Chapter 16

Yang Lei had a secret.

When Fang Yu wasn’t paying attention, he liked secretly observing Fang Yu, looking at his expression of concentration when he worked, the masculine line of his neck, the smooth collar bones of his neckline, and his movements that were as agile as a cheetah’s; whether he was still or moving, they were all very enjoyable.

When he was at Fang Yu’s place waiting for him, Yang Lei often stood alone in an inconspicuous corner with his arms crossed, and pretended to unintentionally scan Fang Yu with his eyes. He wouldn’t be tired no matter how long he looked, immersed in his own enjoyment.

His eyes always stayed on Fang Yu’s body, looking at his strong back, his slender waistline, and his powerful long legs… He could see where Fang Yu had lost or gained weight, even more clearly than when he saw his previous girlfriends.

But when Fang Yu turned around, Yang Lei would hurriedly and awkwardly shift his eyes away, afraid that Fang Yu would notice.

In the past, Yang Lei’s longing for Fang Yu was still vague on a psychological level, but now he thought that he wanted something even more.

When he remembered the feeling when he embraced Fang Yu that night, Yang Lei faintly wanted to hug Fang Yu often like this. Every time he saw Fang Yu, he had an impulse to get close to him.

This impulse and restlessness made Yang Lei feel distraught. He thought that things were progressing towards a direction beyond his control. He even thought about that video…

Luo Jiu’s Grand Century Restaurant downtown had a grand opening. The general manager was Fang Yu.

The day Grand Century Restaurant opened, all of the Jianghu gangdom bosses arrived to offer their congratulations. Flower baskets filled the doorway and the parking lot was full of nice cars. This was a top Jianghu gathering.

Yan Ziyi sent a huge flower basket, with a cash gift of an astonishing amount inside. Yang Lei used his own name and individually sent a large flower basket, which was placed in an eye-catching position.

Yan Ziyi got out of the car, walked to the entrance, and warmly congratulated Luo Jiu. Yang Lei followed behind Yan Ziyi, and exchanged smiles with Fang Yu who was standing on the steps.

Fang Yu was dressed very formally today. Yang Lei nearly couldn’t recognize him.

Fang Yu was over 180 centimeters tall, was wearing a straight and slim black suit, and a tie was carefully worn around his snow-white collar. His hairstyle was masculine and handsomely trimmed. His straight trousers and shiny dress shoes brought out his good figure. With Fang Yu’s handsome face, he stood at the entrance looking elegant. No one could tell that he was a well-known gangdom fighter.

“Fang Yu, you’re very handsome today! You’ve stolen all of your Jiu Ge’s spotlight!” Yan Ziyi always liked Fang Yu.

“Yan Ge, please take care of me later!” Fang Yu shook hands with him, then turned around to look at Yang Lei, who had walked up the steps.

Yang Lei was also dressed very formally today, also wearing suit and tie, but when he wore the suit, the feeling was different. It felt natural and unrestrained, full of unruliness. In other people’s eyes, Yang Lei and Fang Yu were both the spectacle of the day, but Yang Lei’s eyes could only see Fang Yu.

“Manager Fang, you’re very dressed up today.” When he walked past Fang Yu, Yang Lei spoke by his ear.

“Fuck off!” Fang Yu slapped him on the butt.

“Don’t drink too much. Hold back a little.” Yang Lei was still worried. Fang Yu’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t good.

“Okay, Yan Ge’s waiting for you! I’ll find you once it’s over.” Fang Yu pushed Yang Lei over.

On the side, Yan Ziyi watched the two people, wondering to Luo Jiu, “These two boys stick to each other all day. They can’t even separate right now?”

Luo Jiu was magnanimous: “It’s good that they can’t separate! It’s a good thing!”

Fang Yu still drank too much that day.

In a situation like this, Fang Yu had to drink, but Luo Jiu took care of him, letting the little brothers under his leadership drink a lot in his place. Although Fang Yu had drunk too much, it wasn’t to the extent of drunkenness.

Yang Lei waited until the end. Hua Mao walked over to drag Fang Yu with him into his car, but Yang Lei pulled Fang Yu over.

“This is none of your business!” Yang Lei stared at Hua Mao.

“Annoying!” Hua Mao rolled his eyes at Yang Lei and left.

Yang Lei pulled Fang Yu back into his car. Today, he had borrowed a car from Yan Ziyi, so that he could go out with Fang Yu at night.

Because today was very special.

Fang Yu lay on the car’s backseat, lazily pulling his tie.

“Where are we going, Xiao Yang?” Fang Yu jokingly asked.

“Manager Fang, we’ll go where you want to go,” Yang Lei bantered with him.

“Let’s not go back home?” Fang Yu liked smiling after he drank wine. He smiled lazily. “Bring me wherever you want.”

“Really?”

Yang Lei turned around to look at Fang Yu. The collar of Fang Yu’s dress shirt was open, his tie hanging loosely, revealing his smooth chest inside. Yang Lei stared at him.

“Do you know how to drive? If you don’t, I will!” Fang Yu still wanted to drive.

“Sober up! I still have something to tell you.” Yang Lei drove the car out of the parking lot.

“Say it!” Fang Yu still smiled so lazily. Even his voice was full of sluggishness.

“Today is my birthday,” Yang Lei said.

“…Fuck!”

Fang Yu was very surprised.

“You should’ve told me earlier!”

“It’s not too late to say it now.” Yang Lei was smiling.

“If you told me earlier, I would have bought a cake and got a present or something!” Fang Yu was truly regretful.

“Still setting up that mood. It’s enough if you celebrate it with me at night!” Yang Lei placed a lot of emphasis on “with me.”

He considered where to go with Fang Yu. Fang Yu looked at his watch.

“There are still two hours… there’s still time!”

“What?”

“I’ll bring you to a place. Go to Turbulent Times!”

“What?”

“If I tell you to go, then go!” Fang Yu said.

Turbulent Times was a Jianghu nightclub that started very early and was very famous. At that time, people’s night lives weren’t as rich as they are now, but Turbulent Times was already bustling every night. It was the local trend-setter. After 2000, it was also written into a famous online song, spreading its fame all over the country.

When Yang Lei and Fang Yu walked into Turbulent Times, there were deafening disco music and crowds dancing like crazy inside. It was the liveliest time.

When Fang Yu walked in the door, those at the entrance were notified. Several people immediately came out to greet him.

“Yu Ge!”

Turbulent Times was a place that Fang Yu oversaw. Usually, little brothers came often. He didn’t frequently come in person. Now that he showed up, of course things would be stirred up inside.

“It’s nothing. I’m here to pass time.” Fang Yu indicated that this was not “business.”

The whole way in, there were people greeting Fang Yu politely, and those who knew Yang Lei greeted him.

“Why did you bring me here? It’s so noisy.” Yang Lei didn’t like it. Tonight, he only wanted to quietly be together with Fang Yu alone.

“I’ll give you a gift!” Fang Yu said loudly. If it weren’t loud, it couldn’t be heard.

“What gift can there be here?” Yang Lei was upset. He even thought, surely Fang Yu couldn’t want to get him a girl or something?

Fang Yu brought Yang Lei all the way to the table at the very front of the dance floor closest to the stage.

There were guests originally at that table. Fang Yu bent down and politely said something to them, and the guests very willingly gave up their seats.

“Sit here. Sit here and don’t move.”

“Where are you going?” Yang Lei watched Fang Yu walk towards the back of the stage. He was afraid that Fang Yu had drunk too much and didn’t even know what he was doing.

“Sit there!”

Fang Yu turned around and pointed. Yang Lei could only sit down.

He didn’t know what Fang Yu wanted to do.

The loud disco music suddenly stopped. All of the crowd stopped.

“What’s the matter?”

“Hey, where’s the music?”

Someone appeared on the stage.

“Apologies friends for a brief interruption. I’m called Fang Yu. Today is my brother’s birthday. I’ll borrow our Turbulent Times place to express my feelings!”

Fang Yu had really drunk too much. Usually, he would not act this rashly.

“…” Yang Lei saw that Fang Yu was holding a guitar in his hands, and knew what he wanted to do.

“He’s really drunk too much!” When Yang Lei saw Fang Yu like this, he was worried to death. If he wanted to play guitar, couldn’t he play somewhere else? Was Turbulent Times a place to quietly listen to guitar music? Yang Lei really didn’t know Fang Yu could also be this crazy.

“Apologies, apologies!” Fang Yu smiled as he dragged a chair in front of the music stand in the middle of the stage and sat down.

No one knew if it was because Fang Yu was a handsome man, as good looking as a star, or if everyone thought that it was fresh that someone was going to put on a show. Or perhaps it was because many who came to Turbulent Times were gangsters, and many people recognized Fang Yu and knew who he was. In any case, right now, the people who came to Turbulent Times to play didn’t have any objections. They cheerfully watched the entertainment, and some people started clapping.

There were even less objections on the Turbulent Times side. They even hurriedly found a convenient guitar for Fang Yu.

Fang Yu held the temporarily borrowed guitar on his leg and tuned the strings. When he plucked, a string of beautiful notes flowed out from the microphone.

Yang Lei was taken aback. These notes seemed familiar.

In Turbulent Times where there were usually heavy metal beats, a string of clear notes from an unplugged guitar was like a flowing stream, making one feel refreshed.

The crowd all quieted down, silently watching Fang Yu on the stage.

Fang Yu held the guitar and played the prelude. The lighting technician turned off the colored lights to match the atmosphere. In the darkness, he only shone a single, cool blue light on Fang Yu.

Fang Yu smiled as he gently plucked the strings and started to sing softly.

On the banyan trees by the pond,

Cicadas are noisily calling for summer

On the swings by the grasses,

Only butterflies are resting on top

On the blackboard, the teacher’s chalk

Is still desperately, noisily writing nonstop

Children waiting for class to finish,

Waiting for school to be over,

Waiting for games…

Yang Lei didn’t move at all. His entire body was fixed, staring straight at Fang Yu who was playing and singing.

Fang Yu was wearing an open black suit, and his shirt was only buttoned to the third button. A pendant hung at his chest and gleamed against his ivory-colored chest.

The dreamy lights gathered on his handsome face, surrounding his body that seemed as if it would disappear like a dream.

No one knows why

The sun always goes down on that side of the mountain

No one can tell me

Whether or not an immortal lives in the mountain

How many days did I always

Face the sky alone and space out?

Children are just so curious,

Just so enchanted,

So alone…

Fang Yu had never played “Childhood” in front of Yang Lei.

Yang Lei thought he didn’t know how.

Yang Lei stared at Fang Yu on the stage. As Fang Yu played and sang, he raised his eyes, smiling as he looked at Yang Lei.

The instant their eyes met, an answer was already unnecessary.

The first time Yang Lei heard him sing this song was at that wide field in the lab high school.

Separated by the night, he sat on one side, and Fang Yu sat on the other side.

He heard his melancholy song, his gentle melody, and imagined what kind of person he was.

Was he as gentle as the sound of his guitar, as sorrowful, would he also move his heart?

He always waited for him on the playground in the dark and cold night, but he didn’t know that he had long come to his side…

Watercolor crayons and kaleidoscopes

Can’t draw that rainbow on the horizon

When can I, like the older students,

Have a mature and grown-up face?

Children looking forward to holidays,

Looking forward to tomorrow,

Looking forward to growing up…

No one knew when the sound technician started to play a soft accompaniment, accompanying Fang Yu’s song and flowing through the entire Turbulent Times. And no one knew when people started swaying their bodies, singing along softly with the melody…

Fang Yu’s song didn’t have the melancholy and loneliness of that time. There was only happiness, lightness…

When the song finished, the applause was thunderous.

Fang Yu stood up.

“Yang Lei! Happy birthday!” Fang Yu shouted, randomly picking up a bouquet in a nearby decorative vase, smiling as he threw it at Yang Lei.

Yang Lei raised his hand and caught it. The sound technician cleverly started playing the “Happy Birthday Song.” The melody “Happy birthday to you” sounded throughout the entire dance floor.

The crowd was influenced by the atmosphere, singing along as though they were a collective. It became a full chorus. This night at Turbulent Times left a deep impression on them.

As the happy birthday music played, Fang Yu held the guitar and jumped off the stage. He walked up to Yang Lei and didn’t speak. He just looked at him with a warm smile.

“You…” Yang Lei only said one word.

“It was you.” Yang Lei said the second sentence.

With a smile, Fang Yu plucked several strings as a response.

On the lab high school field, every time, the person on the other side would use this series of strings to greet him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Yang Lei stared closely at Fang Yu.

“I was seeing when you would find out.” Fang Yu was still smiling.

“You tricked me. I’m going to punish you!” Yang Lei was still staring at Fang Yu’s eyes. His eyes couldn’t see anything else.

“Okay, I accept the punishment! You’re the boss today!”

Fang Yu’s smile spread in all directions.

Yang Lei took his hand pulling him towards the exit to leave.

Someone from Turbulent Times passed a thick red envelope.

“Yu Ge, today is Lei Ge’s birthday. These are some of our regards!” The Turbulent Times manager had a good eye.

Yang Lei touched it. There were several thousand dollars inside, enough to buy a few hundred cases of beer.

“Today, everyone is included. I’ll pay for everyone’s drinks!” Yang Lei shouted, slapping the envelope on the bar.

Turbulent Times broke into cheers! Through the cheers, Yang Lei pulled Fang Yu out the door.

He pushed Fang Yu onto the shotgun seat. Yang Lei sat in the driver’s seat, and turned his head to look at Fang Yu.

The alcohol had gotten to Fang Yu’s head, and he had made such a scene, so he was still excited, turning his head to look at Yang Lei.

“Are you happy?” Fang Yu smiled.

“I’m happy,” Yang Lei said.

“Where do you want to go next?” Fang Yu’s excitement still hadn’t passed.

“I still haven’t punished you,” Yang Lei said.

“You’re really punishing me? You’re too slow. You should have guessed it was me long ago.” Fang Yu remembered Yang Lei’s foolishness and found it funny.

“You knew I was on the other side long ago?” Yang Lei asked.

Fang Yu smiled as he lit a cigarette.

The first time the two people met at night, Fang Yu saw that it was him. When he entered the school gate, Yang Lei didn’t see Fang Yu, but Fang Yu saw him.

At that time, he only had a sudden impulse and practiced a bit with Yang Lei. Yang Lei didn’t know who he was, making Fang Yu feel that it was fun. He wanted to tease him.

They met that day at the convenience store. Yang Lei still hadn’t realized that the person was him. Fang Yu thought that this boy was interestingly dumb.

The reason he saved Yang Lei at the entrance of the lab high school that time was because Fang Yu happened to be passing by on his way to the field to pick up the music scores he had left behind.

In the convenience store, Fang Yu’s hands were empty. His guitar was tied to the motorcycle on the other side of the street. In the darkness, Yang Lei saw a dark object. It was that guitar.

Ever since he and Fang Yu went to the lab high school together, he had never met “the person on the other side.”

Connecting these thoughts together, Yang Lei knew how dumb he really was.

“Knowing it was me didn’t disappoint you?” Fang Yu asked with a smile.

“You were just intentionally tricking me.” Yang Lei’s face darkened.

At first, Fang Yu was still smiling. Later, he saw that Yang Lei’s expression wasn’t right, so Fang Yu stopped smiling.

“…you’re really angry?” Fang Yu got close to Yang Lei.

“Don’t be upset. It really wasn’t intentional, I just thought… you were interesting. I wanted to tease you,” Fang Yu said.

Yang Lei didn’t start the car, not making a sound.

“Okay, I was wrong! Weren’t you going to punish me? Punish me! As long as you’re happy!” Fang Yu was worried that Yang Lei was really angry.

Yang Lei turned around and glanced at Fang Yu.

“You really accept punishment?”

“I accept!”

“Then say, Da Ge, I dare not do it again!”

“Fuck! I’m your older brother!”

“Say it!”

“Okay okay…”

Fang Yu compromised, repeating perfectly, “Da Ge, I…”

Fang Yu hadn’t finished speaking when Yang Lei suddenly turned his head and kissed Fang Yu’s face.

“…”

After Yang Lei kissed him, he drew his body back. His heart almost jumped out of his throat, and his palms were covered with sweat. He tried hard to keep his expression calm.