You Fu was experiencing insomnia again.
The only time he felt somewhat better was when he slept with Ji An, but soon after, his spirit sank back into a weary shell, his expression fatigued.
How could this be? Could it really be related to that?
Ji An rubbed his head absentmindedly, his mind a jumble of confusion. So much had happened recently, and the pressure was mounting. He found himself downing drink after drink.
The bar he was in had been rented out by Gu Ziyu’s friends for a wedding party.
A trendy band was on stage, pounding out fast-paced pop songs.
Ji An just found it noisy.
All around him, men and women were wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing passionately, with saliva forming long strings.
Ji An glanced over. One of the men kissing a stranger seemed to be the groom.
Where was the bride?
He scanned the area and, oh, there she was, kissing another stranger.
Impressive.
Ji An wasn’t accustomed to such circles and found the smacking sounds of kisses nauseating. He opened his messaging app and sent a text to someone saved as a puppy emoji: 「Pick me up, this is so disgusting.」
「Where are you?」
Ji An sent his location.
“Hey handsome, want a drink?” A curvaceous woman leaned in close to him.
Ji An dodged her hand without hesitation: “No, thanks.”
“Oh, come on, Xiao Ai, get over here. What are you doing? He’s the one Gu Ziyu has his eye on.”
A group of people burst into laughter.
“So he likes men, huh? What a shame,” Xiao Ai said, slipping a pill into Ji An’s drink as she left without a trace.
The pill fizzed and dissolved quickly in the drink.
Seeing this, a few people egged her on: “You’re so bad, Xiao Ai.”
Xiao Ai covered her mouth, giggling.
Ji An leaned back on the sofa, trying to shake off his headache.
He dozed off for a while on the sofa.
Xiao Ai was dancing closely with a man on the dance floor, kissing him twice before heading to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, Gu Ziyu was rinsing his mouth at the sink after throwing up. He came out and saw Xiao Ai enter, giving her a dizzy kiss: “You’re here.”
Xiao Ai playfully punched his chest: “Honestly, if you weren’t gay, I would’ve had you by now.”
Gu Ziyu grinned mischievously, wrapping an arm around her waist: “Get surgery, change your gender, and I’ll fulfill your wish.”
“Cut it out.” Xiao Ai pushed him away, “You should focus on getting your dream guy first.”
Gu Ziyu sighed: “It’s harder than going to the moon.”
“What’s so hard? I helped you out, didn’t I?”
Gu Ziyu’s expression froze. Having been friends with Xiao Ai for so long, he knew exactly what she meant by “help.”
His face darkened, and he shoved Xiao Ai away, unable to hold back his anger: “Who told you to do that?!”
“Ah.” Xiao Ai rubbed her shoulder, “What’s the big deal? Your previous partners didn’t mind.”
“He’s not like them! He’s never been exposed to this! If anything happens to him, you’ll pay!” Gu Ziyu hurriedly ran out, trying to stop Ji An from drinking.
But it was too late. He clearly saw Ji An take a few sips of his drink, and immediately knocked the glass from Ji An’s hand, spilling the contents on the floor. He grabbed Ji An’s chin: “How much did you drink?!”
People around them looked on, confused as to why Gu Ziyu was suddenly so angry.
Ji An, annoyed, pushed his hand away: “Two or three sips, what’s your problem?”
Gu Ziyu touched his face: “Do you feel unwell? Are you hot?”
Ji An found him baffling and pushed his hand away: “It’s not summer yet, why would I be hot?”
Gu Ziyu felt relieved. It seemed Ji An hadn’t drunk much, so there was no significant effect.
He poured Ji An a fresh drink, regretting bringing him to such a place: “When are you going home? I’ll call a car for you.”
“No need, You Fu is coming to get me.”
The mention of that name made Gu Ziyu instinctively recoil, but having Ji An’s younger brother pick him up was better than him stumbling home alone.
Within a minute or two, a boy in a school uniform walked through the crowd of well-dressed men and women, standing out like a sore thumb and drawing several curious glances. He paid no mind to the attention on him.
You Fu’s straight posture exuded a certain aloofness, as if he were covered in a persistent frost, untouched by the mundane world. He made his way through the crowd to Ji An: “Brother, let’s go home.”
Ji An, drowsy from the alcohol, looked at him without much to say. His light-colored eyes were shadowed by long lashes, obscuring any emotion. He picked up his glass to take another sip.
Gu Ziyu advised, “You Fu is here. Finish your drink and then leave.”
A woman nearby, intrigued by You Fu’s appearance, teased, “Little brother, your brother hasn’t finished his drink yet. Let him finish, and you can have a drink with me.”
You Fu ignored her, snatched the glass from Ji An’s hand, and downed it in one go, placing it back on the table with a sharp clink.
“Now we can leave, right?”
His action prompted cheers from those around: “Ziyu, your dream guy’s brother is quite something.”
“Introduce us, won’t you?”
“Get lost,” Gu Ziyu laughed and cursed, feeling a bit displeased with You Fu’s bold move.
Ji An, not quite grasping the situation, still held his hand to his mouth, only to realize it was empty. He paused, then slammed his fist against his forehead, closing his eyes and sinking back into the sofa to sleep.
You Fu watched Ji An’s chest rise and fall gently, then bent down to lift the dazed man, draping his arm over his shoulder, and began to lead him out.
Gu Ziyu hurried forward to help.
“No need.” You Fu avoided Gu Ziyu’s hand, supporting the groggy Ji An in his arms.
Gu Ziyu said, “It’s hard to walk like this. Let me help you to the car.”
You Fu glanced at Gu Ziyu’s unsteady steps and felt a bit amused. He bent down and lifted Ji An into his arms: “This way, it’s easier to walk.”
“Gu Ziyu! Come over here, let’s play a game!”
“He has his brother with him, why are you getting involved? Don’t go downstairs and miss a step.”
The people at the table urged Gu Ziyu to return. Gu Ziyu thought that with You Fu there, Ji An wouldn’t have any issues, and if he drank more, he’d only cause trouble. So he backed off.
…
You Fu carried Ji An, leaving the noisy environment behind.
In the elevator, Ji An groaned uncomfortably. You Fu noticed the heat radiating from the body in his arms and looked down at Ji An.
Ji An’s face was flushed, beads of sweat dotted his nose, and his eyes, covered by curled lashes, struggled to open.
He reached up to wrap his arms around You Fu’s neck, exhaling a warm breath.
The heat brushed against You Fu’s neck, sending signals up to his brain.
“Hot…” Ji An mumbled, tugging at his collar to reveal a lightly flushed neck.
You Fu glanced down at Ji An’s body.
“You’ve been drugged? It doesn’t seem too serious.”
Ji An didn’t respond, his feverish face rubbing against You Fu’s.
You Fu squinted: “You’ve fallen into my hands like this, remember this.”
Ji An had a strange dream. In it, he stood in a space as cramped as a bathroom stall, his back against a cold wall, enveloped in a sea heated by the sun. Before him was a giant octopus with eight tentacles.
The octopus’s tentacles wrapped tightly around him, making it hard to breathe. Enraged, he grabbed the octopus’s head and bit down on its neck.
Wait, do octopuses have necks?
Maybe they do.
Beside the octopus, it was blue and white, like being submerged in a sea of frothy white waves.
So close, Ji An could smell the octopus’s scent, a refreshing green tea aroma like summer shade. It felt so familiar. He sniffed his own wrist, realizing he smelled like green tea too.
The octopus wasn’t just wrapped around him, it also coiled around the anchor he had dropped.
The tentacles tried to pry the anchor from the seabed, pulling and pulling. Ji An curled up, whimpering, “Wait…”
Because the anchor was his, and he hated others touching his things, but the octopus said it was helping him, telling him to be good.
After a while, the octopus told him to be quiet, as pirates were coming to seize his big ship outside the bathroom.
Thud, thud, thud, the pirates’ footsteps echoed on the floor, getting closer and closer.
The octopus said they were already hidden, and as long as they didn’t make a sound, they wouldn’t be discovered.
Ji An nodded, struggling to say okay, okay. His mouth closed, but he hummed through his nose.
The octopus thought this couldn’t continue, but it couldn’t spare a tentacle to cover his mouth. The pirates were about to board the ship!
“Mmm…” Ji An’s lips felt cool, tasting a lively little fish from the sea, which blocked his tongue, preventing him from breathing.
It was so uncomfortable, Ji An couldn’t make a sound. The pirates rummaged through the ship for treasure, but soon left, unable to find them.
The pirates, having found no treasure, cursed: “What a lousy bathroom, not even hand soap!”
How dare they call Ji An’s big ship a bathroom!
Ji An wanted to curse back, but couldn’t. He was suffocating, eager to swallow the sweet little fish, but couldn’t swallow or spit it out.
He grabbed the octopus’s neck, scratching and pinching, finally finding relief. He took deep breaths, as a mosquito buzzed onto his face, lips, eyebrows, nose, and eyes.
The octopus asked if he wanted the mosquito.
Ji An, catching his breath, said he hated mosquitoes the most!
The mosquito still flew over, biting Ji An’s tongue. He raised a hand to swat it, slapping it several times, making the mosquito frantic and suffocating him, bringing tears to his eyes.
The octopus’s tentacles tightened more and more, finally letting go of the anchor. Ji An realized he was also an ink-spraying octopus.
He wobbled and fell into the arms of the octopus before him, which lifted his face. He saw clearly, it wasn’t an octopus at all!
It was a big You fish!