Li's Father

Before long, Fu Yao’s father also returned home. He was wearing a white polo shirt and carrying a briefcase, the very picture of an office worker coming home after a day’s work. Li’s father was a junior manager at the nearby Gree Electric plant. He didn’t hold a particularly high position, but his salary was quite good, and he had provided a comfortable life for their little family.

A stable job, a virtuous wife, an understanding daughter, and a slightly rebellious son—in truth, this could be considered a very happy life, if only Fu Yao hadn’t met with that accident.

Ye Shuang looked at Li’s father and politely greeted him. “Uncle, long time no see.”

Long time no see?

Li’s father thought about it. It did seem like he hadn’t seen Ye Shuang for several days.

“Fugui, you’d better not lead Ye astray,” Li’s father said cheerfully, not forgetting to remind his son, “I’m telling you, if you fail your exams again, I’m not plugging the internet back in. If you can’t study properly, don’t drag Ye down with you.”

Fugui rolled his eyes at that. “He plays games even more fiercely than I do, okay? He’s got several accounts.”

“You can’t study, and you can’t even beat him at games?” One sentence from Li’s father immediately made Fugui glare. “Who says I can’t? Let’s go!”

As he spoke, he tried to drag Ye Shuang off to play a round of some single-player game. Ye Shuang was a little helpless. “It’s almost time for dinner. Maybe next time.”

Seeing Ye Shuang sitting there with such an unbothered expression, Fugui folded his arms. “Fine. You’re putting on airs now, pretending to be mature.”

Ye Shuang looked at him in surprise.

Pretending to be mature…

Ye Shuang suddenly smiled. That was true. Considering how old he looked on the outside, he really didn’t quite match his actual age.

Meanwhile, Fu Yao sat in a corner with her hand over her mouth, giggling. However, the gaze in her eyes remained fixed on Ye Shuang.

“You three, go take a shower before dinner,” Auntie Qiao called from the kitchen. “You had physical education today, didn’t you? You’ll feel more comfortable after washing up.”

When Fugui heard that, he slung an arm around Ye Shuang’s neck. “Come on. Let’s shower together, bro.”

“Hm?” Ye Shuang suddenly felt a little strange.

After all, he had always interacted with Fugui in that way, and had subconsciously regarded him as half a woman. If they were to stand completely naked in front of each other, he suddenly felt a little awkward. Seeing Ye Shuang’s hesitant expression, Fugui looked puzzled as well.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you want to shower with Fu Yao?”

“Eh?” Fu Yao immediately made a sound. However, she didn’t refuse. She simply hugged the cushion on the sofa, revealing only half her face. At the dining table, Li’s father instead stretched out his neck, clearly trying to eavesdrop.

“How could that be? Let’s go,” Ye Shuang said.

The bathroom—

The bathroom wasn’t very large. Besides, Fugui’s family didn’t have the habit of taking baths, so there was only a simple showerhead and a squat toilet. Ye Shuang and Fugui took turns scrubbing each other’s backs. While washing Fugui’s back, Ye Shuang couldn’t help reaching out and touching it.

Fugui in middle school was actually sturdier than Fugui in his late twenties…

He shouldn’t have been so thin and bony.

Ye Shuang silently mused over it. Fugui, however, felt something strange. Ye Shuang’s hand kept moving over his back, and he couldn’t help calling out in confusion.

“Damn, why do you keep touching my back?”

“Oh, I was just curious about that mole. It’s kind of ugly.”

“A mole? Seriously?”

Fugui’s attention was quickly diverted by Ye Shuang. After the two finished showering and came out, Ye Shuang had just sat down when he noticed Fu Yao standing nearby with a towel in her hands, looking at him curiously.

“What is it?”

“Ye, do you need a towel? You should dry yourself off. You’re less likely to catch a cold that way.”

“Oh, thanks. You should go take your shower too.”

“Okay.”

By the time Fu Yao finished showering and came out, dinner was almost ready. During the meal, Ye Shuang kept observing Fu Yao and Fugui, looking for any signs of conflict between them. Clearly, though, there was none. The two of them had always gotten along fairly well.

At one point, Li’s father asked Fugui what he wanted to do in the future.

“Become a basketball player!”

“You’re not tall enough. You need to be two meters.”

“I’m still growing!”

Ye Shuang watched from the side, then seemed to think of something. He turned to Fu Yao and asked, “What about you, Fu Yao? What do you want to do in the future?”

“Me? I…” Fu Yao spoke softly, then stole another glance at Ye Shuang, as if trying to gauge his reaction. “I want to become a good wife, a supportive homemaker like Mom.”

Auntie Qiao immediately put on an expression that said she understood everything. “My sweet girl is already thinking about getting married at such a young age.”

Fu Yao’s face flushed red, and she lowered her head to eat.

After dinner ended simply enough, Ye Shuang spent some time playing games with Fugui in his room. He really couldn’t resist Fugui’s persistence. Fu Yao was in the room as well, though she didn’t play. She was the quiet, observant type who simply sat to the side and watched—much like when they played basketball. She never joined in, but would hand them towels and water whenever they finished or took a break.

After playing for a little while, Ye Shuang glanced at the time. “All right, I should probably head home.”

“Stay a little longer. The moment you leave, my dad’s going to yank the cable out of my computer.”

“No. Have you finished your homework?”

“Uh…”

As Ye Shuang prepared to leave, he also looked toward Fu Yao, who was sitting on the bed. “Fu Yao, I’m heading home.”

“Have a safe trip, Ye.” Fu Yao smiled faintly, her eyes filled with warmth.

“Yeah.”

Ye Shuang couldn’t help taking one last look at Fu Yao before finally leaving.

As he walked home, everything around him felt familiar. The scenery, the shops that had long since been demolished yet had somehow reappeared—Ye Shuang looked from side to side. When he reached his own front door, he suddenly noticed that it was open.

Ye Shuang cautiously pushed the door open. When he looked inside, he saw a stern-faced woman glaring at him, a feather duster in her hand.

“Mom!” Ye Shuang called out happily.

“Mom? I don’t have a little sweet-potato brat like you.”

In response, his mother gave him a vigorous beating with the feather duster, leaving Ye Shuang completely bewildered. “What?!”

“Were you off playing games?”

“No! Ow— I was at Fugui’s house! Ah…”

Only then did Ye Shuang realize that he hadn’t told his mother he would be home late. She had probably assumed that he had gone to an internet café.

Even as he winced from the pain, Ye Shuang couldn’t help laughing.

After all, having to report where he was going…

“Hm?” Ye’s Mother looked at Ye Shuang’s foolish grin, then glanced at the weapon in her hand. She hadn’t hit him in the head, had she?

Why did he look like he’d gone stupid?

At that moment, Ye Shuang noticed that Chen Qin was sitting in the living room besides his father. Seeing him being beaten, she seemed delighted, smiling as though she couldn’t wait to join in and give him a double-team beating.

That girl…