Fu Mingchuan stared at the message for a long time. This didn’t sound like something You Wen would say. Whenever You Wen texted him, it was always:
“What are you up to, hubby?”
“When are you coming home, hubby?”
“Did you miss me today, hubby?”
“I sent you the address of a cake shop. Can you pick something up for me on your way home, hubby?”
“I really want to eat it.”
“I want to eat it with you.”
“I learned how to make spicy shredded chicken. I’ll make it for you tonight.”
“Isn’t this kid cute?”
“Wow, it’s a panda! Can we go to the zoo?!”
“Do you like the new skin I bought?”
“I added a pro gamer today who can carry me. By the time you get back, I’ll definitely be a champion.”
These short, noisy messages made up You Wen’s entire life. He was a respectable person, but never pretentious or polished in his words. His enthusiasm was always straightforward.
This wasn’t something You Wen would say.
Someone was with him.
And that someone was Zhou Hui, who was holding You Wen’s phone and cursing, “So what if he’s rich? Wasn’t it his duty to spend money on you before? How dare he ask for a breakup fee? Does he have no shame?”
Zhou Hui was the only one from their circle who still wanted to be friends with You Wen and didn’t mind how small his place was now.
Recently, Zhou Hui had offended his father and was homeless, so he had been staying at You Wen’s place. His main activity there was cursing Fu Mingchuan.
“I never thought Fu Mingchuan was this kind of person. I’ll make sure everyone knows so he can never find another boyfriend!”
“Fucking cheapskate!”
“If it weren’t for the lack of parking at the bank, I would’ve gone up and beaten him with you.”
“What kind of man is he?”
You Wen took his phone back and looked at the message Zhou Hui had sent to Fu Mingchuan, momentarily at a loss for words.
Fu Mingchuan had just helped him settle a debt of nearly thirty million, and even after selling his house, he had only managed to repay a little over seven million.
But in Zhou Hui’s words, it became, “Even though I’m cheap now,” and even the clueless You Wen knew that was going too far.
He typed several messages on his phone: “I’ll pay it back.”
Deleted. Can’t afford it.
Typed again: “Can I pay in installments?”
With a monthly salary of 5,500, how many installments would that be? Deleted.
Typed again: “In the past, the cooperation between Taiji and Huading should have been more profitable for Huading…”
Didn’t finish it before deleting it.
In the end, You Wen simply didn’t reply. Zhou Hui was still nagging beside him, “Why don’t you just tell him to get lost or block him?”
You Wen put his phone away, not letting Zhou Hui touch it again. “I’m a good person. It’s better not to block my creditor.”
Zhou Hui walked over to pinch his cheek, but You Wen dodged. “What are you doing? Stop being so handsy.”
Zhou Hui grumbled, “Anyway, stay away from him from now on.”
He had never liked Fu Mingchuan, thinking he didn’t treat You Wen well. Every time Fu Mingchuan texted, You Wen had already sent him a dozen messages. When Zhou Hui occasionally saw their chat history, he thought You Wen looked like a lovesick puppy.
You Wen nodded repeatedly. He had no way to get close to Fu Mingchuan now, and even if he did, it would depend on whether Fu Mingchuan was willing.
But he never thought he would have a chance to re-enter Fu Mingchuan’s life.
After Chen Jiyu saw him at the bank, she started inviting him out frequently. After declining twice, You Wen finally had a meal with her the third time, and she personally drove him back to his neighborhood.
When they arrived, Chen Jiyu looked worriedly at the slightly rundown entrance. She seemed to think he shouldn’t be living in such a place. You Wen held her hand to reassure her, “Auntie, it’s fine here. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Chen Jiyu’s expression grew even more pained after hearing this. She felt bad for You Wen’s poor living conditions and was saddened that he no longer called her “Mom.”
You Wen’s mother had passed away early. By the third time he visited the Fu family and got to know Chen Jiyu, he was already hugging her arm and calling her “Mom.” Everything she did was good in his eyes—her cooking was delicious, her flower arrangements were beautiful, and even the new game cartridges she bought for him were smoother and clearer than anyone else’s.
Such an adorable son suddenly stopped calling her “Mom,” leaving Chen Jiyu feeling deeply troubled.
Chen Jiyu visited twice more, standing at the entrance of the neighborhood, watching You Wen return with a small child in his arms. He explained that the child’s parents would be late, so he brought the child home first and invited Chen Jiyu to join them for dinner.
You Wen lived in a single room, and the space was so cramped that he had to ask Chen Jiyu to sit on the bed while he placed the child in a small baby sofa, indicating that he often brought the child home.
While cooking, You Wen kept talking to the child and mentioned that he had made Chen Jiyu’s favorite dishes, urging her to try them.
Chen Jiyu repeatedly agreed, but within ten minutes, her eyes were wet, feeling a deep sense of sorrow.
The child tugged at her hand and said, “Brother, Auntie is crying.”
Chen Jiyu quickly wiped her eyes, forced a smile, and stood up. “I won’t stay. Take care of yourself.”
You Wen followed her out, worried about leaving the child alone, and only escorted Chen Jiyu to the elevator. “You really don’t need to worry about me. Big house or small house, it’s just a place to live.”
He then tried to lighten the mood with a cheerful topic. “My dad didn’t let me work at the kindergarten before, but now I get to see so many kids every day. Next time you visit, I’ll introduce you to an even cuter child. I have plenty of them.”
What You Wen didn’t expect was to see Chen Jiyu again within a week, and under very embarrassing circumstances.
You Wen lived in a single room, and his neighbor’s apartment, a two-bedroom unit, had eight beds crammed inside, making the living situation rather chaotic. Once, when You Wen was coming home and about to close his door, a guy from next door walked by and playfully tried to push his door open to scare him.
It terrified You Wen so much that he couldn’t sleep for two days, staying awake at night with his ears pricked up, fearing someone would break in. It wasn’t until he was sure that the guy was just messing around that he could finally relax.
Today, a problem finally arose in that 64-square-meter apartment housing eight people. Someone’s self-heating food container hadn’t been unplugged, causing a fire. By the time the fire was extinguished, half of You Wen’s room had been burned, and his reliable temperature-controlled kettle was also destroyed.
When You Wen returned home, he tried to salvage what he could, but all he managed was to get covered in soot. He stood there in the crowd of onlookers, dirty from head to toe, looking utterly disheveled.
Chen Jiyu saw the news and rushed over. When she arrived, she grabbed his hand tightly, her eyes red with tears as she kept saying, “How can you live in a place like this?”
His hands were filthy, so he didn’t dare to hold hers back. Just as he was about to explain, she slapped him on the back, her eyes filled with tears as she scolded, “You stubborn child, you never listen.”
Tears welled up in You Wen’s eyes too. He knew what Chen Jiyu was referring to: he hadn’t listened to Fu Mingchuan’s suggestion to stay in a larger house, nor had he followed her advice to move. But he no longer felt entitled to spend their money.
In the end, Chen Jiyu practically dragged him back to the Fu family home. The beige leather seat in the car got dirty from him sitting on it, and he had never felt so uneasy before, turning his face toward the window in embarrassment.
Chen Jiyu didn’t notice his discomfort and firmly said, “From now on, you’re staying at the house. You can’t live outside anymore; Mom just can’t rest easy.”
Seeing the self-reproach in Chen Jiyu’s eyes, You Wen felt a pang of sorrow and hastily nodded, “I’m really fine. I wasn’t home when the fire started, so there’s no need to worry.”
Chen Jiyu, however, countered, “But what if you had been home?”
You Wen was momentarily speechless. It hadn’t been as serious as she imagined—the fire was quickly contained, and although four rooms near the corner were damaged, there were no casualties.
Chen Jiyu thought he was worried about Fu Mingchuan and comforted him, “If you don’t like Mingchuan, just don’t let him stay at the house anymore.”
After a brief pause, she added, “He doesn’t live at home that often, anyway.”
Ultimately, Chen Jiyu almost forcibly brought You Wen back to the Fu family’s home. Once they arrived, she took him to shower, just like before, when everything was always prepared for him whenever he returned.
The butler, Hou Cong, stood at the door, waiting until he heard the noise from inside die down before respectfully saying, “The clothes are on the bed. Unfortunately, we didn’t have suitable trousers in your size, so you’ll have to make do with pajama pants for now. Your new clothes have already been ordered and will arrive tomorrow morning.”
You Wen responded softly, not wanting to keep Chen Jiyu waiting, and quickly tidied himself up. He then reached for the clothes Hou Cong had laid out, only to find they were all Fu Mingchuan’s.
After standing there for a while, he finally picked them up and started to put them on.
The shirt fit loosely on him, making him look even younger. When he picked up the underwear, he realized that, while new, it was also Fu Mingchuan’s size—two sizes larger than his own.
He threw the underwear aside but, after a moment, picked it up again and put it on.
He used to wear Fu Mingchuan’s underwear. Back then, after they were intimate, Fu Mingchuan would carry him to the shower. You Wen would cling to him, refusing to get dressed, and when Fu Mingchuan helped him put on underwear, he would complain that it was too tight, forcing Fu Mingchuan to give him a pair of his own.
Even after putting on the underwear, he would fuss and refuse to wear a sleep shirt. So, Fu Mingchuan would let him wear one of his oversized shirts, and if You Wen continued to fuss, Fu Mingchuan would give him a couple of light slaps on the butt to settle him down and then try to reason with him—though You Wen would often fall asleep before the lecture even began.
He still remembered one time when, despite being asleep, he was woken up by Fu Mingchuan shaking him, sternly telling him that he couldn’t act like that anymore. You Wen hadn’t taken it seriously, and the next time he did the same thing. After that, Fu Mingchuan never brought it up again.
Now, looking back, Fu Mingchuan must have been quite serious at the time, but he had thought it was just playful bedroom talk.
Since the breakup, You Wen thought about Fu Mingchuan every day when he had free time. Those details he hadn’t paid attention to before seemed unbearable now, as the filter of love had faded away. Each time he recalled it, he would fall silent, feeling as though he was wrong in every aspect and riddled with flaws.
Fu Mingchuan didn’t like it when he hugged him the moment he saw him, or clung to his arm, or stood close to him.
He didn’t like it when You Wen waited for him at Shanshui Residence or called him to come home.
He didn’t like the endless stream of seemingly pointless messages You Wen sent.
He didn’t like it when You Wen got too close to the people around him.
He didn’t like anything You Wen was interested in.
He didn’t like publicly displaying their relationship.
Fu Mingchuan only wanted to give him a certain amount of space, only needing him to appear when he wanted him to.
Fu Mingchuan never loved him, never cared for him, so much so that he wouldn’t even meet him face-to-face or reply to his messages when they broke up.
Fu Mingchuan didn’t care about anything related to him. His kindness might not have been kindness at all, just compromise.
When the You Family lost its value as a marriage alliance, You Wen became as insignificant as dust to him.
There was never any sweetness. These truths often left You Wen breathless, doubting himself.
