PTBLSI chapter 80

The place Director Cheng invited them to eat was an ordinary hot pot restaurant. Fu Yanchuan had never been to a place like this before. As soon as he walked in, a wave of hot, spicy air rushed at him, along with the heavy smell of seasonings.

He didn’t dislike it; it was just quite different from his usual dining experiences, and the smell was overly stimulating.

Although Qi Xi had eaten more refined food with Fu Yanchuan these past two years, he had eaten a lot of hot pot with Xie Hui. Having not eaten it for a long time, his appetite was instantly stirred up.

He pushed Fu Yanchuan, who had stopped walking, inside. “Hurry up! They’ve already started eating!”

They had already started eating in the private room. The pot was lively and boiling hot. Cheng Shu had saved seats for them, and when he saw Qi Xi and Fu Yanchuan come in, he quickly greeted them.

“President Fu, please sit.”

Fu Yanchuan hesitated for a moment before pulling Qi Xi over to sit down. Cheng Shu sat on his other side. As soon as they were seated, Cheng Shu poured Fu Yanchuan a drink and raised his glass.

“President Fu, without you, today wouldn’t be possible! Thank you for coming today. I’m extremely honored and grateful. I’m truly humbled, and the room is filled with glory. I’ll drink first as a sign of respect.”

The others didn’t understand what Cheng Shu was grateful for. Hearing him ramble, they thought he was drunk.

But Fu Yanchuan knew what Cheng Shu was referring to. He didn’t drink the wine Cheng Shu poured for him. Instead, he turned to check the dipping sauce prepared for Qi Xi and asked, “Is this okay? Do you want to change it?”

Qi Xi’s hot pot was very mainstream. Since he knew that Fu Yanchuan hadn’t tried it before, he switched roles with him and said, “I’m fine with anything. What would you like to eat? I’ll cook it for you.”

Cheng Shu didn’t feel awkward about not being able to drink with Fu Yanchuan. Fu Yanchuan ignoring him was normal. Following Qi Xi’s advice, he said, “Eat whatever dishes you want. Just add them yourselves.”

They had basically ordered everything in the restaurant. There were many dishes that Fu Yanchuan didn’t recognize, so he didn’t know what to eat. Since everything Qi Xi wanted was already on the table, he picked the dishes he liked and put them in Fu Yanchuan’s bowl.

“This is duck blood. Have you eaten it before?”

Fu Yanchuan felt like he hadn’t seen much of the world for the first time. He watched as Qi Xi opened his mouth and fed him the duck blood directly. He couldn’t tell if it tasted good, he could only taste the seasonings. Reluctantly, he swallowed it and commented, “It’s a bit spicy.”

Qi Xi immediately picked up a teacup and fed him water. He drank from Qi Xi’s hand like that.

The people at the table were used to the two of them being ‘lovey-dovey,’ but this was the first time they’d seen Fu Yanchuan’s “delicate” side. They really couldn’t imagine this was the same Fu Yanchuan.

Someone suggested, “Qi Xi, the soul of hot pot is tripe. Hurry and let President Fu taste the joy of us common folk!”

When Qi Xi ate hot pot before, Xie Hui always cooked it for him. Without thinking, he picked up several large slices and put them in the pot, staring at them the whole time. But as he stared, the slices disappeared. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t scoop them up.

The person who made the suggestion understood. Qi Xi was even less of a “common folk” than Fu Yanchuan and said helplessly, “Tripe shrinks when you cook it, so it’s hard to find. You have to hold it while cooking.”

“Oh, got it.”

Qi Xi nodded to show that he had learned. He picked up another slice of meat and was just about to put it in the pot when Fu Yanchuan took it from him.

Fu Yanchuan asked for advice, “How long should it be cooked?”

The colleague, flattered to be addressed by President Fu, stammered, “…About ten seconds!”

Fu Yanchuan knew how to cook. He quickly learned to distinguish between raw and cooked. After cooking it twice, it was just right. He turned around and cooked it for Qi Xi.

After eating the first slice of tripe that Fu Yanchuan had cooked for him, Qi Xi looked over with eyes full of admiration and said, “Fu Yanchuan, how are you so amazing? You learned it right away! The texture is perfect, just like when Xie Hui cooks it!”

Fu Yanchuan would probably never reconcile with Xie Hui in this lifetime. For the rest of his life, he would still live in Xie Hui’s shadow. On the surface, he pretended not to care and asked, “What else can Xie Hui do?”

“He can also let it cool before giving it to me—”

Qi Xi suddenly realized the sourness that Fu Yanchuan hadn’t expressed. He turned to Fu Yanchuan and smiled, scanning his strengths. Then he said, “Your hands look better than Xie Hui’s. Even the food you pick up tastes better.”

Once again, Fu Yanchuan felt that Qi Xi loved only his appearance. With a blank expression, he responded with an “Mm,” and asked, “What else do you want to eat?”

Everyone at the table quietly observed the two of them, unsure who was coaxing whom.

Qi Xi instantly returned to being taken care of by Fu Yanchuan and pointed out everything he liked.

Fu Yanchuan swept his eyes over the dishes Qi Xi had chosen. They were either frozen or not fresh. Qi Xi had a weak stomach, and Fu Yanchuan didn’t want him to eat these.

However, he also understood that this meal was a social occasion for Qi Xi. If he indulged him, it would eventually lead to Qi Xi having no one around him but Fu Yanchuan.

He restrained himself and put down his chopsticks. “Xi Xi, wait for me a moment. I’ll go order a few more dishes.”

“Come back quickly.”

Qi Xi replied. Fu Yanchuan stood up. Someone hurriedly said that ordering didn’t require leaving the private room, but Fu Yanchuan had already left.

After a while, he came back. Qi Xi asked curiously, “What did you order?”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t answer. Instead, he carefully selected a few fresh vegetables, cooked them in the clear soup pot, and placed them in Qi Xi’s bowl.

Qi Xi refused. “I want to eat meat.”

“Finish the vegetables first.”

“You’re so annoying!”

Qi Xi turned away in annoyance. Sitting on that side was Huang Shilin.

The most daring daydreaming veteran driver in the studio said fearlessly, “Teacher Qi Xi, are you usually this coquettish?”

“You’re annoying, too!”

Qi Xi was much bolder now, but he still blushed when teased by others. He lowered his head, almost burying his face in his bowl.

Only after speaking did Huang Shilin realize that she had also teased Fu Yanchuan. She thought he would at least glare at her, but he didn’t pay her any attention. Instead, he lifted Qi Xi up and said gently, “Don’t get it on your face.”

She secretly glanced over and was shocked by the look in Fu Yanchuan’s eyes.

Usually, Fu Yanchuan was very restrained at the studio. When he looked at others, his expression was cold and emotionless. This was the first time she had seen so clearly, at such close distance, how Fu Yanchuan looked at Qi Xi. His gaze was gentler than she could have imagined, and she wondered how much love it would take to have such a look.

Ignoring everyone around him, Fu Yanchuan reached out to wipe Qi Xi’s face, checking to see if any seasoning had gotten on it. His fingertip intentionally or unintentionally brushed over Qi Xi’s lips.

Embarrassed by the stares of the whole table, Qi Xi pushed Fu Yanchuan’s hand away. “No, don’t touch anymore.”

In an instant, the two of them, purely by their own ability, made the atmosphere in the private room ambiguous, leaving people unsure whether to watch or not.

As the oldest person present, Cheng Shu stood up at the right time with his wine glass. “Everyone has worked hard this past year. I thank everyone here for their efforts, and I wish us big box-office success!”

The atmosphere finally returned to normal, and Qi Xi went to clink glasses as well.

Fu Yanchuan didn’t plan to drink. He stood up to stop Qi Xi, but he didn’t manage to stop him. As soon as Qi Xi finished clinking glasses, he drank his entire glass in one go.

After drinking, he stuck out his tongue. It was his first time drinking so much beer, and it wasn’t as good as he’d imagined.

Fu Yanchuan looked over and asked, “How is it?”

He replied, “A bit bitter, but also a bit sweet.”

Fu Yanchuan hadn’t drunk much beer, but he had tried it before. He didn’t believe Qi Xi when he said it was sweet. He took Qi Xi’s cup and cooked some vegetables for him again. “Eat something to settle it.”

Qi Xi obediently sat down. He didn’t dislike vegetables, but when meat was available, he preferred it. However, Fu Yanchuan was staring at him as if to say that if he didn’t eat the vegetables, he wouldn’t let him eat the meat. So he had no choice but to eat them obediently.

Once the drinking started, there was no stopping it. For most people at the table, the chance to drink with Fu Yanchuan was rare, so some bold individuals carried their glasses over to toast him.

Fu Yanchuan didn’t want to drink, but Qi Xi joined in and raised his glass to toast him. “President Fu, come on! I’ll toast you too; you’ve worked hard as well.”

Fu Yanchuan asked, “Where have I worked hard?”

Qi Xi couldn’t answer, so he forced Fu Yanchuan to drink instead. “That’s just an excuse to drink. Who asks so clearly like you? Hurry up and drink!”

Fu Yanchuan drank helplessly. Qi Xi followed suit and finished his in one go as well; his face was visibly starting to turn red.

One led to another. Qi Xi didn’t know what kind of fun he’d found in this today and kept urging Fu Yanchuan to drink cup after cup.

Luckily, the dishes he’d ordered arrived shortly after, interrupting this round of toasting.

“Why do these look different from before?”

Someone noticed that the newly served dishes were much more delicate and fresh. One of the plates even had the logo of a nearby five-star hotel.

Cheng Shu immediately understood. The dishes that Fu Yanchuan had ordered had been sent over from the kitchen of a five-star hotel, and they had even been specially switched to the hot pot restaurant’s plates—except the waiter had carelessly forgotten to switch one.

Cheng Shu didn’t expose it and helped smooth over the topic. Regardless of what Fu Yanchuan was thinking, there was no reason not to enjoy the good food.

Clueless, Qi Xi ate the meat that Fu Yanchuan had finally agreed to cook for him and praised, “Fu Yanchuan, your cooking is getting better and better. It’s tastier than before!”

Another colleague at the table, around the same age as him, followed up. “Why do I feel like the newly ordered meat is just fresher? As expected, President Fu’s face really is something else!”

Qi Xi looked at Fu Yanchuan with a suddenly enlightened expression, then raised his glass again. “A toast to President Fu’s face.”

Fu Yanchuan could see that Qi Xi was starting to get drunk. He grabbed Qi Xi’s glass and wouldn’t let him drink. As a result, Qi Xi hugged his hand and brought it to his mouth. After drinking, he pointed at Fu Yanchuan’s glass and said, “President Fu, I drank, now it’s your turn.”

Facing Qi Xi’s insistent gaze, Fu Yanchuan drank and took both his and Qi Xi’s cups away. “That’s enough. If you drink more, you won’t be able to get back.”

“No! Teacher Liyuan, let’s toast!”

Qi Xi slipped away from Fu Yanchuan, hugging the bottle, and ran toward the colleague across the table. However, he was grabbed halfway.

“Teacher Qi Xi, aren’t you drinking with me?”

“Come on! Cheers!”

Qi Xi boldly clinked bottles and drank directly from the bottle after clinking.

Fu Yanchuan really wanted to pull him back. He didn’t understand why Qi Xi was drinking so enthusiastically with them. Once the project was finished, they probably wouldn’t see each other again.

But then he remembered Qi Xi telling him that, aside from Xie Hui, he didn’t have any other friends. He couldn’t bear to dampen Qi Xi’s mood at that moment. Qi Xi was clearly very happy today, probably because seeing his drawings turn into a complete animation filled him with a sense of accomplishment. These people were companions who had worked with Qi Xi for over a year and were probably like friends to him as well.

“President Fu, have you heard a song where the lyrics go, ‘How can you claim the moon as your own with nothing but love?’”¹This is phrased like a casual, slightly teasing question. “将月亮私有” (to privatize / claim the moon) is a poetic metaphor for possessive love—wanting something beautiful and unattainable to belong only to oneself.

Cheng Shu looked at Fu Yanchuan and couldn’t help speaking. Fu Yanchuan turned his gaze toward Cheng Shu, his warning clear.

From his behavior, Cheng Shu could guess Fu Yanchuan’s mindset. Although he knew outsiders had no right to interfere with other people’s feelings, he cherished talent and said to Fu Yanchuan, “Some people are destined to shine brilliantly. Insisting on hiding the moon away is too selfish.”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t respond. Instead, he poured himself a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp. “I only hope he’s happy. Whether he’s the moon in the sky or the pearl in my hand, whatever he chooses, I won’t stop him.”

“I hope you keep your word.”

In the end, half the people at the table were drunk, including Qi Xi. Fu Yanchuan had also had a drink, and the driver came to pick them up to take them back.

Fu Yanchuan had his arm around Qi Xi, who wanted to fly but couldn’t because he didn’t have enough energy. Fu took him outside. When they reached the car door, however, Qi Xi refused to get in. He insisted, “I want to fly back.”

Fu Yanchuan picked him up and went along with it. “You’re low on energy right now. Go home, replenish your energy, and then you can fly.”

“Oh.”

Qi Xi instantly became obedient. He wrapped his arms around Fu Yanchuan’s neck and took an actual bite. It hurt so much that Fu Yanchuan hissed and sat down in the car.

Once the car started moving, he lowered the partition and pinched Qi Xi’s lips. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Qi Xi refused to sit properly and climbed onto him. “I need to replenish my energy.”

Fu Yanchuan used the seatbelt to strap him back, then leaned closer and asked, “What energy?”

“Fu Yanchuan’s love.”

Qi Xi blurted out. Fu Yanchuan had meant to tease this little drunk, but instead, his own heart started pounding wildly. He held Qi Xi by the neck, pressing him against the seat back. Leaning in extremely close, he asked, “How am I supposed to love you?”

Qi Xi blinked. His mind was still wandering, but his hands instinctively reached toward Fu Yanchuan. He took the initiative to bite Fu Yanchuan’s lip and said, “Pour your energy into me.”

“What is that?”

“This.”

After saying that, Qi Xi hooked his arms around Fu Yanchuan’s neck and kissed him. There was an armrest between the car seats, which made it difficult for them to continue. Fu Yanchuan didn’t want to deal with a drunk person and end up unable to get out of the car, so he restrained himself the whole way.

When they finally arrived home, Fu Yanchuan planned to have Qi Xi bathe first. However, after filling the bathtub, Qi Xi refused to get in.

“Xixi, bathe first.”

Qi Xi wasn’t wearing anything. His limbs were wrapped around Fu Yanchuan as he said, “I’m not bathing. I’ll have to bathe again later anyway.”

“That’s what you said.”

Fu Yanchuan smiled. Qi Xi clung to him suggestively, yet answered seriously, “Mm, hurry and give me energy.”

Fu Yanchuan lifted Qi Xi up and finally kissed him. His hand moved down, but Qi Xi suddenly pushed him away.

“There’s a monster biting me!”

Fu Yanchuan thought the drunk man was just tormenting him and silently carried him out.

On the bed, Qi Xi lay down and stared at him without blinking. Under Qi Xi’s gaze, Fu Yanchuan loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time. After undoing the last button, Qi Xi suddenly moved. He pounced on Fu Yanchuan and sat astride him. Pressing one hand against his chest, Qi Xi said, “Fu Yanchuan, you’re seducing me.”

He hadn’t expected Qi Xi to have this side, even when drunk. He admitted it. “Yes. Did you take the bait?”

“I did, so I’m going to force myself on you like a tyrant.”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t know how he was going to do that, so he didn’t move. As a result, Qi Xi pulled off his tie and sent his hands over with it. “Hurry up and tie me up.”

“Aren’t you the one forcing yourself on me?”

Only then did Qi Xi react. “Oh, right. Then I’ll tie you up.”

Fu Yanchuan found this amusing and cooperated, asking, “How will you tie me?”

Qi Xi studied the situation for a long time. Then, he had Fu Yanchuan put his hands behind his back. Qi Xi tightly tied his forearms together with the tie.

Fu Yanchuan hadn’t expected Qi Xi to actually tie him up. Once it was finished, his arms couldn’t move at all. Even more surprising was that, after tying him up, Qi Xi lay back down, stretched his leg over to hook it around Fu Yanchuan’s waist, and looked at him with watery peach-blossom eyes, saying, “Fu Yanchuan, hurry up.”

Fu Yanchuan was going crazy. He wanted to use his hands, but he couldn’t break free. All he could do was lean down and press his lips against the little troublemaker, saying, “Xixi, at least open the zipper for me.”

Qi Xi seemed to understand and nodded. “Then do a good job. If Brother Xixi is satisfied, I’ll reward you.”

Seeing Qi Xi’s proud, smug look, he was about to lose it. He bit the tempting lips and asked, “You little pervert, where did you learn this?”

“In comics.”

“When will you let me take a look, too?”

Qi Xi was completely unaware of what he was doing. He seriously considered Fu Yanchuan’s suggestion and tried to get up immediately to fetch the comics for him.

Since Fu Yanchuan couldn’t move his hands, he used his weight to press Qi Xi back down. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Qi Xi answered innocently, “Didn’t you want to see the comics?”

“Not now.”

Fu Yanchuan felt that Qi Xi was determined to drive him crazy. Unable to use his hands, he could only force Qi Xi’s knees apart and press tightly against him. The person underneath finally behaved, taking the initiative to search for his lips and kiss him, then looking up at him with dazed eyes.

He took the chance to coax him. “Xixi, untie me.”

Qi Xi didn’t know what part of the situation satisfied him, but refused without hesitation. “No untying. Keep going.”

Fu Yanchuan had no choice but to continue like this, and in the end, his hands were never untied.

Qi Xi was the one who regretted it. He cried harder than ever before. In the end, he begged for mercy, wanting to untie Fu Yanchuan. However, Fu Yanchuan refused. He made Qi Xi hug him and asked, “Brother Xixi, are you satisfied?” Yet, Qi Xi couldn’t say a single word.

After bathing, Qi Xi’s drunkenness had mostly worn off. He wore his pajamas and hugged his pillow as he went back to his room.

Fu Yanchuan hurriedly pushed him back onto the bed, held him tightly, and apologized. “Xixi, I was wrong. But you tied me up first and my wrists are red.”

Qi Xi wasn’t so drunk that he didn’t remember anything. As soon as he turned around, Fu Yanchuan showed him his red wrists. His heart instantly softened. “I won’t tie you up again next time.”

Only now was Fu Yanchuan finally able to pull him into his arms freely and rub his back as he replied, “I don’t mind. Whatever you like, I can do.”

Qi Xi hurriedly denied it. “I don’t like it!”

“Really don’t like it?”

“If you weren’t so fierce.”

Fu Yanchuan laughed secretly where Qi Xi couldn’t see. He kissed Qi Xi on the forehead and made an ineffective promise. “Okay, sleep.”

Author’s note:

President Fu: A silly wife is way too easy to coax.

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  This is phrased like a casual, slightly teasing question. “将月亮私有” (to privatize / claim the moon) is a poetic metaphor for possessive love—wanting something beautiful and unattainable to belong only to oneself.