Chapter 28

Fei Bolin shut the door and couldn't be bothered explaining. 'You don't need to leave anymore.'

He tossed the plastic bag with the towel, toothbrush, and rinse cup onto the table. On his way to the kitchen, he looked back and asked, 'You haven't eaten?'

Wen Fu didn't get what he meant by that, so all he could do was stare at him.

The answer was obvious.

Fei Bolin didn't ask anything else. He opened the fridge, took out another egg, and dropped it into a pot. Then he went to the cutting board to finish picking the greens clean. Once the water boiled, he threw in the noodles, then turned around to mix the seasonings.

While he was mixing them, he took out the chilled meat topping. It was made from streaky pork belly, half fat and half lean. After mincing the meat and frying it in the wok, you could render out the oil, then keep the lightly crisped bits with salt and chopped preserved greens as a topping. One batch was enough to last Fei Bolin half a month.

Like always when he made noodles, he scooped one spoonful into the bowl first. Then he put the topping back in the fridge, returned to the stove, thought about it, ran back again, took it out, and added two more spoonfuls.

In the end there was so much topping the bowl was almost too full to hold the noodles.

Fei Bolin stuck the chopsticks into the bowl at an angle, held the bowl in one hand and the egg in the other, and walked back to the living room. Wen Fu was still sitting where he'd been before, not moving at all.

'Come eat.'

Only after Fei Bolin called him did Wen Fu pick up his stool and move over.

The meat topping covered the whole bottom of the bowl, and the noodles smelled amazing. Wen Fu swallowed before he even got close.

He watched Fei Bolin's expression, cautiously took hold of the chopsticks, and stirred around the bottom of the bowl first. When he saw the layer of meat topping spread all over it, he looked up at Fei Bolin again. In his swollen eye, there seemed to be something he wanted to say but didn't.

'What?' Fei Bolin asked.

Wen Fu went quiet for a moment. '...This is all for me?'

Fei Bolin was so speechless he almost laughed. 'What else would it be?'

It wasn't like things were so bad at home that two people had to share one bowl of noodles.

The second the words left his mouth, Wen Fu dropped his head and started eating.

The noodles had just come out, so of course they were scalding. Watching Wen Fu wolf them down without even bothering to blow on them, Fei Bolin finally couldn't help saying, 'Slow down.'

As he spoke, he lifted the egg and moved to press it to Wen Fu's forehead.

Who would've thought that the instant his hand went up, before it even got near Wen Fu's face, Wen Fu would spring to his feet, clutch his head, and dart aside. The chopsticks hit the floor with a clatter.

Turned sideways, Wen Fu kept shielding his head the whole time. He stumbled back into the wall, and in the scramble knocked over the plastic stool under him.

Fei Bolin stood there awkwardly holding the egg. 'What are you dodging for?'

A few seconds later, Wen Fu cautiously lowered the arm covering his head halfway.

Then he saw what was in Fei Bolin's hand. Looking awkward himself now, he slowly put his hand down, wiped under his nose, and brushed away blood that wasn't there.

He looked at Fei Bolin, then at the noodles, and stood there in silence like he was being punished. He seemed a little at a loss, wanting to go back and keep eating, but wary that Fei Bolin wouldn't let him.

Fei Bolin's frustration tonight had already hit its limit. He just shook his head, wiped the splattered oil off the floor with a tissue, and picked up the scattered chopsticks. 'I'll get you a new pair.'

This time Wen Fu knew better. When Fei Bolin came back, he saw him already seated properly, waiting eagerly for the new chopsticks.

Handing them over, Fei Bolin reminded him a second time, 'Slow down.'

Maybe because he'd just messed up and couldn't help feeling guilty, Wen Fu obediently slowed down this time and started eating the noodles in small bites.

Seeing that, Fei Bolin suddenly felt that kids really were pretty easy to handle.

Wen Fu's good behavior lasted all of three bites. Starting with the fourth, he went right back to baring his teeth and shoveling the noodles down.

Fei Bolin: ...

He sighed, and before lifting the egg again, gave him a warning first. 'I'm using the egg to roll your bruise. It's to bring down the swelling. Don't dodge.'

Wen Fu just kept slurping down noodles.

Fei Bolin asked, 'Did you hear me?'

Wen Fu didn't answer. Fei Bolin was sure he'd heard, so he tapped the table. 'When someone asks you something, you answer.'

Wen Fu stopped eating and stared blankly for a second at Fei Bolin's fingers tapping the table. Then he tipped his chin up. There was still oily broth at the corner of his mouth. He nodded once and said softly but seriously, 'I heard you.'

Fei Bolin confirmed it again: the person in front of him was rough around the edges, but easy enough to manage.

He cupped the back of Wen Fu's head. It was obvious Wen Fu's first instinct was still to dodge to the side, but the movement was tiny. In the blink of an eye, Wen Fu shifted his head right into Fei Bolin's palm.

When the egg touched Wen Fu's forehead, Fei Bolin said, 'It'll be a little hot.'

Wen Fu thought about it and decided this wasn't a question aimed at him, so he didn't say anything.

He stayed completely quiet through the whole thing, not making a single sound. The longer Fei Bolin rolled the egg, the more he started to doubt whether it was doing anything at all.

Only after the egg in his hand had cooled did Fei Bolin ask Wen Fu, 'Does it hurt?'

Wen Fu said, 'Yeah.'

Fei Bolin's eye twitched. 'If it hurt, why didn't you say anything?'

Wen Fu didn't understand. To him, whether it hurt and whether he made noise were two different things. 'If I said it, would it stop hurting?'

Back when he got beaten, no matter how much he cried out, no one ever stopped. After a while, Wen Fu just stopped making noise.

Pain was the kind of thing that went away on its own when the time came.

Fei Bolin went silent for a moment. He weighed the egg in his hand. It had gone cold, but throwing it out felt like a waste, so he sat down beside him and peeled it while he ate.

Halfway through, he still couldn't get past that line of thinking. He felt like Wen Fu's question couldn't just be brushed aside, but if he said too much, Wen Fu probably wouldn't understand. More likely, he'd zone out after two sentences. In the end, Fei Bolin only said quietly, 'Next time it hurts, say so. I'll be gentler.'

He didn't hear any response. When he looked up, Wen Fu had his face buried in the bowl, working hard to lick up the very last bits of minced meat.

The egg in his mouth instantly lost all flavor.

He shoved down the last bite of egg, hauled Wen Fu up, and dumped him in the bathroom. Then he tossed over the toiletries from the table. 'Toothbrush, towel, bar soap, bath soap, it's all in there. The hot water is on the right. Try not to get your wounds wet when you shower.'

Fei Bolin didn't really like sharing personal stuff with other people, so he'd gotten Wen Fu new bars of soap for both.

After giving every instruction he could think of, he figured he hadn't missed anything. Then he went back to look at the bowl. Wen Fu had even drunk the soup clean. The whole bowl had been licked spotless.

After a long while there was still no sound from the bathroom, so he went over again and found Wen Fu standing under the heater lamp, head tipped back, staring blankly at the two bright bulbs. The plastic bag was clutched in his arms, and he wasn't moving at all.

'What now?' Fei Bolin asked.

Wen Fu shook his head and shut the door. Not long after, the sound of running water came from inside.

By Wen Fu's usual habits, no matter where he was, he'd always shower fast to save on the water bill. But today, at Fei Bolin's place, the heater above him was warm, and the hot water was warm too. He dawdled in there for a long time. Who knew when he'd get to have conditions like this again.

Nearly an hour passed. Fei Bolin washed the dishes, wiped down the table again, and waited and waited in the living room. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and knocked on the bathroom door.

He was starting to suspect Wen Fu had passed out in there.

The second he knocked, the sound of water inside stopped at once.

Before Fei Bolin could even speak, the door opened from inside. Wen Fu stuck out a dripping wet head, his black-and-white eyes wide, silently looking at him like he was waiting to be dealt with.

Fei Bolin softened his tone and asked as calmly as he could, 'Are you done?'

Wen Fu nodded, water dripping from his hair all over the floor.

'Then hurry up and come out. I still need to wash.'

Five minutes later, after mopping up the floor outside the bathroom door with a rag, Fei Bolin was standing on the balcony when he turned and ran straight into Wen Fu coming out of the bathroom.

That wasn't the main problem. The main problem was that Wen Fu wasn't wearing any clothes.

He was stark naked, clutching a heap of dripping wet clothes in his arms, bare all over, his shoulder blades jutting sharply from his back. In a pair of sandals, he looked left and right, obviously trying to figure out where Fei Bolin had gone.

For that one instant, Fei Bolin's eyes practically split open. He rushed in from the balcony, yanked the curtains shut, then without another word shoved Wen Fu back into the bathroom and switched on all four heater lamps. 'Why aren't you wearing clothes?!'

There wasn't the slightest hint of anything strange on Wen Fu's face. He'd just had the most satisfying shower of his life. Even his scalp still tingled pleasantly. With the newly switched-on heater warming his back even more, he almost wanted to squint and stretch. He didn't catch the shock in Fei Bolin's voice at all, or that trace of reproach.

Like he'd just finished a spa treatment, he said slowly, 'I washed them.'

Only then did Fei Bolin remember he hadn't prepared any clean pajamas for Wen Fu to change into.

'Wait here.'

He shut the bathroom door so the cold air outside wouldn't hit Wen Fu, then ran to his room and dug out a set of thermal underwear from two years ago and a new pair of briefs from the closet. He'd never gotten around to wearing them. Fei Bolin had grown fast, and every year or two his close-fitting clothes stopped fitting him. For Wen Fu, though, they were just right.

When he got back to the bathroom, he first took the wet shirt and pants from Wen Fu's hands, thick with the smell of soap, then shoved the clean clothes at him. 'Change first, then come out.'

With that, he turned and headed for the balcony carrying the clothes.

The washing machine was on the balcony. Wen Fu's clothes smelled so strongly of soap that there was no question he'd washed them by hand in the shower.

At first Fei Bolin only meant to hang them up for him. But the moment he got outside and spread them open, he saw that every size of crease and fold in the clothes was still full of unrinsed soap suds.

...No wonder the clothes Wen Fu used to wear were always so stiff.

The vein at Fei Bolin's temple started throbbing.

He decided to pretend he hadn't seen it and just hang them up like that.

It wasn't like he was the one wearing them anyway.

Two minutes later, Fei Bolin had hung up Wen Fu's clothes and pants, put down the drying pole, and headed for the living room.

He took one step, then looked back.

...Forget it, forget it. It's not like I'm the one wearing them.

He took another step, then looked back again.

...Not my problem. I'm not the one wearing them.

On the third step, Fei Bolin clenched his fists and stopped outside the living room.

Aaaargh—

He turned back in total collapse, took down every single thing he'd just hung up, tossed Wen Fu's jacket and pants into the washing machine, poured in detergent, started the cycle, and then looked at the briefs and socks.

Fei Bolin despaired.

Fei Bolin washed the briefs.

Fei Bolin scrubbed the socks.