This restaurant called Teang Lying Down, Fang Chi had never heard of it before. He searched on his phone and found very little information. In one food forum someone had mentioned it, saying it was a restaurant perfect for lazy people, very enjoyable, with delicious food but expensive.
Probably only someone like Sun Wenqu, rich, idle, and lazy, could find a place like this.
But Fang Chi didn’t really care what the restaurant was like. Right now he was in an extremely good mood. From returning to school after the sixth day of the New Year until now, more than two months had passed. This was the happiest and most comfortable he had felt.
Right now even if Sun Wenqu invited him to eat sh*t… of course he still wouldn’t go.
…
“Why aren’t you talking?” Sun Wenqu asked, turning his head.
“Huh?” Fang Chi came back to his senses. “Ah.”
“There’s a gift in the back seat,” Sun Wenqu said. “That gift box is American ginseng lozenges. Uncle Liangzi gave them to you… they’re not all yours, one box is mine.”
“Oh. Thank him for me,” Fang Chi reached back and grabbed the gift box. Without even looking closely he opened it, then froze. “Such a big box and there’s only one bottle?”
“When you feel tired just suck on one,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “Definitely more effective than the junk you used to bring into the mountains for those useless guys.”
Fang Chi stuffed the bottle into his backpack. “Mm.”
“That small black long box is from me,” Sun Wenqu added.
“Oh.” Fang Chi felt around behind him, took the small box, and brought it over. “Can I open it now?”
“That’s funny, you opened the other one so smoothly, and now you’re asking?” Sun Wenqu curled his lips. “Open it. You can use it every day.”
“Oh.” Fang Chi lowered his head and opened the small box.
Inside was a white pen. It was beautiful and looked quite high-end.
“A fountain pen?”
“A fountain pen,” Sun Wenqu nodded. “Although I feel like it doesn’t quite match you, I really didn’t have time to pick something that matches you better.”
“Thanks, I really like it. Actually it matches me pretty well,” Fang Chi smiled, then asked, “Are you very busy lately?”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu took a breath and slowly exhaled. “I’ll be busy again for a while.”
“Will you keep… living at my grandpa’s place?” Fang Chi asked, spinning the pen in his hand.
“Until this round of work is done I’m not planning to move,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile. “But I won’t always stay there either, it’s not that convenient. We’ll see later.”
“…Oh.” Fang Chi responded softly.
Sun Wenqu drove around twisting through streets for quite a while but still hadn’t arrived. He kept glancing out the window.
Fang Chi watched him for a long time before finally asking, “Where is it? We passed this road three minutes ago.”
“Did we?” Sun Wenqu raised an eyebrow, was silent for a moment, then laughed. “Sorry, I got lost.”
“Isn’t this your favorite restaurant? How can you get lost?” Fang Chi was speechless.
“I haven’t been here for years,” Sun Wenqu pulled over to the roadside and took out his phone to call Ma Liang. “Quick, I’m lost… going to eat at Lying Down, yeah. I’m here, I’m at… let me see…”
Fang Chi leaned against the car door watching Sun Wenqu make the call, still spinning the pen in his hand.
It didn’t seem like that long, but just looking at Sun Wenqu now gave him a strange feeling of “long time no see,” mixed with the happiness of reunion and a slight comfortable awkwardness.
Hard to describe.
Today Sun Wenqu was probably dressed less casually than when he was in the countryside. Under a thick wool coat he wore a dark smoky-gray sweater, black casual pants, and black ankle boots. He looked clean and handsome.
Not quite as snake-like.
Human GPS Uncle Liangzi quickly gave Sun Wenqu directions. Just in case, he even told Sun Wenqu to hand the phone to Fang Chi and repeated the route to him before hanging up.
Sun Wenqu drove for a while longer. Looking around, Fang Chi finally felt like they were somewhere that might actually have high-end restaurants.
The area was full of various clubs, five-six-seven-eight-star hotels, and many upscale residential complexes. The gates competed with each other to be bigger, like a contest. It felt like the square-dancing aunties would love it.
The car stopped on a small street. Sun Wenqu turned off the engine.
“We’re here.”
“We’re parking the car here?” Fang Chi froze. Sun Wenqu had parked right at the restaurant’s front entrance.
“They’ll park it for us. That’s how you show we’re lazy enough,” Sun Wenqu got out of the car.
Fang Chi got out with his backpack. After thinking about it he slipped the pen into the inner pocket of his coat, then tossed the backpack back into the car.
The restaurant didn’t look very eye-catching. The storefront had a rustic countryside style. By the door there was only a wooden sign that said: Lying Down. The handwriting looked about like that of an elementary school student.
Fang Chi followed Sun Wenqu inside. A waiter came over, took Sun Wenqu’s car keys, and went out the door.
“Mr. Sun, your table is on the second floor. Please follow me,” another server said, leading them upstairs.
From the server’s clothing alone Fang Chi could already feel the restaurant’s style, loose casual uniforms and thick, soft furry slippers on their feet.
The stairs were soft too. Thick carpets everywhere, even the railings wrapped in plush.
“Sleepy yet?” Sun Wenqu asked quietly, turning his head.
“No,” Fang Chi looked around everywhere. “Just a little worried.”
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu looked at him.
“This restaurant will go bankrupt in summer, won’t it?” Fang Chi said.
Sun Wenqu froze for a moment, then burst out laughing for quite a while. “They change the decorations in summer.”
“Corrupt,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue.
Following the server forward, Fang Chi noticed the second floor was quite large. Glass ceiling, glass walls, warm yellow lights everywhere. Along the walls were many thick round cushions placed casually, with several kids brought by customers sitting on them playing.
Looking more closely, he realized the booths weren’t the usual type. Instead they were separated by padded partitions into small spaces, each with a different style.
Some had large hanging baskets. Some had recliners. Some were giant donut-shaped dog-bed cushions. Some looked like oversized baby cradles…
Fang Chi couldn’t help feeling impressed. The owner of this restaurant had basically collected every comfortable lazy position people wished for.
It really suited snakes like Sun Wenqu who were almost never seen standing.
But he also began to worry, given Sun Wenqu’s slightly crazy style, would he actually book a bed and make them lie down while eating… He had never eaten lying down before. Once in the middle of the night he had been too lazy to get up when thirsty and poured water straight into a cup while lying down.
Then he had to dry his pillow in the sun afterward.
“This is your table,” the server stopped. “Please wait a moment. Appetizers will arrive shortly.”
“Thank you,” Sun Wenqu nodded.
After the server left, Fang Chi carefully looked at the “table.”
A pit.
A square pit filled with soft plush padding. One side sloped upward, also padded thickly. Below was a flat surface, probably for sitting.
Eat while leaning?
Eat while doing sit-ups?
“Take off your coat and get in,” Sun Wenqu nudged him. “Take off your shoes.”
“Huh?” Fang Chi froze before realizing. He took off his coat and hung it on the wall, then removed his shoes. “You didn’t even ask whether my feet smell.”
“If they really smelled I’d have noticed at your grandpa’s,” Sun Wenqu also removed his coat and shoes. “Hurry up and get in. I need to stretch my back.”
“You can stretch in a place like this…” Fang Chi stepped one foot into the pit. It looked shallow, but the moment he stepped in his foot sank deeply and suddenly. Startled, he almost fell in. “Hey!”
“Comfortable, right?” Sun Wenqu stepped down into the pit, sat on the small platform along the edge, then leaned back, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.
“Haven’t felt it yet,” Fang Chi looked at the pit. It was probably a two-person seat, and there was nowhere else to sit except beside Sun Wenqu. So he sat next to him. After hesitating, he leaned back as well, and couldn’t help closing his eyes and letting out a long breath.
“Ah…”
“Comfortable, right?” Sun Wenqu smiled.
“Mm.” Fang Chi responded. It really was quite comfortable. The angle of this slanted surface was very suitable, slightly sunken in the middle so that his waist and back fit perfectly, and his feet were wrapped in thick plush.
“I book this seat every time I come,” Sun Wenqu turned his head. “Once you lie down you don’t want to move anymore.”
“Then…” Fang Chi also turned his head. When he saw Sun Wenqu’s eyes, he suddenly felt a little dazed, and instantly forgot what he was going to say.
“What?” Sun Wenqu asked.
Fang Chi had no choice but to turn his face back toward the ceiling. After pausing for a moment he said, “Then how do we eat later?”
Sun Wenqu smiled, took two cushions from the pit and stuffed them behind his back, then leaned against them steadily. “Like this.”
Fang Chi copied his posture and leaned back as well, then looked at the pit in front of him. “Where’s the table?”
Sun Wenqu felt along the wall of the pit with his hand, probably pressing a switch. A dining board rotated out from the wall of the pit and stopped right in front of them. He tapped the board with his finger. “There’s one on your side too. They can fit together.”
“Corrupted,” Fang Chi felt around, found the switch, and pushed out the dining board on his side. It matched perfectly with Sun Wenqu’s. “Eating a meal like this.”
After setting up the table, neither of them spoke again. Fang Chi suddenly felt a little awkward.
He and Sun Wenqu were basically leaning against each other. Because the posture was so comfortable, it looked a bit… intimate. If he moved his arm, he could touch Sun Wenqu. Actually, even if he didn’t move, they were still pressed together. The same was true for their legs.
Being able to feel the other person’s state with every breath gave him a feeling he couldn’t quite describe, awkward, nervous, yet also quite enjoyable. If he had to sit across from him instead, he probably would feel dissatisfied.
“How’s the progress of your studying lately?” Sun Wenqu suddenly asked.
His voice was right by Fang Chi’s ear, carrying distinct little grains, brushing past the side of his neck one by one.
“It’s… pretty, well, pretty good,” Fang Chi suddenly felt his breathing tighten. He didn’t even dare turn his head, staring straight at a painting on the wall opposite. “Mm, pretty good. There’s progress.”
The painting was of a cat.
It felt like it wasn’t as good-looking as the ones Sun Wenqu painted.
Yeah, Sun Wenqu looked good.
And he didn’t look like that effeminate Chief Huang.
Not that, Xiaozi was handsome too…
What the h*ll kind of thoughts are these!
Sun Wenqu laughed, and quite loudly too, not hiding it at all.
Fang Chi immediately understood what he was laughing at and felt a little annoyed that he was too clever. He turned his head and glanced sideways at Sun Wenqu. “What are you laughing at.”
“Laughing at you,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
“I’m this handsome and you can still laugh,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. To be honest, with Sun Wenqu laughing like this, he suddenly relaxed instead. “Don’t you have any old-man dignity.”
“Grandma says I look younger than you,” Sun Wenqu said.
“She said you look even dumber than me,” Fang Chi corrected him.
“She said more later,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
“Impossible.” Fang Chi said firmly.
“Really. If you don’t believe me I’ll have her call you when I go back.”
Fang Chi turned his face to look at him. After a long moment he said, “The old lady defected.”
After staring at each other for a few seconds, the two of them laughed together, leaning against the cushions. They were still laughing when the waiter came to bring the appetizer.
“This is good. Try it while it’s hot,” Sun Wenqu looked at the small dish that had been brought over.
There were only two snacks in the dish that looked like cylindrical cakes. Fang Chi picked one up and examined it. “What is this thing?”
“Eat,” Sun Wenqu picked up the other one and took a bite, then kicked his legs. “Oh my god, this is really good.”
“Someone who didn’t know would think you were poisoned,” Fang Chi said with a smile and took a bite too.
Only after it entered his mouth did he realize it wasn’t cake, and it wasn’t sweet either, it was savory.
The outer layer was probably bacon, underneath was a slice of pineapple, and in the middle were shredded meat wrapped in butter and cheese, along with shreds that might be cucumber.
Very delicious. Extremely delicious.
The main dish Sun Wenqu ordered was a mixed spare-rib mini hotpot, one for each of them. The little hotpots were placed on the table, surrounded by delicate small dishes holding dipping sauces, along with several small plates of delicate meatballs.
Fang Chi didn’t talk much while eating. Combined with how delicious the hotpot was, after the waiter pulled the curtain closed and left, he lowered his head and started eating.
“If it’s not enough we can order more,” Sun Wenqu said leisurely while eating beside him. “I ordered according to my portion. If it’s not enough for you we’ll get another pot with a different flavor.”
“It’s enough,” Fang Chi gnawed on a rib. “Since I’m not training I can’t eat that much.”
“Is that so,” Sun Wenqu looked at him. “Why do I feel like if this pot weren’t here in the middle you’d chew on the table too.”
“I always eat like this,” Fang Chi glanced at him. “Eat your food. Stop staring at me.”
“Haven’t looked in quite a while,” Sun Wenqu smiled.
When Fang Chi bit down on the bone, he accidentally bit his own finger. The pain almost made tears fly out. He held his fingertip in his mouth without speaking.
“After celebrating your birthday today,” Sun Wenqu took out his phone, “I have to go back to the village early tomorrow morning. Probably won’t have time to come out again until after your exams.”
“Oh.” Fang Chi answered with his finger in his mouth, feeling a bit like sighing.
“Give me a smile,” Sun Wenqu pointed his phone at him. “I’ll take a few photos to show Grandma when I go back. I told her I brought you out for a big meal.”
Fang Chi turned his head, biting a rib, and bared his teeth at Sun Wenqu.
The hotpot was delicious. Fang Chi really had been eating less since he stopped training, but in the end he still fished everything out of the pot. He didn’t even leave the soup base, pouring it into a bowl and drinking it.
“I’m telling you,” Sun Wenqu said, though he claimed he ordered according to his own portion, he still had quite a bit left over. He raised his phone at Fang Chi again. “The soup base is full of purines.”
“Then let it float for a while,” Fang Chi took a napkin and wiped his mouth. “You really waste things.”
“Let me waste it once in a while,” Sun Wenqu said lazily with a smile, taking two more photos of him. “At your house I clean my plate every meal. Anything I can’t finish goes to Xiaozi anyway. It exercises a lot. Just worried it might shed.”
“A village dog isn’t that particular,” Fang Chi smiled.
“Hey, son,” Sun Wenqu suddenly leaned closer to him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling him in, while raising the phone with the other hand. “Give me a dimple smile.”
This action made Fang Chi freeze. Every place that was touching Sun Wenqu suddenly heated up at the same time, burning until even his fingers felt hot. Facing the phone’s camera, he bared his teeth.
“Can you… smile a little nicer? Anyone who didn’t know would think I kidnapped you,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “That face full of unwillingness.”
“Let me… settle down a bit,” Fang Chi lowered his head and rubbed his face with both hands. “I’m a little dizzy right now.”
“You’re dizzy without even drinking?” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“No, eating can make you dizzy too. If you eat too much the blood goes to the stomach to help digestion, and the blood in the brain…” Fang Chi said while rubbing his face with his head lowered.
“Lift your head and smile!” Sun Wenqu interrupted him.
Fang Chi raised his head and smiled at the camera.
Sun Wenqu pressed the shutter, then let go of him. Looking at the photo on his phone, he sent one to Fang Chi. “Hey, I like seeing you smile like that. Pretty spirited. Looks arrogant.”
“That was because I was nervous,” Fang Chi glanced at the photo. When Sun Wenqu smiled he looked very good, unexpectedly with a bit of innocence, almost like a child.
“I’m going to lie down for a bit,” Sun Wenqu removed the cushion behind him and leaned back, closing his eyes. “Ah, lying back after eating really is one of life’s pleasures.”
“You’ll get fat,” Fang Chi smiled. “Aren’t you pretty particular about things? Not afraid of gaining weight?”
“The key is I’m not fat,” Sun Wenqu curved his lips, pinching his own leg. “Still pretty thin.”
Fang Chi stared at his hand for a moment, then reached out and lightly pinched his leg as well. “Mm.”
Sun Wenqu seemed to pause for a moment, then opened his eyes to a slit and smiled at him without saying anything.
Fang Chi felt the air solidify along with that smile, solidifying into a particularly ambiguous moment.
Even when the waiter came in to clear the dishes and brought a dessert afterward, the stillness wasn’t broken.
Fang Chi looked at the dessert on the table. It was quite thoughtful, there was a cup of mint water for rinsing the mouth and a cup of honey grapefruit tea. In the middle was a bowl of what looked like an ordinary sweet fermented rice with egg flowers, but just from the smell you could tell it was different from the usual kind, especially fragrant.
Sun Wenqu beside him moved a little, picked up the mint water and rinsed his mouth, then took a sip of the grapefruit tea before leaning back again, his hand resting at his side, looking very relaxed.
Fang Chi followed suit with a sip of mint water and then several gulps of grapefruit tea. He was full.
He moved all the cups in front of himself and stared at the slightly swaying water. The egg flowers slowly turning in the transparent large cup made him feel a bit… dizzy.
He turned his head away, removed the cushion behind him, and leaned back too, half-lying side by side with Sun Wenqu.
After lying there for a few seconds, he felt like his butt was pressing on Sun Wenqu’s hand. So he grabbed Sun Wenqu’s hand, intending to move it away a little.
But after grabbing it, he suddenly changed his mind, and simply held Sun Wenqu’s hand without moving again.
Sun Wenqu didn’t move either. He didn’t even open his eyes.
This feeling was hard to describe. Fang Chi had never felt anything like it before.
His heartbeat was a bit fast, nervous, excited, embarrassed… a whole mess of feelings he couldn’t sort out. Only the hand of Sun Wenqu that he was holding felt clear and distinct.
Strictly speaking, Sun Wenqu’s hand wasn’t the “beautiful” type. It was the long and handsome type. Just by looking you could tell the fingers were strong. The more you looked, the less you got tired of it.
Fang Chi had never realized he liked looking at other people’s hands so much.
What was so good about hands? Fang Chi lifted his other hand and looked at it.
His own hand was just ordinary, with calluses and scars left from long-term rock climbing.
“Not as good-looking as mine. Do you really need to compare to see that?” Sun Wenqu suddenly said beside him.
“Huh?” Fang Chi jumped in fright and quickly put his hand down. When he turned his head, Sun Wenqu still had his eyes closed. Who knew when he had secretly peeked.
“My hand,” Sun Wenqu pulled his hand free and raised it in front of him, “peerless elegance, beauty that sinks fish and makes geese fall, one strike of this palm and a hundred handsome men are born…”
“Mm.” Fang Chi reached out and lightly tapped the back of his hand, then slowly slid downward. “Much better-looking than mine.”
“Why so cooperative today?” Sun Wenqu smiled and lowered his hand.
“I don’t know,” Fang Chi followed it and grabbed his hand again. “Maybe I drank too much.”
“Drank too much?” Sun Wenqu turned his head to look at him. “Drank too much of what?”
“Drank…” Fang Chi also turned his head to look at him. “Too much hotpot soup base.”
“Floating?” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“Mm.” Fang Chi nodded.
This time Fang Chi didn’t turn away to avoid Sun Wenqu’s gaze. He stared straight back at him.
No one knew how long they stared. In the end Sun Wenqu couldn’t hold it anymore and blinked. “Hey, my eyes are about to tear up from staring, ”
Before he finished speaking, Fang Chi suddenly flipped over on top of him and kissed him.
Sun Wenqu froze for a moment, then was startled. The waiter could come over at any time. With Fang Chi’s mindset right now, if the waiter saw them then he probably wouldn’t even need to take the college entrance exam anymore.
He quickly grabbed Fang Chi’s hair and yanked his head up, lowering his voice and whispering, “F*ck, do you know where this is? There’s just a shabby little curtain there…”
Fang Chi frowned and stared at him, slapped his hand away, grabbed his chin, and kissed him again.
Can’t wait until next week to see more? Want to show your support? Come to my Patreon where you can get 5 or more chapters of A Dog Out of Nowhere right away ! Or go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! :)
