Are All You Straight Guys Like This Chapter 109

Carefree times always pass very quickly.

Just like a spring afternoon, a gentle breeze drifting, hydrangeas blooming in the garden, little Ye Ran was placed in a stroller, watching the drifting clouds in the distant sky gradually move away.

Each beautiful, ever-changing cloud was reflected in his clear little pupils, and along with the passing white clouds went his cubhood, filled with the scent of his mother.

Shen Shi and Ye Ran advanced steadily at Wisteria Kindergarten, from the youngest class to the senior class, winning over countless teachers’ hearts.

The Ye and Shen families also welcomed a peak in their careers. The Junting Group, founded single-handedly by Shen Hanqing, shook off the drawbacks of being bloated and unwieldy, forged ahead with determination, kept pace with the tide of the times, divided the massive group into different divisions, and began to show its edge across various industries, gradually becoming a behemoth in the business world.

Chen Wan, a top student who graduated with a major in fashion design, had shone brilliantly in the field of children’s clothing in recent years. Every garment she designed, infused with her love, was praised by many mothers for its high-quality materials, skin-friendly feel, and flattering cut.

Just like the Mingye Group being named after Ye Ran’s surname, that was the most beautiful gift Chen Wan gave to Ye Ran.

Even before this little life was born, Chen Wan had already been filled with inspiration because of his arrival.

The infrastructure around Wisteria Road was well developed. Besides kindergartens, there were all kinds of public and private schools.

For the convenience of picking up and dropping off the children, Chen Wan and Jiang Ruoyan conducted on-site inspections, and in the end sent the two children to Wisteria Private Primary School at the end of Wisteria Flower Road.

All four adults were busy with their careers. At first, the responsibility of picking up Ye Ran and Shen Shi fell on Ye Huaishan, but gradually, as Ye Huaishan’s abilities became evident and he began teaching senior-three classes, the task of picking up the children could only, helplessly, be handed over to Chen Ma and Uncle Li.

Fortunately, the two little treasures were both very well-behaved, small hands holding small hands, step by step passing through morning light and sunset, growing smoothly from three-head-tall little figures into handsome little youths.

Little youths have many troubles.

Ten-year-old Shen Shi and Ye Ran both had many little worries, but with each other’s companionship, they didn’t seem all that important.

Friday afternoon, sunset filling the sky, Wisteria Flower Road Youth Center.

Inside the open self-study room of the youth center, Ye Ran lay on a small desk by the window. He wore his school uniform, sat upright, and a gentle breeze slipped in through the window crack, blowing apart the fine, soft hair by his cheeks.

Having shed the tenderness of his cubhood, his small almond-phoenix eyes were jet-black and clear, the corners slightly upturned, beautifully shaped. His lashes were thick, and when he focused, his pink lips would press together as he copied the text stroke by stroke, fully absorbed.

Only three children were left in the self-study room.

All of them were children whose parents hadn’t arrived in time to pick them up, or who planned to walk home.

Not long after, a series of footsteps— “dang dang dang”— sounded from the corridor. The back door of the self-study room was pushed open, and a woman with a tired face appeared, apologetically saying to the impatient child, “…Sorry, Xiaoshu, Mommy’s late. Let’s go home.”

Now, only the last two children remained.

Ye Ran finished his Chinese homework. He lifted his wrist, corrected a wrongly written character with correction fluid, then rummaged through his backpack and pulled out his math homework. This week they had been studying word problems. Since entering fifth grade, the difficulty of math had been increasing. Ye Ran frowned, stared at the problems for a while, and still felt that math was really hard.

If Shen Shi were here, that would be great. Shen Shi was better at math than him.

Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives.

“Ranran.” A clear boyish voice came from the front door of the classroom.

Ye Ran immediately looked up. Without realizing it, he was the only one left in the classroom. Shen Shi stood outside the door, wearing a baseball cap, his bangs damp, panting slightly. His long, narrow phoenix eyes also seemed soaked with sweat, looking purely black.

He wore tennis training clothes, the contours of his brows and eyes still somewhat youthful, a tennis bag slung on his back. He glanced around the room, then his gaze returned to Ye Ran. Pressing his lips together tightly, he said with great self-reproach, “…Sorry, I’m late today.”

Since first grade, Ye Ran and Shen Shi had been sent to the youth center to attend interest classes.

Ye Ran was very interested in drawing, while Shen Shi was more interested in tennis.

The two of them had classes in the same area of the youth center: Ye Ran upstairs, Shen Shi downstairs. The coach who taught Shen Shi was a retired national team athlete who had high expectations of him and always demanded a high standard.

Jiang Ruoyan had chatted with the coach several times, and starting from the year before last, she let Shen Shi follow the coach for private lessons, one-on-one instruction.

Private lessons cost 1,000 yuan per hour. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Shen Shi had to come to the youth center’s indoor training court. Perhaps because of this, his mentality and physique were far more outstanding than his peers. At only ten years old, he already had the calm and steady demeanor of a little adult.

Ye Ran quickly packed up his backpack. His drawing class had ended more than an hour earlier. He didn’t want to go home alone, so he would always do his homework in the self-study room while waiting for Shen Shi. Today, Shen Shi came out so late that it made him very worried.

“It’s okay, Big Brother Little Shi. Did you have extra training again today?”

Ye Ran pulled a tissue from his pocket and worriedly wiped the sweat from Shen Shi’s face. After finishing training, Shen Shi had run all the way to the self-study room, his stamina already completely exhausted. He sat on the bench outside the self-study room, gently closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and let his little brother wipe his sweat.

“Mm, today the training load was increased.”

The remaining glow of the sunset fell on Shen Shi’s youthful yet tired face. Ye Ran’s movements were very light as he skillfully took out a thermos of warm boiled water that had just cooled down from his backpack. Just like when he used to feed his tired Big Brother Shen Shi milk when they were little, he brought the cup to Shen Shi’s lips.

Shen Shi raised a hand and rubbed Ye Ran’s hair. He didn’t open his eyes and took two big gulps through the straw.

The soft gurgling sound of water echoed.

It was very clear in the quiet corridor.

Ye Ran felt terribly distressed. He took out a Snickers bar from his backpack, tore open the wrapper, and fed it to Shen Shi’s mouth again.

The dull heaviness and gloom that faintly shrouded Shen Shi instantly dissipated. He lifted his eyelids and looked at his brother’s face so close, adorable and full of worry. He took a bite of the Snickers and felt that it was much sweeter than when he was on the training court.

In the early years, when he first tasted the bitterness of training, Shen Shi had still been the Shen family’s pampered young master. Every day he wanted to stick close to his little brother Ranran. Aside from the rare moment of having his own opinion when choosing interest classes, he wouldn’t even spare anyone else a glance the rest of the time.

After the first training session, he couldn’t lift his arms, his legs were so sore he couldn’t walk, and he collapsed on the green shaded ground of the training field like a salted fish. That was when little Ye Ran, who had just finished a painting and excitedly ran down from the art room, saw him.

Always gentle and sluggish, little Ye Ran who as a child could hold a milk bottle and drink for an entire afternoon  was so frightened that he burst into tears. His face turned pale in an instant, thinking Shen Shi had some serious illness, and he lay on top of him crying so hard he almost went into spasms.

Seeing this, little Shen Shi felt unbearably distressed. He wriggled on the ground like a small earthworm, panting and twisting, but his arms and legs trembled from soreness, making him really look like he was gravely ill. He could only anxiously and worriedly coax his little brother.

For the next three or four days, Ye Ran pitifully wiped his little tears while feeding him food and water, even wishing he could help him put on his clothes.

Shen Shi, dizzy and muddled, soaked in his brother’s care, grinning foolishly the whole time, wishing for the first time that the pain could last a bit longer.

From then on, whenever Shen Shi went to training, Ye Ran would always keep energy-replenishing snacks in his backpack and pockets, along with plenty of tissues and lemon water.

Warm water slid down his throat. Shen Shi lowered his brows and eyes. The shadow of the baseball cap covered the fleeting restlessness in his eyes. He finished the Snickers in two or three bites, took Ye Ran’s hand, and stood up. “How long have you been waiting? Are you hungry?”

“Hungry,” Ye Ran obediently slung his backpack on. “I want to eat stir-fried rice noodles.”

There was a small food street at the entrance of the youth center.

Every Friday, Ye Ran and Shen Shi would treat themselves on the food street. It was right at the time when school and work ended. Streetlights lit up one by one along the road, nearby middle schools poured out crowds of people, and office workers, tired from a long day, squeezed into the throng.

Shen Shi and Ye Ran, two little youths, stood out with their refined demeanor and good upbringing. Holding hands, their close manner drew quite a bit of attention.

However, Shen Shi kept a straight face, expressionless. His pitch-black little phoenix eyes looked rather fierce, so even though Ye Ran following behind him was extremely well-behaved and adorable, no one dared come up to strike a conversation.

There were many people on the food street in the evening. On both sides of Wisteria Flower Road stretched a tree-lined avenue that blocked out the sky.

Tree shadows swayed gently in the evening breeze. Snack carts lined the sidewalk, and the smell of cooking oil, the calls of vendors, and the bright lights of the carts merged into a night scene full of everyday warmth.

Shen Shi led Ye Ran to an empty table. The aunt selling stir-fried rice noodles saw them and broke into a happy smile. “Ranran, Little Shi, you’re here?”

“Auntie Chen.”

Auntie Chen was a homeowner in the villa district. Because she was too bored staying at home, she simply started doing business. The money she made in a day with her pushcart wasn’t even enough for a fraction of what she spent on clothes, but because it was healthy and green, she had many regular customers in the area.

“What are you eating today?” Plump Auntie Chen wore a red apron. Oil heated up in the wok in front of her, making a ‘sizzle sizzle’ sound as bean sprouts and greens were stir-fried.

Customers laughed and chatted loudly. The evening breeze blew gently, and besides the aroma of food, there was faintly the fragrance of wisteria flowers.

Shen Shi wiped the table, settled his little brother, then put his tennis bag on a chair to save the seat. After that, he walked over to Auntie Chen’s cart and looked carefully.

Auntie Chen cooked entirely by feel. The menu was different every day. Regular customers wouldn’t look at the menu when they came and would just order directly; only new customers would study the menu for a while.

Thinking of the look on Ye Ran’s face when he said “hungry” just now, Shen Shi felt very uncomfortable, heavy-hearted, wishing he could hurry up and feed his brother until he was full. Ever since he was little, he had had an unusual protective instinct toward Ye Ran. When Ye Ran caught chickenpox, before Ye Ran even cried, Shen Shi had already cried all the tears for him.

“Two servings of stir-fried rice noodles, one serving of guobaorou,” Shen Shi said. Auntie Chen smiled at him, unhurried, leisurely waiting for him to finish looking at the menu. “And one serving of pine-nut corn. Auntie Chen, do you have iced mung bean soup today?”

“Of course.” Auntie Chen smiled and pointed to the foam box beside her. “Auntie will give it to you for free.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Shen Shi didn’t stand on ceremony. He walked over to the foam box, lifted the lid, flipped aside the thick layer of cotton padding, took out two cups of iced mung bean soup, inserted the straws, and returned to their seats.

At their seats, Ye Ran waited for him eagerly. Every week, the time he looked forward to the most was coming out to eat at the snack stalls with Shen Shi. However, Chen Wan managed him very strictly, afraid that eating too much food that was heavy in oil and salt would burden his body, so she kept tight control.

“Big Brother, what did you buy?” Ye Ran took a sip of the mung bean soup. The sandy, velvety mung bean soup was cooked thick, sweetened with old rock sugar, then chilled with ice cubes. On a summer afternoon, one sip was enough to brush away all the heat from the body.

Shen Shi told him what he had ordered. Ye Ran listened with a greedy expression. “If we eat this much, can we still eat dinner when we get back?”

“My dad just called me. Tonight they have a dinner engagement, and Uncle Ye also went with Auntie Chen, so this is our dinner tonight.”

Ye Ran bit the straw and couldn’t help smiling. His eyes curved into lovely crescent moons, and little ripples appeared on his soft cheeks. When he smiled, it was sweet enough to seep straight into one’s heart. “Yay.”

Shen Shi was calmly sweetened by it, and for the umpteenth time sighed in his heart that his little brother was really cute. He then naturally began tearing open the packaging of the disposable tableware.

Auntie Chen’s snack stall was luxurious and spacious, with a total of four stoves. With just her and Uncle Chen working together, they could still manage the workload.

Before long, the stir-fried rice noodles and pine-nut corn were served first, their aroma filling the air. Uncle Chen wore a gentle smile, beaming cheerfully like a Maitreya Buddha. His gray undershirt was completely soaked with sweat from the heat, yet he deliberately raised his voice, doting on these two little stars from the villa district.

“Ranran, Little Shi, if it’s not enough, tell Uncle. Uncle will give you more.”

Shen Shi was young but carried himself with grandeur. At such a young age, he already had Shen Hanqing’s way of doing things. Meals had to include both meat and vegetables. He nodded and said, “Thank you, Uncle, but Ranran and I might not even finish all this.”

“You’re growing, you should still eat more. Was today’s training tiring?” Uncle Chen asked with a smile.

Shen Shi never showed weakness in front of outsiders. He pushed the unwrapped tableware toward Ye Ran and scooped a spoonful of pine-nut corn for him. “Not tiring, just right.”

“And what about Ranran? Has our little painter drawn any new paintings?”

Ye Ran felt embarrassed. The rims of his ears turned red, and in his eyes seemed to flow a clear lake. He said softly, “Uncle, I’m not a little painter.”

“It’s okay. Our Ranran is so smart, sooner or later you’ll become the very best painter.”

Uncle Chen really liked Ye Ran. When Ye Ran was just over three years old, he loved sleeping the most. Hugging his little milk bottle, he would lie in his stroller. While other children hopped about and got into mischief, little Ye Ran would quietly watch flowers bloom and fall, clouds gather and disperse, a pacifier in his mouth, his grape-purple eyes filled entirely with sleepiness.

His little almond-phoenix eyes almost turned into sleepy-phoenix eyes.

This kind of salted-fish baby was something Uncle Chen had never seen before, and from then on he adored Ye Ran beyond measure.

At this moment, Auntie Chen brought over the guobaorou. She shot Uncle Chen an annoyed look. “That’s enough. So many customers are waiting for their food, hurry up and cook.”

Uncle Chen didn’t dare talk back to her and slunk away. Auntie Chen smiled and reminded Ye Ran and Shen Shi of a couple of things before leaving as well.

The snack stall bustled with heat and noise. Ye Ran drank iced mung bean soup and ate the dishes he liked, happy beyond measure.

Thinking of what Uncle Chen had just said, he bit the straw. His lips were chilled slightly red by the mung bean soup as he said very earnestly, “Big Brother Little Shi, you’ll definitely become the best tennis player too!”

The hand holding the chopsticks paused. Shen Shi turned his head and looked at him. “Really?”

Ye Ran froze, tilting his head.

Shen Shi also realized his question sounded strange. He shifted his gaze away, picked up a piece of guobaorou for Ye Ran, fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Ranran, do you really think I can become a tennis player?”

“Yes!” As Shen Shi’s brainless little fanboy, Ye Ran didn’t hesitate at all.

To show his belief, he propped his cheek with his hand, starry-eyed as he gazed into the distance, and said slowly, “When Big Brother Little Shi goes to competitions, I’ll go cheer for you in person. I’ll bring Dad and Mom, Godfather and Godmother too. If I can’t go, I’ll cheer for you in front of the TV. And when my drawing gets really good in the future, I’ll draw Big Brother Little Shi and hang it on the wall—”

Shen Shi coughed lightly. “Hanging it on the wall is unnecessary.”

Ye Ran looked at him. “Why?”

“Um…” Shen Shi thought very seriously for a moment. Would hanging a portrait in the Chen family’s living room look out of place?

But seeing Ye Ran’s enthusiastic expression, he instantly agreed without any logic. “If you want to, then you can.”

Ye Ran: “I want to!”

Shen Shi clenched his fist, heavily imagining it once more in his mind, then let out a breath. “Ranran, maybe don’t hang it in the living room.”

“Why hang it in the living room?” Ye Ran looked confused. “If it’s going to be hung, of course it would be in my bedroom.”

His drawing skills weren’t that good yet, hanging it out would embarrass Big Brother Little Shi.

Shen Shi fell silent again and quietly picked up another piece of guobaorou for him. “That’s good then. I’ll wait for Ranran’s drawing.”

“…But drawing is really hard,” Ye Ran sighed, propping up his little head, dejected. “Every day I struggle between ‘I have to draw properly today’ and ‘I really don’t want to draw.’”

“Then will Ranran still persist?”

“Of course!” Ye Ran lifted his little head and said seriously, “Compared to the time when I don’t like drawing, there’s still more time when I like drawing.”

“Me too,” a smile appeared on Shen Shi’s face as he looked at Ye Ran. “Compared to the time when I don’t like tennis, there’s still more time when I like tennis.”

The two of them seemed to have gained a lot more motivation, sitting on the breezy yet bustling snack street, talking about each other’s little troubles.

Little troubles seemed very troublesome.

They occupied a lot of space in little heads.

But after telling each other, they gradually, along with the evening breeze, became a little less worrying.

Shen Shi had a big appetite. After finishing his portion of stir-fried rice noodles, he looked at Ye Ran. Sure enough, Ye Ran couldn’t eat much. He obediently pushed the remaining rice noodles into Shen Shi’s bowl. After that, he focused on eating the dishes.

Worried that Ye Ran would be hungry later at night, after dinner Shen Shi also took him to a convenience store to buy an onigiri.

After heating it up, Ye Ran held the small rice ball in his hands. His mouth was small, his eating manners refined and gentle. He ate slowly, chewing bite by bite, and when he reached the filling in the center, he let Shen Shi have a taste too.

Shen Shi carried his tennis bag on his back, held Ye Ran’s hand, and lowered his head. Their shadows were stretched long and deep by the streetlights.

……

Upon entering the villa district, the noise instantly faded away.

Shen Shi followed Ye Ran back to the Ye household. When they pushed open the front door, the house was pitch-dark. It was clear that Chen Wan and Ye Huaishan hadn’t returned yet.

The two of them changed into slippers at the entryway and went to Ye Ran’s bedroom.

Ye Ran’s bedroom was neither big nor small. The desk was by the window, and the curtains were lifted by the wind, revealing the blooming flowerbeds in the yard and the courtyard wall covered in creeping ivy.

Shen Shi turned on the light and sat down at the desk. By the time Ye Ran came back with water, Shen Shi had already started checking his homework.

“Ranran,” Shen Shi patted the chair beside him, took out paper and pen, and under the bright desk lamp began listing equations and solving problems for Ye Ran. “For this problem, you need to pay attention, Team A’s road construction speed is three-quarters faster than Team B’s…”

Two small figures leaned together, framed by the square window, warm and gentle.

Before long, the sound of a car horn came from the end of the road.

Bright headlights lit up the way ahead.

Ye Ran saw his father and mother get out of the car.

They carried large and small shopping bags in their hands, familiar logos printed on them, the new clothes from Mingye Group this season.

“Ranran, Little Shi,” Chen Wan waved toward the window, calling out impatiently, “We brought back new clothes for you, try them on later!”

After staying at the Ye household until nine in the evening, when it was almost time to sleep, Shen Shi was called home by a phone call from Jiang Ruoyan.

The Shen family’s villa was right next door to the Ye family. Because the neighbors had shifted their company’s focus and moved to the capital, the empty house was sold directly to the Shen family. Jiang Ruoyan renovated it anew and moved the family in.

The two families’ interactions grew ever closer. Even Ye Ran’s and Shen Shi’s bedrooms faced each other directly. If a path were built between them and a wooden plank laid across, it would make a shortcut.

It was just that the two children were still too young. They were afraid that if there really were a shortcut, the kids would climb back and forth and it would be too dangerous, so the idea was pressed down and left unmentioned.

Shen Shi, with his tennis bag on his back, put his cap back on properly and went home.

Jiang Ruoyan was waiting for him at home. Seeing him return, she calmly put down the A4 paper in her hand and said, “Come sit down. You know why I’m waiting for you.”

Shen Shi had always had strong opinions and an independent temperament since childhood.

Even though he was only ten, Jiang Ruoyan never treated him as a child who could be easily coaxed or controlled.

Shen Shi took off the bag and sat on the sofa opposite Jiang Ruoyan. He looked straight at her without the slightest fear. Those phoenix eyes similar to Shen Hanqing’s were long and slightly upturned, the eyelids a bit rounded, youthful yet not timid.

“Registration for the ‘Zheng Jie Cup’ has begun. Your age just fits the U10 age group. Are you willing to go?”

Jiang Ruoyan said, “Coach Zhang called me. He said you seem not very interested in this competition. Little Shi, can you tell Mom what you’re hesitating about?”

Shen Shi sat quietly on the sofa. From a little child at three years old whose legs couldn’t even reach the ground, he had now grown into his features, his disposition becoming ever stronger.

Jiang Ruoyan knew this would be a crucial choice in Shen Shi’s life. She respected his opinion, but under appropriate circumstances, she would also intervene.

Under her gentle gaze, Shen Shi was silent for a moment, then seriously raised his head and said, “Mom, I want to register.”

Jiang Ruoyan froze for a moment, then the smile on her face slowly spread.

Shen Shi didn’t avert his gaze, nor did he explain why he had hesitated in front of Coach Zhang today. But Jiang Ruoyan knew that her son had made the right choice.

With a relaxed expression, she put away the A4 paper and said to Shen Shi, “Alright. Since you’ve decided, I’ll go communicate with Coach Zhang about your competition. I’ll also apply for leave from school for you in advance. During this period, just focus on training.”

Shen Shi froze and suddenly frowned. “Only me taking leave?”

Jiang Ruoyan: “?”

Who else?

“Mom,” Shen Shi’s brows knit tighter, his expression returning to the displeasure he’d had at the start. “Isn’t Ranran going with me?”

Jiang Ruoyan: “???”

Her face went blank for an instant as she stared in suffocating disbelief at her stubborn little son, who wouldn’t leave without hearing an answer.

…No.

He’s been weaned, but not weaned off Ranran?

Author’s note: Shen Shi: …