Chapter 53 Is Brother Li preoccupied?
The topic changed quickly, and Fang Che was stunned for a moment before he reacted: "They said they wanted to invest. They also said that the Education Bureau had some projects that could give our school 100,000 in funding."
"You agreed?"
"No!" Fang Che quickly said, "I told Xi Rong to refuse. He shouldn't accept something for nothing; there must be something fishy about him offering money so eagerly."
Li Hanzhou paused, his hand wrapped in gauze: "What kind of person do you think he is?"
"A cop, I guess." Fang Che blurted out, then realized he'd let something slip and quickly added, "I guessed! Look at him, he doesn't look like someone from the underworld..."
Li Hanzhou didn't reply and continued wrapping the gauze.
When his fingers occasionally brushed against Fang Che's neck and shoulder, Fang Che would tremble involuntarily.
"These flowers were sent by Jiang Tianqi," Li Hanzhou suddenly asked, "Do you like them?"
"What do you like!" Fang Che said with a look of disgust. "It's so pretentious for a grown man to send flowers. You might as well send a few sheep, then you can roast them and eat them..."
He was so engrossed in his speech that he didn't notice the smile that flashed across Li Hanzhou's eyes.
After the gauze was wrapped, Li Hanzhou tied a knot, his fingertips pausing on the knot.
Then, she lightly brushed across the intact skin below Fang Che's collarbone.
Fang Che's body stiffened.
The sensation... didn't feel like an accidental touch.
But Li Hanzhou had already stopped and turned to pack up his first-aid kit.
"Stay away from them from now on," he said with his back to Fang Che. "Lu Che has a complicated background, and Jiang Tianqi has no good intentions either. You're naive and easily fooled."
Fang Che thought to himself, "Where am I lacking? I'm quite shrewd." But he replied aloud, "I know, Brother Li, I'll listen to you."
Li Hanzhou turned around to look at him.
The boy sat on the sofa, shirtless, the new gauze dazzlingly white under the light.
She has fair skin, a slim waist, and well-defined collarbones.
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes shining, looking like he was saying, "I'm very obedient."
Li Hanzhou's Adam's apple bobbed.
He suddenly leaned down, braced his hands on the sofa armrests, and pulled Fang Che into his arms.
Fang Che's breath hitched: "Brother Li?"
The two were extremely close, close enough for Fang Che to see the dark glint in Li Hanzhou's eyes.
"Fang Che," Li Hanzhou said in a low voice, "are you really stupid, or are you pretending?"
"Huh?" Fang Che was stunned. "What...what happened to me?"
Li Hanzhou stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
The smile was faint, yet it made Fang Che's heart skip a beat.
"It's nothing." Li Hanzhou straightened up and took two steps back. "Put on some clothes, don't catch a cold."
Fang Che felt like he had been granted a pardon and grabbed the T-shirt to put over his head.
But he forgot that he had an injury on his left shoulder, and the movement was too hasty, which aggravated the wound.
"Ouch—it hurts!"
Li Hanzhou frowned and came over to help him: "Slow down."
This time the movement was lighter, and... even more indescribable.
As she smoothed out her clothes, her fingers lightly brushed against the skin of her lower back.
Fang Che trembled again.
He belatedly realized that something seemed amiss.
Was Brother Li being too gentle today? And those touches...
"Alright." Li Hanzhou stepped back, his voice a little hoarse. "Let's go downstairs, the guests must be getting impatient."
"Oh, okay!" Fang Che quickly stood up and almost ran towards the door.
As he reached the door, he couldn't help but look back.
Li Hanzhou was still standing by the sofa, with his back to him.
The dim light outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and for some reason, Fang Che felt that his back looked... a little tense.
"Brother Li?" he called out tentatively.
"Hmm?" Li Hanzhou didn't turn around.
"Um... thank you for changing my dressing."
"Um."
"Shall I go down first?"
"Go."
Fang Che scratched his head, pushed open the door, and left.
After the door closed, Li Hanzhou slowly turned around.
He walked to the window, looking at the bustling barbecue restaurant downstairs. His face was expressionless, but his ears were flushed red.
The physical abnormalities have not completely subsided.
He glanced down and sighed softly.
"It seems..." he murmured to himself, his voice tinged with a doting helplessness, "that we'll have to endure it for a while longer."
When will that piece of wood finally understand?
Downstairs, Fang Che rushed back to the counter, his heart still pounding.
Xi Rong leaned closer and asked, "Brother Che, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"
"No, no!" Fang Che fanned himself with his hand. "It's hot! The fire in the kitchen is too strong!"
"But you just came downstairs..."
"It's hot upstairs too!" Fang Che glared at her. "Get back to work! Are all the dishes served?"
After seeing Xi Rong off, Fang Che leaned against the counter, his mind a jumble of thoughts.
What exactly did Brother Li mean by those actions just now?
I helped him undress, applied medicine, touched his waist, and even trapped him on the sofa...
Fang Che's face grew hotter the more he thought about it.
No, no, I must be overthinking it!
Brother Li just cares about his brothers!
Isn't that how it is between brothers?
But Brother Li isn't from Northeast China.
And...that look in his eyes, it just doesn't seem quite right.
Fang Che shook his head, trying to clear his mind of those thoughts.
I must be too tired lately and have been in a daze.
Who is Brother Li? He's the head of the Heyi Hall, a cold-faced devil. How could anyone possibly have any designs on him?
"Brother Che!" Ah Ming ran over, "We're running out of charcoal in the kitchen!"
"Here we are!" Fang Che rolled up his sleeves. "We'll be busy tonight!"
He threw himself back into his work, completely forgetting his earlier romantic thoughts.
Meanwhile, Li Hanzhou stood by the second-floor window, gazing intently at the busy figure below.
This piece of wood.
Sooner or later, he'll have to understand.
At 2 a.m., the last table of guests left.
Fang Che slumped in the chair, too exhausted to even move a finger.
Xi Rong and the children were tidying up the tables and chairs, while Cheng Tie Niu squatted at the kitchen doorway smoking, looking satisfied.
"Che," he exhaled a smoke ring, "we... made another four thousand two today!"
Xi Rong came over with the account book, her eyes shining: "Brother Che! At this rate, we'll have enough start-up capital to open a school by the end of the month!"
Fang Che forced himself to sit up straight: "Really?"
"Really!" Xi Rong handed him the ledger. "Look, the net profit in these three days is 12,000. At this rate, we'll have at least 80,000 by the end of the month."
Renting a classroom, buying textbooks, hiring a teacher... that's all you need!
Looking at the numbers in the ledger, Fang Che's fatigue vanished.
Eighty thousand! In 1992, that was no small sum.
"Great!" He slapped his thigh. "Once we've saved enough money, we'll officially open the school! I'll talk to Granny Lin, I'll find the textbooks, and the teachers..."
Before he could finish speaking, the shop door was pushed open.
Li Hanzhou walked in.
He changed into casual black clothes and was carrying a thermos.
Seeing Fang Che slumped in the chair, he frowned slightly: "Aren't you going to rest?"
"I was just about to rest!" Fang Che quickly sat up straight. "Brother Li, why are you here again? Didn't you say..."
"Uncle Chen made some soup and asked me to bring it to you." Li Hanzhou placed the thermos on the table. "It's good for replenishing qi and blood, drink it while it's hot."
Fang Che felt a warmth in his heart: "Thank you, Brother Li..."
He opened the thermos, and the aroma of chicken soup wafted out.
The soup contained angelica root, astragalus root, and a few red dates.
"Drink it all." Li Hanzhou sat down opposite him. "Not a single drop is allowed."
"Okay." Fang Che picked up the bowl and took a small sip.
Li Hanzhou watched him drink the soup and suddenly said, "Starting tomorrow, A-Gui will bring two people to the shop to help out."
"Oh? No need, no need!" Fang Che quickly said, "We can handle it!"
"You can manage?" Li Hanzhou glanced at him. "Then who was so tired they couldn't stand up just now?"
Fang Che choked.
"Listen to me." Li Hanzhou's tone left no room for argument. "Jiang Tianqi won't give up. You need to have someone by your side. A Gui and the others won't interfere with the business; they'll only be responsible for security."
Fang Che knew he couldn't win the argument, so he could only nod: "Then... thank you, Brother Li."
Li Hanzhou hummed in agreement, his gaze falling on Fang Che's slightly puffed-up cheeks as he drank the soup.
The boy drank intently, his eyelashes drooping, casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.
The soup was too hot, and he would stick out his tongue from time to time, like a kitten.
Li Hanzhou's eyes darkened.
“Oh, right,” Fang Che suddenly remembered something, “Brother Li, about the tattoo… you still haven’t told me what design you’re planning to get?”
Li Hanzhou snapped out of his daze, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Let's talk about it after you've recovered."
"Give me a hint!" Fang Che leaned closer, his eyes shining. "Is it a dragon or a tiger? Or some other special pattern?"
Li Hanzhou looked at his face so close to hers and her breath hitched slightly.
"You'll find out when the time comes." He looked away, his voice low.
Fang Che, oblivious to his odd behavior, continued talking to himself, "I think a dragon tattoo across the shoulder would be nice, but my build might not be able to handle it... How about a Guan Gong tattoo? But I've heard that you can't just get any Guan Gong tattoo; someone with a weak enough destiny can't handle it..."
He kept talking on and on, while Li Hanzhou just listened quietly, occasionally responding with a word.
After Fang Che finished his soup, Li Hanzhou stood up and said, "Get some rest. I'll have Ah Gui come over tomorrow."
"Brother Li, you're leaving already?" Fang Che stood up as well. "I'll see you off."
"No need." Li Hanzhou walked to the door, turned back to look at him, "Lock the door, and be vigilant at night."
"Okay."
Li Hanzhou pushed open the door and left.
Fang Che locked the door and turned to go upstairs.
As he reached the corner of the stairs, he glanced out the window and saw Li Hanzhou still standing across the street.
In the darkness, the man, dressed in all black, almost blended into the shadows.
He stood there, looking up at the barbecue restaurant's sign for a long time.
A strange feeling suddenly welled up in Fang Che's heart.
Is Brother Li... something on his mind?
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