MFW 29

Chapter 29

Fu Siting finally fell asleep. In his dream, he returned to the Ferris wheel beneath the fireworks from the night before. But in this dream, it wasn’t him begging Li Fei for a kiss. Instead, Li Fei gently cupped his face: “Xiaoting is a good boy. You shouldn’t just agree to strange requests from strange brothers.”

“But since Brother has looked after you for days and really likes you, can I have a kiss?”

“…”

He could have agreed. He wanted to kiss him too. Yet inexplicably, the dream version of him stubbornly refused. Finally pinned down on the sofa by Li Fei, he didn’t even realize how the scene had shifted from the Ferris wheel back to their home. All he knew was being dragged by his legs back onto the bed.

Li Fei asked him, “Don’t want to kiss? Do you hate me, Xiaoting?”

“…”

How could that be? His emotions were tangled, and he gritted his teeth, muttering, “I don’t hate you.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“You can kiss me.”

“…”

There was no response from the other side, so he murmured again, “I’ll let you kiss me.”

Li Fei’s lips were thin, yet softer than he’d imagined. After a few fleeting kisses, Fu Siting had only ever stolen kisses from cold posters before, he finally tasted the real Li Fei. It was completely different. Lost in these hazy thoughts, he felt a sudden chill on his waist.

Li Fei held his waist, abruptly flipped him over and pinned him down, prying open his mouth. Everything that followed instantly surpassed his comprehension. His mind went completely blank, leaving no room for even instinctive response. The scorching, tangled breaths, the mingling saliva, the suggestive sounds, it all swept over him like a storm, overturning his entire understanding of kissing in an instant.

He was soon kissed into a daze, his entire body trembling. The sensation was unbearably pleasurable, yet agonizingly uncomfortable. He’d never known kissing could be… like this. So satisfying. No wonder those fleeting kisses before had always felt insufficient, even when touched, he’d still craved more. So this was what it took to feel complete. Yet as the kiss deepened, he found it still wasn’t enough.

His body had become unbearably restless, agitated, and… Suddenly, the surroundings changed again. One moment they were on the bed; the next, they were in the living room. Twilight flowed outside, starlight reflecting off the silver piano in the room. It was Li Fei’s piano. Fu Siting had seen photos of Li Fei in a gray tailcoat seated at it in a magazine long ago.

He looked like a prince beside that piano. In truth, Fu Siting had been secretly thinking these past few days that he absolutely had to find a proper moment to ask Li Fei to play a piece for him. Then, with dusk and lamplight, music flowing… He had wanted such a pure scene. But in the dream, he was the one pressing Li Fei, half-undressed, against the piano!

Fu Siting’s mind was about to explode. The hands in his dream seemed beyond his conscious control, driven solely by desire. Like a ravenous vampire, he sank his teeth into Li Fei’s neck. He nibbled gently, leaving rows of tiny marks, while his restless hands urgently sought entry beneath the fabric.

“Fu Siting…”

Li Fei’s rimless glasses were crooked from the rough handling.

He cursed impatiently, “Stop biting! Are you a dog?”

Perhaps he was. The dream version of himself was restless. Only when he finally tore open Li Fei’s shirt and his fingers abruptly touched the vivid rose tattoo on his chest did he pause slightly.

It was a small rose, yet sixteen-year-old Fu Siting had never seen it before. All these days, Li Fei’s pajamas had exposed some of his chest, but never this far outward. It seemed to be over his heart. Looking closely, beneath the rose lay a distinctly uneven ring of gruesome scars. Fu Siting’s fingertips brushed against them.

When had this injury happened? He didn’t know. All he knew was that in his dream, he had bent down and kissed that scar.

“Does it still hurt?”

“No.”

Even though Li Fei said it didn’t, the dream version of him kept kissing it. Like a devout pilgrim, he repeatedly kissed, refusing to let go.

…

When Fu Siting woke up, his fever had finally broken significantly.

Li Fei had been dutifully keeping vigil. Seeing him awake, he said, “Good timing. It’s time for your second fever-reducing pill.”

Fu Siting grabbed him, refusing to let go.

“I want to see,” he croaked, his fingertips struggling to reach the zipper of his one-piece cat shark pajamas. “On your chest… is there… a rose tattoo?”

“You mean this?” Li Fei nodded and pulled open the pajamas without hesitation. The vivid rose from the dream appeared before Fu Siting’s eyes. It was real. The texture felt exactly like in his dream.

Fu Siting’s fingers trembled. “How… did you get this? When did you get injured?”

“Two years ago.”

Li Fei gazed at him tenderly, a smile playing in his dark eyes. “Fu Xiaoting, you can even remember this now.”

“…”

Fu Siting was dazed for a moment, a shiver running down his spine. Then his heart began to pound. Two years ago.

But why would sixteen-year-old Fu Siting dream of events from two years ago… things Fu Siting, who should only know them after turning twenty-six, would know? His fingers slowly traced the rose tattoo as his mind buzzed incessantly.

How could he explain this? It couldn’t be that he’d suddenly gained the ability to foresee the future, that was far too fantastical. The only plausible explanation was that his subconscious had always held all the memories of his adult self.

Which meant… Which meant he hadn’t time-traveled at all? He was simply suffering temporary amnesia? Fu Siting turned his gaze toward Li Fei, who simply returned his stare with his usual smile.

In that instant, it dawned on him, he’d always believed his happiness was stolen from the twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting, consumed by silent jealousy that had warped his very being.

But perhaps.

Perhaps it was just his amnesia making him act foolishly. And Li Fei had always recognized his lover completely. After all, this world couldn’t possibly have something as absurd as time travel. He must have genuinely lost his memory, suffering from cognitive dissonance and mental confusion these past few days. But even in his abnormal state, he looked adorably silly in Li Fei’s eyes.

“…”

This must be the truth behind everything.

The storm that raged during the harsh winter of his sixteenth year had long since ceased. No matter how dark and chaotic it had been, how the cold front had howled, he had refused to give up, gritting his teeth and surviving through those days.

He had grown up successfully, and his life had gradually found its proper course. Now, at last, the skies had cleared. He could finally stand on his own two feet, build a career with his own hands, and meet the best person in the world.Though the bitter sorrows and hardships of the past still occasionally resurfaced, causing a dull ache, they were ultimately… “over.”

And now, outside the window, the sun shone brightly. It was midsummer, lush with green trees. His future life would be… filled with blossoming grass and singing birds, with endless, warm summers stretching on. In this boundless warmth, amidst the cicadas’ song.

…

Fu Siting asked Li Fei for the USB drive Yin Yihao had given him long ago. But the moment he asked, he realized it was unnecessary. After all, he couldn’t believe that at twenty-eight, Fu Siting, who had meticulously decorated five walls at home with photo collages, wouldn’t have stored countless archives of his proposal on his phone. As expected, it was there.

Fu Siting couldn’t wait to see it. He’d been playing the role of Xiao Fu for ten days, that was enough. He wanted to revisit the memories, to quickly transform back into the mature lover Li Fei adored, to stop making a fool of himself here. He’d never forget how Li Fei had teased him last night, calling him innocent, calling him clumsy, saying he didn’t even know how to kiss.

Fu Siting, at twenty-eight, could play the piano, yet he couldn’t even kiss?! Smack. The phone was snatched away. Li Fei pushed him back onto the pillow.

“Stop messing around! You’re not fully recovered yet. No screens. Or you’ll get dizzy once you’re better.”

“…”

Fu Siting couldn’t resist, yet he was impatient. When Li Fei fed him the fever medicine, he couldn’t help but give Li Fei’s fingertip a tiny bite to show his displeasure.

“Just sleep,” Li Fei ignored him, tucking the blanket around him without further ado.

“Even when you’re better, you’re not allowed to look at those things.”

“…”

“I might only have Fu Xiaoting for a little over ten days in this lifetime. I want to take good care of him properly. Why are you in such a rush to revert to the original version?”

“…………”

The fever medicine definitely had a hypnotic effect. Within minutes, Fu Siting’s eyelids grew heavy. Half-asleep, he silently mused that his life was somewhat absurd.

When he believed himself to be the sixteen-year-old Fu Siting who had traveled through time, he spent every day feeling inadequate compared to his twenty-eight-year-old self, constantly breaking down over it.

But now, having confirmed he was likely the amnesiac 28-year-old Fu Siting, he resented Li Fei for wanting to keep the younger Fu Siting longer. So was the 28-year-old Fu Siting being rejected now? Did he prefer the sixteen-year-old version?

After Fu Siting slipped back into sleep, his dream shifted to a bright, luxurious jewelry store. Soft lights illuminated the glass display cases. On a velvet tray sat a small square box crafted from deep brown walnut wood. Li Fei said, “Open it.” He could hear his own heartbeat. A small light on the box lid illuminated the soft white silk cushion inside as he opened it, revealing two exquisite rings resting upon it.

Fu Siting’s voice suddenly grew hoarse: “It’s the little fox and the rose…”

Both rings featured a blend of platinum and gold bands, their colors harmonizing perfectly, clearly a pair.

One was distinctly shaped like a naturally flowing fox, its long tail artfully curved to form the ring band.

The other appeared simpler at first glance, yet closer inspection revealed intricate thorned rose patterns carved along its sides. The delicate matte finish lent the ring an understated, luxurious weight. Li Fei’s long fingers picked up the fox ring. “Here, try it on, darling.”

The fox ring fit Fu Siting perfectly, like a playful little fox curled around his finger. Li Fei slipped the rose ring onto his own finger. “Using your favorite, The Little Prince, for our wedding rings, are you satisfied?”

“…”

Satisfied? Of course he was, beyond measure.

But perhaps at twenty-eight, he had truly grown spoiled by affection. In that moment, he gazed at Li Fei with a dazed, dreamlike expression. His heart was jumping with joy, he shouldn’t be nitpicking at a time like this.

But… the little fox and the Little Prince could be a pair. The Little Prince could also be a pair with the rose. Yet this matching set featured the little fox and the rose.

How…Rivals turned lovers?

Li Fei nearly choked on laughter at his “rivals turned lovers” remark.

“It’s like this, darling,” he patiently explained to Fu Siting, “You see yourself as the little fox, and I’m your little prince. But when I’m the little prince, I see you as my rose.”

“That’s why we chose the little fox and the rose.”

“…”

“…”

Outside the shop, neon lights flickered. Li Fei smiled at him, cupping his face to keep his slightly flushed eyes from looking away.

“Fu Siting, we’re getting married.”

“But have I ever said it enough?”

“Thank you for choosing to love me.”

“Have I ever told you…I’m truly happy that twenty-two-year-old Fu Siting crossed paths with me. I’m also happy that twenty-five-year-old Fu Siting chose to be with me. And I’m especially happy that twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting accepted my proposal. To me, this is the greatest honor.”

“Thank you for giving the ghost ship at sea a harbor to dock in.”

“…”

He was the one who should be thanking Li Fei. Thanking Li Fei for choosing to love him, for Li Fei choosing to spend a lifetime with him.

That, to him, was the greatest honor. And also. Thank you for giving sixteen-year-old Fu Xiaoting happiness. For letting him glimpse a corner of the dazzling starry sky at the end of the darkness. Two hands, intertwined with matching rings, stepped out of the jewelry store as Beijing’s winter welcomed its first heavy snowfall of the year.

The flakes drifted down like cotton, settling softly in their palms. Fu Siting recalled the winters back home in that obscure midwestern city, they too brought heavy snow. Yet it differed slightly from Beijing’s snow. The snow in his hometown fell like a layer of fine salt crystals upon the ground. Unlike Beijing’s snow, which always held a fluffy, cloud-like texture. He turned to speak to Li Fei.

Yet in the vast expanse of snow, he suddenly found himself alone. Li Fei had vanished, the jewelry store had vanished, and nothing remained around him but a sea of white. Overwhelming happiness had faded like a graceful curtain call. Fu Siting faintly heard someone calling his name. Kan Baiyun exclaimed with delight, “Principal! Come see! Doesn’t it seem like Fu Siting has awakened?”

His heart skipped a beat. But the next second, Li Fei’s familiar voice echoed in his ears: “Fu Siting, Fu Siting, wake up.”

They say princes in fairy tales wield magic. Perhaps this moment was the prince’s magical barrier, rescuing the commoner boy back into the fairy tale once more.

Fu Siting opened his eyes. Li Fei’s warm hand was gently rubbing his chest: Breathe, Fu Xiaoting. Breathe properly!”

“…”

In that instant, he fell silent, as if he’d just survived a catastrophe. His breathing gradually steadied, but his entire back felt icy cold. He noticed he was drenched in cold sweat. Li Fei noticed too, peeling off his sweat-soaked pajamas and replacing them with dry ones. Fu Siting wanted to cooperate, but found he couldn’t move.

“Why do you have nightmares so easily, my darling? What did you dream about this time?”

His body felt as if pinned down by a thousand-pound boulder, unable to shift even a fingertip. The only part of him that seemed to move were his eyes. Perhaps the despair in his gaze at that moment was too palpable, for a flicker of heartache crossed Li Fei’s eyes: “Fu Xiaoting, what’s wrong? Snap out of it.”

Li Fei’s white shirt carried a faint citrus scent today. His skin felt warm, his embrace strong. Every sensation was so real, so reassuring. Yet even as Fu Siting was held tightly against his chest, his head resting against that steady, powerful heartbeat, he still desperately smelled the increasingly heavy scent of hospital disinfectant. The voices of Teacher Kan and the doctors grew louder and louder, more and more chaotic.

***

Author’s Note: If any plot points seem like they might have a logical flaw, rest assured that by the end, you’ll see they don’t.

This chapter might appear flawed to readers who focus on strict logic, but it isn’t. Don’t worry, though Xiaoting’s life is full of heartache, his relationship with his wife is sweet throughout the entire story.