In the long days of summer, dawn arrives as early as the third quarter of Yinshi[mfn]Yinshi is between 3-5am, so it’s 4:30am.[/mfn].
Second Master Fu’s heart had been heavy, but seeing Fang Zesheng’s radiant smile, he felt slightly better.
He climbed down from the roof without saying much. After returning to his room to collect himself, he regained his usual spirited demeanor.
Whether Fang Zesheng’s disability was real or feigned, it made no difference to Second Master; he never cared for such outward matters, only that he had momentarily lost his composure.
At breakfast today, the two shared a table.
Seeing Second Master Fu step over the threshold just as usual, Fang Zesheng knew he was fine and immediately let out a sigh of relief.
The meal passed harmoniously enough as they chatted idly. It seemed their feelings for one another had truly deepened overnight.
It would have been even better; however, if Fang Zesheng dared to look at him directly in the eye.
Fu Jingxuan set down his chopsticks and asked the Head Merchant while gazing at his profile, “Is there some sort of monstrous beast in my eyes?”
Fang Zesheng shook his head, offering a serious compliment directed toward the study’s threshold. “Second Master Fu is good-looking; your eyes are full of stars.”
Suppressing a smile, Fu Jingxuan asked again while suppressing a smile, “Then why does the Head Merchant not dare to look at me?”
Fang Zesheng looked up at the bamboo lamp hanging from the house beam and said, “The stars are dazzling; how could I dare to look closely?”
“Oh~” Fu Jingxuan nudged his stool closer to him. “So, the reason you smiled at me last night was because I was far away from you?”
Fang Zesheng’s face flushed crimson. He began to silently count the tassels hanging from the hexagonal bamboo lamp. “What is Second Master Fu saying? I smile when I wish to; what does distance have to do with it?”
These words were exactly the same as when they had met in their youth. Seeing him tilting his head up, Fu Jingxuan stood and moved directly in front of him, blocking his line of sight.
Fang Zesheng could not dodge in time and found his face cradled in Second Master Fu’s hands. “Since that’s the case, why doesn’t the Head Merchant smile for me again?”
Fang Zesheng had been avoiding his gaze primarily because of his own remarks the previous night; the more he thought about them, the more embarrassed he felt.
Had he not worried that Fu Jingxuan would be grieved by the past that the mute uncle revealed, he certainly would not have uttered such blunt, simple words to coax him into a better mood.
If it had to be said, it should have been said more subtly.
Now, though his efforts had been effective, the Head Merchant found it difficult to save face when facing Second Master Fu alone. He had tried to dodge and weave to no avail, and now he had fallen straight into those eyes with nowhere left to hide.
After calculating for a long moment, Fang Zesheng simply stiffened his face and closed his eyes, waiting for Fu Jingxuan to move his hands away on his own.
To his surprise, after waiting a long while, what he felt instead was softness upon his lips. Second Master Fu leaned down slightly and pried open his lips.
San Bao carried a bundle of firewood into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of white sugar cake that the mute uncle had left for him, and ran off while skipping and munching. Seeing the mute uncle standing by the study door, he was about to speak when he saw the mute uncle hurriedly wave his hand and raise a finger, signaling him to keep quiet.
Unsure of what was happening, San Bao crept over and mimicked the mute uncle’s gestures to ask: What’s wrong?
The mute uncle’s eyes crinkled into crescent moons. He led San Bao to lean against the door panel carved with “Magpies Climbing Plum Blossoms,” and they peeked inside together.
San Bao was still chewing his sugar cake but once he saw the scene in the room, he instantly splayed his ten fingers and covered his eyes—
The room was quiet with no one making a sound. His young master was standing in front of the wheelchair kissing Head Merchant Fang on the lips.
While Head Merchant Fang no longer resisted as he usually did; he had uncurled his tightly clenched hands and moved them to clasp his young master’s waist.
