A Dog Out of Nowhere Chapter 70

The moment Cheng Mo asked that, the clump of noodles in Fang Chi’s chopsticks almost fell back into the plate. He quickly stuffed it into his mouth and chewed in silence.

Although Cheng Mo’s question didn’t seem pointed, Fang Chi’s first reaction was whether he had noticed something. Then again, even if he had, it wouldn’t be a big deal. He wasn’t the Fang Chi from before who would flare up at the mere mention of sexual orientation, but he still wasn’t at a point where he could talk about it casually.

By the time he finished that bite, countless reasons and answers had already run through his mind.

The only thing he was sure of was that the question wasn’t as ordinary as it sounded. If it were just a simple, everyday question, Cheng Mo wouldn’t have asked it at a moment that felt like a kind of exchange.

You want me to answer whether I have some unspeakable secret about you? Then you answer first whether your brother is really your brother.

“Not my biological brother,” Fang Chi replied, taking a sip of coconut juice.

“I know he’s not your biological brother,” Cheng Mo said. “You two don’t even look alike.”

Fang Chi clicked his tongue and looked at him.

“Actually, what I wanted to ask is… if I’m wrong, don’t hit me,” Cheng Mo glanced to the side, He Dongbao was already jogging back over. “Did you just recognize him as a brother, or… is he your boyfriend?”

Fang Chi froze and didn’t say anything.

He froze not because Cheng Mo had asked such a question after only a couple of brief encounters, but because of how casually he said it, like asking whether someone was your girlfriend.

“Hey,” He Dongbao came back and sat down. “Guess who I ran into in the bathroom?”

“Security office,” Cheng Mo said.

“Why would I run from the security office,” He Dongbao said. “I’m not you. I ran into Li Kai, he’s already drunk at this hour. Grabbed me and started going on, I didn’t even have time to zip my pants, had to run.”

“A senior who really loves to talk,” Cheng Mo introduced him to Fang Chi. “He can talk all night with anyone, crying, yelling, dragging you along, you won’t get away until he’s satisfied.”

“That’s even more intense than Li Zheng in our dorm,” Fang Chi smiled.

Cheng Mo smiled. “Hey, that’s Li Zheng’s brother.”

The meal went alright. Starting from Li Zheng’s even chattier brother, He Dongbao basically introduced Fang Chi to the people and happenings at the school.

If not for Cheng Mo’s earlier question, Fang Chi would have enjoyed it very much.

That question left him feeling a bit unsettled. He was different from Xiao Yiming and Sun Wenqu, when it came to sexual orientation, he had never expected to find others like himself, nor had he longed for recognition or acceptance.

So even though Cheng Mo’s tone had been calm, it still left him uneasy.

After the meal, they headed back to school together. He Dongbao still needed to swing by the gym, while Fang Chi and Cheng Mo returned to the dorm.

As soon as He Dongbao left, the atmosphere between the two of them immediately became awkward.

Cheng Mo still straddled his bicycle, pushing himself forward with his feet, while Fang Chi walked silently beside him.

“I was originally thinking of asking you after we got more familiar,” Cheng Mo cleared his throat. “But I’m kind of in a hurry about this, mainly didn’t expect to run into you, so I just asked. Sorry about that.”

“Oh,” Fang Chi responded, but felt like Cheng Mo wasn’t just asking out of curiosity. “Why are you asking this?”

“Well, it’s like this,” Cheng Mo cleared his throat again and glanced at him. “It might sound a bit ridiculous…”

Cheng Mo usually came across as very straightforward in how he spoke and acted, so seeing him hesitate like this surprised Fang Chi.

“I figured if you… are, then it’d be easier for me to ask,” Cheng Mo flicked the bell on his handlebar. “Let’s just assume you are, I think you are. Our dorm is pretty weird. There are four of us; except for poor He Baobao, all of us are, so I’m pretty good at telling.”

Fang Chi froze again.

A weird dorm? Everyone except He Dongbao? That meant Cheng Mo too?

“So I wanted to confirm whether your brother is your boyfriend,” Cheng Mo said. “If he is, then it’s fine.”

Fang Chi looked at him, a bit confused.

“I’ve seen you compete before, back when I hadn’t graduated yet,” Cheng Mo glanced at him. “You know we’re from the same place, right?”

“Huh?” Fang Chi looked at him. “I didn’t know that.”

“I’m from No.1 High,” Cheng Mo said.

“Oh,” Fang Chi nodded. No.1 High was a key school, Cheng Mo didn’t really look like someone who’d get in. “No.1 High, huh.”

“That competition, the youth division was held in our city, right? So I went to watch,” Cheng Mo said. “That was the summer after your first year of high school?”

“Yeah,” Fang Chi nodded. “Can you get to the point?”

“Alright, the point,” Cheng Mo stopped, one foot on the ground, pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. “There was a classmate of yours, the one who went to watch your competition with you. What’s his name?”

The moment that question came out, Fang Chi was completely stunned.

The classmate who went to watch?

“Huh?” Fang Chi stared at him.

“You’re not telling me you don’t remember?” Cheng Mo stared back. “Don’t say you don’t remember!”

Of course he remembered, he wasn’t at the point of forgetting that Xiao Yiming had once gone to watch his competition, but…

“Why are you asking about him?” Fang Chi was still shocked.

“What do you think?” Cheng Mo smiled. “I spent more time watching him than the competition… Is he? I felt like he kept looking at you the whole time, never took his eyes off you, he should like you, right?”

“I… d*mn,” Fang Chi didn’t know how to describe how he felt. “Are you insane?”

“No, I’m perfectly fine,” Cheng Mo said. “Can you tell me?”

“You went through all that just to ask this?” Fang Chi asked.

“What else? I had to first confirm whether you are, and whether you and him are a thing, before I could ask,” Cheng Mo said. “If I just came up and said, ‘Hey, I kind of like that classmate who went to watch your competition,  is he gay, does he have a boyfriend?’ You’d be completely justified in hitting me.”

“…Yeah.” Fang Chi didn’t know what to say.

He never would have imagined that Cheng Mo’s “unspeakable purpose” was actually Xiao Yiming.

That was just too absurd.

“Can you tell me?” Cheng Mo asked again.

“No,” Fang Chi looked at him. “Not right now. That’s my buddy, I can’t just tell you things about him casually. Besides, you only saw him a few times… what do you think this is, a movie?”

“Then ask him for me,” Cheng Mo didn’t say more. “Just this, thanks.”

“Oh.” Fang Chi looked at Cheng Mo, still finding it hard to believe.

“At least you can tell me which school he went to, right?” Cheng Mo thought for a moment and asked.

“No.” Fang Chi answered decisively.

“…Alright then,” Cheng Mo tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it out. “Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Okay.” Fang Chi responded and walked quickly toward the dorm.

A few seconds later, Cheng Mo caught up on his bike. Fang Chi glanced at him. “Something else?”

“Classmate,” Cheng Mo sighed, “my dorm is in your building.”

“Oh, right.” Fang Chi remembered, and the two of them returned to the dorm in silence.

As soon as he got back, he saw everyone playing on their computers. The moment they saw him, Li Zheng immediately said, “Quick, Junjun got the Wi-Fi working, it’s usable now.”

“Nice,” Fang Chi took out his laptop and set it beside Li Zheng. “Help me connect it, I need to make a call.”

“Calling your girlfriend?” Li Zheng opened his laptop.

“No,” Fang Chi took out his phone. “My buddy.”

Xiao Yiming was probably just hanging around in the dorm too, he picked up quickly. Fang Chi turned and stepped out again. “I need to tell you something I have no idea how to explain.”

***

“I’m just giving you advice,” Sun Yao said slowly as she drank a bowl of soup. “I know you want to do your own thing, but it’s not as easy as you think.”

“I don’t think that,” Sun Wenqu leaned back in his chair.

As expected, tonight’s topic was pottery and Fang Chi.

“It’s fine if you don’t admit it,” Sun Yao said. “I just hope whatever you do, don’t act on impulse. We won’t harm you, if it wasn’t for your own good, we wouldn’t say these things. You’ve already broken Dad’s heart, so…”

“Wasn’t it said that no one would interfere with me anymore?” Sun Wenqu didn’t want to argue, but her words made him uncomfortable.

“Can we really not interfere? Even if Dad doesn’t, I can’t just ignore it,” Sun Yao frowned. “People don’t just see you as Sun Wenqu, you’re also Sun Zhengzhi’s son!”

Sun Wenqu laughed and said nothing.

“Sis,” Sun Jiayue had been eating and playing on her phone the whole time, “even I don’t like hearing that. A person lives for themselves, if you’re not even living as yourself, what’s the point?”

“Don’t make things worse,” Sun Yao shot her a look. “Living for yourself means ignoring your parents’ feelings? Ignoring the family’s reputation?”

“Hey, hey, I’m not getting involved in your mess,” Sun Jiayue curled her lips. “Are we done eating? If we are, let’s go. Everything’s been said, why stay here? No one wants to see each other anyway.”

Sun Yao pressed the bell on the table, then looked at Sun Wenqu. “That boyfriend of yours, if you don’t want to talk about him, fine. Just think things through. Don’t cause any trouble.”

Sun Wenqu curved his lips slightly and took out his wallet. “I’ll pay.”

“Forget it, save your money,” Sun Yao still frowned.

Sun Wenqu didn’t respond. When the waiter brought in the bill, he gestured and took it.

After glancing at the bill, he raised an eyebrow and said to the server, “Call you in a bit.”

The waiter withdrew from the private room.

Sun Wenqu felt that he was really far removed from his old life. Sun Yao and Sun Jiayue had been here since the afternoon, afternoon tea all the way to dinner. Sun Jiayue had a car picking her up and dropping her off and had even ordered a bottle of alcohol…

“I’m going to make a call.” Sun Wenqu took out his phone. He had intended to avoid Sun Yao, but after hesitating for a moment, he stayed in the private room and dialed Fang Chi’s number.

“Done eating?” Fang Chi’s voice came from the other end. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Sun Wenqu said. “Transfer me some money.”

“What?” Fang Chi froze. “Transfer money?”

“Mm.” Sun Wenqu didn’t explain.

Fang Chi paused, then didn’t ask further. “How much? Is five thousand enough?”

“Enough,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Wait, I’ll transfer it right away,” Fang Chi said, then added in a low voice, “Did you try to play big shot treating your sister and now you can’t pay the bill?”

Sun Wenqu laughed. “Yeah.”

“Sigh,” Fang Chi sighed. “Corruption. I’ll transfer it now.”

After hanging up, Sun Wenqu looked up. Sun Yao and Sun Jiayue were both staring at him, Sun Jiayue had a smile she couldn’t quite suppress, while Sun Yao’s face was full of shock.

“Who did you ask for money?” Sun Yao looked at him.

“Fang Chi,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Your money is with Fang Chi?” Sun Yao sat up straight at once.

“That’s right,” Sun Wenqu narrowed his eyes and smiled. “All my money is with him.”

“Sun Wenqu!” Sun Yao stood up. “Are you sick?”

“Your family’s money is all managed by you too, there’s much more of it than mine,” Sun Wenqu looked at her. “My brother-in-law is seriously ill.”

“Is that the same thing! Wenqu, you really…” Sun Yao pointed at him, unable to finish her sentence.

“Big sister, thank you,” Sun Wenqu heard his phone chime, it was the notification of money received. He pressed the bell on the table to call the waiter. “My affairs, I decide them myself, handle them myself, and deal with the consequences myself.”

The waiter came in. No one spoke. Sun Wenqu handed over both card and cash. After the waiter left, he stood up and put on his coat. “I won’t cause trouble or disgrace anyone, and I won’t let anyone interfere in my life.”

Sun Wenqu and Sun Jiayue left the club together. Second brother-in-law’s car pulled up. As Sun Jiayue opened the door to get in, she turned back. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“What?” Sun Wenqu looked at her.

“Saying your money’s with Fang Chi,” Sun Jiayue asked. “To piss off big sister?”

“Do I look like someone who has time to deliberately piss people off?” Sun Wenqu watched his own car being driven over and turned to walk toward it.

Sun Jiayue laughed behind him. “You’re bad*ss!”

Before the car had even driven back, several messages from Fang Chi came in one after another. Sun Wenqu pulled over to the side of the road and called him.

“All done?” Fang Chi asked anxiously.

“Mm,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “I’m heading back now.”

“What did you eat, elixirs? One meal costs more than five thousand?” Fang Chi said. “Wasn’t your sister the one who invited you? Why did you end up paying?”

“I wanted to pay,” Sun Wenqu thought about it and smiled again. “I haven’t eaten out like this in so long, I really didn’t react in time that I didn’t have enough money.”

“Are you missing a screw?” Fang Chi sighed. “Forget it, I’ll transfer you more.”

“No need. There’s still some left, I didn’t even use it all,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Didn’t you say you can’t go out without five thousand?” Fang Chi said. “The moment you go out, you’re broke to death.”

Sun Wenqu was in a good mood. Hearing this, he leaned back in the seat and laughed for a full thirty seconds without stopping.

“Hurry back,” Fang Chi leaned on the corridor railing and looked downstairs. When Sun Wenqu laughed, he couldn’t help but curl his lips upward too. “It’s pretty late.”

“I haven’t asked you yet,” Sun Wenqu said. “How was your dinner with Senior Cheng today?”

“How could it be,” Fang Chi felt like the whole evening was like watching a movie. “Let me tell you…”

Halfway through, he stopped, thought about it with a smile, then put on a serious face and said in a deep tone, “Cheng Mo really… has a problem.”

“Mm?” Sun Wenqu responded. “Did he approach you with some ulterior motive?”

Hearing “ulterior motive,” Fang Chi wanted to laugh, but held it in and continued seriously, “Mm, kind of. He… confessed to me.”

“What?” Sun Wenqu pressed.

“He said he likes me,” Fang Chi said, and blushed after saying it.

Shameless, Fang Chi.

“He said it directly?” Sun Wenqu asked again.

“Mm,” Fang Chi couldn’t hear his mood from his voice, and wasn’t sure if he’d get angry, so he added, “But I rejected him. I still like someone like you, a delicate lazybones.”

There was silence on Sun Wenqu’s end.

“Hello? Sun Wenqu?” Fang Chi waited a moment. “Are you mad? Say something.”

Still no sound. Fang Chi grew anxious. “I already rejected him…”

Before he finished, he heard Sun Wenqu’s laughter breaking through the receiver. He froze. “D*mn, why are you laughing? I thought you were crying.”

Sun Wenqu’s laughter suddenly grew louder. “Hey, you’re killing me, Fang Little Chi.”

“No, what did I do to kill you…” Fang Chi was confused. “D*mn, someone confessed to me and you’re this happy?”

“Fang Chi,” Sun Wenqu laughed for a while before stopping, “if someone really confessed to you, you wouldn’t tell me immediately. It’s obvious you’re bluffing me.”

“…Is that so?” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “Is it?”

“Yes,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “I know exactly what kind of person you are.”

“Then what would I do?” Fang Chi asked.

“You’d quietly reject them yourself and that would be it,” Sun Wenqu said. “You wouldn’t tell me, you’d be afraid I’d be unhappy.”

Fang Chi clicked his tongue again. “I’m not afraid, I’d even be afraid you wouldn’t get jealous… You didn’t even get jealous! Why don’t you get a little jealous…”

“Fang Chi!” Sun Wenqu suddenly raised his voice. “Why did he confess to you!”

“Huh? Wha, ” Fang Chi was startled. “I… don’t know.”

“You rejected him?” Sun Wenqu asked loudly, sounding displeased.

“Yeah.” Fang Chi answered blankly.

“You rejecting him is enough?” Sun Wenqu said unhappily. “What about next time, if someone else does it?”

“I… then I…” Fang Chi was cut off before he could finish.

“Why did you go to dinner? Why give him the chance to confess? Say it!” Sun Wenqu said.

“Hey!” Fang Chi finally reacted. “Is this how you get jealous!”

“No,” Sun Wenqu laughed.

“Then what is it like?” Fang Chi asked curiously.

“I’ll tell you the truth, kid,” Sun Wenqu said. “I’ve never been jealous over anyone in my life. If I sense a change, I leave.”

“…D*mn.” Fang Chi suddenly felt nervous.

“I like you, so I won’t give others a chance,” Sun Wenqu said. “You’re the same. If you waver, I’ll pull out.”

“I won’t give anyone a chance,” Fang Chi said seriously. “Also, if you waver, I won’t pull out.”

“Mm?” Sun Wenqu sounded interested.

“I think you’re really good. I wouldn’t bear to lose you. And also, I think I’m pretty good too,” Fang Chi rubbed his nose. “It’d be a shame for you to miss out. I won’t pull out. I’ll find a way to make you not waver, like burying treasure. Dig a big hole, bury it deep. If others dig for a long time and don’t see anything, they’ll give up.”

Sun Wenqu didn’t speak. There was a long silence on the other end.

“Did you hear that?” Fang Chi asked.

“Mm, I heard,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “I understand.”

“Why does your voice sound a bit hoarse?” Fang Chi frowned.

“I talked with my big sister all night,” Sun Wenqu said. “And I was shouting at technicians during the day. Haven’t talked this much in a long time.”

“Then stop talking, go back and sleep. We’re about to have lights out here too,” Fang Chi said. “Oh right, our dorm Wi-Fi is set up now. Want to video call tomorrow?”

“Okay,” Sun Wenqu said.

“Then good night,” Fang Chi smiled. “No need to call when you get home, just send me a message.”

“Mm, good night,” Sun Wenqu said.

After hanging up, Sun Wenqu held the steering wheel. After a long while, he closed his eyes and pressed at the corners, then started the car again.