homosexuality
Although Fu Jia protected Xia Tong very well, it still didn't stop Jing Siye, that shameless old man, from seducing his Xia Tong.
Jing Siye was charming and knew how to handle situations gracefully. He also knew how to charm women, and most importantly, he was handsome; even when Xia Tong was close to him, she didn't find him unpleasant. Fu Jia, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Although he was much more subdued around Xia Tong, his family's pampering had instilled a deep-seated sense of superiority in him. He loved to give orders and coerce people. On the surface, he always complied with her, but when it came to certain matters, his attitude remained forceful, insisting that Xia Tong side with him. Xia Tong hated this kind of forceful behavior and would stubbornly resist him. Fu Jia, however, only knew how to appease her after he had already angered her, so his clumsy and impulsive nature made him no match for a master like Jing Siye.
Although Xia Tong spends most of her time with Fu Jia, her feelings for him aren't deep. She simply lacks emotional dependence, and Fu Jia's constant presence fills that void. Xia Tong doesn't enjoy overly intimate interactions with Fu Jia; she simply enjoys playing with him. Fu Jia is knowledgeable and adventurous, so their relationship is more like that of playmates than lovers.
Of course, Fu Jia understood this as well. Given Xia Tong's girlish personality, if she truly liked him, how could she not show shyness and affection whenever she looked at him, and be so open about it? Fu Jia wasn't particularly bothered by this. Xia Tong was already his, and the future was even more so. She had gone from disliking him to liking him; surely she could go from disliking him to liking him? He was confident of that.
Of course, this is on the premise that there are no other men outside.
So when Fu Jia returned from his grandmother's house with his parents, he was surprised to find that Xia Tong had come to regard Jing Siye as a mentor and close friend. She would casually mention what Uncle Jing had taught her, how insightful his views were on certain matters, and even praise his demeanor and charisma. What Fu Jia found even more alarming was that Xia Tong always spoke of Jing Siye with an almost worshipful tone. Xia Tong herself craved fatherly love, and it was normal for her to have feelings for older, stable, and gentle men. But what if those feelings became so strong that they threatened his position? Fu Jia couldn't tolerate it.
In truth, Jing Siye and Xia Tong didn't spend much time together, but with each interaction, Xia Tong discovered more of his strengths and incredible side. Fu Jia could no longer tolerate their interactions, nor did he want to sulk alone in the dark, so he had to take some forceful measures.
On a cold winter afternoon, the warm, thin sunlight was not invited into the Fu family's study as usual. The room was pitch black, with only a cell phone providing a faint glow.
"Do you know Professor Fang Linping?" Although it was dark, a handsome silhouette could still be seen through the shadows.
"What?" A light-hearted male voice on the other end hesitated.
"Do you know?" The person in the shadows spoke with a hint of impatience. Suddenly, the light from a lighter illuminated his face, revealing thin lips, bright eyes, and strong features. His usually sharp short hair was now somewhat frizzy, limp like a young child's. He skillfully lit a cigarette, a wisp of white smoke rising slowly, tracing a graceful shape before disappearing into the darkness. Only a bright red eye remained, flickering like a giant beast lurking in the shadows. She disliked the smell of smoke, and he wasn't a heavy smoker, so he hadn't touched a cigarette in a long time. But when he was agitated, only Xia Tong and cigarettes could soothe him. And the former was always the reason he kept the latter by his side.
"You mean that most famous neurologist in the country? I know, didn't he retire?" the other man asked, puzzled. What good does knowing do? It's all pointless anyway.
"I heard that your husband's aphasia was caused by nerve damage from an illness when he was a child, not that he was born unable to speak. Last time I heard Dr. Fang say that this condition can be cured, which reminded me of you guys." The cigarette seemed to have really calmed him down, so he was now casually playing with the lighter in his hand, his tone relaxed.
"What? You know Fang Linping?" The voice on the other end suddenly became excited, completely devoid of the hesitation and confusion from before. A sense of joy at finally getting what was right was mixed in with the voice, which could not be ignored.
"Hmm." He disappeared into the darkness and didn't say much.
"What—what do you mean?" The person on the other end hesitated again upon hearing his tone. He usually wouldn't even glance at them, so why would he offer to help them now? He must have some ulterior motive, right?
"Dr. Fang is getting on in years and naturally doesn't want to deal with these things anymore. He just likes to enjoy his retirement at home and live a peaceful life. But since you are Xia Xiaotong's friends, you are mine too, so I will naturally ask Dr. Fang for you. However, I also have some trouble, and I believe you won't stand idly by, right?" He slowly laid out the bait and took the opportunity to hook them.
"Just tell me what you want, as long as it's within my power." The tone on the other end became firm, as if they had made up their minds.
"Xia Xiaotong has made a friend who isn't quite right for her. I hope you can give her some advice." He spoke casually, as if he were talking about something unimportant.
"What friend?" The person on the other end was completely confused. If it was really just a friend, why make such a fuss?
“Friends she shouldn’t have.” His voice was a little hoarse, perhaps from smoking, but then his tone became firm and unyielding. “In the most direct and quickest way. Tomorrow at two o’clock in the afternoon, come to Meijing Yage, and you’ll know then.”
After being hung up on, he stared blankly at his phone for a while. If he could really get Fang Linping to come out of retirement, would there really be a turning point...?
However, he was slightly curious in the end: Just how wicked were the friends Xia Tong had made?
But he understood the next day.
Meijing Yage is a famous private restaurant, but those who haven't been there usually can't find it, so it took Dai Zhen a lot of time. When he arrived, Xia Tong and the others had already started their meal. Fu Jia went out to pick him up, but he looked very unhappy, as if someone owed him tens of millions of dollars.
When Fu Jia pushed open the door and led him in, Xia Tong was chatting with a very well-mannered gentleman, and seemed to be in a good mood.
“I ran into Dai Zhen when I went out to buy you candy. Didn’t you say last time that Dai Zhen was too busy to be seen? This time I’m giving you a chance.” Fu Jia made up a bunch of stories without changing her expression.
Xia Tong was also happy to see Dai Zhen and pulled him to sit down: "Why did you disappear? Were you that busy? You didn't even remember to take me out to play or anything." She was still eating when she opened the bag of cotton candy that Fu Jia had just handed her.
"It's not good for girls to eat too much sugar, and snacks too," one of the men in the room said. Xia Tong immediately turned to listen to him. Then she retorted, "I didn't eat that much sugar either."
"Isn't it you who loves snacks more than regular meals?" Jing Siye said with a smile in her eyes, her expression playful yet indulgent.
Xia Tong touched her nose sheepishly: "But it's already opened, it would be a waste not to eat it!"
"You think cotton candy is only for eating?" Jing Siye took the bag of cotton candy from Xia Tong's hand, took out a white cotton candy, and squeezed it a few times with his fingers. The completely dry cotton candy was actually squeezed until it stuck together.
"What are you doing?" Xia Tong was very interested in what he was doing, staring at his fingers with wide eyes.
"Look." Jing Siye opened her palm, and the cotton candy slowly cracked open from the glued opening, revealing the pink heart inside, like a flower slowly blooming.
"How did you do that? I want to try it too." Xia Tong was very interested in this and took out a marshmallow to experiment. Actually, it was just using the sugar syrup inside the marshmallow to stick the part with the red filling together, but she had never seen it before and insisted on trying it.
While Jing Siye and Xia Tong were talking, Dai Zhen and Fu Jia didn't say a word. Dai Zhen suddenly realized that the man Xia Tong shouldn't have befriended was this guy! Looking at Fu Jia, his face was still ashen, sitting there like a demon. This wasn't a friend, he was clearly a love rival! Xia Tong, oblivious, was still imitating the little tricks she thought were novel. Dai Zhen was speechless; these tricks to fool young girls were truly clumsy! Taking advantage of Xia Tong's trip to the restroom, Dai Zhen followed her.
"You don't like that guy, do you?" Dai Zhen leaned against the vanity outside the bathroom, glancing sideways at Xia Tong who was washing her hands.
Xia Tong paused for a moment, her hand also froze, before she immediately denied it: "No, I didn't."
"Thank goodness—" Dai Zhen clutched his chest, looking like he was saying, "Thank goodness you didn't," in an exaggerated way.
"How can you say it's okay? So what if I like him?" Xia Tong was puzzled and slightly dissatisfied. She actually did have a bit of a crush on Jing Siye, but she wouldn't admit it, thinking it was just the kind of admiration one has for a friend. With Fu Jia around, Xia Tong subconsciously placed Jing Siye in the position of a friend, and subconsciously rejected her feelings for him.
"Can't you tell he's just like me?" Dai Zhen rubbed his eyes, speaking very casually.
"What's the same?" Xia Tong had a bad feeling.
"Sexual orientation, of course." Dai Zhen directly revealed the biggest question.
Xia Tong stopped what she was doing and stared at him in disbelief. She had always known that he and Xu Qin were a couple, and in this day and age, with so many yaoi fans, she hadn't thought much of it. Besides, Dai Zhen was good-looking and knew how to have fun, while Xu Qin was a top-tier handsome guy; anything two handsome men did could be forgiven. Therefore, Xia Tong considered Dai Zhen her "best friend" and always hung out with him.
"Really? I don't believe it!" Xia Tong, having regained her senses, stared at Dai Zhen as if trying to read something from his face.
Dai Zhen didn't offer any further explanation, shrugged, and walked out of the restroom.
Xia Tong splashed cold water on her face, looking at her water-soaked reflection in the mirror with a sense of bewilderment. She could accept that Xu Qin and Dai Zhen were gay, but she couldn't accept that Jing Siye was too. It was precisely this inability to accept that made her question whether she had truly fallen in love with him. If not, why would she feel such immense disappointment and sadness upon learning that he was the same as Dai Zhen? Because of her parents, Xia Tong valued loyalty highly, and her previous interactions with Jing Siye were merely based on attraction, causing her to subconsciously resist thinking about this issue. But now, it seemed she had no choice but to seriously consider it.
When Xia Tong returned to the private room after composing herself, she was noticeably colder towards Jing Siye, no longer showing the same enthusiasm and eagerness she had displayed earlier. Jing Siye noticed her avoidance and, while serving her food, asked, "What's wrong? You seem listless."
Xia Tong silently shook her head, then chatted casually with Dai Zhen. Jing Siye tried to speak to her several times, but Fu Jia stopped him each time. Even after the dinner ended, he still couldn't understand Xia Tong's sudden change in attitude towards him.
Xia Tong remained silent on the way home, but Fu Jia was quite pleased with the effect. He hummed a little tune with a touch of smugness, from foreign operas with lyrics he didn't know to ubiquitous internet songs played in barbershops, he hummed a few lines of each one.
Xia Tong, annoyed by his whining and mumbling, said disdainfully, "Why is your singing so awful?"
"Is it bad? Well, you'll have to get used to it. I'm going to sing it for you every day from now on." Fu Jia said smugly as she drove, nodding her head to the beat of the song.
"Are you getting revenge on me?" Xia Tong frowned.
“You can get revenge too. We can settle scores.” Fu Jia smiled, her previous grimace completely gone.
Xia Tong glanced at his smug grin and said speechlessly, "My singing isn't as lethal as yours."
However, a very unfortunate piece of news reached the Jing family: their eldest grandson, Jing Siye, who had returned from studying abroad, was actually gay, which was why he was only in his thirties and still hadn't found a woman to marry.
The entire Jing family was shocked by the news. The old patriarch lamented why he had sent his eldest grandson to such a depraved place abroad, while ordering Jing Siye to immediately break off his relationships with other men and then make grand preparations for his marriage.
Jing Siye was already overwhelmed by all the nagging about blind dates, so he naturally had no time to bother with a little Xia Tong. He was now speechless, and his only headache was: How the hell did I become gay?!
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