Chapter 75
The sunbeams lit up the dust floating in the air. Early the next morning, Xia Fengsheng was, for once, not awakened by his body clock.
Instead, he and Shi Ye slept tangled together until nearly noon.
By the time things had ended last night, he could not even remember what hour it was anymore. He only remembered that the sky had already begun to lighten.
With the curtains drawn to block out the daylight, they had fallen asleep feeling clean, fresh, and utterly content.
When Xia Fengsheng woke up, it was already eleven o’clock. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Shi Ye’s sleeping face.
His features had the striking depth of mixed heritage, and his eyelashes were thick and long. Even with his eyes closed, that perfect face lost none of its aggressive beauty.
They had played far too wildly last night. The bedroom floor was strewn with clothes, flower petals, and all sorts of pixel-worthy items, while the bed itself was a mess of water and oil.
Sticky and messy like that, there had been no way to sleep.
So Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye had gone to sleep in the guest bedroom, and before bed, both of them had cleaned themselves up a little.
Thinking back to last night, Xia Fengsheng wickedly reached out and pinched Shi Ye’s butt.
Damn, it had felt good.
The puppy was actually pretty good at moving.
Though Shi Ye had no experience in that area, he was absurdly gifted. For the first time in his life, Xia Fengsheng had tasted true pleasure, and the experience had felt very good indeed.
Not long after, Shi Ye woke up too. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Xia Fengsheng lying opposite him, awake but not getting out of bed, only quietly watching him.
Those sleepy fox-like eyes blinked slowly, and his usually cool, pale skin carried a healthy flush from body heat.
A radiant smile broke across Shi Ye’s face. Like a giant dog, he pulled Xia Fengsheng into his arms and rubbed against him enthusiastically. “Did you sleep well last night?”
He still remembered Xia Fengsheng’s encouragement from the night before.
“So good.”
“Mhm, that feels great. Keep going.”
Shi Ye had completely lost his mind for a while, only stopping in the latter half of the night when the person in his arms had turned soft and puffy like a cream puff.
Xia Fengsheng looked at Shi Ye, who had only just woken up yet already seemed to be bubbling with little pink hearts. Shi Ye lifted his head, and when their eyes met, both of them became a little shy again.
Shi Ye looked at him with that green, inexperienced gaze. Then, holding both of Xia Fengsheng’s hands like two squirrels clutching paws, he lowered his head, shut his eyes, heart thumping wildly, and pressed a light kiss to Xia Fengsheng’s forehead.
Shi Ye: >3<
He liked him.
No matter what, he liked him.
Yesterday they had “cooked,” and that was happiness. This morning, waking up and seeing each other first thing was happiness too.
After kissing his forehead, Shi Ye looked into his eyes and kissed his cheek as well.
Xia Fengsheng laughed as though lightly nudged. “That tickles.”
He was smiling brightly. Wrapped in the snowy white quilt, his whole person seemed dazzling and full of light, his face carrying the same youthful, moving smile he had worn in his teenage years.
His light, cheerful laughter tapped against the ears like musical notes from a beautiful song.
Imitating what he had just done, Shi Ye kissed his cheek again.
Xia Fengsheng laughed even louder.
“Hahahaha…”
Eyes closed, he lay in the big bed laughing happily, just like years ago when the two of them had played by the sea and he had mischievously splashed seawater onto Shi Ye when the other was not paying attention, showing a rare trace of childishness.
Mr. Xia outside would never laugh like this.
Only with him.
Shi Ye suddenly pounced into his arms and, like a puppy licking at someone’s chin, kissed Xia Fengsheng all over his face.
Xia Fengsheng cupped his face, and in those elegant fox-like eyes was only Shi Ye’s reflection.
“Want to do it again?”
Shi Ye: O.O
Hearing that, Shi Ye shot upright from under the covers in delight. “Can we?”
They had gone a little too far yesterday. Xia Fengsheng had told him to stop, but he had not heard it, so he had thought there would be no “cooking” today.
For Xia Fengsheng to say this now—did that mean he had been very satisfied with his performance last night?
Xia Fengsheng smiled, pulled him back down, and rubbed his head. “Why wouldn’t we be able to?”
Sticky and clingy, Shi Ye asked, “Did I do well yesterday?”
His hand slid downward. “Did you feel good?”
Xia Fengsheng was thoroughly pleased. Very maturely, he admitted his own feelings. “Of course.”
The moment he heard what he wanted to hear, those innocent peach blossom eyes changed at once.
Xia Fengsheng had still wanted to say something to encourage him, but before he could react, his legs were already up on Shi Ye’s shoulders, his whole body folded in half.
Xia Fengsheng: ???
Shi Ye braced his arms on either side of him. “Then this time, I’m going to lick.”
Xia Fengsheng froze.
What?
The next moment, Xia Fengsheng threw his head back sharply and grabbed Shi Ye by the hair.
By two in the afternoon, Xia Fengsheng was half-dead at the edge of the bed. He forced himself upright and lit himself a cigarette.
The last time he had smoked had been months ago.
But right now, only a cigarette could ease the aching soreness all over his body.
Leaning against the headboard, he exhaled white smoke, looking like some mysterious fox-faced scholar from an ancient tale.
Shi Ye was usually an extremely emotionally stable person, yet once he got into bed, he became completely impossible to communicate with.
Xia Fengsheng closed his eyes, recalling the madness from just now.
It was time to stuff chocolate into that butt.
That afternoon, while Xia Fengsheng rested at home, Shi Ye went to the cat kindergarten to pick up Bubai.
Because Xia Fengsheng had needed to cooperate with the investigation, the two of them had been staying in a hotel these past few days, so naturally Bubai had been boarded at the cat kindergarten.
Now that both of them had returned home, they brought the cat back too.
The moment he entered the house, Bubai seemed to have springs stuck under his paws, bouncing all over the floor.
Wearing home clothes, Xia Fengsheng came out of the room and immediately saw that spring-loaded cat.
He reached out and scooped him up in one go, instantly pinning Bubai in his grasp.
After not seeing him for a while, this fat cat had gotten even fatter.
Bubai had not even had time to react before he had already been subdued. His plump body swayed helplessly in midair. “Meow.”
“Tsk.” Xia Fengsheng squeezed him. “Still can’t talk? Didn’t I tell you to go to the hospital and get that checked?”
For a moment, King Bubai lost all strength and all methods of resistance.
Shi Ye changed out of his outdoor clothes. When he returned to the living room, he saw Xia Fengsheng on the sofa with Bubai tucked in his arms, watching the financial news.
That was right—tucked in his arms, like he was cuddling a person. Bubai sat limp beside him, his head only reaching Xia Fengsheng’s waist.
All his usual arrogance was gone.
It was as if they had gone back to the days when Xia Fengsheng had insisted on making him eat with chopsticks.
Back then, Bubai had still been a tiny kitten, struggling every day to survive in a dim alley.
The first time Xia Fengsheng fed him, he had given him food and also handed him chopsticks, his face cold, looking very much like: you had better use the chopsticks to eat.
The financial news droned on from the television. Bubai sat there utterly dead inside. When he saw Shi Ye, he let out a pitiful little “meow.”
Shi Ye, completely on a different wavelength: “Bubai, congratulations to you, seriously.”
(Psyduck crooked-mouth smile.)
After watching the financial news, Xia Fengsheng pinched Bubai’s paw and used it to scroll through his phone for a while.
This was not his first time being used as a tool cat. Bubai had completely abandoned resistance, letting Xia Fengsheng hold his cat paw while those black little bamboo-shoot beans swiped back and forth across the screen.
After scrolling for a page, Bubai could not help but let out a “meow.”
Xia Fengsheng said, “If you can’t read, then stop pretending you understand.”
Bubai: ……
At that moment, Xia Fengsheng’s phone received a message from Qin Buming.
The studio had gotten in touch with a major project and wanted to know whether he had time tomorrow so they could go meet the partner together and discuss it.
After Yang Liwan’s arrest, Dawn Studio had begun operating again. And on only the second day after reopening, they had already come into contact with a good project.
Because of exposing the academic misconduct, both Dawn Studio and Xia Fengsheng himself had gained a great deal of reputation.
On top of that, their previous industry results had long been brilliant and impossible to ignore, so companies seeking cooperation came one after another without end.
From the early days of opening a studio, the group had gradually begun to think about establishing a company.
They had advanced step by step, steady and grounded, and the idea of forming a company was not born of impulse.
Time and again, they had fought their way out from the crowd in the industry, taken on the hottest projects, and produced astonishingly excellent results. That was the best proof of their professionalism and individual ability.
Xia Fengsheng replied, “I do. Send me the location. I’ll go over tomorrow.”
Very quickly, Qin Buming sent him the location for tomorrow’s meeting.
It was a teahouse, one that was extremely famous locally. The tea estates under its name were spread across the country. Any tea that entered this teahouse had gone through careful selection and layer upon layer of inspection. There was no shortage of superb teas inside, and tea lovers from other places would travel from far away just to buy tea there.
After replying, Xia Fengsheng lowered his head and looked at Bubai’s cat face.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Ugly.
After receiving the news about tomorrow’s business meeting, Xia Fengsheng returned to the master bedroom and went into the walk-in closet to pick out the watch he planned to wear tomorrow.
The result was that the moment he stepped into the master bedroom, his whole body froze.
The bedroom was in an even crazier state than he had thought when he went to sleep last night.
The framed picture on the wall had fallen down, and quite a few things in the room had been knocked over as well.
Xia Fengsheng: ……
Had the two of them been performing acrobatics in here last night?
The next day, Xia Fengsheng arrived at the teahouse before the appointed time. Qin Buming and the others were still on the way.
He began looking over the teas. He rarely drank tea and understood absolutely nothing about that sort of thing.
Before founding the studio, when Xia Fengsheng had still been fighting alone to establish himself quickly in the world of fame and profit, he had gritted his teeth and signed up to learn golf and horseback riding as well, partly for etiquette and partly so he would have common topics with others.
Young people tended to like those two things more.
Back then, he had neither the time nor the peace of mind for tea tasting.
After founding the studio and beginning to negotiate projects, plenty of people had also gifted him expensive high-quality tea, but it had all just been sitting at home untouched.
Looking at the tea sets displayed in the showcase, Xia Fengsheng wondered whether he should buy one to take back.
Soon it was time for the meeting. Qin Buming and the partner arrived, and Xia Fengsheng entered the private room to discuss the project with them.
The partner laid out their concerns and requirements, and afterward Dawn Studio would provide a suitable proposal.
By the time the discussion ended, an hour and a half had already passed.
The partner smilingly shook hands with the two of them.
“We look forward to future cooperation with your studio.”
The project discussion had gone smoothly. The partner was in no hurry to leave and instead invited them to stay for tea.
While chatting casually, Xia Fengsheng happened to learn that the partner was filming an advertisement for cat canned food.
The company was a pet products company, and recently they had been looking for a suitable pet model.
As if possessed by a ghost, Xia Fengsheng took out his phone and showed the partner the hideously ugly photo he had taken of Bubai that morning.
With a refined and gentle smile, he said, “What do you think of him?”
The partner, who had just been about to praise Xia Fengsheng for being a fine young talent and his cat for being just as outstanding: …What the hell is that???
So even someone as perfect-looking as Xia Fengsheng had flaws? Who would have thought his taste in aesthetics could be this bad?
After seeing the partner off, Xia Fengsheng began selecting tea sets in the teahouse.
Shi Ye sent him a message asking where he was. He had finished his work and said they could have dinner together outside tonight.
Xia Fengsheng sent him the location and told him to come find him at the teahouse first, then continued picking out tea sets.
The staff carefully introduced the different tea sets to him. Besides the staff member’s voice, Xia Fengsheng also heard another voice that sounded strangely familiar.
That voice drew nearer and nearer until it was suddenly right beside him in full 3D surround sound.
The assistant beside Qi Lianshan said, “We’re here to pick up the custom tea set.”
Another staff member stepped forward. “I’ll go get it for Mr. Qi right away.”
Mr. Qi?
Hearing that surname, Xia Fengsheng turned his head, and in the next second, his eyes met Qi Lianshan’s in the distance.
Qi Lianshan: !
The moment Qi Lianshan saw him, though both feet were on flat ground, he still staggered a step.
Why the hell was this kid here?!
Seeing Xia Fengsheng, Qi Lianshan instantly recalled how, at that annual gala, the other had opened his mouth and told him to pick up five hundred thousand.
Xia Fengsheng, however, was nowhere near as shocked as he was. With a polite smile on his face and the air of a gentleman, he greeted, “Old Mr. Qi, long time no see.”
Qi Lianshan cleared his throat, covering the awkwardness on his face. “Long time no see.”
He did not directly ask, Why the hell are you here, kid?
After all, this kid’s methods were formidable.
He was afraid Xia Fengsheng might invite him onto a rocking kiddie ride again.
After collecting the tea set, Qi Lianshan had originally intended to leave. But when he saw Xia Fengsheng listening so attentively to the staff’s explanation, he stopped again.
Ever since his leg had recovered, this kid Xia Fengsheng had not once come to see him.
If it had been someone else, they would have long since used the favor of healing his leg to climb onto the Qi family’s great tree.
But Xia Fengsheng had not.
Not once.
He had not even called the number Qi Lianshan had secretly had someone give him when he left.
Whenever Qi Lianshan heard news of him, it was either from Qi Qianli or from the internet.
Not long ago, the academic fraud scandal involving the associate professor at Beijing University had caused a huge uproar, yet Xia Fengsheng had still not asked the Qi family for help.
The young man had his own convictions and would not bow to rotten power.
When Qi Lianshan learned that something had happened to Xia Fengsheng, he had even looked through his phone to see whether the other had called him.
Who would have known this child’s temperament was as ruthless as his own—hard and sharp to a frightening degree.
Xia Fengsheng was about the same age as Qi Qianli. Although he had done quite a few immoral things to him, Qi Lianshan still looked at him the way one looked at a child.
He halted his departing steps, returned to Xia Fengsheng’s side, and struck up a conversation.
“Picking out tea sets, are you? There’s a lot of know-how in this.”
Xia Fengsheng had helped him rehabilitate and heal his leg. This old man owed the kid a favor.
He was getting old. The glory of the first half of his life was glory, yes, but he could not stay a stubborn old mule forever and refuse to let go of his pride.
If anything happened in the future, he would not wait for Xia Fengsheng to ask. He would step in directly and help him, just as Qi Qianli would.
Xia Fengsheng lifted his eyes.
Qi Lianshan waved the staff away and began explaining things to Xia Fengsheng personally. The assistant waited silently beside them, and in the end, with a sharp eye, chose an excellent tea set for Xia Fengsheng.
Xia Fengsheng signed his name on the order form.
Young, handsome, capable, and hardworking—seeing him this time, Qi Lianshan admired him greatly.
“Are you free tonight? Come have dinner with us. Mingyue and Qianli are here too.”
Leaning lightly to the side, Xia Fengsheng declined with a smile. “No, I have a date tonight.”
A date!
Qi Lianshan was startled. “You’re in a relationship?”
“Mhm.”
Qi Lianshan was stunned. What kind of person would date this kid? He could not imagine it at all.
“Who is it? How old is the girl this year?”
The girl?
Xia Fengsheng smiled. “A man.”
A man!
It hit like a clap of thunder on flat ground.
Qi Lianshan took a full-on blow to his elderly worldview.
“A man?” The wrinkles on Qi Lianshan’s face practically spread open. Why on earth would this kid, perfectly fine as he was, like men?
In disbelief, he said, “What’s so good about men? They’re all hard and stiff.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Qi Lianshan felt a chill run down his back.
Turning around, he saw Shi Ye standing behind him.
Qi Lianshan: !
Was that not the Shi family’s only son?
The Shi family had once helped Qi Mingyue, and Qi Lianshan had met Shi Ye a few times.
At that moment, Shi Ye was staring at him with a dark expression.
Qi Lianshan was dumbfounded. He pointed at him, then at Xia Fengsheng. “You two…”
They were together?!
Qi Lianshan’s elderly worldview refreshed on the spot.
Seeing the shock on Qi Lianshan’s face, Shi Ye thought that from old to young, everyone in the Qi family was out to make trouble for him. He turned his head away and magnanimously declared, “You can go. I don’t hit old people.”
Qi Lianshan: ……
—
That evening, Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye had dinner together outside.
At the table, they each told the other everything that had happened during the day, like two students from different schools meeting up after class.
Shi Ye chewed and chewed. “And then? Did you like the tea set?”
Xia Fengsheng chewed and chewed. “Mhm. The old man’s taste is pretty good.”
Shi Ye tasted a dish he thought was good and picked some into Xia Fengsheng’s bowl, still chewing. “My songwriting went pretty smoothly today too. The tune is basically done. When we go on vacation later, let’s go to Hawaii.”
It had been a long time since he and Xia Fengsheng had traveled abroad together. The last time had already been months ago.
Back when Xia Fengsheng had pretended to have amnesia, the two of them had gone out traveling once or twice every month.
Xia Fengsheng ate the food Shi Ye had given him, chewing as he spoke. “Besides coconut, what else is good to drink there?”
Xia Fengsheng liked sweet drinks, so he was actually looking forward to Hawaii too.
In his mind, Hawaii was a hot island full of sea and sunshine.
Just as Xia Fengsheng was still imagining Hawaiian scenery, Shi Ye suddenly said, “Do you want to meet my parents?”
Xia Fengsheng stopped chewing.
Parents?
Shi Ye looked a little embarrassed. Because he wanted to marry Xia Fengsheng, he wanted to bring him to meet his parents.
As for the matter of him liking men, his parents had already accepted it years ago.
—
A few days later, at the Shi residence.
“No, this outfit won’t do.”
The butler took the suit from Shi Xing’s hands and hurriedly had the servants bring over a few more suit jackets.
They were all clothes he normally liked very much, yet today none of them looked right. It felt as though he had absolutely nothing to wear.
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, tying his tie, hair still undone, Shi Xing could not help but feel anxious.
At a time like this, he still had not chosen what to wear outside.
Ever since this morning, everything had been a complete mess. No—more accurately, it had started last night. Because he was going to meet Xiao Ye’s lover today, he had tossed and turned all night and slept badly.
He had woken up this morning in decent condition, but afterward, every single thing had stalled over and over again, never reaching the ideal result.
Just now, the stylist had done Xingyuan’s hair, but Shi Yuan had not liked it and felt it made him look old, so he had gone to wash it out. Now his hair had just dried, and he planned to finish tying his tie before letting the stylist try another one.
At the thought of meeting Xia Fengsheng, Shi Xing grew nervous without even meaning to.
That was the child Shi Ye liked. As parents, they absolutely could not mess this up.
If parents could leave a good impression on the child, then Xiao Ye would also gain points in his heart along with them.
Not to mention that there had been reasons why the two children had separated back then. Once he learned about it, Shi Xing could not help but feel guilty as well.
Back then, after the breakup, the pain Shi Ye went through had broken their hearts as parents. Even now, when they thought about it, it was still vivid before their eyes.
“Sir, what about this one?”
The butler brought over several more outfits.
For a moment, Shi Xing seemed to go back to the day of his wedding. In public, he was always a decisive and forceful businessman, unsmiling before others, his aura overwhelming. Yet privately, few knew his true nature. Looking at the several outfits in front of him, he could not make up his mind at all.
Unable to choose, he went straight to look for Bie Yinan.
“Wife, which outfit looks better on me?”
Bie Yinan had absolutely no time to bother with him right now. She could barely manage herself. She had only just matched her outfit and had not even put on makeup yet.
“Choose for yourself.”
“I can’t.”
……
By the time the two of them had finished getting ready and left the house, three hours had already passed.
—
On the other side, Shi Ye and Xia Fengsheng had already arrived at the private room early.
Although Xia Fengsheng did not show it on his face and always carried himself as though he could handle anything with ease, Shi Ye could still sense his nervousness about meeting the parents.
Xia Fengsheng had never worried about what to wear before. He worked out regularly, and his figure could carry any outfit. Yet today, he had agonized in the wardrobe for a long time. From noon until now, he had barely eaten at all—he simply had no appetite.
To be honest, Xia Fengsheng had not spent much time around elders of the parent generation. The previous times he had met Shi Yuan and Bie Yinan had only been brief encounters.
In his memory, they were good parents. They had rushed overnight to Shenzhen after Shi Ye got into a fight, and they also had lively sides to them—for example, dropping oranges downstairs outside the apartment for half a month.
There was still some time before Shi Xing and Bie Yinan arrived.
Shi Ye was afraid he might be hungry. “Let’s order something first to fill your stomach a little.”
Xia Fengsheng refused.
Shi Ye tried persuading him. “If you’re hungry, your logic when talking will mess up too.”
It was true that hunger made people more prone to mistakes.
Xia Fengsheng thought his words made some sense, so he had Shi Ye order him a bowl of noodles.
When the waiter brought the noodles, he specifically explained, “Golden-thread noodles are our restaurant’s specialty. Don’t be fooled by how much it looks like there is—in fact, this bowl only contains a single noodle.”
Only one noodle?
The amount in the bowl did not look small at all.
Trying to ease Xia Fengsheng’s nervousness, Shi Ye deliberately said, “Want to see just how long that one noodle really is?”
And through some peculiar overlap in their brain circuits, the two of them were equally ridiculous.
—
The car pulled up at the hotel entrance. Shi Xing and Bie Yinan got out, and a doorman guided them toward the private room.
Just as they were about to arrive, however, Shi Xing grabbed Bie Yinan.
Bie Yinan turned back to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
Shi Xing pulled her aside and, lowering his head, leaned helplessly against her shoulder. “Sis, I’m a little nervous.”
The two of them were in an older-woman-younger-man relationship, and though they were already middle-aged, Shi Xing would still sometimes call Bie Yinan ‘sis’ without even realizing it.
Like right now.
Bie Yinan smiled. “What’s there to be nervous about?”
But her smile looked rather tragic.
As if she was not nervous too.
Her heart was practically leaping out of her chest.
It had been a long time since they last saw Xia Fengsheng. And the first time they met him, her entrance had been rather comical—the child had watched her drop oranges for half a month.
For a moment, the two of them stood outside the private room in Psyduck-style agony, clutching their heads.
They could only hope to leave a good impression on Xia Fengsheng.
Bie Yinan comforted him. “It’s okay.”
At the same time, she comforted herself too.
In their eyes, Xia Fengsheng was like a child—kind-hearted, gentlemanly, and polite. They should not be nervous. They just needed to show their best selves.
If they were nervous, it would only burden the child.
After talking herself into calm, Bie Yinan held Shi Xing’s hand and strode toward the private room. But the moment they reached the door, she abruptly spun back around and asked the doorman beside them, “Where’s the restroom?”
No, she needed to check her overall look one more time.
It was another ten minutes before the two of them stood at the private room door again.
Bie Yinan: This time it’s good.
Her appearance was perfect in every way.
The doorman pushed open the door for them.
And in the very next second, Bie Yinan saw the scene inside the private room.
Xia Fengsheng and Shi Ye were each standing at opposite ends of the room with something in their mouths, and between them hung one absurdly long noodle.
Bie Yinan: ……
Every family has its own difficult scripture to recite.
And her family had two of them.
