Chapter 17

Fu Yuhe wanted to say that it was Fu Cheng's friend, so it was enough that he liked him, but he couldn't bring himself to say something so insincere.

"Do you know him?" Fu Yuhe said. "You've only known him for a little over a month."

"You're prejudiced against him," Fu Cheng said quietly, his tone disapproving.

"See for yourself whether it's prejudice." Fu Yuhe took a stack of documents from a drawer and tossed it on the table.

Fu Cheng gave him a couple of suspicious looks before walking over and picking up the documents. To his surprise, they were about Shen Yi's past fights. Fu Cheng's grip on the papers tightened, and he looked up at his brother.

Fu Yuhe rubbed his fingertips together, feeling a bit like having a cigarette.

He hadn't wanted to show Fu Cheng these things, but Fu Cheng's excessive trust in Shen Yi had made him realize that even if he didn't stop them from seeing each other, he should let Fu Cheng see Shen Yi's true colors.

He hadn't wanted Fu Cheng to be too upset.

Who would have thought that the next moment, Fu Cheng's voice would be filled with anger? "Brother, how could you... how could you investigate my friend!?"

Fu Yuhe: "..."

For a moment, Fu Yuhe felt like the wicked mother-in-law in a melodramatic prime-time soap opera, trying to stop her son from dating his poor girlfriend, only to fail and end up bringing the two even closer together.

Even a clay figurine had a temper, and Fu Cheng, uncharacteristically, lost his temper at him.

The door slammed shut.

Shen Yi.

Fu Yuhe silently mouthed those two words.

What magic power did he have to have bewitched his younger brother like this?

His jaw worked as he recalled that highly deceptive face and that doglike, heartwarming smile.

...He did have a few tricks up his sleeve.

On Saturday, the day before Fu Yuhe's birthday, there was no school. Fu Cheng was holed up at Shen Yi's place, having brought his homework and revision books with him.

Shen Yi could tell that Fu Cheng had been in low spirits these past two days-more specifically, since the day Fu Yuhe came back. Not long after Shen Yi left that day, Fu Cheng had even messaged him, asking how he'd come up with an excuse so quickly and saying how impressive he was.

He'd been in a normal mood then.

That evening, they had actually just been discussing buying party poppers for Fu Yuhe's birthday.

Shen Yi didn't know what had happened between the brothers after he left. He tried to get Fu Cheng to talk, but got nothing out of him, which confirmed that it had something to do with him, too.

Fu Cheng sat at the desk working on a test paper, while Shen Yi curled up on the sofa nearby with a book. His long legs were bent, and his lazy posture made him look less than serious.

A little after two in the afternoon, Shen Yi got a call and ran downstairs. When he came back up, he was carrying a large delivery box.

"The party poppers are here," Shen Yi said. To keep it a secret, they had the party poppers delivered to his place. The box contained more than just the poppers; there were also some little things to liven up the atmosphere.

He sat on a cushion and opened the package, and Fu Cheng came over and sat down too, his spirits lifting a little.

The two counted the items in the package and planned for the following evening. Fu Cheng had called Fu Yuhe's assistant to ask about his brother's schedule. The assistant knew it was Fu Yuhe's birthday the next day and had promised not to tell Fu Yuhe about Fu Cheng's inquiry.

"How old is your brother turning?" Shen Yi asked.

Fu Cheng said, "Twenty-five. He's seven years older than me."

"You look more than just seven years younger than him," Shen Yi said.

"Really?" Fu Cheng cupped his face. "I look young for my age, right?"

Shen Yi laughed.

Before they finished checking everything, Shen Yi's phone rang again. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Keep looking through them. I'll take this call." Shen Yi got up and walked to one side.

He answered, and an unfamiliar voice came from the other end.

"Is this Mr. Shen?" The tone was very official.

Shen Yi said, "Who is this?"

"One moment, please." The person on the other end seemed to move the phone away, and Shen Yi faintly heard someone say "President Fu."

Then someone else took the phone.

"Shen Yi." It was a familiar, magnetic male voice.

Shen Yi glanced at Fu Cheng and walked naturally toward the balcony. "What is it?"

Fu Yuhe said, "Let's meet."

Shen Yi said, "If Brother Fu wants to see me, of course I'm free anytime. Are you coming to my place?"

He lowered his voice for the second half, his tone suggestive, as though hinting at something, like a hook that set one's heart itching.

Chapter 8: Birthday

The other end fell silent for a moment. Then Fu Yuhe said, "Wait," and hung up.

Shen Yi looked at the phone's darkened screen, which reflected the smooth line of his jaw. He murmured, "He's really coming..."

Fu Yuhe's driver had taken Shen Yi home a few times, so they arrived quickly. A little over twenty minutes later, Shen Yi received another call from him.

"Section A of the parking garage downstairs." Fu Yuhe read out a license plate number.

Shen Yi glanced at Fu Cheng's back by the desk in the room, then hung up and went over to tell him he was going downstairs to buy something.

Fu Cheng said, "Oh," without growing suspicious.

Shen Yi changed his shoes and went out. The elevator doors opened with a ding, and finding no one inside, he stepped in and pressed the button for his floor. As he watched the elevator descend, he had the strange illusion that he was sneaking out to meet a lover behind his spouse's back.

The underground parking garage was lit. Once there, he was looking for Fu Yuhe's car when Fu Yuhe called. He had already spotted Shen Yi and told him which way to go, and Shen Yi soon found the car.

The rear window of the black car rolled down. Fu Yuhe tipped up his chin, telling him to get in. Shen Yi opened the back door and climbed in; the driver wasn't there.

"Brother Fu, aren't you coming up for a visit?" Shen Yi asked politely.

Fu Yuhe knew exactly what mischief lay behind the question.

"Fu Cheng is at your place." He didn't beat around the bush.