MFW 23

Chapter 23

At noon, Li Fei bought congee. He’d tried cooking it himself but failed. Throughout his life, he’d excelled at countless things, piano, violin, singing, dancing, calligraphy, even flying planes….but cooking remained his eternal weakness. This time, he’d managed to turn millet congee into burnt millet crusts. After finishing the congee, Fu Siting slept a little longer. By evening, his fever had finally broken completely.

Li Fei, having just finished a full day’s work, sat by the bed reading. The soft glow from the bedside lamp cast a gentle light on his profile, outlining his defined features. His lips were beautiful, thin, with the corners turned up in a subtle, sensual curve. His refined, slightly ascetic-looking gold-rimmed glasses rested once more on his high, straight nose, the chain dangling down.

Fu Siting adored this look on him, finding it captivating, it suited him perfectly. Lying in bed, he watched intently as Li Fei’s long, slender fingers turned page after page.

Flip. Flip.

The longer he watched in silence, the more he felt peaceful and warm.

The warmth gradually filled his chest, and Fu Siting suddenly had a strange illusion, as if he and Li Fei had actually been together for a very, very long time. As if they had experienced countless springs, summers, autumns, and winters, countless sunsets and sunrises together. So long that they had long since become part of each other’s flesh and blood, indispensable. No barriers, no distance, only a natural closeness.

The jellyfish lamp reflected faint, iridescent hues. Time stretched slowly within the softness. Until Li Fei lifted his gaze from the pages and looked over.

“…”

Their eyes met. For a moment, Fu Siting suddenly felt inexplicably at peace. Why did he insist he was sixteen, that he had traveled through time?

Could it be possible that he had merely suffered a temporary brain injury? Indeed, his body was clearly that of an adult. Why couldn’t he be the twenty-eight-year-old Fu Siting himself? The doctor’s explanation wasn’t flawed. Why couldn’t it be that he was just suffering from a temporary blood clot, and his memory would return in a few days?

Perhaps.

Perhaps heaven had orchestrated this for his twenty-eight-year-old self, granting him a brief return to sixteen. To let the arrogant Fu Siting of twenty-eight, who possessed everything, spend these ten-odd days reflecting. To remember how much he should have cherished the hard-won things before him! To learn to be more honest, to stop pretending every day. And to realize that arguing with Li Fei was truly unforgivable, no more fighting.

“…”

Fu Siting wasn’t sure if that was it. Perhaps because he’d slept through the entire day with a fever, his mind now felt well-rested and unusually clear. Or maybe he’d simply slept himself into confusion, deluding himself into thinking he was lucid when he wasn’t. He didn’t know. Last night’s so-called “trust” had been nothing more than grasping at the only lifeline he could breathe through in his despair.

But in this moment, he genuinely believed it.

“…”

Li Fei set down his book, leaned in to touch his forehead, and confirmed the fever had broken. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Fu Siting suddenly yanked it back. By the time Li Fei reacted, Fu Siting had already wrapped his arms around his waist and pinned him to the bed. His entire frame buried itself against Li Fei’s chest, his breath warm and slightly hurried: “Don’t go.”

Li Fei sighed helplessly, his hand resting gently on Fu Siting’s back. “Alright, I won’t leave. I’ll stay right here.”

Fu Siting’s arms tightened silently around him. It seemed he finally understood the source of all his unease and restlessness these past days…

“Li Fei,” he murmured softly, “Can I… ask you for a promise?”

He knew it was a selfish request. But sixteen-year-old Fu Siting desperately, desperately needed someone to offer him a promise about a “predetermined future” at this moment. He needed someone to give him a glimmer of hope in the endless darkness, to tell him that if he worked hard enough, stayed resilient, and never gave up, he too could make all his sweat bear fruit in that predetermined future, earning the universe’s response and reward.

Even if it wasn’t by his twenty-eighth birthday. Even if it was only “someday” in the distant future. But at least let him know his life had purpose, that he could ultimately achieve happiness by persevering through life. Fu Siting desperately wished someone could give him that assurance. It wasn’t that he was unwilling to strive. He was just afraid that no matter how hard he pushed, it would all end in emptiness. He was truly afraid.

He feared enduring all the painful treatments only to die. He feared burning every ounce of potential yet still being trapped in a life of hardship. But if someone could assure him that happiness awaited at the end of endless darkness, even if it seemed faint, he would find the courage to overcome every obstacle, willingly accept any trial, and grit his teeth through any agony. He needed that hope.

“Could you… could you promise me? If there are parallel worlds…”

“Don’t be angry. I know you don’t believe in parallel worlds. But if there really are… could you quietly tell the Li Fei in another parallel world to wait for me?”

“If I… can’t reach you quickly enough, if I’m not good enough… could you ask the you in another world to wait just a little longer for me? To have just… a little patience with me?”

“…”

Li Fei fell silent in that moment. In their third year together, news of the island proposal spread through their social circle. Word was it caused an absolute uproar. The spoiled rich kids who’d grown up with him, those sharp-tongued, outspoken heirs and heiresses, all ganged up behind his back to gossip about him.

“I was genuinely shocked. Utterly shocked! Aren’t you shocked? That’s Li Fei, for crying out loud! The one proposing is Li Fei!”

“I really, really, really believed he was one of those purebred pseudo-humans, devoid of normal human emotions, hyper-programmed, strictly business. Hearing he was even dating was absurd enough, but dating for three years without breaking up? And now he’s proposing?”

“So he does have feelings after all? And he even He even is a hopeless romantic?”

“I thought he’d used up all his scarce human emotions during filming.”

“Seriously, with him acting so aloof every day, who’d have the guts to date him? And what’s his relationship like anyway?”

“The other person is a guy. If it’s a guy, why not just keep dating? How much love does it take to make him commit?Marriage? What a crazy idea. All the money you earn afterward just becomes joint property.”

“Maybe he really is love-struck. Like in those romantic dramas he acts in…

“What? Love-struck?”

“Huh?! No way! Those shows are so different from his usual self! No, no, no, I refuse to believe Li Fei could be like that.”

“Come to think of it, he’s done plenty of romance dramas. He must’ve seen every script and line out there. How could he not be immune?”

“…”

Back in his younger days, Li Fei did indeed star in his fair share of pure love films. The scripts were generally solid, and many even won awards. But honestly, it wasn’t that he didn’t respect talented screenwriters.

But compared to the impact Fu Siting had on him as a real person, those pure love scripts always felt weak. It was only after truly meeting Fu Siting that Li Fei understood what “art imitates life” really meant. He didn’t agree with the latter part, but “surpasses art.”

When life became extraordinary, it absolutely surpassed art. Otherwise, which script he’d filmed before, which leading man, could say such unreasonable words as, “Could you quietly tell your other selves in parallel worlds to wait for me”? His heart ached bitterly. After a long moment, he said, “Alright, I agree.”

“I’ll tell them all. I’ll tell every Li Fei in every parallel world: you must wait for your destined connection. You must wait for someone named Fu Siting to appear.”

“I’ll also tell them this: if Fu Siting doesn’t show up when the time comes, you must go find him yourselves. Especially Li Fei in your world, Fu Xiaoting, if there’s a parallel world version of you, I’ll make sure he finds you, one hundred percent. Okay?”

“Mm.” Fu Siting, having secured the promise he desired, lay quietly and contentedly on top of him for a moment.

Then, his voice hoarse, he murmured softly, “Actually… never mind.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Don’t come looking for me. I’ll find you,” he said. “I’ll do everything in my power to be by your side. You just wait for me.”

“…”

Because he was still greedy. It should have been enough just to meet. But if they could meet, he wished the timeline could be “exactly the same.” Because then, perhaps he could meet “this” Li Fei. This gentle Li Fei, who always considered him first, who tolerated all his whims, the best Li Fei. He wanted to meet him. He wanted to meet him in the future. …

That night, Fu Siting, perhaps because he’d slept too much during the day, felt not the slightest bit sleepy. He chattered incessantly on the bed, pestering Li Fei with all sorts of silly nonsense. He asked Li Fei countless questions, delving into the details of their life together, the stories that unfolded after their meeting. Fu Siting now genuinely realized that letting go was a blessing.

Like how he was now essentially a Schrödinger’s Fu Siting*. He could be sixteen, or he could be twenty-eight. He could have traveled through time, or he could have lost his memory. Possessing the legendary wave-particle duality, he had participated in physics competitions back in eighth grade before his family’s fortunes had plummeted. He had previewed high school physics textbooks, so he knew about wave-particle duality.

(*It’s a metaphor borrowed from Schrödinger’s cat, the thought experiment where something exists in two opposite states at the same time until someone checks. Calling him a Schrödinger’s Fu Siting means his age isn’t fixed or confirmed. In the story’s logic, he simultaneously exists as both possibilities. He could be sixteen, and he could be twenty eight, depending on perspective, information, or when the truth gets revealed. Until someone definitively establishes his age, both versions are treated as real.)

This Schrödinger’s Fu Siting no longer recoiled at hearing his twenty-eight-year-old self’s tales of happiness. For now, he felt a tangible sense of participation in that very happiness.

No longer did he feel stung by watching “others” find joy, consumed by envy until his face twisted. For Fu Siting in Schrodinger’s state, hearing tales of his twenty-eight-year-old self felt like rehearsing a future happiness that would inevitably arrive, within reach. But Li Fei was exhausted. Grasping at the last threads of his will, he instinctively played with Fu Siting’s fingers beneath the covers.Years of weightlifting had left a thin layer of calluses on his fingertips and palms, like slightly hardened cat paw pads.

Li Fei loved touching them. “Xiaoting, I can’t… It’s almost three in the morning,” he murmured, finally unable to hold on. “I’m going to sleep. You should… get some rest too. Your fever just broke. You need to… take care of yourself.”

Fu Siting nodded in his arms, but the vigorous pounding of his fingers clearly showed he was still highly excited. In the end, Li Fei could only coax him: “Be good, go to sleep. Look, if your body… fully recovers tomorrow and the weather’s nice, I’ll take you… out to play…” He was simply too exhausted.

Even when Fu Siting asked, “Where to?” he could only respond hazily. “…To your favorite place.”

This world had no parallel dimensions, no time travel. The one in his arms was his one and only Fu Siting. It was just that his memories and understanding had encountered a minor hiccup.

But what if there was?

What if there were? Then at least these few days, he wanted to compensate Fu Siting for the happiness the sixteen-year-old had never known. His treasure had endured so much suffering alone before they ever met. He wanted to repay what the heavens owed him. Fate had been unfair to sixteen-year-old Fu Siting. He wanted to give him back… even just a little bit of fairness.

Li Fei had fallen asleep. Fu Siting curled up in his arms, trying to sleep, yet his mind kept wandering… His favorite place? What place was that? He wasn’t even sure himself, where exactly was his favorite place?

After a moment of blankness, a glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes. Truthfully, anywhere would be fine. As long as he was with Li Fei, he’d be happy. But where exactly was he taking him?

***

Author’s Note: Xiaoting is already livelier and cuter than before. He blossoms with just a little sunshine.

Of course, it’s to… [dog head][dog head][dog head] I bet many of you can guess where we’re going. We’ve been setting it up for so long. Tomorrow is Day 9 [dog head][dog head][dog head]