Chapter 136: I Quite Like Older Men
An Qingyan inadvertently saw a rabbit wood carving on the bedside table. He didn’t know where it came from; it suddenly appeared in his schoolbag when he was eight years old.
He picked up the carving, his fingertips caressing the smooth body of the rabbit. He looked up at the man, blinking. “Ge Fei, this carving… wasn’t it a gift from you?”
“Yes.” Gu Fei nodded.
He had secretly put it in An Qingyan’s schoolbag the day he left for his studies abroad. He wanted to surprise the child, but he had forgotten all about it.
Seeing the boy’s red eyes and nose, he chuckled. “Even back then, I thought you looked like a little white rabbit, and you look even more like one when you cry.”
“What…”
An Qingyan’s cheeks flushed slightly. He felt there was another meaning to Gu Fei’s words. The last time the man gave him a Big White Rabbit candy, he also said his eyes turned red when he cried, like a little rabbit.
An Qingyan: “You wouldn’t have liked me back then, would you?”
Gu Fei: “…”
“Do you think Ge Fei is that perverted?” The man curled his slender fingers, helplessly tapping the boy’s forehead. “You were only eight years old then, just a little brother.”
Gu Fei had always been this way since childhood, disliking being close to people, preferring to be alone in quiet places doing his own thing. Until one quiet afternoon, he discovered a child hiding in the shadows watching him.
At that time, he thought the child was quite annoying, but also quite well-behaved. He was wearing ill-fitting, faded clothes, and he carefully took a plum candy from his pocket and slipped it into Gu Fei’s palm.
Gu Fei was an only child, with no siblings.
At the time, he thought the child looked thin and small, somewhat pitiful, but also very well-behaved and cute, so he treated him like a younger brother.
He occasionally talked to the child and gave him some snacks. Every time, the child would be very happy, his dark, bright eyes smiling into crescents.
They only knew each other for less than two months, until Gu Fei went abroad, and they completely lost contact.
Time flies; so many years have passed.
For Gu Fei, the child Lin Qingyan was just a passerby in his life, insignificant. But occasionally when he browsed through photo albums, he would remember that child with smiling eyes.
Until a few months ago, when they met again.
Nineteen-year-old Lin Qingyan was still wearing faded clothes. When he smiled, his dark and clear peach blossom eyes were still curved, and he was still just as well-behaved.
He was sitting alone on the roadside eating a bun, his thin figure looking particularly pitiful and helpless.
Gu Fei wasn’t a great philanthropist; he wouldn’t casually take a homeless stranger home. But he recognized the child he knew when he was younger, and he felt compassion at the time.
Keeping one more person at home wasn’t a problem for Gu Ye, but later, things took an unexpected turn. He couldn’t control his feelings; he had fallen in love.
Eight-year-old Lin Qingyan was just an insignificant passerby in Gu Fei’s life, but nineteen-year-old An Qingyan… he was the first, and probably the only one, Gu Fei had ever fallen for.
…
“Ge Fei, thank you for remembering me, and thank you for bringing me home.”
An Qingyan’s eyes were wet. He hugged the man’s waist, leaning against his chest, his soft voice slightly choked.
It turned out their fate had begun eleven years ago.
“I really didn’t expect…” The man’s deep, sharp eyes contained a faint trace of love, softening his sharp facial lines. “Yan Yan is so easily tricked, daring to go home with a stranger.”
An Qingyan: “He wasn’t a stranger.”
Gu Fei, I knew you in my past life.
Gu Fei: “What if you’re tricked by someone else in the future?”
An Qingyan: “I’m very smart; I’ll only be tricked by you.”
Gu Fei: “Good.”
—
That afternoon, Gu Fei flew out of town on a business trip.
An Qingyan returned home with a heavy heart.
The traces of his tears hadn’t faded, his eyes still red, which An Jing happened to see. His older brother was heartbroken but didn’t know what to say.
His brother could only frantically hint: “Yan Yan, everything should be in moderation, you know?”
An Qingyan’s face instantly flushed red, and could only stammer a “yes.” He inadvertently saw the bite marks on his older brother’s forearm and immediately changed the subject: “Big brother, what happened to that bite mark? Who bit you?”
An Jing: “This… a wild dog bit me.”
“Really?” This clearly looked like a human bite mark. An Qingyan sized up his older brother’s expression, sensing gossip. “Which wild dog is so powerful?”
“Your good friend, that kid surnamed Lu.” An Jing didn’t pretend anymore. He sat down on the sofa, picked up an apple from the fruit bowl, and took a bite, a crisp crunch.
“Wasn’t it a celebration banquet last night? Lu Yuqi got drunk as a skunk. I kindly sent him back, and he, in return, vomited all over me and bit me!”
“Look at this bite mark; it hasn’t faded even after a night.”
“Not only that, he kept calling me an old fart. I don’t know how I offended him. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s your friend, I would’ve thrown him on the street to freeze!”
An Jing took another big bite of the apple, continuing to crunch, as if he were chewing on Lu Yuqi.
“…” An Qingyan twitched his lips. He didn’t expect Yuqi to be so aggressive when drunk. Looking at his older brother’s gritted teeth, he felt something was wrong between them.
He could only explain for his friend, “Yuqi isn’t usually like this. He was drunk; he definitely didn’t know what he was doing. Big brother, you’re a big man; don’t hold it against him.”
“Should you treat your hand injury?”
An Jing shook his head. “No need, it’s fine.”
He was just complaining, not really wanting to hold it against Lu Yuqi. Why would he argue with a nineteen-year-old? It would make him seem petty.
That little rascal even dared to call him an old fart, tsk…
An Qingyan asked again, “Big brother, did you and Yuqi have some kind of conflict?”
“Conflict?” An Jing leaned back on the sofa with relaxed posture, his legs crossed casually. He narrowed his eyes, pondering, really unable to think of any conflict with that kid.
“Just two months ago, I made him clean the practice room. Other than that, I really can’t think of anything else that would’ve offended him.”
“I see…” An Qingyan was also confused.
He didn’t know what to do, so he comforted his brother and explained for his friend. After chatting for a while, he went back to his room and called Lu Yuqi.
On the other side, in the dormitory, Lu Yuqi had just woken up. His head still ached slightly; he couldn’t remember how he got back last night. He vaguely remembered An Jing seemed to be beside him.
“Yuqi, I heard you got drunk last night. How are you feeling now?” An Qingyan asked with concern.
“Okay, what do you want?”
“Can’t I call you if I don’t need anything?” An Qingyan’s voice had a hint of amusement, and a bit of gossip. “Honestly, what’s the situation between you and my brother?”
“What situation?” Lu Yuqi frowned in confusion, his head still aching. He talked on the phone while packing his luggage; he had to go home today.
“Did you black out?”
“My brother sent you back last night.”
“What?” Lu Yuqi stopped packing. An Qingyan briefly told him what he did to An Jing last night. He blinked blankly.
“You mean my brother sent me back last night? I not only vomited all over him, but I also cursed at him and bit him?”
Actually, it wasn’t just that. An Jing had omitted some things he hadn’t told An Qingyan, such as Lu Yuqi kissing him and then crying aggrievedly. He had spent a long time comforting him.
An Qingyan asked, “So, what exactly is going on between you and my brother?”
“…” Lu Yuqi swallowed, his tense face looking unnatural. He snorted, “What situation could there be? Unless you think I like him?”
“I don’t like older men.”
An Qingyan: “…”
If he remembered correctly, his brother was two months younger than Gu Fei. Twenty-seven wasn’t old. Ge Fei wasn’t old either; even if he was an older man, it wouldn’t matter.
He smirked, “Oh, I quite like older men.”
Lu Yuqi: “…”
The smile on An Qingyan’s face deepened, like a little fox. “Yuqi, I didn’t ask if you liked my brother, did I? You don’t need to explain so quickly.”
Lu Yuqi: “…”
It seemed An Qingyan had learned bad things from his cousin.
“I still need to pack my luggage; I’ll talk later.”
“Okay, let’s get together sometime?”
“Yeah, we’ll talk then. Bye.”
Lu Yuqi hung up quickly, feeling irritated. What the hell happened? What exactly did he do to An Jing? Why did he black out at this time!
Damn it!
On the other side, after ending the call, An Qingyan temporarily put that aside. His own matters weren’t resolved yet. What happened later? Why didn’t he have the memory of meeting Gu Fei when he was little?
He took out the yellowed diary and carefully read the events recorded in it. He thought that older brother didn’t exist, but it turned out to be Gu Fei.
It’s great…
Knowing it was Gu Fei, he reread the diary, his feelings were different. Images seemed to appear in his mind.
He also brought back the digital camera and looked at the Ultraman sticker again. It looked much better now because he had put it there.
He carefully examined each photo.
Young Gu Fei was like this. He had also been a part of Gu Fei’s past, but unfortunately he didn’t remember.
Perhaps… Zhou YueLan knew something.