Chapter Eighty-Two

In truth, when Huang Feifan made this decision yesterday, his heart was in turmoil. Lately, he had noticed that his mother seemed to have a new romantic interest. Because of his presence, she had been hesitant to bring the man home to meet him. Huang Feifan understood that as long as he remained, his mother would not find happiness. For her sake, he chose to move out and live with Zhang Yi, despite the exhaustion it brought him.

With conviction, Huang Feifan answered Zhang Yi, "I've made up my mind. This is my choice. For my mother's lifelong happiness, I believe what I'm doing is right. I won't go back until the day she gets married and the man she loves acknowledges me. If things turn out badly, I'll stay here with you and never leave."

Zhang Yi tried to persuade him otherwise, not because he didn't want Huang Feifan to stay, but because he knew that no mother would want her child to be out on his own. "But if you do this, how sad will your mom be? What if the man she likes betrays her? What if he's a scoundrel who toys with her feelings, or sees her as a cash machine and keeps asking her for money—would you want that?"

Huang Feifan nodded, already resolute. "I trust my mother's judgment. If things truly go as you say, I'll rush back at once. Besides, for my mother's sake, I won't date anyone."

Zhang Yi couldn't help but laugh. "What do you mean, not date? I bet your life will be a mess if you don't. Think carefully! If you ever do start dating, you owe me a meal. Don’t break your own vow!"

Huang Feifan soon shook off the gloom that had been weighing him down. Chatting with Zhang Yi brought him laughter, making him forget his earlier troubles. Meanwhile, Wang Tianqi and her two companions, whom Zhang Yi had just sent away, were anything but happy. Zhang Yi had refused to let them apologize to Huang Feifan, so they had no choice but to leave for the hospital—Chen Siyu had caught her hand in the door.

Zhang Yi cared little for what happened to them. After all, they had humiliated Huang Feifan; could such an injury possibly make up for what they’d done to him? Only time could heal those wounds.

Lin Zimo sighed. "I didn't think Huang Feifan would reject us so strongly. It seems apologizing to him is impossible. We'll have to explain everything to Zhang Yi—maybe then he'll let us in to see him."

Wang Tianqi huffed, "Maybe he’s just sulking and scared to see us. He just wants to go against us."

Siyu was displeased with Wang Tianqi’s attitude. "Can you stop already? When will you let go of that spoiled princess air? I wasn’t happy before, either—like when you called Yuli deaf. How could you be so unreasonable? You only changed your attitude when apologizing to her, but your words now show you're the same as before: blaming others at the first sign of trouble. No wonder Zhang Yi wouldn’t let us in; there's nothing to say if you won't reflect on your mistakes."

Lin Zimo also thought Wang Tianqi’s words were too much. "Siyu is right. With that attitude, it would be rude to see him. The problem is with you, Wang Tianqi. Like Siyu said, if you set aside that princess persona, things might change. If you were sincere, maybe Huang Feifan would agree to see us—and maybe Siyu wouldn't have hurt her hand in the door."

Hearing all this, Wang Tianqi was indignant. "Why is everything my fault? We all came together, didn't we? Why blame me for all the problems? What exactly is your motive?"

Her domineering air surfaced again. Having said all they could, the others didn't want to argue further.

"Let's calm down for now," Lin Zimo said. "Tianqi, go home and think about where you went wrong. Siyu and I will reflect on our own faults as well. I'll take Siyu to the hospital to get her hand checked." With that, she flagged down a taxi, and she and Siyu left, leaving Wang Tianqi alone and in a foul mood. Why did she deserve this? Fuming, she headed home.

Zhang Yi's parents were glad to have Huang Feifan stay with them. When they learned he had moved out of his own home, Zhang Yi's mother, out of sympathy, took him in, saying that Zhang Yi often seemed bored and that having Huang Feifan around might bring him some joy.

Huang Feifan squeezed into Zhang Yi’s room, sharing the bed. Zhang Yi didn’t mind—they were both grown men, after all. There was no romance, only the sparks of camaraderie.

After preparing dinner, Zhang Yi’s parents had to leave for work before even taking a bite. They rarely came home, and this visit was only to welcome Huang Feifan. Zhang Yi was used to this kind of life. After eating, he tidied up and washed the dishes. Not wanting Zhang Yi to work so hard, Huang Feifan helped him with the chores.

Once everything was done, they prepared to bathe. Out of courtesy, Zhang Yi let Huang Feifan go first, though before he entered, Zhang Yi joked, "Save some hot water for me—don’t use it all up."

Huang Feifan laughed. It was the height of summer, after all—who needed a hot shower? He always bathed in cold water during summer, but perhaps Zhang Yi needed hot water for his health; after all, his body couldn’t withstand the cold. Last time, when they went out searching for Li Li, Zhang Yi nearly got frostbite on his right arm.

As Huang Feifan showered, something amusing happened. Zhang Yi was on the sofa playing games on his phone when the bathroom door opened and Huang Feifan poked his head out, looking embarrassed. "Uh, I forgot to bring my underwear in. Could you grab a pair from my suitcase?"

Anyone else would have done the same. Zhang Yi got up, went to the room, and rummaged through Huang Feifan’s suitcase. It took about a minute. When he found the underwear, its color and pattern caught his eye.

"White, with an elephant design. Feifan, are you still a kid?" Zhang Yi muttered to himself, out of earshot of Huang Feifan. It wasn’t worth teasing him over; after all, lending such trust was a sign of friendship.

He knocked on the bathroom door. Huang Feifan opened it a crack, snatched the underwear, and a few seconds later, a cry of dismay came from inside. Zhang Yi rushed over.

"What happened, Feifan?" he asked.

"Um... did you—why did you grab this pair?" Huang Feifan was referring to the underwear with the elephant design. Zhang Yi could only smile wryly. "My friend, it was the only normal pair I could find. The others... I just couldn't bear to look at, so I picked this one."

In that one minute, Zhang Yi had also spotted something odd—a pink item mixed in among the clothes. He realized that, in his haste, Huang Feifan had probably stuffed one of his mother’s undergarments into his suitcase by mistake. The thought made Zhang Yi want to laugh and cry at once.

He coughed. "There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. The heavens know, you know, and I know—only the two of us. Who else would find out? Just treat this place like home and relax."

"All right, then." Hearing this, Huang Feifan settled down, and soon the sound of running water resumed. Though he had officially moved in, Zhang Yi could tell he was still anxious on his behalf.

About half an hour later, Huang Feifan emerged from the bathroom in a bathrobe. Zhang Yi looked up and noticed that his hair seemed longer than usual—was it a trick of the light? Even stranger, his chest looked different; in Zhang Yi’s memory, Huang Feifan had never looked like this. There was also a distinct blush on his face, and Zhang Yi was sure it wasn’t from the heat of the shower. Those two patches of red made Huang Feifan look almost like a girl.

Unable to resist, Zhang Yi asked, "Feifan, why do you look so much like a girl after your shower? Are you secretly dressing as a woman?"

The question startled Huang Feifan, but he tried to appear nonchalant. "No! Even my mother says I look like a girl after a shower. As for my chest, that's all muscle from working out—don’t confuse me with a girl." With that, he closed the door to Zhang Yi’s room behind him. Though Zhang Yi remained puzzled, he had no time to dwell on it. He figured he’d learn the answer eventually, and went to take his own shower.