Chapter 6 - "Kiss me."
The atmosphere in the bathroom froze in an instant, and the lingering sound of Shen Yi’s voice dissipated, leaving only silence behind. This sentence made Fu Yuhe not even want to pursue their previous conversation anymore.
With his eyes cooling over, he looked through the mirror at the boy who was a little taller than him standing behind him.
Shen Yi did not restrain himself, “What If I say I approached Fu Cheng because of you—”
“Shen Yi.” Fu Yuhe’s voice contained a warning.
Not to be outdone, Shen Yi tightened his hands on his shoulders, so hard that the shirt on Fu Yuhe’s shoulders wrinkled.
The two got closer, Shen Yi could smell the faint scent of tobacco lingering on his body, as well as the faint smell of men’s perfume. The combination of the two created the gentlemanly atmosphere of a mature man.
It was too bad that Fu Yuhe wasn’t a real gentleman, he raised his hand to grab Shen Yi’s wrist, took his hand off his shoulder, and sneered coldly: “Do you think I’m stupid?”
Shen Yi’s expression changed, revealing a slightly aggrieved appearance, and spoke with a complaint in his words: “Look, I’m telling the truth, but you don’t believe me.”
Shen Yi’s words referred to the “system task objectives”, and he admitted that he had ulterior motives for approaching him, but when these words fell on Fu Yuhe’s ears he naturally didn’t think of that, and he squinted his eyes, which were filled with inexplicable emotions.
The young man in front of him was too bold, arrogant and vile, he needed to be taught a lesson on what he should and shouldn’t say.
Fu Yuhe grabbed Shen Yi’s wrist and tightened his fingertips, his cool fingertips stuck to the skin on the inner side of Shen Yi’s wrist. Shen Yi had been obedient since he grabbed him, without the slightest intention of struggling free. At this moment, he merely took a glance at his wrist.
in the next second, Fu Yuhe turned around and tugged at his wrist, the distance between the two suddenly shortened, their eyes met, their warm and wet breath intertwined, and an ambiguous atmosphere spread in the air.
Fu Yuhe chuckled, yet there was no smile in his eyes, his eyes were dark, the hand holding Shen Yi’s wrist did not let go, and the other hand pinched Shen Yi’s chin.
“You are friends with Fu Cheng, so you can get close to me?” His thumb lightly rubbed against Shen Yi’s chin, the meaning was unclear, “Don’t even bother playing that trick on me, I’ve seen too many people like you, don’t go around playing them in front of me.”
Shen Yi said innocently: “But what I said is true.”
Fu Yuhe: “You sure are hard-mouthed1.”
Shen Yi almost said, “Some of my other places are also pretty hard,” fortunately, he stopped himself in time before he spoke because he realized if he said it out loud, it would have a completely different meaning than what he intended.
“I feel like no matter what I say, you will find some ‘evidence’ to prove that what I said wasn’t true.” Shen Yi said, “It’s simply because you don’t believe in me.”
Fu Yuhe: “Are you worthy of my trust?”
Shen Yi said boldly: “Of course I am.”
Fu Yuhe: “…”
Shen Yi’s eyes were very clean, completely different from the sweet-nothings he kept sprouting out. Looking at him was enough for people to get hooked.
In the middle of their confrontation, Fu Yuhe let go of his chin.
A light-colored fingerprint was left behind on Shen Yi’s chin, which showed just how much strength Fu Yuhe used just now.
The incandescent light in the bathroom made people’s skin white, and the red mark was rather eye-catching and dazzling, and there was another kind of feeling that he couldn’t explain. Shen Yi retracted his hand, and there were fingerprint marks left on his wrist.
“Sure.” Fu Yuhe said lightly, “I believe in you.”
“That’s great.” A smile appeared on Shen Yi’s face.
Fu Yuhe: “Kiss me.”
Shen Yi’s smile froze and he said: “…What?”
“Didn’t you just say that your goal is me?” Fu Yuhe’s tone was flat, “What? You can’t do it? Or were you lying to me just now?”
Shen Yi: “Brother Fu, I’m not gay.”
Fu Yuhe sneered, and continued: “So you just happen to like me?”
Shen Yi: “…” The initiative had fallen into Fu Yuhe’s hands, and Fu Yuhe regained his usual calmness, looking at Shen Yi quietly.
Shen Yi paused for a moment.
“Brother Fu, you aren’t… coveting my beauty, are you?” He lowered his voice in the second half of the sentence, it was dark and seductive, full of provocative meaning.
These narcissistic words when spoken by him, seemed natural.
Fu Yuhe: “You?”
He looked closely at Shen Yi’s face for two seconds. The young man’s face was very handsome, with the layers of deliberately disguised expressions removed, together with his sharp eyebrows and eyes, that were completely in line with his temperament.
He was changeable, eloquent, and obviously very bad, yet his nature made it impossible for people to feel any real disgust and resistance towards him.
Many times Fu Yuhe ignored the fact that he and his younger brother were of the same age, Fu Cheng was like a blank sheet of paper, and Shen Yi was a big dye vat2. It seemed that Shen Yi and him were more of the same type of person.
“Brother Fu…” Shen Yi leaned close to his ear, “You do like men, don’t you? Well? Doesn’t your conscience feel uneasy while playing around with a pure-hearted high schooler like me?”
Fu Yuhe: “Don’t you even blush when you say such words?”
“Nope.” Shen Yi said confidently.
Fu Yuhe pressed his chest and pushed him away, “If you can’t do it, don’t lie so casually next time.”
He paused and emphasized: “Also – I don’t like men, and I won’t like you.”
“Your words truly hurt my heart…” Shen Yi lengthened the end of his sentence, and the tone that went down felt slightly hoarse.
Fu Yuhe couldn’t see a trace of sadness on his face, he only looked eager to give it a go, as if he had found something fun.
The topic had long deviated from Fu Yuhe’s original intention, but it made him feel that if he really wanted to “play” with Fu Cheng, Fu Cheng would’ve long been played with by him.
Moreover, with Shen Yi’s unpredictable personality, Fu Yuhe didn’t want to take too drastic measures, at least for now, Shen Yi didn’t pose a threat, nor did he do anything excessive towards Fu Cheng.
The ringing of the mobile phone interrupted the conversation between the two, Fu Yuhe took out the mobile phone from his pocket, and the words “Fu Cheng” jumped out, he raised his eyes to look at Shen Yi, and answered the phone.
“Brother, why haven’t you come back yet?” Fu Cheng asked over there, “The food’s already been served.”
“Soon.” Fu Yuhe answered.
In the private room, the dishes they ordered had begun to be served one after another, the dishes on the table were both meat and vegetarian, the waiter carried the dishes in and out, and Fu Yuhe and Shen Yi walked in one after the other.
“Why did it take you so long?” Fu Cheng asked Shen Yi.
“This…”
Shen Yi turned his head sideways, his gaze crossed Fu Cheng to Fu Yuhe, and Fu Yuhe also looked at him, with a hint of warning in his eyes.
“You’d better just ask your brother.” Shen Yi said.
Obviously, nothing happened between them, yet when those words fell on Fu Yuhe’s ears, it almost seemed to suggest that there was some unspeakable transaction between the two.
Fu Cheng looked at Fu Yuhe.
Fu Yuhe: “I smoked two cigarettes, so it took a little longer.”
“Oh.” Fu Cheng didn’t dare to ask anymore.
Fu Yuhe didn’t eat for long before he answered a phone call and left.
In the parking lot outside the hotel, Fu Yuhe opened the door of a black car and sat in.
“President Fu.” The assistant driving in front greeted him.
“Well, let’s go.” Fu Yuhe rested his elbows on the window and put his hands on his forehead.
What happened in the bathroom came to his mind again.
He was really crazy to use such a method to run away from Shen Yi.
……
[You shouldn’t have said those things to him today.] The rarely seen supervisory system said to Shen Yi.
When night fell, every house was lit up. Shen Yi stood in front of the bathroom washbasin and brushed his teeth, and he spat out a mouthful of water.
System: [If he senses anything wrong with you, you’re likely to fail the mission.]
Shen Yi: [I didn’t disclose the mission.]
He lowered his head to wash his face, and water ran down from between his fingers.
[Don’t you think the protagonist’s reaction is very interesting?] Shen Yi thought for a while and asked, [He is so nervous about my sexuality, worried that I will get involved with his younger brother, does he like men?]
It took a few seconds for the system to answer: [I don’t know, the original plot mainly focuses on the career growth of the male protagonist, and in terms of relationships, there are many men and women around him. It is recommended for you not to casually provoke the protagonist. According to the survey conducted, love debts are the hardest to deal with, don’t be such a scumbag.]
Shen Yi’s tone was flat: [Oh, I see.]
He can still recall the momentary mood swing in the bathroom today, which can be summed up into two words – stimulation.
The man’s imposing momentum, the calmness when obtaining victory, the smell of tobacco mixed with his light perfume, and finally left in Shen Yi’s heart was the appearance of the slightly raised well-defined jaw, and the lips that gently opened to say “kiss me”.
Disdain, a condescending attitude, and a promise that counted until the end.
At that moment, amidst the amazement that surged inside of Shen Yi, he felt as if he was under the influence of alcohol, feeling slightly drunk, trying to look through a layer of hazy fog, yet not being able to completely understand what he felt, but somehow this stimulation was enough to make his heart beat faster.
It was indescribably subtle, novel, and challenging.
……
After the parent-teacher meeting, the class changed their seats once, Shen Yi and Fu Cheng ended up at the same table they were previously sitting on. The seats in the class were arranged according to height, there were more boys than girls in the class, and most of the back rows were occupied by boys.
In physical education class on Tuesday afternoon, the physical education teacher dragged the students who were secretly studying in the class to come to the class, gathered everyone in a line, the asked them to run around the playground first, before setting them free.
Shen Yi took a tennis racket to play with his classmates, and after sweating profusely, he walked over to the side bench.
Fu Cheng was sitting on a bench with an English on his lap, doing oral practice, he wasn’t very good at sports, usually, Shen Yi dragged him to play ball together, he couldn’t play for long, seeing Shen Yi walking over, he put down the book.
“Are you busy after school today?” He asked.
Shen Yi: “What’s wrong?”
Fu Cheng whispered: “There is a cat café on the other side of the square, I want to play and hang out.”
Shen Yi was amused by his secretive appearance, “Then go, it’s not like you are going there to steal.”
“Together?” Fu Cheng asked.
“Sure.” Shen Yi agreed.
After school in the afternoon, the two found a cat café on the other side of the square, and after entering the door, they ordered two cups of coffee and found a place to sit down, the environment inside was leisurely and warm, and not long after Shen Yi sat down, there was a cat that came over to rub his trouser leg.
“Last time you and your brother lent me some clothes, I washed them. This isn’t far from my place, I’ll bring them to you later.”
Fu Cheng’s eyes were glued to the cat as if he was in heaven, and he casually replied, “Okay.”
Shen Yi wasn’t very interested in cats, but when he saw them cry out “meow-meow” one after another, he also felt they were cute and pleasant to his eyes. The two of them stayed there until it was late, and by the time they got to Shen Yi’s house, it was almost dark.
Shen Yi suggested that Fu Cheng could stay the night, considering there was a guest room and enough bedding at home, Fu Cheng remembered that his brother was on a business trip, and didn’t refuse.
Fu Cheng has never lived in a dormitory and had long yearned for a boys’ sleepover where they played together at night. Tonight, he had unlocked the achievement of staying over at a friend’s house.
In the evening, the two did their homework and had dinner. Fu Cheng took a bath, put on the pants he lent to Shen Yi last time, put on another school uniform of Shen Yi, and stayed in Shen Yi’s room for an intimate night chat in the “boys’ dormitory”.
While chatting, the topic turned to Xu Fanchao.
Shen Yi asked, “Is Xu Fanchao’s father familiar with your brother?”
Fu Cheng: “I don’t know much about my brother’s business, I heard that Xu Fanchao’s father used to be a gangster.”
“Who did you hear it from?”
“My brother.” Fu Cheng said.
It was likely that the news was true.
Shen Yi sat cross-legged at the end of the bed, holding an English novel in his hand and reading it, feeling tired, while Fu Cheng was lying on his bed and reading comic books. He saw so many comics in Shen Yi’s room today and simply fell in love with them in an instant.
“Xu Fanchao hasn’t come to school these past few days.” Shen Yi said.
Fu Cheng: “Skipping classes.”
Shen Yi glanced at the top of Fu Cheng’s head and felt that it couldn’t be that simple. He stopped coming right after the parent-teacher meeting, and that day at the parent-teacher meeting, Fu Yuhe and Xu Fanchao’s father talked a bit, when he had indirectly said something about how Xu Fanchao was bullying Fu Cheng.
Xu Fanchao’s father likely wanted to befriend Fu Yuhe and his son had a feud with the younger brother of the person he wanted to befriend. Perhaps not only Shen Yi knows how precious Fu Cheng was to Fu Yuhe, Xu Fanchao’s father likely had an inkling. He probably wanted to do something to calm Fu Yuhe down.
This was just Shen Yi’s guess, and it was also possible that as Fu Cheng thought, Xu Fanchao was simply skipping class.
“Shen Yi, can I often come over to play with you in the future?” Fu Cheng asked.
Shen Yi: “Yes, come whenever you want, you are welcome any time.”
He flipped a page of the book, “Don’t you need to tell your brother that you aren’t going back? He’ll be worried about you.”
“It’s okay, he went on a business trip and won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.” Fu Cheng said indifferently, “His birthday is next Sunday, I asked my brother’s assistant, my brother won’t be on a business trip that day, and won’t be working at night, so we can celebrate it. Shen Yi, you should come too.”
“Huh?” Shen Yi lifted his eyes, “I’m going too? Wouldn’t that be inconvenient?”
“It won’t be inconvenient; we’ll just be having dinner together. I will go to college in the future, and I may not be able to celebrate my brother’s birthday with him every time.” Fu Cheng said.
Shen Yi: “Okay, I can do it.”
Hmm… He had to prepare a gift, what kind of gift should he prepare?
It will be fun to celebrate his birthday, he didn’t know what expression Fu Yuhe will have.
Shen Yi thought, ‘I look forward to it.’
Footnotes: –
hard-mouthed1: stubborn
big dye vat2: Basically, meaning that he is a bad person with lots of tricks up his sleeve.