Chapter 66
Wang Jin's heart felt as if it had been suspended mid-air, with no support anywhere, making him uneasy.
Yu ger nodded at him and said cheerfully, "He’s seriously ill, can’t even get out of bed. That’s why I have time to come today—otherwise, I’d be sticking to him, constantly making trouble for him!"
Getting a definite answer, Wang Jin's unease gradually spread from his heart...
Unlike Yu ger's cheerfulness, he sighed with a mournful face, no longer interested in the fishing hooks on the table. He slumped onto the desk and muttered gloomily, "You’re so happy… but have you considered that his illness might be fake?"
"..." Hearing Wang Jin's question, Yu ger stared at him in surprise for a moment before suddenly slamming the table and standing up. "Fake?! He’s even faking illness now?!"
Wang Jin and Mu ger were startled by his violent reaction. Mu ger quickly spoke up, "Don’t panic yet. A-Jin is just speculating, right, A-Jin?"
"Mmm..." Wang Jin responded weakly, saying nothing more.
Though he called it a speculation, Wang Jin was almost certain it was true.
In his past life, when his father’s concubine couldn’t win against his mother, she would pretend to be sick. Every time she did, his father would feel so sorry for her that he’d agree to whatever she wanted...
Now, Yue ger was probably using the same trick, faking illness to win the leader’s sympathy...
Yu ger seemed to realize something, his face falling instantly. "I think it’s very likely he’s faking it. The timing of his illness is just too convenient, right after A-die and Brother found out he’d been giving away large amounts of our family’s fruits and meat out of selfishness. And A-die was furious, about to have a serious talk with Yue ger, but then he suddenly fell ill. Brother felt so bad that he stopped A-die from scolding him..."
Recalling this, Yu ger looked at Mu ger and Wang Jin. "Do you think he’s pretending to be sick just to avoid A-die's lecture?"
"..." Mu ger and Wang Jin remained silent.
Seeing their tacit agreement, Yu ger could no longer smile. His face twisted in distress as he said, "How is Yue ger so scheming?! It’s not like A-die would actually do anything to him, just lecture him a bit. And yet, he’d fake illness just to avoid that! Doesn’t he realize how worried Brother and A-die would be?!"
Yu ger trembled with anger.
Wang Jin lowered his eyes, instinctively sensing that Yue ger’s fake illness wasn’t just about avoiding blame, there had to be more to it.
"Ah!" Yu ger suddenly yelped, straightening up and looking at Wang Jin and Mu ger. "A-Jin, A-Mu, do you think Yue ger might use this fake illness to play the victim and slander me in front of Brother and A-die? I just cleared up the fruit incident, what if I get framed again? Should I fake being sick too?"
Mu ger quickly shook his head. "Don’t you dare copy him! Yue ger’s illness already has your a-die and brother worried sick. If you got ‘sick’ too, wouldn’t that just make them even more anxious and upset?"
Yu ger sighed gloomily. "True. Ever since Yue ger got ‘sick,’ Brother and A-die haven’t smiled at all. If I got ‘ill’ too... they’d definitely be even more worried."
Wang Jin nodded in agreement. "Making your family worry isn’t good. Don’t worry, you don’t need to fake illness. Right now, all the gers in the tribe know how kind you are. Even if Yue ger tries to slander you in front of the leader and your a-die, it might not work."
Yu ger let out a heavy sigh of relief. After a while, he hesitantly asked, "Then what should I do now?"
Wang Jin lowered his gaze, the flickering light in his eyes hidden behind his eyelids, along with all his thoughts, unseen by the other two.
Yue ger’s actions definitely had an ulterior motive.
But as for what exactly he was after, Wang Jin couldn’t be sure yet. After thinking for a while, he could only say, "For now, do nothing. Just watch him."
"Nothing at all?" Yu ger was stunned.
Wang Jin thought for a moment. "If you want, you could take care of him?"
Yu ger shrank back as if he’d heard something unacceptable, every fiber of his being rejecting the idea. "No way! Then I’ll just watch him."
Seeing his reaction, Wang Jin chuckled lightly, amused. "Fine. If anything happens, you can come to me or A-Mu."
"Mm!" Yu ger agreed happily, looking at Wang Jin with gratitude as if he were a savior.
The three chatted casually for a while longer. When Yuan Heng returned, Mu ger and Yu ger left.
Wang Jin, sharp-eyed, noticed the man’s return and was about to happily rush over when he saw the man deliberately glance at where Mu ger had been sitting.
Seemingly satisfied with the seating arrangement, the man’s tense face relaxed slightly, the sharpness in his eyes fading to reveal a trace of tenderness.
Even though he knew there was nothing between Wang Jin and Mu ger...
This man really has small belly, chicken intestines!
[小肚雞腸 (xiǎo dù jī cháng): lit. small belly, chicken intestines; fig. petty, narrow-minded.]
Wang Jin mentally scoffed, but on the surface, he smiled brightly.
He took two steps forward to meet Yuan Heng, only to notice the man holding a basket full of feathers - more than what he’d given Mu ger, and a small bird in his other hand.
"Since you liked them, I got more," Yuan Heng said, seeing Wang Jin’s gaze on the feathers.
Wang Jin’s heart felt as if a crack had opened, letting sunlight pour in, warming him from the inside.
Before he could even ask, the man had already brought him what he wanted.
No comments:
Post a Comment