gray hair
I can't call him boss anymore, but what should I call him?
Fang Chuan was speechless, his mind racing through several different ways of addressing Huang Fuda, but none of them were quite right, and he felt awkward. He took Huang Fuda's hand, skipping over the formalities, and said, "...Let's eat."
"I don't want to eat."
"You didn't eat last night, and your breakfast is still untouched. Are you trying to starve yourself?"
"I'm not hungry—Fang Chuan! Put me down."
Fang Chuan hugged the person tighter, "Don't shake it, we'll be there soon."
He placed Huang Fuda on a chair at the dining table, shoved chopsticks into Huang Fuda's hand, and watched him eat. Huang Fuda ate very little, just a few bites of rice and a few bites of vegetables, and then he was about to go back to the sofa to sleep. Fang Chuan stopped him, pointed to the half bowl of rice Huang Fuda had left, and said, "How can you waste food?"
Huang Fuda frowned, sat down, shoveled the remaining half bowl into his mouth, and then left.
Fang Chuan looked at the person who had curled up on the sofa again, frowned, quickly finished his meal, then washed some fruit and brought it to the sofa, feeding Huang Fuda a strawberry.
"Take a bite of this, it's very sweet."
Huang Fuda didn't even open his eyes. "I don't want to eat."
The strawberry was placed directly into Huang Fuda's mouth. "Just one bite, just one bite."
"No... um—" Huang Fuda opened his eyes, a strawberry being shoved into his mouth. He was a little annoyed and frowned as he looked at Fang Chuan.
Fang Chuan remained calm and picked up an even bigger one. "It's already in your mouth, are you going to spit it out? It's not easy for the fruit farmers to grow it, so cherish it."
Huang Fuda swallowed the strawberry and glared at him sharply. "I told you I... um—" Huang Fuda's eyes were practically spitting fire. He finished the strawberry in his mouth and then shut his mouth, refusing to say anything more.
"You're not eating enough; your body can't handle it."
Huang Fuda shut his mouth and turned to face the sofa.
"...What do you want to eat tonight? I'll buy it after get off work."
"Fang Chuan, I have no appetite. I want to sleep, don't bother me."
Fang Chuan didn't speak, but simply placed one hand on Huang Fuda's stomach and pressed it; it was empty.
"Huang Fuda, if you don't eat next time, I'll chew it up and feed it to you."
"...Aren't you disgusting?"
"I don't find it disgusting. If you find it disgusting, then eat properly."
Huang Fuda remained quiet, as if asleep. After a moment, he said, "I want to drink, but there's no alcohol in the fridge."
"What would you like to drink? I'll bring it back to you tonight."
"Anything is fine, but no beer."
Fang Chuan took another piece of melon and held it to Huang Fuda's lips. Huang Fuda obediently opened his mouth and took it. Fang Chuan smiled as he watched him chew slowly, and then, remembering what had just happened, asked, "What should I call you?"
"casual."
Huang Fuda? Impolite. Fuda? Unpleasant to pronounce. Da Ge? Doesn't sound good. Huang Ge? Ugly. Ada? Something doesn't feel right. Ge? Brother?
"elder brother……"
Huang Fuda frowned at him, "What are you yelling about?"
"...Didn't you say before that I looked like your younger brother?"
Fang Chuan was a little disappointed and continued to ask, "What did Yunfeng call you before? Brother?"
"No, he calls me Brother An."
"An? Brother." Fang Chuan asked in confusion, "Why the word 'An'?"
Huang Fuda closed his eyes, turned over, and said softly, "My name used to be Huang An. It was Uncle Yang who gave me that name."
"Then why was his name changed by the old master of the Yun family?"
“When I was 18, Xiao Feng had a severe asthma attack. After he recovered, we were brought back to the Yun family together. The old man wanted me to help Xiao Feng wholeheartedly from now on, so he wanted to give me a name, so that I would be half a member of the Yun family.”
Fang Chuan was puzzled. He knew how much Huang Fuda cared about Yang Zhengping, so how could he agree so easily?
Huang Fuda looked at him calmly and said, "It's just a name, what's wrong with agreeing to it? That's the Yun family, such a good backer."
Fang Chuan forked a small piece of avocado and fed it to him. Seeing Huang Fuda frown, he put it in his own mouth and ate a strawberry instead.
Fang Chuan secretly raised an eyebrow and popped the avocado into his mouth.
"Did Yunfeng die from asthma?"
"Yes." Huang Fuda pushed away the fruit that was being offered to his mouth. "I can't eat anymore."
Fang Chuan glanced at the remaining food on the plate and didn't force him to eat anymore. Why was he trying to sleep again? Fang Chuan leaned close to Huang Fuda's lips and gave him two light pecks. "Don't sleep. Talk to me."
Huang Fuda ignored him.
"I haven't seen you all morning. It's so boring at work. You don't reply to my messages or answer my calls."
Huang Fuda still ignored him.
"I slept all morning, and I finally got off work..."
"Fang Chuan, I'm very sleepy, I want to sleep."
Fang Chuan lowered his eyes, picked him up, and said, "Let's go to bed and sleep together."
Nestled in Huang Fuda's arms, Fang Chuan couldn't sleep and still wanted to talk to him.
"Because of this flood, our PPP project has been suspended, and they say it needs to be replanned. There isn't enough money. I heard that the Yun family is mainly responsible for the post-disaster reconstruction of the area at the foot of Beishan Mountain that was affected by the disaster. According to that, it's estimated that the Yun family will also take care of the development there in the future."
Huang Fuda slowly opened his eyes and asked softly, "Was the reservoir really breached because of the rain?"
Fang Chuan looked up at him in confusion and said, "That reservoir is indeed quite old, but it was fine when we went to Beishan last time. It must be because the rain was too heavy this time."
Huang Fuda looked at the small scar on Fang Chuan's forehead, reached out and touched it, then looked out the window and said nothing more.
The scar on his head was itchy from being touched, so he pulled Huang Fuda's hand to touch his stomach, where there was another scar, not deep but long, slanting across his entire abdomen. Recently, a new scab had grown, and it was very itchy, but it hurt when Huang Fuda touched it. Fang Chuan trembled and said, "It hurts. I wish someone could kiss it."
Huang Fuda withdrew his hand, turned over, and continued sleeping. Seeing this, Fang Chuan moved to Huang Fuda's side, sat against the headboard, opened his robe, and shook Huang Fuda awake.
"Take a look, you've never seen this before, it's really long."
Shake, shake again.
Huang Fuda impatiently opened his eyes, and what he saw was a long, gruesome scar running from Fang Chuan's left chest to his right abdomen. His breath hitched, and he turned his head away, refusing to look. Fang Chuan squinted and began to whimper again, "It hurts, it really hurts, just once, just one kiss, it hurts so much—Huang—Fu—Da—"
"Brother—it hurts so much—"
"Brother An—it hurts—"
Huang Fuda looked up, his eyes full of helplessness, "Alright, stop howling."
Fang Chuan pointed to his stomach and said, "Then give me a kiss."
Huang Fuda pulled Fang Chuan in front of him, kissed him on the stomach, and then went to the other side of the bed to continue sleeping.
The wound felt like it had been lightly electrocuted, both painful and numb. He watched Huang Fuda run away, pursed his lips, and chased after him. He shook the man who was pretending to be asleep and said, "I want more. Why do you only care about that small piece? It's such a long one."
"Aren't you in pain?" Huang Fuda looked up.
"I only need your kiss because it hurts. A kiss will make it stop hurting."
"I mean, if I touch you, won't it hurt?"
Fang Chuan paused, then said softly, "I'm used to it. Besides, it hasn't hurt that much lately. Compared to that, I feel worse when you ignore me."
He took Huang Fuda's hand and placed it on his chest, saying, "It hurts here, it hurts terribly."
Huang Fuda lowered his eyes, got up and lay on Fang Chuan's stomach, kissing it inch by inch, and said, "You asked for it."
"Yes, I brought it on myself."
Fang Chuan tightened his abdomen, his clearly defined muscles trembling. He looked at Huang Fuda, who was buried in his stomach, opened his hand and then clenched it, finally placing it on Huang Fuda's head and pressing him even closer.
Fang Chuan gently brushed his hand through Huang Fuda's hair, revealing the glaring white strands. There hadn't been any before… Fang Chuan's heart clenched. He discreetly plucked them out, but there were too many. He brushed them aside, and more appeared. After plucking three or four, Huang Fuda looked up.
"Stop pulling them out, you can't pull them all out."
Fang Chuan plucked a few strands from his own hair to tie the two of them together. "Do you think this counts as growing old together? I guess so."
Fang Chuan's hair was too short to tie up, so he turned it around and used Huang Fuda's white hair to tie up his short hair, then showed it to Huang Fuda.
“L… Huang Fuda, I lost your ring, it got washed away in the flood. How about I give you this one I'm wearing around my neck…”
“It should have been thrown away long ago.” Huang Fuda got up and lay flat on the bed.
Fang Chuan paused as he took off the necklace, then lowered it with trembling hands. He looked at Huang Fuda's haggard face, hesitant to speak.
He bought some alcohol after work that night, and while he was doing laundry, Huang Fuda drank half a bottle by himself, then curled up on the bed and fell asleep. Fang Chuan ate dinner alone, then kept the food warm in the pot before going to the bedroom to wait for the drunkard to wake up.
The drunkard slept soundly until dawn. Fang Chuan placed the food in a conspicuous place and wrote a note telling him to eat when he woke up, but when he returned, the food was still untouched, and the other half-bottle of wine in the refrigerator was gone.
Fang Chuan frowned as he closed the refrigerator and woke Huang Fuda, who was on the sofa. Huang Fuda opened his eyes groggily and smiled at Fang Chuan.
"Wake up," he shook Huang Fuda awake as he was about to close his eyes again. "Why did you drink half a bottle on an empty stomach again?"
"Fang Chuan, I can't sleep..."
Fang Chuan remained silent for a long time before saying, "...Wait for me a little longer. Once I've earned enough money, I'll get you a new mattress, open a new hotel, and give you everything I have, okay?"
Huang Fuda chuckled a few times, then went back to sleep.
Fang Chuan first put Huang Fuda down, then cooked a meal and brought it to the sofa, watching him eat. He watched Huang Fuda eat two bowls before starting to eat the now-cold food himself.
He carried Huang Fuda to the bedroom and said, "Have you lost weight again?"
When Huang Fuda stood on the scale, he weighed 79kg, having lost a full 5kg. Fang Chuan frowned and said, "From now on, I'll wake you up in the morning, and you can go back to sleep after you've finished breakfast."
Huang Fuda stepped off the scale, waved his hand, and said, "It's still heavier than yours."
“You’re 8cm taller than me, and now you’re almost as heavy as me.” Fang Chuan stood on the scale and weighed 74. “And I’ve lost weight recently because I was sick. Even now, it feels so light to hug you.”
"Then why won't you let me drink? I can't sleep if I don't drink."
“You can do something else,” Fang Chuan chased after him. “How about I rent a small shop for you downstairs so you won’t be bored?”
"Is this interesting?" Huang Fuda sat on the bed and looked at him quietly. "Fang Chuan, stop making a fuss. I just want to get a good night's sleep."
Fang Chuan looked down at him, then slowly squatted down in front of him, looking up at him. "I didn't mean for you to do this. Your stomach isn't good, you can't drink like this. I'll think of another way to help you sleep. I was just worried you'd be bored at home. Do you want to go see Director Yang, or is there anywhere you'd like to go? I'll take you, okay?"
"I don't want to go anywhere."
Huang Fuda lay flat on the bed, staring drowsily at the ceiling. Suddenly, a face appeared in front of him, and the ring Fang Chuan wore around his neck fell out of his collar and dangled in front of Huang Fuda's chest.
"Stop drinking, try something else," Fang Chuan said, slipping his hand under Huang Fuda's clothes and kissing Huang Fuda's ear. "I saw online that this works too."
The ring felt cool and kept swaying against Huang Fuda's chest. Sweat soaked the sheets, and he drifted off into a daze. Fang Chuan gently covered his eyes with his hand, and the movements below slowed down. As if coaxing him to sleep, Fang Chuan said, "Sleep."
Huang Fuda lowered his legs from Fang Chuan's waist and sat on him, saying, "When will I ever fall asleep like this?"
Fang Chuan looked at the person on top of him, his lower abdomen tightened, and he stammered, "Then...then you...do it yourself?"
Huang Fuda braced himself against Fang Chuan's thighs with both hands, his two moles almost popping out. Fang Chuan's eyes burned with desire, and his nose felt dry.
"Are you tired..." Fang Chuan gently supported him.
"How can you sleep if you're not tired?"
“…Then let me help you again.” He pressed his hand on the two moles, then gripped them tightly, his technique skillful. He would come close and then release, repeating this until Huang Fuda was leaning on his shoulder, his fingertips losing all strength.
"Don't do that, I don't like it."
Fang Chuan bit his ear and thrust upwards forcefully, "Old fogey."
Fang Chuan was late, two hours late, but it wasn't a big deal since it was his own company. General Manager Wu really stopped asking about his relationship with Huang Fuda. Huang Fuda had completely disappeared from Xianye, Yundao had changed its name, and Xiao Xingxing had quieted down after several unsuccessful attempts to find Huang Fuda. Liu Jiacheng's father passed away. He suffered a heart attack while on night patrol in a building under construction and fell from the 17th floor.
Fang Chuan opened the door after get off work, hiding something behind his back. He squinted at Huang Fuda and smiled, saying, "I brought you a gift, oh no, two. Guess what they are?"
Huang Fuda lay on the balcony sunbathing, glancing at him lazily.
Before Fang Chuan could say anything more, the gift started calling out on its own. Fang Chuan reluctantly took it out; inside the box were a kitten and a puppy.
The two little ones started fighting as soon as they were let out, the two adorable yet fierce creatures fighting all the way from the doorway to the balcony. Huang Fuda gently poked them with his finger and smiled tenderly.
Fang Chuan smiled at him, couldn't help but hug and kiss him for a while, and then pecked him twice more after they separated. "I'm glad you like it. This way you won't be bored at home."
Fang Chuan sat with him on the balcony when his phone rang.
"Xiao Chuan, Yu Xiangyang is in trouble. Go to the police station now and take a look."
Huang Fuda sat up, frowned, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with him?"
Fang Chuan hung up the phone and hesitated before saying, "I can't see, I can't hear, I can't speak... my arms and legs are broken..."
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