FIO CH26

Chapter 26: Do You Like Me?

The warm orange-white light shone brightly in the alpha’s eyes, which sparkled vividly. Within just two seconds, his previously relaxed brows slightly furrowed, and his smiling eyes took on a hint of doubt, “What’s wrong with you?”

Lu Fangchi looked bewildered, lost in a daze and unresponsive.

Zhou Zheng licked his lips and reached out to feel the temperature of Lu Fangchi’s hand, which was as cold as ice, “Is it really that cold outside? I should have brought gloves.”

Lu Fangchi didn’t reply, his nose tip tinged red, and his face seemed absent-minded.

Haven’t you said you wouldn’t be here for a few days? How come you’re back so suddenly? Recalling Lu Fangchi’s unusual behavior during the day, Zhou Zheng guessed that he might have had a disagreement with his family and decided to keep his doubts to himself.

The alpha cupped Lu Fangchi’s hands with both of his, rubbing them vigorously, and then raised them to his mouth to blow on them, trying to warm them up faster.

Lu Fangchi’s pupils were unfocused and he remained unresponsive, lost in his thoughts. Seeing this, Zhou Zheng took the liberty of slipping Lu Fangchi’s hands into his pockets and led him towards the sofa.

Lu Fangchi allowed Zhou Zheng to pull him into the house and sat on the sofa, blinking his eyes. His gaze fell on the alpha’s hands playing with his own. At first, Zhou Zheng warmed them up, and then he began to gently caress them with his thumb, as if holding his most cherished treasure.

After about three or four minutes, Zhou Zheng paused his actions, suddenly remembering something and clicked his tongue in realization. Reluctantly, he let go of Lu Fangchi’s hands and got up to head towards the kitchen.

Zhou Zheng was serving dumplings; he hadn’t eaten yet.

He carried the bowl of dumplings out of the kitchen and placed it on the dining table. Just as he was about to call out to Lu Fangchi to come and eat, the young man got up first, walked over to the table, and sat down, saying, “I’ll eat too.”

“Ah, oh,” Zhou Zheng seemed to just realize, “You eat first, I’ll go cook another bowl.”

As he turned to leave, his wrist was grabbed. Zhou Zheng turned his head and saw Lu Fangchi staring straight at him, saying, “Eat together. You cook another batch, and then we’ll share.” It wasn’t much, but for some reason, it felt like he was acting coquettish.

Oh, okay, Zhou Zheng nodded, “Then I’ll go get another bowl.”

Lu Fangchi let go of his hand and sat up straight.

Zhou Zheng quickly went back to the kitchen, turned on the stove, and threw the dumplings into the pot. He then came back out with a bowl and chopsticks.

Sitting opposite Lu Fangchi, he divided the dumplings while observing him out of the corner of his eye. Lu Fangchi seemed back to normal now, his eyes had regained their luster, but his face still showed no emotional fluctuations, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or sad.

After dividing the dumplings, Zhou Zheng pushed the bowl back in front of Lu Fangchi. Lu Fangchi glanced down and estimated there were about a dozen. Zhou Zheng’s bowl had far fewer, probably only half as many.

Lu Fangchi picked up his chopsticks, took a bite after blowing on it twice, and found it delicious, with a rich filling that burst with flavor when bitten.

“How is it?” Zhou Zheng asked.

“Delicious,” Lu Fangchi nodded.

“That’s good,” Zhou Zheng popped a dumpling into his mouth, blew on it a couple of times after being slightly burned, and then said, “I made them myself. There are still plenty left, all frozen in the freezer. When I don’t have time and you’re too lazy to cook, just take them out and boil them. It’s convenient.”

No wonder they tasted different from the frozen dumplings he had bought before. Lu Fangchi looked at Zhou Zheng, who was eating dumplings across from him. He looked up and met Lu Fangchi’s gaze, urging, “Eat quickly, there’s more to come.”

Lu Fangchi pinched his chopsticks and nodded, feeling as if a hand was playing with his heart, turning it over and over.

Lu Fangchi frowned and reached out to stop the bowl, “I don’t want any more.”

“Have a few more. Didn’t you say they were delicious?” Zhou Zheng coaxed with a full mouth.

No matter how delicious they were, he couldn’t keep eating like a pig being fed. Zhou Zheng cooked about fifty more in the second batch. Lu Fangchi looked at him and said, “I’ll eat at most ten more.”

Zhou Zheng counted and saw there were still about thirty left. He opened his mouth to persuade further.

Lu Fangchi frowned in protest, “Including what I’ve already eaten, today’s intake has far exceeded the limit. I can’t eat another one.”

Alright, that was true. Zhou Zheng gave in and poured the remaining dumplings into his own bowl.

The result was that both of them were extremely full.

Zhou Zheng popped digestive tablets into his mouth one by one, crunching them like candy, making a loud, satisfying sound.

Lu Fangchi couldn’t help but remind him, “Don’t end up with diarrhea later.”

“Oh,” Zhou Zheng stopped, reached out and patted his stomach, “Damn it, I’ve eaten away my abs.”

Lu Fangchi pressed his lips together, thinking what a fool.

The alpha got up and started pacing back and forth in the room, doing a kind of race-walking exercise, “Gotta manage my figure, gotta manage my figure…”

After two minutes, he gave up and sat back on the sofa, leaning his head back with a look of utter despair, “My stomach hurts.”

Lu Fangchi shifted to the side and said sarcastically, “If you move around after eating so much, whose stomach wouldn’t hurt? Stop fussing and lie down for a while.” He patted the empty spot beside him.

Zhou Zheng lay down as suggested, feeling that Lu Fangchi seemed quite different today. He tentatively rested his head on Lu Fangchi’s lap.

Not daring to press down too hard, Zhou Zheng thoughtfully said, “I’m too tall, there’s not enough room to lie down.”

Lu Fangchi didn’t expose him and simply hummed in response.

With permission granted, Zhou Zheng finally relaxed, rubbed his head against Lu Fangchi’s lap, and turned to watch TV.

The TV was filled with laughter and chatter. Lu Fangchi looked down at Zhou Zheng, whose head was resting on his lap. His occiput was quite round, and his hair was getting a bit long; it was time for a trim.

He must have seen something funny because he laughed heartily, his eyes crinkling, and his legs moved slightly with the motion.

A subtle feeling welled up inside Lu Fangchi, as if something was about to break through the surface. What was it?

He frowned slightly in contemplation, trying to grasp the answer to this emotion. Just as he caught a thread of it, the head on his lap shifted, and their gazes met. “How about we go set off fireworks?” The alpha’s eyes sparkled.

“Fireworks are banned,” Lu Fangchi reminded.

“I know,” Zhou Zheng quickly sat up, reached into the drawer of the coffee table, and pulled out a long, thin stick. “Sparklers are fine.”

Lu Fangchi took it and glanced at it. He was familiar with these; when lit, they would emit countless tiny sparks that could be played with in hand, posing no real danger. Usually, it was little girls who loved to play with them, while more mischievous boys found them too boring.

Meeting Zhou Zheng’s expectant eyes, Lu Fangchi relented. After all, he was still a “little kid” who loved to swing on the swings.

“Alright,” Lu Fangchi nodded, lifting his chin in agreement.

Zhou Zheng’s face lit up with excitement. He rushed to the closet to change his clothes and, as they were about to leave, wrapped a scarf around Lu Fangchi, covering him so that only his beautiful, bright eyes were visible. He even tried to put gloves on him.

Lu Fangchi pulled back his hands, “This isn’t necessary, is it?”

“Why not? Your hands were freezing like ice when you came back. You don’t want to get chilblains, do you?” Zhou Zheng reached out to catch his hands.

“Gloves would make it hard to set off fireworks,” Lu Fangchi moved his hands behind his back. “I can just put them in my pockets.”

Zhou Zheng paused, then threw the gloves onto a chair and, without hesitation, tucked Lu Fangchi’s hands into his own coat pocket.

Lu Fangchi looked up at the alpha, puzzled. He had meant to put his hands in his own pockets. The warmth from the hand-to-hand contact was too comforting to pull away. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Lu Fangchi gave in, thinking it was fine.

For some reason, tonight he just wanted to indulge in every whim and allow all actions to unfold naturally.

As they entered the elevator and descended one floor, the doors opened to reveal a mother and her child. The little boy, about four or five years old, had big, grape-like eyes that he turned to Zhou Zheng and Lu Fangchi, observing them for a while before looking up at his mother and asking, “Why does this uncle’s hand have to be in the other uncle’s pocket? Doesn’t he have his own pockets?”

Lu Fangchi’s face heated up, and he tried to pull his hand back. It didn’t budge. He glanced at Zhou Zheng, whose lips were tightly pursed and whose earlobes were flushed red. He was embarrassed but refused to let go.

The mother quickly covered the child’s mouth, apologized with a smile to Lu Fangchi and Zhou Zheng, and whispered to the little boy, “Because the uncles are in love.”

In love? Lu Fangchi was taken aback.

Zhou Zheng led Lu Fangchi downstairs to find an open space, took out the sparkler, and lit it. The crackling, orange-red flames danced before their eyes.

Lu Fangchi twirled the sparkler in his hand, swung it a couple of times, and watched as it traced arcs of light with each movement, creating a beautiful display. He had never done this before; no one had taken him to play with fireworks when he was young, and as an adult, he hadn’t felt the need. He never imagined that his first time setting off fireworks would be with Zhou Zheng.

The firelight of the sparkler reflected in Lu Fangchi’s eyes, and he realized that he and Zhou Zheng had shared several firsts. The first time at the amusement park, his performance in the haunted house was still vivid in his mind, and in the end, he had to pay over a thousand for it. That video was still saved in his phone’s photo album.

Lu Fangchi’s eyes crinkled, and he let out a soft laugh.

Hearing this, Zhou Zheng nudged him with his shoulder, “Isn’t it pretty?”

Lu Fangchi glanced at him. In the dim light with the sparkler’s glow, Zhou Zheng’s handsome face looked even more striking.

No wonder everyone said fireworks were romantic.

Lu Fangchi’s mouth moved, but suddenly a “bang” sounded in front of him. A burst of fire shot up into the sky, exploded, and blossomed into golden dandelions, their sparks scattering to the ground.

Someone was setting off fireworks secretly.

Even though it was banned, every year there were always a few daredevils who went ahead with it.

One by one, the fireballs ascended and burst, and the emotions that had been flowing in Lu Fangchi’s heart all night poured out at this moment.

“Zhou Zheng,” Lu Fangchi’s voice was drowned out by the fireworks.

Zhou Zheng didn’t hear clearly and tilted his face, lowering his head and responding with a “Hm?” Fireworks continued to soar and burst behind him, creating brilliant and dazzling bouquets before fading away.

The fireworks had burned out.

Lu Fangchi met Zhou Zheng’s gaze, feeling his heart pound more noticeably after the fireworks’ conclusion.

He heard himself ask, “Do you like me?”

Zhou Zheng’s eyes blinked rapidly, as if he hadn’t expected Lu Fangchi to suddenly say that. He licked his lips and, with a hint of embarrassment, admitted, “Yes.”

As if a floodgate had opened, Zhou Zheng’s eyes were sincere as he repeated, “I like you.”

This gaze was too intense. Lu Fangchi averted his eyes to the left, seemingly casually saying, “Then give it a try.”

“Huh?” Zhou Zheng was confused.

Lu Fangchi beckoned with his hand.

Zhou Zheng lowered his head, assuming a listening posture.

Lu Fangchi reached out, placed his hand on the back of Zhou Zheng’s neck, and gently pressed down.

Zhou Zheng’s eyes widened, his pupils constricted, as he incredulously felt the softness between their lips, closely observing the small mole on Lu Fangchi’s nose tip and the warm, moist breath between them.

Zhou Zheng felt his head grow dizzy, and for a moment, he lost control of his body. All his senses were jumbled and scattered inside his skull.

Zhou Zheng’s breathing grew more and more rapid, his face flushed, and he struggled to catch his breath.

Lu Fangchi’s voice was hoarse: “Breathe, take a breath.”

Oh, breathe, take a breath.

Breathe, take a breath.

Breathe, take a breath.

… No way.

Seeing Zhou Zheng about to suffocate himself, Lu Fangchi let go and lightly scolded, “Fool.”