Chapter 12
Fang Jing Yao was called out. His mother took the slipper from his hand and began hitting him. “You couldn’t even bring home one wife, and I told you to get two! Two!” Her strikes were no gentler than before.
Fang Jing Yao jumped, too scared to shout, repeating, “Mom! Please stop! It’s not what you think, you’ve misunderstood… Ouch! At least give me some face in front of others!”
Fang’s mother, fuming, lowered her voice and pointed at his nose: “Send that person away immediately! Do you think this is fair to Long Yu? Listen to what you were talking about, those… harmful movies—you embarrass me!”
Fang Jing Yao panicked. “Mom, you can’t do that! Don’t judge before hearing the whole story! I’ll call him out and explain everything… Zhuo Yifan, come out here!”
Zhuo Yifan immediately stepped out, still in his floral apron with hair clipped up. His white, delicate face looked like a doll’s. He held a mop in one hand and a rag in the other, showing a bit of domestic charm. “Hello, Auntie!”
Fang Jing Yao reached to pull him. “Explain to my mom what we were just talking about. Who wanted to watch the movie?”
Zhuo Yifan looked at him with an expression that said, “Master, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Fang Jing Yao angrily scolded, “Speak!”
Zhuo Yifan blinked and twisted the rag in his hands innocently. “I don’t really understand these things. I just think whatever Auntie says is right.”
Fang Jing Yao lifted his foot to kick him, but his mother slapped his leg first. “Impudent!”
Fang Jing Yao dared not be impudent. He glared at Zhuo Yifan and gave him the middle finger as a warning.
His mother stayed in the living room, demanding an explanation about the newcomer’s identity. Fang Jing Yao recounted everything truthfully: years ago, he had taken a young apprentice with no foresight; the boy had grown skilled in drawing, with excellent acting, even winning multiple “Oscars” in the manga world. As he spoke, Zhuo Yifan didn’t wander off, sitting at the living room door polishing his master’s shoes diligently, shining them brightly.
Fang Jing Yao’s mother was unconvinced. This boy seemed different from what her son described. Seeing him obedient and pretty, she couldn’t help but feel some sympathy. “Stop exaggerating. I see this child is honest. Are you… lying?”
Fang Jing Yao felt a surge of frustration. “Mom, am I that kind of person? No! It’s purely a master-student relationship.”
Still unconvinced, she looked at Zhuo Yifan. “Fan Fan.”
Zhuo Yifan quickly raised his head, still holding the shoe and brush. “Auntie, I… I’m polishing shoes! I did it really clean!” He showed the elders in the living room with all his strength.
Fang’s mother paused. “This is the troublemaking rich second generation you mentioned?”
Fang Jing Yao: “…”
Fang’s mother: “A rich second generation who can polish shoes so well?”
Fang Jing Yao: “…You can’t generalize. Some rich kids have hobbies too.”
Fang’s mother sneered: “Not just hobbies—they come to the house to polish your shoes? Do you think I’m stupid?”
Fang Jing Yao was harshly scolded and spanked by his mother right in front of his apprentice.
After finishing disciplining her son, Fang’s mother tidied her hair and came to talk to Zhuo Yifan. Seeing the scene of “violence” firsthand, Zhuo Yifan’s legs went weak, and he stammered nervously, “A-a-a… Auntie…”
Fang’s mother said kindly, “Good child, I know you might have misunderstood what Jing Yao said. He’s always cared for others, generous to everyone he meets. Sometimes that can give people the wrong impression, but you don’t need to take it to heart.”
Zhuo Yifan said, “No misunderstanding. My master treats me the best!”
Fang’s mother became serious. “No, right now he treats Long Yu the best.”
Zhuo Yifan immediately nodded, grinning foolishly. “Yes, yes! Master treats Dr. Long the best now. Auntie, I’ve met Dr. Long too. He’s such a nice person! Whenever I don’t know what to do, he even gives me advice!”
This surprised Fang’s mother. “You’ve met Long Yu? Who brought you?”
Zhuo Yifan said, “My master did!”
Fang’s mother’s expression grew complicated. These kids nowadays had such convoluted relationships. How could they just sit down and talk like this? Long Yu had a good temperament, but back in her youth, if this had happened, she would have beaten up her husband on the spot!
Zhuo Yifan didn’t realize he was a third wheel. He fully immersed himself in his master’s family, praising both his master and Dr. Long, and even tried to include himself to feel part of the family.
Fang’s mother was shocked by his boldness. “What did you just say?!”
“Auntie, I’m really very capable! I can wash dishes, cook, do laundry—all very well! Please let me come over often…”
Fang Jing Yao removed Zhuo Yifan’s apron and pushed him toward the door. “You go first. Things here can’t be explained clearly. Come back in a few days.”
Zhuo Yifan agreed and then clutched the door to look back at Fang Jing Yao. “Master, here’s my hotel key. I left a spare with you. I’ll stay at the hotel for half a month for now…”
Fang Jing Yao froze. “What? You’re staying here for half a month?”
Zhuo Yifan pouted. “I actually wanted to stay longer. The people at the studio wouldn’t allow it—they want me back soon. It took me a long time to get even this half-month off.”
Fang Jing Yao, exhausted from working on deadlines and squeezing a few hours for meetings, felt uneasy hearing this.
From afar, Fang’s mother watched them stick together at the door and became alert. She called, “Jing Yao?”
Fang Jing Yao quickly pushed Zhuo Yifan outside. “Go rest. You’ve got dark circles.” He was used to Zhuo Yifan by now, rubbing the dark circles with his thumb and sighing. This silly kid had worked hard to steal a few days to see him, barely sleeping, yet coming early every day to show his dedication.
Such sincerity is easily noticed. Feeling his master’s softened heart, Zhuo Yifan’s eyes reddened, and he pressed his face into Fang Jing Yao’s hand. “Master, I did wrong. I should be punished.”
Fang Jing Yao chuckled. “Enough, punishment over, you—”
“Fang Jing Yao!!” Fang’s mother shouted from behind.
Fang Jing Yao quickly pushed Zhuo Yifan out, but forgot to take back the hotel key. Fang’s mother saw it immediately.
She cried out in exasperation, “Look at you! You act like someone seriously dating? Dr. Long comes from such a good family—he’s wasted on you!”
Fang Jing Yao’s face went pale. “It’s not what you think, Mom! Let me explain!”
But Fang’s mother wouldn’t listen. Seeing is believing. Her son had always been a bit flirtatious, unaware of his charm. She was so satisfied with Long Yu and feared Fang Jing Yao would do something to wrong him. Not only did she supervise Fang Jing Yao during the day, but she also dragged Fang’s father to keep watch at night.
While Fang Jing Yao worked on his drafts in the study, his mother tidied the room and kept praising Long Yu. Fang Jing Yao said nothing, just smiling faintly as she rambled. He also thought Long Yu was pretty great.
“That Zhuo Yifan—don’t take him to see Long Yu anymore. He’s from a good family too, don’t mess him up. Let him give up these ideas early. And with Long Yu, hurry up and talk things over properly…”
Fang Jing Yao said smugly, “We’re different from others. I—”
“You’re gay? You think you’re in the right?!” Fang’s mother threw down her rag, glaring at him. She’d been scared by the incident a few days ago—one wife is tough enough, two would be unbearable.
“No, Mom. Long Yu and I, we have our plan.” Fang Jing Yao pondered how to subtly explain the contract to his mother. The details were so meticulous that he blushed at the thought of showing it to a lawyer.
Seeing him hesitate, his mother assumed the worst, recalling how he’d previously tricked her. She sneered: “Oh, gay? So you’re not human? You use that as an excuse all the time, proud of it, huh? Just because you’re gay, you get special privileges—not to date, not to marry? Nonsense! As long as I’m around, family matters are not optional! No weird relationships, no threesomes or anything—seriously date someone and settle down properly!”
Fang Jing Yao: “I…”
His mother scolded, “What ‘I’? Three main duties of a child: obey, carry on the family line, and the other two—no dating and no civil service exams.”
“Where did you even get this?”
“WeChat moments.”
“…Can you trust what middle-aged people post?”
“Why not? I added many people. Look at Aunt He upstairs. Her kid Xiao He passed the civil service exams this year and already has a girlfriend. Two civil servants in one family!”
“Xiao He’s mom is shameless! Talks about everything!” Fang Jing Yao grumbled.
“Shameless? You’re the one who should feel ashamed! At your age, you’ve never dated or married. We, your parents, only had you. Now you live your chaotic life and expect me to be at ease?”
Fang Jing Yao felt a little moved.
His mother firmly said, “So, you must win over Long Yu. You just need someone thorough, punctual, who watches over things—work hard, and add a new member to our family soon…”
What kind of society is this? Parents of straight kids compete over marriages; now even gay kids aren’t spared! Ridiculous!
