When Fang Chi tilted his face up, a patch of sunlight happened to fall on his face covered with water droplets.
The droplets sparkled. He squinted and tilted his head.
Sun Wenqu looked at him without speaking, the corners of his mouth still curved in a smile.
“You can just squat and jump down,” Fang Chi had probably finished putting his underwear on. He lifted an arm and waved. “The moment you hit the water I’ll pull you up!”
Sun Wenqu looked at the pool and smiled. “Alright.”
“Come on.” Fang Chi opened his arms, treading water.
Sun Wenqu steadied himself and didn’t hesitate. He stripped off his shirt and sweatpants and jumped down.
He had never jumped into water like this before. At most he had jumped into a swimming pool from the edge. That feeling was completely different from dropping like a cannonball from two meters up, leading with his butt, into a wild mountain pool whose depth he didn’t know.
It was actually quite fun. During the brief moment of flying through the air, his skin could feel the sunlight and the wind at the same time. Then suddenly he was wrapped in water.
In front of his eyes were splashes of water glowing with golden light, all stirred up. In his ears was the bubbling sound of water.
His whole body relaxed.
It was a rather marvelous sensation.
At the same moment Sun Wenqu entered the water, Fang Chi dove under. With a stroke of his arms he swam over.
Sun Wenqu’s jumping posture had been quite cute, curled up like a child.
But although he had said before that jumping like this was scary, Fang Chi could tell he knew how to swim. As soon as he entered the water he stretched out, increasing resistance so he wouldn’t keep sinking.
Fang Chi swam to his side. The rippling light moved over Sun Wenqu’s body. He was a bit thin; the inner part of his thigh… had no tattoo.
Sun Wenqu had really lost weight…
He grabbed Sun Wenqu’s wrist and pulled him up out of the water.
“The impact was pretty strong,” Sun Wenqu wiped water from his face and swam toward the edge of the pool. “I know why your underwear fell off.”
“I used to jump without wearing anything,” Fang Chi swam behind him. “I jumped naked. No one was around anyway.”
“You really are wild,” Sun Wenqu laughed. The pool wasn’t big; after a few strokes they reached the edge. It was a rather steep slope. When he stepped on it he realized it wasn’t stone at the bottom but soft fine sand and mud. He felt the thick grass at the edge. “A muddy bottom? No wonder the grass grows so, ”
Before he finished speaking, there was a splash behind him. Fang Chi lunged straight onto him.
Sun Wenqu’s legs were still in the water, his feet on soft sand. With that shove, he fell forward onto the edge of the pool.
“You, ” Sun Wenqu wanted to laugh a little. With that shove his face rubbed against the grass, getting smeared with wet soft mud and bits of grass.
Fang Chi grabbed his shoulders and flipped him over, straddling him on his knees with one hand braced beside his head, staring at him.
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu looked at him and wiped the mud from his face.
Fang Chi pulled his hand away and wiped his face with his fingers. “You got mud on you.”
“Yeah,” Sun Wenqu smiled.
“I…” Fang Chi frowned. His fingertips still wiped lightly at his face. “I just… I want to say… well… why aren’t you saying anything?”
“What should I say?” Sun Wenqu was puzzled. “Aren’t you the one talking right now?”
“Usually when I say something you can guess what I mean,” Fang Chi said.
“I think since yesterday, I don’t have to guess anymore,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
“Oh,” Fang Chi looked at him. The hand still gripping his wrist trembled slightly. After biting his lip as if making up his mind, he said, “So… I… seem to… like you.”
Sun Wenqu narrowed his eyes slightly. A smile spread across his lips, but he didn’t speak.
“Not ‘seem to,’” Fang Chi turned his head and stared at the grass beside him for a moment, then looked back into his eyes. “I do like you. I’ve never liked anyone before, not like how I like you.”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu raised his left eyebrow slightly and tapped Fang Chi’s chin.
“But right now I…” Fang Chi frowned, speaking with difficulty. “I can’t say anything else… don’t dare to say anything else. I only dare to say I like you. Do you… understand what I mean?”
“Haven’t you realized yet?” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “Right now daring to do just this one thing is enough.”
“…Oh,” Fang Chi looked at him. “Then… do you like me?”
“What do you think?” Sun Wenqu twisted the wrist Fang Chi was pinning above his head, but Fang Chi didn’t loosen his grip, whether from nerves or something else, so he had to keep one hand raised. “Anyone else who dared to touch and kiss me like this would’ve been slapped already. Even if I let someone touch or kiss me, if they flirted halfway and ran off even once, I’d never look at them again in my life.”
“When did I ever flirt halfway and run off?” Fang Chi was confused.
“Is that the point?” Sun Wenqu sighed.
“Huh?” Fang Chi looked at him.
“I like you quite a lot. Like you,” Sun Wenqu said. “Otherwise with your temperament I wouldn’t bother with you even if I held it in for three years.”
Fang Chi didn’t speak. He didn’t hear the rest of what Sun Wenqu said at all. He only heard the words like you.
His breathing first stopped, then struggled to keep up with his heartbeat.
At that moment he felt that if his chest were pressed to the ground, he could shake waves out of the water in the pool.
Like.
Like.
Like.
Splashing.
The waves were coming…
“Hey,” Sun Wenqu flicked his chin. “Do you want to do something with me?”
“Hm?” Fang Chi’s mind was still spinning, like, splash, like, splash.
“Let go,” Sun Wenqu twisted the wrist he was still holding. “If you keep gripping it, it’ll lose circulation.”
“Huh?” Fang Chi still hadn’t come back to his senses, but he loosened his grip.
“How about I teach you,” Sun Wenqu bent one leg and pressed a hand on Fang Chi’s shoulder. “Teach you what it means to do something in one smooth motion.”
After saying that he didn’t wait for Fang Chi to react. With a push he shoved Fang Chi aside. Fang Chi was also standing on soft mud and couldn’t get firm footing; the shove easily toppled him over.
Then Sun Wenqu flipped over and pressed down on top of him.
Fang Chi felt a bit dizzy. As he turned over, a beam of sunlight slanted directly into his eyes. Everything in front of him flashed gold. Through the gold he saw Sun Wenqu straddling him.
When his vision cleared after avoiding the sunlight, Sun Wenqu’s kiss fell onto his lips.
In a swirl of dizziness and excitement, he responded almost immediately, without hesitation or pause, tangling with Sun Wenqu’s warm, soft tongue.
Unlike when he kissed Sun Wenqu, Sun Wenqu’s kiss was full of teasing, hooking, tracing, stirring between lips and teeth. When Fang Chi tried to catch him, he would provoke another sensitive spot elsewhere.
His breathing gradually grew heavy as they chased and entwined with each other.
And when Sun Wenqu’s hand pressed against his waist, his whole body tensed. Sun Wenqu had just come out of the water; his palm carried moisture and a faint coolness. As it slowly slid from Fang Chi’s waist down toward his thigh, the shiver it stirred spread through his entire body like an electric current.
Breathing, heartbeat, whether they were quickening or accelerating didn’t matter anymore. At that moment he felt that Sun Wenqu’s touch alone could keep him alive.
Sun Wenqu’s lips slowly moved downward, chin, neck, collarbone. Fang Chi could clearly feel the warm breath that brushed across his skin together with Sun Wenqu’s lips.
The light touches finally stopped above his lower abdomen. Sun Wenqu straightened up, one hand pressing on his shoulder while the other hooked the waistband of his underwear and gave it a gentle pull.
The ground beside the pool sloped downward. From this angle Fang Chi could clearly see every movement Sun Wenqu made on his body.
When those long fingers hooked his waistband, Fang Chi finally noticed how ragged his breathing had become.
He stared at Sun Wenqu’s hand, the hand he had stared at countless times before, a hand that gave him a new visual sensation every time: long, slender, thin yet strong.
Now that hand was just above his lower abdomen. After pulling up the waistband, it let it fall again. Fingertips landed on his lower abdomen, moving downward, further downward… Fang Chi breathed with some difficulty.
This stimulation, excitement and tension mixed together into something he couldn’t quite describe as anticipation or something else, made his vision blur slightly.
When Sun Wenqu’s hand pressed down through the fabric of his underwear, Fang Chi suddenly tilted his head back and let out a low groan.
Sun Wenqu slowly leaned down, his hand rubbing lightly, whispering by his ear, “This is what’s called doing it all in one smooth motion. If I fell asleep right now… how would you feel?”
Fang Chi looked at him while breathing heavily and said nothing. After a few seconds’ pause, he grabbed Sun Wenqu’s hand and shoved it into his pants.
Then he wrapped his arms around him and kissed him fiercely, turning over and pressing him down, continuing to kiss hard along Sun Wenqu’s ear, the side of his neck, the hollow of his shoulder, biting lightly, like a lion that had been starving for a month finally finding a feast.
Sun Wenqu’s breathing was rapid, right by his ear. The hand inside his pants grew warm, wrapping and teasing his most sensitive nerves.
Fang Chi bit his shoulder, grabbed Sun Wenqu’s pants and tugged them down, reaching over to touch…
…
A breeze passed through. The water in the pool rippled slightly, surrounding the legs the two of them still had soaking in the water.
All around them the bamboo leaves rustled softly, a quiet sound that seemed like accompaniment to their breathing, which slowly shifted from urgent back to steady.
Fang Chi stared up at the swaying bamboo leaves above him, unable to clearly describe how he felt now, after the excitement, after the stimulation, after the tension…
He turned onto his side and wrapped his arms around Sun Wenqu, lightly kissing the corner of his mouth.
“Hey…” Sun Wenqu closed his eyes.
“Do you want to rinse off,” Fang Chi said softly, “if you slide down a bit you can soak in the water…”
Before he finished speaking, he glanced toward the bamboo grove and suddenly saw a pair of eyes. He was so startled he sat straight up at once. “Holy!”
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu glanced at him lazily.
“D*mn!” Fang Chi suddenly relaxed again. “You scared me to death. I thought someone was watching.”
Sun Wenqu propped himself up on one arm and looked over as well. Immediately he collapsed onto the grass laughing. “Oh my god, that scared me, Xiaozi saw everything!”
“Come here!” Fang Chi called to Xiaozi, who was sitting by the bamboo scratching behind its ear with its hind leg. The dog trotted over. Fang Chi thought for a moment and then asked quietly, “Do you think it’ll tell anyone?”
“It will,” Sun Wenqu said, still laughing. “The moment it gets back it’ll find Chief Huang and say, ‘Hey, you know what? Those two were jerking mushrooms by the pool…’”
Fang Chi laughed at that and rubbed Xiaozi’s head. “You have to keep it secret. If you tell Chief Huang, I’ll throw you into the water.”
“It’s afraid of water?” Sun Wenqu pulled up his pants and sat up. “Don’t dogs all know how to dog-paddle?”
“Yeah, they can swim but they’re still afraid of it. Local dogs are afraid of water; usually if they don’t need to drink they won’t even go near it,” Fang Chi said with a smile. Then he jumped backward, landing in the water with a splash while lying down.
“Looks like you’re not a local dog,” Sun Wenqu said as he stepped into the water too.
After soaking in the water for a while longer, the two of them climbed back up. The weather was hot; within a few minutes they were completely dry. When they put their clothes back on there was a comfortable, lazy feeling.
Fang Chi looked at Sun Wenqu, who was lowering his head to straighten his clothes, and suddenly noticed a small reddish mark near his neck by the shoulder.
“Did a bug bite you?” Fang Chi leaned closer to look and even touched it. “Does it itch?”
Sun Wenqu turned his head to look at him and after a long pause said, “You really are… innocent.”
“Hm?” Fang Chi blinked.
“It wasn’t a bug,” Sun Wenqu shook the water from his hair. “It was bitten by a wild dog. After biting, the dog lost its memory.”
“I…” Fang Chi suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. After thinking about it he laughed awkwardly, hugged Sun Wenqu tightly, kissed that small red mark, and whispered, “What if someone sees it?”
“A bug bite,” Sun Wenqu said, reaching back to pat his cheek. “It’s summer.”
“It really doesn’t hurt?” Fang Chi thought for a moment and touched it again lightly. “My mouth’s pretty big…”
“Doesn’t hurt,” Sun Wenqu laughed.
The two of them returned to the village with Xiaozi. At this hour the village was quiet; not many people were around, they had all gone out to work.
“Let’s go get the fish directly,” Fang Chi said. “So we don’t have to come out again later.”
“Mm. Remember, a big fish,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Got it,” Fang Chi said with a grin. “The biggest.”
“If your grandpa finds out where the fish came from, will he refuse to cook it?” Sun Wenqu frowned and imitated Grandpa’s tone. “Fish from a romantic rival! Not eating it! Not cooking it! Throw it away!”
“No he won’t,” Fang Chi laughed. “At most he’ll complain about the fish while cooking it.”
Old Man Jiang’s fish were raised well. The pond had flowing water, fed from the mountain, water entering one side and exiting the other. The fish didn’t have the strong fishy smell typical of pond fish. Fang Chi actually liked eating fish from there.
Old Man Jiang was busy by the fish pond. When he saw Fang Chi he smiled. “Little Chi, what are you here for?”
“Buying fish,” Fang Chi walked over smiling. “Grandpa Jiang, give me a big fish.”
“Buying what,” Old Man Jiang said. “I’ll get you a big one. Someone came today asking for fish; I just brought a bunch up.”
“Thanks, Grandpa Jiang,” Fang Chi said. “A big grass carp.”
There was a small house by the pond. Usually when Old Man Jiang stayed to watch the pond he ate and slept there.
After picking out a large grass carp, Old Man Jiang took it into the kitchen and skillfully cleaned it before putting it into a bag and handing it over. “Your grandpa’s going to beat you.”
“He won’t,” Fang Chi said, holding the bag. “He says your fish are the best raised.”
“Bullsh*t,” Old Man Jiang spat. “Your grandpa, that old lunatic, would never say that.”
“He really did,” Fang Chi laughed. “Arguing is arguing, but facts are facts.”
“When you take it back just tell him,” Old Man Jiang pointed at the bag, “it’s from Grandpa Jiang. Eat it or don’t.”
“Alright.” Fang Chi nodded.
Because they were having a welcoming dinner for Sun Wenqu that night, Grandpa and Grandma were already busy in the kitchen when Fang Chi returned with the fish.
As soon as Grandpa saw the fish, he snorted.
“Wenqu wants to eat fish, and it has to be a big one,” Fang Chi said quickly before he could complain. “So I went and got one for him.”
Grandpa took the fish and snorted again, but didn’t say anything else, turning back to his work.
“Braised,” Fang Chi added. “He said he wants braised fish.”
Grandpa answered him with another snort.
“Got it.” Grandma smacked Fang Chi on the back.
Fang Chi ran upstairs. Sun Wenqu had already gone back to his room; the door wasn’t closed. Fang Chi pushed it open and saw Sun Wenqu lifting his arms to take off his shirt.
Seeing him come in, Sun Wenqu tossed the shirt aside and asked, “Grandpa didn’t, ”
Before he finished, Fang Chi had already come over, grabbed him, and pushed him straight down onto the bed.
“Hey,” Sun Wenqu said helplessly. “Even Xiaozi gets nervous when it sees you. And now you don’t even close the door?”
Fang Chi jumped up, ran over to shut the door, then pounced back onto him, hugging him tightly and kissing his face and neck messily, breathing heavily as he slipped a hand into his pants.
“The floodgates are open, huh…” Sun Wenqu turned sideways to dodge his hand.
“I’m not going to do anything,” Fang Chi licked the tip of his ear. “Just touching a little.”
“Enjoying yourself?” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“Don’t know,” Fang Chi held him, his hand wandering along his waist and legs. “I just want to stick close to you.”
“Well then you…” Sun Wenqu had just begun to speak when Grandma called Fang Chi from downstairs.
“Hey!” Fang Chi immediately shouted back, “I’m upstairs!”
“Good heavens,” Sun Wenqu covered his ears. “I’m deaf.”
“Probably wants help,” Fang Chi kissed him twice more before jumping off the bed. “I’ll go see.”
The wiring in the kitchen was a bit old. When the induction cooker and oven were turned on together, the power tripped.
“Don’t use the induction cooker in the kitchen for now, use the outlet in the backyard,” Fang Chi said while setting up a ladder and fixing it. “Tomorrow I’ll change the kitchen wiring. I said I would last time but never did.”
“We hardly ever use the oven,” Grandpa said. “Today your grandma said she’d roast you some char siu, and this happens.”
“There’s char siu too?” Fang Chi jumped down from the ladder. “So fancy.”
“To celebrate you going to university,” Grandpa said with a smile.
“I haven’t gone yet,” Fang Chi said helplessly. Grandpa always confused the entrance exam with actually going to college. “The scores aren’t even out yet. Where would I go?”
“You’ll go anyway,” Grandma said from the side. “Listen to me, you’ve been a bit slow since you were little. When you get to university, keep your eyes open. Don’t chase the first girl you see. Didn’t your grandpa say something about common language? Since you’ll be in college, don’t rush. Slowly find someone with common language.”
“…Okay.” Fang Chi put the ladder away.
As he was about to leave, Grandma smacked him on the back again. “All you say is ‘okay okay.’ Who knows if you even listened.”
“Okay.” Fang Chi ran out of the kitchen.
“That little brat is so annoying!” Grandma laughed and scolded behind him.
When he returned upstairs, Sun Wenqu had already changed clothes and was leaning back in the chair looking at something.
Fang Chi walked over and saw that Sun Wenqu was looking through the materials he had brought back about various universities.
“Aren’t you doing your work?” he asked, gently squeezing Sun Wenqu’s shoulder.
“Inspiration only comes at night,” Sun Wenqu spun a pen between his fingers. “I just flipped through these. About sports university, I think it’s possible.”
“What would I study?” Fang Chi bent down and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “It’s not like there’s a rock-climbing major.”
“You’re already pretty professional at rock climbing now. You’ve won plenty of competitions,” Sun Wenqu tapped the materials with the pen. “You should study something related to that but with more room for development.”
“Like what?” Fang Chi asked.
“This,” Sun Wenqu circled something on the page with the pen. “Sports training.”
“What would that lead to?” Fang Chi leaned closer to look.
“Working at sports schools, clubs, coach, maybe management,” Sun Wenqu said. “Later if you want to start something yourself, that’s good too.”
“Oh,” Fang Chi responded.
“What do you mean ‘oh’?” Sun Wenqu tilted his head to look at him.
“Oh means…” Fang Chi’s gaze fell on the line of Sun Wenqu’s neck and the collarbone lifted by his arm resting on the chair. “It just means oh.”
He couldn’t resist reaching out and hooking a finger along Sun Wenqu’s collarbone, then lowered his head and kissed him.
