Chapter Ch72 - Extra 2
“Yuan Ye ge has gotten more handsome again. Let’s take a picture together later. I’ll hang it on my wall. You’re technically a celebrity too now!” The girl greeted Yuan Ye with a smile.
Yuan Ye said, “Come, let’s take one.”
Old Tu walked in through the door. He was wearing a black T-shirt that was covered in neon yellow images in the front. With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he swung his arm around Yuan Ye’s neck and tightened it slightly. Then, he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t you call me sooner? I almost left this afternoon. If you had called me even a little bit later, I would’ve already been gone.”
Yuan Ye chuckled. “Pretty busy, huh?”
“Started a mountain retreat with someone. It’s not finished yet. Check it out when you have the time?” Old Tu asked.
The girl tugged Old Tu’s arm off Yuan Ye’s shoulders. She scolded, “Be more careful. If someone takes a picture of this, my Yuan Ye ge won’t be able to explain. Having an arm around someone’s shoulders is enough for the media to consider it cheating.”
Yuan Ye chuckled while shaking his head. “It’s not that bad. Cheating depends on appearance too. Why the h.e.l.l would I cheat with this old man? Your Yuan Ye ge has a heavenly immortal at home.”
Old Tu laughed and cussed at him. “Weirdo.”
It had been quite a long time since Yuan Ye had come to Old Tu’s place. This was because he hadn’t been home previously. This time, he was coming to Old Tu’s restaurant to eat meat and drink alcohol. Since Fang Shaoyi had hurt his lungs, he hadn’t attended any events with alcohol. Yuan Ye also hadn’t needed to attend any socialization events. Recently, they had been living a really healthy lifestyle. Today, Fang Shaoyi had gone to the company. Yuan Ye hadn’t; he went looking for a place to be carefree instead.
Old Tu’s restaurant had pretty good business. It was very popular. These days, it had become an Internet-famous restaurant. The girl asked, “A private room?”
Yuan Ye said, “No need. Let whoever wants to take pictures take pictures. There’s no atmosphere when you eat meat inside a private room.”
There truly wasn’t an atmosphere. He was here for that smoky, fiery, noisy atmosphere. Old Tu led Yuan Ye over to a section of the shop that was slightly less populated. The two of them sat on the small chairs. Old Tu threw Yuan Ye a pack of cigarettes.
Yuan Ye picked it up and threw it back. “No thanks. I quit.”
“Again?” Old Tu snorted and asked.
Yuan Ye made a noise of acknowledgment as he nodded. “For lung health.”
In the past, when he had occasionally smoked, Fang Shaoyi would try to limit his cigarette intake. When he had felt annoyed or stressed, or when he had gotten stuck while writing, he would habitually want to smoke a cigarette. Now, he didn’t need anyone to keep an eye on him at all. If anyone else smoked around Fang Shaoyi, Yuan Ye felt p.i.s.sed. It was even more impossible for he himself to smoke.
Old Tu questioned again, “Have you quit drinking alcohol?”
Yuan Ye replied with a smile, “No. Why would I quit drinking alcohol?”
Yuan Ye got a free meal at Old Tu’s place. When he was completely sated and full, Fang Shaoyi came to pick him up. He waited outside for a bit. Yuan Ye scurried into the car as soon as he left the restaurant. He took his jacket off when he got into the car. “I smell.”
Fang Shaoyi said, “It’s fine.”
Yuan Ye had drunk some alcohol. He had a big smile on his face as he scooted his head close to Fang Shaoyi and wobbled it. “Smell.”
Fang Shaoyi kind of wanted to laugh. He kissed the other on the top of his head. “What would I be smelling? Everyone else gets the smell stuck to their hair. Do you have hair? Might as well let me smell your bear instead.”
Yuan Ye laughed while cussing. He sat up straight and put on his seatbelt. “Why are you so annoying?”
Yuan Ye had truly had a lot of alcohol, but he wasn’t drunk. He was straddling the line of being not drunk but still very excited. When he got home, he took off all the clothes on him that smelled and took a shower so that his body would carry the faint fragrance of their body wash instead. While showering, little movies had already started playing in his brain. He didn’t bother saying anything extra after he got out of the shower. Whatever had been going on in his brain just now needed to be immediately put into practice.
Fang Shaoyi momentarily couldn’t handle him because he had suddenly gone crazy. Sometimes, he shifted over here. Others, he shifted over there. There was no order to his actions. Eventually, Fang Shaoyi forcefully held his arms down and asked, voice hoa.r.s.e, “Can you behave yourself for a bit? What are you actually trying to do?”
Yuan Ye lifted his chin and said, “I can’t.”
He just needed to be taught a lesson. Every part of him. Fang Shaoyi c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. These days, this monkey had gotten too spoiled. Fang Shaoyi casually grabbed a tie. If the other’s hands weren’t obedient, then it would be better to tie them up so they wouldn’t be able to move around anymore.
When he was teaching the monkey a lesson, Fang Shaoyi was domineering, cold, and very intimidating. When he wasn’t teaching the monkey a lesson, he was still Fang Eight Years who was obedient and liked to act pitiful.
Fang Shaoyi’s marriage livestream got talked about online for a long time. He didn’t mind because he didn’t need to go see anyone these days. He refused to attend any events or film festivals: he had completely shut himself off from the rest of the world and gone on vacation. Even when he won awards, the directors helped him accept them. He only told the general public that he had yet to fully recover, so was healing in peace.
In autumn, Director Wei Hua helped him accept a trophy. Jiang Linchuan helped him accept another one. During the award ceremony, they made a live call to Fang Shaoyi. Fang Shaoyi expressed his grat.i.tude through a video. Both directors teased him a lot when they accepted the awards for him. Everyone present laughed too. Fang Shaoyi didn’t need any awards. In the movie industry, he was still considered quite young. Fang Shaoyi had also never cared too much about these things. There was still a long way to go.
After ending the video call, there was a smile remaining on Director Wei’s face. His gaze landed on Fang Han, who was sitting in the front row. Director Wei lowered his head and fell silent for a moment. Slowly, he said, “Shaoyi……Everyone knows that I was the one who helped him debut in the beginning. At that time, Mr. Fang Han gave me a call and told me that I didn’t need to care whose son Fang Shaoyi was. If I needed to lecture him, I could do as I wished. There was no need to worry.”
Director Wei Hua softly chuckled. A faraway look appeared in his eyes. He was a gentle and reliable person; he had always been such a person. No matter the situation, he always spoke patiently and calmly. “Back then, I was actually under quite a lot of pressure. You weren’t teaching your own son, but wanted me to lecture him?”
The camera panned over to Fang Han, who was in the audience. Fang Han was roaring with laughter. He pointed at Wei Hua through the camera lens.
Wei Hua said, “Thinking back now, all of that happened twenty years ago. I watched Little Fang get to where he is today, step by step. In the past, I actually asked Shaoyi once, ‘How did your dad teach you?’ Shaoyi said, ‘My dad didn’t teach me. He just gave me four words and told me to figure them out myself.’”
“He said, ‘Dependable, calm, inquisitive, hardworking.’” Here, Wei Hua held up a thumbs up to the audience. He continued, “Looking back now, he truly accomplished these. He has the qualities of a ‘cinephile’. He also has the qualities of a ‘good man.’ I don’t know what Elder Fang thinks, but everyone says Fang Shaoyi is half my son too. I know that I, at least, am satisfied.”
Fang Han was still only smiling. Faint wrinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t say anything.
In the end, Wei Hua stated, “Movies are glorious. The worlds in them are l.u.s.trous and dazzling, but also exaggerated. Only very few people know how hard it truly is to remain in this industry. It has a lot of ugly and dismal areas that many people don’t know about. After making movies for too long, aside from the actual art of making them, everything else becomes numb and automatic. However, it is only because there are still some people who risk their entire lives to protect this art that no matter what, the movie industry continues to develop.”
“Thank you to those cinephiles.” Wei Hua paused. He glanced down at the trophy in his hand that belonged to Fang Shaoyi. Right now, his gentle voice was filled with strength. “Times are changing. Newer generations are replacing older generations. Film has repeatedly experienced bitter winters——but film remains alive.”
The applause from the audience lasted for a long time. They were clapping for the people he was talking about, but also for Wei Hua. He himself was also one of the outstanding cinephiles who had spent more than half of his life protecting movies. He too was one of the best guides in this industry, bringing domestic films to an international stage. He had spent his entire life stumbling and falling, doing his best to allow international audiences to see more Chinese movies.
He was someone who absolutely deserved to be respected. Those people trudging forward silently, using all their strength, all deserved to be respected.
This outstanding cinephile was wearing a suit and standing on a certain company’s ad photoshoot set. After he finished giving his thank you speech, he ended the call and took off his suit. While walking out, he said, “I’m leaving for a few days. Call me if anything happens.”
Ji Xiaotao was holding a change of casual clothes for Fang Shaoyi. He walked into the changing room with the other. “Ge, take me!”
While changing, Fang Shaoyi didn’t even look back at him. “I can take you, no problem. Just ask your Geng ge if he’s going to let me take you on vacation with me.”
“I refuse!” Ji Xiaotao walked in circles next to him. “All he knows is to exploit me! I’m that peanut who had oil pressed out of it! Or sunflower seed! Or soybean! Ge! Take me!”
Fang Shaoyi put on his pants and said, “Even if I took you with me, your Geng ge would still call me and ask for you back.”
“You wouldn’t answer!” Ji Xiaotao grabbed the suit that Fang Shaoyi had just changed out of. He needed to neatly put it away later, thus didn’t dare to fold or wrinkle it. “Ge, I want to go on vacation too!”
Fang Shaoyi found him annoying. He offered, “Then go ask your Yuan Ye ge. See if he’ll let me take you.”
Ji Xiaotao’s face twisted together in misery. He whispered, “All your conditions are driving me into a dead end……Geng ge and Ye ge – neither are kind people!”
Actually, Yuan Ye had originally been the most soft hearted out of all of them. He was usually the most lenient regarding these matters. Fang Shaoyi still needed to worry about Geng ge, who was working hard at the company. Only Yuan Ye didn’t need to listen to Geng ge. However, ever since Ji Xiaotao had directly driven the car to the Ministry of Civil Affairs while Yuan Ye had been asleep and had also started a stupid livestream without telling Yuan Ye, Yuan Ye had never spoken up for him again. Yuan Ye had one-sidedly ended their relationship.
Ji Xiaotao could only keep pestering Fang Shaoyi. Fang Shaoyi truly was the most lenient, but he wasn’t the one in charge. He himself wasn’t even working. How could he dare to steal away one of Geng Jinwei’s trusted subordinates who was also easy to order around? With Yuan Ye, he was also a pitiful little cutie everyday. Did he have any authority?
Later on, Fang Shaoyi heartlessly left without caring about their brotherly relationship at all.
Old Tu’s mountain retreat had been finished. Yuan Ye was going to go stay there for a few days with Fang Shaoyi. Either way, neither of them really needed to do anything right now. A few of Yuan Ye’s friends were tagging along too. Feng Leizi was one of them. Yuan Ye owed him a favor from last time regarding the matter with the film crew. However, considering their relationship, they didn’t take favors too seriously. All these years, Yuan Ye had helped him edit scripts for free. Their relationship was rock solid.
Old Tu was waiting for them by the entrance to the freeway. As soon as their car arrived, Old Tu opened the door and slid into the car. Fang Shaoyi greeted him. After getting remarried to Yuan Ye, Fang Shaoyi often saw Old Tu. They were already familiar with each other.
Old Tu said, “A few friends of Xuan’er are here too, on the other side. Don’t mind them. I know all of them. They’re all open people. It’ll be fine. They won’t randomly take any pictures or say anything.”
Yuan Ye chuckled. He looked back and glanced at Old Tu. “Have you been infected by your girl? There’s no need to be so nervous.”
Old Tu laughed while cussing at him. Then, he said, “Drive carefully. Before I headed out, Little Mei really did remind me multiple times about being careful. She said that you guys are both celebrities, meaning I shouldn’t let anyone else take pictures of you two. Now I’m all on edge too.”
Fang Shaoyi chuckled as well. “It’s not that bad.”
Yuan Ye said, “Don’t. I’m not a celebrity. At most, I’m a celebrity’s family member.”
Someone like Yuan Ye, who had grown up so close to nature, needed to live in a down-to-earth manner. If you forced him to be so secretive and cautious all the time, that would be too painful. It was impossible.
It was quite a large mountain retreat, probably encompa.s.sing about half the mountain peak. Old Tu gave them directions from the back seat. Yuan Ye followed his instructions and drove up the path. Old Tu said, “They’ll be eating on their side later. Should we go too? I might have to show my face. They’re all people I’m familiar with.”
Yuan Ye didn’t care about these things. He replied, “You don’t need to worry about us. I’ll go take a peek later. Don’t make a simple vacation seem like some high-cla.s.s excursion where we have to be quarantined away. That’s awkward.”
Fang Shaoyi was a public figure, after all. Yuan Ye himself didn’t care about such matters, but he couldn’t not care about Fang Shaoyi. It was true that many people had a sense of curiosity regarding public figures. When they saw celebrities, they would incessantly ask all sorts of questions. This was very annoying. Yuan Ye definitely needed to first see what kind of people the other guests were, especially because Fang Shaoyi wasn’t an ordinary little celebrity. He was of rather high status. Yuan Ye was usually very careful about these matters.
Old Tu said, “Un, either way, they’re all reliable people who are easy to get along with.”
The mountain retreat was a joint investment between Old Tu and his friend. There were two groups of friends meeting up on different sides of the retreat. Yuan Ye wasn’t willing to have things separated so starkly. This way, Old Tu and his friend would both feel awkward. Yuan Ye followed Old Tu over to say hi. The first person he met was Old Tu’s friend. The other was dressed quite casually and looked rather young.
Yuan Ye shook hands with him and said, “Yuan Ye.”
“Lin Xuan.” The other smiled and said, “If I say I like your books, don’t think I’m just blindly praising you.”
Yuan Ye chuckled. He replied, “Then I’ll say thanks, I guess.”
After a simple conversation, Lin Xuan asked, “A few of my friends are here too. I’ll introduce them to you? Do you mind?”
Yuan Ye gestured with his chin and said, “Let’s go.”
Lin Xuan led him towards the orchard in the back. While walking, he said, “Basically, my friends are all rather unusual. There are people who work in every field. One of them is actually in the same field as you, though. There are also a lot of artists, but they know nothing about literature.”
“It’s all the same,” Yuan Ye said.
“They’re also not all uneducated folks,” Lin Xuan explained with a smile. “There’s a scholar too. A PhD who’s a people’s teacher.”
Before Yuan Ye could respond, he saw someone. That person had his head lowered and was making a call. When he heard them approaching, he smiled and raised his arm in greeting. Lin Xuan lifted his chin in that direction and told Yuan Ye, “People’s teacher.”
People’s teacher stuffed his phone into his pocket and walked toward them. Yuan Ye whistled to himself in his heart. This person was quite handsome. However, Yuan Ye maintained a blank face so no one could tell what he was thinking.
The person stopped when he reached them. He held out his hand first. His smile was very comfortable to look at. “Teacher Yuan Ye? What an honor. I’m Xiao Ke.”
Yuan Ye shook hands with him, then shook his head. “Don’t. How am I a teacher? Don’t make fun of me.”
Lin Xuan added in from the side, “Alright, you’re both teachers. You’re both qualified to teach us. Say, who’s older between you two? Xiao Ke is the youngest among our friend group.”
Xiao Ke shared his age first. Yuan Ye said, “Then I’m older.”
Xiao Ke smiled again. “Then I’ll call you Yuan Ye ge.”
He was a very comfortable person to interact with, and also very good looking. Yuan Ye followed them into a strawberry shed. A lot of people were squatting there and stuffing strawberries into their mouths. Lin Xuan said, “Stop eating. I’m introducing a friend: Yuan Ye.”
“f.u.c.k, I know him!” The person closest to them was wearing a soft leather jacket. He jumped up and exclaimed, “s.h.i.t, why didn’t you tell me in advance? So I could dress myself up a bit.”
“Don’t be coquettish. He’s married, don’t you know?” Lin Xuan scolded. “Don’t f.u.c.king start flirting.”
“f.u.c.k,” that person said. “I know. Who doesn’t know? I honestly felt jealous for several months.”
Lin Xuan told Yuan Ye, “This is Cao Yuan’er. You can just call him Old Cao. He’s a craftsman.”
He pointed at the remaining people and said to Yuan Ye, “Old Zhu, Fang Xi, Zhou Zui.” Then, he leaned in a bit closer to say, “He and Xiao Ke are a couple. Those two glued together are Zhou Zui’s little bro and his significant other. Two kids.”
Yuan Ye c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. He turned over to look at Xiao Ke. Xiao Ke had heard Lin Xuan’s words, so nodded with a smile. “Yes, that’s my Teacher Zhou. He’s a tattoo artist. We’re a couple. The bald one is my little bro, Xiaobei. His boyfriend is named Lin Cheng. The two of them are so sickly sweet. If you don’t walk right up to them, they won’t even look at you.”
The ones eating strawberries in the distance all walked over. Yuan Ye greeted each of them. Zhou Zui was the furthest away. He hadn’t eaten anything. He carried a little bucket over and handed it to Xiao Ke. Bright red strawberries filled the bucket. He shook hands with Yuan Ye. In his very deep voice, he said, “Zhou Zui.”
“Yuan Ye.”
The two of them had the same hairstyle. Both had buzzcuts. However, they exuded completely different energies.
Xiao Ke picked up a strawberry and ate it. He said, “The strawberries here are honestly quite good.”
They were all smart people. There was nothing negative to be said about them. Eventually, when Fang Shaoyi met them, n.o.body made a big deal out of this either. At most, they only told Fang Shaoyi while greeting him that they liked his movies.
During dinner that night, everyone gathered together. Feng Leizi and them had arrived too. It was a huge table surrounded by over a dozen people. When men started drinking, it no longer mattered if they were familiar with one another or not. The successful members of varying different fields were at a table together. Even though they were all part of different industries, they still definitely had stuff to talk about. After drinking alcohol together at one table, everyone could now be considered friends.
Yuan Ye asked for a pot of tea for Fang Shaoyi. On the other side, Zhou Zui asked for a pot of soy milk for Xiao Ke. Even the little kid, Lin Cheng, could have beer. These two were the only finicky ones at the table.
Xiao Ke told the person next to him, “That’s enough, Teacher Zhou. I can drink alcohol. It’s not that bad.”
Zhou Zui made a noise of acknowledgement and said, “And then your stomach hurts after you drink it.”
On this side, Fang Shaoyi was telling Yuan Ye, “I can drink.”
Yuan Ye stroked the other’s leg under the table. “That stupid s.h.i.t causes heartburn and is bad for the lungs. Let’s not drink it. Let’s drink tea.”
This meal lasted until midnight. Halfway through, Lu Xiaobei took Lin Cheng back to sleep first. Everyone at the table was either thirty-something or forty-something. Lin Cheng couldn’t join in on their conversations anyways. He was a kid who hadn’t even graduated from college yet. All he knew to do was dumbly laugh along at what they were saying. After a few cups of beer, Lu Xiaobei refused to let him drink anymore. Lin Cheng softly called him “ge” to try and bargain with him. Lu Xiaobei pretended to act angry. Lin Cheng instantly started behaving. He ate some more food before scooting close and suggesting with a smile, “Ge, let’s head back? When we get back, we can do this and that.”
Lu Xiaobei c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and looked over. “Which and what?”
Lin Cheng always flushed red when he had alcohol. He normally blushed a lot too. He cheekily said, “You know, that.”
Lu Xiaobei glanced askance at him. One of the corners of his mouth lifted up. Combined with his bald head, he looked really wicked. He stood up and raised his gla.s.s, then said, “You guys keep drinking, big bros. We’re going to go back and sleep first. Dou’er has a strict sleep schedule. He’s already sleepy.”
Lu Xiaobei downed that gla.s.s of alcohol and walked away while holding onto Lin Cheng’s hand. While walking, Lin Cheng turned back to glance at Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye. He was young, after all. It more or less felt very interesting to see people he normally only saw online in person.
Fang Shaoyi hadn’t had any alcohol. He made eye contact with the other. Lin Cheng was quite embarra.s.sed, so slightly shrunk in on himself. Fang Shaoyi smiled gently at him. Lin Cheng felt like he was about to melt.
“My goodness, have I sinned?” Lin Cheng turned his head back and muttered as he walked. “Ge, Fang Shaoyi smiled at me just now. When he smiled, my heart trembled. Celebrities honestly are super good looking when they smile, right?”
Lu Xiaobei c.o.c.ked an eyebrow and looked at him. “Then what? You want me to send you back?”
Lin Cheng hurriedly shook his head. He glued himself to Lu Xiaobei’s arm and smiled sweetly. “No, you’re my idol.”
“Ah.” Lu Xiaobei was largely expressionless. “Is that so?”
“Yes. You’re my husband,” Lin Cheng said while holding onto his hand.
Lu Xiaobei dragged him back to their room. With a smile that wasn’t really a smile, he said, “There’s no rush. You can call me that later.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t call you that now too.” It was unknown if Lin Cheng was doing this on purpose or if he was honestly oblivious. He incessantly muttered, “Husband, husband.” Lu Xiaobei glanced at him. Lin Cheng was smiling so hard that his eyes had turned into crescents. He called out again, “Husband!”
“Un.” Lu Xiaobei clenched his teeth together and pushed open the door. He stuffed the clean little boy inside and walked in too, closing the door behind himself. “You didn’t drink that bit of alcohol for naught.”
The youngest two had left. The remaining old men at the table became even more unstoppable. Lu Xiaobei and them actually didn’t mind. That little baldie’s morality had long since gotten left behind somewhere. However, that college student was still quite pure. They feared being a bad influence to him. Old Cao had been holding so much obscenity back. He bantered back and forth with Fang Xi, showing off how low his lower limits were.
A while later, Old Cao looked over at Fang Shaoyi and Yuan Ye. Then, he looked over at Zhou Zui and Xiao Ke. He tsk’d. “No wait. Say, what’s wrong with you guys these days? Don’t you feel like your numbers are clashing? There’s such a resource deficit, don’t you know to share? What a waste.”
Before Yuan Ye could understand what he was talking about, Xiao Ke started laughing first. Zhou Zui simply ignored him; he was completely expressionless. Fang Xi said, “f.u.c.ker needs to get f.u.c.ked. He’s crying out. For many years, he’s been missing love. Don’t bother with him.”
Coincidentally, there was also a writer in Yuan Ye’s circle who always acted interested in him. Now, he agreed with Old Cao. “I agree. A pure waste of resources.”
Feng Leizi was drunk too. He said to the two of them with a smile, “Then wouldn’t it work out perfectly if you two combined your resources? So people can quit thinking about the ones who are already taken.”
“That won’t do.” Old Cao wobbled his head. “It’s easy to make do if you’re the other number, but not for us. What are we supposed to do – stare at each other and wait it out?”
This person was so coquettish that the entire table laughed at him. Even Fang Shaoyi was laughing. He lifted his hand and gently caressed the back of Yuan Ye’s head. He turned his head to observe the other. He really liked the relaxed, natural smile on Yuan Ye’s face right now. Fang Shaoyi thought to himself right now, you guys are only seeing how he is now that he’s mature. That’s why you think this way. You never saw how lively and full of ideas he was in his youth. He was just a baby monkey.
Yuan Ye reached a hand out to scratch the back of Fang Shaoyi’s hand with his fingers. He exchanged glances with the other, then softly asked, “Are you tired? I’ll take you back so you can rest?”
“No need.” Fang Shaoyi shook his head. “Focus on your conversations.”
Among these people, the first person Yuan Ye added on WeChat was Xiao Ke. During the meal, the two of them headed outside to get some fresh air. They also scanned each other’s QR codes.
Yuan Ye said, “When you have the time, let’s hang out.”
Xiao Ke smiled. “Of course.”
When the two of them got back, the meal was mostly over. It was already the middle of the night. Fang Shaoyi very rarely attended such gatherings. He basically didn’t have any friends outside of the entertainment industry. The ones in the industry were few and far in between too. He always gave off a cold and distant feeling to others.
Yuan Ye was his opposite. He had lots of friends and frequently attended these gatherings. Occasionally, Fang Shaoyi would tag along to one of his meetings too. This would feel very interesting and new. It was quite a terrifying thought to think that some lovers couldn’t fit in with each other’s social circles.
Fang Shaoyi finished showering first. Yuan Ye showered after him. When he got out of the shower, he saw a tiny metal ring next to the sink. He c.o.c.ked an eyebrow.
“What does this mean?” Yuan Ye closed his hand around the item and walked out to question Fang Shaoyi.
Fang Shaoyi looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Keep acting,” Yuan Ye chuckled. He jumped on the bed and sprawled out, then opened up his fist. Fang Shaoyi’s ring was peacefully resting on his palm.
Fang Shaoyi was shocked. He glanced down at his own hand, then, as if just remembering something, said, “I took it off during my shower, but then I forgot about it.”
Yuan Ye raised an eyebrow and side-eyed him. Slightly laughing, he said, “Your acting is a bit too exaggerated, Teacher Fang.”
Fang Shaoyi calmly replied, “I always feel like taking it off because I was the one who put it on. And then I forget to put it back on after I take it off. Maybe I’ll accidentally lose it someday.”
Yuan Ye buried his head into the pillow and forcefully rubbed his face against it. What was he supposed to do now that his lover was acting so petulant all the time? After rubbing his face, Yuan Ye laid there laughing for a long time. Then, he grabbed Fang Shaoyi’s hand and slid the ring onto the other’s ring finger. He even lowered his head and pressed a kiss onto Fang Shaoyi’s finger.
“Okay.” Yuan Ye rolled over and laid down on his back. “Is it okay now?”
“I don’t know.” Fang Shaoyi turned off the lights. “Either way, if you weren’t sincere, it’s going to fall off again.”
Yuan Ye hurriedly said, “I was sincere! Quit messing around, please. Don’t let it fall off. If you take it off too many times and actually lose it, where are you going to go find it again?”
Fang Shaoyi didn’t answer. Yuan Ye scooted close and kissed him. Only now did Fang Shaoyi feel satisfied. He quieted and went to sleep.
Outside, the lights faintly lit up the night, warming up half of the window. Subdued silence and peace always followed each large commotion.
After listening to the story, it was time to sleep.
——The night was almost over, but there was still a lot of time left before the end of this existence.