Chapter 9 - Gifts
Fu Yuhe still remembered that when Fu Cheng went out yesterday, he threw out a sentence of “I’m going out” and didn’t intend to communicate with him anymore. He asked Fu Cheng where he was going, and Fu Cheng told him not to worry about him, but after this, the answer to that was really easy to guess.
Today, Fu Cheng kept smiling as if he had let go of all his previous grievances and lost all of his previous temper of having a “cold war” against him until the end. He held a cake and urged him to blow out candles, smiling cheerfully and well-behaved.
His eyes were slightly sluggish, and from the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Shen Yi, who was standing half a step behind him, and quickly followed what Fu Cheng was saying. He bent down helplessly and blew out the candle.
“It’s not early, go to bed early.” He said.
“How can we do that?” This time it was Shen Yi who spoke, “Brother Fu, you haven’t eaten the cake yet.”
After blowing out the candle, the living room lost all its light and briefly turned into a dark place. Fu Yuhe couldn’t see Shen Yi’s expression, though listening to his voice lengthening the syllables, Fu Yuhe thoughtfully rubbed his index finger and thumb together.
“Fu Cheng and I made the cake.” Shen Yi lowered his voice, “It’s filled with sincerity, aren’t you moved, Brother Fu?”
Fu Yuhe’s lips twitched into a tiny smile, and he also lowered his voice: “Moved, how can I not be moved? Guess I should repay you well.”
Shen Yi: “That’s unnecessary.”
After drinking, Fu Yuhe’s voice was always a little hoarse, more magnetic than usual, and he said slowly: “That’s not good.”
How could he not see that every time Shen Yi deliberately messed with him, it was as if he was teasing a cat…
Fu Yuhe’s eyes darkened.
He is not a little milk cat. A cat trying to tease a tiger. If he wasn’t careful enough, he will be eaten by the tiger until there was nothing left of him.
Fu Yuhe’s attention was completely focused on Shen Yi, and he didn’t realize that Fu Cheng had quietly left the dining table in the dark.
Fu Cheng had tried this route several times in the dark, so he reached the side of the stairs smoothly, he pressed the switch, and the string of lights hanging on the handrail of the stairs lit up, resembling small stars.
The atmosphere of a warm birthday celebration spread.
“Cut the cake, brother!” Fu Cheng walked over a few steps, picked up the knife for cutting the cake and handed it to Fu Yuhe respectfully as if he was handing a cigarette to his eldest brother.
Fu Yuhe: “…I’ll go wash my hands first.”
Fu Cheng withdrew his hand: “Oh.”
Fu Yuhe: “If you want to eat it, just cut it yourself.”
“No, the first piece of cake is for you.” Fu Cheng said.
Shen Yi pulled a chair next to him, sat down naturally like it was his own home, and said, “Sense of ritual.”
Fu Cheng nodded: “That’s right, you need to have a sense of ritual.”
Fu Yuhe: “…”
The kitchen of the villa was an open kitchen, Fu Yuhe walked inside, washed his hands and poured a glass of water for him to drink. The moment he approached the kitchen, he smelled an appetizing fragrance, at first he thought it was an illusion, but when he went in, he found several dishes on the table in the kitchen.
Fu Cheng couldn’t make such a dish.
Which restaurant did he order it from?
He washed his hands and walked out, took a cake knife, and cut the cake, the cake had a very simple style, and its taste wasn’t very sweet, he doesn’t like this cream stuff very much, but he still ate a few mouthfuls so the two wouldn’t feel bad.
“Brother, are you hungry? There is food in the kitchen.” Fu Cheng said while eating a cake.
Although there was nothing wrong with him, Fu Cheng refused to make eye contact with Fu Yuhe ever since he entered the door, and kept his head lowered. The awkwardness between them after the last quarrel hasn’t passed yet.
“Hmm.” Fu Yuhe asked, “Have you eaten?”
“Nope.” Fu Cheng said.
Fu Yuhe: “Let’s eat together.”
Fu Cheng: “Oh – I’ll bring it out, the meal is still hot.”
Shen Yi could clearly see the slightly tense atmosphere between Fu Yuhe and Fu Cheng, and he looked at the conversation between the two with his chin propped on his palm from the side, before he moved, and got up to help.
Fu Yuhe also got up, and the three of them brought out the dishes without much communication, took three more bowls, filled them with rice, and took their seat.
Shen Yi went to the refrigerator to get the beer and drinks, placed a bottle in Fu Cheng’s hand, turned to Fu Yuhe, and said, “Brother, you drank some wine tonight, so don’t drink anymore.”
He followed Fu Cheng to call him brother, seemingly more affectionate, and then Fu Yuhe watched helplessly as Shen Yi put a bottle of …milk in his hand.
“Drink some milk, your stomach will feel better.” Shen Yi said.
Fu Yuhe turned his head sideways.
Was he taking care of him? This wasn’t quite in line with Shen Yi’s style.
Shen Yi: “Brother?”
Fu Yuhe remained silent, several thoughts dancing in his mind.
Shen Yi only looked at him with a smile, and Fu Yuhe lowered his eyes with a dispensable “um”.
Fu Cheng quietly opened the beer and took a sip.
A crisp sound rang, Shen Yi who lifted his beer can and clinked glasses with him.
The atmosphere between the three of them was quite harmonious when Fu Cheng suddenly asked: “Brother, is it delicious?”
Fu Yuhe: “Not bad, which restaurant is it from?”
Fu Yuhe’s words were already quite a high evaluation.
Fu Cheng: “Shen Yi made it.”
Fu Yuhe: “…”
He raised his eyes to look at Fu Cheng, who looked at him stubbornly.
He could see that he was deliberately asking this question after they were halfway into the meal, probably because he was still angry at him for saying ‘bad things’ about Shen Yi before. Fu Cheng actions clearly indicated that he had taken up some of Shen Yi’s bad habits. Sure enough, anything close to split ink would turn black.
Suddenly the atmosphere turned tense.
Shen Yi took a piece of fish and put it in his mouth. The bones in the fish had all been taken out and the stew basically melted in his mouth, he said: “Why don’t you eat it? The dishes on the table are all made by me with all my heart. I can’t enjoy it well, since I feel sorry for the fish sacrificed for this feast.”
Fu Yuhe almost couldn’t keep a straight face.
The strange atmosphere dissipated as if an air-filled bubble had burst, and Fu Yuhe and Fu Cheng continued to eat.
After the meal, Shen Yi didn’t leave. It was getting late, and this time Fu Yuhe didn’t have any objection to Shen Yi staying overnight and only said ‘Rest early.’
Fu Yuhe went back to his bedroom, Fu Cheng’s gift to him was placed on the coffee table in the room. He opened it and saw that it was a tie. Suddenly he remembered something, took out his mobile phone from his pocket, and found a photo sent to him by his assistant before.
In the photo, Fu Cheng was holding a tie and putting it on Shen Yi’s neckline to try the colour, which is the same as this tie.
The Fu family villa was very large, and there are many empty rooms. Although Fu Cheng didn’t mind sharing a bed with Shen Yi, in order to avoid Fu Yuhe’s fury, Shen Yi still slept in the guest room. The reason he gave was that sleep quality is better when a person occupies a whole bed.
But today when Fu Cheng said that they would sleep together, Fu Yuhe didn’t seem to have much reaction. Perhaps he drank too much, so his response was slower than usual.
The curtains weren’t drawn, and the moonlight penetrated through the window, reflecting on the ground. Shen Yi took a bath and lay on the bed. After a long time, he rolled over and got up from the bed, did not turn on the light, walked to the sofa in the moonlight, took out a box from his backpack, and for a while pondered.
He put his things at the end of the bed and opened them.
The ceiling immediately reflected a realistic starry sky, Shen Yi lay on the bed right over the blanket, the young man’s slender hands and feet were spread open, as he squinted at the ceiling.
This gift…Should he send it?
Fu Yuhe was special, he gave him a feeling that no one else could. So he was here, celebrating his birthday, not only because he was the protagonist, but also because he was a special person.
So special that Shen Yihui had carefully prepared a gift for him, but after he got the gift, he didn’t know why he didn’t give it to him directly.
He was hesitating in his heart, but he didn’t know the reason behind this hesitation, he kept feeling that this gift wasn’t very suitable.
In addition to Fu Yuhe’s ending, the original plot of the novel only reflected the theme of the protagonist’s ‘rise to power’. The people around him will leave one after another, leaving him behind. He’ll be a person people looked up to in the business world, but not in life.
From the moment Shen Yi saw Fu Yuhe, he was no longer just words on paper. Fu Yuhe’s previous experience has slowly shaped him into the person he is. He was a living, breathing human.
Though Shen Yi himself has never witnessed his ruthless and resolute methods, he could feel the extraordinary aura emanating from him.
Shen Yi couldn’t help but wonder, was it this aura that was attracting him to Fu Yuhe?
Or was it a characteristic of the person that he awakened into?
Shen Yi pondered thoughtfully.
Ten minutes later, the door of the guest room opened, and the light penetrated through the door into the room, lengthening Shen Yi’s shadow, he went to Fu Yuhe’s room, and knocked on the door. The door opened and there was no one inside.
He waited at the door for a few seconds, and when he was about to return back to his room, he heard the sound of a glass falling on the floor coming from downstairs. He paused and turned around.
Fu Yuhe was lying on the sofa on the first floor with one arm hanging down towards the ground, wearing a bathrobe loosely tied around his waist with the neckline wide open, and the skin from his collarbone down to his chest faintly visible.
The lights wrapped around the stairs were still on, and a faint light was visible in the area.
Shen Yi put the box on the coffee table and half-squatted down, he looked at the man’s sleeping face.
Fu Yuhe’s facial features are very handsome, with his sharp jawline and deep features. His open eyes looked deep enough to make people yet when closed, one could easily tell he was Fu Cheng’s brother.
His powerful aura made it easy for people to automatically ignore his handsome face.
As if sleeping uncomfortably, Fu Yuhe frowned, Shen Yi raised his hand and hung above his forehead, and a moment later, his fingertips gently fell on his forehead, before his wrist was caught.
“What have you seen after looking at me for so long?” Fu Yuhe’s voice was hoarse and his eyes were still closed.
Shen Yi: “You look good.”
Fu Yuhe’s eyelashes trembled lightly, he opened his eyes, and stared at him for a few seconds with bottomless eyes, before throwing away his hand, pulling the corners of his lips, and his tone was light: “So you specifically came down to look at me?”
“Of course not.” Shen Yi said, “I just forgot to give you your gift.”
Fu Yuhe: “Oh?”
He sat up, and the neckline of the bathrobe opened wider, Fu Yuhe didn’t notice it and looked at the ‘gift’ on the table, “What is it?”
Shen Yi opened the gift, took the things out of it, and demonstrated it to him. It wasn’t completely dark here, but the projected starry sky still looked beautiful.
“Happy birthday.” Shen Yi said.
Fu Yuhe withdrew his gaze and his eyes fell on his well-defined fingers, which seemed to be very powerful. He gulped, his Adam’s apple rolling, untimely remembering the touch on his wrist.
“Why did you send me this?” He asked casually.
“Well…” Shen Yi thought for a moment and said, “Because I want to watch the stars with you.”
Fu Yuhe paused, his eyes deepened even more. He grasped the gist of his sentence, and he looked up at the stars – did he mean that he wanted to sleep in his bed?
Oh, what trickery.
He said quietly, “Why do you think I’ll watch them with you?”
He wasn’t the kind of person that would casually sleep with someone, so why would Shen Yi think that he will sleep with him?
“Brother Fu.” Shen Yi leaned forward.
Fu Yuhe didn’t move, he wanted to see what he wanted to do.
Shen Yi raised his hand, put it on his shoulder through the bathrobe, and pushed him back, Fu Yuhe’s eyes darkened slightly, and he returned back to his previous position of when he was lying on the sofa. He raised his hand, wanting to grab his wandering hand.
Shen Yi took his hand away first, pulled out the cushion, and sat next to him on the sofa.
“Look, now we can watch them together.” He said a little proudly.