“A little fat’s good—your complexion looks so healthy.” Tao’s mother smiled, turning to his sister: “Little Peach, bring out the warmed dishes. Let your brother eat first.”
“Got it!” Little Peach released Tao Zhi’s arm and headed to the kitchen.
“No need, no need.” Tao Zhi stopped her quickly: “I’ve already eaten.”
“You have? Then rest up first?”
“You’ve been traveling all day—you must be tired. Go wash up and get some good sleep.”
“Not yet, no rush.” Tao Zhi had just gotten home and was excited; he didn’t want to head upstairs so soon: “I’ll have some snacks. Little Peach, where’s the New Year’s goods Dad and Mom bought?”
“On it! Coming right up!” Little Peach was even more thrilled than him.
…
Downstairs, munching on New Year’s candied oranges and chatting with his parents and sister for over an hour, Tao Zhi finally returned to his room.
He washed his hands, then lay on the bed and checked his phone.
Unsurprisingly, WeChat was bombarded by messages from the two brothers.
Naturally, Fu Zheng’s barrage was the fiercest; Fu Si Heng was a tad more dignified.
Seeing all those red notification dots made Tao Zhi’s head spin.
He replied to the undignified one first.
Tao Zhi: 【0-0 I’m here, haven’t vanished.】
Fu Zheng: 【? You still know you’re around? I thought your phone got stolen the moment you got home.】
Fu Zheng: 【No replies to messages, no picking up calls.】
Fu Zheng: 【Act like I don’t exist once you’re home?】
Fu Zheng was genuinely unhappy today.
In his mind, Tao Zhi had gotten home yesterday.
Ignoring him on the train yesterday? Fine, whatever—he wasn’t petty.
Still ignoring today? That was over the line, right?
Tao Zhi: 【No.】
Tao Zhi: 【I’ve been busy.】
Fu Zheng: 【??】
Fu Zheng: 【Can’t you come up with a decent excuse?】
Such a perfunctory answer, like a total scumbag.
Yes.
Scumbag.
The classic scumbag excuse— no wonder it felt off.
Fu Zheng didn’t realize anything wrong with his own thinking.
Tao Zhi: 【Really busy.】
Tao Zhi: 【Was listening to gossip.】
Tao Zhi told him: 【Mom was telling me gossip about a relative’s son who racked up online loans, credit card cash advances, etc. Pretty complicated—I was all ears.】
Fu Zheng: 【?】
No explanation might’ve been better; this made Fu Zheng even more incredulous.
He couldn’t believe it: 【Those are more important than me?】
Tao Zhi: “?”
Huh?
What?
Tao Zhi stared at his phone, baffled for a good while, utterly confused by Fu Zheng’s words.
After a beat, he typed: 【Fu Zheng, you’re so weird. I’m home—of course I have stuff to do. I can’t just revolve around you like at school all day.】
Fu Zheng: 【You didn’t revolve around me at school either.】
Fu Zheng: 【You were in the library all day.】
Tao Zhi: 【…】
Clearly, Tao Zhi’s diligent studying for finals had filled the older brother’s heart with resentment—and the younger wasn’t far behind.
Plus, Tao Zhi had ignored him for two days.
Fu Zheng thought he’d arrived yesterday and should be free today.
Like him, idle at home.
Yet still no response.
Tao Zhi scratched his head, unsure what to say.
Lately, Fu Zheng had been getting more… clingy? Hard to pin down, but more annoying than when they first shared the dorm. Nosy about everything.
And his temper flared constantly, picking fights every few days.
Fu Zheng: 【Just ellipses?】
Fu Zheng: 【Fine.】
Fu Zheng: 【Who cares.】
Fu Zheng swore that from now on, he wouldn’t message Tao Zhi first anymore.
They were just roommates—why chat daily?
Second Young Master Fu figured out Tao Zhi’s implication, face darkening, but he had pride.
If he said he didn’t care, he didn’t.
Tao Zhi, oblivious to his mood, sent Fu Zheng a head-pat emoji.
Fu Zheng didn’t reply.
Fine.
After a full day of travel, Tao Zhi truly lacked energy to manage his moods.
Having dealt with the brother, it was time for the other one.
Fu Si Heng had sent about four or five messages.
Before landing, he’d checked if Tao Zhi had arrived; Tao Zhi confirmed. Then, during the bullet train and taxi—head fuzzy—Tao Zhi hadn’t checked his phone.
The latest was Fu Si Heng asking if he’d gotten home.
Tao Zhi typed back: 【Fu-ge, I’m home.】
Tao Zhi: 【Was just downstairs chatting with parents and sister.】
Fu Si Heng: 【Good. Heading to bed?】
Tao Zhi: 【Not yet. Weird—body’s exhausted, but my mind’s too excited to sleep, hehe.】
Tao Zhi: 【[Line art puppy bouncing around.jpg]】
Fu Si Heng: 【Mm, happy to be home.】
Tao Zhi: 【Yeah, yeah.】
Fu Si Heng: 【Since you can’t sleep, how about a call?】
Tao Zhi: 【Huh?】
Tao Zhi paused.
Fu Si Heng: 【You promised in the theater—you’d take my calls after getting home.】
He had said that, but…
Tao Zhi hesitated.
Fu Si Heng: 【Hm?】
Tao Zhi: 【Sure…】
After a moment’s hesitation, Tao Zhi agreed.
A call shouldn’t be discovered—at this hour, family wouldn’t bother him.
Just as he replied, Fu Si Heng’s call came through.
Tao Zhi took a deep breath and answered.
“Hello.”
Surprisingly, upon connecting, no voice came—only breathing.
Tao Zhi could hear it.
But unsure why Fu Si Heng called without speaking, he asked puzzled: “Fu-ge?”
“Mm.” A response came through the earpiece.
Unlike before, the breathing suddenly grew much heavier.
And after responding, Fu Si Heng fell silent again.
What…
Tao Zhi’s expression turned bewildered. What was this situation?
