Chapter 70#

After some bargaining, and under Yan Zishu’s urging, the first thing Fu Jinchi did was to issue instructions to the person currently taking care of the dog, telling them to change “William” to “Weilian”, to at least make it sound slightly more tactful.

In Yan Zishu’s words, at least it saves the trouble of someone calling out later, and not knowing if the dog should go over or if he should answer.

Actually, Yan Zishu was a bit skeptical whether it could still be changed since the dog was so big; if it really didn’t work, then forget it.

Fu Jinchi propped up his head and smiled, saying that over time it should understand; it was quite smart. Besides, it had been changed once before; the previous adopter had given it a very generic name, something like “Maomao” or “Doudou”, and that had been corrected too.

It’s just that the dog probably didn’t understand why the process of getting a name for itself was so full of twists and turns.

When Lily came over and heard Yan Zishu talk about this, she was also amused, telling him about the scene when the boss found the girl’s home. The girl was terrified, firstly because a strange man had found her door with precision, and secondly because the other party inexplicably wanted to take away her dog. It looked suspicious no matter how you looked at it, making her almost call the police in fear. Later, he made up a half-true, half-false story to coax her into agreeing.

Subsequently, Lily told him that Fu Jinchi had hired a professional pet trainer there, but as long as he was in Dongcheng, as long as he had a tiny bit of free time, he would take the dog with him, leading some people to guess that he was raising some famous breed that looked like a local dog.

So, needless to say, she lamented, the person the little thing was closest to now was really her cold-hearted boss.

Even without Lily beating the drum, Yan Zishu didn’t doubt this when he saw the video.

Through the first-person perspective video, he could imagine the scene of Fu Jinchi squatting on the garden steps, teaching William to lift his paw and shake hands.

This also sounded like Fu Jinchi’s personality—he wouldn’t raise one if he didn’t want to, but once he made a decision, it had to be done his way.

Bringing it back and throwing it aside casually, raising a dog that only recognized others and not him as the owner—he probably couldn’t tolerate such a situation happening.

Finding a time, Fu Jinchi made a video call with that side, and even let Yan Zishu see the dog’s condition directly. Yan Zishu shouted from this end, and William actually recognized it when he heard it, turning his head like a rattle drum, drilling under the table to find the owner of the voice.

Thus, Yan Zishu tried to add himself to that imagined scene—he was also sitting on the steps, leaning against Fu Jinchi, and William was so excited he didn’t know what to do, rushing about, pouncing on this one and then on that one—it didn’t seem particularly abrupt either.

Yan Zishu’s heart softened, and he even felt like a mother hen protecting her chicks, moved by the thought of returning to Dongcheng to raise the dog himself.

However, Fu Jinchi did not allow it.

There were many reasons considered, mainly Yan Zishu’s health reasons. Fu Jinchi was worried about his poor lungs; rashly coming into contact with cats and dogs, who knew if the hair or mites would trigger sequelae, and he even regretted telling him about this too early.

Moreover, right now it was late autumn and early winter. While one could still wear a single layer comfortably in the daytime here in the port city, the north had already begun to cool down successively. The climate in Dongcheng rarely saw snow, but winter was also freezing cold. No matter how you looked at it, it was appropriate to continue staying on the southern island for recuperation.

Fu Jinchi didn’t want to take any risks. If he could, he wished he could shrink Yan Zishu and lock him in a vacuum-sterile glass cover, so he could see him just by looking up, without worrying if he would suddenly wither and disappear.

Or just like raising William, directly fence him in his own territory, letting him happily splash around anywhere, respected and yielded to wherever he went, only unable to run out of the fence representing the safety line.

These sounded like ridiculous ideas, but undoubtedly, Fu Jinchi was very serious when he thought about them. He always wanted to completely control Yan Zishu to fill the defect in the bottom of his heart. These were all cravings he knew were unspeakable.

But now Fu Jinchi could only lock himself in a cage amidst a swelling, sour emotion.

*

Whether wanting to return to Dongcheng or wanting to raise a dog, Yan Zishu had just mentioned it casually on a whim. If it needed to be postponed due to various conditions, it was completely understandable. He was not a willful child and wouldn’t casually disregard his own body.

However, listening to Fu Jinchi’s coaxing and deceiving dissuasion made him realize that he had accidentally been managed in everything.

As long as Yan Zishu relented slightly, Fu Jinchi would seize every opportunity to take charge of his life, from food and clothing to housing and transportation.

There was nothing urgent on Shigu Island. Lily flew back to Dongcheng alone, ending this business trip. Fu Jinchi stayed behind, adopting an attitude of ignoring worldly affairs, and insisted on living in the same suite as Yan Zishu.

The two stayed together twenty-four hours a day. Yan Zishu initially felt unaccustomed to it, as if he suddenly had no personal space.

In the past, Fu Jinchi’s meticulous care was limited to a specific time and place, but now… now it seemed that no fault could be found on the surface either.

Just as he promised, taking care of him without a moment’s rest, Yan Zishu had to enjoy it while feeling strange.

Every morning, when Yan Zishu woke up, Fu Jinchi had already picked out the clothes he was to wear and accompanied him for a walk. When going out, Fu Jinchi would always have an extra jacket on his arm. After returning, for taking medicine, the water was poured and brought directly to him. During the day and at night, they chose what to do depending on their mood. If the weather was good, sometimes they went shopping in the commercial street to watch the bustling crowd, and sometimes they went to more remote places on the island to see the scenery, usually where few people went. If the weather was bad, they played cards or read books indoors, or found a movie to watch.

This life, clinging together like Siamese twins, was hard not to attract attention in the sanatorium, including Mr. Ding.

The old man’s thinking was not that trendy. This time he pondered for a long time before tentatively asking: “Is this… your brother?”

When Mr. Ding asked, Yan Zishu was playing cards with Fu Jinchi in the recreation room, playing a game of “Open the Train” that required absolutely no brainpower.

Long and slender fingers had just clamped a card; hearing this, he paused, and Yan Zishu looked up at Fu Jinchi.

Seeing that Fu Jinchi was only concentrating on his own cards, he turned his head and smiled in a low voice: “Mn, he’s my cousin.”

Mr. Ding nodded and pushed his reading glasses: “Then you two youngsters have a really good relationship.”

Fu Jinchi gathered a stack of cards to himself and also responded: “That is of course.”

He looked up and reminded Yan Zishu indifferently: “Don’t get distracted, you’re almost out of cards.”

Yan Zishu then gave him all the remaining cards in his hand and admitted defeat directly.

Mr. Ding then didn’t ask further.

His addiction to chess came up, and his hands were itching again. This time with Fu Jinchi accompanying him to play, Yan Zishu was finally liberated. But Fu Jinchi had no patience. Having heard of the other party’s style, he deliberately lost completely in a short time, ending the battle hastily, with obvious signs of throwing the game.

It made Mr. Ding look slightly unhappy; although he won, he had a bitter face.

However, Fu Jinchi didn’t care whether this old man played happily or not; he didn’t like Ding Jiansheng at all.

In Fu Jinchi’s view, Ding Jiansheng was just relying on his own foundation to condescendingly bestow some favors on Yan Zishu, which was different from Zeng Peirong’s kind. But when Yan Zishu was at a low point, besides accepting these favors indiscriminately, what else could he do?

And what made Fu Jinchi even more displeased was the gratitude Yan Zishu gave the other party for this.

Yan Zishu possessed a spirit of “rare confusion”. Within his bottom line, he was good at enduring, liked to remember kindness, and didn’t like to hold grudges. Fu Jinchi was just the opposite; he looked at all living beings with critical and cynical eyes, so very few people could catch his eye.

Mr. Ding was also sizing up Fu Jinchi. Fu Jinchi had deep contours and a cold gaze, returning the look indifferently.

Beside them, Yan Zishu read the subtle atmosphere between the two, keeping his eyes to himself, and watched the chess game without speaking.

When the game ended, Yan Zishu stood up and said he was going to the restroom.

The restroom in the sanatorium was quite luxurious, even furnished with a sofa, with elegant aromatherapy, and fresh flowers changed daily in the vase on the sink.

While Yan Zishu was washing his hands, the door opened, and a familiar tall figure followed in.

Fu Jinchi leaned over, embraced him from behind, his nose rubbing against the back of his neck: “Cousin?”

Yan Zishu wiped his hands and spoke soothingly: “Isn’t it because I’m afraid the old gentleman is conservative in his thinking and won’t accept it easily?”

“Is that so?” Fu Jinchi’s hand reached in from under the hem of his upper garment, “Would a cousin treat you like this? Hmm?”

Yan Zishu hummed, grabbed the arm on his waist, stepped back, and fell more firmly into the embrace behind him.

He arched his body slightly, shrinking in Fu Jinchi’s hands, his breathing intensifying with a bit of trembling.

“Stop it quickly.” Yan Zishu said with a weak voice, “Aren’t you afraid someone will come in and bump into us.”

“It’s just as well if we’re bumped into.” Fu Jinchi murmured, “Hey, how about we clarify our relationship in front of that old man? If he can’t even accept this, then you have a reason never to deal with him again.”

Yan Zishu thought what kind of strange train of thought this was, jumping straight to cutting off ties with people for no reason. He leaned on Fu Jinchi, paused, and advised: “After all, we met by chance… the relationship hasn’t reached that level, so let’s keep a little distance from each other.”

Hearing “relationship hasn’t reached that level”, Fu Jinchi’s expression inexplicably softened, and he took his hand back.

“Let’s go, not going back to play chess. Let’s stay in your room for a while.”

Yan Zishu agreed, but still didn’t understand where Fu Jinchi’s dislike for Mr. Ding came from.

In the room, they unconsciously started fooling around again. Yan Zishu was pressed onto the bed by Fu Jinchi and kissed, still not understanding what exactly made him jealous. He thought this level of concealment should be acceptable. For people who are neither kin nor friends, isn’t it better to maintain a relationship where everyone is polite and gets by, rather than being indiscriminately honest?

Fu Jinchi did not explain to him, but resorted to action. But at the last moment, he still restrained himself and asked if it was okay.

Yan Zishu looked at him in silence and did not answer. After a long time, Fu Jinchi let go of him, got up, and the sound of splashing water rang out in the bathroom.

Yan Zishu turned over and sighed.

Who doesn’t have emotions and desires? If it was just for a fleeting pleasure, it would be simple. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but he still had too many concerns. He also knew that if he gave Fu Jinchi another chance, he would have to face the paranoid and dark truth behind Fu Jinchi’s gentle mask in their close interaction: domineering, radical, extremely possessive, extremely controlling.

What would it become in the future? Could he compromise? Accept? Tolerate?

Or rather, could he do it one day?

After Fu Jinchi came out, he didn’t say anything. Yan Zishu also withdrew his thoughts, reached out to embrace him, and closed his eyes again. That day, they napped until very late in the afternoon. Seeing that it was getting late, Fu Jinchi pulled Yan Zishu up and proposed to go to the back of the small island to watch the sunset.