Four years, gone.
Over a thousand days, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
In truth, Yi Changqing was only a year younger than Pei Zhen, not exactly young anymore.
But it seemed the cruel passage of time had effortlessly passed him by, which Pei Zhen found deeply unfair. The vigorous, high-spirited youth of the past had been beaten down by the years into a dead, weary dullness. Someone he’d met a few times before could now walk right past him and hardly recognize him.
Yet Yi Changqing was still so young.
He’d heard people say that if you live a life free of worry and care, you don’t age easily.
Well… after leaving him, his career had taken off smoothly, and he had a lovely girlfriend. He never had to force himself again, never had to endure humiliation staying by the side of a man he could never possibly have feelings for.
With a future so bright, how could his mood possibly be bad?
……
“Zhenzhen, don’t force yourself if you can’t eat.”
Back in the present, the candlelight flickered. The Little Wolfdog beside him was looking at him with worried eyes, black as obsidian.
Pei Zhen put down his fork.
Yi Changqing had already left with Eliza. Out of sight, out of mind.
The beautiful, glittering night view was still there. Their private table remained quiet and peaceful. Everything ordered was the restaurant’s most delicious, most classic dish.
The champagne was exquisite. The steak was tender and juicy, the scallops pan-seared to golden perfection.
His stomach had long been empty, even aching faintly. He clearly needed nourishment desperately, so why… why did he have absolutely no appetite whatsoever?
“In the end… now I have no choice but to enter the competition.”
He forced a bitter laugh. He’d dodged Lister’s provocation, but who could have guessed he wouldn’t dodge Yi Changqing?
He somewhat regretted it now. When they were face-to-face earlier, why did he have to stubbornly cling to his pride?
He should have just honestly said that Han Fu was still a fresh apprentice, nowhere near the level required for that kind of competition. There was no shame in that.
At least it wouldn’t have felt like bowing his head and admitting defeat to Yi Changqing.
“Zhenzhen, it’s okay, don’t worry.”
Han Fu shifted his chair over from across the table, pulling him into an embrace and gently patting his back.
Pei Zhen rested his forehead on Han Fu’s shoulder. The fabric of the brand-new suit carried a hint of sweet, girlish citrus scent.
It was the youthful, feminine fragrance his OEM factory was about to launch for the new summer season.
Han Fu, a grown man, insisted on using his fragrances in different ways to support him, not minding smelling sweet and lovely all day long.
Actually, back when he ran Pei, Pei Zhen rarely created such sweet, cloying scents for young women.
His own taste leaned more towards the cold, sophisticated, mature, and heavy. His client positioning back then was mostly for mature career women and businessmen over thirty.
But now, the clients his small OEM factory faced were all high school and college girls. If the scents weren’t lively, bright, sweet, and cute enough, they mostly couldn’t accept them. Therefore, his recent creations had all turned into the silly-cute-sweet style.
The sweet, lovely fragrance, warmed by the man’s body heat, evaporated and spread in the air. Where their skin touched, it slowly gave off warmth, flowing endlessly like a stream into a parched heart.
Pei Zhen felt like a tablet wailing on low battery, just wanting to comfortably cling to his little charger and not let go.
His little charger was doing his duty diligently, charging him full of comfort. “Really, don’t overthink it. We’ll enter the competition, then! I’ll just seize all my time and prepare like crazy.”
“…”
“Didn’t you say before that one of the great man’s quotes was, ‘Conditions not being ripe, no matter the time or place, do not force things’? But that quote actually has another half.”
“If conditions aren’t ripe, you should—‘actively create conditions.’ So, Zhenzhen, let’s work hard together and ‘create the conditions,’ okay?”
Pei Zhen couldn’t speak for a moment.
The soft music continued to flow quietly. The young man’s slightly boyish face looked incredibly gentle in the dancing candlelight. The dazzling night sky was behind him, yet it couldn’t compare to the starlight shining in his eyes.
So good.
His eyes felt hot.
He held back, but couldn’t. He just tilted his head and slowly wrapped his arms around Han Fu’s waist.
……
……
He truly couldn’t eat much. Han Fu re-ordered congee for him and then, upholding the principle of “avoiding waste,” swept clean the delicious food meant for two.
He hadn’t expected that when Doggo let loose and ate, his appetite was such a bottomless pit.
It made Pei Zhen silently suspect that the ordinary portions of dog food at home might have been too small.
After the congee arrived, the waiter also brought an exquisitely delicate red velvet cake, lit with a candle.
Pei Zhen: “We didn’t order this.”
Han Fu: “Zhenzhen, isn’t your birthday coming up? This restaurant gives a free small cake for any reservation made during the birthday month.”
Pei Zhen was stunned. Han Fu truly knew more about this place than he did.
“Zhenzhen, wait! Before you blow out the candle, you have to make a wish! Quick, quick, seriously think of a wish. Even though it’s not your actual birthday yet, we can celebrate it once today, and I’ll celebrate it with you again on the real day!”
“…” Pei Zhen stared at the little red velvet cake with its ruffled cream edge, a mix of emotions swirling inside him.
He had originally thought this day would mostly be heart-wrenching.
This wasn’t just him being pessimistic for no reason.
Most of the classmates and friends he’d grown up with were around his age. Many hadn’t celebrated their thirtieth birthday at all. Adult life was always busy and trivial. Those who had families were preoccupied with their children and livelihood. Cakes, gifts, ceremonies—all forgotten by their other half. Not fighting was considered lucky, let alone anything about love and romance.
For those who hadn’t settled down, it was another bleak picture. Boil some instant noodles, snap a picture, post it on Moments—that was their celebration. Sure, some rallied friends for grand parties, but they often ended up drinking too much and crying like a dog.
At this damn age, everyone had been mercilessly worn down by life, carrying wounds big or small, bearing the heavy burdens of life, having long given up on their dreams.
In comparison, Pei Zhen felt he was actually quite fortunate—
At least he hadn’t given up on his dream, and he had no intention of doing so.
Probably, his whole life, he was going to butt heads with the fragrances he loved until the very end.
Plus, he had his warm-hearted Little Wolfdog by his side, gently accompanying him, using his slender fingers to help cut the small cake.
…Ever since he came into his life, he truly hadn’t felt lonely at all, not even a little bit.
He suddenly had the strong urge to ask Han Fu: the yearly allowance was less than 300,000, so how about 30 million in one lump sum? Just to arrange a lifetime contract?
Just stay by my side, and never leave, okay?
Of course, thoughts like that… could only remain thoughts.
His mood instantly darkened. A Sugar Daddy who would ask that kind of question was far too lacking in self-awareness.
He shook his head. It doesn’t matter, not afraid.
He’d always have money anyway. If the Little Wolfdog ran off someday, he could always find a new one. Every year, better-looking kids would grow up, like chives—one crop each year, crop after crop.
……
On the way home, the taxi drove slowly through the neon-lit night. Pei Zhen, sleepy and gloomy, curled up in his Little Wolfdog’s arms.
“You’ve… been to that restaurant before?”
Han Fu made an “mm” sound. “Went there with my dad.”
Pei Zhen was taken aback.
Han Fu: “My real dad! Ugh, even though I don’t really like to mention him, either.”
The story he’d imagined silently started to shift.
Being able to bring him to this kind of restaurant suggested Han Fu’s father probably wasn’t the idle, gluttonous, gambling type.
Could it be he went to the city for work, made a fortune, and then abandoned his wife?
Years later, Han Fu, grown up, traveled a long way to seek refuge. That man brought his son to this fancy restaurant to show off, but maybe later, due to some wicked stepmother and inheritance disputes, Han Fu ended up leaving home?
So… that was why, the first time they met, he was working so hard in the factory. Wearing that thick, old, dusty gray uniform, looking so silly and unfashionable?
And because he worked so hard but still didn’t earn enough, he had to moonlight as a male escort?
“…” He thought further, this same young man, doing manual labor and escort work, had actually almost successfully impersonated President Han of Lanrui. If it hadn’t been for Belle’s second young miss being there, even Yi Changqing would have been fooled!
This world truly was full of wonders.
……
Since they were already on this topic… Han Fu spoke very softly, hugging the person in his arms tightly.
“Zhenzhen, what if… just what if, say, I was actually the young master of a big company like Lanrui, actually… super, super rich?”
In the dark, slowly moving car, he felt like one of those long-legged birds stretching out its legs on a beach in some picture—testing the waters at the edge of death.
As expected, Pei Zhen strongly disliked this kind of testing. His voice instantly turned cold.
“If you were rich, then you wouldn’t need me to support you, right? There’d be no point in you staying with me. You could get out of the car and leave right now.”
But Han Fu wasn’t ready to give up. He nuzzled closer, continuing to ask in an extremely gentle, soft voice.
“Zhenzhen, think about it. If I were really rich, you wouldn’t even have to pay me a salary. I could buy you lots and lots of gifts every day. If I were the young master of Lanrui, I could build you the best fragrance production line in the country and set up the most high-end brand with a single word. You wouldn’t need to enter any international competition, wouldn’t have to bother with any Library, Yi Changqing, or Hall of Fame. We’d just crush them with capital right here in the country, bombard them with publicity. I don’t believe…”
“Enough.”
Pei Zhen cut him off. “Do you think I would accept charity from others?”
Han Fu: “How is that charity? Of course, I’d build it because I like you! Spending money on someone you like isn’t charity!”
Spending money on someone you like… indeed couldn’t be called charity. Ha. Pei Zhen let out a cold laugh, its sinister chill rivaling a horror film.
Han Fu: “Zhenzhen! You just laughed exactly like a villain.”
“…”
The atmosphere didn’t get any lighter. The small sunroof above let in the stars and a cool breeze. Pei Zhen just stared at that tiny patch of twinkling darkness, his eyes hollow and stiff.
“In this world,” he said slowly, “I can only support others. No one can support me. Others can only depend on me, spend my money, and listen to me.”
At this point, the conversation had reached its limit.
Based on Han Xiaohua’s usual ability to read the room, he should have known it was time to stop.
But today, for some reason, the Little Wolfdog only held him tighter. “Zhenzhen, have you always been pushing yourself too hard? When you occasionally feel tired, isn’t it nice to lean on someone you like for a change?”
The deeply buried reverse scale had been continuously touched since earlier.
“Like? Lean on? Ha…” Pei Zhen chuckled dryly, full of dark malice.
“Han Fu, you’re a 23-year-old man. Don’t you think saying things like that is childish? Where in this world is there ‘like’? Where is there any ‘feeling’? Don’t you think a relationship like ours, ‘taking what we each need,’ is actually much more stable?!”
“…”
“Isn’t it? You get the money you lack, and I can settle down, focus on my career, and make good money. If you ask me, this kind of relationship is the true, everlasting one! Far more solid and reliable than those illusory, fabricated things made to deceive people!”
Silence, thick as death.
A long moment passed before Han Fu recovered. He was frantic. “Zhenzhen, how can you think like that? Of course, true ‘like’ exists…”
Pei Zhen closed his eyes, ignoring him.
“It really does. You have to believe me.”
Pei Zhen remained silent.
Outside the car, the neon lights were still bright. Inside, the quiet was a little cruel.
After a moment of silence, the Little Wolfdog suddenly buried his head in the crook of Pei Zhen’s shoulder, his soft hair brushing his neck.
“Zhenzhen, I’m really, really poor. Exceptionally poor, can hardly make ends meet. Don’t be angry, don’t stop supporting me, or I won’t be able to go on living.”
……
All the way home, Pei Zhen didn’t say another word.
“Let me wash your hair for you, Zhenzhen…”
Bang! The bathroom door was slammed shut in his face. Han Fu felt the sky was falling. He went back to the living room, ramming his head against the mattress in despair, deeply regretting why he’d had the sudden impulse to creatively court death. Then his phone suddenly buzzed.
“You received a red packet from Your Dearest, Most Beloved Zhenzhen.”
“…”
Bowing his head was impossible. Absolutely no apologizing. That was just his personality.
But when he realized he’d been out of line, he would reflect on it, usually… in the most blunt and straightforward way possible.
