Contract Couple – CH32

Chapter 32

The meal was lavish—five dishes and a soup. The family’s famous beef patties alone numbered six or seven, tenderized first and pan-fried until crisp on the edges, sprinkled with pepper for aroma; you could smell them from the hallway.

Fang’s mother joined them for lunch. She already knew by now that Zhuo Yifan’s white hair was dyed, and teased, “Yifan, don’t just eat black beans—have some other things too.”

Zhuo Yifan, sporting his trendy “granny-gray” hair, felt awkward showing off in front of his master’s mother. The longer she looked at him, the guiltier he felt, like some delinquent teenager. He ducked his head and picked at his food.

Fang’s mother moved a plate of ribs closer to him.
“Eat more meat—you’re too skinny.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Zhuo Yifan replied obediently.

She laughed. “And it’s fine to dye your hair. When Jing Yao was your age, his head was all colors—honestly, unbearable to look at!”

Even Long Yu turned to look. Fang Jing Yao flushed and protested, “Everyone’s a little wild when they’re young! Besides, I only dyed two colors—”

“One side red, one side green,” his mother interjected.

“…”

Fang Jing Yao groaned, “If you keep this up, I’ll just—just eat all the beef patties and not leave any for Long Yu!”

Long Yu laughed and placed one on his plate. Fang’s mother chuckled too.
“Long Yu, don’t mind him—he won’t miss a single bite. Eat more, there’s plenty in the kitchen. If it’s not enough, I’ll bring out more.”

Long Yu nodded and smiled, but couldn’t help glancing again at Fang Jing Yao—trying to picture what he looked like with red and green hair.

Fang’s mother caught the look.
“What? Jing Yao didn’t show you the photos?”

Long Yu shook his head. “No.”

“Oh, then you should have him bring out the album later. There are tons—from when he was a kid all the way up. Though after college he was studying away from home, so the photos are fewer—mostly family ones at New Year’s. Last year’s wasn’t great; Jing Yao wouldn’t wear the red Tang suit, and his dad wouldn’t let him wear black and white for New Year’s, so they ended up arguing!”

Fang Jing Yao laughed helplessly.
“You still took that picture even when I refused to pose!”

“Who doesn’t take a family photo for the New Year?” his mother said, feigning annoyance.

Long Yu quietly ate while watching them. The atmosphere in Fang Jing Yao’s home felt warm and lively. At first, Fang’s mother’s enthusiasm made him a bit uncomfortable, but it was so genuine and harmless that he relaxed soon after.

He listened to their family chatter about photo mishaps and New Year traditions—mostly stories told by Fang Jing Yao. The warmth of it all felt foreign yet… comforting.

He’d never imagined sitting down to such casual family talk over a meal. But with Fang Jing Yao, somehow, he found himself wanting to.

After dinner, Fang’s mother tidied up cheerfully, cut up some fruit, and said, “You kids go have fun. Having you here for a meal is enough for me. Go on!”

At the door, she added, “Jing Yao, take good care of Long Yu, hmm?”

Fang Jing Yao walked her out and handed over the gift Long Yu had brought.
“Here, Mom—this is from Long Yu.”

She’d been too focused on Long Yu earlier to notice the gift. “Oh my—why bring something so fancy? It must be expensive. Maybe you two should keep it; you young people stay up late, you could use it yourselves.”

Long Yu looked slightly uneasy—clearly not used to social gestures like this. His brow furrowed faintly. Fang Jing Yao, knowing exactly what he was thinking, laughed and said, “Mom, don’t overthink it. Just accept it—it’s from Long Yu, a token of thought.”

Only then did Fang’s mother happily accept it—completely satisfied with her future “daughter-in-law.”

Once she left, Long Yu exhaled in relief.

Fang Jing Yao nudged him playfully, “What’s with you? You were so eloquent back in the study, but you couldn’t get a word out with my mom?”

“Words are easier than people,” Long Yu said softly. “People… are harder to read. I’m not very good at that.”

Fang Jing Yao laughed. “Then I’ll handle people—you handle contracts.”

Long Yu smiled faintly. “Deal.”

Zhuo Yifan, an expert at reading the room, immediately scooped up the yellow cat and yawned.
“I’m stuffed and sleepy. Master, I’m gonna nap a bit—I was up all night finishing pages. Probably won’t wake till four or five, so please don’t come yelling for me.”

Fang Jing Yao checked the time—still half an hour before his next task.
“Why don’t you take a nap too?” he asked Long Yu.

The doctor, who did have a habit of napping, nodded and followed him into the bedroom.

Dr. Long lay down fully dressed, eyes open, watching Fang Jing Yao. Without glasses, he squinted slightly, but his refined features were still striking.
When Fang Jing Yao moved left, he looked left; when he went right, he looked right.

Fang Jing Yao chuckled. “Why do you keep staring at me?”

Long Yu patted the space beside him. “Aren’t you going to lie down?”

Fang Jing Yao teased, “Since when did you develop a habit of needing someone to sleep beside you? You always used to sleep alone, Dr. Long.”

Long Yu smiled, tugged him close, and whispered by his ear, “Just a recent habit.”

Fang Jing Yao lay there dutifully as his nap companion. But it was Long Yu who couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Fang Jing Yao noticed and asked, a bit concerned, “Can’t sleep? Not comfortable with a different bed?”

Long Yu shook his head and said, “This is my first time in your room.”

Fang Jing Yao leaned a little closer, teasing with a grin, “So… does that make you feel a little… impulsive?”

Long Yu thought seriously for a moment and said, “I want to look at photos.”

Fang Jing Yao: “…”

Fang Jing Yao got up and brought over the photo album. There was only one album in his bedroom, with about twenty or so pictures. Long Yu flipped through them with interest. After seeing the first two, he noticed a photo of Fang Jing Yao with dyed hair. At that time, his hair was a bit longer, giving him a slightly melancholic look. Some strands hung in front of his forehead, and two sections were dyed—one red and one green.

Fang Jing Yao felt a little embarrassed and pointed to a few others with dyed hair: “That was the trend back then, first year of college. I’d just started school, knew nothing, and my roommates all dyed their hair, so I joined in for fun.”

Long Yu laughed.
“Pretty interesting.”

Fang Jing Yao continued looking at the photos with him, recalling many past memories. That dyed hair picture was quite precious—he’d never been so wild and carefree again. It was a beautiful “shamate” era, when he wanted to be like neon lights, a unique spark in the crowd.

Long Yu flipped to the next page, showing a photo from Fang Jing Yao’s childhood. The edges had yellowed slightly with age. In the picture, Fang Jing Yao looked six or seven, standing in the courtyard, holding a small rabbit in his hands, grinning with eyes crescent-shaped like the moon. Behind him was a red lacquered pillar from the neighbor’s house. It looked like his father took the photo—photography skills weren’t great, and a neighbor’s child with a book can be seen partially in the background.

Fang Jing Yao’s eyes brightened, pointing to the white rabbit.
“That was my first pet, very obedient. When you held it in your hands, it would play dead—just lie there, legs stretched out. So cute.”

He then pointed to a transparent jar in the corner of the photo, near the red wall pillar.
“See that jar? That’s my neighbor’s. In winter, they’d put apples inside…”

Long Yu couldn’t help chuckling.
“I know.”

Flipping a few more pages, a photo slipped out—an old group photo. Fang Jing Yao reached for it, but Long Yu had already picked it up and was examining it.

It was a picture of Fang Jing Yao with a boy, probably from university. Fang Jing Yao wore his basketball team uniform, hair damp with sweat, looking sunny and handsome. The boy next to him had a camera around his neck and was smiling at the camera. They had arms over each other’s shoulders, looking very close.

Long Yu held it in his hands, studying it carefully.

Fang Jing Yao rubbed the bridge of his nose, slightly embarrassed.
“That was back in school… Luo Yi wasn’t at the same university, but he took a 34-hour train just to see me. It just happened to be a game day—I was playing forward on the basketball team and we won, so we were pretty happy… and took a photo.”

Long Yu put the photo back and asked, “You’ve had this person by your side for seven or eight years, right?”

Fang Jing Yao nodded vaguely; it wasn’t something he could hide.
“Worked together for a few years, yeah.”

Long Yu didn’t respond, continuing to browse the photos, mainly looking at Fang Jing Yao’s childhood pictures.

Fang Jing Yao felt a little uneasy. He would rather Long Yu tease him, but it was clear the doctor wasn’t that type—just quietly looking, occasionally flipping pages. Fang Jing Yao cautiously watched Long Yu’s expression, then got up to get him a glass of water, moving closer in a friendly gesture.

Long Yu smiled.
“Don’t worry. I feel like I’ve known you longer.”

Fang Jing Yao looked at him, confused. Long Yu said no more, just returned to the photo of the rabbit and studied it again with evident interest.

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