Chapter 83: The Subconscious

“What’s wrong?” Xu Fei paused for a moment and looked at Xu Qing, asking.

“What do you think?” Xu Qing shot Xu Fei a fierce glare.

“Do you two think that my ‘Xu’ isn’t the same as yours?” Du Man emerged with a laugh just then, placing the sliced pork head meat on the table.

“Xu Fei, did you also say Xu Yun is our family’s hope now?”

“Oh? Hahaha…” Xu Fei finally understood.

“My sister is the true hope of our Xu family,” he said, picking up a piece of pork trotter and putting it directly into Xu Qing’s bowl. “Xu Qing, you have to do well this time. Strive to bring home an admission to Tsinghua for our Xu family, all right?”

Xu Qing couldn’t help but laugh at his words. “So in just a short while, your Xu family is producing two Tsinghuas and Beidas? What, do you think Tsinghua and Peking University were founded for your family alone?”

Seeing her laugh, Xu Fei and the others also broke into laughter.

At this moment, Chen Da glanced at Xu Fei and said, “Fei, I really envy you. Look, you have such a beautiful little sister, an outstanding little brother, and a virtuous wife. If I had even half your good fortune, I’d be satisfied.”

Xu Fei looked at Chen Da in surprise. “Big Brother, I’ve heard your wife is the beauty of her office.”

“What beauty?” Chen Da snorted. “If she’s a beauty, then there are probably no women in Donghai City. Your wife is the real beauty here, isn’t she, sister-in-law?”

Du Man lowered her head. “In Xu Fei’s eyes, I couldn’t be more ordinary.”

As she said this, she shot Xu Fei a quick glance.

“Oh, come on, when did I ever say you’re ordinary?” Xu Fei shook his head, raised his wine cup, and said, “Big Brother, let’s not talk about this—let’s drink.”

“Alright, alright.”

Chen Da’s capacity for alcohol was never as good as Xu Fei’s. But tonight, his mood seemed better than usual. After dinner, Xu Qing and Xu Yun both returned to their rooms to study.

Now, only Xu Fei and Du Man were left to accompany Chen Da.

“I say, old Fourth…” Chen Da was clearly tipsy; his words came out slurred. “Today, I’m really happy. You see… sister-in-law’s cooking, that’s really…”

As he spoke, he stuck out his thumb in praise at Du Man.

“Big Brother, I didn’t do much,” Du Man replied. In truth, she’d only made one dish; the rest were already prepared.

“No, no, you don’t know. My wife, hmph, she can’t even stir-fry cucumber slices…” Whenever Chen Da mentioned his wife, it always seemed to bring out a stomach full of grievances.

Seeing that Chen Da was almost drunk, Xu Fei suggested, “Big Brother, how about I pour you some tea? Enough with the wine…”

“Old Fourth, what are you saying? I haven’t had enough yet!” Chen Da refilled his own cup, then topped off Xu Fei’s as well.

“Come!” Chen Da raised his glass.

Xu Fei had no choice but to follow.

After all, as the host, he couldn’t rush his guest away from the table. The two drank for a while longer. Soon, Chen Da couldn’t sit still. He swayed as he spoke, his eyes half-open, half-closed.

Xu Fei noticed and told Du Man to make some tea.

No sooner had he said this than Chen Da slumped onto the table, snoring loudly.

“He’s asleep?” Du Man emerged with the tea, glancing at Chen Da.

Xu Fei shook his head. “I was afraid of this. Once he starts drinking, he always goes overboard. Well, let’s tidy him up and let him sleep in our room.”

Du Man poured Xu Fei some tea with a smile, then went to prepare the bedding.

Xu Fei took a sip of tea. Soon enough, Du Man returned, holding their bedding.

“Help him inside,” she said.

Xu Fei stood, hefted Chen Da up, and carried him into the room. Once Chen Da was settled, Xu Fei came back out to find Du Man had already set up the camp bed.

“We’ll have to squeeze in here tonight,” she said with a smile.

Xu Fei nodded. “You sleep. I’ll just take the chair.”

But Du Man pulled him to the bedside. “How can we squeeze in otherwise?” she said, pushing Xu Fei onto the camp bed.

Xu Fei laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“What are you doing?” Du Man glanced behind her. “There’s someone else here.”

“Don’t worry, he’s out cold—he wouldn’t wake for thunder.”

“What about Xu Qing and the others?”

Xu Fei thought for a moment and shook his head with a sigh. “Big Brother really picked the perfect time to visit.”

It seemed his plans with Du Man for the day had fallen through yet again.

“Tomorrow, then.” Du Man gently stroked Xu Fei’s face before turning to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Xu Fei lay on the bed, half awake, half asleep.

He must have drifted off, but then—

“What are you doing? Big Brother, don’t—!”

Xu Fei woke with a start at the sound of Du Man’s voice. Rubbing his eyes, he realized the noise was coming from the inner room.

He leapt from the bed and rushed inside, only to see Chen Da gripping Du Man with both hands.

“Chen Da, what are you doing?” Xu Fei shouted, rushing over to push Chen Da away.

Chen Da, now sprawled on the bed, seemed to be sleepwalking; his hands flailed in the air, muttering unintelligibly with a lewd grin at the corner of his mouth as if his dream was anything but innocent.

“Are you alright, Du Man?” Xu Fei asked.

Still shaken, Du Man glanced at Chen Da. “What’s wrong with him?”

Xu Fei checked on him. “Looks like he’s sleepwalking.”

“Sleepwalking?” Du Man stepped closer, watching Chen Da’s erratic gestures.

“What should we do?” she asked.

“Don’t wake him. I’ve heard it can be dangerous to interrupt a sleepwalker.”

Du Man nodded. “I’ve heard that too. So, what now?”

“Let him be. We’ll go back outside.” Xu Fei took her hand and led her out.

Back on the camp bed, Xu Fei pulled Du Man into his arms. “Why did you go into the other room?” he asked.

“I saw you were asleep and thought I’d fetch another quilt—it’s cold at night.”

Xu Fei pinched her cheek playfully. “My dear Du Man, were you scared just now?”

“What do you think?” Du Man shook her head. “He had his eyes closed, grabbing me with all his strength—wouldn’t you be scared?”

She patted her chest to calm herself.

“Really, your Big Brother is something else. Sleepwalking and doing that sort of thing?”

Xu Fei could only shake his head helplessly. He couldn’t tell his wife that his brother was a lecher; some things were best kept to oneself.

“That’s called the subconscious, you know?”

“The subconscious?”

“Yeah, everyone has one. The things the subconscious does are things we’d never dare do when awake.”

Du Man shook her head. “This is the first time I’ve heard of that.”

“Well, put it this way: if he killed someone in his sleep, it wouldn’t surprise me…”