PTBLSI chapter 8

 

Qi Xi subconsciously tugged at the hem of his clothes. He didn’t actually understand what Fu Yanchuan meant, but Fu Yanchuan’s aggressive aura made him nervous. His voice trembled as he replied, “I called you before. You—you said I could borrow your clothes.”

Fu Yanchuan’s gaze carefully traced Qi Xi’s face. It was a similar outline to Qiao Ye’s, yet his eyes and voice were completely different.

Qi Xi shrank back again and softly called him, “Brother Yan.”

He had never thought of himself as a good person. His peripheral vision slid along Qi Xi’s face, slowly moving downward. His clothes didn’t fit him at all—the collar wasn’t buttoned all the way up, exposing his collarbone and part of his chest. The silky material moved slightly, outlining the contours of his body.

At the bottom of the shirt, a faint, indistinct outline showed through. He abruptly pulled his gaze back and fixed it on Qi Xi’s eyes. He asked coldly, “Qi Xi, do you really not understand, or are you pretending?”

Qi Xi’s mind didn’t work quickly to begin with. Being stared at like this by Fu Yanchuan made him slower to react. Following Fu Yanchuan’s line of sight, he glanced downward and understood a little.

His legs awkwardly came together on the spot. Using his free hand, he tugged at the hem again and replied, “I—I couldn’t find suitable pants. Yours are all too big.”

Fu Yanchuan kept staring at Qi Xi until he was clearly scared, his eyes darting around like an innocent puppy. Only then did Fu Yanchuan soften his voice, saying, “Go to sleep. Just pretend I didn’t come back.”

Qi Xi subconsciously took a half step back, then suddenly stepped forward again. He asked in confusion, “Why? Aren’t you already back?”

“Go to sleep.”

Fu Yanchuan ordered forcefully. Qi Xi widened his eyes and wanted to mention the contract again, but Fu Yanchuan’s gaze made him instinctively say nothing. He nodded obediently.

Back in his room, the orange cat immediately came over. Qi Xi picked the cat up and sat on the bed, still thinking about what Fu Yanchuan had said earlier. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly had an epiphany. He muttered to himself, “Dasheng, was Brother Yan thinking about doing ‘that’ with me?”

The orange cat lifted its face. “Meow?”

“He must have been angry because I’m too stupid. Isn’t the reason he found a stand-in because he wants to do that with him?”

Qi Xi immediately put the cat down and said, “Dasheng, be good and sleep in the room. I’m going to fulfill my duty as a stand-in.”

Qi Xi’s understanding of a stand-in’s duties was very shallow—just doing this and that with someone who looked like the white moonlight.

When he reached Fu Yanchuan’s door, he recalled scenes from comics and went to knock.

Actually, the comics he usually read were quite proper. He hadn’t read many of those kinds of comics. nor he had read them seriously. Because everything was censored, he didn’t really understand the details anyway, but Fu Yanchuan surely would.

However, after knocking several times, there was no response from inside. He tentatively turned the doorknob, not expecting it to open.

“Brother Yan?”

Qi Xi called through the crack of the door but still got no response. He stuck his head inside and finally heard running water from the bathroom. After hesitating for two seconds, he went in, sat on the corner of Fu Yanchuan’s bed, and waited, clutching the hem of his clothes.

Fu Yanchuan’s shower took quite a long time. Qi Xi waited until he started yawning, and then the bathroom door finally opened. Fu Yanchuan was wearing only a bath towel. The moment he saw Qi Xi, he froze in the doorway.

Qi Xi had just finished yawning and his eyes were half-closed. He spoke in a tone that made it sound as if they had already been living together for a long time. “You finally came out.”

“What are you doing here?”

Fu Yanchuan tightened the towel around his waist and walked toward Qi Xi.

A single yawn made Qi Xi forget all the comedic scenes he had just recalled. When he lifted his head, his gaze swept over Fu Yanchuan’s muscles, rising and falling, then settled on Fu Yanchuan’s face as he looking down at him.

He didn’t know how to describe how he felt at that moment. Fu Yanchuan must be a good person, yet right now, his figure felt like a net closing in on Qi Xi. The way he looked at him made Qi Xi feel inexplicably afraid. He instinctively shrank back, propping his hands behind him. The movement pulled the shirt up, exposing his lower body. He subconsciously bent his legs to hide.

But he still remembered why he had come. Meeting Fu Yanchuan’s aggressive gaze, he swallowed, extended the leg he had drawn up in front of him, and hooked it around Fu Yanchuan’s towel. He whispered, “I came to fulfill my duty as a stand-in. Didn’t you want to do that with me just now?”

Fu Yanchuan looked down at him from above, his gaze intense. Under his gaze, Qi Xi was like a little white mouse that could be manipulated at will.

He bent down closer. Qi Xi retreated until he had nowhere left to go, ending up lying on the bed. Fu Yanchuan knelt on the bed with one knee, bracing one hand beside Qi Xi’s ear and pinning him down completely.

Then, with his other hand, he pinched Qi Xi’s chin and asked, “Qi Xi, do you really think I’m a good person?”

“You…aren’t you?”

Qi Xi wasn’t so sure anymore. Fu Yanchuan continued, “You should pray that I am a good person.”

“I believe you’re a good person.”

Fu Yanchuan smiled. Qi Xi thought he looked very good when he smiled. Looking back on everything that had happened since they met, Qi Xi was finally convinced that Fu Yanchuan was a good person.

Since he had agreed to be Fu Yanchuan’s stand-in, he had to please him. So, tentatively, he raised his hands and hesitantly touched Fu Yanchuan’s neck before finally hooking his arms around it. Nervous beyond measure yet forcing himself to sound calm, Qi Xi said, “Brother Yan, it’s my first time. I’m a bit nervous. Teach me how to be like him. I’ll learn properly.”

Fu Yanchuan frowned, tracing Qi Xi’s face with his gaze over and over. “You can’t learn to be like him.”

“Why?”

The hand pinching Qi Xi’s chin tightened suddenly. Qi Xi felt uncomfortable and shrank back a little. Fu Yanchuan followed him, staring straight into his beautiful peach-blossom eyes, and said, “He’s smarter than you. He’s more unrestrained. He does whatever he wants.”

Qi Xi didn’t understand. Besides being smart, are being unrestrained and doing whatever you want also advantages? Why was Fu Yanchuan speaking badly about the person he liked?

Worried, he asked, “If I’m not as bad as him, will you not want me as a stand-in?”

Fu Yanchuan’s hand slid from Qi Xi’s chin to his neck. Qi Xi’s neck was slender, as if it could snap easily. He pressed his thumb lightly against Qi Xi’s Adam’s apple and looked into his beautiful, bewitching peach-blossom eyes. “Qi Xi, don’t regret it.”

“Why would I regret it?”

Qi Xi tightened his arms around Fu Yanchuan and pressed himself against his chest. Suddenly, Fu Yanchuan forced him back onto the bed, and then he came down on top of him, pressing heavily. His eyes seemed to stretch out, sweeping across Qi Xi’s face.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re very pretty?”

Fu Yanchuan suddenly asked. Qi Xi’s face instantly turned red, the corners of his eyes flushing an especially enticing shade of red. Before he could answer, Fu Yanchuan brushed his fingertip over his lips and kissed the corner of his mouth.

In an instant, Qi Xi started panting, his breathing rapid.

Fu Yanchuan immediately pulled back. “What’s wrong with you?”

Qi Xi’s mouth was slightly open. His breathing was short and rapid. His heart raced, and his limbs were stiff, as if he’d lost all sensation.

Fu Yanchuan immediately got off the bed to grab his phone. Qi Xi’s eyes followed him, and he called out weakly once. Fu Yanchuan turned back. “What is it?”

“When I get nervous, I become like this. Give me a plastic bag.”

“Hyperventilation syndrome?”[mfn]Hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) a condition where a person breathes too fast or too deeply, usually without a physical lung problem, often triggered by anxiety, stress, panic, or strong emotions.[/mfn]

Qi Xi nodded. Fu Yanchuan had encountered a client with this condition before, but there had never been plastic bags in his room. Without hesitation, he covered Qi Xi’s mouth and nose with both hands. His palms formed a hollow that held just enough air for Qi Xi to breathe out.

After more than ten minutes, Qi Xi’s breathing finally steadied. Still maintaining the original position, Fu Yanchuan softly asked, “Is it better?”

“Mm.”

A few more minutes passed. Qi Xi pulled Fu Yanchuan’s hands away. His palms were damp from Qi Xi’s breath. He grabbed his hand and wiped it with his sleeve, then grinned. “Brother Yan, your stand-in almost disappeared.”

“And you’re still smiling.”

Fu Yanchuan finally got up from on top of Qi Xi. Only then did he realize their situation. The bath towel had been pulled open by his legs, and he had almost been sitting directly on Qi Xi’s stomach.

He stood by the bed with a blank face and pulled the blanket over Qi Xi. “I’ll get dressed and take you to the hospital.”

Qi Xi’s head was still a little dizzy. When Fu Yanchuan returned with a pair of sports pants that were still far too big for Qi Xi and tossed them beside him, he said, “Put these on first.”

Qi Xi blurted out, “Aren’t we doing that anymore?”

“What else do you want to do?”

Qi Xi didn’t actually want to do anything. He was just afraid that Fu Yanchuan would think he was a useless stand-in and not want him anymore. Fu Yanchuan shot him an unhappy glare. Qi Xi felt as if he could already see himself hugging Qi Tian Dasheng and ending up on the streets the next day. He hurriedly got up and grabbed Fu Yanchuan’s sleeve.

“Brother Yan, this time it was because I had no experience. I won’t be this nervous next time. I promise I won’t be like this again.”

“Qi Xi.”

Fu Yanchuan suddenly flared up. “Do you have any sense of shame? How can you say things like this to a man you just met yesterday?”

Qi Xi was scolded into confusion. He stared blankly at Fu Yanchuan. “Why are you angry? Weren’t you the one who wanted me as a stand-in? Didn’t you find me as a stand-in because you wanted to sleep with me? Otherwise, what did you want me to be a stand-in for?”

Fu Yanchuan turned his gaze away. After calming down, he told Qi Xi, “Put on your pants. We’re going to the hospital.”

Qi Xi suddenly shrank back and wrapped himself in the blanket. “I’m not going. I’m angry, too! You’re the one who found me as a stand-in, and now you’re calling me shameless? Isn’t it even more shameful for you to find a stand-in in the first place? The contract says you can’t dislike me—you agreed to it!”

The room fell into a soundless silence for a long while. Fu Yanchuan looked at Qi Xi. “I’m not disliking you. I’m just not as upright and honorable as you think. You’re living in my place, so I’ll take responsibility for you. Come with me to the hospital for a checkup. I won’t feel at ease until I know everything is okay. Okay?”

This was the longest Fu Yanchuan had spoken to him so far. Looking into his eyes, which no longer felt so terrifying, Qi Xi nodded. He picked up the pants beside him, slowly put them on, and got out of bed. “Let’s go!”

But as soon as he stepped forward, his body went limp, and he collapsed.

Fu Yanchuan reacted quickly and caught him. Qi Xi looked at him and said, “My legs are still numb. I can’t feel them.”

After a moment of silence, he used one arm to pick Qi Xi up and hoist him over his shoulder.

Qi Xi’s emotions faded as quickly as they came. He immediately started struggling in dissatisfaction. “In comics, it’s always a princess carry. Do you even know how to find a stand-in?”

Fu Yanchuan ignored Qi Xi. Qi Xi suddenly stopped struggling. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Brother Yan, can you carry me on your back? When I was little, I really wanted my dad to carry me. I even wanted to sit on his shoulders, but he never agreed. Can you let me sit on your shoulders?”

The elevator went straight down. Fu Yanchuan took Qi Xi to the garage and threw him into the passenger seat. Finally, he said, “I’m not your dad.”

Qi Xi giggled, grabbed his coat, and said in a spoiled tone, “Then can you be my brother? Just once—carry me once.”

“Fasten your seatbelt.”

Fu Yanchuan pulled his clothes back from Qi Xi’s grip, stepped away, and gently closed the car door.

 

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