The Magician of Clow

Chapter 1512 Surprising News on a Beautiful Morning (Part 2)

The golden morning light was clear and bright, bathing the small house in the early morning air.

Looking at the scene before me, which resembled something out of a romance comic, and after inexplicably becoming a third wheel with astonishing wattage, I felt an urge to kick someone.

Meng Lang remained expressionless, but his gaze swept over Fang Ran's slightly blushing face and Xia Yao's bright, smiling eyes.

In the end, he just rolled his eyes inwardly and didn't put it into practice.

Tsk, what a hateful bro.
Then, on a bright morning, Meng Lang was sitting perfectly fine when he was suddenly shown a glimpse of their affection. A little while later, he heard the light sound of the door opening.

Hello!

With a cheerful greeting, two more beautiful figures appeared one after the other.

The figure walking ahead was sunny and energetic, her neat ponytail and beautiful appearance like a summer citrus fruit, her slender figure exuding youthful vitality.

Behind her stood another woman with a quiet demeanor and a clean face, exuding the clear, youthful charm of a forest stream.

Tang Bing and Fang Xiaoran also came up to the second floor of the cabin at this time.

"Good morning, senior! Good morning, bro! Good morning, Xia Yao!"

Seemingly refreshed by yesterday's detoxifying spa treatment, Tang Bing greeted everyone with more energy than usual, enlivening the entire small room with her vibrant spirit.
Behind her, Fang Xiaoran nodded quietly and spoke softly and calmly:

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Tang Bing." "Good morning, Xiao Ran."

Upon seeing their arrival, Xia Yao and Meng Lang responded, and after greeting everyone, Tang Bing skipped over to the small table and sat down.
Then, seeing that there wasn't much cake left in front of Fang Ran, she exclaimed in surprise, her expression straightforward:
"Senior, are you an idiot? You just woke up this morning and you're already eating a plate of cake by yourself?"

Fang Ran: "."

Why does the same topic sound so unpleasant when it comes to you, Hulu?
Upon hearing this, Fang Ran, who had just blushed from being mistaken for a hamster, suddenly became expressionless, then angrily grumbled and sped up the process of stuffing cake into her mouth.

While tidying up the cushions by the TV, Fang Xiaoran asked about yesterday's events:

"What did you do last night? Nobody saw you when they got back."

"Uh, it's nothing, just that there was a little emergency at the bureau that we had to deal with."

He couldn't very well say that he was there to set up for the beating he'd get that night, so when asked that, Fang Ran, with a mouthful of cake and a slight blush of embarrassment, mumbled something indistinctly.

"So you're not going to become a gigolo for a much older, wealthy foreign woman?"

"Brother!! You scoundrel, you're spouting nonsense again while I'm not around! You son of a bitch, die!"

Upon hearing Fang Xiaoran's calm words, Fang Ran immediately understood what had happened without even thinking. She turned around and pounced on Meng Lang, who was grinning to the side.
Then, just as they were having their third tryst that morning, the sliding door on the floor opened again.

The beautiful figure who had stayed overnight again last night came upstairs. She wore loose pajamas, her hair was tousled, and her usually flawless face was now covered with a soft, sleepy glow.
Mingling was clearly still half asleep. When she saw Fang Xiao passing by, she immediately hugged him and snuggled up to him with a happy expression.

"Ah~ Little Ranran, so soft."

The aftereffects of going to the gym the day before yesterday were probably too strong; even a detoxifying spa couldn't completely cure it. I've been sleeping until now, and was the last to wake up in the little room.
It wasn't until Fang Xiaoran helped him to sit down at the small table with a helpless expression that Mingling regained a little consciousness.

"Xiao Yao, why didn't you wake me up when you got up?"

Seeing her slumped over the table, still looking a little sleepy and cuddly, Xia Yao gently chuckled as she smoothed a strand of her hair.
"I saw you were sleeping so soundly, so I didn't want to disturb you."

But hearing this answer, and looking at where she was sitting, and Fang Ran standing next to her saying "I'll fuck your brother to death," Mingling silently felt that she had seen through the truth.
Liar, you just don't want me to be a third wheel for you first thing in the morning.
Just as Mingling was heartbroken that her best friend had started lying to her for a man, she heard her voice.
Gou Yu came out of the kitchen at this moment and saw Ming Ling, who had already gotten up, Xia Yao smiling at her, Fang Xiaoran quietly flipping through a book, and Tang Bing chuckling as she scrolled through her phone.

And Meng Lang and Fang Ran, who were still wrestling.
He glanced at the crowd gathered around the small table, smiled, and spoke:
"Is everyone up? That's perfect, breakfast will be ready soon."

Upon hearing that Gou Yu's meal was almost ready, Tang Bing, always a helpful assistant in the small house, cheerfully put down her phone and stood up to greet him:

"I'll help! I'll help!"

Fang Xiaoran, who was standing to the side, also closed her book and softly replied:

"I'll join too."

Upon hearing that dinner was about to be served, Fang Ran, always the biggest eater in the cabin, decisively abandoned his recklessness once again, quickly devoured the remaining cake base, and sat down with a serious expression to wait for the meal.
Speechless at how heartless and ungrateful this guy was, Meng Lang silently rolled his eyes, then yawned and looked around:

"Hey, where did my snacks go?"

"Dude, it's not good to eat snacks before breakfast."

"You have no right to say that (glares)!"

Before breakfast, Meng Lang and Meng Lang, both looking righteous and with bread crumbs still on their lips, were exchanging barbs. Then, at that moment...
Fang Ran suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that Tang Bing's unlocked phone was lit up across the small table. "Hey, Hulu, someone sent you a message!"

Upon seeing this, he called out towards the kitchen. Hearing his reminder, Tang Bing, who was busy in the kitchen, replied loudly:
"Message? Oh, it's probably a senior student who asked me about taking the IELTS. I'm too busy right now, could you reply to her for me so I can talk to her later?"

It seemed that since the most embarrassing thing had already been known, she didn't care that Fang Ran was looking at her phone, and upon hearing what she said...
Fang Ran stretched out his arm and reached for the phone, glancing at the message under Xia Yao's watchful gaze.
Then, the next second, he put down his phone with a slightly complicated expression.

"Um, Hulu, why don't you go back and forth by yourself?"

"what?"

Hearing him suddenly speak in that tone, Tang Bing paused in her work in the kitchen, and asked loudly, as if puzzled:

"What did you say, senior? Isn't it about IELTS? Didn't she ask me how I studied to get such a high score?"

Fang Ran looked out the window with a troubled and wistful expression:
"No, she asked you for porn, saying you're the only one in the whole department with a lot of resources."

"Ahhh! Ahhh Rua! Rua!! Rua!!!!"

Amidst the subtle expressions on everyone's faces in the cabin, Tang Bing finally ran out of the kitchen, her face flushed red, shouting.
The morning light was brilliant, and the bright rays streamed through the window and filled the entire small house.

Golden sunlight, like a veil, shrouded the clams and shrimp on the small table, the slightly charred bellies of the grilled seafood, the bread fresh from the oven, and the members of the small house chatting and laughing in various poses around the table.
On a sunny day, the cottage once again welcomed its usual happy and wonderful breakfast time.

However, in this scene, Fang Ran was looking at a guy who was noticeably quieter than usual, trying hard to maintain a serious demeanor and minimize his presence.
Looking at Tang Bing, who had once again added another embarrassing moment to her past in front of everyone first thing in the morning, he couldn't help but sigh.

Despite being arrested and suspended for half the night for watching porn and having no way to complain, Tang Bing actually used the same circumstances to 'comfort' herself by setting an example that she wasn't alone.

The gourd, my lifelong friend.
Then, amidst Fang Ran's感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings) and Tang Bing's suspicion that someone was talking badly about her,

Breakfast time passed, the dishes on the table gradually emptied, and the last few breadcrumbs were clearly visible in the sunlight.
After finishing her meal, Mingling seemed to have fully regained her energy. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and her gaze swept over the people resting around the small table. Her tone became cheerful and rising:
"Alright, we've finished eating. Where shall we go for fun today?"

Sister Mingling, didn't you say that the period before the Lunar New Year is the peak time for visiting relatives and friends?

Upon hearing this, Fang Ran silently held the black wheat and tangerine peel, recalling Ming Ling's words from before. She thought about how, in the past few days since she returned, Ming Ling seemed to be taking everyone, including Shui Lianxin, out to play in the small house every day.

To be honest, Fang Ran only found out a couple of days ago that during the month and a half he was away, Mingling had already paid out of her own pocket to carefully transform Xia Yao's bed into a stylish and high-end bunk bed.

This led to him staying overnight even more frequently, eventually becoming an unofficial permanent resident of the cabin.
"How about we go back to the old gym and continue playing?"

It was already winter break, and all the good friends were together, so going out to play seemed like a given. Hearing Mingling's excited suggestion...

Across the small table, Fang Xiaoran spoke calmly and clearly.

"No, let's skip sports for now."

Upon hearing this, Mingling turned her head with a heavy expression.

"Since sports aren't an option, how about we find a card room or teahouse and play some mahjong?"

Recalling the time when he was bored and someone conjured up a mahjong table and dragged him into playing cards, Meng Lang raised an eyebrow and suggested...
"Let's forget about luck-based things too."

Over there, Tang Bing also turned her head with a heavy expression.

Hearing this, Fang Ran was speechless for a moment. Then, as he was thinking about where to go for a non-sports, non-luck-based activity,
Gou Yu then stood up, carrying the cleaned-up plates, and smiled with a light sigh:

"Sorry, I probably can't go today. Captain, you all go have fun."

Ok?
When they heard that Gou Yu couldn't make it, everyone at the small table looked at him with some surprise.
In the small house, Xiao Ran goes to study, Xia Yao goes to dance practice, Ming Ling has family matters to attend to, Tang Bing has a bunch of friends and socializes, and even the unemployed Meng Lang occasionally disappears for a couple of days. Everyone has their own private matters to attend to.

But Gou Yu was the only one whose social circle, apart from his small house and the nightclubs, remained completely private. His main activity was quietly reading in the library.
I really can't think of anything that could prevent him from going out and having fun with everyone.

Driven by intense curiosity, Fang Ran looked at him and asked:
"Xiao Huo, what's wrong? Is something wrong with you today?"

This question echoed the thoughts of everyone else, and Gou Yu simply smiled when he heard it.

"It's nothing, it's just..."

The next second, on this beautiful winter morning,

Everyone at the small table heard him walk towards the kitchen and speak in a simple, ordinary tone, revealing news that was even more surprising than when someone had asked Tang Bing for the film earlier.

"My mom is coming to Beijing today, and I plan to pick her up at the airport."

The air in the cabin fell silent for a moment, then more than one sound...
"ah--!???"

[Phew, I finally finished writing! I finally made it!] I was so tired of sitting today that I lay on the bed and wrote for a while. Then I discovered a way to stretch your lower back. You lie face down on the bed, tucking your armpits and chin into the edge of the mattress, and then hook your hands onto the other side of the bed. The mattress's elasticity will give you a slight stretching sensation in your lower back. It's very comfortable and much simpler and easier than hanging from a pull-up bar (thumbs up).