The two went to the Fu family's large apartment in the city.
Once inside the elevator, Fu Xuanliao remembered to ask, "Why did you go to Heting to wait for me?"
Shi Meng replied, "The lights in your room are off."
After spending some time figuring out the connection between going to the Crane Pavilion and not turning on the lights in the room, Fu Xuanliao asked again, "Don't you need to stay home for the New Year?"
In my memory, the Shi family, who had many rules, would burn incense and worship their ancestors early in the morning of the Lunar New Year, with the whole family gathered together, and in a few hours it would be dawn.
"No need," Shi Meng said. "I've already spoken to Dad."
Fu Xuanliao was somewhat surprised that Shi Huaiyi was so indulgent towards him.
"What about the cat?" Fu Xuanliao asked again.
Shi Meng replied, "They've already been fed."
As if afraid that Fu Xuanliao wouldn't believe her, Shi Meng took out her rarely used phone, opened the photo album and found a video: "This is a video I took before I left home."
Fu Xuanliao leaned closer to look. The video was filmed while crouching, from the side and rear. The glossy fur and leisurely swaying tail in the shot proved that this domestic cat still had a good appetite after moving to its new home.
As I watched, my gaze involuntarily shifted to a pair of feet that were captured in the bottom of the video.
Only half of her feet were visible; she wasn't wearing shoes or socks, her skin was pale and cold, and she was so thin that you could clearly see her veins and bones.
Fu Xuanliao asked out of the blue, "And what about you?"
Shi Meng's eyes were still fixed on the video: "Huh?"
With a "ding," the elevator arrived, and Fu Xuanliao swallowed back the question he was about to ask, "Have you eaten?"
He was the first to step out of the car, his suit jacket, which he had taken off inside, draped over his arm, his steps even a little hurried.
I ended up eating something in the middle of the night.
Jiang Rong and Fu Qiming had already gone to bed. Ordering takeout on New Year's Eve seemed inhumane. After much deliberation, Fu Xuanliao tiptoed into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out two packs of instant noodles and two eggs.
I bought the instant noodles after Meng came to my house last time and ordered that stuffed takeout meal. I bought them to tide me over for a late-night snack when no one is home.
However, this was the first time it had come in handy.
Although not particular about food, Fu Xuanliao insisted that instant noodles taste better when cooked. He threw two noodle cakes into cold water, pressed them down with chopsticks but they wouldn't go in, so he added two bowls of water, put the lid on, and then started agonizing over whether to put the seasoning packet in the pot as well.
Shi Meng also entered the kitchen. Seeing this, he took two bowls from the cupboard and placed them on the table. He then snatched the seasoning packet from Fu Xuanliao's hand, tore it open, and poured it all into the pot.
Fu Xuanliao: "..."
Shi Meng snatched his chopsticks away, stirred the contents of the pot, and noticed the two eggs on the side. He tilted his head and asked, "How done?"
Fu Xuanliao remained silent for a while before replying, "Half-cooked."
From the moment the noodles went into the pot to when they were served, it took only seven or eight minutes. I don't know how Shi Meng beat the egg, but it was perfectly round and lay on top of the noodles. When I poked it with chopsticks, the yolk was runny but not runny, just the right amount of medium-rare.
The noodles were cooked until soft but not mushy. Fu Xuanliao finished them in a few bites and then discovered a poached egg lying at the bottom of the soup.
Fu Xuanliao felt a sense of shame at being treated like a child and asked the person sitting opposite him on the island, "Why are you giving me both eggs?"
Shi Meng hadn't finished eating yet, and without lifting her head, she said, "I don't like eggs."
"..."
It has that same feel to it now.
After the meal, Fu Xuanliao volunteered to wash the dishes.
Shi Meng went out, looking back every few steps, as if worried about the safety of the bowls and chopsticks.
Fu Xuanliao, feeling a bit annoyed, acted rashly. Coupled with his lack of skill in such matters, he made a lot of noise in the kitchen, startling Jiang Rong, who had gotten up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the person inside the kitchen door.
"Why didn't you wake me up if you were hungry?" Seeing Fu Xuanliao in a flustered state, Jiang Rong said helplessly, "Let me do it."
Fu Xuanliao had almost finished washing the dishes and was wiping them with a dry cloth: "It's okay, it'll be done soon."
Seeing the two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks, Jiang Rong realized there were other people in the house: "Xiao Gao came to play?"
"No," Fu Xuanliao denied, but did not say who it was.
Leaning out of the kitchen, Jiang Rong saw the light on in the innermost bedroom and understood.
As she helped put the bowls and chopsticks back in their place, she said, "It's rare for Xiao Meng to come to our house, so let's treat him to instant noodles?"
“I wanted to eat it, and he just took a bite.” Fu Xuanliao didn’t want to explain further. “I didn’t originally plan to bring him back.”
Jiang Rong was silent for a moment, then spoke in a lower voice: "Although he used some inappropriate methods back then, I can see that you weren't entirely unfaithful to him..."
"Nothing?" Not wanting to hear what followed, Fu Xuanliao pretended to be clueless and said, "We really just bumped into each other on the road, it wasn't pre-arranged."
Distracted like that, Jiang Rong couldn't continue her story.
She sighed softly, but didn't insist in the end, only instructing, "It's the New Year, so treat them well."
As Fu Xuanliao approached the bedroom door, he could faintly hear voices coming from inside.
Pushing open the door, one immediately sees Shi Meng sitting at a table by the window with his back to the door. Hearing the noise, he turns around and, before Fu Xuanliao can speak, puts his index finger to his lips as a gesture of shushing.
Fu Xuanliao thought to himself, "Fine, I can't even make a sound in my own home."
Despite inwardly complaining, she kept her mouth shut and tried to walk as quietly as possible.
Shi Meng turned back and continued the video call with his phone.
"It's Chinese New Year, why aren't you at home? Where have you been?" The woman's voice on the phone was shrill and unfriendly.
"At a friend's house," Shi Meng said.
"What about my Mumu?"
"They came out after being fed."
"You actually left Mumu home alone..." the woman on the phone scoffed. "I've never heard of you having any friends."
Shi Meng didn't know how to answer, so she lowered her eyes and remained silent.
In just a few words, Fu Xuanliao realized that the middle-aged woman on the other end of the video was Shi Meng's mother, surnamed Yang, whom he had met once many years ago.
"Sigh, never mind, never mind. You're such a quiet kid." After asking about the cat, Yang Youlan lost her patience. "I'm going to sleep now. I have to get up early tomorrow to catch the next stop."
Before I could even say "bye-bye," the other end of the video call was cut off.
After a few seconds of silence in the room, Fu Xuanliao chuckled: "Are you even my biological son?"
Shi Meng didn't turn her head, sitting with her neck stiff, looking like she was angry.
Thinking about the upcoming New Year, Fu Xuanliao felt a pang of sympathy and changed his words, saying, "What I mean is, you and your mother... don't look alike."
Two minutes later, Shi Meng slowly turned around from the swivel chair. She still looked unhappy, but her expression had relaxed a lot.
He looked at Fu Xuanliao and said very seriously, "I don't resemble anyone."
Indeed, Shi Meng, who is unlike anyone else and whose personality is unique and unconventional, bit Fu Xuanliao again in her first love affair of the new year.
A metallic taste filled his mouth. Fu Xuanliao gasped and turned his chin: "You're the one who seduced me, and you're the one who bit me. Can't you behave yourself during the New Year?"
With a slight smile, Shi Meng retorted, "This isn't seduction."
Fu Xuanliao stroked his soft, wet lips with his thumb: "What's that called?"
"Take it," Shi Meng said. "If I want it, give it to me."
With a firm, pressing motion of his palm, Fu Xuanliao asked, "What if I don't want to give it to you?"
His eyes turned cold, and Shi Meng's smile vanished: "That means breaking the rules."
The rules include that contract that has not yet been terminated.
But subverting the rules comes at a price.
Fu Xuanliao was an extremely proud man, and after being repeatedly thwarted by Shi Meng, he had long harbored resentment and anger. Now that Shi Meng had provoked him again, he was naturally furious, and his actions became even more ferocious.
Shi Meng bit her lip to endure, and occasionally a few groans, whether of pain or pleasure, escaped from her throat, acting as a catalyst to urge every restless nerve in Fu Xuanliao's body.
Lust and violence intertwined harmoniously, and a warm current flowed in the chilly winter night. As the night drew to a close, Meng propped up his limp body and wrapped his arms around Fu Xuanliao's neck, leaning in to kiss him. The taste of blood seeped into his mouth in wisps.
Reaching its peak amidst the violent impact, Shi Meng tilted his head back, his eyes unfocused as he gazed at the rooftop.
It hurts, but it's not cold anymore.
A pack of instant noodles can't compare to the energy expenditure of a workout.
Around 3 a.m., the two went to the kitchen again and pulled out a roll of noodles, two tomatoes, and the last egg from the refrigerator.
Fu Xuanliao declared first: "You can eat this egg; I've already eaten two."
Shi Meng neither agreed nor refused, skillfully cracking the egg with one hand by the side of the pot, the egg white and yolk falling into the boiling water with a plop.
Having just been released, Fu Xuanliao was in a better mood and watched with great interest: "Do you cook noodles often? Your technique is so skillful?"
Shi Meng hummed in agreement.
Fu Xuanliao still didn't understand: "Don't we have a housekeeper at home? Why do you need to cook for yourself?"
When he was focused on doing something, it was hard for him to get distracted. He waited until he had mentally calculated the cooking time of the egg yolks before turning his gaze from the pot to Fu Xuanliao's face.
His expression was calm, and he simply stated: "Before I was eight years old, I cooked for myself."
Yes, Shi Meng did not live in the Shi family before she was eight years old.
That year, Fu Xuanliao was ten years old. When he first saw Shi Meng, who was thin and short like a bean sprout, he couldn't believe that he and Shi Mu were the same age.
Eight-year-old Shi Mu attends the best primary school in Fengcheng and participates in overseas winter and summer camps with registration fees of up to hundreds of thousands of yuan every year. His hobbies are playing football and horseback riding. His father found a retired athlete from a well-known foreign team to be his private coach, and his mother carefully selected a chestnut pony at the horse farm so that he could ride it for two hours every month.
Fu Xuanliao was the same when he was a child. He would learn the piano one minute and play with robots the next. He never mastered anything for long, and no one criticized him. They were just cultivating an interest. They were born with plenty of opportunities to try and fail.
Before the age of eight, Shi Meng's past experiences were a complete blind spot for Fu Xuanliao because he never mentioned them to anyone.
Previously, I hadn't paid enough attention, but now, looking back, I realize that many of my subconscious reactions actually proved one thing—he had a difficult childhood before the age of eight.
At least while other children had no worries about food and clothing and were nestled in their parents' arms, he did not receive enough care and protection, so much so that he was used to making decisions and solving problems on his own, becoming so calm and independent that he was somewhat aloof.
Fu Xuanliao, who found another fried egg at the bottom of the bowl, said: "...Aren't you afraid my cholesterol will go up?"
Shi Meng picked up a noodle with his chopsticks: "Three, not many."
Fu Xuanliao was speechless and found it ridiculous; the sliver of sympathy that had just surfaced in his heart was quickly suppressed.
The one who should be pitied is the unarmed child, not the person in front of you who is using weapons so recklessly for personal gain.
He asked Shi Meng, "So, the so-called rules you just mentioned were actually all set by yourself?"
Shi Meng raised his face.
"You want something, you get it; you want to give something, good or bad, you stuff it into other people's hands." Fu Xuanliao smiled. "No wonder everyone is afraid of you and wants to stay far away from you."
After all, he was not only ruthless, he was unscrupulous.
Shi Meng hurriedly stood up: "You want to leave me?"
Fu Xuanliao put down her chopsticks, lifted her eyes to look at him: "Do you think I want to?"
Shi Meng recalled the question she had posed at the entrance of Heting a few hours earlier—Do you hope I am like that?
The answer to that question is uncertain, while the answer to this question is almost a foregone conclusion.
Everyone wants to stay far away from me, Shi Meng thought, it's everyone.
But why?
Feeling lost, Shi Meng began to revisit his memories, trying to find the root of the problem.
As if sensing what he was thinking, Fu Xuanliao leaned forward, with half a central island separating the two.
Then, leaning close to Shi Meng's ear, he coldly questioned, "Besides stealing other people's work, have you forgotten what other heinous things you've done?"
"No, I didn't..."
Halfway through his denial, Shi Meng's eyes suddenly widened.
Over the years, no one has mentioned it, and he had almost forgotten that torrential rainy night four years ago.
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