Chapter 33

Dawn was only just breaking, and a thin mist hung in the air.

Shen Yi came out of the bathroom in a T-shirt, a towel draped over his head, and went to Fu Yuhe's room.

"Put on a jacket." Fu Yuhe tossed him a fleece-lined athletic jacket.

"I'll put it on in a bit." Shen Yi rubbed his hair with the towel a couple of times, then paused and went to get the hair dryer. As he passed Fu Yuhe with the jacket in hand, he stopped.

He turned sideways and leaned his upper body toward Fu Yuhe.

Fu Yuhe drew back. "What are you doing?"

Shen Yi sniffed lightly. "Did you smoke?"

"Can you smell it?" Fu Yuhe asked calmly.

Shen Yi said, "A little."

Fu Yuhe said, "You've got a dog's nose."

He turned sideways and stepped aside to let Shen Yi get the hair dryer. Shen Yi gave his hair only a quick blast, leaving it half-dry, and paid no attention to its messy ends.

As Shen Yi was leaving, Fu Yuhe reminded him again: "Your jacket." Only then did Shen Yi turn back and put it on.

It fit him perfectly.

The jacket wasn't Fu Yuhe's style, and he had only worn it once. Unexpectedly, it looked good on Shen Yi and suited him well. Shen Yi had a distinctly youthful air, a clean, refreshing quality unique to someone his age.

"I'll take you back," Fu Yuhe said, getting to his feet.

At this point, the best way to keep Fu Cheng from noticing anything amiss was for Shen Yi to disappear from here. Then there would be nothing to worry about.

"Oh." Shen Yi opened the door.

Outside, Fu Cheng was passing by with a tray, on his way back to his room to eat a sandwich. He blinked as their eyes met.

Silence.

Fu Yuhe didn't see what was happening at the door. He casually put on a jacket and walked over.

Then the three of them stood at the door, looking from one to another.

The atmosphere was a little awkward, and the air seemed to have frozen.

With a sharp clatter, the little fork Fu Cheng had been holding between his teeth fell onto his tray. He looked at Shen Yi in confusion and asked, "Why are you in my brother's room?"

Fu Yuhe said, "He... got lost."

Fu Cheng's eyes widened. He looked at Shen Yi, then at Fu Yuhe.

Why does the atmosphere seem a little off?

Shen Yi nearly laughed out loud.

Was the brothers' inability to lie hereditary?

"I came to borrow a hair dryer." Shen Yi pointed inside. "I just took a shower, and my clothes got dirty. You weren't awake, so I borrowed some clothes from your brother while I was at it."

For some reason, Fu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, and the frozen air seemed to flow again.

"I see..." Fu Cheng said. "No wonder you didn't reply to my messages. You must be hungry. Want something to eat? I left some sandwiches in the kitchen."

"Thanks, Fu Cheng." Shen Yi's smile was flawless. "I really am a little hungry. Good thing you're here."

Fu Cheng promptly forgot his earlier doubts and smiled, his lips pressed together.

Fu Yuhe said, "..."

He studied Shen Yi's back.

Was this how he sweet-talked and deceived other people?

Shen Yi seemed to notice his gaze. A second before he left, he turned back and tilted his head, a faint smile on his face. But to Fu Yuhe, the smile wasn't quite so innocent. Whether that was all in Fu Yuhe's head or Shen Yi really meant something else by it, he couldn't tell.

*

After that day, Fu Yuhe noticed that Shen Yi came over more often. He used to come once every two or three days, but now he was at Fu Yuhe's house almost every day. In fact, after moving, Shen Yi lived close to the Fu family, making it much more convenient to come over than before, so he naturally showed up more often.

Shen Yi's favorite thing to do now was stay on the balcony of Fu Cheng's room, where he had a good chance of seeing Fu Yuhe in the back garden.

Through the telescope, he could enjoy a very good view.

But as the weather grew colder, Fu Yuhe spent less time out in the chilly back garden.

The two of them behaved much as they always had in front of Fu Cheng. Only when their eyes met did they exchange looks whose meaning they both understood, but neither took another step closer.

They maintained a subtle sort of relationship.

That subtlety showed in their messages. Fu Yuhe had gradually begun to say more about trivial things. For example, if Shen Yi asked whether he had eaten lunch, Fu Yuhe might have ignored such a meaningless exchange before, but now he would spare a word or two in reply.

As he saw it, Shen Yi was pursuing him and being very clingy about it.

[Shen Yi: Ge, have you forgotten about me?]

[Fu Yuhe: I'm in a meeting. Don't message me unless it's important.]

"Ah... I'm so tired. Let's go to the cat café this afternoon," Fu Cheng said, lying on his desk and turning his head toward Shen Yi.

A smile on his lips, Shen Yi glanced down at the message on his phone and sent a sighing emoji. "Sure," he replied to Fu Cheng.

"What are you looking at?" Fu Cheng leaned over curiously.

Shen Yi exited the screen. "Nothing."

A moment later, the corners of his lips lifted. "Something interesting."

Just thinking about Fu Yuhe reluctantly replying to his messages amused Shen Yi. He had no idea that Fu Yuhe had concluded, He's pursuing me.

Fu Cheng said, "Really? Let me see."

Shen Yi waved his phone. "It refreshed. I can't find it anymore."

Fu Cheng didn't give it any more thought.

That afternoon, as the two of them left the school gates, a girl's voice called out behind them. More precisely, she was calling Fu Cheng.

People were coming and going at the school gates. Shen Yi and Fu Cheng were both good-looking, and in their autumn and winter uniforms, they stood out in the crowd. Passersby occasionally glanced their way.

A girl with a ponytail jogged up to them. Out of breath, she said, "Long time no see."