PTBLSI chapter 53

 

The first thing Qi Xi saw when he woke up was Fu Yanchuan’s chest. He lifted his head and met Fu Yanchuan’s gaze. Seeing his smile, he froze for two seconds. Then, last night’s events came back to him. He immediately shrank back into the blanket, covering his entire head.

Fu Yanchuan watched him as if he were a big snail—poking its head out to glance once before retreating. Fu Yanchuan slipped into the blanket too, facing Qi Xi, and said, “It’s already the second day.”

Qi Xi glared at him through the faint light seeping into the blanket. He glanced downward with his peripheral vision, then suddenly pulled his head back and slammed his forehead into Fu Yanchuan’s nose. “You’re so annoying, Fu Yanchuan! You’re still bringing it up!”

Fu Yanchuan’s nose hurt from the hit. Despite the pain, he leaned closer, confused about what had made Qi Xi angry. Everything had been fine last night, and he had made it through without an episode.

He carefully asked, “What did I do wrong?”

Qi Xi had a lot to complain about, but when he opened his mouth, the words got stuck in his throat. He squirmed in the blanket a few times, then suddenly hugged Fu Yanchuan and bit his chin, leaving an obvious bite mark.

Fu Yanchuan grabbed him, pinned all his limbs, and, once Qi Xi was unable to move, took the initiative to apologize. “No matter what it is, it’s my fault. Xi Xi, forgive me, okay?”

Qi Xi lifted his eyes to stare at Fu Yanchuan and finally said, “You can’t change! You just can’t change!”

“I’ll change. Tell me.”

Qi Xi’s face instantly turned red. He leaned over, hid his face in Fu Yanchuan’s neck, and said, “From now on, don’t put them together anymore. When I look at them, I seem… so small.”

Fu Yanchuan couldn’t help but laugh, although it was only a half-hearted chuckle. However, Qi Xi still heard it. Qi Xi bit his neck again, this time really biting. Fu Yanchuan endured it and apologized. “I’m not laughing at you for being small.”

“You are laughing at me for being small! I’m cutting ties with you! Aren’t I your best friend? If you’re like this, you won’t have any friends in the future!”

Qi Xi struggled again. Fu Yanchuan simply flipped over, pressing him down and deliberately rubbing against him. The little dog, who had been holding it in, exploded with anger. Fu Yanchuan held the little dog’s lips between his teeth and said, “Why would I want a best friend? Cutting ties is cutting ties.”

The little dog, who had expected Fu Yanchuan to coax him, felt wronged and deflated at once. “You’re not even going to try to win me back?”

Fu Yanchuan looked at him and said, “I don’t want a best friend.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want you.”

Fu Yanchuan kissed Qi Xi, first on the lips, then all over, finally smoothing down the little dog’s bristled fur.

Qi Xi curled up in his arms, hiding his face, and said softly, “I want to grow a bit more… mighty.”

This time, Fu Yanchuan held back and didn’t laugh. He told him seriously, “Xi Xi is already mighty. It’s just that I’m too mighty.”

Images surfaced in Qi Xi’s mind again, but before he could explode once more, Fu Yanchuan suddenly leaned over and kissed his Adam’s apple while squeezing the soft spot behind it. This was the first time Fu Yanchuan had touched him there like this. Qi Xi froze. Fu Yanchuan let go of him as if he hadn’t done anything. “Be good. Get up.”

After a while, Qi Xi slowly moved away from Fu Yanchuan, crawled out from under the blanket, glanced at him, and ran to the bathroom with a red face.

Since Fu Zhenrong had left early and Fu Yanchuan only had eyes for Qi Xi, this New Year was peaceful for everyone. Unlike previous years, there was less constant calculation. Elders and juniors alike became more casual, and many people didn’t show up for breakfast, which used to be full of rules.

Qi Xi followed Fu Yanchuan and sat in the same spot as yesterday. At yesterday’s dinner, he hadn’t met Shen Jiahui yet. Only now did he realize that she was sitting at the same table as him and even greeted him.

He was afraid she would bring up marrying Fu Yanchuan again. He didn’t know how Fu Yanchuan would react if he heard it, yet he couldn’t help thinking about it.

After breakfast, when someone came to talk to Fu Yanchuan, Qi Xi quietly hid on the sofa in the corner of the dining room and sent a message to Xie Hui.

[How do people get married?]

[Do you think I’ll marry Brother Yan? Would he want to marry me?]

Xie Hui had just woken up. When he picked up his phone and saw Qi Xi’s messages, he roared, “What marriage!”

Even his father next door heard him and shouted back, “Xie Hui, why are you yelling so early in the morning?”

Xie Hui ignored his dad and immediately sent Qi Xi a voice message. “Qi Xi, what kind of nonsense is going on in your head? What marriage? What hell of a marriage? You two are men. What kind of marriage are you talking about? Did he propose to you? Or do you want to propose to him?”

After listening to Xie Hui’s message, Qi Xi felt as if someone could hear it, even though the phone wasn’t on speaker. He hurriedly replied,

[Don’t be so loud!]

[It was his cousin who told me yesterday. She asked if I wanted to marry Brother Yan, and she said we could even go abroad to get married.]

Xie Hui didn’t feel like talking anymore and typed back to him.

[What cousin? You aren’t even of legal age yet! Don’t listen to that nonsense.]

[And it’s not like you can only date once. You’re still young. Maybe you won’t like him anymore after a while, and you’ll meet other people you like later. There’s no need to think about these things so early!]

Qi Xi thought seriously about what Xie Hui said. After a long while, he replied with one sentence.

[Does what we’re doing count as dating?]

Xie Hui was about to get angry. Before he could reply, Qi Xi sent another message:

[Isn’t dating supposed to be mutual liking?]

[Then do you think he likes you?]

[Of course he likes me! But…]

[What exactly does he like about me? I’m not smart. I don’t have any strengths. I’m not outstanding at all.]

[He’s so capable, handsome, and such a good person. Why would he like me?]

Qi Xi had clearly sent these messages to Xie Hui, yet he stopped himself with these questions.

It was the first time he had seriously considered this issue. Before, Xie Hui said that Fu Yanchuan liked him because of his white moonlight. He hadn’t taken it to heart. But yesterday, hearing the name Qiao Ye was like giving shape to something that had always been blurry. He couldn’t help but start thinking about what kind of person Qiao Ye was and whether he was more outstanding or intelligent than him.

Did Fu Yanchuan really like him only because he looked like Qiao Ye? Was that why he treated him so well?

“Why are you here?”

Fu Yanchuan’s voice suddenly sounded. Qi Xi hurriedly tucked away his phone. When he looked up, he saw Fu Yanchuan sitting on the arm of his sofa and bending down to look at him.

Looking at Fu Yanchuan’s face, which was as perfect as a manga protagonist’s, Qi Xi couldn’t help but think that it would be great if Fu Yanchuan really liked him.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Brother Yan.”

Suddenly, Qi Xi reached out and hugged Fu Yanchuan, pulling him down so that they both fell onto the single sofa.

Fu Yanchuan propped himself against the sofa, blocking Qi Xi’s head. Seeing the troubled expression on Qi Xi’s face, it was clear that he had been thinking a lot while sitting there alone. Fu Yanchuan asked, “What’s wrong, Xi Xi?”

Qi Xi looked at him for a moment, then smiled. “Brother Yan, do you like me too?”

There were still people in the dining room. Fu Yanchuan didn’t mind at all. He scooped Qi Xi up, switched positions so that he was underneath, held him in his arms, and asked back, “What do you think?”

Qi Xi took a long while before answering, “Like.”

“Xi Xi is really smart.”

Satisfied, Fu Yanchuan kissed Qi Xi lightly on the lips. “It’s snowing again outside. Want to go take a look?”

Qi Xi quickly turned his head, and sure enough, it was snowing. The courtyard was draped in a thin veil of white.

Qi Xi still wanted to ask Fu Yanchuan if he liked him because he looked like Qiao Ye, but he didn’t want to ask. What if he asked, and Fu Yanchuan said, Of course? Otherwise, what would it be because of? Because he was stupid and couldn’t do anything? He couldn’t even do things properly in bed. What was there about him worth liking?

“Uncle Qi!”

“Uncle Qi!”

That pair of twins suddenly ran over. Qi Xi realized that he had been sitting in Fu Yanchuan’s arms. He instantly jumped up, pretending that he hadn’t been sitting there at all. He looked at the two kids, squatted down, and said, “I still don’t know your names.”

“My name is Fu Yi.”

“My name is Fu Zhen!”

Fu Yanchuan propped his hands on his knees, leaned over Qi Xi’s shoulder, and introduced them. “She’s Fu Yī, and he’s Fu Er.”[mfn]Yī for one, and Er for two[/mfn]

Fu Yi corrected him unhappily. “Uncle, my name is Fu Yi, not Fu Yī.”[mfn]Yi refers to 懿, meaning virtuous and noble in character, not Yī (一, “one”), though the two are pronounced similarly.[/mfn]

Fu Zhen didn’t mind at all. “It’s fine. You can call me Fu Er.”

Fu Yi put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Fu’er, it’s all because of you that people call me Fu Yī!”

“You were originally called Fu Yī.”

“I’m not! My name is Fu Yi! Fu Yi!”

Fu Yanchuan pushed the two kids away. “So noisy! Go play by yourselves!”

“We came to play with Uncle Qi!”

“We came to play with Uncle Qi!”

The two kids spoke in unison. Fu Yanchuan refused on Qi Xi’s behalf. “Uncle Qi doesn’t have time.”

“I have time.”

Qi Xi ignored Fu Yanchuan and said to Fu Yi and Fu Zhen, “Let’s go build a snowman, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay!”

Seeing that Qi Xi had ditched him to take care of the kids, Fu Yanchuan grabbed him and said, “Put on a hat and a scarf first.”

“You help me get them!”

Qi Xi naturally ordered Fu Yanchuan around again. Fu Wanyi, who had come over to look for the kids, was stunned when she heard this. She was even more shocked when Fu Yanchuan actually went to get them and chased after Qi Xi outside to forcibly put them on.

Unfortunately, the snow in Huo City was too light. After working hard for a long time, Qi Xi and the two kids only managed to build a tiny, ugly snowman that fit in the palm of their hand.

They carried the little snowman back inside, but it started to melt soon after. Reluctantly, they put it back outside. The three of them crouched in front of the window and watched it through the glass.

After lunch, the holiday was considered over, and everyone gradually left.

By the time Qi Xi left, he had made two more “good friends.” Fu Zhen insisted on adding Qi Xi as a friend because they were already “good friends.”

As a result, on the way back, Fu Yanchuan kept hearing Fu Zhen send voice messages to Qi Xi one after another. Sometimes, he didn’t say anything; he just sent messages for no reason. Annoyed, Fu Yanchuan took Qi Xi’s phone and blocked Fu Zhen directly.

“If you do this, he’ll be sad.”

Qi Xi didn’t find it annoying. He treated the two kids seriously as friends.

Because it was snowing, Fu Yanchuan hired a driver. He pressed the partition down, leaned toward Qi Xi’s seat, and asked, “What’s your relationship with him? You care about him that much?”

“Good friend.”

Suddenly, Fu Yanchuan felt that Qi Xi’s good friends didn’t carry much weight. “Anything else?”

“What else?”

Qi Xi met Fu Yanchuan’s intense gaze. However, Fu Yanchuan stared at him for a long time without saying what he wanted him to say.

His phone suddenly received another message. Fu Yanchuan was still holding the phone and subconsciously glanced at it.

Qi Xi didn’t have many friends. Fu Yanchuan saw that the message was from Lawyer Qiu and tapped it uncontrollably.

[Qi Xi, Happy New Year! Do you still remember me?]

Scrolling up, he saw there were no other chat records. He handed the phone back to Qi Xi and asked, “When did Qiu Yizhou add you?”

Qi Xi saw Qiu Yizhou’s message but couldn’t remember when he had added him. After thinking about it, he said, “It seems like it was when I changed phones. I haven’t seen Lawyer Qiu in a while. How is he?”

Fu Yanchuan instantly guessed it. It must have been when he asked Qiu Yizhou to find out where Qi Feng had taken Qi Xi, and Qiu Yizhou had looked up Qi Xi’s number.

He replied, “I don’t know. I’m not familiar with him.”

Qi Xi glanced at Fu Yanchuan. He could already see beneath Fu Yanchuan’s surface. Just like this sentence—what Fu Yanchuan said was definitely fake. Fu Yanchuan and Qiu Yizhou weren’t friends, but they were definitely familiar with each other.

He suddenly realized that Qiu Yizhou might know Qiao Ye. He couldn’t ask Shen Jiahui anymore, but if Qiu Yizhou knew, he would tell him.

He glanced at Fu Yanchuan again, put away his phone, and decided to ask him later. He said to Fu Yanchuan, “I’m not familiar with him either. I won’t bother with him.”

Fu Yanchuan looked at Qi Xi, who couldn’t lie, and said nothing. Qiu Yizhou didn’t have the courage to harbor any feelings for Qi Xi, so it was fine to leave him on Qi Xi’s friends list.

However, after they got home, Qi Xi picked up the orange cat that came to greet them and said, “Brother Yan, I’m tired. I’m going back to my room to sleep. Don’t disturb me.”

Fu Yanchuan followed him and was left outside the door. He didn’t know where he had offended him. He hadn’t even mentioned that Qi Xi had pinned Xie Hui at the top of his chat list but hadn’t done the same for him.

 

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