ABMSI Chapter 47

Looking at Fu Duqiu sitting across from him, Duan Wei’s slightly drunken mind suddenly sobered quite a bit.

He could tell that although Fu Duqiu looked no different from usual on the surface, underneath that calm exterior was a turbulence like dark tides. Duan Wei paused, set the wine glass in his hand aside, and quietly watched him.

“I lived in Shunqing City until I was eight,” Fu Duqiu lowered his gaze, staring at the wine glass before him where the light rippled across its surface, “Back then, my parents hadn’t divorced yet.”

Hearing that, Duan Wei recalled the folder he’d seen on Old Qin’s desk with Fu Duqiu’s information, and nodded.

“My parents were together from childhood—elementary school all the way to university. They knew each other better than anyone. My mom came from a good family, so when they were preparing to get married, almost everyone opposed it.”
Fu Duqiu paused a moment, then continued, “Later they got married, but years later they divorced. At that time, there was a law requiring a one-year waiting period before a divorce could go through, so the whole process dragged on until I was over nine before it was finalized.”

Duan Wei listened and nodded, thinking Fu Duqiu might tell the whole backstory like they do in dramas. Who would’ve thought he’d sum it up in one flat sentence with no rise or fall in tone.

He paused, then cautiously asked, “So… you left Shunqing after they divorced?”

“No. It was after they filed for divorce. My mom couldn’t stand staying there, so she took me and left,” Fu Duqiu shook his head.

Hearing this, Duan Wei nodded and let out a long “oh,” resting his chin on the bottle’s mouth. He didn’t know what to say—just stared silently at the table. He never knew how to comfort people, much less something as heavy as family matters.

And the other party looked like he didn’t need comforting anyway. After speaking, he simply lifted his glass and sipped, expression mild, as though he felt nothing.

Duan Wei clinked his glass against Fu Duqiu’s and, in an attempt to lighten the mood, boldly declared, “Come on! We’re drinking till we drop tonight!”

“You sure you can drink with me?” Fu Duqiu raised an eyebrow, amused. “Maybe don’t.”

“What, looking down on me? I can drink plenty.”
Duan Wei refilled his glass, then tipped his head back and gulped it down. A thought suddenly struck him, and he added, “Since you lived in Shunqing for so many years, how come I’ve never seen you before?”

The moment he said it, he remembered—everything he knew after entering this book came from the novel’s “present timeline.” He only learned bits of Fu Duqiu’s past from scattered mentions, much less anything from his childhood.

But just as his words fell, a faint ripple finally crossed Fu Duqiu’s expressionless face. He stared at Duan Wei, hesitating like he wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.
“Don’t know. Maybe we did meet,” he said.

“Maybe. Our families lived pretty close—maybe we really did,” Duan Wei said, unfazed.

“…Mm.”
Fu Duqiu hummed absentmindedly.

After a few drinks, drowsiness began settling in for Duan Wei. Still, out of brotherly commitment carved deep into his bones, he kept drinking with Fu Duqiu for a long time.

Eventually, when his legs were too weak to stand, he finally set his glass down, waving both hands. “I’m done, I’m done…”

Seeing him mumbling drunkenly in his chair, Fu Duqiu stood, took his phone from his bag, and went to the counter to pay. When he turned around, he saw that at some point Duan Wei had gotten up and was clutching the plastic door curtain at the entrance; his steps were so unsteady he nearly pitched forward.

Fu Duqiu rushed over in a few strides, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him. “Where are you trying to go?”

“I… I wanna go home.”
After saying that, Duan Wei even hiccupped from the alcohol.

Hearing this, Fu Duqiu let out a small laugh. After supporting Duan Wei, he grabbed his own backpack from the chair. But as soon as he took a few steps, he felt the phone inside Duan Wei’s backpack vibrating nonstop.

He glanced at the barely conscious Duan Wei, then took the phone out. The screen showed a call from Duan Wei’s mother.

After a moment of hesitation, Fu Duqiu slid to answer.

“You little brat! So you DO know how to pick up the phone, huh? If you’ve got the guts, don’t come home at all tonight! Look at you—so grown now you think you’ve got wings and can fly? Look at—what—TIME—it—is—RIGHT—NOW?!”

The moment the call connected, a near-screaming voice blasted from the other end.

Even calm, stoic Fu Duqiu frowned and held the phone farther away, but the ear-drilling voice kept going, only getting louder and more chaotic.

After a moment, Fu Duqiu spoke politely into the phone:
“Auntie, this is Fu Duqiu.”

The scolding suddenly stopped.
The surroundings fell silent — so quiet you could practically hear the leaves rustling in the wind.

Just as Fu Duqiu thought she had hung up, Qiao Ying’s voice sounded again:
“Oh—so it’s little Fu! Hahaha! Is Duan Wei with you now? Am I disturbing you two? Sorry about that…”

“……”

Gentle. Considerate. A model mother.
Qiao Ying’s tone flipped so fast it felt like the shrieking banshee from a second ago had just been Fu Duqiu’s hallucination.

Fu Duqiu paused, then said,
“Yes, Auntie, he’s with me right now. He’s had a little to drink. I’ll take him home immediately.”

“Oh, oh, good good. No rush, be safe on the road,” Qiao Ying said agreeably before hanging up.

Duan’s father looked up from his newspaper, already guessing about eighty or ninety percent of it.
“He’s with that classmate of his?”

“Mm-hmm.”
Qiao Ying put her phone back on the table, smiling like an auntie matchmaking someone’s marriage.

“……”
Having been married for so many years, Father Duan naturally understood what was going on in that woman’s head.
“Our kid is an Omega. He’s hanging around with an Alpha so late at night. How are you not at all worried?”

“What do you know?” Qiao Ying shot him a glare — an expression that basically meant you’re hopeless, then added with heartfelt frustration,
“Even if I were worried, it’d be pointless. Little Fu probably wouldn’t even look at our son.”

“???”
Hearing that, Father Duan forgot all about arguing the previous point. His face was full of disbelief.
“Our son is handsome, good physique, tall — how would he NOT be interested?”

Qiao Ying turned her head, frowned, and said,
“Height means nothing. Which Omega isn’t soft and delicate? Our son’s thick-skinned and tough like leather. He’s not the type people find cute. He acts just like you — a total straight dude.”

“Why am I suddenly getting dragged into this? How am I straight?” Father Duan exploded, beard practically standing on end.

“Remember the first gift you ever gave me when we started dating? A green padded winter jacket! Covered in yellow, purple, and red little flowers — I still remember it!”
Qiao Ying continued,
“And your son is just like you! On my birthday, he brought me a fluorescent-colored carnation with my name carved into it. I was just soooo… moved!”

No man enjoys hearing his partner dredge up ancient history; Father Duan was no exception.
He rubbed his forehead in pain and changed the subject:
“But I think our son’s pretty great. Little Fu might not even be good enough for Duan Wei!”

“What are we betting on!?”
Qiao Ying couldn’t be bothered to argue further and cut straight to the point:
“Year-end bonus?”

Even though the Duan couple were only in their forties, they both held fairly high positions at work; their year-end bonuses were hefty.
Father Duan clearly hesitated when he heard the amount at stake, then closed his eyes and gritted out,
“fine. Year-end bonus!”

“Deal!”

—

Meanwhile, Fu Duqiu was practically carrying the weaving, swaying Duan Wei.
Drunk Duan Wei was exactly the same as he had been at winter camp — he couldn’t sit still.
Touching here, poking there, and then plopping himself right down in the middle of the walkway.
Fu Duqiu spent ages coaxing him before managing to drag him upright again.

“I’m tellin’ you… hic…”
Duan Wei hiccupped as he leaned on Fu Duqiu,
“Next time your dad comes, you tell me. That guy only fears strength. I’ll ask Xiao Yan to beat him up a few more times — see if he still dares to show up.”

He spoke while slinging an arm around Fu Duqiu’s shoulders like a seasoned bro giving life advice.
But he was so drunk that his words were slurred,
and paired with his bold claims, the whole thing came off strangely cute and ferocious — like a baby tiger trying to roar.

Fu Duqiu couldn’t help laughing, nodding along while tightly holding Duan Wei’s hand so he wouldn’t suddenly face-plant.
After drinking, Duan Wei completely forgot to restrain his pheromones,
so waves of citrus-sweet orange scent kept spilling out from him.

The lights flickered, the air was humid,
and that sweetness added a subtle warmth to the quiet night.
Fu Duqiu turned to look at Duan Wei,
and Duan Wei must have sensed his gaze — he looked back.

Under the dim glow, they stared at each other.
Duan Wei smiled at him, wide-open and defenseless.
And for some reason, the next words sprang from his lips:

“From now on, I’ll protect you.
No one will ever bully you.”

Time suddenly rewound.
Fu Duqiu’s steps halted; his eyes widened slowly.
Countless memories surged up —
he saw two figures overlapping in front of him:
one, a child of eight or nine;
the other, the Duan Wei standing here now.

Their silhouettes melded, and behind them, countless scenes flickered by.
Time scraped itself across the images like fractured glass,
everything freezing at that moment.

“I’ll protect you from now on.
No one is allowed to bully you.”

A childhood summer opened like a curtain beneath that little boy’s vow.

Fu Duqiu looked at the Duan Wei before him,
smiled faintly,
and answered softly.