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Translator: Cheese
Wishing you a happy new year, fairies, muah!
Rong Heng was probably the ancient times person who most looked like a modern times person.
Of course, Song Yuan had only met two ancient times people so far, but Rong Ting still spoke in a way that was neither old nor modern, while Rong Heng spoke more like a modern person than she did. If not for the paternal test result, she never would have believed that he was Rong Ting’s father, a person from ancient times.
Rong Heng was very sensible. After they left the hotel, he took the initiative to say goodbye to them and did not ask to visit them at their house. This made Song Yuan sigh in relief. In front of Rong Ting, she had no way to refuse his visits, but in her heart, she still hoped that he could stay removed from their lives. It was good for everyone.
Song Haiping and Chen Linjing were very busy this year end and didn’t stay in B City for too long. But the two couldn’t rest assured about the situation here, and so they sent someone to keep an eye on the neighborhood.
Song Yuan took Rong Ting back home. Neither of them were accustomed to the peacefulness at home.
“We can go back next week.” Song Yuan comforted, “Grandpa and Grandma are both home, and New Years isn’t too far away. They’ll be able to rest then, and we can go visit them every day.”
Song Yuan also missed her hometown very much. After all, she wasn’t familiar with the people and environment in B City. It was just a pity about the two classes next week that she had signed Rong Ting up for. Rong Ting’s English level wasn’t very good in the first place. If he missed a few more classes, he might not be able to keep up with the others.
“Okay.”
“When we go after the New Year, let’s raise a pet. Do you like cats or dogs?”
This was the first time Song Yuan had talked about this with Rong Ting. Rong Ting was surprised and delighted, but he still asked her with uncertainty, “Is it possible to raise a dog? Truly?”
“Of course it is. Wait until the end of the year, and I’ll take you to the pet shop to take a look. We can get anything you like, but let me just say in advance, pets like lizards aren’t allowed because I’m afraid of them.”
“I like puppies!” Rong Ting was ecstatic. “Can we really get a puppy?”
“We can. Have you raised one before?”
Rong Ting shook his head. “No. Emperor Father does not like them.”
“How pitiful,” Song Yuan sighed. “The palace is so big, and there’s no TV or Internet. If there are cats and dogs to raise, you could maybe pass the time. With nothing, wouldn’t people be driven crazy? Speaking of, is there such a thing as ‘driving someone insane’ in the palace?”
Rong Ting hesitated. “One time I was playing, and I overheard some maids and eunuchs chatting together. They said that there was a mad woman1 in the Cold Palace.”
“There’s really a Cold Place? What happened to the mad woman?” Song Yuan suddenly became interested!
“I am also not too clear about it. It seems that the crazy woman is one of Emperor Father’s concubines. I do not know why she lost her mind.”
Song Yuan wasn’t surprised that Rong Ting didn’t know. He was the crown prince, after all, not a tabloid reporter. The things he could hear had probably gone through layers of filters; how could he be clear on the matters of the rear palace?
“I was just asking. Cell phones are so fun, so I was thinking that if the ancient times had cell phones and Internet, those concubines wouldn’t bother to fight for favor. After all, it’s too leisurely and boring.”
“Not so.” Rong Ting had his own opinion. “Glory for one is glory for all in the court and the harem. Those concubines have their own responsibilities and duties. If they can give birth to a prince or princess, or if they give birth to a prince who can become the emperor, then that clan will prosper for one dynasty. Should they not wish to fight, the clan will force them to fight.”
“I misunderstood them. They’re also very pitiful.” Song Yuan paused. “Okay, let’s not talk about this. There’re no vegetables in the fridge today, so let’s eat noodles.”
Besides eating meat, Rong Ting also loved eating pasta.
He loved the black bean noodles of B City. And sometimes, when Song Yuan didn’t want to cook, she could mix up so lo mein for him.
Today, Song Yuan learned through the Internet how to make scallion noodles2. The taste wasn’t bad, and Rong Ting liked it very much. While they were eating, her phone vibrated. It was a WeChat message, and it was from Rong Heng. She clicked on it, and they were all photos. Upon closer inspection, it was information about his studying abroad.
She sent back a question mark.
After a while, her phone rang. It was a call from Rong Heng.
As soon as she answered, she heard him say in an apologetic tone, “Sorry, I’m not too good with WeChat. I meant to send that to Uncle, but I sent it to the wrong person.”
“…It’s okay.” Song Yuan knew that her dad didn’t like Rong Heng, and he was always urging Rong Heng to go abroad and get the hell away, not wanting them to be scared and on edge. It was just that she hadn’t expected that things had already been rushed to this extent.
“I should be leaving in two or three months. You really don’t need to worry; I’ll be keeping an eye on the Xie family here. Nothing will happen.”
“Mn.”
The two of them fell silent. Song Yuan felt that her state of mind was very peculiar. When she didn’t know that Xie Heng was Rong Heng, she had a favorable impression of him, and she wasn’t without regrets deep in her heart. It wasn’t every day that she ran into someone who matched her aesthetic, but it turned out she had a child. According to logic, Xie Heng was Rong Heng, and her husband from the ancient times. They should have some… sparks? According to the development of the script, it was only expected and natural that they should get together. But for some reason, upon finding out that Rong Heng was the emperor, she constantly had a feeling that something wasn’t right somewhere, and she no longer wanted to get close to him.
“Then I’ll hang up. I have some things to do. I’ll come visit Rong Ting in two days.”
“Mn, okay.”
Rong Heng couldn’t guess what Song Yuan was thinking.
He was surprised. Despite losing her memory, upon learning he was Rong Ting’s Emperor Father, she started gradually become cold and distant, slowly overlapping with the her in the harem.
Some students in the English class also took time off. Ever since Rong Ting was shoved about in the kindergarten interview, he had begun to concentrate on his English and made rapid progress.
There were two English classes today. After the first one, the other children went to eat snacks and drink water. Rong Ting sat in his seat, silently writing words. He wasn’t used to this time period’s pencil, so his strokes were slow, but they were also meticulous.
Sitting behind him was a chatty little girl who was poking his back with a pen. “Lance, did you notice that Helen laoshi’s eyes are swollen today? Did she cry?”
Rong Ting remained unmoved and continued writing words.
“Is Helen laoshi unhappy? Her voice is strange.”
“Lance, what are you doing?”
“Do you want a gummy? I have some. Also there’s chocolate.”
“Lance…”
Rong Ting could no longer bear it, and he turned around. “Don’t call me that. I won’t eat, I’m writing. If you have something to say then say it after class.”
“But, isn’t it after class right now?”
“Not for me.”
If Song Yuan were here, she would definitely be worried about her son’s relationships in the future.
The second class began. Perhaps due to the influence of the chatty girl’s words, Rong Ting discovered that Helen laoshi’s eyes really were swollen. Her double eyelids had become triple and quadruple eyelines. It was clear that she had been crying.
Did something happen?
After class, Rong Ting saw that Helen laoshi was still sitting in the classroom preparing lesson plans. He wanted to say something to her, but he was embarrassed and just left the classroom with his backpack slung on his back.
Song Yuan was already waiting at the doors of the academy. Seeing his contemplating appearance, she couldn’t help asking, “What’s wrong? Was there a fight with your classmates?”
Rong Ting shook his head. “No, Helen laoshi seems unhappy. She cried. Normally she leaves immediately after class ends, but not today.”
So it was like that…
“Are you worried about her?”
“Mn.”
Song Yuan knew that Helen laoshi was especially patient with Rong Ting. Once, when Rong Ting was washing his hands, he had accidentally wetted the sleeves of his down jacket. It was Helen laoshi who had patiently dried them with him. Helen laoshi also often gave him fruit.
“Since it’s like that, you should go and see her,” Song Yuan encouraged. “Didn’t I put a lollipop and Yakult in your bag today? Maybe if she eats something sweet, Helen laoshi will be happy again.”
Rong Ting hesitated for a moment, but he still gritted his teeth, turned around, and headed for the classroom.
Song Yuan was delighted to see Rong Ting take the initiative to take care of others. The most obvious difference between him now and the him when he just arrived was that the him now had more warmth.
When he first came, he was so incredibly aloof and cool. When other people came up to talk to him, he didn’t even place them in the corner of his eyes3.
And now, he was so nice! She liked this Gugu~
Helen laoshi was in the innermost spot. There were no more students now. Rong Ting padded over softly and stood at the back door. He saw that Helen laoshi was no longer preparing lessons, but was instead standing by the window. She seemed to be talking on the phone.
Her voice was hoarse. He wasn’t too great at understanding the emotions of others, but he could discern that she was sad and upset
“We’ve already taken the wedding photos and found the hotel for the wedding banquet. Did you know? I was bored and idle yesterday, and I thought about using his phone to play games, since mine didn’t have a lot of memory. But then his expression was strange, and he was weirdly panicked. There was definitely something wrong, so I grabbed his phone. Guess what? His WeChat history was very clean. But a woman’s sixth sense is very accurate. So I went to his account records, and turns out, it turns out he transferred 1314 and 520 to someone on Christmas4.
“When I asked him, he said that he met her in a game, that he didn’t take it seriously, that they didn’t do anything.
“But as soon as I think about the words he said to the other woman, I feel sick! I feel terrible!
“I told him before that I can’t stand my boyfriend being together with other people, and he promised me. You heard all those words he said when he proposed.”
Rong Ting hadn’t wanted to eavesdrop. He’d just wanted to give the candy in his school bag to Helen laoshi.
He hesitated for a moment, listening to Helen laoshi speak with a sob. Then, he silently left.
Song Yuan didn’t expect him to come out so quickly. She held his hand as they walked downstairs, asking him, “Did you give the candy to Helen laoshi?”
“No.” Rong Ting thought for a bit and said in a low voice, “Helen laoshi must have left.”
“Then you can give it to her tomorrow.”
“Mn.”
The next day at noon, Rong Ting washed some strawberries and cherries and placed them in a storage container to take to class.
And he found that Helen laoshi’s voice was even rougher.
He also noticed that the ring on the ring finger of Helen laoshi’s right hand was missing.
[1] The word referring to the woman is specifically 娘娘, which is a title for the empress or other lawfully wedded wife of the emperor.
[2] 葱油拌面
[3] As in he didn’t even bother to acknowledge them or pay attention to them
[4] 1314 sounds like 一生一世 and means “forever.” 520 sounds like 我爱你 (I love you). This mans was cheating on Helen with another girl
Cheese: the title has nothing to do with the content of the story, btw. the author wishes everyone a happy new year in her author’s note as well, so it should just be a well wishes to her audience
final extra chapter!
Thanks for the updates.
Thank you for the triple updateeee
Happy one year anniversary and thank you for the consistent and quality work, as always! I am curious wether the “mad woman in the cold palace” mentioned had play a role in SY and RH’s breakup, or is it just anecdotal !
Thanks for the chapter ♡♡
What? Did the girl have a boyfriend already?!?
Nevermind it was the teacher😂