Forever unchanging

"Do I have a boyfriend...?" Yin Sufang repeated in bewilderment, as though he were dreaming. "Director Feng, are you asking me?"

Pei Yang silently stepped in front of the target and took out an arrow. He held the bow in his left hand, his wide sleeve sliding down as he raised his arm to reveal a finely defined forearm.

Feng Wanting nodded. "I'm asking you."

Pei Yang straightened his back like a tall pine. As he slowly drew the bowstring, his shoulder blades traced elegant contours beneath his clothes. The taut string trembled slightly in the air. He narrowed one eye, his long lashes casting butterfly-wing shadows beneath it.

"I..." It took Yin Sufang a long while to answer. "Not lately... I'm, uh, between relationships."

"Good, then." Completely unaware of the approaching danger, Feng Wanting said, "Shall we add each other on WeChat?"

With a whoosh, Pei Yang released the string. The air caught in his cuffs burst free, his wide sleeves billowing like blooming peonies. As the arrow sliced through the air, the hem of his robe was still gently swaying, and the silver bells in his hair rang out with a clear, bright chime.

Yin Sufang and Feng Wanting stood facing each other when a sinister gust swept between them. The arrow Pei Yang had loosed traced a straight line through the air, streaking right past their eyes.

Startled, Yin Sufang looked toward the target straight ahead along with Feng Wanting. The arrowhead had struck the bull's-eye with perfect precision, its wooden shaft vibrating rapidly from the lingering force.

"Pei Yang!" Yin Sufang's heart nearly leaped into his throat. Although these recreational arrowheads wouldn't pierce someone's heart and kill them like in a TV drama, getting hit by one was still no laughing matter. "Are you trying to murder me or Director Feng?"

"Sorry." Pei Yang put the bow away as though nothing had happened. "My hand slipped."

Feng Wanting gave Pei Yang a meaningful look, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

Yin Sufang couldn't be bothered to argue with Pei Yang. He had more important things to do right now. He hurriedly pulled out his phone. "Um... Director Feng, weren't we going to add each other on WeChat? Should I scan yours, or will you scan mine?"

Pei Yang continued wiping down the bow and arrows, rubbing harder and moving faster with every stroke.

"Forget what I just said." Feng Wanting's words carried a pointed implication. "I'm afraid that if we add each other, Curator Pei's next arrow will hit me instead of the target."

Yin Sufang said, "Huh?"

Feng Wanting turned and walked straight away.

"Director Feng! You..." Yin Sufang chased after him, but Feng Wanting's legs were so long that he vanished in just a few strides. Passing Pei Yang, Yin Sufang yelled furiously, "Pei Yang! Stop wiping! You're rubbing the paint off!"

"Oh." Pei Yang set the bow down irritably.

"I've never seen you work this hard before! What's gotten into you today?" Yin Sufang bared his teeth. "I was so close, so close to my career taking off! This is all your fault!"

"My fault how?"

"Why were you messing around with a bow for no reason? Didn't you hear Director Feng asking for my WeChat? You scared him off with that arrow!"

Pei Yang froze for a few seconds.

He didn't understand what Feng Wanting meant. Why had he asked whether Yin Sufang had a boyfriend? Why had he asked for Yin Sufang's WeChat, and why had he taken pictures of him?

What, had he taken a fancy to Yin Sufang?

The corners of Pei Yang's mouth turned down, an almost imperceptible weariness seeping into his usual composure. A faintly visible vein along his neck betrayed the discomfort he was suppressing.

Yin Sufang was rather pleased with himself, and even his voice sounded much lighter. "My exhibition today must have moved Director Feng. Do you think he recognized my abilities and wants to invite me to Headquarters for some high-ranking position?"

"That's not very likely," Pei Yang said expressionlessly.

"Why not?"

"If he was impressed by your exhibition, why would he ask whether you had a boyfriend?" Frost seemed to cover Pei Yang's features, his eyes like a frozen lake. It was impossible to tell whether his words were sarcastic or sincere. "Think bigger. Maybe Director Feng likes you and wants to court you."

"..." Yin Sufang's eyes widened. "Seriously? No way, right? Doesn't Director Feng... doesn't he already have a kid?"

"The child's mother passed away," Pei Yang said. "Marry him, and you can be his son's stepmother."

Only then did Yin Sufang catch the sarcasm. "You've got such a nasty mouth!"

He stormed off.

The moment Yin Sufang left, the light faded from Pei Yang's eyes.

He truly understood Feng Wanting less and less.

His first impression of Feng Wanting had been of a kind man who liked to meddle and had very poor self-control.

Those impressions had come from things like... stopping his car to give Pei Yang a ride after seeing him fall in the rain, having no idea how to refuse him, getting out of the car when told to, booking a room when told to, getting ridiculously hard at the slightest casual seduction, and still lying to him about having no sex drive.

Then there was Chairman Feng, the center of everyone's attention, speaking confidently and eloquently in a tiered conference room filled with people, someone far beyond his reach.

Only now did Pei Yang suddenly realize that, before the incident at the club, he had felt a strong fondness for Feng Wanting. It had nothing to do with love; it was a yearning born of admiration.

But when he learned that Feng Wanting went to clubs and hired escorts just like other men, and even had the vulgar penchant for finding a "substitute," every fantasy he'd held about Feng Wanting shattered. That was why he had been disappointed, why he had been angry, and why he had offered that toast to "sever all affection and ties."

Today, Feng Wanting had chatted up Yin Sufang right in front of him, asking things like "Do you have a boyfriend?" and "Shall we add each other on WeChat?" Wasn't that simply lusting after someone else's looks? He had thought he was special to Feng Wanting, but in truth, anyone else would do just as well.

"Rich people's affections are fleeting. He can like you today and like someone else tomorrow."

For some reason, Boss Lan's words suddenly came back to Pei Yang at that moment.

So... the rosy lens I'd seen Feng Wanting through came from my own imagination. I can't blame him now that it's shattered.

The respect, easygoing nature, and kindness he had perceived weren't a persona Feng Wanting had deliberately constructed. His own mind had gilded Feng Wanting, casting a haze over his vision whenever he looked at him and keeping him from seeing clearly.

He ought to accept that, in this world, no affection remained unchanged forever, and no man was perfect.

Pei Yang remained in low spirits throughout the day. As the exhibition drew to a close, he received a WeChat message from Feng Chuxun.

It contained a photo and a voice message.

The photo was a sneak shot of the back of Feng Wanting's head as he drove.

Pei Yang played the voice message, Feng Chuxun's adorable face appearing in his mind. "Mommy! Daddy and I are leaving first! Xile was really, really happy today! Thank you for agreeing to be my mommy!"

Pei Yang smiled unconsciously and typed, "I hope you can be happy every day." Just as he was about to send it, he paused, realizing Feng Chuxun might not be able to read.

He hesitated. He regretted, a little, not stopping Feng Chuxun from calling him that from the very beginning.

He had told Feng Wanting he would take responsibility for the promise he'd made to Feng Chuxun today. But how could he do that? Could he do it at all?

Feng Wanting would have a new family someday. When that time came, what would he, a fake "mommy," even count as?

Pei Yang headed backstage dejectedly. Passing a structure with an openwork, traditional-style roof, he lost focus for a moment. His skirt was too long for him to see the barrier below, and he tripped straight over it.

"...!"

His body pitched forward uncontrollably, and his knees slammed hard against the unyielding tiles. As luck would have it, Yin Sufang was coming over with the other employees to wrap things up. Pei Yang gritted his teeth and was about to get up when an ominous creak of twisting wood sounded overhead. The support frame, which had held up all day, finally buckled under the weight and snapped away from the eaves.

"Pei Yang-" Yin Sufang reacted first and sprinted toward him.