Chapter 37: This Is My Money

A few moments later, they were seated at the congee store and Xie XingMu took the menu from the waiter and asked Yu Chu, “What do you want to eat?”

“You can choose.” Yu Chu said.

Xie XingMu slightly frowned at the menu, the sunlight from the side window cast shadows on his features, making them more three-dimensional. Yu Chu looked around the congee store environment, but his eyes couldn’t help but fall on his face.

“This, this, and this…” Xie XingMu turned sideways and pointed out the menu to the waiter, his eyes glanced at Yu Chu who was staring, and then looked back at the menu. After ordering a few dishes, he asked the waiter, “Besides congee, do you have anything else that is filling?”

The waiter thought for a moment and suggested, “Dim sum?”

“Not that.” Xie XingMu said, “White rice or noodles or something like that?”

The waiter said, “Sorry, sir, we only have congee.”

Xie XingMu took out his money clip, took one out and handed it to the waiter, “Then please go to the noodle shop next door and buy a bowl of beef noodles for me.”

The waiter kindly agreed and Xie XingMu added, “Four servings.”

“Okay.”

After the waiter left with the menu, Yu Chu looked at him and said, “You can really eat.”

“It’s okay, four servings of noodles is not too much.” Xie XingMu said.

Yu Chu looked again at his slightly bulging shirt that covered his firm pectoral muscles, then withdrew his gaze, picked up the cup of tea in front of him and took a sip, smacking his lips, disgusted, “Tastes bad.”

Xie XingMu also picked up the tea and tasted it, “It tastes okay, not too bad.”

“Can you change your words? How is this ‘okay’?” Yu Chu muttered, “It’s not as good as the tea Yu ShiQing gave me.”

Xie XingMu put the tea cup down and frowned at him, but Yu Chu didn’t dodge, his eyes openly responding to his gaze.

“Your life is going to have major changes from now on, you can no longer be so picky.” Xie XingMu said.

Yu Chu asked, “How is it going to change?”

Xie XingMu leaned back in his chair, looked at him with his arms around his chest and spoke calmly, “No more fine food being brought to your room, no more HouKui, no more relying on danger outside, and no more bodyguards to follow you around to protect you.”

Yu Chu blinked, long eyelashes fluttering along, “You mean, I can leave, go to any party to eat, sit here with you and complain about the taste of tea and maybe tomorrow go to some city in the north, sit in a small restaurant eating dumplings? And I can come and go alone, never to be watched again?”

Xie XingMu’s eyes flashed with a smile and said, “You could say that.”

Yu Chu’s head was buried in his cup, his hand clenching the rim of the cup. He lifted it a little and drank a mouthful of tea.

“Tch, how can you drink tea like that? It will flow out.” Xie XingMu’s words just finished, and the tea flowed down the corner of Yu Chu’s lips. He hurriedly held the cup of tea by his mouth, reaching for the napkins next to him.

The napkins were taken away by a large hand which also handed him two. Yu Chu took it to wipe the corner of his mouth, Xie XingMu watched his actions, and pulled out two more from the box. He reached over the top of the table and wiped the tea that stained Yu Chu’s mouth. 

The action was as natural as if he was still Yu Chu’s bodyguard.

Yu Chu didn’t move and let him wipe his face dry. He watched him throw two balls of napkins into the trash can next to him, and asked, “From now on, no matter where I go, there will be no one around to fill my tea, right?”

Without waiting for Xie XingMu’s answer, he nodded again, “Mn, there will be no one.”

Xie XingMu was suddenly stunned, holding the napkin box, while Yu Chu turned his head to look out the window, staring at a bird cage hanging from a tree in the courtyard, where a parrot was dozing off, its head nodding.

It was the waiter who broke the silence by pushing in the door, “Two gentlemen, your dishes and congee are here.”

A fine porcelain white cup was placed in front of Yu Chu, several plates of delicate snacks and small dishes were set on the table, and finally a large bowl of steaming beef noodles was placed in front of Xie XingMu.

The waiter handed the change to Xie XingMu and warmly said, “Enjoy your meal,” then he withdrew.

Yu Chu stirred the congee in the cup with a small spoon, and when it was cooler, he scooped up a spoonful and fed it into his mouth, tilting his head and tasting it carefully, deeming it pretty good. Then he ate one spoonful after another.

Xie XingMu also started to eat his beef noodles, picking up a chopstick full of cold jellyfish and tossing it in the noodles, then eating it in big bites.

After finishing the meal, Xie XingMu pushed the noodle bowl to the side, rested his elbows on the table and crossed his arms, asking, “What are your plans for the future? Don’t talk about taking one step at a time.”

Yu Chu hesitated and said, “I think I need to find a job.”

Xie XingMu pondered for a few seconds and said, “Yu Chu, you may not know that nowadays you need a diploma to find a job.”

“I don’t have a diploma?” Yu Chu asked, tilting his head.

Xie XingMu said, “No, Yu ShiQing hired a tutor for you, so you haven’t taken any of the exams and you don’t have a diploma.”

“Can’t you find any jobs without a diploma?”

Xie XingMu paused and said, “You can get a job without a diploma, but you must have some kind of ability or strength.”

“Ability or strength…” Yu Chu said hesitantly. He had opened a studio in the original world, specializing in making simulated skin for androids, but he didn’t know if it would work in this world, so he hesitantly opened his mouth, “Actually, I have one.”

“Hmm?” Xie XingMu raised his eyebrows with some surprise.

“I can make a nice skin for your Gundam, as long as you find me enough materials.”

Xie XingMu: … 

“Agasso agent, Kryptonzi solution, Tia solution…” Every time Yu Chu said something, Xie XingMu’s face sank, so his voice got smaller and smaller, and he finally said, “Forget it, I’m talking nonsense.”

“Mn.” Xie XingMu picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. When he went to get the lighter next to him and was about to light it, he remembered something and turned his head and shouted to the outside of the room, “Waiter, can I smoke here?”

“Yes.” The waiter came in with an ashtray, “Sir, since you are next to the window, you can smoke.”

Xie XingMu pushed open the wooden window next to him and pressed the lighter in his hand, lighting it before asking Yu Chu, “Do you mind if I smoke here?”

Yu Chu wondered, “When you were on the island before, you smoked whenever you wanted to, and never asked my opinion.”

Xie XingMu took a drag on his cigarette, exhaled slowly out the window and said, “Our status is different.”

Yu Chu grunted and said, “I mind.”

“Hmm?” Xie XingMu was stunned and turned his head to look at him.

“I mind.” Yu Chu repeated.

Xie XingMu silently picked up the ashtray in front of him, and put out his newly lit cigarette in it again. He put the cigarette case and lighter into his coat pocket and said, “See what you like to do, I’ll go enroll you in a training course.”

“Training course?”

“If you want to study, I’ll enroll you in a cram school and then you can take the college entrance exam. If you want to work, go find a career that suits you and do a short training period.”

Yu Chu stirred the congee in front of him with a spoon and said after a moment of contemplation, “I haven’t thought about it yet, let’s see.”

What a joke, he wasn’t going to go to any cram school.

After finishing the meal, Xie XingMu settled the bill and the two of them left the congee store.

Standing in front of the congee store, Yu Chu turned to look at Xie XingMu, “I’ll see you then.”

Because he was facing the sunlight, his eyes were slightly squinted, his white skin texture was close to transparent, so Xie XingMu looked at him intently, his Adam’s apple moved, as he said, “Bye.”

Yu Chu turned around and walked in the opposite direction, after two steps he heard Xie XingMu call out to him, “Wait.”

He turned back and saw Xie XingMu striding to stop in front of him, taking out the brown wallet with a thick stack of cash inside and handing it to Yu Chu, “You don’t have any money on you now, take this first.”

Yu Chu looked at the stack of money, his eyes lit up, reached out to take it and then just shoved it in his back pants pocket and said, “Thank you.”

Xie XingMu suddenly reached out, holding his shoulders so that he turned around, saw that the trouser pocket was propped up bulging, half of the banknotes exposed outside, so he frowned.

He opened his wallet again and pulled out his ID and bank card and put them in his coat pocket, then turned Yu Chu around and handed him his wallet, saying, “Put the money in it. “

Xie XingMu saw a few bills rolled up on the edge, but Yu Chu didn’t care and continued to stuff them into the wallet, so he couldn’t help but grab the wallet. He smoothed out the bills and asked, “Where’s your ID? Bring it to me and I’ll put it in.”

“What ID?” Yu Chu asked.

Xie XingMu looked up at him, and Yu Chu stared at him with big black and white eyes, full of innocence.

Xie XingMu just wanted to say ID card, then remembered that Yu Chu was rescued from the sea, he had been staying on the island, and didn’t have the habit of carrying an ID card.

“Let’s go back to the criminal investigation bureau. I’ll ask the colleagues responsible for cleaning up the Island whether they found your ID card. If they haven’t found anything, we’ll get you a new one.”

Half an hour later, Yu Chu sat quietly in the criminal investigation brigade office again, waiting for Xie XingMu to give him a card. Not long after, Xie XingMu walked in with big steps, carrying a paper bag in his right hand. He hooked a finger at Yu Chu, who then got up and walked over.

Xie XingMu sent him to the entrance of the Public Security Bureau, took out an ID card and handed it to Yu Chu, saying, “I just rushed out a replacement ID card for you.”

“Oh.” Yu Chu took it and was about to stuff it into his pants pocket when Xie XingMu said, “Put it in the compartment of the wallet.”

Yu Chu took out his wallet again and put his ID card into the compartment.

“Done. And now?” He looked up at Xie XingMu.

“These are your change of clothes and pajamas.” Xie XingMu handed the paper bag to him. Yu Chu took the bag and Xie XingMu said, “Wait here for a while, I have contacted a real estate agent, and they will come to show you an apartment.”

“What kind of apartment?” Yu Chu asked.

“A rental. Young Master, you can’t possibly think that if you don’t rent an apartment, you’ll have a place to live, right?” Xie XingMu said with a sullen face, “Yu ShiQing’s entire property was frozen and is being liquidated, so you have no fixed assets now. If you don’t rent a room, you can only sleep on the street, inside concrete pipes, or stay under a bridge, understand?

Yu Chu thought that it wasn’t like he hadn’t slept on the street before or even in cement pipes and bridges, but he couldn’t tell him that, “But I have to leave at some point. What’s the point of renting a room?”

Xie XingMu’s brow furrowed, “Leave? Leaving Haiyun City? Where else would you go?”

He knew Yu Chu’s information well. Zheng Shan and grandmother Zhao had died, Yu ShiQing was arrested, so he had no family. He had a brother, Yu Feng, who was still under investigation along with his mother, but even if they were released, they would want Yu Chu to disappear from this world, so how could they care about him? So when Yu Chu said he was leaving Haiyun City, it was hard to imagine where he would go.

“I’m going to wander.” Yu Chu said seriously, “I’d love to travel, go around, watch the sea, climb the snowy mountains. I want to travel all over this great country.”

He hadn’t really thought about wandering. He longed to, but no longer wanted to wander. He wanted to have a fixed residence, own a house, and not have to wake up every day to think about where he would sleep.

He didn’t know how it happened, but the words suddenly rushed out of his mouth, filled with a subtle emotion, wanting to see Xie XingMu anxious for him.

Xie XingMu was anxious. He heard Yu Chu had recently started watching a travel show. The veins on his forehead jumped, “You don’t even have money, so how could you even travel? What will you do when you run out of the money I just gave you? Go to a hotel for another wedding, mixing in to steal food?”

Yu Chu said, “I won’t go hungry.”

Xie XingMu’s handsome filled with a trace of annoyance, as he held out his hand and said, “Give it back to me.”

“What?”

“If there’s no money in your wallet, you can’t even buy a bus ticket. Where else can you wander? I told you to go to school, but you don’t want to do a training course, and still want to go wandering?”

Yu Chu quickly held his back pants pocket, “No, this is my money.”