Chapter 34 Safety

Chapter 34: Safety

Xie Fengshi’s lips still carried the sheen of being kissed, a mischievous glint in his dark eyes, like a dog proudly wagging its tail in Kaelen’s view.

Kaelen suppressed the heat: “Taking it slow means I’ll wait until you’re ready. But it doesn’t mean I can control my body’s instincts.”

Xie Fengshi stepped half a step forward, closing the distance Kaelen had just stepped back: “So what are you going to do now?”

Kaelen looked down at this reckless soul diving straight into the fire, reached out and gently removed Xie Fengshi's hands from his collar, and laced their fingers together: “I’ll go to the next room for a bit.”

Xie Fengshi couldn’t help but laugh: “You’re going to find Isaac?”

“He’s my sanctuary now.”

“If he asks what’s wrong, what will you say?”

Kaelen looked so serious he didn't seem to be joking: “I’ll say I’m having an allergic reaction.”

Xie Fengshi was in stitches, steering Kaelen toward the door by the shoulder: “Go on, then, Mr. Allergic Zefir, and remember to knock loudly. Your brother won’t hear you when he’s gaming.”

Kaelen turned at the door, bracing one hand on the frame, boxing him in: “Feng Shi.”

Xie Fengshi looked up at him: “Hmm?”

“What time are you finishing tonight?”

“Around seven, why?”

Kaelen leaned down and nuzzled the spot between Xie Fengshi's brows: “I’ll come get you.”

“No need, I can take the subway straight here. It’s quick.”

“I’ll come get you.” Kaelen repeated, his voice gentle but not taking no for an answer.

Xie Fengshi realized he couldn't refuse, so he nodded: “I’ll text you when I’m almost done.”

Satisfied at last, Kaelen turned and headed for the next room.

After a knock on the door, Isaac poked his head out after a moment: “This better be good.”

Whatever the two brothers talked about, Xie Fengshi watched Isaac's expression go from “Are you kidding me?” to “You’re serious?” and finally to “I can’t even.”

After Kaelen went inside, Xie Fengshi closed the door and headed downstairs.

Downstairs, Lu Shiyan, who was heading home anyway, had driven over and been waiting for a bit.

Xie Fengshi pulled open the car door and got in. Lu Shiyan was scrolling through his phone, tapping quickly but not finding anything interesting. Hearing the movement, Lu Shiyan looked Xie Fengshi up and down.

Xie Fengshi buckled his seatbelt: “What’s up?”

“Just checking if you have a headache or something.”

“No, I slept fine.”

As the car pulled out onto the street, Lu Shiyan moved the conversation to business: “Cheng Lang and the others are pressuring me to pick a date soon.”

“That fast?”

“Do you even realize how good you cook? Cheng Lang ate almost half the crab roe tofu on his own. Even Gu Huaixu, who doesn't care much about food, had two bowls of rice.”

Xie Fengshi's eyes lit up at the compliment, but he still tried to be modest: “No way, it's because the crab roe you bought was super fresh.”

“Even with good ingredients, you need someone who can cook. I bought the same crab roe before, but what I made was garbage.”

Xie Fengshi laughed at Lu Shiyan’s self-deprecation: “You’re exaggerating.”

“Not at all. That day I stir-fried crab roe and eggs, and it turned gray. I didn’t dare eat it and poured it all out.”

As the car merged onto the main road, Lu Shiyan drove with one hand while rummaging through the front compartment with the other, pulling out a pack of unopened preserved plums: “Try these, new flavor.”

Xie Fengshi took them, tore open the package, popped one into his mouth. The sourness hit first, followed by a faint sweetness. The fruit was thick and chewy. He kept it in his mouth for a while, his cheek puckering from the sourness: “Good.”

“Right? My mom got me hooked on them, but she told me not to eat too many—bad for health.” Lu Shiyan sighed as he spoke, a hint of grievance in his tone: “I’m twenty, and she still tells me what snacks I can have.”

Xie Fengshi kept the plum in his mouth, sucking on it: “It’s nice to have a mom who cares.”

Lu Shiyan fell silent for a moment at that, glancing at Xie Fengshi's face to make sure there was no sign of distress before feeling relieved: “Yeah, my mom nags, but I still miss her. By the way, how are you planning to arrange Cheng Lang and the others? Fixed days each week, or rotating?”

Xie Fengshi said: “Fixed days, so I can plan better. Monday and Thursday for you, Tuesday I’m painting with Kevin, the rest I can allocate to them.”

Lu Shiyan was curious: “You don’t have anything on Wednesday?”

Xie Fengshi didn’t see anything to hide: “Kaelen is here this week, not sure about later.”

“Oh~” Lu Shiyan dragged out that “oh” long.

“What are you ‘oh-ing’ about?”

“Nothing, I think your arrangement is very reasonable. Very reasonable, full of logistical wisdom.”

Xie Fengshi deadpanned: “Transfer me to a human.”

Lu Shiyan chuckled twice, and while stopped at a red light, turned to Xie Fengshi, curiosity written all over his face: “So what exactly is the relationship between you two now?”

“What relationship?” Little Xie played deaf, pretending not to hear.

“Don’t play dumb. He came straight from the airport, you know. Do you know how far the airport is from my place? Normally, even without traffic, it’s forty minutes. He made it in thirty. And the way he looks at you isn’t the way a friend looks.”

Xie Fengshi wrapped the plum pit in a tissue: “I know.”

“What do you know?”

“I know he likes me, and I like him back.”

Lu Shiyan opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again: “You just came out and said it? No buildup? No playing hard to get? Shouldn’t you at least let me guess?”

Xie Fengshi was puzzled: “What’s there to guess? Didn’t you already figure it out?”

“Fine, Xie Fengshi, you’re something. I had a whole speech ready to help you figure things out, and you just drop the answer on me. What am I supposed to do with that speech now?”

“Save it for next time.”

“Next time? You spilled everything in one shot. Where’s the next time?”

Little Xie was ignoring your message, practicing selective deafness.

By the time Lu Shiyan parked at the house, it was already dark. Xie Fengshi unbuckled his seatbelt and started to open the door when Lu Shiyan stopped him: “Wait.”

Xie Fengshi was puzzled: “What is it?”

"Give me a sec to process all that."

Xie Fengshi smiled and pulled his hand back, settling into the seat without rushing. After about two minutes, Lu Shiyan finished digesting the information: "So are you two a thing now?"

"Didn't you already figure that out?" Xie Fengshi said.

"Me figuring it out is one thing; you telling me is another." Lu Shiyan said with righteous indignation. "To me, you're a really important friend. If you're dating someone and I don't even get the firsthand news, then I'm a pretty lousy friend, aren't I?"

Xie Fengshi was amused by Lu Shiyan's serious expression. "Since when did you become such a talker?"

"I've always been talkative. You just never gave me the chance before. You were always busy working back then—how was I supposed to say any of this?"

Xie Fengshi thought about it and realized it was true.

Back when he first met Lu Shiyan, he was running back and forth between Good Fortune and the kitchen every day, sometimes squeezing in meals. Later, he took on Lu Shiyan's gig, and each time he came over, he would just cook, eat, and leave. He rarely had the chance to sit and chat like this.

The last time was a long while ago, when Lu Shiyan took him to try cinnamon rolls.

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

Lu Shiyan looked satisfied. "First question: when did you two get together?"

The way Lu Shiyan said "get together" made Xie Fengshi's ears burn. "We're not together yet."

"Huh? He's acting like that and you guys aren't together yet? When he carried you out of my house, he carried you out like you were his own wife. And you're telling me you're not together?"

"Keep it down!"

Xie Fengshi glanced out the window. The quiet street had no pedestrians, but he still felt like Lu Shiyan's loud voice had let the whole block hear.

"Alright, alright, I'll keep it down. So what's the situation now? Are you in the talking stage? Is he chasing you, or are you chasing him? Or have you already confirmed the relationship and just need a ceremony?"

Xie Fengshi’s head was spinning from the barrage of questions. He repeated what Kaelen had said that morning: "He said that right now, he's the one chasing me."

Lu Shiyan regretted asking.

The four words "he's the one chasing me" seemed to flip a switch. From the moment Xie Fengshi said it, the corners of his mouth went up and stayed up, refusing to drop.

He wasn't saying anything, but his face was clearly broadcasting four words: I. AM. SO. HAPPY.

Lu Shiyan turned to face Xie Fengshi, his expression serious. "Xie Fengshi, get a grip."

"Get a grip on what?"

"Do you even know what you look like right now? You look like a lovesick puppy."

Xie Fengshi blinked innocently. "What's wrong with me?"

"What's wrong? Take a look in the mirror." Lu Shiyan reached over and flipped down the small mirror behind the sun visor. Xie Fengshi's face reflected back—slightly curved eyes, lips holding back an irrepressible smile, a faint blush seeping through his skin.

"See that? That's a man in love, all right." Lu Shiyan hit the nail on the head.

Xie Fengshi closed the little mirror. "You're seeing things."

"Seeing things? When you said 'he's the one chasing me'—your tone, your expression—it was insane."

Lu Shiyan imitated him, pitching his voice higher. "'He said that right now, he's the one chasing me~' Listen to yourself. Is that even English? That's pure showing off!"

Xie Fengshi's ears were burning from Lu Shiyan's imitation. He reached for the car door. "I'm getting out."

"Don't go, don't go, I'm not done yet." Lu Shiyan grabbed his sleeve. "You still haven't answered me. When did you two actually get together? Or let me rephrase: when did he start chasing you?"

Xie Fengshi was at a loss for words. He realized he couldn't win an argument with Lu Shiyan.

Xie Fengshi gave up completely, sinking back into his seat and hiding half his face in his collar. "What's up with you today? You're like a firecracker."

"I didn't eat a firecracker. You're force-feeding me dog food. I haven't even eaten anything, but I'm already full—and I haven't had dinner yet!"

Xie Fengshi laughed, his eyes crinkling above his collar. "Then go upstairs and eat. I'm not stopping you."

"Don't change the subject. I still have something to say." Lu Shiyan straightened his expression, his round face turning rare serious. "You know the Zephyr family, right?"

Xie Fengshi shook his head. "Not really. I just know they're pretty rich."

Lu Shiyan repeated the last bit, his face like he'd swallowed a whole egg. "Xie Fengshi, do you know what the Zephyr family really means? It's not 'pretty rich.' It's 'so rich that if you don't know them, you're lucky—because you don't have to see them plastered all over the news every day.'

Their family started in shipping, building their first fortune in Europe back in the nineteenth century. Later, they shifted to finance, and after World War II, they expanded into energy and luxury goods. Every top luxury brand you can name—their family either controls it or has a huge stake in it."

Xie Fengshi listened, a bit dazed. "So what?"

"So do you even know who's chasing you now? Kaelen Zephyr. The heir of the Zephyr family. The assets he personally manages are worth more than the entire Xie family's assets multiplied by ten—maybe more."

Xie Fengshi blinked, expression unchanged.

Lu Shiyan was getting anxious. "How can you have no reaction at all?"

"What reaction should I have?"

"Like, shock, panic, feeling like you won the lottery?"

Xie Fengshi thought about it seriously. "He's him, I'm me. His money ain't mine. I'm not spending a dime of it."

Lu Shiyan was momentarily stunned by those words, then suddenly burst out laughing. "With that 'you do you' attitude, you really stand out from all those people dying to cling to him."

"I wasn't planning to cling to him anyway."

"I know. That's why I think it's good." Lu Shiyan dropped his smile and turned serious. "Xie Fengshi, I'm telling you this not to make you feel like you're out of your league or not good enough. I'm telling you so you know—the person you've found is really solid."

Lu Shiyan patted the steering wheel. "You know what I love most about him? I love that from now on, even if the Xie family tries to come after you, with Kaelen in the way, they won't even get a look at you."

Xie Fengshi was taken aback.

"Think about it. No matter how powerful the Xie family is back in China, what does that mean here? They don't know anyone, don't speak the language, have no connections. But the Zephyr family is different—their roots here go deeper than the Xie family's back home. If the Xie family tries to find you through local channels, how many people will they have to go through? Every person they go through, word will get to the Zephyr family. As long as Kaelen doesn't want them to find you, they could turn this whole place upside down and never find you."

Lu Shiyan's voice carried a note of certainty as he finished. "Xie Fengshi, you're safe."

You're safe.

The autumn night breeze blew in from down the street, carrying the scent of a distant fireplace and the sweet final scent of leaves before they rot.