Fu Yanli's gaze lingered on the phone screen for only a moment before he put it back.
The parking garage was deserted. Inside the warm, enclosed car, it was quiet enough to hear Jiang Xun's slow, even breathing.
Fu Yanli unbuckled his seat belt, braced one hand against the seat, and leaned over slightly, silently studying the young man's peaceful, docile sleeping face.
His face was small, his cheeks flushed. A few tousled strands fell across his forehead, and his thick, long lashes drooped slightly, casting shadows beneath his eyes.
Fu Yanli raised his hand and lightly touched the scar above Jiang Xun's left eye with his fingertips.
After a long while, he leaned toward Jiang Xun's left ear and murmured, almost to himself, "If you don't like him, why go out of your way to get close to him?"
His warm breath brushed Jiang Xun's ear like a lover's tender whisper.
In his sleep, Jiang Xun's head tilted and began to fall to one side. A warm, dry hand caught it in time, its fingertips brushing through his soft black hair.
Before long, Jiang Xun's faintly flushed eyelids fluttered, and he opened his eyes groggily.
The first thing he saw was Fu Yanli's face up close. They were so near that he could smell the other man's scent.
Still drunk, Jiang Xun stared at the man for two seconds before mumbling, "Ah... Uncle, what are you doing?"
His voice was soft, the words drawn out.
He looked like a puppy that would let anyone pet him, gazing at its owner with round, watery eyes that made people want to ruffle his hair.
Fu Yanli didn't. He withdrew his hand and unbuckled Jiang Xun's seat belt instead.
"We're here. Let's get out."
Jiang Xun looked down at the black overcoat draped over him and nodded sluggishly.
He returned the coat to Fu Yanli, then opened the door and climbed out on unsteady feet, following him toward the elevator.
They entered the elevator one after the other.
As the elevator rose floor by floor, Jiang Xun leaned lazily against the wall, reached into his pocket for a few leftover peanuts, and popped them into his mouth with a loud crunch.
The noise carried in the enclosed elevator, and Fu Yanli looked over at him.
"Uncle, want some?" Jiang Xun offered him the last peanut between his fingers.
When Fu Yanli kept looking at him without refusing, he brought the peanut straight to his mouth and said earnestly, "It's really good."
Fu Yanli lowered his head slightly and took the peanut into his mouth, his gaze still on Jiang Xun. His warm lips accidentally brushed Jiang Xun's fingertips.
The crisp crunch of the peanut sounded in the rising elevator.
With a ding, the elevator doors opened.
Jiang Xun had barely stepped forward when he lost his balance and toppled sideways, straight into a warm embrace. In his panic, his hands wrapped around the other man's firm waist.
"Ah... Sorry."
Jiang Xun struggled to steady himself, but Fu Yanli suddenly handed him the overcoat hanging over his arm, then bent his knees and crouched in front of him. "Get on. I'll carry you."
Holding the coat, Jiang Xun blinked blankly. "You don't have to. It's only a few steps."
Fu Yanli stayed where he was and repeated patiently, "Get on."
Jiang Xun didn't understand. His sluggish mind couldn't think straight.
He murmured an assent and obediently climbed onto Fu Yanli's back, wrapping his arms around his neck.
He wasn't heavy. Fu Yanli rose easily and headed toward the apartment with slow, steady steps.
At the door, he supported Jiang Xun with one hand and used the other to unlock the fingerprint lock, then walked straight inside without changing his shoes.
Chu Xingye was sitting on the living room sofa. After waiting in vain for Jiang Xun's reply, he irritably tossed his phone aside, grabbed the bag of chips, and tipped the crumbs at the bottom into his mouth.
At the sound from the entrance, he immediately turned to look, his mouth falling slightly open in surprise.
Fuck, was he seeing things?
Was that Jiang Xun on his uncle's back?
Chu Xingye pushed his mouth shut with his hand, shot to his feet, and hurried over.
"Uncle, what's going on? Why are you..."
Fu Yanli glanced at his nephew. "Jiang Xun's drunk."
His head resting on Fu Yanli's shoulder, Jiang Xun smiled at Chu Xingye through half-lowered eyelids and waved. "Good evening, Xingye..."
"..." The corner of Chu Xingye's mouth twitched. His thoughts were a mess, as though a gale had swept through them.
After greeting him, Jiang Xun let his unfocused gaze wander idly around the room, then suddenly fixed on the black Steinway grand piano standing as a decorative piece in the living room corner.
Fu Yanli was about to head toward the bedroom when someone lightly tapped his shoulder.
"I want to play the piano." Jiang Xun extended a well-proportioned index finger and pointed at it.
Standing beside them with his arms folded, Chu Xingye scoffed. What would this little country bumpkin know about playing the piano? Playing marbles was more his speed.
That fake younger brother of his, Jiang Zixing, was pretty good at the piano, though. Apparently, he had even won awards.
As though noticing Chu Xingye's disdain, Jiang Xun narrowed his eyes and poked his shoulder. "Don't underestimate me. I'm damn good."
Chu Xingye swatted his hand away. "Then impress me."
Fu Yanli said nothing. He simply walked toward the piano with Jiang Xun on his back.
He set Jiang Xun on the piano bench, held his shoulders to straighten him up, then lifted the keyboard cover.
"Go ahead."
Fu Yanli stood beside him, watching with the indulgence of someone watching a child play.
He assumed it was just a drunken whim and hadn't expected Jiang Xun to produce any actual tune.
Chu Xingye came over too, waiting to watch him make a fool of himself.
Jiang Xun barely lifted his eyelids. With his gaze lowered and his clean, slender fingers resting on the keys, he certainly looked the part.
He sure knew how to put on an act. Chu Xingye gave him a sidelong look.
A few seconds later, however, the mockery froze on his face, gradually giving way to astonishment and disbelief.
Jiang Xun was still just as drunk, yet his fingers danced nimbly and expertly over the dark keys. He wasn't even looking at them; he could play with his eyes closed.
Clear, flowing piano music echoed through the spacious apartment.
It was the classic Canon, recognizable even to people who knew nothing about the piano.
More astonishing still, Jiang Xun could even play it at one and a half times the speed, then twice the speed. His fingers moved so quickly over the keys that they seemed to leave afterimages.
Chu Xingye's mouth fell slightly open, and he rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Didn't Jiang Xun grow up with a poor family in the countryside? When did he learn to play the piano? And how is he this good?"
To play like that, he must have trained since childhood-unless he was a genius.
Chu Xingye turned a questioning gaze toward his uncle.
Fu Yanli didn't respond. His eyes had stayed on Jiang Xun the entire time, never shifting even slightly, holding him firmly in his gaze.
Those mysterious, mist-shrouded eyes remained calm, but beneath that calm lay an added depth that was impossible to decipher.
The young man seated at the piano, striking its black and white keys, seemed to have taken on a different air as well: refined, elegant, and lofty.
It was as though he had been born to be this way.
Before long, Jiang Xun stopped playing. With a frown, he murmured that he was tired, then slumped straight onto the piano.
Chu Xingye circled him several times, inspecting him as though he were some rare animal.
"Does getting drunk unlock special abilities or something?"
"Or did he secretly sign up for piano lessons because he couldn't stand being outdone by Jiang Zixing?"
"What do you think, Uncle?"
Fu Yanli offered no opinion. He only said, "I'll take him back to his room first."
Chu Xingye stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at his uncle carrying his fiancé away, his eyes full of bewilderment and disbelief.
This was so strange.
But he couldn't figure out what was strange about it.
Fuck, that made it even stranger.
Chu Xingye scratched his messy hair, feeling as though a whole bunch of his brain cells had died. After hesitating for a while, he followed with uncertain steps.
He leaned against the doorway and poked half his head inside to take a furtive look.
He watched his uncle lay Jiang Xun on the bed, carefully remove his shoes and coat, and tuck him beneath the covers.
Chu Xingye felt a sour pang. His uncle was being far too nice to this Jiang guy. Who knew how much scheming he'd done behind the scenes?
"Uncle, why are you so nice to him..."
Fu Yanli turned toward his nephew in the doorway, his tone neutral. "Would you like to look after him?"
Chu Xingye froze, then shook his head like a rattle drum, resistance written all over his handsome, youthful face.
"No way. He's nothing to me. Why should I look after him?"
He said awkwardly, "Uncle, I'm going back to my room."
Fu Yanli watched his nephew slip away, then leisurely rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, removed his watch and set it aside, and went into the bathroom to fetch a basin of hot water.
He wet a towel and wrung it out, then knelt with one knee on the edge of the bed and carefully wiped Jiang Xun's face and hands as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness.
"Mm..."
Jiang Xun rolled over, his faintly flushed eyelids lifting slightly, and suddenly caught the wrist reaching toward his face.
Fu Yanli's hand paused, a low syllable escaping his throat. "Hm?"
He watched Jiang Xun bring his hand to his cheek and nuzzle it gently, his alcohol-reddened lips parting. "Dad..."
Fu Yanli remained motionless in that position, letting Jiang Xun hold his hand.
Only when Jiang Xun rolled over again did he let go.
Fu Yanli tossed the towel into the basin and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the young man's soft, beautiful profile.
Silently, he reached out and lightly rubbed Jiang Xun's left ear, exposed beneath the ends of his black hair, with seemingly idle fingertips.
His nephew's young fiancé... seemed to have quite a few secrets.
Bracing his hands on either side of Jiang Xun, Fu Yanli slowly leaned down, closing the distance inch by inch. His warm breath brushed Jiang Xun's peacefully sleeping face.
The sound of his throat working seemed amplified in the quiet air.
The mist finally cleared from those still, dark eyes, revealing a trace of genuine emotion, only for him to restrain it and draw it back little by little.
After a long while, Fu Yanli curled his fingers and gently ruffled Jiang Xun's hair.