Chapter 43

After fifteen minutes of rubbing, Wen Fu stopped whimpering.

Fei Bolin told him to hurry up and take a shower.

Wen Fu liked showering at home, so he zipped into the bathroom and stayed there another half hour.

When he came out, no one was in the living room. Fei Bolin had left a light on for him. Out of habit, Wen Fu put his dirty clothes into the washing machine on the balcony. Fei Bolin would sort them and wash them separately when he got up tomorrow.

When he went back to the room, Fei Bolin was sitting on the bed reading. There was no Space Heater in the house. He was leaning against the headboard with the lower half of his body under the quilt, and with the electric blanket on, he wouldn't be cold.

Hearing Wen Fu come in, he didn't even look up. He just flipped up the edge of the quilt beside him, and a few seconds later Wen Fu slipped under it.

Still reading, Fei Bolin tucked the quilt around Wen Fu. 'Did you turn off the light?'

Wen Fu rolled around under the covers, wrapping himself up tight. 'Yeah.'

'Still uncomfortable?'

Wen Fu shook his head. He was just about to say no, then paused for a second and said slowly, 'I think maybe a little.'

Fei Bolin put down his book. 'What hurts? Your stomach?'

Wen Fu nodded and craned his neck up at him hopefully. 'Maybe I'd feel a lot better if I took two more pills.'

Fei Bolin: '...'

Fei Bolin picked up his book with complete indifference. 'No more medicine.'

Wen Fu shot upright out of the covers. 'I'll go look.'

'Get back here and lie down in three seconds.'

'...'

A cat burrowed back under the covers.

After a while, Wen Fu yawned.

Hearing it, Fei Bolin put his book away and reached out to turn off the light. Then he took out his earphones, plugged them into his phone, and planned to listen to some English practice audio before sleeping.

Wen Fu adjusted into a comfortable position and drifted hazily off to sleep.

Once he was asleep, he started inching over toward Fei Bolin.

'Tch.'

Fei Bolin glanced down and pushed him back over.

He seriously couldn't understand how some people started burrowing into other people's arms the second they fell asleep, rubbing all over them without finding it uncomfortable at all.

Before long, Wen Fu edged over again.

Fei Bolin said, 'Sleep over there.'

Wen Fu's eyes stayed shut. He was obviously fast asleep, but the second Fei Bolin spoke, he still rolled over in his sleep and tumbled back where he'd been.

It was nearly one in the morning when the listening material finished playing.

Fei Bolin turned off his phone. The moment he slid back under the blanket, a fluffy head nudged right into him.

He instinctively leaned back and used two fingers to poke Wen Fu's forehead away.

...He really wanted to stick Wen Fu to the wall so he wouldn't keep drilling into him every time he slept.

By the moonlight filtering in through the window, Fei Bolin stared at Wen Fu with open disdain for a while, then suddenly noticed that Wen Fu's eyes moved a lot in his sleep.

Wen Fu's skin was very fine. Winter moonlight was pale and bluish-white, and when it came through the curtains and fell across his face, it gave him a soft, hazy glow. Fei Bolin could see his eyeballs shifting faintly under his lids. Maybe he was dreaming. Wen Fu's lips moved soundlessly, barely parting and closing, like he was murmuring dream-talk to himself.

The lip balm Fei Bolin had bought him had worked wonders. Wen Fu's lips were thin and glossy. It was hard to tell whether his skin tone set off the color of his lips or his lips set off his skin. Above that vivid, healthy red was a pair of dark, rich brows and eyes, while his face was exactly the right shade of pale.

Fei Bolin didn't realize his expression had already changed over those few short minutes. He was raising Wen Fu like a little brother, but his gaze moved over Wen Fu's brows, eyes, lips, and nose again and again like he was possessed.

He leaned in a little closer. Since he'd already taken in every detail of Wen Fu's face, he might as well feel out his breathing too.

He still hadn't realized that nobody gets interested in their own little brother's breathing.

Wen Fu's breathing was light and fine, as weak and long as a real kitten's in sleep. If you didn't listen carefully, you'd think it might stop the next second, but really he was sleeping soundly.

Fei Bolin stared at the tip of his nose, and before he knew it, his gaze drifted back to the bead of Wen Fu's upper lip.

I made this — the thought flashed through his mind out of nowhere.

Fei Bolin immediately argued back in his head: how could that be? Wen Fu already looked like this.

But everyone had two eyes and one mouth. If it weren't for him, Wen Fu's lips wouldn't be this soft.

He felt he was just being objective. Nothing else mattered here. He was only talking about Wen Fu's lips.

So this part of Wen Fu ought to belong half to him.

Just then, Wen Fu suddenly moved.

Fei Bolin froze. He was still hanging there only inches from Wen Fu's face, not realizing what was about to happen next.

The next second, Wen Fu suddenly burrowed hard into his arms, his forehead slamming right into Fei Bolin's chin with a dull thud.

'Ugh—!'

And it hit the exact spot where that scar was.

The impact knocked Fei Bolin backward. One arm caught Wen Fu as he burrowed into his chest, while the other came up to cover his own chin.

The pain brought him back to his senses.

The moment he realized what he'd just been thinking, he nearly broke out in a cold sweat — he'd actually been dividing up ownership of Wen Fu's body.

What kind of weird thought was that?

Fei Bolin rubbed the spot Wen Fu had hit and let out a sigh, thinking he had to be too tired today. That was the only reason his thoughts had gotten away from him over and over, to the point where he could stare at Wen Fu's nose and mouth and find it fascinating.

He lowered his head again and looked at the person buried against his chest.

Wen Fu was sound asleep, his hair a total mess and covering his face.

Fei Bolin's expression turned cold, and nearly out of embarrassment and anger, he thought, what's there to study about this idiot whose brain is full of nothing but food and sleep all day?

And once he latched on, you couldn't even push him off.

So annoying.

So he wrapped Wen Fu up in one hard pull, pulled the quilt over them, and went to sleep.

The next day, he went to the print shop and printed out an A4 sheet, then taped it in a conspicuous spot on the outer wall of Lin's Convenience Store. Three words were printed on it: 'Delivery Available.'

Back when Fei Bolin watched the shop alone during holidays, he only took delivery orders at night when foot traffic was light. Now that he had Wen Fu, taking them all day wouldn't be a problem.

When a delivery call came in at noon, Fei Bolin grabbed items off the shelves while reminding Wen Fu, 'I'm heading out to deliver this. Stay put and don't run around.'

Wen Fu was drinking milk, pen in his other hand as he worked on homework, and didn't even look up. 'Oh.'

Fei Bolin thought for a moment, then decided he might as well buy groceries on the way back. 'What do you want for lunch?'

Wen Fu said, 'Chocolate.'

Fei Bolin said, 'I'll give you one more chance.'

Wen Fu said, 'Lollipops.'

Fei Bolin walked out without hesitation. 'You eat whatever I make.'

That was what he said. He'd sounded almost petulant when he left, but the moment he got home, Fei Bolin made dry pot chicken for Wen Fu.

Wen Fu had overeaten the night before, so Fei Bolin had deliberately not let him eat breakfast. At lunch, Wen Fu tore into the dry pot chicken like he was starving. He got so spicy in the shop that his nose started running. With swollen lips, he kept sucking in air and shoveling food into his mouth. Fei Bolin was busy ringing people up and had barely taken two bites when another call came in asking for a delivery.

Wen Fu raised a hand. 'I'm done eating. I'll go.'

As Fei Bolin picked out the order, he asked, 'You know where it is?'

Actually, the people who called for deliveries were all familiar faces from nearby. They all knew the shop only did deliveries during long holidays, so calling in to buy something was partly a way of helping Fei Bolin's business.

Wen Fu nodded. 'Out the door, right turn, second mahjong parlor.'

Fei Bolin glanced at him and gave a soft laugh. 'Not bad.'

They'd spent so much time together that he was almost forgetting Wen Fu used to be a little thief. Skills like remembering routes were what he was best at.

As he handed the bag over, Fei Bolin still didn't forget to warn him, 'Come right back after you deliver it. Don't run around.'

Wen Fu took the bag and shot out the door in a blur.

With no one in the shop for the moment, Fei Bolin sat back down, ready to pick at some of the diced chicken Wen Fu had left behind. Only when he lowered his eyes did he notice that one section of the tray was piled high with nearly half a compartment of chicken.

Wen Fu had picked it out and left it for him.

He'd even specially left only the clean meat, not a single piece with bone.

Fei Bolin ate slowly, glancing toward the door now and then. By the time he'd finished the meal and the sun had started sliding west, Wen Fu still hadn't come back.

Fei Bolin cleared the dishes and waited a little longer, but there was still no sign of Wen Fu outside the door.

He shut the shop and went looking in the direction of the delivery.

The moment he stepped out of the Residential Complex, Fei Bolin immediately spotted where Wen Fu was.

—Not that it was hard. Wen Fu was standing right outside a tobacco-and-liquor shop on the right, hanging onto a tiled pillar and staring inside without moving.

Fei Bolin walked up behind Wen Fu and followed his line of sight, only to find that Wen Fu and the old man sprawled in a lounge chair inside were both watching a replay of season two of I Am a Singer.

Wen Fu was staring at that old television screen, utterly focused. Reflected in his pitch-black eyes was G.E.M. standing center stage and singing.

Fei Bolin leaned closer and heard Wen Fu softly humming along with the TV.

He quietly stayed with Wen Fu through the end of the performance. Right before the director announced the rankings, the show cut to commercials as expected. At that point, Wen Fu naturally turned around and took Fei Bolin's hand. 'Let's go, Bolin-ge.'

Fei Bolin looked down at the hand Wen Fu was holding. He felt a little awkward inside, but if he suddenly shook him off, that would seem like making a big deal out of nothing.

So he did his best to ignore their palms pressed together and asked as casually as he could, 'Not watching anymore?'

Wen Fu shook his head. 'The commercials take forever.'

Wen Fu held his hand tightly, walking along the road like Fei Bolin had come specifically to take him home.

A man selling candied hawthorn came walking toward them, carrying the pole over his shoulder. Several skewers of candied hawthorn and candied strawberries were stuck into the rack.

Wen Fu stared straight at him until they passed each other.

The man noticed Wen Fu and shot him a quick glance, then deliberately called out as he passed by, 'Candied hawthorn for sale—'

Fei Bolin's voice came from above him. 'Want some?'

Wen Fu nodded.

Outside elementary schools in Yunnan Province and Sichuan, the most common street vendors were the ones selling fried potatoes and candied fruit. Wen Fu had transferred schools all over the place as a child and had seen plenty of candied hawthorn vendors, but not once had he ever walked up and bought one to eat.

Back then, just getting enough to eat was already a problem. How could he possibly have had spare money for candied hawthorn?

Fei Bolin looked back at the candied hawthorn seller. Right then, the man happened to turn his head too and size them up, like he was waiting for them to decide whether to come buy something.

But Wen Fu had only just overeaten on snacks last night. If he ate this kind of random junk again today, he'd definitely feel awful tonight.

He explained the situation to Wen Fu and negotiated, 'How about this — if he's here tomorrow, I'll buy you one.'

Wen Fu looked at the candied hawthorn in the distance one more time, then turned back and nodded obediently at Fei Bolin.

Cats really were easy to talk to.

But all the way up to the night before Lunar New Year's Eve, that candied hawthorn seller never showed up again.

Every day, Wen Fu eagerly went out to make deliveries for Fei Bolin. He ran fast and moved quick, and honestly he was more useful outside earning extra money than staying in the shop handling checkout. Most importantly, every time he went out, he could use the chance to see whether the candied hawthorn seller had shown up.

Too bad that after that day, no one ever sold candied hawthorn on this street again.

As for that, Wen Fu never brought it up to Fei Bolin even once.

He'd made it to sixteen. The things he couldn't have had always far outnumbered the things he'd actually gotten. One skewer of candied hawthorn was hardly worth mentioning.

The hope he always kept and the resolve to give up at any moment had always existed side by side in him.

The day before Lunar New Year's Eve, Lin's Convenience Store closed early. Fei Bolin was going out ahead of time to buy ingredients for New Year's Eve dinner, and Wen Fu sprawled over the register counter waiting for him to come back so they could go home together.

Over this month around the New Year, the shop had its highest cash flow. After costs, the net profit came out to seventy or eighty thousand yuan — and naturally, a big part of that was thanks to Wen Fu running back and forth every day making deliveries.

Fei Bolin first transferred the last payment of the debt he owed Aunt Wu into her bank card, then headed to a cell phone store.

Back on the day Wen Fu first ran out to make a delivery and didn't come back right away, he'd already realized he probably ought to buy him a phone.

Even though Wen Fu had only stopped outside to watch TV that time, he still needed to prevent situations in the future where something unusual happened and they couldn't get in touch.

The secondhand phones at the East Street night market were hit or miss. Back then, Fei Bolin had shopped there because his family genuinely had no money, and once he bought one, he just made do with it all the way until now. Things weren't like that anymore. He could afford a good brand-new phone for Wen Fu.

Thinking, since I'm buying one anyway, I should get something that can last a couple of years so I don't have to replace it again too soon if a bad one breaks, he bought Wen Fu a fairly recent model. He'd already looked up the chip, battery, and other parts online first, then picked the one with the best value for the price. It cost three thousand yuan.

After paying, Fei Bolin inserted the SIM card he'd bought ahead of time, then called it once from his own phone and saved the contact information.

Since the store had free Wi-Fi, he downloaded some commonly used apps for Wen Fu, and while he was at it, he also downloaded every available episode of I Am a Singer.

He'd originally wanted to download it for Wen Fu on his own phone days ago, but there was no Wi-Fi at home, and his phone was too old. Not only was the storage too small, it also lagged all the time, so he'd pushed that plan back until today.

While the new phone was downloading the show, Fei Bolin left it in the store, let the clerk know, and stepped out for a bit first.

When he came back, his hands were full of groceries, and the downloads on the phone were finished too. Fei Bolin thanked the clerk and headed home with the new phone in his pocket.

He thought Wen Fu would definitely be happy when he got the new phone — not because it was a phone, but because he'd finally be able to finish watching the show he liked at home.

And things turned out exactly like he expected. The second Wen Fu got it, he couldn't put it down, and his eyes lit up bright as snow.

That reaction made Fei Bolin pretty pleased with himself. After enjoying it for a second, he still remembered to turn around, put on a stern face like an adult, and warn Wen Fu, 'Don't look at your phone while you're walking.'

The second they got home, Wen Fu flopped onto the sofa and started watching the show, while Fei Bolin ducked into the kitchen to start messing with tomorrow's ingredients.

He had plenty of time tonight, so he planned to make hand-pulled noodles for breakfast tomorrow.

All this time, Wen Fu had only ever eaten the dried noodles he cooked. He still hadn't tasted hand-rolled noodles.

Very few people in the south made hand-rolled noodles at home. Lin Yuanyi had learned it herself after trying them in the north when she was young and liking how chewy they were. Fei Bolin had eaten them often as a child. After he grew up, no one made them anymore, and he didn't have the time himself, so he rarely got to eat them.

The sauce was important. Fei Bolin worked on it for over an hour, chopping meat and vegetables and even buying spice mix to simmer in the pot himself. During that time, Wen Fu wandered over drawn by the smell and clung to the doorframe, only to get shooed away by Fei Bolin every time.

The kitchen was small, and Wen Fu didn't know how to cook anyway, so there was no point in keeping him there when he could just go play outside.

After getting chased off twice, Wen Fu gave up on going near the kitchen. Every now and then he'd sit in the living room, catch the drifting scent of the sauce, and swallow.

Then, after he'd finished the episodes cached on the phone, he suddenly caught a sweet, heavy smell.

Wen Fu quietly walked over to the kitchen and found Fei Bolin boiling rock sugar in a pot.

On the counter beside the stove sat a large basin full of washed strawberries and hawthorns, each one threaded onto a little toothpick.

With the New Year coming up, winter strawberries were expensive. The fruit shop was selling them for over thirty yuan a jin, and if you got greedy and bought the cheap ones from the roadside, there was a good chance you'd end up with sour strawberries.

Fei Bolin figured that since he'd already decided to make candied fruit for Wen Fu, there was no need to take that risk just to save a little money.

He'd gone to the fruit shop and picked out three jin of strawberries and one jin of hawthorn one by one. Every single one was red and round. He'd also picked up a bag of rock sugar and some good brown sugar, planning to make up for the promise he hadn't managed to keep a few days ago.

Wen Fu wanted candied hawthorn. Fei Bolin had promised to buy it for him. Since no one was selling it outside, then he'd make it at home.

If a regret didn't need to exist, then better not leave it there.

The syrup in the pot gradually turned boiling hot and thick. As Fei Bolin cooked the sugar, he turned his head and looked at Wen Fu peeking in from the doorway, then smiled and beckoned. 'Come in.'

Wen Fu instantly darted to the stove and stared eagerly at the sugar in the pot.

Fei Bolin picked up a strawberry from the basin and held it over the pot, then scooped up syrup with a spoon and poured it over the berry. He coated the front, turned it once to coat the back too, and before the sugar could harden, handed it to Wen Fu. 'Try it. Careful, it's hot.'

Fresh strawberries wrapped in hot sugar straight from the pot tasted best. They were several times better than candied fruit left overnight to cool and harden.

Steam was rising from the sugar on the strawberry, but once it came out of the pot it would cool fast. Wen Fu held up the toothpick, saw the sugar about to drip off the bottom of the strawberry onto the floor, and stretched out his head to pop it straight into his mouth.

The warm, rich syrup burst open with one bite, releasing cool, sweet strawberry flesh. As Wen Fu chewed, his eyes widened at the miraculous texture.

Fei Bolin fed him three in a row. After that, Wen Fu learned to hold up the strawberries himself for Fei Bolin, so all the other man had to do was pour on the sugar.

Once there were strawberries, Wen Fu had no interest in the hawthorn anymore.

One, hawthorn wasn't as sweet and juicy as strawberries. Two, after eating strawberries first, the hawthorn would only taste sour enough to set his teeth on edge.

One bite, then another. One bite, then another. Pretty soon, a pile of empty toothpicks had built up by his hand.

There wasn't enough room on the stove, so once Fei Bolin figured he'd eaten about enough, he moved the pot to the floor and took out a large plate. He laid a sheet of clear oiled paper over it, getting ready to make the rest of the fruit into candied skewers for tomorrow.

Wen Fu squatted beside the plate. Fei Bolin glazed one strawberry and set it down, and Wen Fu immediately picked it up and ate it in one bite.

Glaze one, eat one.

Glaze one, eat one.

After he'd eaten more than a dozen, Fei Bolin stopped. 'Don't eat any more. Save the rest for tomorrow.'

Mainly because they still had to eat dinner later, and if Wen Fu ate too many strawberries now, he'd feel bad again after dinner.

Wen Fu nodded. 'Oh.'

But he made no move to leave.

Fei Bolin kept glazing.

Wen Fu kept eating.

Glaze one, eat one. Glaze one, eat one.

Fei Bolin stopped again and said helplessly, 'Stop eating. Save room for dinner.'

Wen Fu nodded again. 'Oh.'

Fei Bolin kept glazing.

Wen Fu kept eating.

Glaze one, eat one. Glaze one, eat one.

Fei Bolin spent half an hour glazing strawberries. When he turned his head to look, all his work had been for nothing — the plate was still empty.

That was the last straw. He grabbed Wen Fu and hauled him outside, then ruthlessly tossed him onto the bed and shut the door behind him.

'...'

'...Hic.'

A cat lay sprawled on the bed and let out a candied-strawberry-flavored hiccup.