novelraw Chapter 16 Gossiping About You Across the Ocean…
Chapter 16 Gossiping About You Across the Ocean…
At 6 a.m. in Singapore, the sky was just beginning to lighten.
On the bedside table, the Nokia 6110, which was still there, suddenly started vibrating.
Li Shuo was woken up and squinted at the "ugly mess" of an old-fashioned model. He was stunned for two seconds, but what welled up in his heart was not annoyance, but great relief!
This isn't a dream. I've truly been reborn! It's wonderful!
But when I picked up the phone, it was only 6 o'clock?
A surge of anger welled up inside me. Who is this...so early in the morning?!
He answered the phone irritably.
"Moshi moshi~!" A playful female voice came through the receiver.
Li Shuo instantly sobered up a bit and recognized the voice as that of his second aunt's daughter, his cousin who was studying in Japan: Huang Shuyu!
Li Shuo rolled his eyes at the ceiling in exasperation, turned to the side without even taking the phone, and muttered impatiently with his cheek pressed against it.
「あら～もう小しEarly morningく来てくれたらよかったのに! Private, I am going to sleep with you nowてなかったんだから...ひどい!!」
("...Why didn't you just go to bed earlier? I only went to sleep at midnight!!")
"Morning くないよ～7 o'clock だもん. ええっ!? 哈坂ちゃんが気にかけてくれてるって...Wait a minute!!?"
("It's not that early, is it? It's already seven o'clock... Hey! I'm... wait a minute?!!")
The female voice suddenly switched back to Chinese and then asked an agitated question!
"Li Shuo!? When did you learn Japanese behind my back? And you speak it so fluently!!!"
The worst thing is when the air suddenly goes quiet...!
Upon hearing this, Li Shuo was jolted awake, all sleepiness gone…
This is the reward I got from the system draw yesterday... I was just half-asleep when I was woken up, so I just casually mentioned it to my cousin!
I calculated the time Huang Shuyu spent in Japan…
Um... okay... let's see how I make this up~.
"What's the big deal... I learned a bit while you were learning, and then you went to Japan. I've been looking up Japanese music textbooks lately, and that's how I learned too. Also, just to correct you, Japan is an hour ahead of me! Hey!"
"Really?... But in just a few months, your Japanese standard seems more authentic than mine!... Okay, forget about the time difference, buddy!"
Listening to Li Shuo's answer, which made sense in some ways but didn't quite fit in others, and then being interrupted by her cousin, Huang Shuyu, being a carefree person, temporarily stopped thinking about it too much.
Then they started asking the questions I had specifically called to ask.
"I heard you like a female college student five years older than you? And she's studying science and engineering? I heard you wrote two songs for her!? I heard you…"
"Stop! Hold on... I heard your cousin is starving... What are you talking about? Shouldn't you be concerned about my safety, that I've been framed and the police are at my door?"
"Thank you so much for coming all the way across the ocean to gossip about me! Okay, bye-bye..."
Li Shuo was about to hang up the phone.
"Tch~ Why aren't you answering my call properly?" Huang Shuyu said dismissively.
"Besides, my mom was there yesterday, how could she possibly let anything really happen to your precious son? That's not the point, the point is that girl you like! Tell me!"
"Sister, dear sister, I beg you..." Li Shuo drawled.
"If you have nothing else to do, why don't you hold off on gossiping about me for now? Get some sleep... I'll go to your aunt's and stand up for you, and give you more living expenses! Okay..."
Huang Shuyu suddenly realized that her cousin, whom she used to tease at home before studying abroad, was not as dull as before.
It's become... even more interesting...
"Sigh~ Alright, I never expected my adorable little brother to like older women... I heard Little LT is making a comeback this year... I'll buy some for you to try and then have someone bring it back for you! Hehehe~"
"What 'Little Smart'... I don't understand. Little DN, Little HN, Little XHN are here now, I'm going to sleep, bye-bye!"
I hung up the phone decisively, and now it's quiet.
Sigh... Sister, you really lived up to your name!
Her cousin, Huang Shuyu! Those books you used to secretly read at home aren't enough for you anymore, are they...?
So she wasn't really concerned about her brother's love life... she was just curious about any subjective visual details in this supposed "older man/older woman" relationship...!
Next, because of my cousin's commotion, I couldn't fall asleep no matter how much I tossed and turned. Suddenly, I remembered the plan I had been thinking about before going to bed, so I got up.
After washing up and going downstairs, Aunt Yuchun, the housekeeper hired by my second aunt, was already preparing breakfast.
Li Shuo ran over and ate whatever was available, thus solving his breakfast problem.
I went to my second aunt's study and looked at the IBM ThinkPad 760 there with disdain.
The bulky chassis is connected to a 15-inch CRT monitor.
He pressed the large power button on the computer host.
The computer case emitted the distinctive "click" sound and the buzzing of the hard drive during startup.
Watching Windows 95 boot up... he, a reborn person, actually needed patience to adapt to the latest 3C products on the market.
It's so slow to boot up... everything is slow!
The light from the screen shone on his young face.
Based on his memory, he studied how to buy websites and create web pages in the United States, and after checking various information and conditions, he found that...
Good news: Internet regulation was really lax in 1998.
The bad news: It's impossible for him, a Chinese, to do it himself.
He needs a registrant with American citizenship, and also an honest person who can keep things confidential and is willing to help.
He then remembered the woman who had disturbed his peaceful sleep that morning.
He picked up the phone on the table and dialed back.
The phone rang several times before being answered.
A surprised voice came from Huang Shuyu!
"Moshi moshi?... You've figured it out, and you want to tell me about your older sister's situation and ask for help?"
"Stop, stop." Li Shuo quickly interrupted.
"I have something important I need your help with, or rather, I need help with your 'tagalong'."
"A tagalong?" Huang Shuyu paused for a moment, then realized what she meant, her voice tinged with mockery, "Oh~ you mean Xu Yingjie? What, you need him for something?"
Xu Yingjie, a child from a collateral branch of a large Chinese family in Singapore, grew up in the United States. When he returned to Singapore as a teenager, he fell in love with his cousin at first sight and has been like a "sticky plaster" ever since. Now, he has even pursued her to Japan under the guise of studying.
Oh... this poor "kid"... he's practically a model of a devoted childhood sweetheart!
Li Shuo remembered that when he "came back," this guy was actually still watching over his cousin...
He even stayed by Huang Shuyu's side when she was already 50 years old and still single, acting as her "wingman" and providing cover for her!?
"Yes, find him. I want to register a website in the US, which requires US citizenship. He seems to be the easiest person I know to do it, and I'll cover the cost."
Li Shuo's words were concise and to the point.
"Register on a website?" my cousin asked curiously.
"What are you trying to do?"
"I want to make movies."
"A movie?" Huang Shuyu almost choked, then burst into a low, but mischievous laugh.
"Pfft... Hahaha! Li Shuo, you wouldn't be inspired by what I said before about Little LT's comeback... to make one of those 'short films,' would you?"
"Cousin! You really live up to your surname... What are you thinking about!"
Li Shuo was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"It's a serious film, and a very groundbreaking one at that. Right now, we need to create a website first, to put out some... early concepts."
"Really?" My cousin was still skeptical.
At that moment, a gentle male voice could be faintly heard in the background on the other end of the phone.
"Shu Yu, is he your cousin?" Xu Letian had obviously been listening in the background.
Li Meng seemed to have moved the microphone a little further away.
"Xu Yingjie, I told you not to call me that!! It's weird, okay! My cousin wants you to help him register a US website, and he'll handle the creation and maintenance... He wants to borrow your US identity for a bit."
I thought about it again.
"Once you've registered, you need to sign a contract with me to transfer most of the website ownership to me."
"No problem, it's very simple... Tell me the information and requirements, and I can apply online today."
Xu Yingjie did not hesitate at all.
"Alright, your task assignment is complete. I'll get the website and domain name later, then I'll await your instructions, 'Director Li'?"
Hearing his cousin's arrangements, Li Shuo felt a warmth in his heart and admired Huang Shuyu's business acumen, which she inherited from her second aunt!
"There's one more thing, sister."
Li Shuo then said, "Since you're in Japan, could you keep an eye out for art students who are good at horror aesthetics and have strong visual impact, preferably those who are involved in graphic design or web design?"
"Horror aesthetics? Visual impact?" Huang Shuyu's curiosity grew.
"What on earth are you doing? Why are you being so mysterious?"
"Anyway, it's definitely not illegal, don't worry! It's just a secret for now." Li Shuo kept it a secret.
"I'll let you witness a miracle in a year!?"
"Alright, alright, I'll go find out who it is for you, and while I'm at it, I'll wait for your 'miracle'."
After hanging up the phone, Li Shuo leaned back in his chair.
Another text message lit up my phone; it was from Zheng Xiuwen urging me to update.
Sigh... I'm so busy, but I feel a kind of excitement and eagerness inside me!