Yu Feng drove the car into the underground garage and took the elevator into the residential complex. He pressed the fingerprint lock and told Xie An’yu, “The door code is 060523.”
Xie An’yu stood behind Yu Feng, looking up at him upon hearing this, thinking to himself; you’re just giving me the door code like that?
“Got it memorized?” Yu Feng turned to ask him.
Xie An’yu nodded.
“I sometimes go on business trips, so I won’t necessarily be home every day,” Yu Feng said as he opened the door and led Xie An’yu straight to the second bedroom.
Yu Feng turned on the light in the second room. The space was much larger than Xie An’yu had imagined—a row of wardrobes beside the bed, a desk in front, and even a spot by the window where one could lie down.
Xiao Dao here didn’t yet know this kind of window was called a bay window[mfn]飄窗 (piāo chuāng): A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the ground.
[/mfn].
Yu Feng walked over and placed Xie An’yu’s backpack on the desk.
Xie An’yu quite liked that bay window. He couldn’t help but ask Yu Feng, “Brother Yu, can I sit on that spot by the window sometimes?”
Yu Feng glanced back at him. “You can even lie there and do yoga if you want. Just worried your two-meter-long legs won’t fit.”
Xie An’yu realized Yu Feng had a habit of cracking deadpan jokes, delivering snark with a perfectly straight face.
“Xie An’yu.” Yu Feng sat down on the bay window, tilting his head slightly to look at him.
Xie An’yu met Yu Feng’s gaze.
“You should always be cautious when dealing with people. Strictly speaking, you shouldn’t have followed me home so trustingly today. What if I weren’t a good person—”
“I trust you,” Xie An’yu replied without hesitation.
Yu Feng stared at him for a moment, then said, “But it’s also true. If I weren’t a good person, I’d probably be the one getting beaten up by you. With your combat skills, I should be the one worried.”
Xie An’yu lowered his head and chuckled.
“Mind if I ask—where have you been staying all this time without renting a place?” Yu Feng looked at Xie An’yu.
“The internet cafe.”
“They have places to sleep there?”
Xie An’yu answered honestly, “I slept in the storage room.”
Yu Feng paused, brows furrowing slightly. “The internet cafe owner let you sleep there? Why didn’t he sleep there instead?”
“No, I asked him myself. The internet cafe didn’t originally have a place for me to sleep.”
“Was there even space to lie down?”
“I have a sleeping bag.”
Yu Feng nodded, then asked, “What about… washing up?”
Xie An’yu hesitated, a little embarrassed to answer. He hadn’t had a proper shower in days. Washing his face and hair in the internet cafe’s restroom was manageable, but showering was more difficult. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too hot yet.
Xie An’yu asked Yu Feng, “…Do I smell?”
Yu Feng paused, then chuckled, “No.”
“I haven’t showered in days…”
“Can’t really tell,” Yu Feng leaned against the bay window.
He noticed that despite Xie An’yu’s rough circumstances, he always gave off a clean and fresh impression. Even his hair was fluffy and neat.
“Give me that phone,” Yu Feng said.
“Mm?”
“The broken old phone. I’ll see if someone can fix it.”
Xie An’yu’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Can it still be fixed?”
“Not sure, but we can try.” Yu Feng met Xie An’yu’s gaze.
If it can’t be fixed, will this kid secretly cry again?
Xie An’yu took out the old phone and handed it to him. “It’s okay if it can’t be fixed, thank you for the trouble, Brother.”
Yu Feng took the phone, stood up, and said, “Go shower and rest early. The bathroom is to your left as you exit the room.”
Yu Feng’s room was right across from Xie An’yu’s. Xie An’yu waited until Yu Feng finished showering before taking his change of clothes to the bathroom. The toiletries in the bathroom were all for one person, confirming that Yu Feng indeed lived alone in this house.
Xie An’yu took a quick shower and immediately washed the clothes he’d changed out of, hanging them on the balcony to dry.
***
The next day, Xie An’yu woke up unusually early. At the first light of dawn, he went to the balcony to collect his clothes—mainly to retrieve his underwear. After all, having it hanging on someone else’s balcony was rather embarrassing. What if the homeowner saw it?
Xie An’yu had gotten up early enough, but he hadn’t expected Yu Feng to be an early riser as well. Worse, Yu Feng happened to see him retrieving his underwear.
Xie An’yu’s hand clutched the still-damp underwear when he heard movement behind him. Reflexively, he turned his head and locked eyes with Yu Feng.
Xie An’yu froze for two seconds before abruptly yanking the underwear down and crumpling it in his hand, his posture stiff with awkwardness.
Yu Feng noticed his embarrassment and found it somewhat amusing. As he walked toward the kitchen, he asked, “Did it dry overnight already?”
Xie An’yu mumbled an indistinct ‘Mm-hmm’.
“Just hang them out. Why are you afraid of me seeing them?” Yu Feng took a carton of milk and a bag of sliced bread from the fridge, then pointed at the clothes rack on the balcony. “If it’s not dry yet, leave it out a bit longer. Wearing damp underwear might upset your stomach.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Xie An’yu hung the underwear back up.
“Did you wash your clothes while showering yesterday?” Yu Feng asked Xie An’yu.
Xie An’yu nodded and walked into the kitchen.
Yu Feng closed the fridge and said, “From now on, just put your clothes directly into the laundry hamper in the bathroom. You can just throw them in the washing machine.”
Though Xie An’yu’s clothes were a bit worn, they were always clean, and he carried the faint scent of soap.
Yu Feng placed the milk and bread on the table. “This is all there is in the fridge. Make do for now.” He then walked to the counter and turned on the coffee machine.
Yu Feng’s coffee machine looked very high-end, and it seemed to be the only appliance in the entire kitchen that showed signs of frequent use.
Xie An’yu watched him go through a series of actions, and soon, Yu Feng brought over a cup of coffee.
“Do you want milk or coffee?” Yu Feng asked Xie An’yu, holding the coffee cup. “If you want coffee, I can make another one.”
Xie An’yu shook his head. “No thanks, Brother. I don’t drink that.”
The Americano he’d had at Starbucks last time had nearly made him gag from the bitterness. The cup Yu Feng was holding looked even darker, with nothing added to it. Though it smelled fragrant, it would definitely be incredibly bitter to drink. He wasn’t about to challenge himself.
Noticing Yu Feng drinking only coffee, Xie An’yu asked, “Brother Yu, are there any eggs in the fridge?”
“Yes.”
“Can I use your pan?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Xie An’yu took a few eggs from the fridge, cracked them into a bowl, mixed in a bit of milk, then dipped the bread slices into the mixture before frying them in the pan. After frying the bread, he fried two sunny-side-up eggs and brought everything to the table.
“Have some of this to fill up,” Xie An’yu said, sliding the plate toward Yu Feng. “I lightly fried the bread—it should taste better now.”
Yu Feng glanced at the simple breakfast in front of him.
Was this the true portrayal of ‘the child of a poor family matures early’?
In just five minutes, Xie An’yu had whipped this up—his efficiency was impressive.
For boys his age, some didn’t even know how to wash their own socks.
Yu Feng knew how to cook, but living alone usually made him too lazy to bother. Solitary individuals tend to fall into two extremes—either living very meticulously or quite roughly—and Yu Feng belonged to the latter category.
Xie An’yu prepared two servings of fried bread and sunny-side-up[mfn]煎面包和荷包蛋 (jiān miàn bāo hé hé bāo dàn): Fried bread and sunny-side-up.
[/mfn]. Yu Feng thanked him and ate his portion. Xie An’yu ate very quickly. After finishing his meal, he immediately went to wash the dishes. Yu Feng was just wondering why he had gotten up so early when Xie An’yu prepared to leave, bending down in the entryway to put on his shoes.
He wore a pair of black sneakers, the heels heavily worn.
“Brother Yu, when are we signing the contract?” Xie An’yu asked Yu Feng before leaving.
“Let’s talk about it in a few days.”
“Alright, then draft a contract when you have time. I’m heading out.”
Yu Feng hummed in acknowledgment. “Turn right when you leave the neighborhood—that’s where the subway station is.”
Xie An’yu paused for a moment before nodding. “Mm-hmm.”
***
It wasn’t until Yu Feng drove out of the underground garage that he understood why Xie An’yu had seemed momentarily unresponsive when he mentioned the subway’s location earlier.
Xie An’yu hadn’t gone far—he was jogging around the perimeter of the neighborhood.
His posture was upright, his strides steady.
For the first time, Yu Feng thought a person’s running form could be described as beautiful.
Having photographed many models, and due to his professional habit, it was almost instinctive for him to observe Xie An’yu’s physique and proportions. Xie An’yu had an excellent body proportions—lean but not weak, exuding a kind of vitality, a sense of robust energy throughout his body.
Yu Feng left early to visit his friend who owned a phone shop in the electronics mall. He handed Xie Anyu’s phone to him.
“Are you… kidding me?”
“Do I look like I’m bored enough to travel all this way to mess with you? Can someone here fix this or not?”
Sheng Tao took the phone and examined it. “…Well, someone can definitely fix it. But seriously, why are you fixing this thing? The repair cost could buy you a new one.”
“As long as it can be fixed. Call me when it’s done.” Yu Feng thought for a moment, then added, “Will the data inside still be there after the repair?”
Sheng Tao chuckled. “This thing still has data inside…” He shook his head. “Hard to say. Depends on how it’s fixed.”
“Try to preserve it if possible,” Yu Feng said.
Xie An’yu seemed like someone who usually kept his emotions in check, yet he had nearly lost his temper when his phone was smashed—clearly, it meant a lot to him.
For an old-fashioned phone to make him so anxious…
—This phone must have belonged to his late grandmother. That was the only explanation Yu Feng could think of.
Sheng Tao playfully waved the phone and joked with Yu Feng, “This’ll cost extra, you know.”
“If you can fix it, name your price. Just restore it to its original state first.”
“Whose phone is this anyway? Don’t tell me it’s yours.”
“A friend’s.”
“What kind of friend still uses an old-fashioned phone? An unlikely friendship despite the age gap?”
“A kid.” Yu Feng turned to leave. “I’m heading out. Call me when it’s fixed.”
“Got it. Hey, when are you and Zhou Yi free to hang out?”
“Ask him. He’s the one who’s always up for gatherings.”
“If we invite him, we’ll definitely have to put together a big get-together. Just don’t bail on us last minute.”
“We’ll see,” Yu Feng waved his hand. “Going now.”
***
As a photographer, Yu Feng’s work schedule was flexible—sometimes leisurely, other times requiring consecutive overtime shifts when he was busy. Today, he got off work quite late, but when he returned home, Xie An’yu wasn’t there.
It was almost nine o’clock, and Xie An’yu still hadn’t returned. Yu Feng found it a bit odd—hadn’t he already quit his job at the internet cafe?
He called Xie An’yu twice, but no one picked up.
Around ten o’clock, Xie An’yu finally called back.
“Hello, Brother Yu? Did you call me?” Xie An’yu sounded slightly out of breath. “I didn’t have my phone nearby earlier, so I missed your call.”
Yu Feng hadn’t intended to pry into Xie An’yu’s personal life. As long as he answered the call, that was enough—at least it confirmed he wasn’t in any trouble.
“It’s getting late. Don’t stay out too long,” Yu Feng said, adding, “There’s no subway if it’s too late.”
“Mm, I’ll be back soon.”
***
Yu Feng had poor sleep quality—prone to insomnia, light sleep, and easily awakened even after finally dozing off. He often dreamed, spending most nights in a half-awake, half-asleep state.
Before Xie An’yu returned, Yu Feng managed to nap briefly, waking up less than half an hour later. Today was actually better than usual—at least falling asleep hadn’t taken too long.
Yu Feng went to the kitchen for a glass of water and glanced at the wall clock. The glow-in-the-dark hands were clearly visible in the dark, the hour hand now pointing at 11. Xie An’yu’s definition of ‘soon’ wasn’t very reliable—it had already been an hour.
Not long after, a series of beeps sounded from outside the door—someone was entering the door code. Yu Feng took a sip of water and stared silently toward the entrance.
A sliver of light from the hallway lamp spilled in, faintly illuminating the entryway as Xie An’yu stepped inside. He wore a black baseball cap pulled low over his face. He bent down to change his shoes, then straightened up and removed his cap.
Yu Feng froze in place for a second, his hair nearly standing on end.
Because Xie An’yu’s appearance was simply… a little unsettling. He had very heavy makeup on, as if he had just rushed over from a Halloween-themed party.
Only when Xie An’yu looked up did he notice someone standing in the kitchen. Startled, he stiffened momentarily. He met Yu Feng’s gaze, then immediately raised a hand to cover his face. Xie An’yu lowered his head, put the baseball cap back on, and turned his back to Yu Feng.
“I thought you were asleep…”
“I got up for water,” Yu Feng said. “Did you… go work as an NPC in a haunted house?”
Xie An’yu was surprised and instinctively started to turn back before stopping himself and returned to his original position. “How do you know everything…?”
“Don’t stand with your back to me like that, like you’re facing the wall in punishment.”
“I haven’t taken off the makeup yet; I’m afraid I’ll scare you.”
“It is pretty scary,” Yu Feng admitted, rinsing his cup. “My hair almost stood on end.”
By the time he finished washing the cup, Xie An’yu still hadn’t turned around.
“You can turn around me now. The shock’s worn off—I’m numb to it.”
Xie An’yu slowly turned around, head still lowered.
“So you’ve stopped being a mascot and switched to playing ghosts in haunted houses?” Yu Feng walked over and asked.
“I still do the mascot gigs too.”
Yu Feng stepped closer to examine Xie An’yu’s makeup—a mouth stretched to the ears, blood-streaked corners of the eyes. It was impressively realistic.
“Did you manage to scare anyone?” Yu Feng asked.
Xie An’yu looked up at him briefly, then quickly lowered his gaze. He nodded, then suddenly smiled. “It’s quite interesting to see them jump and shriek, but it’s not very friendly to the ears.”
He still had a bit of ringing in his ears. The screams of terrified people were no joke—some guys shrieked even louder than the girls, enough to shake heaven and earth[mfn]驚天地，泣鬼神 (jīng tiān dì, qì guǐ shén): lit. to shock the heaven and earth and make ghosts and gods cry; to astonish the heavens and the earth, to make the spirits weep; astonishing, awe-inspiring, or emotionally stirring. T/N: Some source said this is an idiom, others said this is the title of a collection of poems on the Wenchuan earthquake.[/mfn].
Xie An’yu’s ghostly face made his smile oddly captivating and eerie. If there had been a camera nearby, Yu Feng might have snapped a photo of that expression.
“I’m going to wash my face,” Xie An’yu said.
Yu Feng hummed in acknowledgment.
Xie An’yu normally never used facial cleanser. He turned on the tap, splashed water on his face, and scrubbed vigorously. When he looked up at the mirror again, he startled himself.
The makeup had smeared into a grotesque mess from the water, but none of it had actually washed off—just smudged into dark, muddy streaks instead.
Xie An’yu wiped his face with his eyes closed and called out, “Brother Yu, can I borrow your facial cleanser?”
Yu Feng replied from outside, “Go ahead.”
Xie An’yu scanned the bathroom counter, unsure which was the facial cleanser. All of Yu Feng’s toiletries had foreign labels. Just as he was about to open a few lids to figure out which was cleanser and which was toothpaste, Yu Feng suddenly walked in.
“The black one is the facial cleanser—” Yu Feng froze when he saw Xie An’yu’s reflection in the mirror, and almost laughed. “How did you manage to wash your face into this state?”
“Water won’t wash it off.”
“Base makeup is liquid foundation and there’s oil paint. Of course water won’t wash it off.” Yu Feng handed him a tissue. “Dry your face first, then use cleansing oil.”
“I thought it was just regular paint…”
“Paint doesn’t adhere to the skin like that.”
After Xie An’yu patted his face dry, Yu Feng rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of cleansing oil.
“Hold out your hand.”
Xie An’yu obediently extended his palm as Yu Feng pumped several dollops of cleansing oil onto his palm.
“Rub it between your hands, then massage it onto your face.”
Xie An’yu followed instructions precisely. Mid-scrubbing, he suddenly chuckled with his eyes still closed.
“What’s so funny?” Yu Feng asked, amused.
“Nothing, I just feel a bit like a puppy following commands.”
“You really know how to insult yourself. Who compares themselves to a dog?”
“I like puppies.”
Yu Feng quietly watched the person in the mirror.
Xie An’yu scrubbed with alarming intensity, treating his face like it wasn’t attached to him. Seeing the skin turn red, Yu Feng reminded him, “Don’t scrub so hard. It’s not pigskin.”
Xie An’yu immediately lightened his touch upon hearing that.
“Rinse it off now,” Yu Feng instructed.
After washing his face, Xie An’yu accepted the face towel Yu Feng handed him. As Xie An’yu wiped his face, he glanced at Yu Feng’s reflection in the mirror and remarked, “You’re quite meticulous, Brother… so particular about facial care.”
Most of Yu Feng’s toiletries were brand freebies. Working with models and celebrities—sometimes even attending brand events and fashion weeks himself—meant frequent makeup and styling. Having these products at home wasn’t unusual.
However, ‘meticulous’ definitely didn’t describe him.
“No wonder you always smell so nice,” Xie An’yu suddenly commented, rubbing his nose.
Yu Feng paused, giving him a look. “That’s not my scent.”
The author has something to say:
The Xie family brand puppy nose: sniff sniff, nuzzle nuzzle.
There’s no new idioms in this chapter.
Check out my completed & current project at my carrd. If you like my translation, you can buy me coffee at Ko-fi~ Thank you.
