Chapter 47

Shen Yi said, "Bro, what are you feeling guilty about?"

They really had slept together, and it hadn't been entirely innocent, but they hadn't gone all the way.

Fu Yuhe didn't look directly at him, only glancing at him from the corner of his eye. "Don't you know how to be embarrassed at all?"

"Why should I be embarrassed?" Shen Yi said. "Is it shameful to face your own desires? Bro-haven't you ever thought about it?"

Even if Fu Yuhe didn't want to admit it, he had thought about it, and even earlier than that. Back then, though, the thought had only been a vague one, nothing specific.

There was nothing shameful about facing one's desires, but Fu Yuhe didn't want to discuss such a private topic with Shen Yi here.

"I'm a little surprised you have that kind of awareness." Fu Yuhe sidestepped the question that followed.

At Shen Yi's age, he should have understood what sex was and found it both intriguing and tempting, while also being embarrassed to talk about it.

Like Fu Cheng, for example.

The last time, Fu Cheng had blushed just because Fu Yuhe found a love letter.

Shen Yi, however, seemed to have been born without knowing the meaning of "embarrassment." He was mature and savvy in dealing with some everyday matters, yet unexpectedly innocent in other ways.

"Awareness... I had it when you kissed me," Shen Yi said. "Although I didn't think about doing it with you then, some things just can't be controlled, right? Like the last time you tricked me into going home with you and had me give you a handj-mmph!"

Shen Yi's mouth was covered again.

He blinked.

Hearing him call it a trick made Fu Yuhe want to laugh, but it also gave him a headache. One careless moment, and Shen Yi could bring up old matters and let something slip. Fu Yuhe felt it was still too risky to talk here; their conversations always tended to stray into less than innocent territory.

But bringing up how it had started still made Fu Yuhe grit his teeth. "Didn't you enjoy it?"

Shen Yi said, "Mmph, mmph, mmph."

He had.

"Bro! Shen Yi! Why haven't you come in yet?" Fu Cheng called from the living room.

"Coming." Fu Yuhe let go of Shen Yi. "Don't talk nonsense in front of Fu Cheng."

"Mm." Shen Yi nodded obediently, like a tame Tibetan mastiff. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Great. Now Fu Yuhe was starting to worry.

"What took you so long to come in?" Fu Cheng asked Shen Yi.

The red mark on Shen Yi's face hadn't faded yet. It was faint, and you couldn't tell what kind of mark it was without looking closely. He calmly made up an excuse. "My backpack zipper got caught on my clothes, and your brother helped me get it loose."

"Oh." Fu Cheng didn't suspect anything. "There are too many apples in your backpack, and those little boxes too. Are you taking them all home later?"

The three walked one behind another through the stairwell, with Fu Yuhe at the back. Listening to their conversation, he glanced at Shen Yi's bulging backpack. He had noticed earlier that it was unusually full, but hadn't given it much thought.

Shen Yi chatted with Fu Cheng as they went into Fu Cheng's room, while Fu Yuhe went to the study.

"Huh, my brother brought desserts again today." As soon as Fu Cheng entered, he spotted the familiar bag on the table. "What's gotten into him lately..."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Shen Yi settled comfortably onto the sofa, as if he'd done it many times before.

"It's not that." Fu Cheng smiled. "It's just... it feels like it's been a long time since things were like this. I only got this kind of treatment when I was little..."

Fu Cheng felt that his brother had become much more approachable lately, often buying him tasty things. It made him feel as though he'd gone back to when he was little, before their parents died. Back then, although his brother had kept his emotions to himself, he hadn't been as hard to read as he was now. He would take Fu Cheng out to play and buy him treats, just like any ordinary older brother.

He reminisced for a while, and Shen Yi sat beside him, listening attentively until he finished. With both hands resting on the desk and his chin on the backs of his hands, he said, "Really? But your brother does look like someone who'd do that."

Fu Cheng was a little surprised. "He does? I thought you'd find him very..."

For a moment, he couldn't think of the right word. "Unapproachable. Anyway, he doesn't look like someone who'd do that, does he?"

Judging by his appearance and aura alone, his brother could easily make people tremble and leave them afraid to look him in the eye. Even Fu Cheng couldn't help getting nervous around him.

"Your brother..." Shen Yi paused. Fu Yuhe's face flashed through his mind, and he thought for a moment. "Anyway, he's very good to you."

He's very cute. When he's angry, he looks like a cat with its fur all puffed up. I want to pat his head, but Fu Yuhe definitely wouldn't let me. He's a little stingy.

Shen Yi had no idea how dangerous it was to contemplate stroking a tiger's whiskers.

Fu Cheng nodded in agreement with Shen Yi and took the desserts out of the bag. "Which one do you want?"

Shen Yi pointed. "The mango pancake."

Fu Cheng put the mango pancake in front of him.

"Has your brother ever been in a fight?" Shen Yi asked as he opened the box. Fu Yuhe felt different when Fu Cheng talked about him.

"He has," Fu Cheng said. "I've only seen him fight once..."

He had fought especially fiercely, too.

That time had nearly left Fu Cheng traumatized by his brother. Afterward, his brother had coaxed him, carrying his school uniform in one hand and leading him by the other to buy him a little cake to settle his nerves. Fu Cheng had only been eight then, his brother fifteen, and their family had still been whole.

"My brother used to have a bad temper," Fu Cheng said.

Shen Yi said, "He still does."

"Aren't you afraid he'll hear you?" Fu Cheng asked.

"Your house has pretty good soundproofing," Shen Yi said, as though offering a compliment.

Fu Cheng asked, "How do you know?"

Shen Yi paused. "You can tell that kind of thing just by looking, can't you?"

Fu Cheng said, "...True."