Chapter 11: · Vanilla

“Hellooo~ It’s Lister.”

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Han Fu was carefully frying his sunny-side-up “Sunshine Smile” breakfast eggs. He answered his phone casually, and a single sentence nearly made him break the yolk.

“Holy crap, where did you get my number?”

“I called Grasse Academy and asked,” Lister replied. On the other end of the line, in the outskirts of England, he was draped in a silk robe, sitting on a balcony framed by lace curtains. Facing the Thames nightscape, he was leisurely sipping a small, white porcelain cup of pre-sleep milk. “The current headmistress at Grasse was my grandfather’s apprentice back in the day. She gives me whatever I ask for. So, tell me, are you going to enter the Perfumer Awards this year?”

The Perfumer Awards—the very same Perfumer Skills Competition Pei Zhen had participated in when he was 19.

“…” Han Fu had never considered it.

Up until now, Pei Zhen had only ever instilled in him the need to create outstanding works and enter the Annual Top Ten to break into the Library Hall of Fame. He had never paid attention to any other industry competitions.

“I’m having such a headache over here~” Lister sighed on the phone.

“The competition committee invited me to participate and has sent my grandfather several emails about it. Even though it’s probably just to increase the event’s hype, it’s still really annoying that Grandpa keeps muttering about it at home. I’ve already competed once before… Oh right, Pei Zhen must have told you about that, right?”

He had.

And he’d mentioned the result too—Lister made it to the Final 16 before dropping out because he found it “too boring.”

“Well, can you blame me? It really was boring. Competing against a bunch of overly serious, emotionally fragile middle-aged people and then having to watch them cry when you win… If there had been an opponent like you there back then, I might have been entertained a little longer.”

“But, I heard there’s a really amazing newcomer from my neck of the woods this year, only sixteen years old. I’m a little tempted to check him out. Hopefully, I won’t end up making the poor kid cry and drop out too.”

Han Fu: “…”

“Still, I can’t help but think how great it would be if you came too.”

“So, what do you say, Han Fu? The Perfumer Awards China domestic qualifiers are in early autumn—about four months away. That should be enough time for you to get started. What do you say? Dare to make it to the international rounds and go head-to-head with me?”

Han Fu: “Zhenzhen, I want to go!”

He’d been called out and provoked. Aaah, he wanted to go beat him.

Pei Zhen glanced at Han Fu lightly. “Ignore him.”

Han Fu: “I know that if I start thinking about competing now, the timing is tight. But since Lister managed to break into the international rounds after studying for only a month and even made it to the Final 16…”

Pei Zhen: “You’re not Lister!”

The air had already crackled with a hint of gunpowder, but Han Fu was still being dense. “But you said my talent isn’t worse than his. So, if he could do it, I should at least give it a try, right?”

Pei Zhen didn’t reply. He just stood up, his face cold.

“Zhen…”

…

At the perfumer’s workstation in the garden greenhouse, the sound of clinking beakers was louder than usual.

Pei Zhen knew his temper wasn’t exactly great. After getting together with Han Fu, he’d made a real effort to hide a part of it.

So, his little wolfdog was used to his everyday moodiness but had no idea about his more volatile side.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of scaring him.

It was that he feared he wouldn’t be able to maintain his carefully crafted image of a mature, calm, steady, and excellent Sugar Daddy. He feared seeing disappointment or fear reflected in those handsome dark eyes.

Under the same roof, Yi Changqing had… looked at him like he was a monster.

Tch, damn it!

…

Lavender, basil, petitgrain…

Fragrances could soothe the heart, and blending scents could restore calm. It had always been this way.

Even on melancholic days filled with unfulfilled longing, even when he had nothing and was on the verge of despair, just sitting at the perfumer’s workstation would help him quickly find himself again.

“Zhenzhen, look, look! An unfamiliar bird landed on the tree over in the yard—it has a long red beak. It’s super cute.”

In the sunlight, Han Fu pulled up a stool beside him, his long fingers tugging at the hem of Pei Zhen’s shirt.

“The evening primrose you planted bloomed too. What should we do? It’s attracting a bunch of hornets. Should I shoo them away?”

“Zhenzhen, aahhh, this lamp is so hot! Ow ow ow—”

Pei Zhen: “!”

“Heheh…”

Playing tricks again! And he fell for it again! Pei Zhen sighed in exasperation. In the reflection of the glistening golden liquid within the test tube, he saw Han Fu’s small, ingratiating expression.

“If you keep this up… your salary for this month will be completely docked.”

Han Fu: “Huh?”

Pei Zhen: “Just now! You called me Zhenzhen four more times!”

“Three and a half times,” Han Fu corrected in a tiny voice.

Pei Zhen: “…”

The test tube was taken away by the little wolfdog and placed aside. His hand was lifted and pressed against the young man’s handsome cheek, rubbed against it gently.

The little wolfdog was truly skilled at using “charm”—an unstoppable means of bombardment. Already so handsome, and then raising his eyes to look at him with a wronged, pitiful expression… it was simply cheating.

“Zhenzhen, I was wrong. I’ll listen to you. I won’t go compete in that competition. Don’t be angry.”

“You’re absolutely right. Besides, a certain great man once said: ‘If we lack the necessary and adequate preparations, we will inevitably fall into passivity. To hastily enter battle at the last moment, victory is not guaranteed.'”

Pei Zhen: “…”

“Also, ‘Whatever the conditions are not ripe for, do not force it regardless of the time or place.’ I truly understand now that I was in the wrong.”

Pei Zhen: “…”

Being subjected to the hoarse-voiced, coquettish apology of a particularly lovable young man… probably any human would surrender. Pei Zhen certainly couldn’t stay angry anymore.

In the end, he could only sigh. “Han Xiaohua, let me ask you something. Is perfumery ‘simple’ in your eyes? Do you see all of this… as something simple, superficial, and crude that can be quickly mastered?”

Han Fu: “…No.”

“Do you know what happens every year at the Perfumer Awards in each country? There are always elderly contestants—grandpas and grandmas. Many may never win a prize, yet every year they return, bringing newly acquired knowledge and skills, starting over and over again!”

“In this world, there are many people who may lack enough fame and innate talent, but they at least harbor the purest passion and love for their dreams. Even if they suffer countless failures and setbacks, they refuse to give up. In my opinion, that kind of thing… you could even call it the ‘soul’ of a perfumer.”

“Even with insufficient experience or talent, a perfumer who possesses a soul won’t create terrible work.”

“Conversely, a perfumery artisan without a ‘soul’—even if they win a PA (Perfumer Awards) prize, even if they make the Annual Top Ten—their glory will always be fleeting.”

“They can never withstand the test of time. Without a soul, no matter how explosively popular a creation might be for a while, in the end, it will definitely vanish like the wind, leaving nothing behind.”

“Han Xiaohua, more than anyone, I want you to break into the Top Ten and ascend to the Hall of Fame. But if it’s that kind of hollow achievement… I’d rather you never had it.”

“…”

In a sense, Pei Zhen had always felt that the current atmosphere in the entire industry—so restless and fixated on quick success and instant profit—was largely stirred up by Lister.

Ever since his miracle run at age 15—”breaking through after just one month of training to secure England’s qualification slot”—countless overconfident newcomers had faced the vast, complex, and endlessly unknown field of perfumery with blind optimism.

[If someone else could achieve rapid success in just one month, then maybe I can do it even faster, even better.]

[Just one month, and you can surpass ten or even eight years of hard work by others!]

But the reality was nothing like that at all.

Lister was merely an exception. His success was the combined result of his innate talent, luck, and his family’s capital maneuvering.

What many failed to see was that there were still countless other talented and passionate people in this industry who had staked everything, still struggling, still fighting.

…

…

Generally speaking, in their household, Han Fu tended to play the role of the one who nagged and fussed all day.

Ever since he arrived, there were flowers in vases, succulents on windowsills, cute curtains replacing old ones, and life in the once-empty apartment.

Pei Zhen, on the other hand, was good at having a rich inner world while maintaining a faint expression on his face.

Today, against the norm, it was President Pei who earnestly lectured Han Fu with a long speech. The result? Han Fu sat obediently through the whole thing, listening quietly. Finally, he nodded and said, “Zhenzhen, you sound just like my dad right now.”

“…” Like what? Say that again?

“No, to be accurate, not my dad, but my ‘ideal father.’ You have no idea. I’ve always, always wanted a dad who would put on a stern face, make me sit properly on the sofa, and then lecture me, speaking eloquently to instill a proper outlook on life. It’s just a shame… sigh…”

Pei Zhen instantly lost all enthusiasm for further lecturing.

He silently sat back on the sofa, like a salted fish.

So, is that it? All along, being so well-behaved with me… you were just seeking fatherly love?

Do I really give off that vibe that much…

Forget it. Fatherly love it is. If a monetary relationship could transform into something resembling fatherly love, that was already pretty good. Couldn’t ask for too much.

He sighed and stood up.

Han Fu: “Zhenzhen?”

Pei Zhen turned his face away, an impatient look on it. “Didn’t we agree I’d take you out for a red wine candlelit dinner tonight? It’s already quite late. Aren’t you going to go get changed?”

The little wolfdog jumped up. “Okay, okay, let’s go, let’s go, move it, move it!”