Pandora’s Box

When I woke up the next day, I told myself to stop thinking about it anymore.

I didn’t want to pursue this.
It was too painful to chase something I could not obtain.
I already experienced this deeply when I was a child.

If my biological father didn’t want to come forward and admit all this, but continued to use various excuses to avoid facing his child, then I could also continue as if I didn’t have a father.

That was fine.
We didn’t need to bother each other.

I didn’t think it was worth giving up anything to identify my biological father.
This level of sacrifice should not be worth mentioning to an adult like me who had experience raging winds and waves.

Perhaps it was due to the effects of empathy, since I was completely disappointed in the lack of a father figure, Cheng Yichen became closer to me.

Furthermore, he did not have any blood relationship with me and did not act on anything as a means of a “last resort” to save face.
Yet, he gave me the most love.

I thought that maybe he simply, really liked me? He understood me better than any of my “fathers” and was close to me.

He patiently listened to my complaints, he would listen carefully to my wild ideas, and he would even discuss serious topics with me.
He also visit the platform to register an account because he knew that I was live streaming my games.
He paid attention to my achievements without fully understanding it enthusiastically.

He was very gentle and tolerant most of the time, and he would not budge when severity was required with me.

With him, I found almost everything that encompassed the word “dad.”

No wonder he could raise a child like Zhuo Wenyang.

I went to Cheng Yichen’s bookstore more frequently to pass my daytime there because it was too quiet to be alone at home.
The silence of being alone seemed a bit unbearable now.

I couldn’t play too many games to escape reality.
After all, I planned to study well.
I was not the type of young man who was all talk.

Cheng Yichen’s bookstore was just right for me.
It had the sort of quietness that felt right and was not dull.
From time to time, guests would come in to pick up books and these noises brought life here, but the environment would remain gentle.

I liked the smell, lights, and tea that Cheng Yichen made for me.
I also liked the crisp sound of the wind chime by the door.

Everything here provided me tranquility.

I had been occupying the small sofa by the window for a while.
The sun was scorching outside through the glass, but the inside remained cool and comfortable.
It was as if there was some magic that kept all the anxiousness and annoyances outside of the window.

Cheng Yichen said with a smile, “Recently, business has been very good and many new customers have emerged.”

“That’s right! So for dinner, can I have a little more roasted beef belly?”

“Of course,” Cheng Yichen said smiling, “It’s because you sit by the window daily and attract a lot of people passing by to the store.”

“…,” I asked, “Really?”

“Really,” the clerk Xiao Yang chimed in, “You sitting there and reading a book is our store’s live advertisement.
Recently, there are a lot of girls buying books.”

“…..”

I was surprised.

Even as ignorant as I was, I could still be used as advertisement for a bookstore.
It may be the effect of “it appeared that illiterates could also read so that meant the books in the store must be very amazing.”

At noon, Cheng Yichen would let Xiao Yang eat and take a break first.
Only after Xiao Yang came back would he then go to eat by himself.

I asked him, “Where are you going to eat?”

“There’s a convenience place next door.”

“Oh…..”

I had never let myself suffer when it came to eating.
Even if I had to eat lunch alone, I would find a good restaurant that my wallet could afford and ordered a few dishes comfortably.
I’d single-handedly order hot pot, barbecue, teppanyaki, or the like.
Bento was really too much for me.
Except when I was short on money, I basically did not touch simple meals.

“Don’t eat that, let’s go eat something good.
I’ll treat you.”

I had the audacity to offer.
I did not even think about where my allowance came from.

Cheng Yichen said with a smile, “This restaurant is quite delicious.
I’m a regular customer and I genuinely recommend it.
Do you want to try it out too?”

“…..”

In order to have dinner with Cheng Yichen, I reluctantly went next door.

The appearance of the signboard was not too bad, but it read “Quji Bento Store.” It had no concepts of design, as if there was no thought behind it.

If this was located right outside the school, in a small alley, then this restaurant would be fine.
However, in this location, it was very inconsistent.
The bookstore with Cheng Yichen should be the least profitable store out of the entire street.

Fortunately, the store was very clean, organized, and bright enough.
The decoration was simple, yet elegant and it wasn’t as cheap as I imagined it to be.

The boss was a handsome and kind-hearted man.
He looked gentle and when he saw Cheng Yichen, he greeted him with a warm smile.
“You are here.
Do you want soy milk chicken rice today?”

Cheng Yichen also looked at ease as a regular customer.
“That’s right.
Then, I’ll have rice with both fried chicken and roasted duck.”

Soy milk chicken rice was served first.
Cheng Yichen asked, “Do you want to try some first?”

“Why?”

Cheng Yichen said with a smile, “I don’t cook this soybean milk chicken well enough, so I haven’t made it for you guys yet.
Try it, Boss Qu cooks it very deliciously.”

I picked up my chopsticks apathetically.
It was just chicken, nothing worth mentioning.
It just needed to not taste so bad.

I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised.

I always thought that the fried chicken in the bento shop would be soft and squishy.
However, the first layer of fried chicken was very thin and extremely crispy.

The inside was boneless chicken thighs marinated with fermented bean curd sauce.
Because the fried powder was thin enough, it did not overpower the faint and unique fragrance of the fermented beancurd sauce.
In addition, there was sesame and basil added to enhance the aroma.

Moreover, the chicken thighs maintained a juicy and tender taste beneath the crispy skin.
In this inconspicuous bento shop, this level of taste for fried chicken was hard to come by.

“Not bad, isn’t it?” Cheng Yichen said, “I’m not so good at deep frying.
Controlling heat and oil temperature is a skill.”

Both of my meals were also served immediately.
The side dish looked like simple pickled, shredded cabbage.
I tasted it and it was surprisingly bright and refreshing.

Then, I tried the main entrees.
In good consideration, the oil on the chicken wasn’t bad, the skin was very thin and the proportion of oil and onions were just right.
The quality of meat was also good.

The roasted duck skin maintained a crispy texture.
When biting down, the aroma of fat would explode in my mouth and it was so satisfying, not greasy.
The rare thing to note was that the duck meat wasn’t dry at all.

I had nothing to say.

In terms of the affordability of these meals, they turned out incredibly well.

Cheng Yichen asked, “Is it cooked well?”

I couldn’t hide my thoughts and admitted while nodding, “It’s delicious.”

Cheng Yichen smiled and said, “Although it can’t compare to those high-end restaurants you frequented at, the price and performance ratio here is definitely first class.”

While talking, the busy boss came out again and he greeted Cheng Yichen, “You take it easy.
I’ll deliver a takeaway first.
Xiao Ke is here to help today and if you need anything, tell her.”

I watched him put the incubator full of bentos into the trunk of the BMW 7 series vehicle.

“……”

Wasn’t this vehicle a bit too much for a food delivery? Wasn’t it good enough to drive an electric car?

So it turned out this bento shop was making so much money?

When I was about to eat, two small plates of sliced watermelon suddenly appeared on the table.

The girl who placed down the plate smiled like a flower and said, “This is the fruit my dad specially likes to treat you to.”

Cheng Yichen smiled politely, “Okay, then I won’t be too polite.”

After getting a glimpse of the face who brought us fruit, I felt that the watermelon on this plate was suddenly valuable and worth a hundred times more.

I recognized her.

Although we had not cross paths, I was more knowledgable than professional gossipers.
Braun group network had various sections about her in the school forum.

Amongst goddesses who were hard to attain, apart from Yuan Keke, Qu Ke was among them.

Qu Ke was too young and did not pay any attention to boys in school.
Her homework was superb and she was very good at stocks, winning first place in the college stock trading competition in T City within the first year.

Then, she was here to help her father’s bento restaurant, serving dishes.

Amazing.

It was really perplexing.
I couldn’t help but wonder, was it because the child wasn’t a top student, therefore she wasn’t able to open a shop on this street?

We spent a busy afternoon in the bookstore.
In the evening, we bought vegetables together.
When we returned home, Cheng Yichen started a new round of busyness.

To be honest, I felt that he was quite tired doing this.
The bookstore was not massive but there were many tasks associated.
When he returned back home, he had to wash vegetables, chop vegetables, fry, steam rice, cook soup, and clean up to maintain the hygiene of the house.
I would also help, but my capabilities were limited and I was assumed to only cause additional trouble so I could only be restricted to a helper’s role.
He basically did everything in and out of the home himself.

During the short break, Cheng Yichen wiped his hands and took out a book to take his time reading.

He truly was a book lover.
Every time he closed the pages of the book, he would show a satisfied expression.

I usually had this expression whenever I had a particularly good meal or when I achieved a new record in the game.

“Is it that enjoyable to read a book?”

Cheng Yichen smiled, “Books can soothe the soul.
When you are tired, you can rest by reading a book.
When you’re in pain, the most effective way to calm your mind is by reading books.”

I thought out loud, “I thought the most effective way to relieve pain was to go on a shopping spree.”

He laughed and exclaimed, “That’d cost too much money!”

Aside from maintaining quality of life for us young people, I couldn’t help but think that Cheng Yichen’s living habits were really simple.
He was a man who almost had no desires.

His consumption structure was very simple.
Almost all our expenditures mainly consisted of food (mainly our food), and the Engel’s Coefficient (According to Google: “Engel coefficient, based on Engel’s Law, is a commonly used measure of a nation’s standard of living”) was close to 100%.

He also liked to walk or ride a shared bicycle when going out, and he only drove when the distance was relatively long.

He typically didn’t purchase additional clothing and would wear several sets of clothes back and forth repeatedly.
I inquisitively asked him why he didn’t buy new styles before and he would smile and say, “I can wear the same clothes.”

With the same shirt, shirt plus sweater, shirt plus sweater plus coat, and this would cover spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Although he looked attractive in basic attire, it was still too basic.

Pondering about this, I couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle Chen, haven’t you thought about living a more luxurious lifestyle?”

Cheng Yichen was not lacking in knowledge.
Living in a bustling city like T City and residing next to people akin to Lu Feng, he must had seen all sorts of extravagances and luxuries.
I had been fascinated by it and one would want to use something valuable, right?

As long as he was willing, money wasn’t a problem at all.
As a wealthy man, Lu Feng could practically purchase any famous product and toss it at him.

Cheng Yichen said, “Huh? My life is very rich now.”

I was stunned.
“How is it rich!”

He looked at me and slightly smiled, and his smile was tainted with a misty melancholy.

He touched my head, “Silly boy.
I can live like this everyday, which is already very, very rich.”

To be honest, I couldn’t understand his standards.
He explained it to me in a way as if he himself didn’t know what wealth was.

But if possible, I hoped that Cheng Yichen lived a life full of wealth.

After all, I liked him so much.