carefully to what others say.’
Lin Shuanghuai smiles broadly, wipes a tear of laughter from his eye, and suddenly says,
‘Even if I’m talking nonsense or silly things, you always have that expression of ‘I’m trying to understand.’
Yuan Bozhu briefly glances at him, then lowers his eyes with no emotion and says flatly,
‘Is that so.’
‘Yes.’
Lin Shuanghuai nods firmly, looking at Yuan Bozhu,
‘Yuan, I really enjoy being with you—oh!’
Lin Shuanghuai, not looking where he’s going, doesn’t manage to step off the escalator in time.
His upper body loses balance and lurches forward.
In that instant, Lin Shuanghuai’s mind starts replaying his life’s highlights—there’s nothing more embarrassing than falling in front of Yuan Bozhu.
He had wanted to perform well today, at least not embarrass himself like this…
Fortunately, Yuan Bozhu reaches out and grabs him by the back of his collar, lifting him up like a little chick.
The scene of falling flat on his face is avoided, but the awkwardness doesn’t seem to lessen.
‘Uh, Yuan…’
“Uh?”
“Almost… almost choked.”
Yuan Bozhu released Lin Shuanghuai’s collar with an expressionless face.
In truth, Yuan Bozhu’s reaction was much quicker than that of an average person.
He could have reminded Lin Shuanghuai to watch his step right from the start, but he missed that moment.
There were better ways to prevent Lin Shuanghuai from stumbling when he saw it happening.
But in the end, he just grabbed Lin Shuanghuai by the collar.
In a quite ridiculous posture, he transitioned Lin Shuanghuai from one awkward situation to another.
But there was no other choice.
When Yuan Bozhu reached out, he spent 0.05 seconds to assess what the result would be if he grabbed Lin Shuanghuai’s hand or embraced his waist.
Then he realized that neither result would be good.
Based on the position, angle, falling speed, and various reactions of Lin Shuanghuai, it was highly likely that they would end up embracing each other.
Of course, Yuan Bozhu wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.
So grabbing the back of the collar was still the better choice.
Even though Lin Shuanghuai was choked, they were both unharmed.
Barely able to stand, Lin Shuanghuai adjusted his clothes for a moment and then asked,
“Yuan, what was I about to say just now?” Yuan Bozhu glanced at him, and naturally began to recall their conversation from half a minute ago.
“Yuan, I really like being with you…”
“I don’t know,” Yuan Bozhu said.
“Okay.”
Lin Shuanghuai touched the tip of his nose, feeling a little embarrassed about the scene just now, so he didn’t say anything else and just suggested,
“Shall we go for bubble tea?”
“Hello, handsome, what would you like?”
There weren’t many people, and Lin Shuanghuai waited for two numbers.
When his turn came, he leaned over the counter, looked up, and his profile revealed a joyful smile.
Yuan Bozhu stood beside him, waiting.
Yuan Bozhu wasn’t particularly interested in sweets. He didn’t have any appreciation for fancy bubble teas; to him, they were just sugary water.
But it wasn’t that he disliked them either. Unlike functional drinks like coffee, sweet bubble tea didn’t serve much purpose, but it was drinkable.
He saw Lin Shuanghuai pointing decisively at a promotional bubble tea.
“I’ll have this one, second cup half-price.”
This statement made him feel excited.
It was as if he was ordering not bubble tea, but some long-awaited dream.
“Okay.” The girl took his order and her eyes lingered between Lin Shuanghuai and Yuan Bozhu for a while, showing a suggestive smile. Then she raised her voice and shouted to someone inside,
“Add another pair of couple cups!”
Yuan Bozhu suddenly froze, thinking he must have misheard.
Only then did he slowly turn his gaze to the display board nearby and found the promotion written quite clearly.
Couple promotion, second cup half-price.
Yuan Bozhu raised his eyelids slowly, looked at Lin Shuanghuai, and saw no reaction from him.
He was still leaning over the counter, calmly taking the number slip handed to him by the girl.
Then he turned around and walked towards Yuan Bozhu.
His tone was calm as he said, “I forgot to tell you earlier, this promotion is only for couples.”
However, no matter how calm he tried to appear, it was useless.
From Yuan Bozhu’s perspective, he could see every little movement clearly.
The quietly clenched fingers, the reddening earlobes, the shifting eyes.
Yuan Bozhu hadn’t expected that Lin Shuanghuai would want this bubble tea so badly.
Actually, if Lin Shuanghuai had asked, Yuan Bozhu would have treated him to it without needing the second cup half-price.
There was no need for him to struggle so hard for these few dollars of discount.
But now that the order had been placed, Yuan Bozhu didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. He simply nodded to indicate he understood.
Lin Shuanghuai visibly relaxed and happily held onto the slip of paper like a treasure.
After leaving the shopping mall, it was already late in the evening.
Lin Shuanghuai knew when to call it quits, so he didn’t insist on offering to escort Yuan Bozhu home anymore.
However, Yuan Bozhu still walked with him to the bus stop.
“It seems like this bus doesn’t go to your place. Are you heading somewhere else?” Lin Shuanghuai didn’t dare to think further.
But Yuan Bozhu was straightforward, “I’ll walk you home.”
“Oh.”
Lin Shuanghuai had a bad habit.
When he got nervous, his brain would instinctively shut down.
Most of the time, this helped him quickly escape from tense situations, appearing calm and collected. But this time, his brain had completely stopped functioning.
He hadn’t even processed what “walk you home” meant.
Who was walking whom?
Why?
It wasn’t until the bus arrived and Yuan Bozhu wanted to board with him that Lin Shuanghuai finally regained his senses, extracting a bit of reason from his scattered thoughts.
He knew Yuan Bozhu must have guessed something and was offering to ensure his safety by escorting him home.
But it was too troublesome.
Lin Shuanghuai wasn’t the delicate type; he could handle things himself.
“No need to accompany me. It’s late; you should hurry back home,” Lin Shuanghuai gently touched Yuan Bozhu’s chest, not intending to encourage or reject, and simply said, “Goodbye!”
Yuan Bozhu didn’t insist.
He watched Lin Shuanghuai board the bus, waved at him through the window, and belatedly thought, he seemed to have forgotten to ask one thing.
Does it still hurt?
It wasn’t particularly meaningful.
Lin Shuanghuai’s hand injury from last time had completely healed, a self-healing ability that ordinary humans couldn’t possess.
So Yuan Bozhu speculated that today’s injury, of this degree, might recover overnight without any need for further attention.
But he still felt like something was missing because he hadn’t asked.
The bubble tea Yuan Bozhu had bought remained untouched and forgotten on his desk at home.
But the clothes he brought back received unanimous praise.
Never mind Yuan Qifeng and Yuan Wanjiao in the group chat; even Zhang Shu pestered him all night to try them on.
Yuan Bozhu felt no need; he would wear them when necessary.
“Did your brother find a store assistant at the mall to help you pick these out? He has a good eye, every piece suits you well.”
Zhang Shu helped him sort out the new clothes, divided them by color and fabric, and took batches to wash, murmuring all the while, “They look so good, this one too. Not bad, Mom will be pleased.”
Yuan Bozhu felt no need to disclose who had helped him choose and responded with silence.
After dinner and a shower, returning to his bedroom, Yuan Bozhu saw the bubble tea on the table and thought of Lin Shuanghuai again.
After considering it, Lin Shuanghuai had helped him today. He seemed to have forgotten to say thank you.
So, unusually, Yuan Bozhu proactively picked up his phone.
But before he could look for Lin Shuanghuai, messages from Lin Shuanghuai had already filled the screen.
Surprisingly, Yuan Bozhu had grown used to this.
He didn’t know when it started, but almost every time he turned on or unlocked his phone, there would be messages from Lin Shuanghuai.
20:23
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Yuan, have you reached home? I’m already here.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I knew I forgot something! Yuan, I’ve washed the outfit I borrowed from your place last time. Can I bring it to you tomorrow?
20:25
【Lin Shuanghuai】: [Image attachment]
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I spilled my bubble tea, didn’t even get a taste!
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Waaa qaq
21:31
【Lin Shuanghuai】: It’s late at night, and I’m still thinking about how that bubble tea would have tasted.
Seeing the last message, Yuan Bozhu couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Lin Shuanghuai seemed to have an unconventional way of thinking about things.
He didn’t like to dwell on the negative aspects.
So, when Yuan Bozhuo intentionally left him behind, he felt like he had gotten lost himself.
When Yuan Bozhuo didn’t reply to his messages, he thought it was because Yuan Bozhuo hadn’t checked his phone.
When his bubble tea spilled, he didn’t feel the pain of loss but instead imagined what it would have tasted like if he had managed to drink it.
Suddenly, Yuan Bozhuo picked up the straw, poked a small hole, and took a shallow sip.
Honestly, he still couldn’t quite appreciate the complex variety of flavors.
So, his conclusion was straightforward.
22:01
【Yuan Bozhu】: Sweet.
When Lin Shuanghuai received the message, he had just finished showering.
Upon confirming it was Yuan Bozhu’s reply, he excitedly jumped onto his bed, rolled around a few times, then buried himself under the blanket and cautiously worded his response.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Waaa, I’ll have to go buy another cup tomorrow to taste it! Is it good?
【Yuan Bozhu】: It’s okay.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: What are you doing right now? [Curious.jpg]
【Yuan Bozhu】: Homework.
Yuan Bozhu’s replies were always short and to the point, but Lin Shuanghuai’s enthusiasm didn’t diminish.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: How’s your revision going for the April exams?
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Not revising.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: !!!
【Lin Shuanghuai】: These exams are important, Yuan, you’ve got to work hard!
Suddenly, Lin Shuanghuai jumped up from the bed, started rummaging through his backpack and bookshelf, meticulously reviewing all his notes. After that, he sent Yuan Bozhu a message.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Yuan, I’ll organize some important notes on key exam topics and bring them to you tomorrow.
Yuan Bozhu’s eyebrows twitched.
He really wanted to tell Lin Shuanghuai that he didn’t need to revise.
But that would lead to other complications.
Directly refusing wouldn’t work; he knew very well that Lin Shuanghuai was the type who would promise verbally but secretly stay up all night preparing notes.
In the end, Yuan Bozhu unusually changed the topic.
【Yuan Bozhu】: Is your stomach still hurting?
Such concern would be ordinary for classmates or friends, but coming from Yuan Bozhu, it felt rare.
Lin Shuanghuai was silent on the other end for a long time, almost three minutes, before replying.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: It’s not hurting anymore!
Yuan Bozhu was about to reply when he saw a message in the chat box: [The other party has recalled a message.]
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Hurts qaq
【Lin Shuanghuai】: It hurts so much I’m rolling around in bed
【Lin Shuanghuai】: …
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Yuan, did you not see my previous message?
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I saw it.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: qaq, I wasn’t hurting just now, but suddenly it hurts. Do you believe me?
In truth, whether Yuan Bozhu believed it or not didn’t matter.
Because whether Lin Shuanghuai was in pain or not, Yuan Bozhu couldn’t help him.
So, it was okay to believe him.
【Yuan Bozhu】: Go to the hospital.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: No need to go to the hospital. Talking to you is enough to distract me from the pain. [Fist.jpg]
【Yuan Bozhu】: That’s not how it works.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: [Guilty.jpg]
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I lied to you; it’s not hurting anymore. If it did, I would go to the hospital.
【Yuan Bozhu】: Okay.
The chat suddenly paused here. Yuan Bozhu held a pen in his right hand but hesitated to write anything. His gaze wandered vaguely over his phone. His mind was elsewhere.
22:31
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Yuan, a friend taught me something. She said, in life, there’s no need to have it both ways. When I make a decision, I have to let go of other possibilities.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I used to think she was just showing off in front of me, but now I think she might be onto something.
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I made a decision, and now I fully believe in it.
【Yuan Bozhu】: So, what did you give up?
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Hahaha!!
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Shouldn’t you ask me what decision I made first?
【Lin Shuanghuai】: Okay, I know Yuan is smart; you can deduce from the outcome.
22:35
【Lin Shuanghuai】: I gave up the possibility of being friends with you.