Chapter 31
Standing by the window, Zhuo Yifan said, “Nothing, just checking out the view.”
There were only a few trees downstairs at Fang Jingyao’s place—usually only the cat stood there watching birds. Fang Jingyao found Zhuo Yifan’s behavior a bit suspicious, so he walked over and looked out too, but saw nothing. Zhuo Yifan grinned at him, making Fang Jingyao laugh as he smacked his apprentice lightly on the head. “Did you do something bad? Why do you look like you’re hiding something?”
Zhuo Yifan replied immediately, “Of course not. Nothing like that.”
Fang Jingyao wandered around the room with the cat in his arms. The cat placed its short, stubby paws on Fang Jingyao’s face, tentatively kneading him a couple of times, purring loudly with half-closed eyes.
Zhuo Yifan followed behind, complaining, “Master, it always steps on my face. It’s going to give me a double chin.”
Fang Jingyao said, “Nonsense, it’s still just a baby. How heavy could it be!”
Zhuo Yifan replied, “Fifteen and a half pounds. Just weighed it yesterday. Same weight as that big watermelon I bought.”
Fang Jingyao snapped, embarrassed and annoyed, “You’re the one who weighs as much as a watermelon!”
The orange cat let out a “meow,” stood up in Fang Jingyao’s arms, and nudged him with its head, clearly unhappy that its owner was talking to someone else. It practically wanted to say, You’re only allowed to look at me.
Fang Jingyao’s heart melted completely. Calling it his precious baby, he leaned in to kiss its little pink nose—but Huang Bao’er refused, pushing his lips away with its soft paw. Fang Jingyao burst out laughing at the adorable resistance.
The house was even cleaner than usual. Zhuo Yifan was a real whiz at housework—after staying for just two days, he had everything neat and tidy, more reassuring than hiring a housekeeper. Even Fang Jingyao’s study, which used to look like a dog’s den, had been greatly improved. All the tools were sorted and neatly stored. Even Huang Bao’er’s little food bowl in the dining area had been polished to a shine, with dry food and water filled to the brim.
Fang Jingyao was quite satisfied with Zhuo Yifan. While sitting in the living room chatting, he noticed a first-aid kit and was reminded of Han Qiaoye. He asked, “Is Han Qiaoye’s hand okay? Did you go check on him?”
“I did. He made such a fuss the other day—kept saying no one was at home and insisted I go take care of him. I felt bad, so I went,” Zhuo Yifan said, suppressing his irritation. “Master, you have no idea how excessive he was. Who have I ever taken care of besides you? Only him!”
Fang Jingyao said, “You broke his arm—if you don’t take care of him, who will? Serves you right. Take it as a lesson—next time, think twice before drinking.”
At the mention of it, Zhuo Yifan felt a little aggrieved and started complaining. “I’ve already been very considerate—feeding him, helping him dress. I was this close to helping him go to the bathroom… Han Qiaoye acts like some spoiled young master, always ordering me around. If I miss one call, he gets all sarcastic. I can tell now—this guy just doesn’t know how to speak properly!”
Fang Jingyao laughed. “You really helped him that much?”
Zhuo Yifan: “…No.”
Fang Jingyao thought for a moment and patted his shoulder. “It’s only for a few days. He’s pretty busy too—I heard from Long Yu that he’s going to Yunnan to handle something for his second brother. Honestly, the Han family has had bad luck lately—the second son broke his leg and is in the hospital, and the youngest just got back to the country and you went and broke his arm.” Then he added, puzzled, “But what Long Yu told me about Han Qiaoye isn’t like this. He said the guy can endure hardship abroad and is quite independent.”
Zhuo Yifan rolled his eyes. “Him? Even a three-year-old isn’t as picky as he is.”
Fang Jingyao chuckled and didn’t think too much of it. After all, Han Qiaoye and Xie Chunkai were different—both were from wealthy families, but Han Qiaoye had a much better reputation. Young Master Xie could gather enough girlfriends for a full mahjong table, while Han Qiaoye could barely scrape together three people. He was obsessed with the grasslands and seemed more interested in an East African antelope than any of his girlfriends.
Fang Jingyao figured Han Qiaoye was just taking the chance to boss Zhuo Yifan around to vent his frustration after getting injured, so he comforted his apprentice, “Be a bit more accommodating. After all, he got hurt protecting you. He’s actually a good guy—Long Yu mentioned he’s loyal, just a bit prideful.”
Zhuo Yifan knew he was partly at fault and muttered, “I know, Master. I’ll take good care of him.”
Fang Jingyao said, “Take care of him, sure, but don’t neglect your own work. Aren’t you starting a new arc for your comic soon? When are you going back?”
Zhuo Yifan replied, “In a few days, I guess. There’s still time.”
Fang Jingyao said, “Focus on your own work. It’s not easy to get a serialization opportunity—make the most of it, got it?”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Fang Jingyao was about to get up, but Zhuo Yifan rushed over faster, reaching the door first. He peeked through the peephole, then quickly grabbed the baseball cap hanging by the door and put it on, opening the door with an obedient look. “Auntie.”
Although Zhuo Yifan hadn’t dyed his hair back—still a soft white—he had neatly styled it and put on the cap to cover it a bit. His delicate features made him quite likable.
Fang’s mother came back with groceries and fruit, carrying a bag of beef as well. Over the past few days, while feeding Huang Bao’er, she had also warmly taken care of Zhuo Yifan. Seeing Fang Jingyao at home made her even happier. “Oh, Jingyao, you’re back too? Stay for lunch before you go—I bought a lot of food.”
Fang Jingyao stepped forward to help carry the bags and glanced inside. “Beef patties today?”
His mother smiled. “Yes, the beef looked fresh, so I bought extra. I’ll make beef patties for you all!”
Seeing his “mom,” Huang Bao’er couldn’t hold back and kept rubbing against her legs, meowing sweetly.
Fang Jingyao had loved homemade beef patties since he was young. Seeing all the ingredients, he decided not to bother going back and forth. “I’ll call Long Yu to come over and eat with us. It’d be a hassle to go back and cook now.”
His mother immediately agreed, then scolded him lightly, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I didn’t prepare much—the dishes aren’t even that lavish.”
Fang Jingyao dialed the phone and smiled. “If you’re missing anything, I’ll have Long Yu bring it.”
His mother grew embarrassed. “Nothing’s missing—just have him come after work. I’ll make something nice for you. By the way, does Long Yu have any dietary restrictions?”
Fang Jingyao asked over the phone, then after a moment smiled and said, “He says anything is fine—he’s not picky. And he says thank you.”
His mother beamed with satisfaction and went into the kitchen. Zhuo Yifan tried to go help, but she shooed him out, clearly taking over the entire battlefield.
With nothing to do, Zhuo Yifan took out some of the drawings he had been working on these days and showed them to Fang Jingyao, asking for feedback.
Fang Jingyao was somewhat well-known in the industry. After making a few adjustments, he guided Zhuo Yifan in refining several panel angles, making the pacing much tighter.
Zhuo Yifan listened attentively, humbly accepting the advice and carefully revising his work.
At noon, Long Yu arrived. Once again, Zhuo Yifan sprang up to open the door. After seeing this happen multiple times, Fang Jingyao found it a bit strange and wanted to ask about it, but the thought slipped away as soon as he saw Long Yu. Doctor Long had changed into a different outfit from the morning and was carrying a box of bird’s nest, looking more like he had come for a formal visit.
Fang Jingyao got up to take his coat and hang it, smiling. “Busy day at work?”
Long Yu nodded. After setting the bird’s nest on the table, he looked toward the kitchen. “Auntie’s cooking? I’ll go help her.”
Fang Jingyao said, “Don’t go in. Even if you do, she won’t let you do anything.”
Long Yu hesitated for a moment but still went over. Sure enough, the moment Fang’s mother saw him, she immediately ushered him back out. “Don’t get your clothes dirty. There’s a lot of oil smoke in here—just wait outside. The food will be ready soon.” She pushed Long Yu out, then turned to Fang Jingyao. “It’s rare for Long Yu to come over—take him to your study and have a look.”
Fang Jingyao agreed, turning Long Yu around, then glanced back at his mother and winked, silently mouthing, “New apron? Looks great~!”
Fang’s mother blushed at his teasing, both embarrassed and annoyed, but couldn’t help laughing. “Go on, get out of here! You talk the most—always being naughty!”
Fang Jingyao took Long Yu to the study. There wasn’t much to see—just a stack of discarded draft pages nearby. Long Yu flipped through them and asked with some interest, “Which book is this from?”
Fang Jingyao answered vaguely, “Oh, just the one I was serializing before.”
Long Yu looked through a few pages, then set them down. “I skimmed that book—it’s quite good. No wonder Luo Yi had ambitions for it. If it had broader promotion channels and sufficient funding, it might really make an impact on the market.”
Fang Jingyao wasn’t particularly interested in these matters, but since Long Yu was talking, he listened.
After a moment of thought, Long Yu said, “That book was a joint creation, right? When he came to see you last time, did he mention how the story would conclude?”
Fang Jingyao replied vaguely, “He mentioned it a bit.” In truth, Luo Yi hadn’t said much—Fang Jingyao had simply handed over the ending himself. At the time, he had just wanted to settle both the story and his feelings cleanly and move on. He hadn’t expected Long Yu to ask about it.
Long Yu said, “If he makes any unreasonable demands, don’t agree right away, and definitely don’t sign anything. Consult a lawyer first before making any decisions.”
Fang Jingyao scratched his head. “It probably won’t come to that. Luo Yi doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d do something like that.”
Long Yu pressed his lips together but said nothing more.
Fang Jingyao still held a bit of trust in Luo Yi. He didn’t say it aloud, but that was what he believed in his heart. Long Yu could tell, so he didn’t pursue the topic further. He casually looked around the study for a bit, and just then Fang’s mother called them to eat, so they went out together.
