Fang Chi thought it was lucky he was too nervous right now. Otherwise, with Sun Wenqu pulling something like that in public, there was no way he’d be able to walk out with his back straight like this. At minimum he’d have to bend over and secretly clear landmines for a few minutes.
He had no idea why Sun Wenqu’s father wanted to see him, and there was no way to prepare what to say in advance. But Sun Wenqu had said just listen, so he’d keep his mouth shut and listen.
Absolutely no talking back.
No talking back.
Sun Wenqu’s father’s car was easy to spot, it was parked closest to the parking lot exit, and the middle-aged man was standing outside it.
From far away, Fang Chi’s eyes met his, and they kept staring at each other as Fang Chi walked closer. The man didn’t move or show any expression. It was impossible to tell whether he was spacing out or competing with him in sheer aura.
He forgot to ask Sun Wenqu who this guy was. A bodyguard? An assistant?
Either way, the man clearly didn’t have a good impression of him. The way he glared the whole time, anyone would think they were about to draw swords in a few more steps.
The walk felt long, or maybe it was just because they maintained eye contact for too long. Fang Chi eventually had to look elsewhere to keep himself from walking with the same arm and leg moving together out of nervousness.
Only when they were about ten steps apart did the man finally jerk his chin at him. “Get in.”
Total mafia vibes.
Get in the car. Doors lock. The boss sits in the back seat with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Silent tension and flashing blades.
But things weren’t quite like Fang Chi had imagined. When he got in and sat in the back seat, Sun Wenqu’s father, who was sitting there too, was eating a mandarin orange.
Even after Fang Chi got in, he still hadn’t finished eating it, and he didn’t say a word.
Fang Chi had originally wanted to keep silent the whole time, but he felt a bit uncomfortable, so he glanced at the small bag of tangerines by his hand. “Definitely not sweet.”
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu’s dad glanced at him.
“You really don’t know how to pick them,” Fang Chi said, casually taking one and looking at it. “These look pretty, but they’re not sweet.”
“I didn’t pick them,” Sun Wenqu’s dad said.
“Then your bodyguard really doesn’t know how to pick,” Fang Chi said.
“Him?” Sun Wenqu’s dad looked out the car window. “He’s Sun Wenqu’s eldest sister’s husband.”
“…Oh.” Fang Chi paused, this guy was actually the brother-in-law. “Looks like a hired thug.”
Sun Wenqu’s dad turned back to look at him.
Fang Chi felt it was better for him to stay silent.
“What kind of sweet?” Sun Wenqu’s dad asked.
Fang Chi hesitated, rummaged in the bag, and took one out. “This kind of ordinary small honey tangerine, some that look nice are sweet too, but usually the uglier ones, the ones that look like they didn’t wash their face, are sweeter. These grow on the shaded side, so they’re sweeter.”
“Oh.” Sun Wenqu’s dad took it, peeled it, and tasted a piece. “It is sweet. Does your family grow tangerines?”
“No. Two villages over from us there’s a demonstration base for honey tangerine cultivation. When I was a kid I always went there to steal, no,” Fang Chi corrected himself, “to pick tangerines.”
“Grew up in the countryside?” Sun Wenqu’s dad asked again.
“Mm.” Fang Chi responded.
“No wonder you’re so…” Sun Wenqu’s dad smiled. “I’m actually quite surprised Wenqu would be with you.”
Fang Chi wanted to speak, but was afraid he might say something excessive, so he suppressed his discomfort and didn’t say anything.
“I heard all his money is with you?” Sun Wenqu’s dad continued.
“Mm,” Fang Chi answered.
“How much?” Sun Wenqu’s dad looked at him.
“He said it’s everything,” Fang Chi said. “I didn’t look, so I don’t know how much.”
Sun Wenqu’s dad let out a cold laugh. “He has to ask you when he wants to use money, and you didn’t look?”
“When he spends money, I use my own money,” Fang Chi said.
“Your own money?” Sun Wenqu’s dad continued to sneer. “You can afford his expenses?”
“If you calculate based on him ordering takeout for a hundred yuan a meal, then definitely not,” Fang Chi said. “But based on my level of spending, it’s no problem.”
“…He’d agree to that?” Sun Wenqu’s dad’s voice rose slightly.
“What’s there not to agree to,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “Spend what you earn, someone who doesn’t earn a single cent still has the nerve to eat a hundred-yuan takeout?”
Sun Wenqu’s dad fell silent.
Fang Chi turned to look at him, feeling he might have said something wrong again. No matter the conflict, this was still Sun Wenqu’s biological father. That carefree, money-doesn’t-matter attitude of Sun Wenqu’s was clearly spoiled by this old man, and now he was telling him to his face that his son’s money was being withheld…
“Not wrong,” Sun Wenqu’s dad suddenly said. “Not wrong. He’s never earned a single cent in his life!”
“…Oh.” Fang Chi responded, somewhat surprised.
“Aiming too high but incapable,” Sun Wenqu’s dad said with a hint of disdain. “Thinks he’s so capable, but can’t do anything well…”
“You can’t say that,” Fang Chi immediately grew unhappy hearing this and cut him off. He had seen firsthand how serious Sun Wenqu was when making pottery. “He’s very serious about the things he wants to do, and he does them well.”
“Is that so?” Sun Wenqu’s dad narrowed his eyes at him. “From childhood till now, he’s never made anything decent.”
“You never gave him the chance to,” Fang Chi frowned. “For example, if you had a father who painted traditional Chinese painting, and he said your abstract paintings were cr*p and wouldn’t let you touch them…”
Sun Wenqu’s dad clicked his tongue. Fang Chi paused, wanted to shut up, but still continued, “You probably wouldn’t say ‘cr*p’, you’re a master, but you don’t accept anything except your own work. That’s really not the bearing of a master… Besides, can you really say Sun Wenqu’s work is bad? That set of… those vases… I got nervous and forgot what they’re called. You saw them too, do you really think they’re bad?”
After finishing, Fang Chi prepared himself to be kicked out of the car, but Sun Wenqu’s dad didn’t speak. He stared at him for a long time.
Fang Chi didn’t know what he was looking at, so he could only remain silent as well. Just as he was about to get out of the car because he couldn’t stand being stared at anymore, Sun Wenqu’s dad suddenly laughed. “Heh.”
“Ah.” Fang Chi didn’t know what that meant and just responded vaguely.
“You really have no manners, kid,” Sun Wenqu’s dad said.
“I’m a wild dog,” Fang Chi said, unable to read the tone and suddenly a bit nervous, not even sure what he was saying.
“What?” Sun Wenqu’s dad froze.
“Now I’m Pikachu…” Fang Chi said, reaching to open the car door. Forget it, better to get out; what nonsense was he even saying.
“Wait,” Sun Wenqu’s dad stopped him. “Let’s talk about the main topic.”
“The main topic?” Fang Chi froze and turned back. After all that, that wasn’t even the main topic?
“Mm, the main topic.” Sun Wenqu’s dad nodded and smiled.
“Everything before was off-topic?” Fang Chi had no choice but to sit back down. That smile made him relax a little. “If you took the college entrance exam, your essay probably wouldn’t get any points.”
As if to prove he could get full marks, Sun Wenqu’s dad suddenly said, “I want to hear your thoughts.”
“What… thoughts?” Fang Chi looked at him.
“Your thoughts about the future,” Sun Wenqu’s dad stared at him again, his gaze sharp, almost fiery. “No matter how much Wenqu disappoints the family, he’s still my son. I want to know, someone who can make him… like this, what are your thoughts?”
This question was something Fang Chi hadn’t expected. Then again, nothing today had been expected.
“I don’t have any particular thoughts,” Fang Chi thought for a moment and answered honestly. “If he’s willing to be with me, I’ll be with him. If he’s not willing to be with me, I’ll still be with him.”
“Hm?” Sun Wenqu’s dad hadn’t expected that answer and raised his brows. “That’s it?”
“What else,” Fang Chi said, lightly squeezing a tangerine in his hand. “Looking into the future, saying I’ll do this and that for him, work hard to make him live well? I think he can live well even without me. You might think he’s useless, but I think he’s very capable. As long as he wants to, he can do things well…”
Fang Chi paused halfway, glanced at Sun Wenqu’s dad, saw no strong reaction, and continued, “I’ll just do my own part well and not hold him back. When he needs me, I’ll be there. That’s enough. Of course, when he doesn’t need me, I don’t want to leave either.”
Fang Chi looked straight at him while saying all this. After finishing, he didn’t look away, waiting for his reaction, but the old man didn’t respond.
“I’m done,” Fang Chi reminded him.
“What about your family?” Sun Wenqu’s dad asked calmly.
That question made Fang Chi’s heart ache without any defense. He frowned slightly. “I’ll handle it properly. I won’t act impulsively, and I won’t drag things out doing nothing either.”
“That’s easy to say.” Sun Wenqu’s dad seemed dissatisfied.
“You can wait until I’ve done it and then ask,” Fang Chi said. “If you ask now, that’s all I can say.”
Sun Wenqu’s dad didn’t speak. After a long silence, he suddenly opened the car door and got out.
Fang Chi froze, then quickly got out as well.
“I’m going to buy some tangerines,” Sun Wenqu’s dad told the brother-in-law, then turned to Fang Chi. “Come help me pick.”
“Buy tangerines?” the brother-in-law asked in surprise.
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu’s dad nodded. “Wait for me.”
Fang Chi thought the old man was insane, suddenly dragging him to buy tangerines in such a strange atmosphere, but he could only follow.
On the small street beside the exhibition center, there were many fruit shops with all kinds of fruit.
Fang Chi didn’t go into a shop. He crouched by an old lady selling tangerines from shoulder poles on the roadside and started picking.
The old lady’s tangerines were quite good. As Fang Chi picked them, he suddenly felt a bit homesick. Even though his family didn’t grow tangerines, the feeling of stealing them as a child made him miss home.
After picking, Sun Wenqu’s dad didn’t stop Fang Chi from paying. He took a tangerine, peeling it as he asked, “How did you put up with him?”
“At first I couldn’t,” Fang Chi said. “Bad temper, likes to choke people with his words, lazy as a snake…”
“Exactly.” Sun Wenqu’s dad nodded.
“Later, I gradually felt he was pretty good. The deeper I got to know him, the more I felt like he shines all over,” Fang Chi said, carrying the tangerines toward the parking lot. “Shua-shua.”
“Bullsh*t,” Sun Wenqu’s dad said with a cold laugh.
“I haven’t eaten anything since this morning, I can’t produce any bullsh*t,” Fang Chi turned to look at him. “Actually, I find it strange too. Your own son, you’ve watched him for thirty years, and you still couldn’t see anything good in him?”
“Beauty lies in the lover’s eyes,” Sun Wenqu’s dad said.
“But he still has to be ‘beauty’ in the first place, there has to be something good, or why would anyone want to look?” Fang Chi said.
Sun Wenqu’s dad looked at him without speaking. After a while, he smiled. “You’re quite interesting.”
“Oh.” Fang Chi responded.
When they returned to the exhibition hall, Fang Chi bought a few bowls of oden at the entrance and carried them inside.
There were quite a lot of people crowded at the studio’s booth. As Fang Chi walked over with the bag, he saw TV reporters holding microphones toward Sun Wenqu.
“Mr. Sun, what was the inspiration behind this set of works?” the reporter asked. “What does the title ‘Growth’ aim to express?”
“There’s no single definite source. As long as you pay attention, there are countless inspirations around you. No work has only one inspiration, it’s the process of blending many ideas,” Sun Wenqu’s gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Fang Chi’s face. “Growth can be any kind of growth, everyone has it.”
Fang Chi smiled at him and went around to the back of the booth.
Ma Liang was sitting behind with a laptop, busy with several studio members. Seeing Fang Chi, he didn’t say much in front of so many people, only asked, “How was it?”
“Not bad,” Fang Chi set the oden on the table. “Didn’t end in a fight.”
“Inter… interview,” Ma Liang pointed toward the booth. “Didn’t listen?”
“Heard a bit,” Fang Chi said with a smile. “Very official.”
“Can’t exactly say,” Ma Liang walked over and lowered his voice, “that the inspiration came from my son.”
Fang Chi froze.
Sun Wenqu wasn’t interested in the interview. After a few questions, he left the reporter to Hu Yuanyuan and slipped behind the booth.
“Got food?” He came over, sat by the table, and looked into the bag.
“Mm.” Fang Chi nodded, then asked Ma Liang, “Uncle Liangzi, why don’t you go say a few words?”
“I’ll pass,” Ma Liang said with a smile, taking a bowl and eating. “If I talk, today’s news broadcast will need extra time.”
“You and your wife should balance it out, after you talk, it’ll need extra time; after she talks, without subtitles no one can understand her,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile. “That speaking speed clearly exists to complement you.”
After finishing the oden, Fang Chi and Sun Wenqu wandered out of the exhibition hall together and sat down on the steps by the side entrance.
“Did my dad leave?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Mm,” Fang Chi nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me the guy who came with him was your eldest sister’s husband?”
“Forgot,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue. “I find him pretty annoying. He doesn’t like dealing with me either. I pushed him a couple of times before New Year, he’s probably still holding a grudge.”
“…I thought he was your dad’s bodyguard. I even said that bodyguard didn’t know how to pick tangerines,” Fang Chi said.
Sun Wenqu froze for a moment, then laughed. “How did it even get to tangerines?”
“Your dad was eating tangerines in the car,” Fang Chi scratched his head. “When he left, he even had me pick a whole bag of tangerines for him…”
“Really?” Sun Wenqu narrowed his eyes. “What’s he playing at?”
“No idea,” Fang Chi briefly told him about what they talked about in the car. “I originally didn’t want to talk, but he kept asking. Some of what he said wasn’t very nice, so I felt like I had to speak up.”
“Pretty good,” Sun Wenqu looked at him. “Pretty good.”
“What’s ‘pretty good’?” Fang Chi looked at him too.
“Just… the way you said it,” Sun Wenqu lifted his hand and lightly traced across his face. “Pretty good. If I were my dad, I probably wouldn’t have anything to say.”
“I think your dad actually cares about you quite a bit, he even came specifically to see your exhibition,” Fang Chi said.
“He does care,” Sun Wenqu sighed. “I actually wish he treated me the way he treats Sun Jiayue. She lives so freely, she’s been like a lunatic since she was little and no one says anything to her.”
“She doesn’t make pottery,” Fang Chi said. “If you weren’t so talented at it, your dad wouldn’t be like this.”
“You’re pretty good at talking,” Sun Wenqu clicked his tongue.
“I think… if you go home for New Year, you should talk to your dad again. I feel like you two just clashed too hard before, whatever he says annoys you, whatever you say makes him angry,” Fang Chi said. “But you see, I snapped at him a few times too and he didn’t really get mad. I don’t think it’s impossible for you two to talk.”
“We’ll see,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “Let’s see how this exhibition turns out first.”
“Isn’t it pretty good? It’ll probably be on the news tonight, right?” Fang Chi took a tangerine from his pocket, peeled it, and held it to his mouth. “I think your booth has the most people. Seems like you’ve signed quite a few orders?”
“Mm,” Sun Wenqu opened his mouth and ate the tangerine. “Your Uncle Liangzi’s studio was already pretty famous, they’ve been doing well for a while… You even brought tangerines?”
“I grabbed a few for you after buying them,” Fang Chi peeled another one for himself. “You’ll be getting quite a bit of money this time, right?”
“Are you going to take it?” Sun Wenqu asked with a smile.
“Whatever, just don’t spend it recklessly,” Fang Chi thought for a moment and added, “Your dad actually knows your money’s all with me!”
“Sun Yao probably told him. Last time we ate with her, didn’t I ask you for money?” Sun Wenqu stretched lazily. “I wanted her to say it.”
“Childish,” Fang Chi shot him a sideways glance. “I told your dad I didn’t know how much money you had, and he didn’t believe me. Not sure if he ended up believing it or not.”
“Who cares. As long as I believe it.” Sun Wenqu leaned against him and yawned.
“You must be exhausted, no place to curl up and lean on all morning,” Fang Chi glanced at him.
“If security didn’t care, I’d have just laid down,” Sun Wenqu smiled. “I told you, you don’t need to care about other people’s attitudes. Just pay attention to my mood.”
“Hey,” Fang Chi was silent for a while, then nudged him with his arm. “I’m telling you, you can’t always be like this. With your family… if it can be eased, then ease it a bit.”
Sun Wenqu turned his head to look at him. After a long while, he patted his leg. “Mm.”
“I’ll stay over at your place tonight,” Fang Chi said. “I have to go back to school tomorrow afternoon, got classes this week.”
“I’ll take you back to school?” Sun Wenqu said.
“No need. You have to come back here tomorrow anyway, right? And with all these orders getting signed, Uncle Liangzi will have you busy again,” Fang Chi looked around, there was no one nearby. He pulled Sun Wenqu’s hand and squeezed it repeatedly. “New Year comes early this year. In about two months there’ll be break, just come pick me up then.”
“Alright.” Sun Wenqu said.
The exhibition was probably pretty boring for Sun Wenqu. Fang Chi saw him lounging lazily behind the booth most of the time, or wandering around outside.
Fang Chi, on the other hand, found it quite nice. As long as he could stay with Sun Wenqu, it didn’t matter whether they sat around daydreaming or wandered about.
It was the first day, there were a lot of people and it lasted a long time. Fang Chi even followed Sun Wenqu around the exhibition hall, listening to him explain what was good about this piece and what was lacking in that one, it was actually pretty interesting.
And he noticed that quite a lot of people knew Sun Wenqu.
Fang Chi could tell Sun Wenqu felt a bit uncomfortable being recognized. When greeting people, if they were his father’s generation, he would politely smile; if they were around his age, he seemed somewhat lazy about it.
Maybe in those people’s eyes, he was just Sun Zhengzhi’s son, the son who had talent in pottery but hadn’t produced anything notable.
“Let’s go out for a walk,” Fang Chi said. “I saw there’s a local specialty market in the plaza.”
“Sure. You want to buy something?” Sun Wenqu smiled. As they were heading out, his phone rang. He took it out and looked. “Liangzi.”
“Ah,” Fang Chi sighed. “Are they asking you to go back to the booth?”
“Don’t know,” Sun Wenqu answered the call. “What’s up?”
“We’re having dinner with that Boss Liu later,” Hu Yuanyuan’s voice came from the other end. “You’re not going, right?”
“Of course not. Do you even need to ask?” Sun Wenqu laughed.
“I said there was no need to ask, just let you two go. Liangzi insisted I ask in case you lost your mind from a stomachache and wanted to go,” Hu Yuanyuan said. “Then you two go have fun yourselves. But we’ll still have to bother you tonight, they’re in a hurry to sign contracts, Liangzi wants to go over details with you.”
“Mm, got it.” Sun Wenqu said a few more words and hung up.
“What is it?” Fang Chi looked at him.
“They’re entertaining clients tonight,” Sun Wenqu said. “We can leave now.”
“You don’t have to go?” Fang Chi asked.
“No need. They’re good at this kind of thing,” Sun Wenqu stretched lazily. “Let’s go.”
“Where to?” Fang Chi hopped along beside him.
“Where do you want to go?” Sun Wenqu turned back and asked.
