I’m Afraid I’m Now a Salted Fish Chapter 17

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Chapter 17: First Impression

　　After getting off the train, Chi Song called over a taxi and got on with Song Zhihuai. “Let’s go find a hotel.”
　　Song Zhihuai nodded.
　　Chi Song also said, “I’m going to give my younger brother a call first.”
　　Song Zhihuai very naturally curled up his fingers, protecting the palm of his hand. “Call him, then.”
　　Chi Song stretched out his index finger and ambiguously scratched his palm.
　　The disobedient index finger was quickly captured because of its harassment. Mr. Song, who had just caught the finger, very rudely and unreasonably detained his whole left hand as well.
　　… Five fingers detained.
　　
　　After the call connected, Chi Yang’s anxious and angry voice burned all the way through the signal. “Brother! When Mom came back, all she could do was cry. She said you were… ah, now our family’s a complete mess. Meimei is comforting Mom right now.”
　　Chi Song also became anxious. “Why didn’t you call me?”
　　Chi Yang said, “I was afraid that you’d be tense. After such a big thing happened, you must be feeling uncomfortable in your heart. If I called you on top of that, wouldn’t that make you feel even worse?”
　　Song Zhihuai listened from the side. He only felt that the Chi family’s soft and gentle temperament really all came from the same origin.
　　
　　Chi Song said, “I’m almost home. Let Mom press some nitroglycerin under her tongue. Her heart isn’t good.”
　　Chi Yang said, “I just gave Mom some, don’t worry. Are you coming home?”
　　Chi Song stretched out his head and looked outside at his surroundings. “I’m around the department store now.”
　　Chi Song said, “Go slowly. Don’t rush and end up in danger. I’ll look after Mom for you on this side, so don’t worry.”
　　After he said that, he lowered his voice and asked quietly, “Brother, your… boyfriend. Does he treat you well?”
　　Chi Song lowered his head and looked at the hand that Song Zhihuai was holding. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, “Very well, very well.”
　　Chi Yang paused for a long time before saying, “Don’t be afraid, Brother. I’ll cover you.”
　　
　　After hanging up, Chi Song sank into a deep silence for a long time.
　　Song Zhihuai kept holding his hand without letting go.
　　He looked around everywhere and found that the roof and the back seat of the car had little posters of the Xue Yunyang played by Chi Song stuck on them.
　　Song Zhihuai hadn’t seen this type of poster that was favored by elementary school students for a long time. He started up a conversation with the driver, trying to distract Chi Song. He asked, “Sir, do you like Chi Song?”
　　The taxi driver spoke with a southern accent, “My daughter likes him, so she bought these little posters of him. She stuck them all over my car and even told me to not peel them off.”
　　Even though he was complaining, his tone was full of a doting love.
　　Song Zhihuai smiled and said, “I also like him.”
　　
　　Chi Song’s head was lowered, as if he hadn’t heard anything, but Song Zhihuai discovered that his ears were very red and looked very pinchable.
　　The driver responded to Song Zhihuai’s comment, “Ah, you’re still chasing after stars.”
　　Song Zhihuai smiled without replying. He reached out to pat Chi Song’s head.
　　… He had already caught up.
　　
　　Chi Song didn’t dare to respond too intimately to Song Zhihuai, so he could only lower his head with a red face.
　　
　　See, it was very, very well.
　　
　　The two brothers decided that they would meet at the hotel.
　　Chi Yang was younger than Chi Song by three years. Father Chi and Mother Chi had been afraid that Chi Song would be lonely. They wanted to give him a little sister in one breath, making a good brother-sister pair¹. As a result, a little brother came out.
　　Chi Song’s genes had skipped a generation. He took after his grandfather and had very pretty facial features. Chi Yang took after his mother. Though his appearance was more ordinary, his features were still elegant, and he won in terms of height.
　　The 178 cm Chi Song was easily swept into an embrace by the 186 cm Chi Yang as soon as they met.
　　He patted Chi Song’s shoulder. “Great, Brother, you’ve returned home.”
　　
　　His wife Meimei had also followed along, carrying a big belly.
　　Chi Song straightened his waist. The first thing he asked was, “Meimei, why did you come too? It’s not good to run around everywhere.”
　　Meimei was a pretty obedient and quiet girl. She greeted Chi Song with a “Brother” and said, “Mom and Dad said they have something to talk about with each other. They wanted the two of us to leave the house for a while, so I came with Chi Yang to pick you guys up.”
　　After she said that, she and Chi Yang turned to look at Song Zhihuai together.
　　Song Zhihuai greeted, “Hello everyone.”
　　
　　In all honesty, although Song Zhihuai was very handsome, he didn’t look very respectable.
　　His temperament felt a little like that of a ruffian pretending to be a gentleman. Once the gold-rimmed glasses were placed on his face and a Western suit and leather shoes covered his body, he seemed especially like a refined scum.
　　Chi Song stood next to him, bearing a remarkable resemblance to a little white rabbit.
　　
　　Chi Yang’s character was gentle, but he had some ideas in his heart. When he saw Song Zhihuai looking like this, he inevitably revealed some doubt on his face. “… Hello. Are you my brother’s company’s boss?”
　　Song Zhihuai said, “Yes.”
　　Chi Yang thought for a bit. “My brother likes you. He must have his reasons for liking you. Why do you like my brother?”
　　This kind of protective loving atmosphere made Chi Song’s face continuously become redder. “Little Yang, why are you asking this?”
　　Chi Yang pressed harder, step by step. “There should be many stars under you. Why do you insist on liking my brother?”
　　”You said it backwards,” Song Zhihuai said. “The one I like is your brother. It’s just a coincidence that he’s a star.”
　　Chi Yang: “…”
　　… What a smooth-talker. No wonder he could coax his brother into submission.
　　
　　A deep worry arose in Chi Yang.
　　
　　Meimei and Chi Song stood together. She asked him quietly, “Brother, can your body take it?”
　　Chi Song: “???”
　　Meimei said, “… He’s so tall.”
　　Chi Song mumbled with a red face, “He’s very careful every time.”
　　Meimei had a meaningful look on her face. “…”
　　Yes, it seemed that Brother was the one on the bottom. Sure enough, in this world, a Pomeranian would never be able to press down a Scotch collie.
　　
　　Discussing his X life with an already married and pregnant woman, the easily embarrassed Chi Song really couldn’t bear it, but he still had some words to say to his sister-in-law.
　　He said quietly, “… Meimei, my brother isn’t.”
　　Meimei was taken aback, but she immediately understood Chi Song’s meaning.
　　Chi Song persisted in explaining, “My brother is my brother and I am me. I also used to like girls before, up until I met him… you don’t have to worry. Chi Yang isn’t gay.”
　　Meimei looked at Chi Song acting like this, and her heart softened unbearably.
　　She understood a little why Chi Yang always had a strong desire to protect his brother.
　　
　　After conversing a bit, Chi Yang’s impression of Song Zhihuai was simply ordinary.
　　There was no other reason except, really, he was a complete playboy. His brother was an acting lunatic, the top in his field. How would he be able to withstand this type of person’s enticement?
　　
　　The very dissatisfied Chi Yang prepared to take his wife home. Before leaving, he pulled Chi Song aside and told him his impression of Song Zhihuai. He reminded his brother that this person was not upright, and that he had to be careful and prevent himself from getting tricked.
　　Chi Song wanted to go home with his brother, but was stopped.
　　Chi Yang said, “Our parents are currently angry right now. Your state of mind also isn’t very stable. Tomorrow, when you come home, don’t bring him. I’ll send Meimei to our in-laws’ family first, since it’ll be harmful to the child if they start to fight tomorrow.”
　　
　　Song Zhihuai could also see Chi Yang’s dissatisfaction.
　　After sending off Chi Yang, Chi Song returned to the room. He sat by the bed and sighed.
　　Song Zhihuai felt pretty wronged. “I’m not like this in front of you.”
　　Chi Song thought, it’s not like you act all that proper in front of me, either. Don’t you always use those flowery words to get me to do that thing? It’s really indecent.
　　He also thought of Chi Yang’s reminder from just then.
　　Chi Yang said, Brother, you have to be more careful. From what I can see, Song Zhihuai is that type of person who’s always flirting and sleeping around with people. You have to question him about his past relationships. You can’t let him lead you around by the nose in this.
　　
　　Chi Song was very clear on this.
　　Song Zhihuai had three boyfriends before him.
　　
　　The first boyfriend was Song Zhihuai’s first love. He was an elegant man and his high school classmate.
　　At a certain class reunion, the two met again.
　　They were together for almost half a year. On the night that they were going to reach the last step, the man took off his clothes and wanted Song Zhihuai to stick up his butt.
　　It was hard to find out whether a person was a top or a bottom on the inside. Song Zhihuai didn’t think that the first time he was in a relationship, he would meet someone who looked like a bottom but had the heart of a top.
　　Because they just weren’t compatible in bed matters, with neither willing to be the bottom, the two broke up, although it was an amicable parting.
　　
　　The second boyfriend was a fashion designer who took the initiative to chase Song Zhihuai. Song Zhihuai found him pleasing to the eye, so he dated him for a while.
　　The second boyfriend was a bit mysophobic. Before Song Zhihuai even developed feelings for him, he started to act like the master, managing this and managing that. He was particularly unhappy about Song Zhihuai’s smoking and drinking. He was dissatisfied when Song Zhihuai ate hotpot and was dissatisfied when Song Zhihuai didn’t wash his clothes.
　　Song Zhihuai pondered over it and felt that he didn’t need to find a mother for himself.
　　The two also broke up.
　　When they broke up, the second boyfriend cried and made trouble for a long time.
　　
　　After being tossed around so badly, a long time passed before Song Zhihuai found his third boyfriend.
　　He was a post-doctorate student studying marine biology, older than Song Zhihuai by two years.
　　This person’s disposition was still okay, but dating for a while, Song Zhihuai discovered that in addition to being with him, he had also planned to go stay in a hotel with a junior sister from school to develop their feelings the week after.
　　Song Zhihuai felt like he had been made a cuckold.
　　But when he questioned the man, he said, “I’ll always have to get married and have kids in the future. I can’t be with a man for my whole life.”
　　He even put forward a constructive plan. “Zhihuai, you’re also not young anymore. You should quickly find someone to marry and have a child. Now, society is more accepting of this kind of thing. After we both get married, we can still be together. Isn’t that right?”
　　Song Zhihuai also thought that this idea had some merit, so he went to find that junior sister and shared with her that student of great ability’s idea.
　　
　　The fourth boyfriend was Chi Song.
　　
　　So far, Song Zhihuai had discovered many of Chi Song’s faults.
　　He was allergic to alcohol. Song Zhihuai was harmed by this, as he had to give up drinking.
　　When he woke up in the morning and had nothing to do, he would throw himself into Song Zhihuai’s arms, not at all considerate of Song Zhihuai’s morning moodiness.
　　He paid more attention to his career than Song Zhihuai. As soon as he became busy, he would work without any regard for his health.
　　But, not only did Song Zhihuai not want to break up, he also wanted to live with him forever more and more.
　　
　　They both couldn’t fall asleep, so they simply talked underneath the covers.
　　Late at night, the scope of the investigative questions they discussed inevitably became more limited.
　　Chi Song asked, “Have you done it with your previous boyfriends?”
　　Song Zhihuai said, “I’ve dated before, but I haven’t done it before.”
　　Chi Song disagreed. “Nonsense, the first time we did it, it was obvious that you had experience.”
　　Song Zhihuai was extremely angry. He pinched Chi Song’s cheeks and said, “That was me being afraid of hurting you! Besides, wasn’t it your first time? How would you know whether or not I had experience?”
　　Chi Song’s eyes were round and bright. “Because it didn’t hurt much and was actually pretty comfortable.”
　　Song Zhihuai was a lost cause. After being praised, he became happy again. “… I just knew that you would coax me.”
　　”I’m not coaxing you,” Chi Song said. “Before our first time, I went to look for information on the internet. Lots of people said that it hurt a lot, to the point that they couldn’t even sit down the next day. I even especially thought for a long time how to pretend I wasn’t in pain.”
　　This was the first time Song Zhihuai had heard of this. He couldn’t help but be startled. “Why did you want to pretend that it didn’t hurt?”
　　Chi Song replied obediently, “You said that it was also your first time. I was afraid of scaring you off from doing… doing that thing with me in the future.”
　　
　　Song Zhihuai: “…”
　　Song Zhihuai was stunned by his own family’s young wife’s cuteness to the point his heart trembled.

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Translator’s Note: Ah ah ah Chi Yang is so sweet!!! Ah, but the sad thing is that I keep on typing his name as Chi Song for some reason… ¬_¬ So awkward.

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Footnotes:

[1]: forming a good brother-sister pair (凑一个“好”字, còu yī gè “hǎo” zì)- Okay, this is honestly so cute! So in Chinese, daughter is “女儿” and son is “儿子”. If you take out the “儿” from both, you get “女” and “子”. Put these two words together and you get “好”, which means “good.” So basically the perfect sibling pair of a boy and a girl! Isn’t that so cute? Order doesn’t matter, either. It won’t work for me since I want three children, but I didn’t even realize this wordplay existed before this hahaha. ↩