MFW 7

The boy with the tiger teeth named Yin Yihao came again before Fu Siting was discharged from the hospital.

He was still bouncing around, lively like a little golden snub nosed monkey. Like he was presenting a treasure, he handed Fu Siting a USB drive and said it was a complete “island proposal compilation” of photos and videos that he had specially collected from friends’ and relatives’ phones.

He told Fu Siting to watch it when he had time. Maybe it would help him remember something.

But Fu Siting only accepted the USB drive in silence and never took it out again.

Now, stepping into “home.”

Li Fei told Fu Siting to sit for a bit, and Fu Siting… quietly looked up at the huge crystal chandelier hanging from the foyer ceiling, then stepped uncertainly on the soft, thick carpet beneath the thin soles of his slippers, still feeling unreal.

His gaze continued toward the spiral staircase leading upstairs, the fireplace, oil paintings, ceramic ornaments, and the creamy white sofa in the living room that looked extremely soft, piled with all kinds of cute shaped cushions.

“……”

He didn’t dare sit on that beautiful sofa.

Instead, he sat properly on a smaller pumpkin shaped tea table stool beside it, looking slightly cramped.

Soon, Li Fei came out holding a small cup of dark roasted mocha coffee.

He saw his 28 year old boyfriend sitting unbelievably straight and well behaved on the children’s pumpkin stool they had bought specifically for friends’ kids to use when visiting.

He lowered his eyes, a little amused, but didn’t say anything.

Fu Siting took the coffee from his hand.

The cup was especially cute. It was a small orange fox. The fox’s tail formed the handle. He liked it at first sight.

The hot mocha inside had an enticing rich aroma of roasted chocolate mixed with nuts, which made his heart stir even more.

Because of Li Fei, during the years after Fu Siting entered his second year of middle school, he would sometimes linger in the cinema lobby at the mall near his school.

He couldn’t afford to spend dozens of yuan on a movie ticket. But trailers looped continuously in the lobby. He would often sit there, watching Li Fei’s brief appearances over and over, and could stay for a long time.

A small cart in the cinema lobby sold coffee and popcorn every day.

The cinema’s mocha smelled just like the cup in his hands now. It was especially fragrant. He used to immerse himself in the scent of coffee beans, always wondering what it would taste like.

Now, he finally took his first sip.

The result was unexpectedly very bitter, with a sourness that cut straight through.

Li Fei: “……”

He suddenly leaned closer to his face. Fu Siting’s hand jolted, and he almost spilled the cup. He froze and looked at him.

“Is it bitter?”

“I figured. It’s fine if you grow up to like this kind of thing, but how could a 16 year old kid like something so bitter.”

Li Fei looked at him, his black eyes still deep and beautiful.

“If you don’t like it, you can say so. I’ll go change it for something sweet.”

As he spoke, he reached to take the coffee away. Fu Siting hurriedly gulped down the remaining mouthful, forcing himself to ignore the overwhelming bitterness flooding his mouth, his face full of righteous resolve.

“…It’s not bitter. It smells really good.”

Li Fei tilted his head and smiled.

“How strange,” he said. “Twenty eight year old Fu Siting has terrible lying skills.”

“So why was sixteen year old Fu Xiaoting so good at lying?”

The atmosphere grew quiet.

Fu Siting lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong, feeling embarrassed.

“What I mean is,” Li Fei said helplessly, gently patting him again, “high schooler Fu Xiaoting who says one thing and feels another. Even if you’re not quite the same after growing up… you’re still, how should I put it, still pretty cute.”

Cute.

Another very unfamiliar word. After all, nothing in Fu Siting’s life had ever been cute.

He was born with a limp. It couldn’t be cured. From childhood, he wasn’t cute. Later, his personality was always somewhat withdrawn, and he didn’t have many friends.

He once fed a stray cat near his home. The cat had a scar on its face, was vicious as hell, and not cute at all.

But now, Li Fei looked at him with warm, sun-like eyes, as if he were really looking at something extremely cute.

“It’s really cute. Like a little hedgehog that keeps strangers away.” 

Fu Siting: “……”

……

Li Fei led Fu Siting to start “getting to know” his home again.

The bitterness of the mocha gradually faded in his mouth, and the aftertaste turned fragrant and sweet. Only at this moment did Fu Siting seem to understand why his 28 year old self loved drinking this kind of thing.

Bitter first, then sweet.

This house was huge.

From the outside, it already looked like a small castle, but when Fu Siting actually walked past the classical study lined with hardwood floors, the fairy tale style manga library, the futuristic home theater, the cyber styled game room, and the various bedrooms (Bedroom 1, Bedroom 2, Bedroom 3, Guest Room 1, Guest Room 2)… 

He wasn’t sure if he’d miscounted.

How did it feel like he’d already counted nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms? And that didn’t even include the functional rooms for books, clothes, Lego, dolls, and figurines.

He must have miscounted.

The house was so big that it made him feel a bit turned around. A moment ago, outside the floor to ceiling window on one side had been a gorgeous garden. On this side, there was already a massive swimming pool. He thought he even saw… an outdoor hot tub.

Continuing forward, he found himself back at the main entrance of the little castle. There were at least four garages underneath. What kind of household needed four garages?

Fu Siting lowered his eyes and stopped looking.

He couldn’t make sense of it.

Finally, his steps stopped in front of a large photo wall above the white fireplace.

A huge number of photos were arranged in a staggered layout. Some were framed in exquisite wooden frames, some in minimalist metal frames, and some were simply hung with colorful strings.

Fu Siting had never dared to open the USB drive given to him by the boy with the tiger teeth because he knew that he… might not be able to handle those things yet.

But now, photos of him and Li Fei walking hand in hand by the sea were displayed before his eyes.

Seagulls flew past. The afterglow of the sunset spilled over them, outlining them in gold. In the photo, the smile of his 28 year old self was brighter than the orange dusk sky.

So he could… smile like that.

There were many other photos too. The two of them wearing ski gear, sitting close together on snowy slopes overlooking magnificent scenery below. Li Fei shining brilliantly on stage, while he watched devoutly from below.

Candid shots of him busy in the kitchen. Lively moments from gatherings with friends.

There were even many photos of simple scenery. Ordinary moments in life. A small cafe they happened to discover together in an unknown alley. Cute cats and dogs they encountered while traveling. Unusual plants.

Countless vivid, trivial traces full of life.

Even strange white clouds in a blue sky would be photographed and frozen into eternal moments.

Fu Siting looked at the photos one by one, feeling dazed.

Among them was one… that seemed to be his university graduation photo.

He was wearing a blue and black graduation gown among a group of people. His classmates all looked happy, throwing their caps into the air.

He wasn’t smiling much, but he didn’t look gloomy either.

“Z University…”

In a corner of the graduation photo background, the full name of the school was engraved in gold on the library wall. Fu Siting stared at those characters.

So not only did he survive stomach cancer and live, he even finished university?

But could he get into Z University?

Z University was recognized as a top ten institution in the country. With Fu Siting’s current plummeting grades, he was nowhere near its cutoff score.

“……”

Li Fei remained quietly beside him the whole time, watching Fu Siting’s pupils shook without showing it.

“That’s your graduation photo. Z University is your university.”

Fu Siting nodded. His throat moved, but he said nothing.

He seemed unwilling to look more. He lowered his gaze away from the graduation photo, only to land on a small display cabinet above the fireplace, filled with various beautiful souvenirs and small medals.

“Your TGA trophy.” Li Fei smiled, took out a purple star shaped medal, and placed it in Fu Siting’s palm.

The medal was heavy. Delicate patterns were engraved on its surface, and a small crystal was set in the center, refracting dazzling light under the lamp. Fu Siting didn’t know what it was.

“TGA. The Game Awards. The Oscars of the gaming world. The award was for the first indie game your company made, ‘Clear Sky Fantasy Realm.’”

“……”

“Indie… game?” Company?

“Yes. You majored in computer science. In college, before you even had a team, you composed the music yourself, drew the art yourself, and made your first small game on your own. That’s how you earned your startup capital.”

“……”

Unimaginable.

Or rather, Fu Siting simply couldn’t believe it.

His own game…? He barely played games at all. He knew the boys in his class often found chances to go to internet cafes together, but that was a luxury he could never afford.

Aside from computer class, his daily life never even touched a keyboard or controller. How could he possibly have anything to do with the gaming industry?

The corner of his mouth twitched as he lowered his head with a bitter smile.

Wasn’t this just a dream woven by a dying mind?

Li Fei looked at him, his gaze dark and deep.

The Fu Siting he knew was passionate, positive, strong, and radiant. After staying with that version of him for so long, it was hard to imagine what he’d been like twelve years ago.

“……”

By all logic, when a boyfriend in a passionate relationship suddenly said he’d gone back to being sixteen, not remembering him anymore, no longer letting him kiss and hug him, and had turned into a prickly, unsmiling face, it should have been extremely painful.

Especially since even now, every time Li Fei got close, he could still feel his stiffness. There wasn’t obvious rejection, but that unfamiliarity was honestly a bit hurtful.

But Li Fei decided to think positively.

This was something the 28 year old Fu Siting, before losing his memory to a stroke, had taught him.

“I later realized that everything that happens in life probably has its reasons and hidden meanings.”

“Sometimes… it really is cruel. But since there’s nowhere to escape fate, all you can do is grit your teeth and endure, then do your best to strive toward something better, and try to think of it in a good way.”

Thinking positively wasn’t that hard.

For example, right now.

His fiancé had lost his memory, but he’d returned to who he was in high school.

Li Fei had always regretted not being able to accompany Fu Siting through his darkest years.

He had asked many times, but Fu Siting was extremely good at hiding past pain and hardship. No matter how he asked, the answers were always vague.

Very poor. Not very good. Not very healthy. Vague words like that.

So Li Fei could only piece together his misfortune from occasional slips of the tongue and moments of panic after nightmares.

It was only because of this memory loss that he was finally seeing a Fu Siting he had never seen before.

The silent, aloof high school version of him.

If he seized this opportunity… could he finally find a shortcut to understand him better?

Would sixteen year old hedgehog Fu Xiaoting be easier to open up than the later blazing sun like Fu Siting, and let him touch that scarred heart?

Li Fei wanted to try.

***

Author’s note:

Fu Xiaoting looks calm, but right now he still can’t think properly for even a second.

Twenty eight year old Fu Siting wasn’t unwilling to talk. He was just used to showing off strength in front of the person he loved.