Chapter 69

Act IX: A Secret That Cannot Be Told (3)

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Generally, lizards needed to be fed live bait, such as mice, snails, bread worms, etc., but the blue-tongued skink was a famous ‘trash bin’. Besides feeding them what they themselves didn’t want to or couldn’t eat, many owners would directly feed them discounted dog food along with cooked chicken, so the blue tongued lizard was very suitable as a family pet.

In addition, it was highly interactive with its owner, very sticky and lively. Besides the fact that it couldn’t wag its tail like a dog, it was like raising a dog.

However, this ‘dog among lizards’ turned into a ‘cat among lizards’ as soon as it touched water.

Tan Yiming filled the water in the water basin until it was a finger-length depth and put the big lizard in. As a result, the big lizard desperately threw his limbs, firmly holding Tan Yiming's hands and not daring to let go.

Every time Tan Yiming shook it down, it stuck back up with a shudder, then he shook it down, and it stuck up again. This happened until it slipped upwards, and without leaving his hands, rushed fast, climbing from Tan Yiming’s hands up his arms when he wasn’t paying attention. Obviously, it was only a little water, but as a result, every bath was like a fight.

Seeing Tan Yiming's body taken by the lizard, Xiang Cai, who was holding the showerhead beside him, was amused.

Xiang Cai laughed, "You, pull its tail! Pull its tail!"

Tan Yiming: "His tail cannot be pulled, do you think he is a gecko? -Ah!"

Before his voice fell, Dabao leapt forward, and actually went straight from Tan Yiming's arm to Xiang Cai’s shoulder!!!

Because of the hot weather, Xiang Cai only wore a big loose vest. As soon as the lizard flew over, its cold body was directly attached to the boy's skin! That slippery touch...the pointed claws on its little feet...

If Xiang Cai really was a swan, at this time, his feathers would have definitely exploded as he quacked, trying his best to throw the little devil off his body.

Visibly to the naked eye, all the goosebumps on Xiang Cai’s body instantly popped out. His hairs rose upright, and his whole body stiffened.

He couldn't move and couldn't say anything, just twisting his head little by little, slightly to his shoulder.

Dabao’s two small eyes opened and it tilted its head to look at him.

Xiang Cai: "..."

Dabao stuck out his fleshy blue tongue and licked Xiang Cai’s bare shoulder.

Xiang Cai: "Ah ah ah ah ah!"

He shook his hand, and the showerhead in his hand missed its target, pouring head-on towards the opposite Tan Yiming.

Tan Yiming was drenched by the bath water coming from the showerhead. He rushed up, turned off the shower with one hand, and removed the lizard from Xiang Cai with the other hand, coaxing: “It’s okay, it’s okay, don’t be afraid. You don’t need to be afraid of him, he’s an animal and is more afraid of you. The more you call out, and the more afraid you are, the more he will stick out his tongue in fear..."

But how could Xiang Cai hear this? His whole body was stiff on the spot and completely dysfunctional.

It wasn't until Tan Yiming took the frightened Dabao from him and put him into the nearby cage, that Xiang Cai barely regained his lost reason.

It turned out that Xiang Cai, who had ‘never met any big winds and waves, and could carry himself independently’, had a weakness.

[T/N: the whole quoted phrase means something like, he could carry responsibilities and handle things all by himself.]

Seeing what Xiang Cai looked like, Tan Yiming couldn't bear to tease him anymore, and simply said, "Go out and rest. I can bathe him alone."

Xiang Cai was so scared that his teeth chattered, but he insisted, "... It's okay. I promised you to bathe him, and I will keep my promise!"

"But you are scared."

"Even if I am...I can overcome the fear!" Xiang Cai said firmly, "I'm an adult, so I have to take responsibility!"

Tan Yiming calmed down, and his eyes fell on the boy's trembling fist. After a while, he put his hand on Xiang Cai’s wrist and held it to help him stop shaking.

"You don't have to overcome it."

"...?" Xiang Cai looked at him doubtfully as if he didn't understand.

"You don't have to overcome it," Tan Yiming repeated. "You can be afraid, you can hate, you can dislike. You are an adult, yes, but adults can also have their own weaknesses. You don't need to force yourself to accept your fears. He’s just a lizard, he’s not an obstacle you must cross on your path of life. If you are afraid of it, then avoid it.”

"...Avoid?"

Tan Yiming touched Dabao, and when Dabao smelled his master's scent, he hurriedly plunged his triangular head into his palm.

"Sorry, I didn't consider you." Tan Yiming said, "Just like someone is afraid of dogs and cats, it's also very normal to be scared of lizards. If you don't want to bathe him, you can refuse me and tell me you are not willing. "

He patted Xiang Cai’s arm lightly: "Do you remember Fanfan? You see, he didn’t want to dub, and just told me he didn’t want to do it. How old are you? You are also a child, and like him, have the right to refuse anything."

Refuse? Escape? Hate? Fear?

These negative words were really unfamiliar to Xiang Cai.

Since childhood, he had encountered many things he didn't want to accept at all. But those things appeared in his world forcefully, and he could not avoid it; he could only force himself to face it. Gradually, he had grown up and matured. He would now always have such a good temper, becoming ‘Xiang Ge’ in his classmates’ mouths, ‘a good monitor’ in the teachers’ eyes, ‘tolerant’ in his lover's heart, and in the crew, becoming an ‘excellent staff member’ praised by colleagues.

But Tan Yiming said ... he didn’t need to be so strong and excellent, he could keep his weaknesses.

Xiang Cai stared at the big lizard in the cage who was still sticking his tongue out, feeling like he was looking at a large, hideous dinosaur.

"I said before that asking you to help him take a bath was just a joke." Tan Yiming saw this and simply pushed him out of the bathroom. "If you really feel guilty for the five hundred yuan rent, then help me run household errands. By the way, I have two delivered packages downstairs in the supermarket. You can help me pick them up, and bring a few bottles of beer along the way. Buy an iced watermelon to quench our thirst! "

As a result, Xiang Cai was ‘ejected from the house’ in a daze.

...

Half an hour later, Xiang Cai returned home with a box of beer on his shoulder and a few packets of yogurt and fruits in his hand.

At this time, Tan Yiming had already washed Dabao, wrapped him in a towel, and was holding him on the balcony to bask in the sun.

Seeing that he had bought so many things, Tan Yiming hurriedly picked them up and asked, "Didn’t I just let you just buy a few bottles of beer? Why did you buy so many?"

Xiang Cai: "..." He hesitantly said, "Because, I want to drink?"

Tan Yiming gave another look at the bag of fruit.

Xiang Cai: "... Because, I want to eat?"

Tan Yiming laughed: "If you want to drink, say that you want to drink, if you want to eat, say that you want to eat. There is no need for you to seek my opinion."

Tan Yiming's refrigerator was very large with double doors. He helped Xiang Cai stuff everything into the refrigerator, the fruit, yogurt, beer, and snacks, until even the refrigerator doors were full.

Xiang Cai watched the refrigerator fill up with food, and touched it with some emotion.

Refrigerators were the most common household appliance, but because they were ‘household’ appliances, Xiang Cai had been unable to touch them for many, many years.

Convenience stores had refrigerated shelves for cold drinks, and roadside kiosks had ice cream freezers, but those were not the same as refrigerators.

Now, Xiang Cai finally had his own refrigerator. He could fill it with all kinds of food and drinks, as long as he liked it, as long as he wanted to.

The round watermelon was cut in half by the two of them and slaughtered to eat.

The two held watermelon in one hand and a spoon in the other hand, sitting cross-legged on the sofa.

Tan Yiming first scooped out a piece of watermelon from the very center and put it on the ground.

Xiang Cai: "...?" What kind of ceremony was this...

Tan Yiming said, "Dabao loves watermelon. He has just taken a bath and is angry, so watermelon can coax him."

Sure enough, after a while, Dabao got out of the towel, dragged his big tail, raised his head, stepped proudly to the watermelon, and then opened his big mouth and bit it with a snap.

The blue-tongued skink had no teeth, but its bite force was amazing.

When it took a bite, Xiang Cai subconsciously shrank his toes back, and when it took another bite, Xiang Cai shrank back again.

Xiang Cai’s feet were very white. From many years of dancing, he had thick calluses on his forefoot and toes, but most prominent were his old scars that spread all over his feet and ankles.

He sat cross-legged with his two feet hidden under his knees. From Tan Yiming’s perspective, he could only see the crisscrossed scars.

Tan Yiming would have liked to ask how those scars came about. He also wanted to ask Xiang Cai why he had a bad relationship with his family ... But these were all Xiang Cai’s private matters. If Xiang Cai wanted to tell him, he would listen patiently, but he would never expose the other person's scars because of a momentary curiosity.

But if they didn’t talk about it, what else could they talk about?

Couldn’t talk about Cen Manchuan ...

Although Tan Yiming would have liked to inquire about the situation of his love rival, in order not to make roadblocks for himself, he gave up.

In the end, Tan Yiming had no choice but to ask: "What have you been rehearsing recently? When will you perform?"

Xiang Cai: "I am currently rehearsing a musical produced by Happy Pancake Company. Actually, it has already been performed many times, but this family's operating model is very special and different from ordinary musical companies."

"Oh? How is it different?"

"How can I say this, other musical companies, whether they buy foreign copyrights or their own original copyrights, all tour one team at a time. The tour may change to another team after a while. But Happy Pancake is not the same. If a work is popular, several teams will be able to tour together at the same time. One group is responsible for the Northeast region tour, a second group is responsible for the Eastern China tour, and a third group is responsible for the Southeast...” Xiang Cai said, “I am joining the Southwest team this time. I’m almost running [?] with my colleagues now, and we will go to Sichuan next month!"

"..." Tan Yiming dug into the watermelon with one hand and asked, "How long will you go?"

"Chengdu, Chongqing, Guiyang, Kunming ... We’re touring cities for five shows, so at least a month. I’ll come back in October, but if there’s another show, then come back in November."

In other words, Tan Yiming and Xiang Cai’s cohabitating had just begun, and they were already about to be temporarily separated.

When he saw Tan Yiming staring at him without speaking, Xiang Cai looked away uncomfortably and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Tan Yiming blurted out subconsciously: "If you tour so long, I will miss you- ..."

Xiang Cai: "..."

Tan Yiming: "... -r watermelons you bought."

Xiang Cai: "..."

Tan Yiming was embarrassed, but continued to talk nonsense with his eyes wide open. He didn't know whether he’d believe it or not. Anyway, he himself didn’t believe it, and he said, "You chose this watermelon so well, I'm afraid that when you're gone, I can't buy Dabao such a watermelon."

Beside the sofa, Dabao clicked and bit down again. The red watermelon juice covered the tiles, and it looked like the scene of the murder.

Xiang Cai didn't say anything, set aside his half-eaten watermelon, grabbed a few napkins, and squatted on the ground to wipe the watermelon juice clean.

Dabao was startled, and stuck his tongue out at him again.

But now, Xiang Cai didn’t seem to be so afraid of it.

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The author has something to say: I have talked to several readers in the comments before.

Cai Cai is mature far beyond his age, and is a particularly mature and oppressive person towards everyone (including Cen Manchuan).

But I hope that Tan Yiming can make Cai Cai like a child.

The biggest difference between children and adults is that children dare to say what they think.

I don't want it, I don't like it, I don't want to.

I want, I like, I think so.

These, Old Tan will little by little, slowly teach him.

***

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