CFHE Chapter 73.1

“I have something I want to tell you, but…” Wen Yu said, glancing toward the boarding gate, “I’ll tell you when you come back.”

 

“What can’t you say now?” Fu Yuhan’s expression was strange.

 

“I want to say it face to face,” Wen Yu said, “I think you don’t have time to listen now.”

 

Indeed there was no time to listen—even these few sentences were forcibly carved out time.

 

If he didn’t board soon, he’d be too late.

 

“But,” Fu Yuhan gripped the paper bag and adjusted what was hanging on his shoulder, hesitating, “I won’t be back to school for half a month.”

 

Wen Yu: “???”

 

His eyes widened.

 

“Then I’ll go in first, bye.” The other person’s expression inexplicably amused Fu Yuhan. He pressed his lips together, waved at Wen Yu and Yang Fan, and walked toward the boarding gate.

 

The tall, slender figure moved toward the queue inside the gate, gradually blending into the crowd and disappearing from sight.

 

And Wen Yu’s eyes were still wide.

 

Yang Fan looked at him, and the laughter he had been holding back for at least five minutes could no longer be contained: “Hahahahahaha…”

 

Wen Yu turned around and raised his hand.

 

Yang Fan quickly covered his mouth, but his eyes still held gloating laughter.

 

“Forget it, I want to laugh too.” Wen Yu’s brows relaxed and he suddenly deflated, “I’ll send him a message, you—”

 

Yang Fan: “I’m going back to school.”

 

Wen Yu: “I’ll treat you to a meal?”

 

They looked at each other.

 

Wen Yu: “Never mind then.”

 

Yang Fan: “I’m not going back.”

 

Wen Yu: “…”

 

Yang Fan: “…”

 

“Let’s go,” Wen Yu said speechlessly, “you pick the restaurant—thanks for helping me keep him here just now.”

 

“Then I’ll choose an expensive one.” Yang Fan tactfully took out his phone and started searching.

 

Wen Yu also took out his phone, rubbed his nose, and stared at Fu Yuhan’s chat window for a long time, but ultimately didn’t send the message.

 

The morning’s chaos made him feel somewhat relieved.

 

Even if… Fu Yuhan still put Yang Fan first, there didn’t seem to be anything he could do about it.

 

Compared to being jealous, he was more afraid of not being able to see him.

 

–

 

However, what Wen Yu didn’t expect was that just as Yang Fan had picked a restaurant and they got in the car to go have a meal, Fu Yuhan sent a message back first.

 

Fu Yuhan: I’m on the train.

 

Fu Yuhan: Sorry, I didn’t mean not to tell you.

 

Wen Yu felt he might be a bit “opportunistic”—his first reaction upon seeing this message was actually “he apologized to me, can I tease him a little?”

 

Really quite mischievous.

 

Wen Yu: Tell me what?

 

Fu Yuhan: …

 

Fu Yuhan: About having an exam today, I didn’t mean not to tell you.

 

Wen Yu: Oh, then let me hear the reason?

 

Fu Yuhan: …

 

This time Fu Yuhan was silent for a full two minutes before sending over a “You demon, take this staff from old Sun” emoji, making Wen Yu laugh hard.

 

He had been overthinking during those two silent minutes, wondering if Fu Yuhan was annoyed with him again, not expecting the other person was looking for emojis.

 

“What did you see?” Yang Fan curiously leaned over, “Laughing like an idiot.”

 

Wen Yu quickly dodged to the side, his movements very agile.

 

“Xiao Han?” So Yang Fan understood. He clicked his tongue twice and shook his head, “Sigh, when boys grow up they can’t be kept at home…”

 

His gaze fell toward the car window on the other side, and he suddenly sighed: “Sigh, my two good buddies are getting together, I’ll be lonely by myself in the future.”

 

“Correction,” Wen Yu said while typing, “we haven’t gotten together yet, still working on it. Also, as a senior who has already left the single group, you’re really not qualified to talk about ‘loneliness.'”

 

“Da Yu’er,” Yang Fan looked back resentfully, “you’re becoming less and less cute.”

 

Wen Yu thought to himself that he was never cute to begin with.

 

He knew he was a monster—the more beautiful he appeared on the surface, the more hideous he was once you peeled away that layer of skin and flesh.

 

He had a terrible personality, full of malicious humor, hated following rules, was obsessed with lowbrow things… all of this he only dared to show in front of Fu Yuhan, and only Fu Yuhan would actively tell him to “be more real.”

 

He was still afraid that the little bit he revealed would scare people away.

 

But Fu Yuhan… Fu Yuhan…

 

How could Xiao Han be so cute?

 

Fu Yuhan: I originally wanted to tell you that night, but you…

 

Wen Yu knew what happened after that.

 

Wen Yu: About that night, we’ll talk when you come back.

 

Wen Yu: But the exam time should have been set in advance, right?

 

Clearly they had been meeting every few days before, so Fu Yuhan not telling him was really inexcusable.

 

Fu Yuhan: Because

 

The other side sent two characters, and Wen Yu waited with his chin propped up.

 

The car reached an intersection, encountered a red light, and stopped.

 

The traffic light changed, the car drove through the green light, turning onto the next less congested road.

 

Fu Yuhan never sent the continuation.

 

–

 

The art case on his back was placed on the overhead luggage rack, and the art bag containing the drawing board had to be placed against the front seat’s backrest in front of his knees. There was air conditioning in the car, so before sitting down, Fu Yuhan took off his long down jacket and covered himself with it like a blanket.

 

Then he took out the paper bag.

 

This Strike Freedom Gundam had long been out of stock. When Wen Yu first handed it to him, he thought the other person had gone somewhere to buy one at a high price.

 

He hadn’t expected it was glued together by himself.

 

When giving it to him, Fu Yuhan had been full of despair.

 

Receiving it again, his mindset was completely different.

 

If he had to say, most of these changes were brought about by Wen Yu.

 

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved up slightly. The cashmere scarf wrapped around his neck carried the familiar fragrance from the other person. Although this train was gradually leaving their city, Fu Yuhan inexplicably had the illusion that Wen Yu was still there.

 

He carefully opened the plastic box and pulled out the soft cushioning materials inside.

 

Wen Yu knew he would be jostled on the road, so he had stuffed a lot of foam sponges inside. Only after removing them could he see the full appearance of the Strike Freedom Gundam—the broken fragments had been carefully glued together, not even missing the tiny cracks. Small gaps had even been filled with other substitute materials. Except for the crack lines, the Gundam was no different from a new one.

 

It was just an out-of-print “limited edition” that even his mother didn’t care about, but someone who understood his hobby treasured it for him.

 

Suddenly feeling his eyes getting a bit sour, Fu Yuhan pinched his palm hard.

 

He didn’t want to cry on the high-speed train with so many people around. To dispel the tears, he quickly stuffed the shock-absorbing filling back and took out the small box.

 

Wen Yu said this was the “lucky star” he was giving him.

 

Fu Yuhan didn’t guess randomly anymore and directly opened the box, seeing a watch.

 

The watch face was studded with stars, the strap was leather, and the entire watch had a quality that subtly balanced between “childlike innocence” and “business,” as if designed to match the coming-of-age yet not-quite-there age of eighteen.

 

This was an “expensive” gift with Wen Yu’s character.

 

It was also a carefully selected gift.

 

Wen Yu expressed sincerity in his own way, and Fu Yuhan could understand it.

 

He stared at this watch for a long time, took it out and put it on his wrist, then took a photo and sent it back.

 

At this point, he finally thought of how to answer Wen Yu’s question.

 

To treat others’ sincerity with sincerity—

 

Fu Yuhan: [Photo]

 

Fu Yuhan: Because if I told you, you might want to see me off at the station

 

Fu Yuhan: As if I was forcing you to come

 

Fu Yuhan: It’s just a bit… that…

 

Fu Yuhan: Too presumptuous?

 

Fu Yuhan: Or maybe it’s wishful thinking

 

Fu Yuhan: I just wanted to wait a couple more days before mentioning it, but ended up not saying it even on the last night.

 

Fu Yuhan: I put on the watch, it looks great, thank you.

 

Fu Yuhan’s meaning was simple—he was too embarrassed to bring it up and didn’t expect it would drag on until they had a fight. But the hidden meaning behind his words made Wen Yu’s heart tremble.

 

So much so that he was stunned for a long time after seeing this string of messages.

 

But if it was really like that—

 

Wen Yu: Glad you like it.

 

Wen Yu: Then you… why did you bring a jar of stars that day?

 

Wen Yu: Were you planning to give them to Yang Fan? Why did you burn them later?

 

Fu Yuhan: No, those were for myself.

 

Fu Yuhan: …? You got angry over that?

 

Wen Yu: I’ll tell you about this when you come back.

 

Wen Yu: Answer my question first.

 

Fu Yuhan: …

 

Fu Yuhan: I’ll answer your question after you answer mine.

 

Wen Yu: …

 

Wen Yu: How childish are you?

 

Fu Yuhan: …? What gives you the nerve to ask that kind of question?

 

Wen Yu should have been angry, but his mood was inexplicably uplifted. Even Yang Fan choosing a restaurant that cost 200 yuan per person to fleece him couldn’t affect his good mood.

 

But the moment he stepped through the restaurant door, he suddenly remembered another problem.

 

Wen Yu: But you won’t be back for half a month?

 

Fu Yuhan: Right

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 (advanced chapters available on kofi)