Chapter 50, "Secrets".

Zhuang Yan's heart can be described as experiencing great ups and downs.
As a high school teacher, she had only heard of Tan Rong's "glorious achievements" in competitions and standardized exams and had never interacted with this "child from another family" or "student from another school". Translation:
However, suddenly there came a polite greeting from an unfamiliar man on her son's side. Although she had no contact, she could still guess who the person saying hello was.
Zhu Yanxi knew that Zhuang Yan and Tan Rong were strangers to each other, but she didn't want to be too direct, so she handed the phone directly to Tan Rong.
隐隐听见听筒飘出庄妍的回应，他重新将耳机贴回耳边，笑嘻嘻道：“怎么样老妈？你这下总可以放心了吧。”
客厅到厨房不过几步路的距离，竹言蹊也没有刻意压低音量，谈容剥柚子的时候就听去几句，不难猜出这对母子的通话内容。
They exchanged a meaningful glance, and he reached out to adjust the stray hair on the other person's head. He gently pinched their nose before returning to the kitchen to prepare dinner, hoping to make amends through his cooking.
庄妍先是得知谈容成了自己儿子的男朋友，接着猝不及防被儿子的男朋友问了好，简直是一惊未平一惊又起，被竹言蹊嬉皮笑脸叫了“老妈”，这才缓过神，端出一贯的强势腔调：“放心什么放心？我是对你那身坏毛病不放心，和你谈没谈恋爱有关系吗？”
Although her words were said like that, her tone was not as nagging as before.
Strict mother is the same everywhere.
Zhu Yanxi was very tough when he was a child. He wouldn't eat soft things but only hard ones. Zhuang Yan worried about him for twenty years. Every time she talked to her son, she couldn't help but adopt a strict attitude to remind him in advance, afraid that Zhu Yanxi would go astray and make some unnecessary mistakes.
Zhu Yanxi was accustomed to his mother's speaking style and absentmindedly reached out to take a segment of pomelo, listening to her rambling without much interest.
"You're an adult now. You can't joke around when it comes to matters of the heart. Take things seriously and fulfill your responsibilities. Don't treat emotions as child's play," Zhuang Yan cautioned.
"Mom, do you really think I am so unreliable in your eyes?" Zhuyanxi chewed on the pulp of a pomelo and said vaguely, "Don't worry unnecessarily, I even want to turn Tangrong into your new son, how can I not be serious."
Still became a new son?
庄妍闻言不禁笑了：“道理你明白就行了，少扯嘴皮子。”
“这不是你以前说的吗？”竹言蹊也乐了，跟她掰起了旧账，“我还记得我初二那会儿全市统考，你跟我说什么，谈容要是你儿子，你睡觉做梦都能笑醒。”
That unified exam was targeted at students from the 9th and 12th grade. Tan Rong easily secured the first place in the city, leaving the second place far behind.
Unfortunately, the exam results were announced on the last day of the May Day holiday. Zhu Yan Qi hadn't finished his homework, and when Zhuang Yan discovered this while tidying up his room, she scolded him fiercely.
竹言蹊成绩不差，又正处叛逆期，没忍住顶起了嘴，这才激得庄妍想有谈容那样的儿子。
“想想也挺美的是不是？别人家的儿子养了那么多年，终于长大成材。您就随口念叨一句，改明说不定真成人家妈了。”竹言蹊笑，吃完手里的柚子，探身又摸了一块。
Talking about Rong's beauty and his high achievements, they were not just limited to his school years. He was a competition maniac and was even guaranteed to be the top scorer. Even after graduating, he still outperformed the following batches of top students by a large margin. Occasionally, teachers from various schools would bring him out as a positive example to inspire students in their classes to work harder.
庄女士带过不少毕业班，也没少拿往届状元举例子，光是竹言蹊高三那年，就在家听她提了三四回谈容。
“去！贫一句不够，还贫。”庄妍拿自己儿子这嘴一点办法都没有，换了话题道，“你们晚饭都没吃吧，现在是在外面吗？”
When the call was just connected, Zhu Yannan said that he hadn't had dinner yet. Tan Rong was next to him, and Zhuang Yan understood that both of them were outside and were ready to find a place to eat.
Zhu Yannan hesitated for a moment and honestly said, "No, we cook at home."
The information in this statement is quite significant.
"Talking about Rong Jia?" Zhu Yanxi asked.
"No, in the apartment," Zhu Yanxi answered, then brushed up some goodwill points for her boyfriend, "Last week, I was sick. Rong went to the hospital with me to get an intravenous drip. The doctor said that even after recovering from the illness, I still need to pay attention to my diet, otherwise, if my gastrointestinal tract isn't properly nurtured and gets stimulated, it might relapse. He has been taking care of me all this time."
庄妍沉默了几秒，对他道：“我说呢，就你这样的还在家自己做饭？你吃饭不挑嘴就算帮了大忙了。”
There's nothing better than a mother's understanding. Zhuyan Xi's knee was instantly shot.
“我做饭是不会，但是择菜切菜还是能做的好吧。”他替自己洗白冤屈，“我过年不还替你洗菜了吗？”
“洗了跟没洗一样。”庄妍残酷无情道，“行了，时间也不早了，你去帮着准备做饭吧。该注意什么你自己也知道，我就不多跟你唠叨什么了，省得你烦。”
I have to say, the advantages of being a good student are not only reflected in campus life but also in the matter of dating, perhaps it can be equally beneficial.
Whether it's the past perfect tense or the present continuous tense, Tangrong has always left a near perfect impression on Zhuangyan.
During middle school, he had excellent behavior, was self-disciplined, and entered society with a solid and reliable character. He was ambitious and these various labels combined at least indicate that this student never deviated from the right path.
For a young man like Zheng Rong who has not experienced much hardship, it is naturally easier for Zhuang Yan to accept him, and they can get along more comfortably.
After hanging up the phone, Zhu Yanxi picked a pomelo into two halves. He put one half into his mouth and brought the other half to the kitchen. He handed it to Tan Rong and said, "My cousin saw the Weibo post I made today. My mom found out from my aunt and called me, nagging me to not just focus on dating and neglect my exams."
Tan Rong already has a general understanding of the situation, but still listens to Zhu Yanxi's words with a smile.
He lowers his head and bites the top of the pomelo, using his mouth to break off a small piece, slowly chewing it.
Zhu Yanxi naturally finishes the remaining bit, standing slightly tilted with her head beside Tan Rong, continuing to smile and say, "And when I mentioned that my boyfriend is you, wow, she didn't say another word about studying before hanging up."
Zhuang Yan has always started phone conversations with a sentence and emphasized two sentences before hanging up. It's quite rare for her to hang up the phone directly like she did today.
"You were really crazy when you were in school, enough to make my mom feel at ease like this." Zhu Yanxi's leg was held by someone in the afternoon for a long time, and several tendons were soft. If she stood for a little longer, she wouldn't be as comfortable as usual.
He spoke as he grabbed a stool from the side, intending to treat his tired bones.
Tan Rong caught a glimpse of his actions and realized that Zhu Yanxi couldn't help but collide. At the moment, she still felt weak and turned her head to look over.
Zhu Yanqi's bottom hadn't even touched the chair when he sensed Tang Rong's gaze, thinking that he had accidentally revealed something in his previous sentence.
How would he know whether Tang Rong was still weird when he was in school?
"My mother... teaches at the attached middle school, and I think she also taught the graduating class when you were in your senior year. She said she heard about you during the unified exams." Almost reflexively, Zhuyanxi added a bunch of additional information. Only reply to the translated content.
After he finished speaking, he immediately closed his mouth tightly and slowly ground his back molars.
This morning, he was contemplating the right moment to confess to Tan Rong that he had actually liked him since high school. Could you please clarify what you would like a reply to?
It was quite a coincidence that I slipped up earlier. He didn't need to prepare himself mentally, as soon as the other party noticed something suspicious and asked him, he could confess without hesitation. However, he has been pretending to be an innocent student for too long, and lying has become a habit. Whenever he says something wrong, his instincts kick in to cover it up, and his mouth moves faster than his brain.
"Go sit in the living room, the sofa is more comfortable to lean against," Tan Rong said to him.
Zhubayixi subconsciously thought of lying, and Tan Rong also subconsciously considered it for the other party.
"Yunyun must be hungry too. If you want to pass the time, you can take some food to entertain her," Tan Rong said, picking up a small tomato to feed Zhubaiqi, "Go ahead." Please let me know if I can assist you with anything else.
The cherry tomatoes are newly bought and burst with a sweet and sour juice.
竹言蹊坐梯凳只解放了双腿，腰臀往上的确称不上舒坦。他正后悔着圆谎圆快了，闻言只好点了点头，对蹲在地上昂脑袋的筠筠招招手，一道回了客厅瘫下。
Everyone else left, Tan Rong continued to cut the remaining tomatoes in half for later use.
刀刃没压下，他忽然顿住动作，加载头脑中的杀毒插件，查杀出竹言蹊刚才的异样反应。
先是说他上学期间如何变态，随后磕巴一瞬，加快着语速又说一串。
谈容眉眼低敛，按稳小番茄的手指微微动了下，惹得那枚红色的圆果咕噜滚了半圈。
He held the handle of the knife firmly, accurately cutting it in half, with a faint curve forming at the corner of his lips.
Unintentionally, it seemed like he had discovered a remarkable secret.