Chapter 1
Fang Jing Yao’s phone chimed repeatedly with notifications. He glanced down, and just seeing the name “Luo Yi” annoyed him. He slammed the phone shut, finally getting some peace. Sitting bored at the airport, he didn’t want to open the phone anyway. Before leaving, he had posted a message on Weibo announcing his departure from the comic studio. Right now, it was probably causing a huge stir online.
He propped his arms behind his head and pouted.
If he turned on his phone now, it would either be messages from Luo Yi trying to coax him back, or so-called friends pretending to console him while secretly probing for gossip.
He was tired. Since he had chosen to leave, he didn’t want more trouble—might as well let it be.
Fang Jing Yao sighed, feeling little regret but immense relief. His bones relaxed, and his shoulders felt lighter. As he stretched, a sharply dressed man sitting nearby furrowed his brow and flipped a page of his newspaper loudly.
Fang Jing Yao tilted his head, and his eyes lit up. He had seen many good-looking people in the circle, but never someone so beautiful yet so coldly detached. Though it was early autumn and still warm, the man’s shirt was buttoned perfectly, tie neat and tight. His lean, sharp face bore slightly furrowed brows, corners of his mouth turned down. He looked impatient, but he was holding it in.
Fang Jing Yao blinked. Just looking at him stirred a wave of attraction. His fingers itched, but he restrained himself, rubbed his throat, muttered something, and pulled his hoodie over his face to nap.
He was returning home to live a peaceful life, determined to reform himself. How could he flirt randomly? Such habits must be broken! From today on, he would stay far from Beijing’s flashy circle. He would live in a small two-story house in his hometown, facing a vegetable garden, leading a steady, honest life. He wouldn’t go picking roadside wildflowers! And this one clearly looked like a prickly, hard-to-handle type.
Fang Jing Yao mentally hyped himself up, thinking this persona was awesome. From now on, he’d be the master of his “farming life” scenario.
The flight was delayed over two hours. Fang Jing Yao was half-asleep when the boarding announcement came. Rubbing his eyes, he joined the queue, and luck—or misfortune—placed him next to the same stunning man from before.
The man’s face was still exquisitely handsome. When Fang Jing Yao reached to place his luggage, the man gave a helping hand, and Fang Jing Yao realized the man was quite tall, slightly taller than his own 1.8 meters.
“Thanks.”
The man glanced down at him, furrowed his brows, and said coldly, “No need.”
A silence followed. Shoulders almost touching, the man exuded a detached aura, as if seeing through the world, making Fang Jing Yao embarrassed to start a conversation. He yawned; last night he’d been busy with the studio until after midnight, and now he was sleepy. He dimmed his side light and rested a bit, while the man aggressively flipped through the newspaper.
Soon, the plane began descent.
Less than an hour later, Fang Jing Yao landed back in his hometown. Dragging his luggage out of the terminal, he breathed in the slightly salty sea breeze and finally realized his life in Beijing had ended. This time, he was really home.
His home was in a small city, about twenty minutes from the airport. Soon, humming a tune, he arrived home, unlocked the door, and went inside. No sooner had he set down his luggage than the household cat, Huang, strutted out, sniffed his luggage arrogantly, then his pants, and let out a delicate “meow.”
Fang Jing Yao’s heart swelled. He scooped up Huang and kissed him repeatedly. “My precious, you still remember me! All these years I didn’t buy your canned fish for nothing! Come, give me a kiss!”
He puckered up, but Huang resisted, pressing his soft paws against Fang Jing Yao face. Fang Jing Yao just laughed, pinched his little paws, grabbed the cat, and went to arrange his things. He didn’t take much—just his usual sleep mask—and returned to the bedroom with Huang to nap.
Regardless of Huang’s willingness, Fang Jing Yao buried his face in the cat’s soft belly, inhaling deeply, before sighing in contentment and hugging the cat to sleep.
“Good night, Huang, sleep with me a bit.”
Huang struggled but purred contentedly, unable to resist. The cat was clingy, and eventually gave in, falling asleep faster than Fang Jing Yao, little purrs like a whistling tune.
Fang Jing Yao smirked. No need to remove the mask—he knew exactly how Huang looked—and nuzzled him before dozing off.
Around ten that night, Fang Jing Yao’s parents returned from swimming. Turning the key, something felt off. Fang Jing Yao’s mother shouted anxiously: “Quick, don’t tell me we’ve been robbed? I locked the door properly! Huang is home, don’t let thieves take him!”
Fang Jing Yao’s father turned the key slowly. “Don’t panic. Maybe you forgot to lock the door.”
“Impossible! I always check twice! Hurry, our precious is home, I’m worried sick! He’s the most valuable in this house…”
They entered, shouting for “Little Precious,” “Good boy,” “Sweetheart,” and found Fang Jing Yao sprawled in bed with Huang lying on his back on his belly.
Fang Jing Yao lifted his mask and rubbed his eyes. “Mom, Dad.”
Fang Jing Yao’s father grinned and opened his arms. Fang Jing Yao reached out, but his dad scooped up Huang and presented him to his mother: “Look, the precious is here, not lost.”
Fang Jing Yao felt a little sidelined. “Dad, at least look at me too!”
“I saw you. I noticed your suitcase the moment we entered.”
Fang Jing Yao’s mother, holding Huang, was surprised. “What? Jing Yao, you brought luggage? How long are you staying this time? Going back to Beijing?”
Fang Jing Yao: “…”
“Not going back. Staying home. You know my work—I can draw anywhere. Just give me a computer and tablet.”
The parents were thrilled. “Yes, yes, staying home is best. It’s so much better than being out. Our Huang lives alone here anyway, and now you can keep him company. I even thought I saw a plastic bag on the AC outside and panicked!”
Fang Jing Yao’s mother beamed. “Look at you—you’re so thin! Wait, I’ll make you a bowl of noodles. You must be starving coming back so late!”
Without giving Fang Jing Yao a chance to reply, she left. Huang immediately ran after her, belly jiggling, meowing adorably and flirtatiously.
Dinner was served in two bowls: plain beef for Huang and tomato-beef noodles for Fang Jing Yao.
Fang Jing Yao ate with tears in his eyes. After all those years, his skills were limited to instant noodles; nothing compared to his mother’s cooking. Absolutely delicious.
Seeing him sweat over the noodles, his mother fretted: “It’s just a bowl! Why eat so fast? Tell me if you want something else; I’ll make it.”
Fang Jing Yao grinned: “I just love your noodles. Nothing else~”
After a week of this loving care, Fang Jing Yao’s mother finally ran out of energy.
She sat on the sofa, watching Fang Jing Yao gulp down noodles, feeling increasingly uneasy. “Jing Yao, did you stay up late again last night? When I came over this morning to feed Huang, you were still asleep.”
Fang Jing Yao had been working on a draft until past five in the morning. When his mother arrived, he had just fallen asleep. Half-asleep, he heard a bit of what she said and nodded slightly.
Sighing, his mother continued: “I do support your work, but your schedule is something I must criticize. You’re a grown man now, yet you’re worse than Huang. Even he knows to sleep at night and be active during the day!”
Fang Jing Yao mumbled: “Huang sleeps twenty hours a day—are you comparing me to him?”
His mother was enraged. “How dare you talk to your sister like that? Apologize to her!”
Lowering his head to the cat crouched nearby waiting for its meal, Fang Jing Yao said: “Sorry, Huang. I didn’t mean to call you fat. You’re the healthiest. Here, have a piece of meat~”
His mother stopped him. “She doesn’t like chicken legs, only breast meat. You eat it yourself.”
Watching her son eat quietly, she sighed again. “This won’t work like this either.”
Fang Jing Yao sipped the broth from his bowl. Today’s noodles were chicken with fresh shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots, the soup clear and savory.
His mother said, “I asked someone to find a match for you. Tomorrow you’ll go to a café to meet him.”
Fang Jing Yao almost spat out his soup. “You want me to… go?”
Proudly, his mother pulled a business card from her bag and handed it to him. “Aunt Chen asked a friend to introduce someone, Long Yu. I heard he studied abroad, he’s tall—1.84 meters—energetic, and works at our city hospital as a cardiac surgeon. I asked everything for you. Tomorrow, go and meet him. Dress neatly, none of your torn jeans, got it?”
Fang Jing Yao’s head throbbed from the rapid-fire barrage of words. After a moment, he registered: “You want me… to go on a blind date?”
His mother snorted. “Yes, tomorrow, without fail.”
Fang Jing Yao forced a wry smile. “Mom, you know my situation. I’m different from other kids. Isn’t this putting me in a difficult spot…”
“What situation?” His mother sneered, poking his forehead, frustrated with his lack of sense. “You’re gay, big deal! Don’t you know there are lots of men competing for husbands these days? If you don’t act, you’ll never marry anyone!”
Fang Jing Yao shivered. He had never imagined that even as a gay man, he could end up being coerced into marriage.
Author’s note:
Fang Jing Yao (hands on hips): “I’ve slept three times already! At the airport next to Long Yu, on the plane next to Long Yu, and once alone at home! Hahaha!”
Long Yu: “A gentleman keeps his word.”
Fang Jing Yao: “What?”
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