Watching the Setting Sun Along the Same Path - Chapter 10

The rain gradually lightened, but Lu Ketong clung to Fei Yuan, utterly captivated. As the sky began to darken, Fei Yuan patted his back and said, “There’s plenty of time ahead. Let’s call it a day for now.”

Lu Ketong released his hold and took a step back, only then realizing how warm Fei Yuan had felt while holding him. He draped his school uniform over Fei Yuan’s shoulders and pressed the umbrella into his hands.

“Why are you so stubborn?”

Lu Ketong said, “I’m giving you this umbrella. It means as much to me as the swim ring you gave me. Whenever you see this umbrella, you have to think of me. You have to wipe it clean from time to time, and you can’t lend it to anyone else.”

“Got it.” Fei Yuan folded the umbrella and put it away, then started his motorcycle and turned around to leave. On the road, he couldn’t help but smile to himself. So, the little sapling had been treating the swim ring as a token of love all along.

Lu Ketong ran home, overjoyed. Wen Ning had been waiting anxiously at the front gate, nearly frantic. Seeing him return, she hurried to the kitchen to heat up some soup, bustling about.

“Lulu, go take a hot shower and change your clothes. Dinner will be ready soon.”

“I’m going to eat three bowls of rice today!” He dashed upstairs, singing as he showered. Afterward, he put on a set of pure cotton pajamas with a small collar, flopped onto the bed, hugged the swim ring, and began rolling around.

“Lulu, come with me.”

“Did you measure today? Have you grown taller?”

“If not, then so be it. Lu Ketong, there’s no turning back now.”

“You were too well-behaved today. My heart softened.”

Wen Ning came upstairs to call him for dinner, pushing the door open and asking, “What are you muttering to yourself?”

“Reciting a text, reciting a text.” He recited until his face flushed red, then happily skipped off to eat. It turned out he wasn’t exaggerating—he really ate three bowls of rice. At noon, he had been too melancholy to eat much lunch.

By the time Fei Yuan arrived home, the rain had stopped. After parking his motorcycle, he found a waterproof tarp to cover it. Lin Yuzhu had already prepared dinner and kept peeking out from behind the curtain, her motherly heart worn thin with worry.

“Oh, you’re soaked through inside and out. Now I have to do laundry again.”

Fei Yuan changed his clothes and sat down to eat. Fei Dean poured himself a drink and asked if Fei Yuan wanted one too. Lin Yuzhu tapped her chopsticks on the table and said, “What are you offering him? Always setting a bad example.”

“This fish is really delicious,” Fei Yuan interjected.

Lin Yuzhu immediately softened, picking up a large piece of fish and placing it in his bowl. “It’s delicious, isn’t it? And who do you think made it? Here, have some more.”

After dinner, Lin Yuzhu went to Fei Yuan’s room to collect his wet clothes. Several pieces were piled together, soaked through and weighing over ten pounds. His backpack was also wet, so Fei Yuan took out all his books to dry, spreading them across the table.

“Is this our umbrella? Why is it so colorful? Did another girl give it to you?”

Fei Yuan lowered his head and smiled. “Another little boy gave it to me.”

“Are you never going to stop?” Lin Yuzhu gathered the clothes and left. “No riding the motorcycle tomorrow. The roads are slippery and dangerous. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you.” He opened his textbook, feeling a bit troubled. If he couldn’t ride his motorcycle, would he have to ride a bicycle to take the little sapling home? That would be exhausting.

The group chat erupted into chaos again. Lu Ketong, who had been silent as death the night before, revived like spring grass sprouting anew. He immediately started sending red envelopes.

One hundred yuan, grateful for life.

One hundred yuan, thankful for fate.

One hundred yuan, the Lu family is rich.

One hundred yuan, Lulu is showing off.

Everyone was delighted, asking why he was suddenly so extravagant. Lu Ketong left his homework untouched, just sitting there grinning foolishly. After laughing, he didn’t know how to respond, so he simply sent a fifth hundred-yuan red envelope.

Fei Yuan is the most handsome.

Looking at the message, Fei Yuan felt quite weary, worried that Lu Ketong might stay up all night causing trouble. He, on the other hand, was already feeling a bit sleepy. Just as he was about to turn off his phone and go to bed, Lu Ketong sent him a hundred hearts privately.

The screen was filled with red hearts, almost blinding.

Actually, Lu Ketong felt embarrassed right after sending them—it was way too forward. Before Fei Yuan could reply, he quickly sent another message: “See you tomorrow.” Almost simultaneously, Fei Yuan replied with a single heart.

It felt so happy.

In the morning, Fei Dean went to the entrance of the alley to buy breakfast, carrying a small pot in one hand and fried dough sticks in the other. Lin Yuzhu, having just combed her hair and started applying her eyebrows, scolded him when he returned: “If you’re having tofu pudding, you should eat sweet pancakes. One salty, one sweet—that’s the way to eat it. How can you forget?”

“The sweet pancakes were almost gone. Old Meng’s grandson bought them all up ahead of me. Let’s just make do.”

Just as they were talking, Shen Duoyi came in and brought them a few sweet pancakes, saying, “Uncle, they were freshly fried right after you left, but there are only these three. It might not be enough.”

“Oh, it’s plenty, it’s plenty. Let’s eat together—we have a whole pot of tofu pudding.”

“No, thanks. My grandpa made porridge.” Shen Duoyi smiled, then glanced toward the bedroom and asked before leaving, “Is Fei Yuan still not up? Don’t let him be late.”

“Yeah, he’s probably getting ready.” Lin Yuzhu set out the bowls and went to call Fei Yuan, while Fei Dean had already started eating. When she entered the room, she found Fei Yuan still lying in bed. She walked over and patted the blanket. “Why aren’t you up yet? What time is it?”

Fei Yuan frowned and grunted, then went back to sleep. Sensing something was off, Lin Yuzhu reached out to touch his forehead—sure enough, he had a fever. She quickly fetched a thermometer and medicine, calling out to Fei Dean, “Our son has a fever. It must be from getting soaked yesterday. Call his teacher and ask for a day off.”

Fei Dean remained completely calm. After making the call, he said, “If he had a drink to warm up last night, maybe he wouldn’t have gotten the fever.”

“Shut up.” Lin Yuzhu gave Fei Yuan the medicine, then brought another blanket to cover him, instructing, “Sweat it out and get some sleep. Your dad and I are going to work. If you still feel bad after waking up, give us a call.”

Hearing the commotion, Shen Duoyi came to check before heading to school. Fei Yuan opened his eyes and said, “What time is it? Aren’t you leaving yet?”

After arriving at school, Lu Ketong first went to check on his poor bicycle. The motorcycle next to it wasn’t there, which meant Fei Yuan hadn’t arrived yet. He went to the convenience store to buy some food, planning to wait for Fei Yuan before entering the school together.

Ten minutes had passed since he finished a cup of oden, and if he waited any longer, he’d be late. He was torn but thought, if they were late, they’d be late together—it wasn’t a big deal. Just as he was pondering, someone called out to him.

“Lu Ketong! What are you doing? Get inside! Run, now!”

The homeroom teacher yelled from across the street before heading in, startling Lu Ketong into sprinting into the school. During morning reading, Fei Yuan still hadn’t arrived. Even after classes started, Fei Yuan never showed up.

“How are we already in a long-distance relationship on the first day?”

Finally, when lunch break arrived, he went to a noodle shop near the school for lunch. Surprisingly, he couldn’t finish a large bowl of bamboo shoot and shredded chicken noodles. As he slowly picked at his food, his phone suddenly rang like a lifeline.

As soon as he answered, Fei Yuan asked, “Were you worried sick?”

“Why have you been turning your phone off all day?” He slurped down two big mouthfuls of noodles in frustration. “Why didn’t you come to school? Did you regret it?”

Fei Yuan was speechless. “What are you talking about? I had a fever this morning.”

Lu Ketong couldn’t eat any more and started clamoring to go see him, pestering relentlessly until he got the address. When afternoon classes began, he wore an expression as if he were in the throes of difficult labor, biting his lips until they turned pale.

After asking for leave from the teacher, he slung his little backpack over his shoulder and set off to visit the patient. Along the way, every time he saw food, he wanted to buy it. From last night until now, courting this guy had already cost him eight hundred yuan.

And that didn’t even include the money he’d previously invested in lecture fees.

“Master, is Qiuye Hutong the sixth entrance?” After asking for directions, he continued walking forward. When he was just a few dozen meters away, he saw Fei Yuan standing at the entrance of the alley with his arms crossed, leaning lazily against the wall.

Not wearing his school uniform made him even more damn handsome—legs so long, shoulders so broad, face so ridiculously good-looking, and worst of all, he actually liked him back. Lu Ketong ran over, nearly throwing himself onto Fei Yuan.

Fei Yuan took the bags from his hands and then led him back home.

Grandpa Shen was resting on a recliner in the courtyard. Lu Ketong respectfully greeted him, “Hello, Grandpa.” Then he took a box of strawberries out of one of the bags and said, “Grandpa, have some strawberries.”

“Thank you, young man. I’m old now, afraid of cold things.”

He felt a bit embarrassed. Fei Yuan said, “Grandpa, just leave them there. Duoyi can eat them when he gets back, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, wait for Duo—” Lu Ketong froze on the spot. Duo what? Duoyi? Shen Duoyi and Fei Yuan lived in the same courtyard? That was too surreal!

He entered the room gloomily, unable to ask about it since he was supposed to be unaware of Shen Duoyi. Fei Yuan placed the bags on the table and started taking things out, asking, “What did you buy?”

Snapping out of his daze, Lu Ketong thought, Whatever, I’ll be gone before school and work end anyway. “Do you want some?” He sat down beside Fei Yuan, opened one of the boxes, and handed him a piece. “These wife cakes were just made, still warm.”

Fei Yuan ate one in a single bite and said, “The cakes my wife bought are pretty tasty.”

Lu Ketong’s eyes lit up. He immediately opened another box and said, “Try this! These are husband cakes!”

Fei Yuan pinched his cheek, ate one, and said, “The husband thinks this one’s pretty good too.”

“What kind of nonsense is this? You’re bullying me.” Lu Ketong was over the moon inside, but after basking in the happiness, he propped his chin on his hand and sighed. In the end, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Who’s that grandpa’s grandson? Are you two close?”

Fei Yuan didn’t think much of it. “My childhood friend.”

“Is he the kind you’d take a knife for?” Lu Ketong asked, then realized it was a pointless question—he’d take a knife for Qiu Luomin too. So he added, “Would you take a knife for me? A machete.”

Fei Yuan pulled him closer, his lips brushing against Lu Ketong’s ear as he said, “Only brothers take knives for each other. Are you and I brothers?”

Lu Ketong shook his head, giggling softly. He looked up and asked, “Then what do we do for each other?” Fei Yuan leaned down and kissed him, rubbing his lips until they turned red. Then he said fiercely, “Lu Ketong, do you even know how to behave?”

Around four o’clock, Lu Ketong put on his backpack to head home. The wind had picked up outside, and he was afraid Fei Yuan might catch a chill and spike a fever again, so he didn’t let him walk him out. Waving goodbye, he stepped out of the courtyard gate and walked along the wall.

He kept his head down, not watching the road, when suddenly a bicycle bell rang ahead. Because of the accumulated water, the path had narrowed, and a bicycle was speeding toward him. Just as he was about to dodge, he froze in place again.

Shen Duoyi had skipped self-study class to come check on Fei Yuan, only to nearly run into someone.

Upon closer inspection, he froze—wasn’t this the person who was with Qiu Luomin at the Guobin Hotel that day? What an unfortunate coincidence! Lu Ketong tugged at his backpack strap, wanting to leave quickly. Just then, Shen Duoyi called out, “Fei Yuan, why are you out here?”

Turning around, he saw Fei Yuan standing at the entrance of the courtyard. Lu Ketong felt so frustrated he almost wanted to call for his mom. Fei Yuan walked over, wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and said, “This is Shen Duoyi, my childhood friend. And this is Lu Ketong, my partner.”

Lu Ketong couldn’t bring himself to meet Shen Duoyi’s gaze, nor could he look at Fei Yuan. This was about to turn into a major confrontation scene—it was just too damn surreal!

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