MFW 15

It was dusk when they arrived home. 

The sunset that day was more magnificent than ever before. The clouds were like burning flames, ranging from light orange to deep orange, then to purple and vibrant crimson, piling up in vast expanses, creating a breathtaking panorama of colors. 

Fu Siting had never seen such a low, so awe-inspiring sky. 

He was in a daze the whole way, letting Li Fei lead him by the hand until they reached the front door.

“Do you like it?” Li Fei said, “You can see even better from the floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs.” 

The huge floor-to-ceiling windows upstairs faced the sunset. 

But Fu Siting hadn’t expected that beyond the crimson sunset, beyond the woods, green fields, and lakes, he could vaguely see a fairytale-like castle and a Ferris wheel. 

He suddenly remembered Li Fei saying that their place was very close to Disneyland. 

Could that be…? 

“Yes, it is.” 

Li Fei smiled, looking down. Golden Oak, where they lived, was a private residential area designed by Disney, surrounded by lakes and golf courses, offering a very open view. So even though it was only on the third floor, the view was quite far. 

He sat down beside him: “Fu Xiaoting, want to come closer?” 

“…” 

Fu Siting leaned closer. 

He quietly leaned against Li Fei, watching the intense orange and crimson of the sky gradually dilute, fade, and dim, losing its clear outline, like a grand yet sorrowful curtain call. 

The evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, the world was quiet and peaceful. 

Li Fei suddenly lowered his head, getting so close he could easily bite him, and asked, “Is something on your mind?” 

“…” 

“You’ve been a little down since last night. Why? Can you tell me?” 

Night fell, and Fu Siting lowered his eyes quietly. 

It was as if by remaining silent, he could easily gloss over everything. 

“Fu Siting.” 

Li Fei cupped his face, bringing his nose close to force him to look at him. 

Fu Siting didn’t want to look at him. 

Li Fei was too clever and too mature, always able to easily see through all his hidden thoughts. 

But… 

But sixteen-year-old Fu Siting already had nothing left. 

His body and life were a mess, his dignity long gone. Fortunately, Li Fei hadn’t seen him like that. He’d rather be trampled by fate in the shadows than be stripped naked and humiliated before his only true love. 

For the first time, he resisted. 

He grabbed Li Fei’s wrist, trying to break free. 

But Li Fei gave him no chance to escape. He forcefully wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling Fu Siting tightly into his embrace without a word. 

He held him like that for a while, until he stopped resisting, until he gradually relaxed, until he resigned himself to his fate and leaned against that warm embrace, completely losing all resistance. 

Only then did he coax him gently: “Fu Xiaoting, I have a question for you.” 

“…” 

“It’s been four days. What do you think of me?” 

“I want to know, what does sixteen-year-old Fu Siting think of twenty-eight-year-old Li Fei?” 

Fu Siting opened his mouth, his voice very soft. 

“Hmm?” Li Fei chuckled. “Say it again, I didn’t hear you.” 

“…” 

“Very good,” the person in his arms said softly, “Twenty-eight-year-old Li Fei is very, very good.” 

“Then,” Li Fei asked him, “Aren’t you happy being with someone as good as me, Fu Xiaoting?” 

After a while, Li Fei realized that the person in his arms was shaking his head. 

Like a puppy rubbing against him. As the night sky and starlight rose, he lowered his eyes, his heart softening. 

“Since you’re happy together, if there’s anything that makes you sad, you can tell me.” 

“…” 

“Are you homesick?” 

The person in his arms shook his head. 

“Then, are you feeling uneasy? Not used to it here?” 

He shook his head again. 

“Did I do something wrong?”

He shook his head vigorously. 

“It’s okay, Fu Xiaoting,” he stroked the soft hair at the back of his neck, “Your brother Li Fei is very patient, you can ask one by one. It’s okay if you ask until dawn tomorrow.” 

The sky was full of stars, and Li Fei felt the strength in his arms tighten around his waist. 

He lowered his eyes and waited silently. 

“…” 

“I’m not him.” 

After a long pause, the person in his arms said in a muffled voice, “I’m not the twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting, and I don’t even know…”

“……” 

“I don’t even know how to become him.” 

The twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting had everything: he was cheerful, ran a company, went skiing, designed games, and was good at everything. 

But the sixteen-year-old Fu Siting was penniless, withdrawn, and gloomy. 

No one would like the sixteen-year-old Fu Siting. He shouldn’t have appeared in front of Li Fei in the first place, fantasizing about coveting so much tenderness and indulgence that didn’t belong to him . 

The best Li Fei should only look at the best twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting, not at this sixteen-year-old boy who was completely unpretentious, real, naked, and embarrassing. 

“…” 

But even these were lies. 

The sixteen-year-old Fu Siting wasn’t so clean either. He was willing to steal, willing to rob, and willing to lie. If that would allow him to completely snatch everything he shouldn’t have from his future self. 

Li Fei was silent, then hugged him tightly. 

See, sixteen years old actually has its advantages. Being young, others won’t assume he’s a deep and scheming person. 

He never imagined he would learn such a short-sighted approach so quickly. Like damp vines, he clung to the only tree, frantically drawing in air and warmth. 

As for the pain of losing it, a hundredfold or a thousandfold, he’d worry about that later. He didn’t want to care now. 

Gentle fingers softly stroked his back. 

“I’m sorry,” Li Fei said softly, “I didn’t know you were thinking these things.” 

“It’s my fault.”

“I always thought you’d regain your memories soon, and I never truly understood your feelings.” 

“Fu Xiaoting, to me, you are you. Whether you’re sixteen or twenty-eight, whatever your circumstances, what you remember or forget, it doesn’t really matter.” 

“…” 

“But, if you don’t like me like this, then starting tomorrow, I’ll only consider you ‘you,’ okay?”

“…” 

Fu Siting was dazed.

He didn’t quite understand, feeling like he’d heard something out of a fantasy. 

“I’ll just treat you as sixteen-year-old Fu Xiaoting, and we’ll get to know each other again.” 

“Starting tomorrow, you can simply treat me as your new older brother. And I’ll be your guardian, and together we’ll raise Fu Xiaoting from high school all over again, okay?” 

“…” 

“No objection, that means you agree?” 

“So I’ll start raising Xiaoting again tomorrow?” 

… 

That night, Fu Siting, as always, held Li Fei’s wrist as he fell asleep. 

He couldn’t actually sleep, but he suppressed his pounding heart and forced himself to sleep. 

Because tomorrow… he thought, as long as he woke up, this person would completely belong to him. 

He knew this was wrong, he knew it wasn’t good to get too deeply involved. But even knowing he shouldn’t, he still plunged headlong into it without hesitation. In the darkness, he quietly rubbed Li Fei’s hand with his fingertips; Li Fei didn’t open his eyes. 

He didn’t know if Li Fei was asleep or, as always, endlessly indulging him. 

He became even bolder, holding Li Fei’s hand and placing it over his heart. 

It was so warm. 

His heart suddenly raced again. 

See, even it knew he truly loved Li Fei, loved him deeply. 

… 

The next morning, Fu Siting woke up slowly, feeling warmer than ever before. 

Then, he suddenly stiffened, realizing that he was… being held in Li Fei’s arms. 

They slept in the same bed, but the blanket was huge. 

Hugely huge. 

So huge that even though it was the same blanket, the two of them could be very far apart. In the previous few days, he had only ever reached under the blanket to gently hold Li Fei’s wrist. 

But today… 

Fu Siting looked around with difficulty, carefully confirming that he hadn’t accidentally invaded Li Fei’s territory while half-asleep. 

Li Fei had definitely crawled onto his side of the bed. 

But why? 

Had he mistaken him for a pillow in the middle of the night? It must have been an accident, he couldn’t have done it on purpose… 

Fu Siting couldn’t understand. 

He stared blankly for a while. Fortunately, the blackout curtains were tightly closed, and the darkness gave him some space to hide and escape reality. Unfortunately, it was soon eight in the morning. 

The blackout curtains automatically opened, letting in a flood of bright sunlight. 

Along with the blinding light, the warmth of the embrace was also instantly revealed. The faint scent of shower gel intensified, permeating every pore, filling every sense and touch. 

Fu Siting felt instantly dizzy. 

Although Li Fei had hugged him several times in the past few days, compared to this… this was far too overwhelming, making his stomach churn with a jumble of emotions, a feeling of unease and panic. 

“Hmm…” 

Li Fei murmured hoarsely, bringing Fu Siting back to his senses. 

But before he could do anything, the person beside him suddenly rolled over, pinning him down! 

Fu Siting froze instantly, his ears ringing. 

He tried to move, but couldn’t. He felt a sense of powerlessness and suffocation, like prey locked in a cage, unable to struggle. His mind went blank. The person on top of him collapsed. 

Li Fei seemed half-asleep, his words muffled. 

“I promised… I’d take care of you, you’re not allowed to run away.” 

As he spoke, he lazily rubbed his face against Fu Siting’s cheek, the meaning unclear. 

This rubbing, with his collar slipping down and his soft hair, gave the ordinary caress a suggestive air. Then Li Fei casually bent one leg under the covers, and Fu Siting’s eyes widened, his neck arching back in frustration, his eyes instantly reddening. 

The next second, his face was cupped in his hands. 

Li Fei mercilessly kneaded and rubbed his face, shaping it into various forms. Looking at his distraught eyes, he even laughed heartlessly. 

“Don’t resist…” he mumbled groggily, “What does Xiaoting think… a pet will face first thing in the morning?” 

“Of course, it will face… the master’s… play.” 

“…” 

Fu Siting immediately threw off the covers and tried to escape. 

However, Li Fei pressed him back down through the covers in a matter of minutes, wrapping him in the blankets and giving him another rough rub. Fu Siting gasped silently, his vision blurring for a moment before clearing again. His hand, gripping the sheets, was still firmly held down by Li Fei. It really wasn’t safe to touch a boy so early in the morning. Although he knew it was just playful roughhousing, he still completely lost his composure. 

Pressed down by Li Fei, he struggled, dodged, and laughed, laughing so hard he could barely breathe under the covers. Yet, a few tears welled up uncontrollably, a feeling he’d never experienced before. 

Finally, he was held motionless under the covers by Li Fei, completely surrendering. 

And Li Fei, wrapped up in him like a caterpillar, plopped down and slept for another ten minutes. 

“…” 

Fu Siting stiffly carried him for over ten minutes. 

Ten minutes later, Li Fei woke up. 

This time, he was truly awake. 

He seemed to have been having a very random dream. In the dream, he was a large black cat, and Fu Siting was a sizable gray Maine Coon. In the dream, he himself was clearly a cat, yet he was still petting the other cat, petting and petting… 

Upon waking, he felt deep regret. 

No. 

What did he say to him last night? He said he wanted to be Fu Xiaoting’s guardian and raise him properly again! 

What is a guardian? A guardian should be a good older brother. 

The kind of healthy, sunny older brother who wouldn’t secretly loosen his pajamas. 

And then he attacked him first thing this morning? 

The kid must be terrified! 

***

Author’s Note: 

Fu Siting: I wasn’t scared, it’s just… 

Interview: Excuse me, Mr. Li, you’ve acted in so many dramas, and it’s said you’re very good at portraying subtle emotions. Can’t you really see that Fu Xiaoting is completely under your thumb? 

Li Fei: … 

Li Fei: Actually, I think I should have been able to see it. 

(But compared to the super-direct love of 28-year-old Fu Siting, it’s not so obvious.)