Raising You This Small Stuff

Chapter 62.1 Bubbling of dark undercurrents

Kan Ming was quite puzzled when he received news about Fang Gui’s latest move. He had surprisingly found a decent job recently. He had once again gone crying to his sister and Fang Ya, unable to resist her brother’s pleading, gave most of her already small salary to temporarily relieve him of his debts, and then helped him find a job as a janitor in a radio station, which although it didn’t pay much, it was still quite leisurely.

It was easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one’s character, hence Kan Ming naturally didn’t think that Fang Gui had changed his nature, but since he hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary and his life hadn’t been threatened, he wouldn’t interfere for the time being.

Putting down the information in his hand, he glanced at Po Fei who was busy in the kitchen. He rarely ordered take-out ever since Po Fei came to this house. He was a very good cook and although his expression was often indifferent, his slim back with his apron on as he cooked seriously was warm.

“Is it red braised pork today?” Kan Ming could already smell the fragrance.

Po Fei waved his spatula, “Yes.”

“But didn’t you say yesterday that you would make sweet and sour spare ribs?” Kan asked.

Per Fei turned his head, looked at him blankly then said half-heartedly, “The ribs at the market today weren’t very fresh, I’ve already booked fresh ones with the boss for tomorrow.”

The curve at the corners of Kan Ming’s mouth grew wider and wider. Although Po Fei was always cold on the surface and never expressed his appreciation for Kan Ming in words, he was attentive in every aspect of his daily life. Two spoons of sugar for his coffee, chive dumplings with shrimp meat, soya milk with maltose and jellied tofu with less spice… Kan Ming’s life had finally started to be refined and regular after so many years of being a rough guy.

In short, compared to the one at his boss’s house, Kan Ming felt he was too blessed!

“I have to go to the care centre tomorrow.” Po Fei set up his dinner and wiped his hands on his apron.

“Okay, but I have work tomorrow, I’m afraid…”

“You don’t have to follow me everywhere, I used to move around freely before, I won’t lose that.”

Kan Ming thought about it and was still uneasy, “I’ll get a driver to take you there tomorrow. Right, I’ve contacted a hospital that can take her in, so I can transfer her in soon.” It had been a helpless choice to send Tian Yao to the care center at that time. If there were conditions that allowed her to be able to continue receiving treatment, it would of course be good, only that the cost would be very high.

“…… Thank you then.” Usually when it comes to some spending expenses, Po Fei would stubbornly use only what he earned from his part-time job. Even the two new clothes he bought have to be calculated to return, for this reason Kan Ming had to rip off the label of the brand-name shirt and sew a cottage one on disguised as a kind of two for 29 or 9 yuan fifteen minutes before a certain treasure promotion sale. But when it came to Tian Yao, Po Fei accepted without excuses, and knowing his elf’s pride, Kan Ming added, “I’ll give you it to you on credit. It won’t be too late to pay it back when you become one of the top celebrity chefs in the capital.”

Without saying anything else, Po Fei served Kan Ming a bowl of rice and put a few pieces of red braised pork on top.

“Eat.”

Kan Ming took it and took a big mouthful. The soft but firm rice, tender and melt-in-your-mouth red braised pork….. put together and chewed almost made him swallow his tongue.

—

Speaking of the boss’s elf, Yuan Suo was preparing for the next update of the comic, but he didn’t know what was wrong with him. He couldn’t concentrate very well as he coloured. After a while he was a little tired, so he put the pen down and looked at the time. Mo Yi Cheng should have finished his work by now.

As expected, Mo Yi Cheng had already finished removing his make-up and was on his way home.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Yi Cheng noticed keenly that the little thing’s face didn’t look good.

Yuan Suo answered truthfully, “It’s about the sketch, it didn’t go well.”

Mo Yi Cheng knew that he was affected by the live broadcast, and while the attention given to his comics had increased like never before, he had also gained a lot of black fans, especially in the comment section where there were often some sunspots with bad and spirit dampening comments.

“If the plot is really not going well, why not draw an extra to regulate it first.” Mo Yi Cheng offered his suggestion, “For example, it’s getting very close to the New Year now, so perhaps drawing something related to Chinese New Year elements should resonate well.”

Yuan Suo became very interested when he heard this. Instead of sticking with the current difficult situation regarding the plot, he could take a different approach by drawing some extras, and maybe he would find a new breakthrough.

“So…. what should I draw? Fireworks? Wrapping dumplings? Spring Festival couplets?” Yuan Suo’s counted on his fingers.

Mo Yi Cheng thought for a moment and asked, “Du Du, do you know that the Chinese have a New Year custom, or belief? That is to have a reunion.”

Yuan Suo shook his head. He didn’t know much about this kind of festival on Earth. In interstellar space, people only celebrated on the founding of a nation or on some victory days, the atmosphere of ‘New Year’s Eve’ had long been diluted.

“Then you’ll know now.” Mo Yi Cheng explained the concept and everything about it patiently, “So, New Year’s Eve is about getting together as a family.”

“Mm!” Yuan Suo roughly understood what Mo Yi Cheng’s was talking about. Several creative materials had already appeared in his mind.

But Mo Yi Cheng didn’t seem to be ready to stop there, delayed beauty bullying upwards, said word by word: “So this Mo family’s New Year’s Eve family dinner this year, Du Du can’t be missing.”

Mo Yi Cheng was inviting him to dinner oh, Yuan Suo nodded his head cheerfully.

Mo Yi Cheng added, “After the New Year’s Eve dinner, we are a family.” Mo Yi Cheng had already decided that he would tell Mother Mo about his relationship with Du Du as soon as possible. There was bound to be some obstacles, but he would do his best to have her accept Du Du at the New Year’s Eve family dinner.

“A family?”

“Hmm, a family.”

Mo Yi Cheng’s firm gaze was like the brightest and most thrilling star in the sky, making Yuan Suo almost forget to breathe as he looked at him. He couldn’t help but sigh at how lucky he was to have met such a person and to have such a man.

Chapter 62.2 Bubbling of dark undercurrents

Finally, before going to bed, Yuan Suo completed the four-frame Chinese New Year mini-episode series. When he posted it on Weibo and saw the praise and love, his back and wrists which had been sore and stiff all night, relaxed.

After finishing his shower, Mo Yi Cheng received a notification from Yuan Suo’s account informing him that he had updated his Weibo, so he clicked in and was amused to see the same Q-version of Du Du sitting in a bathtub filled with dumplings.

Just after, Yuan Suo discovered that Chen Jiao had left a message for him and pulled Mo Yi Cheng to read it.

“Brother Chen said I’m very smart!”

Mo Yi Cheng smiled, “Hmm, indeed, Du Du is very smart.”

“I have to reply seriously!” Saying this, Yuan Suo lowered his head and replied speedily with his two index fingers.

Mo Yi Cheng asked, “You haven’t seen Chen Jiao for a few days, do you miss him?”

“Yes.” Chen Jiao was a good person and he usually took good care of him, so he did miss him after not seeing him for a few days.

Mo Yi Cheng said, “We will see him again soon.”

“Huh? Is… is he coming back to work? That’s great….”

Yuan Suo hadn’t yet finished his words when Mo Yi Cheng said, “No, we’ll see him on a variety show, I’m going over to participate for a segment and he was also invited to sing as a guest because of ‘Galaxy’, so we’ll be able to meet then.”

“Okay!” Yuan Suo gestured happily in victory, before asking, “What kind of variety show is it?”

Mo Yi Cheng said, “Happy One Hundred Percent.”

When Yuan Suo heard this he became even more excited. The show was a high quality interactive game show that aired every Saturday night on NHW TV, and Yuan Suo was a big fan.

The recording was in three days’ time and Yuan Suo was practically counting the days on his fingers. At the same time, he told Long Bow about his upcoming visit to the site of the show and Long Bow immediately threatened to go on a hunger strike, obtaining a promise from Chen Sheng that he would be allowed to be there that day as well.

“But are dogs allowed in the audience too?” Yuan Suo chose to ask this in conformity with the spirit of asking questions if one didn’t understand something.

Long Bow on the other side was silent for a moment, then, “Du Du, have you been corrupted by Su Yi?”

“Uh… no, no I haven’t been corrupted!”

“…. Anyway, Chen Sheng is resourceful!” Long Bow grunted, putting on a real-life version of ‘using his position to bully others!’

—

Fang Gui swept the floor of the studio to the sound of scolding, fawned unctuously then asked the person in charge if he was permitted to leave and only after receiving permission was he allowed to leave work. Taking a look at the time, it was already after 9pm.

In the dressing room, he folded the clothes he had been wearing all day into a ball, threw it into the locker and changed into his own clothes. Having eaten very little for dinner, his stomach was already rumbling with hunger, and he was feeling quite uneasy after not having a drink for two days in a row.

He clicked on his phone and searched for “Mo Yi Cheng’s “Happy One Hundred Percent”” and once again confirmed that Mo Yi Cheng’s recording session was in two days and breathed a long sigh of relief. Two more days, three at most, then he would be free from this kind of life!

Today, after Tian Yao’s care center called to inform him that the patient had been transferred to XX Hospital, he knew that it must have been Po Fei’s new player who did it.

He shivered and took a cigarette out from his pocket, the fingers he often used to hold the cigarette already yellowed. He hadn’t been to see his vegetative wife for a long time, he couldn’t say why, whether it was because he was afraid to see his wife who was getting thinner and thinner almost like a skeleton, or afraid that his wife, who used to be proud of him, would see him in this da** state, even if… she did see…

After stubbing off his cigarette, Fang Gui stood up, his eyes red and his face waxy. Rubbing his yellowed hands, he took a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his trousers and spread it out. On it were some arrangements he had secretly copied down for the recording event two days later, including the lounge arrangements for the guests, the rehearsal time and so on.

At this moment, Po Fei was by the hospital bedside, talking as he held Tian Yao’s hand.

Previously, family members weren’t allowed to stay overnight at the care center, and the visiting hours were limited, moreover as he was working as he stayed with Fang Gui and attending classes in the game, he had always been pressed for time.

Now as he looked at his sister in the hospital bed, his eyes suddenly turned red, “Sis, please wake up soon, I have now fulfilled my promise to become a great cook! I occasionally skip classes at the Elf Academy….. but it doesn’t matter. I know everything they teach me, I just get docked credits and lose my grade, but it’s okay, it’s just losing it, it just so happens that I can spend all my time with you.”

Po Fei said softly, a smile on his face, as he spoke about ordinary daily life.

“Sis, I’ve grown up, and now I have… a good proxy player too…”

Just as Po Fei was rambling in a low voice, the fingers he held in his hand suddenly moved!

He shook, his whole body freezing as his eyes widened incredulously!

“Sis…” He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, even though it had happened right before his eyes.

Suddenly, Tian Yao’s fingers moved again!

He jumped straight up this time and pressed the buttons on the bed frantically as he shouted, “Doctor! Doctor!”