Song Wen frowned, walking slowly toward his father. “Who told you that?”
Song Fuchuan let out a cold snort, making no effort to hide his mockery. “People have already come to the house to complain, and you still don’t know who did it? Song Wen, I don’t recall raising you to be this incompetent.”
Song Wen’s expression instantly turned sour, but Song Fuchuan wasn’t finished twisting the knife. “I don’t care how you play around out there, whether you’re playing with men or women. But you must remember one thing: your marriage is a transaction. Do not go around making promises to just anyone.”
“As the son of Song Fuchuan, you can play all you want. But if you bring it into the public eye, make a scene, and embarrass the Song family, don’t blame me for being heartless.”
Song Fuchuan tossed aside the newspaper, stood up, and left. The gust of wind he left in his wake brushed against Song Wen’s cheek; though no physical slap had landed, it still felt burning hot more humiliating than if he had actually been struck.
The last time he had been lectured like this over such matters was several years ago. Song Wen’s face was overcast, his eyes dark with resentment. He called his father’s secretary immediately to ask about the recent news. Upon learning that a letter had been sent to the Song Group’s official mailbox, Song Wen was actually moved to angry laughter.
It was a consensual relationship. You took the breakup fee, so why can’t we just go our separate ways? Instead, you come looking for trouble. Fang Xin, do you really think I won’t do anything to you?
Upstairs, Song Fuchuan listened to his secretary’s report, coldly watching Song Wen’s hurried departure. “Regarding this small matter, if he asks, tell him. Song Wen will have to take over my responsibilities eventually; there’s no need to keep certain things from him.”
“Yes, President Song.”
Bursting with anger, Song Wen drove to the school, nearly exceeding the speed limit the entire way. Before he could find Fang Xin to settle the score, he spotted Pei Yisheng. Standing as straight and elegant as a stalk of green bamboo, Pei was in front of a coffee shop with his friend, chatting and laughing about some unknown topic.
Sitting in his car, Song Wen watched them for a while, and the fire in his heart suddenly died out with a soft “poof.”
Compared to Pei Yisheng, Fang Xin was nothing more than a pastime during his “rebound” period a jumping clown not worth his anger. Having cleared his head, Song Wen smoothed out his clothes, got out of the car, and walked over gracefully.
“Sheng-sheng,” Song Wen’s voice was rich and elegant. When he intentionally lowered his pitch, it created the illusion of gentleness. “What a coincidence.”
Pei Yisheng was startled, a hint of alarm flashing across his face as he turned around. “Song Wen? Why are you here?”
“Why wouldn’t I be here?” Song Wen smiled, the clear mirth in his peach-blossom eyes showing he was in a good mood. He glanced up at the name of the coffee shop and complained with half-genuine playfulness, “Do you like the desserts and coffee here? Does that mean everything I bought for you before didn’t suit your taste?”
“No, I don’t have a particular favorite. You don’t need to waste your money on me; didn’t we agree on that last time?” Pei Yisheng didn’t want to get entangled in this topic. He shot a discreet look at Su Yiyi, feeling relieved that they had already finished moving their things. If Song Wen had seen that, it would have been a disaster.
Song Wen chuckled and didn’t say whether he agreed or not. Instead, he turned to Su Yiyi. “If he won’t tell me, I’ll ask his friend. Student Su, since the two of you are so close, you must know what he likes, right?”
Su Yiyi’s eyes darted around as he replied with a grin, “Of course I know, but I can’t just say it. I listen to whatever Sheng-sheng says.”
Pei Yisheng smiled, satisfied with Su Yiyi’s loyalty.
Song Wen also laughed, finding the other party quite tactful. “Alright, it looks like I’ll have to keep trying. Where are you two going? Can I give you a ride? Or if you want to go out, a friend of mine just opened a rock climbing gym and is looking for people to try it out. There are even little gifts to take home.”
He blinked expectantly at Pei Yisheng.
Both Pei Yisheng and Su Yiyi were carrying backpacks and didn’t look like they were headed back to the dorms. Song Wen felt that his offer to take them out carried quite a bit of prestige.
Unfortunately, Pei Yisheng wanted no contact with him, and Su Yiyi wasn’t particularly enthusiastic either. Moreover, having just emptied their dorm, they still had to go to their rented house to organize, so they truly had no time.
“Maybe next time. We have other things to do, and it’s close enough to walk. We won’t take up any more of your time,” Pei Yisheng declined.
To his surprise, Song Wen wasn’t particularly shocked. Perhaps he had been rejected by Pei Yisheng so many times that he was getting used to it. He nodded. “How pity. Next time then. If you ever want to hang out, just look for me. I’m always available.”
After watching the two of them walk away, Song Wen returned to his car. He no longer felt like looking for Fang Xin; let the guy stay in his own fantasy and entertain himself.
Song Wen spun the steering wheel and went to find his friends instead.
Pei Yisheng cautiously looked back several times. Only after confirming no one was there did he breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing him so guarded, Su Yiyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Is all that necessary? Song Wen is a person of status; he wouldn’t do something as classless as stalking, right? I heard he’s very generous with breakup fees. Our faculty even calculated the ‘average market price’ for them.”
“That’s so abstract?” Pei Yisheng’s eyes widened, and he sighed in a daze. “Do they treat being Song Wen’s partner like a job? What a beautiful mental state.”
Su Yiyi burst out laughing. “Pretty much. As long as you don’t fall in love with Song Wen the person, this ‘job’ is a profitable one.”
As they walked, they arrived at their little courtyard.
They had signed a three-year lease, paying rent every six months (with a six-month deposit). The landlord had given them some autonomy to do simple renovations and let them do as they pleased with the yard. Su Yiyi had already planned to plant climbing roses all over the walls, while Pei Yisheng designated a small area for a fish pond.
Even though they knew living off-campus would be nice, actually moving in brought many pleasant surprises.
Pei Yisheng hummed a song while tidying his room. He didn’t have many things, so it only took an hour to categorize and arrange everything. Unlike him, Su Yiyi had an explosive amount of stuff; it was a mystery how it had all fit into a tiny dorm room.
Since he couldn’t help much with the heavy lifting, Pei Yisheng sat on the floor helping Su Yiyi unbox packages.
While unboxing, he thought to himself that he should also prepare some things for “Mibao” cat litter, a litter box, a scratching post, cat food…
Su Yiyi turned around to see Pei Yisheng unboxing one moment, then picking up his phone to tap away the next, then going back to unboxing, then tapping again.
“Sheng-sheng, what are you doing?”
Pei Yisheng had just added a cat bathtub to his cart. “Buying cat supplies.”
“I thought you were replying to messages. I was wondering who you were chatting with.”
Su Yiyi spoke carelessly, but Pei Yisheng took it to heart. His finger hesitated as he switched to the WeChat interface. There were messages from Qin Zhou from that afternoon photos of his performance saved from the forum, with compliments saying he was beautiful and performed well.
He had replied with a “thank you,” to which Qin Zhou replied that the photos weren’t as good as seeing him in person.
Pei Yisheng had been at a loss for words and hadn’t replied, so Qin Zhou had sent several more on his own.
Baby, I’ll bring you Oden tonight
You didn’t get to eat it last time
When are you coming back?
I’ll pick you up
Three hours have passed, Baby, why haven’t you replied to my messages?
Pei Yisheng thought to himself: It’s been four hours now, why did you stop sending them?
Though he grumbled internally, Pei Yisheng still quoted the message about the Oden and replied that he wouldn’t be back for dinner and not to bother.
It was as if Qin Zhou was clutching his phone; the second he sent the message, Qin Zhou replied instantly.
It’s no trouble
It’s no trouble at all when Baby replies to my messages
It’s no trouble at all when I buy things for Baby
Pei Yisheng slammed his phone face-down on the floor, two suspicious red clouds rising to his cheeks. How could someone call another person “Baby” as easily as drinking water, using it in every sentence like a filler word?
The noise startled Su Yiyi, who looked back at him. “What happened? Tired of having a working phone?”
“It’s nothing, I just didn’t have a good grip on it.” Pei Yisheng felt guilty. Then a thought struck him he could seek advice from Su Yiyi! He had wanted to ask anyway, but had been too busy. He tentatively opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he felt his face begin to burn.
“Maybe I’m just tired and my hands are weak. Why don’t you take a break from unboxing? I need to rest after finishing this cabinet; my arms and legs are aching.”
“Um,” Pei Yisheng organized his thoughts and said as if casually, “Yiyi, actually, I have a friend who’s having some relationship issues. But as you know, I don’t have any experience, so I wanted to ask you to give him some advice.”
Pei Yisheng closely monitored Su Yiyi’s expression. If the other person showed even a hint of suspicion, he would stop asking!
As expected, Su Yiyi was interested. He gave a cheeky grin. “Tell me what the problem is first.”
“It’s just… there’s someone who likes my friend? Probably likes him, my friend isn’t sure. This person is quite good to him I mean, he should be considered good? But he’s always teasing him and calling him these incredibly intimate nicknames. My friend finds it very awkward. He actually doesn’t want to consider these things right now and is very distressed, not knowing how to handle it.”
“Your ‘friend’ sure has a lot of ‘uncertain’ feelings,” Su Yiyi teased. “Based on what you said, the other guy is so immature. I stopped using that kind of pursuit tactic back in elementary school. And he’s doing it so happily? He’s probably a virgin with zero experience.”
“My advice is simple: if it feels comfortable, give it a try. If it doesn’t, ignore him. If you’re going to pursue someone, you need to have the right attitude. What’s wrong with getting a cold shoulder or being ignored? There’s no rule that says you have to say yes just because you’re being pursued. Otherwise, wouldn’t a romantic relationship just be like ‘pity’ mechanics in a game where if you spend enough time and money, you’re guaranteed a drop? There’s no such thing.”
Pei Yisheng nodded, seemingly enlightened. Su Yiyi nudged his shoulder. “So tell me, who’s the immature one?”
“Huh?” Pei Yisheng’s eyes darted away. “Who? What ‘who’?”
“Look at you, you can’t even handle a little teasing.” Su Yiyi teased him with a smirk. “Aside from me, what other friends do you have? Everyone knows that ‘I have a friend’ means ‘I am that person.’ You really gave yourself a ‘King’s New Clothes’ kind of disguise.”
Pei Yisheng covered his face in frustration, unable to believe his IQ had dropped this low. “It’s not that I wanted to keep it from you. It’s just that I won’t accept anyone, but I’m worried that if I don’t handle it well, it’ll affect my life in the future. That’s why I’m asking for your advice.”
“I don’t have the energy to think about love and romance right now.