Chapter 28

"Are you going to rent this place?" Fu Cheng asked, glancing at the man who was still on the phone.

Shen Yi answered with a question of his own. "What do you think? It'll be convenient to drop by in the future."

It went without saying whose place he meant. The villa compound where Fu Cheng's family lived was not far from here.

So the person Shen Yi had arranged to meet was there to show him the apartment.

"I think it's pretty good," Fu Cheng said.

"I think so too," Shen Yi said.

The wind blew in from the balcony. He reached out, and it was as though traces of the breeze lingered between his fingers. The viewing didn't take long. Shen Yi decided to rent the place, and the price was quite reasonable too.

Afterward, Fu Cheng suggested going to his house, and Shen Yi didn't object.

The Fu family villa.

Shen Yi followed Fu Cheng through the front door, familiar with the way. When he noticed that the familiar pair of house slippers was missing from the shoe rack by the entrance, he looked up and glanced inside.

...He's back.

It was one of the rare times Fu Yuhe had come home early in the past few days.

"Your brother's back," Shen Yi said casually.

Fu Cheng glanced upstairs. "He's probably in the study."

Shen Yi asked, "Should we say hello?"

Fu Cheng said, "It's fine. He's busy. Let's go to my room first."

Fu Cheng's room was full of odds and ends he had accumulated bit by bit-teenage boys were easily drawn to novel things.

Shen Yi's room had comics, game consoles, a basketball, a baseball... If his bedroom was that of a "hot-blooded youth," then Fu Cheng's probably fell into the "otaku" category.

His room contained many classic novels and single-player games. He also dabbled in Go, Chinese chess, and Ludo.

When Shen Yi came over, his favorite thing to play with was one of Fu Cheng's Lego sets. They had nearly finished building it over the past couple of days, and when he took it out, he unexpectedly spotted a curious object on a nearby shelf.

"A telescope?" He picked it up, put it to his eye, and looked out the window.

Fu Cheng lit up all over when it came to things he liked. He glanced at the telescope in Shen Yi's hand and told him how to use it. He said his brother had bought it for him on a trip out of town and given it to him as a birthday present.

"You can see the back garden from the balcony, really clearly. I have another astronomical telescope too. I like looking at the stars from there at night-do you want to take a look?" Fu Cheng said.

Shen Yi took the telescope. "This is enough to look at your back garden."

The balcony faced the back garden. Shen Yi had never been to the villa's back garden, and as he looked at it through the telescope, he realized there was more to the Fu family villa than met the eye. He looked around at random, then suddenly paused.

He lowered the telescope and saw a man sitting on a chair in the back garden's pavilion, facing his direction. He wore loungewear and house slippers, which didn't quite fit his serious air, yet somehow suited him.

"Hm?"

Even without looking closely, Shen Yi could tell it was Fu Yuhe. He wasn't in the study, so what was he doing in the back garden?

"What is it?" Fu Cheng asked when he heard him.

"Nothing. I saw someone interesting..." Shen Yi said softly.

He spoke the last word so softly that it scattered in the wind.

Shen Yi lowered the hand holding the telescope onto the balcony railing and propped his cheek on his other hand as he watched. From behind, he looked loose and slouchy.

He fished a piece of gum out of his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. He watched Fu Yuhe set a laptop on the table and type away, occasionally receiving calls on his phone.

Shen Yi blew a pink bubble and raised the telescope, his gaze sweeping over every detail of Fu Yuhe's face and body. His hair fell messily over his forehead, covering its full expanse. He seemed less unapproachable, his handsome looks a little more down-to-earth.

The neckline of his sweater was rather wide, revealing that the marks on his neck had completely disappeared. Farther down, on the hand he used to type, a bandage was stuck to his index finger-was he hurt?

The weather was a little cold today, yet Fu Yuhe wasn't wearing socks, leaving his ankles bare. His ankles were beautiful, with cool, pale skin. Up close, the traces of his veins might have been visible, and perhaps his skin was cool to the touch.

Mm, very nice to look at.

Downstairs, in the back garden...

Fu Yuhe paused as he picked up his phone and abruptly looked up. At once, he spotted Shen Yi on the balcony with the telescope.

Caught peeping, Shen Yi didn't panic in the slightest. He took down the telescope unhurriedly and raised a hand in a wave that could roughly be summed up as "hi."

Fu Yuhe paused, then looked away and ignored him.

So Shen Yi openly continued watching.

Fu Yuhe wasn't handling official business. Before long, unable to stand that intensely palpable gaze, he picked up his phone, lowered his head, and lit up the screen.

Up on the balcony at the other end, the phone in Shen Yi's coat pocket buzzed. He took it out and glanced at it, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.

[Brother Fu: What are you looking at?]

[Shen Yi: The scenery.]

[Brother Fu: ...Don't look over here.]

[Shen Yi: Why?]

One of them was upstairs and the other downstairs. They were close enough to speak to each other, yet they insisted on using their phones.

[Brother Fu: It's annoying.]

Shen Yi's gaze was too palpable, making Fu Yuhe a little self-conscious, so it was annoying.

[Shen Yi: But I want to look.]

[Shen Yi: Brother, you're the best-looking thing in the back garden.]

Fu Yuhe said, "..."

His fingertips nearly crushed the phone screen. Those words made him feel as though he were standing among a riot of colorful flowers, and he was the most dazzling bloom of all.

Fu Yuhe didn't reply again or look up, acting as though that gaze didn't exist. Before long, he closed his laptop and left with it and his phone. Shen Yi watched his departing back with regret.