The Tang Family’s Seven Os

Sheng Cen listened to Tang Qi Yuan’s explanation on the test paper, and then was watched by Tang Qi Yuan as he did his homework until it was half past nine o’clock, but still did not stop.
He has never done his homework so seriously for so many years, and he couldn’t help sighing while writing.

He took a look at Tang Qi Yuan, and was really impatient from writing, tapped the book in front of him with the tip of his pen, asking: “What time do I have to do until?”

Tang Qi Yuan looked up at the clock, “Another fifteen minutes ba, go to bed at ten o’clock, and wake up at six tomorrow, exactly eight hours of sleep.”

Sheng Cen threw away his pen and rubbed his hair in annoyance, “How many marks do you want me to get in the next exam?”

Tang Qi Yuan thought about the miserable grades of his classmates and wiggled one finger out.

“100 points?” Sheng Cen raised his eyebrows.

“10 points per subject ba.”

Tang Qi Yuan sighed, thinking that his table mate was simply being whimsical.

Sheng Cen: “……” If it wasn’t for the sincerity of Tang Qi Yuan’s gaze, Sheng Cen would have thought that Tang Qi Yuan was deliberately teasing him.

He pinched between his eyebrows and waved his hand, saying with great confidence: “Okay, I’ll give you 10 points for each subject next time, so let’s hurry up and go to sleep now.”

Tang Qi Yuan thought about it and nodded in agreement, it is good that his table mate is so confident, learning should be done step by step, so he should not push his table mate too hard, let alone discourage him.

“Okay, Classmate Sheng, but studying is not something that happens overnight, so you have to maintain a positive attitude towards studying.”

“You call my mother Auntie and my brother Da Ge, but you call me Classmate Sheng?” Sheng Cen raised his eyebrows, a little displeasure showing between his brows, how come he felt that he was the outsider instead.

Tang Qi Yuan looked embarrassed, hesitated for a moment and asked: “Then I’ll call you……Cen Cen?”

Sheng Cen’s pressed the corner of his mouth and said in a cold voice: “Call Cen Ge.”

“It’s not like your birthday is necessarily earlier than mine.” Tang Qi Yuan didn’t really want to call it, he already had six Ge Ges in his family, and really didn’t want to call his table mate Ge.

“What’s your birthday?” Sheng Cen asked.

“The eighth of October.”

Sheng Cen’s expression faintly moved, Tang Qi Yuan’s birthday was coming up.

“My birthday is in January, older than you.”

“Oh.” Tang Qi Yuan packed up his things and stood up, pretending not to hear: “I’m going to take a shower.”

Sheng Cen watched him run away and let out a low laugh, not pushing him any further, standing up and going to the cupboard to find an unworn short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts and handing them to him, “Wear this after your shower.”

Tang Qi Yuan took them and looked down at them, they still had tags on them, so they were new.
He nodded and took them to the bathroom.

Tang Qi Yuan finished his shower, took off the tags and put the clothes on, Sheng Cen’s clothes were a bit big for him to wear, and they were empty after he put them on.

Tang Qi Yuan opened the door, Sheng Cen sat on the sofa to put the quilt on, looked up at him and was slightly stunned, his eyes fell on Tang Qi Yuan’s exposed thin white arms and legs, it was at this moment that he suddenly realised what it meant to be in the same room with an Omega tonight.

He was suddenly a little unsure if he could really do what he had just promised his mother.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Qi Yuan looked at Sheng Cen’s eyes that were gradually deepening as he looked at himself and couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

Sheng Cen came back to his senses and saw his somewhat embarrassed look, suddenly he had a few thoughts of teasing, he approached Tang Qiyuan step by step, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Tang Qi Yuan saw him getting closer and closer, and inexplicably felt his heart beating hard.
He backed up step by step, only stopping when he reached the wall and looked up at Sheng Cen, stumbling and asking: “What, what are you doing?”

Sheng Cen braced his arms on either side of Tang Qi Yuan, trapping him in the narrow space between himself and the wall, and said with feigned ferocity, “Call me Ge!”

Tang Qi Yuan blinked blankly, “En?”

“If you don’t call, you won’t be allowed to sleep.” Sheng Cen had quite a stance of not giving up until he called.

“……Classmate Sheng, I think you’re a bit childish.”

Tang Qi Yuan felt that only children liked people calling him Ge, and because of this childish behaviour of Sheng Cen, the little bit of tension he had just felt dissipated.

“En?” Sheng Cen’s face sank.

Tang Qi Yuan reached out and covered his lips and yawned, he was really a bit sleepy, at this time of day, if he was at home, he would already be asleep, “Alright ba, Cen Ge.”

Sheng Cen looked at him with a twitching expression and said in a low voice: “Call again.”

“Cen Ge……I want to sleep already.” Tang Qi Yuan softly shouted, blinking and looking up at Sheng Cen, his eyes were filled with a thin layer of watery mist due to sleepiness, and he spoke in a tone somewhat like he was being coquettish.

Sheng Cen’s heart softened and he looked down at his face close at hand, his breath softly puffed on Sheng Cen’s chin with a little sweet scent.

When Tang Qi Yuan called out ‘Cen Ge’, his voice was sticky and soft, with a little nasal sound, which sounded particularly nice in Sheng Cen’s ears.

Sheng Cen hurriedly looked away, turned around without saying a word, and went into the bathroom.
The bathroom was still hot from Tang Qi Yuan’s shower, so he couldn’t help but feel a little breathless.
He reached out and turned on the cold water, and only when the cold water washed over his body did he feel slightly more comfortable.

When Tang Qi Yuan saw that Sheng Cen had suddenly left, he froze for a moment and pursed his lips, the table mate’s mood was really unpredictable.
He refused to call ‘Ge’, his table mate was unhappy.
When he called ‘Ge’, how come his table mate’s expression became even uglier, it really makes people wonder.
Looks like understanding how to get along with his table mate is really a deep knowledge, he has to study it carefully.

He shook off his hair that was fluffy after washing, turned around and threw himself into the big bed, rubbing the soft pillow with his cheek.
Although Empress Xia had changed the pillowcase and cover, the bed still smelled a little bit of Sheng Cen’s smell, which was not unpleasant, but rather nice, and Tang Qi Yuan took it as an air freshener.

When Sheng Cen came out of the bathroom, he saw Tang Qi Yuan’s body sunken into the soft quilt, his eyes already closed, and a small white face resting on his pillow looking even smaller.

Sheng Cen smiled lightly, walked to the wall and turned off the lights in the room, and using the moonlight coming in from outside, walked over to the sofa and lay down.

He lay on the sofa for a while, but he did not feel like sleeping at all, Sheng Lian’s disgusting face during the day surfaced in his mind, and the two disgusting faces of his imperial father and Madam Zhen Wei flashed through his mind one by one.

His face gradually became as dark as the unlit night, and he was tempted to get up and smoke a cigarette, but he took one look at Tang Qi Yuan lying on the bed and dismissed that thought, turning over a few times on the sofa.

“Can’t sleep?” In the darkness of the night, Tang Qi Yuan suddenly spoke.

Sheng Cen’s turning over paused, “Did I wake you up?”

“No.” Tang Qi Yuan’s voice was a little sleepy and sounded soft, “I haven’t fallen asleep yet.”

He was sleepy, but this was an unfamiliar environment after all, and he couldn’t fall asleep that easily.

“Go to sleep, I won’t disturb you.” Sheng Cen said in a low voice, not turning over again.

Tang Qi Yuan was quiet for a while and asked, “Classmate Sheng, if you can’t sleep too, why don’t I recite the Eight Honours and Eight Shames1From the socialist concept of honour and shame which set a new benchmark for the construction of civic morality in China, and has a positive impact on strengthening socialist ideological and moral construction.
for you to listen to?”

“……Eight Honours and Eight Shames?”

“En, I always recite this when I can’t sleep, and I’ll fall asleep in no time.”

Sheng Cen was silent for a while, “Whatever you want.”

Tang Qi Yuan cleared his throat and really started reciting it, “Be proud to love the motherland, be ashamed of endangering the motherland, be proud to serve the people, be ashamed to deviate from the people……be ashamed to break the law, be proud to struggle hard2The complete 8:

Be proud of loving the motherland, and be ashamed of endangering the motherland.
Be proud of serving the people, and be ashamed to deviate from the people.
Take pride in advocating science, and be ashamed of ignorance.
Be proud of hard work, and be ashamed of liking leisure and disliking labor .
Take pride in solidarity and mutual assistance, and be ashamed of harming others and benefiting oneself.
Be proud of honesty and trustworthiness, and be ashamed of profit-seeking.
Be proud of abiding by the law , and be ashamed of breaking the law.
Be proud to struggle hard, and be ashamed of arrogance.…… ”

The drizzle outside the house dripped down on the window, Tang Qi Yuan’s voice was clear and cool, as pleasant-sounding as running water, the two sounds intertwined, sounding inexplicably harmonious.

Sheng Cen listened quietly, suddenly remembering the first day of school, Tang Qi Yuan stood at the podium and introduced himself, who would have thought he was such a little nerd, Sheng Cen could not help but laugh silently.

Tang Qi Yuan recited for a while, his voice getting softer and softer, until he started to snore a little, and then he stopped completely.

Sheng Cen moved very gently to support himself and looked up at him, Sheng Cen could only see from afar that the quilt on his body was slightly undulating, and it looked like he was already asleep.

Tang Qi Yuan’s sleeping posture was also very proper, he was lying on his back, his hands were placed on his abdomen in a regular manner, the blanket was well covered on his body, his sleeping face was serene, and he had a feeling of being unconcerned with the world, which inexplicably calmed people’s mind.

Sheng Cen watched for a while, lay back on the sofa and closed his eyes again, this time he didn’t think about it so much, and gradually fell asleep, and the night was dreamless.

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly, the rain had stopped at some point, and Tang Qi Yuan woke up at exactly six o’clock.

He was confused for a moment when he opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar surroundings.
It was only when he saw the familiar table mate on the sofa that he came back to his senses and remembered that he had stayed in the Orchid Palace yesterday.

The table mate was sleeping soundly, and his expression in his sleep looked softer than usual, less hostile and more immaturity belonging to his age.

Tang Qi Yuan watched in silence for a while before rubbing his eyes, sitting up from the bed, gingerly washing up, then walking out and gently closing the door to the room.

In the morning the Orchid Palace was very quiet, the helpers were busy but all were gentle and quiet, and at first glance they were very disciplined.

Tang Qi Yuan had the habit of waking up early for exercise because of his poor health since he was a child.
He walked out of the house and wanted to go for a short run in the garden.
He arrived at the garden, but saw that Sheng Xi was already up and had come earlier than him and was sitting in the garden watching the sunrise.

Sheng Xi was sitting in his wheelchair with a thin blanket covering his legs.
The morning sunlight was cold but warm, the morning light shone softly on Sheng Xi’s face, Sheng Xi was facing the direction of the rising sun, his eyes closed as he felt the sunlight shining on him, with a soft smile on the corner of his mouth, his whole person was shrouded in sunlight.

The outside world had always rumoured that Sheng Xi was self-hating and self-pitying because of his leg injury, and that his whole person was gloomy and morbid, and his mood was unpredictable, but the Sheng Xi he saw was not only calm and gentle, but also had a positive attitude towards life, nothing like the outside world’s rumours.
It seems that if those rumours are not made by unknowing people, then someone deliberately did it, deliberately smearing Sheng Xi and damaging his image.

Tang Qi Yuan came to Orchid Palace this time and felt that he had seen a different Orchid Palace from the outside rumours.
At least Empress Xia and her sons were all good people who deserved a better and freer life.

1From the socialist concept of honour and shame which set a new benchmark for the construction of civic morality in China, and has a positive impact on strengthening socialist ideological and moral construction.2The complete 8:

Be proud of loving the motherland, and be ashamed of endangering the motherland.
Be proud of serving the people, and be ashamed to deviate from the people.
Take pride in advocating science, and be ashamed of ignorance.
Be proud of hard work, and be ashamed of liking leisure and disliking labor .
Take pride in solidarity and mutual assistance, and be ashamed of harming others and benefiting oneself.
Be proud of honesty and trustworthiness, and be ashamed of profit-seeking.
Be proud of abiding by the law , and be ashamed of breaking the law.
Be proud to struggle hard, and be ashamed of arrogance.