PTBLSI chapter 83

Xie Hui finally returned to the country two years after graduating with his master’s degree. Since Fu Yanchuan had an important meeting, Qi Xi and Qi Zhounan went together to pick him up.

Although Qi Zhounan was already in college, the moment he saw Xie Hui, they started bickering again. Xie Hui had matured so much that Qi Xi almost didn’t recognize him at first.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Did I get more handsome?”

Xie Hui tugged at his suit, full of high spirits. Qi Xi nodded repeatedly, making Xie Hui look even more pleased with himself.

Qi Zhounan snorted disdainfully. “So narcissistic. With your looks, you dare say you’re handsome in front of my brother?”

“Tsk, you brat. Still as annoying as ever!”

But Xie Hui didn’t plan to argue with Qi Zhounan. He dragged his suitcase and asked, “Where’s the car?”

Qi Xi still couldn’t drive, so Qi Zhounan had driven over. When they got into the car, Xie Hui took the initiative to sit in the backseat. Qi Xi wanted to chat with Xie Hui, so he sat in the back too.

“Have you settled your job? Where is it?”

Qi Xi examined Xie Hui carefully and felt that he was looking more and more like an adult. Xie Hui leaned back against the seat, caught Qi Zhounan’s sharp gaze in the rearview mirror, and answered, “Changhui District. I’ll start work next month.”

Although he didn’t know what kind of job Xie Hui had found, Qi Xi looked full of admiration. “You’re getting more and more amazing. You found a job even before coming back.”

“That’s just how this line of work is. You ride a donkey while looking for a horse. Understand?”¹“騎驢找馬” is a Chinese idiom that literally means riding a donkey while looking for a horse. Figuratively, it describes a pragmatic approach to work or life: keeping what you currently have as a temporary solution while quietly searching for a better opportunity.

Qi Xi didn’t understand, nor was he interested. What he was curious about was the salary.

“Not as much as one of your paintings sells for!”

Qi Xi primarily worked in animation and occasionally painted, putting his work up for consignment at the Jianshan Art Museum. He still disliked Bai Peiyong but went along with it because Cheng Shu had reluctantly agreed.

Embarrassed, he answered, “It’s not like I can sell one every day.”

Xie Hui laughed. “You’re getting less and less modest!”

“Just a little!”

Qi Xi replied, and Xie Hui was sure he wasn’t being modest anymore. Suddenly, Qi Zhounan, who was driving, chimed in, “Brother, once I start working, I’ll definitely earn more than him!”

Qi Xi didn’t understand. “Why do you always compare yourself to Xie Hui?”

Qi Zhounan glanced again at the rearview mirror. He couldn’t beat Fu Yanchuan, but he had to beat Xie Hui to secure his position in Qi Xi’s heart.

Xie Hui met Qi Zhounan’s gaze and asked, “Did your dad really get divorced again?”

Qi Xi had told him about it, but Qi Xi himself didn’t know the details; he had only heard about it from Qi Zhounan.

Hearing the question, Qi Zhounan tightened his grip on the steering wheel. After years of arguing, Qi Feng and his mom finally divorced. Then, Qi Feng married his fourth wife. By the time they got married, her child was already four years old.

Qi Zhounan didn’t want to bring up that mess, so he didn’t answer.

An awkward silence fell over the car for two seconds before Qi Xi spoke up. “Oh, right. Xie Hui, how about I treat you to a meal? To welcome you back!”

“Of course! I’ll call my mom and tell her I’ll be back late.”

Qi Xi immediately said, “We already told your mom when we came to pick you up. Your dad said it’s fine if you don’t go back!”

No matter how long it had been since Xie Hui last saw his dad, he was still disliked. Too lazy to call again, he asked Qi Xi what they should eat.

“Of course, hot pot!”

“Me too! Fu Yanchuan doesn’t let me eat it often!”

Xie Hui snorted lightly and didn’t comment.

The hot pot restaurant was the same one they used to frequent. Xie Hui was surprised that it was still open after all these years, and the dishes still tasted the same.

It had been too long since he’d experienced such authentic flavors. He was so moved that he almost cried. He lifted his cup and said, “It feels like I’ve been abroad for half my life, and I’ve finally come back. I never have to go abroad again! Qi Xi, cheers!”

“Cheers to never having to go abroad again!”

Qi Zhounan raised his cup, clinked it, and drank with a look of disdain. Xie Hui asked, “Can students drink alcohol now?”

“Big brother, I’m already an adult!”

Xie Hui replied, “Back then, we didn’t drink at all, right, Qiyueqi?”

Qi Xi lowered his head and ate his food. He couldn’t remember when he first drank alcohol, but he definitely didn’t drink much in school. He nodded and told Qi Zhounan, “You should still drink juice!”

The 19-year-old, 184-centimeter-tall Qi Zhounan glared unhappily at Xie Hui, then obediently switched to juice.

They had just finished eating and hadn’t paid yet when Fu Yanchuan arrived to pick up Qi Xi. He came in, saw the leftover food in the pot, and frowned. He helped the flushed Qi Xi up and asked, “How much did you drink?”

“Two cups.”

Qi Xi’s alcohol tolerance had improved, but not enough to get drunk from just two cups; he was only a little dizzy.

Fu Yanchuan wrapped an arm around Qi Xi, glanced at Xie Hui, and said, “I’ve paid.”

Xie Hui didn’t even get a chance to respond before Fu Yanchuan took Qi Xi away. The two men were left staring at each other with mutual disdain.

Once in the car, Qi Xi jumped over and buried himself in Fu Yanchuan’s arms, rubbing hot pot smells all over him. Fu Yanchuan asked, “Are you uncomfortable?”

Qi Xi quickly shook his head. “I’m happy! It’s like… that feeling when nothing seems to have changed, but actually, a lot has changed.”

Fu Yanchuan knew what Qi Xi was about to say. He massaged Qi Xi’s temples to prevent a headache when he suddenly blurted out a question.

“Fu Yanchuan, how long have we known each other?”

He didn’t know why Qi Xi suddenly asked this, but he answered, “Four years and nine months.”

Qi Xi stared at Fu Yanchuan and smiled, hooking a finger at the corner of his lips. “Only that long? I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”

Fu Yanchuan caught his hand and kissed his fingertips. “It’s okay. We can spend a lifetime getting to know each other.”

“Mm.”

Qi Xi nodded and snuggled further into Fu Yanchuan’s arms. After the car drove a few more blocks, he suddenly remembered something. “Can I take Auntie out to see the movie?”

Starting last year, Qi Xi had worked with Cheng Shu on a second animation. The story wasn’t as flashy as the first one, and it took less time to produce. The difference was that Qi Xi had participated in the scriptwriting, proposing the theme and story outline. It was set to be released next month during summer vacation.

Lin Xianjing had improved this year and could remember them. Fu Yanchuan answered, “Okay, I’ll ask the doctor when the time comes. If it’s fine, we’ll take her to watch it.”

When the time came for the movie’s release, the doctor agreed, so they went to the sanatorium to pick up Lin Xianjing.

She looked in very good spirits today and had even dressed up specially. As soon as Qi Xi saw her, he praised her from head to toe. “Auntie, you’re so beautiful! Your new clothes are beautiful, your hair is beautiful, and you’re even more beautiful.”

“Xixi, how are you so good at complimenting people?”

“I’m not complimenting; I’m stating facts.”

Lin Xianjing smiled for the first time that day. “All right, I believe you then.”

Qi Xi smiled slightly, stepped forward, and pulled a large bouquet of bright red roses out from behind his back. “Wishing Auntie to always be as dazzling and beautiful as red roses.”

Lin Xianjing froze for a moment as memories of performing on stage in her youth flashed through her mind. She took the flowers into her arms, smiling at Qi Xi. “Thank you. These are the most beautiful roses I’ve ever received.”

Qi Xi pointed to Fu Yanchuan, who stood beside them, silent. “Yan Yan picked them.”

Lin Xianjing looked over without saying anything; yet, it felt like she had said everything. They were all moving in a better direction. Maybe it was a bit late, but there was still a long future ahead.

During summer vacation, the flow of people increased everywhere, and traffic would get stuck for a few minutes from time to time. The animation had actually been released two days ago, but Lin Xianjing wasn’t feeling well, so they waited until today.

This time, Qi Xi himself signed the contract to cooperate with Cheng Shu. Fu Yanchuan refrained from intervening, so he didn’t know what the animation was about. He had only seen a few of Qi Xi’s drawings.

When they finally arrived at the cinema, Lin Xianjing was nervous getting out of the car. She hadn’t been in a public place full of strangers like this in many years. Qi Xi linked his arm through hers.

“Auntie, it’s okay. I’ll protect you. If there are bad people, I’ll take care of them.”

“All right, then. Auntie will rely on you.”

After making sure the two of them were okay, Fu Yanchuan went to get the tickets. When he returned, he asked, “Do you want to buy popcorn?”

He hadn’t known before that watching movies went with popcorn. Fu Yi and Fu Zhen had started that habit.

After entering elementary school, the two kids had more ideas and were no longer as easily fooled as when they were younger. Whenever they had nothing to do, they would run over to their place and make a mess everywhere. They even led Qi Xi astray. The three of them would sneak out together whenever they were bored, whether to amusement parks, haunted houses, or script murder games.

One time, while he was in a meeting, he received a call from Qi Xi. It turned out to be Fu Zhen, crying and saying, “Uncle Qi was taken away by ghosts! We can’t find him anymore. What should we do?”

He was so scared that he hurried over, only to find out that they were playing an escape room game. On the way back, Fu Yi lectured Fu Zhen the whole time.

Qi Xi was very double-standard. He could eat while watching other movies, but he firmly refused to eat while watching something he had made himself. “Don’t eat while watching a movie; it affects other people!”

Fu Yanchuan didn’t call him out on it and waited until the movie started before going inside.

The attendance rate for animated movies during summer vacation was pretty good. There were more kids and it was noisier, but once the movie started, everyone quickly quieted down.

Perhaps it was true that those close to vermilion become red²近朱者赤 literally means “one who stays close to vermilion becomes red.” It expresses the idea that people are shaped by the environment and companions they keep.. Over the past two years, influenced by Qi Xi, Fu Yanchuan had grown much more patient with culture and art. Aside from Qi Xi being the reason, he also had some expectations for the animation itself.

What he didn’t expect was that the very first scene of the animation would shock him.

—Dedicated to the best Yanchuan in the world.

For a full 20 seconds, only this one line appeared on the huge screen.

Fu Yanchuan suddenly remembered that, before going to sign the contract with Cheng Shu, Qi Xi had told him that he wanted to give him a gift. He had waited a long time but never received it and thought Qi Xi had forgotten.

At this moment, he finally realized that Qi Xi had prepared such a shocking gift for him. As he watched until the very end, it became even harder to suppress the overwhelming emotions surging in his chest.

The story of the animation itself was not complicated. It told the story of two teenage boys searching for themselves and redeeming each other.

The boy, Zhao You, was sent back to his grandmother’s home in the countryside because his parents divorced and neither side was willing to take him. He became withdrawn and depressed, unwilling to interact with others. One day, he wandered into a courtyard in the village that was rumored to be haunted. There, he met someone his age named Li Shun.

Li Shun grew up in an extremely oppressive family and was indifferent to everything. At first, the two boys sat in silence, one inside the courtyard and one outside, until a pomegranate fell from the tree and hit Zhao You on the head. Li Shun laughed for the first time.

From that point on, they began talking and slowly became friends. As they got to know each other, they found strengths in each other that they didn’t have themselves and began to change unconsciously.

Zhao You learned confidence from Li Shun, and Li Shun was influenced by Zhao You to leave the house that had trapped him.

Then, they went up the mountain together to catch rabbits and down the river to catch fish. Gradually, they stopped being silent and depressed. They stopped being trapped in their own worlds. They accepted and healed the wounds caused by their families. They became better versions of themselves.

Just as everything was improving, however, a big fire broke out in Li Shun’s home, yet no one went to put it out.

Zhao You went mad and shouted throughout the village. People thought he was mentally ill, so they sent him to the hospital. He finally found a chance to escape, but when he returned to Li Shun’s house, the fire had already been extinguished.

Not only had the fire been extinguished, but the house was also overgrown with grass up to his waist. His grandfather came to find him at that time and told him that Li Shun’s house had burned down ten years ago.

In that instant, Zhao You’s faith collapsed. He thought everything had been a dream, but his experiences with Li Shun felt so real. It couldn’t possibly have been a dream.

Just as he was about to fall back into the abyss of despair, a man appeared in front of him. It was Li Shun, grown up, mature, and cheerful.

At that moment, they both knew it wasn’t a dream but an encounter separated by time and space.

The animation also interwove discussions about left-behind children, parental divorce, and other real issues affecting families. However, all Fu Yanchuan saw were the two protagonists, who resembled him and Qi Xi.

In the end, the animation concluded with one sentence:

—May everyone love life and love themselves.

When this sentence appeared, many people cried in the cinema, including Lin Xianjing. Sitting in the middle, she held Qi Xi’s and Fu Yanchuan’s hands tightly.

After the movie ended, they took Lin Xianjing for a stroll. Qi Xi bought her milk tea, which she especially liked.

On the way back, just as they were about to leave, she suddenly grabbed Qi Xi’s hand and said, “Xi Xi, thank you.”

Qi Xi didn’t understand what she was thanking him for and replied, “Did you like the movie? Next time, Yan Yan and I will bring you to watch another one.”

“Okay.”

Lin Xianjing hugged Qi Xi and watched them leave.

The sanatorium was quite far from their home. On the way back, Fu Yanchuan remained silent the entire time. Qi Xi asked him if the animation was good, but he didn’t respond.

Qi Xi was disappointed, thinking that Fu Yanchuan didn’t like this gift. Although other screenwriters wrote most of the detailed parts of the story, the outline and the two protagonists were his ideas. Why didn’t Fu Yanchuan like it? Was it because he didn’t like having his name in the animation?

He thought about it the whole way home, but he still didn’t understand. When they arrived home, Fu Yanchuan suddenly wrapped his arms around Qi Xi, pressed him against the door, and kissed him fiercely.

“Fu Yanchuan?”

He finally found a chance to speak. Fu Yanchuan pressed close to him and looked at him; his eyes seemed to hold a turbulent sea. After a long while, he said, “Xi Xi, you are the best Xi Xi in the world.”

“Didn’t you not like it?”

At that moment, Fu Yanchuan finally recovered from his shock. He smiled slightly at Qi Xi. “I like it! I really like it! This is the best gift I’ve ever received.”

“Really?”

“Mm.”

Fu Yanchuan held Qi Xi by the neck and kissed him again. Compared to Fu Yanchuan, Qi Xi’s love was more restrained, but it flowed through the years and slowly settled. Just like this animation, as long as it existed, people would always be able to witness how deeply they loved each other.

How fortunate he was to have met Qi Xi!

Acargoreng:

Only one chapter remains: The side story! I’ll upload it next week. 💕

Thank you for following this story until the end. I hope you enjoyed it. I’ll see you next week for the final chapter! 😊 ✨

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  “騎驢找馬” is a Chinese idiom that literally means riding a donkey while looking for a horse. Figuratively, it describes a pragmatic approach to work or life: keeping what you currently have as a temporary solution while quietly searching for a better opportunity.
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  近朱者赤 literally means “one who stays close to vermilion becomes red.” It expresses the idea that people are shaped by the environment and companions they keep.