Sun Rain Chapter 16
byWhen they took the elevator upstairs, Gao Lecheng winked at Fu Xuanliao from the back row. Once they were walking down the hallway, he deliberately lagged behind, covering his mouth to whisper, “See? I told you he would cut his hair for you.”
Bringing this up, Fu Xuanliao recalled the so-called “intelligence” he had exchanged with Gao Lecheng earlier and felt utterly bored. “What’s so strange about cutting hair? How dare you use that as a bargaining chip with me?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I deliberately told him that you like boys with short hair.”
Fu Xuanliao was dismissive. “Maybe he just thought his hair was too long and bothersome.”
“It’s such a coincidence that he cut it right after I told him?”
“Does cutting hair require picking a specific date?”
“Forget it.” Gao Lecheng was tired. He shook his head and sighed, “Even God can’t wake up a person pretending to be asleep.”
Besides keeping company, Fu Xuanliao’s other task for this trip was to help his friend make a move.
Though deep down, he didn’t think Jiang Xue and Gao Lecheng were a good match. Mainly, their intelligence levels weren’t on the same tier. Jiang Xue looked extremely shrewd, and that fool Gao Lecheng would surely be bullied until there was nothing left of him.
After dropping off their luggage, they ate lunch together. Gao Lecheng asked what the plan was for the afternoon. Jiang Xue stirred the yogurt in her cup and said listlessly, “It’s a rare holiday, so of course, I’m going to sleep.”
“It’s a waste to travel all this way just to sleep,” Gao Lecheng suggested. “How about we go boating? There’s a beautiful lake nearby, perfect for photos.”
Jiang Xue gave Shi Meng a look. Shi Meng nodded, and she agreed, “Fine, we might as well, since we’re idle anyway.”
After dinner and a short rest, the group took the resort’s shuttle bus toward the lakeside.
The mountains along the way were lush and green, and the sunlight tempered the coldness of the wind. Fu Xuanliao took a deep breath of fresh air and turned his head to see Shi Meng pull out the small notebook and pencil he carried with him, resting them on his knees.
“Isn’t the scenery constantly changing?” Fu Xuanliao was curious. “Can you draw this?”
Shi Meng didn’t look up, only saying, “Yes.”
A contour resembling a continuous mountain range quickly appeared on the paper, with a few strokes added to the boundary between light and shadow. Then, he slowly stopped.
Fu Xuanliao, who was watching, waited for a long time. “Why did you stop drawing?”
Shi Meng, unaccustomed to drawing under someone else’s scrutiny, turned his face away. “Don’t watch me.”
“Then you don’t watch me.”
“I’m not watching you.”
“If you weren’t watching me, how did you know I was watching you?”
“…”
Shi Meng couldn’t argue with him, so he turned sideways and leaned against the edge.
Fu Xuanliao’s rebellious streak flared up. He insisted on watching, stretching his neck to lean closer, squeezing Shi Meng until he couldn’t move.
Afraid they might start fighting, Gao Lecheng, sitting in the front row, turned around to mediate. He took the visitor logbook hanging by the car door and handed it to Fu Xuanliao. “You draw too, and don’t let him see it.”
Fu Xuanliao took it in a huff, bit the cap off the pencil, and started sketching rapidly on the blank back of the logbook.
He finished in less than five minutes. Fu Xuanliao proudly sent the logbook to the front row for viewing, pointing his chin at Shi Meng. “Does it look like him?”
Gao Lecheng took the book and looked closely: a plump, round mushroom with a small nose and face, the corners of its mouth slightly downturned. It truly bore a resemblance.
“I didn’t quite believe you when you said you learned to paint when you were little,” Gao Lecheng was the first to express approval. “Now I believe it.”
Jiang Xue, who had maintained a straight face for a long time, glanced at it out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t help but break into laughter.
Hearing the sound, Shi Meng stopped drawing again, tempted to look. Just as he raised his head, his vision was blocked.
Fu Xuanliao covered his eyes with one hand and quickly snatched the logbook with the other, tearing off the page with the drawing. “I won’t let you see it.”
Gao Lecheng turned back and smiled awkwardly at Jiang Xue beside him. “My brother is a bit childish. Don’t worry, I’m not like him.”
When they arrived, Fu Xuanliao realized the boats were human-powered; they actually had to use oars to row.
He was stunned on the spot. He asked Shi Meng, “Can you do it?”
Shi Meng shook his head.
The other two’s boat was already in the water. Jiang Xue waved toward the shore. “Mengmeng, come over here!”
Shi Meng looked at the “Maximum three people per boat” sign on the shore, and told Fu Xuanliao, “You go.”
“I’m not interested in boating.” Fu Xuanliao sat down on a nearby bench. “It’s a good chance for me to have some peace and quiet.”
Jiang Xue was still waiting over there, and Gao Lecheng was spinning in circles with the oar. Shi Meng hesitated for only a moment, then told Jiang Xue, “I’m afraid of water. You two enjoy yourselves.”
In broad daylight, even if Gao Lecheng had ill intentions, he wouldn’t dare act on them. Letting the two of them talk alone shouldn’t be a problem. After confirming that there was a rescue team on standby by the lake, Shi Meng sat down at the other end of the long bench, pulling out his notebook to continue drawing.
He hadn’t made many strokes when he heard the person next to him ask, “You’re afraid of water?”
Shi Meng gave a vague “Mm.”
Then he heard Fu Xuanliao let out a laugh of unclear meaning. “I think you’re afraid I’ll run away, aren’t you?”
Before the pen tip paused, it uncontrollably drew a distorted line on the paper.
Placing the pen in the fold of the notebook, Shi Meng turned to look at Fu Xuanliao. “You want to run?”
His tone was certain, the ending note sinking. Rather than a question, it was a statement of something they both knew.
Fu Xuanliao suddenly wanted to know what kind of expression Shi Meng would show if he knew that the ridiculous contract was about to be terminated.
Would he pounce on him, biting him like a mad dog, or would he run to Shi Huaiyi and beg him to intervene again, or perhaps… would he cry? Would he beg him through tears not to leave?
Thinking carefully, aside from the physiological tears shed when making love, either from pleasure or extreme pain, Shi Meng had never cried in front of him.
The long-suppressed rebellious nature transformed into a violent impulse, surging and churning within his body. Fu Xuanliao suddenly wanted to see Shi Meng cry, so he answered, “Yes, I want to. I dream about it.”
He leaned closer, asking Shi Meng in a deep, almost seductive voice, “Will you let me go?”
Almost immediately, Shi Meng grabbed the arm Fu Xuanliao had rested on the chair. Then his other hand came over, restraining him together, holding him firmly.
“No.” Although his voice was trembling, Shi Meng desperately bit down to maintain composure, saying in a commanding tone, “You are not allowed to leave. You are not allowed to go anywhere.”
They had dinner at a restaurant by the lake.
The resort was vast, offering a full range of diverse cuisine, and the restaurant architecture followed local characteristics.
Since they had eaten heavy meat dishes at noon, Jiang Xue took charge this time and ordered a few light, home-style dishes. One of them was Squirrel-Shaped Mandarin Fish, which was said to be made with very fresh ingredients, caught and killed on the spot. Jiang Xue speculated, “Could it have been caught from the lake right next to us?”
“I’ll go ask the kitchen later,” Gao Lecheng offered eagerly. “If we can fish here, we’ll go tomorrow.”
Jiang Xue enthusiastically agreed.
After the afternoon boat trip, the relationship between these two had progressed rapidly. It seemed Gao Lecheng’s rowing skills were quite good.
Fu Xuanliao thought this, but his face remained dark. He hadn’t eaten much of the food. When he put down his chopsticks, he hissed. Gao Lecheng asked what was wrong. Rubbing his wrist, he said, “I was scratched by a poisonous mushroom.”
Jiang Xue looked at him, then at the silent Shi Meng, and her mood improved further. “He should scratch you a few more times, maybe paralyze half your body or something. Then you won’t dare to be disobedient anymore.”
Fu Xuanliao nearly stood up and flipped the table.
Gao Lecheng, caught in the middle, shivered, using the serving chopsticks to dish out food for everyone. “Come on, everyone, eat while it’s hot. The fish won’t taste good when it’s cold.”
They split into two groups returning to their accommodation. Jiang Xue and Shi Meng left first. Gao Lecheng made an excuse to lag behind, leading Fu Xuanliao stealthily around to an elegantly decorated glass house behind the hotel. He gave his name and received a wooden box from the owner.
Opening it, inside lay a necklace: a delicate platinum chain adorned with a translucent ruby pendant.
Gao Lecheng showed it off proudly. “A gift for Jiang Xue. I figured it shouldn’t be too extravagant when first pursuing someone. A ruby of this level is just right. What do you think?”
Fu Xuanliao chuckled. “You traveled all this way just to buy a lousy necklace?”
The shop owner behind the counter pulled a long face, coughing twice to show his displeasure.
Gao Lecheng introduced, “The jewelry in this shop is all from famous European designers. My dad went to great lengths to persuade them to open a shop here. Now this shop is considered one of our resort’s signature attractions.”
After staring at it for a while longer, Fu Xuanliao had to admit that the necklace was indeed quite well-designed, and the cutting technique was delicate and beautiful. Whether under bright light or in shadow, it reflected deep, layered light from every angle.
Suddenly remembering the Klein blue jacket Shi Meng wore at the Oriental Hotel last time, Fu Xuanliao’s heart stirred. He tapped his finger on the counter. “Do you have any sapphire jewelry here?”
About an hour later, the two boarded the last shuttle bus. Gao Lecheng looked at the box in Fu Xuanliao’s hand, puzzled. “You’re practically sick of him, yet you’re buying him a gift?”
In truth, Fu Xuanliao regretted the purchase immediately, but since the money was already paid, backing out would seem petty. He just considered it a moment of brain fog, contributing to the resort’s revenue.
“You weren’t saying that earlier today,” Fu Xuanliao made an excuse. “You said we were ‘getting along great.'”
Gao Lecheng admitted, “Well, you should always encourage harmony, not separation. If things go well for you two, it makes things easier for me and Jiang Xue.”
“Are you serious this time?”
“When am I not serious? Dating is about enjoying the process and being fully invested.”
“In that regard, you and that woman are quite compatible. I see her as someone who also treats life as a game.”
“Tsk, I said I’m serious.”
…
After a few rounds of small talk, Fu Xuanliao had found an excuse for his strange behavior—consider it compensation for his birthday gift. He never missed my birthday and always prepared a gift. There should be give and take. Even if the contract is terminated later, I won’t owe him anything.
Thinking this, Fu Xuanliao lowered his head and opened the box in his hand. As he carefully lifted the deep-sea blue pendant with his fingers pressed together, a sudden sharp pain shot through his wrist as he turned it.
Damn it, how much force did that guy use this afternoon?
The calm expression he had just achieved instantly darkened again. Fu Xuanliao slammed the box shut, cursing himself for being an idiot for buying a gift for the person who had injured him without cause.
Pondering the whole way, Fu Xuanliao decided before getting off the bus that he would only give the gift to Shi Meng after Shi Meng apologized for “unprovoked assault.”
His mood finally improved somewhat. As he walked into the hotel, Fu Xuanliao shoved the cumbersome box, which he had struggled to pocket, into his coat pocket, considering whether he should go fishing with Gao Lecheng and the others tomorrow.
Not knowing how to row was secondary. The main thing was that the weather was cold and windy, and Shi Meng was physically weak. He always caught a cold whenever the seasons changed. If he caught a chill here, and it was blamed on him…
His wandering thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the opening elevator door and the person who rushed out.
Seeing the two people standing in the elevator, Jiang Xue quickly asked, “Have you seen Mengmeng?”
Gao Lecheng: “Didn’t he come back with you first?”
Jiang Xue picked up her phone to dial, listening to the long busy signal, stamping her foot anxiously. “He reached the hotel entrance but didn’t go upstairs. He said he was going for a walk nearby… What’s going on? He won’t answer his phone.”
Fu Xuanliao strode forward, used his room card to open the door. The lights in the suite came on, revealing it was empty. The phone lay lonely on the bedside table.
After quickly checking every room, Fu Xuanliao came out and asked Jiang Xue, “How long has he been gone?”
“Over an hour.”
“Could he have gone back to the city?” Gao Lecheng interjected.
“Impossible,” Fu Xuanliao quickly analyzed. “There are no shuttle buses to the city at this hour, and the car keys are still with me.”
Gao Lecheng was starting to panic too. “Then where did he run off to? It’s all mountains around here, with roads going everywhere. It’s easy to get lost…”
Before he could finish, Fu Xuanliao decisively assigned tasks. “Old Gao, mobilize the surrounding security personnel. Have them search outwards, using the hotel as the center. Miss Jiang, please stay here and wait. Maybe he’ll come back when he gets tired of walking.”
Faced with the situation, Jiang Xue could only accept the arrangement. In her panic, she asked, “What—what about you?”
Fu Xuanliao tossed the bothersome box, which he had struggled to stuff into his pocket, to Jiang Xue, then ran toward the stairwell without looking back. “I’m going to find him.”