At first, Fu Hui suspected that the “girl” in front of him had been sent by someone and had ulterior motives.
But all these years, no one had ever known that he came here at the same time every year for a short stay.
So why would word get out this year of all years?
There was something interesting about her stupidity too.
Sometimes when Fu Hui spoke to her, he was certain she genuinely hadn’t understood a word, judging from how bewildered she looked.
But other times… whenever she heard something she didn’t like, she seemed much more like she was simply pretending not to understand.
And she did it remarkably naturally.
Her eyes would go slightly blank, as if her mind had completely emptied.
If Fu Hui hadn’t noticed that there was a very clear pattern to the occasions when she “didn’t understand,”
she really would have been a perfectly convincing little fool.
Fu Hui braced one hand against the coffee table and leaned slightly toward Lan Xi, bringing the two of them much closer together.
He opened the brightly colored magazine for him. “Look through this for a while?”
The colorful pictures ought to have been extremely appealing to someone with the mental age of a small child.
But the person in front of him wasn’t interested in the slightest.
How could Fu Hui know that, as far as Lan Xi was concerned, he couldn’t read the words, and the pictures weren’t nearly as entertaining as television?
Lan Xi halfheartedly flipped through a few pages, then quietly began leaning into Fu Hui.
This time, the seraph surprisingly didn’t push him away. Only the muscles in his arm tightened slightly.
Why did he suddenly change his attitude?
Oh! The flower worked!
That actually went against everything Lan Xi knew as a succubus. As far as he was concerned, standing naked in front of someone was usually the most effective method. But ever since he had been picked up in the mountains, every angel he encountered had refused to let him run around naked.
What a shame.
After thinking it over, Lan Xi could only conclude: As expected of angels!
Pure! Conservative!
And so pretentious!
His hands had already started itching to wander, but in the end, he obediently restricted himself to holding one of Fu Hui’s fingers.
Lan Xi tried playing with Fu Hui’s hand the same way he had that day, turning it back and forth a couple of times.
Fu Hui: “…”
Lan Xi: Oh? He isn’t angry.
He decided to test the boundaries.
Lowering his head, he lightly kissed the back of Fu Hui’s hand.
Fu Hui’s five fingers abruptly tightened, but he still didn’t push Lan Xi away.
Lan Xi was curious.
Was giving him one flower really that effective?
Like a little puppy, he gave the back of Fu Hui’s hand several more small, smacking kisses.
Fu Hui still showed no particular reaction. The bodyguard beside them, however, flushed slightly. Too embarrassed to keep watching, he quietly backed away.
The more Lan Xi tested, the bolder he became. This time, he even added a little technique: he stuck out his tongue.
And was immediately punished.
Fu Hui caught his face in one hand.
Lan Xi’s mouth was squashed shut.
He quietly frowned.
That’s already too much for him?
I was being extremely restrained. Just now, I was planning to go straight for the seraph’s junk.
Damn these pure, conservative angels!
“What are you doing?” the man’s cool voice sounded beside his ear.
By now, Lan Xi had become extremely skilled at pretending not to hear. He simply continued leaning against Fu Hui without saying anything.
Fu Hui leaned close to Lan Xi’s ear, his voice icy. “If you don’t explain yourself, I’ll chop your hand off in a minute.”
Something about a hand… something about coming off.
Lan Xi understood about half of it.
He thought and thought but couldn’t work out what Fu Hui meant.
In the end, he simply held out his hand to him.
Fu Hui: “…”
Fu Hui took Lan Xi by the wrist and exerted a little pressure.
He wanted to test exactly what she could and couldn’t understand.
“You think you can fool me?” Fu Hui’s voice was barely above a whisper, soft enough that only the two of them could hear.
“Tell me. Who sent you?” At the same time, the man’s other hand settled against the back of Lan Xi’s neck. His fingertips rubbed lightly over the skin, carrying the vague implication that he was deciding where best to make the first cut.
Lan Xi hadn’t understood the first sentence.
The second one, however, he had only just learned.
They said that all the time on television!
Who sent me?
No one.
I came by myself.
But if Lan Xi wanted to keep pretending to be stupid whenever it suited him, he couldn’t admit that now. So he remained perfectly silent.
Fu Hui waited for a while, but nothing came.
He withdrew his hand, patted Lan Xi on the head instead, then stood up and left without another word.
That left Lan Xi deeply disappointed.
“Sir?” The bodyguard was startled to see Fu Hui come out.
Fu Hui gave him a sidelong glance. “Why are you looking at me?”
The bodyguard gave an awkward little laugh.
Fu Hui knew exactly what he was thinking and said flatly, “Sleeping with someone mentally impaired is illegal.”
The bodyguard: “Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!”
“Go make her some fruit yogurt,” Fu Hui calmly instructed.
The bodyguard steadied himself. “All right.”
The bodyguard turned toward the kitchen, but Fu Hui didn’t immediately return to the living room. Instead, he stood behind the glass door and quietly watched Lan Xi.
The moment he left, the “girl” visibly became bored. She looked left, then right, and even scrunched up her face in displeasure.
At least she didn’t touch anything else.
Fu Hui observed her like this for half a minute.
Lan Xi seemed to sense something and immediately looked in his direction.
Their gazes met.
Neither looked away first.
She doesn’t seem afraid of me at all, no matter how coldly I threaten her.
When I hold her tightly, she actually seems happy.
No one sent her.
She really is stupid.
A little cunning, perhaps. But not much.
“Sir, the yogurt.” Before long, the bodyguard returned with a tray.
Fu Hui took it from him and personally carried it over to Lan Xi.
“Want some?” Fu Hui asked.
Lan Xi nodded without even thinking.
Fu Hui’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Lan Xi, who had forgotten to pretend he didn’t understand: “…”
So she really did choose when to play dumb.
Fu Hui didn’t expose him and simply set the tray down. “Eat.”
Lan Xi picked up the little silver spoon provided with it and began eating in large mouthfuls.
After two bites, he suddenly remembered something. He hesitated, scooped up another spoonful, and held it to Fu Hui’s lips.
Fu Hui: “…”
He said, “Thank you. I don’t eat other people’s spit.”
Lan Xi was still wondering, Why not?
On television, everyone always looked so happy doing this.
Just as he had with the flower earlier, Lan Xi stubbornly kept the spoon held out.
I’m willing to share a bite with you! That’s already extremely generous!!!
Seeing that reasoning with him was useless, Fu Hui caught Lan Xi by the wrist and pushed the spoon back into Lan Xi’s own mouth.
Lan Xi chewed.
Fine. If he doesn’t want it, this demon will eat it himself.
Pacified by the fruit yogurt, Lan Xi stayed quietly in place for a while.
But this seraph didn’t watch television, and Lan Xi wasn’t allowed to kiss him or touch him. It wasn’t long before he grew bored again.
He flopped back against the sofa and turned his face toward Fu Hui, who was holding a book.
First, Lan Xi stretched his arms as though yawning, then one hand conveniently began inching toward Fu Hui.
He started by hooking his fingers over the edge of the book in Fu Hui’s hands.
I’m touching the book, not him!
Surely he can’t get angry over that!
Lan Xi tugged idly at one corner of the page.
With a smack, Fu Hui slapped his hand away. “Don’t wrinkle my book,” he said coolly.
Lan Xi was furious.
I can’t even touch the book?
His fingers changed direction and caught hold of Fu Hui’s trousers.
Fu Hui: “…”
He pinched Lan Xi’s fingers and moved them away. “Those wrinkle too.”
The succubus was shocked.
Does he have thorns growing all over him or something?
Lan Xi decided to give him the cold shoulder for three minutes.
Fu Hui read for three minutes. Lan Xi stared at the clock on the wall for three minutes.
When the three minutes were up, he quietly reached out again.
Fu Hui had already noticed what Lan Xi was doing from the corner of his eye, but he didn’t move.
He wanted to see what other tricks she had.
The next second.
Lan Xi placed his fingers against Fu Hui’s forearm.
When Fu Hui didn’t brush him off this time, Lan Xi immediately grabbed hold and used him for leverage to sit upright again. Then he quickly scooted his butt across the sofa twice until he was pressed right up against Fu Hui once more.
For no particular reason, Fu Hui remembered the cat his family had once kept.
A tabby.
The more you ignored it, the more it would sneakily creep closer. Every so often it would scratch you or cause a little trouble, and it wouldn’t stop until every bit of your attention was focused on it.
But the person beside him was a real girl.
She wasn’t a cat.
Fu Hui lifted his head and called to the bodyguard. “Make her some sweet soup.”
The kitchen quickly prepared a bowl of cassava sweet soup.
It was even better than the food made by the caretaker Wen Ming had hired and far better than the hotel’s large-batch cooking.
Elio’s Notes: 糖水, literally “sugar water,” refers to a broad category of Chinese sweet dessert soups. This one is made with cassava.
Lan Xi reluctantly abandoned the seraph and picked up the bowl.
…
Time passed quickly.
Xiao Dong really did arrive right at two in the afternoon.
He had no idea what Young Master Wen had come back to this villa for, much less why Mr. Fu had told him to collect him at two instead of coming earlier.
He simply didn’t dare question Mr. Fu.
The bodyguard led him into the now-familiar living room.
Xiao Dong took one look and saw several empty bowls and plates sitting in front of Young Master Wen.
“He…” Xiao Dong opened his mouth in astonishment.
“Maybe she likes the food here,” Fu Hui said as he closed the book in his hands.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. We’ve troubled you again.” Xiao Dong was nearly running out of apologetic smiles.
“It’s fine.” Fu Hui seemed remarkably approachable at the moment. “You’re usually very busy, aren’t you?”
Xiao Dong stammered, “Y-yes.”
“So it’s difficult for you to look after her properly?”
“Y-yes.”
“It can’t be easy caring for a family member like this. You’ve worked hard.”
Fu Hui’s gentleness in that moment gave Xiao Dong the wrong impression.
Without realizing it, Xiao Dong straightened a little and became less frightened. “Actually, it’s not too bad. Most of the time, she’s pretty easy to deal with. She’s very obedient, except…”
“Except what?”
Xiao Dong realized he had said too much and gave an awkward smile.
Fu Hui, however, had no intention of letting him brush it aside and asked again, “Except what?”
That faint sense of pressure returned. Xiao Dong’s calves trembled slightly as he said dryly, “Except… she insists on coming here.”
Only a few days ago, all Young Master Wen had needed was a television and everything had been fine.
“Oh. I see.” Fu Hui offered no further comment on Xiao Dong’s answer.
“Take her back.”
“Yes, yes.”
“If she wants to come again tomorrow…” Fu Hui paused. “Bring her yourself. That way nothing happens to her on the road.”
Xiao Dong: “Huh?… Oh. Yes. All right.”
It wasn’t until he had led Lan Xi a long way away that Xiao Dong finally realized exactly what he had agreed to.
That man really was frightening.
Somehow, before you knew it, he had already led you into doing exactly what he wanted.
Xiao Dong turned to look at Lan Xi.
Lan Xi hadn’t even burped once.
That bizarre digestive ability… Xiao Dong sighed. “Coming back tomorrow?”
Lan Xi nodded.
Xiao Dong had no idea what to do with him.
And he didn’t dare offend the mysterious Mr. Fu either.
＊
Morning.
The bodyguard stepped outside and immediately spotted Lan Xi draped over the gate as usual.
He walked over. “Come inside first.”
Lan Xi didn’t move.
The bodyguard opened the gate. Lan Xi thought about it, then pulled the gate shut again.
The bodyguard: “…”
He had no choice but to turn around and, with practiced ease, call for Fu Hui.
Before long, Fu Hui really did come outside.
He slowly walked over to Lan Xi. Lan Xi immediately smiled at him, plucked a flower from the gate, and handed it over in one smooth sequence.
Fu Hui glanced down and said, “Picking flowers off my gate every time you come isn’t very appropriate, is it?”
Even after saying that, he still accepted it.
Then he raised a hand and opened the gate.
Lan Xi tried the same move for the second time and immediately threw himself toward Fu Hui’s arms. As usual, Fu Hui dodged, and the man’s large hand caught Lan Xi by the back of his collar instead.
Fu Hui stared at him with a hint of amusement. “The little mute sure likes her rituals.”
As the words left his mouth, his gaze met Xiao Dong’s dumbfounded stare behind Lan Xi.
＊
Jing City.
Taking advantage of a break in his work, Wen Ming called the hotel. “How is he? He hasn’t caused any trouble, has he?”
The manager said, “Don’t worry. Everything has been perfectly quiet.”
Wen Ming breathed a sigh of relief.
There hadn’t been any further news from Mr. Fu either. Presumably, the previous incident was over.
This was the last time the Wen family would clean up after him.