Fang Chi had said it boldly enough: I’m definitely keeping this man!
But saying it was one thing. Once he and Sun Wenqu sat in the car discussing what to pay attention to during dinner tonight, his nerves started spiraling out of control again.
After asking about every single member of Sun Wenqu’s family, their hobbies, habits, personalities, Fang Chi still felt like something was off, though he couldn’t figure out what. After stewing for ages, he finally forced out another question.
“Does your family have any forbidden conversation topics?”
“Wow.” Sun Wenqu had been patiently explaining things the whole time, but this question made him laugh. “That really doesn’t sound like you.”
“I’m serious. Like at my house, if you mention Grandpa Jiang, my grandpa’ll glare at you…” Fang Chi scratched his head. “Does your family have anything like that?”
“No.” Sun Wenqu laughed. “As long as I don’t open my mouth while my dad’s around, my family’s atmosphere is very harmonious and refined.”
“Then talk less,” Fang Chi immediately said. Then he clicked his tongue. “No, that won’t work. If you don’t talk, I definitely won’t be able to say anything either… Maybe I should pretend my throat hurts and I can’t talk… If only this had been a few days earlier. My voice was still hoarse back then…”
“You’re exhausting.” Sun Wenqu leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. “Keep fussing on your own. I’m taking a nap.”
Fang Chi chuckled twice, then let out a long dramatic sigh. “Aaaah, fine. I’ll stop talking. We’ll just go with it… Hey, do you think what I’m wearing is okay? I’ve worn these clothes for three days already. Should I go buy a new outfit?”
Helpless, Sun Wenqu opened his eyes and looked him over. Fang Chi looked basically the same as always: jeans, short boots, a hoodie under a down jacket. Very handsome.
“No need to change. You look explosively handsome. Handsome enough to blow the wheels off a freight truck.”
“Okay.” Fang Chi nodded.
The restaurant Sun Jiayue had booked was pretty far away. It would take a while to drive there, nearly out of the city, so they had to leave early.
Originally Fang Chi had been curled up in the car, unable to stop himself from sneaking kisses and touching Sun Wenqu every other minute. But after hearing how far the restaurant was, he miraculously suppressed the chive-core buried deep in his soul and started urging Sun Wenqu to leave.
“Not gonna keep cuddling a little longer?” Sun Wenqu glanced at him.
“Nope, let’s go.” Fang Chi checked the time on his phone. “This dinner’s so formal. If we’re late, it’d be really rude.”
“Want to drive for a bit?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“No.” Fang Chi shook his head. “I’m scared my mind’ll wander.”
Sun Wenqu laughed while starting the car. It wasn’t until they’d driven a whole street away that he finally stopped.
“Go ahead, laugh,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue twice. “Laugh all you want. One laugh makes you ten years younger. You finally managed to become younger than me, so you better maintain it.”
A lot of people were eating out for New Year’s. It wasn’t even six yet, and the parking lot was already almost full.
Sun Jiayue knew this restaurant well, which was how she managed to reserve a table. Otherwise the wait would’ve been forever.
As Fang Chi walked from the parking lot toward the restaurant entrance, he kept glancing around. “How many cars does your family have here?”
“Only Sun Jiayue’s arrived.” Sun Wenqu slung an arm around his shoulders and pointed to a white car nearby. “That’s theirs. No one else is here yet. Stop being nervous.”
“Wait!” Fang Chi suddenly stopped and turned back toward the car. “I forgot because I was nervous. We should bring those New Year gifts from the car. I brought them from home.”
“Is there meat in there? Beef jerky?” Sun Wenqu asked. “If there is, take it out first. I’m keeping it.”
“There’s tons. Three or four bags in the big sack. We can divide them up. I forgot to have Uncle Liangzi take a bag earlier.” Fang Chi said. “Everyone came back this year, so Grandpa made a ton.”
The two of them carried a bag of New Year goods into the private room. Sun Jiayue was sitting on the sofa eating walnuts while Lu Cheng cracked them one by one beside her.
“Oh?” Seeing the two of them walk in, Sun Jiayue smiled and waved. “You’re here.”
“Fang Chi.” Sun Wenqu introduced him briefly, then turned to Fang Chi. “My second sister, Sun Jiayue. My second brother-in-law, Lu Cheng.”
“Happy New Year, second sister. Happy New Year, second brother-in-law.” Fang Chi said properly.
“So well-behaved.” Sun Jiayue laughed. “Want some walnuts? Try these, I just bought them. They’re super fragrant.”
“Yeah, but cracking them hurts your hands,” Lu Cheng said from the side.
“Don’t they sell the kind you can crush easily? Why buy hard-shell ones?” Sun Wenqu walked over and grabbed a few already shelled.
“Those don’t taste as good.” Sun Jiayue curled her lips. “No fun eating them.”
Sun Wenqu popped one into his mouth, then handed the rest to Fang Chi.
“I won’t eat any.” Fang Chi shook his head. “I’m… kinda too nervous to eat.”
“Oh, handsome boy,” Sun Jiayue burst out laughing when she heard that. “What’s there to be nervous about? This is just a formality. No matter what opinions my family has about you, Wenqu won’t listen to them anyway.”
“That’s true,” Lu Cheng laughed. “Being nervous is normal. The first time I went to your house, if Wenqu hadn’t kept chatting with me, I wouldn’t have known what to say either.”
“Oh right, that means we owe him for that.” Sun Jiayue stood up and patted Fang Chi’s shoulder. “If things get awkward later or you get nervous, just chat with your second sister.”
“Okay.” Fang Chi smiled.
Sun Wenqu’s family had a strong sense of punctuality. If they said six o’clock, then it was six o’clock exactly. Right at six, the private room door was pushed open.
“Is this the one?” a woman said as she walked in.
“This is the eldest sister,” before Sun Wenqu could speak, Sun Jiayue quickly whispered in Fang Chi’s ear, “Sun Yao.”
Fang Chi hurriedly stood up. “Eldest sister, Happy New Year.”
“Ah, Happy New Year.” Sun Yao glanced at him while taking off her gloves.
“This is Fang Chi,” Sun Wenqu stood up and introduced the people who followed him in, lightly patting Fang Chi on the back. “My dad, my mom, and my eldeset brother-in-law.”
“Uncle, Happy New Year. Auntie, Happy New Year. Eldest Brother-in-law, Happy New Year.” Fang Chi felt like he was about to get nervous to the point of turning into a robot, his voice carrying a wonderful mechanical tremble.
“Fang Chi,” Sun Wenqu’s mother looked him over from head to toe, “sit down. It’s just our own family, no need to be polite.”
Although she said there was no need to be polite, Fang Chi could tell that this seemingly ordinary woman was not someone who could be treated casually. So he waited until everyone who came into the room had sat down, and only then did he take the last seat.
“Fang Chi brought some New Year gifts,” Sun Wenqu said, pointing to the bag on the table beside him. “His grandfather made them himself, cured meat, sausages, dried beef and the like. They’re especially good. When Aunt Li comes back, have her cook some to try.”
“Alright, I quite like dried beef,” Sun Wenqu’s mother smiled.
“Homemade?” Sun Yao turned to look at the bag. “I haven’t really eaten much of that before. I’m worried it’s not hygienic.”
This eldest sister looked quite a bit older than Sun Wenqu and Sun Jiayue, probably by at least ten years. From the moment she entered, she hadn’t smiled at all. Fang Chi’s first impression of her wasn’t very good, and now hearing this, he almost couldn’t hold back his anger.
All of these were personally made by his grandfather, who had been busy for one or two months beforehand. If it were usual, he might still be able to tolerate it, but now, thinking that his grandfather was heartbroken and upset over his situation yet still had to bear it, he felt distressed.
Fang Chi looked at her coldly but said nothing.
“I think it’s better than the supermarket stuff,” Sun Jiayue said, taking a sip of tea. “Don’t be so particular. What’s the difference between vegetables from the market and those from the supermarket?”
“There is still a difference, at least there are hygiene standards,” Sun Yao frowned.
“Anyway, it’s just what we don’t eat,” Fang Chi finally couldn’t hold back.
“What?” Sun Yao looked at him.
“Good vegetables, good fruits, the ones without pesticides, we keep them for ourselves,” Fang Chi said with a serious expression, explaining to her. “The ones we don’t want to eat, we take to the city to sell.”
Sun Yao froze.
“Oh my god!” Sun Jiayue laughed and called out, laughing as she patted Fang Chi. “Hey Little Chi, I’m telling you, how about this, I’ll go to your place and get some of the vegetables and fruits you eat?”
“Mm, okay,” Fang Chi nodded. “If you want to go, just tell me.”
After saying that, Fang Chi felt he wasn’t nervous anymore. In any case, Sun Wenqu’s dad, mom, and eldest sister weren’t easy to get along with, might as well offend them all at once and be done with it, save the trouble.
“Your home, which village is it in?” Sun Wenqu’s father suddenly asked.
“Just over by where Li Bowen’s agritourism place is,” Sun Wenqu said.
“Oh,” Sun Wenqu’s father nodded. “I’ve been there before, before they developed it for tourism.”
“It was more fun back then,” Fang Chi said. “Now a lot of places have been damaged. The two paths people often take are always full of trash.”
“What a pity,” Sun Wenqu’s father sighed. “I once climbed to the mountaintop to watch the sunrise. It was very nice.”
“Oh Dad, you even went mountain climbing? How come you didn’t take me for such a fun thing?” Sun Jiayue asked.
“You’re out running wild all day, how could I take you?” Sun Wenqu’s father said. “Besides, I wasn’t going to have fun.”
“Alright, I get it, you were looking for inspiration,” Sun Jiayue smiled.
“Sun Wenqu also came to my place to look for inspiration. Not sure if he found any,” Fang Chi glanced at Sun Wenqu.
Sun Wenqu curved his lips slightly. “I found it.”
A server knocked and came in to start serving dishes. The dishes had all been ordered in advance by Sun Jiayue, so they came out quickly. Before long, everything except two complicated dishes had been served.
When Fang Chi came in, he could tell the restaurant wasn’t cheap. Now looking at the plating, one dish placed on top of a larger plate underneath, he started worrying about how much this meal would cost.
Who was paying?
Sun Wenqu?
Did Sun Wenqu even have money?
If not, would the eldest sister get unhappy again?
Should he secretly slip Sun Wenqu his card?
The card… where was the card?
D*mn, he didn’t bring the card out…
But there was still money in his own account, so should he go pay?
Was that appropriate?
……
“How did you two meet?” Sun Wenqu’s mother suddenly asked after they had eaten for a while.
“Hm?” Fang Chi was still tangled up in the issue of the meal money and didn’t react immediately.
“He beat me up,” Sun Wenqu said. “That’s how we met.”
Everyone at the table froze.
“What…” Fang Chi suddenly turned to glare at Sun Wenqu, lowering his voice. “Who beat you?”
“Didn’t you?” Sun Wenqu curved his lips.
“…I guess I did.” Fang Chi rubbed his nose and lowered his head to take a bite of food.
“Impossible, right?” Sun Jiayue came to her senses and laughed. “Hey Wenqu, with your temper, if someone really beat you up, could you even tolerate it? Would there still be a follow-up?”
“I did tolerate it,” Sun Wenqu lightly patted Fang Chi on the back of the head. “I can tolerate him.”
Fang Chi said nothing.
So that’s what Sun Wenqu’s show of power meant, he was telling the whole family: this is someone, and no matter what he does to me, I can tolerate it. He hit me, and I tolerated it… and I even gave him all my money…
This show of force was quite something, probably enough to choke both his eldest sister and his mother with anger. As for his father, well, he’d already been angry before anyway…
Looking at the faintly smug smile at the corner of Sun Wenqu’s lips, Fang Chi sighed.
Childish!
The meal didn’t last long. No one in Sun Wenqu’s family drank alcohol, whether they never drank or whether drinking in this kind of atmosphere wasn’t enjoyable, no one knew.
They chatted in a somewhat cold, somewhat awkward, not entirely cold but not warm atmosphere. It seemed either the family didn’t talk much to begin with, or the atmosphere left little to talk about. Basically, only Sun Jiayue happily led the conversation while eating, and the others responded with a sentence here and there. The meal was finished in about an hour.
There was still food left, and Fang Chi wasn’t full, but he really didn’t want to be the only one still eating after everyone else had stopped.
“Let’s pack some to go,” Sun Wenqu said, pointing at the plate of fried spring rolls that hadn’t been touched much. “I like those.”
“If you like them, just eat them now,” Sun Yao said, looking at him. “Why pack them?”
“I can’t eat anymore now. I’ll take them back for a midnight snack,” Sun Wenqu replied.
“Then I’ll pack some too. I’ll take that plate of salt-and-pepper ribs,” Sun Jiayue asked the server for two takeout boxes, ignoring Sun Yao’s somewhat displeased look, and turned to Sun Wenqu. “But… won’t they be cold when we take them back?”
“It’s fine. Just heat them in the oven for a few minutes,” Sun Wenqu said, looking at Fang Chi. “As for me, I have a private chef, though his skills aren’t that great.”
“Where will Fang Chi stay tonight?” Sun Jiayue asked. “Stay at your place?”
Fang Chi suddenly looked up, stay at Sun Wenqu’s place?
No way, absolutely not.
He didn’t want to go to Sun Wenqu’s home and feel uncomfortable all night.
Forget about the brother-in-law, he already admired how someone as normal as the second brother-in-law could stay at their house for several days.
If Sun Wenqu had to go home, he would rather sacrifice the performance time he had been looking forward to after holding back for so long.
“No,” Sun Wenqu stretched. “Later, Fang Chi will come back to Ma Liang’s place with me. We’ll be starting work after the New Year, so we need to prepare.”
“Did you invest in Ma Liang’s place?” Eldest brother-in-law asked.
“Not yet,” Sun Wenqu smiled, then looked at Fang Chi. “But after the New Year, I’ll be putting in money.”
Fang Chi looked at him, unsure whether to nod or pretend not to hear.
“Fang Chi handles the accounts?” Sun Jiayue chimed in.
“Correct,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
Sun Wenqu’s father remained calm, he already knew. Sun Wenqu’s mother glanced at Fang Chi but said nothing. It was unclear whether the eldest sister had already reported it to her.
Seeing that everyone was getting ready to leave, Fang Chi leaned toward Sun Wenqu’s ear and whispered, “Who’s paying the bill?”
“My dad,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile, also whispering. “I forgot to tell you he was treating. Were you worrying about that the whole time?”
“Not really,” Fang Chi said. “Anyway, they all know your money’s with me.”
Sun Wenqu looked quite pleased as he smiled.
Fang Chi sighed.
Childish!
The bill was settled by Sun Wenqu’s father. Fang Chi couldn’t even estimate how much the meal cost; in any case, he hadn’t tasted anything properly.
Everyone stood up to leave. Fang Chi put on his coat and stood aside, waiting for them to go out first.
“Take the things,” Sun Wenqu’s father said to eldest brother-in-law.
Eldest sister took her father’s briefcase and was about to reach for the bag of New Year goods when Sun Wenqu pressed her hand, looking at her and saying, “Let’s make it clear first, if you don’t want to eat it, don’t take it. I don’t even have enough for myself.”
“You…” the eldest sister frowned, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Don’t, I want them,” Sun Jiayue quickly said. “I want the sausages. Little Chi, how’s the taste of the sausages from your place?”
“Slightly mild, we eat pretty lightly at home,” Fang Chi said.
“Perfect, give them to me, all of them.” Sun Jiayue reached to take them.
Sun Wenqu’s father coughed from the side. “What do you mean, all of it?”
“I’ll take the sausages,” Lu Cheng said.
“Then I want the sausages,” Sun Jiayue decisively took them all out and handed them over.
“I want sausages too,” Sun Wenqu’s father frowned.
“Go ask eldest sister for some that meet hygiene standards,” Sun Jiayue said.
“Jiayue!” Sun Wenqu’s mother glared at her.
“Leave me one,” Sun Wenqu’s father said.
“How do you leave one from this long string? Two meters each, one piece is two meters,” Sun Jiayue said.
“There’s more. I have more at my place,” Fang Chi quickly said, feeling somewhat impressed by how stubborn this family was, “Uncle, I’ll get some for you later. They’re in Sun Wenqu’s car.”
After leaving the restaurant, Fang Chi still felt awkward all over, especially as they walked toward the car while everyone else was getting in and waiting, and Sun Wenqu’s father followed along.
When they reached the car, Sun Wenqu didn’t say anything, he just got in and closed the door.
Fang Chi climbed into the car and took a bag of New Year goods from the back seat.
“Just the sausages,” Sun Wenqu’s father said. “I already have everything else.”
“Okay.” Fang Chi took out the sausages.
“Give him half,” Sun Wenqu said from inside the car in a low voice. “He has high blood pressure.”
“High blood pressure?” Fang Chi was a bit surprised, Sun Wenqu’s father looked quite thin.
“Hypertension,” Sun Wenqu’s father said. “Then give me half.”
“Alright.” Fang Chi picked up the sausage, bit through it at the middle casing, and broke it in half, placing it back in the bag and handing it to him.
“You…” Sun Wenqu’s father looked like he wanted to laugh. “Nice teeth.”
“It’s not hard,” Fang Chi said.
Sun Wenqu’s father took the sausage, closed the car door, and looked at him. “Their three siblings have been stubborn since childhood, don’t take it to heart.”
“I didn’t take it to heart,” Fang Chi said. “That’s probably genetic.”
As soon as he finished saying that, he wanted to open the door and slip into the car.
But Sun Wenqu’s father suddenly laughed, patted his shoulder: “Probably. Alright, I’m heading off. Thanks for the sausage.”
“Uncle, don’t mention it.” Fang Chi was practically about to pull out a piece of paper to wipe his sweat.
Sun Wenqu’s dad glanced into the car, then turned and left.
Fang Chi hesitated for a moment, then called out to his back: “Sun Wenqu’s been doing pretty well with Uncle Liangzi’s studio. When you have time, you should go take a look, he’s made some new stuff.”
Sun Wenqu’s dad paused, and Fang Chi quickly added, “I think it’s really nice.”
“Fang little housewife,” Sun Wenqu leaned against the seat watching Fang Chi get into the car and smiled, “your heart really stretches wide over heaven and earth.”
“I saw your dad looking at you like he couldn’t quite let go,” Fang Chi said. “Feels like maybe he wants to reconcile?”
“He was looking at me because I didn’t get out of the car to talk to him,” Sun Wenqu said with a smile.
“I think the problem between you two is right there, he’s putting on airs, you’re being stubborn. Mountains without edges, heaven and earth joining, endlessly without end…” Fang Chi sighed.
“What nonsense,” Sun Wenqu laughed. “Did they twist your brain crooked tonight?”
“Switch, I’ll drive,” Fang Chi got out of the car. “We going back to Uncle Liangzi’s?”
“Mm.” Sun Wenqu swapped with him and sat in the passenger seat.
Actually, after this trip back from the mountains, Sun Wenqu could feel that his dad had aged. His temper wasn’t as explosive as before; even when he scolded or jabbed at him, it wasn’t as harsh.
Especially after he started working with Ma Liang, over several meetings, his dad hadn’t used those usual sarcastic, barbed remarks anymore.
Maybe he’d let things go.
Sun Wenqu propped his temple against the car door and looked at Fang Chi driving. Or maybe Fang Chi’s kind of blunt, silly way also acted as a buffer between him and his dad?
Thinking of how Fang Chi had been tonight, he couldn’t help laughing again.
“What are you laughing at?” Fang Chi glanced at him.
“Nothing,” Sun Wenqu reached out and lightly hooked his fingers at his neck twice. “Just feel like my mom and Sun Yao probably can’t form a complete judgment of you anymore.”
“I don’t like your eldest sister,” Fang Chi clicked his tongue. “Too nouveau riche. It’s not like your family only got money recently, right? Why does she act like she just picked up two million out of nowhere, like if she doesn’t hurry and show off being rich, the real owner’s going to come claim it back?”
Sun Wenqu was already amused, and at that he burst out laughing uncontrollably. “She’s always been like that, since she was little. But she’s pretty capable too, everything with my dad was handled by her and my brother-in-law, not a single mistake.”
“Ah,” Fang Chi sighed, “your second sister has a better personality, loud and lively. She’s the least like your family.”
“Am I like them?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“You are,” Fang Chi glanced at him. “Don’t you think you and your dad are exactly the same in some ways? Definitely not picked up from the street.”
Sun Wenqu laughed again.
Fang Chi didn’t speak, waited for him to finish laughing, then clicked his tongue. “Done laughing? Then help me think, when I call my dad tonight, what should I say?”
“No need to think,” Sun Wenqu said. “If he wants to scold you, listen. If he hangs up, call again. Then tell him you’ll go back first thing in the morning and have a proper talk.”
“Mm,” Fang Chi responded. “My dad’s got a pretty good temper, been in business for so many years and never fought with anyone… do you think he’ll hit me? He’s never hit me since I was little. The beatings I got were all from my grandparents.”
“Don’t know. Call him tonight and then decide. If he’s really angry… tomorrow I’ll go back with you,” Sun Wenqu thought for a moment. “I’ll stop by Li Bowen’s place. If your dad wants to hit you, tell me, I’ll come along. I feel like I’m sort of the same generation as your dad, he probably wouldn’t lay a hand on me…”
Fang Chi shot him a sideways glance. “Listen to that ego.”
