Chapter 47: White Rose

Chapter 47 White Roses

"Oh no, Young Master Haochen! Butler Yun is allergic to pollen!" The young gardener quickly nudged Yun Fan further away.

Wen Haochen looked at the flowers, then at Yun Fan, standing frozen in bewilderment. He often saw Yun Fan tending to flowers and plants; how could he suddenly be allergic when Wen Haochen brought them?

Seeing Wen Haochen rooted to the spot, Yun Fan knew exactly what he was thinking. After his sneezing fit subsided, he maintained a two-meter distance from Wen Haochen and raised his voice slightly to explain: "I'm not allergic to all flowers. The ones planted at home are fine, but roses are a problem... Ah, ah-choo!"

Wen Haochen was startled, then tossed the white roses behind his back. The young gardener shrieked, rushing to cradle the flowers. "Such precious flowers, you can't treat them like that!"

With that, the young gardener hurried off to salvage the roses. Wen Haochen, who had just "destroyed" the flowers with his own hands, rubbed the back of his head in acute embarrassment. In just a few minutes, he had already botched things twice.

Since kindergarten, Wen Haochen had always been the one pursued; he truly had no experience in chasing others. He considered asking his second uncle's son, Wen Zhaoning; he'd heard Wen Zhaoning was courting the daughter of the Yu family in Aocheng and could probably offer some valuable advice.

When Yun Fan had recovered somewhat, he waved Wen Haochen over: "Let's go inside. The scent out here is too strong."

Who in this world would refuse an offered escape route? Wen Haochen eagerly seized the opportunity, following Yun Fan inside.

Langyuntai had just undergone a thorough cleaning. Now, with gleaming windows and everything spotless, the sparsely populated house felt exceptionally spacious. As a junior, who wouldn't envy Wen Zhaofu for independently owning such a grand residence?

"Young Master Haochen, this is the newly procured white tea. Please enjoy." Yun Fan took the teacup from the old butler and placed it on the small table.

Though he was used to being called "Young Master" by those around him daily, today when Yun Fan addressed him that way, Wen Haochen felt a strange flutter in his heart.

"Delicious," Wen Haochen mechanically performed the actions of lifting the cup, taking a sip, swallowing, and offering his evaluation.

The old butler stood with hands at his sides, nodding in satisfaction. Assuming Wen Haochen had come to Langyuntai to wait for Wen Zhaofu, he turned and assigned Yun Fan to tidy the study.

This was purely making up work where there was none—the book covers in the study had nearly been rubbed raw from overcleaning.

"Hey!" Wen Haochen made a grabbing motion at the air. "Uncle Cheng, let Butler Yun stay! I came specifically to thank him."

The old butler paused, then gave an awkward smile. Of course, he knew about Yun Fan's outstanding performance at St. Ken Academy. But for an employer to specifically come to thank a junior butler? He felt an indescribable awkwardness.

"Solving our employers' troubles is our..." Before the old butler could finish his polite response, he saw Wen Haochen grab Yun Fan by the sleeve and lead him away.

By late May, Hong Kong was already quite warm, and with high humidity, Langyuntai had the air conditioning running full blast throughout the house. Yun Fan, sensitive to cold, wore a sweatshirt. As Wen Haochen pulled at his sleeve, Yun Fan pulled his arm back. Sensing his stubborn resistance, Wen Haochen finally let go.

"Young Master shouldn't be pulling and grabbing with the butler," Yun Fan said sternly.

Hah, Wen Haochen chuckled softly. Can't pull and grab with him, but can hold his elder brother's hand?

Now that was a textbook double standard!

Wen Haochen refused to accept this, and got competitive—the more he was rejected, the more determined he became. Today he simply wouldn’t leave Langyuntai. He flopped down on the sofa in the activity room, pulled Yun Fan to sit beside him, scooted closer, and said while leaning against Yun Fan: "You can't accept flowers, and I don't have money, but I still need to thank you somehow."

The distance was too close. Yun Fan, uncomfortable, tried to shift away but found his waist against the sofa armrest. Seeing him with no escape, Wen Haochen quickly grabbed and clung to Yun Fan's arm.

"Cuddles, I want cuddles~~" Wen Haochen acted like a large dog, speaking in a cooing voice that made Yun Fan break out in goosebumps.

"Young Master Haochen…"

"Second Young Master…"

"Xiao Er…"

Yun Fan's voice rose higher and higher as Wen Haochen pressed closer, even beginning to sniff at his neck like a dog. Finally unable to bear it, he pushed him away and shouted angrily: "Wen Haochen!"

"Sit properly!" Yun Fan patted the sofa, signaling him to move away.

Though scolded by his full name, Wen Haochen shivered with pleasure. This was exactly how he wanted Yun Fan to treat him—the harsher, the better. He had realized earlier that being scolded by Yun Fan made him happy, because he clearly knew that in those moments, Yun Fan was thinking only of him.

Not his elder brother, nor that Cheng Yu or Liu Erxing.

"If Mr. Zhaofu sees this, he'll dock my salary!" Yun Fan added.

Well, his elder brother was still there after all.

"Butler Yun, I just wanted to thank you. Besides, this is also from my classmates. The video of our performance was posted online, and so many people are liking it!" Wen Haochen said happily. "So you have to let me thank you. If you can't accept flowers, then tell me, what can I do for you?"

Yun Fan frowned at Wen Haochen, feeling in that moment that the younger one was harder to deal with than the older. Because the older one wouldn’t act coy like this, but Wen Haochen—he was now extremely skilled at acting cute.

Seeing Wen Haochen about to pounce again, Yun Fan hurriedly raised both hands to block him, parted his thin lips, and said quickly: "You teach me to sing a Cantonese song."

Wen Haochen's eyes lit up. He sang well—this was perfect, it played right to his strengths.

*

Outside the activity room, the old butler was anxiously pacing. Uncle Man came out for some air, saw him stomping in place, and curiously walked over to ask what was wrong.

Booming laughter came from the activity room. Hearing it, Uncle Man also began to smile. He recognized that voice well now—it was Yun Fan laughing heartily.

Yun Fan was already good-looking; anyone who saw him would find it hard to look away. Who would have thought he also had such a cheerful personality, making him even more likable.

Since Yun Fan came to Langyuntai, Uncle Man felt the work atmosphere had improved. He’d heard earlier that Yun Fan’s work contract was only for a year, and already he was starting to feel reluctant to see him go.

"Butler Yun and Young Master Haochen are getting too close…" the old butler said, deeply concerned.

Uncle Man shook his head unconcernedly: "They're young, after all. They naturally have more to talk about than us. Having more laughter and joy in the house is better."

The old butler looked helplessly at the chef, thinking that wearing different hats indeed led to different perspectives. He decided unilaterally to cut off communication with the chef and continued to fret on his own.

Inside the room, Yun Fan was amusing himself. Wen Haochen sang quite well, but Yun Fan truly found it difficult to bridge the language gap in such a short time.

Yun Fan laughed uncontrollably, while Wen Haochen was shaking with laughter beside him. He had never been a teacher and naturally didn’t know how to help Yun Fan learn quickly. He was just extremely patient, demonstrating repeatedly for Yun Fan, hoping he would suddenly have a breakthrough and master the pronunciation.

Utterly unable to grasp the patterns, Yun Fan decided to adopt a different tactic: phonetic translation using Chinese characters. He found paper and pen, had Wen Haochen sing one line, and he wrote it down.

They were singing Yun Fan’s favorite song, "Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies."

"Just settled—a pot, in the bitter night—cries for mending cracked cauldrons."

Wen Haochen stared in shock at the words on the paper, listening incredulously as Yun Fan sang them. He took a sharp breath: "You, you, you, you!"

"Just tell me, is it right or not!" Yun Fan tapped the paper with the back of his hand, lifting his head proudly.

"Right, right, right," Wen Haochen nodded hurriedly. "You're really a genius!"

"Continue, continue." Yun Fan, growing more confident with each try, felt he was not far from becoming a singing god.

Wen Haochen’s eyes were full of laughter, thinking Yun Fan was even cleverer than he had been as a child. At the same time, though Yun Fan was a bit older than him, he found Yun Fan so cute.

So cute, he really wanted to cuddle.

But Yun Fan was now fully absorbed in learning the song. Wen Haochen couldn’t bear to interrupt him, and even more dared not get too close. He felt that if he hugged Yun Fan now, Yun Fan might slap him all the way to his elder brother’s office.

"Pardon—this duck's existence, eighth brother in the gale, adores a fowl's waist..."

Wen Haochen covered his mouth laughing. With all these chickens and ducks, Yun Fan really, really loved to eat. Loving food was good—he loved food too. They had so many common points.

"The lyrics are so well written. Who doesn’t love freedom?" Yun Fan straightened up and smiled. "Thank you, Teacher Wen. I’ve learned it."

Yun Fan's eyes were sparkling right now, his lips red and moist from just drinking water. He smiled, each word hitting Wen Haochen right in the heart.

It was just too beautiful. Wen Haochen couldn't hold back, crossing his hands and pressing them over his own heart. He turned and walked away abruptly, feeling he couldn't stay in Langyuntai any longer—he was gonna explode!

In this duck life of his, petty things no longer mattered; all that mattered was having Yun Fan!

As the activity room door opened, Wen Haochen met the old butler's gaze. He was startled for a moment, then put on a serious expression: "Butler Cheng, what are you doing here? You're not spying on Butler Yun and me, are you?"

"I wouldn't dare! I absolutely wouldn't dare!" the old butler shrieked. The accusation was too heavy—his old bones couldn't handle such an accusation.

Yun Fan heard the commotion and came out after him, looking curiously at the two of them. Not wanting to worry Yun Fan, Wen Haochen spoke up: "I was asking Butler Cheng what dishes they usually serve at Langyuntai. I want Baofeng's chefs to learn from them."

Both the old butler and Yun Fan looked at Wen Haochen with suspicion. He cleared his throat awkwardly: "I'm leaving now, but I'll be back."

Yun Fan and the old butler exchanged puzzled looks. In the silence, Yun Fan noticed the old butler's look becoming more complicated.

"Butler Yun, the most important rule for a butler is not to fall in love with the employer!" said the old butler through gritted teeth.

How unfair! Yun Fan froze. Who had he fallen in love with? No one!

*

Yun Fan was really excited about learning a new song. Whenever the old butler wasn't around, he'd hum it to himself.

Cheng Yu was abroad, and although Liu Erxing was in Hong Kong, he was tied up with his godfather. He could only bombard Yun Fan with messages.

At first, Yun Fan thought Liu Erxing had something important to say and even listened to those 60-second voice notes. But it turned out he was just talking about trivial matters—like how his godfather wore a Barbie pink tie that day, or how Wen Zhaofu didn't smile at Fiona Wu during a meeting.

Fiona Wu—Yun Fan had almost forgotten about her. He smiled and replied to Liu Erxing with a "Stop messing around."

Unexpectedly, Liu Erxing actually quieted down and didn't bother him for the rest of the afternoon.

The swing in the yard was a little loose, so Yun Fan grabbed some tools to fix it. Not many people used the swing at Langyuntai.

Wen Zhaofu couldn't sit on it, and others felt it would be inappropriate to use it in front of him. Only Yun Fan knew that every time his sir saw the swing, he would sneak a glance. Unfortunately, because of his limitations, Wen Zhaofu couldn't actually play on it.

So, even though the broken swing didn't seem like a big deal, Yun Fan still wanted to fix it. If Wen Zhaofu could ever stand again, he would surely want to play on it.

Xiao Shan briefly explained the repair process to Yun Fan using a diagram, and Yun Fan quickly understood how to fix it. In no time, it was done. He sat on it and swayed—it was sturdy now.

After crouching and bending over for a while, Yun Fan felt a bit tired. Watching the sunset by the mountain, he didn't get up right away.

Life here seemed slower than before, but Yun Fan felt he had been always busy. Even if he claimed to be slacking off, he never really stopped.

There was no helping it—a wealthy family's mansion, a high-net-worth family, there was always something to do.

Lost in thought, Yun Fan couldn't help but sing as he watched the sunset.

"Forgive me for this life, unrestrained and loving freedom…"

Yun Fan repeated this line over and over, constantly correcting his pronunciation. He'd stumble over words, then chuckle to himself.

As he repeated it for the seventh time, a deep, strong voice came from behind him. He turned and met Wen Zhaofu's deep, well-like gaze.

In that instant, Yun Fan felt a surge of confidence. Wen Zhaofu's voice supported his, like a ship carrying him to shore amidst towering waves.

Wen Zhaofu's singing, much like the man himself, was something Yun Fan couldn't resist. It gave him a sense of steadiness and peace.

"Forgive me for this life, unrestrained and loving freedom."

"Also afraid that one day I might fall…"

"Abandoning ideals, anyone can, even if one day it's just you and me."

Yun Fan laughed, tilting his head and saying brightly, "Thank you, sir!"

"Don't mention it," Wen Zhaofu said, casually brushing his sleeve.

After a pause, Wen Zhaofu pointed at the swing, wrinkling his nose like a child and saying quickly, "I want to sit on that."

"Huh?" Yun Fan thought he misheard.

Wen Zhaofu was also extremely embarrassed. His hand hovered over the wheelchair controls, thinking that if Yun Fan hadn't heard clearly, he would turn and leave immediately.

"Okay!" Yun Fan jumped up, stepping quickly toward Wen Zhaofu. "Sir, shall I help you?"

Yun Fan's eyes were full of anticipation. Wen Zhaofu even felt that Yun Fan wanted to see him on the swing more than he did himself.

He could refuse his own heart, but he couldn't say "no" to Yun Fan.

So, from afar, near the flower bed, Xiao Shan stared dumbfounded at the scene. Yun Fan pushed the wheelchair to the swing, then wrapped his arm around Wen Zhaofu's waist, half-carrying him.

"Sir, Xiao Shan is watching. Pretend a bit more…" Yun Fan felt Wen Zhaofu's weight and realized this man was much taller than him.

Wen Zhaofu really wanted to laugh, but at this moment, he could only play along with Yun Fan, letting all his weight rest on him as he was slowly dragged onto the swing.

He thought his appearance and movements must look extremely strange right now, but he didn't care at all—because he was sitting on his favorite swing with Yun Fan.

"Whew…" Yun Fan let out a long sigh and glanced sideways at Wen Zhaofu.

The clear weather lifted everyone's spirits. The sunset glow spilled over Langyuntai. Wen Zhaofu looked at Yun Fan, and for some reason, warmth flooded his heart.

Unable to help himself, Wen Zhaofu reached out and placed his hand on Yun Fan's head. He gently stroked it, then laughed and ruffled his hair before saying, "Xiao Yun, I will give you freedom."

Yun Fan looked at him in surprise, his red lips parting slightly without making a sound. He thought Wen Zhaofu meant he would let him leave when his contract expired.

How strange—Yun Fan opened his mouth but no sound came out. He didn't want to say "okay," because in Wen Zhaofu's eyes, even as he spoke of "freedom," his light pupils were filled with reluctance.

This reluctance seemed contagious, because Yun Fan felt a sour ache in his own heart.

Just then, the old butler rushed over. Xiao Shan tried to hold him back but failed. A furious roar shattered the peace of Langyuntai.

"Butler Yun! I'm going to have the matriarch fire you!!!"

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Author's note: The old butler—a vibe killer.