64

Wen Fu had just finished his steamed rolls and was drinking milk when Fei Baolin called from the bedroom: 'Come in and put on your long underwear.'

Wen Fu dashed toward the direction of Fei Baolin's voice.

The bed was right against the bedroom door. When Wen Fu came in, Fei Baolin was still half-diving into the wardrobe looking for clothes. Wen Fu tilted sideways, sprawled out shamelessly on the bed, patted his belly, and let out a long sigh.

Eight buns, five steamed rolls, and a carton of hot milk. A bit stuffed.

Wen Fu stared at the ceiling — as clean and white as his own face — zoning out.

The floors got mopped every day, every room got a deep clean every two weeks — Fei Baolin even dusted the ceiling corners with a feather duster. An old house like this, white walls without a speck of dust, so clean you couldn't find a single spider web. Of course the ceiling was as white as Wen Fu's face.

Fei Baolin found the thickest thermal set of the winter, turned around, and caught sight of Wen Fu melted into a cat-pancake on the bed, blinking at the ceiling with nothing to do, his lashes fluttering slowly over his eyes like butterflies.

'Little butterfly,' Fei Baolin called him in a rare playful tone, 'get up and get dressed.'

Wen Fu folded his hands on his belly, lazily lifted his head a fraction to glance, then flopped back down.

Then he tucked his hands into his sleeves, squirmed left and right on the bed, and slid out from under the hem of his down jacket like a cicada shedding its shell.

Left the 'perfectly intact' down jacket shed on the bed.

Fei Baolin: '...'

Wen Fu ignored his speechless expression, lost in the brilliance of his lazy undressing method, copied the same trick to peel off the remaining sweater, then lay back down on top of the clothes with his upper half bare.

Fei Baolin couldn't stand it. He walked over, pulled Wen Fu up to sit, didn't expect him to dress himself anyway, just pulled the thermal top over Wen Fu's head and stuffed his arms through the sleeves. When he finished and looked up, Wen Fu had somehow already taken off his pants and was lifting one foot, wiggling his toes at Fei Baolin — meaning he wanted him to put the thermal pants on him.

With the audacity of someone who didn't know when to quit.

Fei Baolin's mouth twitched. He could feel black lines appearing on his forehead.

Some cats really...

Three days without a beating and they're climbing on the roof tearing off tiles.

— That's what he said, but his palm had never once actually landed on Wen Fu.

Considering it was the New Year, he didn't bother arguing with Wen Fu. He grabbed Wen Fu's ankle, stuffed the leg into the pants leg, and when he let go, faint red fingerprints were left on Wen Fu's ankle.

Fei Baolin's gaze swept over the fading marks, and he instinctively looked away. His hands putting the pants on Wen Fu grew careful without him noticing.

Considering the cold, he wasn't letting Wen Fu come downstairs to mind the shop with him today.

Lin's Convenience Store had just opened not long ago. Wen Fu's head popped in from outside the door: 'Bo-ge?'

Fei Baolin was taking inventory. He turned around — in the courtyard outside, light snow was drifting down. Wen Fu was wrapped in a scarf, his messy hair almost covering his eyebrows, only a pair of eyes and a nose poking out from the rest of him.

Fei Baolin smiled and waved him in.

Since Wen Fu had come down anyway, Fei Baolin had him stay in the shop while he went out to buy groceries.

Strawberries were abundant this year — big and sweet. The weather was just right for the candied strawberries Wen Fu had liked last year.

Rongzhou's snow never fell heavy. On Fei Baolin's shoulder you could still see the shape of each flake; once it hit the ground, it melted.

The light snow fell silently for half a day, piling up only a thin layer on the ground. Until evening, when the sky darkened, the streets finally turned a vast white. Thick snow piled on the concrete railing by the Jinsha River, and together with the little hanging lights on the branches, reflected on the dark surface of the water. In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve.

At noon the shop closed. Fei Baolin let Wen Fu raid Lin's Convenience Store, load up on his favorite snacks and milk, and head home first. Fei Baolin himself needed to go pick something up outside.

With food in his sights, Wen Fu naturally didn't bother clinging to Fei Baolin. He got home, washed his hands first like he was told, then started on the snacks — and heard Fei Baolin talking to someone in the stairwell, two sets of footsteps, one light and one heavy, coming up to the house.

He poked his head out and saw Fei Baolin coming in with a TV installer.

Wen Fu froze in place, eyes wide, watching the two of them carry the TV in and set it on the TV stand that had been empty all this time — there used to be a TV, but after Lin Yuanyi got sick, Fei Baolin sold whatever he could, and the stand had sat empty, holding only odds and ends.

Wen Fu wasn't observant enough to notice that over the past few days, a space on the TV stand had been quietly cleared out.

Not until the set-top box was installed and the channels tuned, Fei Baolin thanked the installer and saw him out, then turned back to Wen Fu: 'We can watch the Spring Festival Gala this year.' Only then did Wen Fu seem to snap out of it, jumping up with a cheer and throwing himself into Fei Baolin's arms.

Fei Baolin wasn't prepared. Wen Fu's arms wrapped tight around his back, and in this unguarded moment, the heartbeat in his chest almost resonated with Wen Fu's.

His mouth and body went rigid for a beat. Then he gathered himself, hesitantly, tentatively, hugged Wen Fu back — but only for a moment, then let go like someone afraid of being caught doing something wrong.

This embrace felt different from the countless nights they'd slept tangled together — not open enough, not something he could take for granted.

In the afternoon, Fei Baolin came home with groceries, stood in the kitchen facing a counter full of ingredients, was about to start prepping from scratch — and his pocket phone suddenly rang.

He pulled it out. It was Xu Wei.

Fei Baolin stared at the screen for a moment, then tapped answer: 'Hello.'

'Hey, Fei Qi... no, Baolin.' Xu Wei's voice was eager, the background loud with heavy drumbeats. 'You free?'

'Busy.'

'Busy? Busy with what?' Xu Wei said, full of himself. 'It's just you at home, right? What could you possibly be busy with on New Year's?'

Fei Baolin's brow creased.

While those words were being exchanged, Wen Fu in the living room heard the kitchen conversation and crept over silently to peek at Fei Baolin from the doorway.

The moment he appeared, the irritation in Fei Baolin's chest eased a little. He reached toward Wen Fu, and Wen Fu slipped in to press close beside him.

Fei Baolin rested his hand on top of Wen Fu's head and told the phone: 'I need to cook.'

He had no intention of telling anyone about his relationship with Wen Fu or that they lived together — one, it was complicated and unnecessary; two, he didn't have that much patience for Xu Wei.

Wen Fu didn't know what was happening or who was on the other end. He just stood quietly in front of Fei Baolin, silently listening to the call.

Xu Wei seemed to chuckle lightly, then — realizing Fei Baolin could hear — covered it with a cough and said, properly: 'It's New Year's Eve, you're not comfortable alone at home. I'm in Rongzhou for the holiday too, we're family, come out, I'll treat you to dinner. What's the point of sitting alone in an empty house...'

Fei Baolin had no patience to waste words on him: 'No need. I've got things to do.'

'What could you possibly have to do?' Xu Wei seemed to have been drinking, and within a few sentences his real nature came out, his tone growing ruder. 'Are you the president or a boss? My maid even has the day off today, she makes twenty thousand a month — can you? I offer to treat you and you won't go, some student reading a few books every day really thinks he's some big shot?'

Xu Wei's words were far from polite, but Fei Baolin's expression barely shifted. Like dealing with a yapping dog, he had no intention of engaging — he moved to hang up.

Xu Wei on the other end didn't hear a peep, must have sensed what Fei Baolin was about to do, and quickly came to: 'No... Baolin, Baolin! That's not what I meant!'

Fei Baolin's fingertip was already hovering over the end-call button.

Xu Wei's next words: 'I have something about your mom to tell you!'

The instant his fingertip touched the screen, Fei Baolin froze.

Xu Wei's heart was in his throat, didn't hear the call disconnect, quickly added: 'I... had a little to drink, can't get to the point. I called you out tonight because I figured you're alone at home, and I could tell you about your mom — you've been wondering about her, haven't you?'

Fei Baolin looked up at Wen Fu.

Wen Fu looked back at him.

Both of them in the kitchen had heard the call. If Fei Baolin went out now, he wouldn't be back for a while — meaning Wen Fu would spend this New Year's Eve alone at home, hungry, waiting for him.

But Xu Wei had mentioned Lin Yuanyi — the person they both cared about most in this world besides each other. No question.

Wen Fu's head nuzzled against Fei Baolin's palm. He nodded at him.

Fei Baolin raised the phone again, asked quietly: 'When?'

Xu Wei said: 'Now. I've got a private room at Yuntop waiting for you.'

Fei Baolin said: 'Room name.'

Xu Wei: 'Mirror Flower Water Moon, three sixes.'

Fei Baolin hung up. First he cooked Wen Fu a bowl of noodles at home, then started another burner to melt rock sugar, washed strawberries and drenched them in syrup on a plate — made sure Wen Fu wouldn't go hungry at home before he headed out.

Yuntop was a KTV that had popped up in Rongzhou in the last couple of years — at least that's what they advertised. Taxis were expensive around the holiday, so Fei Baolin took a half-hour bus. He arrived at Yuntop's entrance at ten p.m., showed his ID to the greeter, and was led to Xu Wei's room.

Xu Wei wasn't alone in the room.

Two other guys were with him, about Fei Baolin's age, dressed in a style similar to Xu Wei's — designer brands covered in big logos.

If Fei Baolin remembered right, these were the same two who'd been sitting next to Xu Wei at the internet cafe that day.

The two-tier glass table was covered in countless bottles of Beer and glasses. Xu Wei and another man each had a glamorous, fashionably dressed woman on either side — the way they clung to them didn't look like normal opposite-sex friends.

At a place like Yuntop, whether male or female, pouring drinks as company was a very common job.

The door opened, and the room's crowd naturally looked over.

The noisy chatter paused for a beat. The room's lights flickered. Xu Wei waved Fei Baolin over through the deafening music: 'Fei Qi, here!'

Fei Baolin sat on the short sofa on the other side, next to them.

Coming in right behind Fei Baolin were two boys, who seemed far more familiar with the place than he was — the moment they entered, they drifted toward another man in the room, probably also there to pour drinks.

'Let me introduce you — this is my friend, Zou Qi.' After introducing the man with his arm around a woman, Xu Wei moved on to the one with his arm around a man: 'Meng Yu.'

Fei Baolin gave them a polite nod — that was the greeting.

Xu Wei shot Zou Qi a look. Zou Qi got up to pour Fei Baolin a drink, and at the same time nudged the woman beside him.

The woman in the bodycon skirt quickly got up and sat down next to Fei Baolin. Out of professional habit, she tried leaning toward him. Fei Baolin shifted aside without a word, putting distance between them.

Xu Wei noticed, turned to Meng Yu with a smile: 'He doesn't like that one.'

Meng Yu got the message, patted the boy beside him, who took the hint and got up to go over.

The boy's backside had barely left the sofa when Fei Baolin told him: 'Don't come over.'

The boy froze in front of the sofa.

Fei Baolin added: 'Sit back down.'

Somehow, the guy's butt found its way back to the seat.

Xu Wei's face couldn't quite hold it together now.

Pour him a drink and he won't drink it, send someone over and he won't take them — won't even let them touch him, pure disrespect, plainly telling him: if you've got something to say, say it, no time to play.

'You're clearly not treating me as a friend, Fei Qi.' Xu Wei's smile didn't reach his eyes. A deck of cards in his hand spread and folded like magic. 'Or you don't trust their taste? They're the ones who picked them.'

Zou Qi chimed in: 'Brother, just talking is so dry.'

Fei Baolin said nothing, reached out and took a sip from his glass.

'That's more like it.' Xu Wei's grin stretched wide. He leaned back into the sofa, called for a cigarette, sized Fei Baolin up from head to toe, cursed him internally as a cheap bastard, but asked with a smile: 'What are you busy with at home all alone?'