Chapter 13: Like Feathers, Like Velvet…

The gaze was gentle yet focused, and in front of the young man, lies seemed to have nowhere to hide.

His warm palm touched her cool wrist. Sheng Sui pulled Fang Fuyi closer to his side, following the direction she had been looking, meeting the gaze of the person in question.

In the driver’s seat of the car was a boy who seemed somewhat familiar, but his name couldn’t be recalled.

Sheng Sui’s profile was sharp, his expression cold. He glanced briefly, then immediately shifted his gaze away from the boy whose name he couldn’t place.

He tilted his head slightly, but his eyes remained fixed on Fang Fuyi, as if silently asking, Why is he a male classmate? Shouldn’t you explain?

Pedestrians passed by, their laughter and chatter spilling into the air.

What should have been a calm moment suddenly became tense. Under Sheng Sui’s probing and questioning gaze, Fang Fuyi seemed to feel a bit guilty.

But she wasn’t the only one feeling guilty. The person sitting in the driver’s seat was just as stunned.

With his hand on the steering wheel, Zhou Jianqing, who had been talking to Fang Fuyi just moments ago, fell silent upon noticing the contact between the two. As his gaze passed over the young man next to Fang Fuyi, he distinctly felt the other’s scrutinizing stare and the subtle hostility in the air.

It wasn’t an illusion.

Under the dim yellow light, halos of light lingered, making the young man’s facial features appear even more defined, and his eyes seemed to darken with some depth.

It was like a lone boat returning to port. From the moment this person appeared, Zhou Jianqing could sense the change in Fang Fuyi, the subtle shift in the atmosphere. Even though it was the first time he had seen the man next to her, his instinct told him that their relationship was one of intimacy, one that neither of them seemed fully aware of.

He furrowed his brows, feeling confused. Who is this person to Fang Fuyi?

Her boyfriend?

“Ahem…” Zhou Jianqing coughed, pretending as if nothing was amiss. He had his own considerations. When it came to other people’s matters, he chose to stay out of them—it was the best course of action in social situations. “I was just giving her a ride on the way. We’re just regular classmates.”

“There’s something at home, so I’ll be going now.” He waved his hand to bid farewell. “See you.”

“Alright, goodbye. Take care on the road,” Fang Fuyi waved him off.

But Sheng Sui couldn’t help but lower his eyelashes, tightening his grip. Goodbye? Goodbye to what? What’s there to see?

The car left behind a trail of lingering exhaust fumes, merging into the street and quickly disappearing from view.

Unaware of what Sheng Sui was thinking, Fang Fuyi worried that he might start overthinking again. She reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him toward her. With a light tap on his arm, she decisively changed the subject. “What are you thinking about? Let’s go, let’s go. It’s time to head home.”

The green grass bricks beneath their feet were crushed as they walked, and in the dim light, their silhouettes slowly neared, nearly overlapping. Looking at their shadows, it seemed as if they were intimately leaning against each other.

The bag was visibly heavy, and the young man’s slender fingers were reddened by the pressure. The plastic bag containing vegetables and meat was half taken from Sheng Sui’s hand by Fang Fuyi, each of them holding one end.

“Sheng Sui? Xiao Sui? Let’s carry it together.” Her eyes were filled with laughter, sparkling like stars. Fang Fuyi called out his name repeatedly, “What vegetables did you buy? What are we going to cook tonight? I’m so hungry.”

“I bought potatoes, winter melon, chicken drumsticks…” he replied one by one, “And some river shrimp.”

“Is there anything you want to eat? You can cook whatever you want.”

“Okay.”

“…”

“I’ll tell you, the freshmen seem to be having their first day of military training today. When I went to the cafeteria for lunch, the whole place was full of freshmen in military training uniforms. There were no seats, and I couldn’t even grab a meal. I ended up ordering takeout, almost starving.”

“Want to guess what I had for lunch?”

The night wind blew, and Fang Fuyi wobbled slightly. Her voice was crisp and sweet like sugar, her hair brushing past the young man’s neck, like feathers, like velvet, like a soft kiss falling from a girl.

It was ticklish.

And slightly astringent.

“What did you eat?”

Sheng Sui’s heart tightened, his thoughts all disrupted. He couldn’t focus on anything else, as if the sound didn’t belong to him anymore.

“Seafood fried rice!” As they walked, Fang Fuyi answered before he could guess, “Next time, let’s eat together.”

Going home together, carrying things together, eating together—this series of small “together” moments seemed to pull Sheng Sui back to the past.

He thought he had already stabilized his emotions, but still, he couldn’t help but wonder, when he wasn’t around, would Fang Fuyi and that boy just now also have moments like “we agreed to go together to do this or that“?

His throat tightened, and it was hard not to focus too much on this matter.

Sheng Sui pressed his lips together, then paused. He tried to act nonchalant and carefree, pretending not to care, but eventually, he couldn’t hold back and spoke up, “You don’t need to lie to me, and you don’t need to hide anything from me. If you and that guy have some kind of relationship, there’s no need to avoid me.”

“What do you mean?”

Like an elder showing empathy, he tried to present his open-minded side, “I don’t mind you making friends, and I certainly don’t mind you dating or interfering with your life. If there’s something you’re unsure about, you can tell me. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Fang Fuyi, clearly puzzled, couldn’t help but ask. “Just what?”

Just.

Just…

His pupils trembled, and the hand holding the bag almost loosened.

“It’s nothing,” he said, but his heart was stirred up like a storm.

Sheng Sui suddenly froze, a feeling of bewilderment rising inside him. He was taken aback, as if waking up from a dream, feeling panic begin to creep in.

He asked himself, what was his place? He wasn’t her boyfriend, nor a family member with blood ties. What right or qualification did he have to inquire about these things or say such words?

The way back wasn’t far, but the second half of the journey didn’t feel as pleasant as the first. The night scene felt lonely, and the air pressure was low.

It wasn’t that he was angry with Fang Fuyi, nor was he venting his frustration on her. It was more like a sense of fear, not daring to think too deeply about why he was feeling this way. When he first brought her along, placing her in his line of sight, it was simply because he wanted her to be well, to live a better life.

It was just that, he told himself.

The key turned in the lock, and the first thing Sheng Sui did when he returned home was wash his hands and start cooking. The first thing Fang Fuyi did when she got home was take a shower.

The showerhead released hot water, enveloping her from head to toe, the warm water washing away the fatigue of the day.

Both of them had personalities that preferred to share good news but hide bad news, not wanting to worry the other and affect their mood.

This year was a bit different. After enduring those difficult and unbearable pains, Sheng Sui’s personality had become more sensitive. He no longer acted as straightforwardly as before, nor was he as sunny and open-hearted as he used to be.

A sensitive personality required more honesty, but it couldn’t overstep boundaries, fearing it might touch a scar deep inside his heart, afraid of being pushed away by a kind, gentle gesture that claimed to be for his own good.

Fang Fuyi knew that if something really happened, Sheng Sui wouldn’t mind, and he wouldn’t take out his emotions on her. But she also feared that he might hurt himself, swallowing everything down without saying a word.

He had stewed potatoes and chicken drumsticks, and the shrimp and millet pumpkin porridge were still simmering in the pot.

The pale blue flames on the gas stove flickered, and Sheng Sui, standing in the kitchen, stared at the flames in a daze.

The house wasn’t very soundproof, and just like now, he could hear the sound of water running from the bathroom next door.

He had thought the short journey and the time at home would be enough to calm his emotions, to give him time to think clearly, but as the sound of water trickled into his ears, his heart became even more unsettled.

His hands seemed restless, wiping down the stove after mopping the floor, then washing fruit after wiping the stove.

Realizing he had been wrong, Sheng Sui belatedly became aware that his attitude and tone earlier were not quite right. His thoughts were a mess as he washed the fruit, mentally figuring out how to mend the relationship. He didn’t even notice when the water in the bathroom had stopped.

Water droplets splashed onto the tiles, slowly falling down along the patterns.

She had just finished drying her half-wet hair, and the occasional sliding water drops, combined with the steam, soaked into the dry towel around her neck, leaving indelible marks on this summer night.

Fang Fuyi, sensing that Sheng Sui wasn’t in a good mood, quietly snuck up behind him, hoping to chat with him a little more, teasing him as she leaned in.

She deliberately slowed her steps, thinking he wouldn’t notice, but unfortunately, her quiet footsteps were betrayed by the scent of body wash and shampoo.

The moment her hand stretched out, her wrist was caught, and Sheng Sui accurately and firmly grasped the hand that was trying to cause trouble.

The wet sensation of water, a drop fell onto her eyelid.

“Hmm… water got in my eye,” Fang Fuyi covered half her face, pretending to be splashed by the water on Sheng Sui’s hand, but in reality, she was hoping to get closer to him as he leaned in, tossing a drop of water toward him.

—That was her intention.

But in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Because Sheng Sui quickly regained his composure, his moist hand cupped her face. Even his fingertips felt warm, and there were traces of water on her pale, delicate face. Her eyes were intense, and her expression seemed more nervous than hers.

So close.

Too close.

She could even see the tiny fine hairs on his face.

An unnatural expression appeared on her face, her cheeks flushed. Fang Fuyi’s lips moved slightly, rubbing her nose and gradually abandoning the thought of teasing Sheng Sui. “It’s fine, I’m fine, I was just joking with you.”

Even after that slightly damp hand left, the warmth of his touch lingered on her face.

The ends of her hair, not wrapped in a towel, brushed against Sheng Sui’s body. The collar of his shirt became damp, but he didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t even pay attention to the fact that Fang Fuyi had tried to splash him with water.

For a moment, it felt like something had shifted, as if the dopamine was uncontrollably blooming, and the two of them naturally moved even closer together.

Fang Fuyi leaned over. “It smells so good, what did you cook?”

Sheng Sui was only a year and seven months older than Fang Fuyi, but he had all the typical traits of older generations—thinking she was too thin, and it would be best if she had a bit more flesh on her face.

When it came to eating and cooking, his thoughts were also influenced by the older generation’s mindset: not eating enough congee would cause internal heat, and eating poorly could also cause problems.

Worried that Fang Fuyi wasn’t eating well, he always changed up his cooking when he was around, ^[1]“…he almost wanted to push the household’s Engel coefficient to the highest…”—it humorously means he’s willing to spend as much money as it takes on food, just to … Continue readingalmost wishing he could raise the household’s Engel coefficient to the highest. He felt that if she didn’t eat well in the morning and couldn’t eat well at school, and didn’t eat a proper meal at night, then her whole day would be ruined.

“I made shrimp and chicken drumsticks, and some congee,” all of which were things Fang Fuyi loved to eat.

“But you’ll have to wait, it’s not ready yet.” Sheng Sui said, seemingly deep in thought.

Suddenly, his eyes lifted, staring at her hair, still damp, and he paused for a moment, as if finding a chance to make up for his earlier attitude. “Since we have some time, let me take you to dry your hair first.”