Chapter 41 (1/2)

Translated by Karcessel of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Lin ShuYi had never liked anyone romantically.

In his past life, Lin ShuYi lived with his teacher, secluded from the outside world until he was eighteen. After he turned eighteen, he returned to the capital to further his education, naively dreaming of becoming a honest and just government official. Before he left, his teacher warned him that his personality wasn’t suited for a job as an official, but Lin ShuYi went anyway. Two quick years later, Lin ShuYi exited the stage with nothing left behind but a body on the cold, hard ground. He didn’t even have the chance to see his teacher one last time.

If Lin ShuYi had to name who held a special place in his heart, it could only be his teacher and his friend, Song Yan.

After arriving in this world, Lin ShuYi spent most of his time with Old Man Yang, and later Shen Fu. He never had much time to form close relationships with other people. In his heart was only his teacher, family, and very close friends. Shen Fu barely counted as half a friend.

Due to his lack of experience with liking people romantically, he didn’t really have a firm understanding of the concept. Thus, even though he understood that Shen Fu was gay, he didn’t have any cause to be concerned. Having grown up in Da Yan, his current ideals still reflect the open and accepting customs of his homeland, and he didn’t see much of a difference between liking a man or a woman. Which was why he wished Shen Fu success. If Lin ShuYi had known the target of Shen Fu’s affections was himself, his reaction would have been far less neutral and involved far more cursing.

But unfortunately, he didn’t know, so he didn’t doubt Shen Fu’s feigned surprise.

“Mn? When did I grope you?” Shen Fu casually leaned back against the soft sofa, one eyebrow arched in a one hundred percent doubtful expression.

Lin ShuYi thought for a minute, then finally said, “Hooking your arm around my shoulder is no longer allowed!”

Shen Fu tilted his head and asked, “Why? We’re both guys, isn’t this normal?”

“But you like men.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin ShuYi knew he had stepped out of line. Sure enough, across from him, Shen Fu’s playful grin vanished.

Wearing a wronged expression, Shen Fu said, “Are you discriminating against me?”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

Shen Fu laughed a hollow, self-deprecating laugh. “Then what did you mean?”

Lin ShuYi was already a little embarrassed by his previous lack of tact, but seeing Shen Fu’s mood suddenly change, and thinking that he must have hurt Shen Fu’s feelings, he suddenly felt much worse. Lowering his voice, he apologised sincerely to Shen Fu, “That really wasn’t what I meant.”

Lin ShuYi had never considered liking someone to be a negative trait, even if Shen Fu said he liked men.

Across from Lin ShuYi, Shen Fu was stunned for a moment, but he quickly turned his head away, breaking eye contact. His voice muffled, he said softly, “I know.”

To Lin ShuYi, it seemed as if Shen Fu was genuinely upset, far more than just a thoughtless line should have caused. Heaven knows, if it weren’t for his attraction to men, Shen Fu wouldn’t have been whipped so heavily and cast out by his grandfather. Even small things like this must be like spreading salt on a wound.

“I really didn’t mean to say something so prejudiced. Liking someone isn’t an insignificant matter, regardless of gender.”

Still, Shen Fu didn’t look back at him, as as the seconds ticked by Lin ShuYi began to feel a little irritated himself. Not forgiving him even after that apology was a little too petty, but he was still the one at fault here, so he was in no position to judge Shen Fu. In the end, all Lin ShuYi could do was go back to the kitchen to finish cooking silently.

Hearing Lin ShuYi’s footsteps drawing farther away, Shen Fu finally looked back. There was a hint of sadness on his face, but nonetheless he couldn’t help a slight smile. Shen Fu narrowed his eyes in thought as he recalled Lin ShuYi’s words. Just now, Shen Fu had actually forgotten what he was going to say because he wanted to let Lin ShuYi justify himself first, but the words that Lin ShuYi said honestly surprised him.

Liking someone regardless of gender? Well said.

Does that mean I can hug his waist next time? Shen Fu mused, ever ambitious.

With dinner finished, Shen Fu put on some rubber gloves and went to work washing the dishes. Even though they weren’t at the restaurant anymore, Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu still kept their usual habits. Lin ShuYi was in charge of cooking, and Shen Fu was in charge of cleaning. Neither had any issues with this arrangement.

Although the reconstruction of the restaurant had already been handed over to the designers, there were still decisions that required their confirmation and logistics to settle. Tomorrow, Lin ShuYi was meeting with the designers on site to plan the layout, so he prepared to sleep early. Skipping watching TV, Lin ShuYi planned to shower, brush his teeth, and head directly to bed.

As Lin ShuYi closed the bathroom door behind him, Shen Fu’s phone rang. Shen Fu checked the caller ID, and with a audible distraught noise, he picked it up. “Grandfather.”

Shen Fu’s grandfather’s voice was furious. “Oh, so you still know I’m your grandfather! And here I thought you were too busy basking in luxuries and overindulging that you abandoned your family and didn’t want to come back anymore? Even your phone has changed! Admit it, if I hadn’t called you, you would have never thought to call me!”

Pulling the phone a bit further away, Shen Fu rubbed his ears. “Didn’t you say it was best if I went far away and never returned?”

Grandfather Shen was so angry he was on the verge of an aneurysm, taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and thundered in Shen Fu’s ear, “Didn’t I tell you not to like men? Why don’t you listen!”

Calming his racing heart, which had been startled by the sudden call, Shen Fu glanced at the blurred light coming from the bathroom. He grinned. “Too late, I already like men, and there’s no way to change that.”

Without waiting for Grandfather Shen to explode again, Shen Fu continued, “Grandfather, stop calling yourself my father* so casually. You’re not my father, and if he heard you saying that, he’ll be angered to death. I won’t be going back anytime soon. Don’t look for me, it’s annoying. I’m hanging up.”

*T/N: Up until now, Grandfather Shen has been using the pronoun “老子,” which is both a slightly proud way to refer to oneself and, in some situations, an identity marker indicating that the speaker is the father of the person being spoken to. So it’s like Grandfather Shen has been saying “I, your father,” every time he said “I,” thus Shen Fu told him to stop referring to himself as Shen Fu’s father.

And Shen Fu hung up, tired of the thunder hurting his ears. On the other end of the line, Grandfather Shen was left shaking in rage.

Still grinning, Shen Fu followed the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, walking up to knock against the frosted glass shower. “Ah, just so you know, other people really need to use the bathroom, so please hurry up…”

Inside the shower, Lin ShuYi’s face turned gloomy. Lately, every single time Lin ShuYi took a shower, Shen Fu always came knocking with an bathroom emergency, what kind of problem was this?

The next day, as Lin ShuYi got up, so did Shen Fu, which was a rare occasion. Ever since the restaurant closed, Shen Fu ceased being able to match Lin ShuYi’s schedule and get up at the same time. Not everyone could consistently follow such an abnormal lifestyle routine.

Lin ShuYi opened the door to the main room as he was buttoning up his shirt, to find Shen Fu still getting dressed, exposing his bare back.

“…” A moment of silence on Lin ShuYi’s end. “How come you got up so early today?”