Chapter 39

After stopping by Lin's Convenience Store to say hi to Aunt Wu, the two of them went home, and Fei Bolin headed to the kitchen first to make dinner.

At noon after school, he and Wen Fu had gone to the cafeteria together. Now Wen Fu had a fixed 150 yuan topped up onto his meal card every week by Fei Bolin, the same as Fei Bolin's own living expenses. Since breakfast every day and weekend meals were eaten at home, 150 yuan was more than enough. Wen Fu could even get two meat dishes, one vegetable, and two servings of rice every meal.

When they were putting their trays away after lunch, Fei Bolin asked if Wen Fu had thought about what he wanted for dinner. Wen Fu thought for a bit, then said anything was fine.

Fei Bolin knew Wen Fu had probably barely eaten any proper meals his whole life. If Wen Fu couldn't think of anything to eat, it was because he had no frame of reference for it. Luckily, Fei Bolin had plenty of ideas for what he could make him.

There was still half a kilo of fresh shrimp at the market, so Fei Bolin bought some shelled edamame and minced pork too. Since they'd decided to keep dinner simple, he might as well make it good: spicy shrimp, edamame with minced pork, and tomato egg soup. All home-style dishes, but perfect with rice.

The second they got home, Wen Fu changed into slippers, hugged the packages, and flopped right down onto the floor. The five parcels were piled between his legs as he picked up a utility knife and focused on cutting them open.

Carrying the groceries past him, Fei Bolin lowered his eyes and smiled. 'You sit on the floor the second you get home. Not bothered it's dirty at all, huh.'

Still, he had no intention of hauling him up. Wen Fu was wearing his School Uniform pants, and they were getting washed tonight anyway. Making him get up now would kind of kill the mood.

Wen Fu kept his head down, fiddling with the pile of packages Fei Bolin had bought him, and for once actually spoke up to argue:

'It's not dirty.'

He said it slowly, in that dull tone he'd gotten used to speaking in, but there was a rare hint of lightness in it.

'Not dirty?' Fei Bolin shot him a look.

'You mopped last night.' Wen Fu didn't even look up.

The corner of Fei Bolin's mouth lifted. He had just stepped toward the kitchen when he heard the rustling behind him stop, and then a very soft little 'wow.'

He turned around and saw Wen Fu pulling the backpack out of its plastic wrapping, holding it up in front of his face. His dark eyes were shining as he inspected every part of it over and over, so serious it was like he was studying some incredible treasure.

Really, it was just a very ordinary dark navy canvas backpack. Fifty-something yuan. The style copied a backpack brand that had been popular at School the last few years. There wasn't even a label on it. Its biggest advantage was just that it was durable. When Fei Bolin had ordered this style from the same shop more than a year ago, it had only been thirty yuan. Back then he'd already learned to shop online early to save money, and he ordered a lot of daily necessities from web stores.

But the look on Wen Fu's face right then gave that fifty-yuan bag the value of five thousand.

It was basically a whole 'little kitty me has really seen the world today' expression.

The afternoon sun was just too good. By the time they'd finished opening a few packages, the sunset had already stretched in from the balcony into the living room.

Wen Fu's pile of parcels glowed golden in the evening light.

Fei Bolin stopped paying attention to him, turned into the kitchen, and started slowly prepping the ingredients.

The sounds of package-opening came and went from outside. Every time Wen Fu opened one, he'd hold it in his hands and stare at it for ages. After carefully setting it on the sofa, he'd run back and sit on the floor again to slowly open the next one. He seemed to really enjoy the whole process, so he opened every package especially slowly.

In the kitchen, Fei Bolin removed the shrimp heads, deveined them, and shelled them too. After marinating them with cooking wine, he put a wok on the heat and started the oil.

Once the oil was hot, he mixed up a sauce with oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, starch, and sugar. He tossed in chopped ginger, scallion, garlic, and a few slices of spices to fry until fragrant, then added the shrimp and bird's eye chiles and stir-fried them with the sauce for a few minutes. The smell drifted out, and out in the living room, Wen Fu suddenly twitched at the nose in the middle of opening a package, sniffed the air, and swallowed.

In less than half an hour, the two dishes and soup were done.

Fei Bolin came out carrying two filled bowls of rice. Wen Fu had one slipper on one foot and one new shoe on the other, and over his School Uniform top he was wearing the new sweater. He was crouched by the sofa, tightening screws into the legs of the desk chair.

If Fei Bolin hadn't already said pants had to be changed in the bedroom, the new jeans would probably be on him too by now.

By the time the food was on the table, Wen Fu had finished screwing on the chair legs too.

There was still one last package unopened. Wen Fu turned his head to look at the food, then at the package in front of him, then back at the food.

After wavering for a while, he chose to eat first.

Just as he reached for his bowl, Fei Bolin tapped his hand with the chopsticks he was holding. 'Go wash your hands first.'

'Oh.'

Wen Fu went off happily.

Wearing one slipper and one new shoe.

When he came back, his bowl was piled full of shrimp and edamame with minced pork. Fei Bolin had even gotten him a spoon on purpose, so he could mix all the dishes into his rice and eat it in one bite at a time. That was how Wen Fu liked it.

Because he was still thinking about that last unopened package, Wen Fu ate in a hurry.

And because the food was too good, Wen Fu hurried through three bowls of rice.

Fei Bolin knew exactly what was on his mind, so he let him be. Only when Wen Fu was shoveling rice down too fast would Fei Bolin be unable to stop himself from reminding him, 'Slow down.'

After dinner, the second Wen Fu set down his bowl and his butt left the chair, Fei Bolin shot him a look, and he sat right back down.

Little kitty me had recently learned how to read the room, apparently.

Wen Fu quickly swept his gaze around the table and finally remembered to pull out a tissue and wipe his shiny, greasy mouth clean. Then he briskly brushed the grains of rice he'd dropped around his bowl into the trash, left the dishes where they were, and after getting approval from the look on Fei Bolin's face, darted right back to the package.

By the time Fei Bolin finished cleaning up the kitchen and came out, Wen Fu was hugging the last package he'd opened, looking it over from every angle with a thoughtful expression.

It was a pig-shaped piggy bank, with the money slot on top. Wen Fu held it up and tipped his head back to peer into the dark opening.

'Boge,' he said, turning his head when he heard footsteps, 'what's this for?'

Wen Fu had thrown his School Uniform jacket aside and was wearing only the new sweater. He'd changed into a complete pair of new shoes too, though none of the tags had been cut off yet.

Fei Bolin first picked up the School Uniform jacket Wen Fu had shrugged halfway down behind his back and set it on the sofa armrest. Then he went to the cabinet for scissors and, while bending down to cut the tags off Wen Fu's sweater and shoes, said, 'For you to save money in.'

Wen Fu's eyes slowly widened. 'Me?'

Fei Bolin tossed the tags, put away the scissors, went to his room to get the wallet, and took out the full 1,230 yuan Wen Fu had handed over to him before, not a cent missing. Then he came back, crouched in front of Wen Fu, folded the bills one by one, and slipped them into the piggy bank in Wen Fu's hands. 'Other kids all have piggy banks to keep their secret stash in. You can have one too.'

Wen Fu lowered his head and stared without blinking as Fei Bolin fed the money into the slot bill by bill, his nose tip almost touching Fei Bolin's long-knuckled fingers.

Only after all the money was in did he stare at the dark slot for a long time, then look up at Fei Bolin and ask blankly, 'I can have one too?'

'Of course you can.'

Fei Bolin stood and walked toward the door. 'I've got to go watch the store. Are you staying home or coming with me?'

Without a second's hesitation, Wen Fu set the piggy bank on the floor and stuck to him like a little tail.

On weekends, Lin's Convenience Store stayed open until midnight. After Wen Fu finished the last sip of his Jule Milk, he shook the carton, made sure there wasn't a single drop left inside, then put away his homework, left his spot behind the register, and started helping Fei Bolin count the goods on the shelves.

Originally, Fei Bolin was the one in charge of that every night. Before this, Wen Fu had tried to help by mopping the floor, but he could never get it properly clean, so Fei Bolin had reassigned him to this instead.

After they finished checking inventory and turned off the lights, they locked up the narrow door of the convenience store, and one tall shadow and one small one walked home together under the late-night moon.

Their late-night snack was fried rice made from the leftover edamame and minced pork from the afternoon. Fei Bolin had deliberately drained off the oil, then refried the minced pork until the surface was crisp, mixing the white rice evenly with the sauce before stir-frying it all together. Wen Fu ate another big bowl.

When he wanted to get a second bowl, Fei Bolin stopped him. 'You can't eat too much at night. Go shower.'

Wen Fu obediently hugged his towel and pajamas and started for the bathroom, but Fei Bolin saw right through what he was thinking with one look. He immediately grabbed him by the back of the collar and hauled him back. 'Take off the sweater. And you're not bringing the jeans in either. They haven't been washed. You can't sleep in them.'

'...Oh.'

Wen Fu's attempt to muddle through had failed, and unwillingly, he took off his new clothes.

Luckily, this sweater was gray too. Fei Bolin tossed his own and Wen Fu's School Uniforms into the washing machine together with the sweater, soaked the jeans in salt water, then went to switch on the electric blanket in the bedroom. While waiting for the laundry to finish, he studied for half an hour. Then, while hanging clothes out on the balcony, he caught a black blur in the corner of his eye that shot into the living room and then shot out again.

Fei Bolin: ?

What the hell just flashed past?

Holding the laundry pole, he walked in to investigate and scanned the living room. With sharp eyes, he immediately noticed that Wen Fu's backpack, piggy bank, and new shoes were all gone.

Fei Bolin instantly got it and headed for the bedroom. Sure enough, Wen Fu was there in his pajamas, hugging the piggy bank, carrying the bag and shoes in his hands, secretly setting the new backpack by the head of the bed and placing the new shoes at the foot of it, careful and solemn.

The second he finished and looked up, Wen Fu ran straight into Fei Bolin's gaze. He blinked. 'Boge?'

Fei Bolin didn't say anything.

Wen Fu said, 'Can I sleep holding the piggy bank?'

Fei Bolin: '...'

He knew it.

'No.' Fei Bolin's face darkened as he rejected him without mercy. 'If you hold it all night, you'll get cold and end up with diarrhea.'

Wen Fu said, 'I won't.'

Fei Bolin said, 'You will.'

'I won't.'

'You will.'

'I won't.'

'...'

Fei Bolin could tell Wen Fu was absolutely set on sleeping with that piggy bank tonight, so in the end he could only sigh and warn him, 'At least don't keep it against your stomach.'

Who knew whether Wen Fu actually heard that or not. Fei Bolin blinked once, and the other boy had already dived under the blanket.

By the time he finished washing up and tidying things outside and came back into the room, Wen Fu was asleep on his stomach. There was a big lump under the blanket at his waist, obviously where he'd stashed the piggy bank.

It was like he had something he was waiting to say to Fei Bolin. The moment footsteps sounded in the room, Wen Fu wasn't even awake yet, but his ears moved first. Then he opened his eyes, found Fei Bolin through the haze of half-sleep, and fixed a fuzzy, unfocused stare on him.

As Fei Bolin took out the clothes he was going to wear the next day from the wardrobe, he asked without turning around, 'Something else?'

Wen Fu nodded against the pillow. Then, realizing Fei Bolin couldn't see him, he called softly, 'Boge.'

His voice had that slightly nasal, sleep-heavy sound of someone not fully awake.

'Mm?'

'Boge,' Wen Fu called again, scooting toward the outer edge of the bed at the same time, 'tonight... can I switch places with you to sleep?'

For the past month, the two of them had been sleeping in the same bed. Fei Bolin got up early every day, so for convenience, he always slept on the outside.

Hearing that, he stopped what he was doing and shook his head in speechless disbelief. Then he turned around, braced a hand on the bedside, leaned down close to Wen Fu's face, and finally, unable to take it anymore, gritted his teeth and reached out to pinch the soft flesh of Wen Fu's cheek. 'You're so sleepy you can barely keep your eyes open, and you still want to keep watch over that pair of shoes on the floor whenever you want?'

Wen Fu's face got pinched out of shape. His eyes had just closed again, but he forced them back open. Even as he stubbornly kept up a blank-faced front, his voice was already basically drifting into sleep-talk. 'I'm not sleepy... I can watch.'

'Heh.'

Fei Bolin let out a cold laugh.

Fei Bolin let go.

The room went quiet for two seconds.

Wen Fu fell asleep.

'Heh.'

'I'm not sleepy—'

'I can watch—'

With the sarcasm turned all the way up, Fei Bolin bent close to Wen Fu's ear and repeated those two lines in a low voice. Then he turned back to the wardrobe to get his clothes.

By the time he had put both their clothes at the foot of the bed and slowly lifted the blanket to lie down and get ready to sleep, a pair of catlike eyes opened faintly beside him. 'Boge...'

!!!

Fei Bolin: '...'

Fei Bolin sighed.

Fei Bolin switched sides of the bed.

One little cat got exactly what he wanted.

The next day, after hugging a freezing cold piggy bank all night, Wen Fu successfully came down with a cold.