That night the group continued the barbecue again, like they had been wound up with springs. One by one they made noise until the middle of the night before finally resting.
When Fang Chi finished cleaning up and went upstairs, Sun Wenqu was already asleep. This time he was really asleep, Fang Chi could hear his steady breathing.
There was a stack of papers on the desk. Fang Chi picked them up and looked. They were design drawings numbered by date: bottles, pots, cups, and plates. There were quite a lot, and some could be seen to be drawn as sets.
Sun Wenqu’s drawings were very detailed. Fang Chi couldn’t understand what they were meant to express, but he still thought they looked very nice. Even the pair of oddly shaped bottles that looked a bit awkward sitting together seemed pleasing to the eye the longer he looked.
Sun Wenqu was sleeping soundly wrapped in a thin quilt. He must have worked very hard today. Fang Chi looked at the air conditioner temperature, 20 degrees.
He picked up the remote and quietly raised it a few degrees. At this temperature, if Sun Wenqu grabbed his thin towel blanket in the middle of the night, he would probably wake up freezing.
When he got onto the bed, it shook a few times. Sun Wenqu frowned and made a very light sound.
Fang Chi quickly turned off the light, lay down, and hugged him, rubbing his arm a few times.
Sun Wenqu continued sleeping. Fang Chi found it quite interesting, like coaxing a child. He lightly patted him a few times, leaned over and kissed Sun Wenqu on the face, then finally closed his eyes.
They had walked in the mountains all day, and then made noise all night. Fang Chi was tired too. As soon as he closed his eyes he fell asleep directly, without even going through his usual random thoughts before bed. He slept through the night without dreaming.
When he woke up in the morning it was already eight o’clock. He found the air conditioner had been turned back down to 20 degrees. His towel blanket and Sun Wenqu’s small quilt were both covering him, and it felt quite warm.
Sun Wenqu was no longer in bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, hearing Liang Xiaotao downstairs teasing Xiaozi and making him laugh.
When he got out of bed he saw a note by the pillow with writing on it. At a glance he could tell it was Sun Wenqu’s handwriting.
—I went running.
Fang Chi smiled. One snake runs every day, while one wild dog sleeps until eight or nine before getting up.
The classmates were heading back to the city today. When he went downstairs, Grandma had already cooked dumplings for them, and everyone was eating noisily.
“Hey Fang Chi, the dumplings at your house are really good.” Xu Zhou shouted when he saw him come down.
“Tell my grandma that,” Fang Chi smiled. “If she hears it she’ll pack some for you to take.”
“Really?” Xu Zhou held his bowl and turned toward the kitchen. “Grandma, the dumplings are so delicious, ”
“Then eat more,” Grandma said from the kitchen. “There’s plenty. In a bit Grandma will pack some for you to take back.”
Everyone in the yard burst out laughing.
After washing up, Fang Chi sat down beside Xiao Yiming, who was silently eating dumplings with his head lowered.
“Going back to stay at my place first?” Fang Chi asked.
“Mm,” Xiao Yiming nodded. “I contacted my cousin. In a couple of days I’ll go to his place.”
“Cousin? Which cousin,” Fang Chi thought for a moment. “The one who runs a shop in the computer market?”
“Yes. I had already told him before that I’d go work for him during the summer vacation,” Xiao Yiming said. “Originally I said I’d go after the scores came out, but now I’ll just go a little earlier. When are you going back to the city?”
“I’ll go back after checking the scores,” Fang Chi said. “Sun Wenqu helped me look over majors. After the scores come out I still need to ask Old Li about filling in the application choices. Otherwise we could go ask together. You can’t really discuss it with your family now, right?”
“Mm.” Xiao Yiming nodded. “Speaking of checking scores, I get a little nervous.”
“You’re at least a top student. What are you nervous about,” Fang Chi said with a smile. “If anything comes up these couple of days, call me. If you don’t have enough money, tell me too. I still have some on hand. When I go back to the city I also have to find Fang Ying, she’s still holding ten thousand of mine.”
“…Mm.” Xiao Yiming took a bite of a dumpling.
After they had sent everyone onto the bus, it was already past ten. Fang Chi ran toward the village with Xiaozi, pulling out his phone while running and dialing Sun Wenqu’s number.
“Finished?” Sun Wenqu answered the phone.
“Mm,” Fang Chi said. “Did you finish your run?”
“Finished,” Sun Wenqu said. “I came out after seven. If I hadn’t finished yet I’d have become an immortal.”
“You went back already?” Fang Chi slowed his pace.
“No,” Sun Wenqu said. “Still by the water.”
“Don’t go back, don’t go back, don’t go back,” Fang Chi sped up again. “Wait for me to come find you.”
Sun Wenqu laughed. “Got it. I’m waiting for you. Otherwise I’d have gone back already.”
When Fang Chi ran to the little stream, Sun Wenqu was still at the place where he had practiced the Baduanjin that day, sitting on a rock, with a sketchbook and a pen beside him.
“I’m here, I’m here…” Fang Chi ran toward him.
Xiaozi barked a couple of times as well.
“I didn’t leave, I didn’t leave.” Sun Wenqu turned his head and smiled at him.
Fang Chi jumped onto the rock, dropped to his knees behind him, hugged him tightly, buried his face in the hollow of his shoulder, and kissed him hard. “Did you run?”
“Of course I ran.” Sun Wenqu reached back and ruffled his hair.
“I didn’t smell anything,” Fang Chi leaned closer to his neck and sniffed again.
“It was a slow run. It’s cool in the mountains, and I don’t sweat much anyway,” Sun Wenqu said. “Now that your classmates have left, you’re bored again, right?”
“Not really.” Fang Chi sat down behind him, still hugging his waist. “These next few days I need to do some recovery training. Coach Chen at the club said I should go over during summer vacation.”
“Really?” Sun Wenqu tilted his head. “I thought you were staying home the whole summer.”
“I’d like to,” Fang Chi chuckled. “But I’m thinking of taking some guiding jobs during this period. Now that the weather’s hot there’s more work, and more people coming here. I can still come home… but I was just thinking… I mean…”
“What.” Sun Wenqu turned to look at him.
“When I go back to the city and you’re still here…” Fang Chi rubbed his nose. “What do you think I should do if I miss you?”
“Are you thinking I should go back to the city with you?” Sun Wenqu narrowed his eyes slightly and tilted his head up, avoiding a small beam of sunlight that had fallen across his face.
Fang Chi paused, then started chuckling again. After a while he said a little embarrassedly, “Aren’t you here to find inspiration?”
“I’ve found about enough,” Sun Wenqu leaned back against his shoulder. “Going back works too. I also want to use the kiln at your Uncle Liangzi’s studio. If I fire a lot with the electric kiln I have now, it’s not suitable.”
“Really?” Fang Chi immediately sat up straight, then quickly returned to his previous position so Sun Wenqu could keep resting on him. “Really?”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu nodded. “This time I’m firing a lot, and for a long time. I need a big kiln.”
“Then where will you live after going back?” Fang Chi immediately asked.
Sun Wenqu closed his eyes and laughed, not saying anything for quite a while.
“What are you laughing at?” Fang Chi covered his mouth.
“I’m laughing at the things you’re thinking.” Sun Wenqu said into his palm.
His breath and the slight vibrations when he spoke tickled Fang Chi’s palm, making him feel itchy. Fang Chi felt his breathing quicken. He held Sun Wenqu’s chin and turned him around, then kissed him.
When he was little, Fang Chi had loved wandering by the river. Every time he got tired of climbing rocks in the mountains, he would come sit by the river for a while, quiet, and you could smell the scent of sunshine and wind.
He had never imagined that one day, in such a quiet place filled with the reassuring memories of his childhood, he would be embracing and kissing someone like this.
The breath between this person’s lips and teeth carried the same scent, fresh sunshine and wind, drawing him down little by little, making him unwilling to stop.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Xiaozi watching them from the side. After a while Xiaozi walked over, squatted beside the rock, peed once, and then ran off.
Fang Chi wanted to laugh a little, but he couldn’t bear to let go of Sun Wenqu’s warm lips, so he endured it and continued entangling with him gently.
But Sun Wenqu couldn’t hold out for even two seconds before he started laughing, laughing right against his lips and unable to stop.
Fang Chi persisted in kissing for a while longer, but in the end he couldn’t hold it in either. Hugging Sun Wenqu, he burst out laughing as well.
Xiaozi looked very confused by their laughter, standing a few meters away with his head tilted.
“Are you missing a screw in your head?” Fang Chi pointed at Xiaozi. “Tell me, are you missing a screw?”
Xiaozi tilted his head again, making squeaking noises with his nose, ears pinned back.
“Come here.” Fang Chi patted his leg.
Xiaozi ran over and stood up, putting his front paws on Fang Chi’s legs, still with his ears flattened.
“I’m in the middle of something important here,” Fang Chi rubbed his head. “What do you mean by running over and peeing like that?”
Sun Wenqu also rubbed Xiaozi while laughing. “Your big brother got looked down on even by cats and dogs. Repression.”
They couldn’t continue the kiss anymore, but it didn’t matter. Fang Chi felt that as long as he could stay together with Sun Wenqu, even if they didn’t talk, even if they couldn’t see each other, as long as he could feel him, it was a kind of enjoyment.
Sun Wenqu lay down on the rock, his clothes lifting to reveal a small section of his waist.
Fang Chi lightly traced the exposed skin with his finger. “In a few days we’ll be able to check the scores.”
“Nervous?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“I was fine before, but this morning Xiao Yiming said he was nervous,” Fang Chi said. “His grades have always been good. When he gets nervous, I feel like I get nervous too.”
“Being nervous is useless anyway. You already did your best. Whatever the result is, it’s fine.” Sun Wenqu said.
“If I really didn’t do well, I’ll just go to whatever school. I don’t want to repeat the year.” Fang Chi thought for a moment.
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu patted his back.
The two of them stayed by the river until it was time for lunch before returning home.
At noon they had noodles with fried soybean paste. Grandpa had prepared a whole table of toppings. As soon as Fang Chi saw it he felt hungry; he went over holding his stomach and pinched two pieces of scrambled egg to pop into his mouth first.
“Went sketching?” Grandpa asked when he saw the sketchbook in Sun Wenqu’s hand.
“Mm, just drawing casually.” Sun Wenqu flipped through it. They were very casual scribbles, but it was easy to see that they were various scenes by the river, the essence of them had all been drawn out.
“You really are talented. Little Chi should learn more.” Grandpa said with admiration.
“I can’t learn this stuff. I don’t have that kind of brain,” Fang Chi bent over studying the toppings on the table. “My only ability is climbing up and down things.”
Grandpa laughed and patted his arm. “Go get bowls. Your grandma is cooking the noodles.”
While eating, Fang Chi told Grandpa and Grandma about going back to the city after the scores came out. Both of them agreed. Fang Chi had always been independent, and they had never had to worry much about him. They also had no objections to him going back to the club to take guiding jobs part-time.
Grandma was just a little worried. “Don’t work too hard. The family doesn’t lack that little bit of money for your tuition.”
“I know.” Fang Chi smiled.
But when they mentioned that Sun Wenqu would also be returning to the city, Grandma paused in surprise. “Shuiqu is going back too?”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu nodded. “The set of things I made has to be fired in a big kiln. Using that iron box here won’t work well.”
“Oh, oh,” Grandma thought about it. “That thing in your room, right? If it doesn’t fire well, you still bought it and went through so much trouble to bring it here.”
“It’s fine for firing ordinary things, small items, plates and bowls and such,” Sun Wenqu said. “But this time I want to fire several sets of bottles and things like that, so I need a big clay kiln.”
“Ah.” Grandma sighed. “Just like that, everyone’s leaving. Shuiqu has lived here for so long, I feel a bit reluctant.”
“I’ll come back to stay when I have time,” Sun Wenqu said. “I don’t work anyway. I have plenty of time. It’s easy to come here.”
“Exactly,” Grandpa said with a smile. “Come back to find inspiration.”
“Grandma,” Sun Wenqu moved closer beside her, “that room for now, don’t tidy it up. I’ll leave my things there. That room isn’t usually used anyway…”
“Alright,” Grandma said immediately. “We’ll keep it for you. When you come you can stay there. And don’t pay rent anymore!”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu smiled.
That afternoon Sun Wenqu kept organizing and revising his design drawings. Fang Chi sat on his bed listening to music and playing on his phone. The door to the room wasn’t closed tightly, leaving a crack.
When Fang Chi was about to close it, Sun Wenqu said, “Leave it a bit.”
“Are you afraid Grandma will come up?” Fang Chi felt as if his own nervousness might have affected Sun Wenqu, and he felt a little apologetic. “I… it’s okay.”
“In a few days we’ll go back to the city,” Sun Wenqu glanced at him. “Don’t give Grandma any ideas. Even if she doesn’t have that concept, if two men stay holed up in one room every day she’ll find it strange. If you’re just mooching the air conditioning you don’t need to close it so tightly.”
“Mm.” Fang Chi nodded.
But in the end the door was closed anyway. When Grandma passed by while going to the rooftop to dry beans, she came over and shut it properly. “Running the air conditioner and not closing the door, all the cold air escapes. Honestly.”
After the door was closed, Sun Wenqu turned his head and smiled at Fang Chi.
Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “You planned that, didn’t you? Old fox.”
But that night Sun Wenqu drove Fang Chi back to his own room to sleep. Fang Chi clung to the door. “Can’t I mooch the air conditioning?”
“You’ve suddenly become so bold now?” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
“Not really…” Fang Chi thought about it and sighed. “Forget it, better be careful. If something really… happened now, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to deal with it.”
“Rest well,” Sun Wenqu patted his face. “In a couple of days when we go back to the city you can run wild.”
Those words suddenly made Fang Chi feel a burst of heat. He looked at Sun Wenqu. “The way you say that.”
“I’m just stating the facts,” Sun Wenqu curled the corner of his mouth. “Wild dog.”
“I’m going to sleep,” Fang Chi tugged at his pants and bounced twice. “Good night.”
“Good night, son.” Sun Wenqu said.
Fang Chi glanced sideways at him. “Good night, dad.”
Over the next few days Fang Chi didn’t go to mooch the air conditioning again. Every day he just accompanied Sun Wenqu for runs, then chatted with Grandpa and Grandma and helped tidy the vegetable garden.
He knew that right now he had too many uncertainties, responsibilities he couldn’t shoulder and conflicts he wouldn’t know how to handle.
If any problem occurred at this time, Sun Wenqu would be dragged into it instantly. That was something he didn’t want. His plan had always been that even if he were to tell his family, he wouldn’t start with Sun Wenqu.
Although Sun Wenqu always acted as if he didn’t care, Fang Chi didn’t want him to face those pressures together with him. His own matters should be handled by himself first; then Sun Wenqu could appear afterward. He felt that would be better.
As time passed bit by bit, Fang Chi stared at his phone every day. The class group chat was almost entirely talking about checking scores. Every time he saw it, his palms would start sweating.
The moment he finally got the notice that scores could be checked, he suddenly threw his phone aside and even shouted, “F*ck! Scores can be checked now!”
“What’s wrong?” Sun Wenqu looked at him. “Check it. Why are you jumping like that.”
“I’m scared,” Fang Chi said, then ran out of the room, shouting as he ran downstairs, “Grandpa! Grandma! Scores can be checked!”
“Did you check?” Grandpa ran in from the backyard. “How many points?”
“Didn’t check,” Fang Chi sat on the sofa, then stood up again, grabbed Xiaozi and rubbed its head hard, “I’m too nervous.”
Sun Wenqu came downstairs while looking at his phone. “Give me your exam number and stuff, I’ll check it for you.”
“Okay.” Fang Chi immediately jumped up and ran upstairs to get his admission ticket and handed it to him.
“It’s this number, right?” Sun Wenqu looked at his phone. “I’m calling.”
“…Call,” Fang Chi kept hopping in small steps nervously. When Sun Wenqu’s finger pressed the screen, he turned and ran out of the living room. “I need to pee.”
Sun Wenqu smiled a little helplessly and dialed the score-checking number.
Fang Chi stood in the bathroom, one hand bracing the wall and one hand holding his d*ck, staring at his feet, standing there silently, with no progress for quite a while.
A stone statue holding a gun.
He felt like he was about to petrify.
His more than half a year of effort, the all-out reviewing he had done, the result was in that phone call.
He had originally thought he didn’t care, but he didn’t expect himself to care this much.
So nervous he wanted to pee.
Standing here, yet he couldn’t pee.
Only when Sun Wenqu called out to him from the yard did he come back to his senses. He pulled up his pants and ran out of the bathroom.
“How is it! Did you check it!” He stared at the phone in Sun Wenqu’s hand.
Sun Wenqu raised his hand and waved the phone at him. “The message came. Do you want to look yourself, or hear me say it?”
“Is the score low? Or just normal?” Fang Chi asked.
“Not low,” Sun Wenqu looked at the phone. “I checked last year’s first-tier cutoff…”
“Did I pass!” Fang Chi pressed, grabbing his pants and even forgetting to let go.
“Your pants okay?” Sun Wenqu glanced at him.
Fang Chi let go.
“You passed last year’s first-tier cutoff, not bad,” Sun Wenqu handed the paper in front of him and smiled, “551, should be no problem… you did better than I expected.”
Fang Chi stared at the number over and over. A smile slowly spread across his face. In the end he jumped, whistled at Xiaozi who was wagging its tail at the side, and then started laughing.
“Not bad, hahaha,” Fang Chi ran to his grandparents, “I thought I wouldn’t even get 500, hahaha…”
Then he went into the living room again, picked up a cup and drank several big gulps of water. “Too unexpected hahaha…”
Grandpa and grandma laughed along with him. Grandpa turned to Sun Wenqu. “Is this score okay?”
“Mm, pretty good. Getting into the school he wants shouldn’t be a problem,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
“So happy like this.” Grandma looked at Fang Chi, who was still pacing around the room checking his phone, both amused and happy.
“Feels like he’s about to go crazy,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Oh my,” grandma got nervous immediately, ran over and grabbed Fang Chi, “you little b*stard, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, grandma!” Fang Chi was still overjoyed, “I’m just too happy!”
“This child, I’ve never seen him so happy over anything, it’s kind of scary.” Grandma stared at him for a while, hesitated, then picked up a cup from the side and splashed the water in it toward Fang Chi’s face.
“Hey!” Although Fang Chi was laughing hard, he still reacted quickly and dodged. Half the water splashed onto his shoulder. He looked at grandma, a bit amused. “Grandma, what are you doing!”
Sun Wenqu sat on the sofa laughing uncontrollably.
“Better now?” Grandma looked at him.
“…I wasn’t unwell to begin with,” Fang Chi sighed, suppressing his smile, “I’m just happy. I did better than I expected.”
“You’ll definitely do well,” grandma cupped his face and rubbed it, “my precious grandson will definitely be fine.”
Fang Chi smiled and hugged grandma, swaying a little, then looked at Sun Wenqu.
Sun Wenqu sat on the sofa, propping his temple, smiling faintly.
“Should you go back to school?” Grandpa asked.
“Mm, I want to go back and discuss with Teacher Li again. The cutoff should come out tomorrow, I want to hear his opinion,” Fang Chi said. “And meet classmates, have a meal or something. We’ll see each other less in the future.”
“Go back tomorrow?” Grandpa said. “You should ask clearly about this early.”
“Mm,” Fang Chi glanced at Sun Wenqu, “you… come with me tomorrow. You have a lot of stuff, I’ll help carry some.”
“Okay,” Sun Wenqu smiled, “just have Liangzi come pick us up there.”
After dinner, Fang Chi called Xiao Yiming and chatted for a while.
Xiao Yiming had also checked his score, quite high. Fang Chi admired him, these past six months he had been under pressure, yet the exam hadn’t affected him much.
“I moved to my brother’s place yesterday,” Xiao Yiming said, “I put your key back where it was.”
“Mm,” Fang Chi responded, “I’m going back to the city tomorrow. Are you going to school?”
“I am,” Xiao Yiming said, “let’s talk in detail when we meet.”
“Alright.” Fang Chi hung up.
For some reason, hearing that Xiao Yiming did well made him feel completely relaxed.
He hopped upstairs. Sun Wenqu was in the room packing clothes.
“Not taking everything?” Fang Chi asked.
“Mm, just the essentials,” Sun Wenqu looked at him, “feel more at ease now?”
Fang Chi chuckled twice. “Mm.”
“Go pack your things,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Tomorrow it’ll just be the two of us,” Fang Chi leaned against the wall, “just the two of us.”
![Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth]](https://i3.wp.com/lazygirltranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/1749931059-7143-I-Am-the-Only-Human-Here.png?resize=151,215 "Everyone Is Non-Human Except Me [Rebirth]")
