Chapter 8
The cinema was crowded with couples on the weekend. Most came for dates, dressed neatly to leave a good impression. The girls were fine, but some straight guys’ fashion sense made people pause. Suddenly, two tall, well-dressed men appeared, catching everyone’s attention immediately.
Fang Jing Yao didn’t know what type of movie Long Yu liked, so he hadn’t bought tickets in advance. While queuing, he asked, “Do you have a preference?”
Long Yu mentioned one, but the speaker made it hard to hear, so Fang Jing Yao leaned closer and spoke softly to him.
Fang Jing Yao stood 1.8 meters tall, with a sunny, handsome face. His hair, casually tousled, framed his smiling eyes, making hearts flutter. Long Yu, quiet by nature, listened intently whenever Fang Jing Yao spoke, occasionally contributing a short, deep, magnetic voice. Slim and elegant, he looked every bit the handsome man.
Both men were striking. One gave off the elite, refined, rational vibe; the other appeared carefree, easygoing, a smile that could make anyone want to follow him anywhere.
While queuing for tickets, people couldn’t help noticing them. Several girls with boyfriends stole glances. Especially when Fang Jing Yao smiled at Long Yu, they exchanged knowing smiles. Some even tried sneaking photos, annoying their boyfriends: “Why do you take pictures of them? You’ve never photographed me…”
One girl carefully captured the backs of the two handsome men in her shot, added a filter, and gushed, “You don’t get it.”
The two male “heartthrobs” soon reached the front of the line. They selected a recently released war film.
The ticket girl asked, “Which row would you like?”
Fang Jing Yao saw it was a bit of a niche movie; few people had chosen seats. The theater only had about ten people, mostly in the front. After five or six empty rows, only two people sat in a corner of the last row.
Secretly, Fang Jing Yao picked the seats next to them. “Let’s see what those two are hiding in the corner.”
The ticket girl: “……”
Long Yu: “……”
He hadn’t seen such shamelessness in a long time.
The ticket girl handed over the tickets anyway. Fang Jing Yao grabbed a bucket of popcorn, and they went in together.
The movie started.
The last row had four people, all squeezed into the corner: one gay couple, one heterosexual couple.
The latter couple probably hadn’t realized two strangers were sitting nearby. Halfway through, they moved forward to join the main group, leaving the corner. They couldn’t even hold hands or kiss without feeling awkward.
Only Fang Jing Yao and Long Yu remained in the corner.
Fang Jing Yao’s mind wandered—he even felt like finishing what the previous couple hadn’t dared.
He brushed Long Yu’s hand. Long Yu tilted his head and whispered, “Browning M1917…”
Fang Jing Yao: “Hmm?”
“Designer Browning and Winchester’s engineers developed the 12.7mm heavy machine gun based on the M1917. It has strong powder force, stable trajectory, and a range of 7.4 km—mainly to counter German soldiers in WWI,” Long Yu whispered in his ear.
Fang Jing Yao: “…Ah?”
“So the movie is set in WWI.” Long Yu adjusted his glasses and said quietly, “You didn’t study history properly, did you? Mr. Liang was your high school homeroom teacher, right? If he knew, he wouldn’t be happy.”
Fang Jing Yao was surprised. “How did you know Mr. Liang was our homeroom teacher? Did my mom tell you?”
Long Yu just said softly, “He taught high school history that year too.”
Fang Jing Yao said “Oh,” a bit embarrassed. “I don’t know why, but when Mr. Liang talks, I always get sleepy—more effective than any hypnosis. Once, he caught me playing cards with classmates during break. He was furious, called my parents. I didn’t want to involve my mom, so I got my uncle to come. My uncle was in college at the time and spoiled me a lot. He told Mr. Liang, ‘He’s organizing all these people playing cards during break—that shows exceptional organizational skills.’ Mr. Liang got even angrier and called my grandfather to school. He scolded me, my uncle, and my mom right there.”
Fang Jing Yao, worried Long Yu wouldn’t understand, added, “Oh, by the way, my grandfather was the principal of the city high school…”
Long Yu chuckled softly. “I know.”
Whether he meant the legendary card-playing incident or his grandfather, Fang Jing Yao wasn’t sure.
Once the conversation started, it flowed easily. Fang Jing Yao’s playful mind kept them chatting quietly during the movie, even recalling high school stories. He noticed Long Yu became particularly attentive when he mentioned his high school experiences.
By the end of the film, Fang Jing Yao had made Long Yu laugh several times, and they felt much closer.
Afterward, Long Yu suggested eating together. Fang Jing Yao didn’t miss the chance and immediately agreed. As they exited the revolving door, Fang Jing Yao suddenly noticed a familiar figure from afar—hair dyed gray-white, a very unusual style. He couldn’t help but stare.
Long Yu asked, “What do you want to eat? There’s a good Japanese place nearby—want to try it?”
Fang Jing Yao, still staring at the person, said, “Let’s skip Japanese food. Aren’t you allergic to shrimp? Be careful with sashimi…”
As he spoke, the gray-white-haired boy strode toward Fang Jing Yao. Fang Jing Yao recognized him, eyes wide. “You’re here?!”
As he spoke, Long Yu stopped too, frowning.
The boy looked barely in his twenties, with messy gray-white hair. He pulled down his black metal-zipper mask, revealing a handsome Japanese-style face, yet his demeanor was bold. Before Fang Jing Yao could say more, the boy collided straight into his arms.
“I’ve been looking for you forever! I couldn’t reach you by phone, and I was scared something happened! I was so worried I came looking for you… I planned to stay nearby tonight and find you tomorrow, but I ran into you today!”
He cried bitterly, climbing onto Fang Jing Yao, wrapping his arms around his neck, legs tangling with Fang Jing Yao’s. Though slightly shorter than Fang Jing Yao, at about 1.7 meters, he wasn’t tiny. His display drew many glances from onlookers.
Fang Jing Yao cursed, “Wocao!” as he pushed the boy off, grabbing Long Yu’s arm at the same time, stammering nervously, “Listen to me! I have nothing to do with him! Long Yu, don’t go…!”
Dr. Long didn’t move. The boy clinging to Fang Jing Yao heard this and cried even harder, like a monkey climbing on him. Every time Fang Jing Yao tried to push him down, he climbed back up even more, almost getting on Fang Jing Yao’s shoulders.
“I knew you were angry with me! I was wrong! I apologize… If you don’t want me to, I’ll never do this again, boohoo! I deleted my Weibo, you can tell me to do anything—just don’t reject me, boohoo!”
“You little brat, get down here first!” Fang Jing Yao couldn’t help yelling at him.
Long Yu just looked on coldly, not moving a step.
People around had started to look at them differently. “Cheating, huh?!” In this day and age, not only were heterosexual relationships unstable, but even male-male dynamics weren’t exactly peaceful. Clearly, these three had a story. Curious onlookers began pointing and whispering. Fang Jing Yao glanced at Long Yu and saw his expression—he knew there would be no more private moments for the day. With a deep breath, Fang Jing Yao firmly held onto one and said, “Let’s go. We’ll find a place to sit and talk this through. Today, we need to clear everything up.”
The boy stopped clinging to him but still tried to hold Fang Jing Yao’s finger while walking. Fang Jing Yao gave him a nudge with his butt to deter him, and finally, he sulked obediently. Fang Jing Yao didn’t stick to him at all, but leaned closer to Dr. Long instead.
The three of them ended up at a nearby Sichuan restaurant.
Bowls of spicy red fish were served. Across from him, the boy had red, puffy eyes from crying, while Dr. Long sat with a cold expression. Fang Jing Yao felt like his heart had been crushed.
He introduced the boy to Long Yu. “Zhuo Yifan, my apprentice.”
Then he looked at the tearful boy across the table and said coldly, “Long Yu, this is my partner. Just call him Dr. Long. Now, tell me—what brings you here?”
Zhuo Yifan immediately became respectful, handing Long Yu a business card. “Dr. Long, hello. I’m Zhuo Yifan. From now on, we’re family.”
Fang Jing Yao raised an eyebrow and, without being polite, said bluntly, “Get lost. Who said we’re family!”
Long Yu glanced at the card, which had a few gilded words: Zhuo Xiaohei Studio.
