Even though Ma Liang had managed to say that line clearly, without stuttering on the key part, Sun Wenqu still thought he’d misheard.
“What?” He stared at the woman. “Miss, you sure you’ve got the right person?”
He glanced again at the tall kid behind her, already about his height. A son?
“Sun Wenqu,” the woman pulled off her sunglasses, stepped closer until her face was right in his. “Your memory sure is selective.”
Sun Wenqu frowned, stepped back and suddenly remembered who she was.
Surprised, even a little shocked. This wasn’t a matter of “a few years.” More like over a decade.
Back then, he’d been a green teenager…
“Fang Ying?” He rubbed his nose, the cloud of perfume making him want to sneeze.
She smiled, raised her hands, and gave him a mocking round of applause. “Long time no see.”
With Sun Wenqu’s hint, Ma Liang recognized her too. Unlike Wenqu’s quiet shock, his came out in speech: “Fang… Fang, Fang, Fang—ah, forget it.”
Fang Ying slid her sunglasses back on, looked at Wenqu. “Heard you were due back any day. Figured, knowing your temper, you wouldn’t wait an extra second. Looks like I was right.”
“You do know me,” Sun Wenqu said. “So, what do you want?”
“Listen to you,” she smirked. “Can’t I come without a reason?”
“You…” Sun Wenqu started, but she cut him off.
“But yes, I do have a reason.”
“Then spit it out.” Sun Wenqu checked the time, only to remember he hadn’t gotten his watch back. He pulled out his phone instead. “I’ve got things to do. Dinner plans.”
“Perfect then.” Fang Ying’s voice turned icy. “We’ll talk over dinner.”
“What do you even want?” Sun Wenqu shoved his hands into his pockets, watching her with irritation.
Truthfully, there was no way anything unfinished still existed between them. With her temper, if there had been, she wouldn’t have waited all these years to show up.
But from her tone, she wasn’t here for anything good.
“Sun Wenqu, you sure are carefree. The past, you just forget when you want, huh?” She took off her sunglasses again, tapping them in her hand. “But should I be saying this in front of Liangzi?”
“I’ll… step out?” Ma Liang offered.
“Suit yourself,” Sun Wenqu turned toward the car. “Liangzi, drive.”
“Trying to run?” Fang Ying’s voice shot up. “Sun Wenqu, you toyed with me for two years and then dumped me—”
Sun Wenqu froze mid-step, spun around. Before he could speak, she jabbed a finger at the young man behind: “Left me with a son to raise alone, while you vanished without a word! Is that what a man does?”
The kid behind her had been silent all along, not even shifting position. If not for her shouting, Sun Wenqu might’ve forgotten he was there.
But the words hit like a thunderclap, not just for Wenqu, but for a passing old lady too. She turned her head, slowing down to openly gawk at the group.
Ma Liang glared daggers at the woman until she shuffled off, muttering.
“Say that again?” Sun Wenqu thought his life couldn’t get any more ridiculous. Exiled by his father for three years, and the very first day back, a “long-lost ex” showed up with a supposed son.
“What, you won’t admit it?” Fang Ying beckoned. “Fang Chi, come here.”
Fang Chi? So he took her surname.
The boy finally moved, stepping closer. Sun Wenqu got a clear look at him now.
The cap and headphones hid half his face, but the visible part: healthy skin, high nose bridge, tight lips was handsome.
Still, not so handsome that Sun Wenqu could delude himself into calling him “son.”
“Seriously, Fang Ying,” Sun Wenqu narrowed his eyes, “after all these years, your scamming skills haven’t improved one bit.”
“Say what you like.” She sneered. “I knew you wouldn’t admit it. If I weren’t desperate, I wouldn’t have come.”
“If I admitted this, I’d need my head examined.” Sun Wenqu said flatly.
“Sun Wenqu, has your conscience been eaten by dogs?! I was only fifteen back then!” Fang Ying’s voice cracked, almost sobbing.
“Whoa.” Ma Liang jumped, eyes darting around. Nobody else was nearby now, but soon it’d be rush hour.
“Wait… did we… even go that far?” Sun Wenqu couldn’t see if there were tears in Fang Ying’s eyes, but he didn’t want to cause a big problem on his very first day back. He pointed to himself, “It’s no secret that I like men…”
At that, Fang Chi suddenly lifted his head, though only slightly.
“B*stard! When you were with me you hadn’t even ‘changed your taste’ yet!” Fang Ying glared, and sure enough her eyes held no tears. “What, just because you like men now, you won’t admit the things you did back then?”
Sun Wenqu’s phone suddenly rang. He didn’t answer, just pulled it out to look.
It was Li Bowen.
“Hello.” He picked up.
“Back already?” Li Bowen’s voice burst out, exaggeratedly cheerful. “Ah, I guessed you’d be back soon. How could you not say a word about it!”
“Just got here.” Sun Wenqu’s mood soured as soon as he thought of those two dresses hanging in his wardrobe.
“Come out, let me throw you a welcome dinner!” Li Bowen said.
“Not today. Another time. I’ve already got plans tonight.” Sun Wenqu glanced at Fang Ying and her so-called “mother-and-son pair.”
“Plans? What plans? You just got back and you’re already booked?” Li Bowen sounded displeased.
Sun Wenqu didn’t answer. Fang Ying walked over, stared at him for a moment, and said: “Finish our business first before you start making phone calls, all right?”
“Who’s that?” Li Bowen asked, hearing the voice in the background.
“No one. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Sun Wenqu hung up, then looked at Fang Ying. “Just say what you want. I’m in a hurry to eat, I don’t have time to act in some melodrama with you.”
“This kid’s in school now, needs money. My work’s unstable, raising him is too hard…” Fang Ying shifted expression, wearing a sorrowful look. “I…”
“You want me to help raise your son?” Sun Wenqu glanced at Fang Chi. He had to admit, he admired the kid, Fang Ying was laying it on thick, yet he stood there calm as ever, like he’d just come along to meet a deadbeat dad.
“Just give me some money and that’s enough.” Fang Ying smoothed her hair and finally revealed her purpose. “I don’t want to drag this out. One time. A hundred thousand.”
“How much?” Sun Wenqu actually laughed.
“First, t-t-test… DNA.” Ma Liang, cigarette in mouth, muttered from the side. “Paternity t-t-test.”
“Test? What’s there to test!” Fang Ying barked. She grabbed Fang Chi’s arm and yanked him forward. “He looks exactly the same!”
Fang Chi, standing unprepared, stumbled hard and fell right into Sun Wenqu’s face.
Sun Wenqu, caught off guard, didn’t dodge. Their faces stopped inches apart.
They glared at each other for several seconds.
Sun Wenqu finally got a good look at Fang Chi’s eyes under the cap brim: deep-set, pupils dark.
But what each saw in the other’s gaze was disdain.
That annoyed Sun Wenqu. The kid was part of a scam, at best an accomplice yet he still had the gall to look at the victim with contempt? To give him that “looking down on you” expression?
Too much acting talent!
The staring match dragged on until Ma Liang asked quietly: “D-do they… look alike?”
“I’ll do the math for you.” Sun Wenqu turned to Fang Ying. “You say you had a son at fifteen. That would make him fourteen now…”
He turned back to study Fang Chi’s face to face. “Don’t you think this kid looks a little too… precocious?”
“Don’t play dumb with me!” Fang Ying crossed her arms, her voice still shrill. “If you don’t deal with this, I’ll make sure you never have a good day again! I’ve got nothing left, nothing to lose!”
“That so? Fine.” Sun Wenqu’s mouth curled into a smile. He leaned closer, practically nose to nose with Fang Chi again. “My son, huh? Come on then, call me Dad.”
“Dad.” Fang Chi said it instantly, not even a heartbeat of hesitation.
Sun Wenqu opened his mouth but no words came out. D*mn, the kid was committed!
After two seconds, he turned away, snatched the car keys from Ma Liang. “Liangzi, give the money.”
With that, he opened the door, got in, and started the engine.
Ma Liang fished an envelope from his pocket, tossed it to Fang Ying, then climbed into the car as well.
As the car rolled away, Fang Ying’s furious scream echoed behind them: “You think I’m some beggar you can toss scraps at?! B*stard! Sun Wenqu, this isn’t over!”
“How much did you give?” Wenqu finally asked after driving out of the compound.
“Three… three thousand,” Ma Liang said. “Just withdrew it this morning. Dinner money.”
“So I still have to pay for the meal later?” Sun Wenqu chuckled.
“U-use a card,” Ma Liang laughed. “At first I thought throwing c-cash around would look b-bad*ss.”
Sun Wenqu drove in silence for a bit, then clicked his tongue. “It’s no surprise Fang Ying knows where I live. But how did she know I went up the mountain? Even the timing of when I’d come back?”
“Ask… asking me?” Ma Liang clicked his tongue too.
“Of course I’m asking you. I didn’t say it was you.” Wenqu said.
“Where’s your b-brain?” Ma Liang shot back.
Sun Wenqu gave him a look, then after a pause said: “Bowen?”
Ma Liang said nothing.
“I’m telling you, this isn’t over!” Fang Ying muttered as she squeezed the envelope, then clapped Fang Chi on the shoulder. “Come on, we’ll let him off for now. Dinner’s on me.”
“No thanks.” Fang Chi tugged at his collar. “I’ll eat at home.”
“At home, who’s cooking for you? What’s the point of going back alone?” Fang Ying pulled at him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be cooking for Little Guo?” Fang Chi put his headphones back around his neck.
“Left him with my mom,” Fang Ying yanked the headphones off him again. “I’ve got money now, it’s normal to treat you. Besides, we need to talk about next steps…”
“Next… steps?” Fang Chi looked at her. “Do you really take him for an idiot?”
“Hey, I never said he was. He’s not stupid, he’s clever. But clever or not, he’s still a scumbag. I’ll explain later.” Fang Ying sighed dramatically.
She didn’t drag him far. Just by the back gate of the compound, she found a small eatery, ordered two dishes and a bottle of liquor.
Then she pulled out the envelope, counted the bills, pinched out a few notes then, thinking better of it, added two more.
While she hesitated, Fang Chi spoke from across the table: “I don’t want it.”
“Now that’s what I call a little brother!” Fang Ying gave him a thumbs-up with one hand, and with the other swiftly stuffed the cash into her bag. “You saw it yourself today. The man’s trash! Pretended not to recognize me!”
“Mm.” Fang Chi grunted.
“How could I let him off after what he did? Ruined me back then! If not for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Pregnant! Dropped out of school!”
Fang Chi covered his mouth, cleared his throat, but said nothing.
“What, don’t believe me?” Fang Ying raised an eyebrow.
“No,” Fang Chi glanced at her. “It’s just, when you were in junior high, I hadn’t even started primary school. I didn’t know you then.”
“I told you that ages ago.” Fang Ying clicked her tongue.
“Yeah.” Fang Chi nodded.
Fang Ying was his second granduncle’s side’s older sister, his uncle’s daughter. He only got to know her when he transferred to the city for junior high and his grandfather asked her to look after him.
He’d never heard her mention Sun Wenqu before until recently, when she brought him up often. Said they were classmates, that Sun Wenqu came from money, a playboy, seduced her when she was an innocent girl, then dumped her…
He didn’t always believe her, people said she’d been spinning convincing lies since age ten. Still, there must’ve been something between her and Sun Wenqu.
And honestly, Sun Wenqu’s flippant attitude earlier like one sentence could erase everything was grating. Fang Chi disliked him all the more for it.
But more than “punishing a scumbag,” what kept Fang Chi on Fang Ying’s side was that, despite her unreliability, she’d treated him well these last years. When he was hospitalized not long ago, she stayed with him every single day for a month.
“You know, when I first got with Sun Wenqu, it wasn’t for his money. I was prettier then, had pride too, most guys, I wouldn’t look twice at.” Fang Ying grew wistful as she ate. “It was because he was talented. Music, calligraphy, painting, he could do it all. Even played erhu. His handwriting was beautiful too. Anytime the school needed calligraphy for an event, they always asked him…”
“Oh.” Fang Chi kept his head down, eating.
“And he did pottery too… you know, like in Ghost, that kind of thing. Elegant, romantic. Though his father was the real potter.” Fang Ying gestured.
“Sounds impressive. So you two got together by…” Fang Chi swirled his teacup. “Getting drunk?”
Fang Ying froze, then slapped the table. “What’s that supposed to mean!”
Fang Chi just smiled.
“…Forget it.” Fang Ying waved it off. “Bottom line, Sun Wenqu’s trash. I really liked him, he was my first love! Even enemies don’t turn on each other that fast! B*stard.”
“So how much do you actually need? If you’re short, I can give you some.” Fang Chi said seriously. To squeeze money out of Sun Wenqu, he thought, was hopeless.
“Forget it, you couldn’t cover it anyway.” Fang Ying sighed, then smiled. “But just hearing you say that makes me touched. If you really want to help, get the money out of him. I’m not in this mess just because of him, but he started it all.”
“You’re not in debt from gambling, are you?” Fang Chi frowned.
“No! Look… here’s the deal.” Fang Ying ate as she spoke. “You go see him yourself in the next couple days.”
“Me?” Fang Chi raised his head.
“I can’t go out right now. You go find him.”
“Hold on.” Fang Chi frowned deeper. “You know this scam’s already been exposed in his face. Do we really have to throw all self-respect away? He’s a scumbag, not an idiot.”
“You’re so naïve.” Fang Ying shot him a look. “That story was just an excuse. To make trouble with him, we need a pretext. I’m telling you, he’s generous, has money, hates hassle. Got it?”
Fang Chi said nothing.
Fang Ying poured him some liquor. “Help your older sis. If I can’t scrape the money together soon, I’ll really be in trouble.”
After eating, Fang Chi went home.
When he turned on the lights, he saw the cat food on the table had been knocked over, scattered across the floor. Chief Huang was perched on the TV cabinet like a vase, staring down at the mess with imperious disdain.
“Don’t like it?” Fang Chi tossed his cap and headphones onto the couch, bent down, picked up a piece, blew on it, and chewed it. “Tastes fine to me.”
Chief Huang gave him a contemptuous meow.
“Suit yourself.” Fang Chi glanced at it. “If you don’t like it, you can always go back to straying on the streets.”
The cat ignored him, hopped onto the sofa, and curled up in his hat.
After a while of boring TV, Fang Chi was about to go to bed and play on his phone when it rang.
“Friday there’s a stream-tracing group. We need a guide. You free to take it?” It was Chen Xiang, his coach.
“Where to? I’ll need to ask school for leave.” Fang Chi checked the calendar, Friday was tomorrow. “Overnight?”
“Xunlong Valley,” Chen Xiang said. “Overnight.”
“This time of year? There’s barely any water in the falls.” Fang Chi hesitated.
“It’s a fake tour, they’re not here for the stream. Just walk them a stretch, that’s enough.” Chen Xiang chuckled.
“Alright then.” Fang Chi smiled too. “I’ll take it.”
“I’ll have the team leader call you tomorrow.” Chen Xiang hung up right after saying this.
According to Fang Ying’s plan, tomorrow they’d probably push him to go ask Sun Wenqu for money, and knowing himself, once he had to head out, he’d probably end up roaring.
But honestly, he really didn’t want to go, not because he didn’t want to help Fang Ying, but because the whole thing was just too stupid.
Using a scam that couldn’t fool even a three-year-old as the opening move, and still hoping to spin it into some kind of follow-up plot, what a joke. With Sun Wenqu’s kind of personality, even if the kid was real, let alone fake, he still might not bother.
Thinking of Sun Wenqu, Fang Chí frowned. Suddenly, he remembered what Sun Wenqu had said to him, and he felt a strange, indescribable sensation. He rubbed his arms, pulled the blanket over himself.
Me liking men wasn’t exactly a secret anyway…
