To make sure Fang Ya'er body was occupied by someone else, the next step was to extract the soul.
They were under the camera lenses the whole day, and the male and female dormitories were separated at night. The only opportunity for action was during the evening.
However, as soon as the afternoon recording was over, and the sun had not yet set, Fu Mingye pulled Qi Baicha away: "Take you out to eat."
Qi Baicha said: "I still have something—"
"Is it more important than me?" Fu Mingye looked back at him.
He looked very calm, and if Qi Baicha said he had something important to do, he would agree understandingly.
It was just that he would be very unhappy, very unhappy.
"..." Qi Baicha said, "Nevermind."
Between family and work, he chose the former.
It didn't matter if he went on strike for a day. If he let Mr. Fu, who had already been jealous once, start sulking again, he was afraid that this guy would be so angry he would suffer from insomnia the whole night.
Fu Mingye instantly showed a happy smile: "Let's go."
———
They came to the most lively street of food vendors in S City's Xicheng District. The sky was dark by the time they got off the bus. The day had just ended, and the people's nightlife had also just begun. The street was bustling with crowds of people, vendors on both sides yelling and shouting, rich fragrances of various foods and thick smoke flooding the air.
They had been here before. When the two first started dating, Fu Mingye brought him to every corner of S City to eat. This entire street of food vendors would of course not be let off either. However this place was too far from home, and there were so many things they could eat throughout the whole city, so they didn't come often.
Fu Mingye was still wearing a school uniform and a black baseball cap. He was full of youthfulness and unruliness, like an actual high school student. On the other hand, Qi Baicha had a slender body, with a temperament of gentleness that had precipitated over the years, looking quite sophisticated.
Like a pair of brothers. Qi Baicha was the elder brother and Fu Mingye was the younger brother.
t/n: not literally...
"What do you want to eat?" Fu Mingye asked.
Qi Baicha thought about it for a while: "The skewers from last time."
Last time they came, he had even disdained it for being unhygienic. Fu Mingye had bought a large amount of skewers to share with him. Qi Baicha loved cleanliness, and couldn't bear to hold the greasy bamboo skewers in his hand. Eating it would get oil all over his mouth, so he had politely declined.
Fu Mingye forcefully stuffed a bunch of skewers into his hands: "Just take a bite."
Qi Baicha looked at his hands that had instantly become greasy: "..." There was an urge to kill.
His hands had already gotten dirty, and he had to wash them anyway, so he frowned and took a bite.
Then — so fragrant.
Even now, he was still thinking about that taste.
"Okay, I'll just buy five beef skewers and two squid skewers. Do you want rice cakes? Let's add another skewer of rice cakes..." Fu Mingye took Qi Baicha's body into consideration, "You're not allowed to eat a lot of fried food. Eat a little bit of something else to pad your stomach."
"Talk less nonsense, go buy it." Qi Baicha lightly pushed him.
He sat alone on a plastic stool under a huge parasol to wait, watching Fu Mingye squeeze into the crowd to buy skewers.
Mr. Fu was definitely the most down-to-earth rich man in China; no one could compare.
He could wear a suit and leather shoes, go to a high-end restaurant, eat food fit for feasts and drink red wine, not wait in line and instead directly clear the whole advance, invite the most popular band to come over and play the violin to liven things up, and negotiate billions of dollars worth of business at the table. He could also wear vests and flip-flops, squeeze into a crowd and scramble to order, eat skewers worth ten something dollars with him in an open-air venue, and would be as unrestrained and casual as always.
Of course, this was just an analogy. Fu Mingye wasn't actually wearing a vest and flip-flops right now.
Qi Baicha took out his phone, quietly taking a photo of Fu Mingye's side profile.
His lips curled slightly as he looked at the newest photo, swiping his finger and looking through photos albums from the past.
There were countless photos in Qi Baicha's album, which occupied several gigabytes of memory, most of them of Fu Mingye.
He had no other interests or hobbies. At a certain point in life, interest toward anything would fade away; now, he only loved one person.
He recorded all of his and Mr. Fu's precious bits and pieces, saving them into a photo album, that becoming the most precious and important part of his phone, as well as his life.
Them snuggling under the stars to watch a meteor shower, going tandem bungee jumping, building sandcastles on the beach, kissing on the top of snowy mountains, hugging under the sea... They had traveled to many places before, and every place was extremely beautiful, leaving him unforgettable memories. But what he had more of, was their ordinary and warm daily life.
Mr. Fu with a face of disbelief after causing an explosion in the kitchen for the first time, Mr. Fu with a head of fried hair nestled on the couch watching TV and eating snacks, Mr. Fu sitting in front of the computer working hard, Mr. Fu who wasn't awake in the morning and had sunlight from outside the window enveloping his sleeping face...
They were all recorded by him.
translated by sno + posted on https://sites.google.com/view/xuehuatls/ameg, please do not aggregate!
Qi Baicha never looked through Fu Mingye's phone. If he looked through it, then he would know: Mr. Fu's photo album was also full of him.
Each one was of Qi Baicha; all, all of them were of him.
Qi Baicha had flipped through a few pictures, when a piece of entertainment news suddenly appeared at the top of his phone.
The title was capitalized, bold, and eye-catching — Surprise! The national goddess Fang Ya'er appeared in a mansion in the middle of the night...
He never cared about these entertainment news push notifications, but after seeing Fang Ya'er's name, Qi Baicha still clicked in.
The article's main idea was that Fang Ya'er was photographed late at night entering and leaving a mansion, suspected of having 'unspoken rules' used on her. The article even had two photos attached. One photo was of the back of a woman who was in a hurry. It could only be seen that it was the middle of the night, as the sky was a patch of black paint. She didn't notice that there were people sneakily taking photos behind her back, and she walked toward a luxurious villa that had its lights on.
The other photo captured a clear photo of her face, confirming that it was, without a doubt, Fang Ya'er. She was wearing the same dress, the same pair of high heels, and the exact same accessories — these stars would rarely let the same outfit appear twice; every day they had to keep the glamour of not repeating their outfits.
Qi Baicha noticed that the background of the second photo was near his home.
According to the news, the time this photo was taken just happened to be the night Mr. Fu went out to buy him dinner.
But Mr. Fu didn't mention this to him, and, thinking back on it, he hadn't actually encountered Fang Ya'er.
He saved the two pictures.
The soul in Fang Ya'er's body did not belong to any spirit, demon, ghost, or demon, otherwise he wouldn't not be able to see it. Ordinary souls couldn't take over another person's body, so there definitely was something else behind that person who was helping.
It was necessary to investigate and understand the whereabouts of "Fang Ya'er" in these past few days.
His photo album was so precious; it was his and Mr. Fu's two person world. Qi Baicha was a little unwilling to suddenly stuff in an outsider and use up storage.
He'd delete it when this was over.
Fu Mingye walked over with a bunch of fragrant skewers, and also brought over two cans of soda.
Qi Baicha immediately put down his phone.
Fu Mingye opened the two cans of soda with one hand, put one can in front of Qi Baicha, picked up the other bottle, and took a big sip.
He tilted his neck back, his movements casual, the Adam's apple on his neck extra sexy.
"Eat it while it's hot." Fu Mingye handed him a few skewers.
Qi Baicha placed his hand below Fu Mingye's, gently and lightly taking a bite.
"It's not as fragrant if you eat it like this." Fu Mingye said, "These pieces of beef are so small, they should be eaten in one bite. Here, just like me." He bit off two beef skewers in one bite, the bamboo skewers instantly becoming clean.
His lips were also stained with oil.
Qi Baicha's mysophobia immediately flared up, so he drew a napkin and gave it to him: "Hurry up and wipe it off."
"I haven't finished eating yet, later I'll..." Before Fu Mingye finished his words, Qi Baicha straightforwardly reached out to help him wipe his mouth clean.
"Go rinse your mouth later, you're not allowed to kiss me before cleaning up." Qi Baicha threw the napkin into the trash can.
Fu Mingye: "... Okay." Master Wife loves cleanliness too much, but I'm a rough man, what should I do?
The two of them sat there and slowly finished — or, Fu Mingye waited for Qi Baicha to slowly finish.
Qi Baicha really ate too slowly. Fu Mingye had taken care of his entire share, and also drank all of his soda, while Qi Baicha had just leisurely finished his first skewer...
Fu Mingye said: "Mr. Qi, let me tell you a story."
"Speak."
"Once upon a time, there was a little turtle and a little snail. The turtle was called White Tea, and the snail was called Black Tea. Which one do you think ate slower?"
Qi Baicha looked at him: "You are insinuating me, I can hear it."
No matter which one Chacha was, this man with last name Fu was mocking him.
"Obviously you're the one who ate too fast." Qi Baicha said, "You don't want to wait anymore?"
Fu Mingye looked at him with his cheek in his hand, indulgent and helpless: "I'll wait."
Only then did Qi Baicha continue to eat, but this time he moved slightly faster.
Fu Mingye took out his phone to take a photo of him, posted it onto his Moments, captioning it "my little turtle," set it to "only visible to Chacha," and clicked the publish button.
t/n: moments is like instagram, posting a pic + caption
The young man in the photo looked soft under the warm light. He was born cold and graceful, but his behavior while sitting at a roadside stall was extremely down-to-earth. This kind of contrast fell into Fu Mingye's eyes, forming a capitalized "cute."
Qi Baicha glanced at his behavior, immediately picked up his phone, opened his Moments, and saw the one sent by Fu Mingye.
My little turtle.
Little turtle...
You're the little turtle, your whole family's all turtles!
No, wait, it seemed like he'd also scolded himself...
Boring, childish, elementary-schooler behavior.
Qi Baicha's eating speed was slow, but his typing speed was very fast. A nine-photo-grid was quickly posted onto his Moments, set "only visible to husband," and published decisively.
Fu Mingye opened it and took a look, raising his eyebrows.
translated by sno + posted on https://sites.google.com/view/xuehuatls/ameg, please do not aggregate!
The picture sent by Qi Baicha was also just taken. He was wearing a high school uniform and squeezed in front of the booth. His profile was young and beautiful in the light and shadow, like a student returning home from school to buy snacks.
The caption was also three words.
— My little student.
Fu Mingye replied: Your little student is so handsome.
... Shameless.
Qi Baicha glared at the man opposite him, lowering his head and continuing to send messages.
Qi Baicha: It's a pity he has a mouth.
He could only say shameless things.
Fu Mingye replied: How would I kiss the little turtle without a mouth? My little turtle loves being shy, whenever I say I want to kiss it, it just retracts into its shell.
"... Mr. Fu." Qi Baicha put the black screen of his phone onto the table, expressionless, "We don't need phones to communicate if we're face to face, do we."
Fu Mingye also put down his phone, laughing so hard he was almost out of breath.
Qi Baicha had a momentary thought of picking up his phone and using it as a brick to smash at him.
"I only said that the little turtle loves being shy." Fu Mingye took a long while to return to normal, still carrying laughter, "Retracting into the shell just from this? Mr. Qi's actually so cooperative with me."
Qi Baicha stared at him coldly: "In your dreams."
"But you don't dare to kiss me."
"You didn't rinse your mouth."
"That's just an excuse."
Qi Baicha suddenly got up, grabbed Fu Mingye's arm, and pulled him into a dark corner.
Upon seeing that posture, Fu Mingye thought that he was going to be beaten.
He said, "Go easy on me... hiss."
Qi Baicha pressed him against the wall and kissed him.
The greasy taste in his mouth had not gone away; there was a little bit of the taste of grilled meat, and the taste of lemon soda.
They breathed quietly.
All was quiet, except for their hearts beating like drums.
After a long time, Fu Mingye spoke.
"Chacha, aren't you mysophobic?"
"..."
"You didn't dislike it?"
"..."
"Or, you loving to be clean was a lie?" Fu Mingye asked with a smile.
"No." Qi Baicha quickly turned around and walked back to his seat, heat rushing toward his face. He immersed himself into the hustle and bustle outside again, breaking free from the silence from earlier.
His frantic heartbeat gradually calmed down. He closed his eyes.
Loving cleanliness isn't a lie, but loving you is a more real truth.