BIAS Chapter 9: Sway

Yan Xu watched in a daze as Fang Jincheng got out of the car and slowly walked over. It wasn’t until the other party took his hand and asked if he was cold that he suddenly returned to his senses.

“No.” He uncomfortably retracted his hand. “Why did you suddenly come over?”

“I’ve come to get the present.” Fang Jincheng chuckled, then lowered his head and sniffed Yan Xu’s clothes. “You went to eat hotpot?”

The abrupt intimate action caused Yan Xu to panic. He pressed his lips together and took a half step back, moving aside to reveal Chi Ye who was behind him. “I ate hotpot with my friend. This is my friend Chi Ye.” He looked at Chi Ye, and after a pause, said truthfully, “This is my brother, Fang Jincheng.”

Chi Ye stood diagonally behind Yan Xu. He had been looking down at the gloves in his hand, and only looked up when he heard Yan Xu’s introduction.

The street light overhead cast a cone-shaped beam of light, covering the three of them.

Chi Ye had already sized up Fang Jincheng when he got out of the car. He saw the crisp suit under the wool overcoat, the neat tie around his neck, his shiny leather shoes, and his elite aura that was completely different from his own.

Chi Ye put his left hand, which was holding the nylon gloves, behind his back. He uncomfortably extended his right hand and said, “Hello, my name is Chi Ye.”

Fang Jincheng was slightly stunned, then immediately chuckled. He held Chi Ye’s rough hand and said, “Hello, my name is Fang Jincheng, Xiao Xu’s—” he glanced at Yan Xu before continuing, “Xiao Xu’s stepbrother.”

Chi Ye felt his face burning; it was both sore and hot. However, he himself couldn’t tell whether this embarrassment, like being slapped, was due to the word “stepbrother,” or the short laugh, or even something else.

Although he knew that laugh was not of malicious intent, he knew in his heart that he must have made a fool of himself to cause the other party to laugh. He slowly turned his eyes to the left, wanting to see if Yan Xu was also laughing because of his blunder.

Yan Xu did not laugh, nor was he even looking at him. His eyes stared fixedly at Fang Jincheng. The moment Yan Xu felt his gaze and turned to look at him, Chi Ye quickly withdrew his gaze.

“Your hair is a mess.” Fang Jincheng saw Yan Xu’s mess bangs, and as if nobody else was present, brushed his hair for him. “It’s cold outside, should we go inside?”

Chi Ye watched awkwardly while figuring out the familial implications behind the term “stepbrother.” Hearing this, he reflexively said, “ I won’t go in.” The moment the words were said, he fell into another awkward situation—he realized that perhaps this “we” didn’t actually include him.

The street light was too dim, so Yan Xu didn’t see Chi Ye’s thoroughly red neck. He asked him, “Why don’t you come in to drink some hot tea to warm up before going?”

“It’s fine. If I return too late, it will affect my coworkers’ rest.” Chi Ye had already sat on the motorcycle, saying to Yan Xu, “Thank you for today.”

Since he said it like that, Yan Xu didn’t insist on making him stay, waving him goodbye.

After he and Fang Jincheng entered the shop, Yan Xu first boiled some water, then said, “You can sit for a bit. I’ll go upstairs to get it.”

As soon as he turned around, his wrist was grabbed.

Fang Jincheng curled his lips, and he said with a bit aggrievedly, “I came over as soon as I got off of work, and I waited for you until now.”

Yan Xu reacted and said in surprise, “You still haven’t eaten dinner yet? Why didn’t you call me?”

“My phone ran out of battery. I don’t know where the charger cable went.” Fang Jincheng shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

Yan Xu felt a bit guilty. “Then I’ll make you something. Is egg fried rice okay? Or do you want to eat something else?”

“Are there dumplings? I still haven’t tasted the dumplings you made yet.” Fang Jincheng’s deep and affectionate eyes were fixed on Yan Xu’s face.

Yan Xu couldn’t handle being stared at, so he turned his head to look at the kitchen. “Is pork and corn-filled dumplings okay? Do you want pan-fried dumplings or boiled dumplings?”

“Boiled dumplings in soup; I want to drink some hot soup.”

Yan Xu took off his overcoat and entered the kitchen. Fang Jincheng also took off his overcoat and followed after him.

Yan Xu glanced at Fang Jincheng’s well-tailored suit, then said, “You can just wait outside. There’s a lot of smoke in here and it will get on your clothes.”

“It’s fine.” Fang Jincheng looked down and unbuttoned his suit. He loosened his necktie as he said, “We have a project commendation meeting these days, so we have to wear a suit. The meetings ended today. Besides, it’s the weekend tomorrow.”

Yan Xu knew he wouldn’t be able to stop him, so he didn’t say anything. He lowered his head and busied himself.

Fang Jincheng went beside him and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing an apron? It’ll be difficult to wash sweaters if it gets dirty.”

Yan Xu looked down at his waist and realized that he forgot. He had just said “no…” when a hand was already reaching out to his waist from behind.

Fang Jincheng reached his right hand holding the linen apron into the narrow gap between Yan Xu and the kitchen counter. Then, his left arm circled around from the other side, hooking onto one of the tise. He took half a step back, both hands settling at the small of Yan Xu’s back as he carefully brought the two strings together and tied them into a neat bow.

At that moment, their position was really close. Yan Xu felt it was like Fang Jincheng was hugging him from behind. He stiffly straightened his waist and held his breath, afraid that his breathing would reveal something. It was only after Fang Jincheng finished tying his apron and stood beside him that he secretly let out a sigh of relief and calmed down.

Fang Jincheng tilted his head and glanced at Yan Xu’s red ears. He smiled and asked, “Chi Ye is the friend who gave you the neck massager?”

The water started to boil and Yan Xu put the dumplings in while answering, “Mhm, yes.”

Fang Jincheng thoughtfully nodded, then asked again, “Does he own a shop around here? But when I shook hands with him, I felt that his palm was really rough; it wasn’t someone who does delicate work.”

“Oh…” Yan Xu subconsciously responded, then answered after a two second pause, “No, he works at the nearby construction site.”

“Be careful of your hand!” Fang Jincheng saw Yan Xu using chopsticks as a colander and sticking them directly into the soup pot. He quickly grabbed his wrist and reminded him, “These are chopsticks, not a spoon. Be careful not to get burned by the steam. Let me see you’ve burned yourself.”

Yan Xu came back to his senses. After letting Fang Jincheng hold his wrist to check carefully, he whispered, “I didn’t get burned. Thanks.”

Fang Jincheng rubbed the back of his head. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have distracted you.” He indeed didn’t talk again, quietly watching Yan Xu.

After the dumplings floated up, Yan Xu added some cold water into the pot. When the water boiled again, he covered it with the lid to let it simmer for a while, then put the dumplings into a bowl.

They sat at the dining table. After it had cooled a bit, Fang Jincheng scooped a dumpling in his mouth with a white porcelain spoon and took a refined bite of half of it. After swallowing it, he looked up and praised, “It tastes good. It’s just like I remember.”

Yan Xu smiled, but didn’t take the compliment to heart.

Not long after graduating from high school, he moved out. Fang Jincheng would occasionally come over to his apartment to find him. When he had time, he would make food and they would eat together, but such occasions were rare. Moreover, Fang Jincheng had been abroad for three years, so no matter how profound the taste was, he should have forgotten it.

Fang Jincheng could also tell what he was thinking. He slightly raised an eyebrow and said, “I didn’t forget. I love your sweet and sour fish, when can I eat it again?”

Yan Xu lowered his eyes to look at the steam rising from the bowl and whispered, “Anytime is fine.”

Fang Jincheng slowly finished eating the bowl of dumplings. Yan Xu put the bowl in the kitchen sink. He hesitated two seconds before walking over to the kitchen entrance, leaned against the door frame, and asked, “D-do you want to come upstairs to sit for a while? A-and get your present while we’re at it.” He was a bit nervous, stammering just those words, with the last word even sounding a little cracked.

Fang Jincheng was stunned. After a pause, he shook his head. “It’s too late, you should go to bed.”

“A-alright.” Embarrassment and disappointment flashed in his eyes. He quickly lowered his gaze and turned around. “Then I’ll go get it for you.”

After speaking, he quickly walked upstairs and came back down with the present not long after.

Fang Jincheng looked at the famous brand of cashmere scarf in his hand and narrowed his eyes slightly. “You said the watch I gave you was too expensive to accept, but this scarf is more expensive than the watch.” When he mentioned the watch, he realized that Yan Xu’s wrist was empty. “Where’s the watch? Why aren’t you wearing it?”

Yan Xu uneasily rubbed his left wrist, then answered, “I’m not really used to it. I forgot to wear it when I went out.” After a pause, he said, “I bought the scarf at a discount; it wasn’t expensive.”

There was no way luxury goods had discounts. Fang Jincheng didn’t expose him though and just softly thanked him and said that he should go back.

Yan Xu escorted Fang Jincheng to his car. He sat in the driver’s seat and rolled down the window, asking, “Did Chi Ye invite you today?”

Yan Xu pursed his lips, not answering immediately.

This was the third question Fang Jincheng had asked him about Chi Ye tonight. His tone was gentle and soft, as if he was just chatting casually. But when he was silent and waiting, he felt an inexplicable sense of pressure. Yan Xu’s mind flashed back to the scene in the shop when he shook his head and rejected his invitation. A strong rebellious mentality began to play tricks on him. He lowered his head and didn’t answer.

Fang Jincheng, without moving, looked at Yan Xu’s long and fine eyelashes, confused. “What’s wrong?”

Yan Xu pressed his lips together, suddenly wanting to ask Fang Jincheng, “What gives you the right to ask? And what identity should I use to answer this?”

“If you don’t want to say…”

“You…”

The two of them spoke at the same time. Yan Xu had mustered up the courage to speak his mind, but the words were forced back down.

Fang Jincheng apologized. “You go first.”

Yan Xu forced himself to smile. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to say to get home safely.”

The stagnant atmosphere just now once again flowed. Fang Jincheng didn’t continue asking. He just told Yan Xu to go to bed early. Then, he said goodbye before starting the car and leaving.