Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Fu Yunxiang invited Yao Yueyin and Fu Yao to join him for lunch.

Before the meal, Yu He sought out Yao Yueyin to apologize: “Aunt, about earlier... There haven’t been any girls in the Fu residence before, and I heard a girl crying this morning while having a nightmare, so I thought it was... I'm really sorry.”

Yao Yueyin couldn’t help but laugh at being referred to as a ‘girl’: “I’m already forty-five, how am I a girl? Yao Yao is even a few years older than you.” Yao Yueyin stretched out her hand to Yu He, pulling him to sit beside her: “How old are you? Are you accustomed to living here?”

Yao Yueyin is gentle and understanding, fitting perfectly into Yu He’s imagination of a mother. For some reason, when Yao Yueyin asked if he was comfortable living there, Yu He suddenly felt like crying.

Yu He picked up his coke and took a sip, smoothing down the lump in his throat: “It's fine, Mr. Fu is quite kind.”

Yao Yueyin and Fu Yao exchanged glances; they were astute enough to see the barely concealed grief and distress in Yu He.

Fu Yao is a typical mama's boy. When Yu He was being scolded earlier, he wished he could rush upstairs and give Yu He a good beating. But now, seeing his mother talking amiably with Yu He and apparently taking a liking to him, Fu Yao began to treat Yu He like a younger brother, speaking kindly: “Can’t you sleep at night? I was scared too when I lived in the garden as a child.”

Yu He honestly responded: “Everything here is good, it’s just too secluded. The utter silence at night makes it hard for me to sleep.”

“You and Yao Yao are about the same age,” Yao Yueyin held Yu He’s hand, gently patting it as she spoke softly, “If you find it boring staying in the garden, you can ask Yao Yao to take you out to play. Yao Yao grew up in Yun Su, and his friends don’t really go to Fengcheng.”

Fu Yao, as if afraid that Yu He might not understand, explicitly explained Yao Yueyin’s implicit message: “Yeah, that’s right. My friends don’t know much about Fengcheng. I’ll just say you’re my distant cousin, and they won’t ask.”

Yao Yucen shot Fu Yao a glance, leaving him scratching his head in confusion.

Yu He lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting a shadow as dark as crow feathers. He thought to himself how peculiar it was; could it be that all the good people in the world had reincarnated into the Fu family?

He wanted to ask Yao Yucen why she had been crying in the morning, but then he thought better of it. He was nothing but a stray dog living off others; even if Yao Yucen was facing difficulties, he wouldn't be able to help. Besides, bringing it up would only add to her sorrows.

As a mother, Yao Yucen was extremely sensitive. She quickly picked up on Yu He’s unease and began to tell him numerous funny stories about Fu Yao’s childhood, including the time Fu Yao got his suspender pants hooked on a fence while climbing over it, and the time he altered a 79 on his test paper to a 99.

"He took a red pen and drew a semi-circle under the 7, making it look like a 9 at first glance,” Yao Yucen said, glancing at Fu Yao. “But how could a paper full of red crosses get a 99? He only fixed the beginning and neglected the rest. His father gave him a good beating for that."

“Your uncle would actually hit Brother Fu Yao?” Yu He asked.

Yao Yucen laughed, “Your uncle is a bit rough around the edges. He would get angry and lock Fu Yao out of the house, but then he’d be peeping through the peephole the whole time, worried about his son. It’s actually quite redundant; there are so many maids in the courtyard, how could they let anything happen to him?”

Yu He smiled slightly, his eyes filled with longing, “That sounds nice.”

Yao Yucen was taken aback, not understanding what was so nice about it.

Before she could say anything more, Zhang Shan approached and bowed to everyone before saying to Yu He, “Young Master Yu, Mr. Fu is looking for you.”

Without waiting for Yu He to say goodbye, Yao Yucen smiled and said, “Go on, then.”

Inside the study, Fu Yunzhen was sitting behind his desk, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and flipping through a freshly printed financial report.

Knocking on the door, Yu He entered the study and asked, “Mr. Fu, you wanted to see me?”

Fu Yunzhen put down the report and glanced at Yu He. It was an ordinary look, calm as still water, but somehow, Yu He interpreted it as an invitation to approach.

Yu He walked over to Fu Yunzhen’s side. Fu Yunzhen was seated in a wheelchair, and there was no other place to sit behind the desk, so Yu He bent his knees and half sat, half leaned on the edge of the desk.

Fu Yunzhen pushed the report aside to make more room for Yu He, took off his glasses, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Do you have nearsightedness?” Yu He took the glasses from Fu Yunzhen’s hand, “I haven’t seen you wear them before.”

Fu Yunzhen’s voice was low and pleasant, with just the right amount of resonance. It sounded like a very expensive voice, “The text and numbers on the financial report are small and dense; it makes my eyes dizzy. The glasses are to prevent dizziness.”

Yu He opened the arms of the glasses and put them on, resting them on his ears, “Really? They can do that?”

Yu He was remarkably handsome, and those who knew him would often say that the phrase ‘gold and jade on the outside, rot and ruin on the inside’ was tailor-made for him. He thought so too. He once said that if he died, instead of engraving ‘his voice and smile remain, his spirit lives on’ on his tombstone, they should just carve ‘gold and jade on the outside, rot and ruin on the inside.’

Now, with the gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, he exuded a deceitfully gentle and refined air. He looked well-behaved and scholarly, but if you were to delve deeper, you would find a major scoundrel hiding within.

Fu Yunzhang's Adam's apple rolled slightly as he lifted the tea cup to take a sip, "Did you have a nice chat with your aunt?"

“Your aunt is really nice,” Yu He lowered his eyelashes, looking at Fu Yunzhang. “How come all the good people are in the Fu family?”

Fu Yunzhang chuckled lightly, "Good people, asking for fifty million just for cash flow?"

Yu He was taken aback, standing still. As an outsider, it was inappropriate for him to comment on the Fu family's internal affairs.

Fu Yunzhang narrated the entire situation regarding Yao Yueyun's visit to him, and then looked up at Yu He with deep eyes that betrayed no emotion, asking only, “Are you here to plead her case?”

Yu He uncomfortably pursed his lips, "But she’s so gentle."

“Oh, young master Yu likes gentle people,” Fu Yunzhang said as he moved his wheelchair to leave.

The edge of the wheelchair's armrest accidentally scraped against Yu He's clothes. Yu He, with his poor balance, couldn't stand steady and ended up sitting on Fu Yunzhang's lap.

“Ah! Your legs!” Yu He hadn’t even settled down before he stood up again, spreading his legs and squatting down in a awkward stance, “I can’t press down on them, right?”

Worried that Yu He might fall, Fu Yunzhang steadied him by the waist, glancing at his own legs and mockingly said, “I can't feel them anyway, so don’t worry about pressing down.”

Yu He, holding onto Fu Yunzhang’s shoulders, stood in an awkward position, completely misunderstanding Fu Yunzhang’s self-mocking words, and instead responded, “Then I’ll just sit on your lap.”

Fu Yunzhang’s mood improved considerably, a subtle smile appearing in his eyes. He pushed up the glasses sliding down Yu He’s nose, “Go ahead, sit.”

Yu He didn’t stand on ceremony, relaxing his muscles and straddling Fu Yunzhang’s thighs.

They were so close, Yu He could once again smell the scent of white soap on Fu Yunzhang.

And Yu He really liked this scent.

“It smells so good.”

Yu He leaned close to Fu Yunzhang’s neck, trying to figure out where the scent was coming from. Soap isn’t like perfume; it shouldn’t last this long. Logically, even if one showers every morning, the scent shouldn’t still be there by noon.

Getting closer, Yu He could feel the warmth from Fu Yunzhang’s body and inhaled lightly, “Mr. Fu, you smell so good. Do you take a bath every day?”

As Yu He spoke, his breath brushed against Fu Yunzhang’s neck.

Fu Yunzhang, having abstained for many years and only recently indulging, was at the peak of his desire and hardly able to handle such intimacy.

He subtly dodged, quickly leaning his back against the wheelchair's backrest, emitting a slight grunt.

Yu He never knew when to advance or retreat. Even as Fu Yunzhen was avoiding him, anyone else would have taken the hint and backed off. But Yu He was different; the more Fu Yunzhen retreated, the closer he got, until Fu Yunzhen's entire back was pressed against the wheelchair's backrest, and he had to take a deep breath, unintentionally stirring Fu Yunzhen's tense nerves.

Yu He asked in confusion, "What do you use for bathing? Why does it smell so good?"

Fu Yunzhen raised his hand to block Yu He's nuzzling nose, answering indifferently, "I use water."

"I've also used the shower gel in your room." Yu He pulled at his own collar, bending down to sniff, "But why does it smell different on you?"

In the place Yu He couldn't see, Fu Yunzhen clenched the wheelchair's armrest: "What's different?"

Yu He couldn't quite put his finger on it, casually flattering, "Perhaps you're just more remarkable."

Fu Yunzhen's expression softened slightly, he chuckled lightly, his chest vibrating softly, his voice as gorgeous as a breeze caressing the strings of a lute, extremely pleasant to the ear.

Fu Yunzhen spoke leisurely: "According to Young Master Yu's standards, you're just a bit off."

"Hm? Off in what way?" asked Yu He.

Unable to suppress the amusement in his eyes, Fu Yunzhen lifted a loose strand of Yu He's hair: "When Young Master Yu reigns over the three realms, I was not even there yet."

Yu He: "......"

He knew it!

Fu Yunzhen is usually cold and indifferent, and the whole world knows that he doesn't show his emotions. He seems profound and inscrutable, but he only smiles so happily when Yu He makes a fool of himself!

This old fox!

However, Fu Yunzhen really does look handsome when he smiles.

His long, phoenix-shaped eyes curve up, the coldness on his face completely dissipates, becoming both gentle and dashing, just like an ancient noble young master.

Yu He circled his arms around Fu Yunzhen's shoulders, resting his head on his shoulder.

He was tall and thin, so curling up in Fu Yunzhen's embrace didn’t feel out of place at all; it was like a little bird returning to its nest.

Fu Yunzhen wrapped his arm around Yu He's shoulders, pulling him into his embrace.

Yu He closed his eyes.

Like a weary bird returning to its nest, he felt an immense sense of peace at this moment.