CFHE Chapter 84

Chen Feifan was a lazy person. Every time Wen Yu saw him, he was either sleeping or curled up on the sofa having a drink. It was said to be because he had played enough when young, then got busy with business, making him increasingly reluctant to move in private.

The man told Wen Yu that Chen Feifan had just gotten up from bed and was washing up.

Wen Yu: “…”

Fu Yuhan: “…”

It was evening now, they had both finished school, and getting up at this time was impressive in every sense.

“But you can go upstairs and find him directly.” The man said.

The third floor was Big Brother and his boyfriend’s private space. Wen Yu had never been up there before, so he was somewhat surprised to get permission. He instinctively glanced at Fu Yuhan.

“Then go ahead.” Fu Yuhan lifted his chin, “I’ll organize the stuff.”

Wen Yu had too many things and low life skills, so many of his personal items had ended up being stuffed into suitcases by Fu Yuhan’s help.

Though actually Wen Yu didn’t want it to be this way.

He twitched his mouth: “Just leave it, we’ll organize together when I get back?”

Fu Yuhan snorted coldly without speaking, as if mocking his abilities.

“You’re just taking advantage of the fact that the college entrance exam hasn’t happened yet to cause trouble.” Wen Yu pointed at him, walking away both annoyed and helpless.

Fu Yuhan raised an eyebrow.

The man waited until Wen Yu left the second floor’s small door before chuckling quietly: “What riddles are you two playing?”

Fu Yuhan’s gaze suddenly focused, his long lashes falling and rising, his eyes hesitant.

“It’s fine if you can’t say,” the man was understanding, “I was just asking casually.”

“…It’s not that.” Fu Yuhan bit his lip, suddenly realizing this person was the boyfriend of Wen Yu’s friend.

An acquaintance, someone of the same kind.

It seemed fine to make some slightly risqué jokes… just a bit embarrassing.

Fu Yuhan had few friends throughout his life and naturally lacked the trait of being “instantly familiar” with people.

But, he thought, this was Wen Yu’s social circle.

Wen Yu’s social circle.

Wen Yu’s social circle.

He repeated it three times silently.

Sigh.

“It’s just…” he tried to voice this matter, “we agreed not to do… that thing before the college entrance exam.”

“Pfft,” the man laughed as soon as he heard, highly amused, “You can hold back? You’re just kids.”

“Have some dessert, don’t eat the main course.” Fu Yuhan opened his suitcase and took out clothes, “…otherwise if we get hurt it would delay studying.”

Moreover, Wen Yu’s exact words were—”Forget it, can’t let me taste meat, my self-control isn’t that good.”

Although Fu Yuhan didn’t understand why this master of pretense would think his self-control was poor, he later thought about it and realized he might not be able to hold back either.

With the person you like living together day and night, once this kind of thing started, it might be like a flood bursting through a dam.

But he didn’t voice these thoughts—too… embarrassing.

Fu Yuhan used the motion of lowering his eyes to hide his subtle awkwardness.

The man crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, leisurely making an “mm” sound: “That’s easy to handle. We can have Old Chen teach him properly later—by the way, who tops and who bottoms between you two?”

“…”

Bro, there’s really no need to be this enthusiastic.

“I’ll go with whatever he wants.” Fu Yuhan said vaguely.

“You have a good temper then,” the man said, “Old Chen and I even fought over this when we were young.”

“…” Fu Yuhan’s mouth twitched, “Isn’t that too dramatic?”

The man smiled, remembering distant stories: “We were young, hot-blooded, always fighting back then. Not just about this—we even fought over who would go downstairs to take out the trash when living together.”

“Wen Yu and I didn’t get along when we first met either.” Speaking of common topics, Fu Yuhan relaxed somewhat and smiled faintly, “We also almost… got into a fight.”

“Almost means you didn’t actually fight. We really fought back then.”

Fu Yuhan wasn’t good at finding conversation topics, but the man was chatty, casually telling stories from the past, and they actually managed to keep talking.

–

Wen Yu went up the stairs to another small door and pushed it open.

The third floor’s layout was completely different from the second floor, filled with American industrial and graffiti-style decorations. As soon as Wen Yu entered, he heard a “buzzing” sound from a certain direction. Following the sound, he saw Big Brother in the bathroom with an electric razor, shaving.

Big Brother saw him and waved; Wen Yu stood at the doorway waiting for him to finish before saying: “Aren’t you getting up too late?”

“I don’t have to go to school.” Big Brother applied lotion to his freshly shaved chin and snorted lightly, “Not going to school or work is just this happy—you’ll understand later.”

Wen Yu looked at him with disdain.

Not wanting to be looked down upon by Big Brother on this matter, Wen Yu quickly changed the subject: “You were looking for me?”

“Ah,” Big Brother lifted his chin, “Tell me about it.”

“What?”

“Tell me about your love life.” Big Brother said with a smile, “I’ve been pretty decent—I haven’t told them about you drinking seven bottles at my place last time.”

Wen Yu: “…”

He smiled without much emotion: “Well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Big Brother smoothly continued the conversation, walking out of the bathroom toward the balcony. Passing the coffee table, he grabbed an opened pack of cigarettes and a lighter, put one in his mouth, then turned back to offer one to Wen Yu.

Wen Yu’s hand that had instinctively risen fell back down. After thinking, he shook his head: “Never mind, I won’t smoke.”

Chen Feifan mocked him: “Having a family really is different.”

Wen Yu followed him to the small balcony on the third floor. In just this short time, night had fallen, and the scattered lights of thousands of homes spread before them like a galaxy of stars—so bright, so distant.

His heart was very calm. After pondering for a moment, he said: “I don’t like smoking myself either.”

Chen Feifan looked at him with some surprise, quickly curving into a faint smile as he lit his cigarette: “Never thought I’d hear you admit something like that.”

“Before, I just wanted to oppose my dad,” Wen Yu’s gaze fell on the distance, “but he told me… he hoped I would ‘be more real.'”

“Then you found yourself a good partner.” At this point, Chen Feifan paused, “Hey wait, although I don’t think there’s any surprise, I still need to ask… it’s the same one you were crying and wailing about wanting to pursue here last time, right?”

“…When the fuck did I ‘cry and wail’?” Wen Yu was speechless, “Yes, it’s the same one.”

Chen Feifan nodded: “Oh, that’s good then—tell me about your partner.”

After this interruption, Wen Yu had no mood to continue. He paused for a long while before remembering what he had just said: “Before I wanted to oppose my dad, but I never dared to confront him directly. But this time… look, I ran away.”

“Had a fight with your dad?” Chen Feifan raised an eyebrow.

“Mm.”

The fastest way to heal a wound was to cut away the rotten flesh around it.

Painful but satisfying.

Wen Yu took a deep breath: “Now I have someone who can see me, so I have to push myself, force myself not to be afraid anymore… Xiao Han is much braver than me. I don’t want to be outdone by him.”

Chen Feifan smiled and smoked without speaking.

“When he said he wouldn’t take family money, he really didn’t. I introduced him to Fourth Brother to work as a model, and now he’s basically self-sufficient.” Wen Yu showed a bitter smile, “Bro, sometimes I really feel useless. I thought about it for a long time that day… many things can only be done after graduating from university. Right now I can probably only tutor people.” He paused, “…but that probably won’t work either. My temper really can’t tolerate stupid people.”

He had written notes for Fu Yuhan and incidentally benefited the people in Class 6. At first, a few people thought he was easy to talk to and came to him with basic questions.

Initially, he maintained a kind appearance and answered properly, but at that time he was frantic about how to pursue Fu Yuhan. When his temper flared, he had snapped at people.

Too stupid—how could someone not understand a problem even after being taught three times?

“At least you have some self-awareness.” Chen Feifan laughed for a long time.

Then he held his cigarette and gave him a roguish sideways glance, saying: “Actually, instead of tutoring, you might as well come help me.”

Wen Yu was stunned and frowned as he looked over: “Huh?”

“I’m thinking of opening another bar with a different style, and I happen to be short-handed.” Chen Feifan smiled, “No matter how deep your conflict with your dad is, you’ll eventually take over his business. Consider it learning how to do business in advance.”

“…Why would I take over his business?”

“Are you going to start your own company? Come on, starting a business is so hard. Besides, Little Seven, times are different now.”

Chen Feifan sighed and pointed to the busy street below: “Sometimes young people come here too, and what they talk about is very different from our time. Your dad’s generation had opportunities everywhere, gold all around; by the time I was in my twenties, there was much less; as for now… forget it. No matter how excellent you are, going out to start a business alone might not reach your dad’s level—stop, don’t rush to argue with me. I’m not saying you can’t do it, it’s just that in this era, there aren’t that many opportunities.”

“I understand what you mean,” he said, “Young people always want to prove they’re different from their parents, that they’re more excellent, but it’s unnecessary. Really, Little Seven, if you think you can do it, then taking over and leading the company in another direction is also good. Maintaining a business isn’t necessarily easier than starting one—that’s a misconception.”

Big Brother was one of the few among their group of friends who understood Wen Yu’s family background. Having walked more paths and experienced more, Wen Yu would still listen to his advice to some extent.

He pressed his lips together and fell into thought: “…I just feel a bit unwilling.”

“Think about it yourself. It’s a huge sum of money for free—if you don’t want it, won’t it just benefit someone else? Little Seven, you’re not alone now.” Chen Feifan patted his shoulder, “Anyway, I’m not in a hurry. Focus on your exams first, think slowly.”

Yes, he wasn’t alone now.

Just watching Fu Yuhan report to Fourth Brother every weekend made his heart ache.

Jealousy was one thing, but sometimes in the dead of winter, taking off clothes in that cold studio to shoot underwear photos—it hurt to watch.

“But I plan to apply to T University for college.” Wen Yu added.

“What? I can’t open a shop in the capital?”

“…Fine.” He lowered his eyes, “I’ll think about it.”

–

“Did you hear everything?” The man chuckled softly.

Fu Yuhan nodded.

His expression was somewhat complex: “…I didn’t know he had thought about these things.”

“It has to be faced eventually—very practical problems.” The man led him downstairs, “Old Chen and I also struggled with realistic pressures when we were young… consider it some heartfelt advice from a senior.”

Fu Yuhan pressed his lips together: “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Author’s Note: Oops, I’m traveling and got the scheduled posting time wrong, a bit late.

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