PTBLSI chapter 37

 

The atmosphere in the car lightened with that single “Okay.” Qi Xi traced Fu Yanchuan’s face with his eyes. His fingers hooked into the buttonhole of Fu Yanchuan’s shirt as he asked, “Brother Yan, did you come specifically to pick me up?”

Fu Yanchuan looked into Qi Xi’s smiling eyes for quite a while before answering, “Mm.”

“How did you know I was here?”

Fu Yanchuan held Qi Xi close against his waist and replied, “No matter where you are, I can find you.”

“Really?”

Qi Xi instantly swept away all the earlier sadness. He scooted closer and wrapped his arms tightly around Fu Yanchuan’s neck. Almost kissing him, he said, “Brother Yan, you’re so good! Will you always be this good to me?”

Fu Yanchuan looked at him without speaking. Qi Xi panicked for no reason.

He cupped Fu Yanchuan’s face, instinctively pressing his lips against his and pushing his tongue in the same way that Fu Yanchuan had kissed him.

He didn’t know why, but he suddenly became afraid that one day, Fu Yanchuan might stop being good to him and that he would lose him.

Fu Yanchuan lowered the partition, caught Qi Xi’s uncoordinated tongue, and carefully entwined it with his. Then he let him go, saying, “Don’t be afraid. As long as you don’t leave, I’ll always be this good.”

Qi Xi felt something strange about those words. He stared at Fu Yanchuan for a long time and drew some confidence from his words. Then, biting down lightly and tugging at Fu Yanchuan’s lip, he pushed his luck, saying, “Then kiss me properly again.”

Fu Yanchuan’s breathing could be heard clearly in the car. He pulled Qi Xi over, pulling him into his arms. His palm gripped Qi Xi’s neck, and his fingertips rubbed against his adam’s apple.

Qi Xi breathed softly toward him. Like a fierce beast claiming its prey, Fu Yanchuan lowered his head and clamped onto Qi Xi’s Adam’s apple. His teeth lightly scraped, leaving a faint trail of marks. His kiss traveled along Qi Xi’s jaw and stopped at his lips. “How do you want me to kiss you?” he asked.

Half-lying in Fu Yanchuan’s arms, Qi Xi didn’t know what to do. His chest heaved once, and suddenly his fingers hooked into Fu Yanchuan’s collar. He pulled him down and bit him again, his tongue probing the deepest place. Finally, he withdrew, his lips wet and shiny. “Like this.”

“Come here.”

Fu Yanchuan paused, waiting for Qi Xi to move closer on his own and settle tightly into his arms, as if handing his body over to him. Only then did Fu Yanchuan firmly clasped Qi Xi, invading the deepest part of his mouth as Qi Xi requested and blocking his panting breaths until he trembled uncontrollably.

“That’s enough.”

Fu Yanchuan left Qi Xi’s lips, lightly wiping away the moisture he had left behind, and helped him back into his seat. “It’s dangerous to drive.”

Qi Xi didn’t understand what was supposed to be dangerous about driving. He suddenly sat up straight and tugged his clothes down to cover himself.

He had become a little strange. Before, when Fu Yanchuan kissed him, he didn’t react this way. Now, Fu Yanchuan hadn’t kissed him any harder than before, yet he was already stirred up. Was he going to become a vulgar adult with nothing but those things on his mind?

The more he thought about it, the more improper he felt. He secretly glanced at Fu Yanchuan, then quickly scooted toward the window to increase the distance between them.

“What’s wrong?”

Fu Yanchuan asked, turning his gaze over. Qi Xi’s cheeks and ears flushed red with embarrassment. When Fu Yanchuan lightly touched him, Qi Xi immediately stiffened and complained, “Don’t touch.”

This person was too easy to read. Fu Yanchuan cooperated and raised his hand in the air. “I won’t touch it.”

“And don’t stare at me either.”

This time, however, Fu Yanchuan didn’t cooperate. He kept staring at Qi Xi’s face; the corners of his eyes looked like peach blossoms were blooming there. Qi Xi caught his gaze from the corner of his eye and angrily reached out to turn Fu Yanchuan’s head. “Don’t look! If you keep looking, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?”

Hearing Fu Yanchuan’s question, Qi Xi immediately shrank back to the window and called him Brother Yan the best in the world. “You’re so annoying, asking so many questions! I won’t tell you.”

“Continue when we get back?”

Qi Xi jolted and finally realized that Fu Yanchuan knew everything. He hurriedly pulled his down jacket over his head, zipping it all the way to the top and turning himself into a headless ball.

Fu Yanchuan reached out, scooped him up, and pulled the zipper down. Only after seeing Qi Xi’s face did he tell him, “I’m not laughing at you.”

Qi Xi kept his head tucked inside the down jacket. After examining Fu Yanchuan for a while, he asked, “Would you also kiss—”

He stopped mid-sentence, lowered his head, and notice a faint mark below Fu Yanchuan’s belt.

Fu Yanchuan acted as if nothing had happened. He pushed Qi Xi away and straightened his clothes. “Sit properly.”

After they got back, Qi Xi was so happy that he forgot all about what had happened in the car. He ran around the house once, then threw himself onto the sofa. The orange cat heard the noise and ran out. Qi Xi pulled the cat over and said, “Dasheng, did you know that I almost didn’t get to see you? If I don’t come back one day, you have to listen to Brother Yan and thank him for me, okay?”

The orange cat flicked its tail, indicating that it didn’t understand.

Fu Yanchuan hung up his coat and brought over the slippers that Qi Xi hadn’t changed into. He placed them in front of Qi Xi, then went to get his own slippers. After spending days in the hospital, they had naturally grown accustomed to these small gestures.

He put Qi Xi’s shoes back in the cabinet and told him to take off his coat. The house was warm, and Qi Xi often ran around, making it easy for him to sweat.

He took off his coat in two quick motions, tossed it aside, and reached into his pocket for his phone. When he couldn’t find it, he suddenly remembered that Qi Feng had smashed it.

Seeing Qi Xi’s dejected expression, Fu Yanchuan sat beside him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“My phone was smashed by Qi Feng!”

“Was there anything important on it?”

Qi Xi blurted out, “Your phone number.”

For a moment, Fu Yanchuan didn’t know whether he should be happy. He smoothed the frown between Qi Xi’s brows and said, “It’s fine. I’ll buy you a new one.”

Qi Xi immediately abandoned the phone he had fought so hard for. He pounced on Fu Yanchuan and pressed him into the sofa, declaring, “I want the most expensive one.”

“You won’t like it.”

How could anyone not like the most expensive one? Qi Xi didn’t believe it. But when Fu Yanchuan showed him the golden, diamond-inlaid phone, he mercilessly commented, “So ugly. I don’t want it.”

“Look for yourself and tell me which one you like.”

Fu Yanchuan gave Qi Xi his tablet, which he used to work from home. Qi Xi took it and lay down on the sofa with his orange cat. Fu Yanchuan went back to his room, closed the door, and made a phone call.

If Fu Zhenrong had really taken Qi Xi today, there was no way he could bring him back so easily. Therefore, Fu Yanchuan had arranged for two bodyguards outside.

However, Fu Yanchuan was a little worried. Over the next few days, Qi Xi didn’t step outside at all. He slept in, woke up to eat and draw, and waited for Fu Yanchuan to finish work. Life was so comfortable that he wanted it to go on like this forever, with no need to go out.

While Fu Yanchuan was at work, Qi Xi was usually alone at home. When he was bored, he used the new phone that Fu Yanchuan had given him to take pictures of the comics he drew and post them on his new V site. Unexpectedly, fans who recognized him left comments:

[Master Qixi, you finally posted pictures in China!]

[I’m so excited! I’m the first to discover you! I’ve been following you on YI Station for so long. I thought I’d never see your art again because there were no new posts recently!]

[The comics are so cute and interesting! You’re truly my master!]

He was even more excited than the fans, thinking he was dreaming. He pinched his own face because he felt unreal, then pinched Dasheng.

“Meow!”

Dasheng protested. Finally certain he wasn’t dreaming, Qi Xi was even more excited and replied to the fan.

[You’re amazing too, you even go on YI Station! I can’t even log in!]

[I was just drawing casually. It’s nothing special. I’m embarrassed by your praise.]

[Casually drawing is already so awesome! What would happen if you officially debuted as a comic artist?]

[If you call this nothing special, then who dares to say they’re good? There’s no need to be embarrassed at all!]

They exchanged dozens of compliments in the comment section. Eventually, Qi Xi didn’t know what else to say, so he told them:

[Sorry, but I’ve never met someone as enthusiastic and amazing as you. I don’t really know how to respond. Can we stop here?]

The fan stared at the reply for a while, then exclaimed, “Do normal people talk like this? He’s so weird and special! So cute!”

Qi Xi waited a long time for a reply from the fan, but there was none. Thinking the fan might be upset, he sent another message.

[Sorry, I’m not good at talking. I’m really happy you commented and praised me.]

[No, no! Not at all! I was just too excited!

[Master Qixi, you’re really too cute!]

They continued praising each other for about ten more messages. Qi Xi didn’t know what to say again, so he simply said, “Goodbye.”

[Okay, Master Qixi, goodbye. I’ll check your posts every day!]

Qi Xi held back from replying and exited the interface. Then, he saw that someone had sent him a private message.

[Hello, I’m the brand manager of Ji Yue Tian Cheng. Our company is promoting a project and would like to invite you to create packaging illustrations for our brand. Can we discuss this in detail?]

The contact information was below. Holding the phone, Qi Xi was unsure of what to do, but quickly took a screenshot to show Fu Yanchuan.

Fu Yanchuan had just rejected a project proposal. The project director lowered his head, nervous and afraid to speak. Fu Yanchuan didn’t usually scold people, but his cold robotic gaze was scarier than yelling.

The director expected a silent storm. However, when Fu Yanchuan picked up the phone, he simply said, “Go out.” The director thought he must have misheard.

Ji Yue Tian Cheng is a chain mall under the group that targets consumers under 35.

Seeing Qi Xi’s message, Fu Yanchuan ignored the project director and instructed Qi Xi on how to reply, pretending not to know.

[First, have them send the planned illustration proposal. Evaluate whether it’s a style you’re good at.]

[Got it.]

Qi Xi copied Fu Yanchuan’s words directly, but didn’t send them exactly as they were. He only omitted a pronoun when editing.

[First, have them send the planned illustration proposal. Evaluate whether it’s a style I’m good at.]

Xu Chen had been a brand manager for three years and had encountered all kinds of clients. This time, however, he was told to be especially polite because the target artist had been assigned by the group headquarters.

Seeing Qi Xi’s message, Xu Chen assumed it was a typo. However, as things continued, he realized that Qi Xi was a complete rookie. Although the art was good, the artist wasn’t good at business. Had it not been for the instructions from above, Xu Chen could have negotiated the price down to almost nothing.

Qi Xi didn’t notice anything unusual; he just thought the person was easy to talk to. With Fu Yanchuan’s guidance, Qi Xi stumbled through confirming the commission.

Xu Chen finally relaxed, thinking that being a client wasn’t easy either. He sent the contract, and the other party immediately replied.

[Can I check with Brother Yan first and send it later?]

Many people had “Yan” in their name, but coincidentally, this person shared the same name as their group president. Xu Chen couldn’t help but suspect that the so-called headquarters designation was actually the president’s choice.

When Fu Yanchuan got off work, Qi Xi showed him the contract right away. “Brother Yan, I closed my first commission! Does this mean I’m not that stupid? Maybe I’m a little smart?”

“Mm.”

Fu Yanchuan sat on the sofa. Qi Xi leaned on his shoulder and looked over the contract with him.

Fu Yanchuan had already reviewed this contract himself, but he pretended he hadn’t seen it. He told Qi Xi, “In the future, don’t casually sign contracts. The purpose of a contract is to protect your rights. Understand?”

Qi Xi only partially understood. He thought that signing a contract meant that he had rights. Fu Yanchuan continued, “In your understanding, signing a contract guarantees your rights, but in reality, the other party could set traps for you and cause you to lose benefits. In that case, you need to carefully review it.”

Fu Yanchuan flipped to the last page. “For example, in this one, you need to pay attention to the delivery time, submission requirements, copyright ownership, payment method, and responsibilities for breach of contract or force majeure.”

“Oh.”

Qi Xi was a bit confused. Fu Yanchuan patiently explained each item. Qi Xi didn’t fully understand, but he grasped some of it.

After he finished, Qi Xi looked at him with admiration. “Brother Yan, you’re so amazing! You know everything!”

Fu Yanchuan looked into Qi Xi’s eyes. They were like a lake after a spring rain with peach blossoms in bloom—full of ripples and spring colors.

He put down the phone, scooped Qi Xi into his arms, and asked, “Do you want to thank me?”

Qi Xi sat on Fu Yanchuan’s lap and hugged his neck. “Do I owe you a lot of thanks?”

Fu Yanchuan nodded lightly. Looking troubled, Qi Xi asked, “Then what do you want? Don’t make me guess again.”

He pressed his hand against Qi Xi’s waist, slid it under his sweater and squeezing the softest part. “What do you have?”

Qi Xi didn’t notice the hand on his waist. He thought carefully. “I have money, Dasheng, lots of paints, and—”

He looked proudly at Fu Yanchuan’s face. “And Brother Yan.”

“Anything else?”

Qi Xi tilted his head. “Anything else, what?”

Fu Yanchuan suddenly leaned close, breathing into Qi Xi’s lips. His voice was hoarse. “Kiss me.”

 

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